aceoftherebellion

The entire point to me is to have it all in the same scale. If I was okay mixing scales I'd have long since painted the Bandai kit and put it in my Macross display. It's 1/60 or nothing, so I'm still all in on this.

You'd might be somewhat surprised. The hobby/anime market is a lot smaller than you'd think, and a disproportionate chunk of it (at least as far as people who actually put their wallet behind things) are in exactly that demographic- people who grew up with the first show and continue to watch, and that's what a lot of shows are directly marketed towards. Unless you think 12 year olds have the disposable income to buy 200,000 yen Arcadia/Bandai products. Of course they want the series to appeal to as broad a market as possible, and kids/young adults are great to bring in and sell some CDs and a few trading figures to, but this isn't Transformers, and we're not talking about Hasbro. They care more about the older chunk of viewers than you seem to think. As far as some of my personal "....oh. " reaction towards this show, I see a lot of people comparing AKB0048 as an example of Kowamori's other works and I guess my problem is I couldn't really get into that, either. I was kind of hoping for less of that, not more of it, so I can't help but be somewhat disappointed. I'll fully acknowledge that it's a kneejerk, and I'm still planning on giving the show the full shot when more info is released/when it's out though!

Man, I'm really not feeling this as much as I wish I was. I think I was really hoping they wouldn't go the idol group route, and what do you know, there it is. I'm sure it'll still be good but my excitement has kind of dropped a little bit, IDK

It's not that easy to get a clear screengrab, but it's consistantly animated with no allowances for transformation whatsoever. Just intakes and the classic head-between-my-legs turret, and otherwise plain and solid, which couldn't function for transformation and also contredicts the above transformation spec lineart. Of course, this being the old days of cel-animation, that's about to be expected, and isn't really different from the animated depictions of any other valkyrie, all of which rely on anime-magic to transform. EDIT: Actually, scratch that, it also uses the old 'just make anything not visible solid black for shadow' shortcut, which pretty much means... yeah, hollow.

Haha gotcha, sorry! It seemed to be a pretty common misconception in some of my other fandom collecting circles (transformers, lego) so it seemed worth it to clear it up just in case. I'm just happy they still include sticker sheets to make up the difference. It seems like such a basic thing, but so many larger companies don't even seem willing to go that far. I mean, I hate stickers, but it's still nice to have that option.

Tampos aren't decals, and they're not put on by workers. They're effectively factory-machined paint-stamps that are mechanically applied and each have to be tooled seperately, and it is something that adds up. If it was just a matter of hand applying a decal, it would probably be a lot cheaper. Bandai can afford to add them because they laregly operate their own factory facilities and operate in bulk, Arcadia has to outsource labor and apparently has to pick and choose. It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of the commercial production environment.

Bandai's is probably the superior toy, but I wanted to get one to display it with my 1/60 macross figures, so the slight bit of size difference made me rule in favor of the Yamato. Yes, it's a floppy mess, but if you're daring and don't mind a little DiY on a figure that nobody actually wants anymore, a little superglue joint tightening made mine a pretty solid toy. I actually quite like it. It has nice, hard lines, and looks heavier than bandai's version to my eye.

That's exactly what I meant, right on the head. I'm far from a perfect expert on the japanese toy market, but my understanding is that the licencing restrictions for Gashapon style figures are much, much looser, as nobody really expects that to be a particularly large market. It's the same way we look at say, T-shirt sales here. Like a fringe benefit, which as the man said, puts us exactly in the same spot. I rather suspect the same thing in regards to FB2012's licencing issues, and Skullmilitia adds a good bonus point to that. Older music rights can be a lot harder to clear than you'd think, since in so many cases the original copyright holders have either defaulted and sold their rights to other firms, or music rights now lay with estates rather than the original composers/arrangers/singers/whoever else is involved. A kind of similar snafu happened with the localization of Zeta Gundam, where Bandai of America couldn't secure any of the music rights and had to ship the US DVDs with certain audio-tracks replaced with alternative recordings (Something I'm still disapointed with over a decade later, hrmph) If the FB2012 rights are as convoluted as that, it doesn't surprise me in the least that there might be too much red-tape attached to make it worthwhile. Copyright laws were different in the 80s. It was the same climate that allowed Takara to release the entire pre-G1 transformers line with unauthorized/unlicenced automotive likenesses. It's less that nobody understood copyright laws and more that nobody really expected the home video market to actually become a factor. Macross was made as a one-and-done sort of thing, make a TV show, air it a few runs, sell some toys, move on to the next. The copyrights weren't really locked down satisfactorily, likely, because nobody thought it would matter. This was only a decade or so after the BBC was outright deleting old Doctor Who episodes because they figured they'd never need them again, so the global climate regarding TV distributuion rights was just a liiiiittle bit different! They sure didn't anticipate there ever being sequels or a company producing high-end-collectables 30 years later. Hell, the Tatsunoko Vs. Big West thing wasn't even settled until the 00s.

A little late on this one, but the more simple explanation is that not all merchendising is created equal. Prize figures may simply have different licencing restrictions than full toys, which we see on our own shelves- novelty key-chains and the like are technically 'toys' but are categorized as accessories and require seperate licencing agreements over here, and AFAIK Gashapons and Prize figures work similarly. An excellent example is any trading figure that includes a peice of terrible candy- they do that so that they're actually selling 'food', with a toy as a bonus, which completely circumvents certain licencing and selling restrictions. You can't really use prize and trading figures as a yardstick to see which company has which licence, as they're licenced under different considerations.

Yeah, it works using a strut that itself actually hinges outward, like a traditional Takatoku swing-bar with an extra accordion joint. The sort of thing that would never, ever work in the real world. Using thicker struts with a workaround jointing method seems as good a method as any to duplicate that without really changing the actual design of the fighter. Lineart accuracy being the prime gospel around here, I think anything that deviated further would just result in even more complaining, no matter what effect it might have. The fact is, as we can see from the lineart here, the 2SS doesn't have a clean underside, period. It's hard to tell exactly what they did to enginer this without having one in hand, but given the unpossible nature of the 2SS's transformation from the get-go, the actual transformation scheme is probably about as good as it's going to get. I'll agree that some parts could stand to be a little thicker, but it does seem to adhere about as closely to the original lineart as the majority of other contemporary 60 scaled valkyries (not one of which is actually flawless) so the rest is a matter of nit-picking. Naturally, that being the official passtime of Macross-World, we're in good company here. I think at this point, the only remaining minor disappointment for me is the lack of surface details. It's pretty much exactly what's in the lineart in terms of panel lines and nothing more, which is a shame. Acceptable, IMO, but could be better.

It's true, for just a little higher than the price of that sticker kit you could buy an Origin of Valkyrie reissue of the VF-1J and have both to show off side by side.

Hrm. Looking at those transformation linearts, that looks closer to what we're getting here. It makes me think ET followed these diagrams more closely than the animation or the 'base' lineart. Interesting!

The lack of experience as a modder or model builder is going to be your biggest hurdle. Yes, it's possible to do this conversion. Mostly, you'll need a VF-1J head to stock on there. You can try to find a junky takatoku 1J to swap out, or you can hunt for an aftermarket resin replacement, somebody on these boards might still have one. You also need to extensively repaint your valk, no matter what you do. That's a tall order for some. You might also need decals, which again, you might be able to find aftermarket, or it's possible to design and print your own. Pretty much everything does require some degree of skill and experience, and there really aren't any shortcuts to it. You can find a lot of painting and modding information and tutorials to get you started, and some of our model builders would probably be happy to give you any pointers and tips that you need. My best suggestion is to pick up a few model kits and just try building and painting them first. Modding a toy is pretty much exactly like building an old school model kit from the ground up.

Pretty much that exactly, yeah. If you tried to actually copy that mechanism in a real 3D space toy, the parts would be so thin and fragile the thing would probably self detonate on first transformation, and Bandai and Yamato have already given us toys with that gimmick, we sure don't need another one. The other thing is, if you look at the undercarriage in these transformation bits, there's a ton of negative space on the underside of the Fighter mode. It's represented by pretty random transformation parts greebles in the lineart, but lets talk real here for a second, that's artistic shorthand for 'there's nothing really here, just fill it with junk so it looks good', and that's not something you can properly emulate on an actual 3D toy either. All that 'tiny swing-bars and pistons' junk has to be consolidated into a real world swingbar that isn't going to snap in half and can actually hold the weight of whatever it's meant to move, which in this case, is the whole damn thing, (those being the hips). The 2SS was never designed as an actual 3D thing, unlike every Kowamori design ever, and the only toy of it ever made to date was a parts-former. I'm willing to cut ET a whole ton of slack when it comes to making this work in a physical space.

Given that I've been waiting for 15 years or so for a toy like this, there's no way in any hell that I'm cancelling any preorder. For better or worse, this baby is MINE. I'll definitely at least put together some photos and give my thoughts on the finished product whenever I get it in hand, at least, although I'm honestly pretty easy to please when it comes to toys in this category. (I'm still satisfied with my Yamato 1/60 YF-19 and V1 Bandai VF-25s, so....)

I'm still really excited about this one. Not perfect, but to be honest, even the best Macross toys to date take huge liberties with the lineart, and I really don't care. It's recognizable, and looks better than Toynami's efforts. That's all I ask. I'm definitely keeping my pre-order, and I still can't wait. The main 'hero' valk from every Macross made so far, in a semi-consistant scale? I'm happy as a clam.

I'm not heartbroken over the probability of no SAP. It would be really nice to have, but honestly, it's an expensive enough toy as it is. I imagine having a big honking accessory pack would just push the price up that much higher, and really the SAP is pretty meaty. Maybe not Armored-parts big, but big enough that adding it probably would push the final price tag up enough to make it that much harder to justify. I said before and I'll say again, no matter what flaws/omissions/issues it might have, I'm just happy to finally be able to put a VF-2SS on my shelf. Being able to have a valk from every macross production? That level of completion was a pipe dream six months ago. I thought it would never happen. Now it is.

I wouldn't fret too much over the tape. All we've seen is a resin prototype, which in all likelyhood just doesn't have the tolerances or durability to hold itself together without some help. That's common on most prototypes in this phase and shouldn't be seen as an indicator of anything quality-wise for the final toy. All it means is that we're seeing a very early prototype. It also means that virtually everything about it is still subject to change, although it's release date makes me wonder how much if anything will be changed.

It seems to be a problem with the plastic degrading over time, identicle to (but much, much quicker) than the old Gold Plastic Syndrome. Mine had cracks strait out of the box that I noticed even before transforming it (at this point it disintegrated and had to be reconstructed with glue and joint re-engineering.)

The problem with the hinges is the actual lineart breaks physics and the transformation as indicated by the lineart simply does not work without severely deforming the engines. I've tried (albeit crudely compared to some of the masters around here) solving how the transformation would work in a 3D rendering program before and it's just not possible without severe clipping, the engines would have to be able to go through the fuselage with the hinges as they're placed in the lineart. Putting them up higher is a convenient workaround, even if it's not really true to the lineart itself. I'm not sure what the solution would have been, maybe a slide-joint? But there already has to be a slide joint in the other direction, and I think having some sort of rotation or swing arm would be even more glaring and obvious, so IDK. Simple solution works for me. Frankly, again, I'm desperate. I love the VF-2SS, and very few other people seem to agree with that, and I had all but given up on one ever being made. I'd gladly take one at 1/55 chunky monkey quality if it just meant having one in my collection. Hell, I'd take one at Toynami quality if it was the only choice. I'm pretty optimistic about this one. It looks resoundingly 'good enough' to me. At least on par with Yamato's middle offerings (YF-19, VF-0, etc), and that's all I'm asking for.

It's almost a shame that thing probably isn't for sale even if you had the sort of money to buy it. Then again, it's probably for the best for the sanity of this forum...

To it's credit, when it was made Macross II was incredibly ambitious, and there's no way we'd have any other macross sequels without it. It's not a perfect series, but it's an important one! Yeah, I love Valks that look like real planes too, but man, the VF-2SS reminds me of every mid 80s top-down sci-fi scrolling shooter, and I cannot even begin to imagine how many quarters I've wasted on those. I can't help but be rediculously fond of it.

It's really not that pricy compared to any other recent Valkyrie at the same scale, though. It's higher than any of the VF-1s, yeah, but those are old molds that have long since been paid for, and Bandai prices are a whole other animal given that Bandai can price lower because they're a huge company. It's significantly cheaper than any recent Non-reissue Arcadia release, and from a smaller company. Valkyrie prices have gone up, period. They're not going to come back down. That's just how it is. Compared to other recent releases, this is right around the general ballpark I would expect any new Valkyrie made by anybody who wasn't Bandai to cost.

I was very amused and also horrified about the prospect of gold plastic syndrome creeping up again. I'm still fairly convinced that the problems with the VF-171 were a variation of that (or at least poorly mixed ABS) I'm a little terrified of that Orguss now, given that for some of the worst offenders (and Black Zarack is on this list) you don't even need to open the box for them to disintegrate, many people have bought brand new in box things only to find their very expensive collectable transformers have disintegrated simply due to *time*. If Orguss used that as part of the transformation mechanism??? Shudder Still, best podcast yet (for very biased reasons). You had me from the start with the terrible Macross II dub. I'm always glad to hear that there's at least one person out there who loves MII as much as I do.

I think they're assuming we'll get an early screened pilot again, like Frontier. Too early to guess, IMO- can't take anything as read when it comes to Macross.