onnasake

Soooo....you don't use your fold booster, eh? You, uh, interested in working out some kind of deal for the little connector piece I broke? (Assuming you have this toy, that is.) I know I'm not being realistic. Anyone that spent this much on a toy isn't gonna want to parse out the parts. EDIT.......ah shitballz....I heard back from Bandai customer service and they say they're all out of YF-19s so they can't help me. I know it's a long shot, but if any of you guys were crazy enough to buy multiples, and would be willing to live without that part, I'd be more than happy to trade missiles for it. I basically load mine out with the fast packs and the booster, so ALL the missiles are just sitting in the box. The pinpoint punch too...I don't think I've ever even removed it from the tray. Missiles, missile connectors, green punchy thing...the connector is more important to me than any of those. I'm a desperate man.

Well, if I wasn't dumbass of the year for yanking the leg off, I certainly am now.

So today I transformed the YF-19 from battroid to fighter. Oh man, I was so excited...all the pieces and fast packs were lining up beautifully...maybe the best I've ever managed. I attached the fold booster...... And I dropped the goddamn thing. I DROPPED MY $300 toy. After all the bullshit I've been through you'd think I'd be as careful as handling a Faberge egg but NOOOOOOOOOOO. One of the green connectors that holds the Fold Booster snapped clean in half. I tried gluing it but it just wouldn't hold. I should count myself lucky that's all that broke. Clearly, I was never meant to own this toy.

I very much prefer the bare diecast to painted. I think it looks more like a plane's landing gears should look.

I know this is a nitpick, but I find myself looking at the cockpit and thinking they could have put some kind of tiny tampo in there for screen details. Am I greedy or unreasonable for thinking that? No way I'd attempt it myself, but it would be cool since there's details on just about every other millimeter of this thing, including the pilots.

The part where you basically unfold it all on that main little frame was the part that got me. I'm sure I'd have broken it if I hadn't watched the video. The tolerance was TIGHT. It was also good to know going in how delicate this thing was, so I was more prepared to treat it like my Bandai and not my Transformers.

I just got the re-release Stick in. I never owned the first version, so I don't know if it's got better QC. It's still fiddly as all hell but I just don't think that can be helped due to the design. I'm just really really glad I watched videos this time, unlike my mishap with the YF-19. There's no way in hell I'd have been able to transform this thing based on the instructions alone.

Guys, I'm still a newbie when it comes to most of this stuff. Does this mean that SHF Spike from Cowboy Bebop is some kind of rare hard to order exclusive??

Got mine back to Battroid. Getting easier, all pegs in, thing of beauty. But one again the fast pack arm just was not doing it for me no matter what method I tried. I finally gave up and left him in "naked" fighter more. still looks amazing but this whole fast past pegging business pisses me off. One day I get it just right, the next, no force on earth can get it to align. Frustrating to say the least.

So the Lightning will be my first Hi Metal. What are we talking size wise? How tall in inches in robot mode are these usually? What's the closest Transformers equivalent to fighter mode?

The wing gap indeed goes in all the way. I sheepishly pushed it down after seeing no3Ljm's helpful pics. But the main problem, those sharp tabs that are on the neck of the plane, and in robot mode float above the back of the legs? Sorry, I have no idea how to better describe those. They've never fit. Not once. When I opened it and pulled it out of the styrofoam those two pieces were hanging there, half pushed in. My guess is someone returned it to bandai cause of that, and they refurbished it and sent it to me, and it's a hell of an improvement over the one I yanked the leg off of. But yes, I did get the wing root (?) tabs pushed all the way down after seeing that pic above.

Unfortunately, the areas in green will not go in/lay flush under any circumstances. I think this is one of the reasons I got it as a replacement from the bandai replacement center. Pretty sure it was defective from the factory. Everything else will tab in, but the parts you highlighted absolutely will not. I've tried a hundred times. and I've certainly learned my lesson about excessive force. So for those areas? I've just learned to live with it and be happy that the arms and fast packs are finally in place!

Well after weeks of trial and error I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I had finally got the "basic" fighter mode all pegged together beautifully. A sight to see, let me tell you. But I still want to see it all decked out...the fast packs and the fold booster. All my previous attempts had left gaps and parts not sitting flush. Here's what I was doing wrong: The beige/white flap that folds down under the shoulder and aligns with the upper arm; when getting everything aligned in fighter mode, it has to sit juuuust right, almost locking into place with those pesky little gray pieces that slot into the back of the legs. I had shoved them on top of those pieces, throwing it all out of whack. No; they kind of "mesh" and fold together, and that give the shoulder pieces more room in fighter mode to attach the grey shoulder extensions. For the very first time, everything pegged with no overlapped/ forced/stressed parts. The arm assemblies now all pegged in and sat more or less flush beautifully for the first time since I've got this thing. The legs are aligned; especially crucial is to give that one joint near the hip just that extra click to give space.. My single complaint remains the wing tabs and how one tab is left "floating" and unpegged, but I know that's not just mine. That's a design flaw on all of them. My only concern is the strain it will put on the fragile plastic of the narrow wing pegs that go into the side of the plane. Even with everything aligned there's still some strain on that very thin plastic. I love this mode and it looks amazing but I'll be sure to transform it frequently so I don't leave it in that "strained" position for extended amounts of time. What a thrill to see this fighter all decked out.....fast packs in place, fold booster in place, Isamu and Yang ready to take off. I'd done it before but it was clearly wrong.....I think I've got it as right as I'm gonna get it now. And to think, it was all those pesky under-shoulder parts that caused it all to not fit. I hope my description is adequate to illustrate what I mean cause my camera kinda sucks. My fighter finally looks like the youtube vids of the more experienced collectors so that makes me happy. Awesome toy. I gladly retract every bad thing I ever said about it. In fact, it's in the running for my toy of the year now. Unthinkable considering how I hated it so much upon my unboxing, but like I said, that was all on ME and my impatience. This thing is gorgeous in battroid AND fighter. I haven't bother with gerwalk though cause I always thought it was dumb. Does my rambling make sense? Have I managed to illustrate what I did wrong and how I figured it out? When the shoulder fast packs snapped in properly for the first time in fighter mode I almost yelled with joy. Having said that, no force on earth can keep those tailfins on if you touch em, but screw it. I save them for very last and attach em and don't touch them. I am so, so, so glad I didn't give up on this toy and kept it instead of returning it. Thanks for all the advice in this thread and thanks for the wonderful tutorial videos that helped immensely. Axl Rose said it best......"Just a little PATIENCE....yeahhh...need some more PATIENCE."

Well, my toy was sent to me from the Bandai repair center, so it's very possible it's a factory reject or irregular in some way. It's an improvement over the one I ripped the leg off of, of course.

I am talking about the wing tab, but I'm talking about the lower one that IS supposed to tab in to the leg fast pack armor. It is supposed to, right? When I do it, the untabbed part stretches and it seems way too risky.

Both the trigger fingers broke off my first version. But it was completely my fault for shoving them into the arms without being remotely careful about what I was doing. They only fit if they're configured a certain way. I glued them back on and the glue held great, but thankfully, my entire toy was replaced, so I'm being a lot more careful now. I just put mine back into fighter mode. One of the legs just doesn't wanna line up right, no matter what I do, and I've learned the hard way to NOT FORCE ANYTHING. With no extra parts on, it looks pretty decent. But if I try to add the fast packs, the ONE peg that pegs into the leg covers causes the whole plastic wing to stretch really far. I get uncomfortable looking at it. So. No fast packs in fighter mode. Just makes me too nervous the way the tolerances are tested to the limit. Regular fighter and battroid are fine, but man....I do NOT like the way the fast packs are designed. Seems like a really bad idea to leave it in that configuration for any amount of time. Maybe it's just mine.

Once again, I'm showing my Macross ignorance here, so please go easy on me. I absolutely love the original series, and Macross Plus, but that's where my knowledge (and interest) ends. But as far as I know, Isamu was in the VF Advance in a video game for a few seconds, and a movie for a few seconds, right? When/where did he ever fly the YF-29 in the media? I've always wondered that.

V4 Lightning is now 17,800 yen on amazon japan. That didn't take long....scalpers are pre-scalping. Scalpers gonna scalp, I guess. With other toylines I collect, the price almost always comes down once it's released and there's enough to go around, but I don't know enough about Macross to make that claim. My only purchase is the YF-19 which has been sitting around 30,000 since release date and has been readily available. I guess we'll see in March what happens!

And you saved the best for last, too!

I pre-ordered from amazon japan....wasn't a very big discount. They usually have a 30% discount off Masterpiece Transformers. I'm new to the Macross thing...should I wait for a discount or just keep my pre-order which is around 11,000 yen?

The few scant minutes of new footage in "Flashback 2012" are some of my favorite Macross moments of all time. This heart-tugging mix of sadness and optimism. I can't look at the Lightning and not hear Minmay singing "Angel's Paints." Why does that make me wanna cry? I just bought my first (and insanely expensive) Macross toy...the YF 19. The Hi-Metal R Lightning will be my second. I wish they were in scale....but I'll just take what I can get. Cause hey, this smaller one should be a lot cheaper right. But that's all OK? Please don't let me get anymore. I can't afford to go down this path. YF-19 and Lightning III cause they are so sentimental to me. No more, OK? Well YF-19 DOES need a YF-21 to fight, so maybe three....NO!! Come on guys help me out here....I can't go down this path.....I can't!! But.....but....the Lightning for sure.....argh.....it's happening, isn't it? There's no turning back....

I had never, ever intended to spend $300 on a single toy....I still can't believe I did. But man....if Bandai makes a YF-21 as good looking as this? I'll end up spending another $300.

Anyone here a fan of comedian Bill Burr? He had a bit where his wife brought home a pit bull as a rescue from an animal shelter. Naturally Bill hated the thing and was afraid of it attacking him and going for his jugular. But a funny thing happened....as a few days went on, it got friendly, he started playing with it, and a few days later he says "Goddamn I think I love this dog!!" That bit kept going through my head when I think of my relationship with the YF-19. The first day was utter, frustrating misery with me screaming and cursing and actually cutting my fingers on the sharp parts. I hated it. I felt so ripped off. I was, to use the Brit vernacular..."gutted." Then a funny thing happened....I messed with it more and more and started to think "am I started to love this goddamn thing?" And of course on day 4 the infamous leg snap happened. But getting the replacement just picked up that "love" right where I left off. I've done a 180. I love this thing. Top Ten of the year for me. I actually find myself at work looking forward to getting home and messing with it. I'm embarrassed by all the crap I said on the first day. The toy is a gem. Not only do I not hate it, not only do I like it....I LOVE the damn thing!!! I hope you guys are loving yours too!!

Sorry this is a little late.....double sorry I don't have a fancy camera. This was taken on an old Samsung that I actually dropped in the bath the other night. I wish that was a joke, but it's true. Here's the insert that was right inside my replacement's packaging. It was NOT in my initial shipment of the toy. I hope that's legible enough!!

By the way....on my (replacement) toy, the Battroid mode comes together and holds together better than fighter. I still have some annoying gaps around the neck of the plane that I just can't seem to get to close. But I'm thrilled by how nice the Battroid looks. In fact, I've left it in Battroid mode in my display for about a week now. That definitely seems to be the less popular opinion on Macross in general though. Seems almost all pics I see of displays are in fighter mode. Does anyone leave their toys in Battroid mode for any extended amount of time? Just curious.