Today I’m doing something special. I have a treat for all you Macross fans out there. I’m posting pics and doing a review of the latest incarnation of the VF-11B from Yamato, this time in all its 1/60 scale glory. Yeah I know, not a Transformer, but I figure it is still a transforming robot so close enough. Plus he’s just too cool for me to not show it off.

I bought this last week from an ebay seller. I wasn’t home when they delivered it, so yesterday I had to go pick this up in person at the post office. This was about $190 shipped, which is slightly less than what most dealers ask for. This was formerly in the $220 to $230 range. The recent price drop from some dealers could be due to the 11C coming out soon, or possibly from the lack of love from fans because this model is often seen as the “fodder” in both Macross Plus and Macross 7. Whatever the case, the VF-11 has always been one of my personal favorites among the Macross fighters, perhaps because that early sequence in Macross Plus where Isamu Dyson kicked some serious rouge Zentradi ass was so memorable. But enough talking, on to the pics and the review.

I’ll start off with some pics of the box. Nothing too special here. This is the usual type of box that all Yamatos come in, with the flip up lid.

Jet Mode

The unit comes packaged in this mode. This is perhaps the most solid of the 3 molds.

I really like how this fighter looks. I think this mold has captured the shape of the 11 from the show perfectly, especially when compared to the 1/72 scale.

At first glance it actually looks like the 1/60 has less detail than the 1/72, but upon closer inspection, you will notice that’s not really the case. The detail on the 1/60 is more subtle when compared to the 1/72, but it is there. The lines the the 1/60 are not colored a dark line like the 1/72, and I think it looks better that way. In fact, the more I look at these, I more I feel as if the 1/60 is the real fighter and the 1/72 is the toy. The shape of the 1/60 is by far more show accurate, in my opinion. The shield in this mode stays on nicely on the 1/60, unlike the 1/72 where it’s constantly falling off. The gun pod is supported on the bottom by placing the gun handle between the arms, much like how the VF-1 Yamatos do it. To do this you have to position the gun and the arms just right, and it can be a little tricky to do. The fast packs also stay on tight, but not to the point where removing them would be difficult. The landing gears have rubber tires which is a really nice touch, though it is kinda hard to get them out. The cockpit can be opened and a pilot figure (probably Isamu) is included to be placed in there. Wings are retractable. Overall, all the pieces in jet mode stick together well and feels as if this is really one cohesive unit.

The above is a pic of the 11B next to ROTF Optimus to give you some idea of his size. It’s definitely smaller than the other 1/60 Macross Plus fighters, like the YF-19 and YF-21, but slightly larger than the 1/60 VF-1. If these scales are accurate, then we can infer that the 11 is one of the smaller fighters in the Macross Universe.

Gerwalk Mode

The Gerwalk is really one of the strengths of this unit. As the pic shows, this mold captured the look of the Gerwalk really well. In fact, this might be the best representation of the Gerwalk I have seen in any of the Macross fighters, whether its Yamato, Bandai, Toynami, or someone else.

Often times, the toy representation of the Gerwalk has legs that don’t quite translate to how the unit looks in the show. There are no such issues here. In the pics above you can see that the legs can be articulated nicely to match the Gerwalk’s birdlike appearance. The only time the Gerwalk has looked this good are on non-transforming models of the Gerwalk. I should point out that you kinda have to position the legs just right to get it in this stance, otherwise he either falls forward, or the jet body is positioned too flat. But its not too hard to do and there’s enough articulation in the legs, knee, and feet to position it however you wish. The arms also have enough articulation to for some good poses.

The transformation from jet to Gerwalk is fairly standard for the post part, but I do want to point out two things. First, the arm mechanism on this unit is much better than the 1/72. The way is swings out is much more robust, and there are grooves in the mechanics that let you know when you’ve gotten it positioned all the way. Second, the way that the rear wing module stays flat with the main jet body is much improved. The rear wing modules would never fall flat, because there is an insertion piece extending from these modules into the main body that locks it into place. This is done as part of the transformation. You can tell they really put a lot of thought into this when they designed this piece.

Battloid Mode

The Battloid is probably the weakest of the 3 modes in my opinion, but it is still a significant improvement over the previous attempts of the VF-11. The first thing I want to point out is how the cockpit shield comes down during transformation to the Battloid.

This shield is hidden behind the cockpit in the main body in the other modes. When it transforms to Battloid, the main cockpit goes under, and the shield slides forward. How cool is that?! I have never seen this on any other Valkyrie! Most of the time you just put this extra shield on, but this mechanism takes it to a whole new level.

The rest of the transformation is pretty standard. Nothing too revolutionary. Here are more pics of the Battloid.

As I’ve said already, this version looks much better and is not so skinny. The arms are still a little skinny in my opinion, but good enough. Compared to some other Valkyries, the articulation in the arms and legs are more limited, but I think there is enough here that you can still get some decent poses if that’s your thing. Getting the unit to stand up straight in this mode is a bit challenging. You kinda have to balance it just right. But I’ve had this for less than 24 hours so maybe I’ll find some trick to it later. The head does swivel 360 degrees, but does not go up and down. I kinda wish it did.

I have some other thoughts that I’ll just throw out in bullet points:
• Getting the gun into either hand can be tricky. There is a tab on the inside palm of the hand that sticks into a slot on the gun handle, then you just position the thumb and fingers over the handle, but I can’t seem to get it to work that well. Maybe its because the thumb and fingers (and also my own fingers) are getting in the way.
• The fast pack can be attached or detached in all 3 modes. The leg parts are attached purely thru magnets like many of the other Yamatos. Very cool
• The knife on the gunpod swings out just like the 1/72. However this knife does look bigger and more menacing. I wish they did some kind of spring pop-out mechanism so it would be show accurate, but this is good enough.
• I don’t know what is the original MSRP for this, but it was at least $200+. The 11 is smaller than other 1/60s (except for the VF-1) and there are no diecast parts at all (the whole thing feels quite light), so at $200+ I don’t think this is good value. I think it should have been around $150.

Overall, I’m very happy with the 1/60 VF-11B. This is the best transforming version of this fighter that has ever been made. If you are anything of a Macross fan, you owe it to yourself to get this. As I’ve said already, I think the price tag is a little high. I’m not gonna say this is worth every penny that I paid, but I will say that I don’t regret paying what I paid. My final verdict is that this is very highly recommended, and if you are a Macross fan and you got cash to spare, go for it!

That’s all for now. Transform and Roll Out!

Teletraan I Communiques