Wow, I have a similar story. When Battlecry was released, I was "reminded" of my childhood fondness for Robotech, found the website and when the MPC Valkyries were going to be released, was super hyped. I missed out on the initial offering and bought a Rick off of eBay for $125 - 2 months after the toy was released. When I got it, man, was I ever disappointed. Despite that, I still bought a Max MPC as well.
Then I found some 1/55 Bandai reissues at a store in Universal CityWalk, picked those up. I did see the Yamato 1/60s and 1/48s, but they were very expensive. Plus, at the time was pretty happy with the Bandai valkyries. Man, I wish I had bought a 1/48 sooner ... now I am hooked!!
Yamato 1/48 valyries rule all the way!!!