Hi-Metal R

[Podtastic]

On 4/2/2021 at 8:08 PM, Mechapilot77 said:

so are we never ever ever getting more destroids?  tbh i bought into this line to have in scale valks and destroids and zentrans mecha.  seems like its been forever since macross HMR non valk.

It sure has. And its tedious, I have all the valks I will ever need.

If they want my money they will have to start releasing the Zentraedi stuff.

Starting with the Regult Scout.

[Drad]

We need a TV Roy, Max and Kakizaki. Was really hoping for some Zentran and Meltran footsoldiers too.

[atreyu2112]

Been waiting a LONG time for the Tomahawk, Phalanx, remaining TV repaints, Regult Scout, N-Ger & Q-Rau!

I get if they don’t do the last 2, but everything else is either simple repaints or retools. And most of the retools were completed & shown off multiple times.

what makes it sting is that they themselves marketed this line to be inclusive of all mecha shown and seen thru to completion. It’s absolutely ridiculous they haven’t completed at the very least what they originally solicited. 

[easnoddy]

I'm personally not getting HMR TV Max and Kakizaki if they release them, especially with the beautiful DX 1A Max, I just want a DX TV Kakizaki (not trying to derail into a DX thread).  I will get a trident stand just for HMR DYRL skull squadron, that would be sweet.  Sold off my DX DYRL Kakizaki as the DYRL color schemes are simply too basic and similar.  I sold of the DYRL Hikaru 1S because I have the DX. 

If I can secure the DX 1D, I'll sell my HMR 1D also.  I just want 3-4 more DX and I'm out (TV Kakizaki, 1D, 1A CF and maybe a 2nd TV 1S + booby duck armor...but I want a Hikaru pilot and name on the canopy).  But I might be willing to swap out my Arcadia 1J Max and Milia for DX's also. 

Really wanting to pare things down a bit to a single representation of each valkyrie design. 

[djdood]

Since I'm pretty sure COVID and whatnot have killed off Bandai's interest in pursuing the Hi-Metal R Macross line any further, I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair of destroid Defenders, so I'll have them on-hand to kitbash myself a Tomahawk and Phalanx to complete my display.

[Gundam@EFSF]

last shots...

sold all as Bandai refused to issue tomahawk & PHALANX !!!!

 

[ValkAddict]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:30 AM, 505thAirborne said:

The idea that the Tomahawk has not been released boggles the mind, might just be my opinion yet I always felt that was the most popular Destroid next to the Monster.

^ This. I completely agree. The molds for the legs are already done, so how much effort would it take to do the upper part of the destroid? C'mon Bandai!

[Slave IV]

Selling a whole collection just because of two missing pieces seems odd. Especially since it could still happen. Anyways, sweet collection for somebody. 

[tekering]

2 minutes ago, ValkAddict said:

The molds for the legs are already done, so how much effort would it take to do the upper part of the destroid?

It's not a question of effort; the prototype's been around for years now.

It's a question of profit.  With so many more popular items in Bandai's pipeline, allocating the factory resources (not to mention the tooling costs) for a minor mech from a 40 year-old show represents a significant financial risk, especially when you factor in the sales performance of the previous Destroids in the line...

[ValkAddict]

4 minutes ago, tekering said:

It's a question of profit.  With so many more popular items in Bandai's pipeline, allocating the factory resources (not to mention the tooling costs) for a minor mech from a 40 year-old show represents a significant financial risk, especially when you factor in the sales performance of the previous Destroids in the line...

Did the Macross HI-METAL destroids not do well at retail? I never see them in stock on Mandrake; I was under the impression they did alright at retail.

[tekering]

1 minute ago, ValkAddict said:

I was under the impression they did alright at retail.

Oh sure, they sold all right... just not as good as the Valkyries or Regults, much less anything under the Evangelion or Gundam umbrellas.

And given the razor-thin margins on Macross products in general, Destroids obviously aren't a priority for Bandai.

[ValkAddict]

16 minutes ago, tekering said:

Oh sure, they sold all right... just not as good as the Valkyries or Regults, much less anything under the Evangelion or Gundam umbrellas.

And given the razor-thin margins on Macross products in general, Destroids obviously aren't a priority for Bandai.

That's a shame

[sh9000]

I’m never selling my collection.

[jvmacross]

Release both as a Tamashii exclusive 2-pack and get it over with

[Anasazi37]

If I sold all of the "unfinished" Macross toy and model lines in my collection, I wouldn't have a collection. Par for the course when the franchise you love isn't Gundam or Evangelion. We get what we get....

I have a feeling that the remaining destroids would have sold at least as well as those non-canon Messer and Roy valks they released. Still not sure why they didn't just finish the destroids and then start with the odd stuff, except that they could milk the existing 1S and VF-4 molds. I still want the Scout and other enemy mecha, too.

[jvmacross]

If only they had skipped out on all the non-Macross stuff....but it isn't technically dead yet, just on life-support...at least not until end of May.....if we do not hear of anything else being released by end of year at the latest, even if it is non-Macross, then we can write the obit on the line...........sad if it ends on a non-Macross release... 

[seti88]

Maybe Hi-Metal R2 or HMR anime accurate version is in the works...

Besides, why would bandai finish the collection for macross...they still want you to buy buy buy...

 

Bandai testing to see how much to release before they hit da reset button and release em all over again...

Edited May 17, 2021 by seti88

[fifbeat]

This is a dumb question, but as anyone reached out directly to Bandai about future releases? 

My guess is even if someone did, no reply was given (and they're most likely too secretive to answer)

Edited May 17, 2021 by fifbeat

[jvmacross]

25 minutes ago, fifbeat said:

This is a dumb question, but as anyone reached out directly to Bandai about future releases? 

My guess is even if someone did, no reply was given (and they're most likely too secretive to answer)

yep....they stated that they are not able to sell Macross in the US....of course, that was before the "great" deal struck between HG and BW, which in terms of the HMR Tomahawk and Phalanx, would still leave us at HG's mercy.....

Would be intersting if HG reached out to Bandai instead and asked for a partnership in releasing those 2 specific destroids.....imagine a US-ONLY Robotech/Macross branded 2-pack containing the Tomahawk and Phalanx.....perhaps we can petition the idea to HG instead?

[fifbeat]

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

yep....they stated that they are not able to sell Macross in the US....of course, that was before the "great" deal struck between HG and BW, which in terms of the HMR Tomahawk and Phalanx, would still leave us at HG's mercy.....

Would be intersting if HG reached out to Bandai instead and asked for a partnership in releasing those 2 specific destroids.....imagine a US-ONLY Robotech/Macross branded 2-pack containing the Tomahawk and Phalanx.....perhaps we can petition the idea to HG instead?

Thanks for the reply and info. Petitioning to HG sounds.... eh.... too... I think we would have a better chance winning the lottery. I feel like there would still be no leverage. I mean, have you seen the crap these guys are releasing? (they want the entire pot, not some of it). These companies pretend to welcome input from outside sources, but when it's presented to them, they still do what's best for them (higher dollar amount, which we can't blame 'em).

I believe in taking action, but only when I'm the captain of my own ship. Besides, when you have to rely on the Yune brothers without any and of built relationship, it seems very unlikely. They're more about collecting passive incomes on remasters of old GBA games. 

That wouldn't make any sense for Bandai to stop here with the HMR line. That's like giving up when you're two steps away from reaching the top of Mount Everest. Someone WITHIN THE COMPANY is probably like "Uh, come on a-holes, I want to at least complete my Destroid collection. So can we move 'em please?"

Doesn't that Graham dude (who runs this site) have any pull with these companies? He's basically been running a Super Bowl commercial for ALL Macross toys for the last 60 years. lol 

Edited May 17, 2021 by fifbeat

[Podtastic]

13 hours ago, tekering said:

Destroids obviously aren't a priority for Bandai.

You can have any mecha you want as long as its a valkyrie.

[505thAirborne]

5 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Release both as a Tamashii exclusive 2-pack and get it over with

I'm not a big fan of TWE's but this might be the way to go. 

[Tking22]

I used to have a quite sizeable Hi-Metal R collection, I've sold off everything but the M&Ms, VF-4, and Monster. They were definitely fantastic figures, I loved them all to death, but space became a severe issue for me, and my whole "army" took up far too much room. It got to the point that I only had room to display less then half what I actually had, and that's no fun, I had boxes of doubles and triples that weren't even open. I'm pretty content with the few figures I kept, I decided as far as Macross goes, I'm fine with the couple figures I kept, and the Bandai DX VF-1 Vermillion Squad, as soon as the Kaki TV is announced I'm all set. 

[twich]

8 hours ago, fifbeat said:

Thanks for the reply and info. Petitioning to HG sounds.... eh.... too... I think we would have a better chance winning the lottery. I feel like there would still be no leverage. I mean, have you seen the crap these guys are releasing? (they want the entire pot, not some of it). These companies pretend to welcome input from outside sources, but when it's presented to them, they still do what's best for them (higher dollar amount, which we can't blame 'em).

I believe in taking action, but only when I'm the captain of my own ship. Besides, when you have to rely on the Yune brothers without any and of built relationship, it seems very unlikely. They're more about collecting passive incomes on remasters of old GBA games. 

That wouldn't make any sense for Bandai to stop here with the HMR line. That's like giving up when you're two steps away from reaching the top of Mount Everest. Someone WITHIN THE COMPANY is probably like "Uh, come on a-holes, I want to at least complete my Destroid collection. So can we move 'em please?"

Doesn't that Graham dude (who runs this site) have any pull with these companies? He's basically been running a Super Bowl commercial for ALL Macross toys for the last 60 years. lol 

Graham, who is indeed a site admin, did have an "in" with the company Yamato.  Once Yamato folded, it seems doubtful that he would have any say or an "in" with either Arcadia or Bandai.  If I am not mistaken, he lives in Hong Kong, so if anything, he might have some familiarity with Kitzconcept, since aren't they based out of Hong Kong.  I think that Bandai has plans with everything that they do, and we will not know about it until they announce it.  

Twich

[fifbeat]

4 hours ago, twich said:

Twich

Twich, gotcha. Thanks for the reply. 

[sh9000]

Still got love for HMR.  Based on Tenjin art.

Edited July 26, 2021 by sh9000

[sqidd]

Is the Takatoku 1/100 Conversion kit the only option for 1/100 Tomahawks?

 

[tekering]

17 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Is the Takatoku 1/100 Conversion kit the only option for 1/100 Tomahawks?

Outside of vintage model kits, yeah... but either way, they're too small for HMR (which is generally closer to 1:84th scale).

[djdood]

My intention is to use the two Defenders I ordered (which should be arriving from Japan, next week) to donate their legs and hips. I'll then start work on 3D modeling Tomahawk and Phalanx upper-halves (and unique "plant ons" for the legs) with the goal of eventually 3D printing and/or scratchbuilding the parts. It will take a considerable amount of time as I would like to have at least some of the articulation and pose-holding the Bandai figures would have had and that's harder to pull off without factory production tolerances.

Still, having the legs already pre-made will save me a ton of effort. The "wasted" torsos and gun arms of the two Defenders will get turned into a SDF-1 "defense gun" diorama display (I recall some shots of Defender torsos and gun arms either mounted directly to the deck or with the destroids standing in "fox holes" where the legs were concealed). 

I do hate the idea of disassembling perfectly good figures, but my life-long desire for an "all in the same(ish) scale display of the tv show and DYRL Macross mecha" wins out.

Edited May 20, 2021 by djdood

[RDX17]

25 minutes ago, djdood said:

My intention is to use the two Defenders I ordered (which should be arriving from Japan, next week) to donate their legs and hips. I'll then start work on 3D modeling Tomahawk and Phalanx upper-halves (and unique "plant ons" for the legs) with the goal of eventually 3D printing and/or scratchbuilding the parts. It will take a considerable amount of time as I would like to have at least some of the articulation and pose-holding the Bandai figures would have had and that's harder to pull off without factory production tolerances.

Still, having the legs already pre-made will save me a ton of effort. The "wasted" torsos and gun arms of the two Defenders will get turned into a SDF-1 "defense gun" diorama display (I recall some shots of Defender torsos and gun arms either mounted directly to the deck or with the destroids standing in "fox holes" where the legs were concealed). 

Definitely looking forward to seeing these when completed.

I started collecting the HMR line partly because I saw the Tomahawk (among others) on display, and Scorched Earth Toys awesome reviews of the line.

Still hoping for future HMR Macross releases though.

[djdood]

Oh, me too. I'd much rather buy them from Bandai. I've been very pleased with all the HMR so far. But... I think COVID and changes in the market have made it unlikely to happen and it's time for me to pivot to other solutions.

[Podtastic]

On 5/17/2021 at 4:34 PM, seti88 said:

Maybe Hi-Metal R2 or HMR anime accurate version is in the works...

Wouldnt it be cool if it was in scale? As in with much smaller valkyries.

[seti88]

Those tomytec valks scale well eh!  

HMR2...the scale accurate version...hmmm i might buy that!!

[Corrinald]

I am still holding on to hope that HMR Macross will continue in time. The other HMR figures are amazing, but they don't seem to be selling out in the way the Macross stuff did.

The two packs mentioned earlier would be a nice way to release additional figures.

[technoblue]

2 hours ago, Corrinald said:

I am still holding on to hope that HMR Macross will continue in time. The other HMR figures are amazing, but they don't seem to be selling out in the way the Macross stuff did.

I want Bandai to come back to their senses too.

For Macross SDF:TV/DYRL, they could start getting creative with HMR like they are with Gundam in their Robot Spirits line-up. Start adding more diorama and effects pieces, for one. Release those teased ship pieces, like the Zentran battle cruiser display for the Battle Pods. They could do something similar for the Destroids and create a fun entrenched display for them, either on the Macross or the attached carriers. They could also highlight more character moments. I mean, how is it that we have M&M VF-1Js but we don't have Max's TV 1A or Milia's TV Q-Rau at HMR scale?

They could introduce a new HMR YF-19 and YF-21 too. I would love to see something that recreates the rough and tumble Valkyrie action from the Macross Plus OVA/movie, complete with effects parts and fun gimmicks. 

This doesn't even touch on Zero, Frontier, Delta, or any official mecha not tied to anime. No doubt Bandai is being incredibly conservative and cautious with HMR Macross releases. I reckon there is a reason for it, but it makes waiting for the next bit of news a major pain.