Hi-Metal R

[Mommar]

Seems like a lot of peeps expect early 2000's yamato pricing for mad playability which is just not feasible (like, no wonder they went out if business haha?)

It's a tiny toy that sacrifices some accuracy for simplicity by using swappable parts. When battroid mode is like 10cm tall what do people expect?

These things have been out since 2010 and the only real change is the nosecone tip popping off, new vf-1s head and some parts now being metal (shoulder parts)

Honestly dont get why peeps so upset about stuff that's been known for like 5 years.

Remember in the lead-up to this when people were praising Bandai as the second coming and panning Arcadia? I kept telling everyone they're not spectacular and curb their enthusiasm? I was told I was being negative, etc... Well, now we're seeing the fallout from all of those sky high expectations. Edited December 1, 2015 by Mommar

[jenius]

Wow, did you just pat yourself on the back for finding a person who agreed with your negativity?

[bbrain]

I might sell mine soon. Also try looking at JP Auctions. Defo cheaper than what other web stores want.

How much for yours bro

[QEssential]

Remember in the lead-up to this when people were praising Bandai as the second coming and panning Arcadia? I kept telling everyone they're not spectacular and curb their enthusiasm? I was told I was being negative, etc... Well, now we're seeing the fallout from all of those sky high expectations.

Make no mistake. I'm not dissing Bandai's capabilities here. I'm sure if they want to go all out they can exceed Arcadia's valks. For some reason, I sense that Macross has been an afterthought with Bandai. They don't seem to be interested in this brand.

Then there is the question of balancing cost. I have not doubt they can make a better 1/100 toy with all the bells and whistles but would you pay upwards of $300 for a toy? I would but I don't expect many people would.

Right now, looking at this Hi-metal in my hand. I'm left with a tinge of disappointment and regret in the sense that this (to me) is so close to perfection if only they could have engineered the built in landing gears and heatshield or a proper smoked out canopy then this would have been the best Macross toy EVER for me.

How much for yours bro

I paid $160 AUD for it. Might not be worthwhile shipping it to you. lol

[Vifam7]

Make no mistake. I'm not dissing Bandai's capabilities here. I'm sure if they want to go all out they can exceed Arcadia's valks. For some reason, I sense that Macross has been an afterthought with Bandai. They don't seem to be interested in this brand.

Despite all the DX toys they've released, the extensive lineup planned for the HMR series, and their sponsorship of Macross Delta?

SMH

Edited December 1, 2015 by Vifam7

[QEssential]

Despite all the DX toys they've released and their sponsorship of Macross Delta?

SMH

By this I mean SDF Macross. They seem intend only on developing new Macross lines... which I am not interesting in. I'm only keen on VF-1s. Haha!

Which is strange because in whatever new toy lines they make for Gundam, they would surely include RX-78. VF-1s feeling no love... lol

[Kanedas Bike]

Despite all the DX toys they've released, the extensive lineup planned for the HMR series, and their sponsorship of Macross Delta?

SMH

To be fair Macross seemed very much an after-thought for Bandai prior to Macross Frontier, they were very content to let Yamato have their run of the property. Once they had skin-in-the-game by way of an investment then of course merchandise followed. And I would hardly count the first iteration of the DX Chogokin a worthwhile effort or demonstration of Bandai "being interested".

Now that they have dollars invested, which makes perfect sense from a business perspective, they are putting effort into Macross. And I'm happy for it, I like the DX Chogokin Renewals, a lot.

On topic however I'm very much wait and see on whether or not I'll personally enjoy the Hi Metal R. I skipped out on the last Hi Metal releases all together. Hopefully I like them, but if not I'll sell them and go about my merry way.

-b.

[seti88]

My only wish is that bandai finally releases a metal hi-metal.

[jenius]

To be fair Macross seemed very much an after-thought for Bandai prior to Macross Frontier, they were very content to let Yamato have their run of the property. Once they had skin-in-the-game by way of an investment then of course merchandise followed. And I would hardly count the first iteration of the DX Chogokin a worthwhile effort or demonstration of Bandai "being interested".

Now that they have dollars invested, which makes perfect sense from a business perspective, they are putting effort into Macross. And I'm happy for it, I like the DX Chogokin Renewals, a lot.

On topic however I'm very much wait and see on whether or not I'll personally enjoy the Hi Metal R. I skipped out on the last Hi Metal releases all together. Hopefully I like them, but if not I'll sell them and go about my merry way.

-b.

The only thing that sounds a little off in that argument is the 'skin in the game' statement since the reason we have ANY Macross after SDF is because Bandai has been ponying up. Sure, Bandai has been rather stringent about giving the shows a limited lifetime of support and has not taken many risks so their efforts have definitely been questionable. With Frontier, I think they were caught off guard by its popularity and by how savvy the consumers had gotten because of those other companies that had been producing toys for the series Bandai had long given up on. I mean, the first round of Frontier toys sure feel like a progression from Bandai's Mac7 toys rather than from Yamato's toys. Fortunately, they figured things out. I think the big difference now is the fairly rapid release of a sequel series keeping the license hot and the idea that Yamato proved a market existed and then exited that market. The Hi-Metal R line is a great opportunity because the smaller scale and cost reduces the risks pretty considerably provided they don't go crazy with over-production. I think that was sort of the trap Yamato had fallen into. Any missteps were very big deals.

[aaajin]

Why cant Bandai just copy the heatshield gimmick from the v2 1/60, like what they did on the VF/YF-19?. And make the heatshield in metal, so it will not break. Same goes with the landing gears.

Sure, it will be hell to move/slide it in place. But I dont think it will be a big issue (they can still mod Yamato's mechanism). It will rival Yamato's/Arcadia's 1/60 if its perfect transformation.

Bought one just to see how it fares. Never owned the 1st ver. Have a feeling I will not like it.

[koonfasa]

I kept my Phoenixhawk preorder!

So, um... where's the discusion for the Toynami ones? I wanna know what they are like.

[Duymon]

would you pay upwards of $300 for a toy? I would but I don't expect many people would.

So...um... you'd be surprised just how many people can pony up $300 +

Edited December 1, 2015 by Duymon

[Old Man]

Anybody know when the Glaug preorder is supposed to go live?

[jenius]

Why cant Bandai just copy the heatshield gimmick from the v2 1/60, like what they did on the VF/YF-19?. And make the heatshield in metal, so it will not break. Same goes with the landing gears.

Sure, it will be hell to move/slide it in place. But I dont think it will be a big issue (they can still mod Yamato's mechanism). It will rival Yamato's/Arcadia's 1/60 if its perfect transformation.

Bought one just to see how it fares. Never owned the 1st ver. Have a feeling I will not like it.

I think the number 1 reason for "Why isn't the HMR a smaller Yamato V2" is simply price. If you start from the "anything is possible" you eventually have to work toward "but what do we want to sell this for?" This is particularly relevant given the tough run the Hi-Metal line had the first time out and went up against Yamato's that were selling below a very reasonable MSRP. If you think about it, if the HMR were a small Yamato V2, it should theoretically cost MORE than a Yamato V2 both due to the realities of today and because of how precise the fit and finish of everything would need to be. Who would be buying the HMRs at more than the cost of Arcadia's recent releases? Maybe they could achieve some economies of scale, save some on plastic, and cut back on some details but you'd still be talking about a toy very similar in price to very recent larger toys so that'd be a losing proposition.

I think this also gets to something else. People are saying, and rightly, "I don't like the HMR because it's not a deluxe toy." There's nothing wrong to being a buyer of deluxe toys and choosing not to go for non-deluxe lines. The frustration is not that the HMR line is what it is, the frustration is really that no one is currently making deluxe VF-1 toys. So you see some people unhappy because they feel they're buying HMR VF-1 toys because it's the only current option, and i think your "Meh, I'll try it out" is a very safe way to figure it out. If it's not for you, that's fine, you're waiting for the next higher end option (and again, nothing wrong with that).

I think Bandai has been getting carried away with all the little extra bits.. they're trying too hard. Spent missile pieces for the GBP? Wings with/without hardpoints? To some it represents fun optional parts but, I think, for a lot of people it just looks like noise and loose bits to lose. I will say though that the heatshield and landing gears make sense to me. The landing gear doors alone could be a nightmare with tiny easily broken hinges that might not always seat properly or God knows what. We all know everyone would complain about the look of those landing gears too if they were integrated and God-forbid if you couldn't stow the gun. I'd guess the heatshield is also a durability issue. Metal might work but I would think the reason they wouldn't go that route is paint scraping. Aren't Yamato heatshields clear plastic with paint only on the interior side?

[jasonmacross83]

Anybody know when the Glaug preorder is supposed to go live?

Can someone answer his question? I'm curious too

[mickyg]

Yamato heatshields are solid coloured plastic, not clear. And in varying colours too (red, black, white...)

[Big s]

i honestly think the gimmick for the integrated heat shield At that scale would end up too fragile. The shield itself would also end up paper thin. The landing gear would be nice though, but those issues don't bother me much. The look of this product out weighs any negatives I have heard so far. Can't wait for the regult, glaug and destroids.

[jenius]

Not tonight on the Glaug?

[neoexcaliber]

Not tonight on the Glaug?

Glaug pre-order would probably be next month.

[jenius]

Glaug pre-order would probably be next month.

I was hoping since we already preordered the April release that would make May tonight... does that mean the Glaug will be New Year's night? If so, having an infant at home may actually give me a leg up on something...

[Old Man]

I was hoping since we already preordered the April release that would make May tonight... does that mean the Glaug will be New Year's night? If so, having an infant at home may actually give me a leg up on something...

I was guessing New Year's night myself...

[jasonmacross83]

it would be nice if it were on January 2nd, oh well

I found this. First time I've seen it.

[ArchieNov]

I find it strange to read complaints about how the HMR doesn't compare to the 1/60 VF-1, when it was already established a long time ago that we shouldn't expect the same things because of the different scales. Also about how X parts should be integrated when it was already clear from the start that they're going to be swappable.

This is just my perspective, but it just feels like some got into the HMR with the wrong expectations, even though the released product was more or less exactly like it was expected to be. Kinda like buying a 1/144 Unicorn Gundam and saying it sucks because it can't do a perfect transformation like the larger scale Unicorn Gundams.

[Scyla]

i honestly think the gimmick for the integrated heat shield At that scale would end up too fragile. The shield itself would also end up paper thin. The landing gear would be nice though, but those issues don't bother me much. The look of this product out weighs any negatives I have heard so far. Can't wait for the regult, glaug and destroids.

I agree. If you take a look at the Yamato 1/72 VF-11B you can see how flimsy the heat shield is for a smaller toy. Imagine the outrage if Bandai included a piece of foil for the heat shield instead of a swappable part.

[Gundam@EFSF]

Do you remember love? test shots...

[Mommar]

Wow, did you just pat yourself on the back for finding a person who agreed with your negativity?

It's more like a hand down the pants.

And I praised the toy for what it did right time and again. It's just not the end-all, be-all.

[Lolicon]

The HMR VF-1 is easily the second best VF-1 toy released this year.

Go Number Two!

[CRYO]

Hikki arrived

Do you remember?

[Tking22]

Edit: Forget it, deleted post.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Tking22

[Plasticgoose]

I posted this before, but BanDai made Ultraman XIG fighters in the same scale as the HMR line with retractable landing gear and wheel doors. I have one and am actually impressed with the quality of the design. I too was worried about small tabs breaking on the wheel doors but they are smooth and very nice. The landing gear are metal with a rolling plastic wheel (wish it was rubber), but for the scale and quality it is nice. I think this could easily be applied to the HMR VF-1. I am familiar with the line so unless the leg and nose cavities are open, it should be easy. I think the reason why BanDai does not invest in the landing gear is because it is a space plane that transforms into a mech. Rarely do we see the valk on the ground on wheels, so in their eyes of BanDai it would not be worth the investment to redesign seeing how fans would display it.

[Tking22]

For those that got theirs, did Bandai include the extra tip to make the strike parts super? Just a little thing, but I've been wondering since this came out.

[Vifam7]

For those that got theirs, did Bandai include the extra tip to make the strike parts super? Just a little thing, but I've been wondering since this came out.

Yes, the extra tip is included to switch between Super and Strike.

[jenius]

The HMR VF-1 is easily the second best VF-1 toy released this year.

Go Number Two!

What are the MSRP of #1 and #2?

[aaajin]

I posted this before, but BanDai made Ultraman XIG fighters in the same scale as the HMR line with retractable landing gear and wheel doors. I have one and am actually impressed with the quality of the design. I too was worried about small tabs breaking on the wheel doors but they are smooth and very nice. The landing gear are metal with a rolling plastic wheel (wish it was rubber), but for the scale and quality it is nice. I think this could easily be applied to the HMR VF-1. I am familiar with the line so unless the leg and nose cavities are open, it should be easy. I think the reason why BanDai does not invest in the landing gear is because it is a space plane that transforms into a mech. Rarely do we see the valk on the ground on wheels, so in their eyes of BanDai it would not be worth the investment to redesign seeing how fans would display it.

Since we are discussing landing gears, was wondering in DYRL was there a scene that shows the valk with landing gears? The only landing scene that I can remember was Hikaru w Misa on devastated earth crash landing in gerwalk mode.

[treatment]

I posted this before, but BanDai made Ultraman XIG fighters in the same scale as the HMR line with retractable landing gear and wheel doors. I have one and am actually impressed with the quality of the design. I too was worried about small tabs breaking on the wheel doors but they are smooth and very nice. The landing gear are metal with a rolling plastic wheel (wish it was rubber), but for the scale and quality it is nice. I think this could easily be applied to the HMR VF-1. I am familiar with the line so unless the leg and nose cavities are open, it should be easy. I think the reason why BanDai does not invest in the landing gear is because it is a space plane that transforms into a mech. Rarely do we see the valk on the ground on wheels, so in their eyes of BanDai it would not be worth the investment to redesign seeing how fans would display it.

Bandai is just inconsistent with their own products regarding landing-gears and stuff.

For example, I got the Soul Of Chogokin GX-31v Voltes V, which is a combiner of five transformables. The individual ships are even tinier in size than the 1/100 HM-Rs.

Yet, within that GX-31v team, some have integrated landing gears (Cruiser, Frigate) (example from Chachi's review: https://youtu.be/Ryakyc7Ji7U?t=4m13s and https://youtu.be/Ryakyc7Ji7U?t=8m7s , respectively) , while one (Bomber) uses a separate detachable/attachable landing-gears (from cdx https://youtu.be/UB8atUxD5B8?t=9m51s ).

I think it's the same stuff with another SOC combiner (GX-03/GX-50).

It's quite a ridiculously head-scratcher design decision for landing-gears within the same bot-team, as much as with the HM/HM-R...

...

Since we are discussing landing gears, was wondering in DYRL was there a scene that shows the valk with landing gears? The only landing scene that I can remember was Hikaru w Misa on devastated earth crash landing in gerwalk mode.

Can't recall exactly, but how about in the hangar/bay scene where everyone was putting on the FAST-packs and scrambling to get a valk out?

Edited December 1, 2015 by treatment