SuperSenpai

There's a lot of things Toynami could have done better, but if I were name just three, I'd have to say: 1) Get rid of the die-cast metal, except for small support pieces. 2) Ratcheting hips and shoulders. 3) Better hands -- either fixed-pose or articulated with higher-grade plastic.

I think Gerwalk is an underrated mode. I like Battroid and Fighter modes, but in my opinion Gerwalk is something that was innovative on the part of Kawamori. And while not unique to Macross, it's something that is strongly associated with Macross, in my mind. I also think that it's the mode that took the longest for toy makers to get right. For their time, the 1/55s had pretty good representations of Fighter and Battroid mode, but even by 1980s standards Gerwalk mode was fairly disappointing. I remember trying to get anime-accurate Gerwalk poses with my Jetfire toy to no avail. The combination of a knee twist and poseable ankles did wonders for a good Gerwalk mode.

Considering that Toynami is so apt to merely revise existing designs and re-release them as "Masterpiece" edition, it's such a shame they didn't use the Gakken Alpha as their base. All they had to do was adjust some of the proportions, paint it to match the TV paint scheme, and increase the articulation a bit and they would have had a hit. I think I saw a mod of a Gakken Alpha somewhere online that did just that -- that thing looked amazing.

Good luck with that. I had something like that happen to me on Amazon. An Amazon seller from Japan listed a 1/60 V2 Hikaru VF-1A for $48. That's the lowest I've ever seen a new V2 listed, so of course I bought it. The next day I got an e-mail from the seller asking to cancel the transaction, and that the price was a mistake. To his credit, he offered to ship me the item anyway since that's what it was listed for, but mentioned that he would be taking a loss. At that point, I was sorta tempted to make him fulfill the offer, but then I started to feel guilty, so I let him off the hook.

The Robotech novels also mentioned the SDF-2 as resting back-to-back with the SDF-1. They did it a little more elegantly in the novels though, as I recall they established the existence of the SDF-2 quite a bit before the end of the Macross saga. In the show, it only existed in dialogue, and even then it's not mentioned until the last episode, when Rick abruptly starts addressing the SDF-2 over the radio during Khyron's attack. I remember watching that episode as a kid and thinking "SDF-2? WTF??? What SDF-2?"

Does anyone know if Toynami actually has any design staff, or are they purely a licensing and marketing company? It seems that nearly all of their Macross and Mospeada related toys were based off of some existing design, tweaked for the N. American market, and introduced as Robotech toys. As far as I know, the only toy that seems to be a purely original design is the Beta -- ironically one of their few quality releases. Which is frustrating, since it shows that Toynami is not incapable of designing a quality toy when they want to. The funny thing about the Toynami Alpha is that everyone seems to complain about how much it sucks, but still buy them regardless. All the online stores that originally stocked them have long since sold out, and MISB copies of the toy seem to regularly sell for above-retail prices on eBay. I know that it's pretty slim pickings when it come to Mospeada toys, but there's no incentive for companies to do better when we eat up whatever they put out. Personally, I can't see why anyone would pay above-retail prices when it's known to be such a shoddy product. I wonder if any ingenious modders have attempted anything with the Toynami Alphas to try to make them better...

Hm, sounds like a mash-up of Transformers: DOTM and Star Trek: First Contact. One thing that we won't be able to get around is the fact that the movie is going to be called "Robotech". Story-wise, this begs the question of why the technology is so important that the aliens are willing to go to such lengths to get it even though they seem to possess highly advanced technology of their own (and why the movie itself is named for it!). So any re-writes to the backstory that the screenwriters do will have to address that, IMO. I had a couple of thoughts of my own on how they might do that. First, I would completely ditch the idea of Protoculture as fuel, and not even bother addressing the issue of fuel at all. Second, emphasize the fact that the humans really don't understand what Robotech is. Due to the highly advanced nature of the technology, humans are barely able to understand how to make use of it. The weapons they develop based on Robotech barely scratch the surface of its applications. They are amazed at developments such as transformable mecha and space fold technology, but such things are merely trifles in terms of what Robotechnology can do, and the humans lack the ability to grasp its true potential. The aliens, on the other hand, know exactly what can be accomplished with it, which is why they are so determined to possess it. Along the way, the aliens figure out that the humans don't really understand Robotech. Whereas previously they had engaged in battle with the humans only to test how much they knew about Robotech, now they realize that they can easily defeat them with their advanced weaponry and superior numbers. But before they can do this, they discover that they have been compromised by being exposed to human culture. No music or Minmei in this scenario, just plain old fashioned love, sex, etc.

This was the last post from the owner on the topic. It sounds like the manufacturer didn't acknowledge the problem, so there was nothing they could do about it. Although I thought his response of "taking action" was rather weak -- basically, don't display anything on the stands long-term. I think the website should at least acknowledge this issue and be updated accordingly. Nothing up there about it, from what I've seen.

Oh, I know it's not going to happen. But we can still dream, can't we?

I actually agree about the re-writes being needed. I think the ideal scenario would be a re-written backstory to make everything more consistent and seamless, while also having access to Macross characters and mecha designs. Come to think of it, the Robotech novels were pretty much an attempt to do just that. I wasn't a big fan of the "Shapings of the Protoculture" thing that McKinney introduced (made it too much like the Force from Star Wars), but I thought things like fleshing out the nature of Robotechnology (like the thinking caps) and adding greater depth of characterization were welcome additions.

They can, and they will have to. That's the whole point. But it's hard to argue against the claim that Macross is the most popular of the three parts of Robotech, the part that's the most memorable. They will have to use elements from Southern Cross and Mospeada, as well as whatever original stuff Macek et al came up with, but it will be at the expense of some level of recognition from the nostalgia seekers they hope to market this film towards. I know a lot of people who remember Robotech, but what they really remember is Macross. Even for Robotech fans who enjoyed the rest of the series, Macross remains the heart of the franchise. I love Mospeada, but to see a Robotech movie get made without the Macross material would be disappointing, to say the least. Then there's the fact that Macross provides the foundation for the whole Robotech narrative -- alien vessel crash lands on Earth, humans reverse-engineer the technology, aliens arrive in pursuit of the vessel, etc. If they have to do without the Macross material, they need to come up with an alternative origin story, as Jenius pointed out. No Macross characters, mecha designs, or story elements -- pretty soon you're going to have a movie that resembles Robotech only vaguely. If you want any further proof, just look at Shadow Chronicles. Nothing from Macross was actually in the film. It was basically a New Generation sequel. But that's one of the main reasons why it worked -- it was a sequel, so they could get away without having to rely much on Macross because 1) it was three generations ago, and 2) it's already established as background by the TV show. Any live action movie that gets made can't afford to do that because it won't be a sequel, so they will have to come up with something else. But that something else is not going resemble what most people remember about Robotech.

You know what's worse? You come home to find that they left the package on your front porch... IN THE POURING RAIN.... without a plastic bag.

My main point in the BSG comparison was that, even though you and I know that the Macross story concepts pre-date the new BSG series (and probably pre-date even Macross -- didn't Space Battleship Yamato use the idea of civilians living in a military vessel?), most people out there don't. If a live-action Robotech movie resembling the one you've described gets made, it will inevitably be compared against BSG, even though its plot pre-dates BSG. That said, I also enjoyed the re-imagined BSG series. While I was watching the series, I noticed enough similarities that I wondered to what degree, if any, the writers had been inspired by Robotech/Macross. In fact, with just a bit of tweaking -- change the enemies from Cylons to giant aliens, make the ships more jet-like and transformable, change the Twelve Colonies to the UEG -- it could have been a live action Robotech/Macross TV show. I agree with you about the "raping of my childhood". What made Robotech great is the Macross source material. The movie I'd want to get made would need to be faithful to that source material, and as long as the legal issues surrounding Macross are a factor, that movie will never get made. So at this point, the best I'm hoping for is a decent space opera film with transforming jets, and try to forget the fact that it's supposed to have anything to do with Robotech. My only other hope is that some Japanese studio gets the rights from Big West and makes a big budget Macross live action film with an international cast....

Besides all of the legal issues surrounding Macross licensing, I think that any live action Robotech film would have to significantly deviate from the TV show in order to be coherent and logical to a contemporary adult audience. Let's face it, as much as nostalgia makes me look back fondly on Robotech, the original story elements that HG added were wholly unnecessary unless you wanted to link three unrelated TV shows together (and barely, at that), and they only serve to make the story more convoluted and inconsistent. A lot of it had to do with giving such prominence to the alien technology when it was only incidental to the story line in the original Japanese anime. So the aliens are after the SDF-1 because it contains the last Protoculture matrix as well the secrets of Robotechnology? Well, why do they need it so badly? They seem to be doing ok without it. Heck, they managed to destroy an entire planet without it, and their space fold engines don't disappear on them! Not to mention the fact that their technology seems to be at least as sophisticated as (if not more than) anything on the SDF-1. Aren't the humans always saying how the aliens seem to possess much more powerful weapons than they do? In fact, in all three parts of Robotech the only thing that really gives the humans any advantage is the power of emotions (particularly love) and music -- something which was part of the original Macross anime anyway. So then Robotechnology is completely unnecessary. All the humans ever needed to do to win the war was beam a music video out into space with people kissing and problem solved. Reading Jenius's post, I think a lot of the re-imagining that he proposes will probably be necessary -- to the point that I think it will only faintly resemble the original TV show. Let's be honest, the strength of the source material was what fueled the success of Robotech, not the additions from HG. So a re-imagined Robotech without the Macross trappings based purely on original HG/WB story concepts? Honestly, I see that as a disaster waiting to happen. Transformers and Pacific Rim are already mining the giant robot material, so Robotech will look like a Johnny-come-lately clone. And since they will have to deviate from the Macross material, the people looking for a nostalgia trip are going to feel like they were taken for a bait-and-switch, lured in with the name of a program they fondly remember from childhood only to be given a movie that barely resembles what they remember. Then there's the fact that Battlestar Galactica also covered a lot of the same territory as Robotech: Military-themed space opera? Check. Fighter pilots as primary characters? Check. Space dog-fighting? Check. Destruction of home planet? Check. Civilian refugees living on a military vessel? Check. Love triangle? Check. Inter-racial/species romance? Check. Enemies living in cloned human bodies that make them vulnerable to human emotions? Check.

I could be mistaken, but I think the original poster was referring to display cases for individual toys, not for collections.

I believe Macross Plus is legally available for free streaming on both Hulu and Manga Entertainment's website, so you don't have to mess with illegal sites.

Why is producing Macross toys for kids even a concern? Do kids even watch Macross? Do any kids play with Macross toys or know what they are apart from people like us who buy them for our sons/daughters/nieces/nephews?

Well, it's not like you have to paint any colored detail onto the option parts (unless you wanted to) -- they are all just solid colors. I'm sure you could do a reasonably good job painting the parts all white.

The option parts are kinda nice, but to be honest, they're not all that important in my opinion. The main reason why I think you'd want a 30th anniversary model is because of the changes they made to fix the durability issues. If you can't find a 30th anniversary model, then I would still go for one of the earlier releases. If your shoulders break, there's a thread around here that shows you where you can get replacement shoulders. Seems that a lot of people are happy with those replacement parts. If you do manage to find a super/strike/option parts package with the non-white option parts -- well, you could always paint them white right?

Thanks for the replies. That review doesn't seem to have too much other that pictures, unfortunately. It looks like the author hasn't gotten around to writing up the actual build process yet. I noticed that it seems to come with decals that match the painted details -- so technically it would be possible to build the whole thing without painting right (obviously it wouldn't look as nice). One thing I don't get -- it seems most of it is held together by screws. If that's the case, then why is there no turning back once the part is assembled? How does your assembled kit compare to the factory made toy?

Not long ago, I saw a Hikaru VF-1A listed by a Japanese Amazon seller for around $42. Since that is one of the original wave of V2s, I assumed that this seller was simply trying to get rid of old stock, and since the price was low I jumped on it. The next day, I got an e-mail from the seller in broken English saying that he had mislabeled the product and asked if it would be ok to cancel the order. He actually offered to ship the toy if I insisted on it, since that's what it was listed for, but he noted that he would be taking a loss on it so requested the cancellation. I ended up purchasing a VF-1S Hikaru 30th anniversary from another seller (Past Generation Toys). I got free two-day shipping from Amazon prime, and using points I paid nothing. Thankfully, they are also local to me so if anything went wrong I could quite literally walk up to their offices and talk to someone.

I wasn't sure whether this should go under the modeling or toy forums -- but has anyone completed or attempted to build one of the Yamato V2 1/60 unpainted assembly kits? How does it compare to the assembled toy? Difficulty level? I'm assuming that these kits are basically the same things they hand to the factory workers to put together to make the actual toys. I haven't built any models since I was a kid, and those were very rough, but I'm feeling the itch to put one of these together.

Don't they also sell super/strike/option parts as a package? If he bought a standard VF-1J (without super/strike parts), he could buy the super/strike/option parts package separately since that's probably easier that finding someone to sell him just the option parts. Besides, every VF toy should have super/strike parts, even if you're not always going to display it with them attached. And if the 1J has bad shoulders, it's not that hard to find replacements around here.

Between having Amazon Prime and an Amazon Visa card, Amazon has become my go-to place for getting toys. Amazon Prime gets me free two day shipping on most items, and I get reward points on the Amazon Visa. I've gotten most of my toy collection for free by saving up reward points, including my V2 Hikaru VF-1S. The plus side to that is that my wife can't complain about me spending too much money on toys. And it also forces me to be disciplined and only get the items that I really want. The down side is that for imported toys, Amazon's prices will usually be higher compared to places like HLJ or NY, but that doesn't account for international shipping rates. Of course, if you're using points like me, then the higher price is really a non-issue.

I recently purchased a 1/60 V2 Hikaru VF-1S, 30th anniversary version with option parts. I can confirm that these are not simply old stock with option parts thrown in the box. There's a Youtube review floating around that insinuated that this was the case, but the one I bought definitely was not old stock. Shoulder pieces are sturdy and have withstood several transformations and handling without a problem, and the canopy is the newer clear version.