what do the toys mean for/to you?

[calvin]

I remember when I was younger(around 10 or 11)I saw this robotech show on afternoon tv. Later I found macross dyrl.

the rest is history and a very long wait for quality toys(yamato). So for me it's a wish list being filled and a child hood dream to have these toys.

I think this is why I wait and wait for new releases and read ever bit of info I can get.

share your story ,so others can get a feel for why this is more than just a plastic thing.

[kanata67]

My childhood toys, like my childhood, faded away in the journey we call life.

When I stopped traveling the world with all I owned on my back, I found myelf in Florida. A co-worker at radio shack showed me that it was possible to have cool toys [spawn primarily] and still get laid, so I started collecting spawn. Eventually the same friend ended up in a bad spot and "pawned" his jetfire to me. I spent a while searching Ebay for the missing leg clips, arm armor, and gun clip for a while till I saw a jetfire auction use the keyword "macross". I did a macross search and low and behold there was a re-issue out. I did some more research and found this wonderful place. 8 jetfires and a ton of misc macross stuff later I am still here. I plan on making the transition to having my hobby sometimes pay for itself like jesse and rob at some point in the future so I can justify getting the expensive toys

[Beware of Blast]

It's my favourite form of escapism. Because even though I may grow old, I simply refuse to grow up. B)

[Jawjaw]

I remember when I was younger(around 10 or 11)I saw this robotech show on afternoon tv. Later I found macross dyrl.

the rest is history and a very long wait for quality toys(yamato). So for me it's a wish list being filled and a child hood dream to have these toys.

That's pretty much my deal as well. When I first watched Robotech as a kid, I was fascinated by the mecha. I thought for sure there would be a flood of cool Robotech toys on the market. The show was popular with a lot of kids but I never found any toys. The closest thing I found was the Jetfire and the Revell model kits. Even if I found a Taka toy or two, I probably couldn't get them because I never had any money. My parents might of got one for me on a birthday or Christmas but only after a ton of begging. That only makes it more sweet to be able to buy toys today. I make my own money and can buy what I want. Anyday can be like Christmas or a birthday.

[VF-1Guy]

I happened upon Macross through a winding road. I'm not sure that I ever saw the Robotech cartoon as a kid. My introduction to Macross (though I didn't know it at the time) was through Jetfire who was my favorite Transformer. I eventually learned that he had come from some other show, but I didn't know what. Fast forward to college where I fell in with a group of role players. One of the games they enjoyed was Robotech. This was my first real introduction to the series. I saw some of the original RT cartoons and learned that this was all based on an Anime called Macross. I used a shiny new thing called the WWW to track down info on Macross over the next few years.

Thus started my quest to find a cool VF-1 toy. I picked up a Joon's, a Bandai Strike and some of the Bandai model rereleases, but none of them ever really did it for me. Then Yamato came along and the rest is history!

The Yamato Macross line for me is a dream come true. Over the years since my junior year of college (over 9 years now) I collected Spawn, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Trek and countless other lines trying to find something I truely enjoyed and didn't grow tired of after 6 months. I finally found that line in Yamato's Macross stuff. In fact, Maross is pretty much the only thing I collect now.

[MacBoy29]

Almost the same story as "calvin". When i was a little kid i saw Robotech on T.V, from there on i always wanted a transforming valkyrie. But I was too little to know were to find these and my parents too foregin to know what they are...then i was teased when i saw a used fully complete, no damage Jetfire for only $50 CDN at Chinatown. My dad was goin to buy it for me till he found out it was $50 for a used toy, and said no. Holy crap i died...but ever since those yamato and toynami macross/robotech valks. started to come out, i ve' been getting all things i wanted since i was a tinny winne boy *sniff*

[JsARCLIGHT]

I was in high school when Robotech was on TV so my childhood halcyon days of toys and action jacksons where far behind me. I bought collectable toys mainly because they are neat and intricate. I like good design and the VF-1 is a marvel of mechanical engineering as a toy... the new Yamato 1/48 even more so.

I'm not out to recapture youth or bask in the glory of days gone by, I just like the looks of them.

[JELEINEN]

I just like them to play with. They're fun.

[Omni Existence]

I think Bob said it best!

We're old geezers who simply refuse to grow old. I should know, I just turned 28, and my toys are my escape from the really real world.

[Abombz!!]

The same reason BoB gave... plus they make for very unusual but nice display pieces.

And my favorite of all.... a reason to slam friends when they walk in and giggle at the sight of my toys. <_< B)

[do not disturb]

HURIN IS A FAG!

Edited June 13, 2005 by haterist

[Radd]

I suppose someone could argue that I was fullfilling some long repressed childhood wish for all the toys I could never get my parents to buy me. Maybe they'd be right, too. I think the truth is a bit simpler than that. I like toys. I've always liked toys, ever since I was a little kid right up until now. I just never moved on to cars, motorcycles, or things like that. I'd rather have some bauble that can sit on my desk and look cool, and that I can pick up and play with whenever I like.

I've also always been a fan of Macross, since I first saw Robotech on television way, way back when it first aired.

Now someone is providing two things that I like, really cool toys that just happen to be Macross toys.

I've always been more drawn to toys I could play with, so for a while it was the Bandai reissues for me. The 1/60 Yamato's look good and all, but those flimsy legs and all thsoe removable parts don't make for a toy you can just pick up and play with, or take to work or whatever. So I got all the reissues and one 1/60 and was happy. Now I've even happier with the 1/48 line. They look a hundred times better than the 1/60 line, and they're almost as easy to play with as the Bandai 1/55ths.

Just got the Takatoys stickers on my Hikaru 1A. Should have the FAST packs by this weekend so I'll probably sticker up one of those this coming weekend and follow every weekend with one Valk then one FAST pack set until they're all prettied up.

http://steampowered.net/photo/hikaru01.jpg

http://steampowered.net/photo/hikaru02.jpg

http://steampowered.net/photo/hikaru03.jpg

[Hurin]

Because every time I walk by my bookcase and see the yellow of Roy's chestplate, and the sublime lines of the VF-1 in fighter mode. . . I just get a wonderful feeling of being a twelve-year-old kid again, rooting for Rick (sorry) to get Minmay. . . and watching in melancholy fascination as a world is destroyed and people struggle to carry on in the face of such terrible events. I also get that overwhelming feeling of bittersweet emotion over the wonderful ending of the story, and how sad I was as a child when I realized that there would be no more Macross saga.

Bastardized as it was, Robotech was a far cry from insta-parachute G.I. Joe and/or Transformers where kids are treated like idiots and wars that go on for years never produce even one death.

Macross was my very favorite story as a kid (possibly second only to Star Wars before Lucas trashed it).

Seeing these toys now. . . they just feel like. . . home.

H

[BoBe-Patt]

For me, toys mean alot to me. As a kid, I never got the toys I wanted. So now I have the money to buy all the toys I want, even though it costs like arm and leg. I've always wanted macross toys so the closes thing that came out that was cheap were the Joons. I didn't buy them all only because I didn't want to waste my money on them. I started buying all the models that came out because those were able to transform. I got really excited about those. One day I went to my friend's house and looked at his nice collection and noticed his transformers collection and that started bringing back memories for me. So I started buying the ones I've always wanted first. Once that was done, I got hooked and started buying only the first series ones. Even after that, I started buying all the combiners. It just didn't stop. I kept going and going, so now I have a large collection of transformers. Even more than macross. But macross didn't have that many robots, so it's ok. So now I just came to a point in my life were I need to save up for the future and cut back on the toys. I've been doing so and just buying the ones I really need like the 1/48 VF-1S. I think I'ma skip the yamato elint and super O unless bandai releases them. I'm also running out of room right now so it's getting pretty packed in my room right now. So no matter what happens, I'll still be buying toys till the day the world stops making toys!

[DrClay]

I never watched robotech or macross. I buy a lot of transformers. I never liked that show when I was a kid. I just like the toys. I LOVE those Yamatos, all scales... Macross or Macross plus. I consider them to be a form of pop art sculpture. Something the viewer actually enjoys interacting with. the fact that mass prodution is involved just adds more challenge to the design. I marvel at a toys design and beauty. Even though I never had robotech or macross toys way back when (not even jetfire) I get a warm feeling holding a toy and looking at all its little details. I don't know how a chunky monkey or powermaster optimus prime reissue inspires such nostalgia in me (i never even saw either of those toys when I was younger)

[calvin]

wow! now this is the kind of post I really enjoy reading. I just showed my wife all of the posts so far and I think she is finally getting

my hobby and why I collect(macross) toys. thanks keep them coming

[Mr March]

Macross has been a part of my enjoyment of art since I was young. Since I owe much of my appreciation for good story and well written science fiction to shows like Macross, I felt that it would be fitting to have a memento of a long cherished series. Hence I purchased a Yamato 1/48.

[niomosy]

They mean a few things to me

1) That my wife is somehow going to give me crap for spending money on "toys".

2) That it's gonna take me just that much longer to save for that bass I want (not the fish, either )

3) That I'm getting things that I like which remind me of my childhood.

[TF-20]

Ahhh, Robotech...the 80's! The New Wave era. The weird hairdo and the cool (or weird) outfits. When Robotech series was out in the 80's, I was a high school freshmen. It was cool to watch the series, but it wasn't cool to play with toys. You would be considered a "GEEK" if the (high school) girls found out you're still playing with GI Joe and them toys. The only coolest stuffs were those tight jeans w/so many rips and holes and bleach in them. And how high your hair can go.

Sad to say, I tried to be cool, so no Robotech/Macross toys for me, except I couldn't resist Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and the chameleon color-changing Zartan from GI Joe. Oh, and 1 more thing - Megatron(original) gun (God, it still look real). Today, imagine bringing that to high school for show-n-tell (arrested on the spot...hehe).

Now, Robotech/Macross is the bridge to my lost childhood's fantasy. Sometimes I took the plane(vf-1) flying around the house, and I wife thinks I'm nut.

Does anybody have the same experience as I do during the New Wave or the 80's era?

[blugts]

I never saw Robotech when I was a kid like most have. I actually first saw it on Toonami. Since then I've been a huge fan and since I love robots I started buying the toys. SMACK! Oops my wallet just smacked me across the face

[kanata67]

Bastardized as it was, Robotech was a far cry from insta-parachute G.I. Joe and/or Transformers where kids are treated like idiots and wars that go on for years never produce even one death.

Macross was my very favorite story as a kid (possibly second only to Star Wars before Lucas trashed it).

Seeing these toys now. . . they just feel like. . . home.

H

thats another part of it. I lived in the sticks during the mid eighties and the nearest KB toys was over an hour drive away. Malls were magical places to my toy deprived hick ass. I got jetfire and some cool g1 transformers while we lived in cape cod but in the sticks all I could find was the occasional GI Joe toy at k-mart that somebody else hadn't snagged.

Living in the boons also made me severly deprived of quality tv. Cable didn't exist and only one broadcast channel did cartoons any day besides saturday. After years of joe inspired playing with explosives, I was flipping stations one day and the one that was kinda pbs like, and fuzzy, was playing cartoons. Robotech was on but at seemed like a soap opera cartoon so I flipped back to thundercats or whatever on the other channel. Eventually I flipped again and saw giant robots and blood. I was hooked. I got to watch a number of episodes from all three series, but never got to see them all in sequence or the final episodes of any of them.

I managed to get some robotech toys at the local k-mart type store including a tactical pod, a hover tank, a bioroid hovercraft, a non-transforming cyclone, and a few of the 3" destroids. Action figures were way lame. I was jaded at the time and though everything pretty lame but the 3". Come to think of it, I still think the stuff pretty lame compared to all the other really cool stuff availible.

Anyhow... The channel that was playing the cartoons got sold to some religious network and there went my exposure to anime for a while. I called the station and managed to get transfered to the vault operator who informed me that the unfortunately couldn't see me the tapes as they had all been recorded over already. But I tried damn'it. So I read the books. All of them including the sentinals saga were my primary introduction to the world of macross, although not quite a proper one. The toys are literally things I dreamed about as a child now easily shipped to my door, how could I not get them?

[crasis]

I posted this awhile back in an earlier/similar topic... I'm definitely in the same boat as you all. Just in case you missed it:

My Yamato Valkyrie Addiction -- An Essay

Hmmm...where to start? I suppose this obsession began in early childhood (1984), when this transforming toy junky couldn't be spotted without his favorite Transformer constantly at his side--an incredible armored plane I got for Christmas named Jetfire. Okay, so the toy was a brick, I had no idea that there was such a thing as Gerwalk mode, I lost most of the armor, and I remember all the times my poor little hands were abused by the snapping metal landing gears, but damn if I didn't adore that toy like some kids loved their pets. I remember being VERY upset when this imitation jet --Skyfire-- appeared in the TF cartoon, not at all accurately portraying the "ultimate" Autobot that I staged wars with daily. I even remember being so foolish as to mock the Robotech toys/commercials I saw back then as being "knockoffs" of the "real thing" (hey, cut me some slack! I was only 6!). Funny thing is, in recent years I've come to still view Robotech in a similar way, now that I've FINALLY seen the "real thing"--Macross.

When I was around 12 or 13 years old, my best friend at the time had just begun tape trading with some kids he met on the Prodigy boards. Soon after that, I was exposed to Akira, Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster... Soon my life revolved around staying up late watching those fuzzy looking tapes with almost impossible to read fan-subs of a language I didn't understand. That's when I really got hooked on anime. That's also when Robotech came back into my life.

My friend and I had found a dusty set of tapes at the local comic book store, a six volume edited version of Robotech: The Macross Saga put out by F.H.E. Now, keep in mind, these were edited versions of an ALREADY edited show, taking six or so episodes and cannibalizing them into mini-movie length bits, chopping up "non-essential" (read: character development) parts in the process. The quality of the tapes was questionable at best. Regardless of all this, we were amazed just to find these tapes...this was no small feat, considering there was no widespread anime retailing back then, especially in a nowhere place like Southington, Connecticut. I vaguely recalled the show, remembering my refusal to watch it as a kid (after all, ALL convertible robot shows were rip-offs to my 6-year old mind. GoBots, Robotech...it was all the same. Heh). After the first few minutes, I came to the realization that I had been duped all this time--HASBRO had ripped off the design from THIS show. "Jetfire" was not a sentient being. IT was a war machine in a very compelling and human drama... piloted by Roy! That evening, I pulled out ol' Jetfire from his closet prison and discovered that he could make that "weird" half-plane/half-robot pose as well. Damn, I had been lied to!

That's when I firmly decided to one day collect any "Veritechs" I could get my hands on. I would've given anything to have a TRUE Skull One. But I was 12. And poor. Damn it.

Years went by, I was still stuck in the bowels of Connecticut, ExoSquad-labled Robotech toys came out (???) around high school, and I promptly snatched most of them up (enemy mecha! woot!)...except, what should have been the prize of that collection turned out to be a crappy, non-transforming fisher price Veritech. Yeah. Okay. PASS. By that time, I had also become an enormous fan of Macross Plus, owned two fansubbed copies of DYRL and Flashback 2012 (that were just slightly better quality than watching one of those blocked/scrambled channels on cable tv), found (and then almost slit my wrists watching) Clash of the Bionoids, and couldn't quite figure out why Macross 2 seemed so...out of whack when compared to the other shows (but the Valkyries were cool ). Robotech: The Sentinels movie left a funny taste in my mouth, especially seeing Bizarro Britai (Buckethead) and butch Miriya. I heard rumors of a Macross 7 in Japan, and wanted desperately to see it, though all the Macross I had viewed really confused me at first, because I still couldn't quite figure out where the Robotech Masters and Invid fit into the whole thing. I did some research and discovered that Macross was/is an entirely separate entity. Now I had TWO things to hunt for--the original, unedited Japanese Macross series AND that Skull One perfect toy.

Fast forward to 2001 and the end of college. I had slipped out of anime fandom for a few years, and temporarily forgot all about my attempts to find the perfect Valkyrie toy. In a random fit of nostalgia, I checked out a link from IGN to Robotech.com...and saw an add for Animeigo where the HOLY GRAIL was up for PREORDER before my very eyes--MACROSS! ORIGINAL JAPANESE!! SUBTITLED!!! ....For $250?! The boxset was supposedly marked down from an even higher price before I had discovered the site, but that was a LOT of money for a DVD set. Ignoring that guilty/nagging feeling, I bought it anyway, even though I didn't even OWN a DVD player. This was MACROSS--the "real thing." Finally!

After falling in love with my 9 disc boxset in early winter of 2002 (cheers to my roomate and his Playstation 2!), I soon started scouring the web, trying to find sites that discussed the original series... and that's when I found Macross World, my daily stop on the web ever since. And THAT is also when I discovered Yamato and their SERIES of Holy Grails.

The prices scared me at first... I was out of college, looking for a job, and couldn't imagine spending over $50 for a TOY... (this is what also kept me at bay from the HG MPCs), so I simply drooled at all of Grahams pictures for a long while, thinking "must be nice." The Bandai reissues were out, and I finally had my chance to get the Skull One I always wanted ...only... as an adult collector I found myself more into accuracy vs. nostalgia. I knew there were better things out there. But the Yamato 1/60 seemed overpriced! Argh! But then luck struck.

I finally got that Art Director job I'd applied for six months prior, started making real money (finally got that dvd player...heh), and Ebay proved to be my best friend one night in December. I noticed a 1/60 Max valk going for a ridiculously cheap price (like $20 or so), so I sat there for a good hour (at 3am or so on a work night) making sure I won that auction. I almost got sniped, but in the end, I won the thing for $35. I immediately fell in love with the sculpt, anime-accurate look of all three modes, and diecast content of the toy. But by the time I had Max, he was already old news to a lot of you, and much greater things were out. But I'll always have a fondness for my first 1/60... not only is Max my favorite character, but my first Yamato as well.

But like I've read here many times, the valkyrie addiction starts to grow (no thanks to you guys and gals! heh). I finally got a chance to see Macross 7, based to recommendations here (the FX set all the way!), and wanted desperately to own a VF-17 Nightmare. I then went through a time of collecting all the Bandai-made M7 valks... but they just weren't satisfying every time I'd look at my lonely Max 1/60 in all his glory. It was time to hunt down that elusive "perfect" Skull One toy at last. And I found my 1/60 Roy Focker Strike Valk for a damned good price ($60 shipped)! At last!!

Soon after that, I simply HAD to get the Max and Milia Supers and found a great deal on a Cannon Fodder 1A from hlj. I adore these valkyries... I couldn't imagine ever parting with them. I seriously didn't think Macross toys could get any better, until my amazing girlfriend surprised me this summer with a 1/48 Roy for my birthday. Now THIS is the perfect Skull One I had wanted all those years ago! He's proudly standing next to the computer right now in all his glory, and I periodically pick him up and transform him, all the while feeling like I'm 6 all over again. I don't think Tina quite understands just how much that gift meant to me. I associate that particular valkyrie with a great deal of my life thus far... and now I have the best representation of it sitting at arms reach.

Gah, I'm rambling.

Anyway, this thread really hit home, because just last week, I picked up the 1/72 VF-11B Fast Pack (missed out on all the MPlus valks the first time around) and definitely can see how Yamato has progressed. Granted, I like the little guy, but he's not nearly as impressive as the other bad boy I took home that evening--the 1/48 Low Vis. I think this one even has Roy beat in sheer beauty. THIS is my center piece, and I'm still in awe every time I walk by it. I have nothing but respect for Yamato, and the thought of all these upcoming toys in the future seriously sends shivers up my spine. I can't wait, though my girlfriend and empty wallet are due to kill me soon.

I still have that old Jetfire... he sits over with the TOYS of my collection (Bandai Macross 7 valks, Bandai Hikaru VF-1A reissue and the "Exosquad" Glaug, Regult, and Destroids). Calling these Yamatos "toys" just doesn't seem right. They're far more than that... they, in part, symbolize my youthful dreams coming true at last.

-Dan

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

h o l y c r a p

m story is almost the same!! jsut mispelled and with much more writing errors!!!

however mine ends in tragedy somewhat LOL.

but dude that was excellent...unlike you i have not yet experience 1/48 nirvana....still havent bought one..,.but i shall...

shin has been bitching for 2 years for a 1/48...its tiome he gets one.

and mineswell snag a 1/55,...nbut i feel the whole accuracy vss nostalgia thing!! grrrrrr

hey since ur an art director what did u major in?

[UN Spacy]

I guess I'll keep this short and sweet.

Couldn't buy my own Macross (only Bandai) toys back in the day. Ya know.....being a kid in the mid eighties and all.

Fast foward to the present day, I have my own job and budgeting myself to the point where I can get my own Macross toys (Yamato, Bandai, Hasegawa, etc).

[Guppy]

I guess I have ebay and the internet to thank for my money sucking toy habit. Living in australia isn't exactly a prime position to grab lots of cool toys. So when I first discovered ebay back around 1998-9 my imagination went crazy!

It was a pretty amazing realization that no matter what I could think of, I could buy it on ebay.

I think most of our stories are quite similar - and I notice that a lot of MW'ers are in their late 20's/early 30's - we're the ones who watched the cartoons when we were kids and now we have the disposable income to afford the good stuff.

[Wumzi]

here's my story, dates back to about 15 or so years ago

It all started when i was still living in the middle east with my family. Surprisingly, anime was widespread over there, except i didn't have a clue about it. All the shows I ever saw were arabic dubbed animes, stuff like captain Tsubasa, starship yamato, wrestler sanshiro, Tetsujin-28. I know all of their proper names now, but try tracking them down with only a weird arabic name that has nothing to do with the actual title

Anyways, i eventually came across the transformers movie and the GI joe movie. I'm mentioning them both since i honestly can't remember which one had the preview from robotech at the end of it. All i remember was the music, the incredible valks, and lots of lasers.... not to mention the fact that spike said $hit in the movie, and that there was a kiss in GI Joe (hey, i was sheltered as a kid )

It stuck in my head, i asked everywhere about that show, but not a single video store had a clue about it. That was it for a few years, just a quick 15 second preview of a show i soooo wanted to see.

Fast forward a couple of years. We moved to Canada and i was shocked at how different the cartoons were. There was no sign of the shows i knew as a kid, no space operas, no drama, no excitment. Just one Disney cartoon after another.

I pretty much lost interest in cartoons for a while, but that song from robotech stuck in my head all along. I was about to start university in 1999, and i chose mechanical engineering. My reason? I was in love with those transforming valks from that robotech preview (weird huh? basing a life decision on a 15 minute snippet from an anime? ). Shortly after that, i was browsing a blockbuster near me and wandered over to the kid's section. I passed a row or two until i finally saw it. Robotech. There it was, the valk, Rick, the macross. It was all there on the cover.

I grabbed all the tapes they had, and ran home to watch them. As soon as i popped that tape in and heard the opening, i started jumping for joy. There was that music! Just as i remembered it!

After watching the tapes (up to the 8th episode i think), i started searching the web. Eventually i stumbled onto MacrossWorld, and i leared of the entire macross series.

Strangly, within a week or two, a cable channel called teletoon was going to run an anime marathon on new year. Patlabor, ninja scroll, wings of hanyasomething, and macross plus. I stayed up every night and watched all of them, especially Mac Plus

That show opened my eyes, imagine making the jump from watching the horrible animation of SDF macross to that of Macross Plus... I was spoiled . I saw the Yf-19 and YF-21 and wished i could build the real thing.

Then came the Animego and yamato (can't remember which came first). All i remember was that i bought my first dvds without having a dvd player. And also making my second online purchase from HLJ and getting my yamato 1/60 hikaru and roy at the same time. I spent a fortune (still a student at the time), but i was happy

And now here we are. In macross bliss, with toy after toy, and new episodes coming out. I graduated recently and i'm still looking for a job (damn low demand for engineers). So decided to do a masters while looking for work. I'm kinda taking it easy on the purchases until then. Hopefully i'll get a job soon, start making more cash and resume my childhood joys

PS: if there's tons of mistakes, it's because i came back after 10 hours at university, lacking sleep, and because it's almost 1:30 am. Good night all!

[Yohsho]

Let's see where to start. When I was little one of the first cartoons I really remember watching were Transformers, GIJoe and Robotech, strangely I only remember the Macross Saga Being a little kid I always wanted as many of the toys I could get, but my parents could never afford them so I had to make do with my little kid imagination. I came away with my love of planes, flying and anime, I think that's where it came from, not a bad trade off.

The reason I give to my parents for having all the stuff in my room: "Hey, you didn't get it for me when I was a kid so I had to buy it myself. Its not my fault that the toys are cooler now [mumble] and more expensive now[/mumble]"

[Skull Hunter]

I think that having these toys is a way of holding on to our memories when we were younger. Just the nostalgic feeling I get when I hold one in my hand, reminds me of just how something so simple, could mean so much. My childhood memories were the best, and I'll do whatever I can to hang on to them.

Also, we didn't have much money back then, so I didn't come by to many toys. Now that I'm older and have a job, it seems that the toys have made me poor again! At least I'll still have the memories if money runs out.

[kensei]

In my neighbourhood, it gives you a sense of identity. Many people of all ethinicities live around me (Macedonian, Chinese, Vietnamese , Pakistanis), and all of them like some form of anime, whether it be Bubblegum Crisis, Evangelion or Macross. A few Macross fans reside here but not many. But everyone that follows a particular anime has a few collectibles or toys and often talk about them and show them off to friends. It's no secret here what you like. Macross is what I like, macross is my identity. I'd like to think that the anime you like, kinda tells others what sort of person u are.

I couldn't find any good macross toys locally in Australia so i used to build them out of Lego. Pathetic I know.

When the 1/48 came out my dream had come true. It was my first Macross toy and I vow to collect all of the 1/48 line.

Edited September 16, 2003 by kensei

[Phadeout]

I guess I'm in the same boat as most of the Robotech people. Started with watchin the cartoons on Saturday mornings.... Then I got into RPG's and what did my eyes see? Sweet! A robotech RPG... I think it started more for me with the RPG than the Cartoon... Just watchin the cartoon didn't make me the biggest fan of the Valks compared to knowing every detail about them from the RPG. Of course, knowing what I know now, I wish they had made a Macross RPG instead of "Robotech" :-) Anyways, just thought thought I'd share my spin. Oh, and i never even knew about the kewl macross toy's and models till about the time yamato first started to make VF-1's. If only I hadn't missed out on all the kewl models back in the day....

[Toonz]

very simple; (in gollum's voice).....

....mmyyyyyy pppprrreeeecciiiooouussss.......

[do not disturb]

HURIN IS A FAG!

Edited June 13, 2005 by haterist

[williwoods]

so cool to read everyones story and see how similar they all are. Escpecially Wumzi's memory of that robotech opening song. and b4 I start, I am now 29 years old.

Well my story starts in switzerland, must have been 85 or so. I cannot for the life of me remember where I first saw that Jetfire but I had to have him and of course that christmas I opened that box with all the armour in dazzling red, wow how could any kid not be spellbound. Ever since that I was looking for valkyries and other transforming jets, but only found the alphas right b4 that next christmas, god I wanted one of those 1/35 gakken ones but oh well I only got the 2 mode one but life went on. The Swiss version of FAO Schwartz in Zurich had all those revell kits, the little factory kits and everything in-between so each time I went there I picked a couple up. I will never forget making one of those factory kits watching the german subbed version of mary poppins for the first time! So by 1986 I moved back here to california and in all the time I spent in europe I never knew all these cool toys came from one tv show, robotech? Man I will also never forget 6th grade here in the states, everyday right after school I would run home as fast as I could to catch the newest episode of our favorite bastardized cartoon. Right around that time all the action figure toys came out from matchbox it seemed like robotech toys and models were everywhere. Even the local mom and pop toy store had the cyclones and alphas not so much the valkyries but still the stuff like the revell models could even be found at ben franklin!!!!!!! Those were the days........

I never did see the ending of the macross saga of robotech and then came the mospeada saga that was cool, the cyclones were awesome and of course the alpha-tread was wicked too but I never saw much of that show either. Sentinels really didn't catch my imagination much though and I never saw robotech again until just recently (yuck), but wumzi like you that opening song just stuck in my head for years after that, what was it about that tune maybe it just reminded us of all the cool mecha and deep (for a cartoon) storyline. and like many others I started to grow up and lost interest in the stuff as girls became more of a priority and eventually in highschool I sold all my toys (like an idiot). I met some asian exchange students and one of them had an issue of model grafix that had an article on the vf-4, wow that thing caught my attention though, but I did not find the model anywhere. That was probobly the last time I thought of robotech stuff for a long time. Flash forward to post highschool , I had had 2 kids and a full-time job a wife, man I wanted to be a kid again, and of course when you have kids, especially boys I find myself buying for my kids all the cool toys I had (quite the task and expense). I was at work one day and was just surfing the web, and whatever came over me i did a search for robotech, and through that first online expirience I eventually found MW and of course my timing was perfect 6 full months until that 1/60th hikaru was to be released I think that the first time I wisited these pages the splash screen was that picture of the three yamato prototypes in full fighter formation. I was informed of the differences between macross / robotech as well of course. That first yamato 1/60 hikaru started everything back up again and I have more toys now than I did when I was a kid, man I thought that was as good as it got but yamato proved me wrong and now of course who can resist the power that is the yamato 1/48 valkyrie (with super and strike parts). Williwoods

Edited September 16, 2003 by williwoods

[crasis]

h o l y c r a p

m story is almost the same!! jsut mispelled and with much more writing errors!!!

however mine ends in tragedy somewhat LOL.

but dude that was excellent...unlike you i have not yet experience 1/48 nirvana....still havent bought one..,.but i shall...

shin has been bitching for 2 years for a 1/48...its tiome he gets one.

and mineswell snag a 1/55,...nbut i feel the whole accuracy vss nostalgia thing!! grrrrrr

hey since ur an art director what did u major in?

Haha... It's interesting and even comforting to see how similar many of our stories are. I may be the one big Macross geek in my area, but at least I'm not alone.

Kinda OT, but to answer your question: I majored in Graphic Design...which wasn't my first choice, actually, since a majority of the students in that discipline (at least in my school) seemed to come from the more business end of the spectrum, with little to no artistic background/skills. This, of course, drove me nuts, as I'm the complete opposite... Art has been my passion since birth. I knew I just had to do something with my abilities early on, and wanted to create for a living...but get paid to do so. Being a Fine Art major is all nice and dandy, but it rarely brings in the dough. I gotta say though, ever since I've walked down this path, I occasionally do have to fight off that nagging feeling of being a "sellout" each day, especially since I work for two of the largest names in the snack/beverage world. For the time being, I'm a corporate whore... but hey, they're paying for my valks. It's all good. B)

[Chuey]

Dream come true indeed. As a child, I saw three things in my childhood that have influenced my anime and toy habit. On a local television station (now a Fox affiliate), I saw a program about a flying battleship called Starblazers. When I went to San Francisco's Japantown as a child, I picked one of the cheap throwaway manga books and got hooked on Gundam. In the fall of 1984, I caught the first episodes of Robotech.

Flash 20 years later and those childhood interests have turned into adult appetites (and companies know it). I have bought a bunch of the Leiji Matsumoto Museum Yamato pieces and the soul of chogokin Yamato. With gundam, I have acquired a lot of MSIA, Master Grade and FIX pieces. Yamato and Bandia have taken a good chunk of money due to my interest in Macross. As a kid you may want everying, but as an adult I am having to learn restraint .