Thanks! I wasn't expecting them to actually get more stock after the VF-31A thing last time. Pleasantly surprised. They actually just sent the preperation in progress and the shipped email today after I got the fast packs.
Wow wait what? They just showed up? Curious - what shipping method and how many did you order? My order of 4 has had zero updates since I changed to ferry shipping back in June.
Yeah. Apparently they shipped out Sunday here/ Monday Japan time and got here today before noon in CA. I bought just one set. Paid the extra $30 to change it from EMS to UPS about month or so ago.
Good to see that your SSP got delivered @Soupy. There's still a list of people here on this board and on MW that are still waiting on their SSP from NY. Will see if they ever ship out the DX YF-29 Alto Full Set for those that pre-ordered it or just take off with the money and leave them high and dry.
Post of the Tamashii Nations floor plan is up for next month. VIRTUAL BOOTH | TAMASHII NATION 2020 | BANDAI SPIRITS TAMASHII NATIONS The unknown question is "What will be in the ? section" The DX Macross stuff will possibly in the Soul of Chogokin
DHL dropped off my YF-29 full set pack from Okini Land earlier today. Box is still sitting in the carport. I’ll get into it tonight after the kids are asleep and give it a thorough look. I’m excited, I really dig the design, but all the versions of the original mold I’ve handled were wobblefests (except a yf-29b I managed to snag unopened, that one was in good shape).
Alright, hands-on, here's my impressions after some swooshing and a couple of transformations. I'll give it a few days of handling to see if anything changes. The box is bigger than any other Bandai DX release I've seen. First nice change for me was the use of nested plastic clamshells for the figure instead of styrofoam. I dislike styrofoam, and some people think that off-gassing from styrofoam could be a cause of yellowing in toys, and it's messy, and I'm glad it's gone. But! getting to the actual figure. Did they change the plastic for this? It's got a matte finish, which we knew about. And it makes a world of difference. The Frontier releases I've handled - several of the v2 VF-25 figures and a pair of YF-29b - all had a glossy finish, with what felt, to me, like weaker plastic. They all had kind of a delicate feel to their plastic, and then really solid legs with metal throughout, so they felt unbalanced to me. This one is solid - the plastic feels the same as the DX VF-31 and VF-1, and the matte finish really, really helps. It feels better in hand, looks better (IMO), and just overall gives it a much more finished look. There's no wobble when I pick it up in battroid mode and shake it around a bit. The legs are heavy which helps keep the figure in place, but I'm no longer worried that parts of the chest are going to snap. Here it is alongside my VF-31F (don't mind the huge gap behind the cockpit on the 31F, it was knocked loose when I put it down and I was just snapping some quick pics): Transformation is, as we all knew, completely unchanged. I would not by any stretch of it call this a "v2" or "renewal" YF-29, but there are some notable improvements aside from the matte finish and plastic feel that I think add up to calling it a v1.5. I think I read somewhere that a few tweaks from later versions of the mold were included in this, the stronger gerwalk support bar and I think one or two other small things. here's my bullet list of stuff I thought was worth mentioning: - the rear landing gear "click" into place now. I don't recall that happening on the others I've had, including a 29b that was brand new. - in fighter mode the shield still doesn't quite stay in place when the turret is up, but it's better than it was - the fighter-mode stand adapter still does not clip solidly into place like the VF-31, so yeti stand fans will probably still want the yeti YF-29 adapter for a banking pose without fear of it slipping off - getting everything to nicely fit together going back to fighter mode is a bit tough. A little finagling will get it all lined up nicely, but I think this is just from the tighter joints, not an actual fitment issue. - hands are unchanged; I had kind of hoped for them to use the VF-31 hands on this but, no luck, they're the same as the original figure - the front canards still get in the way of the top of the legs in battroid mode. I'd hoped maybe they would put them on some kind of folding joint for better hip mobility in battroid. - the joints are all very tight, far more than any other 29 or renewal 25 I've handled (some of which were new, unopened figures) - change we knew about: altered structure for the ball joint for the hip, with more screws holding it in place. This seems to work well right out of the box and time will tell if it holds up. I'd say mine is on par with the DX VF-1 figure (right now at least) - change we knew about: ratcheting joints to rotate the engines on the wings - changes we knew about on the head: the antennae / lasers on the head are no longer rubbery plastic; the fin is removable and two are included (like with the VF-31F). Nice small improvements there. Of note, the extending neck ball joint on mine was very tight when I transformed the figure - be careful when you pull the head up to turn it around! - change I think we knew about: the "hip clip" has been redesigned a little and snaps in much better than earlier 29s and renewal 25s - one change I don't think we knew about, and this is, IMO, a major improvement on both the YF-29 and the renewal 25: This joint here, you can probably see if you zoom in on the picture, the one that rotates to allow the chest to flip up over the cockpit for battroid mode, has had clicks added to it. I don't think there's a ratchet in there - mine clicked like one, but I think it was just the plastic sliding into place - but this actually fixed one of the biggest flaws (IMO) of the original YF-29 and the renewal 25. The way this whole part accordioned together and relied on pressure to stay in place always left the figures feeling a bit haphazard to me. But this change, combined with the tighter sliding joint by the shoulders (the one that folds down so the backpack can sit flush with the cockpit in battroid), actually locks the torso together and it feels nice and solid - almost as nice as the VF-31, which has clips and locks in place to keep its torso together (the 31 also has a more complicated chest fold going on, so those clips and locks were really necessary). I am really, really happy about that change, and it was a pleasant surprise as I don't recall it being mentioned anywhere before. Getting it all the way to Battroid mode, it feels far more solid a toy than any of the 29s or renewal 25s I've had - two YF-25s (one new), a VF-25a (new), RVF-25 (very loose) and two YF-29b (one new, one could barely stand). Again, over time we'll see how the joints hold up. Bandai, anecdotally, seems to have had better luck with them in post-Frontier renewal releases, so maybe the same will be true here. To answer the question of whether the joints are stronger and how much of an improvement it really is, here's the new one doing something I couldn't do with any of my other Frontier figures, including the ones that were brand new: Yes, it is leaning slightly backwards and not falling over. A couple other things. If you're looking on the secondary market for one (I don't think these are sold out yet, but I'm sure one day someone will read this and it will be) make sure you get the "YF-29 Full Set Pack" - it says it very clearly on the box. Sellers are trying to clear out the older versions now (and there are a lot, because the original one had several reissues prior to this) so keep an eye out for that. If you get it in hand, you really like it and you start to think about getting other Frontier figures? Don't do it. Reading reviews of the (original) YF-29 release, written after the figure came out, might give you the impression that it's an incredible figure. Those reviews were written with the "v1" DX VF-25 figures as the main point of comparison, though, and while the YF-29 was a HUGE improvement over those, they were... not good. The renewal VF-25 figures came after the YF-29 and were again an improvement, but not by a lot. Since then there have been three DX releases, each better than the previous one - the VF-19 advance (and YF-19 full set pack), the VF-31 (which is a great toy, even if it has a backpack big enough to walk the Appalachian trail twice and not run out of granola) and most recently the new VF-1 (there was also the SV-262, which I have no opinion about other than to say the transformation videos were enough to keep me from buying one). So really, don't try to chase down the other Frontier DX figures. You'll just be disappointed comparing them to the newer ones you've already got. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase. I like it better than any of the previous Frontier figures I've handled. If you like the YF-29 design, I think it's worth buying. If you've already got one of the earlier YF-29 figures, consider this reissue to be the best possible version of that mold we'll get; whether or not that's worth a purchase is up to you.
Nice review, thanks! Sounds like the plastic and finish is getting more Arcadia like? That would be a good thing as far as I’m concerned.
yeah, it definitely reminds me a lot of the plastic on my Arcadia figures. It's a very nice change IMO.
Thanks @deruberhanyok for the detailed review/thoughts. I think I am sold now. Luckily a fellow boardie who shall remain nameless but is, for all intents and purposes, one awesome dude, offered to hook me up with an extra he or she was able to secure way back on PO night when I struck out.
AJ (yes, as in, ships and sold by) has the YF-29 available for 27,458 JPY shipped. https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/B0897ZW6HZ/
Oh, I missed that part. Does it matter? I think it may be even better to be sold by a 3rd party now because of the tax thing. As long as it is fulfilled by Amazon, I think it seems good. If not, lmk. I may be able to help you.
Yeah I think it should be OK, it's 3rd party but as long as its shipped by AJ and they let you ship to US you're set. The price is 13 JPY less than my order from last night haha. I think someone raised a concern about being sent the original version or the previous reissue which doesn't have the fixes, but this listing says it's the Full Set so I think it should be safe.
Yeah, I bought my Max 1A from a 3rd party seller on AJ which was just fine, just for some reason I would have liked it directly from them. Thanks for the offer @Slave IV on helping me out. Another awesome guy *cough* @FireSkyJet *cough* also has me covered. You both are seriously awesome.
