So, which is better overall? Arcadia YF-19 or Bandai VF-19 Advance

[MAC-X]

Not to forget the transformation guide? 

[zzj]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

The good news is that both toys are pretty cool. 

Bad news for me is that i'm still undecided about whether to get the Arcadia... By the way I'm the guy who asked about this in your videos' comments section some days ago.

[Kanedas Bike]

Re: which is better I think it may come down to whether you want a display piece (especially if you have other Yamato or Arcadia Valkyries) or if you want one to "play" with.

For my money the DX Advanced has tons more playability but the Arcadia has a stronger shelf presence.

And for what it's worth, my last remaining Arcadia is MIB in a box in storage, two of my Advanced see the light of day daily - one in Battroid the other in Fighter.

-b.

[zzj]

41 minutes ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Re: which is better I think it may come down to whether you want a display piece (especially if you have other Yamato or Arcadia Valkyries) or if you want one to "play" with.

For my money the DX Advanced has tons more playability but the Arcadia has a stronger shelf presence.

And for what it's worth, my last remaining Arcadia is MIB in a box in storage, two of my Advanced see the light of day daily - one in Battroid the other in Fighter.

-b.

 

I do own 2 copies of the vf-19 advance but not the Arcadia. My slight gripe is that the transformation feels more fiddly in comparison to the yammie vf-19's, with some seemingly over-engineered moving parts. (Case in point, the neck cover integrated into the shield... it's a nice gimmick, but u still need a neck cover with gerwalk mode, and the integration just doesn't feel like an elegant solution -- the earlier 1/72 and even the 1/65 vf-19's had potentially better solutions)

 

I'm aware that my just holding up hope that the Arcadia yf-19 has the more solid feel and more straight-forward transformation carried over from the Yamato vf-19's... to be fair the vf-19 advance is an awesome design in itself, maybe I'm just expecting too much.

 

[barurutor]

Own both but only played with the Arcadia YF-19, transformation is essentially the same as the VF-19.

[locidm]

My vf-19 advance is still sealed in box. Arcadia has been on display since day 1. I have had no incentive to open the Bandai since it got it (couple years ago by now?). 

[Kanedas Bike]

1 hour ago, locidm said:

My vf-19 advance is still sealed in box. Arcadia has been on display since day 1. I have had no incentive to open the Bandai since it got it (couple years ago by now?). 

 

You should totally let me buy it or trade you something for it. 

-b.

[no3Ljm]

6 hours ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Re: which is better I think it may come down to whether you want a display piece (especially if you have other Yamato or Arcadia Valkyries) or if you want one to "play" with.

For my money the DX Advanced has tons more playability but the Arcadia has a stronger shelf presence.

And for what it's worth, my last remaining Arcadia is MIB in a box in storage, two of my Advanced see the light of day daily - one in Battroid the other in Fighter.

-b.

I agree with B here. DX has more playability while Arcadia looks better displayed.

Both of my extra Arcadia and Bandai is MIB too. Only opened for inspection. Would love to display both in Fighter mode once I have a decent cabinet to display with. 

[zzj]

8 hours ago, barurutor said:

Own both but only played with the Arcadia YF-19, transformation is essentially the same as the VF-19.

U have any to sell? 

[Chronocidal]

Really, Jenius' review on this couldn't say it better.  If you can swing both?  Get both.  They each have a distinct look and feel to them, and I love them both for assorted reasons.

The Arcadia nails the look of the animation in Macross Plus in all modes, is easy to transform, and just looks impressive on the shelf, especially with all the included weaponry.  Downside is that the wing mechanism is just kinda lousy.

The Bandai one winds up looking more like a Hasegawa kit all around, has the most streamlined fighter mode yet, and is nearly overloaded on tampo, but is also a bit overcomplicated for its own good, and difficult to transform at times.  Also, Bandai did everyone a disservice by never releasing any weaponry for the built-in hardpoints... unless you feel like buying a weapons pack for the VF-171.

They're both awesome toys to own.

[zzj]

6 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Really, Jenius' review on this couldn't say it better.  If you can swing both?  Get both.  They each have a distinct look and feel to them, and I love them both for assorted reasons.

The Arcadia nails the look of the animation in Macross Plus in all modes, is easy to transform, and just looks impressive on the shelf, especially with all the included weaponry.  Downside is that the wing mechanism is just kinda lousy.

The Bandai one winds up looking more like a Hasegawa kit all around, has the most streamlined fighter mode yet, and is nearly overloaded on tampo, but is also a bit overcomplicated for its own good, and difficult to transform at times.  Also, Bandai did everyone a disservice by never releasing any weaponry for the built-in hardpoints... unless you feel like buying a weapons pack for the VF-171.

They're both awesome toys to own.

Ok, that's it, I'm getting a copy of the Arcadia just to put an end to my misery.

[zzj]

43 minutes ago, zzj said:

Ok, that's it, I'm getting a copy of the Arcadia just to put an end to my misery.

....and I'm now $250 poorer.

 

that was way too easy, the wife is not going to be pleased.

[no3Ljm]

49 minutes ago, zzj said:

....and I'm now $250 poorer.

that was way too easy, the wife is not going to be pleased.

Congrats! $250 is a good price for it now. Is that brand new? One thing I have to say is that you're not going to regret having both versions. If the wife asks, just tell her the Arcadia have the UN Spacy kite logo while the DX one have the SMS logo  and that's make it cool.

Besides, which one you were trying to please? Yourself or the wife?  

[zzj]

20 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Congrats! $250 is a good price for it now. Is that brand new? One thing I have to say is that you're not going to regret having both versions. If the wife asks, just tell her the Arcadia have the UN Spacy kite logo while the DX one have the SMS logo  and that's make it cool.

Besides, which one you were trying to please? Yourself or the wife?  

It's near mint condition, but that's good enough for me. I don't think my wife would be sympathetic to whatever technical differences there are between the 2 models, all she knows is that I have been pleasing myself a bit too much lately (that came out weird). 

[Loop]

9 hours ago, locidm said:

My vf-19 advance is still sealed in box. Arcadia has been on display since day 1. I have had no incentive to open the Bandai since it got it (couple years ago by now?). 

I have 2 of the 19 ADV that I never opened, I just never got around to it lol. I did take one of my Arcadia's out for a bit then it went back in to the box untransformed. My other Arcadia 19 is unopened.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Loop

[no3Ljm]

8 hours ago, zzj said:

It's near mint condition, but that's good enough for me. I don't think my wife would be sympathetic to whatever technical differences there are between the 2 models, all she knows is that I have been pleasing myself a bit too much lately (that came out weird). 

As long that you're happy, is all that matters.

Now say goodbye to your wallet.

Edited December 31, 2016 by no3Ljm

[aaajin]

On 12/30/2016 at 6:16 PM, zzj said:

Ok, that's it, I'm getting a copy of the Arcadia just to put an end to my misery.

You wont be disappointed. Im sure I wasnt.

 

Edited January 8, 2017 by aaajin

[no3Ljm]

5 hours ago, aaajin said:

edited : how do I remove attachment from this post? 2nd picture was grainy but cant find a way to delete it from the post.

Try edit your post and click the image and delete. If that doesn't work, click the cursor towards the end of the pic and select delete or backspace. I'm using iPhone and when I 'quote' this I clicked the images and deleted it. Hope that helps.

[aaajin]

On 12/31/2016 at 5:59 PM, no3Ljm said:

Try edit your post and click the image and delete. If that doesn't work, click the cursor towards the end of the pic and select delete or backspace. I'm using iPhone and when I 'quote' this I clicked the images and deleted it. Hope that helps.

*figured how to delete the picture attachment* there is a faint "trash" icon on bottom right of the thumbnail once you uploaded a picture ...

Edited January 8, 2017 by aaajin

[zzj]

19 hours ago, aaajin said:

You wont be disappointed. Im sure I wasnt.

edited : how do I remove attachment from this post? 2nd picture was grainy but cant find a way to delete it from the post.

OMG that's gorgeous...

[Graham]

Damn, found the front are rear landing gear on one of my VF-19Advance that I always display in fighter mode is getting really loose and collapsing very easily, especially the front landing gear.

[arbit]

27 minutes ago, Graham said:

Damn, found the front are rear landing gear on one of my VF-19Advance that I always display in fighter mode is getting really loose and collapsing very easily, especially the front landing gear.

Try one drop of high quality clear nail lacquer. When it dries it should stiffen the joint.

I found nail lacquer is better than nail polish. But I'm not a girl and I dont know the difference.

[ArchieNov]

On 12/30/2016 at 11:02 PM, zzj said:

 

I do own 2 copies of the vf-19 advance but not the Arcadia. My slight gripe is that the transformation feels more fiddly in comparison to the yammie vf-19's, with some seemingly over-engineered moving parts. (Case in point, the neck cover integrated into the shield... it's a nice gimmick, but u still need a neck cover with gerwalk mode, and the integration just doesn't feel like an elegant solution -- the earlier 1/72 and even the 1/65 vf-19's had potentially better solutions)

 

I'm aware that my just holding up hope that the Arcadia yf-19 has the more solid feel and more straight-forward transformation carried over from the Yamato vf-19's... to be fair the vf-19 advance is an awesome design in itself, maybe I'm just expecting too much.

 

Hey zzj. Now that you've gotten yourself an Arcadia YF-19, did it meet your expectations?

[zzj]

7 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

Hey zzj. Now that you've gotten yourself an Arcadia YF-19, did it meet your expectations?

 

I like how the transformation feels better engineered and everything comes together and clicks into place letting you know you've done it correctly; transforming the vf-19 advance feels like massaging putty. That said, I'm pretty annoyed at several small issues with the arcadia, like the constantly-dropping-off canards, the very fiddly canopy that is hard to open wide enough to position the pilot figures and the small stopper covers for the shoulder joint that also falls out too easily...

 

For the Vf-19 advance it feels like they tried to hard to one-up the yf-19, adding additional details and mechanisms that make less engineering sense and feels like it's taking away from the elegance of the design.

 

For the Yf-19 I'm slightly ticked off because it feels like they could have just fixed and polished up small issues on what is to me a more elegant design, but somehow chose not to.

 

Right now I'm still on the fence, it just feels like the perfect representation of the yf-19 design is so close yet both iterations just fell short of greatness... It may take a while more before I can firm up my opinion on which one is the better version. (Another factor for me is that I got my Arcadia for less than what I paid for the Bandai)

[zzj]

Just to add: In my mind I have already come up with a re-design that fits my version of what a perfect YF-19 should be like.... If I had several 10's of thousands to spare I would perhaps get someone to make a prototype to my specifications...

[Sandman]

3 hours ago, zzj said:

 

I like how the transformation feels better engineered and everything comes together and clicks into place letting you know you've done it correctly; transforming the vf-19 advance feels like massaging putty. That said, I'm pretty annoyed at several small issues with the arcadia, like the constantly-dropping-off canards, the very fiddly canopy that is hard to open wide enough to position the pilot figures and the small stopper covers for the shoulder joint that also falls out too easily...

 

For the Vf-19 advance it feels like they tried to hard to one-up the yf-19, adding additional details and mechanisms that make less engineering sense and feels like it's taking away from the elegance of the design.

 

For the Yf-19 I'm slightly ticked off because it feels like they could have just fixed and polished up small issues on what is to me a more elegant design, but somehow chose not to.

 

Right now I'm still on the fence, it just feels like the perfect representation of the yf-19 design is so close yet both iterations just fell short of greatness... It may take a while more before I can firm up my opinion on which one is the better version. (Another factor for me is that I got my Arcadia for less than what I paid for the Bandai)

Yeah after the awesomeness of the Yamato vf-19, arcadia's yf-19 should've been a home run. It falls just short of it but I don't think there was an excuse on why it couldn't have been home run. IMO all of arcadia's new molds have had stupid issues with them. I really expected them to pick up from Yamato lessons learned and continue the QC.

[Slave IV]

12 hours ago, zzj said:

Just to add: In my mind I have already come up with a re-design that fits my version of what a perfect YF-19 should be like.... If I had several 10's of thousands to spare I would perhaps get someone to make a prototype to my specifications...

I think you missed a "0" 

I opened my YF-19 for a quick inspection and did notice some of the loosness I've been hearing about. No transformation yet but it is a fine looking Valk. Look forward to spending some time transforming and messing with it. I think it looks best in Battroid mode so I need to transform it soon.

[MacrossJunkie]

The only things that are actually loose on my YF-19's are the freaking ankles. The one I have in battroid mode has to be propped up against something or else it will topple over eventually.

[no3Ljm]

43 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

The only things that are actually loose on my YF-19's are the freaking ankles. The one I have in battroid mode has to be propped up against something or else it will topple over eventually.

Me too. That's why I fixed him before. And it's all good up to now. Standing in his Battroid glory on my small shelf.

 

[ArchieNov]

1 hour ago, MacrossJunkie said:

The only things that are actually loose on my YF-19's are the freaking ankles. The one I have in battroid mode has to be propped up against something or else it will topple over eventually.

Mine has the loose ankles too out of the box. It actually facedived once and ended up blunting the nosecone a bit. Never again will I trust it to stand on its own.

26 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Me too. That's why I fixed him before. And it's all good up to now. Standing in his Battroid glory on my small shelf.

 

How did you fix it? I thought it wasn't possible to  get to that joint without damaging the toy.

[Raptor One]

As much as I love my Arcadia YF-19, those damn wing joints are by far my biggest issue with it. I just can't find a way to get them to stay fully forward without falling back slightly at the smallest touch. I really wish Arcadia had designed a locking mechanism for them. 

[zzj]

4 hours ago, Slave IV said:

I think you missed a "0" 

I opened my YF-19 for a quick inspection and did notice some of the loosness I've been hearing about. No transformation yet but it is a fine looking Valk. Look forward to spending some time transforming and messing with it. I think it looks best in Battroid mode so I need to transform it soon.

Yes, the battroid mode for the yf-19 is better than the vf-19 advance for my taste, not by a whole lot though. As for the extra 0, depends on how much work I put into it, I just started learning sketch up yesterday for the purpose of making my own yf-19 model. That is how strongly I feel about it....

 

3 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

The only things that are actually loose on my YF-19's are the freaking ankles. The one I have in battroid mode has to be propped up against something or else it will topple over eventually.

The ankles on mine still feel fine, hope they stay this way...

[Slave IV]

10 minutes ago, zzj said:

Yes, the battroid mode for the yf-19 is better than the vf-19 advance for my taste, not by a whole lot though. As for the extra 0, depends on how much work I put into it, I just started learning sketch up yesterday for the purpose of making my own yf-19 model. That is how strongly I feel about it....

 

The ankles on mine still feel fine, hope they stay this way...

Cool! Would love to see what you come up with.

[no3Ljm]

2 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

Mine has the loose ankles too out of the box. It actually facedived once and ended up blunting the nosecone a bit. Never again will I trust it to stand on its own.

How did you fix it? I thought it wasn't possible to  get to that joint without damaging the toy.

I think I posted some photos on the Maintenance thread. And yeah, I ding'ed a little bit of the plastic that holds the stell joint ball in the ankles. But it's ok I think. Once it's back in the legs area the dings is not noticeable anymore.  

1 hour ago, Raptor One said:

As much as I love my Arcadia YF-19, those damn wing joints are by far my biggest issue with it. I just can't find a way to get them to stay fully forward without falling back slightly at the smallest touch. I really wish Arcadia had designed a locking mechanism for them. 

Or they should have made that wing joints ratcheted. Even the ones that holds it in the hips area.

55 minutes ago, zzj said:

The ankles on mine still feel fine, hope they stay this way...

Give it time.

Curious. Was yours a reissue or first release?

 

[zzj]

34 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Give it time.

Curious. Was yours a reissue or first release?

 

I have no idea, it wasn't mentioned on mandarake whether it was the re-issue, however jenius mentioned that there was apparently no difference....

I have only transformed it twice so far, I guess time will tell if the ankles will loosen like so many people said.

Edited January 10, 2017 by zzj
Typo