I hope they make a hi-metal YF-19

[onnasake]

My first post...sorry for being long-winded...I just wanted to illustrate my long, unconsummated love affair with the YF-19.

I first saw "Macross Plus" during my junior year of college...the anime club projected the VHS tape on the big screen at one of the auditoriums on campus. Must have been about 1998. I was blown away!

First thing I did after I saw it was go hlj.com to see if there were any toys of that gorgeous mecha, the YF-19. All I found was a ridiculously expensive garage kit by Studio Half Eye. Looked fantastic, but pricey as hell, and I have ZERO modeling skills. Too bad. I'd have loved to have a toy of the YF-19.

I think it was sometime around summer '99 that I saw a story in Toyfare magazine, announcing the release of the Macross Plus planes. They were going to be made in Japan by a company called YAMATO but released state-side. No prices were given, but it was a good bet it would be cheaper than the garage kit, and plus, these were supposed to be good old-fashioned TOYS, with plastic and die-cast metal. Looked awesome!

But it was never released in the States. I am still not sure why. I guess the deal fell through. So now this amazing YF-19 is a Japanese exclusive. And I'm pretty sure it retailed for about $100!

In the fall of 2001 I moved to Japan with my then-girlfriend. (Big mistake, but that's not the point of this story.) I searched Akihabara high and low for the mighty YF-19, but all I ever saw was the infinitely less-desirable BLUE repaint, which had just been released. I didn't want a BLUE toy...I wanted the one that looked JUST LIKE the anime! I saw it once....in a display case..."not for sale."

I left Japan and forgot my dreams of the YF-19.....although I'd occasionally check ebay to see how much they were going for. Too much.

I returned to Japan in 2004 without a girlfriend. Much better decision. I would see the toy sometimes in Akihabara, but it was always out of my price range. I once saw it for only $70 or so, but a sticker warned that it was "used and broken." Not good enough.

Finally in 2006, I was delighted to see that Yammato was revisiting the wonderful YF-19 in it's original colors. In a new scale no less! This was bigger, badder, and even had a little pilot figure in the cockpit! It also retailed for almost $200....and teaching English in Japan doesn't pay what it used to. I'd torture myself by looking at it in the store....always looking, but never buying. Got even worse when they added the fast pack and the figure. I love the idea of the plane being able to hold the two tiny pilots in the cockpit. For some reason, details like that on toys really impress me.

I never got it. It was always too expensive, just out of my reach, and when it all comes down to it....it's just plain too BIG. I live in a very tiny room...I don't have room for a toy THAT big...it just looks cumbersome.

But it's been over a decade now....I still want a toy of the YF-19 as it appeared in the anime. A few months back I was in my local toy shop and saw the VF-19 from BanDai. "Hi Metal" it was called.

Man...it looked fantastic....great detail, nice compact size, but big enough to have some substance...and even a tiny little pilot figure!

If BanDai makes the YF-19 in the hi-metal series, I will FINALLY finally have the toy I've been wanting since I first saw Macross Plus all those years ago!! It would be EXACTLY what I had always hoped for!!

Hopefully...they WILL make this toy....I suppose it's just a matter of "when?" Any insiders know if such a thing is in the works?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

My first post...sorry for being long-winded...I just wanted to illustrate my long, unconsummated love affair with the YF-19.

I first saw "Macross Plus" during my junior year of college...the anime club projected the VHS tape on the big screen at one of the auditoriums on campus. Must have been about 1998. I was blown away!

First thing I did after I saw it was go hlj.com to see if there were any toys of that gorgeous mecha, the YF-19. All I found was a ridiculously expensive garage kit by Studio Half Eye. Looked fantastic, but pricey as hell, and I have ZERO modeling skills. Too bad. I'd have loved to have a toy of the YF-19.

I think it was sometime around summer '99 that I saw a story in Toyfare magazine, announcing the release of the Macross Plus planes. They were going to be made in Japan by a company called YAMATO but released state-side. No prices were given, but it was a good bet it would be cheaper than the garage kit, and plus, these were supposed to be good old-fashioned TOYS, with plastic and die-cast metal. Looked awesome!

But it was never released in the States. I am still not sure why. I guess the deal fell through. So now this amazing YF-19 is a Japanese exclusive. And I'm pretty sure it retailed for about $100!

In the fall of 2001 I moved to Japan with my then-girlfriend. (Big mistake, but that's not the point of this story.) I searched Akihabara high and low for the mighty YF-19, but all I ever saw was the infinitely less-desirable BLUE repaint, which had just been released. I didn't want a BLUE toy...I wanted the one that looked JUST LIKE the anime! I saw it once....in a display case..."not for sale."

I left Japan and forgot my dreams of the YF-19.....although I'd occasionally check ebay to see how much they were going for. Too much.

I returned to Japan in 2004 without a girlfriend. Much better decision. I would see the toy sometimes in Akihabara, but it was always out of my price range. I once saw it for only $70 or so, but a sticker warned that it was "used and broken." Not good enough.

Finally in 2006, I was delighted to see that Yammato was revisiting the wonderful YF-19 in it's original colors. In a new scale no less! This was bigger, badder, and even had a little pilot figure in the cockpit! It also retailed for almost $200....and teaching English in Japan doesn't pay what it used to. I'd torture myself by looking at it in the store....always looking, but never buying. Got even worse when they added the fast pack and the figure. I love the idea of the plane being able to hold the two tiny pilots in the cockpit. For some reason, details like that on toys really impress me.

I never got it. It was always too expensive, just out of my reach, and when it all comes down to it....it's just plain too BIG. I live in a very tiny room...I don't have room for a toy THAT big...it just looks cumbersome.

But it's been over a decade now....I still want a toy of the YF-19 as it appeared in the anime. A few months back I was in my local toy shop and saw the VF-19 from BanDai. "Hi Metal" it was called.

Man...it looked fantastic....great detail, nice compact size, but big enough to have some substance...and even a tiny little pilot figure!

If BanDai makes the YF-19 in the hi-metal series, I will FINALLY finally have the toy I've been wanting since I first saw Macross Plus all those years ago!! It would be EXACTLY what I had always hoped for!!

Hopefully...they WILL make this toy....I suppose it's just a matter of "when?" Any insiders know if such a thing is in the works?

It's been hinted at/mentioned at Tamashii's site, around the same time they were 1st time they alluded to the Blazer Valkyrie. They also have a YF-21 in the works which has been shown in Japanese magazines(resin proto). I think we will see the 19 either by winter or early next year, maybe the 21 in fall.

[Graham]

Well, you are in for some good news then.

Bandai have already said they will make a Hi-Metal YF-19.

IIRC, it was on mentioned on a Bandai blog post on th Tamashii site, or perhaps in a magazine article. I'll try and dig out the relevant post.

Personally, I prefer the VF-19S and VF-19F, but I'd definitely buy a Hi-Metal YF-19 as well.

Graham

[onnasake]

Man, that is great news!! It'll be so awesome to finally have the toy, especially in a format I always wanted...

Thanks for the info!

Hmmm. Since the toys are smaller and don't take up as much space, it'd be awfully tempting to get BOTH the 19 AND the 21. I never thought the 21 was as cool...but you gotta have an enemy right! What good is Batman without the Joker? Or Luke Skywalker without Darth Vader?

It may end up costing me more money after all!!

[nexxstrait]

How about starting to dish out some Vf-17/171 goodness??? Even a revamped VF25 would be cool, not to mention a VF-4 or, better still, a VF-2SS or 2-JA from Macross II!

[valid]

i would like a vf 4 very much.. although it never have an anime that put it as a main figther.. i still like to have it.. just love the shape of the nose..

[Renato]

I got my Yamato 1/60 YF-19 last year second hand, for about 7000 yen. As much as I like the YF-19 design, I too always kept putting it off because of the price. To be honest, I would not have paid a penny more than I did because it is not that great a toy. I am glad I got it, but it is really just a floppy figure, not very poseable at all, and I had to get so many replacement parts for it that almost half of the toy is new.

I might be interested in the Hi-Metal version. If I recall correctly, it was not explicitly stated, rather just implied that they would bring one out eventually. So, perhaps after the YF-21. But yeah, who knows when that will be.

I still want to see a transformable YF-19 that looks good in all modes.

PS, I am watching Macross Plus right now, it kicks ass.

Also, when I was the head of the Japanese Society at my university in Scotland in 1999, I did exactly what you described: I booked a lecture theatre and held screenings of both DYRL and Macross Plus and it got a pretty good reception. I still have the posters somewhere.

*Edited for clarity

Edited July 9, 2010 by Renato

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I got my Yamato 1/60 YF-19 last year second hand, for about 7000 yen. As much as I like the YF-19 design, I too always kept putting it off because of the price. To be honest, I would not have paid a penny more than I did because it is not that great a toy. I am glad I got it, but it is really just a floppy figure, not very poseable at all, and I had to get so many replacement parts for it that almost half of the toy is new.

I might be interested in the Hi-Metal version. If I recall correctly, it was not explicitly stated, rather just implied that they would bring one out eventually. So, perhaps after the YF-21. But yeah, who knows when that will be.

I still want to see a transformable YF-19 that looks good in all modes.

PS, I am watching Macross Plus right now, it kicks ass.

Also, when I was the head of the Japanese Society at my university in Scotland in 1999, I did exactly what you described: I booked a lecture theatre and held screenings of both DYRL and Macross Plus and it got a pretty good reception. I still have the posters somewhere.

*Edited for clarity

Judging by the head design and the fact that the Blazer is pretty much perfect variable, I have a feeling the YF-19 HI METAL will be perfect variable too. I eagerly look forward to that, the 21, and hopefully a VF-11 with chunky battroid like the anime, the armor from 7, AND big ass tail fins like drawn on one of the Macross Chronicles covers.

[Chronocidal]

I'm still waiting to see someone customize the Hasegawa 1/48 kit into a working variable model, or maybe even do one myself.

The current YF-19 is.. okay. I mean, it's nice to have it in the same scale as the other 1/60s, but it is just so far behind the current standards of what Yamato is producing.

At the moment, mine is laying in pieces, scattered across my office. I'm trying to fix it up, but I just can't get to any of the parts that need work, because the whole freakin thing is glued shut.

[Graham]

I've found that so far my Yamato YF-19 Double Nuts and Bird of Prey are still pretty tight. But yes, the anime colored YF-19 releases do often get pretty loose in battroid mode.

Graham

[lechuck]

Yamato's YF-19 is 1/60 scale plastic poo, anybody saying differently is flat out lying!

Don't waste hard earned 200$ (or whatever it costs nowadays) on that thing.

[onnasake]

Really? If that's the case I'm glad I held out all these years. But I've seen it in person in display cases in Tokyo stores, and I always thought it looked just gorgeous, especially in fighter mode. But that's just based on observations of the naked eye. I've never actually HELD one. Other than being (what I would consider) just plain too BIG, what is so bad about it? Flimsy plastic and joints?

[Renato]

At the moment, mine is laying in pieces, scattered across my office.

Like this?

[Chronocidal]

Well, from what I can tell about the YF-19, some of the plastic is along the same lines as the explodium used in the VF-0's arms. It's not as bad, but it's still a little fragile, I've noticed cracking around the slots where the hip ball joints plug in, and had to tighten those joints up with glue.

Actually I managed to make one important improvement on my YF-19 since I took it apart. I was able to tighten up the wing section pivots on the hips very well, so they stay where I put them in battroid.. that was a really tricky screw to get to. I bent a paperclip with pliers into a short hook, and jammed it into the gap to try and hold the screw in place, then just rotated the wing assemblies to tighten the screws. Also added some glue to tighten the hips up.

As for the arms.. they're a lost cause. Can't get to the joints without breaking the arms apart worse than they already are, and can't tighten anything on them. Makes you really appreciate how many screws (uncovered screws I might add) Yamato has used on more recent releases.

Really, I'm glad that I like to display my valks on the feet in fighter, because that's the only way the YF-19 looks decent on display to me. It was okay at the time it came out, but Yamato's other Mac+ valks are so far ahead of it it's an embarassment now. It just doesn't compare to anything they're currently making.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Chronocidal

[David Hingtgen]

Well, from what I can tell about the YF-19, some of the plastic is along the same lines as the explodium used in the VF-0's arms. It's not as bad, but it's still a little fragile, I've noticed cracking around the slots where the hip ball joints plug in, and had to tighten those joints up with glue.

Yup, that just happened to mine. Hadn't been transformed in months, yet the intake started cracking. I sanded down the area inside, hopefully it won't progress.

[Muzaffar]

This is off topic but I always wanted some company to make pre-built Macross planes in fighter mode in 1/48 scale. This meaning that they will be non-transformable anime lineart accurate and detailed like crazy and even have working lights on the wing tips. Yeah...that would be nice.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Muzaffar

[Cent]

Hasegawa has the YF-19 in 1/48... You're going to have to mod it for extra goodies though. =P

[Vi-RS]

Yup, that just happened to mine. Hadn't been transformed in months, yet the intake started cracking. I sanded down the area inside, hopefully it won't progress.

I was trying to find an old thread on the 1/60 Yamato YF-19 but this board always kicks back with no result. Anyway, any of you have gotten the latest reboxed VF-19 from Yamato?

Any improvement besides the color variations?

SOURCE

さぁ、前回の続きです。

題材は7月再生産の「1/60完全変形YF-19（新パッケージ）」の仕様が、以前の「YF-19」とは違う話です。

コンニチハ。みすたーKです。

いや～っ、WFですね！準備が何も出来ていませ～ん！

毎度ながらイベント前はいつも切羽詰ります。

とにかく7/25幕張メッセでお会いしましょう！（会えたら。）

さて本題です。再生産「YF-19」ですが、今回では新旧並べて各形態をフォーカスしてみます。

前回がファイターだったから、今回はガウォーク形態です。

変形機構は同じです。今回の成形色が明るくなったせいか、塗装が引き立っている相乗効果もありますね。（偶然？）

そして新旧バトロイドです。当時としてはバランスアレンジが成功した感のあるバトロイド。チョイト脚が長い風ではありますが、「ファイターに重点を置いていたから他の形態の調整が大変でしたの。」との事。（元マク担談）

素立ちで足開き、S字立ちがスンナリと出来る機体でカッコイイと評判も有ったような・・。

そして色が解り易く見えるであろう写真をどうぞ。

シールドです。色の違いを見せるならコレでしょう。

（最初から載せろ！とか言わない！そこっ。）

それと型もだいぶ経っているので、今回の再販で今後はもう・・・。な感じですな～。

・・・さて。YF-19のネタはこんな感じなので、「気を止めて頂き＋気になる＋欲しい！」と言う方々。買ってね。

そしてご存知、「フォールドブースター＆ファストパック」も同じ時期に再生産！今回はYF-21のファストパックも付いているので、遊んでみて下さい。

さぁ、再来週の25日は幕張メッセでっせ。（昭和ノリ）

色々とみんなの意見などで楽しもうかと考えておりますので、遊びにきておくんなまし。（苦情は受付けません。）

そんなこんなでお別れです。

皆様ゴキゲンヨ～ッ。

[Ghost Train]

Could have sworn a few months back there was an early sculpt photo of the Hi-Metal YF-21. If it's still in development and makes it all the way, then the YF-19 is probably not far behind. It's unacceptable to have 1 without the other!

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Could have sworn a few months back there was an early sculpt photo of the Hi-Metal YF-21. If it's still in development and makes it all the way, then the YF-19 is probably not far behind. It's unacceptable to have 1 without the other!

There is a 21 proto, it was shown in a magazine. I too, hope for a 19 that is perfect variable, but what gets me excited is the thought of a VF-11! Should be ridiculously easy to make.

[VF5SS]

I've found that so far my Yamato YF-19 Double Nuts and Bird of Prey are still pretty tight. But yes, the anime colored YF-19 releases do often get pretty loose in battroid mode.

Graham

[bowman]

I was trying to find an old thread on the 1/60 Yamato YF-19 but this board always kicks back with no result. Anyway, any of you have gotten the latest reboxed VF-19 from Yamato?

Any improvement besides the color variations?

SOURCE

Which one is more anime accurate?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Which one is more anime accurate?

From what was stated on the blog, I think the reissue is more accurate.

[Chronocidal]

More accurate sure, but of all the problems the 1/60 YF-19 has, I would think the color would be at the very bottom of that list.

[AlphaOne]

More accurate sure, but of all the problems the 1/60 YF-19 has, I would think the color would be at the very bottom of that list.

I couldn't agree more with you.

[onnasake]

Hey gang.

I know it's lame bumping my OWN post from 6 months ago....but it's 2011 and I haven't really heard any movement on my most desired toy.

And the YF-19 was never confirmed officially....best I heard was from a Bandai Rep at Tokyo Toy show that said they were "planning it."

But what about the YF-21? There was at least a very early prototype shown of that one....has there been any word of release dates?

[Keiichi]

No news of the YF-21 at all since they showed that prototype. So it's kind of good news because at least they haven't officially canceled it (which would likely be a death sentence for the YF-19 as well), but the silence is also unsettling. Just going to have to wait and see, maybe we'll get some new information with this year's toy shows.

[ae_productions]

No news of the YF-21 at all since they showed that prototype. So it's kind of good news because at least they haven't officially canceled it (which would likely be a death sentence for the YF-19 as well), but the silence is also unsettling. Just going to have to wait and see, maybe we'll get some new information with this year's toy shows.

Macross fans get that silence A LOT.

[Nicaragua]

I was trying to find an old thread on the 1/60 Yamato YF-19 but this board always kicks back with no result. Anyway, any of you have gotten the latest reboxed VF-19 from Yamato?

Any improvement besides the color variations?

SOURCE

I had the original first edition YF-19 but it took a nose dive off a shelf and ended up in pieces. I was going to replace it with a Double Nuts as it was about half the price of the anime version but then HLJ slashed the price of the YF-19 re-issue over xmas so i got that.

The colour is lighter but then again i would expect that anyway on a brand new toy. The joints are infinitely tighter than the original version so I can actually pose it how i want to rather than posing it in a way that wont stop it falling over. My only gripe is that in battroid mode they havent fixed the plate that covers the underside of the nose, it looks like it should lock in place but on both of my 19's it just hangs there and is quite floppy so its a pain to get that one bit to stay in place for the proper battroid look.

Heres a piccie of my new re-issue YF-19.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Nicaragua

[Black Valkyrie]

Sure but Exculsive, Bandai is good at it.

[Actar]

I had the original first edition YF-19 but it took a nose dive off a shelf and ended up in pieces. I was going to replace it with a Double Nuts as it was about half the price of the anime version but then HLJ slashed the price of the YF-19 re-issue over xmas so i got that

My goodness, talking about a nosedive, my reissue YF-19 fell off my shelf onto the hard floor not once, but twice! :0 It just fell off for the second day today thanks to an accidental hand wave. I nearly had an heart attack. Thank heavens the only thing that detached was the upper torso via the rail.

Other than that the toy stayed in one piece and shows no signs of damage.

[Nicaragua]

My goodness, talking about a nosedive, my reissue YF-19 fell off my shelf onto the hard floor not once, but twice! :0 It just fell off for the second day today thanks to an accidental hand wave. I nearly had an heart attack. Thank heavens the only thing that detached was the upper torso via the rail.

Other than that the toy stayed in one piece and shows no signs of damage.

It must be the spirit of Isamus reckless flying that inhabits the YF-19 toys and compels them to leap off things

Your lucky, my first one landed pretty much bang on the right wingtip (also hardwood flooring) and it snapped it right off along the hinge were it folds back before flipping over and landing on the top were it broke off a tailfin, head laser, and the cockpit cover.

[Renato]

My FP & Fold booster-equipped YF-19 was knocked off a shelf by the curtains on a really windy day onto hardwood flooring and shattered into a million pieces... but not a single piece was broken. Luckily, it was just a case of putting it back together.

[Frogze]

My FP & Fold booster-equipped YF-19 was knocked off a shelf by the curtains on a really windy day onto hardwood flooring and shattered into a million pieces... but not a single piece was broken. Luckily, it was just a case of putting it back together.

Same thing happened on my YF-19 BoP, one of the canards broke though. I was so glad that Yamato packed some replacements for this piece

[Raptor One]

Anyone have the old pics of the prototype YF-21?