crasis

Wow, thanks for all the info! I just assumed all these years that every Jetfire had the UN SPACY emblem painted on the wing... which made me resent Hasbro that much more for "stealing." I even went so far as to peel the Autobot sticker off his nosecone when I was 12. I just wish I had taken better care of this thing when I was younger. He's pretty yellowed from all the years I left him posing near my windows (I didn't know any better back then). Ah well, he's probably not worth much (money-wise) in his current condition, but I'd never want to part with him due to nostalgia anyways. It's cool to know I have a rare one, though.

Ha! Small world. It's funny you mention this, Dru, because I'm currently in the same situation with my girlfriend. About a year ago, I attempted to ward off her constant barrage of "why are you so obsessed with a cartoon?" comments by daring her to sit down with me for a viewing of DYRL (I figured there was no way she'd sit through a 36 episode series, so I had to go with the more condensed version). Sure, I had to explain a ton of things to her (as I quickly learned DYRL can be quite confusing to someone with no prior knowledge of Macross), and she wasn't keen on all the violence and mecha action, but something really bizarre came out of that night--she liked it... no, she REALLY liked it. Suddenly I found myself making her Minmay CDs and occasionally hearing her hum "Ai Oboete Imasu Ka" and "Watashi no kare wa Pairotto." Soon after that, I explained to her that there was much more to Macross than the movie...and even hinted that the original series is more satisfying and fleshed out. I also mentioned that the series better conveys the love triangle aspect, as she was really upset when, in the movie, Hikaru chose Misa...and "left poor Minmay heart broken." I've never seen someone react that way before...but then again, most people who I've shown DYRL to have already seen SDF Macross or at least Robotech. Eventually, she caved and I initiated a weekly viewing of the Animeigo discs. Some weekends it would be one episode, others four or five (once she really got hooked), but ultimately she loved it. She still holds an irrational grudge against Hikaru, though. Since then, I've shown her Flashback 2012 (which she borrowed from me indefinitely), Macross Zero (she really likes it so far), Macross Plus (she kept falling asleep, though she did appreciate the animation... I think it may be too "male" for her.. heh), and the 20th anniversary disc. I was hesitant to show her any M7 at first after she came over my apartment one night and started mocking Basara's singing in the episode I had on (granted, this was before she even saw DYRL). Not too long ago, I tried to make M7 more appealing to her by having her watch Fleet of the Strongest Women first, only because it has a lot of connections to the original series (a lot of Max/Milia screen time). She seemed to enjoy that episode and didn't protest when I put on episode one. She had mixed feelings about it... though she liked Mylene and Gubaba, there wasn't much push to see any more episodes. She seems to really dislike Basara...even more than Hikaru. Eh, we'll see how this goes, though she recently threw me for a loop by expressing interest in my Genesis Climber Mospeada set. We're on disc 2 of that one so far, and she hasn't shown any inclination to go back to our M7 viewing. Eh, I figure eventually she'll cave in and listen to Basara's song... I'll just tell her there's more Gubaba to be had.

Cool! From that page I just learned that my old Jetfire is one of the first Matsushiro versions, as it has the painted-on UN SPACY insignia on the wing, lined canopy, and finer "ridged" detail on antennae. I never knew there was a difference in Jetfires. Anyone know how rare this particular Matsushiro is?

My Yamato Valkyrie Addiction -- An Essay Hmmm...where to start? I suppose this obsession began in early childhood (1984), when this transforming toy junky couldn't be spotted without his favorite Transformer constantly at his side--an incredible armored plane I got for Christmas named Jetfire. Okay, so the toy was a brick, I had no idea that there was such a thing as Gerwalk mode, I lost most of the armor, and I remember all the times my poor little hands were abused by the snapping metal landing gears, but damn if I didn't adore that toy like some kids loved their pets. I remember being VERY upset when this imitation jet --Skyfire-- appeared in the TF cartoon, not at all accurately portraying the "ultimate" Autobot that I staged wars with daily. I even remember being so foolish as to mock the Robotech toys/commercials I saw back then as being "knockoffs" of the "real thing" (hey, cut me some slack! I was only 6!). Funny thing is, in recent years I've come to still view Robotech in a similar way, now that I've FINALLY seen the "real thing"--Macross. When I was around 12 or 13 years old, my best friend at the time had just begun tape trading with some kids he met on the Prodigy boards. Soon after that, I was exposed to Akira, Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster... Soon my life revolved around staying up late watching those fuzzy looking tapes with almost impossible to read fan-subs of a language I didn't understand. That's when I really got hooked on anime. That's also when Robotech came back into my life. My friend and I had found a dusty set of tapes at the local comic book store, a six volume edited version of Robotech: The Macross Saga put out by F.H.E. Now, keep in mind, these were edited versions of an ALREADY edited show, taking six or so episodes and cannibalizing them into mini-movie length bits, chopping up "non-essential" (read: character development) parts in the process. The quality of the tapes was questionable at best. Regardless of all this, we were amazed just to find these tapes...this was no small feat, considering there was no widespread anime retailing back then, especially in a nowhere place like Southington, Connecticut. I vaguely recalled the show, remembering my refusal to watch it as a kid (after all, ALL convertible robot shows were rip-offs to my 6-year old mind. GoBots, Robotech...it was all the same. Heh). After the first few minutes, I came to the realization that I had been duped all this time--HASBRO had ripped off the design from THIS show. "Jetfire" was not a sentient being. IT was a war machine in a very compelling and human drama... piloted by Roy! That evening, I pulled out ol' Jetfire from his closet prison and discovered that he could make that "weird" half-plane/half-robot pose as well. Damn, I had been lied to! That's when I firmly decided to one day collect any "Veritechs" I could get my hands on. I would've given anything to have a TRUE Skull One. But I was 12. And poor. Damn it. Years went by, I was still stuck in the bowels of Connecticut, ExoSquad-labled Robotech toys came out (???) around high school, and I promptly snatched most of them up (enemy mecha! woot!)...except, what should have been the prize of that collection turned out to be a crappy, non-transforming fisher price Veritech. Yeah. Okay. PASS. By that time, I had also become an enormous fan of Macross Plus, owned two fansubbed copies of DYRL and Flashback 2012 (that were just slightly better quality than watching one of those blocked/scrambled channels on cable tv), found (and then almost slit my wrists watching) Clash of the Bionoids, and couldn't quite figure out why Macross 2 seemed so...out of whack when compared to the other shows (but the Valkyries were cool ). Robotech: The Sentinels movie left a funny taste in my mouth, especially seeing Bizarro Britai (Buckethead) and butch Miriya. I heard rumors of a Macross 7 in Japan, and wanted desperately to see it, though all the Macross I had viewed really confused me at first, because I still couldn't quite figure out where the Robotech Masters and Invid fit into the whole thing. I did some research and discovered that Macross was/is an entirely separate entity. Now I had TWO things to hunt for--the original, unedited Japanese Macross series AND that Skull One perfect toy. Fast forward to 2001 and the end of college. I had slipped out of anime fandom for a few years, and temporarily forgot all about my attempts to find the perfect Valkyrie toy. In a random fit of nostalgia, I checked out a link from IGN to Robotech.com...and saw an add for Animeigo where the HOLY GRAIL was up for PREORDER before my very eyes--MACROSS! ORIGINAL JAPANESE!! SUBTITLED!!! ....For $250?! The boxset was supposedly marked down from an even higher price before I had discovered the site, but that was a LOT of money for a DVD set. Ignoring that guilty/nagging feeling, I bought it anyway, even though I didn't even OWN a DVD player. This was MACROSS--the "real thing." Finally! After falling in love with my 9 disc boxset in early winter of 2002 (cheers to my roomate and his Playstation 2!), I soon started scouring the web, trying to find sites that discussed the original series... and that's when I found Macross World, my daily stop on the web ever since. And THAT is also when I discovered Yamato and their SERIES of Holy Grails. The prices scared me at first... I was out of college, looking for a job, and couldn't imagine spending over $50 for a TOY... (this is what also kept me at bay from the HG MPCs), so I simply drooled at all of Grahams pictures for a long while, thinking "must be nice." The Bandai reissues were out, and I finally had my chance to get the Skull One I always wanted ...only... as an adult collector I found myself more into accuracy vs. nostalgia. I knew there were better things out there. But the Yamato 1/60 seemed overpriced! Argh! But then luck struck. I finally got that Art Director job I'd applied for six months prior, started making real money (finally got that dvd player...heh), and Ebay proved to be my best friend one night in December. I noticed a 1/60 Max valk going for a ridiculously cheap price (like $20 or so), so I sat there for a good hour (at 3am or so on a work night) making sure I won that auction. I almost got sniped, but in the end, I won the thing for $35. I immediately fell in love with the sculpt, anime-accurate look of all three modes, and diecast content of the toy. But by the time I had Max, he was already old news to a lot of you, and much greater things were out. But I'll always have a fondness for my first 1/60... not only is Max my favorite character, but my first Yamato as well. But like I've read here many times, the valkyrie addiction starts to grow (no thanks to you guys and gals! heh). I finally got a chance to see Macross 7, based to recommendations here (the FX set all the way!), and wanted desperately to own a VF-17 Nightmare. I then went through a time of collecting all the Bandai-made M7 valks... but they just weren't satisfying every time I'd look at my lonely Max 1/60 in all his glory. It was time to hunt down that elusive "perfect" Skull One toy at last. And I found my 1/60 Roy Focker Strike Valk for a damned good price ($60 shipped)! At last!! Soon after that, I simply HAD to get the Max and Milia Supers and found a great deal on a Cannon Fodder 1A from hlj. I adore these valkyries... I couldn't imagine ever parting with them. I seriously didn't think Macross toys could get any better, until my amazing girlfriend surprised me this summer with a 1/48 Roy for my birthday. Now THIS is the perfect Skull One I had wanted all those years ago! He's proudly standing next to the computer right now in all his glory, and I periodically pick him up and transform him, all the while feeling like I'm 6 all over again. I don't think Tina quite understands just how much that gift meant to me. I associate that particular valkyrie with a great deal of my life thus far... and now I have the best representation of it sitting at arms reach. Gah, I'm rambling. Anyway, this thread really hit home, because just last week, I picked up the 1/72 VF-11B Fast Pack (missed out on all the MPlus valks the first time around) and definitely can see how Yamato has progressed. Granted, I like the little guy, but he's not nearly as impressive as the other bad boy I took home that evening--the 1/48 Low Vis. I think this one even has Roy beat in sheer beauty. THIS is my center piece, and I'm still in awe every time I walk by it. I have nothing but respect for Yamato, and the thought of all these upcoming toys in the future seriously sends shivers up my spine. I can't wait, though my girlfriend and empty wallet are due to kill me soon. I still have that old Jetfire... he sits over with the TOYS of my collection (Bandai Macross 7 valks, Bandai Hikaru VF-1A reissue and the "Exosquad" Glaug, Regult, and Destroids). Calling these Yamatos "toys" just doesn't seem right. They're far more than that... they, in part, symbolize my youthful dreams coming true at last. -Dan

1/72 = 1 1/60 = 5 1/48 = 2

Still crasis... though most of you probably wouldn't recognize me anyway, since i've been a hardcore lurker since January of 2001 or so. Come to think of it, i'm already close to beating my old record (2 whopping posts in two years!) by writing this now. Okay, okay...enough hiding. I'm going to be more social now. Really. As a side note, my girlfriend blames you all for my "valkyrie-infested" apartment. Heh. I keep trying to tell her that Macross World is actually on HER side, by helping me determine which valks to actually pass on (but we all know that those are relatively few and far between). Ah, despite all her grumbling, she still broke down and got me a 1/48 Focker for my birthday... ...though I'm still debating if it was a ploy to persuade me into actively searching for her "princess" engagement ring. Eeep. -D