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YF-21 Valkyrie

Comments

21 comments posted
Incomplete

I'm gonna need a few paragraphs specifically addressing the toy's fidelity to original line art. Thanks in advance.

These pictures are sexy.

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 11 March, 2009 - 09:57
"As a whole, the YF-21 is a

"As a whole, the YF-21 is a pretty good toy, but what would a review of a Macross toy be without nitpicking and bitching about tiny things?"

best line i've seen in a CDX review in a while.

The Big R's picture
Posted by The Big R on 11 March, 2009 - 10:42
Sleek!

Josh,
Great review, other than the original Valkyries this model is my favorite although I haven't seen the Anime yet. ( I just started Southern Cross last week, Evangelion is next, Macross Plus after that...there's a lot of catching up to do!)

I hoping there are some model kits available to review. I like how it stands out from all the other Valkyries in color and design and this toy looks great. It's kind of like how I like Turn A Gundam as after a while all the Gundams start looking the same it's great when designers start looking outside the box and this is a great example.

Cheers

Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 11 March, 2009 - 10:42
YF-21

I share the Macross Plus love with you, Josh. I admit that I'm a n00b and it's in fact the ONLY Macross series I've ever seen, but seriously, it's awesome. My brother and his friend got me into it several years ago and this past Summer I pulled it out again for a refresher...so cool. Works perfectly on a breezy Summer day with nothing better to do.

Don't think I'll be going for the toy, though. I don't know where in the hell I'd put it, nor do I have that kind of money lying around. Besides, I much prefer the YF-19.

Any word on the best YF-19 toy out there?

Gareth Infinity's picture
Posted by Gareth Infinity on 11 March, 2009 - 12:42
YF-19

I haven't had the pleasure of handling one myself, but the consensus seems to be that the latests Yamato 1/60 is pretty great. For $200-ish it certainly should be!

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 12 March, 2009 - 20:35
Thanks, The Enthusiast

I went looking for it and it looks pretty good. Will have to think about it next time I find myself with that kind of money (very rare heh).

By the way, do you see these supposed similarities to Movie Starscream that everybody's talking about? Am I blind?

Gareth Infinity's picture
Posted by Gareth Infinity on 13 March, 2009 - 14:45
Comparisons

"By the way, do you see these supposed similarities to Movie Starscream that everybody's talking about? Am I blind?"

Unlike Duke who is as blind as a bat...no, you're not blind. Who or whatever brought this up to you was probably talking about comparisions as far as jet modes are concerned. Yes their jet modes are similar, but YF-21 valkyrie was based on the real life Northrop YF-23 fighter prototype, not the F-12 Raptor that movie starscream became mind you.

In 1990, Northrop's YF-23 was in competition with the Lockheed's YF-22 and sadly, the YF-23 lost the contest to the YF-22, and the US Air Force crowned their new champion for their new stealth fighter which got mass produced as the F-12 Raptor and the YF-23 was never heard from again.

As far as comparing robot modes are concerned....PFFT...there's no contest w/ this Valk. unless you want to compare it with the Queadlunn Runn mecha and that pretty much sums it all up.

Come to think of it, that whole ATF competition history between the YF-22 and 23 also served as a bulk inspiration for making Macross Plus since Kawamori and his team did a lot research and photographs at the Edwards Air Force Base in California. I keep forgetting if DAP-DX covered that piece of the information. They probably did though.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 14 March, 2009 - 06:59
This looks more like the

This looks more like the Transformers movie Starscream than ever before. Which makes me like it even less.

duke togo's picture
Posted by duke togo on 11 March, 2009 - 14:28
Well believe it or not

Well believe it or not mate that YF-21 looks a whole lot sweeter and superior than that crappy movie Starscream...and I do MEAN a whole lot better in a logical sense at that one. It's not a perfect mecha; that I know but this YF-21 is an alien mecha transformer made by a true designer who knows how to 'GET REAL'.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 12 March, 2009 - 04:06
Not really, both look

Not really, both look remarkably similar in shape and design, and both suck.

The more I see of Kawamori's work the more I see him as over-rated. He did well very early on with Diaclone and Macross and really hasn't done much beyond that compared to it. Call it artistic growth or evolution of concept, I call it one hit wonder.

To each his own. The toy itself does as good a job in recreating a design as the other Yamato stuff.

duke togo's picture
Posted by duke togo on 12 March, 2009 - 14:41
How about...

Do you like Kawamori's Masterpiece Starscream? To me it looks like a return to early-eighties form. Although I really dig the new stuff too, ie Aquarion.

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 12 March, 2009 - 15:16
absolutely

I know many hated the whole thing, but I really liked the anime, the mecha design, and the chogokin immensely. If I could afford it, I would buy three or four of the toy and display the different configurations. (toys which can stand on their own are overrated)

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 12 March, 2009 - 15:47
I would like to see "Aquarion"

I would like to see "Aquarion" because the mecha design seems so interesting- a modern triple-former with three separate ships that is appealing in all modes!
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 March, 2009 - 16:42
Y'know, every time I see

Y'know, every time I see this guy pop up in a comments section on this site (which is too constantly to be healthy) all he seems to do is criticize. Hating on things for the sake of hating on things. I know the type. Sitting up at night, thinking "Gee, lots of people like Shoji Kawamori's work, I bet I'd sound really cool and profound if I just started saying it sucks. Yeah, that's the ticket." You seem to have a particular issue with Macross in general, but if you dislike it so much, why are you glued to your keyboard, waiting for every possible chance to comment on it? Seems strange (and sad) to me.
Not to mention the fact that nobody with a Golgo-13 referencing handle has ANY right to criticize ANYTHING.

Diyenn78's picture
Posted by Diyenn78 on 12 March, 2009 - 19:21
I disagree Duke

I disagree Duke. I fail to see how you could find them remarkably similar and both suck at the same time. It's obvious that YF-21 is more realistic than that godawful movie starscream design. That valkyrie still looks like a jet that emerges into a robot while that chicken poop of a transformer looks like a half-baked, bug-eyed walking chicken trash w/ overexposed gears and cables that magically turns into a jet.

I've find it unusual that these peculiar complaints are coming from someone who collects a lot of Macross toys from Kawamori in association w/ Bandai, Big West, and Yamato Co.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 13 March, 2009 - 00:03
I need to learn how to do

I need to learn how to do a proper video montage like at the beginning of your video, Josh. Music used, types of images, how long to have each shot last, panning, etc-etc-etc...

*is not a fan of the YF-21*
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 11 March, 2009 - 16:17
Atom: Your not the only one

Atom: Your not the only one that liked Aquarion. I found it enjoyable myself too

I'd kill to get my hands on the Soul of Chogokin toy.

Decade010's picture
Posted by Decade010 on 12 March, 2009 - 18:35
Good review; the "nitpicking

Good review; the "nitpicking and bitching" is valid, though the figure looks great. It's nice to see a review that doesn't start out with "I HATE the -source material- that whatever I'm reviewing is from, but...". That crap is getting tiresome. Like everyone thinks it's the coolest thing ever to NOT like something (yet never stop talking about, of course). So yeah, I like it when an actual Macross Plus fan is reviewing a Macross Plus toy.

Diyenn78's picture
Posted by Diyenn78 on 12 March, 2009 - 18:58
Oh, and great use of

Oh, and great use of Sharon's music there.

Diyenn78's picture
Posted by Diyenn78 on 12 March, 2009 - 19:00