Macross: help & advice appreciated

[pigsty]

When I was much younger, I found a couple of weird robot kits in the Hobby House in Truro.  I was faintly aware that Macross meant something, having spotted the word in Japanese companies' catalogues, but that didn't matter.  These things were just interesting heavy metal, strangely appealing in an ABC Warriors sort of way.  Not having a clue about the "real" Macross, I wasn't interested in the official cartoon colours, and I built mine in what I was sure were more realistic military camouflage schemes.  I was really rather proud of them (wouldn't be now!).

 

Earlier this year I saw a Regult on a table at a show and it brought all that back to me, so I did some poking around on the interweb.  What an absolute minefield.  I had no idea how widespread those things were in Japan, and the range of scales and manufacturers is bewildering.  I mean, scales?  Really?  For made-up silliness?  Never mind, though, it's still great fun, and I recall my original kits were pretty easy to build; so I thought it might be nice to have another go at it.

 

Then I saw the prices.

 

I have no idea what I'm looking at.  Something supposedly in 1/72 comes in at three times the price of the same thing in 1/100 from a different company.  Some of them are well north of £200 and I can't tell whether they'd be a foot tall or hang on a key ring.  And it's impossible to tell which are the better kits.  Going purely from the box art, I think the ones I built were from Bandai in 1/72 - but I'm absolutely positive they didn't cost me fifty quid, which is about the least I can find for anything on eBay at the moment.  (Thirty years have passed, but that's still excessive.)

 

So, can anyone help with a guide to subjects and scales, the best kits, the best companies - and most of all, a way of buying one without having to sell a kidney?  If it helps, I'm not interested in the Transformer-style VF-1 and such, that look like people dressed up as aeroplanes.  The really appealing ones are the walking tanks with the big feet and guns like sewage pipes; they go by the names of Regult, Phalanx, Monster, Tomahawk, Glaug, and Defender.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

All i can say is that Gundam's are HUGE in Japan ... I mean Huge so those prices are realistic. I have two shops that carry them in Chicago USA. One hobby and one All-Japanese type charachters shop. I see prices going for $50-$300 for 6" to 12" Gundams. Scale is unknown to me for cross referencing. But ive seen 1/60 to 1/350 on the boxes. Keeps me from getting into them. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Krachenvogel]

Well, it's a big topic, but I'll take a stab at giving a little background.  The original Macross show first aired in the early 1980's (and there have been many sequels since, but I won't get into those), and most of the model kits that came out at that time were made by Arii and Imai in a variety of scales.  The biggest ranges were in 1/100 and 1/72 scale, and it appears that the two companies collaborated with their offerings, so filling the gaps in one anothers' lines - for instance Imai made the 1/100 Tomahawk and Arii made the 1/72, but Arii made the 1/100 Defender and Imai the 1/72.  Both makers also did 1/170 scale models, which I was never impressed with (very simple, basically build-it-yourself toys), and Nichimo made a very sharp little line of 1/200 scale kits, which I was a big fan of. 

 

The original kits are collectible now, which may account for the prices you're seeing, and there are new collector-oriented toys that are always coming out at high price points.  There are also resin kits.  Most (if not all) of the current Bandai kit offerings are straight re-pops of the Imai kits.  Because of the weird sharing relationship with Arii, that leaves gaps in the collection if you want to build everything in either 1/100 or 1/72.  Those older kits were pretty good for their time, but look fairly basic now - the prices are very modest, however.  A company called Wave recently made some very nice new injection molded kits of some of the Destroids in 1/72 that are fully modern, but they are not currently in production.  The Nichimo 1/200 kits were reissued about 10 years ago, unfortunately with stickers instead of the lovely decals the originals had, but they are still sharp little models, maybe 2.5 inches tall.

 

The sewer-pipe robot you're referring to sounds like either the Monster or the Tomahawk.  The Monster is meant to be a huge critter - Imai made a 1/200 one that was reissued by Bandai, and Arii made one in either 1/144 or 1/170 that's collectible now.  The Tomahawk was made by Imai in 1/100 and Arii in 1/72, the Imai one having been reissued by Bandai and standing maybe 5 inches tall.  Wave made a really nice 1/72 one more recently, but as it's currently out-of-production, eBay prices are redonk.  Maybe it will be reissued some day, who knows.  It would be maybe 7 inches high.

 

If you're not fussed about having the latest-and-greatest kits, the Bandai reissues in 1/72 and 1/100 are your best bet on a budget, but be prepared to fill seams and deal with simple hinge joints in the limbs.  Hobbylink Japan lists many of these as currently available, but some are backordered, and it seems like they're not restocked regularly.  If you can find the Wave 1/72 kits for a good price, they will be the most modern options in injection kits - I wanna say these were around 4800 yen when they originally came out several years ago, so paying, what, 35 pounds or so would be close to the original price. 

 

Hope that helps.

Edited September 10, 2017 by Krachenvogel

[pigsty]

Blimey, that's comprehensive! Thanks!  (Destroids ... that's the chaps.)

 

I hesitate to pile on more, but can you give any idea of how big the various scales come out when assembled?

[Blastvader]

On 9/10/2017 at 6:04 PM, pigsty said:

 but can you give any idea of how big the various scales come out when assembled?

The easiest way is just to go to the Macross Wiki and find the dimensions for the 'real' thing. Then do a simple bit of maths. For reference a VF-1 in Battroid mode will be about 13cm tall in 1/100 and 18cm tall in 1/72.

 

[Will Vale]

Good idea, it's hard to give consistent figures because the range of sizes of Macross prototypes is so huge - from F-14 size Variable Fighters up to kilometers long for the SDF-1.

 

Even the Destroids vary quite a bit - the Destroid Tomahawk is 13m high, but the Destroid Monster is 22.5m high (and considerably longer than that!)

 

W

 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

And then there's this thing I found on line.

Not quite sure where it fits but it's impressive.

 

http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gunjap.net%2Fsite%2F%3Fp%3D325846&t=MGU1OGNiYzRmZTdjZTZhNWVjMTMwODJjNTdkODA3ZTA2NGU2YjBmNCxJeUEzZFZ1Mg%3D%3D&b=t%3AqaYWWAkpkqnkKWhF_54FHg&p=http%3A%2F%2Fluftwaffles12.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F164903524705%2Fgunjap-baby19730911s-amazing-mg-1100-msm-03&m=1

[Mick4350]

A good website I found for translations for Gundam, Macross and even the newer Star Wars Kits from Bandai is Mech 9 or http://www.mech9.com .

[TimMather]

On 09/09/2017 at 8:35 PM, pigsty said:

 I mean, scales?  Really?  For made-up silliness?

what a great way to ask for help, by insulting scifi builders.
and people wonder why military scale modelling is full of old men with a superiority complex.

[TimMather]

are star wars also "made up silliness"?

[Blastvader]

On 9/16/2017 at 8:08 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

And then there's this thing I found on line.

Not quite sure where it fits but it's impressive.

 

http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gunjap.net%2Fsite%2F%3Fp%3D325846&t=MGU1OGNiYzRmZTdjZTZhNWVjMTMwODJjNTdkODA3ZTA2NGU2YjBmNCxJeUEzZFZ1Mg%3D%3D&b=t%3AqaYWWAkpkqnkKWhF_54FHg&p=http%3A%2F%2Fluftwaffles12.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F164903524705%2Fgunjap-baby19730911s-amazing-mg-1100-msm-03&m=1

 

Welcome to the Blastvader pedantry hour; with your host, Blastvader! *crickets*

 

The MSM designation puts that as an aquatic type Mobile Suit from the Gundam Universal Century timeline. Nowt to do with Macross/Robotech. It also appears to use an MG Dom (MS-09B) a ground type MS as the base, but is marked as a variant of the Gogg aquatic MS.

 

Thanks, and that's all we've got time for today. See you next time for the Blastvader pedantry hour! *coughs, murmuring*

[Pete in Lincs]

Thanks for that. 

To me they are all mobile suits, but I'd have to look further into it to see the difference.

I have gathered a few together in the stash over time. I'll have to dig them out and

seek guidance on here as to what is what. One day I may build one or two.

I suppose it's like confusing Star Wars & Star Trek ships.

 

[pigsty]

On 18/09/2017 at 6:57 AM, TimMather said:

what a great way to ask for help, by insulting scifi builders

I didn't think I was doing that.  I was asking for help because I'm interested in this stuff.  I've always enjoyed SF, my favourite film remains Blade Runner despite a lot of competition, and I've just watched yet another episode of Voyager on Channel 70.  But you have to admit, it is made up, even Star Wars, and a lot of the physics is pretty unlikely.  That's why it seems strange, to me at least, to produce kits with an eye on scale fidelity of something that doesn't and couldn't exist.  Sorry if you found that uncomplimentary, but it wasn't my intention.

[Pete in Lincs]

22 hours ago, pigsty said:

it is made up, even Star Wars

What?!?!

 

He's right you know. The truth hurts.

Then again, Any model of an object seen in a normal film 

or TV show is also 'made up' really. Back to the future car,

Magnum Helicopter etc. But knowing that, we enjoy them

and are even willing to pay more for them over standard models.

 

Me, I enjoy scratchbuilding Sci Fi stuff. And, if it's 1/35th say, then

everything about it must have feasibility to that scale, grab handles,

for instance. And, you know what, I enjoy doing it too.

 

I still enjoy Bladerunner too, even if you can see the wires lifting the spinner.

[Will Vale]

On 9/19/2017 at 10:13 PM, pigsty said:

it is made up, even Star Wars

10 year old me is crying inside, you monster!

 

On 9/19/2017 at 10:13 PM, pigsty said:

That's why it seems strange, to me at least, to produce kits with an eye on scale fidelity of something that doesn't and couldn't exist.

I see where you're coming from with that but I don't think you're right - most of the things in question have pilots and/or crew and most of these are human (because they're played by human actors). And we see those pilots and crew on screen next to their machines, in part to establish a scale and show how they fit in but also just because we're seeing the machines in use. So scale of machines relative to human beings is totally natural for sci-fi, and by extension scale relative to real world units. Building to standard model scales also has the advantage that you can display things together and see the correct relative sizes rather than have a collection of random box scales. I think that's as interesting for sci-fi as it is for e.g. model aircraft.

 

It does break down a bit for really big stuff like Star Destroyers, the Enterprise etc. where the only scale cues are little lights to represent windows - they could be anything from hundreds of metres to kilometres long without it really making any difference to the statement "that's really big". It also breaks down because often the filming models are different sizes and might not agree perfectly with the full size sets, so the scale is flexible. But that's much less often the case in these enlightened times of CAD and CG where scale consistency is easier to achieve.

 

NB: Someone is going to comment on the height of Zentradi now, I just know it

 

Will

[Richard Baker]

A lot depends on the design of the ship- certain shapes and structures create an impression of size, even without windows. The Blockade Runner was originally built to be the much smaller Falcon, when they recycled it for the larger ship they did add some smaller detail, but you would never think it was the same size as the Star Destroyer which is chasing it. The ISD used a more simplified shape with tiers and building/city implications in it's detailing to give an impression of size (the first model in ANH did not have any window lights at all- just engines and the ventral bay).

Anime craft have he same sort of design clues- the bigger the chip, the more consolidated the hull is, with smaller things along the hull, smaller craft are more complex designs with a lot of 'fussy' details making a more cluttered shape.

[solowing666]

Most modern Macross kits have 1 or 2 pilot figures in them, so manufacturers describes them in 1/72 or 1/48 is not wrong, IMO.

Personally I prefer Hasegawa Valkyrie kits in 1/72 for their variety, robustness, and detail. From online reviews, Bandai 1/72 kits are transformable (which are more toy-like, and make them more prone to breakage), also the parts are less sharp compared to Hasegawas which is more suited to aircraft modelers IMO.

[modelglue]

I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread, being the biggest MACROSS fan I know.

 

I have made every effort to collect every kit available in 1/72, from the mostly unknown garage kits out of Japan to the more accessible VF-1 kits of fighter, gerwalk, and battroid from Hasegawa. I have managed to collect the WAVE destroids kits, which are pretty, and the old WAVE vinyl kits which require some hobby experience. I have even gone as far as to collect the Yamato 1/72 VF-19 in diecast as there was no kit of it available (until very recently) in battroid mode (robot). My goal was to have at least one fighter and one battroid of identical markings in each type. 

 

The Bandai kits you speak of can be had for very little if you stumble upon them at the right time, but they seem to now be going for collector prices. You can find some decent pricing on eBay if you dare, B.I.N. prices seem to be reasonable for the Hasegawa kits of common molds. 

 

I actually own a rare resin YF-21 battroid kit that I would be willing to part with if you are interested, just PM me.

[FG2Si]

If you want large scale, Max Factory is working on an IM 1/20 Gerwalk and Valkyrie with Strike/Super packs. 

 

No release date had been announced yet so most likely next year. I hope.

 

Carl