1/60 VF-2SS Valkyrie II Silvie Gena Custom – Available From HobbyLink Japan
By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii
Following the unboxing here is the review of the VF-2SS by Evolution Toy from Macross II. While it’s a bit clunky as transforming toys go, it has some interesting points and does look pretty great.
I will be upfront about this design, as I’ve always liked it from when I saw Macross II back in the ’90s. It was a sleek updated variable fighter and the SAP armor parts looked amazing.
However, when I initially saw this toy at Wonder Festival last year I wasn’t sold. It was small and didn’t look very good. In the time since, it had a bump up in scale and when I saw it on display in a few shops in Akihabara I was much more impressed with it.
This is just the base figure, though, and while the SAP armor parts are on their way in the next few months, I will be focusing purely on this toy for now.
It’s clear that this is Evolution Toy’s first try at a toy like this. While it is at a good scale, 1/60, it feels like a smaller toy in terms of overall build quality.
If you’ve come from the recent Arcadia or Bandai releases, then the VF-2SS is a world away from those. Though to be fair, so is its price as it is a lot cheaper.
The main issue I found is that the tabs that are meant to hold the limbs in place vary in their effectiveness across the three modes. In Fighter mode, the legs’ and arms’ connectors aren’t very strong. The result is that the mode can be a bit floppy. GERWALK mode is a bit better but the shoulders were a bit loose and the tab to connect them wasn’t strong, either. On the shoulders though, I was able to tighten the screw directly and that fixed the looseness just fine. Battroid mode is by far the best of the three and holds its poses well and clicks together to feel relatively solid.
The Battroid mode’s only real fault is how the legs link up together behind the cockpit, as two metal prongs are connected together with a plastic tab. This tab didn’t tend to hold the leg prongs together whenever I re-posed the toy, so each time I had to reset it.
Joint articulation is mostly ratcheted, though, which is nice, and there is a good amount of diecast in the joints. While the detailing is a bit plain, that is as per the design and there are extra decals available if you want to spruce up the figure.
The sculpt is actually quite accurate. Admittedly, some parts of the toy are a bit clumsy but overall it looks like the original design and that’s a very big plus for me.
Considering the price, it’s actually a decent toy. I never felt it might break and while there are some exposed screws, I am somewhat glad I can have access to them as it allowed me to rectify a loose shoulder joint.
I am also on the fence on the toy as a whole because the SAP armor is somewhat integral to the design and I have a feeling that once equipped it will make Fighter and GERWALK modes a bit sturdier.
In the meantime, if you are a Macross II fan then pick this up. We have never had a toy of the VF-2SS until now and while Bandai might do one as part of their VF Hi-Metal R line, this is a bigger figure and still looks very nice. However, it’s not in the same league as Arcadia’s or Bandai’s bigger variable fighter toys when it comes to the transformation, so bear that in mind.
