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SDF-1 Macross (Do You Remember Love type)

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29 comments posted
Atom, you may be a bit more

Atom, you may be a bit more savvy to this than I am. Did the size of the Macross change between the series and DYRL? IIRC, she was about 1km long in the series, but in DYRL she feels much larger by several km!

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 14 January, 2011 - 22:04
They say 1210m, but, IDK, she

They say 1210m for both, but, IDK, she just looks & feels bigger in DYRL?. Maybe it's just me.

Thanks anyways.

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 15 January, 2011 - 15:11
wow...

incredibly stunning piece of art... hey, how tall is it? im sorry if i misread it..... thanks for sharing man, i appreciate your time and effort.. hope this gets released here in the philippines... more power guys! \m/ >.< \m/

overclocked's picture
Posted by overclocked on 14 January, 2011 - 22:56
Comparison

Hey everyone. I appreciate the thorough review of SDF-1. I've noticed the size comparisons with the Battleship Yamato and the 1/60 Valkyrie, but I haven't seen it compared to the DX Macross Quarter. Does anyone know if it's as big as the 1/3000 SDF-1?

Diakron's picture
Posted by Diakron on 15 January, 2011 - 02:04
Oops...My Mistake

Sorry about that Atom. I didn't mean to overlook and yeah... : /

I am obsessed with the Quarter. I'll soon be obsessed with the 1/3000th beauty in my possession thanks to you.

Diakron's picture
Posted by Diakron on 16 January, 2011 - 00:31
Bandai's Macross Quarter

Bandai's Macross Quarter isn't as big as Yamato's SDF-1.

pinoy78's picture
Posted by pinoy78 on 16 January, 2011 - 05:33
OMG DYRL FTW!

Wow. I know it has taken Yamato a few years to get the Valkyries just right, but this takes the cake for being their single, most developed, masterpiece ever! Excellent review Atom! Beautiful piece of machinery!

Gunpla Rob's picture
Posted by Gunpla Rob on 15 January, 2011 - 09:15
freakin sweet.

Hey Atom, thanks for posting about this awesome toy. I am salivating. I have one pre-ordered so it is only a matter of time before I get one!

There was a 1/5000 movie edition SDF-1 that came out about 4 years ago and it is a very nice figure. Not as big or detailed as this new version but still very well done. There were two versions... a dark version and a lighter colored release. You should look into getting one if you don't already have it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WAVE-MACROSS-SDF-1-1-5000-TRANSFORMATION-MOVIE-EDITION-/250751463370?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a61f3afca

Mecha Zone's picture
Posted by Mecha Zone on 15 January, 2011 - 10:24
We reviewed the other one in
JoshB's picture
Posted by JoshB on 15 January, 2011 - 11:14
d'oh

yep, that's the one. I guess I should have searched the site first :/

Mecha Zone's picture
Posted by Mecha Zone on 15 January, 2011 - 11:52
Brilliant review! and what a

Brilliant review! and what a piece... awesome man, just awesome.

north-exit's picture
Posted by north-exit on 16 January, 2011 - 07:20
Wow!

at 32.000 yen, it better be good.

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 17 January, 2011 - 06:02
GREAT

GREAT GREAT REVIEW... excellent job on this... I've wanted one of these since I bought a crappy VHS boot of DYRL in the 90's. My wife has forbid me from getting any DYRL stuff (she loves the TV series but really hates the movie and it's tone) and at around $400 my wallet is happy I ain't getting this either. But damn, is this ship amazing.

The Big R's picture
Posted by The Big R on 17 January, 2011 - 11:42
Really? Wow that's the first

Really? Wow that's the first I've heard of someone NOT liking DYRL, that's pretty crazy.

Regardless, awesome review Atom! Truly a gorgeous piece.

Dkun's picture
Posted by Dkun on 18 January, 2011 - 16:18
Ehh, I saw DYRL fan-subbed a

Ehh, I saw DYRL fan-subbed a few years ago, and to be honest I thought it was a little weak in the story department. yeah, it IS Macross, but just... meh. Animation, action sequences, backgrounds, ship & interior designs, yes all very awesome and great upgrades of their series counterparts, but just... the tone of the film was meh.

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 18 January, 2011 - 17:31
I actually do not like DYRL

I actually do not like DYRL pretty much at all. I prefer the mecha designs and action scenes, but the film is a snoooorefest! I much more enjoy the TV series.

Prometheum5's picture
Posted by Prometheum5 on 18 January, 2011 - 18:12
Macross TV

I somewhat share your feelings with the TV series over DYRL movie. I said somewhat because I favor both SDF-1 versions. The 3 main things I love about the TV series other than the action scenes are the 1) The opening theme song, 2) The Zentradi as a co-ed warrior race, but strict on abstinence and 3) The freaking sweet White/Red VF-1J Valkyrie. Seeing the VF-1J replaced with the VF-1A for Hikaru to fly in Skull Squadron is just unfair. I think it would be redeemable if Yamato makes a 1/60 Custom DYRL VF-1J Skull Squadron Valk for future developments.

Diakron's picture
Posted by Diakron on 18 January, 2011 - 23:56
Rare and Beautiful

Also great meaning.

I first watched Do You Remember Love in 1985 when it was a brand new film at Funny Business comic shop in Pomona California. I believe that DYRL is one of the most well crafted films ever made.

I can completely empathise with Atom that this is a moving moment and completion that some of the second wave younger anime fans doesn’t truly get or understand. I never pull any kind of rank but this toy holds a deep emotional connection to a specific time of our lives for those in their mid thirties who remember this pivotal crossover from kids TV animation to a more mature view on animation and how it inadvertently changed our lives after we watched this film.

I was 11 years old and Robotech was on the air and I loved it more than anything in the world. It was the best program I have seen on TV, even today with the uncut Macross is a perfect item. I later found out that a local comic store called Funny Business was ahead of its time and was stocking original Japanese model kits from Southern Cross, Macross and Mospeada. This is where I bought my first Spiral Zone figures, the first time I ever saw an Anime record LP and original Takatoku Macross toys. Joey, the owner of the shop showed my dad and myself around the shop, a small tour of sorts. Joey told me that there was another version of Macross that was recently released in Japan and the following Saturday they were to hold a screening of the film. The cost of admission to watch the film was a can of food for the local food bank.

The following week the lights dimmed and we all sat and watch “Macross: Do You Remember Love (I actually called it Macross 84 for many years, which I inadvertently called it because the stickers on the model kits always said “Macross 84: Do You Remember Love?”)

I was in shock due to the pure beauty and mystery of the film. It was a modern and mature version of Macross; it was everything that the TV show was but more. And it wasn’t even subtitled when I watched it. Just the images and music alone were breathtaking. Even after almost 30 years I am still blown away how wonderfully crafted DYRL is. Every time I watch it, which is about every other month, I always pick out something new, some minor detail that I haven’t seen or comprehended before. The quiet way Minmei holds Hikaru in his apartment. The muted, solemn nearly wordless scene in Captain Globals cabin when Misa and Hikaru arrive back to the Macross. Or the advant-garde ending song count down (what unsaid remark does Minmei “say” to Misa that Misa “says” no to?) Then it ends with the genius pop tune An Angel Paints, which to me the true closure of the original Macross. It is those small details that are just as powerful as some of the best action scenes in the film.

And that tone that everybody calls boring or slow, in my book is paced tightly and has a certain nuanced energy that I can only compare to films by Michelangelo Antonioni another director that many people find his films slow or boring but are actually disciplined and cleverly planned and methodically executed films. It’s that tone of DYRL, which is rarely seen in even animation, is why I think it has held up beautifully over the years. There is no waste in DYRL, everything in that film is there for a purpose.

Then there is the background music that nobody ever seems to want to talk about. That theme hauntingly played throughout the film hits a real emotional connection to me. The reoccurring melody is simple but strings along the film through all its dramatic high points. How can you not feel the deep joys of first love when you hear Teenage Dream? Or the awaking that Minmei feels when Quivering Heart is played. When I met Mari at Macross con, the first item I had her sign the OST to Macross DYRL as it is one of my favorite recordings for a film ever recorded. It’s also one of my favorite recordings ever.

Now for the most part you can get most anything from the Macross TV show but for many years, besides a handful Valkyries and model kits not much was released in the way of toys and model kits from DYRL. And like Atom there has been this long nearly 30 year yearning to have a good-sized toy of the Macross from DYRL. It's a scratch we’ve been wanted itched since we were kids. For those of us who saw DYRL when it was a brand new film, the Macross from DYRL will always represent a deep unobtainable mystery and its good to finally have some closure with this release.

The film has had a profound effect on my life at that ripe age of 11 when I saw it. It led me to a degree in filmmaking, a film director and a writer for this site. DYRL to me is one of those rare perfect items that you rarely see in life.

Thank Atom for a fantastic review, and its great that you have some closure after all these years.

Leonardo Flores

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 19 January, 2011 - 19:36
I agree with a lot of what

I agree with a lot of what you said, Modcineaste. Before I saw Robotech on VHS, we had a copy-of-a-copy from a friend of DYRL, and I got my Macross bug from it. (This is my one regret- that my 90s reissue chunky-monkey didn't come with the Strike SAP and hardpoint missile pods.)

Perhaps I was more let down by the fact that they focused more on the Hikaru/Minmei/Misa love triangle in DYRL, and didn't give the rest of the characters their due. I mean, Kakizaki (Ben) got, like, two scenes and you missed them if you blinked! Did we even see the three Zentradi spies? Yeah, once- they just showed up one day and that was it. Then there was the whole rewrite for how Max and Miryia got together (WTH???). DYRL did feel a little more soap opera-ish than the TV series.

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 19 January, 2011 - 22:33
`1/3000 Same scale as the Takatoku/ Matchbox SDF-1 issue right?

Some one needs to get the two figures together in a side by side! comparison.

mechota's picture
Posted by mechota on 24 January, 2011 - 23:16
SDF-1

Just got my SDF-1 yesterday. Thanks Atom for your excellent review. It deserves its TOTY award. One very minor quibble is its display stand. Unlike the Yamato Valkyrie stand, the included SDF-1 stand isn't as sturdy. In Attack mode the toy wobbles a little bit and makes me nervous that it can get knocked of its perch. In Cruiser mode it just sits on top of the cradle without any locking mechanism. Again this is a very minor quibble. The toy itself is rock solid and has a fairly intuitive transformation.
As you mentioned on your video review, for $250 its an excellent toy. For $400 it is pushing the boundary between toy and luxury good. And really how much did they cut costs for the consumers by having me glue my own screw covers on?!
If only Yamato were to release a "TV version" SDF-1.....

Ap's picture
Posted by Ap on 11 February, 2011 - 09:21
Like the little window over the left leg

I can picture that boulevard running along the two narrow windows when we first see macross city in the movie. And the little window of the park when Hikaru confronts (slaps) Minmei to come to her senses and save humanity.

mechota's picture
Posted by mechota on 15 March, 2011 - 01:09
Clear stand

Anyone know what the clear stand holding up the SDF-1 is? I don't believe it comes with the figure.

evaunit01's picture
Posted by evaunit01 on 29 May, 2011 - 00:51
I use them in my reviews

it is a flexi stand-V2 get them at http://www.flightpose.com/

AJProDie-Cast's picture
Posted by AJProDie-Cast on 29 May, 2011 - 14:29
Broken Link

Your link is broken and I could not find the stand when I typed it into Google.

evaunit01's picture
Posted by evaunit01 on 31 May, 2011 - 23:43