Bandai Jokemachines

REVIEW (Updated): Funny Ha Ha or Funny Ho Ho?

Packaging & Extras (4/5)
These cute little toys come in styrofoam made to fit.  The instructions are fair and the decals do the job.  There were five jokemachines made in total, three were released in the US as Robotech toys (obviously the Do You Remember Love? movie versions never were released in the US since that movie was never released in the US).  The box on the Robotech toys do feature incorrect art that shows the sensors on the nose firing laser beams (the show itself also features an animation error where this same trick was pulled off).  A little Minmay figure is provided with each version (pictured below).  It would have been nice if the figure provided varied from toy to toy.  A gun is present but don’t expect to put it on the toy in fighter mode.  The gun is rather odd, a big chunk of it is recessed.  Fast packs are provided and while they may lack frills they do attach well and dress up the toy nicely (and they work much better than many modern fast pack accessories including Toynami’s fiddly 1/100 offerings and Banpresto’s effort).  Attachable super-deformed missles would have made this toy unstoppable.

Charm & Collectibility (3.5/5) + 1 for VF-1A versions, .5 for Japanese Max/Miria/Roy
The original Japanese versions of the toy will always have more demand than the american versions.  The true collectors items are the ones that never made it out in America.  I do not typically collect Do You Remember Love repaints but I did manage to pick up a Hikaru VF-1A pictured sporadically throughout this review and the VF-1A Max was provided by uber-collector Zor Master (Thank you!).  It appears to me that the Max 1A is the rarest of all the Jokemachines.  It’s not unusual for some collectors to shun the jokemachine series due to the simple fact that super-deformed vehicles don’t always have as broad of an appeal.  As clarified by comments after I initially posted this review, the VF-1S toys come with fast packs and Minmay figure in a different shade from the 1A and 1J toys.  Also, the VF-1S toy was released in Japan as a “Hi-Comical” toy with the subsequent 1J and 1A offerings being “Hi-Compact” versions.  I’m not sure why they changed but neither should be confused with the Hi-Complete Models, the 1/72 scale VF-1 toys that aren’t at all deformed.

 

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint (7/10)
Sevens are supposed to represent average score so I’m giving the Jokemachine line that score because really it’s just impossible to judge.  Once you get beyond the super-deformed aspect it’s amazing how well this toy does maintain the feel of the original while being completely distorted.  I think the biggest bummer here is the inclusion of a pilot figure that looks like it’s surplus from a WWII toy.  To give you some sense of the scale of these jokemachines I’ve also included a line-up of the smaller Maross toys above.

Design (8/10)
This is an awfully small toy that completes the entire transformation sequence smoother and more easily than toys much larger than itself.  Throughout the transformation moving pieces snap snugly into place and eliminate large unsightly gaps.  A nice touch was the inclusion of a cockpit that flips over to reveal a heat shield for battloid mode (see pics below).  This method of concealing the pilot is clearly better than Takatoku’s permanent heat shield or Bandai’s removable one on its 1/55s.  The figure feels solid in all modes although it occasionally feels like their might be a center of gravity issue while in battloid mode.

Durability & Build (8/10)
This is a classic toy meant to be played with.  Many of ther areas that were problems on larger version of the toy are eliminated here.  There is no diecast so chipping is not an issue on the body.  The shoulders do not have spring-loaded ratchets which makes the arms less prone to popping off.  Unfortunately, with the deletion of the shoulder ratchets comes the ability for the arms to get rather loose through standard play.  Another area of concern is the paint applied to the rotating cockpit section.  It is not unusual to find these toys with bad chipping on the “heat shield” side of the canopy (see pic below).

 

Articulation (6/10)
When the proportions of a toy are this whacky it’s bound to cause issues to someone who actually just wants to set it up in a sweet pose on a shelf.  The arms are small, the hips don’t pivot, and everything about this toy is stubby.  That’s not necessarily to say it’s lacking on the points of articulation but it just means there’s not a lot you can do with them.  Honestly though, on a toy banking this heavily on the cute factor I don’t think its weaknesses in achieving poses should really detract from its overall appeal.

Total Score (36.5/50)
The score can be deceptive here as super-deformed products just don’t appeal to some people at all.  I did my best here not to hold the toy’s looks against it.  The only mode of the toy that I think is really inhibited by its form is the GERWALK/Guardian mode.  The stubbiness of the wings, arms, and legs all comes together in this mode make the whole thing look a bit ill-defined and awkward.  These toys don’t demand a large secondary market price and they’re the only fully transformable “Robotech” representation of the VF-1 in their american form (up until Toynami’s efforts).  This toy may also serve as a cute distraction to girlfriends who complain about your shevles.  Note that these toys also look good without their fast packs in the various galleries.

Second Update: Pictures were consolidated to ease loading and cleaned up, content was updated.

First Update: November 24, 2006, additional pictures were added

Original Post: June 10, 2006