Which one the best to buy, Arcadia YF-19 or DX YF-19

[Vintage Fanboy]

Hi, guys..

 

I decided to buy my first Valkyrie, and it would be YF-19 .. i found some of them from somw different companies, but i'd fallen to only two; between Arcadia or DX Chogokin .. which one should go? Aesthetic appearances and mechanical gimmicks are first two my priorities..

Please, share with your experiences and thoughts..

Thanks and much appreciation.. 🙏🏼

[Mommar]

If you want it to look like the Plus Anime it's Arcadia.  If you want fancier engineering but a model that looks more like the second Frontier movie model go with DX.

[Froy]

If you are completionits I remind you that only the DX toy comes with a included fold booster.

Arcadia 19 is compatible with Yamato fold booster tho.

[Slave IV]

You didn’t mention budget so the only correct answer is to get both. I have both and I personally like the Arcadia one better overall and I typically feel Arcadia makes better products. If deco matters, the DX has a lot more tampo details than the regular Arcadia release but the recent Arcadia Premium Finish release has almost as much tampo (some feel DX has too much) and panel lining. 

[no3Ljm]

You should probably add the poll option in your first post in case the poll value will help you making decision.  

Here's some factors to consider:

• Check the availability since both of them are already out and probably above the MSRP price.
• Make sure that you're within your budget and willing to pay enough for what it's asking. We don't want you selling some organs in the black market just to get it.  (E.g. Bandai DX Chogokin YF-19 is going between 50000-60000yen nowadays in secondary market. Versus the original 27000yen when it came out. Arcadia YF-19 on the other hand, they just released the Premium Finish version which is more recommended than to get the regular release.)
• If you like the YF-19 close to the anime, prefer it beefier, and doesn't look like a Bandai toy, get the Arcadia. Though if you go this route and want it complete with the Fold Booster, you have to hunt down and spend extra for the old Yamato Fold Booster accessory set.
• If you want more posability and like the playability factors, go with DX Chogokin. Comes in full set. Fold Booster and effect parts included.

I'm lucky enough to have both figures because I love YF-19. But overall, I prefer the Arcadia more because it looks premium for me even if it's just the regular release that I own. It doesn't look like a toy for me.

Anyways, hope all our input helps you decide on which one to get. And good luck on the hunt. Happy collecting! 

[ErikElvis]

I personally just like the look of the Arcadia more. 

[Sanity is Optional]

Arcadia looks better in fighter form, and is more anime-accurate in appearance.

Bandai looks better in Battroid form, and is more detailed in appearance.

[Chronocidal]

I would definitely recommend looking over Jenius' review on Anymoon.com for a good rundown of the two, since he very well covers the comparison of the two at all levels. https://anymoon.com/blog/?p=8151

He also reaches the same conclusion I did, as it seems others have as well: If you can afford it, just get both.  

There is the oddball of the VF-19 Advance, if you can track it down, but I do not know how that would compare to the other two in terms of price.  Personally, I like that one's design slightly better than the DX YF-19, just for the different feet, and what I consider a slightly better paintscheme (even though it's SMS markings, vs the original UN SPACY version).  It also doesn't include any of the missiles, using the Frontier-style wing boosters instead.

The DX and Arcadia YF-19 releases both have the full set of missiles to load on the plane, though Bandai also includes the fold booster, as well as the special arm cannon mount seen for a few seconds in the animation, and they even adapted it to work in fighter mode (albeit, a bit awkwardly with a gunpod).

My personal take on the two?  The Arcadia feels easier and more intuitive to transform, is closer to the original animation (both in proportion and paint/markings), and nails the classic hand-drawn look.  The Bandai feels more like a transforming model to me, with a much more involved and intricate transformation, slightly better flexibility for posing, much more painted detail (I would personally call it overdone), and an overall look that feels closer to the slimmer Frontier-era designs, almost to the point of looking like a transforming version of the Hasegawa aircraft-only kit.

Note.. they also both suffer from having a generally ineffective "high speed mode" mechanism to fold the wings back.  While the missiles are a great idea in principle, the extra weight will probably send the wings flailing around out of position if you handle them a lot.  The Bandai version has a slightly better mechanism, in that it has some amount of a ratcheting feel to it, but it can still easily go floppy.  If you aren't afraid to do the work to take the wings apart, there are things that can be done to fix this, but it's tricky work, no matter which version you decide to get.

[Vintage Fanboy]

Thnk u fr ur opinions, guys.. so appreciate thm.. i'd read and wtchd the review about DX YF-19 frm Anymoon and also wtchd some rviews about Arcdia YF-19, and personally feel like the DX YF-19 is based more into engineering - focus made; how a sleeky petite and precisely gapless mechanical figure could smoothly transform into 3 different modes?!? And i think to achieve those, they sacrificed the aesthetic appearances (the resembling of anime line arts accuracy), or maybe Bandai wanted to seperate from the Arcadia's and therefore they made their "own version" of YF-19!?.. Mechanically, it is indeed an excellent made yet feels quiet delicate (and therefore need more extra care to transform it, as there are quiet more gapless parts in-between go through sliding mechanism, even gapless than my Rubik's cube!) than Arcadia's .. Arcadia is truer to the Anime line arts arts and looks more robust, quiet easier to handle and most importantly, it is cheaper!!! =D

m goin' to frequently change into 3 different modes to put it on display, so Arcadia is the best for me, it's more anime acurate yet somehow less risky and more affordable ..

and consider to own the other one later..

[Slave IV]

I haven’t messed with any of my YF-19s in a while but not sure what you mean when you say gapless. If literally, Arcadia Valks usually have much better fit with little to no unsightly gaps. Bandai Valks in general tend to have wider tolerances that leave gaps and parts that don’t fit or tab quite as nicely. Anyways, sounds like you made your choice and it was probably a good one if you had to choose one. That’s what I would have done if I had to choose. 

[Vintage Fanboy]

2 hours ago, Slave IV said:

I haven’t messed with any of my YF-19s in a while but not sure what you mean when you say gapless. If literally, Arcadia Valks usually have much better fit with little to no unsightly gaps. Bandai Valks in general tend to have wider tolerances that leave gaps and parts that don’t fit or tab quite as nicely. Anyways, sounds like you made your choice and it was probably a good one if you had to choose one. That’s what I would have done if I had to choose. 

.. yeah, found that DX has noticeable gap between both legs and shield on its fighter mode. But on its battroid mode, it smoother and every part seems fit more nicely than.. Both have their own pros and cons, and i really want to own both of them, but DX is very overkilling these days even for pre-owned ones.. just more talking, i think the best of Arcadia is their Macross Zero renditions..

[treatment]

at the 9:28 time-stamp mark for the battroid-comparison:

 

[Slave IV]

9 hours ago, Vintage Fanboy said:

.. yeah, found that DX has noticeable gap between both legs and shield on its fighter mode. But on its battroid mode, it smoother and every part seems fit more nicely than.. Both have their own pros and cons, and i really want to own both of them, but DX is very overkilling these days even for pre-owned ones.. just more talking, i think the best of Arcadia is their Macross Zero renditions..

You’re absolutely right about that last part. The Arcadia Zero Valks are pretty much the best Valk toys ever made by anyone. 

[Robin-11]

I own both arcadia and bandai and i do love both of them. If there is one thing i wish arcadia had was the arm cannon the DX comes with. In battroid mode it looks really stunning. Also if you decide to go for the arcadia one you might want to keep your eyes open for the Premium finish version which has been released yesterday. It is a bit more expensive than the regular one but it might be worth the price.

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, that is definitely something that the Bandai YF-19 mold suffers from, and that's the need to massage it and tweak it for potentially hours to get everything to fit into place correctly.  I like how it looks in all modes, but I very rarely transform the Bandai one.

The Yamato/Arcadia VF-19s and YF-19 all feel much easier to transform.

[lechuck]

Personally I find the DX to be the better toy, but I mainly look at this from a Battroid perspective.

- Proper deep bending elbow joint, with Arcadia's you have fake it by shifting the bicep cover and using the upper transformation hinge
- Thigh swivel and waist swivel
- More independent articulation points around the shoulder for better range of motion
- Head can be angled in any direction
- Shield doesn't fall off so easily from the arm
- Nose cone integrates better into the torso area
- No filler parts required for the rear upper legs, looks very unsightly on the Arcadia one if you don't use it
- Pinpoint barrier punch effect and arm cannon accessories

Specifically for fighter mode I like that Bandai didn't sculpt the nose cone/fuselage area to droop as much, it has that arching thing but sort of keeps a straight line from a side profile view. Also there are no ugly gaps at the knees from the underside.

Generally, Arcadia's take on the YF-19 is a bit lifeless to me vs. the Bandai DX.

[Mommar]

On 3/24/2023 at 10:58 PM, Vintage Fanboy said:

Thnk u fr ur opinions, guys.. so appreciate thm.. i'd read and wtchd the review about DX YF-19 frm Anymoon and also wtchd some rviews about Arcdia YF-19, and personally feel like the DX YF-19 is based more into engineering - focus made; how a sleeky petite and precisely gapless mechanical figure could smoothly transform into 3 different modes?!? And i think to achieve those, they sacrificed the aesthetic appearances (the resembling of anime line arts accuracy), or maybe Bandai wanted to seperate from the Arcadia's and therefore they made their "own version" of YF-19!?.. Mechanically, it is indeed an excellent made yet feels quiet delicate (and therefore need more extra care to transform it, as there are quiet more gapless parts in-between go through sliding mechanism, even gapless than my Rubik's cube!) than Arcadia's .. Arcadia is truer to the Anime line arts arts and looks more robust, quiet easier to handle and most importantly, it is cheaper!!! =D

m goin' to frequently change into 3 different modes to put it on display, so Arcadia is the best for me, it's more anime acurate yet somehow less risky and more affordable ..

and consider to own the other one later..

The reason why the DX version is more "precise" is because it's based off the design from the five seconds of footage in the second Frontier movie where Isamu flies by.  It's not hand drawn but an actual 3D model that fits/matches shape in all three modes better than the hand drawn version from Plus would.  So the DX does resemble the anime, just not Plus.  It resembles Frontier.

[Rhubarbarian]

On 3/25/2023 at 1:57 AM, Vintage Fanboy said:

.. yeah, found that DX has noticeable gap between both legs and shield on its fighter mode. But on its battroid mode, it smoother and every part seems fit more nicely than.. Both have their own pros and cons, and i really want to own both of them, but DX is very overkilling these days even for pre-owned ones.. 

My problem with the Arcadia/DX conundrum is that for every flaw on the DX, there's an equal flaw on the Arcadia. The gap at the knee in fighter on the Arcadia bugs me, the gaps around the shield on the DX bug me, the indentations on the legs on the Arcadia bug me, the angled gun pod on the DX in fighter bugs me... They're both great efforts but it's hard to give a recommendation because it really gets down into the minutia with the differences, and the compromises I'm willing to live with may be dealbreakers for someone else.

I don't think I saw anyone mention it yet, but be careful with the head laser on the DX YF-19 if that's the route you take; a lot of them had broken head lasers out of the box. 

[Angesdad]

31 minutes ago, Rhubarbarian said:

be careful with the head laser on the DX YF-19 if that's the route you take; a lot of them had broken head lasers out of the box. 

+1. My dx 19 box stays on top of everything else for this reason.😉

[Chronocidal]

That actually reminds me of one funny, and probably unintentional feature of the Arcadia version.  Since all of the other YF/VF-19 molds come from the base design of the Fire Valkyrie, all of the other variants can actually hide their center head laser under the arm shield.  Remove the shield, then rotate the laser down, and it'll nestle up between the elbows, provided you've folded down the little panel at the top of the spine.

 

[MKT]

Yeah.. they are both so similar with their respective plus & minuses, is that to me the only way to personally decide which one’s better is to ironically have both in hand.

One feature I love about Arcadia’s over Bandai’s, is the way the cockpit opens. Whether canon or not, or by toy design legacy stretching all the way back to the Yammie is that for the front canopy to open properly, the anti-glare bit ahead of it need to be recessed.

It’s an additional step, but the canopy looks much smarter in this open position compared to Bandai’s.
It’s a brilliant design touch and I display my Arcadia this way.

[Pontus]

My 2¥... If you want all the cool accessories and features, go Bandai.  If you want accuracy and ease of transformation, but doing your own decals or want to customize (unless you go premium) go Arcadia.  I feel like Arcadia is much more picky about quality than Bandai.  I only have one Arcadia, the VF-1J GBP, and it's a beauty, but imho, it's all plastic.  I know Bandai puts metal weights in things to make it feel better, but it must be effective because it just feels sturdier to me.

Like I said tho, and as others have pointed out, expect some quality issues with the Bandai if you get it.  You can find replacement head lasers on shapeways iirc if you get a broken one (I did).  I also had to loosen the hips which requires taking out a couple of easily accessible screws, a pretty simple easy job.  My arm cannon fell apart and had to be glued back together too.  

The Bandai is fiddly to transform, but I sorta like that personally as long as it's solid when done and well engineered, and the Bandai is indeed solid imho.  That said, after seeing the Anymoon review of the Yamato YF-21 and knowing Bandai may never even release theirs, not to mention I wasn't a fan of the appearance, I decided to buy the old Yamato (which became Arcadia if you're new to this).  I liked it better than the DX if I'm being honest.

Oh, and you'll definitely want to grab that X-9 Ghost that's in the for sale section to complete the set!  

Edited March 28, 2023 by Pontus

[no3Ljm]

Just want to add that if the color of the landing gears matters... Arcadia FTW.  

[Lolicon]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Just want to add that if the color of the landing gears matters... Arcadia FTW.  

Pfft no one cares about that! 😇

[davidwhangchoi]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:40 PM, no3Ljm said:

Though if you go this route and want it complete with the Fold Booster, you have to hunt down and spend extra for the old Yamato Fold Booster accessory set.

Agree with Noel, and dont forget the rare Arcadia YF-19 Wonderfest Exclusive Parts by TREX that you have to hunt down.

I still haven't built my set yet.

[no3Ljm]

47 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Pfft no one cares about that! 😇

Oh come on now. 

38 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

Agree with Noel, and dont forget the rare Arcadia YF-19 Wonderfest Exclusive Parts by TREX that you have to hunt down.

I still haven't built my set yet.

I'm just here if you don't want it anymore. 

[Chronocidal]

Funny to think the Arcadia implementation of the VF-25 booster pack set is arguably better than Bandai's in many ways.  The wing boosters on the Bandai are notoriously finnicky to stay on, and unlike the Bandai shoulder... pads?.. the Arcadia ones actually rotate and open up into missile launchers.

I do wish they'd come out with a full release of them, but while they're cool to display in fighter, they're too clunky in all the other modes to really feel natural.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Chronocidal

[Lolicon]

43 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Funny to think the Arcadia implementation of the VF-25 booster pack set is arguably better than Bandai's in many ways.  The wing boosters on the Bandai are notoriously finnicky to stay on, and unlike the Bandai shoulder... pads?.. the Arcadia ones actually rotate and open up into missile launchers.

I do wish they'd come out with a full release of them, but while they're cool to display in fighter, they're too clunky in all the other modes to really feel natural.

Probably a licensing issue. The VF-25-style wing boosters are from Frontier after all.

[davidwhangchoi]

6 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

I'm just here if you don't want it anymore. 

unfortunately it's all in storage east coast and i'm on the west coast. 

I miss my Macross collection (brown shippers and all)

[Vintage Fanboy]

Thnk you for all your opinions, guys.. rlly apprciate thm 🙏🏼

[pengbuzz]

On 3/26/2023 at 3:02 PM, Rhubarbarian said:

My problem with the Arcadia/DX conundrum is that for every flaw on the DX, there's an equal flaw on the Arcadia. The gap at the knee in fighter on the Arcadia bugs me, the gaps around the shield on the DX bug me, the indentations on the legs on the Arcadia bug me, the angled gun pod on the DX in fighter bugs me... They're both great efforts but it's hard to give a recommendation because it really gets down into the minutia with the differences, and the compromises I'm willing to live with may be dealbreakers for someone else.

I don't think I saw anyone mention it yet, but be careful with the head laser on the DX YF-19 if that's the route you take; a lot of them had broken head lasers out of the box. 

You could always get them both, take them both apart, and use the best of both to build a perfect YF-19.