Whats next for Arcadia?

[ValkAddict]

I hope Arcadia releases a Premium Finish VF-0A ... please, please, please!!

[borgified]

Maybe it will get done within 20 years @ValkAddict, Maybe....  

[Corrinald]

19 minutes ago, ValkAddict said:

I hope Arcadia releases a Premium Finish VF-0A ... please, please, please!!

I am hoping for the same!

[505thAirborne]

5 hours ago, ValkAddict said:

I hope Arcadia releases a Premium Finish VF-0A ... please, please, please!!

I'd love to see it happen one of these days but buckle up for that price tag. 

[sqidd]

For the life of me I can't think of anything Arcadia could release that I don't already have or don't want. Except a TV SDF-1. Kind of a bummer really.

[lechuck]

53 minutes ago, sqidd said:

For the life of me I can't think of anything Arcadia could release that I don't already have or don't want. Except a TV SDF-1. Kind of a bummer really.

VF-5000B Star Mirage?

 

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, lechuck said:

VF-5000B Star Mirage?

 

Good point. I would like to see them release some never before released Valks. A VF-2 for example. But it doesn't seem like Arcadia is willing to stick their necks out anymore. Have they made anything that Yamato didn't?

[technoblue]

The VF-0D is the one Valkyrie that is all Arcadia, I think, and not an updated design. Other Macross-related items include the VF-0 reactive armor sets and the SF-3A Lancer II.

It would be terrific to see Arcadia tackle another Valkyrie design from the ground up, though, especially one never before seen in toy form.

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, technoblue said:

The VF-0D is the one Valkyrie that is all Arcadia, I think, and not an updated design. Other Macross-related items include the VF-0 reactive armor sets and the SF-3A Lancer II.

It would be terrific to see Arcadia tackle another Valkyrie design from the ground up, though, especially one never before seen in toy form.

It is. But then VF-0D also came from VF-0 design which it’s an update from Yamato’s VF-0. Same with their YF-19 which an update from Yamato’s VF-19. Same can be said with the recent Sv-51.

Yup, I agree that it would be nice to see Arcadia to do something new, never been released from ground up.  

[technoblue]

18 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

It is. But then VF-0D also came from VF-0 design which it’s an update from Yamato’s VF-0. Same with their YF-19 which an update from Yamato’s VF-19. Same can be said with the recent Sv-51.

I like how Arcadia improved on the VF-0 design with the 0S. The 0D actually feels like Arcadia's first new fighter to me with it's two-seat cockpit and unique wing configuration. The 0A and Ivanov's Sv-51 could have been choice releases too, but Arcadia Yamato'd themselves.  That said, after seeing Ivanov's 51 I'm really looking forward to Arcadia's update to Nora's variable fighter. 

The YF-19 is just lovely...but yeah, the Yamato lineage is evident.

[jenius]

While I would love to see Arcadia go deep with Kawamori's less known designs, it's also more a work of love for them than a business at this point and it's tough to expect them to love the obscure mecha as much as the stuff they also grew up watching. Coming from the ashes of a business that spread itself too thin has to make them extra cautious also. 

[Chronocidal]

Maybe if Bandai's going to sit on their YF-21, they can do a PF re-release?  I'd probably pick up one or two, if they keep the price reasonable for the mold's age.

[borgified]

Ouch... That's going to be a hard one @Chronocidal if and when a PF YF-21 Omega One is to be done. 

I would like a upgraded YF-21 (got Gamlin's 22s nevertheless), however there's two things that I don't like in the YF-21/VF-22:

(1) De-limiter mode and the ability to pop off the legs for this unslightly display option.

(2) Two rear landing gears that retract when accidently moved backward when deployed.

Price might be around 50k yen when said and done. 

 

[Zip]

16 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Maybe if Bandai's going to sit on their YF-21, they can do a PF re-release?  I'd probably pick up one or two, if they keep the price reasonable for the mold's age.

A VF-11 would be nice too.  Hell, even a plain reissue of the original 1/60.

57 minutes ago, jenius said:

While I would love to see Arcadia go deep with Kawamori's less known designs, it's also more a work of love for them than a business at this point and it's tough to expect them to love the obscure mecha as much as the stuff they also grew up watching. Coming from the ashes of a business that spread itself too thin has to make them extra cautious also. 

I think Arcadia isn't spreading themselves enough.  Have they touched anything new that doesn't have its roots from Yamato?  Meanwhile you have companies like Sentinel making perfect transformation Legioss toys from scratch, a real missed opportunity for Arcadia.  

Once the third party Transformers companies are no longer able to make TF's, they'll be forced to become legitimate.  We're already starting to see that with some of the former KO Metal Build companies now making legitimate licensed figures for Gurren Lagann and the like.  It's only a matter of time before established third party companies like Fanstoys or Master Mind Creations come into the Japanese giant robot scene, and with Bigwest and Harmony Gold finally sorting out the international licensing issues, Macross will be on the plate for these companies to tackle. While Bandai likely won't be phased, small companies like Arcadia will be in a world of hurt if they can't churn out enough product to compete.

[sqidd]

5 hours ago, Zip said:

 

Once the third party Transformers companies are no longer able to make TF's, they'll be forced to become legitimate.  We're already starting to see that with some of the former KO Metal Build companies now making legitimate licensed figures for Gurren Lagann and the like.  It's only a matter of time before established third party companies like Fanstoys or Master Mind Creations come into the Japanese giant robot scene, and with Bigwest and Harmony Gold finally sorting out the international licensing issues, Macross will be on the plate for these companies to tackle. While Bandai likely won't be phased, small companies like Arcadia will be in a world of hurt if they can't churn out enough product to compete.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Arcadia has not done a single valk from scratch.

They pay T-Rex to design the toys (YF-19, VF-0, SV-51, Garland, Proto Garland, VF-4). 

Mr. K from Arcadia is in charge of the projects and outsources design teams like T-Rex.

Sentinel has done the same, their Legioss was designed by T-Rex Toys, same as the 1/12 ride armors.

T-Rex also designed the Beagle ride armors.

They also do stuff for Bandai.

Arcadia has not enough money to secure Macross licenses

[technoblue]

21 minutes ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

Mr. K from Arcadia is in charge of the projects and outsources design teams like T-Rex.

Sentinel has done the same, their Legioss was designed by T-Rex Toys, same as the 1/12 ride armors.

T-Rex also designed the Beagle ride armors.

They also do stuff for Bandai.

Thanks, Ignacio. Yeah, a lot is outsourced and T-Rex is behind many designs, including Macross.

Third-parties like Master Made and Fans (Fext) Project have dipped their toes into the Macross space before. And as promising as those designs were, their ventures into this space (so far) were only temporary. Licensing official Macross products evidently is more involved. Even blurring lines of legitimacy, like third-parties often do with Transformers, is not as easy to do with Macross IP. I’m also curious if T-Rex and a few of the other sanctioned official teams get precedence with Big West?

With regard to the landscape, I don’t see things changing too much. We may get a rare success story like KitzConcept, but established companies like Bandai and Arcadia going away? Nah, I don’t see that happening.

[ValkAddict]

7 hours ago, jenius said:

 Coming from the ashes of a business that spread itself too thin has to make them extra cautious also. 

^ It's a real shame that Yamato went under. I've spent the last year tracking down some of their 'old' toy releases. Yamato made some pretty cool toys, like the 1/3000 DYRL Macross, the 1/200 3 mode valkyrie figurines with UN spacy stands, the 1/60 VF-19F and I am still on the hunt for their 1/60 destroids.

[pengbuzz]

So... I guess a 1/3000 TV version of the Macross isn't even going to be considered for the drawing table anytime this century...

[Zip]

3 hours ago, technoblue said:

Thanks, Ignacio. Yeah, a lot is outsourced and T-Rex is behind many designs, including Macross.

Third-parties like Master Made and Fans (Fext) Project have dipped their toes into the Macross space before. And as promising as those designs were, their ventures into this space (so far) were only temporary. Licensing official Macross products evidently is more involved. Even blurring lines of legitimacy, like third-parties often do with Transformers, is not as easy to do with Macross IP. I’m also curious if T-Rex and a few of the other sanctioned official teams get precedence with Big West?

With regard to the landscape, I don’t see things changing too much. We may get a rare success story like KitzConcept, but established companies like Bandai and Arcadia going away? Nah, I don’t see that happening.

Master Made and the like were before the Bigwest/Harmony Gold cool down, so I don't think the barrier to entry will be as high.  Heck, Kitz Concept was able to do it, albeit with the Robotech license, and same with other bit players like Calibre Wings.  I think the main reason we didn't se 3P do more Macross was simply because it's not as lucrative as Transformers, which has broad reach in both China and the West.  Of course they won't have a choice once Takara brings the hammer down on them.

I don't see the relevance of the designs being outsourced.  Bandai, Sentinel, and ThreeZero also outsource their design work.

[technoblue]

5 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

So... I guess a 1/3000 TV version of the Macross isn't even going to be considered for the drawing table anytime this century...

Mr. K has considered it. I think the tricky part is whether or not Arcadia would green light the TV SDF-1. There's retooling involved for the main ship, a new TV-style paint job, the representative Prometheus and Daedalus pieces, as well as the ARMD support craft to show the Macross as it was configured after the space war. I guess having all that makes this more of a risky prospect than the DYRL version.

I'm curious to see if KitzConcept releases it first, and if they hit theirs out of the park then might the other big names step up? Hard to say.

2 hours ago, Zip said:

I think the main reason we didn't se 3P do more Macross was simply because it's not as lucrative as Transformers, which has broad reach in both China and the West.  Of course they won't have a choice once Takara brings the hammer down on them.

Yeah, Macross is it's own niche or bubble. I wouldn't mind seeing official products from other companies, but I can only speculate as to who might be willing to pay the licensing fee. Mm, getting an official Macross release from ThreeZero would be cool. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by technoblue

[no3Ljm]

So niche, the moment we get to complete Macross, we already have grandkids and most of the stuff we have are yellowed.  

 

[Zip]

1 hour ago, technoblue said:

Yeah, Macross is it's own niche or bubble. I wouldn't mind seeing official products from other companies, but I can only speculate as to who might be willing to pay the licensing fee. Mm, getting an official Macross release from ThreeZero would be cool. 

ThreeZero would be lightyears ahead of Evolution Toys for sure.

[lechuck]

2 hours ago, technoblue said:

Yeah, Macross is it's own niche or bubble. I wouldn't mind seeing official products from other companies, but I can only speculate as to who might be willing to pay the licensing fee. Mm, getting an official Macross release from ThreeZero would be cool. 

Oooh... A VF-1 Battroid with the same articulation like their Siege or BB Movie Optimus would so awesome. Smooth torso movement/ab-crunch, double jointed shoulders and knees, forward pivoting shoulders, slick thigh swivel, multi angle feet, plus a set of TV AND DYRL hands... mouthwatering.

[sqidd]

I'm surprised that no one has done something like a Ultimetal non transforming VF-1S Focke. Battroid. I'd insta-buy a $900 18-20in tall (without Strike Cannon) Ultimetal VF-1S without a second thought. I wouldn't care a lick if it transformed. In a market where people buy multiple DX Roy's with packs and missiles to the tune of at least $450/ a gigantic, super detailed VF-1S with magnetically removeable armor revealing a super detailed frame and all sorts of LED coolness that weighs 10-11lb seems like a no brainer.

I'd love the 3P's to embrace Macross. There is no reason they couldn't out do Bandai at a lower cost.

[no3Ljm]

34 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I'm surprised that no one has done something like a Ultimetal non transforming VF-1S Focke. Battroid. I'd insta-buy a $900 18-20in tall (without Strike Cannon) Ultimetal VF-1S without a second thought. I wouldn't care a lick if it transformed. In a market where people buy multiple DX Roy's with packs and missiles to the tune of at least $450/ a gigantic, super detailed VF-1S with magnetically removeable armor revealing a super detailed frame and all sorts of LED coolness that weighs 10-11lb seems like a no brainer.

I'd love the 3P's to embrace Macross. There is no reason they couldn't out do Bandai at a lower cost.

So it's like Prime1's Veritech if it comes with removeable armors to expose the mechanism?

Edited September 7, 2021 by no3Ljm

[jenius]

46 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

So it's like Prime1's Veritech if it comes with removeable armors to expose the mechanism?

No, that's a statue, the Ultimetal Transformers, I believe, are fully articulated non-transformable bots. Bandai has some ultra premium lines they could take a stab at a VF-1 in. I'm surprised they haven't already. I can't see them dropping transformation though... but I don't see the appeal of non-transforming Transformers either. 

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

So it's like Prime1's Veritech if it comes with removeable armors to expose the mechanism?

Good lord no!

This is the Ultimetal Prime. It's absolutely amazing. Kuma absolutely gushes over it. He gave it a 20 out of 10!

I've got two. One like in the video and the battle damaged version (that I got for a song).

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by sqidd

[sqidd]

2 hours ago, jenius said:

No, that's a statue, the Ultimetal Transformers, I believe, are fully articulated non-transformable bots. Bandai has some ultra premium lines they could take a stab at a VF-1 in. I'm surprised they haven't already. I can't see them dropping transformation though... but I don't see the appeal of non-transforming Transformers either. 

I don't mind non transforming Transformers if it allows for a much better sculpt. In the case of the Ultimetal, it absolutely does. I'm no purist though. I'm all about what looks cool (to me). I don't transform my toys more than 1-2x anyway. And in most cases I have one for each mode that I like the look of. Being able to transform a toy is not high on my priority list. Which is odd because everything else in my life I'm firmly function over form.

[no3Ljm]

2 hours ago, jenius said:

No, that's a statue, the Ultimetal Transformers, I believe, are fully articulated non-transformable bots. Bandai has some ultra premium lines they could take a stab at a VF-1 in. I'm surprised they haven't already. I can't see them dropping transformation though... but I don't see the appeal of non-transforming Transformers either. 

Got it. I'm not familiar with the line so I'm kind of thinking a status-esque types.  

36 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Good lord no!

This is the Ultimetal Prime. It's absolutely amazing. Kuma absolutely gushes over it. He gave it a 20 out of 10!

I've got two. One like in the video and the battle damaged version (that I got for a song).

 

Roger that.  

But since you like Roy, did you bought the Prime1 statue?

 

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Got it. I'm not familiar with the line so I'm kind of thinking a status-esque types.  

Roger that.  

But since you like Roy, did you bought the Prime1 statue?

 

I don't do statues. Even if I di, that thing is dumb looking.

[treatment]

https://twitter.com/Mrk_arcadia/status/1436193666565959680/photo/1

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by treatment

[MKT]

Nora’s mangled valkyrie after blown up by bird human? 😁

[technoblue]

I hope this modern art sculpture doesn't inadvertently confuse any factory workers. 

The last thing Nora needs is a variable fighter with two left feet. 

[ValkAddict]

20 hours ago, technoblue said:

I hope this modern art sculpture doesn't inadvertently confuse any factory workers. 

The last thing Nora needs is a variable fighter with two left feet. 

Seriously. Hopefully the Nora SV-51 release won't have any issues (fingers crossed)