Hi, Accel here again. This time I'll be doing a quick review on the VF-31A/C fighter mode from the Gimix series by Tomytec. Since Mirage lost in the love triangle we'll start with her VF-31C Siegfried first. (Fans of Mirage please don't hurt me.....XD)
For those who are not familiar with the Gimix line, the parts are all pre painted. All you have to do is cut it off from the runner and with some glue you have got yourself one impressive 1/144 scale fighter jet.
It's more unbelievable that the parts are all lined! It is really hard to believe that this is just 1/144 scale.
Most of the parts are undergated so you don't have to worry about ugly nub marks.
Tomytec also did a great job in the sculpt of this fighter mode. The proportion is better than the Bandai's 1/72 VF-31J in terms of the fighter mode.
The most significant changes from the Bandai's 1/72 VF-31J is the swept angle of the inner wing.
I could be wrong but the Bandai's 1/72 seems to copy the CG model used in the show and apply it to their model kit. This causes the wingspan to be too wide and under some angle I found the 1/72 VF-31J from Bandai quite awkward.
Maybe Bandai will fix the wingspan issue in their coming DX Chogokin line but for now this is the best fighter mode of the VF-31 by far.
It would be a pain in the ass to do all the painting and lining in this scale.
Yes they even painted the turbines and yes there are some painting errors but please bear in mind this is just 1/144 scale. Bandai didn't even bother doing that in some of their DX Chogokin VF-25 line.
The vertical stabilizers at the back are prone to falling out so I would suggest glueing them. (Unless Tomytec plans to come out with the Superpack which I highly doubt will happen. Unlike Frontier, Delta doesn't seem to care about the pack. Heck the super packs were jettisoned at the first few minutes in the final episode.)
The kit comes with 2 cockpit canopies, one with a peg to simulate the opening of the cockpit and one without it so you have to glue it. I chose the one with the peg so that even without any glue it will still stay in place. But if you absolutely hate the sight of the peg's mold you can go with the one without it just be careful with the glue since it might damage the paint.
The pilot is painted and the detail is just alright but you really can't ask for anymore at this scale.
The clear stand that comes with the kit is decent enough and allows a 45 degree bank.
The kit also comes with a different parts for the under fuselage so that you can connect it with a power supply to power the LEDs of the engines. (Both of these are sold separately......ORZ)
Although I didn't have them here, the kit does come with landing gears and unlike Bandai's 1/72, the landing gears from Gimix are the right size. The main gears on the legs have bigger wheels than the gear at the front.
Each jet exhaust has a clear parts in it that shaped like a turbine to mimick a real jet engine. The clear parts are there to allow the light from the LEDs to pass through.
The feet or should I say the nozzles have a limited range of movement so you can sort of recreate the thrust vectoring effect from the show.
Since it will be kinda lonely for Mirage to fly alone. (See what I did there? XD) Here's a shot with the VF-31A Kairos.
Here's the 1/144 scale VF-31A Kairos from the Gimix line. Maybe it's just me but I am more of a fan of the delta wing on this VF-31A instead of the W shaped wing on the VF-31 used by the delta squadron.
Canon fodder of the Macross Delta series.
The kit comes with a set of decal that allows you to turn it into one of the jet from the Alpha, Beta or Gamma squadron in the show. (Obviously encouraging you to buy a squadron of these home. XD)
Along with the switch to delta wing I think the canards of the VF-31A are slighlty bigger than those from the delta squadron. The sensor unit in front of the cockpit as well as the head unit are also different from Mirage's VF-31C.
The different sensor unit along with the paint job make it feels a like a bird to me.
Although the line art and in the show depicted the VF-31A having a shinnier paint job, I am satisfy with this matte paint job from Gimix.
I really have to remind myself over and over again that this is all pre painted in 1/144 scale. I am really impressed by the Gimix line.
And a size comparison with the RG 00 Quanta. The Gimix line to me has a lot of similarities to the Real Grade line. Both lines aim to provide a relatively easy build with an impressive looking end result. (
Cons: -Expensive for its size
-Could suffer from some painting errors
-Not entirely snap fit, still requires glue in some of the places
Pros:-Stunning result
-Great proportion in fighter mode
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the design of VF-31 and don't care about the Gerwalk and Battroid mode. Although it is much smaller but requires way less effort if compared to Bandai's 1/72 VF-31J. That thing took me months to get it fully painted. (Or you could just wait for the DX Chogokin provided you have a kidney to spare. XP)
That's all from me and I'll see you next time.
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