Yamato & Bandai Macross compared with MP Seekers

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

On a side note I've been wondering which design is older, the Seekers or the VF-1's? I'm assuming it's the Seekers if you go back to the Diaclone roots but I'm not 100% sure I guess it depends on when the Takatoku Macross figures came out.

Kawamori Shoji designed the Diaclone Aerobat F-15 in the late 70's, it was in blue with white/red trim, then later used in Transformers as the mold for the seekers(the closest in color being Thundercracker).

He designed the VF-1 in the early 80's but this was a few years after he designed the Diaclone F-15. Takatoku Macross VF-1's were released in 1982.

[chen]

Yeah if you use Diaclone it is the seekers, if you use Transformers it is the VF-1. I like the seekers man, I just playing with you. I think they are very well done, and look great but I am a Macross guy and I think the YF-21 is the best valk on the market right now. Welcome to the site, some of us are forgiving, most of us grab our torches and burn the heretics. But is all in good fun though.

EDIT: It appears you have been here for awhile just haven't posted a lot or something.

Thanks, I've been lurking here for years and I'm a Admin over at Robot-Japan so I know that some members of a board can get a little hara kiri

[chen]

Kawamori Shoji designed the Diaclone Aerobat F-15 in the late 70's, it was in blue with white/red trim, then later used in Transformers as the mold for the seekers(the closest in color being Thundercracker).

He designed the VF-1 in the early 80's but this was a few years after he designed the Diaclone F-15. Takatoku Macross VF-1's were released in 1982.

Yeah that's what I thought, so I guess you can say the Seekers were the Grandfathers of all Macross fighters.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Yeah that's what I thought, so I guess you can say the Seekers were the Grandfathers of all Macross fighters.

Possibly, can be seen as the first time he made a variable fighter from an existing fighter, whereas the valkyries are all variable fighters of his own design(sure influenced by real world fighters, but different in that he didn't just take a real world fighter verbatim and turn it into a robot).

As much as the MP seekers differ from the cartoon model and original prototype, it didn't bother me much. It's awesome in my opinion that the guy who designed the original Seeker mold designed the Masterpiece version, and the MP seekers are my favorite transformers.

[chen]

Yeah, Kawamori got a lot of flack for designing the MP versions by Transformer fans but I think most didn't know that he designed the originals in the first place so it came full circle.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Thanks for all the replies!

I picked up my YF-19 last night so i can offer my initial impressions now.

The plastic seems a different type to what's used on MP Skywarp.. not necessarily better or worse, i can't tell!

The toy surface is very matte, a sharp contrast to the glossy Skywarp, but seems fitting for the design.

Transformation wise i was impressed at the complexity, but disappointed at the chest locking mechanism (or lack of).. which i've heard mentioned around here a few times already.

Proportionally, i think the robot legs are a bit long - not a problem with the toy specifically though.

Overall i really like it, though i dont think i would have been as happy had i paid retail price (I got it very cheap cause a shoulder joint is broken, but it's otherwise flawless).

It doesn't strike me as something that should be more than 2 times the price of a Masterpiece Seeker - can anyone shed any light on why it's normally much more expensive?

Edited April 24, 2009 by kurdt_the_goat

[ntsan]

Because it is by Yamato, nuff said

I think size matters. If you take 1/60 VF-1 then they are similar priced since they are similar sized. And demand/volume also plays up, certainly there are a lot more TF fan than Macross fan.

I myself wouldn't buy a Yamato at RRP, but at 40% then I might be tempted (got myself a SV-51 for US$80 from YJA, now that much more reasonable)

Edited April 24, 2009 by ntsan

[kurdt_the_goat]

At least in terms of length, the YF-19 is about the same as Skywarp.. definitely a bit more heft at the back end though.

I got it for $25 AUD, so i'm more than happy as you can imagine! Gonna get my wife (who's Japanese) to talk direct with Yamato about possible replacement of the shoulder joint.. fingers crossed!

[EXO]

I like the MP F-15s... I didn't even know they were called Seekers. I wouldn't trade them for any of my Yamatos though, unless it was one of my v.1 1/60s.

[Radd]

The best looking MP seeker is still the original release of MP Starscream. So wish they'd release that version with the improvements from the others.

[VFTF1]

What improvements from the others?

It doesn't strike me as something that should be more than 2 times the price of a Masterpiece Seeker - can anyone shed any light on why it's normally much more expensive?

There's a whole thread dedicated to Yamato's pricing with 15 pages of more of innuendo, guess work and posturing in the guise of analysis. Just do a search

Pete

[CF18]

The hinges that have to be folded 180 or so? I heard the runs after the first MP-03, such as Skywarp and Thundercracker had some modifications done so that the problem areas wouldn't be as prone to snapping.

My Walmart Screamer and MP Thundercracker haven't cracked. I heard to go further and prevent cracking altogether, you could cut some of the plastic away from the hinges, this reduces tension when folding the back/wing panels up. I'll do this in the future but for now there aren't any breakages on mine.

I just got my MP-6 Skywarp from HLJ - 40% off was hard to resist. That hinge is also very tight on mine, to the point that the left wing part has a big stress mark the first time I move it to only 90 deg. I will try some cutting in the future. Don't know why they made it this way when that hinge don't really need much strength to hold the wing in bot mode.

Other issues: the fat finger ball joint on the left hand is completely loose. Also the middle back plate never sit flat in fighter mode - and we see that on every MP seeker photos since Starscream which I think they could fix it by just making it 0.2 mm shorter.

I think Yamato releases after VF-0 are better.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Yeah, above all else i hate that the centre panel in the MP Seekers never sits flush. I don't think you're right about the 2mm though - i've tried shaving it with no success. I believe the issue is actually related to the diecast bar that pivots the centre panel. Where it pivots from, there's a tiny block of plastic that limits the angle the bar can sit at - it rests close to parallel with the ground but I think it needs to be angled downwards more.