Introduction

Yamato were never really that happy with their original 1/72 scale transforming YF-21 released in 2000 and always wanted to make an improved follow-up. Several years later, when the decision was made to manufacture all their high-end variable fighter toys in 1/60th scale, it was only a matter of time before a new version was released.

Fast forward to early June of 2008 and the new 1/60 Scale perfect transformation YF-21 from Yamato has finally hit the stores. And what a beautiful bird it is!

Photos

Note. The photos below were taken outdoors in overcast conditions, with no additional lighting. Camera used was a Canon Digital Ixus 750. Sorry if some of the pics appear a bit washed out.

Additional photos of the YF-21 with limbs detached and also photos of the box will be added soon.

Box

Typical Yamato card box with photo shopped artwork and opening window flap. Toy and accessories are stored in a double layer clear plastic tray. Nothing special.

• Fighter Mode Length: 34.5cm (approx)
• Battroid mode height : TBC
• Toy weight with FAST Packs and Missiles: TBC

Instruction Manual

Instuction Manual

Accessories Included

• 2 x Gunpods.
• 1 x Guld pilot figure.
• 2 x Fold Boster attachment pylons (fore & aft).
• 2 x belly FAST Packs.
• 2 x arm FAST Packs.
• 2 x removable intake covers.
• 2 x removable covers for holes for front Fold Booster Pylons.
• 1 x clear display stand.
• 1 x Battroid mode display stand adapter.
• 1 x Fighter/GERWALK mode display stand adapter.
• 1 x instruction manual, with additional single page addendum sheet.
• 1 x sticker sheet.

Tampo printed markings include the UN Spacy kite emblems on both sides of the cockpit and the left wing and the "21" with twin triangle marking on the let side of the foward fuselage (just below the head laser).

The sculpt is a huge improvement on the original toy in all modes, but especially in Fighter and Gerwalk modes. Battroid mode is no slouch either, although the legs are perhaps a little skinny, although not unduly so (this was a necessity to keep the fighter mode profile nice and slim). When you open the box and see the toy, it really looks just like it flew out of the anime. Yamato have gone to great lengths to keep it as accurate to the libneart as possible.

I’d go as far as to say that out of all the variable YF-21 toys and models made so far, including those by Studio Half Eye, D-Stance, Experten and Yamato’s earlier 1/72 version, the new 1/60 scale YF-21 is definitely the nicest looking in all three modes. It’s also probably one of the best, if not the best looking fighter mode that Yamato have made! That’s saying something from a company that is renowned for their beautiful fighter modes.

Features

Yamato is really on the cutting edge of variable toy design, easily surpassing in my opinion older more experienced companies such as Takara and Bandai in this area. Yamato are constantly wowing me with all the really neat innovative features and transformation mechanisms that they put into their designs.

The YF-21 has some really neat design features.

• All the nose and wing sensors are transparent plastic, rather than just being painted on as with the older YF-21, a really nice touch IMO.
• There is some nice mechanical detail behind the eye lenses.
• Guld’s pilot seat can be rotated so that it is facing forward in Battroid mode. Apparently it automatically rotates back when you transform back to Fighter or Gerwalk mode, but I haven't tried (or noticed) this yet.
• The YF-21 features an innovative sliding nose/cockpit feature to shorten the length of the nose in Battroid mode.
• Both wrist and elbow barrels for the arm lasers are included (most toys forget the elbow lasers).
• I’m amazed that Yamato managed to fit the rear landing gear in the correct place in the wing , given that the wing is so thin in that area. This is accomplished by having the wheels rotate through 90 degrees so that they lay flat in the wheel wells. Big Kudos to the design team.
• Sufficient clearance in fighter mode that the gunpods do not touch the ground, even with the belly FAST packs attached.
  Well designed and good looking hands that hold the gunpods really securely.
• One of the most ingenious and cleverly designed features is they way that the shoulder armor is completely hidden internally when in Fighter mode. Well done Yamato!

Articulation

The YF-21 features a great many points of articulation, making some great action poses possible. However,

Despite earlier concerns from fans, the elbos can indeed bend 90 degrees.

Despite, the somewhat top-heavy design of the YF-21, it easily manages to stand by itself unsupported in both Battroid and Gerwalk modes, something that the older 1/72 toy sometimes had difficulty with.

The YF-21 features numerous sturdy ratchet joints located at the ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders (sideways movement), that do a good job of helping keep the toy upright and balanced. A locking feature is included for the lower legs to prevent them from self-collapsing.

Another neat feature is that both the head cowl and face plate are articulated, which nobody suspected prior to release. Although articulation is fairly limited in this area, it's still great that Yamato thought to add it.

There's even a waist rotation point in Battroid mode. Although the rotation is limited, it's again still a nice touch.

Transformation

Transformation is not too difficult on this toy, especially if you have experience with any of the older transforming YF-21 toys. It is however fairly time-consuming, especially getting it back to fighter mode, with most of the time being spent getting the legs and hands aligned just right, so that the belly plates can lock in place over them.

In Fighter & Gerwalk modes, unlocking the area behind the head (step # 24 in the Fighter to Gerwalk mode section of the instruction manual), is a little scarry and also a bit worrying as the little nub there looks like it coud wear easily. Although I'm not sure what the implications of it wearing are at this time.

Once you’ve done a few transformations and are confident in what you are doing, I reckon a time of 5 minutes (or less) to transform between modes is not unreasonable. I'm currently transforming in sub-5 minute times.

Die-cast metal parts that I have been able to find are the front and rear landing gear struts, hip joint bars, left and right intake bars and the horizontal bar that connects the back section to the intake sections.

Fit

Everything locks together tightly, especially in fighter mode, which is super tight.

The gunpods and FAST Packs also fit very well in all three modes with no chance of them accidentally being knocked off or falling off.

Paint Application

Overall, the fit and finish on the toy is excellent.

Finish is a nice semi-matte, or perhaps that should be semi-gloss, but tending more towards the matte.

Paint application for the yellow, grey and light blue parts is nice and even, with no overspray, smears, runs or other defects. The only area where I can fault the paint job is that one of my rear landing gear tyres had a blob of grey paint on it, which is easily fixed.

Problems

I've had two minor issues with the YF-21 so far. Firstly, I broke off the little tab on the side of the left intake cover, on only the second time removing it. Luckily, I was able to find it and super glue it back on. However, even without the tab, the cover should still stay in place. To be fair, this was likely my fault though as I was probably using too much force and trying to pry it out the wrong way (a case of not RTFM I'm afraid)!

The other issue I found with my YF-21 was that the rear landing gear do not really have a locking mechanism to hold them open and if you push down on the fighter from above, when rolling it on a flat surface, you can quite easily cause the landing gear to self-close.

Conclusion

Yamato have really hit a home run with this toy. Only the most anal of nit-pickers could really find much to fault with it.

Definitely recommended and I’d buy two more if I could afford to!