My 1st 1/60 VF-1 ever , Max 1A.

[GutsAndCasca]

I now fully appreciate the awesomeness of the 1/48 line. They are truly incredible.

Yamato released the VF0 line in 1/60 scale. Now they're going to release Mac Plus in 1/60 scale. I decided I might as well get some good old fashioned 1/60 scale VF1(A,J,S)'s to go with what will eventually amount to a big collection. A few weeks ago I ordered a Max 1A from Hong Kong, and he arrived in the mail today.

First off, I was shocked that the legs are made out of metal. (Why?) It freaked me out. And the transformation process really sucks. Max is now standing in battroid mode and I have no intention of switching to any other mode anytime soon because it's a pain. I'm debating about whether or not to ink-panel line this guy before I sticker him. Anyway, here's where I'm going to get flayed by everybody... I put his fighter mode next to my 1/100 toynami fighter mode toy and, well. I think the toynami looks better. Yeah, if you stare really hard and look at all the details lacking on the toynami ('cuz of scale) then the yamato is superior in that sense, but I am sorta' disappointed. I haven't tried gerwalk mode yet because as soon as I was done looking at fighter mode the intrigue of the 'removeable legs' gripped me too tightly and I had to figure it out. Which was a pain - BUT it will be easier next time I'll admit. You can't put the gunpod on the fighter plane either. (the gunpod is weird and chubby, IMHO)

One more thing I have to add to my rant before I change course - why didn't it come with a pilot? I've seen other picturse of 1/60's with pilots and mine didn't come with one. ??? If they don't come with'em... then where can I get one? Or two? Or three or four? No pilot? C'mon!

Okay don't get the wrong idea. I still wet my proverbial panties at just about anything macross so I DO deep down love this thing. And battroid mode looks absolutely awesome. So yes yes yes, I do like this toy. I just sort of expected more out of something from Yamato. I ruined myself by purchasing so many 1/48's before jumping on the 1/60 bandwagon. Also, putting this guy up next to my VF0S makes me appreciate why Yamato decided to not make the Macross Zero line in 1/48 scale. The 0S is freaking gigantic! Holy crap.

My closing words will be... whining about where to get good stick-on stickers for my soon-to-be growing 1/60 collection. I've tried to contact takatoys but to no avail. Devin makes great water slides but I don't feel like future-finishing my 1/60 line just for stickers and a panel-line job. And once again, if there ARE pilots made for these guys, can someone fill me in?

Peaze out y'all!

---Brian

[kensei]

This is what often happens when you downgrade. Actally, I think you saved yourself some money. This way you won't buy as many 1/60s.

Edited September 15, 2006 by kensei

[jenius]

Go to my website's VF-1 section for Yamato branded toys by clicking here and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You'll see a write-up on the 1/60 elintseeker and then, if you click "previous entries" at the bottom of the page you can see write-ups on all of Yamato's other 1/60 products. Read them and you'll get a feel for the differences like which ones come with pilots, which ones have cooler guns, which ones have cooler arms, etc. My review on the 1/60 VF-1D is going to be my next post this weekend... that's why you won't see it there yet. For the record, the Max one you just got would be under the write-up for "original releases."

Edited September 15, 2006 by jenius

[cube]

i hated my first 1/60...horrible transformation, froppy as hell, no fun at all. eventually the scult grew on me, and I picked up another 13

[GutsAndCasca]

I shall be checking this out, thanks Jenius. And yeah Kensei, I guess you're right... although I will still be dropping at least several hundred dollars on these things.

EDIT: I hear ya' Cube! This thing's already growing on me and I've only had it for less than a day!

Edited September 15, 2006 by GutsAndCasca

[kensei]

I now fully appreciate the awesomeness of the 1/48 line. They are truly incredible.

All you had to do was buy a Toynami.

[jenius]

Actually, I think the only post you'd HAVE to read is this one:

1/60 write up

Edited September 15, 2006 by jenius

[GutsAndCasca]

I actually already read almost all of them. I see you have the same complaints as I have. Just exactly when WERE these things released brand-new?

EdiT: I just realized after reading your review that I will probably never find a strike roy.

Edited September 15, 2006 by GutsAndCasca

[jenius]

Pretty sure it was the end of 2001 that Yamato began releasing the 1/60 VF-1 toy. I'm sure someone else has a better answer for you though. This link is kind of neat from MW's own toy section:

1/60 prototypes

[treatment]

I actually already read almost all of them. I see you have the same complaints as I have. Just exactly when WERE these things released brand-new?

EdiT: I just realized after reading your review that I will probably never find a strike roy.

Hikaru-1A was 2001

Focker-1S was 2001

Max-1A was 2002

source: http://macross.anime.net/production/models.../vf1/index.html

[buddhafabio]

My first 1/60 i flipped out when i go to transform it and the legs pop off. i thought it was broke because my first transforming valk was a chunky monkey. then i sent a quiring email to a fellow macross member (the one i bought it off of) and found out it was supposed to do that.. now the damn thing is really broke because it was in battaroid mode and the case it was on was bumped and it fell breaking one of the die cast tabs???? and a shoulder so i epoxied it into fighter mode and it stays that way and transplanted the heatd to a max vf-1a body

[cube]

yea, there's something i like about em...the weight, the sculpt in fighter mode...maybe it's just the size I like

as for pilots, most of them come with them...for the ones that don't, i just stole the extra pilots out of my battroid ones and swapped em into the empty fighter mode ones.

[Chowser]

the only reason for me to keep a 1/60 VF-1 is to sit it next to the VF0 and YF19 and QRau because they are all in scale with one another. I plan on having a 1/60 VF-1, 1/60 VF-0, 1/60 YF19, and 1/60 Q-Rau lined up next to each other just to look at the scales of how they compare. Now I just have to wait for a 1/60 VF-11.

[Godzilla]

The first 1/60 was however released in 2000 with the TRU release of the DYRL CF.

[jenius]

The first 1/60 was however released in 2000 with the TRU release of the DYRL CF

You sure? I thought the Hik 1A released in 2001 was the first and the TRU was the 4th after the Max 1A. This website's toy section seems to back that conclusion as well (although I admittedly gave it quite the cursory parousal).

[Scream Man]

yeah i thought the cf was way down the line.

i have 1 1/60 left after sellingt hem all, and that was the 1d. it hasnt been transformed in years. I hust leave it in fighter on display.

hence my desire for some redone 1/60 vf-1s!

[treatment]

You sure? I thought the Hik 1A released in 2001 was the first and the TRU was the 4th after the Max 1A. This website's toy section seems to back that conclusion as well (although I admittedly gave it quite the cursory parousal).

iirc, the TRU-version came out separately alongside the Hikaru-1A. Possibly even earlier than the Hik-1A since it was an exclusive.

[jenius]

iirc, the TRU-version came out separately alongside the Hikaru-1A. Possibly even earlier than the Hik-1A since it was an exclusive.

Did a quick check at macrossnexus and, from their listing order, what you say could definitely be true.

[GutsAndCasca]

I got a Hikaru 1A in the mail today, and you're not gonna' believe this.. the paint doesn't match Max. Max is sort greyish (like the 1/48's) and Hikaru is bleach-white. What the heck happened here??? As for toys released in 2000 and up, I'm puzzled as to why Yamato didn't find a way to make the valks transformable without having to take off the legs. Oh, I tried gerwalk mode and it looks ridiculous no matter how you work it.

[mister_e]

I got a Hikaru 1A in the mail today, and you're not gonna' believe this.. the paint doesn't match Max. Max is sort greyish (like the 1/48's) and Hikaru is bleach-white. What the heck happened here???

The Hikaru 1A was the first 1/60 released and it was bone white. After that, all subsequent 1/60's used a duller, almost-gray color. I suspect the reason for the change in color was due to how easily the Hikaru gets all dirtied up. Seriously, I have one that I only handled twice and it looks like I let a 3 year old handle while eating chocolate cake. I exaggerate, but it does have some nasty smudges

[treatment]

I got a Hikaru 1A in the mail today, and you're not gonna' believe this.. the paint doesn't match Max. Max is sort greyish (like the 1/48's) and Hikaru is bleach-white. What the heck happened here??? As for toys released in 2000 and up, I'm puzzled as to why Yamato didn't find a way to make the valks transformable without having to take off the legs. Oh, I tried gerwalk mode and it looks ridiculous no matter how you work it.

I think you're just being ridiculous about the ridiculousness and stuff of the VF-1 1/60.

fwiw, you could've saved yourself the money and whining by just reading the 1/60 pictures-reviews that were written back when the 1/60s were first coming out at both here at MW and at MacrossNexus.

Oh, yeah. Yammie did found a way to transform their valks without having to take off the legs. It's called the Yamato 1/48 Valkyries.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Guts the 1/60 isn't masterpiece grade of quality to the 1/48.

I think the main reason I would get one is just to say I had a vf1 to scale with the qrau and other 1/60 stuff like the VF0.

But the vf0 although being 1/60 too, has lots of detail and in many areas improves upon the vf1 1/48 scale toy in terms of features. (for example the double jointed knees, the insides of the feet etc)

The only issue now is hopefully they can up the consistancy on the stiff joints to macross zero toys and make smaller adjustments with later reissue like they gradually do with vf1 1/48?

I hope the upcoming 19 aims for a vf-1 level of joint stiffness. So expensive..

You should have save the money on large scale (roughly 30cm size) stuff and support bigger scales imo since originally what was going to happen is yamato had planned to make the vf0 a 1/100 scale swappable parts toy. And everyone hates swapping that many parts because it defeats the purpose of a variable mecha and isn't as cool for a toy based on a mecha that keeps everything together.

I think one of the arguments for detachable parts was that somehow it would be closer to the anime or something where the legs detach from a part under the fighter after they have been attached to the sides of the nose of the plane. My response to that though is that at no point do the pieces seperate from the plane - there is always something holding it together, so it is still more preferable to have swing bar over detatchable legs. It's one of the reasons why I opted out of the 1/60 because I like perfect transformation and swing bar. Other reasons are that the larger scale just generally beats the smaller scale overall in details and stiffness in joint and stuff. You get more detailed pilot, cockpit interior, proper non-blocky hands etc (although people go on about the limp wrists and small size heh) and it just feels like the toy holds together well with parts that lock into place firmly and stuff.

1/48 vf1 just needs to have pieces included like the gbp side covers to make it feel 'complete'.

Edited September 17, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[kensei]

Hikaru is known to be bleach white compared to the other valks. After that they are a bt more grey.

[ghostryder]

Don't feel too bad about the comments. I did a whole bunch of research on the 1/48 vs 1/60 debate before buying my first yamato last year, and I STILL chose a 1/60 (Roy w/out fastpacks) based purely on overall proportions. Needless to say it was a disappointment, and I've been all 1/48s ever since.

One way to deal with Hikaru's white-ass painted legs so they don't get dirty - spray them with a nice tough satin/semigloss acrylic clearcoat like Varithane or Polycrylic. This will keep the legs from getting dirty and the clear won't yellow.

[GutsAndCasca]

I think you're just being ridiculous about the ridiculousness and stuff of the VF-1 1/60.

fwiw, you could've saved yourself the money and whining by just reading the 1/60 pictures-reviews that were written back when the 1/60s were first coming out at both here at MW and at MacrossNexus.

Oh, yeah. Yammie did found a way to transform their valks without having to take off the legs. It's called the Yamato 1/48 Valkyries.

Someone could have written down that all the 1/60's smell like poop and explode on contact with air and I'd still have bought one because like I said in my original post - I want VF1's to display next to the 1/60 VF0's, the YF19, whatever comes next, etc. I also didn't deny that despite the imperfections, I really do like these things a lot, sorta' like how my wife thinks about yours truly. Seriously, you can't go on other people's opinions. Not me anyway; if I want to buy something I'll do it, in spite of bad reviews. I've played many-a-video-game that other people hated and I ended up loving. Heck, when I bought my 1st Xbox years ago the salesman told me to avoid Halo like the plague because he thought it sucked.

Macross toys that are almost as old as I am had designers who figured out how to transform them without removing the legs. My insinuation was that any toy made after the year 2000 (and this is giving a lot of elbow room time-wise, I should have said 1990) should be perfect transformation. Seeing as how the designers at Yamato are obviously very good at what they do, I don't think they were shooting to make anything perfect trans' - and this makes the toy suck in ways that it didn't need to.

I'm not sure if I come across as incompetent and/or woefully stupid, but yes, I was aware that the 1/48's legs don't need to detach for purposes of transformation.

EdIT: I definitely will be spraying down my Hikaru with a clear coat! Ghost - are those brands you mentioned available at say, home depot?

Edited September 17, 2006 by GutsAndCasca

[justvinnie]

the non-pt of the yammie 1/60 vf-1 has to do with a lot of factors. first and foremost, this was yammies first attempt at an orignal design. the 1/72 M+ valks were more or less studio halfeye's models in toy format. the vf-1 was designed from the ground up. it lacks the sophistication found in each suceeding generation of toys. secondly was the fan fetish with diecast. the 1/60 literally can be used as a dart to kill someone. its got the highest diecast content of any vf-1 toy out there which shows in its heft for its size. the die cast content posed a problem in terms of balace and transformation. yammie decided in favor of more diecast than trying to get pt, imo. note how newer valkyries no longer feature diecast except in mission critcal areas for reinforcement. this made balance and pt a lot easier. quite frankly i thought the die cast fetish was silly. colors never match and paint always scraped. thirdly, fans were anti swingbars. it ruins the sleek jet aesthetics of the vf-1. toynami was severely critcized for their use of the swingbar. while yammie innovated, toynami merely copied existing designs (mostly from the HCM). yammies vf-1 was way more aggressive and sleek looking than the toynami, due to better sculpt and no swing bars. imagine a big honkin' swing bar on the 1/60 and imagine how it would ruin the aesthetics.

vinnie

[jenius]

I put up the review for the 1D. I also added the scale subcategory to my site to make searching for this kind of thing easier in the future. To see all of the Yammy 1/60 VF-1 products on one page, go here.

[GutsAndCasca]

the non-pt of the yammie 1/60 vf-1 has to do with a lot of factors. first and foremost, this was yammies first attempt at an orignal design. the 1/72 M+ valks were more or less studio halfeye's models in toy format. the vf-1 was designed from the ground up. it lacks the sophistication found in each suceeding generation of toys. secondly was the fan fetish with diecast. the 1/60 literally can be used as a dart to kill someone. its got the highest diecast content of any vf-1 toy out there which shows in its heft for its size. the die cast content posed a problem in terms of balace and transformation. yammie decided in favor of more diecast than trying to get pt, imo. note how newer valkyries no longer feature diecast except in mission critcal areas for reinforcement. this made balance and pt a lot easier. quite frankly i thought the die cast fetish was silly. colors never match and paint always scraped. thirdly, fans were anti swingbars. it ruins the sleek jet aesthetics of the vf-1. toynami was severely critcized for their use of the swingbar. while yammie innovated, toynami merely copied existing designs (mostly from the HCM). yammies vf-1 was way more aggressive and sleek looking than the toynami, due to better sculpt and no swing bars. imagine a big honkin' swing bar on the 1/60 and imagine how it would ruin the aesthetics.

vinnie

I agree swing bars always look like crap. (Except the new 1/100's manage to pull it off really well) The detachable legs without a doubt help to make the valks look great in fighter and battroid modes. Just like I said before - I don't think it was Yamato's intention from the beginning to make a perfect transformation 1/60. They probably figured detachable legs were the way to go in terms of looks, and they were correct on that. The result is a beautiful looking valk. (minus the VF1S head from the photos I've seen - and gerwalk mode) There's just some issues with the toy here and there that I can't help but wonder "what the heck were they thinking?"

Note: I still really like these things. I shall not change my opinion. As soon as I possibly can I plan on buyin' a bunch of these guys from you, Vinnie!

[do not disturb]

1/60's rules!

in regards to the shading of the 1/60s, all the standard valks are a slightly different shade of gray. i'm not sure why they did this but it pissed off a lot of people because you couldn't repair a valk unless it was the exact same valk and you had to be careful so you don't get the accessories mixed up. i believe thats why they made all the 1/48 scale valks in the same shade. though some have argued its different, i've serviced quite a few valks over the years and no one has ever said the shade was off. as far as i can see(i'm not color blind), they are all the same shade of white.

[GutsAndCasca]

You are WRONG haterist! Wrong, wrong, wrong! (jk) Yeah, as far as I can tell they 1/48's are all the same shade.

[ZorClone]

man, it's been forever since I visited this forum, but even longer since I actually picked up and looked at my one and only 1/60 (the original VF-1S Roy). I realized when I picked it up why I really don't care for it much anymore when the missile pods immediately fell to the floor and the right leg tried to pop off silly Yamato.

I keep it on a shelf in fighter mode with some other "less impressive" nicknacks, while my 1/48s are in more prominent areas.

[Fly4victory]

A good reason to have 1/60, not the new releases in that scale, but that is where you find VF-1D, Elint, and Super Ostrich.

When the VE-1 is made in 1/48 then that will be a mighty Valk.

[GutsAndCasca]

A good reason to have 1/60, not the new releases in that scale, but that is where you find VF-1D, Elint, and Super Ostrich.

When the VE-1 is made in 1/48 then that will be a mighty Valk.

And a mighty-big valk as well.