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Bandai's New Macross VF-1 Valkyrie Model Detailed in Video
posted on by Egan Loo
Bandai began streaming a three-minute video to introduce the many features of its new 1/72-scale VF-1A/S Valkyrie plastic model kit from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? film. The 30th anniversary model can transforms into all three modes (humanoid Battroid, intermediate GERWALK, aerodynamic Fighter), and Valkyrie series designer Shōji Kawamori is supervising all aspects of the project.
For the first time, a mass-produced model will replicate the retractable actuators that pivot the legs into place in Battroid mode, just as in the anime.
To maintain ideal proportions in all modes, the model will employ several "gimmicks," such as wings that partially retract in Battroid mode, leg engine nacelles that partially sink inward in Fighter mode, locking mechanisms in the ankles, retractable hands and landing gears, a Fighter nose that doubles as a Battroid waist that rotates and swings around, and articulated joints in the air intake sections.
Under the supervision of Kawamori, the new molds will features details that were previously unseen, even in Kawamori's original animation designs. The model's optional parts include a extending gunpod, two heads (A and S), a saluting hand, and removable wing hard points for weapons. Popular Macross illustrator Hidetaka Tenjin is drawing the package illustration.
The model will retail for Y4,725 yen (about US$46) on June 29. The Strike Parts package will be sold separately for 2,100 yen (US$21) on the same date. The video confirms that the next model will be Roy Focker's VF-1S.
Image © 1982 Big West
