Surprise!

[ErikElvis]

Well, I just bit the bullet and ordered a "reissue" 1/60 YF19. The one that is suppose to come out right before the Bird of Prey color version. It's landing next week... So, I guess I'll know soon enough.

Do you mean the Isamu version? If they are fixing that one Ill wait to get it.

[Kyp Durron]

So, am I understanding this correctly, the Gamlin VF-22S will be a limited edition and NOT be re-issued?

I guess that makes it a must buy, huh?

-Kyp

[Valkyrie addict]

how much is the gamlin going to cost?!

maybe I should get it and resell it in a couple of years for like 300% it's original pricetag like the lowviz v.1

Edited June 8, 2009 by Valkyrie addict

[logos]

VF-22 is going to be about the same price as a VF-11B. Hobby search lists it at 17,860 yen about 181.04 USD. So it's expensive but I wanted one for so long I won't give it up. Frankly I would sell my YF-21 before that one as I like the look of the VF-22 better.

Edited June 8, 2009 by logos

[Sluff]

Any one have an official release date for all 3?

[Letigre]

Nope, still only June or "late" June, so you can assume they will arrive at/by the end of the month.

VF-22 is going to be about the same price as a VF-11B. Hobby search lists it at 17,860 yen about 181.04 USD. So it's expensive but I wanted one for so long I won't give it up. Frankly I would sell my YF-21 before that one as I like the look of the VF-22 better.

Both would honestly be the last two elements of my collection (or just my "junk" in general) I would sell. The very last..

[macrossfan00]

Is the VF-22 going to be limited as well?

[logos]

That's what some sites are saying. From Overdrive's blog:

Scheduled Release Date: June

As it is a 1000 piece limited item we will not be able to take as many orders as possible so we strongly recommend if you want to purchase the item that you order as soon as possible. We will take new orders if or when we can confirm we will be getting more stock of this item. At the present we may not know until after May 25th if we will be getting any more.

Although I have heard (don't quote me on this cause I'm just pulling it from my sometimes faulty memory) that Yamato might make more if there is enough demand in the orders.

Edited June 8, 2009 by logos

[Letigre]

I personally beleive we would have heard something at this point if they were planning on an extended release.

That said, the last time I looked most stores were still accepting preorders..

Edited June 8, 2009 by Letigre

[Valk009]

So, besides the cockpit, head and colour, are there any further difference between the YF-21 and VF-22S?

I never really had a thing for the YF-21 becuase of the colour but the VF-22S is just one cool looking valk!

Edited June 9, 2009 by Valk009

[Mog]

^^Bellyplates and the battroid face are different, if I remember correctly.

Still have a thing for the -21 though. Being able to use the gunpods in fighter mode has its advantages.

[Bowen]

^^Bellyplates and the battroid face are different, if I remember correctly.

Still have a thing for the -21 though. Being able to use the gunpods in fighter mode has its advantages.

I thought the 22 could do that as well?

[MacrossJunkie]

I thought the 22 could do that as well?

Canonically, yes. Toy-wise, they couldn't get the gunpods to fit inside the gunpod compartment covers. You might be able to remove the covers and attach the gunpods, but you wouldn't be able to put the covers back on over top of them.

[eugimon]

so I placed an order with over-drive and their CC billing system billed me but I never received a confirmation from the webstore and I don't see the order in my account history. I emailed them on it and they said they'd look into it. 24 hours later, no update. So I emailed them again and still no response.

Sad, I placed a duplicate order with HLJ and will have to dispute this charge if I don't hear from them soon.

[jenius]

This doesn't apply to Eugimon but I feel like I should do a PSA after having implemented a credit card/merchant system:

If you ever attempt a transaction, either online or in person, with your credit card and you get either an error message during processing that forces you to resubmit your data or have the person say "Hmm, your card didn't go through, let's try it again" then chances are your credit card's Internet reporting will show TWO transactions. Do NOT panic, this is just something credit card companies do to be conservative (although it sucks because while you are showing two transactions your credit limit is reduced by the amount of a transaction that does not exist). Credit cards show authorization attempts online, not actual sales. It can take up to a week for them to clear authorization attempts that never became sales from your online reporting (although they'll almost always do a check before sending you your legitimate statement). So, if you ever see a double transaction on your Internet reporting, and you remember a failed authorization attempt, wait a week before calling the vendor to find out if they need to refund you money. In most cases, in that span you're waiting to call and complain, the charge you would complain about magically disappears because it never received authorization.

Over the last two years I've had to tell countless people "We only charged the cardholder once, tell them to call back next week if they're still showing two charges" and I don't think I've ever had a single person call back the next week.

[bluemax151]

The uncertainty of the availability of the 22 has forced me to pre-order just in case. I had hoped to wait for a Con to pick it up in person but I'm not going to go through some insane hunting if it turns out really limited just to get my "gamlin kick".

Maybe if this sells well I'll get my M&M from Yamato too!

[logos]

This doesn't apply to Eugimon but I feel like I should do a PSA after having implemented a credit card/merchant system:

If you ever attempt a transaction, either online or in person, with your credit card and you get either an error message during processing that forces you to resubmit your data or have the person say "Hmm, your card didn't go through, let's try it again" then chances are your credit card's Internet reporting will show TWO transactions. Do NOT panic, this is just something credit card companies do to be conservative (although it sucks because while you are showing two transactions your credit limit is reduced by the amount of a transaction that does not exist). Credit cards show authorization attempts online, not actual sales. It can take up to a week for them to clear authorization attempts that never became sales from your online reporting (although they'll almost always do a check before sending you your legitimate statement). So, if you ever see a double transaction on your Internet reporting, and you remember a failed authorization attempt, wait a week before calling the vendor to find out if they need to refund you money. In most cases, in that span you're waiting to call and complain, the charge you would complain about magically disappears because it never received authorization.

Over the last two years I've had to tell countless people "We only charged the cardholder once, tell them to call back next week if they're still showing two charges" and I don't think I've ever had a single person call back the next week.

Yeah it's sad that they promote online billing and management of your credit (because it's faster! ) and sometimes it can take a week or more for a transaction to show up........unlike my online banking that has purchases that seem to show almost before I know I've made them.

Edited June 12, 2009 by logos

[mr.chogokin]

let us know how it is when you get it...

EDIT BY GRAHAM - NOTE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T READ CAREFULLY - DESPITE THE SOMEWHAT CONFUSING (IMO) & REPEATED USE OF THE "BBOP" ACRONYM IN THE REVIEW BELOW, THIS IS NOT A BIRD OF PREY (BOP) REVIEW! IT IS A REVIEW OF THE STANDALONE REISSUE MACROSS PLUS COLOR YF-19

Okay a week has come and gone, I have finally received and handled the latest reissue of the 1/60 YF19, personally I'm not sure how many times have the YF19 been reissued, but I'm aware there has been like a couple of times since the first time the standalone 1/60 YF19 came out, and then the (2nd issue) YF19 bundled with the foldboosters and fastpacks that came after... I'll call this one, the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP).

In this mini review, I will be comparing with the YF19BBOP with the one that came bundled with the foldboosters and fastpacks. There will be no pictures here unfortunately.

Good Parts

Fighter mode - General comparisons visually, they both look the same as far as the molded colors are concerned. On the fighter mode, the YF19BBOP is the same as the 2nd issue YF19 with straight gunpod mounting and the landing gears can deploy and cant properly, it also has minor gaps at the intakes to the main body, and has floppy right cannard like the 2nd version. Not much difference on the fighter mode.

Gerwalk - Upon transformation, you can immediately notice that most of the locks and joints are tighter on the YF19BBOP. Usually we get complaints on how floppy it becomes during transformation, but on the YF19BBOP, things are more bearable this time because I feel they have tightened the ball joints at the hips. But that is all I can find on the gerwalk mode as everything else on the YF19BBOP are the same with the 2nd issue YF19. There are no lockages of the upper body to the nose in the gerwalk mode, everything still relies on gravity to be held in place.

Battroid - Transforming to Battroid mode the YF19BBOP feels the most satisfying because most of the joints here are pleasantly tight, especially on the arms and the hip joints. In other words they don't flop around as soon as you pick him up anymore. The grey plastics on the arms feels as though they are made of a different plastic. The texture is quite different when compared with the 2nd issue YF19. I hope the arms will be sturdy this time. The arms joint articulations that rotate from fighter mode to lock in Battriod are also nicely tightened and lock snugly. The YF19BBOP battroid can hold his gunpod out without dropping the pose the second you let go. The shoulder articulation is the same, but because the nubs at the bottom are more protruded, the shoulders can deploy and lock into place without falling back down at the slightest nudge.

Bad Parts

The packaging at a glance is the same as the first issue box, but upon opening the flap, you notice that the vertical stabilizers are wrapped with a layer of clear plastic laminate to prevent scratches to the paint. So there is no way to tell the differences until you get one.

The separation of the nose from the body is still difficult to do. The two grey plastic tabs still arrive with stressmarks on them. The most difficult thing during transformation is the part where I'm suppose to snap the nose from the neck of the body before separating them. As gentle as I am with it, the nose still snaps loudly; which I hate, and the following motion will make me torc the grey plastic tabs too much. So in the end I sand the offending nubs down on the YF19BBOP, just like I did for the 2nd YF19. They now "click!" like flicking open a Zippo cover instead of that trademark Yamato's loud snapping unlockage of parts.

No locking chest on Battroid. Although I swear they did make the whole chest housing clamp down a bit harder on the nose this time, the result is at best inconsistent. I have tried to pick the battroid YF19BBOP up at the chest at several occasions, the chest still comes off most of the time. So I don't consider that any improvements has been made in this department.

The left wing with swivel (not the wing root at the intake) which is loose on my 2nd YF19, is even more looser on the YF19BBOP, although this bothers me the least, I'd still like everything on the YF19BBOP to be a good fix or improvement more than a status quo or worsening of the original condition.

Over-glueing and the glueing shut of parts still persist in the YF19BBOP, the first YF19BBOP I got came with his right shoulder glued down and was impossible deploy properly in Battroid mode. I returned it to get a new one. Some one in Yamato has to read this and get their people to stop with the glueing, because it's annoying for not being able to fix stuff that they didn't assemble properly.

So there you go. My take on the YF19BBOP versus the 2nd issue YF19. This YF19BBOP is what I got and used in this review after I took the first YF19BBOP that I brought back to the shop because his right shoulder is over glued and got stuck during transformation..., although this is in no way a good representation of the YF19BBOP's quality as Yamato intended, the undesirable luck of the draw that is synonymous with Yamato products is still there. But if you are buying the Bird of Prey and the Double Nuts, you should expect the same thing if not better. Good luck!

Edited June 16, 2009 by Graham

[m0n5t3r]

thanks for the review... guess i won't be getting anymore re-paints of this 1/60 YF-19 mold.

[Graham]

Photos please!

Graham

[eugimon]

Well, finally got confirmation from Over-drive that my order was indeed lost and I'm to be refunded. I would have appreciated a coupon or discount or something but I'm just happy HLJ was still taking orders for the gamlin vf-22.

[Graham]

Okay a week has come and gone, I have finally received and handled the latest reissue of the 1/60 YF19, personally I'm not sure how many times have the YF19 been reissued, but I'm aware there has been like a couple of times since the first time the standalone 1/60 YF19 came out, and then the (2nd issue) YF19 bundled with the foldboosters and fastpacks that came after... I'll call this one, the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP).

In this mini review, I will be comparing with the YF19BBOP with the one that came bundled with the foldboosters and fastpacks. There will be no pictures here unfortunately.

Good Parts

Fighter mode - General comparisons visually, they both look the same as far as the molded colors are concerned. On the fighter mode, the YF19BBOP is the same as the 2nd issue YF19 with straight gunpod mounting and the landing gears can deploy and cant properly, it also has minor gaps at the intakes to the main body, and has floppy right cannard like the 2nd version. Not much difference on the fighter mode.

Gerwalk - Upon transformation, you can immediately notice that most of the locks and joints are tighter on the YF19BBOP. Usually we get complaints on how floppy it becomes during transformation, but on the YF19BBOP, things are more bearable this time because I feel they have tightened the ball joints at the hips. But that is all I can find on the gerwalk mode as everything else on the YF19BBOP are the same with the 2nd issue YF19. There are no lockages of the upper body to the nose in the gerwalk mode, everything still relies on gravity to be held in place.

Battroid - Transforming to Battroid mode the YF19BBOP feels the most satisfying because most of the joints here are pleasantly tight, especially on the arms and the hip joints. In other words they don't flop around as soon as you pick him up anymore. The grey plastics on the arms feels as though they are made of a different plastic. The texture is quite different when compared with the 2nd issue YF19. I hope the arms will be sturdy this time. The arms joint articulations that rotate from fighter mode to lock in Battriod are also nicely tightened and lock snugly. The YF19BBOP battroid can hold his gunpod out without dropping the pose the second you let go. The shoulder articulation is the same, but because the nubs at the bottom are more protruded, the shoulders can deploy and lock into place without falling back down at the slightest nudge.

Bad Parts

The packaging at a glance is the same as the first issue box, but upon opening the flap, you notice that the vertical stabilizers are wrapped with a layer of clear plastic laminate to prevent scratches to the paint. So there is no way to tell the differences until you get one.

The separation of the nose from the body is still difficult to do. The two grey plastic tabs still arrive with stressmarks on them. The most difficult thing during transformation is the part where I'm suppose to snap the nose from the neck of the body before separating them. As gentle as I am with it, the nose still snaps loudly; which I hate, and the following motion will make me torc the grey plastic tabs too much. So in the end I sand the offending nubs down on the YF19BBOP, just like I did for the 2nd YF19. They now "click!" like flicking open a Zippo cover instead of that trademark Yamato's loud snapping unlockage of parts.

No locking chest on Battroid. Although I swear they did make the whole chest housing clamp down a bit harder on the nose this time, the result is at best inconsistent. I have tried to pick the battroid YF19BBOP up at the chest at several occasions, the chest still comes off most of the time. So I don't consider that any improvements has been made in this department.

The left wing with swivel (not the wing root at the intake) which is loose on my 2nd YF19, is even more looser on the YF19BBOP, although this bothers me the least, I'd still like everything on the YF19BBOP to be a good fix or improvement more than a status quo or worsening of the original condition.

Over-glueing and the glueing shut of parts still persist in the YF19BBOP, the first YF19BBOP I got came with his right shoulder glued down and was impossible deploy properly in Battroid mode. I returned it to get a new one. Some one in Yamato has to read this and get their people to stop with the glueing, because it's annoying for not being able to fix stuff that they didn't assemble properly.

So there you go. My take on the YF19BBOP versus the 2nd issue YF19. This YF19BBOP is what I got and used in this review after I took the first YF19BBOP that I brought back to the shop because his right shoulder is over glued and got stuck during transformation..., although this is in no way a good representation of the YF19BBOP's quality as Yamato intended, the undesirable luck of the draw that is synonymous with Yamato products is still there. But if you are buying the Bird of Prey and the Double Nuts, you should expect the same thing if not better. Good luck!

OK, how many of you got confused/fooled by thinking this was a Bird of Prey (BOP) review?

On first reading I thought the reviewer was reviewing the new Yamato YF-19 Bird of Prey (BOP) paint varient!

I admit it's my fault for not reading the initial paragraphs closely enough, especially the authors use of the BBOP acroynym, I thought he was reviewing the Bird of Prey.

Hopefully, you all read a lot more carefully than me, but I'm going to edit the reviewers post to indicate that it is not a Bird of Prey (BOP) review.

Graham

[mr.chogokin]

I did mention that I'll call it the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP) from the start. I also referred to it as "the latest reissue of YF-19". I don't understand how it can be misunderstood.

Right, attached here is just a simple comparison photo of the differences so you'll know what to expect in the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP).

Edited to correct a typo in picture!

Edited June 16, 2009 by mr.chogokin

[wolfx]

Yeah i had no issue with the BBOP acronym. Its mentioned in the review that he's reviewing the latest release of the original isamu YF-19.

[blacklotus]

I did mention that I'll call it the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP) from the start. I also referred to it as "the latest reissue of YF-19". I don't understand how it can be misunderstood.

Right, attached here is just a simple comparison photo of the differences so you'll know what to expect in the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP).

Edited to correct a typo in picture!

Thanks for the review and the pictures. I ordered my 1st Valk/mecha in almost 3 years - the black YF-19 25th anni version that was on sale at HLJ.

Guess I will wait for more reviews about the BBOP version from fellow Macross fans before I get an anime color scheme YF-19. Cash is tight anyway. Need to save up for a pair of rumoured 1/60 Monsters or the equally expensive 1/2000 SDF.

[Graham]

Well, if I can read it the wrong way, others might.

Usually, I just skim through posts, as there’s a lot to read everyday and only really read something carefully if it’s of interest to me.

When I read this review yesterday, I skimmed through the first 2 paragraphs, saw the “BBOP” and assumed (wrongly), it was a review of the new Yamato BOP. I then looked online to see if the toy was out already and also went out to physically check some retail shops for it, as I was surprised it was out already (which it is not). When I reread the review today, I finally realized it was not about the new BOP.

Anyway, as a rule of thumb, it’s probably not such a good idea to post a review of an existing older product which has been out a while already in a thread about upcoming new repaints and give the older product a made up acronym, which is almost identical (only 1 letter different), to the upcoming new product.

Also, IMO, comparing a product which is not even released yet to an older product is perhaps not really fair on the upcoming product as we have been promised improvements, specifically tighter joints and as yet, we have no idea how much of an improvement these are going to be.

Also, I should slow down a bit when I read.

Graham

[mr.chogokin]

I don't blame you. It's not like these reissues were announced with fanfare or something.

[sharky]

Shouldn't it have been BTBOP?

[Kicker773]

I don't even know which one i have considering that i have 3 YF19 combo's with the FP boxes and 2x25th Anniversary YF19, and 5x1st Ed YF19.. crap now that i think about I might have too many YF19's.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Yeah i had no issue with the BBOP acronym. Its mentioned in the review that he's reviewing the latest release of the original isamu YF-19.

Same here, he was just pointing out that this latest reissue is a sign of things to expect when the BBOP comes out, as revisions were made since the last reissue.

The improvements sound good.

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, I'm lost. Why is the next YF-19 going to be called "Bird Of Prey"?

[anime52k8]

Ok, I'm lost. Why is the next YF-19 going to be called "Bird Of Prey"?

because yamato decided to call the black orange and white recolor of the YF-19 "bird of prey"?

Edited June 16, 2009 by anime52k8

[Letigre]

I'm really gettimg to be anxious to see my VF-22S. iIt keeps popping up weekly on the Hobby search newsletter under coming soon- with still no actual date of arrival.

Strangely enough neither of the YF-19's are listed with it though.

[blacklotus]

I don't even know which one i have considering that i have 3 YF19 combo's with the FP boxes and 2x25th Anniversary YF19, and 5x1st Ed YF19.. crap now that i think about I might have too many YF19's.

Wow. Ok, I got to ask: How's the quality of the 25th Anni YF-19? Any serious issues/stress marks/breakages? Thanks. I just ordered one from HLJ Yamato sales. Since it's released 1 year after the anime YF19, I hope Yamato did fix up any serious issues. Thanks for any info provided.

[VF5SS]

Check out my YF-19 25th anniversary review.