Takara/Hasbro TF toy tech/gimmicks you want macross toys to adopt?

[JET7]

considering the success of TAKARA TOMY or HASBRO on their MASTERPIECE line or universe /classics /henkei lines, is there anything you want from macross toys company to copy or adopt from their technology or toy manufacturing technologies?

i myself liked very much the

- LIGHT PIPING gimmick, a light passes through a block of plastic that gives the "eyes" of the robot that alive look.

- RACHETING HINGES, although this was already taken by takatokou/bandai.. but not yamato

- LR44 BATTERY LIGHTS, i would like to see red lights comming from the gattling gun of my vf1s with a press of a button.

just a thought.

- if there will be, if any.

its really not the tf toy on the outside.. its their technologies behind the toy. not comparing tf w/ macross toys.

Edited August 31, 2010 by JET7

[Mog]

Their (generally) lower prices?

[JET7]

haha good one, except their masterpiece lines..they're pretty much the same price with yamatos.

[David Hingtgen]

None. Battery boxes always compromise sculpt. There's not a millimeter to spare in most valks. Look at ROTF Jetfire to see what happens when you stuff battery boxes inside a transforming plane. MP Prime is ok, because he's a giant box on wheels that transforms into a giant box on legs. A YF-19 isn't.

Light piping? Yeah, I hold a new figure up to the light once to see it, then it never happens again, as my shelves and book cases aren't back-lit. Plus, it usually means the entire back half of the head is clear.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

More ratcheting/detented joints, more sturdy plastic and more use of durable interlocking tabs/clips.

[UN Spacy]

Nothing aside from being released at the local TRU.

[eugimon]

I don't really see where Yamato could fit more ratchet joints in on a valk. They seem to use them wherever there's space already. If anything, it's takara/Tony that seems to be moving away from ratchets and using more friction joints and ball and socket joints on their toys.

[EXO]

Yamatos have had ratcheting joints for a long time. Check the legs of the 1/48. I'm not a big fan of too much ratcheting because it somewhat restricts posing to certain degrees. But it's needed in the legs to keep those poses. I find that the more the Transformers toys get more pricey, the closer they come to Yamato quality and issues. Not equal but close. The Masterpiece Starscream has it's own QC issues like cracking plastic but can't match fine details like landing gears and cockpits. And while MP Prime is pretty awesome with it's die-cast content, it would require an interior and probably closer to lineart transformation, which would mean that it wouldnt have the double grill cheat that it has. I love MP Prime though. I still think it's the best toy out there and only a 1/32 valkyrie can beat it, and I'm not a TF Fan... but I think Takara pulled all the stops making it.

[boyarque]

gimmick? Erm, transforming toys....? sorry jk.

In all honesty, I personally think there's nothing yamato can emulate takara/hasbro.

As for electronic gimmick, like lights and sound and such, I feel that it will make the toy feel cheap. For the fold booster is different though, because it tries to recreate the anime. And please, no sound effect!

That said, the only light gimmick I wish for is for the head, landing lights and the wingtip strobes, just like a real airplane. Unrealistic, I know, due the wiring involved which will affect it's transformation.

Transformers=Function follow form

Macross= Form follow function.

[Renato]

Yamato should stick an MP3 player chip into their Sound Boosters, and have them be actual working speakers. Howzat??

Apart from that, I don't want any tacky rubbish on my valks, thank you.

[Guest sh002]

how about takara/hasbro buy out yamato and release toys for cheaper and be able to release harder to find figures in larger quantities. also attempt to strengthen their qc. naw it will never happen.

[JET7]

i hope where not limiting to YAMATO as a macross toy manufacturer only.. theres bandai, revoltech and the rest.

macross doesnt end on yamato.

in hasbro/takara buying yamato..? hmm that would make our day.

[anime52k8]

skip to about a minute in and substitute any mention of Warbot defender and fansProject with Valks and Yamato/Bandai/whoever. that pretty much sums up why I find this kind of discussion silly.

beyond fundamental design philosophy and realities of production, I really don't want any TF gimmicks in my valks. 90% of the time things like Light piping and electronics totally screw up the finish and aesthetic quality of the toy for little more than a silly gimmick that make the figure in question feel more like a child's toy and less like a high end display piece that was worth the $100+ you spend on it.

(Now if you can work in stuff like electric lights that look good, don't effect the transformation or sculpt of the figure in any way, and doesn't make the toy excessively expensive; then by all means add it.)

[JET7]

"that pretty much sums up why I find this kind of discussion silly" - enlighten me why silly?

im just raising a thought whether tf toy/s manufacturing technologies will apply on valks/battroid/gerwalk. its just a friendly question whether its feasible or not.

im just a harmless macross toy collector. i respect all your answers and opinions. just a friendly exchange of thoughts.

peace to all meltrans and zeltrans, micronians.

Edited August 31, 2010 by JET7

[raptormesh]

Beauty, accuracy and perfect transformation trumps gimmick every time. I don't even think TFs and yammies are in the same league, price regardless, and I do own a few of both. However in regards to the lights it may be a great idea for the destroids have in their search lights for a night ops diorama.

[anime52k8]

"that pretty much sums up why I find this kind of discussion silly" - enlighten me why silly?

I just find that these "company X should build toys more like company Y" debates tend to ignore the core problem that company X ISN'T company Y.

Hasbro/Takara make toys that are of a very different subject matter and aimed at a very different demographic than anything Yamato/Bandai makes.

Hasbro could never Make a Yamato Valk or DX chogoken, nor would they want Too. Likewise, Yamato doesn't have the capacity to create the kind of mass market products that Hasbro does, not that there would even be a market for something like that anyways (bandai on the other hand may in fact have the capacity, but again, no market).

a $20 voyager transformer is a completely different animal from a Yamato VF-1 or even a Bandai Hi-Metal figure, it really isn't fair to try to compare the two and say one is better or that one should be more like the other. and when the production goals and target markets are comparable (such as in the case of Masterpiece figures) there are significantly fewer areas where one toys does stuff radically different from the other.

so yeah, these types of debates are built on apples-and-oranges comparisons that are fairly unreasonable and unproductive IMO.

keep in mind this doesn't apply so much to choice of gimmicks (like lights, sounds, action features, etc.) but rather fundamental design and marketing philosophy (i.e. how joints are designed, materials used, sturdiness vs. ascetics, what price point they go for etc.)

that said, I'm not a fan of most gimmicks as they tend to interfere with articulation and how the sculpt looks. I'd rather have a very poseable, line-art accurate figure than one that has lights and a voice chip. I'd also rather have a more affordable toy than have an action feature I'm going to use maybe once when I take it out of the package then completely ignore.

:edit:

this is kind of a random rant but on the subject of electronic gimmicks: what I really hate about these things is that they require batteries. Beyond the fact that toy makers often cheap out and either don't include them or give you the supper crappy "heavy duty" non-brand junk that dies immediately, I frequently find that once I've installed the batteries and tested out the electronics, the thing goes on the shelf and the electronics don't get used for months. Or worse I end up getting put away somewhere and forgotten about for a year or two with the batteries still inside and when I finally do come back to it, the thing no longer works because the batteries leaked and screwed up the electronics.

Edited August 31, 2010 by anime52k8

[JET7]

thanks for the enlightenment anime52k8.

.

Edited August 31, 2010 by JET7

[areaseven]

Challenging and complex transformations. That's what all Macross toys lack, especially the 1/48 VF-1 Valkyries. The whole thing about Transformers is that they're not really toys, but complicated 3D puzzles you can exercise your brain with.

With that in mind, Macross toys should incorporate the technical wizardry of complex Transformers such as the G1 Battlechargers.

[eugimon]

It's really not fair to compare transformers to valks. They operate with entirely different rules.

Valks have to conform to the idea that they are piloted by humans, must have a plausible transformation, need to have working aerodynamic surfaces, and have fantastic yet realistic power plants. And the majority of fans demand that the toys look as close to the anime or line art as possible.

Transformers don't have any of those limitations. They have hands coming out of engines, they walk around on car seats, "wings" can be folded up legs as thick as the rest of the plane, landing geat can be pegs that don't stow away anywhere but are just attached to the outside of the form and most importantly they aren't held to the dimensions established in the anime. So if they need Leader Starscream to be obscenely fat to accommodate a battery box, they can do it.

I don't know if any of you have ever taken apart a valk, but there's really no internal space that can accommodate a battery box. Arms hold hands, thighs have a host of joints and fold away panels, legs have landing gear, the cockpits hold pilots, instruments, landing gear, heat shields, etc.

Even with the MP Seekers, Takara/Tomy abandoned light up effects and many of the gimmicks they load up tranformers with. And *even* then they still had a compromised jet mode and fragile joints that broke during normal stress. And still, the seekers don't have realistic landing gear, their cockpit is lacking the detail seen in yamato valks, and they don't have the posability of yamato valk.

At the end of the day, yamato and takara have different goals in mind. Yamato makes collectibles and Takara makes toys.

[Snail00]

If Yamato can improve on their quality I will be very happy. That said. I would like to see maybe light up boosters with sounds with hidden buttons like the SOP Yamato. Maybe some panels that can open up to reveal mechanics or removable armor.

Maybe Lights where they should be on the plane. A light up control dash in the cockpit. All these things would be great.

I would like to see metal joints. As plastics wear out.

[Uxi]

I prefer the metallic eyes that MP prime has to the translucent plastic yamato uses.

Mmm ratchet joints on MP Prime are the best. He holds poses like no tomorrow and love the hands on MP prime much more than any Yamato.

[eugimon]

I like MP Prime's ratchets as well, though I wish the ones for his hips were finer, there's too few indents in that area.

Prime's hands needed to have a peg or magnet to hold his gun too.

[Archer]

I think it would be cool if yamato could put in a back-lit LED screen for the inside of the valkyrie's cockpits.

This seems like a feasible idea that wouldn't obstruct transformation or line art accuracy. I especially like how Kicker773

customized one of his valkyries to have exactly that, an LED screen in the cockpit.

(picture credited to Kicker773)

Edited August 31, 2010 by Archer

[boyarque]

I think it would be cool if yamato could put in a back-lit LED screen for the inside of the valkyrie's cockpits.

This seems like a feasible idea that wouldn't obstruct transformation or line art accuracy. I especially like how Kicker773

customized one of his valkyries to have exactly that, an LED screen in the cockpit.

(picture credited to Kicker773)

Now...that's something not even hasbro/takara has...great mod!

[Uxi]

Backlighting one thing is cool, but to get a good effect, other things should be lit... running lights... a red or orange LED in the feet/engines... red LED for the weapon doesn't sound bad.

Sounds?

I'd want em to stick with the basics and nice quality ratcheted joints to start. Then metal for all fragile pieces (like the infamous BP8). THEN gimmicks like lights. As far as things like the batteries... best idea is to put them on something that's removable (like Boosters/FAST Packs, etc) or like Bandai did with their Star Trek Models (in the stand).

Edited August 31, 2010 by Uxi

[Scream Man]

Other than making them cheaper, Im good with what Yamato/Bandai gives us. I dont think of Macross and Transformers as even remotely the same.

[Graham]

Big 'NO' to any transformers style gimmicks in Yamato Macross toys.

Definitely no light piping. As someone else mentioned, to have light piping for the eyes, that usually means the back of the head also need to be clear plastic.

No light up or sound gimmicks please, either. They are usually pretty tacky. Unless they can be fitted into an accessery part such as a booter, they will usually compromise the sculpt in some way. When Harmony Gold tried the light up eye gimmick with their MPC VF-1, most us us hated it.

As for joints, I don't recall being impressed by the joints on Transormers toys. Most of my sons Transformers have at least some floppy joints.

Graham

[Mog]

About the only thing I'd seriously consider Yamato or any Macross manufacturer to emulate is all the "gimmick" accessories that Takara seems to add to their MP bots. Cool little accessories like Meg's and Prime's energy melee weapons, the gun Megs uses to shoot Prime in the movie, the Matrix of Leadership, Grimlock's apron, etc. are cool little add-ons that don't take away much from the sculpt or articulation of the 'bots.

In the same way, it'd be awesome if Yamato or Bandai could add a few more scene/episode-specific accessories with their normal releases, such as:

* The baby pod Milia stores Komilia in;

* The Zent' suit Max uses in the Great Escape;

* Standing pilots (like the cool ones Exo made );

* That arm weapon the YF-19 fires off (Heck! Any additional armaments for the YF-19!!);

* TV Hik' with Misa sitting in his lap (in that classic pose);

* Pineapple Salad Roy .

Again, just cool little add-ons that can be included with the mecha without compromising the perfect transformation or the articulation. That's really the only thing I'd remotely consider.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Mog

[UN Spacy]

Since we're on the subject of Yamato.

Whatever happened to the 1/60 v2.0 upgrade sets that Graham told us about a few months ago?

[JET7]

it would be cool if the canopy of our valks would be switchable from clear tint to rainbow tint..or frosted..

as taking from TAKARA'S MASTERPIECE GRIMLOCK eyes shade blue to red.. switchable trick via flip switch at the back of this head, no batteries needed,no parts swapping, just a flip of a switch.

Edited September 1, 2010 by JET7

[David Hingtgen]

And how would that possibly be feasible without part swapping? 1:1 scale dark-to-light color-changing windows are possible, with expensive laminates and electrical current. But if the F-22 doesn't have it, don't expect it in a Yamato... (the 787 will though, as currently planned)

[JET7]

And how would that possibly be feasible without part swapping? 1:1 scale dark-to-light color-changing windows are possible, with expensive laminates and electrical current. But if the F-22 doesn't have it, don't expect it in a Yamato... (the 787 will though, as currently planned)

hmm.. light sensing lenses? just like in rayban's shades just a thought.

[David Hingtgen]

That wouldn't be "at will" unless you keep a UV light handy at all times---plus that won't get colors nor a frosted effect.

For actual "flip of a switch" like you said, the only way I know to do that is the electrically-shaded windows.

[Uxi]

How does Grimlock do it? I don't have MP Grimlock (yet... hoping TRU will get it in one of these days).

[eugimon]

How does Grimlock do it? I don't have MP Grimlock (yet... hoping TRU will get it in one of these days).

you flip open the top of the head and spin the eye piece around 90 degrees so that the different colored eye piece is visible.