Hi-Metal R

[jeniusornome]

So fast! Thank you @DewPoint he had a pair of left connectors, so now we're both going to be complete.

 

[Atheonyirh]

1 minute ago, jeniusornome said:

So fast! Thank you @DewPoint he had a pair of left connectors, so now we're both going to be complete.

 

Awesome that you got sorted so quickly.

[beatsing]

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I noticed it on at least the VT-1 and VF-1D, and I think Hikaru's 1A might have been similar.  It's going to take digging, all of those are still packed away after my move last fall.

If it's possible, I might swap the better ones around to the VF-1D, since that's one of the few I actually would display in gerwalk.

Same.  The Ostrich and the 1D were a problem on the right foot.

 

3 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Hi guys,

Thank you all for the really nice compliments. I only meant to call out how the scale between HMR, 1/60, and 1/48 as they have been interpreted from the actual show.

For those who are interested in seeing my customs in person please come to the Super Dimension Convention this year and I am sure these will be there. I hope to see a certain someone’s awesome HMR customs as well. 

Now back to the Hi Metal topic...

chronocidal, I have the same issue with mine. Not sure what’s going on but you might be right about something being installed or assembled incorrectly.

Wow!  I haven't seen 1/48 scale Regult before.  Can the HMR VF1 fit in there?

I was thinking the same about the right foot being installed incorrectly or with the left foot rotator backwards because it rotates forwards a lot but not back.

14 hours ago, HardlyNever said:

Also, I know we're talking about Regults, technically, but do they constantly resize Kamjin/Quamzin to fit in a Glaug, then make him big to walk around when he isn't piloting?  It's possible, but unlikely, imo.

I think the simpler and more likely answer is "anime magic," per usual.

You're right about anime magic.  That Regult soldier next to the Regult couldn't be similar in size to the 1D when he grabbed his foot.  And who owns the uniform for Max's outfit?  Zentran Hulk?  Just kidding.  

15 hours ago, tekering said:

Thanks, beatsing.  Love your avatar.  

Well, the Hi-Metal R toys closely match the depicted scale of the Regult in the animation, wherein it would be clearly impossible to fit a Battroid inside a Regult.

And if you assume all Zentradi are relatively equal in height, then yes, the scale doesn't make sense...

But remember, the Zentradi have the technology to radically alter their size at will, meaning average height is irrelevant; there's no reason to assume Regult (or Gnerl) pilots are anywhere near as large as the officers we see roaming freely around their ships.

Even thirty years ago, this was received wisdom among Robotech RPG fans... yet, surprisingly enough, Macross fans still struggle with it to this day.  

That's a good point.  As a Macross fan and Transformers fan, scale isn't really a "big" thing for me   as Transformers change scale from a giant robot to a small cassette or gun.  Transformers didn't really explain the scale problem in their TV show, not in the early seasons (I didn't watch after that), so it's anime magic or nonsensical toy selling cartoon/commercial.

For Macross, it was a more "serious" storyline, and they did explain the reason for the size of battroid.  @Hardlynever captured the moment on the VF1D when Roy explained it.  @nightmareB4macross also got the screen capture of the canon fodders grabbing that Regult, which are consistent with the narrative of the storyline.  Although the ability to expand or shrink was definitely available to the Zentran/Meltran, it was through a machine that they didn't carry with them on person.  It was used on those 3 spy guys once, and they stayed that size for a long time, but unless that Regult pilot expanded while he was walking from his Regult, his corpse was about the same size as a battroid.  It's probably anime magic for the other scenes where the Regults are just a bit bigger than the battroid, and the Macross scale/line art is probably an afterthought since it isn't consistent with Roy's speech.  IIRC, there was also mention of the size of the halls/doorways, the controls of the SDF1 when the humans found it, so they decided to build battroids and it was the basis for that scale.  I haven't watched Macross TV in a long time, so I might be inaccurate.  I'd point out there's no wrong answer; we're all big fans since we think about this science fiction, haha!

I'd collect Macross toys even if they weren't in scale.  It's fun to see them in different scales.  Like the Transformers Masterpiece line, there are 3rd parties that upscale to the scale they think matches the cartoon.  They could do that with HMR too.  It'd probably be cheaper than an actual HMR Regult on ebay.

[beatsing]

oops posted twice

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by beatsing
posted twice

[vlenhoff]

11 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Anime Magic or not. I pretty much think Mike’s 1/48 true scale versions nailed the size.

Yamato’s and Bandai scales are always too small to fit the story well.

 

 

 

Nice! @nightmareB4macross

[Saburo]

[RDX17]

I've been trying to close this gap behind the cockpit and the body/chest plate without success.

I think the real issue is how the cockpit/nose of the plane is attached. I'm basing this on that visible space beneath the pilot in the backseat. Looks like it wasn't pushed all the way back before the glue(?) set.

Is it possible to remove the cockpit/nose of the plane and reattach it more snugly?

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to fix this are appreciated. Thanks!

[sh9000]

It almost looks like that fuselage is removable.  Maybe there is glue in the way of pushing it in so the glue would need to be cleared somehow.

[RDX17]

3 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

It almost looks like that fuselage is removable.  Maybe there is glue in the way of pushing it in so the glue would need to be cleared somehow.

Yeah, I'm wondering if I can remove the fuselage without any serious damage, clean up the connection, and give her a tighter fit. Thanks!

[Chronocidal]

So I messed with my trio of 1Ds last night, and they all had feet that basically refused to let the heel rotate past a flat-footed battroid stance.  Checked my VT-1, and one foot was stiff, but with a little massaging I got a good 70-80 degree rotation out of both heels

After a significant amount of pushing uncomfortably hard on the VF-1D heels, I managed to get them into acceptable gerwalk positions.  It was scary, and it hurt my fingers to push that hard, but after several rotations back and forth, I finally got them to work.  The direction of force I had to apply was actually more linearly along the length of the heel, rather than pushing it from the inside with an intention to rotate.  Was actually concerned I would be breaking the plastic of the leg, since I kind of had to use leverage against the back of the leg to force the heel further inward.

So yeah.. I'd much rather take the whole thing apart, and be able to see what I'm doing.  I'm mostly having flashbacks to the Yamato/Arcadia VF-19 feet at this point, and wondering if I'm permanently loosening the ankles, but fortunately the HMRs are small and light enough to not really need that much tension to stay upright.

[jenius]

I have an original Hi-Metal VF-1J max where you can just pull the foot right out of the leg because someone yanked it too hard at one point. It's not the same thing as rocking the foot back and forth mind you, but it makes me very weary of really going at the foot to try to fix it. I think disassembly, if at all possible, is a much better route.

[HardlyNever]

My VF-1D just came in, and I just checked out my feet.  While stiff, I guess I got lucky on this release, because they aren't that bad.  I had a similar issue to what others are describing with my VT-1, but this isn't too bad.

So I guess it is a case-by-case basis.  I definitely think Bandai changed the way they do HMR VF-1 feet from the VT-1 onward (a material and/or process change), but I think it can work out, sometimes.

Edited May 13, 2019 by HardlyNever

[sh9000]

My orders of the VF-4 from NY arrived in the US and will be here soon.  Get ready for yours @vlenhoff.  I might also have a spare VF-1J Milia but without the box.

[RDX17]

8 hours ago, sh9000 said:

It almost looks like that fuselage is removable.  Maybe there is glue in the way of pushing it in so the glue would need to be cleared somehow.

I just finished removing the fuselage, disassembling it, cleaning off the excess glue and/or plastic nubs, and then reassembling it. Difficult and frustrating at times, but the gaps are gone and the fuselage is now locked in where it should be.

Even more respect for the people putting these things together for us, and thanks to everyone here who has shared their past projects, particularly sh9000: seeing your separated VF-1D fuselage inspired me to give this a shot.

[gerwookie]

17 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

So I messed with my trio of 1Ds last night, and they all had feet that basically refused to let the heel rotate past a flat-footed battroid stance.  Checked my VT-1, and one foot was stiff, but with a little massaging I got a good 70-80 degree rotation out of both heels

After a significant amount of pushing uncomfortably hard on the VF-1D heels, I managed to get them into acceptable gerwalk positions.  It was scary, and it hurt my fingers to push that hard, but after several rotations back and forth, I finally got them to work.  The direction of force I had to apply was actually more linearly along the length of the heel, rather than pushing it from the inside with an intention to rotate.  Was actually concerned I would be breaking the plastic of the leg, since I kind of had to use leverage against the back of the leg to force the heel further inward.

So yeah.. I'd much rather take the whole thing apart, and be able to see what I'm doing.  I'm mostly having flashbacks to the Yamato/Arcadia VF-19 feet at this point, and wondering if I'm permanently loosening the ankles, but fortunately the HMRs are small and light enough to not really need that much tension to stay upright.

Thank so much! I just tried this again with your emphasis on pushing up on the heel (ouch, mah fingers) along the length of the leg instead of trying to apply force to pinch and rotate the heel. That did it!

[beatsing]

I think Bandai installed the left foot part on the right foot.  Check out the gray plastic horizontal bar on each foot.  The ostrich and 1D right foot in orange has the bar on the same side as the 1j left foot whereas the 1 j right foot has it on the other side.  Is that the defect?

[ScrambledValkyrie]

Good idea, but I don’t think that’s it. I just checked 6 HMR VF-1s (including my Ostrich and 1D) as well as 2 Hi-Metals, and they all look like your VT-1, with the rectangular part oriented towards the inside of the leg on both sides. 

My 1D right foot seemed a little stuck, but @Chronocidal‘s suggestion to push up on just the heel worked pretty well for me.

[Chronocidal]

Quick clarification about what I was doing to get mine open.

I kept the foot open, and just pushed inwards, applying force along that red arrow, to apply torque to that blue lever-arm.  It's no use trying to keep the foot extended to do this, since it'll just push it back in, but once you start getting the heel to move, it'll actually collide with the bottom of the leg, and act as a lever to pop the ankle joint back down.

If you try this, go slowly, I pushed on this a good while to keep from applying too much stress to the rest of the leg.

[vlenhoff]

On 5/13/2019 at 10:49 PM, sh9000 said:

My orders of the VF-4 from NY arrived in the US and will be here soon.  Get ready for yours @vlenhoff.  I might also have a spare VF-1J Milia but without the box.

SWEET! Let me know when you're ready!

Oh and you "might" have a spare Milia?  Maybe we can come to an arrangement... 

I care more about the stand and the parts rather than the box. So if you wanna let it go, she will be part of the lineup! Even if you don't have the stand, I'll take it, but i do know or think the stand is red, or at least Max's stand is blue, but i got enough  stands for all of them. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by vlenhoff
content

[Bolt]

If the NHK Full Macross survey is anything to go by,  we should be seeing  a YF-19 eventually..

[borgified]

4 hours ago, Bolt said:

If the NHK Full Macross survey is anything to go by,  we should be seeing  a YF-19 eventually..

If that is so, a mini fold booster for Isamu's ride?

[vlenhoff]

On 5/13/2019 at 12:03 PM, Saburo said:

I really like your pictures.

[Bolt]

25 minutes ago, borgified said:

If that is so, a mini fold booster for Isamu's ride?

That would be sweet! And the experimental arm canon too!

(And , of course, the pin point barrier punch effects..)

Edited May 15, 2019 by Bolt

[borgified]

16 minutes ago, Bolt said:

That would be sweet! And the experimental arm canon too!

So that we could re-create this is some way or fashion?

I admit that the HMR Monster is too big for this.

[Bolt]

Lol. My wallet isn’t big enough either!

Here’s a question. Considering how awfully terrible the VF-2SS did in the NHK ultimate Macross poll (didn’t even rank in the top 50!). How much of a shelf warmer has the HMR VF-2SS been? From way over here, it seems to have been well received..

[Convectuoso]

2 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Lol. My wallet isn’t big enough either!

Here’s a question. Considering how awfully terrible the VF-2SS did in the NHK ultimate Macross poll (didn’t even rank in the top 50!). How much of a shelf warmer has the HMR VF-2SS been? From way over here, it seems to have been well received..

Not as bad as the Evo Toys version 

[Chronocidal]

1 minute ago, Bolt said:

Lol. My wallet isn’t big enough either!

Here’s a question. Considering how awfully terrible the VF-2SS did in the NHK ultimate Macross poll (didn’t even rank in the top 50!). How much of a shelf warmer has the HMR VF-2SS been? From way over here, it seems to have been well received..

I feel like the VF-2SS numbers are out of balance because of the existing market.  If you compare it to the ET version, people loved the HMR because it just looked better overall, and even if it was a shelf warmer compared to other HMRs, it probably blew the ET version out of the water.

It's been very well received within the rather niche audience it has, but it's not going to come anywhere close to the more well-known Macross designs that everyone grew up with.

[treatment]

22 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Lol. My wallet isn’t big enough either!

Here’s a question. Considering how awfully terrible the VF-2SS did in the NHK ultimate Macross poll (didn’t even rank in the top 50!). How much of a shelf warmer has the HMR VF-2SS been? From way over here, it seems to have been well received..

The Sylvie seemed to have sold fine and still holds its initial-pricing in value.

In contrast, the Nexx Hibiki didn't do so well and is the one shelf-warming right now.

Maybe it would've sold better and on par with Sylvie if only Bandai released it with  the actual Nexx pilot...

 

[tekering]

4 hours ago, Bolt said:

How much of a shelf warmer has the HMR VF-2SS been? From way over here, it seems to have been well received..

Last year, I saw a couple on the shelves of our local Toys 'R' Us (next to a Destroid Defender and the 35th Anniversary Messer), and was curious to see how quickly they would sell.

Last week, I noticed they were still there gathering dust... next to the Destroid Defender and the 35th Anniversary Messer.  

[Drad]

That's too bad that they're shelf puppies. I have both Sylvie and Nexx and love them. I've always wanted a good, toy version of the VF-2SS. For so many years, the only thing out there was the old Bandai kit. Maybe one day we'll see a larger scale VF-2SS with better quality than the Evolution Toys release.

[Bolt]

26 minutes ago, tekering said:

Last year, I saw a couple on the shelves of our local Toys 'R' Us (next to a Destroid Defender and the 35th Anniversary Messer), and was curious to see how quickly they would sell.

Last week, I noticed they were still there gathering dust... next to the Destroid Defender and the 35th Anniversary Messer.  

Lol. Next time you see those in the discount bin, grab all of them for me

Didn’t know any corporate toy stores carried these..

[Bolt]

2 minutes ago, Drad said:

Maybe one day we'll see a larger scale VF-2SS with better quality than the Evolution Toys release.

That would be Bandai IMO.

Unless Arcadia pulls a rabbit out of the hat..

[vlenhoff]

4 hours ago, borgified said:

So that we could re-create this is some way or fashion?

I admit that the HMR Monster is too big for this.

Ha ha, I love this!

@kkx I got a notification the HMR Max arrived. I'll play with it tomorrow,since i am still at the work. I can't wait to pose him in the lineup. This is going to be my first armored HMR, other than the VE-1 and the VT-1. I just remembered i said i would not get the M&M HMR because their armor didn't have accurate colors... and now i can't wait to get home.

I really hope Bandai makes the Tomahawk. It is my favorite of all the Macross destroyers.

[Drad]

I want that Tomahawk too, dang it. Been waiting forever. I think it's the best looking out of all the Destroids. Planning on picking up two of them.

[vlenhoff]

It arrived...

Group shot!

Macross Jam

Thank you @kkx for a great transaction on Super Max. It is a thing of beauty. With the wrong colors, but yeah, a thing of beauty!