Bandai Macross Frontier toys thread

[Golden Arms]

I'm with Graham on this one. As much as I like the Soc and the Soc Spec series, Bandai is yet to show that they could handle anything as complex as the Vf-25. When Bandai was reissuing the crappy 1/55's, Yamato was looking ahead and came out with the 1/60 series. The rest is history. Heck, Bandai couldn't even get that right because they never even reissued any of the more sought after 1/55's that the fans really wanted. Yamato has gotten better with each sucessive release, and They have already demonstrated the ability to really bring Kawamori's designs to full life. Besides, it seems from what we've seen of the Vf-25 transformation Yamato has already figured most of it out with what they've done with the Sv-51,vf-0s and Yf-19. Knowing Bandai, they would probably take the easy route and make something in a tiny scale anyway.

Edited December 4, 2007 by Golden Arms

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Knowing Bandai, they would probably take the easy route and make something in a tiny scale anyway.

They didn't do that withthe DX Aquarions though(yea I know of the other lines Bandai makes, but thats the most recent one I can think of with regards to cooperation b/w Bandai and Kawamori).

[Graham]

Technically, Bandai has the ability to build fantastic Macross toys or model kits.

Historically, they have never shown the willingness or desire to do so.

Graham

[kensei]

Technically, Bandai has the ability to build fantastic Macross toys or model kits.

Historically, they have never shown the willingness or desire to do so.

Graham

That's right. All this shoulda woulda coulda, Bandai has the best technology.... means nothing. It's just them being a blowhard.

Yamato has shown the goods. The VF-0 fiasco gave me a bit of a concern, but now it looks like they are improving with the SV-51.

My faith in them might be stronger after the YF-21 is released.

[OmegaD3k]

In my opnion..

Yamato is by far the better choice. Amazing looking, big valks with various accessories and paint jobs. As for Quality Issues go.. I rather have a product which is slightly faulty, but looks fantastic as the original designer had planned and crafted, rather than something which is sturdy but looks like a generic, quickly designed toy (Bandai) with little to no quality or care in the craftsmanship and design.

If Yamato ended up releasing Macross F figures, I'd get as many as I can, as I did with their previous releases.

If Bandai releases Macross F figures, no thanks. I'll pass.

Never had any QC issues with my Yamato valks, which I couldn't patch up myself with a quick and simple solution.

[Black Valkyrie]

I have no faith in Bandai for Macross.

Graham

...

[Chowser]

whoever releases it, how about getting a license to distribute in the US? I guess that'll only happen if they release the show in the US as well.

[TheLoneWolf]

I've been out of it for way too long...Is the Macross Frontier license up for grabs right now?

From my understanding, as the primary financial backer for Macross Frontier, Bandai is automatically given first dibs on the Frontier toy license. Whether they've decided to go for it or take a pass is still unknown.

When Macross Zero was released, was the toy license for that OVA this contentious as well?

I'm not sure how involved (if at all) Bandai was with Zero's production. But from past experience its clear Bandai doesn't bother to make toys for Macross OVA's (II, Plus, Dynamite, Zero), just Macross tv shows (SDF, 7).

[elintseeker]

bandai for sure!

old chunky monkey style is cooler! simple and won't easily encounter loose joint...

but yamato best with details

hem...

[emerson]

From my understanding, as the primary financial backer for Macross Frontier, Bandai is automatically given first dibs on the Frontier toy license. Whether they've decided to go for it or take a pass is still unknown.

I'm not sure how involved (if at all) Bandai was with Zero's production. But from past experience its clear Bandai doesn't bother to make toys for Macross OVA's (II, Plus, Dynamite, Zero), just Macross tv shows (SDF, 7).

Ahh, I hadn't realized Bandai was backing Macross Frontier. Question answered. Thanks!

[big F]

More chance of a Western world release with Bandai involved.

[Sumdumgai]

For character figures, I'd wish for Megahouse to produce them. I love their figures: great quality, great QC.

I'm with Graham in not having faith with Bandai in Macross. Though I wouldn't be against being surprised at being proved wrong.

[CF18]

In my opnion..

Yamato is by far the better choice. Amazing looking, big valks with various accessories and paint jobs. As for Quality Issues go.. I rather have a product which is slightly faulty, but looks fantastic as the original designer had planned and crafted, rather than something which is sturdy but looks like a generic, quickly designed toy (Bandai) with little to no quality or care in the craftsmanship and design.

If you only use 12 years old samples. Today Bandai's high end lines has very high quality and craftsmanship, such as the SOC and Soul-spec line, with the recent Soul-spec Dragonar 1 OP version as the best example. In the mid-range the HCP-Pro lines from the hobby department are also very well done for the price. The Gundam Fix and MIA lines however had many quality issues, largely due to the soft material they use. The MIA line is near death, and the Fix line may follow soon.

I don't know about Yamato. Nice looking and my 1:48 VF-1S is great, but my YF-19 /w fast pack is a step down as far as build quality and design go.

[do not disturb]

In my opnion..

Yamato is by far the better choice. Amazing looking, big valks with various accessories and paint jobs. As for Quality Issues go.. I rather have a product which is slightly faulty, but looks fantastic as the original designer had planned and crafted, rather than something which is sturdy but looks like a generic, quickly designed toy (Bandai) with little to no quality or care in the craftsmanship and design.

If Yamato ended up releasing Macross F figures, I'd get as many as I can, as I did with their previous releases.

If Bandai releases Macross F figures, no thanks. I'll pass.

Never had any QC issues with my Yamato valks, which I couldn't patch up myself with a quick and simple solution.

i would agree with everything you said other than you're leaving out the most important issue...the price.

if i pay $200 for a toy, i expect it to be near flawless and it should endure hundreds of hours of testing before it makes it to the factory for production but thats not the case with yamato recent releases. now if these toys cost me a $100, then half this stuff would even be an issue. honestly i could careless about making some simple mods/fixes or even a loose joint or 2.

to me its all about pricing.

if you're gonna charge out the ass for something, do it right the first time, not do it right later after you've taken everyones money.

[EXO]

I'd like to see Bandai try ... only if they do it in scale with the Yamato toys... or even bigger. They have to have some inkling by now how much people buy expensive Macross toys... Even at a low run it's still a good profit. Hopefully if they get on the ball, we can see a lot more Macross in the Hobby magazines instead of Gundams after Gundams...

[cool8or]

Should be possible that Hasegawa also produce Macross F model kits??

Assuming that Bandai will does it...

[eugimon]

I don't think anyone who's voting for yamato is saying bandai CAN'T do it... just that they haven't and probably won't bring their A game to the table... why? because of 20 years of "meh".

[Ignacio Ocamica]

why? because of 20 years of "meh".

Exactly!

[Sumdumgai]

You summed it up perfectly eugimon.

[eriku]

20 years of "meh" in general, or just for Bandai's Macross toys? I'm a bit surprised to see all this loathing of Bandai considering they haven't made any Macross items for 10 years. 10 years ago Bandai was just getting started with the SOC line, and few toys compare with those. Seems like a lot of unwarranted pessimism, or an over-willingness to take sides and pick a favorite. It doesn't seem fair to judge Bandai based on stuff they made that long ago. By those parameters we should only judge Yamato by what they were making 10 years ago.

As I said before, I think both companies are more than capable of making great toys for this series. If people are afraid Bandai just 'wont care' about Macross enough to do the toys justice, well, maybe Bandai have been paying attention and will want to be competitive with what Yamato makes. Maybe they'll make some valks that equal Yamato's engineering but are made with better plastic and higher QC. Anything's possible.

[CF18]

20 years of "meh" in general, or just for Bandai's Macross toys? I'm a bit surprised to see all this loathing of Bandai considering they haven't made any Macross items for 10 years. 10 years ago Bandai was just getting started with the SOC line, and few toys compare with those. Seems like a lot of unwarranted pessimism, or an over-willingness to take sides and pick a favorite. It doesn't seem fair to judge Bandai based on stuff they made that long ago. By those parameters we should only judge Yamato by what they were making 10 years ago.

Yeah the mean reason Macross 7 toys were made that way was because 10 years ago toys maker were still releasing them for kids. Today there are lots of toys that primary cater to adults, for example SOC and Saint Seiya Myth Cloth series.

At the end it may depends on which time slot Macross F will air - early morning = kid stuff, afterrnoon prime time = mainstream, mid-night = adult oriented.

[eugimon]

20 years of "meh" in general, or just for Bandai's Macross toys? I'm a bit surprised to see all this loathing of Bandai considering they haven't made any Macross items for 10 years. 10 years ago Bandai was just getting started with the SOC line, and few toys compare with those. Seems like a lot of unwarranted pessimism, or an over-willingness to take sides and pick a favorite. It doesn't seem fair to judge Bandai based on stuff they made that long ago. By those parameters we should only judge Yamato by what they were making 10 years ago.

As I said before, I think both companies are more than capable of making great toys for this series. If people are afraid Bandai just 'wont care' about Macross enough to do the toys justice, well, maybe Bandai have been paying attention and will want to be competitive with what Yamato makes. Maybe they'll make some valks that equal Yamato's engineering but are made with better plastic and higher QC. Anything's possible.

It's pretty clear from my post that I mean "meh" in terms of bandai's regard for the Macross. I have never denied that Bandai makes some good toys, just none of them are macross. I don't really count the chunky monkeys as Bandai though.

You can say all you want about how great bandai is and whatever, the fact is, bandai treated the macross franchise like an unwanted child. At best, macross got the barest of attention and never their best and at worst, they just ignored it. Fact is, as much as yamato may have problems with engineering and QC, they took a franchise that relatively few people cared about and gave it some love.

So, on the one hand, we have a company who CAN do great things but haven't and on the other hand, a company who may not have the sheer ability but have shown determination and a willingness to grow and try new things.

Frankly, I'd rather reward the company that took a chance on diminishing franchise and elevated the market rather than reward some big company who have shown, time and time and time again that all they care about are the big cash cows. Hell, forget about Gundam, even POWER RANGERS gets more attention from bandai than Macross EVER did.

[Sumdumgai]

Well using the Saint Cloth Myth toys as an example is less applicable here in terms of Bandai going "meh" at Macross, as opposed to actual capability of producing quality toys. Saint Seiya was a no brainer for them, considering its popularity the world over, and how big it was in Japan. Considering it influenced an entire generation which can be seen and felt to this day, and that they've continued animating the series... It's a cash cow that begs to be milked. Especially toy-wise now with that generation that grew up with it being adult collectors now.

Gundam is another big cash cow, that touches many generations.

Compared to Saint Seiya or Gundam, Macross falls a bit far behind in terms of fame, influence, and momentum.

True Bandai could make some money off of Macross Frontier from die-hard fans. But it's not as sure of a series to make money as Gundam or Saint Seiya.

When Bandai puts effort into it, they can make good stuff. I won't argue that.

It's actually putting the effort in that I doubt them for.

[EXO]

The people saying bandai can make good toys aren't saying Yamato can't... it just depends on who has the license and what they decide to do with it.

[Wicked Ace]

The people saying bandai can make good toys aren't saying Yamato can't.

Actually, some have, in many different threads.

[UN Spacy]

If Simon can forgive Rossiu for putting him in jail and sentencing him to execution.

Then I can forgive Bandai for giving Macross the cold shoulder for the last ten years.

[badboy00z]

Well think of it this way. If Bandai gives us a kickass big scale VF-25, you'd have to forgive them. Lol.

[Fort Max]

If Simon can forgive Rossiu for putting him in jail and sentencing him to execution.

Then I can forgive Bandai for giving Macross the cold shoulder for the last ten years.

Not being an arse but is it a good idea to post a spoiler for what's going to be a hugely popular show in a completely unrelated thread?

And on topic, I think that sooner or later Bandai will give Macross it's due. Their Real Robot Revolution model line is the perfect place for a Valk model that would simulataneously embarass both Yamato and Hasegawa.

Plus, in a recent HCM-pro survey thing, they cited Macross as a posisble future line.

[CF18]

Do we really know it is only Bandai to blame for their lack of new products? May be Big-West wanted too much money, but more likely it is our good old problem of the world-wide Macross license. From what I heard you can't even get Revoltech VF-1 from the "official distro" in Hong Kong - every toy stroes imports from secondary channels in Japan.

Bandai made some very nice Star Trek kits (example), but there were licensing screw up issues and they can't be sold in USA. I am sure Bandai lost tons of bucks over those kits for not being able to sell them in the main market for trek. Compare to Gundam, Macross is likely a bigger name outside Japan. Bandai would surely like to exploit that but not without resolving this stupid license issue first.

Edited December 5, 2007 by CF18

[eriku]

I think perhaps the biggest case for wanting Yamato to produce these toys is for the sake of consistency. Macross F toys made by Yamato would most likely 'fit in' with all of the other Yamato valks, wheras ones made by Bandai, no matter how good or bad, would most likely stick out as being from an obviously different maker.

On those standards I can understand wanting only Yamato to make these. Inconsistency wouldn't make much of a difference to my personal collection because my collection is a hodge-podge anyway (Chunky Monkey, Joke Machine, 1/100 Toynami, 1/48 Yammie, Bandai VF-17,etc), but folks who have a lot of, or only Yamato birds in their hanger would understandably want consistency.

Edited December 5, 2007 by eriku

[big F]

Should be possible that Hasegawa also produce Macross F model kits??

Assuming that Bandai will does it...

I hope so , cant let all the toys get the glory.

[Graham]

I want consistency with Yamato 1/60 VF-25 & VF-171 toys.

Graham

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I wonder how much longer until we know for sure who exactly will be making the Macross F toys.

[badboy00z]

Well I'm pretty sure we won't get any toys until after the series have been aired for sometime. I would love to be proved wrong by whoever is going to make them though. Lol.

[emerson]

I want consistency with Yamato 1/60 VF-25 & VF-171 toys.

Graham

Same here. I'd prefer to continue letting Yamato run with the franchise for the sake of consistency.