The Dark Ages Of Macross Toys

[wolfx]

This might not apply to you old foggies, as seems most of the people here are above 30 from the age thread, but really when Robotech was most popular then, I remembered as a young lad that I was disappointed with the toy line.

What most of us wanted as kids was a toy that was fully transformable just like in the cartoons. Something like Transformers. Matchbox came out with toys that me, as a kid just gave the pass. Really disappointing "Veritech" fighter that couldn't transform. The action figures were laughable. There was no transformable cyclone.

There were the occasional Takatoku macross toys (that really confused me as a kid cause i thought they were called Robotech???) which was everything a kid wanted but OMFG....they costed a bomb even then. I mean...no parent would spend that kinda moolah on a toy for a kid. I can't remmeber the price then, but i remembered it was more expensive than most Transformers available. I wanted that taka so much but alas......too expensive. Not even worth my good grades nor my b'day.

A kid in the neighbourhood got a taka 1S and i remembered i was jealous beyond my mind cause that pesky kid showed it off to everyone but wouldn't let anyone touch it.

There were also the occasional Macross model kits which i think were by ARII. I pestered dad to buy me the GBP one, thinking it was a toy only to open it and find out its a model kit. A NON TRANSFORMABLE one at that. Sigh. How depressing.

My dreams of a transformable valkyrie went un-answered up till few years ago when i found out Yamato were making 1/60 valks. Bandai came out with the Taka reissues soon after and the rest was history.

How was your experience during the old days of Macross/Robotech toy collecting? Did you think Matchbox handled their license well? How about the older bunch of us, who probably had access to funds to buy the then superior takatokus (if they could be found)?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

My story is kind of similar to yours but as a kid I wanted a transforming 'Alpha' even more than a "veritec".

I thought at the time the fact that it was both a transforming fighter, gerwalk and battroid, as well as a machine that could combine with another and carry a powered suit was awesome.

So glad that we are getting proper transforming toys with detail and proper gbp armor that you actually put onto the thing rather than as a model.

I didn't have that much interest in the matchbox destroids (I had a spartan) as I was into jetfire. While kids were complaining they couldn't afford optimus prime as a kid I was sad I could never have jetfire. How much was jetfire back then anyway?

I never really had the chance to see a takatoku but I do remember once my older brother had a transforming VF1 model. So I'm pretty sure there were models that did transform unless my memory is screwed.

Edited March 29, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[wolfx]

I can safely say for some reason, i've never seen the jetfire toy as a kid. Because if i did, i'm sure i'd be even more confused than I already was with Robotech/Macross. What more now with Transformers.

Don't remember any transformable models from the time either. But i know my GBP model was a piece of crap that looked nothing like what was on the box art.

[Macross73]

I never cared for the matchbox valk it was fat and looked like it wasn't made right. When i saw a Jetfire on store shelf Transformer or not it was cool. My mom bought me a Jetfire and that was awesome until I opened it and saw that all the stickers were messed up. Anyway that got returned and I never got it replaced . Then i got a coupole of transforming models. I broke those pr messed the paint up or something. I had really bad modeling skills and no patience for paint drying or glue. Years later, I've discovered Macross and now there are plenty of Valks in my house.

[Guest Bromgrev]

I was ok with it, because back then there were More Macross Models!!

[Project Phoenix]

I've always wanted a valk and a Legioss especially I first saw them on TV over 20 years ago.

Like wolfx, I had a cousin who was a frackin' showoff, shaking a taka Hikaru 1J in front of my face but won't let me touch it. He was always the big mouth a-hole all through our childhood days. The joke's on him as he had to sell the taka when his dad lost his job to make ends meet.

Over the years I dreamed of owning a true transformable valk. The closest I ever got was a bootleg 1/220 scale 1S from a vendor in Beijing. After that, it is a few Imai, Arii and Bandai model kits. Half of them are unbuilt and the other half was stolen.

Now that I'm working, I could finally afford some of them. My dark age was a long and tough one.

[Sumdumgai]

Before I got on the internet the only way I could find out anything about the original Macross story to even get a basic idea was to read those Jack Mckinney robotech books, since it was damned hard to find robotech to rent (and I wasn' going to dish out for 2 episodes a tape for buying). This was after I had watched Macross Plus, and wanted to find out about the rest of the Macross series.

I wanted a VF-1 valkyrie soooooo bad. But the old takatoku and bandai valkyries cost an arm and a leg, and then some. But I managed to pick up a Joons for about $30 and I was happy. I prefered the looks of the 1A even back then, but I hate the look of the chunky-monkey A heads. Tried having the gunpod store under the valkyrie in fighter mode but it always looked wrong and kept falling.

It did bother me though that it was so.... chunky and that the legs only went forwards or backwards. Fast forward to yamato and the M+ valks and I was sooooooooooooooooooo excited. Especially at the news they would come out in the US. Then Harmony Gold happened and I really started to hate their guts.

Then there came the 1/60 VF-1 and I was sooooo excited! I got a max right away. Then OMG 1/48, perfect transformation! OMGWTFHAX! And it was awesome

Long live yamato! Bring us more! We need more!

[RT junkie]

Man, when I was a kid, Robotech was it for me. I had gotten the Matchbox 1S for my B-Day, which was okay, but like everyone else, still disappointing. I remember buying up a 4-5 of the Revell kits, Vexar, Axoid and Orbot, as they were 1/72 scale transforming kits. I still remember them being on sale at Zares (I think that was how it was spelled) department store for $2.99 each. I still have them, and recently started trying to disassemble some and repaint them. In moving, I even found an old Axoid kit, with the clear wrap still on it!

The height of my collection was at Christmas, when Santa brought me a 1/35 blue Gakken Alpha, and I saved up to get the green and red alpha too.

Then came hormones and chics, and my toys ended up in a closet for the next decade or more. It wasn't until I played Robotech Battlecry on my XBox that I regressed to my childhood obsession. I discovered Macross for the first time, then MPlus, M0 and am now hopelessly wrapped up in it. Only now with with $$ to act on it. Several thousand dollars later I've pretty much caught up with all the new Yamatos, Hasegawas (even Toynamis) and all the old original Imai, BanDai, Arii, LS and every other kit I never had as a kid. Especially the 1/100 Factory kit. Best part is that I have 2 kids who have taken quite fondly to Macross, so I have someone to play with now.

[EXO]

I was ok with it, because back then there were More Macross Models!!

385257[/snapback]

I really want to put a stop to these Toys vs. Models crap. If people are too stupid to understand that Toys and Models are two different things then maybe they should look up the definition of the word "preference". I've bought the models that was available during the "dark agaes" and they were pretty much crap just like the Arii toys available back then. I've also seen Hasegawas that were customized to transform like toys, while they look great, they felt like cheap toys that were about to explode. There's some great customs of 1/48s and 1/55s that were painted like you would a model, but at the price these toys come in, you're not going to see a lot of them.

I see a lot of talk in the models forum about how great models are, and that's fine. I'm happy you guys love what you're into. But the fact that you're into these things is the reason why you love them, not because they are "better" in every sense of the word. It seems to me that these few people are trying to compensate for something because the toy people dont really have that problem trying to compare their poo with models. It can't be about skill because there are many skilled people in the toy forum. And that goes right into scratch building too, not just paint and weathering.

I think Shawn made a great mistake by dividing the 2 sections, because before everyone just praised or critisized skill on the same level. Now we have a new idiotic rivalry out of nowhere. How many more of those do we need on MW? RT vs Macross. Mac 7: for and against... Playstation vs Xbox, and mac vs. PC.

Be happy in your own yard, quit trying to convince your neighbors to live like you.

Edited March 29, 2006 by >EXO<

[kanata67]

exo. Toys are better than models . Especially when you modify them using model parts. I hear good things about certain gundam kits but...

I love my lawn darts and making them more detailed is even cooler. I equate it to making a kit car on a sub frame vs making a kit car an a solid frame. They will both look cool but only one can be used as a lawn dart

granted I recently lost my custom cyber violatr valk head thanks to a cat, but it is easily fixible and the rest of the toy based frame survived just fine, though the cat limped for a week .

as for the dark-ages... Jetfire was my first vf. I had a few of the action figures as well as a hover tank [which sucked], a tactical pod, and a shock trooper. All that is dust in time but a friend pawned me his jetfire and trying to replace the arm armors I found MW. I apparently found it at the perfect time as bandai was re-issuing at the time. I got hooked. My friend has his now completed and boxed jetfire back [it was a graduation present] and I have a massive addiction resulting from said completion as I had to buy a partial to get the parts I needed and as such had another jf tat needed to be completed... and so on and so on and so on...

from what I gather it sucked to be anybody who loved macross in the 80's unless you were asian or lived in CA, the toy selection for a rural farm area new-yorker sucked major ass. Good bless the internet

[Roy Focker]

How was your experience during the old days of Macross/Robotech toy collecting? Did you think Matchbox handled their license well? How about the older bunch of us, who probably had access to funds to buy the then superior takatokus (if they could be found)?

My experience sucked. I was old enough to realize what toys were better but too young for parent types figures to spend the money on. So instead I got mainly crappy matchbox toys. Once I was a little older Macross and Robotech were a no show. Then came the internet where you got a 1/55 for several hundred or do what I did buy a Jet Fire for less.

Thank you Yamato!

I could reunite some of the sections. Maybe I will today.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I actually love the models for the detail, but as a little kid what you really wanted was a toy that could transform just like in the show.

For me having the model just wearing GBP as opposed to equiping it (the model is stuck as GBP) sort of took the thrill out of it all. This was the time when transformers were big and the fad of transformation was at its highest. So my expectation for a transforming alpha and a transforming vf1 were at thier highest. Not being able to find one really sucked. It's like not having a transforming megatron or transforming prime but every morning you would be teased by it on the cartoon.

Nothing against models (I had heaps which I ended up breaking) but for me owning jetfire or a chunky (didn't know about takatoku) was what I would have wanted for christmas.

I had the same sort of disapointment today when masterpiece ultramagnus didn't come with armor.

Edited March 29, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Twoducks]

The Dark Age… Had the Matchbox Phalanx, Glaug, and a red Bioroid. Always wanted the VF (didn’t know it couldn’t transform at the time and that it was chunky as hell). Took them apart a few times (I had this crazy believe that I would find the cockpit in the bioroid and the Phalanx).

Only valk I had was a small bootleg. Don’t know what it was modelled after (didn’t look like the 1/55). It could almost fit in the cockpit of the Glaug and didn’t have a swing bar but could fully transform into all three modes (kinda):

The piece where the legs where fixed (a white square thing) swung and locked itself below the nose (if I remember correctly); the tail wings of the fighter mode folded to the legs and the whole back didn’t fold up, it stayed fixed on all three modes. Don’t know if it was a Jet Fire bootleg or what, but it was sure fun and haven't seen one like it since.

[myk]

Well, most of us consider these days to be the golden age of Macross, but there are alot of "purists" who believe that the true golden age prevailed when Takatoku and then Bandai were the sole producers of all things Macross. I too felt cheated, as I was too young during those days to afford an imported Japanese Macross item; I had to contend with the Matchbox stuff, the jems of their line being the "Joke" Machines...

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

^

image of jetfire in box swiped from ebay

brings back memories of me as a child wishing he owned one.

[wolfx]

Despite being sealed in a clear case, its not mint. XD

[ghostryder]

Yes, it was a dark dark time, but at least Matchbox Minmay could beat up Zartan and Destro.

I once traded a wheeljack, a broken thundercracker, and some other fugly TF triple changer just to get a bootleg VF-1J (better than a Joons, but can't remember the maker). That valkyrie was a revelation , ruining me for all other transforming planes.

Edited March 31, 2006 by ghostryder

[strikevalk]

back when i was a kid and watched robotech.. i loved the alphas to death. since there was no way my step mom would buy me any toys, i had to make my own little alpha out of paper. i was in the second grade... making lil transformers and robotech mecha out of paper that transformed. i can't believe i had to make my own toys!

[kanata67]

^

image of jetfire in box swiped from ebay

brings back memories of me as a child wishing he owned one.

385976[/snapback]

where can I find one of those cases?!?!?!?!?!?

I have only one minty jf in a uncreased boxflap box and want to make sure that the flap stays uncreased. Anybody know where I can get one of these clear shells?

[Nightbat]

Hell, europe is still mostly in the darkages for any Macross/RT toys

(I know of only one specialityshop in Belgium that has a large Anime inventory)

Robotech is a faded memory, Jetfire a forgotten relic

thank god for internet and creditcards

The real reason might be this though:

"We didn't have fancy luxuries like food."

                 

"What the **** you gonna eat on 10 cents a week?"

"We had to eat whatever my father brought home from work."

"We ate the toys, Eddie."

"We ate the toys and we never complained"

Ed was one lucky SOB

Edited April 4, 2006 by Nightbat

[Dante74]

Hell, europe is still mostly in the darkages for any Macross/RT toys

(I know of only one specialityshop in Belgium that has a large Anime inventory)

Robotech is a faded memory, Jetfire a forgotten relic

thank god for internet and creditcards

Any chance that shop is in Antwerp?

I'm going there next month.

[Guest Bromgrev]

I really want to put a stop to these Toys vs. Models crap.

385377[/snapback]

Heh, just kidding. I'll slink off back to the model section now ...

[Nightbat]

Any chance that shop is in Antwerp?

I'm going there next month.

387496[/snapback]

Nah, Diepenbeek, between Hasselt and maastricht

maybe you already know the shop: "Archonia"

[Auto Pilot Off]

oh well i never had any macross toys when i was young coz i am only 8 when first watched DYRL.. it was my fav anime other than voltes v.... so after for so many years with advancement of technology ive d/l DYRL and watched it again... and for some reason went shoppin ended up in a toy dept... thats it 1/48 vf-1a!!! first encounter/... i wanted it soo bad that my gf got it for my birthday....WOhoooo..... i was kinda silly that i choosed vf-1a rather than the hikaru 1s..... regretted not getting 1s first instead back then ( 3 years ago).....

[Dante74]

Nah, Diepenbeek, between Hasselt and maastricht

maybe you already know the shop: "Archonia"

387575[/snapback]

I knew it's an online store, didn't know its also a real store.

[Nightbat]

I knew it's an online store, didn't know its also a real store.

387594[/snapback]

Don't know if they actually sell stuff from there, but it's still one of the largest

anime/mangashops in the Benelux

[buglips]

I had Jetfire as a Transformer the year before Robotech hit the air here, so I thought he was just a way cool transformer.

Then I put it together that Jetfire was a veritech... but couldn't figure out why.

Then I found out Jetfire wasn't Jetfire, a transformer, or a veritech... but a Macross valkyrie! And on top of all that, the Battletech goons even had a slice of the pie.

That whole licensing mess of the 80's left me with scars. Genuine mental scars.

[Excillon]

I remember wanting a Jetfire so bad and not getting one. so my mom (who was in the navy and had friends stationed in Japan) had them try and find one. Instead of a Jetfire I got a takatoku VF-1S strike valk. At the time I was really pissed off, because I wanted a Jetfire, so it sat and collected dust for a while. Then a little later I discovered Robotech and was all of a sudden my strike valk got tons of playtime. I did eventually get a jetfire as well, and poor Jetfire was always getting killed by Starscream and Skywarp. But it was OK because Roy was always avenging him. When that wasn't the case, Roy just shot Jetfire down himself because Jetfire was an evil red Russian robot.

[Agent-GHQ]

Like they say "Patience is a virtue." By the way, how old were you when your mom got you that Takatoku VF-1S Strike Valk. Eventhough, Takatoku NEVER made a VF-1S Strike Valk. The VF-1S Strike Valk was later released ONLY by Bandai. The only thing Takatoku released as a combo pack was the Super VF-1S and the GBP VF-1S.

I remember wanting a Jetfire so bad and not getting one. so my mom (who was in the navy and had friends stationed in Japan) had them try and find one. Instead of a Jetfire I got a takatoku VF-1S strike valk.  At the time I was really pissed off, because I wanted a Jetfire, so it sat and collected dust for a while. Then a little later I discovered Robotech and was all of a sudden my strike valk got tons of playtime. I did eventually get a jetfire as well, and poor Jetfire was always getting killed by Starscream and Skywarp. But it was OK because Roy was always avenging him. When that wasn't the case, Roy just shot Jetfire down himself because Jetfire was an evil red Russian robot.

389024[/snapback]

Edited April 9, 2006 by Agent-GHQ

[Dax415]

I remember my first exposure to macross was through Robotech. I searched for transformable veritechs but could only find various model kits. My friends and I were desperate so we collected and played with the 1/200 scale model kits and later the matchbox destroids. When Jetfire became available I saved up for one (30 something bucks at the time) and was in heaven! We dug up the backyard building "bases" out of mud and strategically dug caverns. It got so much playtime that I had to buy a second Jetfire right before they pulled them from the shelves. When matchbox was in full swing the only thing that appealed to me were the destroids in 1/200 scale. The hideous figures and veritech fighter were so fake I could not keep up with what matchbox was releasing. This made me miss out on transformable alphas and the giant cyclone.

It wasn't till the middle of Robotech Masters that I found out about takas and bandai valks. I came across a elintseeker at a comic shop in San Francisco called Comics of Da Kind. I eagerly asked to transform it, but when I realized there were no weapons I moved on. Man do I regret that! My next chance came when I went to a little shop in Westlake. There was a Bandai Hi-Metal VF-1A Hikaru and a VF-1S Strike Valk for the taking. Had to raise some cash so I sacrificed some X-Men Comics and some G.I. Joes. Went back and bought both, the Strike Valk was stolen when my family moved and the Hikaru is now part of Kanata67's collection.

What happened to bring me over to Macross was trying to find replacement armor for one of my Jetfires. I found Macrossworld on a search and lurked for about 6 months learning about macross. When I tried to explain what DYRL is to my friends they just looked at me funny (they think that is the japanese macross..period). oh well, so much for trying to convert them over to the light.

Anyway, I am glad that I found this site and got "converted" from Robotech. Macross is so much better.

[Darknut]

I was 7 or 8 when my cousins and I would end our outdoor games and rush the tv to see Robotech. It was a happy time in my life except I could never get my parents to get me the toys. Then when I was 10 I got a jet fire for christmas. That thing lasted me about 12 years through repaints and other mahems that I put it through. Many years had passed ant I was in the military and I saw Mac+. Hello childhood! I started looking on the internet and got another jet fire but it wasn't enough... I wanted more! and now I sit here just a week after my b-day wishing I had told someone to preorder me that stealth 1J. I know I have noplace to put it now witha all the other tf and mac goodies but I gotta have it!! Man I am so broke from this hobby but it is just so rewarding to have a second childhood and be able to afford it. So now I have a paradox... go fast goodies for my car or a shinny new valk to zoom the room? Choices.

[Excillon]

Like they say "Patience is a virtue." By the way, how old were you when your mom got you that Takatoku VF-1S Strike Valk. Eventhough, Takatoku NEVER made a VF-1S Strike Valk. The VF-1S Strike Valk was later released  ONLY by Bandai. The only thing Takatoku released as a combo pack was the Super VF-1S and the GBP VF-1S.

I remember wanting a Jetfire so bad and not getting one. so my mom (who was in the navy and had friends stationed in Japan) had them try and find one. Instead of a Jetfire I got a takatoku VF-1S strike valk.  At the time I was really pissed off, because I wanted a Jetfire, so it sat and collected dust for a while. Then a little later I discovered Robotech and was all of a sudden my strike valk got tons of playtime. I did eventually get a jetfire as well, and poor Jetfire was always getting killed by Starscream and Skywarp. But it was OK because Roy was always avenging him. When that wasn't the case, Roy just shot Jetfire down himself because Jetfire was an evil red Russian robot.

389024[/snapback]

389034[/snapback]

I meant the one with the armor, it's all the same to me. It was basically almost the same as Jetfire, but not as sturdy. I wish I still had it, and when I think about it I have no idea what the hell happened to it.

[Excillon]

Like they say "Patience is a virtue." By the way, how old were you when your mom got you that Takatoku VF-1S Strike Valk. Eventhough, Takatoku NEVER made a VF-1S Strike Valk. The VF-1S Strike Valk was later released  ONLY by Bandai. The only thing Takatoku released as a combo pack was the Super VF-1S and the GBP VF-1S.

I remember wanting a Jetfire so bad and not getting one. so my mom (who was in the navy and had friends stationed in Japan) had them try and find one. Instead of a Jetfire I got a takatoku VF-1S strike valk.  At the time I was really pissed off, because I wanted a Jetfire, so it sat and collected dust for a while. Then a little later I discovered Robotech and was all of a sudden my strike valk got tons of playtime. I did eventually get a jetfire as well, and poor Jetfire was always getting killed by Starscream and Skywarp. But it was OK because Roy was always avenging him. When that wasn't the case, Roy just shot Jetfire down himself because Jetfire was an evil red Russian robot.

389024[/snapback]

389034[/snapback]

Oh yeah, and as to your question, I think I was 6 or 7 at the time.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

haha

That is for real? That should be the macrossworld front page image.

[kentgh]

^

image of jetfire in box swiped from ebay

brings back memories of me as a child wishing he owned one.

385976[/snapback]

where can I find one of those cases?!?!?!?!?!?

I have only one minty jf in a uncreased boxflap box and want to make sure that the flap stays uncreased. Anybody know where I can get one of these clear shells?

387150[/snapback]

The casing is actually provided by AFA, a toy grading company, which grade the condition of your toys and seal it up in their casing with a serial number & rating attached. Kind of an 'offical' certification of your toy which can boost the value of the toy.

For a Yamato 1/48 VF-1A (value <USD200), it gonna cost USD55 to grade them excl. shipping. Add USD40 for a UV upgrade for the casing to prevent the yellowing of the toy. Thats gonna cost nearly 50% of the value of the toy!

http://www.toygrader.com/index.cfm

Found one Jetfire at ebay graded 85 (out of 100) going for USD1225

http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-G1-1985-A...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited April 10, 2006 by kentgh