VF-19 Hi-Metal Series

Bandai's Hi-Metal Fire Valkyrie an attempt to break into the Macross figure franchise beyond the “Frontier” series Bandai has been stuck with while Yamato continues to hog the majority of Macross licenses. To differentiate themselves, they've gone with some perculiar build choices.
Firstly the scale is 1/100 making the VF-19 Kai Excalibur model only about 8 inches long (and similarly tall in battloid mode). Compared to Yamato's near universal 1/60 scale, this is almost puny. The size also presents an inherent problem: the need to compromise on what can been implemented for transformation and what's “faked.” So the set comes with a variety of “part-swapping solutions.”

The second design choice is the use of die-cast metal only where it counts. There is a main torso skeleton and ankles. Other than some screws, the rest is plastic. The red plastic is a nice deep metallic, however, so while it the main fuselage is not painted in pearl clear-coat, it's a nice cheap facsimilie.
Transformation isn't much different from the Yamato interpretation. However, it does improve a few things such as tabs in the right places while removing a few in others. The fighter mode snaps snuggly and by virtue of the plastic composition, it's not floppy or top-heavy. This is important because the VF-19 is has a very delicate GERWALK mode compared to the classic VF-1 design with its arms over the wings.Transformation to GERWALK is the first time parts need to come off. The head's main fin is an extra bit that needs to sanp on, but first, the panel that hides the neck joint needs to be temporarily removed to get at it. The hands are also plugged into the wrists which are hidden in fighter mode by pop-off panels.
Next, the metal endoskeleton in the torso goes into action by elevating the fuselage and then wrapping over the nose-cone. Beware the arms during ths transformation. Thankfully the arms are plastic on ball-joints so they are forgiving. They pop back on if they do accidentally fall off. And finally the pair of antennae are plugged into the head.
In battloid mode, Bandai also supplies a couple of extra bits to fill out the proportions in the thighs. As seen in the photo, they're a little skinny (but this is only visible from certain angles, of course). I actually don't like the bits much as they some don't plug in snugly enough.
I have mixed feelings about this rendition of the Fire Valkyrie. I'm so happy to finally have a transforming toy of the VF-19 Kai Excalibur (my first was a plamo kit from the 90s that didn't transform but was actually 2-models-in-1-box). On the other hand I'm torn over the mish-mash of plastic parts-swapping (which, in my opinion, is a cheap alternative to proper transforming-toy-design.