Megahouse TV Ver. SDF-1

[spanner]

I'm definitely looking to buy a second so I can pose one in each mode. Even still, those damn little antenna don't want to stay in on either of my hulls.

I will say, given that it's a parts former, I feel like they could have included more parts of get the proportions better between the two modes. As it is the arms are too thin, the legs are too stubby and the central hull is too thick.

yeah have to agree that a few areas the proportions are a little off but its not so bad. Regarding the antenna.. you could just use a teeny drop of glue and im sure they'll stay in! mine seem to stay in fine.

Edited April 6, 2016 by spanner76

[Lolicon]

Great addition to my fleet of starships! I'm going to have to get a second one to display in storm attacker mode.

Here she is with a couple of other lesser known sci-fi ships.

[mickyg]

Had a bit of time to mess around with it yesterday and I can add a few additional comments now. Firstly, the size:

It's small enough to fit easily in your hand. This is great for something you can handle and swoosh around. But also, small enough that there are bound to be some fragile parts. So best to be gentle with it.

I still can't believe the level of detail achieved in something this small. It's impressive!

I can't help but feel a touch disappointed in the size though. Never having bought any Cosmo Fleet-Special items before, I really had no idea what the size was going to be. But given the price and how they scale with the new HM-R line from Bandai, this is actually pretty reasonable. It's really just my own brain's expectation of something bigger that threw me. Oh well, I'm actually not going to complain because it's a fantastic little thing!

Further observations:

• The panel lines appear to be the darker underlying plastic but I can't be sure. Almost like the paint application wasn't heavy enough to fully cover the panel lines. Not unlike the effect I try to achieve when pre-shading a model, really. It works well in defining the details here, even if it's a bit heavy for the scale.
• The Promethius and Daedalus, to my eyes, appear to be too big. I'm imagining little valks flying off the decks and that ends up making the rest of the ship feel too small for some reason. But that's based purely on my recollection of the TV show and the way the SDF-1 always "felt" absolutely huge. I'm sure there were tradeoffs here and like Momar said, some of the proportion details likely had to be sacrificed in the name of a good looking toy in both modes.
• Moving the "Arms" forward like in the banner image for the site, well it just looks silly. But it can be done!
• The Promethius really needs a bridge and none is even hinted at. Maybe I'll scratch something up for that?
• The bow guns feel too narrow but that's likely a perspective thing and how it was portrayed in the show. Again, it's funny when something massive is presented in toy form, just how easy it is to state with complete confidence that it's somehow "wrong" but the truth is that we're talking about a hand drawn spaceship that is supposed to be over a km long! How it "really looks" is never going to be an easy thing to get perfect.
• Mine seems to have some tolerance issues with one of the legs and it looks a bit twisted when viewed from the back. Maybe it's something simple.

I'm not saying enough positive about this, given what looks like complaints above and that's unfair because this is a really great toy! These are just my nitpicks. I'm actually overjoyed to finally have a TV SDF-1 that looks sleek, detailed, is fun to play with, and doesn't cost a small fortune to own. We've probably all been waiting for this for 30 years now! I know I have.

[locidm]

I'm still hoping to see it next to a 1/60 VF-1 for size comparison. Looks promising though!

[barurutor]

Gundam@EFSF posted some pics of the SDF-1 beside Hikaru 1S, can't remember which thread though...

Edit: it was the Hi-Metal R Hikaru, not the 1/60. Sorry.

Edited April 7, 2016 by barurutor

[mickyg]

I'm still hoping to see it next to a 1/60 VF-1 for size comparison. Looks promising though!

I have very "normal" sized hands. If that helps at all. Happy to take comparison photos in the next few days though.

[derex3592]

Great addition to my fleet of starships! I'm going to have to get a second one to display in storm attacker mode.

Here she is with a couple of other lesser known sci-fi ships.

Which Enterprise D is that???

[Lolicon]

Which Enterprise D is that???

It's made by Eagle Moss. They're die cast and very well-detailed for such small items, with lots of printed details, Aztec surfaces, and clear parts for the nacelles and deflectors.

BBTS still has some for sale, but you can find lots of them on eBay for relatively cheap too.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=34&company=623

[derex3592]

Picked one up, thanks!

[Mommar]

Sadly I've discovered a "good" reason to buy a second one, the extra Storm Attacker body slipped from my hands while I was moving some stuff this morning. The VERY tiny antennae were still attached and the longer right one broke straight off. Plus those stupid things are keyed different between Cruiser and Storm Attacker mode so you can't just pop out the extra set from cruiser and attach it to the Storm Attacker body either.

So what mickyg said, thing is breakable.

[hal9000]

Well I'm stuck on a plane waiting for the de-Iceing truck I might as well get these pics up that I promised. I love this new little sdf, and I forgot how fidaly the wham can be it looks good but can be annoying to get it there.

[Mechapilot77]

Had a bit of time to mess around with it yesterday and I can add a few additional comments now. Firstly, the size:

IMG_20160406_155714.jpg

It's small enough to fit easily in your hand. This is great for something you can handle and swoosh around. But also, small enough that there are bound to be some fragile parts. So best to be gentle with it.

I still can't believe the level of detail achieved in something this small. It's impressive!

I can't help but feel a touch disappointed in the size though. Never having bought any Cosmo Fleet-Special items before, I really had no idea what the size was going to be. But given the price and how they scale with the new HM-R line from Bandai, this is actually pretty reasonable. It's really just my own brain's expectation of something bigger that threw me. Oh well, I'm actually not going to complain because it's a fantastic little thing!

Further observations:

• The panel lines appear to be the darker underlying plastic but I can't be sure. Almost like the paint application wasn't heavy enough to fully cover the panel lines. Not unlike the effect I try to achieve when pre-shading a model, really. It works well in defining the details here, even if it's a bit heavy for the scale.
• The Promethius and Daedalus, to my eyes, appear to be too big. I'm imagining little valks flying off the decks and that ends up making the rest of the ship feel too small for some reason. But that's based purely on my recollection of the TV show and the way the SDF-1 always "felt" absolutely huge. I'm sure there were tradeoffs here and like Momar said, some of the proportion details likely had to be sacrificed in the name of a good looking toy in both modes.
• Moving the "Arms" forward like in the banner image for the site, well it just looks silly. But it can be done!
• The Promethius really needs a bridge and none is even hinted at. Maybe I'll scratch something up for that?
• The bow guns feel too narrow but that's likely a perspective thing and how it was portrayed in the show. Again, it's funny when something massive is presented in toy form, just how easy it is to state with complete confidence that it's somehow "wrong" but the truth is that we're talking about a hand drawn spaceship that is supposed to be over a km long! How it "really looks" is never going to be an easy thing to get perfect.
• Mine seems to have some tolerance issues with one of the legs and it looks a bit twisted when viewed from the back. Maybe it's something simple.

I'm not saying enough positive about this, given what looks like complaints above and that's unfair because this is a really great toy! These are just my nitpicks. I'm actually overjoyed to finally have a TV SDF-1 that looks sleek, detailed, is fun to play with, and doesn't cost a small fortune to own. We've probably all been waiting for this for 30 years now! I know I have.

holy hell that is small! lol. i was hoping the cruiser mode would be almost the size of the little "Makuros" SD SDF-1. lol anyway stil looking forward to it.

[jvmacross]

Finally had a chance to take it out....it's OK for now....a Bandai DX 1/3000 still needs to happen....

Pictured here with some of its other "low-cost option" SDF-1 cousins produced throughout the past 30+ years....

If the maker of the Makurosu comes back and produces a non-SD in the same scale...it would blow the Megahouse away....plus it would most likely be PT...and possibly cheaper!

Edited April 7, 2016 by jvmacross

[chyll2]

I almost missed that small brown piece.

[bbrain]

I ordered at AMIAMI and it said back ordered, the same (US) day I got an email requesting payment and they have two prices 5970 for back ordered and 5370 for released, but since it wasn't back-ordered why did i still have to pay the extra, any one else have dealings with them like this? Will they refund ever?

[Drad]

I ordered at AMIAMI and it said back ordered, the same (US) day I got an email requesting payment and they have two prices 5970 for back ordered and 5370 for released, but since it wasn't back-ordered why did i still have to pay the extra, any one else have dealings with them like this? Will they refund ever?

I saw that. The cheaper one is a damaged-box special. The backordered option lists the price for an undamaged box. It sounds like AmiAmi was simply assuming that you prefer the undamaged box.

[mickyg]

Proof that perspective does indeed make a difference:

I guess that wide "nose" on the SDF-1 was always due to how giant this was supposed to look. Get close enough with a wide enough lens and it looks the same.

Loving this little guy.

[barurutor]

Just got mine, there is so much empty space in the box LOL. They could've gone with a box with half the thickness.

Did anybody else also have a hard time plugging in the flexible display arm to the base?

Overall though I'm quite pleased with the size and detail on this thing. My first Macross!

Edited April 8, 2016 by barurutor

[F360]

I ordered at AMIAMI and it said back ordered, the same (US) day I got an email requesting payment and they have two prices 5970 for back ordered and 5370 for released, but since it wasn't back-ordered why did i still have to pay the extra, any one else have dealings with them like this? Will they refund ever?

Seems you ordered a minor box damage 1 for cheaper than normal price and another 1 for normal prorder price but is in back order stage . But then you were lucky and they were able to find a extra for your back order the same day .

[Arthurius]

Finally had a chance to take it out....it's OK for now....a Bandai DX 1/3000 still needs to happen....

Pictured here with some of its other "low-cost option" SDF-1 cousins produced throughout the past 30+ years....

If the maker of the Makurosu comes back and produces a non-SD in the same scale...it would blow the Megahouse away....plus it would most likely be PT...and possibly cheaper!

Hey, can you pls compare this Megahouse to the Makudos from Master Made. That is the only SDF-1 i have. Built Quality, Details, value for money. They seem to be same size, and that is the size i want. How is it in ship mode together? I kinda would want to display them together in that mode. Thanks in advance

Edited April 9, 2016 by Arthurius

[Nightbat]

• • The Promethius and Daedalus, to my eyes, appear to be too big. I'm imagining little valks flying off the decks and that ends up making the rest of the ship feel too small for some reason. But that's based purely on my recollection of the TV show and the way the SDF-1 always "felt" absolutely huge. I'm sure there were tradeoffs here and like Momar said, some of the proportion details likely had to be sacrificed in the name of a good looking toy in both modes.

The TV Macross being about 1200m and the figure I found for the Prometheus 512m and Daedalus 488m, I would say they aren't that badly proportioned looking at the toy

[jvmacross]

Hey, can you pls compare this Megahouse to the Makudos from Master Made. That is the only SDF-1 i have. Built Quality, Details, value for money. They seem to be same size, and that is the size i want. How is it in ship mode together? I kinda would want to display them together in that mode. Thanks in advance

Build Quality:

For being a 3P product the MasterMade DYRL SDF-1 is an extremely high quality product. It is good enough to compete with products from Yamato, Bandai or Arcadia. If it had been released by either of these companies, it would have been at least $50 more.

The Megahouse TV SDF-1 is basically a low-cost option for collectors so it is kind of unfair to compare it to the Makuros, even if the Makuros was similarly priced.

I would have to say the Makuros wins over the Megahouse simply because it was built as a high-end toy. Additionally, it almost has perfect transformation. The Megahouse is a 100% partsformer. Hopefully, if sales are good, Bandai will greenlight a full DX version of either the TV or DYRL version….personally I would hope it is the TV version. The TV SDF-1 deserves a 1/3000 makeover!

Details:

The Megahouse SDF-1 has a nice sculpt, but it suffers from stubby legs in Attacker mode. IMO, it was already designed as a partsformer, so why not just supply extra legs for Attacker mode so it would look good in all modes? I’m guessing Megahouse did not want to exceed a certain price-point for this toy. The toy has good paint applications, but that is about it. It has about as much articulation as you’d expect from an SDF-1. All the joints are held via friction. No ratchety clicks like on the Makuros. The winner in this category definitely goes to MasterMade, but again, the Makuros was designed to be a higher quality toy….the Megahouse from the get-go was designed to be a low-cost alternative.

Value for money:

Hands down, the MasterMade Makuros , at the original cost of around $100 is a better value. However, it is a DYRL version and it is an SD representation. Some folks don’t care much for SD designs. I personally do not, but am more forgiving when it comes to Macross SD toys. Additionally, there is no other game in town for a TV SDF-1 at the moment and its price will not bust most wallets. I would recommend purchasing this toy. It is almost the same length as the Makuros and it displays well together. I hope this helps in your decision. Good luck!

Some pics:

[Lolicon]

Where's the 101 on the Prometheus? Dammit Megahouse! The only numbering that mattered and you didn't do it!

[jvmacross]

Anyone check to see if there is a way to remove the Daedelus and Prometheus from the SDF-1 without breaking anything?

I was hoping they would be detachable to try and fit them onto the Wham DYRL SDF-1 for an instant Macross the First SDF-1....

[no3Ljm]

Nice comparison pics, jvmacross.

[mickyg]

Anyone check to see if there is a way to remove the Daedelus and Prometheus from the SDF-1 without breaking anything?

I was hoping they would be detachable to try and fit them onto the Wham DYRL SDF-1 for an instant Macross the First SDF-1....

I did, and couldn't find any obvious way to get it off. The screw that is so incredibly apparent in the Promethius doesn't seem to release anything, either. It looks as though this part is secured with glue and the screw is there to clamp it together. Removing it did nothing.

[yman1437]

Wonder some model genius here will make it a perfect transformation... is it possible?

[jvmacross]

I did, and couldn't find any obvious way to get it off. The screw that is so incredibly apparent in the Promethius doesn't seem to release anything, either. It looks as though this part is secured with glue and the screw is there to clamp it together. Removing it did nothing.

A Macross the First SDF-1 as a side-benefit from owning both the Megahouse and Wham would have been nice...

[eriku]

I got mine over the weekend and really like it a lot. I am usually fiercely opposed to partsforming, but there are rare instances where I can forgive it for various reasons. This one I can forgive because the partsforming is so quick and simple and only leaves behind one piece between modes. I've streamlined it even further by not bothering with the little panels that peg into the shoulders. They lend a better aesthetic but on a toy this size it's such a small difference to me that I don't even notice their absence.

Build quality and overall finish is great. The tiny joints in the arms look like they have detents to help keep them in position (although they are too small to make any ratchet clicky noises).

Naturally I would prefer something bigger with a perfect transformation, but I feel satisfied with what I have here. As a nice little SDF-1 to keep on the desk and switch between modes it's pretty much perfect.

[mickyg]

Ditto! I'm also constantly looking at it and wondering how it'd all work in a larger scale, with perfect transformation. The "head" would need some clever mechanisms to come together and hide all the joints, for example. Overall, it's a great little toy that lets you appreciate the design of this huge, iconic ship, in palm size!

[Mr Bomber]

Mine arrived yesterday, and its a beauty.

im loving it a lot, in fact if they realead bigger figures even if its a parts former ill buy it hands down. Always wanted a SDF-1, and this dosent dissapoint, just want it bigger!

[ErikElvis]

I'm glad this seems to be doing well.

[Loop]

I wish they would release the other Macross series capitol ships, I would be in heaven then.

I have yet to open mine up, but looking at the pics here it looks the part.

[aaajin]

I wish they would release the other Macross series capitol ships, I would be in heaven then.

I have yet to open mine up, but looking at the pics here it looks the part.

Amen to that!

[easnoddy]

So I accidentally had mine shipped via SAL from hlj. Looks like most of the people in the US have received theirs from hlj.

I have a feeling some MF stole the shipping box from off my doorstep today (no tracking to know for sure). Postal carriers are so effing lazy now that they don't even knock, they just put boxes down and run.

Anyways, I was home working upstairs and I swear I heard my glass outer door open, my dogs were barking like crazy. I hurried downstairs and no postal carrier or anything, just a blacked-out car making a lot of noise as it drove away.

If so, that'd be $70 down the drain simply due to lazy USPS and SAL.

Can't wait to move in a year. Will definitely have security cameras in my next place.

At least EMS makes you sign for it.

Edited April 15, 2016 by easnoddy