07.03.09

Yamato 1/60 SV-51 Ivanov

Posted in 1/60, Enemy Mecha, Macross ZERO, Yamato at 10:46 pm by micronian

 

Review: Kneel before dark helmet!

Packaging & Extras: (5/5)
Released in late August of 2007, the Ivanov (and late SV-51 releases) comes in the same style packaging Yamato introduced with their 1/48 VF-1 series. Much better use of the space of those boxes is made here, the plane itself is so big it had to be positioned diagonally. Packaged with this impressive bird of prey are the booster parts used in the fast flying finale of Macross Zero, additional wing weaponry, a detail Gumma Ivanov pilot figure, and a full display stand. Per Yamato tradition, additional stickers and the instruction manual have been smuggled behind the box’s inner tray.

 

Charm & Collectability: (3/5)
People don’t buy enemy mecha toys (or so the old logic goes) and even fewer buy them when the MSRP sails above the $185 mark. At initial release people were paying upwards of $225 to have this toy shipped to the states. That was a bit too rich for my blood back then and apparently I am not alone as the SV-51 is currently on sale at just about every major online retailer (I purchased mine from Overdrive-inc). With these toys now being available for closer to $160 shipped they’re going to have a lot more appeal. It’s only a matter of time before stocks of the existing toys sale out and chances are a reissue will be slow in coming. I have my doubts that there are enough people who loved Macross Zero and want an enemy mecha toy for this to truly become a hot collector’s item once the stock is long gone.

 

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (9.5/10)
It’s tough to score a nearly all blackish gray toy so high here but wow, this toy has a presence about it. Succeeding where so many others fail, Yamato has prepainted the most crucial emblems on the toy (and its boosters) so you won’t have to rely on the somewhat thick stickers or trust in your ability to apply them perfectly to such an expensive product. The pilot, the cockpit, and even the canopy are all amazingly detailed. The only thing that stands out as being an obvious negative point are the glowing white intakes which are incredibly shallow and just seem a bit out of place (the SV-51 doesn’t have intake covers like just about all future UN Spacy designs).

 

Design: (9.5/10)
I considered giving this toy a perfect score but a major pet peeve of mine held me back. If you hold this toy straight up with a light behind it you will see two areas near the head where there are gaps. It’s an extremely impressive toy. Initially there was some concern in the resin prototype stage that the toy would not be able to stand erect without the assistance of a display stand (probably a factor on the stand coming included with the toy) but I’m happy to report that the toy stands without issue on its own accord. On a side note, owning this toy will immediately convince you that the SV-51 is WAY too complicated to be a predecessor to just about any variable fighter in the Macross universe. Just about every part of this toy serves some other purpose and has some trick to it that converts it from a truly menacing jet to a black pope of destruction. I loved how the VTOL vents carry through several different parts within the toy rather than just being superficial to the top and bottom pieces that are exposed. The landing gears are well conceived stowing well while being sufficiently large. Magnets are used to help keep the nose and arms (in fighter mode) in place. The upper wing hard point is concealed with a removeable plug which is nice for all those who have no intention of using the booster rockets. The gun has additional removeable magazines with retractable pegs for mounting (you’ll need both magazines for the sleekest fighter mode but I preferred the look of one magazine for battroid and GERWALK).

 

Durability & Build: (6.5/10)
Sadly, the Ivanov suffered from the Yamato “first run” curse. Within a couple days of release there were a number of complaints that the hinge meant for one wing had been installed (backward) on the second wing which impeded the folding process. If you own an Ivanov and the wings don’t fold the same in battroid mode then you have this problem. Initial reviewers also pointed out that the wings weren’t sufficiently strong to hold up the boosters without bowing (to be fair, the wings are supposed to be slanted when the big boosters are attached). As more people handled their toys there also were numerous complaints about looseness of fit issues where the toys were becoming sloppy and impossible to pose in certain positions. Some people also complained that their SV-51s came with fogged up canopy plastic. There is some debate whether or not a true “second run” with slightly improved QC ever happened of the Ivanov or if it’s all just luck of the draw. Yamato released the toy and then sent more stock out a couple months later, seemingly being too soon to be a true second release and more likely just being the second half of a first production run. For my part, my toy seems very well built and after minimal handling it does feel relatively nice and tight (the legs are huge and the weight will pull them down during some extreme poses when using the stand). One final thing to note, the longer wing attachments (I believe they’re gun pods of some sort) do fall off fairly easily but they are no where near as bad as the reflex missiles on Yamato’s VF-1 toys (excluding the new V2 1/60 which has very tight missle attachments).

 

Articulation: (9/10) 
This toy is a LOT of fun to pose (provided the joints aren’t loose in which case I imagine it’d be a total nightmare). The only limitations I could find was a shortness in range in the shoulders and no waist (although the mobile hips help reduce the impact of this). The shoulder transformation can be tricky, if the arms are dangling down on your toy and you can’t figure out how to get it to hold the gun outward then you haven’t transformed the shoulders properly. If there’s a piece of plastic dangling down you need to rotate the shoulder mechanism to bring it all tightly together.

Total Score: (42.5/50)
I’d give my sample a higher score than I’m reflecting here but it seems I was fortunate with the build quality judging by the number of complaints I’ve seen on various forums. I really loved this toy and it just plain looks good squaring off against the VF-0S toy. The VF-0S was recently reissued (December 08) so there should be a good stock out there of toys you can put next to these SV-51s. Unfortunately (to my knowledge) there’s no way of knowing if you’re buying a good reissue of the VF-0S or one of the tragic first editions which should be avoided at all costs. While this post focuses on Ivanov, there were SV-51 releases for Nora and the cannon fodder (mass production) variants. The Nora and CF versions are second run products and seem to have much better feedback regarding the quality of their build.

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