DX YF-29 Durandal (Maximillian Jenius Unit) WWM Release

[BinboOtaku]

On 10/11/2022 at 1:03 PM, Lolicon said:

Blame Garmony Hold for that.

Oh believe me, I do.

[BinboOtaku]

On 10/11/2022 at 4:59 PM, jvmacross said:

BW finally bent the knee to HG on all things SDFM-DYRL...so now getting screwed by HG has been officially sanctioned by BW

 

Yes, it does feel like SDF Macross is going the way of the original 1977 theatrical release of Star Wars: never to be released again (outside of Japan)

[Mommar]

On 10/11/2022 at 5:59 PM, jvmacross said:

BW finally bent the knee to HG on all things SDFM-DYRL...so now getting screwed by HG has been officially sanctioned by BW

 

Despite all of the disgusting things HG has done the part they do legally still retain is rights to use SDFM outside of Japan.  BW is only honoring that part, which isn't really bending the knee, given they fought enough to release all other Macross products world-wide.  If they bent the knee anything Macross related would have an HG sticker on it or still only be available in Japan.

[Bolt]

3 hours ago, Mommar said:

Despite all of the disgusting things HG has done the part they do legally still retain is rights to use SDFM outside of Japan.  BW is only honoring that part, which isn't really bending the knee, given they fought enough to release all other Macross products world-wide.  If they bent the knee anything Macross related would have an HG sticker on it or still only be available in Japan.

Agreed 100% .

No one should be surprised by this. We all knew hg still retains its rights. Moving on..

Kawamori san is going to have to come up with a new hero valk. Or we will continue to see the 29 being reissued over and over. At which point, it's not very special anymore.

[Lolicon]

Why does it still have the YF designation after so many variants have been made? Surely it's a production VF by now, even if limited?

[Bolt]

4 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Why does it still have the YF designation after so many variants have been made? Surely it's a production VF by now, even if limited?

Supposedly not. That's why it's so incredulous that even Max has one. VF-24's be scared..

[borgified]

Watch the next valk be a YF-32 and not a VF-33 or a VF-35. 
 

Max always has connections to most of the prototype or newer valks as for sure that he gets to test flight them before making it to mass production. I think Max finds out the 31ax was just an upgraded base 31 with crappy engines and that’s why he prefers the YF-29 as it’s tuned to his specifications that he used to piloting elite craft.

[davidwhangchoi]

why is max in a yf29?

he should be in the vf-22 they found in Delta apple planet 

[borgified]

If you watched Delta Live movie, then maybe some of your answers might be solved @davidwhangchoi.. 

[davidwhangchoi]

3 minutes ago, borgified said:

If you watched Delta Live movie, then maybe some of your answers might be solved @davidwhangchoi.. 

but i can't watch it. it's not out yet with english subs

i'm skipping these pre-orders till i watch the movie. Not sure if Max is a good pilot anymore...

I think Basara and Hayate are better. 

 

 

 

[Bolt]

14 minutes ago, borgified said:

If you watched Delta Live movie, then maybe some of your answers might be solved @davidwhangchoi.. 

Watched it. Still no real explanation that i can recall..

 

5 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

I think Basara and Hayate are better.

Seriously doubt Basara could best Max. He's good, but not THAT good. And as for Hayate, just watch the new movie..

Edited October 14, 2022 by Bolt

[borgified]

I have seen the movie and have my thoughts, but I’m not going to spoil it anyways. If you want my interpretation, DM me and will give it my best. 
 

Maybe a couple strips of Gold Pressed Latium  at the Dabo Table under the watch of the Grand Nagus at DS9 might do the trick. 😝

[davidwhangchoi]

18 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Watched it. Still no real explanation that i can recall..

 

Seriously doubt Basara could best Max. He's good, but not THAT good. And as for Hayate, just watch the new movie..

6 minutes ago, borgified said:

Maybe a couple strips of Gold Pressed Latium  at the Dabo Table under the watch of the Grand Nagus at DS9 might do the trick. 😝

[Bolt]

33 minutes ago, borgified said:

I have seen the movie and have my thoughts, but I’m not going to spoil it anyways. If you want my interpretation, DM me and will give it my best. 
 

Maybe a couple strips of Gold Pressed Latium  at the Dabo Table under the watch of the Grand Nagus at DS9 might do the trick. 😝

[MacrossJunkie]

Anyone else notice how Bandai didn't actually fully paint the frame of the canopy to the edges? So that when the canopy is closed, it looks like there's a gap below the canopy because there's a small line of unpainted plastic beneath the painted frame. Another strange issue that wasn't a problem with previous releases. 

Fortunately it's an easy fix with a black paint marker, but it's still another thing I shouldn't have had to do.

If this thing didn't look so good, I'd be more upset about all the issues I've had with it out of the box.

Edited October 14, 2022 by MacrossJunkie

[borgified]

@davidwhangchoi - Dude... Information cost money, nothing given without proper authorization from the Grand Nagus or from any higher up in command. If not, then I might have to scoff all your valks from your collection and give it to others here. 

[Bolt]

30 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

If this thing didn't look so good, I'd be more upset about all the issues I've had with it out of the box.

Aside from Arcadia's VF-500G , this DX makes me want to go back to 1/60..

[Mommar]

10 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

but i can't watch it. it's not out yet with english subs

The Japanese version has English subs already.

[Angesdad]

8 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Anyone else notice how Bandai didn't actually fully paint the frame of the canopy to the edges? So that when the canopy is closed, it looks like there's a gap below the canopy because there's a small line of unpainted plastic beneath the painted frame. Another strange issue that wasn't a problem with previous releases. 

Fortunately it's an easy fix with a black paint marker, but it's still another thing I shouldn't have had to do.

If this thing didn't look so good, I'd be more upset about all the issues I've had with it out of the box.

Yup I did notice the paint on the black canopy frame meets Bandai's QC standards. I had to touch it up with semi-gloss black enamel paint where lights go through and reveal unpainted spots.

[kajnrig]

14 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Why does it still have the YF designation after so many variants have been made? Surely it's a production VF by now, even if limited?

Despite the number of toy variants aren't there only three official variants so far? Alto's YF-29, Rod's YF-29B, and now Max's YF-29. (I don't think Isamu's is an actual thing, and I know FOR SURE Roy's isn't an actual thing, unless they've introduced the concept of time tra--) Three prototypes all intended (IIRC) to test out different technologies? Seems plausible to me. And it's not uncommon for prototypes to not make it to full production status...

8 hours ago, borgified said:

Watch the next valk be a YF-32 and not a VF-33 or a VF-35.

What if they pull a fast one and reach back to something "retro" instead? Let's see, what numbers are available...

1. VF-0 Phoenix
2. VF-1 Valkyrie
3. VAB-2
4. VA-3 Invader/VF-3000 Crusader
5. VF-4 Lightning II
6. VF-5000 Star Mirage
7. (VB-6 Konig Monster?)
8. 7
9. 8
10. VF-9 Cutlass
11. 10
12. VF-11 Thunderbolt
13. 12
14. 13
15. VF/A-14
16. 15
17. 16
18. VF-17/171 Nightmare/Nightmare Plus
19. 18
20. VF-19 Excalibur
21. 20
22. YF-21
23. VF-22 Sturmvogel II
24. 23
25. VF-24 (Evolution?)
26. VF-25 Messiah
27. 26
28. VF-27 Lucifer
29. 28
30. YF-29 Durandal/Perceval
31. YF-30 Chronos
32. VF-31 Kairos/Siegfried
33. ...to say nothing of the SV series of VFs, and maybe some other obscure Protodevlin variants

Imagine the next show introduces the YF-15, collecting dust at some long-forgotten boneyard on the remote edge of the galaxy but restored with VF-11 parts or something back to functional order.

8 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

why is max in a yf29?

he should be in the vf-22 they found in Delta apple planet 

Given how crazy rare and expensive a YF-29 is supposed to be, they may as well have given him a VF-24.

Am I remembering it right that NUNS developed the YF-24, produced the super-performative VF-24 from that for their Earth fleets, then sent out monkey model specs to the various emigrant fleets, from which the 25 onward were developed? And of them, only the prohibitively expensive YF-29 matched (or is estimated to match) the VF-24's performance?

But yeah. Would have been a really nice way to further distinguish Max from other elites AND finally show what the 24 looks like. It wouldn't even have been very hard to model; just slightly modify the 25 model they already have on hand.

[Lolicon]

I can't unsee the sloppy job Bandai did on the canopy frame now. Welp time to break out the paint for more touchups...

[MacrossJunkie]

2 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Despite the number of toy variants aren't there only three official variants so far? Alto's YF-29, Rod's YF-29B, and now Max's YF-29. (I don't think Isamu's is an actual thing, and I know FOR SURE Roy's isn't an actual thing, unless they've introduced the concept of time tra--) Three prototypes all intended (IIRC) to test out different technologies? Seems plausible to me. And it's not uncommon for prototypes to not make it to full production status...

I don't really understand what counts as a variant and what doesn't anymore. Ozma's 29 has a completely different head unit and I assume possibly slightly different avionics, but it's still just called a YF-29. Rod's YF-29 is given a B variant designation, but at least on the outside, looks no different. Then there's the VF-31AX. There's a bunch with different head units, but all just called the VF-31AX.

[borgified]

A YF-29 is still a YF-29 @kajnrig doesn’t matter who pilots them as it based on the design of the craft itself. 
 

It’s like any rice rockets on the road, you just put on how many fangled “Go fast stickers”, Greddy/Apex-i turbos or turbo timers you want, Eniki/BBS/Koning rims, Endless/Brembo brakes or calipers, top of the notch stainless steel brake line, upgraded ECU. It’s still the same **** box, just pumped out to your tweaking. 
 

Sure you can rock out your “pimp my ride” valk with top of the line stereo system with ear piercing shrieking headache til your eardrums explode for all that matters. 

[kajnrig]

2 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I don't really understand what counts as a variant and what doesn't anymore. Ozma's 29 has a completely different head unit and I assume possibly slightly different avionics, but it's still just called a YF-29. Rod's YF-29 is given a B variant designation, but at least on the outside, looks no different.

Gah, it seems I completely misremembered the various YF-29 releases and missed out on one. So as far as toys go, thanks to anymoon.com (I forget... is it you, @seti88?) there are:

• Alto's YF-29 Durandal
• 30th Anniversary/Roy Focker's YF-29 Durandal
• Isamu's YF-29 Durandal
• Ozma's YF-29 Durandal (forgot this one)
• Rod's YF-29B Perceval
• Max's YF-29 Durandal

I'm assuming that the only "real" Durandal variants are the Alto, Rod, and Max variants: Alto and Max because they were animated, and Rod because he's the main antagonist of Macross 30. IIRC, the 30th/Roy is a "what if" scheme, and the Isamu and Ozma ones, while they appear in Macross 30, I'm assuming are also non-canon "what if" type designs.

2 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Then there's the VF-31AX. There's a bunch with different head units, but all just called the VF-31AX.

The 31AX are weird custom variants of custom variants. They're the VF-31J/C/S/etc. Siegfrieds repaired using VF-31A Kairos parts. I honestly don't know if they deserve to have a whole new designation based on that fact alone, but it does at least help to differentiate them from the regular Kairos and Siegfried versions, if not from each other. I think I'd have preferred something like "VF-31AJ," "VF-31AC," etc.

1 hour ago, borgified said:

A YF-29 is still a YF-29 @kajnrig doesn’t matter who pilots them as it based on the design of the craft itself. 

Right, I just meant which ones actually exist as far as the canon is concerned. As explained above, I'm fairly certain the Roy/Isamu/Ozma variants are just "what if" designs thrown into the Macross 30 videogame for fun. So if, officially, there are only three YF-29s in existence, then it makes sense that there wouldn't be a mass-production VF-29 yet or ever. If, however, there are officially 6 YF-29 variants in existence, then it kind of makes a compelling argument to start mass-producing VF-29s, unless the YF-29 was never meant to actually be mass-produced and was only ever a technology test platform.

[MacrossJunkie]

44 minutes ago, kajnrig said:

So as far as toys go, thanks to anymoon.com (I forget... is it you, @seti88?) 

That would be @jenius

Edited October 15, 2022 by MacrossJunkie

[kajnrig]

3 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

That would be @jenius

Gah. Of course. Thanks for the correction.

[davidwhangchoi]

if Isamu got a 5 sec cameo without upgrading to a 29, and kept his 19, they should've had Max with a special "advanced" valk .

Max should've had the yf-30 with the stadium lights. 

[Bolt]

29 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

Max should've had the yf-30 with the stadium lights. 

Lol. Nah, the YF -30 is a proof of concept Project. Who's primary focus was NOT fighting. And, as far as we know, is even more rare than the YF-29. 

[davidwhangchoi]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

Lol. Nah, the YF -30 is a proof of concept Project. Who's primary focus was NOT fighting. And, as far as we know, is even more rare than the YF-29. 

oh it was not a fighter? didn't know that. 

[Bolt]

8 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

oh it was not a fighter? didn't know that. 

The YF-30 Chronos has fighter capabilities, for sure. It was the first (that we know of) VF (yf lol) to incorporate the weapons container system. But that wasn't its primary role.  Its experimental Fold Dimensional Resonance System was more of a focus. 

[kajnrig]

13 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

if Isamu got a 5 sec cameo without upgrading to a 29, and kept his 19, they should've had Max with a special "advanced" valk .

Max should've had the yf-30 with the stadium lights. 

I like the story behind the -19 he flies in Wings of Goodbye. It's not actually his old YF-19, but a highly illegally modified ace custom of an ace custom production-model VF-19. Its official model number is VF-19EF/A (the DX toy called it either VF-19ADVANCE or VF-19 Advance). The VF-19EF "Caliburn" was developed by Frontier/SMS as a special forces VF prior to adopting the VF-25. Isamu, now part of SMS, wanted his VF-19EF to perform more like the YF-19 he tested some 20 years ago (which is to say: better but wildly), so enlisted the aid of Jan Neumann to source legacy VF-19 (and maybe even YF-19?) parts. Much of this retrofitting would have been illegal due to an export ban that had been placed on the VF-19, but apparently they smoothed things over politically by making their pet project an official "modernization program." (IIRC in-universe the reasoning for the ban was to keep superior tech in the hands of NUNS and Earth (which is why you see the same thing happen with the Y/VF-24 where lower-spec plans are sent to the various emigrant fleets instead of the full design specs), but the meta reason was because Kawamori thought the -19 looked too much like a hero design and didn't want to see it used as cannon fodder ).

As part of the modernization program, the affected VF-19EFs were returned to the higher performance specs of the YF-19 and VF-19A variants, and IIRC introduced some technologies from the new VF-25 as well (EX Gear cockpit system, VF-25 engines, and support for the VF-25's Super booster unit), and re-designated the VF-19EF/A.

 

 

If Max had gone to the same lengths to retrofit a legacy favorite of his, imagine what it could have been. A "VF-22MAX," maybe? An Armored VF-11, finally rendered in 3D? Or maybe even a super customized VF-1? There was the VF-1EX from the early episodes of Delta with the new EX Gear cockpit system...

13 hours ago, Bolt said:

Lol. Nah, the YF -30 is a proof of concept Project. Who's primary focus was NOT fighting. And, as far as we know, is even more rare than the YF-29. 

I'd imagine there's only the single YF-30 prototype from Macross 30... which makes it hilarious that IT saw a production VF descended from it and the YF-29 with anywhere from 3 to 6 prototypes didn't.

11 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

oh it was not a fighter? didn't know that. 

tl;dr - YF-29 was designed to use infinite energy to power and/or enhance basically every facet of a VF. YF-30 was designed to operate in a really specific, really wonky environment while wearing different backpacks.

 

As Bolt says, compared to the YF-29 it's not as capable, but it IS a fighter with fighter roles in mind. I remember being confused about this as well and asking about it some time ago. You'd think it's newer, it's the protagonist's super prototype versus the antagonist in yesterday's model, it MUST be better, right? Makes sense to me. But once it was explained to me and I drove down into the details, I kind of saw why that wasn't really the case.

The YF-30's main "fighter-specific innovation" is the modular weapons pod... and that's kind of it. Everything else about it, besides the "Fold Dimensional Resonance System," seems pretty standard VF weapons technology - gunpod, knife, secondary lasers, etc. Even the FDRS, which is supposedly an enhanced version of the YF-29's Fold Wave System, doesn't seem to translate directly to better fighter characteristics. It seems almost to have been simply in the right place at the right time (or could only really exist/be developed in/for one specific location): It resonates/amplifies song energy, and it allows one to navigate fold faults... and the planet Ouroboros where the YF-30 was being developed(?) was doing really funky things with fold space and song energy, to the point of warping characters and singers across space and time to it.

The YF-29, on the other hand, is kind of all about DA STRONGEST OFFENSE and DA STRONGEST DEFENSE. I forget the specifics, but there's something about its guns shoot compressed space and/or matter, its big dual-gun shoots out miniature black holes, it has tons of internal missile launchers (IIRC two on its shoulders, two larger ones on its lower legs), and so on. It has the best energy conversion armor ever, and its Inertia Store Converter can store more G's than ever. Its four engines are supertuned past what they "should" be able to sustain. All of this stuff takes a lot of energy, and it gets that energy from the tons and tons of fold quartz integrated into almost every major component and the Fold Wave System, which generates infinite energy and also allows the YF-29 to disrupt fold communications systems like those the Vajra use.

I suppose with that in mind, it makes sense that the -30 would get production models and the -29 wouldn't. Kind of hard to mass-produce perpetual motion machines, not so hard to adapt a hinged backpack mechanic.

[treatment]

16 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

if Isamu got a 5 sec cameo without upgrading to a 29, and kept his 19, they should've had Max with a special "advanced" valk .

Max should've had the yf-30 with the stadium lights. 

 

 Bandai needed Max in order to sell yet-another-YF-29-repaint...

 

 

[ValkAddict]

16 minutes ago, treatment said:

 

 Bandai needed Max in order to sell yet-another-YF-29-repaint...

 

 

^ Truth

[Bolt]

Get your wallets ready for Milia's. Lol. 

[kajnrig]

Honestly, I'm surprised they've gone this long without advertising it yet.