1/55's revisited

[glane21]

On 12/16/2023 at 3:14 PM, takatoys said:

Finally I was able to complete the four box variations of the Takatoku VF-1J. Twenty five years ago, this set could’ve cost a fortune, nowadays prices have gone down considerably. Only super mint in box boxes are going for big money.

 

There are 5 variants.  Don’t forget that there is a Takatoku box that says Made in Taiwan instead of Made in Japan.

 

 

[takatoys]

3 hours ago, glane21 said:

There are 5 variants.  Don’t forget that there is a Takatoku box that says Made in Taiwan instead of Made in Japan.

 

 

The thing is…Is it an official Takatoku product? Are there more Takatoku toys besides Macross that have the Takatoku logo and were made in Taiwan? We all know there are lots of taiwanese toys made from the Takatoku molds, but those have the logo removed and do not have japanese writing. That Takatoku made in Taiwan box is the missing link.

[jvmacross]

4 hours ago, glane21 said:

There are 5 variants.  Don’t forget that there is a Takatoku box that says Made in Taiwan instead of Made in Japan.

 

The awful feeling of realizing your "variant" box collection is not complete....😪

[nightmareB4macross]

10 hours ago, takatoys said:

The thing is…Is it an official Takatoku product? Are there more Takatoku toys besides Macross that have the Takatoku logo and were made in Taiwan? We all know there are lots of taiwanese toys made from the Takatoku molds, but those have the logo removed and do not have japanese writing. That Takatoku made in Taiwan box is the missing link.

Oh boy. I think you should grab a cup of coffee start at the beginning of this thread and enjoy the read.

[TheLoneWolf]

22 hours ago, takatoys said:

The thing is…Is it an official Takatoku product? Are there more Takatoku toys besides Macross that have the Takatoku logo and were made in Taiwan? We all know there are lots of taiwanese toys made from the Takatoku molds, but those have the logo removed and do not have japanese writing. That Takatoku made in Taiwan box is the missing link.

On a more helpful note, note the "MADE IN TAIWAN" on the box cover.

[nightmareB4macross]

7 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

On a more helpful note, note the "MADE IN TAIWAN" on the box cover.

But that’s a sticker.

[TheLoneWolf]

2 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

But that’s a sticker.

🙄

[nightmareB4macross]

51 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

🙄

Well I’ll be damned.

Thanks for making that crystal clear.

[glane21]

I think these Taiwan variants are genuine Takatoku.  The toy itself  and its accessories have the proper materials, fit and finish.  Not what you usually see out of the bootlegs.  Maybe they were cost cutting efforts to save themselves and that’s how the molds ended up in hands of bootleggers.  I can’t guarantee it of course but it’s a theory.  Anyway it’s a cool unicorn until more show  up.  @nightmareB4macrossis quite the valk archaeologist.  He’ll find more eventually.

[nightmareB4macross]

4 hours ago, glane21 said:

I think these Taiwan variants are genuine Takatoku.  The toy itself  and its accessories have the proper materials, fit and finish.  Not what you usually see out of the bootlegs.  Maybe they were cost cutting efforts to save themselves and that’s how the molds ended up in hands of bootleggers.  I can’t guarantee it of course but it’s a theory.  Anyway it’s a cool unicorn until more show  up.  @nightmareB4macrossis quite the valk archaeologist.  He’ll find more eventually.

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement.

And boy do I try finding these rare Valkyries and bootlegs alike. It’s hard dirty business nobody wants, but I don’t mind. 😜 

[treatment]

wotafa retro-reviews Takatoku 1/55 VF-1J a few hours ago:
 

 

Edited January 10 by treatment

[grogall]

Honestly you can't beat a Valkerie that can be transformed in any of the three modes in under a minute and has a firing gunpod! 🤪

[Anasazi37]

6 hours ago, grogall said:

Honestly you can't beat a Valkerie that can be transformed in any of the three modes in under a minute and has a firing gunpod! 🤪

And can withstand a lot of physical punishment from a small child playing with it. They are virtually indestructible.

[Spark-O-Matic]

Still bootlegged decades later adds to its iconic heritage as well imo

[nightmareB4macross]

After 40 years the Gen 1 VF-1 still looks great.

No wonder it’s one of those toys every collector should have at least one in their collection.

Edited January 15 by nightmareB4macross

[Froy]

Still in the hunt for one of these and the GBP armor

But one that doesn't require to sacrifice any of my functioning organs.

[grogall]

28 minutes ago, Froy said:

Still in the hunt for one of these and the GBP armor

But one that doesn't require to sacrifice any of my functioning organs.

Will the 1980's Takatoku GBP also fit the 2000 Bandai reissues?

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, grogall said:

Will the 1980's Takatoku GBP also fit the 2000 Bandai reissues?

Yes.

And just because...

[grogall]

@Slave IV Thanks! That Canon Fodder VF-1A is also my favorite from that series...😉 

[Shawn]

If you are in the Pasadena,CA area on Jan 28th, my friend is blowing out a bunch of loose 1/55 VF-1s at the con
Come see them in person!

https://pasadenacomiccon.com/

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

If you are in the Pasadena,CA area on Jan 28th, my friend is blowing out a bunch of loose 1/55 VF-1s at the con
Come see them in person!

https://pasadenacomiccon.com/

Oh friggin hell! Would he be into meeting somewhere beforehand? Haha!

[nightmareB4macross]

Looks like quite a few have undergone the RetroBright treatment. These would be good for customizing. 

So many people are bleaching toys nowadays either for personal collections or reselling that it really makes me wary of buying bright white or pristine toys. 

Not only that, these are usually taken apart and reassembled haphazardly.😪

[Spark-O-Matic]

7 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Looks like quite a few have undergone the RetroBright treatment. These would be good for customizing. 

So many people are bleaching toys nowadays either for personal collections or reselling that it really makes me wary of buying bright white or pristine toys. 

Not only that, these are usually taken apart and reassembled haphazardly.😪

Those are good observations! the plastic surface is easily scratched with micro scratches so it might look Brite but loses that crispness. I've bought a few on eBay like that and sent them right back to the anger of the seller. Even had one seller try harassing me through my email and phone over a return but once he got it back he found another sucker not too long later.

I understand why they do it though as it's hard to sell one yellowed or discolored. I had a mint complete 84 Valk ( the ones with the black bandai stickers) here that was gorgeous in person it had never been played with and perfect paint/stickers. It was brand new but somewhat off color, no one here would even give me $300 for it as if it was diseased or something. I ended up almost just given it away. No one would take my word it looked way better then the pics so it's understandable but disappointing that they do.

I bought a lot of jetfires just for parts so as not to have to clean them. But these old 1/55 toys are not selling too well, I can't even sell my graded one for half what I paid for it, watched others have the same issue over the last year. One reason I've unloaded the majority of my jet fires I'm down to half dozen mint ones and I'm only keeping them because they are rare variants.

With the Macross 1/55  so far I've learned having one nice example of each one is great and all one needs, but if your buying more then you need your wasting your money as they have lost a lot of resale value. I seen guys recently who could not even give away super ostrich or elintseekers on eBay for anywhere they once did and these things were complete,unused and really nice boxes and still could not even get $900 for them. I just watched a guy struggle for three months to sell a mint 85 strike valkyrie and in the 12th auction it finally sold but only $600 for something that was still sealed in the box. 

I  too would never recommend cleaning unless it's really necessary but also pointing out that trying to hoard a bunch of expensive extras might be a money pit unless you got them years ago for hardly nothing.

 

[Shawn]

I often feel the 'loose' toys carry more fun value than the boxed ones.

With the loose ones you can transform and display them and you never feel guilty about re-opening the box or keeping it out of the sun because you don't want to lose resale value on a $600 Sealed Strike valk.

I was always wondered why on the Yahoo Japan auctions, a loose valk always seemed to get more action than a sealed one, and I think it is because of the guiltless feeling. I know that runs through my head all the time as these things are expensive.

I think the opportunity to spread this much 1/55 fun to a bunch of casual fans seems like a win for everyone 

[grogall]

I just like them for the simplicity of there transformation...😇

[Slave IV]

I don't care about resell value or hoarding a huge collection of duplicates but I always like getting me some chunky love whenever a good deal comes around. I always thought chemical treatments to whiten toys is about as silly as someone doing it to their skin but whatever, right? Especially when the fix is just temporary and could damage other parts along the way. I would never bother with it on any of my toys so I wouldn't want to buy any that have undergone that kind of treatment so it's great that people point these things out. Most of my 1/55 have not yellowed badly or at all, and either way I don't care if they did. I just enjoy them for the great toys...best toys ever that they are and whatever colors they come in.

Edited January 17 by Slave IV

[Shawn]

Its up to each person to keep their bad condition toys original and yellow or they can restore the colors and have them look better.
There will be opinions on each side, but they literally made a million VF-1 toys, it isn't like we are dealing with limited run item.

If some of the worse yellowed loose ones get a new life I can't see how that is a bad thing. These aren't being sold or represented as 'mint in box'.

Here is another example of the process. I think it is amazing what can be done, just like restoring old computer cases from the 80's.
 

[nightmareB4macross]

49 minutes ago, Shawn said:

Its up to each person to keep their bad condition toys original and yellow or they can restore the colors and have them look better.
There will be opinions on each side, but they literally made a million VF-1 toys, it isn't like we are dealing with limited run item.

If some of the worse yellowed loose ones get a new life I can't see how that is a bad thing. These aren't being sold or represented as 'mint in box'.

Here is another example of the process. I think it is amazing what can be done, just like restoring old computer cases from the 80's.
 

I am all in agreement with your statement.

But as of recent, there have been quite few resellers just whitening and reselling them without notifying buyers of how they have altered them and have attempted to sell them as mint.

Would be nice if people were more honest about these practices.

Personally, it’s not my place to say what people do with their own toys.
 

After all  it is yours enjoy it as you wish.

Edited January 17 by nightmareB4macross

[Slave IV]

47 minutes ago, Shawn said:

Its up to each person to keep their bad condition toys original and yellow or they can restore the colors and have them look better.
There will be opinions on each side, but they literally made a million VF-1 toys, it isn't like we are dealing with limited run item.

If some of the worse yellowed loose ones get a new life I can't see how that is a bad thing. These aren't being sold or represented as 'mint in box'.

Here is another example of the process. I think it is amazing what can be done, just like restoring old computer cases from the 80's.
 

Yeah, I don’t care what people want to do with their toys. That example is cool but to me, it looks just as good yellowed and whatever color it is doesn’t change my enjoyment of my toys. The only thing I would argue against it is that I hear they just turn yellow again pretty quickly so it seems like a lot of trouble for nothing. 

[nightmareB4macross]

33 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Yeah, I don’t care what people want to do with their toys. That example is cool but to me, it looks just as good yellowed and whatever color it is doesn’t change my enjoyment of my toys. The only thing I would argue against it is that I hear they just turn yellow again pretty quickly so it seems like a lot of trouble for nothing. 

Same here. I don’t think I have very many what’s called MIB untouched toys. I enjoy buying complete and original, but believe me my kids and I have played with everything we own. It’s all about the enjoyment, education, and sharing. 

[jvmacross]

30 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

It’s all about the enjoyment, education, and sharing. 

Wrong!!!!

Conan, what is best in life?

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentation of their women, and MIB untouched Macross toys...

 

[Slave IV]

43 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Same here. I don’t think I have very many what’s called MIB untouched toys. I enjoy buying complete and original, but believe me my kids and I have played with everything we own. It’s all about the enjoyment, education, and sharing. 

I buy with intention to open all my toys and play together with my kids. But I got into a vortex of buying everything that remotely sparked interest and nostalgia so now I’m dealing with stacks upon stacks of misb toys that I don’t even know how I’m going to get through. Been changing that lately and really limiting my selection down to must haves. Funny thing is I used to be able to justify every piece as a must have. Last time my kids played with some of my chunkys they came up with this 4th mode:

6 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Wrong!!!!

Conan, what is best in life?

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentation of their women, and MIB untouched Macross toys...

 

lol!🤣

[nightmareB4macross]

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

Wrong!!!!

Conan, what is best in life?

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentation of their women, and MIB untouched Macross toys...

 

Yeah, but Conan never had to deal with a forum filled with grown men on MacrossWorld giving their opinions and griefs over toys.

Conan had a sword. I have a Takatoku with pointy nose cone and a projectile filing GU-11 that would take out any barbarians’ eye out.

🙈

Edited January 17 by nightmareB4macross

[jvmacross]

13 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Last time my kids played with some of my chunkys they came up with this 4th mode:

 

Didn't this get called "Tank Mode" for the Orgroid toy?

[Slave IV]

48 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Didn't this get called "Tank Mode" for the Orgroid toy?

Haha yeah! That’s exactly what I was thinking when they did it!