jenius

Here's my guess on how the Hi-Metal line (and many other exclusives) works. The company first calculates the costs of creating a new toy. These costs include the R&D, molds, marketing, distribution, the whole deal to the best of their abilities. The company then uses their equation of fixed and variable costs to determine how many units they would have to sell at a range MSRPs. With some input from marketing guys they try to hit the sweet spot of a high quantity sold at the lowest MSRP possible (greater quantity distributes the fixed costs better). With the VF-19Kai all of those costs were likely done on just expected sales of that ONE toy. If the toy sold well they could make a variant for essentially just variable costs + profit margin and make fairly easy money off of a much more limited quantity. If the toy sold poorly there's no reason to produce a variant. With the Hi-Metal VF-1 the line was likely designed with a Focker and Hikaru toy in mind so all costs and profit margins must be recouped by sales from those two models. All the additional valks from there are icing so long as Bandai doesn't drastically over shoot the production quantity. I imagine Bandai approaches each new toy as its own line. If they were to make a lot more than expected off of one line it doesn't equate to an investment in the next line. That next line is analyzed fresh just like the very first Kai toy. That said, the VF-25 seems to be a no brainer and the only hurdle I can see is that they're afraid a Hi-Metal release would be confused with the disastrous VF100 releases and that would hurt sales.

Yamato needs to start from scratch, pick 1/72 to be the new master scale, and give us V3s or V2s (V4s?) of all the toys they've made so far!

The problem with your speculation is that it pre-supposes that Bandai HAD to make these toys. If they weren't profitable Bandai simply wouldn't have made them... not as a mass produced item and not as a web exclusive. Even lowly Hayao is getting a release so they must not be having that hard of a time turning some coin here... Toynami still hasn't given Hayao any time on their 1/100 line. Big West crushed HG's dream of re-releasing the chunkies years ago, no need to revisit that topic.

Huh? Being a web exclusive has nothing to do with being profitable. If anything, the fact the VF-1A DYRL toys were released as web exclusives AFTER the Max 1J was a web exclusive would lead one to believe the 1J release WAS profitable. That doesn't really make sense. The Toynami line debuted many years ago and has spent most of that time stalled despite the better economy and it's bare bottom price. What's new for this year? Paint schemes that didn't appear in Robotech and mechs only seen in a movie that has never had a proper international release. If anything it looks like Toynami is hoping for big gray market sales into Japan on these next waves. The market stalling because "VF-1 toys are everywhere" goes a long way toward showing that Macross toys have a much bigger market in Japan than they do elsewhere. Why else would so many different companies make VF-1 toys? All that said, I don't have a problem with the Toynami booth having a huge Robotech banner above their Macross toys. They have the Robotech license and they undoubtedly made that banner years ago. I think it's more an example of cost savings than anything else.

The side vents just aren't big enough on that thing. C'mon McClaren, if I can't gobble up pedestrians in my side vents then what's the point?

I'm a business man and success in my world is determined by profit. It's pretty easy to see that there isn't much profit being made off Robotech and there hasn't been for a while. It also seems highly unlikely that The Shadow Chronicles was nearly as profitable as Macross Frontier. Chances are selling the movie rights to WB wasn't very profitable either unless a movie actually gets made, at which point HG might stand to make some money. I think a comparison of Yamato vs. Toynami kinda says it all. Yamato makes Macross products that have done so well the company has made products we never dreamed would see the light of day. Toynami has done so poorly with the Robotech franchise that they've shuttered the name and the only line still seeing releases goes by the Macross name.

The groupings seem a bit awkward. I love the 2 seater wave but the grouping of two non-canon schemes with a VF-1S Max? Peculiar. The LowVis 1A and the Comic-Con scheme 1J seem like perfect fodder for event exclusives. It seems like the VF-1S Max would go better with a 1A Hayao DYRL and a 1A Max TV or something.

Ha, I'm currently working on a complete overhaul of my review of this very same toy. Beat me to the punch!

but a 1/100 toy would not be in scale with Bandai's Konig. The Konig is in scale with the Robot Spirits toys which is like 1/115 scale or something odd. -

Um, are you still putting any sort of faith into toynami release dates? Are you new to the hobby? i mean, I hope you've at least gotten refunds on your Shadow Beta and Marcus Shadow Fighter by now. I guess that's a very snarky way of saying "No" but the good news is that Toynami will be at the toy fare in NY this weekend so you'll probably get news then.

mmm... crystal eye salsa

Yep, the Hi-Metal VF-19Kai is as much parts-forming as I think should ever be included in a toy at this scale.

Just collapsed my various MPC and Aoshima reviews into one Mega Review over at Anymoon.com.

Awwww no, don't let this become another Yamato vs. Bandai thread!

Assuming the Hi-Metal VF-25 is on the same level of quality with minimal partsformation like the VF-1 and VF-19 toys I would definitely jump aboard. The VF100s were pretty bad, hopefully Bandai would have learned a lot from that effort.

Yes, it seems there are two types of optional here. You could say all the parts on the Hi-Metal Bandai are optional also if you don't mind the Battroid looking like it just got done a long battle with cancer. So there's the "optional but you're going to want to use it" like the Hi-Metal head parts and the neck cover on the Yamato and then there's the "you will probably leave those in the box" like the various leg pieces on both toys. I am still really looking forward to this toy. I'd love to have it in hand now to get an appreciation for why it needs the extra parts with how well engineered everything else likely is.

I'm about as likely to have the Hi-Metal displayed in Battroid without the parts of its head attached as I am to have the Yamato displayed in fighter mode without the neck covered... but I'm pretty easy-going on my definition of "perfect transformation" so it's hardly the end of the world for me.

Isn't there a big hole if it's not there where you'd see the back end of the neck?

Isn't the neck cover a parts-formation piece that is necessary?

I'm a bit confused by all the new pics and stuff. Does the Yamato have pretty similar parts-formation to the Bandai Hi-Metal (with exception to the head)? I guess the only one part that would bother me is the one in front of the head in fighter mode... all the optional leg parts and arm shield swap out are optional so no biggy.

I like darker colors too but considering all the stuff that's 'not cool' in Macross7 I think it'd be silly to make the toy darker because that looks cooler. This thing has lips for christ's sake. I say it's time to man up and embrace this in all it's MacDowell's goofy glory. Make it bright red, make it bright yellow, and let it be here and .....

So, in this bizarre what if world, are Valkyries all just Jetfires without pilots? I imagine the answer is that there'd be a whole lot less death, no destruction of Earth, a lot less singing, no romance, and a lot of Starscream whining.

Yamatoed!

Bandai made the toy, BW approved it, just copy the color from Bandai. Seems an easy problem to solve. I don't think BW can really cry foul over using the color they've already approved.

They're on the bottom shelf.