Returning to the review on Banpresto's Perfect Transformation Strike Valkyrie VF-1S Roy Focker's Unit after the visit to Sunday Movie Theater yesterday. ^^
A look at the figure's transformation from Battroid to Gerwalk mode in this posting. ^^
The 3-barrel gun pod and both hand units are removed first.
For the first configuration - with both arms not expanded, the removal of the weapon and hands is optional actually, but it does help to free up some space for the components to be shifted around more easily later on. ^^
The canopy cover is removed from the figure's chest.
The beam cannons are swiveled downward so that their twin turrets to the front of the figure.
Back to the straight-out-of-box configuration for the figure: the wings are expanded slightly first, the rear head panel and backpack are then folded to the back after that.
The entire rear assembly (back, backpack, wings and arms) is folded upward. The head is slid through the middle slot.
On the bottom side of the assembly, the head is hinged 90 degrees upward through the middle slot, ...
... and then swiveled to the front.
The rear head panel is folded forward to cover up the slot.
(Left) The chest panel is slid backward to conceal the shoulder hinges. A pair of tabs on the latter help to connect between the front and rear panels, albeit loosely. ^^;
(Right) The backpack is folded to the front against the body again.
Using the hinges beneath the front fuselage, the legs are swung to the back and tabbed in place. There's a pair of tabs and slits beneath the hips (intakes) and chest panel respectively to lock the connection.
The legs are inversely hinged at thigh and knee levels.
The shoulders are adjusted so that they are facing the front of the figure.
The gun pod and hands are reattached onto the figure.
Battroid to Gerwalk mode transformation completed. ^^
More images of Valkyrie VF-1S in Gerwalk mode:
Closeups on the details:
Bottom view:
For the second Gerwalk configuration:
(Left) Unlike the first configuration shown earlier on, the gun pod and hand units must be detached for this second mode.
(Right) The gun pod is retracted.
The legs must be detached and folded forward to free up the space beneath the main body to accommodate the arms.
Both arms must be hinged inward using the hinge bars and ball-type joints behind the shoulder.
The hinge bars mentioned above. The slot in the middle is not applicable to this transformation step actually, so the arms would eventually be hanging below a rather "spacious" body panel. ^^
The arms are locked together via a pair of corresponding tab and slot beside the forearms.
The legs are reconnected to the main body.
The gun pod's handle is pegged into a dedicated slot beneath the forearms to attach the weapon to the figure.
The second Gerwalk configuration is done. ^^
More images of this second Gerwalk configuration:
The figure suffers from back-heaviness due to the arms' position behind the body now. ^^; Soul Stage Act 3 Action Support Clear Type is used to provide the much needed support for the figure to stand properly.
Closeups on the details:
Bottom view:
As mentioned in Part 1, the need to attach the canopy cover onto the figure as a separate part pretty much renders the "Perfect Transformation" part in the figure's name as incorrect, technically speaking. ^^; The need to swap out the hand units as shown in the second Gerwalk configuration is another point to add on to the "misinformation". ^^; Then again, I'm definitely impressed with how accurate the figure design is in realizing the entire transformation design. The transformation of the head, chest and leg is pretty well designed. ^^ The near-seamless connection between the front and rear body panels gives the completed Gerwalk mode a very impressive look. For a prize item which I picked up for for a bargain price, the figure's outcome so far in this Gerwalk mode is already amazing to me.
While important components like the body panels, hips (intakes) and arms have tabs/pegs to help with their connection, it's far from enough to improve on the figure's firmness. ^^; The tabs between the body panels are loose, causing the chest panel to slide outward easily. The rear head panel in Battroid mode is my pick as the most annoying part on the figure. ^^; As there's no tab or lock of any sort to hold it in place, it would pop up whenever the chest panel becomes loose. ^^; Also, while the forearms have tabs to lock between the parts, there's nothing on the shoulders to keep them in place, causing the entire arm block to sag downward from time to time. ^^;
Talk about being fragile and flimsy. ^^; Instead of complaining about the figure's name, the looseness of the components is a much bigger issue. ^^; Out of all of them, the most secure connection is between the hips (intakes) and main body.
Moving on to my favorite mode, the fighter mode's transformation next. ^^
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