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I tried the una corda feature on Ivory II American Concert D. While I found the sound to be pretty realistic, it seems to be hard for me to control the transition from the normal piano tone to the una corda tone. It might be because I'm so used to the "fake" soft pedal features in all kinds of digital pianos and VSTs. I feel the tone transition to be substantial.

From my own experience, una corda sound varies a lot among different grand pianos and when I encounter a new grand piano (for recital for example), I will be cautious about using una corda as every piano is so different. When I was practicing in the university practice room, I don't like using una corda since those pianos were in such a bad shape that the una corda will strike the adjacent string! I had a recital before and at that time I needed to test the una corda before the recital and let my teacher to judge whether it sounds good (he was sitting in the audience).

I have another friend who majored in piano performance. He told me that they did not treat una corda pedal to be an on/off switch but would like to feather the pedal just like the sustain pedal. If playing on a bright piano, shifting the action a little bit will help the sound become rounder as the hammer is hitting the string using a different felt. They rarely depress the una corda pedal to the bottom.

I wish I could have this gradual una corda feature in a digital piano. All digital piano seems to have an on/off una corda pedal. And I have to be very cautious when playing using Ivory II ACD, or VSL Vienna Imperial, maybe only use the una corda when the composer specifically mentioned using it.

David, are you aware that neither NanoKontrol nor X-Touch Mini have the mod wheels, right?

They are perfect, even better than those I suggested for controlling continuous parameters (no keys to get into the way and simpler overall) but I understood the mod wheels were must have.

Yes, I know that they have no wheels, and no, wheels are not exactly a must have

In that case, NanoKontrol would be my choice between these two, as it has much better ergonomics (and I don't think you need it to be ultra compact).

I would also take a look at Studiologic Mixface (similar functions as NanoKontrol, better ergonomics - must check MIDI assigning capability).

I didn't check dimentions but I am pretty sure they (even those 25-keys units) fit comfortably on top of the VPC1. One thing you will need to take into account is VPC1 has a slightly curved surface so I guess you will need to have some rubber feet (the tall type - tall as 1cm or so) added to have the controller not sliding and to avoid scratching VPC's top.

Maybe some VPC owners can come to the rescue.

I just noticed, there are two controllers with the "nanokontrol" moniker, the "nanokontrol 2", which is simpler and compact, and the "nano control studio". When I searched for "nanokontrol", I first found the latter. I think you chose the former, based on your comment on Studiologic.

Nanokontrol 2 is pretty compact. But I think it is not very ergonomic, the sliders must have a total excursion of 4cm give or take.

Nanokontrol Studio is bigger (11"x 6.5" x 1.5" approximately) so the sliders excursions must be around 6cm. Is this relevant? Only you can tell. It does have four buttons per slider and one knob per slider.

Studiologic looks similar to NanoKontrol Studio, except it has less buttons (one per slider) but one extra slider (master). Also one knob per slider. Other buttons for control (e.g. play/stop/pause etc.), in this regard similar to the Nanokontrol studio. Dimmensions are 10.3" x 5.1" x 1.4". Sliders excursion must be between 5 and 6cm by the looks.

In the end, you will need to try them. If you can return those that does not suit you well, I would try them all.

Exactly. I have currently three items over my VPC1: an Arturia Minilab MkII, a Steinberg CC121 and an Elgato Stream Deck XL. The first two have added rear rubber feet, about 1cm tall. With them, they keep perfectly on place. There is no need to add, in this case, larger front feet. The Stream Deck XL has a rubber bottom which keeps the unit nicely stable even on the curved surface.

Ah, the VPC1 Expert has spoken!!!
So, where can I get some rubber feet if I want to buy a control surface like the Korg NanoKontrol 2? Or do control surfaces like this come with such things? Do you think it's good for the curved top of the VPC1?

If you need a control surface, I would highly recommend Nektar Panorama P1. It integrates amazingly with most DAWs. I have the Nektar Impact which is similar (but with keys) and I love it:
https://nektartech.com/panorama-p1/

If you are planning to use Cubase, Steinberg CC121 would be equally good.

Korg nan­oKON­TROL Studio would be my third choice and the Studiologic SL Mixface my fourth.