Takatoku VF1's

[Taiphun]

Hi all,

I have 2 original Takatoku VF1's - an S (Roy) and a J (Max)

I originally got them for over $300US, now I can barely get more than $100 for them (each).

Did the Bandai reissues cause them to drop in value by that much?

Just wondering if I'm better holding onto them for a few more years or just offload them while I have someone interested in them...

I'm thinking it's the same for the ClubM Ultimate Valkyrie with the recasts available for dirt cheap..

Thanks.

[jenius]

Kinda, you can still get $200 for an absolutely pristine Max Takatoku. I think I even saw them hit $250 still occasionally. Sometimes they go for less. If it ain't absolutely pristine you're looking at a $100 worst-case scenario and somewhere around $150 best case (if it has its box and gun and what not). No box, no gun, no inserts, damage, yellowing.... who knows....

Don't just blame Bandai though, it was also the market flooding from the likes of Toynami and Yamato they really helped crush the secondary market values.

[big F]

Just do what I have done with mine Stash it in a sealed container and put it in storage for the future.

[GobotFool]

not to rub it in, but I am so glad I bought the reissues for my VF-1 1/55 reps in my collection instead of shelling out big time for a classic. On the otherhand, the Super O, Elint, and Strike still demand a decent price don't they?

[JEXPRIME]

I dumped my entire 1/55 collection once Yamato cam out with their stuff. I think Macross fans we wanted valks and with the short supply you had to pay big money.Now with Toynami and yamato Putting out more accurate,adavnce toys...why pay more?

[do not disturb]

On the otherhand, the Super O, Elint, and Strike still demand a decent price don't they?

they(super o and elint) still cost a pretty penny but not as much as they used to...i think its like half of what it use to be?

i'd imagine the price will drop even lower if/when yamato makes them in 1/48 scale, probably as low as what a strike sells for right now.

[big F]

they(super o and elint) still cost a pretty penny but not as much as they used to...i think its like half of what it use to be?

i'd imagine the price will drop even lower if/when yamato makes them in 1/48 scale, probably as low as what a strike sells for right now.

With that in mind its a shame the Captain had all that grief when he made the VF-1D conversion kit. Otherwise he may have well gone onto a Super O or Elint kit by now then the Yamato VF-1 line would be complete. But there is still a demand for them in 1/55 as nobody has made anything like it save a few model kits and Gashapons.

That I suppose is why the re-casters do so well.

Edited November 25, 2006 by big F

[Roy Focker]

They're toys it should never be about how much they are worth in cash.

[jenius]

I never knew Captain got grief for his conversion kit, that's too bad! Well, maybe it gives me hope we will see an official 1/48 VF-1D. You know, I think the Elint and Ostrich 1/55s will always be worth something more unless Bandai actually reissues them. Yamato's 1/60 version didn't seem to hurt their resale (they were going for $500-$600 both before and after the 1/60) and I don't think the 1/48 would either since they're such unusual ducks. The other valks, like the Strike or the Takas are so standardized that they compete with themselves (as simple paint variations) as well as other makes and models. The Elint & Ostrich have fallen from $1000 each to $500 each but they seem pretty stuck there just because they themselves are so rare. Even if we had Yamato 1/48 Elintseekers people might still see a Bandai version and say "Wow, that's really hard to come by!" Now, if Bandai reissues? Yeah, the ol' Elints and Ostrich values will collapse quick. That's just my take, time may prove me wrong.

They're toys it should never be about how much they are worth in cash.

I totally agree... except when I either need to buy or sell toys, then I find idealism doesn't help that much. There's no harm in observing a market place.

Edited November 25, 2006 by jenius

[Nightbat]

rarity + nostalgia - ridiculous starting prices =

1/55's are finally being appreciated at their real value instead of sellers jacking up prices...

[emerson]

When I was about 8, my father came back from a business trip to Japan with a Taka VF-1J Hikaru for my little brother and a Bandai Strike Valk for me. We used to have wars between our valks, Taiwanese KO Lionbot and Omega Supreme TF.

No amount of advanced engineering can replace those memories. The chunky monkeys have soul.

And besides, you can't beat the box art on the old school valks!

Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't purchased each and every one of Yamato's Macross releases. But if there ever came a day when I had to liquidate my collection, the vintage 1/55s would be the last to leave. No question.

[GobotFool]

I'm a big fan of the 1/55. Sure it's not as accurate as the 1/48, but as just a straight toy it's really nice. Shiny ABS plastic, polished diecast for the non pained metal parts, and if you got a reissue, tampo printed up the wazoo. As a toy, I'd have to say it stands up well next to most other non-colector targeted robot toys, and is just alot of fun as a piece of hand candy.

[big F]

As a toy, I'd have to say it stands up well next to most other non-colector targeted robot toys, and is just alot of fun as a piece of hand candy.

There you have it thats what we have been trying to get across to some of the 1/48 fanboys.

You cant really compare them a 1/55 is a toy and a 1/48 is a collectable toy.

One is for 9 year olds and one is for 29 year olds.

[SuperDimensionalDave]

Here's a fun thought. Waaay back in the 80's Takas were as cheap as $30. Not saying I personally remember but there are ads on this site from that era to prove it. At the peak of their secondary market value they reached as high as $700 for certain ones. Bandai DYRLs were similarly priced and Ostrich's and Elints were valued over $1,000 at one point. Price for admission on a 1/48 is already over $100 today. Imagine 15 years from now... Will they be running on EBayX for $2,500? As Nick from Falling Down would say "Think about it..."

[jenius]

Only if Yamato goes bankrupt....

[Excillon]

I'm on the 1/55 side as well. I have a few 1/48's, 1/60's, and the 1/72's, but they're nothing compared to my armada of 1/55's, Only difference is that I only have one Brownie, so I use all my cheap banged up Jetfires as fodder. Besides, articulation wise they were top notch compared to TF's and all other transformable toys at the time.

[Radd]

Yeah, as has been pointed out, if you collect for money you need to keep an eye on the market. The old Takatoku toys were so valuable because no one had made a decent VF-1 toy in ages. With the Bandai reissues, and the Yamato 1/60's hitting the market, the value of the old toys which had been shuffled around at insane prices between a few well off collectors, were suddenly worth a lot less money to the market. I remember in the late 90's seeing old Bandai and Takatoku VF-1s going for four digits, and even Hasbro Jetfire/Skyfire toys were fetching prices in the hundreds.

The Elint and Super-O still get a higher price because those toys were not reissued. However, their values were still affected by the Yamato versions of those toys.

Currently the market is saturated with VF-1 toys, and ias such the prices on those old toys have dropped significantly.

[Totoro242]

Hi all,

I have 2 original Takatoku VF1's - an S (Roy) and a J (Max)

I originally got them for over $300US, now I can barely get more than $100 for them (each).

Did the Bandai reissues cause them to drop in value by that much?

Just wondering if I'm better holding onto them for a few more years or just offload them while I have someone interested in them...

I'm thinking it's the same for the ClubM Ultimate Valkyrie with the recasts available for dirt cheap..

Thanks.

Personally, I always felt those prices were way over-inflated. Now I think they are going for what they are worth

Thats why I didnt buy mine until recently.

[do not disturb]

Here's a fun thought. Waaay back in the 80's Takas were as cheap as $30. Not saying I personally remember but there are ads on this site from that era to prove it. At the peak of their secondary market value they reached as high as $700 for certain ones. Bandai DYRLs were similarly priced and Ostrich's and Elints were valued over $1,000 at one point. Price for admission on a 1/48 is already over $100 today. Imagine 15 years from now... Will they be running on EBayX for $2,500? As Nick from Falling Down would say "Think about it..."

i would agree but the thing a lot of people forget is, the only people that would be interested in these toys 15 years from now is dudes as old as us. some kid thats 10 years old now isn't going to find his way to this hobby 15 years from now, i'm sure some might but the majority won't. we as well as macross will be forgotten by the masses.

the other thing people tend to forget is, the majority of the people who are collect this stuff keep the boxes, keep the paper work, basically keep everything mint. its not like it was back in the days when everyone just threw everything out.

i.e. just think about comic book market, i remember all the kids in my school that collected comics, they all had them in sealed bags with cardboard backings, buying only 1st editions and mutliples at that, knowing(atleast thinking) they would be worth something 20 years down the road. sadly, thats not the case. so many kids kept their comics mint throughout their middle/high school years, none of that stuff is considered rare anymore. not only that, but who's collecting the comics that came out when we were in HS? other dudes about/around the same age and they probably own all the ones you thought were going to be worth something.

toy collecting is absurd....limited, chase, varient, exclusive, packaging, its all total BS to suck people into buying more stuff that won't hold any value. if every kid on the block buys a valk and keeps it pristine, whats it really going to be worth 20 years from now? all the dudes collecting SW stuff think that MF is going to be worth $$$$ like the old one but when 500,000 fans bought 3 of them each, why/how would it ever be worth something down the road?

[jenius]

Yes, I totally agree. Everyone should sell their toys now at a loss to me to save yourself from the hassle of selling them at a loss later to people not as cool as me.

Edit- redundant "later"

Edited December 2, 2006 by jenius

[big F]

Yes, I totally agree. Everyone should sell their toys now at a loss to me to save yourself from the hassle of selling them at a loss later to people not as cool as me later.

LOL

not too far from the edge of truth.

[Agent-GHQ]

Here's a fun thought. Waaay back in the 80's Takas were as cheap as $30. Not saying I personally remember but there are ads on this site from that era to prove it. At the peak of their secondary market value they reached as high as $700 for certain ones. Bandai DYRLs were similarly priced and Ostrich's and Elints were valued over $1,000 at one point. Price for admission on a 1/48 is already over $100 today. Imagine 15 years from now... Will they be running on EBayX for $2,500? As Nick from Falling Down would say "Think about it..."

My prediction: probably not because Macross was from the 80's and it affected fans from that time. And as you may already know, as time progress Macross fans beging to swindle -- die down gradually.

[aaajin]

....therefore now is the ripe time for us to plummet yamato so that they'll be crippled and unable to produce more macross toys....the price will go skyward!

[Macross73]

Value is based on availabilty. If there aren't too many of these in decent shape

say 15- 20 years from now, than yeah they might retain some significant value.

Meanwhile alot of 1/48 are gonna need to get busted-up

[big F]

Meanwhile alot of 1/48 are gonna need to get busted-up

Bring out the Wrecking Ball..........

[jenius]

If there's ever a fire at Lord Kung-Fu's secret underground warehouse/laboratory complex then half of the known 1/48s in existence will be destroyed.

[nightmareB4macross]

If there's ever a fire at Lord Kung-Fu's secret underground warehouse/laboratory complex then half of the known 1/48s in existence will be destroyed.

Doubt it. LK-F's warehouse is so well hidden that not even a natural disaster could find it, nor could LK-F.

Hyuk!!

[Agent-GHQ]

Speaking of LK-F, he's been silent hasn't he? Still in search of his hidden undergound warehouse!!

[kanata67]

I think it will be nice if/when bandai re-releases the seeker, ostrich, and strike. While my pile of strikes will be worth less at least I will be able to have a minty strike and ostrich. Not that I won't keep trying to find the parts I need to complete my original ostrich and seeker

consider yourself lucky Taiphun, the taka max [and milla] are about the only 1/55's I still need and your halfway there.

Edited December 12, 2006 by kanata67

[Fortress_Maximus]

I think it will be nice if/when bandai re-releases the seeker, ostrich, and strike. While my pile of strikes will be worth less at least I will be able to have a minty strike and ostrich. Not that I won't keep trying to find the parts I need to complete my original ostrich and seeker

consider yourself lucky Taiphun, the taka max [and milla] are about the only 1/55's I still need and your halfway there.

I completely agree. I wished they'd reissue the remaining CHUNKIES! Set them free I say!

[TheLoneWolf]

I completely agree. I wished they'd reissue the remaining CHUNKIES! Set them free I say!

Didn't someone say that Bandai let their Macross (or was it Macross 7) toy license expire?

[big F]

Didn't someone say that Bandai let their Macross (or was it Macross 7) toy license expire?

I think it was the M7 licence that they let drop. No matter as I want my chunkie Super O and Elint Re-release.