The 2nd coming of the YF-19, Part 2

[isamu_dyson]

[...]

I get the impression that unlike the SHE and first Yamato, the new one has the neck cover as being the back of the neck in battroid mode, rather than being a separate collar behind the neck. With the different torso transformation, the area behind the neck is quite different, and may not even need a separate piece to fill in the gap in battroid mode.

i've got the save impression. the all thing rotade simply, no need to have separate piece this time.

[David Hingtgen]

Well, the first one had the entire (heavy, diecast) wingroot supported only by a tab at the front. This one has the much lighter plastic wings supported by a tab at the front and one at the back. So hopefully the tabs will be under a lot less stress. However, the first one was "metal tabs of a metal wingroot going into metal slots"--so they were very strong. (And an absolute utter b*tch to transform---about 50% of the YF-19 transformation stress (both mine and the toy's) came from those two wingroot tabs---with the chest tabs being the other 50%)

Also--looking closely at GERWALK mode pics, it looks like the new one does NOT have the forward tabs attach to the chest sides in GERWALK mode. Which makes me wonder how the wings are staying in place, with none of the tabs locked in. Very stiff wingroot-to-hip joint? Also makes me wonder how the torso stays elevated like that.

[jenius]

Is there any way, or anyone, who has ever designed a YF-19 that could rotate at the waist? Is it truly impossible? I'm not talking full rotation, maybe just a little bit of pivot in either direction?

[eugimon]

I don't see why not since "rare earth magnets" are used in everything from iPods to harddrives to speakers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Neodymi...ing_spheres.jpg

huh. interesting. I wonder if something that small would have enough energy to hold something in place.

[Graham]

the one thing about this toy that really worries me is that the small tab located near the end of the wing root that connects to the lower leg in fighter mode might break due to stress, since it is very similar to the way the wing connects to the lower leg on the old bandai 1/100 scale model, and since i used to have one i can tell by experience that it seems fragile, unless they use harder plastic material. Graham, do you know if that part can resist easely multiple transformations or will it wear down?

Bear in mind that at 1/60 scale, that tab is actually a decent size. It's certainly not as small and fragile as the tiny tab on the Bandai VF-19Kai/S/F kits, which is extremely prone to breakage. Different materials as well. Stronger toy-grade ABS on the Yamato, fragile model-grade styrene plastic on the Bandai kit. I wouldn't worry about it.

Graham

[Lord of Tetris]

I'm so sorry to be asking n00b questions like this, but this is sometihng that isn't obvious to someone who doesn't know the size of these fighter planes, in canon. How big is this toy going to be?

I'm aware that this is 1/60, and I'm aware that the 1/48 VF-1 and 1/60 VF-0 are the same size because the VF-0 is a big plane, but how big exactly is the 1/60 YF-19?

EG, is this toy going to be able to look at the 1/48 VF-1 in the eye? Will it be as big as the 1/60 VF-0? Or is it going to be as short as the 1/60 VF-1?

[Sumdumgai]

The YF-19 and VF-0 are a similar size at 1/1 scale. They're both big planes. I dunno for battroid mode, but you know you could always go over and compare stats on the Macross Compendium.

[myk]

is this toy going to be able to look at the 1/48 VF-1 in the eye?

Do you mean literally, or figuratively? As far as I'm concerned the 60's are back in fashion in a major way. The '48s are so yesterday...

[kensei]

But more solid. In terms of durability and ease of transformation, the 1/48 VF-1 wins over the VF-0.

[Scream Man]

u think so? i dunno, I havent had to many probs with my 0 in terms of transform issues. the heat shield doesnt pop out like the 48s do, theres no flaps to knock of etc etc...

[mechaninac]

u think so? i dunno, I havent had to many probs with my 0 in terms of transform issues. the heat shield doesnt pop out like the 48s do, theres no flaps to knock of etc etc...

That's true. No flaps, or removable nose cone means nothing gets knocked off during transformations, although I've never had a heat shield pop off, yet. However, I haven't been able to transform my VF-0S back to fighter mode without having the front of the attached gun pod dragging the ground like a gorilla dragging its knuckles; I've never had this problem with the 1/48... the gun pod clears by more than 4 mm at its lowest point (fins), and the legs lock with the backpack solidly, unlike the VF-0S which won't lock at all even with everything properly aligned.

[ghostryder]

The 1/48 was (is) the pinnacle of mastergrade toys that are still fun to transform and play with. I like the zeros for their detail and lineart-accuracy, but I probably won't get another after the 0A. My 0S never really got played with after a few transformations.

If the YF-19 has the same issues with pain-in-the-a$$ tranformation, loose-fitting connections, and delicate parts, I'd be reluctant to get one, esp. since I am not too keen on the looks of the fighter mode. It's just too much money for a static display piece. I'd rather get a good airbrush/compressor and get back into modeling.

[kensei]

The thing is, it's a completely different style of transformation in the larger scale toys as we know it. I am definitely not going to assume that it's like any of it's predecessors. It will be interesting to wait and see.

Edited September 21, 2006 by kensei

[mechaninac]

That's the way I'm looking at it this time around... wait and see. There is absolutely no way I'm going to pre-order the YF-19 on faith alone. At an average of $200 USD w/shipping, I want to be absolutely sure that there are no design issues with it. Glowing reviews and near absolute lack of defects of any kind will determine whether or not I buy one.

[kensei]

I'm taking the dive. I will buy one. then I will buy the rest of what I want. It's more safer. It's not like they will run out of stock in the first week. It might mean waiting for like a month to restock, but that's about it.

[do not disturb]

huh. interesting. I wonder if something that small would have enough energy to hold something in place.

yes!

i've used the rare earth magnets to solve the froppy arm problem with the FP'ed 1/48 way back when. i installed them within the legs and arm armors. heres the thread....

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...;hl=floppy+arms

since then i've made some slight modifications to it, i installed a total 6 magnets so it holds even tighter and more flush than before. 2 mags in the legs, 4 within the FP arm armor, so now even if you try to pull the arms down, it goes right back to the correct position.

now back to the topic at hand...

for the price tag, i hope they include some kind of accessories. right now they only thing that it comes with is a pilot figure and gunpod. and making some legs FP's with a couple of magnets with no details doesn't count either. if it opens up like the 1/48 leg armors, cool. if its just a piece of plastic like the 1/72 11B leg armor, i wouldn't even bother.

[JELEINEN]

Odd. I found the 0 to be much easier to transform. Getting the arms on the 1/48 to stay in place in fighter mode is a major pain in the rear.

[Lord of Tetris]

I don't have a 1/48 VF-1, but I do have a 1/60 VF-0. I both LOVE the thing and hate it. I like that it's more-or-less the same size as the VF-1. I like its detail and how accurate it is to the show.

I hate transforming it. Hard as hell to transform, and to this day I STILL haven't gotten it back perfectly into fighter mode. SOMETHING is always mis-aligned, be it the legs, backpack, backpack fins, etc.

So, uh, back to my original question, of whether the 1/60 YF-19 can look the VF-1 or VF-0 in the eye, I meant it *LITERALLY*

Like, when they're standing on the shelves, are they relatively going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder? Or is the VF-0 going to do THIS to the YF-19:

http://www.fantofan.jp/news/mag/hyperhobby/hh10-4.jpg

(Sorry, dont know how to paste pictures)

[dizman]

To my knowledge (which is very limited) the 1/60 VF-0 should stand eye to eye so to speak in battroid mode. On a different note, WHOA! Poor starscream is gonna be that small compared to prime, that sucks.

[ghostryder]

From macrossnexus thread -

"In other news, I've been told that in fighter mode, the 1/60 YF-19 is actually slightly longer than the 1/60 VF-0S, by about 10mm. However, in battroid mode, due to the way the YF-19's torso transforms, the battroid mode is about 1 inch shorter than the VF-0S. - Graham"

[Lord of Tetris]

^^^Eh. Close enough. That's...not...too bad. As long as it's not a HUGE size disparity (a la Optimus and Starscream), I'll be happy. I WOULD, however, like to see comparison shots with the YF-19 with the other valkyries, to get an idea of how big it'll be.

[Scream Man]

I doubt we'll see that till the reviews start hitting.

boy the VF-1 really was a midget of a fighter wasnt it?

[Graham]

I have a nice comparison photo of the YF-19 Battroid standing between a 1/60 VF-0S and a 1/48 VF-1. Unfortunately, I'm not cleared to show it.

Graham

[David Hingtgen]

Could you just draw a stick figure version? All we need is comparative head heights.

[wolfx]

So end of the month is coming.....the hobby mags showing anything new yet?

[Ignacio Ocamica]

So end of the month is coming.....the hobby mags showing anything new yet?

I could kill for new pics, can't get enough.

I demand my YF-19 now!!! Can't wait any longer I already preordered and paid for mine.

I'm very impatient and hate the phrase "if you waited so many years you can wait a couple of months more"

Rant mode off

[promethuem5]

Could you just draw a stick figure version? All we need is comparative head heights.

Yeah, really.... expecially after such a tease comment....

[Graham]

So end of the month is coming.....the hobby mags showing anything new yet?

Hobby mags come out on 25th of each month.

Graham

[Nani?!]

so that means we'll see more pics in about 3 days. NICE!

Graham, do you know if they changed the colors any yet?

[Graham]

I don't know yet. I did talk with them 2 days ago, but I forgot to ask.........sorry!

Graham

[aaajin]

aaaAAAAaaAAAAAAAAaaaa

[Nani?!]

As always Graham, thanks for the good work~

Those pics look awesome.

The hinging shoulders, beautiful shots of the gerwalk.

Awesome.

looking forward to the ghost for the vf-0a and the fold booster as well~

[EXO]

that gap between the nose and the top of the chest in battroid is not there in the resin samples, so I wont worry about... I wont worry enough to even post about it...

[Graham]

The November hobby magazines are out a few days early. Just picked them up.

As it's shown in the magazines, I can now reveal one of the hidden features of the YF-19 that I've previously alluded to.............

Upward hinging shoulders, to make the battroid more accurate to Kawamori's line art!

Also note, the CAD pic of the upcoming Fold Booster & FAST Packs for the YF-19 and the Ghost Booster for the VF-0 (that we've already seen). Not final colors!

I'll get a better scan up at the weekend.

Graham

[Graham]

Bigger version of the same pic, showing the upwards hinging shoulders.

Click thumbnail to enlarge

Graham