jenius

Yamato has an excellent track record at making necessary adjustments. Since that's the case most members here don't seem to mind their initial SNAFUs. The 1/48 is a brilliant product and its release has defintely caused many members to develop brand loyalty (or fanboyism if you prefer). I've never really been a fan of brand loyalty, I think it's a lazy concept unfit of capitalism, but Yamato has definitely been doing the right thing regardless. How many members have had the following problems: 1/48 crooked skulls on tailfins 1/48 broken BP8 1/60 screw covers that aren't glued in properly 1/60 froppiness 1/60 GBP with a crotch that needs tape to stay on 1/72 VF-11Bs with broken hips 1/72 tab B 1/72 paint that seems to jump off the product I'd list Toynami's known issues but it'd take too long and it seems to be completley random. When I buy an MPC, I have no idea what part is likely to have a problem, at least Yamato is consistent with their QC bugs. So anyway, the 1/100 seems to have an issue that a few members have run into. People who weren't going to buy these to begin with have another excuse for not buying it. People who were going to buy it might still want to think of what percentage of people are having a problem and what measures can be done to be a bit on the safer side with the potential problem. Well, sometimes you also just need a point of reference also. "This toy feels cheap." It is cheap. "This toy has problems." What toy doesn't? It also seems that some people detracting from the 1/100 want to compare it to the 1/48 which isn't exactly a level playing field.

LOL, the second review makes me totally want to see this. It almost sounds like the guy is reviewing a sequel to The Bible. "Robotech was bigger than GI Joe and Transformers and now they've ruined it!" Um, no, Robotech was not. I think this reviewer may be just a bit too into Robotech and may have had their expectations a bit too high. Still, if it's craptacular enough to get 1/5 stars from the dude then I know I'm going to be amused by it one way or the other. I think all we're missing now is a review by the "HG can do no wrong!" guy and we will be able to gleam a collective nothing from three different reviews.

Anything that doesn't strictly fall under the name Macross gets placed into the Other Anime section. While Genesis Climber MOSPEADA was out not long after Macross it has no connection to that series other than the company that made it. Thus, it's not a Macross cartoon so it goes in the Other Anime section. If you were to discuss Robotech's The Macross Saga it would also end up in Other Anime. If it ain't Macross, it's Other Anime. Not that I'm a mod or anything, but that's how I understand it.

It's been a while since I looked at my Yammy 1/48s but aren't the skulls painted on? That's actually a moot point, in my other post I meant to refer to the stickers included with these 1/100s. If the choice was between a puffy painted on skull or a sticker of similar quality to the ones packaged with the toy then I think they chose wisely. EDIT - note, i still don't like the puffy skull and wish they wouldn't have used it also... but again, you barely notice it after you handle it once.

Picture too big... must be shrunk... page takes too long to view... If you don't have software to shrink then maybe you have software that will simply let you crop out the four inches on the right where nothin's going on?

Your entire decision whether or not to buy this product boiled down to how sturdy the additional stand would be and the fact a few people have had a problem has completely turned you off to it? People got 1/48 Yamatos without a heatshield, do you know how craptastic that would be? Honestly, the 1/100 is not for everyone though... I'm actually a little surprised how much importance people are putting on the stands though. None of your other toys even come with stands, how do you cope? The puffy heatshield is really not nearly as noticeable as you might think but I too am at a loss for why they would do such a thing. I think it beats it being a sticker though... especially a crappy sticker. I'm not sure sanding would help, it's kind of a rubber material and I think if you tried to sand it it'd just fall apart on you. Besides, there is a principal here worth being upset over. Companies shouldn't ship products that don't withstand the rigors of what should be anticipated usage.

One thing I've always hated about Robotech is their insisting upon using this trick. In the actual animation it's not too bad, Dana is M&M's kid, no big deal. The books though seemed to connect everyone to someone else. Sure, it's a much smaller world, that doesn't mean every character has to directly relate to the 10-15 characters who were previously established as being important a generation ago. It sounds like this film is exactly what MWers should be looking for. Those who hate RT will be able to blast the show for having crappy animation and an uninviting storyline and those who like RT will enjoy the obscure references and the sentimental return of some characters. For me, I'm just thrilled it sounds watch-able and that potentially means we might see toys for it

Okay, let's not forget that lots and lots of these have been sold and so far we have only a few complaints about the stands. Remember, people complain much more readily than praise so you will ALWAYS hear more negative than good about any new product. That said, there's a legitimate complaint here, I'm just saying we should not rush out and say "Crap, the stands for every one of these Toynami Valks is useless." They might just have a casting process for these little ball-type joint-thingies that left some too thin. Yes, that sucks, but it doesn't mean everyone's will fall apart. Too bad Toynami's track record doesn't indicate they'll provide reinforced ones in the future.

Are you sure it wasn't a Takatoku or Bandai 1/100 toy? The other option would be one of the Henkei Convertors or Takatoku toys? Those were pretty small and ugly though.

I wonder what exactly is causing these pieces to break? Do you think it's just the material used? Do you think it was possibly broken in the package and you didn't notice or do you think it broke from the weight of supporting the valk?

To be fair, the superposeables were sold at below half price for quite some time before seeing their prices start to increase again. Then again, Toynami seems to be on the outs with retailers these days so there's a chance that will keep the numbers in circulation limited. Limited circulations would probably keep the prices pretty static.

Double post

I'm no professional photographer so if anybody feels my pics are missing a key element let me know and I'll see if I don't have pics from a better angle that illustrate your point. In the meantime, I can see the thin arms complaint, which frustrates me more when you consider the slack the arms have in fighter mode which still leaves them hanging down as if they were thicker (albeit minimally). Even with the thin arms I think the 1/48 easily trounces the others in battloid mode. The hips and legs are huge turn-offs for me on the 1/60. Yeah, the chicken hands are lame but they're swappable so that sort of alleviates that complaint from my angle at least. I think the 1/48 is a pretty clear winner in all modes really. When we're considering the "best mode" are we going solely by looks or functionality also?

Oh man, who's gonna be the unfortunate sap who has to let this guy know that's just a box....

I don't know, I really don't like the disconnected leg look in GERWALK but yeah, it does look better from the thigh down. The panel lining helps a lot also. Fighter mode's tail fins and the entire mechanism by which they fold is hideous, as is the cockpit area. I'd favor the Toynami of the two tiny toys.

In defense of my Banpresto pic, that toy was falling over and falling apart so frequently I had to give up and just try to get through the shoot I was doing. There's a better pic of a super Banpresto... I didn't want to use it since none of the other valks have super armor on.

I'm on a bit of a vacation right now without access to my toys so I can't snap off a few pics of the chunkies at the moment and post them. I would love to some day be able to do this comparison using all the same model (all hikaru's 1J, or Focker's 1S, something like that) but that's going to involve me retaking a lot of pics and such so for now this is the best I can do. EDIT - The HCM is missing it's gun and heatshield because I don't have the heart to remove them from their sprues, please ignore the omission.

GERWALK?

Carnies!!!! I'm about to slam this thread with a bazillion pics... you've been warned. FIGHTER MODE.... FIGHT!

Toy mark-ups are huge, there can be no doubt. Complaining that this thing isn't worth $20 is a fair enough opinion and I'm sure if people wait you'll be able to get them for $15 each easily enough and some will grab a few at $10 no doubt. Of course, shipping/tax are entirely other matters. Still, I think $20 is a pretty solid deal on these things. They're far sturdier than the banprestos and they certainly seem "playable" to me. You can fling them between modes like you can a Bandai/Takatoku completely naturally without fear of breaking anything. You get the nice little accessory package. The head sculpt on the VF-1S seems bad but the VF-1As don't look too bad nor do the 1Js. I did a quick check of all my VF-1S toys and honestly, the Yamato 1/48 stands out as being pretty much the only good head sculpt we've seen yet. The shoulders are too large but not to such an extent (in my opinion) that you find yourself staring at the valk wondering why the proportions are so funky. So it's a good enough toy that it can be displayed and a sturdy enough toy that you can play with it and it's $20? Why get all uppity? Oh no, it was made by Toynami... someone grab the torches and pitchforks! I honestly don't care who makes my toys as long as the toys themselves are cool... I don't even care if it says RT or Macross on the packaging.

It was, and is, just criticism on how you laid your opinion out there. It came off as if you were saying that these shouldn't be considered because there are better toys out there, something no one has disputed, without regard to the people who want to own a toy but are strapped on funds or space or have a wife that thinks blowing $150 on a 1/48 is grounds for a yelling at but wouldn't care about $20. For the member who asked what's wrong with elitism, in this context it I mean elitism to be the kind of person who laughs at others for not being able to blow as much money on toys as others... which is entirely silly if you ask me. Enjoy the toys, make fun of the toys, hate the toys, but stick to the toys. My vested interest is more in defending people who can more easily accept spending $20 on toys than $150... 'cause, while it's not an issue for me, I can easily see where it could be for others. Eh, whatever, I should have just taken Exo's and Godzilla's comments to say "If you can afford just one Yamato 1/48, you should buy that over 6 of these 1/100s." I think that's a nicer way of putting it and not something I'd disagree with.

I was told that HG was looking for distributors with greater reach than ADV. I'm pretty sure this was also covered earlier in this very thread.

Well, I stated an opinion steeped in experience and asked another user why they felt that way. They responded with a logical and perfectly acceptable answer. You said "I've never touched one but they suck so no one should buy them." Don't think of it as taking an issue, just offering constructive criticism. No one is butt hurt here but it definitely seems like a mod is trying to egg me into a flame war by refering to it as "your little toy" as if I have a vested interest.

I thought HG was using ADV as a last resort? Where'd you hear that ADV shot them down?

Ugh, a Bandai reissue? Why? It's less poseable, even uglier in battloid, and GERWALK modes, and not much better in fighter mode. I think the Takatoku was great back in 1984-1990 but it's painfully out-dated today unless you have some sort of sentimental attachment. if someone is going to use $40 to buy a toy, I would say go MPC or 1/60... unless you plan on occasionally using your toy as a hammer... then the Bandai reissue will be the definite choice.