Macross Bandai 1/55 Super VF1S Valkyrie...

[treatment]

The only thing one needs to worry about the Bandai 1/55 valks is the "yellowing" effect.

I haven't displayed my 1/55s for awhile now due to lack-of-space and have just kept them in their boxes.

Edited August 25, 2004 by treatment

[nightmareB4macross]

While yellowing is a deading factor, it I hope this never applies to mine. The valks I own have never seen sunlight.

I actually have a special room in my home designated "The Nightmare Room"...my most prized possesions and objects are contained within. All the windows are completely covered and it is trully lined wall to wall with various collectible items. My wife and I are not in-house smokers, and are very serious and careful of what we do around our collection. Not to mention, how well fortified the room is from most elements.

Still...Viva 1/55!!!

[nucleartiger]

1/55's rawk. period.

[Valkfan]

The only thing one needs to worry about the Bandai 1/55 valks is the "yellowing" effect.

UV damage is not prejudice towards Bandai, Takatoku and Matsushiro 1/55 plastic, it has love for all of plastics. I will venture to say that Yamato and Toynami's plastic should yellow sooner because of their inferior quality as compared to the plastic Bandai uses for the 1/55. I know that you can find more yellowed Bandai's but that's just because unlike that Yamato's and that other brand, the Bandai's have been around for a while and have stood the test of time. As I recall, a few people here complained about yellowing arms on their 1/60's. Yellowing from a toy that is still in its diaper's. So as long as you don't lay your Bandai's outside to get a sun tan and you avoid sharing second hand smoke with them, they should be fine. Oh yeah, avoid the energy efficient bulbs as well, they produce UV light and WILL yellow all of your valks in no time at all. So don't worry to much about the tank quality 1/55's. As long as you take care of them, they'll be with you for life.

[Toonz]

for as much as i love the 1/60 and 1/48, the 1/55 will always hold a very special place in my heart

[takatoys]

for as much as i love the 1/60 and 1/48, the 1/55 will always hold a very special place in my heart

Yeap, the 1/55 will always be my beloved toy.

Hey, those are really old pictures; don't remember the year(perhaps 1998) Thanks Nam for keeping those. I remember that I used a cheap digicam for the Max (that's why it looks so blurry) but for the Super Hikaru I put the valk on my scanner and the pictures came up neat

[RosarioLuv]

for as much as i love the 1/60 and 1/48, the 1/55 will always hold a very special place in my heart

Yeap, the 1/55 will always be my beloved toy.

Hey, those are really old pictures; don't remember the year(perhaps 1998) Thanks Nam for keeping those. I remember that I used a cheap digicam for the Max (that's why it looks so blurry) but for the Super Hikaru I put the valk on my scanner and the pictures came up neat

Eric, I must say, you were my initial inspiration for customizing 1/55's. You and then Jung. I had always hoped to be up there with you "big guys." I tried, but I make a better wannabe. I miss those old days. Ironically, I did manage to make a name for myself, finally, but it wasn't the kind I was looking for. As soon as I get a chance to, I'm gonna download all my pics (cause I never backed em up on hard drive) from my site and finally close that sucker down....it's just draining my wallet to keep it open for nuthin.

Eric, you gotta keep customizing alive man! You're the pioneer!

[nightmareB4macross]

Hey Redemption,

Are you still casting conversion parts for 1/55's?

[RosarioLuv]

Hey Redemption,

Are you still casting conversion parts for 1/55's?

Havn't touched the world of customizing/casting (let alone macross) for like two years at least (whenever it was that shtuff went south for me). I'm staring at my big pile o' 1/55 parts, supplies, and tools everyday, wondering what the heck I'm gonna do with it now. Thought about shipping it all to Valkyrie (Ken) in Chi-town, or let KidKorrupt (Jason, btw, is he still alive?) go crazy with 'em. (Only problem is the stuff weighs a ton, and would cost a bundle to ship it all. I gave some reject parts to Jason once, but somehow it ended up on the boards for sale by someone else attesting to the "crappiness" of my workmanship. Those were reject parts though, which is why).

The only thing I like to look at now and then as a souvenir of the old days is my Prototype 1/55 Custom Feet, Custom Chest/Airbrake, and corresponding moulds that go with 'em. The rest I'm leaving behind in my past life, only to exist now as an echo, a memory, a distant whisper..... Hehehe

[EXO]

Jason's in San Diego now...

It was your page that brought me here, redemption...

guess I have you to blame...

[Valkfan]

Hey Rolo, I mean Redemption, it's good to see you on these boards again! Believe it or not, your custom parts were what originally got me interested in customizing 1/55's. I tried to contact you about some of those custom feet, but I guess it was about the same time that things "went south" for you. I also remember that custom nose cone that you were developing. It's too bad that we never got to see it completed. Oh well! If you're ever back into the market of selling custom feet, let me know. Also, if you'd like to part with some of those 1/55 parts, keep me in mind.

[izzyfcuk]

Put it this way... how many times would you transform your 1/48? Once, twice? I'm afraid to break mine!

I've transformed some of my 1/48s dozens of times, without fear of breakage. I even speed transform them and I'm not really gentle about it either.

Graham

i would dare to be as adventurous as you graham.

Whether i speed transforme them or not, i notice that the leg hinges tends to easily form hairline cracks you don't support them all the time.

i never let them hang loose nowadays

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Put it this way... how many times would you transform your 1/48? Once, twice? I'm afraid to break mine!

I've transformed some of my 1/48s dozens of times, without fear of breakage. I even speed transform them and I'm not really gentle about it either.

Graham

i would dare to be as adventurous as you graham.

Whether i speed transforme them or not, i notice that the leg hinges tends to easily form hairline cracks you don't support them all the time.

i never let them hang loose nowadays

izzy which hairlines?the ones on the intakes? Those are natural I think.

Anyhoo you really sholdspeed transform it. Its not that fragile at all. I think there are TWO thuings were the bandai really beats this thing and can feel better in our hands

1-FAST speed of transformation

2-DURABILITY

With the bandai you get both od those. To an extent the 1.48 has those qualities too. But see the 1.48 has qway more moving parts so this is understandable. and it is durable as long as you dobnt force BP8.

the 1/48 is made for us older guys much like binaltech was made for the older tfans generation.

[EXO]

I' too am not to cautious with my transformations. You just have to know the toy well, to know how to handle it. The worst thing that happens is the heatshield comes off once and a while, but I haven't any need for any BP8s yet.

[izzyfcuk]

izzy which hairlines?the ones on the intakes? Those are natural I think

ya know where the leg hinges connects with the left and right legs?

there's the circle with the rubber?

those are the spots! i sold off mine and got new ones for that, and nowadays whenever i buy new ones, or secondhand ones, i always check that area

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

hey guys transformation WITH FAST packs is possible right?You just gotta be careful? I would hate to leep removing the armor and reattaching just to transform it!!!

Izzy I am not sure if mine are cracked yet. I will chekc when i get home.

[EXO]

hey guys transformation WITH FAST packs is possible right?You just gotta be careful? I would hate to leep removing the armor and reattaching just to transform it!!!

Izzy I am not sure if mine are cracked yet. I will chekc when i get home.

I usually pull off the missile launchers off the FPs before transforming. I think that's about it.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

the ones on the booster tips or the arm launchers?

[nightmareB4macross]

I think he means the booster tips...that's what I do with mine. The remainder of the armor stays on during transformation.

I think if you are used to transforming old types of Taka, Bandais, Takara, etc, there seems to be a natural progression of how to handle and care for these more complex toys.

Think about it, when we were all kids, we just went nuts and transformed the heck out of our old TF until we hear that inevitable snap. But in doing this we learned, what seems so easy to do on TV is a lot harder to mimic in real life without breaking someting. Plus these new MOFOs are sometimes really expensive.

Just my two cents.

NB4M

[robodog562000]

I love my 1/55's too. They still look cool to me even though the style is vintage or out dated. I wouldn't want anything changed on them.

[phatslappy]

The 1/55s are still great toys even now more than 20 years since they were first released. They are very durable and quick to transform. The only down side is that they are not that well articulated, the sculpt is not particularly accurate (especially for the A & J heads and plane nose) and the gunpod doesn't attach in fighter mode.

Transforming toy design is always a trade-off. If you want more gimmicks, better articulation and more detail then you have to accept a longer and more complicated transformation sequence and perhaps slightly decreased durability. I think though that with the exception of part # BP8, the 1/48 has proven itself to be much more durable than expected. Of course not as tough as the 1/55, but it's still more a toy than a fragile 'display only' model kit as some people claim.

Anyway, I do think that Bandai would have sold many more 1/55 toys if they had made some minor redesigns to update the toy. I'm not talking about turning it into a 1/48 clone, but just doing minor resculpts of certain parts so that the toy would look better, but still transform quickly and keep the legendary 1/55 durability.

Here's the bare minimum changes that I would have liked Bandai to have made to the 1/55: -

• Resculpt the A, J & S heads, especially the A, which is terrible.
  
• Slightly resculpt the plane nose, especially the FLIR sensors which are too big and the wrong shape on the original 1/55.
  
• Remove that stupid scope from the gunpod and change the gunpod design so that it can attach in fighter mode. The HCM method would be perfect.
  
• Add wing hard points and missiles.
  
• Add wrist rotation (I don't care about an articulated hand tho).
  
• Add a pilot figure, even if it's only from waist or chest up.
  

All the above changes would make the toy look better IMO, but should not negatively affect durability or transformation time.

Graham

HOLY COW!!!! A comment made by Graham about the 1/55s that I can actually back up almost completely. I totally agree that they should have done more to the reissues instead of just making it a complete reissue. They could have improved upon the design without making it into a 1/48 clone. It could still retain its playability with some added features here and there. A pilot? YES I LOVE PILOTS! They aren't Transformers. They don't fly themselves. Attaching the gunpod to the fighter? That would only add to the playability! I attached the gunpod to my fighter, but I had to hold the legs together to keep the gunpod from falling out as a kid. the FLIR sensors? that's sorta lost on me. Not even really sure what he's talking about. But while I like the reissue (especially the paint jobs), I think they could definitely have done more to make it a better toy. Give it some differentiation, so that it's not the same exact thing from 20 years ago. After 20 years of technological innovations, you would think they'd be able to give you something better right? I think that should be expected.

[mpchi]

I agree as well. While the 1/55 is still a great toy, it would be so much better to have the retooling you guys mentioned. In fact, just the painted on decals already improved this toy so much from the Takatoku stickers. If there are recast heads, reshaped nose, and some added articulations on arms, this thing would shine so well. Too bad Bandai missed such a great opportunity. All it takes is bringing these out a year or two earlier than the Yamatos, they would have such a big crowd of old timers & new Macross fans that would snatch every single "the only good transforming valk toy available" in the market.

The 1/55 GBP-1S valk is still my favorite. Then the Super with a 1J. The Yamato 1/48 may be 3rd. Awesome display piece, and looks even prettier with the Yamato Stand, but its sturdiness still doesn't encourage me to handle it a lot. Not that it is falling apart either.