AcroRay

Amazing stuff, Tony! I like the SDF one most!

Hobby Search informed me yesterday that my Factory was on the way via EMS. With the preorder discount and 1/2-off shipping, the total bill was $101 USD. Still a far cry cheaper than a vintage Robotech factory, and no restoration work needed as in the case of the two vintage buildups in my 'future work' pile. (Might sell those when the new one arrives.)

It looks a bit stylized. It reminds me of paintings of the Macross as seen on old 1980s Menko cards and Ohsato product packaging.

This kit is worth every penny. I'm glad to see Bandai is issuing it again.

Wow! Just plain... WOW!

Very nice work indeed! It's a real classic. Great work on the paint and excellent work on the seam filling!

Excellent read, and some solid history. Thanks for this!

Very nice! This is probably one of my favorite SDF:Macross era pieces. A wonderful presentation for 2012. Thank you!

Max is getting crowded out!

In around late '83 during the run-up to the holiday season, I found a Macross coloring book at an import store ("Heaven" at the Century III mall near Pittsburgh, PA!) -which I purchased - and saw Macross Takatoku vinyl toys surprisingly at a Spencer's Gifts store - which I was unable to buy. I also remembered seeing Macross kits in a Cosmic Connection import anime kit catalog (from which I had bought Yamato and Gundam kits the year previously), and I requested a Destroid Defender 1/72 kit from a relative that year's holiday season. After that, it was piecing together the show from kits and books bought by snail-mail order or on rare visits to city hobby shops, or occasional bootleg toys found at flea markets or discount stores. Comico's adaptation of Harmony Gold's earliest Macross dub came next, then the first run of Robotech on TV. I remember how surprised and excited I was to see early promos for the series in the weeks before it aired, and that Macross would actually be aired on American television!

Good memories. Taught me how to research and work hard to pursue my interests. Kids these days, have it so easy with their E-tailers and their bittorrents and their Bablefishes...

I can't even get on their website. Wonder if the Macross sale crashed their server?

Good call, man - they're sending me another one!

Winning!

Does anyone know what are the parts in the LDPE plastic baggie?

Those don't look like they go with the toy. Those look like stick-on rubber feet for electronic appliances or media equipment that somehow migrated into the package. In my experience, toys of that era never had parts provided in zip-lock baggies. And my Strike Valk never had them.

I just ordered a light artillery Battlepod for $11.84 from animeharu.com to go with the regular and heavy artillery regault’s I already have. The only issue I have had with my battle pods is the cannons on the first release were fixed in place where the 2^nd release’s main cannons can move.

No - they move. The paint can bind them up a bit, as the socket is really tight. Move the around a bit until the paint releases. The parts shouldn't break. That was one of the features I liked most about the Regult right off - the swiveling cannons.

Right outta the box...

Craftsmanship!!!!

(null)

Oh, that does suck! Mine arrived safe & sound. BBTS should be able to provide you with a new one. (Heck, they might send you a new one and let you keep the broken one. Custom fodder!)

Damn, I'm sold on the BBTS Pod for that price. Just wish it didn't have a Toynami logo on it.

IIRC - It does feature actual Macross branding rather than Robotech. That's gotta make you happy!

As I recall, "Space Gandam" was just another of the styles of packaging that Joons produced during that run.

I think different packaging was supplied by them to different distribution channels probably based upon what company was placing the order for the figures.

Space Gandam V was a freaky, Korean animated show that stole the Valkyrie design (and toy) for use in their own show. Korean animators did the same thing with Diaclone toys and others. Earlier discussion here:

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=20661&st=40

BBTS has their exclusive DYRL colorway Heavy Missile Regult on 'Black Friday' sale for $9!

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10458&mode=retail

I dimly recall back in the 80s I had purchased a couple of heavy or light Missile Regult plastic kits and built them as standards, because I couldn't find any standard-version kits. They were just the standard-type kits, with an additional sprue of parts for the launchers and alternate hardpoint.

Toynami's missile-types have the weapon hardpoint replaced with the missile launcher mounting, and its very thoroughly glued tight. You could probably mod it to be a standard, but you'd have to do some cutting & painting.

Why the hell did this take so long to come out? Like everyone else said, the battlepod is the same for all 3 they just added weapons, I can understand the Glaug since it's a brand new mold, but damn Toynami, how terrible are you?

I believe a couple of months ago, Daisuke indicated that they were completed but waiting in China for shipment, pending more preorder sales.

They have to be paid for before they're shipped, which requires enough preorder sales.

The deal is usually half-down for manufacturing, and the remainder before shipping.

Is it just me, or is this one exactly like the other Battlepod releases except for different weapons over its head?

You have watched Macross, haven't you?

Lots - big & little, diecast or plastic or vinyl, Macross and Orguss and Dorvack & others...

W00t! Yay! They're here!

Uh-oh! I'm broke! Hope it takes a couple of weeks for BBTS to get their's, or my preorder is sunk...

Takatoku 1:55 VF-1S Super Valkyrie [recent Bandai re-issue]. Essential. No Macross toy is more fun.

CD Japan has them.

I've got one each of the 3 Regults so far (standard, heavy, DYRL).

Variations of a design so early at the outset can cause buyer fatigue, certainly. But on one hand they are probably very much in a position where they have to maximize profit off of the first design to re-invest in the line for later, new product. They've likely made a bet that due to a long history of demand for the underserved Regult and the relatively cheap price of the products, people would be much more willing to purchase them even if the are initially only a short series of different styles of the same product.

But, Mechapilot77, it's unfair to consider you or purchasers like you to be a 'problem'. I mean, there's only so many resources many collectors have to spend on a particular interest. Some collectors simply don't need every variation of the Regult, even if they're relatively cheap. Those are just the challenges of developing product - even the best of products - and the decisions on investing in when, where and how to sell them. Personally, I would probably only get one or two of the various styles of these myself if they weren't just within the range of what I can spend, and spaced out rather evenly over time. If they all came out at once, I'd probably only be able to get one or two and be forced to pass on others unless they remained available for a long time.

It's a gamble Toynami has made around a number of factors. Sometimes that's all you can do.

But, d4mning the company and all its staff just because some of their latest product is stalled is unfair and, frankly, indicative of some serious ignorance. I've got a lot of friends making livings in the independent segments of the toy industry, and it just personally burns me up when some people vomit up crap all over message boards about folks like that. It's rude and very tiny-minded.

Gosh, I hope they do this around the end of the year, after I've got freelance checks from a dozen football games, Soccer finals and a couple of basketball games in the bank. Summer's too dry a time for HLJ sales!