Luclin999

I think I may have the worst horror story so far but it happened long before macross... Back in the 70's I had a nearly complete collection of the Mego "World's Greatest Super Heroes" line (minus the "girl figures), The entire Micronauts line and all of the "Shogun Warriors" toys which had been released in the US. One day I come home from school to find out that there had been a fire in our home and well even though my room was spared from the worst of it, the effects of superheated air on plastic are not pretty to look at. The cause of the fire? A faulty electrical stove plus the "wet bar" of a dozen or so various boozes bottles that my parents kept on the kitchen counter right next to the oven

While I love my 1/48th valks (esp. the DYRL Max) I tend to pose them for display and then leave them alone. The 1/60th pieces tend to be "played with" a bit more in that they are the ones I tend to re-pose into different groupings every few weeks. The simple fact of the matter is that the 1/48ths are so expensive that I would hate myself if something were to break on one of them because I was messing around with it too much. As to re-issuing the DYRL Max, it was the one valk "I just had to own" and I think that I was very lucky getting it last summer for "only" $130. I honestly believe though that Yamato will probably re-issue it at some point (Hopefully in a new package with custom "Max" fast packs similar to the TV version)

1) Married, no kids. 2) I only purchase the specific valks in 1/48th that I just "had to have". 3) I've made the money to buy my 1/48ths by selling off old mecha and transformers on Ebay.

My first post to this thread. 1/72 = 0 pcs. 1/60 = 4 pcs. 1/48 = 3 pcs.

My 1st post to this thread. TV 1/48 Vf-1J (Hikaru): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Hikaru FP): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Miria FP): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Max FP): 001 DYRL 1/48 Vf-1A (Hikaru): 001 1/48 Vf-1A (Max): 001 1/48 Vf-1A (CF): 000 1/48 Vf-1S (Hikaru): 000 1/48 Vf-1S (Roy): 000 Variations 1/48 Vf-1A (Low Vis I): 000 1/48 Vf-1A (Low Vis II): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Stealth): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Stealth FP): 000 1/48 Vf-1J (Black): 000 Accessories 1/48 Vf-1 GBP (Blue): 000 1/48 Vf-1 GBP (Camo): 000 1/48 Vf-1 FP: 000 1/48 Vf-1 FP(Clear): 000 Others 1/60 Vf-0S Roy: 001 1/60 QR Mirira: 000 1/60 QR Max: 000 1/100 VB6 Koeing: 000

I'm afraid that I enjoy having the different versions too much to simply get rid of everything and focus solely on 1/48s. Very happy that my Bandai VF-1A, VF-1S & VF-1J reissues arrived today and the VF-1S Super should be here by Friday. Hopefully next week the other two 1/48s I ordered should arrive.

If you can find 'em anywhere ! More than likely I'll settle myself with the Super parts from the VF-1J Max I just ordered and wait until Yamato desides to re-issue the Fast Packs rather than pay 2-3 times their MSRP. I will buy a couple of sets of the GBP armor though when it's released just to avoid this kind of problem with those. Probably one each for my CFs. Damn! This thing is posable!

The one Toynami missed.. The George Hamilton VF-1S Super.

To me these terms mean the following: Vintage: From the original release of the item as describe in the listing. (IE. "Vintage Bandai Super Valkyrie" should refer to the release from the 80's) Classic: Could be the original or a re-release which is nearly identical to the the original version (I am usually very careful to examine a product when I hear this term). Typically used in a re-release as a "Classic Style X" IE. The Bandai re-issues might be described as "Classic Style Bandai Super Valkyrie". Antique: Usually referring to a toy over 50 years old or older. An item which came from 2 or more generations ago.

Yellowing can be caused by several factors. 1. UV light: such as sunlight can cause this. 2. Chemical reactions: sometimes the plastic in the toy will react with the fumes slowly released by other types of plastic in the same package (Like the clear plastic window on the toy's display box or fumes from the decals). 3. Pollutants in the air, such as tobacco smoke will also contribute to the yellowing of a toy. 4. Oxidation, the plastic or some substance in the plastic could react with the oxygen in the air causing the material to break down and discolor. The only way to completely prevent this from happening is to remove the toy from it's package. Place it in an airtight case made of an inert substance and then pump out all of the air and replace it with a non-reactive gas like nitrogen. If you do this the toy should remain in perfect condition for a century or two. However for most of us, simply removing the toy from the package and displaying it in a smoke-free home in an area free of sunshine should be sufficient. I have a wing assembly from an old, extremely yellowed Jetfire (Bandai VF-1S Valkyrie) which I have been experimenting on over the years in order to see just what helps and hurts this type of plastic. I have found that treating the plastic with the following will do nothing to "whiten" up the yellowed plastic: Bleach Oxiclean Peroxide Toothpaste Hot water Cold Water Freezing Sunlight Soap Laundry Detergent (Tide, Era & Cheer have been tried) The only thing which I have used which lightened the yellowing at all was ZAP Restore solution, but this makes sense as it is a combination of Hydrocloric and Phosphoric acids and basically ate away some of the yellowed plastic. Obviously I would not advise using this product to "De-age" a Valkyrie as exposure to harsh acid can only damage the plastic further and potentially cause it to age at a much faster rate after being exposed to it. Simply buffing the plastic with a rubbing compound or very fine grade sandpaper would acheive the same result without the chemical stress to the plastic. Other than that about the only thing I can see to do to whiten a yellowed valk is to paint it. Ultimately, prevention is really the only way to keep these things white.

Well, the newest addition to the shelves arrived today. (Thanks Eyesonme78). Tried to watch Graham's video on transforming these figures but I couldn't get the picture to play, just sound even after downloading the latest Quicktime update. Took a stab at the instructions with my -extremely- limited Japanese and managed to get it from Fighter to Gerwalk to Battloid in about 20 minutes. (Sadly, I spent more time trying to get Graham's video to play ) Put him in his new home but is seems he has a bit of attitude... Now I just need a VF-1A Max, VF-1S Roy, VF-1A LV, VF-1J Max, VF-1J Hikaru, VF-1J Millia and maybe one.. no make it two VF-1A CFs... Hunting those down should keep my occupied for the next year or two... /sigh

A handheld rotary tool: Dremel.com

Well I wouldn't rate Yamato's quality control as being all that great. Every single one of the 1/60s I've bought so far have had at least one defect due to someone not paying attention. While of the five Toynami products I have purchased only one had any kind of actual flaw and that was the Vol. 1 VF-1J, the first one produced which was basically a case of too little die cast material. Don't get me wrong, the Yamato valks are a far superior toy design than the MPCs but as to QC, so far Toynami has a better track record as far as I am concerned. I mean two of the Yamato valks have actually required my taking tools to them before they would even display at all while the MPCs have at least been posable out of the box. While you may have had a problem with Toynami I frankly am coming to the opinion that mecha from either company are something of a crapshoot in regards to QC.

Possibly. however the pieces I put into Roy's legs were both used up in the dryer as well as having been rinsed and dried first. I may take a look at using a cleaning patch though. It has been a while since I used my Glock 21 so I never even thought about one of those.

Well, my 2nd and 3rd 1/60ths arrived today. The VF-1A's for Max and Hikaru. While I admit being happy that they are here I was a bit suprised by the QC issues present in both figures. The VF-1A Max had a couple of pieces of flash inside of the chest piece which had to be trimmed down in order to allow it to convert to Battloid. It also had a large gap in the upper right thigh which was due to the screw holding that section together being loose. Lastly both of the pegs on the legs are too small in that they fit into the figure so loosely that they fall out with no resistance. The VF-1A Hikaru was in better shape but did need to have the peg assembly on the underside of the wings loosened and adjusted as it came out of the box 45 degrees out of position. I honestly wish that Yamato had come up with a better method for attaching the legs other than simply using pegs and hoping friction can hold them in. Some kind of a locking bolt assembly similar to how the legs are locked on in plane form would have helped immensely. Oh, as to the cloth/hips mod. I didn't take any pictures when I did Roy but I may when I tinker with Max later in the week. A shot of the Yamato's moving in.. Hmm do the MPC's look a bit nervous to you?

Here is the information they used to register the Domain. Registrant: Botcollector PO Box 8378 Ann Arbor, MI 48107 US Domain name: BOTCOLLECTOR.COM Administrative Contact: Scott, Christo christo@botcollector.com PO Box 8378 Ann Arbor, MI 48107 US 800-988-4546 Technical Contact: Scott, Christo christo@botcollector.com PO Box 8378 Ann Arbor, MI 48107 US 800-988-4546 Please note though, that on the home page for this site they are discussing Bush just having won his 2nd term. Not a good indicator that the site has been being maintained for the past six months.

I noticed you were bidding on the same Jetfire parts auction I am ... Ebay Lnk Is there something specific you want from that lot? I was just going to use the parts to repair one of my Jetfires and customize another (once I get a bit of practice in).

The cloth I used was a tiny square of a used fabric softener sheet. Maybe about 5-6mm square. I fed it into each of the ball joints corner first and just rotated the socket until the cloth had disappeared into the joint. Tightened it up nicely although it can be worked back out of the socket if it is manipulated too much (A good thing I suppose if you wanted to restore it to "boxed" condition). As to more valks.. I just bought four Bandai reissues on Ebay (2 VF-1S, 1 VF-1S Super & 1 VF-1J) and have two more Yamato 1/60s (VF-1A Max and Hikaru to go with Roy) already headed here via UPS. I have a 1/48th VF-1A Hikaru currently being shipped from overseas and a 1/48 VF-1A CF pre-ordered. So my spending spree on new mecha is almost over for now. About the only things left which might tempt me at the moment would be a 1/48 VF-1A Max and a Fast Pack set.

Well my first Yamato arrived this morning packed up really well (Thanks 1 VF-1 2NV!) Of course the first thing I did was pull off the tail assembly when taking it out of the package . Fortunately nothing was broken and it snapped back together without any problems. I have played with the transformations a bit and after about 30 minutes of trying to figure it out from the Japanese instructions I looked up Graham's from the main page which cleared a few things up. Overall a very nice figure with only two problems. 1. The canopy was on so tightly that I had to use so much force to remove it that I was sure I would break it. (Even with Graham's suggestions of "wiggling it".) It did come off without breaking but I am glad that I plan to keep the valk in Battloid mode with the heatshield instead for most of the rest of it's existance. 2. The other thing which was disturbing is Roy's "Hula Hips". I had heard that these could be loose but wow!. However a -tiny- piece of cloth worked into each socket and he is as stable as a Bandai now. Here is a picture of the new addition with my old MPCs.. It seems to fit in much better with them than it does with my Bandai valks. (Of course soon there will be enough Yamato's to have their own shelf) Best part? My wife (Who has never seen Macross or Robotech) took one look at the Yamato and MPC Roys together and declared the Yamato to be the superior by a long shot! Better detail, better feeling in your hand better overall appearance and when she heard what the MSRP was for each she actually Laughed out Loud at the MPC. God, I love her!

You guys scare me....

I was looking through the old threads and noticed that Takatoys had expressed interest in making a new set for the 1/3000 SDF-1. Did anything ever come of that? Also, does anyone have an original unapplied sticker sheet from the 1/3000 SDF-1 that they would be willing to scan at 300dpi or higher? If do I could try to work with the image in Photoshop to see about making replacements of the original set.

Here's my non-valk Mecha. Looks like the SDF-1 set off a false alarm. Automatically opened up to fire upon an Alien Life Form... (Turned out to be the cat..)

Ok, now that I have taken the plunge into the 1/48th scale line I was considering picking up a few of the 1/60th as well (Mainly because it may be the only DYRL Max I can get my hands on until they re-issue it in 1/48). Aside from the lack of a "Perfect" transformation are there any other quirks about these valks I should be aware of? I heard something about the Super armor only fits on the 1/60 toys the armor comes packaged with? Is Yamato going to continue to produce the 1/60 pieces for the forseeable future other than just the brown CF model? Thanks Leo

They haven't been found for about $35 each which is all I am willing to pay for the MPC line

These are my MPC's after they heard there was a Yamato 1/48th on the way... Roy is warning me... Max has already shot me three times and Hikaru is too busy thinking about Minmay to care..