Your_number1_fan Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Hello I figured the best place to get questions about macross toys would be at the website macrossworld, so here i am. I just bought the video game "robotech battle cry" for the PS2, and it has thrown me back into the robotech saga all the while implanting the need/desire of a transfroming jet fighter! So, i've gone around looking and found out that bigbadtoystore has a sale going on right now, which is really good as i'm in school with very very limited funds at the momment. A couple of years ago I got the yamato VF1S Hikaru Ichijo... i think... well its red and it was the very first one they released if that helps. anyways while its a really cool toy it has alot of issues that drive me up the walls. here are the major issues i've got with it. 1. the backpack-- while in jet mode it is very very floppy. 2. the legs- they come off to make the robot mode with is fine, but it makes the middle... gerwalk?... mode unstable. the clasps are really loose so they don't say on very well at all. so.. back on track, i'm cought between two different toys and not sure which one is going to bring in the most enjoyment for the money. the Yamato Super VF-1J Max, would be really cool if the issues above have been fixed, plus it'll be my first macross jet with the "super" parts... or the Bandai VF-1A Brown Production , which i've heard is built like a brick. strong, yet not very poseable plus no super parts. (or, i just saw this link on bbts.com -->Masterpiece Vol. 4 VF-1J Max) can anyone give me some help with this choice or point me in the right direction of some reviews for both? thanks a ton for the time Your_Number1_Fan ps- while in the gerwalk? mode, can either of them have the gunpod attached ot their arm, instead of holding it in the hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippant_remark Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I just happen to have these two models right at hand I like both models but for different reasons. The Yamato VF1-J Max is a great looking Model. As you can see. But that's what it is. A transformable model. It is intended to perch on your bookcase (or CD cabinet in my case) strike poses and generaly look cool. It is not made to be "played" with nor transformed a million times. You've got to be careful when handling them. The Bandai VF1-A doesn't look nearly as good as the Yamato. It doesn't look so bad though when there's no 1/48 around to compare it to. This thing is a toy, not a model. It was made to be transformed a million times and withstand the rigours of play. The CF pictured recently took a tumble down the stairs in fighter mode (2 year old niece) and survived. The Bandai has a nice tactile quality that can't be expressed in a photo, the plastics are nice, hard and shiny, it has plenty of ratchet joints and is metal in all the right places. It's just the thing for screaming round the house with or idly transforming while watching TV. Its also a third of the price of a Yamato. In short get the Yamato for display, or the Bandai for play. Or just do what I did and get both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ltee Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Hey if your wondering about toys this site has a lot of info on the brands http://protoculture.lebhead.com/toys/ (I don't think lebhead would mind that i linked his site) it basically goes into details on the brands of toys and what they offer. I'm in the same situation as you!! Still in school but I work part-time to fund my days of fun and of course this hobby of macross..... Flippant has already stated that bandai=play\Yamato=display/collectible I thought about what kind of toy I'd want as well. I very recently got a 1/48th VF-1S and what a pain in the butt it was to transform for the first time. After I finished and had it in battroid mode I said to myself, "Wow that looks beautiful." I thought I had wanted to play with the toy but that hasn't been the case. It's been standing next to my bookshelf in my bedroom these last few days. I plan on getting a doll case or something to keep it from dust and to make it known to my friends that its a look but don't touch item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_number1_fan Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 hey thanks guys for the replies! you've both really helped me out in this choice. I'm leaning more on the Bandai right now. i've got all kinds of toys/models etc around my computer and while watching tv, movies, etc find myself transforming them or putting them into different poses. it sounds like the bandai will stand up to that better then the yamato (plus i won't have to worry about the extra parts that need to be removed/added ie- the leg plugs, parts for super mode). and the fact that the bandai is $10 cheeper helps too lol (can't wait until i'm outa school with a good job. 1/48s will still be around then, hopefully, and will have probably dropped in price too!) thanks again guys Your_Number1_Fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ltee Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Have you thought on getting a toynami valkyrie?? If you go to the valkyrie-exchange http://www.valkyrie-exchange.com/frames.html you can buy the max/milia vf-1j for a reasonable price of $40 dollars I believe and the toynami valkyries are a bit more playworthy than yamato's just an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippant_remark Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Grab the Bandai. They're reasonably posable and you can attach the gun to the arm. Though it's via a fairly clunky extra clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister_e Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Grab the Bandai.They're reasonably posable and you can attach the gun to the arm. Though it's via a fairly clunky extra clip. You can attach the gunpod to the forearm on the Yamato 1/48's & 1/60's and the Toynami Masterpiece toys also. The Bandais, however, are the only valks (of those mentioned here) that cannot have the gunpod mounted in fighter mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Ace Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 hey thanks guys for the replies! you've both really helped me out in this choice. I'm leaning more on the Bandai right now. i've got all kinds of toys/models etc around my computer and while watching tv, movies, etc find myself transforming them or putting them into different poses. it sounds like the bandai will stand up to that better then the yamato (plus i won't have to worry about the extra parts that need to be removed/added ie- the leg plugs, parts for super mode). and the fact that the bandai is $10 cheeper helps too lol (can't wait until i'm outa school with a good job. 1/48s will still be around then, hopefully, and will have probably dropped in price too!)thanks again guys Your_Number1_Fan If you're comparing the 1/55 Bandai to the 1/60 Yamato, the other thing to consider is that the Bandai has "perfect transformation" (the legs don't come off). If you want to constantly handle/play with the thing and let others, too, then I'd suggest going with the Bandai. If you like the fast packs, get the Bandai VF-1S and find a deal on the CF (the tan one) and buy it and just put the fast packs on the one you want. Basically, you get two pieces for roughly the price of a 1/48; you can afford two valkyries on a student's budget - it's called Ramen noodles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UN Spacy Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 While we're on the subject of the 1:48 VF-1J. Were you guys able to pose it (in Battroid Mode) that classic SDF: Macross stance (from the end of the title credits)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F360° Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 how about Banpresdo's they are small and checp and has Fastpack and still look pretty good. they are around $10-$15 each. Get one and check it out. And much as I don't like to say it, but if you're stuck between the Yamato 1/60 FP and the Bandai 1/55 FP you can look and the Toynami ones. They look less chunky and more detail than the Bandai and transform like the cartoon. And their fastpack is pretty good too. The yamato would look ass kicking good at any post compare to toynami or Bandai. The Bandai is Tough, it'll last forever. The Toynami version is $39 and the Fastpack is $19 You can get it all at valkyrie-exchange.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Ace Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 how about Banpresdo's they are small and checp and has Fastpack and still look pretty good. they are around $10-$15 each. Get one and check it out.And much as I don't like to say it, but if you're stuck between the Yamato 1/60 FP and the Bandai 1/55 FP you can look and the Toynami ones. They look less chunky and more detail than the Bandai and transform like the cartoon. And their fastpack is pretty good too. The yamato would look ass kicking good at any post compare to toynami or Bandai. The Bandai is Tough, it'll last forever. The Toynami version is $39 and the Fastpack is $19 You can get it all at valkyrie-exchange.com The Toynami version looks pretty good, and it's a good price. It looks to be a lot more posable than the Bandai, but how fragile are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_number1_fan Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 wow guys thanks for the help! i really like the bandai being able to attach the gun to his arm...but he can't have the gun under his jetmode? so, okay the Toynami Masterpiece looks really nice and is the same price as the bandai, however instead of cannon fodder i can get a Max, or Mira version (in the robotech video game, the mech i'm flying is red, so that might be pretty cool) so... how well do they hold up compared to bandai? are these more on the "model" side or the "toy" side? how stable are they? the bandai with ratchet joints sounds like it shouldn't have any stability issues, so thats a major plus. question about bandai and the toynami, while in jet modes, can you turn it upside down and not have the backpack thing fall towards the ground? the toynami also has the super parts as an add-on down the road, are they good? ie- they stay on in all modes while flying across the room/desk? thanks again guys Your_Number1_Fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I wish they still had the Bandai 1/100s or the bootlegs (or were they takas?) They would be the perfect thing to have on my desk at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewilen Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 i really like the bandai being able to attach the gun to his arm...but he can't have the gun under his jetmode? so, okay the Toynami Masterpiece looks really nice and is the same price as the bandai, however instead of cannon fodder i can get a Max, or Mira version (in the robotech video game, the mech i'm flying is red, so that might be pretty cool) so... how well do they hold up compared to bandai? are these more on the "model" side or the "toy" side? how stable are they? the bandai with ratchet joints sounds like it shouldn't have any stability issues, so thats a major plus. In answer to your initial questions, ALL the 1/60 Yamatos have the sort of "loose" leg positioning in Gerwalk mode that you noticed. The later 1/60's with FAST packs do have square holes for inserting the leg pegs in Battroid (instead of hexagonal in the initial runs) and some other improvements. The Bandai WILL NOT mount the gun under the toy in jet mode. With some ingenuity you might be able to customize it to allow this but I don't know if you'll run into ground clearance problems. I can't speak to the MPC (Masterpiece) personally but the early versions (particularly Rick's) generated a lot of reports of design problems/QC issues/cheap construction. These problems seem to have been addressed to some degree by the later versions including Max & Miria. Toynami is now marking a YF-1R Masterpiece if that interests you. (There's a pinned thread for discussing the MPC's over in the Other Anime and Science Fiction area, because MPC's are really from Robotech and Robotech isn't really the same as Macross.) For more info on toys, look in the Toys section off the main page of Macross World (but you won't find any Toynami stuff, or Banpresto perfect transformation). Also look at the Valkyrie Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiriyu Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 To add to the above post, the 'floppy backpack' syndrome had also been cured on the later-release Yamato 1/60s like the 1J Supers... Though it sounds like you're on to something else anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_number1_fan Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 yuppers, i've given it alot of thought and am going to go with the bandai 1/55. after reading some of the "holy grail" posts, and the replys to this thread, i just feel that this is going to give me what i desire. once i find a job, hopefully soon, i'll look into increasing the collection some more. i really like the design of the yamato Elin... the jet with a radar dish on it anyways thanks for all the replies and help guys. i've bookmarked all the sites listed and am gathering funds together as i type (multi-tasking!) Your_Number1_Fan-- will try to help return the favor to any of you guys in the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 if i may, the Yammies kick ass. if you don't get one now, get one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentrandude Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I wish they still had the Bandai 1/100s or the bootlegs (or were they takas?) They would be the perfect thing to have on my desk at work. so aggreed. now a days it would be a money maker for bandai for that. maybe improve it too just abit like all the 1/55 stuff that was at the time not possible for the 1/100 in the earily 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewilen Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 (edited) I wish they still had the Bandai 1/100s or the bootlegs (or were they takas?) They would be the perfect thing to have on my desk at work. Bandai made a 1/100 DYRL VF-1A Hikaru, and Takatoku TV series 1/100's, including VF-1S Skull and VF-1J, maybe others. Matsushiro also made a 1/100 VF-1J which they packaged similarly to their 1/55 1J, i.e., with no reference to Macross on the box or instructions, but with the Macross sticker sheet inside. Then there are a bunch of 1/100 bootlegs which were of pretty good quality, including the "Hawk Fighter". (The only real problem I found with the "Hawk Fighter" was the weird gun, nothing like a Macross gunpod.) Edited January 20, 2004 by ewilen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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