HardlyNever

I don't have a definitive answer or source, but I always thought Max was "enlarged" to zendradi/meltrandi size. Since what happens is basically the reverse of what happens in the SDFM tv series, I figured they went all the way and made him big. There isn't much screen time of him after the fight, so I don't know if there is a real way to tell just from the movie. One of the people involved in production would have to say something about it, I guess (or maybe they already have).

Had a few hours with the missile regults and vf-2ss, so I guess I'll give my 2 cents here. Love the missile regults, I was excited for them from the beginning, and they did not disappoint. They seemed pretty easy to get right and bandai delivered. It seems like they even tightened up the side thrusters on this release, which spun around too easily (imo) on the original release. My only complaint is that one of my knees was kind of loose right out of the box (about as loose as the one I've had for months). I was hoping they would solve that problem, but it looks like it will continue to be an issue for some of them. For the vf-2ss, not a whole lot to say that hasn't already been said. Transformation to fighter mode and back was surprisingly easy for a macross newbie like myself, probably in large part to how the thing only tabs together in a few spots, and just relies on a bunch of hinges to actually work. Props to Bandai for even trying this thing, as the amount of anime magic involved in this design is really apparent when you get it in hand. I think I like Gerwalk mode the best, overall. My mini rant is about the stupid cannon on the SAP. What an idiotic design. I'm seriously considering a way to make the barrel removable. You either have to have this giant thing sticking way out there, or have it down over the mech's face, in what is one of the dumbest poses I've ever seen in mecha anime. I like the rest of the SAP, and the vf-2ss looks kind of naked without it, but I freakin' hate that cannon.

Late to the party, but my HMR stuff finally arrived from AE. Loving the missile regults so far.

NY has them: https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/21764-hi-metal-r-regult-missile-type-set-limited-edition.html But you're paying a pretty steep premium compared to pre-order prices. I'd also keep an eye on the For Sale forums here over the next few weeks, someone might let a set go.

This. I asked that same question when the pictures were first released. We went through the Zentraedi "alphabet" and it didn't mean anything. I think we just concluded that "it looked cool." Bandai is also heavily influenced by this line art: Which has those markings so... they put them on the toy. Like others said earlier in the discussion, you rarely see that level of detail in the actual animation, so what they mean/where they come from is anyone's guess really. Looking at them again, I just noticed they have different markings on the leg around the "knee." I wonder if that is intentional. Too bad those didn't make it on to the toy.

Yeah the valks are pretty durable. My Max fell off of the display stand from about 5 1/2 feet off the ground. It landed on carpet, but stuff still came off. Nothing was broken or bent, though, just missiles and super parts came off.

There is this pic from Jenius' website:

Eh, anything could happen, but I don't think they would make an entire mold a web exclusive. It seems like they do that for variants, etc. for the HMR line at least. I could see them doing a milia q-rau as a web exclusive, though.

Looks like anime export is finally shipping out missile regults. They are also shipping my vf-2ss. I agree with others that it's a shame Bandai made the missile set a web exclusive. I'd maybe be tempted to buy another set or 2 after release if the prices didn't get crazy, but being a web exclusive they already are pretty high. I'll save the army building for the Nous-ger or maybe the Q-rau.

Still nothing from AE about the missile regults. They are holding my vf-2ss as well, as I wanted to ship these together. Hopefully I'll get notice in the next day or two...

The online retailers are just now getting their deliveries, so they won't put anything up yet. Once they fill their pre-orders, they will probably put some stock up, so I'd just wait a bit. Also, keep your eye on the For Sale section here, as quite often a few members buy extra and sell them off at or near retail cost.

There is the revoltech one. But that is a tad bigger than 6 inch, and quite pricey.

I'm more excited for the Regults than I probably should be. Looks like we'll never run out of spare chin lasers, either.

Definitely haven't quit collecting, but I do have a sort of "end game" in mind. I'm mainly collecting only SDF Macross stuff, and once I have what I want of that, the only thing I might keep collecting Macross anything is if the HMR line makes valks outside of SDFM. That is one of the reasons I bought the vf-2ss. I want to see how well HMR can do a non-vf1 valk, and would like to see them make more.

I dunno. I don't think everyone is saying the yamato v2 1/60 is the perfect vf-1, we're really just comparing it to what we've seen of this (which is admittedly very little). I know I personally want my gerwalk antenna back . The criticism seems to be that this isn't enough of an improvement over the v2 to warrant a new full line. Time will tell, though.

I'm less of a stickler for anime accuracy and more concerned with what looks good to my eye. I'm not really loving what we've seen so far, but I'm also not willing to judge this thing off of one pose on a pre-production model. I do hope Bandai can do something to make this really stand out; whether that is extra gimmicks, unique transformation, high amounts of articulation, something to make me feel more excited. Slightly improving on the yamcadia 1/60 in a slightly bigger scale won't be enough for me to bite, but maybe I'm not the market for this release. I know there are die-hards that have had the v2 1/60 for almost 10 years now, so anything new for the vf-1 is exciting (and so they will probably buy it), even if it isn't exactly what we're looking for.

Yeah, between those two in the pic, I'd have to take the yamcadia. Ofc one is a perfect picture of a release quality model, with probably a little photoshop, and the other is a less-than-perfect picture of a pre-production model. Hopefully Bandai can clean it up before release.

That should (theoretically) be DYRL Kakizaki. I'm not sure when that shot takes place, so he may actually be dead by then. Ofc, animation errors aren't uncommon in sdf macross. http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossdyrl/variant-vf-1a-fastpack-kakizaki.htm The PS2 game SDF Macross has other squadron logos as well. While not technically cannon, the game is very faithful to the source material in most respects. The two logos you see the most are another skull logo (but it is like a bull skull) and a sort of 3 crescent wave patter in yellow/orange. Edit: Couldn't find a shot of the squadron logos online from the game, so I just pulled these. Not the greatest, but maybe they'll give sh9000 inspiration. There are a few more from the game, but these are the ones you see the most. I could maybe get a better shot if you really want:

Fighter: VF-4G Lightning III Gerwalk: VF-1 with super parts (favorite of any model/mode) Battroid: Hard to say, but I like the yf-19 battroid a lot

There is no way this is going to come in at that cost when people are buying arcadias at $200+. Especially at 1/48ish scale. That said, if the japanese reaction has been similar to our reaction (sort of a "meh"), maybe they will revisit the design (again).

I think the bandai site said Dec 15 is the Japan ship date. So maybe Dec 25th is when NY is anticipating having them ready to ship out? I'm not sure. http://p-bandai.jp/item/item-1000116684/

Just 1 right now. Putting something that expensive that high up with no protection makes me nervous... I think I'll keep looking, but I'll keep that in mind.

Going to ask this again since the regular version seems to be getting into people's hands: What are people's recommendations for display cases/shelves for this thing? I have a detolf, but I think it would only fit in "storm attack" mode with the guns down(my detolf is almost full, anyhow). I'm looking for something to display this thing in both modes in multiple poses. What would people recommend for something like that? I'm open to shelves or cases, preferably something that will have extra space for other figures. I have the premium version preordered and currently no place to display it.

Based on that ad, it looks like "Valkyrie project" is a new bandai line? Maybe trying to create "definitive" versions of the most iconic macross valks? Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.

It will definitely be interesting to see how this design evolves before release (if it is released). I wonder how the Japenese market is responding, as their reaction (among other factors) will probably determine if this is released or not.