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Yamato 1/60 VF-17 Nightmare Diamond Force


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Nice pics! I like the markings on the arms that you put on, Graham.

Wonder if anyone will use the NUNS stickers instead of the oldschool kites. That's probably the reason Yamato didn't tampo print the markings.... right?

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The stickers definitely need to be trimmed more. A shame the kites at least tampo on. Anyone still doing custom stickers or decals? That thing is a beauty, though.

I'm actually glad they didn't tampo print the kites on this one. I've never noticed this until now but having them so close together on either side of the dorsal/chest plate ridge looks doofy as all hell. Of course I don't even know if I'm going to get this mold at all so it doesn't really do me any good either way.

I really want one but I don't want to spend more than I did on the VF-19S. :(

Edited by anime52k8
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Only 2 of the red and white ones of that size.

But there are also 2 x grey and white, 2 x white outline, 2 x grey outline that size.

And then 4 smaller of each colour.

Graham

Oooh...I might have to put the grey kites on mine. Originally I was bummed at the lack of tampo but now I don't mind. Options are good, even if stickers never look as good as paint. I just wish they included more of the stickers because I don't have a steady hand so I'll probably botch one or two trying to trim them.

Edited by eriku
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Awesome pics Graham! Thanks for those!

I know you have a slight preference in terms of design towards the VF-17, but if you had to go back, and could only buy either the VF-17 or VF-19S by Yamato, which one would you choose, knowing you prefer the VF-17 design?

I ask this because I too like the VF-17 design, but you happened to mention that you think the VF-19S is a better "toy".

Also, does the cockpit hatch open in battroid mode? :D

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Awesome pics Graham! Thanks for those!

I know you have a slight preference in terms of design towards the VF-17, but if you had to go back, and could only buy either the VF-17 or VF-19S by Yamato, which one would you choose, knowing you prefer the VF-17 design?

I ask this because I too like the VF-17 design, but you happened to mention that you think the VF-19S is a better "toy".

Also, does the cocloot hatch open in battroid mode? :D

That's a really difficult question. Ask me in 6 months time. The VF-17 has long been my favourite VF design, closely followed by the VF-19. I've waited a long time for toys of these 2 mecha that are better than the Bandai originals. It's a really tough call which one I would chose if I could have only one. The 19 is a better toy, near perfection IMO, but the 17, despite it's quirks, which I have been learning a lot about these past few days, is also a good toy.

And yes, you can open the cockpit in battroid mode. Will post a pic when I get home.

Graham

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Official transformation videos! Good move :)

Did you noticed that VF-17S in the transformation videos have markings? May I kindly ask to the modelling experts: Are they decal transfer paper type or nicely trimmed ordinary plastic stickers?

Please check second video, timestamp 9:12.

Graham is it possible to confirm in some ways that next VF-17 releases (D, maybe Milia variant etc.) will have tampo print or not?

Edited by charger69
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The VF17 looks awesome. I think I could tolerate the blocky S head too, although I would leave out many of the coloured stickers, to retain a more 'realistic' style.

So, that only leaves the price as an obstacle and the possibility of a VF17-D release.

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Spoke with Yamato today. The reason the VF-17S does not have tampo printed markings on the chest is not a cost-cutting measure. It's simply because the guy in charge of design, does not like the markings on the VF-17S's chest and thinks it looks better without markings.............LOL!

Hence, stickers for those that want the markings.

I've asked if it is possible to include the markings tampo printed on for the VF-17D.

Graham

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Spoke with Yamato today. The reason the VF-17S does not have tampo printed markings on the chest is not a cost-cutting measure. It's simply because the guy in charge of design, does not like the markings on the VF-17S's chest and thinks it loks beter without markings.............LOL!

I agree with him. Having it optional instead of tampo printed, would also be my preference on the VF17D....if there's going to be a D at all. Edited by knoted
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Spoke with Yamato today. The reason the VF-17S does not have tampo printed markings on the chest is not a cost-cutting measure. It's simply because the guy in charge of design, does not like the markings on the VF-17S's chest and thinks it looks better without markings.............LOL!

Hence, stickers for those that want the markings.

I've asked if it is possible to include the markings tampo printed on for the VF-17D.

Graham

They could have at least told you a little lie and say the classic "Kawamori wanted it like that". They come off cocky and random with what they say.

The hand covers are a (crappy) last minute surprise. Freaking ancient Bandai looks like that... must be a "homage" :rolleyes::lol:

Edited by Twoducks
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Thanks for all the pics, Graham.

Really digging the matte black finish of the final product.

And the head doesn't look so fiveheaded anymore with all the markings on it.

But DAMN!! Those cloudy Yamato stickers rear their ugly head again! :angry: Don't know if this is the case with the ones that came with the 1/60 Version 2's, but it seems that Yamato's stickers have been consistently hazey and cloudy throughout the years. I'm looking at the stock stickers on my Toynami Betas, and they still look beautiful, crisp, and clear, even against the dark blue background areas.

If a company like Toynami can improve the quality of their stickers, why can't Yamato step up their game in this area?

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I can see where I'm going to have my quirks about the look of it, but I can live with that for now. I've already got some decals from a model kit that will look better on the toy than the stickers, and I can take them off anytime I want them off, without sacrificing the sticker sheet. My was shipped yesterday, so I'll be getting it Saturday most likely.

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Spoke with Yamato today. The reason the VF-17S does not have tampo printed markings on the chest is not a cost-cutting measure. It's simply because the guy in charge of design, does not like the markings on the VF-17S's chest and thinks it looks better without markings.............LOL!

Graham

I'm not sure about other collectors, but for me, it's all about show accuracy as the toy is supposed to be a 3-D representation of its on-screen counterpart, isn't that why we're paying top dollar for it to be Perfectly Transforming?

The above is like the Hasbro Toy Designers saying, "We hate the flames on Movie-verse Prime, so we're going to release the toy sans-flames." Not cool. No matter how horrible it actually looks or not is not the issue. If it is depicted one way in the show, that should be the way it is portrayed. I'm not so much annoyed at the lack of tampo printing as I am at the selfishness of the designer.

Also, I am not the biggest fan of stickers as putting them on is a huge hassle, so is keeping them on if they start to peel off. For customizers, I'm sure there is an easy way to get rid of tampo-printing if one so desiers.

Edited by Actar
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I can't see any other possible options for those covers. The hands are already crammed with all those sliding mechanisms.

I don't know, maybe you're right, but I'm still not happy with it.

It’s not a big problem to me anyway; I love the design of this toy taken as a whole.

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The above is like the Hasbro Toy Designers saying, "We hate the flames on Movie-verse Prime, so we're going to release the toy sans-flames." Not cool. No matter how horrible it actually looks or not is not the issue. If it is depicted one way in the show, that should be the way it is portrayed. I'm not so much annoyed at the lack of tampo printing as I am at the selfishness of the designer.

Maybe that's the "official PR answer" instead of admitting about cutting corners.

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I'm not sure about other collectors, but for me, it's all about show accuracy as the toy is supposed to be a 3-D representation of its on-screen counterpart, isn't that why we're paying top dollar for it to be Perfectly Transforming?

The above is like the Hasbro Toy Designers saying, "We hate the flames on Movie-verse Prime, so we're going to release the toy sans-flames." Not cool. No matter how horrible it actually looks or not is not the issue. If it is depicted one way in the show, that should be the way it is portrayed. I'm not so much annoyed at the lack of tampo printing as I am at the selfishness of the designer.

Also, I am not the biggest fan of stickers as putting them on is a huge hassle, so is keeping them on if they start to peel off. For customizers, I'm sure there is an easy way to get rid of tampo-printing if one so desiers.

Well I wholeheartedly agree with their decision to leave those markings off. They look like ass and their presence utterly spoils an otherwise excellent design. It would be an absolute crime to spoil such a work of art with horrendously placed graphics.

But DAMN!! Those cloudy Yamato stickers rear their ugly head again! :angry: Don't know if this is the case with the ones that came with the 1/60 Version 2's, but it seems that Yamato's stickers have been consistently hazey and cloudy throughout the years. I'm looking at the stock stickers on my Toynami Betas, and they still look beautiful, crisp, and clear, even against the dark blue background areas.

If a company like Toynami can improve the quality of their stickers, why can't Yamato step up their game in this area?

I don't know about the VF-17, but the sticker sheets included with the 1/60 v.2 VF-1's; the VF-11 and the VF-19S all use a relatively thin, clear and flexible plastic that holds down and conforms to surfaces well. They're of comparable thickness, clarity and overall quality as the sticker sheets included with Bandai MG gundam kits and much better than their older sticker sheets.

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Maybe they didn't put the UN Spacy kites on because they kept switching from being red dots with a white kite to being a white dot with a red kite in the show :3

The Diamond Force symbol was always on there though

cuz that's part of the line art

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I don't know about the VF-17, but the sticker sheets included with the 1/60 v.2 VF-1's; the VF-11 and the VF-19S all use a relatively thin, clear and flexible plastic that holds down and conforms to surfaces well. They're of comparable thickness, clarity and overall quality as the sticker sheets included with Bandai MG gundam kits and much better than their older sticker sheets.

I agree. Basically all their stickers starting with the 1/60 VF-1 v2 were using the much improved thin stickers. And if you trim the excess off the stickers right to the edges you can hardly tell they were stickers and they look very good.

The old ones were indeed terrible. I hated those because they were so thick and made of multiple layers, of which the top layer often would start to peel at the the edges.

While it would have been nice to have some tampo printing, It wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me personally since I sticker everything anyway. It's just a lot more work, especially trying to make sure the stickers are aligned properly and symmetrically on both sides which is something you don't have to worry about with tampo printing, unless they mess up the aligning themselves (which unfortunately has happened with both Yamato and Bandai macross toys).

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Maybe they didn't put the UN Spacy kites on because they kept switching from being red dots with a white kite to being a white dot with a red kite in the show :3

The Diamond Force symbol was always on there though

cuz that's part of the line art

Ideal situation for me would be kites and diamond force tampo printed. This is explicitly a Macross 7 Diamond Force model, though. Include a sticker with a plain backing to cover the kite for those that want to put on NUNS stickers or what not. Kit version and/or generic repaints for those that don't want any markings.

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I agree. Basically all their stickers starting with the 1/60 VF-1 v2 were using the much improved thin stickers. And if you trim the excess off the stickers right to the edges you can hardly tell they were stickers and they look very good.

[...]

After seeing your VF-19S pics I wanted to ask you whether you trimmed the excess of the stickers off for they looked just great.

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After seeing your VF-19S pics I wanted to ask you whether you trimmed the excess of the stickers off for they looked just great.

Yup. I use an x-acto/hobby knife to trim the stickers to the edges before applying them. It's pretty easy to do. It's just more time consuming, but well worth the extra time spent for the results.

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