BANDAI DX YF-19!!

[Shukenzero]

Just received it after HLJ sent it yesterday. That was fast. The antennae arrived intact- lots of clearance from the plastic bubble canopy. Hope everyone will get theirs without any more QC problems. Sorry to hear about the broken pieces

[Corrinald]

3 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

I think your problem is that you didn’t extend the sliding back part all the way. There’s supposed to be a click when you reach the intended position. Once you do, the tab should fit in perfectly.

BTW, you need to pull out the little shoulder flaps to complete the transformation.

Thank you for the assistance! Forgot about the shoulder flaps. You were also right about the torso sliding part - I had to pull it out a little farther to get the click. Unfortunately this didn't solve the lock problem. Not sure what is going on here. It almost feels like the canopy is keeping the front and back just a little bit too far apart to line up.

I decided to try my hand at transforming back to fighter mode. Got it back but man oh man that's a chore that I don't want to do again. Scuffed some paint in a few areas even though I was careful. Chalk it up to inexperience.

Worth mentioning the instructions are full color and very helpful. It does gloss over a few important parts here and there, but they are nice.

[onnasake]

And.....thus ends my tragic and brief love affair with the YF-19.

[chyll2]

sad to see that. How it happened?

[onnasake]

Was transforming it.  And here I thought I was really getting the hang of it.   And then SNAP.

[Saviant]

55 minutes ago, onnasake said:

Was transforming it.  And here I thought I was really getting the hang of it.   And then SNAP.

Damn that has to suck hard

[onnasake]

Well, when I broke both fingertips off the regular hands, that sucked.

When THIS happened, I honestly almost threw up.  I'm still in shock.  My fault for using too much force, but I think that leg had a problem too, cause it was always misaligned no matter what I did.

 

Ironically, the model glue worked like a charm on the fingertips.  But there's no fixing this.

[Dobber]

1 hour ago, onnasake said:

And.....thus ends my tragic and brief love affair with the YF-19.

Oh man, I’m so sorry. I’d feel sick to my stomach. I remember when my old 1/72 Yamato VF-11 leg broke off when I just took it out of the box. And that was just an $80 item. Man, I’m so sorry. 

[yman1437]

48 minutes ago, onnasake said:

Was transforming it.  And here I thought I was really getting the hang of it.   And then SNAP.

Oh no...I'm really sorry...

[Ignacio Ocamica]

So sorry!!!

Could it be that those hip hinges are too tight?

[HardlyNever]

10 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Can anyone take pictures of the misaligned/misshapen leg fins? I've seen plenty of pictures of the head laser, but absolutely nothing about the apparently poor-fitting fins. (Usually people say it's the left fin, but I've heard of examples from both sides.)

I did my best to capture the issue, but it is really hard to get a good shot of the actual problem (at least with my phone camera).  The problem is the top part of the tab(the right part in my picture) that holds the leg fin almost looks like it is partially sheared off.  It holds the leg fin at a weird angle.  It can still hold the leg fin (I just took it off completely for clarity), but it very easy to knock loose, especially if it is unfolded (like in fighter mode).

On a side note, does anyone have any experience with AmiAmi's return/refund policy?  I'm not really even looking for a full refund or return, but maybe a discount voucher would be nice.

 

[seti88]

44 minutes ago, onnasake said:

Well, when I broke both fingertips off the regular hands, that sucked.

When THIS happened, I honestly almost threw up.  I'm still in shock.  My fault for using too much force, but I think that leg had a problem too, cause it was always misaligned no matter what I did.

 

Ironically, the model glue worked like a charm on the fingertips.  But there's no fixing this.

Ouch hard to see.....can you use a stronger bond for the hip to get back together with the intake shear? Just for fighter mode at least.

Else, you can try and start a discussion going here or in the maintenance thread to gather opinions and read abt other fixes...

Else get another since you are tokyo and its just been released....tho dont transform it so soon....

 

5 minutes ago, HardlyNever said:

I did my best to capture the issue, but it is really hard to get a good shot of the actual problem (at least with my phone camera).  The problem is the top part of the tab(the right part in my picture) that holds the leg fin almost looks like it is partially sheared off.  It holds the leg fin at a weird angle.  It can still hold the leg fin (I just took it off completely for clarity), but it very easy to knock loose, especially if it is unfolded (like in fighter mode).

On a side note, does anyone have any experience with AmiAmi's return/refund policy?  I'm not really even looking for a full refund or return, but maybe a discount voucher would be nice.

I saw the loose tailfin mentioned in the unboxing video above. I thk all you need to do is to add a dab of glue or something to make the connector nubs longer so that it can stay on better.... 

[Sildani]

What an ordeal. There’s a lot of parts that need to be massaged at once to get this thing into Battroid mode. But it’s done. There’s one feature nobody’s mentioned yet, a carryover from the 19 ADVANCE: the head’s armor visor can be removed to see the detail underneath  

@onnasake: my sympathies. I almost had that problem myself: the left leg, when trying to do its gymnastic feat of locking the hip bar in its higher position, then trying to swing the leg on its ball joint back down to the bottom, just would not MOVE. After some sweating and consulting the other leg - which was easy as pie - I determined it SHOULD move, dammit, and gently and with great force got it to where it should be. 

A thing: those folding rudders fall off my fins if I breathe on them. The hinges are just too small and the forces exerted on them are large. 

So, I pour one out for your 19, Onnasake. Whenever mine goes back to fighter mode, I’m pretty sure that’s where it’ll stay. Forever. Those hips not only don’t lie, they don’t joke around. 

This is undoubtedly the meanest looking Battroid in Macross. Nothing spindly, insectoid, or thin about it. It looks like it wants to bull rush you, take your lunch money, then beat the living crap out you simply because it can. No wonder Isamu bonded with it.

And the crazy part is, in fighter mode all that bulk kinda goes away, and it’s sleek, wingy, and lovely mostly. So a hearty “well done!” to Bandai’s engineers, and a loud raspberry to the assemblers. They need metered torque screwdrivers.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Sildani

[Trifalger]

1 hour ago, Dobber said:

Oh man, I’m so sorry. I’d feel sick to my stomach. I remember when my old 1/72 Yamato VF-11 leg broke off when I just took it out of the box. And that was just an $80 item. Man, I’m so sorry. 

Does anyone know if the VF-19 had similar in degree or as frequent issues upon it’s release... or if they seemed to be only related to a first batch? I don’t recall hearing anything but something about the hip joints that didn’t seem widespread.

[rdrunner]

2 hours ago, onnasake said:

And.....thus ends my tragic and brief love affair with the YF-19.

OMG I am soooo sorry to see that... it shouldn't have happened in a DX toy.  I hope you can get to Bandai for a replacement part/fix if you're in Japan.  Very sorry to see this happen.

[onnasake]

Well, I'm sending it back to amazon tomorrow.  I honestly don't know what will happen though cause essentially I ripped the leg off a $300 toy.  I don't know if I have a case of it being faulty or if I'm just an idiot.

Even though I've been on an emotional roller coaster with this thing from day one, I really was starting to love it.  It looks amazing in both modes (I never really cared for Gerwalk) and I thought I had finally figured out how to geeennnntttly interact with the thing.  Obviously not.

 

I'm crossing my fingers that amazon will come through for me, but like I said, for all I know they'll send the broken toy back to me.

[treatment]

2 hours ago, onnasake said:

And.....thus ends my tragic and brief love affair with the YF-19.

 

Well, that totally sucks.

All may not be lost, tho.

Since you're in japan, maybe you can get Bandai or Amz-jp to replace it for you.  At least, try to contact them to see what they can do for you regarding this tragedy.

At any rate, mine still hasn't moved out of Hell A since it arrived there last monday.   I am kinda dreading the broken head-laser and whatever other issues reported here with it out of the box...

 

 

 

 

[GabrielV]

Onnasake, I'm so sorry.  Just seeing that makes my heart sink.  I sincerely hope the plan with Amazon works.

Something similar happened when I got an Arcadia VF-0A.  I had been raving about it for a day or two and then the leg just popped off in my hand.  Luckily, my VF-0A was easily fixed with a shapeway part.  But when the break happened, I was not a happy camper at all.

It looks like my YF-19 will arrive tomorrow.  Considering my feelings about the VF-19 Advance transformation combined with the experiences of others here, I may not even bother transforming mine.

[onnasake]

Thanks to all of you for your condolences.  The YF-19 was the most expensive single toy I've ever bought in all my decades of collecting.  And to hear and feel that horrible SNAP....well, you can imagine the flash of horror/shame/guilt that causes. 

It sucks when you snap the leg off a $20 toy, but this?  Ugh.  Wonder if I'll even be a able to sleep tonight.

[spacemanoeuvres]

Mine arrived yesterday but he postman did a ninja knock and ran off. Hope to pick it up at the post office sometime this week. 

Still no movement on my order from amazon japan! I have to say I didn’t expect these kinds of shenanigans from amazon of all places lol. Just waiting for them to cancel my preorder; or maybe they’ll pull a Nippon Yasan and keep me waiting indefinitely (still waiting on that 31A NY). 

[rdrunner]

6 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

Mine arrived yesterday but he postman did a ninja knock and ran off. Hope to pick it up at the post office sometime this week. 

Still no movement on my order from amazon japan! I have to say I didn’t expect these kinds of shenanigans from amazon of all places lol. Just waiting for them to cancel my preorder; or maybe they’ll pull a Nippon Yasan and keep me waiting indefinitely (still waiting on that 31A NY). 

LOL at the "ninja knock"... something very similar happened with mine when it arrived yesterday from USPS.

It was 3pm, the postman (lady) didn't even bother bringing the box with her when she walked up to our door, and just had that orange "missed delivery" slip in hand, about to stick it to my door in a ninja like fashion.  Fortunately our security camera rang when it detected motion near our door, and my wife went to answer it.  That's when she reluctantly went back to the USPS mail truck and grabbed the box for us....

 

[HardlyNever]

8 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

LOL at the "ninja knock"... something very similar happened with mine when it arrived yesterday from USPS.

It was 3pm, the postman (lady) didn't even bother bringing the box with her when she walked up to our door, and just had that orange "missed delivery" slip in hand, about to stick it to my door in a ninja like fashion.  Fortunately our security camera rang when it detected motion near our door, and my wife went to answer it.  That's when she reluctantly went back to the USPS mail truck and grabbed the box for us....

 

Not to derail this thread with "what's with the USPS," but, what's with the USPS?  I also had a this same issue where I just moved from.  They won't even attempt delivery, then update the package as "delivery attempted."  I constantly had to go pick up the package myself.  What is it exactly that we are paying for?  Getting it to the post office, I guess?  

Where I'm at now the USPS seems better, and they actually deliver packages to the door.

And to keep things more on topic, I don't want to give the impression to people waiting on their copy that the yf-19 is some nightmare of QC problems that is bound to shatter in your hands.  I handled mine for a fair bit yesterday, and while I did get one with the leg fin QC issue, everything else seems fine on mine.  It is starting to loosen up and handle quite well (I've transformed it largely without issue).

I'm not trying to assign blame or anything to those with other experiences, but there are (mostly) good experiences out there as well.

Edited September 26, 2018 by HardlyNever

[kajnrig]

27 minutes ago, HardlyNever said:

Not to derail this thread with "what's with the USPS," but, what's with the USPS?

Where do you all live? Here in the quiet little village that is the Upper Midwest, I have literally never had a bad experience with USPS personnel. Some items that are forgotten in the warehouse or accidentally sent back before being re-routed back back to me again, but the people I interact with have consistently been top notch.

I dunno, maybe I'm just the exception that proves the rule. Wisconsinites do have a reputation of being polite to a fault...

EDIT:

That said, if my toy arrives in pieces today, I'll swear them off altogether, even though it's being sent through DHL.

Edited September 26, 2018 by kajnrig

[no3Ljm]

Sorry about your YF-19, @onnasake. Hope Bandai or Amazon can help you out for any replacement or partial refund.  

Mine hasn’t arrived yet so I was just thinking maybe I should just leave the YF-19 in Fighter mode and keep the VF-19 in Battroid mode. It’s so weird that this specific model has more QC issues than the Advance. 

[RedLion]

On 9/22/2018 at 10:43 AM, Trifalger said:

A very cool Japanese review up on 2chan. Shows new heel can actually be positioned in-line with fuselage. My main concern alleviated a little though now all the reports of QC issues. His seems to be unaffected. 

https://nov.2chan.net/y/res/3794910.htm

I still don't understand?! What was the reason they used the boxy heal for the toy. It just doesn't look right!!

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

Your mileage may vary: I don't have the YF-19, but I do have the VF-19 Advance, and I never move the hips up into the battroid position. It's just too risky, and it only raises the legs, like, less than 1cm. Yes, it results in a somewhat thin looking battroid, but I do some creative posing and I don't even notice the thin waist.

It's just not worth it.

[Trifalger]

6 minutes ago, RedLion said:

I still don't understand?! What was the reason they used the boxy heal for the toy. It just doesn't look right!!

To look better here.

[M'Kyuun]

I don't own the new YF, but I have the Advance, and although I haven't handled it in quite some time, I do know that when I first got it, I transformed it full through all three modes without incident, and I've kept it in battroid ever since (fave mode). That said, I don't recall feeling any trepidation towards transforming that particular toy, certainly not as much as the SV-262 (the wing joints are a major PITA on that bird). Agree that the heels on the Advance look better. The only real gripe I had about the Advance was the bulging panel under the chest- still don't understand why they didn't give it a nice gentle upwards curve. I see they fixed that for the YF- good.

Heartfelt sympathies to Onnasake; something like this simply shouldn't happen with a $300 toy. I realize he used a bit of force, but that tells me things with the toy probably weren't toleranced well- I've certainly run into it, but this is why every toy should be put through a couple transformation cycles as part of the QC process before being packaged, so the owner doesn't end up with an unbalanced, overly-tight high end toy. Just my two cents. Coming from an aircraft maintenance background, we would never repair something without testing it before signing it off, but I think, as a point of pride and craftsmanship, the same should be true for these expensive mechanical toys.

[takatoys]

5 hours ago, onnasake said:

And.....thus ends my tragic and brief love affair with the YF-19.

There is a similar picture on the japanese site https://nov.2chan.net/y/res/3794910.htm but the broken one is the right leg.

Does it mean we have brittle plastic issues like the infamous VF-171 cannon fodder?

[RedLion]

12 minutes ago, Trifalger said:

To look better here.

Thanks for the reply Cannon Fodder. I figured that that was the case! They still should have slopped it down some to give it a sleeker profile.  Here is my preferred look Just the designer in me! This would make it look better in fighter mode as well! Please not the photo I attached is modified form the one you posted.

[no3Ljm]

25 minutes ago, RedLion said:

I still don't understand?! What was the reason they used the boxy heal for the toy. It just doesn't look right!!

Bandai’s claim is that’s how the heel looks in the anime.

For me, I prefer the Advance heel more but I welcome the change to have distinction from the Advance. It’s subtle on the overall Fighter look. However, it would be perfect for me if they didn’t made it too short compared to the feet. As you can see on the screenshot, the heel is somewhere or past half the feet length. So an additional 5-7mm length wouldn’t hurt either on the figure.

But at his point, I’m not going to worry about the heel too much. I just want my upcoming set to be defect-free.  

 

[no3Ljm]

5 minutes ago, RedLion said:

Thanks for the reply Cannon Fodder. I figured that that was the case! They still should have slopped it down some to give it a sleeker profile.  Here is my preferred look Just the designer in me! This would make it look better in fighter mode as well! Please not the photo I attached is modified form the one you posted.

Too bad I didn’t see this post when I was constructing my previous one. But yeah, I like how your edited heel looks. But I still want it a little bit longer.

 

[RedLion]

5 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Bandai’s claim is that’s how the heel looks in the anime.

For me, I prefer the Advance heel more but I welcome the change to have distinction from the Advance. It’s subtle on the overall Fighter look. However, it would be perfect for me if they didn’t made it too short compared to the feet. As you can see on the screenshot, the heel is somewhere or past half the feet length. So an additional 5-7mm length wouldn’t hurt either on the figure.

But at his point, I’m not going to worry about the heel too much. I just want my upcoming set to be defect-free.  

 

Great shots Members! Even in these shots they are not as bulky as the ones on the new toy! Bandai knows how to message a design to get it just right, their final solution looks like a horrible afterthought!!

I also agree a bit longer wouldn't hurt!!

[seti88]

I like the heel as Bandai redesigned it hahaha...

I agree in fighter mode it’s not as sleek but the adv heels in battroid/gerwalk look way too long..

[rdrunner]

33 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Bandai’s claim is that’s how the heel looks in the anime.

For me, I prefer the Advance heel more but I welcome the change to have distinction from the Advance. It’s subtle on the overall Fighter look. However, it would be perfect for me if they didn’t made it too short compared to the feet. As you can see on the screenshot, the heel is somewhere or past half the feet length. So an additional 5-7mm length wouldn’t hurt either on the figure.

But at his point, I’m not going to worry about the heel too much. I just want my upcoming set to be defect-free.  

 

I have never owned any other versions of the VF/YF-19 but the DX YF-19's heels look better to me in Battroid mode.  Not too bothered about it in fighter mode either.