Meeting with Yamato Jan 11, 2010

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Good catch David, I will mention to Yamato.

A VF-0D would be at least 60% new tooling if not more.

Graham

Bandai really hates the VF-171? The VF-171 looks awesome to me! Definitely deserved more screentime!

Also Graham, is it possible for Yamato to make the VF-0B? I LOVE 2 seater valks, and the Hasegawa Space Proving Wing VF-0B looks great. I'd LOVE to have a 1/60 version. Hey speaking of which, is Yamato planning to rerelease the VF-0A and VF-0S this year?

EDIT also, grey or white I don't care what color the shoulder hinges come in so long as they are fixed!

Edited January 12, 2010 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[BlueMax]

Javabean and GGemini: I thought the same way as well.

[khyron_99]

Thanks for the news!

If I read your signature correctly... we'll be finally getting the 17!!!!!

Very likely

[Javabean]

VF-171 might be out of question as Bandai still holding on Frontier licence. I say M7 release such as VF-17 hv higher chances, since after we seen Gamrin, M&M VF-22s releases.

[Omegablue]

If the mirror tint is no longer to be used on the canopies, then wouldn't a slightly smoke type of plastic be a better option than a dull clear transparent finish?

[geepogi]

Thanks for sharing this information Graham.

I hope that they will not release anymore vf-1 variants until

they are able to either thicken the shoulder or change it to a

different material altogether. I also hope that the new shoulders

will be compatible to the old so we can have a permanent fix

to our cracked models.

My guess is the vf-4 and the vf-0D. Aside from them being my

choice , but the long waiting time means that the new

releases will be quite hard to engineer.

[bluemax151]

1. For the Hikaru VF-1J with GBP-1S Armour set fiasco. All I can say is this is stupidity on Yamato's part. There had been no reported cases of the first run of VF-1J Hikaru's cracking, so Yamato assumed they would be OK. I explained to them that even sitting in storage or display and not being touched, the knurled pin will stress the plastic of the shoulder hinge and cause it to crack. Yamato sincerely apologies for this and promise greater availability of spares through OverDrive and elsewhere (see above).

Graham

Thanks, I'll wait for the rerelease with fixed arms/pins.

[Graham]

Guys, just removed the non-shoulder related info at the request of our patron. Sometimes they are a little sensitive about what I can/can't say.

I think most of you have read it anyway by now, so no big loss. However, anybody repasting the removed info into a post will have the post deleted ok, so don't.

Graham

[Graham]

If the mirror tint is no longer to be used on the canopies, then wouldn't a slightly smoke type of plastic be a better option than a dull clear transparent finish?

Smoke, or grety tint finish was actually discussed last night.

Graham

[VFTF1]

I'd be very happy with the VF-17 - hopefully it'll be Gamlin. It's a radically different model from what they've done up to now.

This might be me being late but - coul Yamato be bothered to also make some figures of the human cast from DYRL at least? They make great statues from other anime...why not DYRL?

Or - even better - their super poseable Queen's Blade figure shows they can also make excellent poseable figures - once again - could we get something like that from DYRL?

I do remember the Minmey doll they made - but I don't know if many people were keen on it, since the doll body was not anime accurate sculpted but rather just a standard doll body.

I'm sure they can do better.

Would be nice if they could hear that there's big demand for human figures too.

Pete

[David Hingtgen]

Someone had already quoted the info in their post, so I had to remove it.

[mickyg]

I'm always a little late to the party it seems... Oh well, I like surprises!

It's already been said, but I'd like to echo others sentiments and say thanks Graham for going to bat for everyone. Can't wait to see what's in the pipeline when it's "officially" announced.

[hutch]

I'm sticking with M7 and saying it's VF-17 and VF-19.

Both of which would be AWESOME.

Now if Bandai would just make a 171!!

Edited January 12, 2010 by hutch

[thankheaven]

With the M&M VF-22's and the VF-11C coming, yamato is on the roll with M7. So its likely that atleast one new VF would be from M7.

My bet is one from M7 and one from something else (VF-0D, VF-4, VF-2SS)

Edited January 12, 2010 by thankheaven

[Omegablue]

I think it's the VF-0D.

[Vi-RS]

Smoke, or grety tint finish was actually discussed last night.

Graham

light tint on the canopy is a good move.

Thanks Graham.

wow this V2 is constantly evolving.

V2.0 - original release

V2.1 - new shoulder pin

V2.2 - new crotch system

V2.3 - possibly a light ting on canopy

V2.4 - possibly a better and thicker shoulder hinge

With regards to the new anniversary VF-1S Roy and Hikaru that comes with torchlight, it's new production with new shoulder pin, but it came with old crotch system. I am guessing they are clearing the existing parts, so these are actually new assembled toy with new pins from old parts?

The new unpainted Albino VF-1S is having old crotch as well, only low viz VF-1S and 2 seaters have to be newly casted since these have color other than white, so these all come with new crotch.

I guess they still have lots of old mold parts in white color, so when is the cut off point until all white color old crotch molded parts are clear off from production line?

Edited January 12, 2010 by Vi-RS

[VFTF1]

Graham wrote:

And Yamato have made a firm comitment to create the world's first 1:1 scale fully operation Minmey Idol android based on her design from the new Macross The First Manga. She sings, she cleans, she cooks and she does a lot of other great things... Get your divorce papers rolling. If you start your divorce proceedures now, you should be free of your wives just in time for the 1:1 Minmey Android to hit the market in 4Q of 2011!

Pete

Engaged in Wishful Thinking Again...

[Chronocidal]

Nice to hear about the shoulders, I'll look forward to getting those fixed. Canopy tint, meh.. I never really cared one way or the other, it just looks ugly when it starts flaking away.

Hmmm.. You know, I've been looking at the VF-17 and VF-171 recently, and they aren't that different. The shape of the tails, wings and nose changed, but it's the same transformation overall.

With Yamato's love of sleek fighter modes, if they actually do make a VF-17, it might wind up looking close enough to the VF-171 to just paint it up, and call it a day.

Maybe if they make a VF-17 and it sells, Bandai will change their minds about the VF-171. Or, heck, I never was a huge fan of the M7 VF-17, it always looked kinda stubby to me. I doubt it would happen, but it'd be funny if they just decided to retcon the VF-17 to look more like the VF-171, just with a few subtle differences.

I do hope we see a VF-4 or VF-0D, but oh the possibilities. Given the M7 license, there're a lot of options to be explored.

I kind of think we'd see the VF-17 first, since Bandai has their VF-19 coming. But considering they already did the YF-19 and VF-11... it would require a lot of new molding, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to do a Fire Valk and MAXL. I dunno how the licensing would work on those though, even if they are in a different scale than Bandai's.

Probably the easiest thing to do though: VF-11D Jamming Bird. It's just a VF-11C with a bigger nose, booster/sound packs, and a new head. Since the nose unit is a self contained piece, and folds down over the front without really attaching to anything, the existing VF-11 transformation wouldn't have to change much, if at all. You'd just need to figure out some way to do the double cockpit shield, which given the bigger nose, might not be impossible.

[thankheaven]

Jamming Birds would be awesome, im a sucker for 2-seater's.

And like someone said earlier a VF-0B Space Proving wing would be cool too. Perhaps it could come with a M0 ghost fighter painted in red to match up. And some extra NATO weapons.

[nexxstrait]

I hope for a VF2SS/AJ type or a VF19 Fire valkyrie.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Looks like I'm a little late to the party. Someone want to PM me the stuff that was removed?

[OmegaD3k]

Thanks for the great news!

Three cheers for Yamato, for doing something about those pins! Sounds like somebody in the factory is going to get some heat over this...

Maybe now the toy forum won't be spammed with dozens of cracked shoulder topics - and we can browse all other Yamato related topics without constantly bumping into a QC related whine fest. =P

Even though the new valk will probably be from Mac7 (BOMBA!!), I would much rather welcome a VF-2, or better yet, a VF-4. :]

Either way, looking forward to any new valks on the horizon!

[MacrossMan]

So glad i have been tied up with other projects and haven't picked up many of the new 1/60's; especially the Super O and Elintseeker. Hopefully by the time I pick these up they will all be fresh stock with the appropriate fixes.

[Kyp Durron]

Smoke, or grety tint finish was actually discussed last night.

Graham

Any idea as to when this will be implemented into the current VF-1's that are out now? Makes me glad that the only one of these VF-1's I have is my first edition Roy 1S, lol.

-Kyp

[derex3592]

Little late to the thread party here but, just want to give a BIG shout out to Graham for actually talking to, and seamingly getting results from Yamato on these issues. It is really great to have someone who can do this for all of us. Especially us Americans who are so far away.....Bummer about the Destroids and enemy mecha, but maybe someday. I still have faith in this company as a high end toy provider, just look at that 1:24 scale Patlabor Police robot they put out last year... I think that shows what this company is truly capable of producing.

Thanks again Graham...

[brenttoyou]

Cheers to Graham indeed. Glad yamato is going to fix the shoulder for good (hopefully). Right now I have six 2.0 VF-1. Up till now I am one of the lucky few that don't have a cracked shoulder yet (even though there are stress marks on my 1S and i haven't checked hikura 1a yet).

[David Hingtgen]

Stress marks WILL turn into cracks. (also, if you have one shoulder that's cracked, the other WILL crack eventually).

[eugimon]

I don't know about that. The other shoulder on my vf-1s roy is fine.

[David Hingtgen]

So said all the people who voted "mine's fine" on our earlier poll, only to ask that their vote be changed to "broken" a few months later.

[Funkenstein]

Yamato doesn't have the license for the VF-2SS do they?

[eugimon]

So said all the people who voted "mine's fine" on our earlier poll, only to ask that their vote be changed to "broken" a few months later.

maybe, but I still pose my roy 1s all the time and it still hasn't cracked, neither have any of my other knurled pin vf-1's.

[Vi-RS]

maybe, but I still pose my roy 1s all the time and it still hasn't cracked, neither have any of my other knurled pin vf-1's.

me too, touch wood.

[Vegas]

So said all the people who voted "mine's fine" on our earlier poll, only to ask that their vote be changed to "broken" a few months later.

mine happened a year later

[eugimon]

mine happened a year later

I'm not saying it won't happen or can't happen, but I've had roy vf-1s since launch day and the other shoulder is going strong.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Awesome Graham, you really are a top guy! Thanks man!