AcroRay

Heh-heh, yeah, last week! That's a really nice item. I think one of the best things about it is that if you're not collecting the CMs Legioss toys, it would still look nice in any collection because of how many elements of the design are different from your standard Legioss anyway. So CMs differences in proportion from the Toynami design are masked by the Drone's non-standard feet, torso & other elements. Pricey, but it is an interesting design, and who else is going to mess with releasing one?

Funny, this subject just popped up at ToyboxDX... This was originally a Takatoku toy. Overstock of it was sold in CONVERTORS packaging in the mid-1980s when Transformers toys were flooding the market. There were also a couple of multi-colored knockoffs of it in two different box styles - one box which was cheap, and another which was essentially a translation of the original Takatoku box, and included additional foil decals which weren't included in the CONVERTORS Takatoku overstock version. Here's mine from the 80s, which is a combination of the Convertors version, with red waterline parts on the carriers pulled from one of the Multi-colored knockoffs. It includes a Takatoku-style box from one of the knockoffs, the additional foil decals, and some additional painting on the bow cannons and the bridge. About 5 inches tall. Transformation is much like the big Takatoku version, except you take the cannons off, and the tips don't rotate for accurate crusier configuration. Big pegs behind the bridge hold the cannons in Storm Attacker mode. There's no elbow joints, but the carriers do rotate. The upper legs collapse into the lower torso area just as seen on the show. It does have a generally accurate profile and proportions. I bought the CONVERTORS version at a Spencers Gifts, and the knockoff portion at a little variety store that stocked a lot of knockoffs at the time. Its a nice little toy and a treasure from my youth - if outclassed by more modern things and Matchbox's 1980s domestic release of Takatoku's more elaborate toys. But at the time it was quite a treasure for me when other things simply weren't available.

I pulled this off of another retailer's site. Same as the Over-Drive pic, but a little larger.

Some nice pics at Jenius' site, in the 'upcoming' update: http://anymoon.com/blog/2009/02/24/release...g-macross-toys/ (scroll all the way down for more)

Probably not. That colorway was from the Matchbox Robotech toy line ("Civil Defense" or somesuch), and was re-issued by Playmates. I doubt it would be used by Yamato.

A little off-topic, but Friday I picked up a very gently used copy of the Hurricane Live 2032 music video collection VHS (the one with anime clips compiled to music) for a couple bucks. I think I've got these on DVD, but wasn't certain. After a couple of decades, its nice to see the show still getting its due. BGC was a really important work to me back in college - it was released during my years there and was a premium trading piece back when VHS duplicates were the fan's sole distro method - and is still an all-time favorite of mine.

Aoshima 1/12 model kit of Priss & Motoslave with Machine Cannon:

Nice quick review and excellent pics. Thanks, DarrinG!

Did the Mospeada/RTNG I-Men toys ever make it to retail?

I recall the Ride Armor image appearing on one of the model kits I didn't have. Hopefully the card will provide a nice look at them, and that they'll be included in the upcoming Mospeada art book. It'll make a nice background piece on my Mospeada shelf!

shitajiki = "pencil board". They're common little items, rather like a giant laminated or plastic trading card you slip behind a sheet of writing paper to give you a better writing surface. Anime ones often have beautiful, unique pieces of art, and are sold as regular school/office supplies or given away as promotional items. Do a quick eBay search, and you'll get some good examples. Cool & cheap, and addictive to collect for some, but postage costs usually make them a bit more expensive than they need to be.

I\'ve got this shitajiki coming the the mail from Japan within the next couple of weeks (SAL), and I\'m looking forward to posting the art here. Cutaways, yay! YahooJP auction pic:

Sorry, Troyness. I think I was typing that up while you were typing up yours! (But I got distracted by the Colbert Report!)

I don't have any word from Beagle or Toynami. In my general experience with the development process, and my estimation of what I'm seeing in the pictures, I would say it was a mockup made from Stig/Scott tooling, and probably initial casts of the unique parts for Ray/Rand, possibly some new materials for cloth areas. I'd say the shot with the exposed groin area mechanisms is probably indicitive that the parts in that area are undergoing revision in design and materials, which weren't available at the time of the photo. Besides - Considering the development Beagle had undertaken with the first Ride Armor, I'd expect them to come up with some improvements, especially with regard to materials and engineering failures. Cosmetic - like the neck screw hole - who knows. But the bits that 'break' will probably be addressed. On the other hand, why would you assume its an example of final product?

Jenius is quite right. Its called a "mockup", gang. They've still got plenty of time to make changes.

Yeah, I keep hearing "Zero-G Love" when I see pics of the figure!

Sweet collection, sir! You must be quite the proud robo-papa! (Especially the Max & Milia! Wow!)

I checked out YahooJP for them for you, but didn't see any. The Megaro Zamac kits were going for pretty solid prices, though. Those decals really do rock. Imai had some nice ideas!

I always thought the Boomers were considerably larger in comparison to 'normal' humans. They usually towered over the BGC ladies, and most AD Police. Yammie's looks rather scaled-down.

I just finished this 80's paper kit a few days ago! It comes from a high-quality scan of the original Dougram Paper Craft book. About 8" tall.

Something else for Totoro242 and XSToys to buy!

There are a lot of options for joint elements this days - Wave's option stuff, Revoltech, the new Assemble Borg figures, even some Microman stuff. If you're at all inclined to sculpt your own, you could cut it down and add joint elements. I haven't seen the Toynami bookends first hand, but you may be able to recast the Invid from them, and add joints (although the scale would be different. Probably a project you might try to get John Moscato behind.

Oh, you can still get some decent articulation out of vinyl. It just depends on how ambitious the designer is. But, I think typical sofubi articulation would serve most Invid designs.

If I could tuck away $50 a month, I sure as h3ll wouldn't spend it on something like this. Perhaps a married adult with 2 kids and a mortgage isn't the sort of person they intend to sell it to... I've got my big old Takatoku version, which I think will do just nicely instead. I think Yamato's SDF will be a dead subject for me.

Nice detail. Huge size. But at about $700-800 after shipping, I might as well be admiring a movie prop or something. Sure, this hobby seems to support interest in hyper-expensive items like the occasional rare vintage piece, or collectors who keep thousands of dollars worth of Yamato's products in their collections. But deliberately setting out on a piece like this - especially at these economic times - might be something of a mistake. Way outta my league.