1/60 YF-19 Gerwalk Locking Chest Mod

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Hi all. This is the first mod I'm really proud of.

As you all know the Yamato Yf-19 can't lock the chest section in Gerwalk nor Battroid modes. For some reason this was specially annoying for me in Gerwalk mode, so while thinking on possible ways to fix this I stumbled with the most obvious solution: I just carved two small slots under the slots that the toy uses to lock the wings in Fighter mode. The slots need to be angled so the chest is in inclined in an anime accurate position when locked in place.

Pics:

Here you can see the slot I've made on each side of the chest section. I've removed the arms to ease the whole process. The whole arm is held by a single screw, so it's a very easy thing to do.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Lonely Soldier Boy

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

Nice mod for the gerwalk mode. -=]

[jenius]

you're smarter than Yamato.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Sorry for the crooked pictures.

Fortunately the section you have to carve is splitted in two parts, the main chest assembly and a little plastic piece under the chest that covers the screw that holds the whole chest section together. This makes the whole process easier.

To remove the small piece from the main chest assembly, you don't have to unscrew anything, just find the seam with an exacto knife and gently slide the piece down.

[Sumdumgai]

Nice mod! I don't have the guts to perform that kind of surgery on my baby though.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Hey! Replies already! Thanks for the kudos, boys.

Here's more pics. As you can see. the mod doesn't restrain the movement of the arms at all and you can hold the Valk from the chest. It stays very firmly, so you can whoosh the Gerwalk around safely.

If you're going to do this mod, just be careful to carve the slots little by little, so they don't end up being too big for the tabs. In any case, the wing roots locking mechanism does most of the job, so you should be fine.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Again, sorry for the crooked pics.

The slots are invisible in fighter mode and almost invisible in Battroid since they're in the "armpits". I'll take pics of Battroid mode later on.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

And one last pic of Gerwalk holding the Fold Booster (I love to pose it this way)

[MechTech]

I don't have one; but great idea! - MT

[promethuem5]

Very impressive... I will most certainly be doing this when my 19 finally goes in for its decal and weathering job... ages from now.

[do not disturb]

you're smarter than Yamato.

quoted for the truth!

anyway, nice mod! i'll try my hand at this one fo sho!

[Mog]

Very nice, LSB!!

Thanks for sharing the mod.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

A quick update before anyone tries this: I've just realized that the swiveling shoulder piece does touch the wing root a bit since the chest mount sits now a bit lower. You can easily fix this sanding down the "armpit" just a little bit. Also do the slots as low as possible.

As I said before, I'm even happier with my 19 now than when I forst got it. Such a great toy. Now I'll try to find an simple way to lock the chest on Battroid too

[big F]

Simple but nice !!

[David Hingtgen]

You know, that's actually identical to how the ORIGINAL YF-19 toy did it. Still surprised Yamato "forgot" how they did it on the old 1/72 one...

[emajnthis]

You know, that's actually identical to how the ORIGINAL YF-19 toy did it. Still surprised Yamato "forgot" how they did it on the old 1/72 one...

It did? I had a 1/72 19A and honestly i didn't put it into Gerwalk mode much (if ever) but i don't really remember if it did or not, i didn't think it had a locking mechanism in gerwalk.

[mechaninac]

This gets my vote for one of the best mods ever; it's sheer genius in its simplicity. I'll have to look into this myself.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Thanks Mechaninac. I've forgot about the 1/72. I hate it so much I just buried it in a box somewhere. But yeah, I'm not much of a modeller, so I looked at the easiest way possible to fix the chest, so the damage wouldn't be so noticeable in case I screw it up.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Lonely Soldier Boy

[Valkyrie addict]

bRILLIAnt!!!

[David Hingtgen]

It did? I had a 1/72 19A and honestly i didn't put it into Gerwalk mode much (if ever) but i don't really remember if it did or not, i didn't think it had a locking mechanism in gerwalk.

The wings won't even attach in GERWALK mode without locking the torso. There's an upper pair, and a lower pair of slots in the sides of the chest. The wings peg into the upper pair in fighter mode, and the lower pair in GERWALK. The chest didn't lock in battroid, but it was diecast/heavy so it wasn't quite so floppy.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

The wings won't even attach in GERWALK mode without locking the torso. There's an upper pair, and a lower pair of slots in the sides of the chest. The wings peg into the upper pair in fighter mode, and the lower pair in GERWALK. The chest didn't lock in battroid, but it was diecast/heavy so it wasn't quite so floppy.

I remember that. So I guess I'm not a genius after all :'( Oh, well, I guess great minds think alike I only wish the 1/72 had a Battroid chest locking mechanism were we could draw inspiration from to fix the 1/60.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Lonely Soldier Boy

[Wicked Ace]

I only wish the 1/72 had a Battroid chest locking mechanism were we could draw inspiration from to fix the 1/60.

I have an idea for a battroid chest locking mechanism. The tab in this pic could be modified into a hook to fit into the diamond-shaped hole.

However, there will still be some movement in the battroid chest area, as is evident in this pic, but the chest section would definitely not completely flop down when the battroid is upside down.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Wicked Ace

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Sounds good. It'd also solve the problem of the underside piece not locking properly wich is also a bummer.

Edit: Hey Wicked Ace, Is that a 19 Stealth custom I see back there?

Edited November 15, 2007 by Lonely Soldier Boy

[eugimon]

hey, this is a great mod, have you shown it to graham? maybe he could get yamato to do this for future release of the yf-19?

[David Hingtgen]

As was mentioned---Yamato has to be well aware of this, as that's how they did it on the original release. Obviously, they just didn't want to or something on the new one.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

No, I haven't. Didn't occur to me until now. Should I PM him?

Edit: David is right, I wonder why Yamato decided not to do it that way this time and rather just leave the chest seat on the pegs.

Edited November 16, 2007 by Lonely Soldier Boy

[lechuck]

Bump

Any progress on the chest lock for battroid mode.

This one major flaw on the YF-19 bugs me to no end, you know.

[do not disturb]

i tried to tackle the chest lock feature for battroid but there just isn't enough plastic or room to work with.

i ended up putting funtac/bluetac(the stuff you use to hang posters) on it and it holds just fine.

it doesn't hurt nor damage the toy, its barely visible, and you can take it on/off without a hassle.

its not much of a solution but its the only one i could come up with, for now anyway.

[Wicked Ace]

Any progress on the chest lock for battroid mode.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to do this mod. The non-locking is not an issue for me.