10.13.08

Yamato 1/60 Destroid Tomahawk

Posted in 1/60, Destroids, Macross/Robotech TMS, Yamato at 7:46 pm by micronian

 

Review: The unsung heroes of Macross get their Toy Tribute

Packaging & Extras: (4/5)
I like Yamato’s newest series of 1/60 boxes (started with their VF-1 version 2.0). The artwork is attractive enough and features that collector’s style flip-top box. The extras here aren’t very remarkable but I can’t really figure out how much more they could have done. The toy comes with a 1/60 figure who looks to be directing an airplane and another figure who I suppose is a maintenance worker who is hunched over and pointing at something. Beyond that you get some brief instructions and lots of decals. I don’t handle decals personally but I read over at MacrossWorld that the decals included in both the version 2.0 VF-1 and this destroid are much improved from Yamato’s previous efforts.

 

Charm & Collectability: (2.5/5)
Let’s be honest, there aren’t many fans of the destroids. In fact, I’m pretty surprised that they went with the destroids before doing the Glaug or Regult in 1/60 scale (and yes, I’m aware those would be bigger toys). You may have noticed that this is the first destroid toy ever reviewed on my site (gashapons excepted) so that ought to tell you how big a fan I am of these mechs. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cool enough in the series but I never saw much allure to playing with a toy of them… for the most part they just sat on the deck of the SDF-1 blowing up distant enemies or being destroyed by closer ones. There’s no transformation, just a tiny bit of metal, and while it is an excellent toy it may very well be destined for bargain bins some day.

 

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (9/10)
When you first pull this toy from its box you’ll almost certainly be impressed. There are rivets in some panels, deep recesses in all the gun barrels, and plenty of fine detail to assure you that this is the finest crafted destroid ever made. I would have liked to have seen it a bit darker in color but that’s my only real complaint. I’m guessing that Yamato had a difficult time determining how much detail they should apply for the people buying these toys because there was never one Tomahawk that had hero markings. It would appear that Yamato elected to go light on tampo printed markings and instead supply you with a HUGE decal sheet so that you could make your destroid look however you prefer. Some people will love this, I’m a bit turned off by it since I never bother with decals.  Of all the destroids this was amongst my least favorite (I always thought it looked like a frog as a child and as an adult the gun arms seem like they wouldn’t function without being wildly inaccurate) but this toy is so nice that it has warmed me up to the design a bit.

 

Design: (8.5/10)
I have only one gripe: I wish the upper body latched a bit more securely to the legs and waist. That’s not to say this toy falls apart constantly but there were a few times, while testing out the articulation, the upper body would become unlodged without my expecting or desiring it to. Beyond that there’s a lot to like here from all the opening doors revealing inner detail to the layout of all the joints. I’m penalizing this toy a tiny bit since there’s no transformation to it so its design can only be so remarkable.  It’s also worth noting that while Yamato left some tampo printing detail off for the benefit of customizer they also made this toy so that it can be largely disassembled.  The black arrows in the picture below point to various areas you can disconnect the toy (I may have missed some).

 

Durability & Build: (8.5/10)
My only question, at the moment, is: “how well will these joints put up with a lot of movement?” Over time I suspect this toy might get loose and, while it will always be a good looking destroid capable of holding some stoic poses, if it were to get loose that’d really hamper your ability to get into really aggressive poses. Some of the joints on the feet of my sample are already pretty fluid in their movement and it’d be nice if they were a bit tighter to help support the weight of the toy if in a severe lean or attempted running pose.  The waist also was fairly fluid on my sample, an observation I have seen in other reviews as well.  On the plus side, there’s metal in some of the joints due for more pressure and stress.

 

Articulation: (8/10)
This toy is right on that annoying cusp of being amazing to pose if you could just move this or tweak that a little bit more. As it is it’s still a ton of fun and far more articulated than I expected when I purchased it.

Total Score: (40.5/50)
In the world of Macross toys we had to endure a lot of years with some really mediocre toys or rehashes of toys that were great over two decades ago. Fortunately we’re finally at a point where the products made for us are worth the time and effort to acquire. These destroids though are really going to make you struggle with whether or not they’re worth what Yamato is hoping to sell them for. I picked mine up through Overdrive and as you can see, Yamato is charging just about as much for these toys as they are for their remarkable VF-1 version 2.0 toys. So, congratulations diehard destroid fans, you’ve finally gotten a toy worth your long wait and I’m sure you won’t feel let down scooping them up at retail. For the rest of you, the VF-1 version 2.0 is really quite impressive so you might want to weigh your options.

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