Macross One Year Project - Q1 Report 2014

 

After the first quarter of 2014, it looked as though the one year project to complete an entire vintage and reissue 1/55 Macross Valkyrie collection was highly possible and well ahead of schedule. But, no real additions to the collection in March, April and May due to other priorities have meant that what I had in March, is exactly what I still have now. The only difference is, I finally got everything out for some serious group photography.

Bandai reissue 1/55 Macross Valkyries

Here we have all of the original 2001/2 reissue Bandai 1/55 Valkyries in uniform packaging, as well as the two 2008 Origin Of Valkyrie Bandai reissue Super Valkyries in the black packaging. Inserts remained the same, the rest was different. There are two main variants still missing from this group, the brown VF-1A Mass Production Valkyrie and the blue VF-1J Max Jenius Valkyrie, two of my absolute favourites. I'm beginning to think that the VF-1J and VF-1S that were re-released in Origin Of Valkyrie packaging might just be an unnecessary step too far as the toys show no variation. The VF-1J may come with a heatshield, but I think looking at how the last 3 months have gone purchase-wise, it's pointless to make the task harder.

Takatoku, Bandai and Matsushiro vintage 1/55 Macross Valkyries

These beauties are of course the vintage Valkyries I own, from the 3 Takatoku Battroids to the Bandai Strike Valkyrie from the animated Macross feature "Do You Remember Love?" - and not forgetting the Matsushiro UK "Space Fighter". The packaging is markedly different from the reissues, and that's a great thing for display and variety. The fact that almost every reissue is different from the original vintage Valkyrie just makes this whole project worth doing for me, and means there's always something new to look forward to with each purchase. Missing here are some real big hitters and the main obstacles to finishing this quest in time and within budget, the VE-1 Elint Seeker, VT-1 Super Ostrich, VF-1S Super Valkyrie, Armoured Valkyrie giftset and GBP-1S single pack armour, a vintage VF-1J Miriya, VF-1A Hikaru and VF-1J Max. A few fancy coloured bootlegs and the 1990 reissue Super Valkyrie also elude me at good prices.

Vintage and Reissue 1/55 Valkyries and Super Valkyries - variants only

Depending on where this whole project is at in December, I may grant myself a few extra months to make up for March, April and May where no purchases were made. For it to be a true 1 year project though, it needs to involve ups and downs, as well as the reality of obstacles that life throws at a hobby. After all, this is supposed to be an experiment where I'm genuinely exploring the reality of trying to complete a Macross collection in a year without bankrupting myself. Despite these quiet months, I have tried to add to the collection. Two failed bids on reissue VF-1J Max (I'm watching the price of this item go up right before my eyes, it's terrifying) and a breathtaking unused VF-1S Super Valkyrie giftset and a last-minute backing out of a Joon's green VF-1J bootleg mean that I have reached the tough end of the task.

Q2 ends in just over 6 weeks, and there's simply no way I'll have as much to show for that period of time as I do in the Q1 victory list below:

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Takatoku - VINTAGE
VF-1J Space Fighter (Hikaru Ichijo) - Matsushiro UK - VINTAGE

VF-1S Battroid Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Max Jenius) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Miriya Jenius) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1A Battroid Valkyrie (Mass prod.) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1S Super Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1S Armored Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Takatoku - VINTAGE

GBP-1S Armor - Takatoku - VINTAGE

VF-1S Strike Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - VINTAGE

VF-1A Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - VINTAGE

VE-1 Elint Seeker - Bandai - VINTAGE

VT-1 Super Ostrich - Bandai - VINTAGE

VF-1S Super Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - 1990s REISSUE

VF-1S Battroid Valkyrie (Roy Focker) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Max Jenius) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Miriya Jenius) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1A Battroid Valkyrie (Max Jenius) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1A Battroid Valkyrie (Mass prod.) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1S Super Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - 2000s REISSUE

VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - Origin of Valkyrie REISSUE

VF-1S Battroid Valkyrie (Roy Focker) - Bandai - Origin of Valkyrie REISSUE

VF-1A Super Valkyrie (Max Jenius) - Bandai - Origin of Valkyrie REISSUE

VF-1A Super Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijo) - Bandai - Origin of Valkyrie REISSUE

Hergoss VF-1S Bootleg (Skyfire colours)

Joon's VF-1J Bootleg (Skyfire colours)

Joon's VF-1J Bootleg (Green)

Transformers G1 Jetfire - Matsushiro 

Previous chapters:
Intro

Dec 2013

Jan 2014

Feb 2014

Mar Apr 2014

Total spend in Q1:  £753.71 (not including shipping/fees)

End of Q1

All the best
Maz