Evolution Toy - VF-2SS Valkyrie I 《MACROSS II ~LOVERS AGAIN~&#1

[seti88]

Not sure if this is already been posted. New photos from TagHobby. Looks nice.

Altho its not in my sights originally, it certainly looks tighter and better constructed than before.

I can imagine this fitting quite well in an existing 1/60th valk collection.

If there is a on-going gripe, its the tabs sticking out the chest piece. Not that of a biggie but would b great if its recess-able...

If i had extra funds, i might have gone for it...

[wmkjr]

The interesting part is that this sample for Silvie's valkyrie is different than the one they showed at Wonderfest. The wonderfest sample was missing a lot of key paint details like the neck still being cast in white plastic, no markings on the shoulder etc. Evolution Toys show us the final product for Silvie's 2SS already!

You must've meant Miyazawa Mokei instead of WonderFest. Those pics in the link are from WonderFest 2016 Winter. The only one I saw with the white neck was the one for the Miyazawa Mokei back in November.

I think the wings open in fighter with SAP on may have been operator error. Maybe it has to be partially open as the rear leg armor might be too close to it in fighter?

From bat1911 on flickr:

Edited February 14, 2016 by wmkjr

[SuperHobo]

You must've meant Miyazawa Mokei instead of WonderFest. Those pics in the link are from WonderFest 2016 Winter. The only one I saw with the white neck was the one for the Miyazawa Mokei back in November.

I think the wings open in fighter with SAP on may have been operator error. Maybe it has to be partially open as the rear leg armor might be too close to it in fighter?

From bat1911 on flickr:

Okay, I see your right. For some reason I remember the Silvie 2SS at WF not having the improvements. I must be thinking of something else then.

[derex3592]

I suppose I'm actually gonna have to watch Macross II now so I can either be excited.....or not for these.

[505thAirborne]

I suppose I'm actually gonna have to watch Macross II now so I can either be excited.....or not for these.

Go in with super LOW expectations and then you'll actually enjoy it a bit. Has its moments.

The Mecha is the certainly the highlight of it.

[GabrielV]

Looking at that low angle pic really illustrated how the height of the SAP has been extremely overdone. It's probably about 4 times taller than it should be, which causes the main cannon and SAP wings to be way too high in jet mode.

In all honesty, I have never, in all these years, noticed that antenna on top until now. I thought it had to be some kind of error or modification. But it's there in the original lineart. I guess I had just always edited it out in my head. Or maybe I had paid more attention to the model kit and Palladium RPG drawings where the antenna is not present. Yet another reason to watch the OAV again soon.

The low angle pic definitely shows the port side SAP wing drooping. It's definitely being supported by the normal fighter wing. Although the one on the starboard side seems fine.

Edit: And after freeze framing through certain parts of Episode 1, 4, and 6 on the BluRay, I can say that the antenna is not consistent. It is not present in the opening animation. I don't see it at all in episodes 1 and 6. Although 6 doesn't count, because it has the worst animation in the OAV. It is visible in several shots of the VF-2 that Sylvie uses in episode 4. Even though it appears in a sustained overhead shot of the VF-2 in episode 4, it's very easy to miss. I only ever spotted it on Fighter mode. The only times it is clear are when Sylvie and Hibiki are trying to lock in on Ishtar's tracer and at the end when they're in the derelict fighter presumably transmitting an SOS.

Edited February 14, 2016 by GabrielV

[Dark Skull]

Go in with super LOW expectations and then you'll actually enjoy it a bit. Has its moments.

The Mecha is the certainly the highlight of it.

When I watched it way back in the day, I went into it with no expectations

Edited February 14, 2016 by Dark Skull

[505thAirborne]

When I watched it way back in the day, I went into it with no expectations

All I knew back in 93 is the VHS (Yes VHS tape) said Macross II and I thought "I MUST watch this!"

Been wanting a VF-2SS & VF-2JA ever since!

[Dark Skull]

All I knew back in 93 is the VHS (Yes VHS tape) said Macross II and I thought "I MUST watch this!"

Been wanting a VF-2SS & VF-2JA ever since!

Same here. If they announce a VF-2JA preorder, it will be so bought. I'm kinda glad it's not being handled by Bandai. For whatever reason, I can never successfully place a preorder for any of their Macross stuff.

[Reïvaj]

Not buying this one, I just don't like it. But I do believe this won't be the last VF-2 we'll see. I want to believe.

Considering how many years we've had to wait already, and the fact that the only game we're getting is from an (admittedly) third rate company? I'm not holding my breath. I'm also clinging to my order for dear life, because this is the valkyrie I've waited half my life for. Sure, it looks kinda cheap and low on the detail, but it's a VF-2SS. In the immortal words of Ground'skeeper willie, 'it's not pretty, but eet'll dyoo'

Yeah, I know what you mean but still don't like it. IMO the fighter mode looks so wrong that I feel like I'd prefer waiting for a new version rather than cohabitating with it

[arbit]

This is such a throwback, and not in a good way.

It looks like it was manufactured in 1982.

But if I had money to burn, I would get it and pretend its an old Hi Metal.

Edited February 14, 2016 by arbit

[anime52k8]

Yeah, I know what you mean but still don't like it. IMO the fighter mode looks so wrong that I feel like I'd prefer waiting for a new version rather than cohabitating with it

SO_WRONG.png

the whole thing (valk and sap pack) looks too tall in fighter mode, but what really bothers me is how the the shape of the center cowl on the SAP pack is just completely wrong. Like they didn't even try to make it look like the line-art at all.

This is such a throwback, and not in a good way.

It looks like it was manufactured in 1982.

But if I had money to burn, I would get it and pretend its an old Hi Metal.

let's give credit where credit is due, it looks like a toy from 1992, not 1982.

[arbit]

let's give credit where credit is due, it looks like a toy from 1992, not 1982.

Agree. I stand corrected.

But I am developing an unhealthy attachment to this thing anyway.

Kind of like you would for someone you're dating, and you know its not right, but they're all you got, and maybe you're all they got. Sigh...

Edited February 14, 2016 by arbit

[anime52k8]

Agree. I stand corrected.

But I am developing an unhealthy attachment to this thing anyway.

Kind of like you would for someone you're dating, and you know its not right, but they're all you got, and maybe you're all they got. Sigh...

I almost kind of want to get one as some sort of strange curiosity. I also kind of want to get one in the vain hope it'll result in them making a VF-2JA.

That's another thing that makes me sad about this thread. It's a constant reminder how unlikely it is that we'll ever see a truly good VF-2JA toy.

[jvmacross]

[505thAirborne]

Same here. If they announce a VF-2JA preorder, it will be so bought. I'm kinda glad it's not being handled by Bandai. For whatever reason, I can never successfully place a preorder for any of their Macross stuff.

I got lucky with the VF-19 Advance & YF-29B, otherwise I missed out on all the others. they slipped through my grasp at Warp Speed!

[Graham]

the whole thing (valk and sap pack) looks too tall in fighter mode, but what really bothers me is how the the shape of the center cowl on the SAP pack is just completely wrong. Like they didn't even try to make it look like the line-art at all.

let's give credit where credit is due, it looks like a toy from 1992, not 1982.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious that Evolution took their design inspiration for the SAP from the look of the 1992 Bandai model kit, especially the height and shape of the cowl.

They definitely did NOT follow the line art.

Graham

[Kanedas Bike]

Yeah, it's pretty obvious that Evolution took their design inspiration for the SAP from the look of the 1992 Bandai model kit, especially the height and shape of the cowl.

They definitely did NOT follow the line art.

Graham

Then it seems that they don't know their target market.

Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai - while sometimes after initial missteps will adhere to line art accuracy as much as technically possible. So much so that the concept accuracy isn't new to Macross toy collectibles.

IMHO if the price weren't so high then people would be more forgiving, but perception of value for the dollar is important and for the price that Evolution is asking...

-b.

[auberondreaming]

Then it seems that they don't know their target market.

Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai - while sometimes after initial missteps will adhere to line art accuracy as much as technically possible. So much so that the concept accuracy isn't new to Macross toy collectibles.

IMHO if the price weren't so high then people would be more forgiving, but perception of value for the dollar is important and for the price that Evolution is asking...

-b.

All of this. This toy doesn't command the price. I was all about defending this product until I saw the actual piece. So many problems that (to me) it barely resembles a vf-2ss. And then to ask Arcadia prices? I have the sap version on pre-order just in case after cancelling my initial pre-order, but once the first edition reviews come out I have a strong suspicion I will be letting that one go as well. Super sad

[NeoverseOmega]

This toy is tragic in a lot of ways. All I've seen this company produce is some reasonably well done Gattai style super robots - venturing out into transformable territory is apparently very difficult. You can see this not only with Yamato/Arcadia, Bandai, and all the knockoff transformable robots done over the years. Yes, there are some AWESOME third party transformer companies, but keep in mind they came into being for EXACTLY that purpose and that purpose alone (AND for a franchise that is probably easily ten times more popular than ANY Macross). This is a niche within a niche within a niche being done by a company that is used to working with super-robots that function just by taking things apart and putting them back together differently. They have to price things based on producing a tiny run on top of this, hoping that that doesn't cause their small base to decide it's just not worth it. Heh, economics is like junior high - it's all about popularity!

The version 1 VF-1 by Yamato was ballsy but kind of awful - they had the guts to not imitate previous attempts, but in doing so lost all the advantages the old designs had. I can't blame new guys for going straight to the Bandai model mold to start their 3D work - at least they know the shapes and parts do actually move into the forms they want them too and probably cut R&D time and costs by a truckload. Sadly, if this were released at the same time as Macross 7 came out and was competing with Bandai's old fire-valk, this piece would look pretty awesome - heck, in some ways this is less a departure than the CM's Legioss or the version one VF-25 was, even though the plastic quality looks waaaaaay off . . . . as usual, if I weren't so broke, I'd love to support them enough to send the message that their attempt is appreciated enough that I hope they learn from it.

Heh, and one of my holy grails would be a VF-2J, so I'd love to see them improve enough to tackle that and succeed. Competition is great and I always love seeing classic transforming mecha being rediscovered - it's just a shame that by the time this beautifully 90's design got visited, it was by an inexperienced newbie who could only do a fantastic job at making it look like it should have looked in the 90's . . . .

Still, I hope it does well enough that we either see that 2J, or Bandai says "Hey, maybe we should actually do these . . . "

I also hope it's more like CM's Legioss than it looks - if it is rock solid and a joy to hold and play with I think more people would be willing to give them a second shot.

[jvmacross]

Not sure how folks can say that this toy does not "command" the asking price.....the fact that we are now three into this line, when the initial concern was that we would never get past the first release, would seem to contradict this belief....thankfully for everyone wanting this line to succeed, the target market seems to be all in on the Macross II line so far....all I can do is hope the Japanese collectors continue to support the line so I can get an Icarus and Metal Siren!

[jenius]

That is very curious logic. I mean, from the sellers perspective I guess it works. Considering no buyers have purchased it and handled it, there seems to be plenty of room for the consensus judgement that this thing may be over-priced trash.

[Kanedas Bike]

Not sure how folks can say that this toy does not "command" the asking price.....the fact that we are now three into this line, when the initial concern was that we would never get past the first release, would seem to contradict this belief....thankfully for everyone wanting this line to succeed, the target market seems to be all in on the Macross II line so far....all I can do is hope the Japanese collectors continue to support the line so I can get an Icarus and Metal Siren!

Well, I can say that easily. And impartially so because I'm not a fan of Mac II or the different Valkyries seen. I will say that they look cool in the anime, but I'm not vested in if toys get made or not.

And people will, whether we like it or not (and often I don't), draw comparisons all the time. We see it with the other players in the Macross arena. But you have to know or understand that when an item commands a "premium" price then the expectation will be that the product be a "premium" item. Company A and B get beat to hell all the time when that expectation isn't met.

Really not trying to rain on the parade, I truly hope that fans get a good release, and even more so, updated releases for Mac II but what I've seen so far leaves me scratching my head and asking "really?".

-b.

[Reïvaj]

[...] Still, I hope it does well enough that we either see that 2J, or Bandai says "Hey, maybe we should actually do these . . . "

I also hope it's more like CM's Legioss than it looks - if it is rock solid and a joy to hold and play with I think more people would be willing to give them a second shot.

+1

[jvmacross]

Apparently, ET feels confident enough on pre-sales that they have actually moved ahead with releasing more entries to this line....those deciding not to purchase it due to perceiving it as "over-priced trash" are irrelevant to ET in Japan and especially outside of Japan....since this is a niche within a niche, I would think the number of sales required to turn a profit would be quite low....thus the price point.

Unfortunately, for those that have uncompromising standards for their toys, whether in build-quality, line-art accuracy, or both.....these ET VF-2SS's have one thing going for them that is superceding the usual expectations and perhaps even the desire from ET to "do better".....they are the only game in town for a 1/60-ish VF-2SS....

For those that think this is junk....you'll have to wait for something better....for everyone who is just happy to finally be getting any VF-2SS DX toy after so many years.....the wait is almost over!

[SuperHobo]

The release for Silvie's should be this week. The final countdown begins.

[no3Ljm]

That's weird. HLJ release date has been moved to March 2016. Guess it's time to ship my VF-0S.

[SuperHobo]

That's weird. HLJ release date has been moved to March 2016. Guess it's time to ship my VF-0S.

Huh that's odd. NY states it should be coming in on the 18th.

[UN Spacy]

Yikes...I can't remember a Macross figure that's been as delayed as this.

[Graham]

It's usually only the Master Files books that get delayed this much...............hahaha

[Scyla]

For me it is hard to judge how good of a VF-2SS representation it is going to be. At first glance they seem to got everything wrong. The shoulder blocks should sit behind the secondary intakes not behind. The whole Fighter is twice as thick as it should be. But without having the toy in hand I can not judge what they could have done differently. Maybe their premise was to create a toy that has the emphasis on Battroid-Mode and everything else is lacking due to that.

And while I like my Valkyries in Battroid-Mode the fascination for transformable mecha in Macross comes from the fact that they look like real fighter jets (well as real as it gets) that transform into robots. This derivation from the Transformers principle of having a robot hang on the underside of the airplane is what drives me to them. When translating drawn designs (which is true for the VF-2SS) to a 3D toy you have to make sacrifices when it comes to Battroid-Mode because it will never look as bulky as shown in the line-art due to anime magic. That is why Yamatos offerings do not look like in the show when it comes to Battroid-Modes. That is true for their SDF-M/DYRL and M7 toys. If you compare the VF-17 toy to the animation model you can make out the differences. Yamato/Arcadia and to an extend Bandai got very good in minimizing the gap between real life design and animation model. ET has a lot to learn there.

So if ET has chosen to design with Battroid-Mode in mind first a lot of what is lacking in Fighter-Mode is explainable. Since they have the most experience with non-transformable super robot toys I can see why they did it this way. However that is not my preferred approach. For me Fighter-Mode should look as close to the animation model as possible. I could deal with shortcomings in the Battroid-Mode because they have to be expected.

In addition most first approaches look terrible to todays versions when it comes to Macross toys. Compare Yamatos V1 VF-1 to their V2 version or the Frontier Valkyries to the Renewal toys. In addition the VF-2SS seems even harder to get right than the VF-1 since it has a more complex transformation and an incredible thin Fighter-Mode. I think ET will learn a lot from their first Valkyrie but I can't see them doing a second version of it. The toy looks so similar to Yamatos first steps in the Valkyrie business with the 1/72 scale Macross Plus toys, which are terrible compared to todays Valkyries.

I have to wait for some in-hand reports until I can make a final judgment and if the Battroid-Mode is solid I can appreciate their VF-2SS for what it is even if it is not what I would have wished for. It would be incredibly interesting to see how Arcadia or Bandai would approach this mecha.

[aceoftherebellion]

That's probably the nail on the head, emphasizing Battroid vs Fighter or vice versa. It seems like the larger majority here at MW prefer a fighter-first approach, and they seem to have gone for Battroid first- easy match made in hell. I'll always be a robot-first guy, so it doesn't actually bother me in the least here, but I can see the hang ups. What it makes me wonder is what the majority consensus is among Japanese fans, whether their real target audience actually cares more about a perfectly streamlined fighter mode, or a more precise battroid mode.

[Renato]

I got lucky with the VF-19 Advance & YF-29B, otherwise I missed out on all the others. they slipped through my grasp at Warp Speed!

Hey, dude, I love your avatar!

(Yeah, that's it! I really have nothing to say about this valk. )

It's usually only the Master Files books that get delayed this much...............hahaha

And Macross the First, don't forget.

[Graham]

I'm definitely a fighter mode first guy.

When I only buy one of a VF toy it always gets displayed in fighter mode.

Only if I buy a second toy, which is rare these days, does it get displayed in Battroid mode.

[auberondreaming]

I would be fine with the logic of "we prioritized battroid over fighter" if the battroid actually was spot on. That giant plank on the back pack? The intakes not coming up enough to be visible from the front of the mecha over the shoulders? The giant tabs on the chest? And most important no horizontal leg joint? If ONE of the modes looked really good I would be happy. Couple all of that with questionable looking plastic, and yes I think I can effectively reach my own opinion of this toy does not command the price they are asking for it (from me). ESPECIALLY since they have the ability to look at the two companies they are competing with. You don't get to just look at the competitions pricing and say yeah that price looks good, you have to compete with the product as well.

But enough negativity out of me. I get wanting to support the only vf-2ss game in town. Not trying to make anyone dislike this product, if you are happy with it that's awesome, I wish I could be too! I would much rather be happy about a thing than disappointed. Just for me, for being so in love with this design, it breaks my heart that they screwed it up to the point that I actually will happily not get one.