Salamander

I wonder what the chance is that Michel comes back as a Varja-controlled zombie/cyborgised by Macross Galaxy...we didn't actually see him buy it, he just got sucked out of the hole while dying, right? Somewhere, that would be AWESOME...

You probably need to update your flash player...also, try another browser like Firefox or Opera. Hmm, there are also side pictures of the Gerwalk and you can look straight into the hollow fuselage

Yes, because as we all know one specific example from more than 10 years ago means that all products (including current ones) of a manufacturer are like that... /sarcasm There's a difference in making a collector's grade toy that will be transformed many times, and a model kit that is made to look nice on the shelf and where the transformation is an additional gimmick. So it's likely that the TOY will be chunkier than the MODEL. Then, saying that Bandai doesn't know how to make good-looking and accurate toys is disregarding all of SoC, many transformable Gundam action figures, stuff like Saint Seiya Saint Cloth Myth, and many many other toys. Frankly, I'm getting sick of the length at which some Yamato-fanboys go to discredit any company that is not their all-time favourite money-sink. What's next? "Bandai is using LIVE BABIES for the production of the Macross Frontier Valks! Boycot them!" or "The paint on the 1/60 Valk is made using extracts from FLUFFY LITTLE BUNNIES! Burn the Bandai factories to the ground!"? I'm by no means a Bandai fanboi, but some of the statements made on these boards are bordering on the ridiculous. *wonders how much of the "It's too fat"-whine is caused by the dark space background taking away details and making the Valks seem thinner in most action scenes in the MF anime*

They are the same mold. Awful for collectors, great for kids. Which, AFAIK, was the primary aim of the M7 series, seeing it was broadcast on TV etc. and We real modellers PAINT (and often modify) our models, so we don't suffer from that little problem. The only reason many mecha models come molded in colors is that people who only have paint marker can touch them up and make them look somewhat more like the 'actual' thing... As far as I can see, it's going to be on par with a HG to MG Gundam. Hasegawa makes really nice models, but they can't transform and are a lot more fragile than most of Bandai's models (differences in the type of styrene used...). It's not a POS. You obviously have never seen a real POS model. Here's a little list on what they tend to suffer from: - really bad proportions. - really crap engineering with parts not fitting others in all senses of the words. - mold defects like flash, depressions, and gaps. - shitty plastic that breaks if you look funny at it. - shitty plastic that doesn't like paint. - rubber parts that desintegrate when you touch them. - shitty instruction/decal/sticker sheets (or worse: none at all!). - shitty boxes.

The fighter mode looks like a non-transformable mock-up (note lack of transformation lines on nosecone)

... Wait. You...are...suggesting...that...to...cut...breakage...YAMATO...(of all that you can choose of)...MAKES THEM?!? This does not compute. Brain hurts. At most, I'd ask Yamato to make the base design, then choose a capable company whose engineers actually know something about QC and what kind of materials you need to use for certain parts to prevent them from breaking AND that has factories upon which they can enforce their quality standards to actually finish the design and produce it. And no, I do not neccessarily mean Bandai or Takara.

I really wish people would stop thinking that Bandai has never made complex transforming toys, or that Macross designs are inherently more complicated than other designs...

Er...it isn't a picture of the model kit, is it? (with the wrong sign)

Would making them look like Bandai Chunky Monkeys make them too close to the VF-1 line-art, or could HG pull that off? (looking at the changes made to bootleg toys to make 'em more legit, I'd say they could get away with it...)

The retail price in Japan is 7800 yen - about 72 bucks or 46 Euro ( wow, the dollar is really falling, isn't it? I wonder when 1 Euro will be 2 dollar...). The previous non-FP reissues were 6800 yen, but the dollar was a lot higher then compared to the yen, so back then it was a lot cheaper for you US guys. I think the price has remained about the same for us Europeans. So it looks like a currency issue, really. Is the paperwork still the same, or did Bandai include a nice little booklet this time (like they do with SoC releases)?

Registered SAL or airmail. Usually still significantly cheaper than EMS to Europe (+ less import duties)

Psst. I believe the topicstarter misspelled "Toynami". A Mod should fix that. A toynazi is something else altogether. Concerning the Valks, they look pretty good, although a bit too PVCy to my likings...

And: Excuse me, but these kind of statements make me boggle. Bandai (well, their design office Plex) has been designing transforming toys for at least as long as Takara, including really complicated ones (already in the early 1980s). Back then, they designed tons of really complicated toys for various sentai series and (especially) Machine Robo (known as Gobots overseas). Suggesting that they do not know how to make complex yet show-accurate transforming toys 'a la Yamato' is....inane. Especially considering what they've turned out in the Soul of Chogokin line the last couple of years. Maybe you should pick up such nice transforming toys like (only mentioning the ones I have, other people might comment on other Bandai toys): - SoC Xabungle: about the size of a 1/144 Gundam model kit, with diecast, tons of accessories, and an accurate transformation. - SoC Dancougar: One of the first transforming SoCs, and a really fine one. It also strikes a nice 'average' between how Danny looked in the show and the vintage toy... - SoC Irongear: This is like a giant big cool playset, with tons of opening panels, a buttload of small PVC Walker Machines, some pretty cool accessories, and of course it transforms. Some cool vintage stuff: - Flash King (from sentai series Flashman, 1986): Simple transformation, but you've got to admit that the way each jet becomes an arm and a leg is incredibly inventive (hint: it doesn't involve taking the jets apart...). - Super Gobots Raizor and Nightfright (1985): realistic helicopters (okay, Raizor is a cross between an F-4 and a helicopter) that change into pretty well proportioned robots. See if you can figure out Raizor's transformation by only looking at the helicopter and robot modes... A lot of the later smaller Gobots are quite complicated too. Also, Bandai /= Gundam. They might be the motor behind the franchise, but they're certainly more diverse than some people assume. There's loads of other companies that have made and are making transforming toys, some good, some excellent, some bad, some trying-but-not-exactly succeeding. I'm not saying that Bandai is perfect (they're not), but they certainly aren't the retarded newcomers that some people here seem to think they are.

I suspect that the tooling isn't made from pure aluminium, which is a rather soft metal that certainly won't be able to stand many uses, but rather from dural or some other mix of aluminium with another metal. At least it should have some form of surface treatment to resist wear more...

Considering the last 1S reissue didn't use the fugly head design, I doubt the Strike will use the fugly head design. Unless you can come up with a sensible reason for Bandai to produce two 1/55 1S Valks with different head designs...

Looks like black paint to me.

This has to be the most ludicrous comment yet in this thread...

Have you ever seen SOC prototypes? Some of them look like someone played around with loads of styrene sheet and low grade resin, eg. they ressemble a bunch of boxes that really only vaguely ressemble the subject while having a transformation with...issues. The prototype of the VF-25 looks like a prototype that's just above that - one made to show off the transformation while also looking somewhat more like the subject it's supposed to represent. Besides, it's a resin prototype, so it suffers from all of the problems those have like heavy parts and joints that cannot support the weight. Those SOC prototypes also look like they are full of issues, too. But they do not compare to the final product. I'll reserve my judgement until Bandai comes with a multi-media test shot showing off the diecast.

Except that Gobots don't exist in Japan. So that'd be Machine Robo, except that the main hero doesn't really transform, but rather summons a large robot, kicks butt, gets his butt kicked, summons an even larger robot, and wins. Although the anime was decently popular, that was mostly due to the female lead character, AFAIK... I'd think "Galvion" if it has to be from a transforming robot anime, except that the Galvion anime failed miserably, despite having very nice music, and some really cool robot designs...the toys (designed by Takatoku) were never brought out widely, either (mainly because Takatoku went bankrupt). Uh, what have we left? Dancougar? Unlikely, there's the SOC already. <draws blank on transforming robot animes>

That was one of the worst animated fights I ever saw - annoying dweeb Valk pilot. Still, the animation itself was pretty decent...

Fit for Natalie beat me to it. Ah, well, here's the pic, should it be pulled from that URL: [attachmentid=37359] Good robot modes, 'vehicle modes' remind me of Rocklords, except that they're worse.

The problem with these things is that the paint tends to scratch horribly whenever they are transformed (or even, moved), as Imai engineered them way too tightly, not leaving enough room at joints (the color pics on the instruction sheets often showed scratched paint, IIRC). Couple that to not exactly tear-proof decals, and...well, should be obvious.

Mach Blaster: http://www.zincpanic.com/toy/13351.html

The UK Wikipedia has a rather nice entry with regards to Zoids: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoids

Some more (includes helicopters): Raizor (F4 Phantom crossed with helicopter) - Super Gobot Nightfright (Mil M-24 helicopter, IIRC) - Super Gobot Bolt (twin tail WW2 bomber - P-47 I think) Flip-Top (Navy helicopter) Water Walk (Cessna floatplane) Wrong Way (Apache) Warpath (Apache) Twin Spin (Sikorsky cargo helicopter) Spay C (space shuttle) Spay C (Super Gobot) (Space shuttle Challenger) Chaos top half (X-29, IIRC) Jet & Transport combinator top half (F-15) Helicopter & Transport top half (Helicopter) Sky Spy (SR-71 Blackbird) = Snoop Fantasy planes: Vamp (monster) - regular and super Pincher (monster) Hornet (monster) Fitor (futristic plane) Cop-Tur (futuristic helicopter) Bladez (monster) Breez (helicopter) Guide Star (shuttle) Odd Ball (plane) Sky Flyer (plane) Power Suit body (transport plane) Fangs (monster) Fright face (monster) Gore Jaw (monster) Heart Attack (monster) South Claws (monster) Weird Wing (monster) Re-Volt top half (crazy eagle monster) Traitor top half (crazy bee-like monster) Twister (helicopter) Robot Winch Helicopter (large helicopter) Raizor, Spy Eye, and Nightfright are really nice designs, by the way. From Machine Robo: Apollo Robo (Saturn V launcher) Mach Blaster (futuristic jet) R-Jetan (futuristic jet, gerwalk, tank, robot) Eagle Winner (F-15) Rotary Kid (futuristic helicopter) Machine Robo Rescue ('MRR') Jet Robo (jet) MRR Sky Robo (jet) MRR Gyro Robo (V-TOL jet) MRR Helicopter Robo (helicopter) MRR Shuttle Robo (futuristic jet shuttle) MRR Machine Commander Robo (jet + two tank-like vehicles combine into bigger jet) MRR Stealth Robo (Stealth fighter) MRR V Stealth Robo (Stealth fighter combines with additional parts into large flying wing) There's more, but then the list would get really long...