HardlyNever

Are they completely sealed (i.e. non-transformable)? If they aren't completely sealed, are they clear-coated on all sides of the plastic? It would be interested if the outside didn't yellow over time, but the inside of the parts did.

Yeah, the more I think about this thing (and re-read/watch reviews) the less enamored with it I become. I still want it, but it is a pretty "sit there and do nothing" kind of piece. I really hope they don't price this thing beyond what my interest is. I'm excited, but I can't do like $600 USD for much of any toy, especially something that is so basic in a lot of ways.

With these and the Arcadia sdf reissue, my Macross budget for the year would be wrecked. I'm kind of hoping these are due out early next year. It's also a little sad (and a maybe a comment on the state of the hobby) when people EXPECT to be gouged. 15k yen for 2 figures + 2 accessories seems pretty fair, but we're also thinking we can't get something like this without getting absolutely reamed. Maybe the inflated secondary market prices of Regults are affecting our perception, as well.

Wow, this is way earlier than I expected. Guess I'll hold off on any purchases until then... Shouldn't pre-orders start soon?

Ok, thanks. Looks like I have weight to spare, even if the other figures are close to a pound each (which I don't think they are, except maybe the glaug).

Bit of a random question, does anyone know the weights of some of these figures? Specifically the valks, glaug, regult and spartan? I don't have a scale, so I can't find out myself. I just want to be sure I'm not overloading a shelf.

I'm just stating my personal goal for my collection. As far as pilots or color schemes, hey, that's up to you. This is just my end goal for my collection, that will also keep it from growing beyond what I think is reasonable (again, personal preference). As far as having them last into my 60-70s, when I got out of toys in my early teens I never thought I would get back into them 20-odd years later. So I can't really say what I'll be in to 30+ years from now. I don't really "play" with them now (beyond setting up poses); for me, these are primarily display pieces that remind me of a great show/time in my childhood. I'd like that to last as long as they can, really.

My dream is to have one of every vf-1 model type (vf-1S, J A, D and VE-1, VT-1) in 1/60 scale, and I'm relying on Arcadia to get me there. So far I only have a vf-1S and vf-1J. I see some of these yamatos available (particularly vf-1As) that are really tempting, but I'm a bit afraid of 5+ year old plastic and how long they will last. They could be fine for another 20-30 years, but, I'm hesitant to risk it. All that is to say I'm probably going to buy most of the SDF Macross releases from Arcadia that aren't just repaints of something I already have, because I want to support them and have a chance at a full run of valks.

Not to derail the thread, but, what is that thing? And are those weird colors the only colors that it will be available in?

Well, we've been expecting it, and it looks like it is finally happening. My body is ready, is my wallet? This is almost a definite pre-order for me. I wonder if it will be an exact re-issue, or if they are thinking about adding some more paint to the thing, as it certainly could use it. Hopefully they'll add more painted detail and keep it under $600 USD.

The creators of exo-squad are/were big fans of Robotech, and deliberately modeled the show and merchandise to appeal to (young) Robotech fans. I can say it definitely worked on me, as I watched Robotech as a young child, and feel hook, line and sinker for the exo-squad stuff almost 10 years later. I did start to have my suspicions about what they were doing when I saw the robotech re-releases, though. I only bought the matchbox vf-1 re-release because I loved it as a kid, but I was getting out of toys at that point (only to come back decades later, I guess).

This was my first attempt at early morning bandai pre-order madness. Looks like it wasn't really necessary. Oh well, at least I got one from my preferred vendor.

I was just thinking yesterday that I might be interested in something that was not a vf-1, but didn't want to pay $200+ for some of the other 1/60 valks. This might be a good compromise, although the price does seem a tad high. I'll probably be a buyer.

Got my spartan today. Set up a little modern vs vintage (the deadly oversized zentradi).

Definitely no full lock on any of mine. The TV Hikaru vf-1j probably has the most distinctive hinge/slide movement out of mine, but it is still not a full lock. I am a little worried about the stiffness of that hinge fading over time. Right now, everything is holding up fine, but I had my Max in a sort of falling away backwards shooting pose, and I felt that leaving it like that for an extended period of time might wear out that hinge. Hopefully the hinge will always be still enough, but I would like a full lock for some of the more extreme poses.

I've paid, not fully processed, though. Edit: Just got the shipping notice from HLJ.

This is why I ended up passing on them. The "stand" they come with is just re-used tamashii display stand stuff (glaug comes with the same thing). I'm not a huge fan of reaction missiles, they are ok, but they weren't selling me on the set. The only thing I really liked was the missile pod effect, but there were only 2 of those. I wasn't going to pay $50+ for something I was only interested in 1/3rd of. The more I looked at it, the more I realized it simply wasn't worth it, to me. It's a shame, like you said. Something like this could really help pull off the iconic missile-heavy fights of the show, but it seemed like they half-assed it. If they released only the missile pod effects, in say a 4 pack, I'd be all over it, but I doubt that will every happen (maybe 3d printing, someone?).

Ok, thanks for the responses. Looks like it is nothing to worry about, albeit an odd design choice from yamato. I think I'll leave the knee as-is, it can still stand up, and if it isn't hurting anything, it isn't a problem for me.

I was transforming this earlier today and noticed some stress marks and even minor bending near the hip joints. Is this a pretty common occurrence with these? I've only had mine a couple months, and this is the first I've noticed it. I did get it second-hand, however, so it may have come to me like this. Anything in particular I should be wary of in gerwalk/battroid mode that is putting extra stress in this area? One of the knees is really loose on mine (it came like that), so maybe that is putting extra stress around the hips? I've got it displayed in fighter mode now, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do when I've got the legs out to mitigate this. Maybe I'll just use the display stand for every mode now. (On a side note, does anyone know how to attach the display adapter in battroid mode? I haven't messed with it much, but I couldn't seem to get it to line up).

As a potential buyer, I'd say hold off (maybe?). I was somewhat interested in getting at least one 1/48, but had several reservations. I was hesitant to pay that much money for something that was 10+ years old, when I could get something much newer (albeit smaller) for a similar price. And the more videos I saw of them, the sort of loose/floppy construction compared to the v2 1/60s started to put me off. I still might be interested, but now with Acadia really ramping up out-put, I'd definitely wait until either I've gotten everything I want out of them in 1/60 or they start slowing down before I'd consider a 1/48 again. Of course, bandai could always release that 1/35th scale they teased, that might wreck the 1/48 market... but that is just speculation.

Anime-Export has their PO deadline for 5/31, but that is just company specific. As others have said, it might not be set in stone.

Man, this Arcadia Millia release announcement has me stuck in a terrible logic loop. It goes something like this: 1. Just get the HMR Milia, you already have the HMR Max, and you've been saving a spot right next to him on the shelf. 2. *Goes online to look at HMR Millias.* These prices are kind of high... maybe I'll pay like $60 more and get a 1/60 Millia. There is nothing quite like getting a new 1/60. 3. But... I'm running out of room. I don't want to get a 1/60 Max as well, I don't have the space. I already have a 1/60 vf-1j, just save the space for something more rare like a VE-1, VT-1 or VF-1D in 1/60. That would look way better, and Arcadia is bound to make it... right? 4. Ok, I'll just get an HMR Millia 5. "Goes and looks online* Man, these prices are kind of high... Rinse and repeat.

For me it is like... 80% nostalgia. These are the toys I wish existed when I was a kid, so having them available now is sort of a dream come true. But I'm only really interested in SDF Macross/DYRL. Zero is decent, I haven't tried M+/7 or Frontier, so I can't comment on those(I probably will get to them one day). I tried to watch an episode of Delta... nope. I might buy one vf-31 because they seem to be really well made toys, but I can't see myself ever even watcing that series. So, for me it is "worth it," but I basically only care about the show I have nostalgia for. I'm rewatching SDF macross now, and it still holds up IMO. Having the toys there that I wish I could have had when I was a kid in the 80s... it's about the best nostalgia trip I could ask for. It's worth the price, to me. But I don't have that feeling about any of the other shows, so I do balk at the higher prices I see for stuff that isn't so nostalgic to me.

I don't think that is japanese, it is some version of chinese.

I'm pretty new to the scene myself, but I believe it is quite rare for manufacturers to release official versions of this exact combination. You can get a Roy vf-1S (with super parts), and you can get a Hikaru pilot for the same scale and combine the two (I've done it in 1/60 scale ), but to actually get the TV skull squadron vf-1s (with the yellow and black) packaged with the tv Hikaru pilot is not something yamato/arcadia or Bandai has ever made. Again, I'm pretty new to the hobby, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.