Kit Review

Straight build + light panel lining + seals

Fighter mode: size comparison with a cigarette pack

Fighter Mode

Fighter mode

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. The detail is of course 100% identical to Hikaru's unit. (1/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. The detail is of course 100% identical to Hikaru's unit. (2/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. The detail is of course 100% identical to Hikaru's unit. (3/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. The detail is of course 100% identical to Hikaru's unit. (4/4)

Detail shots.
The detail is of course 100% identical to Hikaru's unit.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - The pilot figure has been changed to Roy Focker, and differs from Hikaru's unit

The pilot figure has been changed to Roy Focker, and differs from Hikaru's unit in both outfit and pose.

Underside view

Together with the previous release, Hikaru's unit.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Fighter mode on the stand. The proportions look pretty good, as expected. (1/7)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Fighter mode on the stand. The proportions look pretty good, as expected. (2/7)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Fighter mode on the stand. The proportions look pretty good, as expected. (3/7)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Fighter mode on the stand. The proportions look pretty good, as expected. (4/7)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Fighter mode on the stand. The proportions look pretty good, as expected. (5/7)

Fighter mode on the stand.
The proportions look pretty good, as expected.

Gerwork Mode

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Transformed into GERWALK mode (1/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Transformed into GERWALK mode (2/4)

Transformed into GERWALK mode

Together with Hikaru's unit in GERWALK mode.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - The left is the first edition of Hikaru's unit, and the right is the revised han

The left is the first edition of Hikaru's unit, and the right is the revised hand from this Roy Focker unit.
At a glance it looks like only the hand cover was changed,
but the entire finger parts have been slightly revised.
Thanks to that, the fingers seem to fall off less easily now..

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - GERWALK mode on the stand. Again, the legs tend to droop downward when it's up i

GERWALK mode on the stand.
Again, the legs tend to droop downward when it's up in the air, so it doesn't look that great.

Battroid Mode

Transformed into Battroid mode.
The locking stability has been greatly improved thanks to the added locking mechanisms.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. Visually, it's identical to Hikaru's unit, as expected. (1/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. Visually, it's identical to Hikaru's unit, as expected. (2/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. Visually, it's identical to Hikaru's unit, as expected. (3/4)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Detail close-ups. Visually, it's identical to Hikaru's unit, as expected. (4/4)

Detail shots.
Visually, it's identical to Hikaru's unit, as expected.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - First, to address the body locking issue that was the biggest problem with the f

First, to address the body locking issue that was the biggest problem with the first edition VF-1 Hikaru unit,
starting with the Roy Focker unit, a locking pin has been added when securing the leg connector plate to the back.
A peg was added on the back panel side, and a hole was added on the leg connector plate, making it possible to lock everything in place securely.
To be precise, it was the first edition Hikaru unit that was the odd one — it had no locking mechanism at all and you just had to rest the parts on top of each other..

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - As a second locking mechanism, a separate part has been added to secure the back

As a second locking mechanism, a separate part has been added to secure the back panel and the rear of the nose section.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - With the body now held in place at two points, it's finally possible to lock the

With the body now held in place at two points, it's finally possible to lock the body into a proper, stable position.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Together with the first edition Hikaru unit's Battroid. Even just from the photo

Together with the first edition Hikaru unit's Battroid.
Even just from the photos you can feel the difference in proportions due to the body locking issue.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Striking a cool pose for a shot. (1/3)

Striking a cool pose for a shot.

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom - Aerial shooting pose — thanks to the improved body locking mechanisms, striking

Aerial shooting pose
Thanks to the improved body locking mechanisms, striking aerial poses has become much easier.

Fighter mode straight build shots

GERWALK mode straight build shots

Battroid mode straight build shots

The new VF-1, which has even been called the worst kit in Bandai history, has now gotten its first color variant — and that's the Roy Focker unit. It was originally supposed to be released right after Hikaru's unit, but since the VF-1 Hikaru unit got absolutely roasted the moment it launched, the release was hastily pushed back. In the end, the Roy Focker unit was released as a revised version with several fixes to the original's issues.

Since 99% of the kit itself is identical in composition to Hikaru's unit, for the overall transformation process and features please refer to the VF-1 Hikaru unit reviewThe only visual differences are that the red parts have been changed to yellow, and the Battroid's cockpit cover has been changed to black. On top of that, the pilot has been swapped out for Roy Focker, and his outfit and pose are different from Hikaru's.

So the big question is — what exactly has changed in this Roy Focker unit, which was delayed and released as a revised version?

First off, the body locking in Battroid mode on the first edition Hikaru unit was so sloppy it was hard to believe it came from Bandai. To fix this, a locking pin mechanism was added to secure the leg connector plate inside the back, and a part was added to connect and lock the rear of the nose section — which forms the center of the body — to the back panel.

In the end, the body locking is much better than the first edition Hikaru unit — compared to the previous release where you could barely get it to stand up straight, you can now actually hold a pose. ^_^ You do wonder why they didn't fix this from the start, but honestly, I think the problem was the original design itself. It's hard to wrap your head around how they could have so completely neglected body locking stability. Maybe the development schedule just ran over and they had no choice but to ship a half-baked product..

On top of that, another chronic issue with the new VF-1 was the flimsy hip locking mechanism. This part doesn't appear to have changed visually on the Roy Focker unit, but it seems like the mold for the hip locking pin has been slightly revised. At least it feels tighter than the first edition, and it doesn't pop out as easily — so thankfully there were almost no issues when standing or posing.

Also, the fingers — one of the most infuriating points of the original VF-1 — have been completely replaced with new parts. Thanks to that, they don't fall off constantly like they did on the first edition. That said, it's still awkward to get the right angle when gripping weapons, and the grip peg on the palm still doesn't do its job properly. T_T In the end, I had no choice but to glue the gun pod handle to the palm when taking review photos. So the grip strength is still a letdown, but at least the fingers don't fall off as easily anymore — I'll take that as a small comfort.

Anyway, thanks to these small improvements, the locking stability balance across Fighter mode, GERWALK mode, and Battroid mode has become reasonably decent, and it finally feels like a triple-transformation kit worth actually transforming. That said, only the most critical issues have been patched up — the kit still has plenty of other shaky areas. It's just better than the worst-in-class first edition, so if you don't glue the key parts together, you'll be treated to an endless cycle of the kit falling apart during transformation and posing.

In particular, if you don't glue the front and rear parts of the back panel where the wings lock in, the wings will pop off relentlessly and you'll be stuck in an infinite loop of disassembly and reassembly. I already got burned badly with the first edition, so when building this Roy Focker unit I just went ahead and glued pretty much all the non-articulated parts — the hand covers, body, arms, legs, you name it — and it definitely made handling it a lot more pleasant.
If you go into the Bandai VF-1 thinking it's a snap-fit kit, you're in for a rough time. Keep that in mind. ㅡ,.ㅡ

So yes, there are still quite a few areas that feel un-Bandai-like and a bit nerve-wracking, but it feels like it's reached a level that VF-1 fans can more or less accept. A lot of people were probably waiting for a revised version of that dreadful first edition, and at least from this Roy Focker unit onward, the worst of the frustrating issues have been reasonably addressed — so it finally feels worth building. Of course, it sounds like Hikaru's unit will also be re-released as a revised version, and honestly, Bandai should probably do a full recall of the first edition..

In the end, it looks like the crisis of going down as Bandai's worst kit ever has been narrowly avoided.. So Macross fans who've been holding off on buying — I'd say go ahead and give it a shot starting with the Roy Focker unit. Of course, don't get your hopes too high, and I'll say it again: gluing the right parts is essential for your sanity. :-)

1/72 VF-1S Valkyrie ~ Roy Focker Custom | 2013.9 | ¥4,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.