Revoltech Roy Fokker's VF-1S Strike Valkyrie

I love Robotech/Macross. I love VF-1 Valkyries. I love Revoltech. So why shouldn't I love this Revoltech Macross VF-1 Valkyrie?

This thing is pure plastic joy. And it comes with just about anything you could want for a VF-1, including its very own little Revoltech-y FAST pack. The only shortcoming is that it doesn't transform, but that's not what Revoltech figures are about in the first place. If you want a cool transforming Valkyrie that won't set you back 90 bucks, check out Toynami's offerings. If you want a Valkyrie figure that will get into just about any iconic Robotech pose you can think of, this one is for you.

Revoltech has yet to disappoint me. Sure, I have to whip out the Dremel every now and then to get every joint perfect, but that's a minor quibble when the figures are so much fun to play with. I spent about an hour just putting my VF-1 into any pose I could think of and I only quit because my wife and kids were giving me funny looks. This may just replace my Toynami Valk as my favorite Robotech toy.

Transformers Movie Jazz G1 Repaint

The other day at Target I noticed they had a bunch of the Movie Jazz G1 Repaints on clearance. I've stayed clear of the movie toys for the most part, I'm really not crazy about the new movie character designs and they don't really translate well to toy form. However, since the deluxe-size figures are packaged in vehicle mode, this one grabbed my attention. And at a clearance price of 7 bucks, I couldn't pass it up. I've got to say that out of the package and in my hands, Jazz's alt-mode looks pretty sweet and is a darn good homage to his G1 incarnation.

Unfortunately, any sweetness points Jazz gets for his awesome alt-mode are completely lost because of this monstrosity...

While I don't like the movie designs, I thought Jazz was actually kind of sleek and athletic looking in the film. Unfortunately, the toy's bot mode is stocky and, like one of my old high school girlfriends he's got thunder-thighs. What the hell is up with his hands? He doesn't even hold his "sword" (as the packaging describes his weapon, even though it is painfully obvious this is a sniper-rifle)(albeit, assembled with an upside down barrel) in his hand, it attaches to a hole on the inside of the forearm. I'm really leaning toward getting Takara/Tomy's Encore Jazz that will be released later this year/early next year (I forget) just to make up for this...thing. Jazz gets an "A+" for alt-mode, and "F-" for bot-mode. I doubt I'll ever take him out of alt-mode again.

GI Joe 25th Anniversary Firefly

Oooh, I hope they come out with Firefly! That was my first reaction when Hasbro announced the 25th Anniversary GI Joe line. This guy has always been my favorite Joe character. Something about his "makes no guarantees and gives no refunds" story just appealed to me. Yeah, the body is just a repaint of the 25A Beachhead figure, and the head is just a repaint of 5-pack Storm Shadow (and, curiously, Beachhead's head would have been perfect), but I still love this figure. I'd been making daily trips to Wal-Mart on my lunch break in hopes of finding him, and finally gave up about a week ago. Then I stopped by Target this weekend and there he was, hidden behind some Storm Shadows.

Words can't describe how awesome this figure is. It's not the most advanced figure ever, nor the most detailed, but as far as play factor and the ability to hold kick-ass poses, I'd rank him right up there with Classics Mirage and my Toynami VF-1A Valkyrie (pictures of that one to come). So here Firefly is in all his awesome, saboteur-ish badassedness.

Yamato Macross VF-19 Game Color Edition

Alright, this one's dedicated to the The King. I picked this up a few years ago on eBay. I won't mention where I got it, because they sent me the wrong thing twice before sending the right item. I had to pay to ship it back to them twice, and I didn't even get a shipping refund!

It's probably the best looking and least fun Variable fighter I own. It's partially die-cast. It's heavy. Because of its design, I ended up chipping some of the paint of during the first trasformation. To top it off, some of the gray plastic is starting to yellow. I keep this thing in a room that the sun never shines directly on. I keep the blinds drawn at all times, and it still yellowed slightly. GAH!!!

Some robo-plastico die-castico love. Hail to the King, baby!