#vf-1a

Cover art for the Imai 1:100 scale Armored VF-1A Valkyrie Battroid from Macross.

So update: I did get a replacement Tomahawk sprue for the one they failed to pack into my Robotech RPG Tactics box.  While I was kinda hoping they’d just pull a Defender/Tomahawk expansion box off the shelf and give me yeat another Defender sprue by extension, I suppose I can’t complain about having the extra sprue for “free.”

Customer support was fairly swift and straitforward as well - and while it makes me wonder how often this kind of mis-packing happens, I have no reason to complain about their damage control.

So, now I’ve got a lance of Riflemen Defenders and demi-lance of Warhammers Tomahawks:

As well as a Valkyrie VF-1S and Stinger VF-1A:

...Still, the building was...  Rough.  Let me explain:

You see that little piece there?  The sensor array that - by the guide - is three parts, but on the sprue is one.

Inaccurate instructions is a bad start, especially with complex models - and as I pointed out before, these are all single-sheet single-image diagrams, which is not cool when absolutely everything is broken down.  (Three-part arms, three-part legs, three-part torsos, etc.)  And bits like this little bugger:

...yeah, that’s a nosecone that attaches strait to the Battleroid torso, and by all rights should have been molded right on.

And I’m not even talking about the pose variants yet.

To the left: Gunpod, forearm, and six different upper arms to choose from.  Only one will fit with the forearm and gunpod in such a way that the pod - divoted on the tail end to nestle with the torso - is held at the right position.

Does the single diagram of ‘instructions’ help point out what pieces are used on which variants? Goodness no.  You have to puzzle all that out before glueing a single piece - and if you’re doing the two-handed gun cradle, you’re trying to pose six pieces (torso, upper arms, forearms, gunpod,) by hand and without help.

Then on the right there we have four legs and four feet, and each is individually paired.  See the clear matches of vastly different items?  No?  Yeah, you need to mix-and-match until you find all the right pairings before gluing a single one - assuming you even notice that there is variance to pay attention to.  (The legs on my first sprue of Defenders is messed up because of this.)

All in all: Pretty rough construction for a miniature noob such as I.  Especially the Veritechs - the Destroids were better, but still require a keen eye for details you’re not warned about.

Construction wise, the pieces fit together fairly well - no greivous gaps like I had on the Flames of War Achtung! set, but a fair number of nubs and spars needed sanding to sit flush.  Weight-wise, it’s somewhere between the Flames of War Achtung! and El Alamein sets - though El Alamein is extremely light.  Still, not near as heavy as Dropfleet or Warhammer plastic.

Flashing wasn’t too bad, but with how many pieces were on a sprue, (see also: WHY IS EVERYTHING IN THREE PARTS) there wasn’t too much space to clip them off all the time.  Gave myself a rather greivous stab at one point trying to work behind a part to cut it off the sprue.

The veritechs especially were the most complex minis I’ve taken on so far - if it weren’t for the fact that I’m overdoing Dropfleet with magnetized option ships - and the build is rather daunting.  I’m not really looking forward to the other Veritechs.  And I haven’t even looked at the Zentraedi...

VF-1A VALKYRIE