regult

One more to hundreds of VF-1s to chose from...and they make it webshop exclusive! One more reason to pass.

I think this is actually the first time I see painted red/black main markings on the VF-25 kit, I've always wondered how they'd look like. Amazing work, and it was painted by hand! Thanks for keeping the updates coming Chronocidal!

how did I forget about the green mohawk! to be sure, it is not going to affect articulation

I am no expert but never heard of deculture edition models being the same price as a regular one. If you don't like the special decals (I don't), why bother? just get the normal version! Truth is I don't know if both decals are included in the deculture package but my guess is they don't. What I do know is that the actual parts for the models are identical.

If you absolutely must have the armored VF-0, then you have no other option but the excellent 1/72 Hasegawa kit, it's a traditional kit, lots of work needed to have a decent piece to look at.

Guess long commuting time in most Asian cities also help the development of handheld games. So many just play along on buses and trains.

I have all three releases and I also regret I paid so much for them, but at that time, the DX were the only other alternative (still didn't find the time to build the models, which I also do have). Actually I think those will be the only ones available in three modes for some time to come, because there are other priorities for the Hi-metal 1/100s than redoing the VF-25. If they do sth. Frontier, I bet it would be different, say VF-27 Hi-Metal. I guess what I am saying is that if you can wait long enough for the next 1/100 VF-25, go ahead and wait (it's not like there are no other Macross toys out there). I am personally waiting for a next generation 1/60...

yes please, you will not only provide solid evidence that what I described was real (w/o searching old threads): you will also re-enact the "..." (whatever you like to call it).

take it easy

Maybe not an exact quote but you get the drift. Do I really need to remind everybody this entanglement about who makes the most durable toys and how Yamato sucked? Hypothetically Yamato would also have some weak point, but those who cried how ugly the Bandai was and how nice it would be if Yamato could make one, they'd immediately be attacked by Chunky-monkey loyalists (proven: the VF-25 is far from it's supposed predecessor's legendary durability). Yes, Kawamori's designs don't help making durable toys in most cases, but I am starting to wonder if any of these toy designs still consider stress/material seriously. Probably durable and anime accurate toys are just too expensive to make? Also, I must also agree with a comment above regarding aesthetics vs. durability: if you cannot have both, at least get one thing right at a time!I still think the VF-25 is a lose-lose situation from the start and celebrate I never owned one despite the positive initial reviews on how much fun and how good it was. I can understand the expectation/hype factor, I did buy the VF-27 for instance!

I understand and agree with your tape analogy. Of course, shorter production runs means less turnover, but not many Macross toys (save the V2 VF-1 in all different liveries) get production runs as large as those you mention. Besides, the SDF-1 and Regult kits are resin, the toolings were probably never meant for large runs, they saved money overall and I am sure their astronomic prices means they recovered every Yen they spent and even made a profit (percentage-wise possibly large compared to mass-produced items). Economics of scale require predictable, steady demand, but Yamato for instance is a relatively humble company compared to 3M or Matsushita, so maybe they are changing their business model, and as suggested, tap into the "garage-kit" market. With current technology, CAD to tooling, it's not hard to make detailed models at relatively short development schedules, but since these are anime to real-world designs, durability is easier neglected when it's a kit for display and not a toy for repeated transformation...less complaints and customer service! Bandai is a different story, they have their gunpla and then lesser-macross on the side. If what you say is the case, then you somehow imply that going limited and retail online also damages the long term prospects of a company? add that to my worry about making these items fall into a ever less popular vicious circle, and we have a recipe for disaster. Soon we could be back into the dark ages of paying insane cash for old broken toys? (I am just pushing imagination a bit further for discussion) EXO is so right about dealing with international shipping and customer care vs. Japanese home market. As I said, they probably consider the marginal benefits of shipping internationally NEGATIVE, so give up on it. What's more, I heard stories about internet retail in Japan and international shipping: you are not only asked to ship to a Japanese address, but also to a Japanese recipient or your order will not be processed IN JAPAN. I guess this is to PREVENT retailers outside Japan from selling "exclusives".

I am glad that Yamato die-hards didn't come out to slash Bandai, but, honestly, those who defended Bandai's neo-chunky monkey (sometimes with aggressive fanaticism) and said this VF-25 was going to be the most sturdy modern valk toy ever made should at least apologize for some of the unnecessary display of violence. It is clear that when it comes to transforming expensive toys, no manufacturer gets perfect scores and Yamato is not alone in making toys engineered for breaking apart sooner than the price tag suggests. I have a question: how does the figher mode hold when the backplate itself is already dislodged? a broken shoulder can be disguised (my 1/72 kit already lost an arm but looks perfect in fighter mode and the arm will not even budge.

I don't work for the toy industry either, and that was also my guess. I don't work in retail for that matter, but came to realize that toy shops in Hong Kong have a particular problem: flow is fast, prices are floating (supply and demand driven), stock is close to 0 and ideally 0. No shop keeps "last month's stuff" in stock. More than once I asked about availability of sth. a few months old and they just laughed at me, I've learned the hard way. The answer: yes, they don't have space for anything really. I don't know what's the case in Japan, but at least they have a few big retail stores with ample floor space. New toys do come out but I guess our fellow mwer's in Japan are making an observation more specific to "Real Robots" otakus not expanding...therefore my thought about online vs. street retail. I do agree with everyone that any manufacturer takes a safe road by going retail themselves and bypass distributors and retail shops: instant fatter profits, less risk, lower costs, etc. etc. etc. I can totally understand if they go online with the less popular stuff, but as pointed out, it is becoming obvious that some of the toys in the "most wanted list" (at least here in mw, and hence this is probably a shrinking aging demographic group even in Japan?) becomes available through those exclusive online channels. But if Bandai or Yamato could cater for the international market online, nobody would be so angry at "web exclusives" anymore. Sadly, I don't think they will, it increases cost and the extra profit would probably be dismissible anyway. Oh, and I am moving next month, but within the same neighborhood!

interesting discussion guys. I do have a question, don't you think the web exclusivity (and/or magazine tie-in) is not helpful at all to even try to expand customer base? I do agree that the bad economy exasperated the shrinkage of the market for these collectibles, and that probably it wasn't going to grow on the base of a aging generation of otakus, but since I am not used to buying everything online, and have sometimes purchased something just because it appealed to me after I found it on the shelves of a shop, I thought maybe I am not alone. Making these toys less visible at street level seems to exasperate the shrinkage even more, I think.

crasis, I do share your feelings towards web exclusives but all this negative energy...you gotta stop giving them this kind of ideas!

what if the people who are complaining about pricing are those who originally would have bought this? just a hunch

I bet it was prettier and tighter.

it seems most of us are really pissed off at Yamato for web exclusivity. At this point I think it should be obvious to everyone this is the way of the future, if Japan's economy doesn't flourish soon, there will be increasingly more web exclusives (And to Japan market only). Of course not everyone is cursing at Yamato, as I said, I am wondering who on Earth would pay 40,000 Yen for this resin kit, is anyone here getting it?

To be fair, the economy in Japan is not doing great, and as toys are not a commodity you can't live without, what better than become a direct to consumer business? you save costs, only produce as many preorders you get, no extra marketing cost whatsoever... the web is already there and they don't bother selling outside Japan. It would actually be strange things don't go web exclusive. Unfortunately Yamato has a tendency of selling their exclusives at 3-digit price tags, makes me wonder how many humans are willing to pay 400 bucks for a Regult or 2000 bucks for the SDF1, really would like to know.

they must be kidding, 40K for a kit set?????????? Macross collectors in Japan must be seriously rich for this to keep happening. I will have to stick to the vinyl toy if I want another Regult.

I don't have the VF-27 Bandai 1/72 kit, but I guess it does share some common parts, mainly skeletal I presume. General proportions (length of leg and arms, shoulder area, chest, cockpit, radome, etc.) are very close too. I really would like to see if somebody can pull it off: make a VF-25 that's accurate and sleek with the Bandai VF-27 toy, without having to wait for a V 2.0 or a Yammie.

Kits (or toys) aside I think the root cause is that Kawamori never really bothered too much with a comprehensive size chart for the mecha designs, and animators did a lousy job back when SDFM was released. I am wondering what the Q-rea kit is going to look like if ever released, the samples shown a year ago made Klan Klan look so small, and still had no room for her legs. It's funny how a Valk-siezed giant emerges from a Valk-sided mecha.

wow, a new valkyries book! I hope the VF-25 painting shown in a recent anime fair in Japan will be included (can't remember what event was that, there was a painting of the VF-25 in the Statelight booth I think) sorry, had a mind fart and posted a comment on this scoopa thread. pls delete if offensive

It makes the original release look like a rushed job...must say the landing gears make it look much more interesting in fighter mode. The gunpod connector and closed fists are very much something that looks like it should've been packed together with the toy as well. I am glad I didn't get it, let's see what Yamato can pull off!

superglue will be a risk, higher end brands have better formulas but still may cloud when drying. maybe the best option is to go with tamiya modeling glue (dries very slowly) for clear parts.