Yamato 1/48 VF-0S

[Godzilla]

I have to agree with Noel and Graham here. Size does matter. Remember that in Asia, space is a huge premium unlike the United States. Granted that we in the United States dont live in mansions but we are in houses and apartments bigger than the flats in Tokyo and HK. With that said, Yamato will not make a VF-0 in 1/48 scale. Yamato only serves markets in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. We got our hands on these 1/48s thru ebay, MW friends in Japan and HK, on-line retailers whether in HK or here in the US. HG will never let these guys in officially because it would put their MPCs to shame. Anyways, 1/48 VF-1 is about big as you can go.

[EXO]

I have to agree with Noel and Graham here. Size does matter. Remember that in Asia, space is a huge premium unlike the United States. Granted that we in the United States dont live in mansions but we are in houses and apartments bigger than the flats in Tokyo and HK. With that said, Yamato will not make a VF-0 in 1/48 scale. Yamato only serves markets in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. We got our hands on these 1/48s thru ebay, MW friends in Japan and HK, on-line retailers whether in HK or here in the US. HG will never let these guys in officially because it would put their MPCs to shame. Anyways, 1/48 VF-1 is about big as you can go.

Tell that to Convoy and the Scopedog... and those 1/1 anime girls they sell over there... I guess the need warrants space for that...

[Godzilla]

Well 1/1 anime girls have other purposes as well.

[EXO]

Ewww.

[Myersjessee]

It's premature for us to start worrying about this. Who knows what will happen. It doesn't look like a VF0 toy will happen anytime soon...but it took a while for the Mac+ valks to show up...and much much longer for the 1/48 VF1's. Be patient...give it some time. It may never happen...but who knows...maybe 5 or 10 years from now Yamato will want to add to their 1/60, 1/48 or other Macross lines. I think the bigger concern then size (and size does matter ) is profitability. Right now...if Mac0 didn't do well and Macross in general isn't selling well then a 1/48 VF-0 or any other new sculpt is probably looked at as a risky investment...if in the future that popularity grows...well...who knows.

(maybe Toynami will do it! )

[Godzilla]

It's premature for us to start worrying about this. Who knows what will happen. It doesn't look like a VF0 toy will happen anytime soon...but it took a while for the Mac+ valks to show up...and much much longer for the 1/48 VF1's. Be patient...give it some time. It may never happen...but who knows...maybe 5 or 10 years from now Yamato will want to add to their 1/60, 1/48 or other Macross lines. I think the bigger concern then size (and size does matter ) is profitability. Right now...if Mac0 didn't do well and Macross in general isn't selling well then a 1/48 VF-0 or any other new sculpt is probably looked at as a risky investment...if in the future that popularity grows...well...who knows.

(maybe Toynami will do it! )

If that was the case, we would have gotten our YF-19 FPs or the 1/60 destroid monster.

[Ghadrack]

Yeah but Yamato still has a section on their website with pictures of the VF-0S ty on it, I think there is a much higher probability of the VF-0S materializing than some of our other hopefuls.

[Fortress_Maximus]

*waits patiently*

[Myersjessee]

It's premature for us to start worrying about this.  Who knows what will happen.  It doesn't look like a VF0 toy will happen anytime soon...but it took a while for the Mac+ valks to show up...and much much longer for the 1/48 VF1's.  Be patient...give it some time.  It may never happen...but who knows...maybe 5 or 10 years from now Yamato will want to add to their 1/60, 1/48 or other Macross lines.  I think the bigger concern then size (and size does matter    ) is profitability.  Right now...if Mac0 didn't do well and Macross in general isn't selling well then a 1/48 VF-0 or any other new sculpt is probably looked at as a risky investment...if in the future that popularity grows...well...who knows. 

(maybe Toynami will do it!        )

If that was the case, we would have gotten our YF-19 FPs or the 1/60 destroid monster.

But I did get a 19...and a 21...and an 11....an 11FP, a 21FP and a line of 1/48's and a line of 1/60s with a Rau....There was a time not to long ago when we all would have been stunned if any of those came to light....

So...I guess to me the glass is half full....and Ill bet anyone here $20 that we do see a 1/48 VF-0S in my lifetime.

Any takers?

[Torokun]

Sorry for coming in late and asking this question...

But, what's going on here? is HG preventing Yamato to stop making macross toys? Can you explain the situation here?

I remember in old macrossworld forum there was a thread about Harmony Gold trying to prevent imported toys to be sold in America. (it was a great thread with fan pics depicting HG as propaganda driven dictatorship).

[Godzilla]

I think it is becaus eof the Big West would not let Yamato renew the Macross licenses but we have yet to find out.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

Too bad this isn't the 80s where cool toys would show up in stores and kids would buy them up like crazy since they looked cool! I remember buying Voltron, Transformers, Thundercats, and even He-Man toys just because they looked cool...and whenever I'd find them on tv I'd watch them until my eyes were sore ...thus making me love my toys even more...

well back to topic...

I honestly thing Yamato sank themselves by releasing their 1/48 VF-1's. Now we expect equal quality toys and engineering. Perhapes they feel like the fan base isn't there anymore to buy up their products like once before. I would've bought a VF-0S at its last sculpt revision, with rabbit ears and all. As a fan of Macross, I'm greatful to get anything Macross right now.

[Aegis!]

Referring to the title of this thread, do you guys realize how insanely huge a 1/48 VF-0 would be! This has been mentioned numerous times in the past, but the VF-0 simpy dwarfs the VF-1. Those of you who have both the Hasegawa VF-1 & VF-0 kits will know what I mean.

1/48 woud be just too big IMO. Basically, a 1/60 VF-0 would already be about the same size as a 1/48 VF-1.

Personally, I'd be more than happy with a 1/72 or 1/60 scale version, just not the craptastic 1/100.

Graham

I agree with you Graham.

For more info on scales and VF-0 toy measures just look at my sign.

Just imagine a valk bigger than the Koenig , IMO that WAY too much. Remember that the bigger it gets the more parts = more potential QC problems , also it´ll weight more which means more shipping costs.

I think the bigger concern then size (and size does matter wink.gif ) is profitability. Right now...if Mac0 didn't do well and Macross in general isn't selling well then a 1/48 VF-0 or any other new sculpt is probably looked at as a risky investment...if in the future that popularity grows...well...who knows.

If profitability is such a big concern to Yamato why venture with lesser-know-mecha like the scopedog and the Garland / BGC Motoslave ? specially when they don´t have a fully stablished fanbase (Yamato-wise).

Is it just me or does Japanese companies like to ignore they consumers all too often ?

( me thinks of Sony, Bandai, etc..).

[Graham]

I think it is becaus eof the Big West would not let Yamato renew the Macross licenses but we have yet to find out.

I don't think it's a case of BW not letting Yamato renew the license.

More likely, it's probaby Yamato choosing not to pay to renew the license as they figure there is not enough profit to be made.

And just which license are you referring to? AFAIK, Yamato had several licences with BW, not just 1 licence. I think it was something like 1 license for the M+ toys, 1 for VFX2 toys, 1 for TV & DYRL toys (actually might have been two seperate liences for 1/60 & 1/48, not sure on that), 1 license for M0 toys.

I think each license is valid for a 2 year period. So chances are some license have already been renewed at least once and some have expired and not been renewed for whatever reason.

Graham

[Valk009]

Another possible reason is maybe because Yamato is fed-up with the procedures in getting a toy approved

We all know how difficult it is to get a meeting with Kawamori and how picky he is...getting a prototype to th eproduction line might take a year or two and by then the hype of the anime might have changed already, just look at the 1/100 Yammie VF-0S!

Andy

[Graham]

Yep, that's likely very true. I used to hear a lot of compaints from Yamato about the lengthy approval process.

Sometimes BW and Kawamori are their own worst enemies when it comes to Macross.

Graham

[valk1j]

I've given up hope for a YF-19FP, VF-0, and it looks like the GBP is shaky at best. It looks like Yamato is giving up on Macross.

What a shame, the YF-19FP would definately make money. It is probably the second most popular valk after the VF-1. A well made YF-19FP seems like it would make more money than the Garland IMO.

Why not release the 1/100 VF-0S? Test the market. If it sells use your license and make more Mac 0 toys. It seems a waste of money, time, effort to get a license for Macross 0 and not use it.

I guess I'll never see a toy of the SV-51.

Edited March 17, 2005 by valk1j

[Radd]

For more info on scales and VF-0 toy measures just look at my sign.

This debate has come up so often, been discussed so much, that I believe everyone is well aware as to how large a 1/48th VF-0 would be. Despite this, there are many that would still love one, or ten.

Of course, given the other problems with the license right now (as discussed in this thread already), it's understandable that any non-VF-1 1/48 would be far from likely.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

IMHO there is a bit more anime magic involved in the SV-51 transformation. And the VF-0 might be similar to the VF-1 but its thinner and slimmer. So it might be technically more difficult to make 48 scale perfect transformation toys for them.

Just goes to show how great the original VF-1 design was.

[Radd]

I don't think the VF-0's more lanky design is a problem, it's not that much lankier than than the VF-1 and the VF-0 is rather bulkier than the VF-1 in places. There's plenty of room for transformation mechanisms, if that's what you're getting at. More fragile pieces, like the swing bar, could be made of metal. No, I think it's the lack of interest in the Macross line in general, and the lack of support from Kawamori and Big West, that are the primary problems. Yamato simply is not going to pour money into an expensive toy that they do not believe will sell.

[MGREXX]

Let's give it time. I think that Yamato is burnt right now with all of the Macross stuff they have released the last few years....and there has been A LOT OF STUFF!!!!!.......just ask my freaking wallet.

I say they will release the Vf-19FP, mk2 monster and others over the next few years, then resume the madness when the next MACROSS craze hits (with the same mecha but with all new scales like 1/84 and 1/24 )......but by then, most of us will be old and crusty.

[hellohikaru]

Yamato holding the VFX-2 license and not releasing a VF-17D/S and VF-22 ?

It will be a great waste if they don't.

And why would they need Kawamori approval when releasing something. Even Hasegawa didn't follow the lineart very much and i doubt Toynami even bothered with the process.

[Nani?!]

you guys think a 1/48 VF-0 would be big?

puhahahah check this out 1/18 Hornet

It's not a model but a elite force toys and it's roughly the length of a person's arm.

Most interesting however, is that despite it's enormous size and detail,

it's only about $80 US. Yeah, I know, it doesn't transform,

but it's still a helluva lot of BANG for the buck.

Anyway,

To remain on topic, a 1/48 VF-0? Come on guys lets be real...

a huge VF-0 wont be on their to-make list for a loooong time, if ever...

Also regarding an older post by Shin about yamato being smart:

Yamato is playing it smart. Will this be the last we see of them in macross? Hah I don't think they are that stupid. I tend to think they will utilize their expensive ass molds and make new toys when the time is right. I don't think it is right right now though.

I ask in no disrespect...

what's wrong with right now?

How did you come to the conclusion that right now is "not the time"?

Who said the demand took a nose dive?

Anyone got cold hard stats?

People are buying liquid stone 1/100 unpainted YF-19's for $900+, I'm sure the demand's not in dangerous lows. Even if they release a slightly modified yf-19 with plastic fastpacks slapped on to it, THEY WILL SELL....

Yamato smart? nah... I think they're just ignorant.

[Akilae]

Does anybody actually have a fair guess of how much the 1/48 VF-1 line made for them? Not even a number, but whether or not they lost money, barely broke even, or sitting on top of a huge pile of 1/48 cash...

[Radd]

Yamato holding the VFX-2 license and not releasing a VF-17D/S and VF-22 ?

Yamato did plan to sell the YF-21 FP with swappable VF-22 parts, but they couldn't release it for some reason. The problem, or so the common belief seems to be, is that Bandai already had those designs tied up with the Macross 7 license.

[Radd]

Akilae, I haven't heard of any official statistics of any sort, but by all accounts the 1/48 line seemed to do very, very well. Many of them seemed to sell out very quickly, enough so to spark another run of the earlier types.

[wolfx]

Yamato holding the VFX-2 license and not releasing a VF-17D/S and VF-22 ?

Yamato did plan to sell the YF-21 FP with swappable VF-22 parts, but they couldn't release it for some reason. The problem, or so the common belief seems to be, is that Bandai already had those designs tied up with the Macross 7 license.

Swappable VF-22 parts? That's a new one for me

[promethuem5]

Look in Graham's preview of the toy in the Toys section. It was going to have a swappable head and cockpit to change it to a YF-22