{"id":1572,"date":"2014-12-14T04:54:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T04:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/11\/wave-wham-15000-dyrl-sdf-1\/"},"modified":"2014-12-14T18:43:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-14T18:43:47","slug":"wave-wham-15000-dyrl-sdf-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/?p=1572","title":{"rendered":"WAVE WHAM 1\/5000 DYRL SDF-1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Review (updated): More Acronymns than a Text Message… now includes ‘movie color’ version!<\/p>\n

\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Package & Extras:<\/strong> (4\/5)
\nThere is no intentionally over-sized, bloated excess here; just sleek, well-groomed packaging featuring glimpses from the film Do You Remember Love?. \u00a0The ‘movie color’ version features a large label printed on the box identifying it as such so there should be no confusion.\u00a0A Styrofoam inner-tray adds ‘old school’ charm but everything else looks and feels decidedly modern.\u00a0 The toy is protected by a sheath of plastic wrap and here’s what else is in the box:
\n1 x UN Spacy kite display stand base
\n1 x Display stand adapter (for cruiser mode)
\n2 x Display stand arms (short for cruiser, tall for attack mode)
\n1 x Plastic pick
\n1 x Instructions
\nThere aren’t any tiny valkyries or launchable missiles like the old 1\/3000 Takatoku toy had but I really doubt too many people will miss those.\u00a0 Overall, great presentation, very secure, and more packaged with it than was absolutely necessary but at this scale it would have been nice to see a flip-top lid.<\/p>\n

\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Charm & Collectibility:<\/strong> (3\/5)
\nThis “completed model” was available in two flavors. The first release in January 2007 features a shiny black and metallic ice blue. The ‘movie color’ version was released in January 2008 and features a matte gray paint scheme with alternating light and dark gray squares to give the appearance of numerous metal sheets. The 14,800 Yen MSRP of this toy was high enough that many elected to pass on it and hope that Yamato would build a more solid and possibly larger SDF-1.\u00a0 Those people were rewarded by a Yamato toy that was about twice as large, twice as sturdy, and more than twice as expensive (32,800 Yen).\u00a0 Now this toy sits as a seemingly modestly-priced alternative but it’s long since been sold out and may be hard to come across outside of Japan.\u00a0\u00a0Still, with the Yamato toy out-classing this completed model on so many levels I can’t justify bumping the score up.\u00a0 That said, the production run didn’t seem particularly huge, the toy does have diecast (not much) and perfect transformation, and there isn’t much competition in the SDF-1 market so the perfect storm is present to make this a true collector’s item. There is a fabled green version of the toy that may have been a concert exclusive but I’ve never seen it.<\/p>\n

\"SDF-1<\/a>\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Sculpt, Detail, and Paint:<\/strong> (7.5\/10)
\nThis toy is\u00a0beautiful in a lot of ways but Yamato’s 1\/3000 toy has proven that there were many improvements that could be made.\u00a0 For a 1\/5000 scale toy so many little detail pieces are present in both the mold and the paint work done with the toy itself that it is impressive.\u00a0 This toy really blows all other SDF-1 toys\u00a0attempted\u00a0before it away in\u00a0this category and it even rivals the larger Yamato toy in some areas.\u00a0 Of course the Yamato does do better in many areas such as having additional bridge, chest, and panel line detail. \u00a0The Yamato also gets closer to the line art in regard to the height of the gun towers in attack mode and the arms which are both too thin and too long on the Wave. It should be noted\u00a0that the WHAM\u00a0SDF-1 is labeled as a ‘completed model’ which would be a much tougher crowd to score well with in the detail category.\u00a0 Since I don’t know anything about SDF-1 models though I’ll limit my discussion to the toys.\u00a0 The movie-color edition upped the ante on paint-applications and did a good job although I found the primer gray color to be a bit bland for my liking.<\/p>\n

\"SDF-1<\/a>\"SDF-1<\/a>\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Design:<\/strong> (7\/10)
\nOn the good side it’s a perfect transformation toy that isn’t ridiculously complicated or difficult to transform.\u00a0 There’s a clever trick used on the main gun booms that as they rotate the peg that holds them together in cruiser mode is hidden.\u00a0 On the downside it feels sloppy and can be difficult to situate perfectly.\u00a0 There’s a lot going on in a relatively small package here and some may not find the transformation necessarily intuitive.\u00a0 I would have appreciated a little notch in the arm articulation to let me know I had the ARMDs in the right place in cruiser mode (which would also let me know I had both positioned the same way).\u00a0 The biggest fault of transformation has to be the including poking stick that’s necessary to free up the shoulders to rotate them for transformation and then to lock the arms back into place.\u00a0 The display stand works but isn’t anything revolutionary.\u00a0 For its size, this toy does an acceptable job but I really wish it didn’t feel so sloppy.\u00a0 You won’t get those snazzy extras the Yamato 1\/3000 has like a removable bay door to reveal Macross City or a window that can be flipped to appear shuddered by blast doors.\u00a0 There really isn’t a whole lot of diecast present although there is some in the front and back of the legs which add a bit of heft. Also, there are some sizable gaps that the toy does nothing to attempt to address.<\/p>\n

\"SDF-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Durability & Build:<\/strong> (7\/10)
\nOnce again the “completed model” disclaimer should be used here, what you’re buying will not be as sturdy as a toy even if it does have diecast in the legs and some joints.\u00a0 There are plenty of very small bits here you could crack off and the toy is far too small to feel remarkably sturdy in any position.\u00a0 I’ve only heard of a few people having anything on the toy break just yet though so it’s possible they’re sturdier than they feel although it’s also possible people just know to handle it gently since it’s such a high priced “model.”\u00a0 More serious concerns include floppiness of any number of the joints, that seems to be the prevailing complaint when there’s any complaint to be made but again, it seems more people handle this as a model so there hasn’t been much in the way of stress testing.<\/p>\n