Identifying a 1/65 DX VF-19/VF-17 I picked up

[Shawn]

I figured they were cheap and weird enough to risk getting. With the strong dollar/yen they were $30 each.

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m97182552540

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m95692071048

No painted logos, strange plastic cast coloring.

Either a really weird set of bootlegs, or (let me go out on a limb here) some old Bandai DX test shots?
Or better yet, test shots of bootlegs 😛

Thoughts?

 

[Kicker773]

The 17 is legit, the 19 is a knock off

[Shawn]

You mean a legit normal 17? The coloring looks off from the others I've seen online.
Guess it could be the camera/photos introducing a green tint. When I get them in-hand will get some better pics

Any info on how to tell on the 19? What are you looking for?
( I'm the model kit guy...the toys I've not paid too much attention to)

greenish tint

 

blackish blue?

[Shawn]

I see the kite and intakes are stickers...so that explains that, and the additional blue stripes

[nightmareB4macross]

I think their sun damaged.

[Kicker773]

The wing colors on the 19 and the shoulder plastic color. I wish I could go through the storage and pull out the knock off ones. The boxes look almost identical to the Bandai ones except for the Bandai logo, it’s a character’s image. 
 

 

[Shawn]

so not this version

http://dennis-toys.blogspot.com/2009/01/replica-vf-19s-blazer-valkyrie.html

but variant of it

I'm going to request shipping soon will be interesting to see if they are sunburnt

 

[nightmareB4macross]

Hopefully, they aren’t sunburnt and that means there’s more rare boots out there.

And don’t forget this lovely “gem” (term used very loosely) is still out there.

[jvmacross]

Just go with the story that the seller's dad used to work for Bandai and he recently cleaned out his attic of all kinds of old toys and other of his dad's "worthless junk"....but he thinks his dad once told him these were Bandai test samples before they went through some "chroming" process that his dad had suggested to Bandai when asked to brainstorm ideas on how to milk the molds...

[Knight26]

Maybe it's because pretty much all my VF-19s were knockoffs (I think), but that VF-19 might be legit, as I have never seen the 1/65 VF-19F/S with the shorter wings and san-canards. 

[Shawn]

6 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Just go with the story that the seller's dad used to work for Bandai and he recently cleaned out his attic of all kinds of old toys and other of his dad's "worthless junk"....but he thinks his dad once told him these were Bandai test samples before they went through some "chroming" process that his dad had suggested to Bandai when asked to brainstorm ideas on how to milk the molds...

Perfect...sold!

[nightmareB4macross]

Just for the fun of it. Here is another VF-17.

[Bolt]

Gawd! That thing is fugly..

[mark-1s]

Long lost brothers 

[jvmacross]

6 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Just for the fun of it. Here is another VF-17.

They could have almost had  Millia -17...

[Knight26]

Have you gotten hands on these yet @Shawn? 

[derex3592]

On 11/9/2022 at 7:26 AM, nightmareB4macross said:

Just for the fun of it. Here is another VF-17.

Ohhh DEAR LORD! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE! 🤣

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Ohhh DEAR LORD! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE! 🤣

Nah, give it to me; I'll fix it.

[jenius]

On 11/9/2022 at 5:26 AM, nightmareB4macross said:

Just for the fun of it. Here is another VF-17.

I absolutely adore it

[Shawn]

Who called just a regular sunburnt VF-19?????? You are the winner!!
That seller really needs a new phone camera...how in the heck could the colors be that far off. I mean that is WAY off.

Auction on left, what I got on the right
Sometimes you win, sometimes not. 

[Knight26]

I would still call it a win, depending on price, as I have never been able to find an actual Mac-7 VF-19F/S 1:65 that wasn't a kitbashed bootleg with VF-19 Kai parts.

[jvmacross]

3 hours ago, Knight26 said:

I would still call it a win, depending on price, as I have never been able to find an actual Mac-7 VF-19F/S 1:65 that wasn't a kitbashed bootleg with VF-19 Kai parts.

You must be looking in all the wrong places....Original Bandai 1/65 VF-19S's are easy to find on YJA, they come up quite often on auction

 

[jvmacross]

5 hours ago, Shawn said:

Who called just a regular sunburnt VF-19?????? You are the winner!!
That seller really needs a new phone camera...how in the heck could the colors be that far off. I mean that is WAY off.

Auction on left, what I got on the right
Sometimes you win, sometimes not. 

What about the -17?  That one was green on the pics too, no?

[Shawn]

Nope-no green tint at all

Maybe they took the pictures under a tree 

I don't feel too bad at the $30 each, but was disappointed pulling them out of the bubble wrap
I just went 'oh...these are just sunburt beaters'
Guess I got cocky after finding that pre-production display DX VF-1  😛