Bandai 1/60 DX Chogokin Macross Plus YF-21

[seti88]

hmm does the fuselage look thicker in the latest photo or is it a camera angle thing?

Did they change anything since kawamori-san has some comments the last time?

color-wise I won’t comment, hope it isn’t a type of a plastic change...

Edited November 17, 2022 by seti88

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

10 minutes ago, seti88 said:

hmm does the fuselage look thicker in the latest photo or is it a camera angle thing?

Did they change anything since kawamori-san has some comments the last time?

color-wise I won’t comment, hope it isn’t a type of a plastic change...

It definitely looks thicker/wider especially around the center body where it starts. The pics from years ago look narrower. But all of this could just be the lighting and angle which I really doubt. I guess we should be trying to look for clear indications if they're actually two different prototypes are the same one from years ago. So far most of the markings look about the same.

Edited November 17, 2022 by PsYcHoDyNaMiX

[twich]

Are these new pictures from some recent event?

Twich

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

2 minutes ago, twich said:

Are these new pictures from some recent event?

Twich

Yea Tamashi Nations 2022 which is starting/started this week/weekend. 11/18

Check the 'What's next for Bandai' thread.

Edited November 17, 2022 by PsYcHoDyNaMiX

[twich]

Awesome! Will do!

Twich

[Knight26]

I'm not really seeing much difference other than color, but, as stated, that could just be the lighting.  
The fighter mode proportions still look off to me, especially the forward fuselage and the engine nacelles.  But let's face it, M+ has a fair amount of anime magic in the designs.

[Zx31]

Here's some of the original shots I took of the 2019 display for comparison. Might just be due to fighter pointing towards the camera this time.

[aurance]

Oh awesome, it’s actually happening!

[MKT]

They pretty much look the same to my eyes. Any changes appear to be too subtle to notice..

But the whole thing looks production ready, without any of the usual work-in-progress signs like bad fit & finish or jarring seam lines.

[betocc]

53 minutes ago, aurance said:

Oh awesome, it’s actually happening!

Are we sure? 😅

[Mommar]

Different angles.

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Mommar

[treatment]

Still look off to me.

Matches their also off-looking DX YF-19, tho...

 

 

[twich]

Looking at the view of the top down, the YF-21 looks to have an air brake that hinges up. Pretty cool, to match that one landing scene in the anime.

Twich

[Mog]

No GERWALK poses yet.

No underbelly fighter mode shots.

Doesn’t look like they made any significant improvements from the old prototype.

All these years and they still haven’t addressed any of the issues brought up. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Chronocidal]

Looks a little better when actually posed, but those arms still look stupendously whimpy, and the back end in fighter still looks insanely bloated and oversized.  The legs are better than the Yamato, but everything else is worse in every mode.

50 minutes ago, Mommar said:

Different angles.

 

 

 

 

This shot especially.  The backend is a full third of the plane.  It looks like it slammed hard into a wall, and everything compressed toward the nose.  If they shifted the wings, arms, and tails all toward the rear, it would make a huge difference.

I also really hate how they're just ignoring every reference for how the nose and cockpit are supposed to be shaped, when they have literally nothing to do with anything that even transforms.  

*whispers*  Hey.. Bandai.. have you seen this before?
http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossplus/yf-21/schematic-yf21top.gif

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Chronocidal

[Mog]

Bandai needs to adopt the concept of fourths, not thirds. 😅

Would make the proportions work better for fighter mode and for the hip-guards/underbelly split. 

[Reïvaj]

This is exactly the same painted 3D printed prototype, same proportions, just better posed, but with no changes at all. What a lost opportunity after all this time, I'm kind of disappointed.

[Chronocidal]

I know it's being "picky" but I honestly have a lot of trouble overlooking the things that they're just completely ignoring the "correct" shape of.  The tails, the cockpit, just.. WHY?  They have nothing to do with the transformation, so you can't even make that excuse.  They're just changing things because they feel like it.

[no3Ljm]

I'm pretty sure no matter what we say since they showed this prototype back in 2019, we're still going to order atleast one. That's how Bandai knows they own us. 

 

[na2tt]

New hear, signed up Just for this thread LOL I love the YF-19

 

2 quick questions 

- approx price?

- Will they re-release the YF-19 to go together ?

 

Thanks!

[Chronocidal]

8 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I'm pretty sure no matter what we say since they showed this prototype back in 2019, we're still going to order atleast one. That's how Bandai knows they own us. 

 

Honestly, I'm hitting the point where that's not even guaranteed.  After the past few releases, I feel like buying more is rewarding a half-assed effort.

[borgified]

7 minutes ago, na2tt said:

New hear, signed up Just for this thread LOL I love the YF-19

 

2 quick questions 

- approx price?

- Will they re-release the YF-19 to go together ?

 

Thanks!

I'm guessing maybe close to 26k yen - 28k yen for the DX YF-21 if it ever gets released or should I dare say mothballed again? As a complete set together, most likely it is not going to happen, however the DX YF-19 would be likely re-issued as a MWW release (maybe a plain Jane version like the Excalibur).  

[Mog]

Nah, perfectly happy with the two Yammie’s I got.

I keep harping about the issues on the Bandai, because I’d like for other folks to get a version that’s a clear improvement or one that favors battroid more.

But this one accomplishes neither of those goals.

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Looks a little better when actually posed, but those arms still look stupendously whimpy, and the back end in fighter still looks insanely bloated and oversized.  The legs are better than the Yamato, but everything else is worse in every mode.

This shot especially.  The backend is a full third of the plane.  It looks like it slammed hard into a wall, and everything compressed toward the nose.  If they shifted the wings, arms, and tails all toward the rear, it would make a huge difference.

I also really hate how they're just ignoring every reference for how the nose and cockpit are supposed to be shaped, when they have literally nothing to do with anything that even transforms.  

*whispers*  Hey.. Bandai.. have you seen this before?
http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossplus/yf-21/schematic-yf21top.gif

 

I'm probably the only one here excited for this. I'm a battroid guy, and my biggest beef with the Yamato was with the too-thin legs that made the whole thing look wonky. Proportionally, I think Bandai's B-mode looks fine, although I wonder what kind of joint they're using for that shoulder. I hope it's all die cast there to handle the forces and weight. The forearms do look a little short, though, especially with the combined length of the bicep and elbow, which I'm surprised they didn't redesign to give it a more appealing aesthetic. Alas, it's a double-jointed elbow, along with the knees, so this thing will have an incredible range of poseability provided the joints are reasonably stout and toleranced. Looking at fighter, arguably the focal point of the greater part of criticism, I'll concede that the forward fuselage is compressed, and due to the shortness of the forearms, the stabs sit too far forward relative to the exhaust section. Too, for whatever reason, Bandai has the rearward facing guns poking out instead of sheathed within the forearm. It's not a perfect capture by any means, and it is disappointing that Bandai hasn't seemed to have made any meaningful changes despite feedback. Moreover, I'd have thought that Kawamori himself would have pointed these things out to them. I posted his own lineart to compare- I figure it doesn't get any more canon than that.

5 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I'm pretty sure no matter what we say since they showed this prototype back in 2019, we're still going to order atleast one. That's how Bandai knows they own us. 

 

Without a moment's hesitation. I've wanted a more proportionally 'accurate' YF-21 in battroid , b/c mileage varies, to replace my Yammie almost from the time I got that toy. I figure the folks who prefer fighter mode already have their perfect transformable YF-21- it is beautiful. However, for those of us who prefer to display our valks in battroid, Bandai offers something far more to my taste. It's not without its flaws, and I do wish they'd made fixes since 2019 (god knows they've had time), but with its being the only alternative to the Yammie, I'm definitely down for a copy.

 

2 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Honestly, I'm hitting the point where that's not even guaranteed.  After the past few releases, I feel like buying more is rewarding a half-assed effort.

 

3 minutes ago, Mog said:

Nah, perfectly happy with the two Yammie’s I got.

I keep harping about the issues on the Bandai, because I’d like for other folks to get a version that’s a clear improvement or one that favors battroid more.

But this one accomplishes neither of those goals.

I've slowed down on my Macross purchases. The last fig I bought was the anniversary VF-25 b/c I love that design and it has a gorgeous paint job. Prior to that, I think the last Macross thing I bought was an Arcadia Ve-1 Elintseeker a few years ago when they reissued it. I've never owned that variant, and I thought it'd be cool. I was right- it's a pretty sweet, if fragile, toy. However, to finally have a YF-21 with a better B-mode than the Yammie, this design satisfies me. Perhaps I'm settling, but I don't see any other options in the foreseeable future. Macross is still pretty niche, options are severely limited, so it's a matter of what you're willing to accept.

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, to be fair, the posing does significantly help the battroid to not look so bad.  Their original display just looked kind of pathetic.  The hands being fists and gripping the gun also helps them not look so incredibly tiny.

[na2tt]

29 minutes ago, borgified said:

I'm guessing maybe close to 26k yen - 28k yen for the DX YF-21 if it ever gets released or should I dare say mothballed again? As a complete set together, most likely it is not going to happen, however the DX YF-19 would be likely re-issued as a MWW release (maybe a plain Jane version like the Excalibur).  

Awesome, thanks! Time to save up money. Getting both the YF-19 and YF-21 together is a dream for me

[no3Ljm]

31 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Honestly, I'm hitting the point where that's not even guaranteed.  After the past few releases, I feel like buying more is rewarding a half-assed effort.

This is also true for me. Hence, why I'm not buying a lot of stuff lately and it's mostly what I really want. As for the DX YF-21, I'll probably going to get one for the sake that I have the DX YF-19 to pair with. But assuming that if I started not liking the YF-21 prior of its release, then I might decide on selling my YF-19 instead since I already have the Arcadia/Yamato ones which I prefer more than its DX counterparts. 

20 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Without a moment's hesitation. I've wanted a more proportionally 'accurate' YF-21 in battroid , b/c mileage varies, to replace my Yammie almost from the time I got that toy. I figure the folks who prefer fighter mode already have their perfect transformable YF-21- it is beautiful. However, for those of us who prefer to display our valks in battroid, Bandai offers something far more to my taste. It's not without its flaws, and I do wish they'd made fixes since 2019 (god knows they've had time), but with its being the only alternative to the Yammie, I'm definitely down for a copy.

I've slowed down on my Macross purchases. The last fig I bought was the anniversary VF-25 b/c I love that design and it has a gorgeous paint job. Prior to that, I think the last Macross thing I bought was an Arcadia Ve-1 Elintseeker a few years ago when they reissued it. I've never owned that variant, and I thought it'd be cool. I was right- it's a pretty sweet, if fragile, toy. However, to finally have a YF-21 with a better B-mode than the Yammie, this design satisfies me. Perhaps I'm settling, but I don't see any other options in the foreseeable future. Macross is still pretty niche, options are severely limited, so it's a matter of what you're willing to accept.

Same here too. I really wanted a good-looking YF-21 Battroid. But we do all know that the best looking YF-21 Battroid is basically the GN-u-Dou one which is not transformable. If that were only in 1/60 scale, I would've bought one instead. 

But since Macross merchandise is niche as you pointed it out, I'll take it for what it is. So even if this YF-21 is not going to be a perfect one, I'm still going to get it. But like I said above, if I started not liking it before release, then I have to decide what to do with my YF-19.  

[Chronocidal]

1 minute ago, no3Ljm said:

..But like I said above, if I started not liking it before release, then I have to decide what to do with my YF-19.  

I would just continue to enjoy the YF-19, even if the YF-21 disappoints you.  No reason to get rid of something good if it doesn't match something bad.  

[Lolicon]

All that tampo printing isn't dazzling enough to hide the fact that fighter mode is inferior to Yamato. I felt the same way about their YF-19 compared to Arcadia's. And their 1/48 VF-1 compared the Yamato 1/60.

Bandai is incapable of improving something without detracting from elsewhere. 

[no3Ljm]

3 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

I would just continue to enjoy the YF-19, even if the YF-21 disappoints you.  No reason to get rid of something good if it doesn't match something bad.  

I know.  But then, I'm currently in that verge where I need to rethink about the stuff that I have esp some that I have in doubles or have it in different scales and what to really keep in order for me to display everything. 

 

[no3Ljm]

4 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

All that tampo printing isn't dazzling enough to hide the fact that fighter mode is inferior to Yamato. I felt the same way about their YF-19 compared to Arcadia's. And their 1/48 VF-1 compared the Yamato 1/60.

Bandai is incapable of improving something without detracting from elsewhere. 

Bandai finally gave us swivel nosecone/waist joints. That counts to something, right? 

 

[Big s]

25 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I really wanted a good-looking YF-21 Battroid. But we do all know that the best looking YF-21 Battroid is basically the GN-u-Dou

Personally for a non transforming battroid of the YF-21 I liked the revoltech the best

[wm cheng]

Is the show over?  I wish there was some concrete info about availability on this. 

I'm personally loving all the Bandai DXs over my old Yamato/Arcadia stuff (I still haven't forgotten how expensive the Yamato/Arcadia YF-19 was and how bare it is compared to the Bandai and how many hours it took me with custom graphics/decals to get it up to a respectable condition to display with the rest of my collection - its still left a raw taste that's tainted a lot of older releases in my memory, I guess I hold a grudge).

[badboy00z]

I'm surprised that no one/ company has made anime accurate legs for the Yamato YF-21 since the legs are removable. I personally feel that parts forming for the YF-21 is fine considering the anime magic involved with the transformation. We'll probably get that with the inevitable 1/100 HG YF-21.

[no3Ljm]

9 minutes ago, badboy00z said:

I'm surprised that no one/ company has made anime accurate legs for the Yamato YF-21 since the legs are removable. I personally feel that parts forming for the YF-21 is fine considering the anime magic involved with the transformation. We'll probably get that with the inevitable 1/100 HG YF-21.

I remember @Kurisama is once planning on doing YF-21 legs thru Shapeways back in the day. But I also remember that he got busy with work too after that.