AcroRay

You're joking, right?

See post #319, to which I'll add that most of the R&D expenses of the 1/60 VF-1 line have probably already been compensated for with the last few years of sales, even though newer ones probably use newer tooling.

So, no one noticed the booster accessories on the one design sheet behind the 1J's gun-pod, the deliberately blurred Michel variant spec sheet in the foreground, the (I assume) retailer info sections covered up by office supplies, and the production sample 1/55 1J cockpit shield and removable canopy sample?

I believe the translation of the page does indicate that it comes with 3 extra figures: "Accessory = pilot figure/service soldier figure/induction soldier figure/marking sticker/instruction manual" [Altavista, via Firefox] ...So you get a pilot, an infantryman & a technician if I read it correctly - along with a decal sheet & instruction booklet.

I agree, the price tag is rather steeper than one would expect offhand. Still, my suspicion is that they're justifying it based on a lower general production run, and a higher number of individual parts in differing materials. Yamato's scale detail is always rather high, which translates into a larger number of smaller components involved in the working parts (opening missile box hatches, joint elements, simulated search lamps, etc.). That's a lot of cavities & separations in the steel. That's a lot of tooling expense. It looks like there'll be a lot of painting involved as well. You're looking at a product similar in scale to their Q-Rau, but much more complex. Off-hand I liken the design to the styling & engineering in Hasbro's current larger SIGMA-6 line mecha toys, like the "Dragonfly". Still a pricey MSRP on that part of the line (except that they're easily found @ discount stores due to low demand), but lower in comparison to Yamato's because Hasbro is a larger company with larger quantities to dilute the R&D costs across the toy's sales. Yamato can't manage those quantities, so you have to expect their MSRP to be at least 50% higher than what you'd expect from a comparable mass-market product.

I think you mean "new products". Molds are a part of the production process. Personally I'm happy to see a company releasing non-Valkyrie products, even if licensing issues may have forced their course. Macross is a huge property with a wealth of imaginative designs beyond variable fighters. I'd love to see Yamato or anyone else branch into other products. Imagine a line of UN Spacy and Zentraedi ships similar to Taito's PVC/ABS display models from Leiji Matsumoto properties (Harlock's various ARCADIA incarnations, for example), which retail for only about Y1500 or so.

Didn't B-Club do a VFX-4 resin kit? I know that's a resin kit and there are lots of oddity garage kits out there, but B-Club is a larger operation.

Very nice, judging by the pics in their Photozoomer utility. Helluva lots of detail, 7 & a half inches tall. $100 is ouch for my wallet, though. Wonder if these will sell better than the Millia Q-Rau, what with the potential Battletech vets market out there as well? I smell a fire sale in my collection this summer....

The classic Imai/Bandai transformable 1/72 kits are a lot of fun. The detail is nice and strikes a nice balance between fighter & Battroid anime-accuracy, and the transformation isn't too bad. They've just been re-issued, but my only experience is with the vintage editions. They include very detailed cockpits, transparent running lights and eye panels, collapsing gun pod, missile racks and multiple hands. They've got diecast landing gear and some other hinge elements for durability and weight, and poly-caps for solid articulation. They're also a fairly easy build/paint for an unskilled builder and have nice decals. Its molded in white, so if you're neat and tidy you could get away with just the detail colors. Yamato's 1/60 VF-1 replica line reminds me an awful lot of these kits. To transform to Battroid, they've got an interesting arrangement. You remove the airframe's nose/cockpit area and replace it with one that has the canopy shield molded-in and features hip posts and a slight variation in proportion so you don't wind-up with a nosecone hanging down between its knees. That may seem odd, but when its in Battroid mode the full-detail cockpit segment displays nicely on its own. If you have the VF1D variant as well (which hasn't been re-issued, but is out there on the vintage market) you could have some display fun trying to attach it to a VF-1S to replicate the scenes from the show's second episode... D4mn, I've almost sold myself on picking up one for old-time's sake! I had a blast with the ones I had back in high-school (1985 or so) that I picked up via Revell's ROBOTECH repackage line, and they stood up to pseudo-play well enough to sell for a nice amount to a collectible shop back in the early 90s. I had the VF-1S & VF-1D variants. The 1S & 1A versions have recently been re-released: VF-1S at HLJ: http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN953433

Because we're all too breathless with anticipation to even speak! Perhaps in the meantime, we can cozy up in a Destroid Monster T-Shirt! http://www.hlj.com/product/CSP31292

Any news on the Tomahawk, gang?

Dead-on, brother. This is utterly, completely ridiculous. I have a lot of respect for the people here who actually get products made or have a direct, positive impact on their development. But this conversation has degenerated into purile nonsense, and is dragging down everyone foolish enough to attempt to introject any reasonable perspective into it. Have at it, gang. I'm signing off of this channel.

I expect they'll do as they please, since they do have over 40 years experience in making robot toys and are Japan's biggest toy company. Anything offered here isn't likely to have much of an impact on their decisions. Kawamori is working with them, and I think I'd rather just let him have the impact. But h3ll, I'll put up with a little hinge and a couple of seams if it'll knock the price down under a $100 bucks. That's important to me (since unfortunately I have other things in life I have to spend money on other than Valk replicas). If I want a seamless jet fighter I'll buy a jet fighter. I want a robot, so some seams and hinges are what I expect.

I think the individual who made that original suggestion is indicative of one of two factions making the observations voiced here: One rather 'young' faction is largely only familiar with recent Macross product and a rather limited smattering of Japanese robot toys from current popular properties. Another has experience with a much, much larger range of Macross and other Japanese robot toy products across several decades of collecting, including experience as manufacturers or involvement in development of that product or with the people who actually develop it. Each has its... own perspective on trends and product development, so to speak. I try to keep that in mind as I read some of the observations here. Not to say there aren't people new to the hobby who aren't quickly picking up a huge amount of experience and a good perspective. [i expect this will inflame all sorts of feedback.]

Very pretty! I'm curious - why aren't the Millia 1J & Standard 1A's hands extended? Not a big deal, just wondering.

Bandai's a little late to pick up the torch, but that's no reason to think they won't hold it as high or higher than their competitors. Given that Bandai hasn't really addressed any new Macross product for some time but has since (either themselves or their subcontractors) set the standards - I think - for the modern robot toy hobby, my expectation is that they'll develop a line of Valkyrie products that anyone outside the most religiously devoted Yamato/Hasegawa consumers will consider nothing short of stunning, with QC and presentation higher than most smaller companies could match, at competitive pricelines. Kawamori, teamed with Bandai's crew who develop SOC and HG/MG product, doubly invested in developing product to support the media property they're creating and underwriting, working with the best tools and resources at the top company in the industry. I don't think any fan in their right mind could ask for a better formula or expect less than a damn good product. Perhaps not flawless in every little detail, but as close as is feasible. All the rest, I think, is just obsessive nit-picking. (Still, we have to have something to do until all that stuff actually makes it into our eager little hands, right?)

Thanks for posting this, Renato! Great find!

I find complaints useful, especially if the subject is an expensive product. They may not deter me from a purchase, but would make me aware of issues a product may have that I may need to deal with myself either through care or modification. Still, some complaining - and support - can be rather opinionated, and subject to a grain of salt. For example - After hearing so much praise heaped on core Yamato product over the years, the 1/60 VF-1 I finally got around to purchasing from another collector a short while ago surprised me in that it was roughly comparable in terms of quality and material/design decisions to Toynami products I'd read post authors heaping derision upon. If I hadn't have read some of the complaints about the Yamato product, I might have been genuinely shocked. I've been in this anime-related hobby (and other media- and product-oriented hobbies) for quite some time. I've found that the most persistent complaint trends tend to be the result of somewhat immature viewpoints - akin to jingoistic pride or loyalties rather than a realistic assessment of a product's or company's offerings.

Dude, you're really getting 'em the hard way if you're paying that much. HLJ...

Astounding work, Cap. Simply jaw-dropping. I truly wish I was able to buy one. You should approach someone about licensing the design from you for an injection kit version. Your parts layout seems well-suited to it. (BTW: Please consider a re-issue of the Zentradi soldier kit at some point in the future!)

HLJ shipped my 2 Regult order today. Preorder priced them at about $17 USD each, and about $10 USD for SAL shipping. Good deal! I wonder what these'll get scapled for on eBay? Really looking forward to this. I sold my couple of assembled and boxed 1/100 kits a few years ago, and I do miss them. Hopefully a scout edition or a DYRL edition in blah green tones will appear. A DYRL colored one would make a nice, easy show exclusive, methinks.

The CONVERTORS are actually made from Takatoku tooling, presumably by one of TT's manufacturing subcontractors to settle on debt TT left behind. So they're not actually bootlegs, just 'repurposed' product. The weirdly-colored super-valk is a really cool item. Takatoku must have gone under just prior to its release. In addition to the Super parts and details, the knee-joints have been improved over the previous model, the underside has a socket to mount the gun-pod, and the biceps have a much-needed swivel joint. Whoever owned the SDF Macross CONVERTOR repainted parts of it. The shoulders, upper arms and cannon towers are all light metallic blue. (I repainted the towers on mine when I originally got it during high-school aroun '85 or so. Still have it!)

I'm seriously considering the Max FP. All the upcoming classic-style Transformers, Transformer Animated, and the Toynami Beta are competing for my wallet this year, however. The Max FP would be a nice Valk for my 10 year old daughter, who really likes Macross (and Transformers, for that matter).

D4mn, I can't wait! A co-worker here at my studio and I preordered a pair from HLJ. They just updated their status to in-stock within the last couple of hours. No shipping estimates yet.... http://www.hlj.com/product/KYD01201

My fault, sorry! (trademark & patent pending...) Nothing to do with hardpoints, though.