Vifam7

SMS action base stand to be sold separately. When - unknown. Price - unknown. Above, it says that Super Parts will be sold separately and as a combo pack. When - unknown. Price - unknown.

A combo pack will most likely happen. It's interesting that Bandai says this: Translation: There are no plans for a set release (combo pack) of the DX Chogokin VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie (Saotome Alto vers.) with 'Super Parts'. (At present time November 2008) Key words here: (At present time November 2008)

It could be a number of different factors. For example, the folks who make the 1/72 kit is different from those who make the DX toy. It's a whole different division at Bandai. It's not uncommon for different departments in the same company to not share ideas, priorities, or how they interact and take notes from the original mecha designer. It may also just well be Kawamori's differing priorities depending on the product.

Interesting. Kawamori says his idea for the VF-25 was - slim and sleek looking to the utmost in fighter mode (to look as much as possible like a real aircraft) but massive looking (chunky?) in battroid mode. Kawamori wants a toy/model of the VF-9 to happen. He also wants a "clear" version of the VF-25 kit. Looks like this is already in the works.

Looks like a SK sketch to me. Definitely not a fanart since Satelight copyright notice is seen in the Dengeki site article.

The more I look at this toy, I think it's because the designers wanted the legs to be able to splay outwards into the Y-stance. I think if you bring the legs to crotch connection point lower, the crotch piece and intakes area get in each others way when trying to do that stance. Perhaps this is one area where there is still some anime magic to overcome.

Part 1 is here : http://tamashii.jp-network.co.jp/t_kokkaku/t_kokkaku03.php Part 2 is here : http://tamashii.jp-network.co.jp/t_kokkaku/t_kokkaku.php

I too love my 1/55 for similar reasons. Nostalgia is definitely one. It was the toy that my parents couldn't/wouldn't buy for me and for many years one that I couldn't find or afford. Amazing that Takatoku/Matsushiro got so many things right 20+ years ago. Obviously, better looking Valk toys have come out since then but the old gal still has some charm (at least to me). You're welcome.

No, but I think a MW member can tell you the difference. The redone head IIRC was smaller than the original head. I believe noone liked that head and Bandai reverted to the original design.

That's the wood model that Kawamori made (the one that Takatoku painted up and used as a promotional piece).

The article doesn't name any one person as the sculptor. It may have just been a staff effort at Matsushiro. Though I think the base was Kawamori's wooden model.

Has anyone purchased an "Origin" Valk yet? Just wondering as I haven't yet seen anyone post a pic of the Max Super 1A yet. On a separate note, there's a nice background history of the 1/55 Valk posted on the Tamashii site. All in Japanese ofcourse. They interviewed Takeo Mitsui of Takatoku (ex-chief of development) and Takayuki Morishima of Popy (developer of the 1/55 Strike Valk). A couple of interesting facts that I did not know - - Originally Takatoku brass wanted to make toys of the SDF-1. Not Valkyries. (to be fair this was before the Macross anime actually aired & Big West was going around toy companies asking what toys can be made for a new show they're working on) Taka's development section thought differently. Mr. Mitsui was actually berated by upper management of Takatoku when they presented the idea of making Valk toys. Eventually the development team convinced management to go with Valks. - Takatoku didn't know if a transforming Valk toy was possible - Kawamori first made a Valk out of paper & toothpicks then next made one out of wood to show Takatoku that a transforming Valk toy was indeed possible. That wooden model was later painted up and used as a promotional piece. (a pic of the promo flyer is shown) - While Takatoku was the company in charge of developing the toy, it was actually Matsushiro that did the actual designing and blueprints. - Even back then, Takatoku realized that the toy was rather "chunky". But Matsushiro convinced them that the design they made would be better balanced (particularly in terms of the strength needed in the joints and hinges). - When Takatoku went belly up the molds were passed to Matsushiro who then went on to make the Jetfires. And when Matsushiro collapsed, Bandai got the molds. But the molds Bandai got wasn't complete/in good shape thus the reason why the head has to be changed on the Hi-Metal Valk. - By the time the 2001 reissue 1/55s came out, the original Takatoku molds were lost (no longer usuable?). The 2001 reissues were made out of brand new molds by Bandai. - During the 2001 reissue, there were plans to release what they called "Genocide Valkyrie". Even though a prototype was made, it was put on the shelf. (I'd love to know what that 1/55 "Genocide Valk" looked like)

Yeah, but have you noticed the price on Studio Halfeye products? You wanna pay double or triple the current price? And IIRC, SHE toys aren't exactly the sturdiest things. You mean like this toy? That's more of a Banpresto cranegame prize/gashapon territory. It could happen.

Not likely. It's probably near impossible to make perfect transformation in this scale unless you're willing to accept serious compromises to the scupt or build quality.

From the forgotten OAV - ARIEL You can watch the trailer at the ANN link. The title mech is absolutely cool looking and sexy. The anime was forgettable.

That Minerva X makes me want Bandai to make a SoC ARIEL. Something like this. Getting back on topic, once this Macross Quarter toy comes out and turns out to be a hit, a DX SDF-1 (TV version) is a must.

In case anyone missed it, a super cool diecast model of the Queen Emeraldas has been released. CollectionDX had a preview of it here: I just got this a few days ago and it is awesome. Not sure but I think the size will go nicely with the upcoming DX Macross Quarter. Also out is the Yamato Mechanical Collection - Shipborne Aircraft set (images stolen from SRW blog) Though it doesn't say, these gashapons are roughly 1/144 scale. They'll fit in nicely with the F-toys 1/144 Valkyrie fighters.

First thing to note about HCM Pros is that they are in 1:200 scale. That means they are significantly smaller than GFFs and even EMIAs. GFFs are around 1:144 scale and EMIAs generally range around the 1:150~1:160 scale. Thus there are times where detail can suffer a bit. Paint application is also at times not super sharp (it depends from model to model). That said the detail is pretty darn good for a 1:200 scale toy. particularly when you consider that most HCM pros range around the $20 price. One nice thing about the HCM Pros is that they're made of ABS plastic. Thus the sculpts are straight & sharp and you don't get that warped & thick rubberyness of PVC plastic as you do with MSiAs. The joints of HCM Pros tend to be less floppy than MSiAs and attachments fit better than they do on GFFs. Articulation is superb. Far better than GFFs and EMIAs. Personally I' rank the HCM Pros above the GFFs and EMIAs. In terms of finish, it's hard to beat GFFs. Plus the size of GFFs tends to make them stand out more. If only for purely display purpose, GFFs win. However, I think GFFs are too expensive and don't provide enough "fun". HCM Pros (IMHO) gives you better bang for the buck. The low price and poseability makes then easier to collect and easier to play with.

Yup. Limited edition. Only available from Tamashii webshop. For now. Watch them release a set version in 2010.

A 1/18 scale Valkyrie from a Japanese company will cost an arm and a leg. It won't matter if it's transformable or not. Material cost won't help. Add in the fact that such a large toy would have very limited appeal in Japan, we may be talking about a $3000 "toy". A 1/12 scale Gundam (and a Zaku IIRC) was actually released alittle while back and it cost about $3000 (not including shipping). And that was more of display piece than a toy (since few things actually moved on that). And that's for a simple blocky RX-78!

I'd bet on the strong yen and rapidly deteriorating economy. News of the Yamaguchi line taking a break might be a conscious decision by Kaiyodo to step back in light of the bleak future.

I look foward to reading those reviews.

I want to add that the price we see here in the states in terms of dollars is different from the price Japanese fans see in terms of yen. 12800yen (price of v2.0 1:60 Hikaru VF-1 w' SP) is a drop in the bucket over there. That's 2 anime DVDs over there. Each DVD containing only 2 episodes too! In Japan, paying huge amounts for HQ perfect items is the norm. Such as paying $300 for a limited-edition-made-in-Hokkaido Yubari melon. That said, (IMHO) any toy that has a QC fault is too expensive.

A lot of Japanese companies are pulling this "limited availability-only available at" crap. However, in this case I suspect a full set version being released sometime in the future. Probably late next year or after the Frontier movie is released. Watch the movie version packs be slightly different from the TV version. The movie version will be widely available but the TV version super rare.

Bandai has a reputation of displaying their toys in utterly terrible poses. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Gundam models & toys displayed in awful poses. Probably happens because they send businessmen instead of otaku to tradeshows & photoshoots.