Bandai VF-19 Advance....!!!

[Falcon18]

I agree the legs look very frontier like to me. Not exactly sure why. Still overall i like it and is good enough considering the alternative.

Probably cause it's a Frontier valk and not exactly the old 19 in Plus. Well, sort of.

[raptormesh]

Sorry no sale, I judge all valks by their landing gears.

[nghia59]

Apologies if this has been posted but I didn't see it in the threads.

- Nghia

http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/103014/dx_chogokin_vf19_advance_macross_frontier

[mickyg]

Sorry no sale, I judge all valks by their landing gears.

But we haven't seen any yet. Or have I missed it?

[lechuck]

The good thing about this, I won't be charged 40+ Euros extra for a tray full of useless missiles.

The only pieces I will be leaving in the box will be the wing boosters. It looks too messy in Battroid mode.

Edited December 26, 2014 by lechuck

[spanner]

But we haven't seen any yet. Or have I missed it?

well not in this thread as far as I can tell.. maybe on another website perhaps? I am curious to see what the landing gear are like on this Valk now!

[Falcon18]

I think he means to say that he'll decide only if he sees the gears and if they're good but we haven't seen anything about them yet.

[Reïvaj]

I guess the best YF-19 will be somewhere in between the Arcadia and Bandai ones.

[Mommar]

I do find it amusing how much unanimous praise this version is getting over Arcadia's.

[Reïvaj]

IMO Arcadia's is better in proportions and Bandai's LOOKS more poseable (out of the box) and detailed. Bandai's always had a lot of fans.

[wm cheng]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I love these proportions. For me the aircraft mode is the the most important and its just sleeker, but this thinner design is really selling me on the Battroid now and just looks so much more updated without loosing the original intent (IMHO). I always thought the original design was a bit dated and 80s and the Arcadia one just catered too much to the Battroid mode at the expense of the Fighter mode - it looked too fat, dumpy and squat for my personal taste. Now with all the extra tampo data stenciling and markings is just icing on the cake for me! With over $100 cheaper than the Arcadia, its a no brainer now... if I can only just get in on a pre-order. Of course I plan to stay up Tuesday morning, but my track record has been pretty unsuccessful so far.

[chyll2]

@wm_cheng

hopefully, NY can deliver stocks similar with the 25S.

The problem with the stocks with bandai toys is that most of the people in Japan scalp them and upon release them, sell them at higher SRP or auction them.

[Raptor One]

Looks really nice. Only thing bothering me is the shape of the nose in fighter. It slopes up way too high. Still prefer the stubbiness of the Arcadia in battroid

[Chronocidal]

The side profile in fighter is bugging me too a little, but we need to see an actual clean side view. The nose just looks like it's pointing upwards too much, same as the Yamato.

I do want to get one regardless, but I think I'll be doing some paint removal. I thought the black area behind the cockpit was already a little too big on the Arcadia vesion, but this one just looks waayyy too wide.

I am glad to see the shoulder... things... are removable though. Too bad the seam underneath them reminds me of the Yamato 1/72. Clearly Bandai didn't think those shoulder vents were worth any effort to make them presentable.

[cyde01]

oh shat, non armor pics! VF style conventional canopy and isamu pilot! i'm still not happy with the gappiness seen from the top view of fighter mode but aside from that it looks fantastic in every single other view, and battroid is way more posable than arcadia's! unfortunately for my wallet this is starting to look more and more like a must buy for me...

[seti88]

hmmm should i be asking if the vf-19 advance can represent the yf-19 from macross plus cos i always wanted a 19 (but cant afford arcadia's versions)....

my purist side is telling me no but i dont thk bandai will release a macross plus version so near...or would they....dammit...

[Reïvaj]

I think you could with only some minor tampo replacements.

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

I'm a little curious on how the areas behind the upper legs are going to work... ie. how arcadia/yamato used the filler pieces in battroid mode. In this case it looks like the lower portion is fixed in place, yet the upper half looks like removal panels or maybe they're all removable?

Edited December 27, 2014 by PsYcHoDyNaMiX

[Reïvaj]

The upper legs are hollow and the chest fits inside when in fighter mode, that's all. It's a very clever fix.

What really amazes me is how complex the lower legs mechanisms are. Plenty of sliding parts and rotating panels.

[Chronocidal]

That's actually one feature that worries me. Bandai just absolutely LOVES to use ten parts to do the job of one. It's like they have a fetish for overly complicated assemblies and mechanisms.

What they dont seem to understand is that while that all works fine on a CAD model, it has to be assembled and packaged by questionably skilled hands that may or may not belong to a gorilla. The more itty bitty parts they add, the higher the chance that something is going to be lost, incorrectly assembled, or flat out broken.

[ArchieNov]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I love these proportions. For me the aircraft mode is the the most important and its just sleeker, but this thinner design is really selling me on the Battroid now and just looks so much more updated without losing the original intent (IMHO). I always thought the original design was a bit dated and 80s and the Arcadia one just catered too much to the Battroid mode at the expense of the Fighter mode - it looked too fat, dumpy and squat for my personal taste.

I feel the same way. I've commented in the Arcadia YF-19 thread before that its battroid mode there didn't seem as sleek as I felt it needed it to be. But the battroid mode for the VF-19 Advance is much more to my taste, and looks like it will feel perfectly in scale with my other Bandai valks. The Arcadia YF-19 / Yamato VF-19 always felt out of scale with the rest of my Macross toys when in battroid mode.

[rasky]

Hey, I have a newbie question... How does one try to place a pre-order on the tamashii site if one does not read Japanese?

Thanks in an advance!

[Saburo]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I love these proportions. For me the aircraft mode is the the most important and its just sleeker, but this thinner design is really selling me on the Battroid now and just looks so much more updated without loosing the original intent (IMHO). I always thought the original design was a bit dated and 80s and the Arcadia one just catered too much to the Battroid mode at the expense of the Fighter mode - it looked too fat, dumpy and squat for my personal taste. Now with all the extra tampo data stenciling and markings is just icing on the cake for me! With over $100 cheaper than the Arcadia, its a no brainer now... if I can only just get in on a pre-order. Of course I plan to stay up Tuesday morning, but my track record has been pretty unsuccessful so far.

I like the proportions, I think the slimmer design gives it a more of a sleek agile look. I like both the Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai interpretations of the design. Yamato/Acradia for its brawler look and Bandai for its agile look. It will be nice to have both on display, hopefully I can get one.

[spanner]

I like the proportions, I think the slimmer design gives it a more of a sleek agile look. I like both the Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai interpretations of the design. Yamato/Acradia for its brawler look and Bandai for its agile look. It will be nice to have both on display, hopefully I can get one.

Agreed! Im looking forward to having both toys side by side for a direct comparison! At least we'll get the best of both worlds having both brands toys!

And.. the heated forum discussions regarding their differences, accuracies & flaws once finally released should be quite interesting too!

[mechaninac]

Hey, I have a newbie question... How does one try to place a pre-order on the tamashii site if one does not read Japanese?

Thanks in an advance!

You'd need to use a proxy service, or, if you have a friend in Japan, have them preorder for you. However, you don't have to go through such hoops; if the item is a general release you can suffer the preorder madness with everyone else (Jan 06, 2015 - 4:00PM Japan time for the VF-19 Adv AFAIK) by trying to secure one from any of the usual places, and when it's a web exclusive/limited edition you can preorder, drama free, from Nippon-Yasan.com as they carry all Tamashii exclusives.

Edited December 28, 2014 by mechaninac

[rasky]

You'd need to use a proxy service, or, if you have a friend in Japan, have them preorder for you. However, you don't have to go through such hoops; if the item is a general release you can suffer the preorder madness with everyone else (Jan 06, 2015 - 4:00PM Japan time for the VF-19 Adv AFAIK) by trying to secure one from any of the usual places, and when it's a web exclusive/limited edition you can preorder, drama free, from Nippon-Yasan.com as they carry all Tamashii exclusives.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help. So just to clarify, I can order this through HLJ or Nippon-Yasan then? Thanks again!

[mechaninac]

Amiami = They'll carry it with a great discount, but your chances of securing a preorder with them are less than getting struck by lightning on a cloudless day.

Hobby Search = They'll carry it with a good discount (usually the same as HLJ), and although your chances are better than Amiami, the chances of actually placing an order are slim, and cart-jacking is highly likely.

CD Japan = They'll carry it with a slight discount (~5%); somewhat better chance to preorder than HS, but still difficult.

Big in Japan = They may carry it, but securing an preorder is still difficult, and sometimes, depending on the item, the require payment upfront.

Anime Expo = They'll carry it, but a very small allocation that sells out in a split second... and they require payment upfront.

Nippon-Yasan = They'll carry it starting at MSRP for the first batch, raise the price 1000-2000 Yen for the second preorder window, and may increase again with every subsequent batch. They offer flexible payment options: pay upfront, pay anytime, pay upon invoicing. N-Y is the go-to retailer of last resort.

HLJ = They'll carry it, but nobody can tell when they'll open the preorder -- could be on the opening day, or a week later, and they sometimes screw up on the ordering limits. Preorder chances are hard to quantify.

Then there are the ones that I do not recommend = Play-Asia (stay clear... you've been warned), and Nin-Nin Games (overpriced from the get-go).

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help. So just to clarify, I can order this through HLJ or Nippon-Yasan then? Thanks again!

Amiami = They'll carry it with a great discount, but your chances of securing a preorder with them are less than getting struck by lightning on a cloudless day.

Hobby Search = They'll carry it with a good discount (usually the same as HLJ), and although your chances are better than Amiami, the chances of actually placing an order are slim, and cart-jacking is highly likely.

CD Japan = They'll carry it with a slight discount (~5%); somewhat better chance to preorder than HS, but still difficult.

Big in Japan = They may carry it, but securing an preorder is still difficult, and sometimes, depending on the item, the require payment upfront.

Anime Expo = They'll carry it, but a very small allocation that sells out in a split second... and they require payment upfront.

Nippon-Yasan = They'll carry it starting at MSRP for the first batch, raise the price 1000-2000 Yen for the second preorder window, and may increase again with every subsequent batch. They offer flexible payment options: pay upfront, pay anytime, pay upon invoicing. N-Y is the go-to retailer of last resort.

HLJ = They'll carry it, but nobody can tell when they'll open the preorder -- could be on the opening day, or a week later, and they sometimes screw up on the ordering limits. Preorder chances are hard to quantify.

Then there are the ones that I do not recommend = Play-Asia (stay clear... you've been warned), and Nin-Nin Games (overpriced from the get-go).

Mechaninac is 100% accurate:

i just want to add:

-finding the placeholders for each site (pre-order pages before they go live) may give you a fighting chance of getting one.

There's one or two guys here who cyber squat w 2-3 computers, different family e-mails and paypal accounts (dumb enough to brag and then claims it's for their family members but then post all of them on display like it's theirs< sorry but you got some silly liars on here) who pre-order doubles/triples whenever there's a one per limit site, coupled in with the scalpers, it's a hard time getting one. so good luck on the hunt!!!

Edited December 28, 2014 by davidwhangchoi

[spanner]

yeah pre-orders can often prove to be a "dog eat dog" kinda deal at times.. and im expecting no less of a situation with the Bandai 19..

if I can manage to secure one then great! but if not then oh well.. I'll give it my best shot regardless!

[spanner]

You'd need to use a proxy service, or, if you have a friend in Japan, have them preorder for you. However, you don't have to go through such hoops; if the item is a general release you can suffer the preorder madness with everyone else (Jan 06, 2015 - 4:00PM Japan time for the VF-19 Adv AFAIK) by trying to secure one from any of the usual places, and when it's a web exclusive/limited edition you can preorder, drama free, from Nippon-Yasan.com as they carry all Tamashii exclusives.

so I presume 4pm Japan time is when they expect to open the doors to pre-orders?

if so then is there anything particularly special about 4pm in Japan or is that just the time they chose for 5hit to hit the fan!?

Edited December 28, 2014 by spanner76

[mechaninac]

The latter. If I'm not mistaken, or remembering wrong, every Bandai Macross DX's preorder has gone live at that time; which makes preordering these things an unqualified pain in the butt for those living in the North East...

[xrentonx]

We almost have it down to a science at this point with all the preorder BS we've been through with Bandai.

We'll post links of the placeholder pages when we see em. Sometimes those don't show up until the preorder goes live so that's when we all try to order first then post the preorder page for everyone else after. It's like being on a burning plane...secure your own oxygen before helping others

[spanner]

We almost have it down to a science at this point with all the preorder BS we've been through with Bandai.

We'll post links of the placeholder pages when we see em. Sometimes those don't show up until the preorder goes live so that's when we all try to order first then post the preorder page for everyone else after. It's like being on a burning plane...secure your own oxygen before helping others

haha!! such a nice way to put it!

bloody pre-orders..

[Saburo]

We almost have it down to a science at this point with all the preorder BS we've been through with Bandai.

We'll post links of the placeholder pages when we see em. Sometimes those don't show up until the preorder goes live so that's when we all try to order first then post the preorder page for everyone else after. It's like being on a burning plane...secure your own oxygen before helping others

Use the restroom before hand.

Do not leave your computer during the pre-order time

Remain awake, do not fall asleep

and lastly, do not blink... because the pre-order can be gone in less than a second.

[Chronocidal]

Don't blink! Don't look away, don't turn your back, and mash that F5, but DON'T BLINK!

Edited December 28, 2014 by Chronocidal