{"id":1170,"date":"2012-02-22T03:15:05","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T03:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/2007\/01\/13\/toynami-155-masterpiece-vf-1-volumes-1-5\/"},"modified":"2019-01-03T06:16:59","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T06:16:59","slug":"toynami-155-masterpiece-vf-1-volumes-1-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/?p=1170","title":{"rendered":"Toynami 1\/55 Masterpiece Collection VF-1 Toys"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mega Review:\u00a0Includes all variants<\/p>\n

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Packaging & Extras<\/strong> (4.5\/5)
\nToynami does packaging well, very well.\u00a0 A little too well if you ask me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like knowing that I paid for a box.\u00a0 I like it even less when I can see that I paid for an overly extravagant box.\u00a0 This is purely a personal preference I suppose as clearly some people must display their toys within the boxes.\u00a0 Volumes 1 & 2, were shipped in pure white shipping boxes that have absolutely no indication of what is inside. This\u00a0oversight was corrected\u00a0by upgrading\u00a0to a\u00a0box that included a portrait of the character within and a build number located (usually) on the top fold. By the time Toynami made it to their 4th MPC (Max) they had upgraded to what is now their standard shiny white box (no longer a matte finish) with the portrait on the side and the build number on top.\u00a0 Extras are nice but with these newer toys they\u2019re exactly what should be expected. You get:
\n1) A pilot figure.
\n2)\u00a0Missiles are provided for the wings in three-group clusters
\n3) An antenna is provided for the backpack (optional Guardian mode attachment)
\n4)\u00a0A ladder
\n5) A gun (with stock extension gimmick)
\nThe pilot figure is a major pain to actually get seated properly but he\u2019s painted to match the show and detailed nicely. The ladder goes beyond where most companies would stop and is a cute addition for those who plan on dressing the veritech up in a display. Overall, it’s a nice package with plenty of options. What was it missing that we’ve seen in more dluxe toys? A gunstrap would be nice. Fixed posed hands? Sometimes the toy gives you a decidedly less premium feel by coming with loose pieces of plastic that seem like leftover bits from the manufacturing process. I initially panicked thinking my toy was broken but the pieces of plastic I have found in two different trays didn\u2019t belong to the toy and I have no idea why they were there (small little white circles\u2026 they almost look like they could be use to conceal screws).\u00a0 Those who purchased directly from Robotech.com received a mock animation cell to go with their purchase (limited to 3,000 if I’m not mistaken).\u00a0\u00a0The instructions and decals are taped to the back of the box so if you’re buying one in the secondary market you should ask if they have ever been removed as\u00a0removing them can\u00a0tear the box.<\/p>\n

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Charm & Collectability<\/strong> (2\/5)
\nYou may know some people that hate this toy and you might not understand why, so perhaps a little history lesson is in order. Some people will hate this toy because it\u2019s a licensed Harmony Gold (HG) product and HG is often viewed as the villain that has kept the original Macross series and merchandise locked out of the US and other markets. Other people will hate this toy because they don\u2019t like Toynami due to some drama involved in the company\u2019s creation and the demise of another company, Toycom. Many people dislike Toynami because of how eager they are to create hype well before they have a solid product. The VF-1 MPC is an excellent example of this. At the 2001 San Diego Comic Convention (07\/01) Toynami showed off a 1\/65 scale \u201cMPC\u201d that they were planning on producing. At the time they had no idea how many they were going to make, if the scale was final, or what features the toy would include. In 11\/01 Toynami finally revealed the finished product and RT.com started taking preorders in the following month. Those preorders were not delivered until nearly SEVEN months later AND after preorders had been taken, Toynami increased their production numbers from 10,000 each to 15,000 each\u00a0effectively decreasing the value of the toy people had already purchased.\u00a0 Part of Toynami’s problem in releasing the VF-1 line was how overwhelmingly popular a few variants were in comparison to the others (Rick and Roy would sell well but no one believed Max, Miria, or Ben had much staying power).\u00a0 Ultimately Toynami’s fears were realized as Rick and Roy sold out but Ben and the others languished on shelves harming\u00a0 Toynami’s relationship with retailers.\u00a0 Toynami did revisit the MPC line with the release of the Battlecry game producing volume six, Jack Archer’s YF-1R based on a brief animation error that put VF-1J lasers on a VF-1A head.\u00a0 Jack’s YF-1R was limited to only 5,000 pieces and is one of the more charming releases due to its odd inspiration.\u00a0 All toys feature the production number printed below the chest.\u00a0 These days demand for these toys has tailed off steadily as there have been numerous releases of better toys.\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sculpt, Detail, and Paint<\/strong> (5.5\/10)
\nIf you\u2019re familiar with the Bandai High Complete Model released in the 1980s then the Toynami MPC should seem immediately familiar to you.\u00a0\u00a0For the most part\u00a0Toynami\u00a0just took the\u00a0HCM and increased its scale from 1\/72 to 1\/55.\u00a0 Some minor tweaks were made.\u00a0 The original HCMs had exagerrated head lasers that looked almost like bunny ears and a bit more squat in the mid-section (see numerous comparison pictures above).\u00a0 The HCM was also only offered in three variants and\u00a0Toynami\u00a0doubled that effort.\u00a0 The paint jobs here are all animation accurate and there are a fair amount of panel lines and details to please the eye.\u00a0 While Toynami did borrow very heavily from the HCM (a shame they didn’t improve much upon the HCM more than 10 years later) Toynami did include more paint apps.\u00a0 There are a few places\u00a0where the toy shows some significant flaws.\u00a0 First, following the HCM\u2019s poor lead, the leg intakes look terrible in every mode except battloid.\u00a0 In fact, that section, and the section directly above it, make the fighter mode look terribly cheap with gaps abounding. The landing gears are very nice but the doors concealing them could have been handled better in terms of matching the animation.\u00a0 That said, this thing looks\u00a0good in Guardian mode.\u00a0 The hands are top notch and hold the gun well and look good on their own.\u00a0 The battloid mode doesn’t look too bad compared to its contemporary releases but can’t compete with any of the more modern releases with its slightly shrunken head and manipulated proportions.\u00a0 Fighter mode is a train wreck.\u00a0 All in all, it was a fair representation for the time but\u00a0even then it was obvious it wasn’t great.\u00a0 On the plus side, there was some nice detail done to the trap door the head passes through and inside the feet thrusters.<\/p>\n

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Design<\/strong> (5\/10)
\nHow do you improve upon a 15+ year old design besides making it larger?\u00a0 Toynami answered this question by adding a swivel joint to the leg, an antenna to the Guardian mode (removable), a light in the visor (gimmick), and diecast in the legs.\u00a0 These are nice additions but they\u2019re far short of what could have been done.\u00a0 The diecast in the legs make the legs heavier and more prone to swinging down in fighter mode.\u00a0 There are a couple of pegs added\u00a0to help prevent this but their implementation is done horribly and seldom fixes the problem.\u00a0 This problem is so bad that I would say the 1980s HCM toy\/models are better in fighter mode than the MPCs!\u00a0 As mentioned previously, the fighter mode of the vehicle is riddled with problem areas that keep it from achieving an aggressive fighter stance\/look. This was Toynami\u2019s first stab at a real quality product and I think their effort here really shows that.\u00a0 The designers took the easy way out the entire route… but the hands are nice.\u00a0 Just a couple short years later Yamato released their 1\/48 scale toys which were perfectly transformable with integrated heatshields, integrated backpack antenna, wingflaps, airbrake, and had much improved proportions and articulation.<\/p>\n

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Durability & Build<\/strong> (6\/10)
\nThis is a little tough for me to judge because I\u2019ve heard a world of complaints.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen first hand some pretty minor items.\u00a0\u00a0Usually the one item that jumps out at me first are the warped head lasers on all variants except Ben’s.\u00a0 Beyond that I\u2019ve seen some oily finger smudges and a few paint flaws.\u00a0 The heads on the Ben Dixon\u2019s just don\u2019t look right to me.\u00a0 Most of them look like the very front eye piece is a little skewed one direction or another.\u00a0 Sometimes the missles don\u2019t lock into the wings very well.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard some complaints that the head light didn\u2019t work for any number of reasons.\u00a0 Honestly though, while the toy does feel a little cheap, and no where near as sturdy as the Takatoku or Bandai reissues, it doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s going to break apart in your hand.\u00a0 The joints don\u2019t quite seem to click like they should but all of mine are sturdy enough to hold poses.\u00a0 Lots of improvements could have been made but, for the most part, these toys will hold up.\u00a0 I should probably note here that the original Rick Hunter MPC contains less diecast (in the calf area) than the subsequent releases and supposedly has the worst track record of all the MPCs.\u00a0 I have owned more Rick Hunters than any of the others though and I would say it is no more prone to flaw than the ones that followed it.\u00a0 One thing to watch for, the backs of the legs are painted diecast and are supposed to attach to a metal area above in fighter mode.. this can easily cause chipping.
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