The Takatoku Valkyrie mold

[Yuyuyami]

So a week ago I canceled my Origin of Valkyrie preorder from BBTS and bought an earlier 2000's reissue of the Valkyrie mold from Ebay for $80, shipping included. It came in last night and I'm quite pleased with it.

 

 

The Packaging:

 

Normally, I don't care about the packaging. It's just a bit of plastic and cardboard to be disposed. Not so with this thing. As this is my first import, this is my first time dealing with Japanese packaging. Having the figure sandwiched between two blister shells is a wonderful way to protect the figure and preserve the display quality of the boxed item after it's been opened. When I'm not messing with the Valkyrie it goes right back in the packaging so I can safely display it.

 

While I'm sure many people here have had enough experience with imports to see this as something normal, it impressed me so much that I had to mention it.

 

 

The Big, Badass Gun:

 

The gun on this thing is big and badass. It looks cool and threatening and it's FUNCTIONAL. It will shoot the included missiles more than eight feet straight up. I know this because I shot one from the floor and it hit the GODDAMN CIELING. And then I lost the missile because it's so small and travels so fast, leaving me with four left.

 

The only problem with the gun is that it's a little bit too long and bulky in the back for the Valkyrie to bend its elbow all the way to 90 degrees.

 

Yes, this gun is big and badass and it deserves proper recognition as the best, most powerful missile launcher on any toy I have.

 

 

Fighter Mode:

 

In fighter mode this toy is incredibly photogenic, so much so that it looks better in pictures and videos than it does in person. In pictures, the fuselage looks slender and narrow and the nose looks long and sleek. In person, the fuselage is slightly rounded and bulbous and the nose is wide and shorter than I expected. It took me an hour or so to adjust to the way this thing looks. Now I think it is one of the most beautiful jets in my ever growing transforming airplane collection.

 

The overall design of the jet is thin and well proportioned. Aside from the robot head, which is a turret in jet mode, there is no kibble and the undercarriage is just the right size. One thing that I find especially striking about this is how the front of the jet looks orderly and calm and from the wings on back it looks splayed and powerful with lots of pointy ends. It makes a nice homage to the F-14 Tomcat, while also making it clear that this is an original design.

 

Since I did not buy a super Valkyrie, mine did not come with the super parts (which I think look stupid), so there are only a two gimmicks for this mode. First, The landing gear is spring loaded. To deploy it, you pull three tiny levers. This makes the landing gear fun and easy to deploy for people like me without good nails. Secondly, the jet has variable wings like an F-14 Tomcat. The wings are on a ratcheted hinge and stay in place well, so you don't need to worry about having to position them. The position of the wings can drastically change the character of the jet from being relaxed (all the way out) to super fast (all the way in).

 

However, despite looking nice and having cool, unobtrusive gimmicks, the jet mode does have a couple flaws. First of all, the fuselage does not peg in. If you pick this thing up wrong, the legs and nose will tilt back about 10-15 degrees. It's a shame that Bandai couldn't have retooled a simple peg and hole system at the back of the jet. Second of all, the chest sliding mechanism doesn't meet flush with the middle of the fuselage. Finally, there's no place to put the big, badass gun. My first two problems with the jet mode I feel are pretty inexcusable, considering that the slight retooling Bandai could have done to fix them would have kept the toy faithful to the original, as nostalgia is one of the big selling points for this. My last problem, though, is simply the nature of the beast. The gun is big and badass and there is no room.

 

The paint and printed details are well placed and make this look like a real jet without losing the toy quality. The unapplied decals included, while they look nice and are well designed, do not stick well and there is no good place to put most of them. Any place I would want to put one of the decals is going to be subject to friction, look bad in the other two modes, or there's all ready printed detail. This is a shame because I really want to put the two little Minmay decals on this thing.

 

Overall, this is a really nice jet, but I can't give it a 10/10 simply because the fuselage should be a lot more solid. I give it 8/10.

 

 

GERWALK Mode:

 

For a long time, I didn't understand the point of the GERWALK mode. I thought it was just a lame gimmick mode. Then I watched Macross Frontier and I saw how well it maneuvered and I came to understand its beauty. The GERWALK mode is my favorite mode in the show and it saddens me how rarely Macross toys do it well. Fortunately, Takatoku's design has a pretty good GERWALK: It doesn't have long, thin jet section hanging behind the legs, it balances well, and it's a hell of a lot more solid than the jet mode.

 

In this mode the Valkyrie can wield its big, badass gun and it can wield it well. The arm poseability on this mold is spectacular, rivaling that of more modern transformers. It goes around 360 degrees at the shoulder and goes out about 75 degrees, it rotates 360 degrees lateral above the elbow and the elbow bends 90 degrees. The thighs will go from straight down to 90 degrees straight back and the knees will bend 33 degrees forward and 90 degrees back

 

The paint and printed decals are, for the most part, as nice as they are in jet mode. The only downside is that with the fronts of the legs revealed you see a LOT more printed "caution" warnings. They're well applied and the ones that are large enough to read are interesting, but they detract from the look of the legs. I would prefer to not have them.

 

There's not much to be said about this mode, though, beyond "It works." It's the jet mode with the arms and legs out and a better supported fuselage. Unlike the jet mode, you need to see this in person to appreciate it, as it doesn't photograph well.

 

I give the GERWALK mode a 10/10, mostly because it's awesome and a little because of how camp it is.

 

 

Robot/Battroid mode:

 

Like the GERWALK, this thing looks better in person than it does in photos, is a rock solid, and can hold the big, badass gun. The same slimming effect that makes the jet mode photograph so well makes the robot mode look less imposing and impressive than it really is. It has incredibly broad, badass looking shoulders, it's tall, and it's kibble free.

 

I don't particularly love the head sculpt on mine: it's plain, kind of dorky looking and reminds me of a monocle. It's not threatening at all. However, there are multiple headsculpts for this mold, so you can shop around for the one you like.

 

The arm and knee articulation is the same as in GERWALK mode and the thighs will go 90 degrees forward and 66 degrees back. Because of how the leg articulation isn't as great as it could be (no side to side movement and no lateral thigh swivel) and how tall and heavy this thing is, it's hard to get it into many action poses. However, it will look nice no matter how it's posed.

 

Like the GERWALK mode, the robot mode suffers from the printed details being too numerous, specifically on the legs. The colors themselves are well planned out and look nice, it's just a shame how much the text distracts the eyes.

 

I love the robot mode as much as I love the GERWALK mode. It gets another 10/10.

 

 

In summary:

 

This is an awesome toy that was designed 30 years ago and it puts most modern Transformers to shame. It has its flaws, specifically in jet mode, but it's worth it. The over all experience is a 10/10, rounded up from the scoring average for its presentation and style.

 

P.S: For those that don't know, this is the same mold as G1 Jetfire.

[MikePrime]

This makes me want to buy one.

[Yuyuyami]

The best search terms for finding this thing on ebay are "1/55 Valkyrie" and "1/55 Robotech." You might also try "Origin of Valkyrie."

 

BBTS is also having a preorder on the Origin of Valkyrie Super Valkyries:

 

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10279&mode=retail

 

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TOY10280&mode=retail

 

 

You can also find some information on other places to find this mold in this thread:

 

http://forums.TFormers.com/talk/index.php?showtopic=122087