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?