Any hope of 1/55 releases for the 30th anni

[jwinges]

Any hope of bandai/Takatoku 1/55 Chunky Monkey releases for the 30th anniversary?

[connor99]

Man, I hope so. It'd be nice to finally add something to my 1/55 collection.

[ps99042]

Are you hoping for new paints schemes or straight reissues? The last reissues didn't seem to sell too well and most are still pretty affordable on eBay compared to Yamatos or Chogokins. I'd think new paints schemes would be highly unlikely though one release with a 30th Anniversary paint scheme would be cool.

[jwinges]

I'd like to just finish my 1/55 collection. Need the Elint, Armored, Strike, and Ostrich.

I've got the last of Rob Beers kits of each that I could do but am afraid I'll never have the time. Might put them up on ebay.

[Graham]

Doubtful I'd say.

It would be nice to see Strike, Elint & Ostrich reissues though.

Graham

[big F]

Yeah it would be nice but I guess the closest I'll ever get to an Elint, GBP and Ostrich will be my recasts secured here on MW some years ago.

We can all dream though.

[jwinges]

I guess there's just no love for the chunky Monkey. Greatest toy ever made. I wish the Yamato toys were even remotely as durable.

[VF5SS]

I guess there's just no love for the chunky Monkey. Greatest toy ever made. I wish the Yamato toys were even remotely as durable.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=36316

they are now

do ho ho ho~

[carlodibi]

i definetly doubt it. Macross fandom is slowly fading. Look at the huge price drops on the vintage taks versus say vintage transformers constantly rising in prices.

[boyarque]

Nah...for me, I just dun care much for cold, hard, lifeless bricks. It's not about fandom fading, but with the current steadily increasing Valk price, it's better to put my money into more refined, articulated and lineart accurate valks.

Ask those who bought the VF-25 first editions......they'd know.

*I might be the few lucky ones to sell off all the first version before the renewal came out...

[big F]

Nah...for me, I just dun care much for cold, hard, lifeless bricks. It's not about fandom fading, but with the current steadily increasing Valk price, it's better to put my money into more refined, articulated and lineart accurate valks.

One word "nostalgia" that's what drives the need for a 30th anniversary version

Yamies are excellent in looks and designs, but you'll never beat the Taka for durability, If your 20+ year old Taka falls from the shelf the worst thing that will happen to it is you'll have to pick up its gun and re-pose it before you put it back.

Yamato's dont fair so well.

Takas are perfect for giving to your children to play with dam near indestructible, I'd never let a child near my Yamies, hell I don't even let adults touch them.

Chances are though if they did release one they'd want about £100 for it and that is too near the 1/48 prices for most of the fans to want a bit of nostalgia.

[tokyoeroking]

I would be willing to pay 200 to 250 USD for each of them (VT, VE, strike, and GBP with valk set). IMO still be best macross "toy".

[xrentonx]

I used to have nostalgia for the old Bandais. I owned a Jetfire as a kid and subsequently gave it away when I got older. I always knew then that it was from Macross and not truly a Transformers design. It was THE reason I had to have it. My father bought it for me one Christmas and I was ecstatic (we were poor back then and us kids rarely got anything for Christmas). It was well played with and loved and the arms eventually came loose with parts missing here and there.

It always gets me when people talk of it like it was indestructable. Yes, it was durable to a point but ANYTHING played with that much will eventually give (some faster than others, of course). The arms had to be screwed back in a number of times by my father. Likewise, the armor was pretty flimsy and a few tabs broke on mine but I was a kid and didn't know how to really take care of anything fragile.

Nowadays, I don't have that much nostalgia for it so I could take it or leave it. If I see a new one for a reasonable price, I might pick it up but I'm not pining for one like I did years ago. I'm not gonna go out of my way to get one on ebay. There's just much better looking stuff out there for me. I'd rather spend the money on the Yamatos because I'm older now (heading toward my mid 30s) and take good care of my stuff. I don't really care that the Bandais are more durable. They looked good for their time, but that time has passed for me.

I'm more nostalgic for the design of the VF-1 than a certain rendition of it. To me the Yamatos are how I always pictured the Valks in my mind and I love them for it even though they aren't as durable.

There's a speck of interest in the 1/55s and no more from me and I am old school.

...now if my father bought it for me, I'd be all over it.

Edited February 25, 2012 by xrentonx

[Reïvaj]

[...] ...now if my father bought it for me, I'd be all over it.

I liked your story and share your opinion.

[boyarque]

I'm more nostalgic for the design of the VF-1 than a certain rendition of it. To me the Yamatos are how I always pictured the Valks in my mind and I love them for it even though they aren't as durable.

There's a speck of interest in the 1/55s and no more from me and I am old school.

This I agree...among your other pointers.

And I am one of the 80's kids, and it always frustates me, even then, that the toys that came out resemble nothing like in the animated show.

With the 1/55s, I could not replicate the action pose Hikaru VF-1J did while dispatching a number of Regulds. They could only....stand guard.

And now, with the current 1/60s, I could.

As for comparing the durability of 1/55 over 1/60...well, my late Motorola PCN 780 was way more durable than my current Nokia X6, so...yeah.

I f anything, I would prefer Yamato to issue a 1/60 VF-1 with special paint scheme, commemorating the 30th Anniversary. I have nothing against a reissue of 1/55, but I would not buy it.

Btw, the above post is just my personal opinion.

I do not mean to belittle others who collect and appreciate the 1/55s. My apology if anyone is offended.

[raven029]

I member that my 1st 1/55 was G1 Jetfire. I worked my butt off workin to save for it...(yeah, we didn't have much) I remember watching the white kids in the Jetfire commercials and thinking "Lucky ass mot*** F***" LOL

Then came Macross. I was stoked!! ...but the bad thing was that in those times, there weren't many places that sold Japanese imports like Takatokus or Bandais.

Last year I was going through some old things to throw out and I wind up running into My Jetfire!!! ....I was like DUDE...This was a GREAT TOY!!! Now I find myself buying G1 Jetfires (If in the right condition) and 1/55 VFs...maybe to make up for lost time.

So Are you kidding ME???? HELL YES!!!

Not only would I like a 30th Annie reissue of the OG paint schemes, but I'd like to see the following paint schemes with perhaps improved , more detailed metal / plastic to last FOREVER!!!!!! AAAHHH!! =D

New Paint Schemes:

-Desert Camo

-New Minmay Guard

-Urban Camo

-Jungle Camo (What the hell, why not)

-Hello Kitty Limited Edition

-Stealth Version of Super VF-1S or GBP VF-1S (Black Color base perhaps) w/ some luminous stickers perhaps.

Reissue Sets:

-Max Miriya combo pack (I think it was called Marriage Set?)

-GBP VF-1S

....I'd also hope someone works out a coop to reissue Jetfire somehow but I seriously doubt that will happen. =(

I just love the 1/55 mold so maybe they can use the same mold only add some metal ball joints to pose the 1/55's like the Revoltechs...

OK, I think I had too much sugar so I will leave it at this =)

[Black Valkyrie]

A Low-Viz will do fine.

[VF5SS]

From what Renato and I discussed on the podcast regarding the 1/55, he joked that Bandai was bringing out re-issues just to compete with Yamato's offerings ( ^w^);

Also I don't recall if he mentioned this on the show, but he did say this to me before in PMs but the 1/55 had rather slim profit margins. This was despite having sold over a million of them. I'm not sure how much this changed when Bandai took over but still.

Nowadays I think the toy has been re-issued to the point where most that want one have one and the market isn't supporting any more.

For all their faults (that we fixed :3 ), Yamato did manage to make the definitive VF-1 with variants still coming out. And the basic ones aren't that much more than the price of a re-issue 1/55.

Edited February 29, 2012 by VF5SS

[jwinges]

I guess my problem is that I can't stand the Yamatos. Every single one that I have has been a disappointment other than maybe the 1/48 low viz. I don't have any of the new 1/60's though. The first 1/60s were so bad and floppy that I refuse to buy another.

I guess I'm just a fool for a durable toy that doesn't take a manual to transform. One that I can give to a 8-10 year old and they don't need me to transform it for them. Yamato has never made that. They do look better and have more poses but that just isn't enough for me to part with my cash anymore.

[VF5SS]

I guess I'm just a fool for a durable toy that doesn't take a manual to transform.

How about the perfect transformation VF-1 toys with my replacement shoulder hinges?

I guarantee those parts are rubber mallet proof ( 'w') b

I'm serious they are so great what the new parts part. I got videos to show how easy it is to transform now.

[Reïvaj]

I guess my problem is that I can't stand the Yamatos. Every single one that I have has been a disappointment other than maybe the 1/48 low viz. I don't have any of the new 1/60's though. The first 1/60s were so bad and floppy that I refuse to buy another.

I guess I'm just a fool for a durable toy that doesn't take a manual to transform. One that I can give to a 8-10 year old and they don't need me to transform it for them. Yamato has never made that. They do look better and have more poses but that just isn't enough for me to part with my cash anymore.

Existing the v.2s you can handle the v.1s to the 8-10 year-old.

[boyarque]

How about the perfect transformation VF-1 toys with my replacement shoulder hinges?

I guarantee those parts are rubber mallet proof ( 'w') b

I'm serious they are so great what the new parts part. I got videos to show how easy it is to transform now.

+1 to this....made me go hunting for all the old, problematic shoulder versions coz of bargain prices

[VF5SS]

That's exactly what I wanted to happen. yay XD

[miriya]

I probably said this somewhere else but for the 30th anniversary I would love to have Bandai put out a 1/55 VF-1D as it is the first transforming valkyrie that we see in SDFM. That would be the most appropriate homage in my opinion. Plus it would be awesome if they did it with a dual cockpit and for the first time put little figures in the 1/55 but kept the rest of the figure true to the original stlye/design. The durability of the 1/55's have made them my favorite valk ever and favorite toy ever because of the playability. I have been transforming my bandai reissues constantly, right handed, left handed, eyes closed, drunk, dropping them, still totally solid! Best toy ever! Since the VF-1D is the first time we see a macross valkyrie transform it would make since right? Not like chewbaca on endor.

[raven029]

I probably said this somewhere else but for the 30th anniversary I would love to have Bandai put out a 1/55 VF-1D as it is the first transforming valkyrie that we see in SDFM. That would be the most appropriate homage in my opinion. Plus it would be awesome if they did it with a dual cockpit and for the first time put little figures in the 1/55 but kept the rest of the figure true to the original stlye/design. The durability of the 1/55's have made them my favorite valk ever and favorite toy ever because of the playability. I have been transforming my bandai reissues constantly, right handed, left handed, eyes closed, drunk, dropping them, still totally solid! Best toy ever! Since the VF-1D is the first time we see a macross valkyrie transform it would make since right? Not like chewbaca on endor.

OMG!!! I my thoughts exactly. I am sure the 1/55 VF-1D would sell fast

[bernard21]

I totally agree!! I would love to see and purchase the 1/55 VF-1D. I have seen a custom one that I thought was awesome and to be able to actually purchase one from Bandai would be fantastic!

[Renato]

From what Renato and I discussed on the podcast regarding the 1/55, he joked that Bandai was bringing out re-issues just to compete with Yamato's offerings ( ^w^);

That wasn't a joke!

[VF5SS]

Might as well be, honestly.

[tokyoeroking]

It would be really a shame if Bandai doesn't reissue the remaining 1/55 toys. I refuse to buy the vintage ones not because of the price, but because they are already 30 year old toys. Specially with the diecast on it, degradation in any toy is inevitable. I have many Yamatos, but for me, a Macross collection without all the 1/55s is not complete. They are the reason why I started collecting Macross toys in the first place...

[EXO]

I wanted a 1/55 for each scheme and extras for the schemes that weren't available. But when the last reissues came out I didn't even want the 1A max. Not when I had the Yamato versions.

Also most people were here were trying to buy them to do conversions. Giving them a-stance, poseable feet, more accurate heads. I think Yamato basically killed that little subculture of customizers.

I still love the 1/55 line and wouldn't give them up. But then again I wouldn't give up and of my Yamato VF-1s. Hell if they finished the 1/100s I woulda gotten those too. But I pretty much feel like my 1/55s are complete.

[tokyoeroking]

You know, I see the same thing happening with Transformers. There are so many new lines now with more articulation and more cartoon likeness. But Takara still reissues the original G1 toys in their encore line.

For someone like me I don't see 1/55s as direct competitors of newer Yamato models. They are two different things altogether. Bandai should understand that like Takara has. Just my opinion...

[miriya]

It seems that the last run of 1/55 reissues must have done well as they sold out rather quickly. They are a perennial WIN, people always come back to them, or want to get a few for nostalgic reasons, or to play with or for their kids.

In my opinion the 1/55 valkyrie is the best toy ever made. Yes the yamatos are more poseable and the sculpts are much better and they have pilots and gimmicks but the chunky monkeys have insane durability and playability.

Anyway I think that there will always be a draw for them and seeing how the last "origin of valkyrie" run seemed to do well they should just continue reissuing them. Plus they have never reissued the Ostrich or Elintseeker or the Strike and I think that they really should. I would love to see those be reissued and like I said before the VF-1D. But even if they just re-released their same old VF-1AJS as usual, that would do well. I wish they did not wait so long between reissues of these.

And finally I think bandai should sell the 1/55 fast packs as a separate add on in at least two different colors.

Looking at how Takara does the encore line (which I think is awesome - I love the nostalgia factor) I think it would be awesome if Bandai did a Jetfire reissue.

[big F]

Looking at how Takara does the encore line (which I think is awesome - I love the nostalgia factor) I think it would be awesome if Bandai did a Jetfire reissue.

That would wake up Humungy Gauwld all right.

[Renato]

It would be really a shame if Bandai doesn't reissue the remaining 1/55 toys. I refuse to buy the vintage ones not because of the price, but because they are already 30 year old toys. Specially with the diecast on it, degradation in any toy is inevitable. I have many Yamatos, but for me, a Macross collection without all the 1/55s is not complete. They are the reason why I started collecting Macross toys in the first place...

If you're in Tokyo, go to Kichijoji Yodobashi, they have the "Origin of Valkyrie" sets there, and they're only 4 years old or so, not thirty. In fact, they are by no means rare. You don't need any more reissues, they have been reissued enough times to saturate the market.

It seems that the last run of 1/55 reissues must have done well as they sold out rather quickly.

Not sure what you mean... As I say, I can still find them in regular stores, and I mean first-hand.

[anime52k8]

You know, I see the same thing happening with Transformers. There are so many new lines now with more articulation and more cartoon likeness. But Takara still reissues the original G1 toys in their encore line.

For someone like me I don't see 1/55s as direct competitors of newer Yamato models. They are two different things altogether. Bandai should understand that like Takara has. Just my opinion...

This is just my personal feeling, but I've always found G1 transformers toys to have a certain appeal that transcends nostalgia in a way that 1/55 valkyries don't. I think it's that my interest in Macross is driven by the media, and I'm only in to having toys that represent the media as faithfully as possible. With transformers, It's driven as much or more so by the toys themselves and the nuances of their engineering.