Yamato & Bandai Macross Toys

[Tober]

Thanks Tober! Some cool pics.

And I'll be getting that for sure. Give me something to spend on instead of spares for my TF collection

It does seem a lot of the jets are very similar in appearance. There differences tend to in nuances as opposed to clear structure and proportions. Would that be a correct assessment? The more I look through, the more selective I think I'm going to have to be as i don't want too many similar looking ones together

Yeah, that is a kinda problem with Macross, there arn't that many jets with different molds out there and they are often only distinguished by their armor/FAST accessory packs and heads. The VF-1 series... we are in repaint Hell. Allot of collectors are selective tho - they pick a character they like and stick to collecting his versions of VFs, or like myself limit themselves to only one variant of each mold. It's a little bit like the Transformers Seekers - you have Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Sunstorm and Acid Rain who are repaints and then Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet who are mold variants. With Macross they fly the same jets in their squad and the packs reflect their roles - sniper, recon, armor, scout etc. There are other jets in Macross Frontier too but they havent been released, yet, prototype for the VF-27 is above, but the VF-17 and VB-6 Koenig Monster are nowhere to be seen yet.

EDIT:
And another question (i'm sure there will be many more)

are the guys in these pics:

the equivalent of the 1/60s here at HLJ with armoured/custom listings

Yes. The ones in those pics are the 1/72 kits. The HLJ listings are for the toys. The models have better proportions but are more fragile than the toys.

[Lord_Zed]

Curses! This thread is evil, so many new Macross releases look so good!!!

The VF 27, the Quarter, the VF 11c all looks so damn awesome!

Add that to the new 22's and it's just to much. I hope half that stuff is not due till next year.

[Dkaris]

As has been stated previously, A lot of the valkyries are simply repaints of the same type of valk, but i think thats what i like about them. I'm selective in my choosing, but somehow i just think some of the different paint schemes can really make the model. For example. I find the VF-1S focker valk for example to be a bit plain, However i find the soon to be released 1/60 max or milia's repaint of the same valk to be quite more to my taste, maybe because theres such a different in color variation.

On a side note, the other day i found an old Destroid action figure i picked up when i was like 10 from world 4 kids when it was shutting down, cost me like $5 =D

[STL]

I was going to hold off as I'd been naughty enough lately but I was checking out the online stores and making a want list when I stumbled across the SV-51 Nora for $124! I couldn't turn it down at that price given he seems to cost between $230-$300 shipped. I added the Ex-Gear and voila, I now have (hopefully) my first two transforming/non-assembly required Macross toys.

While these are expensive, they seem not to hit with the same frequency of deluxes/scouts/legends/voyagers etc. My want list looks expensive but I attribute it down to the fact I'm a bit late into the game.

I'm looking at the VF-25F with Super and Armor next and I want to add your two, Fungal. The RV-25G and the RVF-25. I think my goal of 2500 TFs in the 25th year is just about to hit a major roadblock!

Can't wait!

EDIT:
and thanks to Tober and Fungal too for starting me down this path. Well, kinda. My wallet doesn't seem to agre

[Tober]

I was going to hold off as I'd been naughty enough lately but I was checking out the online stores and making a want list when I stumbled across the SV-51 Nora for $124! I couldn't turn it down at that price given he seems to cost between $230-$300 shipped. I added the Ex-Gear and voila, I now have (hopefully) my first two transforming/non-assembly required Macross toys.

While these are expensive, they seem not to hit with the same frequency of deluxes/scouts/legends/voyagers etc. My want list looks expensive but I attribute it down to the fact I'm a bit late into the game.

I'm looking at the VF-25F with Super and Armor next and I want to add your two, Fungal. The RV-25G and the RVF-25. I think my goal of 2500 TFs in the 25th year is just about to hit a major roadblock!

Can't wait!

EDIT:
and thanks to Tober and Fungal too for starting me down this path. Well, kinda. My wallet doesn't seem to agre

WOW!! You might be in for a bit of a shock there !! The SV-51 Nora is as much of a b***h to transform as is the woman that pilots it. I packed up my Ivanov a few hours ago and was literally thinking of how lucky it is that people new to Macross wouldn't have to deal with it yet . You have to be VERY patient with transforming it - it is the most complex valkyrie out there and has many small tabs and hooks that are easily overlooked. I would honestly set aside an hour to go through it - I think that's about as long as it took me. It's a very strange valk but $124 is a bargain - I was actually thinking of getting a second one at that price but I don't have the space.

I think the EX-Gear is cool, I was really pleased by it, but it doesn't really transform as such. It's used as a flying armor that folds up and can interact with a VF-25 Frontier Valk.

BTW, have you watched any Macross series or movies?

[Fungal Infection]

If you want the VF-25F Alto without armor or super packs, BBTS has him at $124 US (plus $34 shipping). Thats the cheapest you'll find online for the standalone. So cheap in fact, that I ordered him so my armor pack will actually have a valk to attach to.

[Fungal Infection]

WOW!! You might be in for a bit of a shock there !! The SV-51 Nora is as much of a b***h to transform as is the woman that pilots it. I packed up my Ivanov a few hours ago and was literally thinking of how lucky it is that people new to Macross wouldn't have to deal with it yet . You have to be VERY patient with transforming it - it is the most complex valkyrie out there and has many small tabs and hooks that are easily overlooked. I would honestly set aside an hour to go through it - I think that's about as long as it took me. It's a very strange valk but $124 is a bargain - I was actually thinking of getting a second one at that price but I don't have the space.

I think the EX-Gear is cool, I was really pleased by it, but it doesn't really transform as such. It's used as a flying armor that folds up and can interact with a VF-25 Frontier Valk.

BTW, have you watched any Macross series or movies?

Yeah, the Sv-51 is a really tricky and fragile piece. It does look good fully loaded in valkyrie mode however (although space consuming because of its large wingspan). But just be very careful if you are thinking of getting one of its arch-enemies, the VF-0S/A - these are some of the worst quality controlled valks ever released. Read about it on macrossworld if you need convincing. I assume the $124 price is from Overdrive?

[Lord_Zed]

Bah! I don't know what all this complaining is about, I can Transform my SV-51 with relative ease. Yes it's fragile, but so are some of the arm joints on the VF-0 and the VF-1, It's easily my favorte Valkyrie in my collection.

[Tober]

Yeah, but you're Lord_Zed! It's just a disclaimer as it's kinda like jumping into the deep end.

--------------------------------------

This was released about 3 weeks ago, but if you havent seen this before it's rather interesting, really interesting stuff is around the 3.15 mark:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTIzMTUyNzAw.html

Re-arrangement for the Makurosu opening sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2QiH6wEUvs

Apparently it's only for a Pachinko game.

[STL]

WOW!! You might be in for a bit of a shock there !! The SV-51 Nora is as much of a b***h to transform as is the woman that pilots it. I packed up my Ivanov a few hours ago and was literally thinking of how lucky it is that people new to Macross wouldn't have to deal with it yet . You have to be VERY patient with transforming it - it is the most complex valkyrie out there and has many small tabs and hooks that are easily overlooked. I would honestly set aside an hour to go through it - I think that's about as long as it took me. It's a very strange valk but $124 is a bargain - I was actually thinking of getting a second one at that price but I don't have the space.

I love the colours. I was reading some reviews somewhere this morning and the pictures make it look immaculate. It's head mold is a bit strange but it kinda fits in with the eerie purple its got. The brownish version of it doesn't quite do the same for me and the black looks nice but I would've probably passed.

I'll definitely be mindful of giving it time then. Funnily enough, your warning actually makes me even more excited. I like the fact that these will be quite a challenge and take time. TFs are like 10-15 minute things at most. It's kinda mindboggling to think that something can take so long to get. Not to mention I'm a sucker for the grooves and hooks, even if i miss them b/c they add layers of nuance to a toy.

I think the EX-Gear is cool, I was really pleased by it, but it doesn't really transform as such. It's used as a flying armor that folds up and can interact with a VF-25 Frontier Valk.

Yuppers, knew about it not transforming but i saw images of it a few posts back and after a little more research and some stellar pictures on Macrossworld, I'm really excited about it. It's like a new armoured character that's not Iron Man. Will the other pilots get their own unique suits or did they all have the same ones in the cartoons?

BTW, have you watched any Macross series or movies?

Nope, not one. Don't think I will either as I barely have enough time as it is most days. Are they worth seeing though? My memories of Anime tend to be seeing people watch Bleach and Dragonball and me shuddering. And it seems like there's a lot to follow up on. if I were to watch it, I wouldn't know where to start.

[QUOTE=Fungal Infection;132889]Yeah, the Sv-51 is a really tricky and fragile piece. It does look good fully loaded in valkyrie mode however (although space consuming because of its large wingspan). But just be very careful if you are thinking of getting one of its arch-enemies, the VF-0S/A - these are some of the worst quality controlled valks ever released. Read about it on macrossworld if you need convincing.

I assume the $124 price is from Overdrive?

Yuppers. Never thought I'd be buying from there after the couple of TF orders but lo and behold they had it. I almost went and bought the RVF-25 and VF-25G but then realised they weren't in stock. Unfortunately, well, fortunately maybe.

I was really surprised by the price. I was just more browsing then anything and had to check a couple of times to see if I hadn't goofballed. Then I paid and something happened on Overdrive's end where I didn't receive order confirmation. But after an email or two that's resolved now.

I notice they have a "Macross replacement parts" in the top corner. What's that about? Is this the equivalent of Lego replacement parts?

If you want the VF-25F Alto without armor or super packs, BBTS has him at $124 US (plus $34 shipping). Thats the cheapest you'll find online for the standalone. So cheap in fact, that I ordered him so my armor pack will actually have a valk to attach to.

How much are the super and armor packs alone? I'm keen on them separate but the best bargain i've seen so far is on eBay at about $430

And an observation, it's quite funny searching for Macross toys on eBay. Normally for TFs I use price lowest to look for my items. For Macross, I start at price highest.