Robotech Masterpiece: Jack Archer

[RavenHawk]

I know there were various issue with the Robotech Masterpiece editions (all of them, from what I hear).

Does anyone have any experience with the Jack Archer one? Since it was the last of the Macross ones, were any prior issues resolved/fixed/improved?

Thanks for any advice you have to offer.

[VF5SS]

It's as shitty as the rest of them.

[RavenHawk]

It's as shitty as the rest of them.

Is that from personal experience, or from what you've heard from others?

Just curious.

Thanks for the reply, btw.

[Einherjar]

Isn't it a regular Valkyrie with only a different head design and color?

[RavenHawk]

Isn't it a regular Valkyrie with only a different head design and color?

I think so, but I guess I'm asking for two reasons:

1) I've only bought New Gen/MOSPEADA Robotech tems, not Macross, so I know about the quality of the New Gen ones, but not how bad (or good?) the Macross ones might be.

2) Yamata has a history (at least with their Megazone stuff) of improving as they go. Meaning, there were a few problems with the original Garland. They received complaints, manufactured a new swap-in part that could be used by the consumer to fix their existing ones, and then on the later Proto-Garland included improvements for those problems, and for additional items that could be improved but weren't necessary major. My Proto-Garland is MUCH better than my Factory Color Garland. I don't know if Toynami did the same thing and, by the time they did the Jack Archer, had fixed problems that were in the earlier ones (whatever those may have been). I doubt they did, based on their recent statement of not being aware of problems with the Alphas befor the Maia Stirling, but may have.

[eugimon]

I've handled all the robotech valkyries and I agree, the Jack Archer is as shitty as the rest of them, except for the first one, which the most shittiest out of the series.

[Totoro242]

I know there were various issue with the Robotech Masterpiece editions (all of them, from what I hear).

Does anyone have any experience with the Jack Archer one? Since it was the last of the Macross ones, were any prior issues resolved/fixed/improved?

Thanks for any advice you have to offer.

There werent any QC issues like bent head lasers that I know of so its better than the others for that reason. Its also mostly molded in color and has just the white paint on it so thats a plus. It was also the only release with painted chest intakes (dark grey).

[RavenHawk]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

So would you say to avoid it, or it's ok, for the right price?

[Einherjar]

Here's a review for it:

http://anymoon.com/blog/2007/01/17/toynami...terpiece-yf-1r/

I thought I saw this ranging between $60-$200 online. It's selling for $60 on ebay, but there are only 2 auctions with no bids.

[eugimon]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

So would you say to avoid it, or it's ok, for the right price?

if you like the toynami sculpt of the vf-1, go for it. Personally, I don't think it's worth the money... I'd rather get a bandai reissue for the price or pay more and get a yamato.

[Einherjar]

If they sold the battroid head by itself at a cheaper price, since that's the only difference besides the mecha color, than maybe. You could probably swap it in and out of another toy.

Edited February 7, 2009 by Einherjar

[Totoro242]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

So would you say to avoid it, or it's ok, for the right price?

I wouldn't pay more than $35.

[Fly4victory]

I own one with the "rick hunter" fast packs and it is displayed on the Yamato launch arm stand DYRL style.

There are no issues with mine. The fast packs and wing stores are not as nice a Yamato's 1/48 or the old 1/60.

It certainly doesn't pose as well as the new VFs on the market.

The color is an odd mix that reminds me of a brownish purple turd and the leg swing bar is a bright chrome.

Toynami went all out on the book case box.

Bought it because it was unique and was on sale.

If you like the old chunky style buy a Bandai release of a Macross VF... unless you must own the animation error that Harmony Gold copyrighted as if it was their idea.

[Einherjar]

If you like the old chunky style buy a Bandai release of a Macross VF... unless you must own the animation error that Harmony Gold copyrighted as if it was their idea.

I agree, that was very frugal of them to pawn off as something new.

[RavenHawk]

I own one with the "rick hunter" fast packs and it is displayed on the Yamato launch arm stand DYRL style.

There are no issues with mine. The fast packs and wing stores are not as nice a Yamato's 1/48 or the old 1/60.

It certainly doesn't pose as well as the new VFs on the market.

The color is an odd mix that reminds me of a brownish purple turd and the leg swing bar is a bright chrome.

Toynami went all out on the book case box.

Bought it because it was unique and was on sale.

If you like the old chunky style buy a Bandai release of a Macross VF... unless you must own the animation error that Harmony Gold copyrighted as if it was their idea.

LOL Thanks for the input.

[RavenHawk]

I agree, that was very frugal of them to pawn off as something new.

Yeah, I know, but thought it would be a fun one. Depite all of his Xbox 360 games and everything else, my son and I still break out the old PS2 to play Robotech: Battlecry. We have a lot of fun with that one.

Too bad Invasion was only multiplayer is you went online.

[Totoro242]

unless you must own the animation error that Harmony Gold copyrighted as if it was their idea.

The head design is only loosely based on the animation error and is actually different. Where as the error had a VF1A with two side lasers, this design is more of a cross between a VF1J and a VF1A DYRL. Whether or not you like the design, its definately unique.

Per Tommy Yune, Viscous Circle approached him with an idea for a new Veritech design for the game, but their ideas were not very true to he show (midieval helmet deigns) so he designed this one for them.

[Jasonc]

As one who used to own at least 25+ of these (don't ask why or how), they were all pretty bad, as far as aesthetics. I will say that they didn't have as many issues as the MPC Alphas, but they did have issues. Some had floppy legs, brittle plastic prone to chipping, overpaint, and a chunky look. I don't know why it was called "Masterpiece". It was basically a mal-nourished version of the Hi-Metal 1/72s, with more accessories and a pretty box. If you're interested in a Jack Archer, find the cheapest one possible, or even a broken one, and take the head and use it on one of the new 1/60 v.2s as a custom. That's what I'm working on now, at least the logistics of it.

[ron5864]

I own one of the Jack Archer "YF-1R" veritechs and it is seriously loose and floppy in figter mode. It does not have the tight fit and snap to secure fit from Bandai and Yamato. The hips are screwed to the swing bar limiting posability. It does have a unique head, so that it is one of a kind. But not worth more than $40.

[magicsp00n]

I had every MPC veritech at some point, and I'll say that the YF-1R was the best of the bunch. I acutally thought the colors worked for the toy, and the head sculpt seemed the best and most solid of the set. Of course, there's no line art to compare the head sculpt to, like there is on the others, but the lasers are thicker and it just seems sturdier. I personally don't really like non-canon valks, but if you do, then there you go.

But "best of the Toynami MPCs" isn't necessarily very good. I've sold all of mine off for a reason. They're real hard to love. For the same price as the YF-1R, you can probably pick up a 1/48 Yamato these days.

[Jasonc]

But "best of the Toynami MPCs" isn't necessarily very good. I've sold all of mine off for a reason. They're real hard to love. For the same price as the YF-1R, you can probably pick up a 1/48 Yamato these days.

Very true. Depending on what you like, 1/48 or the new 1/60 from Yamato, the slight extra money you'd pay for those is definitely worth it in buyer satisfaction. I was quite disappointed in the MPC vol.1s when they came out, and quite a few of the ones I had were basically unusable. I have tons of spare parts for these things, and lots of accessories. The quality of them is just very poor.

Saying that, I do also have to agree that the YF-1R is probably the most solid out of all of the "MPCs". The head and color are cool, it's sad that a cool non-canon veritech/valkyrie is on such a poorly made frame.

[AcroRay]

If you absolutely must have a YF-1R in your collection, I'd say just look for a Super-Posable.

I like to have at least one example of every style of Valk toy in mine, and it suited that need nicely. Plus, I kind of like it. I think the style of head and the colorway gives it a sort of no-nonsense Destroid feel.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

I have a Max one, and agree with what's said here. If you can get it cheap (I paid $30), it might be worth it. The YF-1R was okay in appearence, but as someone who actually plays the game, it was among the worse Veritechs to use. Too fast for it's own good, and papermache for armor.

[Einherjar]

While on the topic of Jack Archer, it's sad what happened to him at the end of Battlecry.

[anime52k8]

I have a Max one, and agree with what's said here. If you can get it cheap (I paid $30), it might be worth it. The YF-1R was okay in appearence, but as someone who actually plays the game, it was among the worse Veritechs to use. Too fast for it's own good, and papermache for armor.

it was fun in versus mode, (YF-1R+Fast packs agains an armored VF-1D is just hilarious.)

anyways, I think the YF-1R would have been considerably cooler if rather than giving it a purple turd version of the M&M style paint scheme, the had use the Jack archer scheme from the game.

[jenius]

While on the topic of Jack Archer, it's sad what happened to him at the end of Battlecry.

I can't remember the ending but I remember reading that he doesn't die. He gives up on life and then a ship defolds and rescues him. To affirm this line of thought the makers of the Invid Invasion game included the graffiti "Jack Archer Lives" somewhere.

EDIT - A quick thought on the MPC. It should be 1/72 scale, not 1/55, I think they developed lots of problems when they upped the scale (from 1/65 to 1/55 IIRC). At 1/72 it wouldn't be nearly the let down it is at the larger scale. Also, at 1/72 the heft of the legs might have been easier to overcome with stiffer joints so the thing might have actually had a chance of staying together on its own.

Edited February 10, 2009 by jenius

[RavenHawk]

I can't remember the ending but I remember reading that he doesn't die. He gives up on life and then a ship defolds and rescues him. To affirm this line of thought the makers of the Invid Invasion game included the graffiti "Jack Archer Lives" somewhere.

I noticed the "Jack Archer Lives" graffiti as I was replaying Invasion a week or two back. I honestly don't even remember the storyline from Battlecry. I played it and beat it once, unlocked everything, and then the real fun began playing multiplayer with my son.

[anime52k8]

I noticed the "Jack Archer Lives" graffiti as I was replaying Invasion a week or two back. I honestly don't even remember the storyline from Battlecry. I played it and beat it once, unlocked everything, and then the real fun began playing multiplayer with my son.

at the end you get sent into this destroyed city with a crashed zentradi ship in the center to kill this guy (some rough zentradi commander or something). you make your way towards the ship and then the ship along with the whole city fold out into deep space so you have a weird combination urban/space battle against him in a booster equipped glog. after you beat him you go to a cutseen where you're floating out in space and Jack is getting all introspective and crap and traces the Spacy kite in the fog on his canopy as he's about to run out of air.

I have no idea why I remember how it ends considering I haven't played the end of the game in some 4~5 years.

[Einherjar]

So is/was Battlecry and Invasion canon at one time? Could they be considered part of the unique discussion that I started in the Robotech debate thread? Nowadays I don't hear people talk about it or the YF-1R as much as other stuff in the series.

[RavenHawk]

So is/was Battlecry and Invasion canon at one time? Could they be considered part of the unique discussion that I started in the Robotech debate thread? Nowadays I don't hear people talk about it or the YF-1R as much as other stuff in the series.

I think it all depends on Tommy Yune's whim at any given moment...

[Bluemaxx]

there is a quick action shot of the YF-1R/VF-1R in the animated series, in the episode where Khyron (sorry i only remember the robotech name... ) kidnaps minmay and lynkylie and UN Spacey use some loyal zentradi to send a message to Khyron that they're under attack to lure him out. When khyron (god i wished i remembered his real/macross name) gets there he sees the three zentradi duking it out with three valkyries in battroid mode. the three valkyries are VF-1R's there only in the standard cannon fodder brown colour scheme but there you go.....just a fun fact for everyone i think the UN Spacey database has some info about them too....

[Fly4victory]

That is the historic animation error.... VF-1A head with VF-1J lasers... then Harmony Gold calls it the VF-1R.

The video clip of the scene is on the RT.com info page for the 1R... but for Macross it was just an error by the animator.

Edit: Rather like my typing

Edited February 11, 2009 by Fly4victory

[magicsp00n]

I can't remember the ending but I remember reading that he doesn't die. He gives up on life and then a ship defolds and rescues him. To affirm this line of thought the makers of the Invid Invasion game included the graffiti "Jack Archer Lives" somewhere.

I work with somebody who was a designer on Battlecry and Invasion and asked him what the final fate of Jack Archer was supposed to be. Evidently Invasion was originally intended to be a "Saving Private Ryan" sort of story, where your goal was to locate and rescue Jack from the clutches of the Invid. Hence the grafitti in the game. In production the game script was changed to remove the Jack component, but the artwork stayed in.

I asked how it was Jack ended up back on Earth after the end of Battlecry, and he shrugged and said "Zentraedi sympathizers".

This isn't Harmony Gold canon, mind you. Just what the game developers were thinking as they were making it.

[RavenHawk]

I work with somebody who was a designer on Battlecry and Invasion and asked him what the final fate of Jack Archer was supposed to be. Evidently Invasion was originally intended to be a "Saving Private Ryan" sort of story, where your goal was to locate and rescue Jack from the clutches of the Invid. Hence the grafitti in the game. In production the game script was changed to remove the Jack component, but the artwork stayed in.

I asked how it was Jack ended up back on Earth after the end of Battlecry, and he shrugged and said "Zentraedi sympathizers".

This isn't Harmony Gold canon, mind you. Just what the game developers were thinking as they were making it.

That, to me, sounds like it would've been a much more fun scenario.

I LOVE Cyclones. My only two gripes with Invasion were that it was too directed around a specific story, so you had to do things in an exact order, as opposed to being able to explore around more, and that there was no regular, in game, non-online, multiplayer.