rematron

I seem to remember something about the aesthetic of the leg kibble of the 19 and 21 supposing to be reminiscent of samurai armor… Or am I making that up…?

It's no problem! It's been an ongoing off and on discussion since the first photos showed up. Lots of repetition and opinions. I've just been glued to this thread from the get-go.

@wsna: My take on the legs from a month ago. Page 49

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I’m wondering if they’ll re-release the YF-19 full set. I’ve been holding off on getting a 19 until the 21 came out. I’m in the small minority that’s not so excited about the 19. 🙂

And if we're going by the photos, it looks like it's also coming with a delimiter mode presentation attachment.

Any educated guesses on when this will get released? Does anybody have any memory of Bandai teasing something else at shows for 4 years? I do realize that covid might have played a part but we're past that for the most part and here's the prototype staring at us again. I'm an old fan of Macross but I only started collecting the toys 5 years ago, so I haven't really seen the trends.

Yup, you’re absolutely right. I cropped and oriented the 2023 fighter photo to better match the 2019 battroid photo and the differences are a lot more subtle than I thought in my post. I can’t stop staring at this toy. Really looking forward to it. Time for me to give it a rest. 😅 2019 2023:

It does look like the actual canopy was tweaked since its debut in October 2019. Particularly the front part of the grey obscured ‘window’ area as well as the two profile clear windows on either side. 2019: 2023:

Yeah, fair enough. *knocks on wood* 🤐

You have to keep in mind that different types of lenses were used to take each of these photos you put together. Enlarging the front and shrinking the back is a common effect. Look at any of your Bandai Valkyrie packaging and you’ll see it.

Agreed. And it's amazing what a different kind of camera lens will do in combination with approach and composition. It makes the front look longer and the back look shorter just like most of Bandai product and packaging shots go for. I'm liking it, though. Can't wait to get it in my hands and on my shelf. Really looking forward to landing gear that won't collapse with the slightest nudge.

Thanks for the video, @Froy. Some more stills for comparison:

Oh! Do I see a tilting seat gimmick in there?!

Thanks for the link, @dtwn! @M'Kyuun, that’s some really amazing work. Inspiring! I’ve been a big fan of Legos since forever and you’ve taken them to an awesome level!

Got me curious. Could you please post a link?

@Seto Kaiba Thank you. Those are the reasons I made up in my head but it's good to hear someone confirm my fantasy.

This is a little off topic but something that’s been at the back of my mind for years but never vocalized maybe because it might be a stupid question. What’s up with the lack of horizontal stabilizers on Macross non-delta style airframe designs? There, I finally asked. 😅

Well, I suppose if I really want a matte coat I could apply it to the one I have. But I have yet to take any steps like that in the refinement of my toys. Someday I'd also like to paint one of my VF-31 Siegfried's matte black for a stealthier look.

I'm really hoping they reissue the 'general issue' VF-25. That's my favorite.

This is AMAZING. I'm so happy I happened upon this thread. I'm speechless.

Fair point but we all have to agree that the YF-21 has a whole new special kind of anime magic necessary when it comes to those big legs disappearing into the sleek fighter. It is, after all, the only one of Kawanori-san's designs that doesn't utilize the 'intake/engine/thruster = leg' format which enables him to 'hide' the legs in plain sight. Even the line art and drawings I've seen don't really address how the big legs fit into the little space under the belly plates without squishing the fairly large engines up top. Not a problem for the VF-1. I wonder if the design was sort of a personal challenge for Kawamori-san to see if he could break away from the 'legs=engine nacelles' formula. My defense for the Yamato design has always been that if it were 'real life', big legs wouldn't be necessary to make the mech mobile in battroid because the lift would still be generated by the 'backpack/engines and that would be the majority of the control for its lateral or vertical movement with the legs acting more like kickstands - sort of like an Appollo lunar lander or the legs of a mosquito. This is to say nothing of how the legs look or support the weight of the TOY. It's just my brain making a reason for this toy to look the way it does as if I were playing with it in deep imagination mode. The Bandai design is sort of a different Macross universe in my mind where they (General Galaxy) decided that the legs needed to be big and beefy and agile for whatever reason (in case the engines break down and it still needs to be mobile?) And they (Bandai) tackled the question of what the plane would actually look like if it needed beefy legs AND engines. Just my personal take on it. Cheers and happy Halloween from the west side of Washington State.

Honestly, I'm really getting used to Bandai's vision of the YF-21 and its proportions. It reminds me a little of an F-35 in the nose, canopy and forward fuselage. in this rendition. I'm looking forward to the PO and getting one in my hands and on my shelf. Here's a thought: What if this mecha had been imagined and designed within the last few years using computer graphics instead of hand drawn and therefor wasn't using nearly as much anime magic to pull off its presentation in various modes? Would we have gotten something more like this in the first place? It may be improved upon in the future and I'd welcome that but I'm super excited to get this version now. Being a watcher of Macross back in its incarnation with DYRL, Macross Plus got me back into the franchise when it came out and the YF-21 has been one of my favorite valks ever since.

I'm also not liking how the arm canons are pointing inward in that photo. Great if it's shooting at something a few meters in front of it.

It's hard to tell for sure but it doesn't look like there is a rotating chair in the cockpit. It seems like it would be necessary to add that feature or at least some sort of canopy shielding to obscure the interior if they're ever going to release a VF-22 (which I hope they do). On a side note, I'm really looking forward to a YF-21 that won't fall on its belly with the slightest touch because of unlocking landing gear.