1/72 Strike Parts Set for VF-1 Valkyrie by Bandai available from HobbyLink Japan Hlj.com
The Super Valkyrie is ready with it’s Fast Pack, so it’s time for a missile massacre thanks to this addon kit for the 1/72 VF-1A/S Valkyrie.
Lots of weapons to add on, looking good with or without lining.
The parts work in all three modes.
Unbox
3 large plates, with the B the runt of the litter.
2 styles, water slides and regular marking seals.
A short manual, with only a few pages devoted to the build.
A fun layout really gives you an idea of the additional firepower at your disposal.
When building, you’ll be tempted to differentiate the B plate thrusters from A plate which is otherwise the same color.
The Beam Cannon pack has a slight slide mechanism to bring the barrels forward, while the Micro Missile pod doesn’t have any moving parts.
The thrusters are just two simple pieces, but with a lot of B plate thrusters attached.
These Micro Missile launchers are simple to build, with each missile attached separately.
These Micro Missile pods (love that Macross theme) are simple to build, but effectively use only a few parts to provide a lot of color separation.
You’ve got the option of pairing 4 of these up, or attaching 4 individually using the attachment frames provided.
12 Arrow missiles are made of 2 parts each, and attach individually.
You’ve also got 4 in deployed mode, if you want to toss them around your room.
Overall the build was fun, with the plates well laid out, and enough variety overall that it doesn’t feel repetitive.
Attached
The arm Micro Missile launchers are one of the few accessories that actually stay on well.
The leg thrusters have very short pegs holding them onto the back of the leg, and fall off at the drop of a hat.
The pod and cannon attachment points involve sliding the grey frame inside a bit, but the connecting point does not feel secure.
There will be weight issues when everything is attached onto the back, exacerbating previous stability and posing problems in Battroid mode.
Popping out the caps on the wings can do a bit of damage to your seals or slides unless they’re lined up perfectly when first put on. You’ll replace them with these to attach the multitude of weapons.
My favorite assortment in terms of looks.
Or go all Arrow missiles or any combination . The wings will not sit well inside the body when you’re attaching the larger weapons, and detach fairly easily.
They can’t roll any number buy 5.
Attaching the cannon and missile pod in Fighter mode lets gravity work with you for a change.
The decals come in red or black to attach, and can add some nice color to go along with the clear orange part from the A plate.
The thrusters can also be added onto the legs in fighter or Gerwalk mode.
Overall, these weapon and thruster options add a lot of firepower, and color to an otherwise almost all white body. The ability to choose your under wing armaments with lots of options is a plus, and the big weapons look good especially in Fighter mode. Unfortunately, the problems with just the Valkyrie itself (flimsiness, frustrating transformation) aren’t helped when you add more parts that don’t attach all that well, and add more weight in many of the wrong places. However, though it will take a fair bit of time, once you get it into the mode you want, they do help this guy look a lot more intimidating. Until he does something silly like this.
Thanks for reading and commenting on my first photo review! Take care.
Bleach2649
As always Rrobbert your reviews are in depth . After watching the reviews in this case reading about the kit and add on pack i can’t wait to pick this up. Keep up your good work.
Jason
Rrobbert’s VF-1 reviews have the exact opposite affect on me. His reviews are phenomel but the kit looks bad. This kit just keeps getting worse with each subsequent review. I already ordered it so I will build it but if I had waited for Rrobbert’s review I wouldn’t have ordered it. I was so dazzled by Kawamori’s involvement that I put on my rose colored glass and ignored Bandai’s spotty track record with transforming kits. It’s a shame because in the promotional photos it looks phenomenal.
Jason
The kit came on and I decided to go ahead and build it. I haven’t finished yet but I can say that without a doubt this is the single worst kit I have ever dealt with. It actually makes their Macross Frontier kits look like the best kits ever.
The hands are the MOST AWFUL hands I have seen on ANY kit. Building them is extremely difficult since the pegs are ridiculously tiny. I totally expect the fingers to be one of the first things to break on this kit. Rrobbert wasn’t kidding about the wings falling out at the drop of a hat even without any missiles on them.
Building the kit has been an enormous pain because parts are constantly falling out while I am still building never mind playing with it. It is so frustrating that I am not sure if I can even complete this kit.
The only way Bandai could make up for how bad this kit is would be to make a MG original anime Queadlunn Rau.
Tommy
Hey is the kit snap fit or glue?
Jason
It’s a snap kit with the exception of the Hikaru and Minmei figures.
Al
It’s been a great photo review series. Hope to see many more.
Tim
With every review, that kit is looking more and more unfortunate. Some of those photos are just a sad sack of awful.