Even as a kid back in the 80's, I knew that Jetfire felt weird, like it didn't belong with my other Transformers. It was too big, too articulated, and frankly, too damn cool. Now I know the whole story.
I had almost every transformer as a kid but Jetfire was a unicorn. Never could find on on the shelves. Pure jealousy whenever my friends would bring in theirs to school.
@@junrosamura645 I remember a period of time when Transformers were brand new, they were all unicorns. Every one of them. I somehow managed to acquire Star Scream during that time. Probably because that's all there was on the shelf. And because an F-15 fighter jet is more fun than a car.
I could never afford Jetfire when it came out, but somewhere around 1994 I was walking down the street and there was a perfect loose Jetfire, without the armor parts, standing in the window of a secondhand shop. I practically ran in. It was 15 bucks, not yellowed at all, and looked practically unplayed with. I had the biggest smile walking back home. I still have it hanging from my ceiling in Gerwalk mode on a stainless steel wire but I take it down every few months, dust it off, transform it a few times and hang it back up. :)
I'm a curious which contributor covered the cost of that pose ("...if you're good at something, never do it for free."). There was an ad for bags of exotic spicy nuts before the video...
It's amazing what a lasting imprint the cobbled together Robotech cartoons had on us 80s kids in the U.S., considering what a behind the scenes nightmare it continues to be. But in its time, it was an epic part of our childhoods!
Thank you Michael. Thank you and everyone else who contributed. This was an excellent video and well worth the wait. Your line about cosmic poetry and a "pratfall that continues to this day" itself was sheer poetry. Harmony Gold has disappointed me so many times I've just given up. Robotech ended in 1985. Complete aside: I recently discovered that my Jetfire (missing an arm, as so many are) was stolen from me when I wasn't looking. It had the Macross logos on the wings.
If you haven't already check out some of the Macross series. You'll see that it didn't end in 1985. I highly recommend Macross Plus in movie format or the 4 episode OVA and the English dubbed version features Bryan Cranston voicing the main character. Macross Zero (A macross prequel of the original SDF-1 saga) And my all time favorite Macross Frontier.
I have always remembered the anime and toys from Robotech. I was lucky enough that my mom found the original Jetfire and got it for my Christmas present. The plastic joints did not last ( as seen here on the Hovertank ). Good times.
This is the most succinct feature about Robotech's merchandising, licensing and production history. Knowing about all the behind the scenes does leave a bit of a bitter taste to my childhood nostalgia, but it also make me appreciate it even more.
I wasn't born in the GenX so I never got to experience Robotech when it first came out. I was born 12 years later and my first ever Robotech experience was Robotech Battlecry on the PS2 I did eventually manage to catch the original 85 episode run; I was 12 at the time. By age 15 I finally watch the original Macross and stumble across the Retroblasting youtube channel. At around 16 Michael acquires a Matchbox Veritech fighter with a Jetfire head and a restoration video is made. Michael claims that the Robotech feature retrospective is coming in a few weeks never does. Age 17, Some passing news on Robotech movie. Age 19 more Robotech Movie news. At age 21 a couple months ago Michael finally acquires the SDF-1 playset and the Robotech video is out. Now I am 22 and the circle is complete the retrospective is complete although Macross is still barred from the USA. When the day Macross comes to the US I doubt any of us will be alive to see it. If anyone read all the way through this I salute you. Edit: As of April 9th 2021 at the age of 23 Big West and Harmony Gold have announced an agreement to allow for Macross to come over internationally, we won!
If your interested in the toys look up Yamato/Arcadias 1/60 line v2. They haven't been made for several years but they are quality Macross toys. Pricies are stupid on the secondary market but they are amazing toys. Its a damn shame Bandai holds the license now too cause all they do is limited runs that scalpers pick and you know the rest. 🤢 Man having disposable income from 2004-2016 was an amazing time to be a Macross collector. Great toys and new shows. Also I don't think Macross will ever come over here as anything but the anime. Harmoney Gold has just poisoned that well. Hell they still try to sue people doing battletech/mechwarrior every once in a while. Hopefully with the Japan ruling they will leave that fandom alone. Who just want to play some video and board games.
Yes but HG now has the legal claim to the international rights to the original Macross images like they always said they had. I think Big West just gave in to them on that aspect so that they could release the sequels. All this was possible only because HG wants to release a Robotech movie which would be more lucrative than any sequel anime and would be a big money maker in Japan.
A moment of silence for the kids who bought all of the toys, and are now trying to sell them after keeping them in small boxes under larger heavier boxes.
I had one of the transforming jets (it was awesome!). Beyond that, I really wasn’t into the whole Robotech mythos. However, I watched the video because I knew it would be meticulously researched and presented professionally, showing the good and bad. Excellent job as always to Michael and the RetroBlasting crew!
I remember the instant Eddie found the first part of the SDF-1 at Value Village, and all I could think was "CONTACT RETROBLASTING!!" So happy to finally see part four of your Robotech series. Well worth the wait!!
As a Battletech fan we tend to have a love/hate relationship with Robotech. Some of us also love Robotech but I can bet all of us hate Harmony Gold for the crap they have done to both the Battletech and Robotech fandoms.
@@kharnthebetrayer1575 The legal question is if Tatsunoko owns the designs of mecha or not. There was a lawsuit about that in Japan. If Tatsunoko did not own these designs, the the entire case of Harmony Gold falls apart.
@@josepablolunasanchez1283 Exactly its sad that the courts couldn't come to that decision years ago. Harmony Gold was on just as shacky ground as Fasa and the fact that they sue everything Macross related we never got ANYTHING Macross over here so we had to import the Amazing Ysmato/Arcadia toys and we never got a whif of any of the new shows or blue ray releases for Macross Plus or Macross Zero. I loved Robotech and I never would have found Macross without it but Harmony Gold ruined something that could have been as popular as Gundam if they had worked issues out with FASA and got on board with Japan. I mean they were stopping stuff that was never in Robotech from coming over here cause it was "Macross" as if they owned the intelectual property of transforming jets.
OMG, so much effort obviously went into making this retrospective series. I was just going to watch a little bit, but ended up watching all of it. And now I know all this useless information about behind the scenes goings on of Robotech. Thanks, I guess.
This was an amazing Robotech documentary!!! 👏🤩 I understand the anger of the Macros universe fans, but I think Robotech (the original saga) is something unique, something that belongs to a particular time in history and will never happened again. Robotech is a BEATIFUL FRANKENSTEIN!!! 😍👍 And the music is freaking amazing... 😎👌
What an excellent video Michael!!! I really like all the research, effort and vision you put into these, your knowledge in 80's toys (and toys in general!) is unparalleled! and yes! I hope you make a Do You Remember Love video!!!!!!
The Gakken Legioss and Mospeada were already on shelves in the US. You showed the boxes early on in the video. I was able to pick up a green Legioss at my local ToysRUs. If somebody was already importing the Gakken toys, maybe Harmony Gold simply too late. That ToysRUs had tons of odd robots, like a huge robot from Acrobunch, the original Astro Magnum, and even some Machine Robo in Japanese packaging. So SOMEBODY was importing this stuff in quantities big enough for a huge toy store chain to stock them. Back to the Gakken Legioss, while it was cool to have, the toy itself is not that great. The wings don't fold and transform. You had to remove them and replace with a huge backpack shell thing. And the toy fell over a lot. The most interesting part of that Legioss, by far, is the back of the box where they actually recap the true Mospeada storyline. And it's freaking grim and way more exciting than the way Robotech made it seem. I have NEVER forgotten the words from that story recap on that package, and today when I watch Mospeada, it's impossible to watch it without lots of tears because I feel like I really understand what is happening at a different level.
There were two different sizes of Legioss and Mospeada. It sounds like you were describing the smaller size Legioss which was all plastic and not really well articulated. The larger size Legioss had plastic and die cast parts and was much more detailed. It also had wings that folded for the transformation. I had one of the larger Legioss in green. I also had at least one of the smaller ones in red. I had all three of the smaller Mospeada toys which also were all plastic and not as well articulated. I did not have the large Mospeada toy. (The larger size toys are what Michael is showing in his video.) I used to see lots of obscure robot toys in Toys R Us as you described. But we also had a super market nearby called Eagle. And whenever we went to Eagle, I always saw the smaller Legioss and Mospeada toys on the shelf in the toy section. That might have been where I got that smaller red Legioss. This was before Robotech ever aired. I later got my green Legioss and small Mospeada toys in Robotech packaging. The closest I got to having a large, detailed, highly articulated Mospeada was the Revell "Cy-Kill" model hit I had. Revell had licensed and brought over a Legioss as Leader 1 and the Lancer Mospeada as Cy-Kill. I collected GoBots too, but I remember seeing that "Cy-Kill" model kit and understanding what it really was. The model was toward the larger size and was very detailed and a challenging build. It motorcycle had real rubber tires. The motorcycle was also transformable into the ride armor and the proportions for both were pretty spot on. It was a challenge to get Lancer to remain standing with the ride armor on him as it made him top heavy towards the back.
And now the awesome snapping power of the Southern Cross Hovertank! Hilarious. The Matchbox destroids go very nicely to scale with the Yamato 1:60 Macross Veritechs and are excellent toys.
This is really exceptionally well done. I'm very impressed at the respect and coverage you've given the original TT Valk toy. And all the small details, sales reel clips and other minutia is exhaustive, but not exhausting. Nice stuff!
I had a hover tank and for the record it never broke in half. Now the Gakken big Legioss Alpha Fighters (which were imported by Excite) did get reboxed by Matchbox. I did like the fact that they were perfectly sized to fight the Invid shock trooper. You could even put the little gray pilot figure from the Alpha into the Invid's claws. You want to get really crazy, try diving into Robotech model kit history and why Harmony Gold went to Revell to license the name. It covered initially Dougram (with many of those designs ending up in Battletech), but some Macross and Orgus mechs as well. Weirdly, two Mospeada model kit designs (Rook's red Legios and Yellow's Mospeada (Cyclone) ended up getting released in the states by Monogram as part of a GoBots license as Leader-1 and Cy-Kill.
That ratchet joint at the waist for the Hovertank is super stiff and scared everyone that attempted to change modes but I've never known anyone to break it either, except for the gentleman in the demo!
I had the Monogram Cy-Kill model kit. Being also a Robotech/Mospeada person I knew what I was getting. That model was highly detailed and articulated. The Mospeada could transform between motorcycle and battle armor. The blades were even extendable. Yellow/Lancer's face was moulded in detail complete with hair and head band. I seem to recall the motorcycle tires were real rubber. This was probably the best proportioned Mospeada toy/model one could acquire. Unfortunately, it was too fragile to play with.
Thanks for the comprehensive coverage of the Matchbox Robotech action figure-based toys, and thanks for the entire four-part feature! I especially love the close look at the SDF-1 playset.
Thank you so much for completing the arch of your Robotech videos at last! I've been waiting for ages and you didn't disappoint with the completeness in this video! I spent a month in British Columbia the summer of 1986 and Robotech was huge there. Unfortunately I'd spent my allowance on a Transformer (the tank/plane/robot one) before I discovered the series and I do remember seeing in stores there the VF-1 mechas, in their full Japanese glory. Can't remember if they were labelled Robotech or Macross though. I guess Canada was outside of Harmony Gold's reach. I sorely wanted a VF-1S, only got a Toynami one in 2009. Robotech hugely influenced my imagination back then, recreating as much of it as possible in Lego. I also remember seeing the VF-6 Alpha in what looked like metallic diecast versions ( in the red, blue and green variants) in stores in Switzerland around Christmas that year, always in robot or gerwalk mode only. I was never sure they fully transfromed, they were very very expensive toys at the time (Japanese imports I guess) and no one I knew had them.
An excellent bookend to your Robotech videos Michael. Great job as always and cheers to you and the Retro Blasting crew. That SDF playset looks killer. No of my friends had any of these figures growing up...I can see why this might be a rare/uncommon toy line. lol.
As a kid, these toys from my favourite cartoon series were my 'unicorn' toys: rarely seen and as a very poor family, financially unattainable. Thank you for the very comprehensive overview of the line. I'd still happily watch the EXO-Squad debacle and 'Robotech' micro-robot Lego style modular building toy reviews (sorry, I forgot what they're actually called).
9:49 I love the fact that Max Sterling, one of the best pilots in the series, has the most opaque glasses ever, like he's some kind of a blind man that accidentally changed into a pilot's uniform and wandered onto the SDF-1. I can't help but imagine him crashing his Veritech Fighter into the Macross City buildings inside SDF-1, clumsily and ineptly pushing his joystick side-to-side while tumbling into buildings, and throughout believing he's in a non-existent battle with the Zentradi.
Not sure if this is true, but I once heard that The Southern Cross toys from Matchbox did find some popularity in Japan. As they were the only toys from that show in existence for collectors.
I had read about all this information about Jetfire and the Valkyries in the past, and I never really understood it, but this feature makes it much more clear. Thanks!
Been waiting so long, and this did not disappoint! Iv'e been so excited for this one ever since part 1 (probably my favorite Retroblasting video.) My sincere thanks to you guys and and everyone that has helped you.
OUTSTANDING JOB!!! 👏👏👏 As a fan of both series, I think you knocked it out of the park!!! I only hope you can score some of the later series on DVD from eBay or find an app to check them out. Again a MAGNIFICENT summary!!!
@@williestyle35 Yes...sadly, one of his arms did break off. The toys I still have are for sentimental value. I don't think many of them would sell for much (but you never know).
Great review! Quite an eye opener to discover the toy robots that were available on retail shelves when I was a kid were almost entirely informed by licensing. I remember jonesing over the super deformed Robotech figures when I saw them in stores, but for whatever reason I never got one. Too late now... they’re way too expensive on the collector’s market. 🤷♂️
When I was a kid I kind of remember this line. I never knew anyone who had any of these toys. Had I been given these I would have just used these for my GIJOE/Star Wars/other random 3 3/4 action figures. With that said, as always Retroblasting has done a wonderful job. I never knew there was so much history about this line. And I feel that that Matchbox tried very hard to make a good line I still think Broken Vader should have his own spin off talk show
When I was a kid, I was so utterly flustered and confused by what was going on with the figures and their inconsistencies with the show, and all the incorrect scaling. I was aware that there was some sort of legal situation with Jetfire being in Transformers and just figured it was because HG couldn't get the rights to the Valkyrie because Hasbro had it. It was actually kind of amazing to get any information at all back then considering there was no internet to refer to. My friend and I would sit around looking at the box art and my _Robotech Art Book 1,_ puzzling over what was going on and laughing at our weirdly molded figures' heads. The most infuriating things for me were why the Bioroid was supposed to be a big mech suit but the figure was so small and looked kind of like an ant, and why Scott Bernard had his Cyclone armor on (except for the wheels - where'd they go?), yet could get on the transformed Cyclone in motorcycle-mode at the same time. It wasn't until around '87 when we started going to NYC and could get Japanese anime from comic book, scifi and toy conventions, and information from other people, that we started to figure out more of what was going on.
I was one of the kids who got *duped* by the Matchbox Valkyrie. I had begged, and begged to get Jetfire. But, he was too expensive, or just that rare after the initial release. Toys-R-Us was *big* into the Matchbox toylines... and, seemingly, I had *finally* found one, on the day we could get one. And I thought it was the real thing - I was maybe - 8 or 9 years old. I get home (if I made it home - I probably opened it in the car) - annnnd.... No transformation. I was *pissed* - and I hope I didn't take it out on my Mom... she didn't know either. Same thing happened with Voltron. I wanted the Matchbox, and got the plastic one. The 80s...
@@LastBastian I acquired one in HS, and hauled it with me all over... from Roi-Namur, to Montana, up to Alaska, back to Montana, down to Nevada, and now Arizona... My Jetfire gets around. Yellowed, but still in decent shape, with all of the parts.
@@LastBastian But, I want a new in box one - doesn't have to be sealed, but... I want the feeling of opening that box, sliding out the tray... and smiling ear to ear, the whole time. LOL
Looking forward to the inevitable Exo-Squad vid, or vids. Totally can understand why you want to save that all for another time; it certainly deserves it.
You're absolutely generous in giving them a moment. I haven't given them any. They screwed Big West so much during the licensing deal. To be fair, though, the latter should have had more faith in the Macross franchise back then. Being in the Philippines, I have access to both Robotech and Macross and I can definitely say that I favor the latter overall. I'd get behind Macross 7 over Robotech's second arc (Southern Cross) any day. That's saying a lot as I find Macross 7 absolutely weak compared to everything that came after it.
Raul Pimentel I don’t know how, but we at least managed to get a video release of Macross Plus in the states. It’s probably my all time favorite next to the original tv series.
I was 10 years old when these toys were first introduced and they were very hard to find at stores! I never got to own any of the Cyclones simply because they were not available at stores. All that was available was the Valkrie/Jetfire toy, and even that one wasn't always available at stores.
Fun fact: one of the girls in that Women of Robotech ad is Natasha Lyonne of Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll fame. And I may have let out a cry of shock at that Rook toy. I don't think I'd ever seen her before.
The cardboard SDF 1, got to see that one in person at a convention probably a decade ago. Look forward to see you guys delve into that one some day. But glad to see part four, and it was well worth the wait.
As a huge Robotech fan I knew much this, but still learned a lot from this and thoroughly enjoyed the levity and overall presentation. Great job as always.
As a kid I thought the Robotech line wasn't very good. The one thing I loved and bought at a comic book shop was a Japanese import Mospeada bike. It was fun but it was also fragile.
Skyfire was seen emulating a Valkyrie's Gerwalk mode in the Transformers' episode "Rise of the Machines". Skyfire's vehicular mode in the Transformers' was never actually described if its a fighter-bomber or even a transport.
I picked up a few of these at Kay Bee Toys on clearance in the 80s along with a 3.75 transforming Valkyrie made by a different company all together. This was a Convertor called Zark.
I have the Gakken's transformable Ride armor and the transformable Legioss, I also have the large Matchbox release of the Takatoku SDF1 and the Valk. Takatoku was an amazing toy manufacturer and i'm glad that some of their designs did make it into the Transformers toy line (thought their style was certainly different than that of Diaclone and Microchange). I had heard that their Batrain/ Sasuraiger was nearly incorporated into Transformers as well, but they were unable to acquire the license before Takatoku folded.
The best part of that toy rep breaking the prototype is how he tries to cover it up by holding it together with one hand and continues to show it off by putting the gun in its hand. He even remarks how easy it was to transform. To be fair to him, he says at the beginning that he has to be very careful with it because it is a prototype. Though I assume the final was about as fragile from the sound of it.
Been waiting for this episode for a long time... well worth the wait. THANK you, Mike! Can't help but wonder why the sales rep didn't edit out the part of the video where he breaks the product he's desperately trying to sell. Can you imagine being a toy buyer and seeing that in a presentation?
It was a video made *during* the rep's presentation to buyers. Could have edited it after the fact and left no trace, but then we wouldn't have fun now. (:
They took BTech to court again recently, but the judge paid attention this time when HG claimed that the *Atlas* was HG property. Case dismissed with prejudice.
@@MrMyu Yup, and Battletech took a page from HG with their new reseen designs - Change the image enough. I also had no idea that the veritech fighter did not have a battloid mode.
I had the SCOTT Bernard transforming motorcycle. It was so hard to transform the bike to the armor that fit in SCOTT. It took me forever just to learn how to do it. If I recall correctly it came with step by step instructions that seemed like a novel!
We need a Part 5 that covers the end of a long nightmare, and a new beginning that will make you remember love. (Makes me wanna sing like Basara from Macross 7 right now.)
I remember in the early 1980's I saw one of the original Takatoku Valkyries at the dealiers room at a sci-fi convention in Dallas. The guy at the table was telling everyone it was from Captain Harlock, obviously because it had the skull and crossbones insignia! When I told him it was from Macross he laughed at me and told me I didn't know what I was talking about. Hilarious!
Convertors... was that a line of small plastic transforming robot toys on card back? If it's the line I'm thinking of, they did offer mecha from a wide variety of properties including Macross, Orguss, and others I don't know the name of. There was a Valkyrie and the SDF-1 from Macross. I had the Valkyrie. I also had the mech from Orguss (the same mech was available as a model from Revell called Nebo in their Robotech line.)
My first introduction to Macross was actually scale models of the Battleoids that were sold in Australuan stores in the mid 80s. I had 3 of the 4 main variants and even enjoyed playing with them, but had no idea about the robotech universe, the were just cool models. Seeing the model robots on display in my room come to life on TV blew my young mind. Been a fan ever since.
in the early 2000s, ADV did make an official dub for Macross, Macross II, and Macross Plus. I've got the dubs for Macross and Plus and they're solid. It features Monica Rial as Misa and Vic Migogna as Hikaru with Mari Ijima even reprising her role as Lynn Minmay in the dub. A short while back, LootCrate had a Robotech themed crate that included a figure of the Spec Ops VF-1J. This black and red Veritech only appeared as a *skin* in the PS2/Xbox game Robotech Battlecry (which is actually pretty solid as well).
That was a sight to see, done in the finest retroblasting standards. Once again I’m seeing hasbro as the villain in all this. We could have had our own chunky monkeys to play with back in the day....
I was just thinking about this the other day: If the Zentradi are meant to stand 60 feet tall then their mecha should be scaled 10x accordingly rather than positing a 60-foot pilot tightly crammed in fetal position within the cockpit of a Battlepod no larger than a Veritech, with no thought for space to accomodate a fuel tank for the thrusters or room for ammunition... And the "Robotech Art 1" book entry claims that this 50-foot tall sardine can is able to seat one or TWO Zentradi warriors! 😵😵
Those Matchbox toy were complete trash back in the day. I use to remove them from their packaging notice a split in the plastic and ask if we could return them.
Even as a kid back in the 80's, I knew that Jetfire felt weird, like it didn't belong with my other Transformers. It was too big, too articulated, and frankly, too damn cool. Now I know the whole story.
I had almost every transformer as a kid but Jetfire was a unicorn. Never could find on on the shelves. Pure jealousy whenever my friends would bring in theirs to school.
@@junrosamura645 I remember a period of time when Transformers were brand new, they were all unicorns. Every one of them. I somehow managed to acquire Star Scream during that time. Probably because that's all there was on the shelf. And because an F-15 fighter jet is more fun than a car.
I had one I was wowww he looks like a Robotech I bugged my mom to get it for me on Christmas
I could never afford Jetfire when it came out, but somewhere around 1994 I was walking down the street and there was a perfect loose Jetfire, without the armor parts, standing in the window of a secondhand shop. I practically ran in. It was 15 bucks, not yellowed at all, and looked practically unplayed with. I had the biggest smile walking back home. I still have it hanging from my ceiling in Gerwalk mode on a stainless steel wire but I take it down every few months, dust it off, transform it a few times and hang it back up. :)
Holy crap, yes! One of my friends had that one. It was way too cool. I begged and begged my parents for one. But they could never find it.
Loved how many times you showed the Veritech Hover Tank being broken in half! Laughed harder each time. Great vid!
Snap
That pretty much earned a sub from me 😂
Despite the poor toy being broken in half, I really enjoyed each replay of that. 😅
It's almost like we have witnessed the birth of a new meme.
Maybe it's the perfect ride for broken vader
"Mecha don't talk" warrants bumper sticker fame
I'm a curious which contributor covered the cost of that pose ("...if you're good at something, never do it for free.").
There was an ad for bags of exotic spicy nuts before the video...
It's amazing what a lasting imprint the cobbled together Robotech cartoons had on us 80s kids in the U.S., considering what a behind the scenes nightmare it continues to be. But in its time, it was an epic part of our childhoods!
Robotech was the first anime I’d ever seen and the first time I’ve people die in a cartoon.. One of the greatest anime series of all time!..
Legally seized joints?!?! Let's just say I wasn't thinking toys when that popped up! Hahaha! Love you're channel.
Was anyone hoping for a sneak review of something related to Cheech & Chong?
As a kid I never understood the Robotech series until I re-watched it stoned as an adult
@@blinkyblink711 ?
Thank you Michael. Thank you and everyone else who contributed. This was an excellent video and well worth the wait.
Your line about cosmic poetry and a "pratfall that continues to this day" itself was sheer poetry.
Harmony Gold has disappointed me so many times I've just given up.
Robotech ended in 1985.
Complete aside: I recently discovered that my Jetfire (missing an arm, as so many are) was stolen from me when I wasn't looking. It had the Macross logos on the wings.
If you haven't already check out some of the Macross series. You'll see that it didn't end in 1985. I highly recommend Macross Plus in movie format or the 4 episode OVA and the English dubbed version features Bryan Cranston voicing the main character. Macross Zero (A macross prequel of the original SDF-1 saga) And my all time favorite Macross Frontier.
Watching this I remember having some of these toys thank you for the nostalgia
I have always remembered the anime and toys from Robotech. I was lucky enough that my mom found the original Jetfire and got it for my Christmas present. The plastic joints did not last ( as seen here on the Hovertank ). Good times.
This is the most succinct feature about Robotech's merchandising, licensing and production history. Knowing about all the behind the scenes does leave a bit of a bitter taste to my childhood nostalgia, but it also make me appreciate it even more.
Thanks man! That was fun! I recall having a Jetfire back in the day. It was one of my favorite toys.
👍👍👍
I wasn't born in the GenX so I never got to experience Robotech when it first came out. I was born 12 years later and my first ever Robotech experience was Robotech Battlecry on the PS2 I did eventually manage to catch the original 85 episode run; I was 12 at the time. By age 15 I finally watch the original Macross and stumble across the Retroblasting youtube channel. At around 16 Michael acquires a Matchbox Veritech fighter with a Jetfire head and a restoration video is made. Michael claims that the Robotech feature retrospective is coming in a few weeks never does. Age 17, Some passing news on Robotech movie. Age 19 more Robotech Movie news. At age 21 a couple months ago Michael finally acquires the SDF-1 playset and the Robotech video is out. Now I am 22 and the circle is complete the retrospective is complete although Macross is still barred from the USA. When the day Macross comes to the US I doubt any of us will be alive to see it. If anyone read all the way through this I salute you.
Edit: As of April 9th 2021 at the age of 23 Big West and Harmony Gold have announced an agreement to allow for Macross to come over internationally, we won!
If your interested in the toys look up Yamato/Arcadias 1/60 line v2. They haven't been made for several years but they are quality Macross toys. Pricies are stupid on the secondary market but they are amazing toys. Its a damn shame Bandai holds the license now too cause all they do is limited runs that scalpers pick and you know the rest. 🤢 Man having disposable income from 2004-2016 was an amazing time to be a Macross collector. Great toys and new shows.
Also I don't think Macross will ever come over here as anything but the anime. Harmoney Gold has just poisoned that well. Hell they still try to sue people doing battletech/mechwarrior every once in a while. Hopefully with the Japan ruling they will leave that fandom alone. Who just want to play some video and board games.
Yes but HG now has the legal claim to the international rights to the original Macross images like they always said they had. I think Big West just gave in to them on that aspect so that they could release the sequels. All this was possible only because HG wants to release a Robotech movie which would be more lucrative than any sequel anime and would be a big money maker in Japan.
I'm Gen X, but I never saw it as a kid. A friend introduced it to me in college in the 1990s.
A moment of silence for the kids who bought all of the toys, and are now trying to sell them after keeping them in small boxes under larger heavier boxes.
Your first Robotech feature led me to becoming a big fan of Retroblasting. Thank you for your hard work it rekindled my love of Robotech.
God, this video brought back memories of that whole 1984-1986 era 😌Thank you for this upload.
You kept showing that guy doing the demonstration breaking that toy and a half was hilarious 😂
I had one of the transforming jets (it was awesome!). Beyond that, I really wasn’t into the whole Robotech mythos. However, I watched the video because I knew it would be meticulously researched and presented professionally, showing the good and bad. Excellent job as always to Michael and the RetroBlasting crew!
I remember the instant Eddie found the first part of the SDF-1 at Value Village, and all I could think was "CONTACT RETROBLASTING!!"
So happy to finally see part four of your Robotech series. Well worth the wait!!
As a Battletech fan we tend to have a love/hate relationship with Robotech. Some of us also love Robotech but I can bet all of us hate Harmony Gold for the crap they have done to both the Battletech and Robotech fandoms.
To be fair FASA used their designs without permission. I still have a few.
@@kharnthebetrayer1575 The legal question is if Tatsunoko owns the designs of mecha or not. There was a lawsuit about that in Japan. If Tatsunoko did not own these designs, the the entire case of Harmony Gold falls apart.
Jose Pablo Luna Sanchez FASA “battletech” lost the lawsuit and subsequently changed the designs for old mecha. In which I have the OG and new ones.
@@josepablolunasanchez1283 Exactly its sad that the courts couldn't come to that decision years ago. Harmony Gold was on just as shacky ground as Fasa and the fact that they sue everything Macross related we never got ANYTHING Macross over here so we had to import the Amazing Ysmato/Arcadia toys and we never got a whif of any of the new shows or blue ray releases for Macross Plus or Macross Zero. I loved Robotech and I never would have found Macross without it but Harmony Gold ruined something that could have been as popular as Gundam if they had worked issues out with FASA and got on board with Japan. I mean they were stopping stuff that was never in Robotech from coming over here cause it was "Macross" as if they owned the intelectual property of transforming jets.
Very sad Fasa went under.
OMG, so much effort obviously went into making this retrospective series. I was just going to watch a little bit, but ended up watching all of it. And now I know all this useless information about behind the scenes goings on of Robotech. Thanks, I guess.
Another sumptuous vid. I love knowing nothing about a topic and having you so expertly break it down.
Man the whole Robotech/Macross situation is a rabbit hole
This was an amazing Robotech documentary!!! 👏🤩
I understand the anger of the Macros universe fans, but I think Robotech (the original saga) is something unique, something that belongs to a particular time in history and will never happened again. Robotech is a BEATIFUL FRANKENSTEIN!!! 😍👍
And the music is freaking amazing... 😎👌
What an excellent video Michael!!! I really like all the research, effort and vision you put into these, your knowledge in 80's toys (and toys in general!) is unparalleled! and yes! I hope you make a Do You Remember Love video!!!!!!
The Gakken Legioss and Mospeada were already on shelves in the US. You showed the boxes early on in the video. I was able to pick up a green Legioss at my local ToysRUs. If somebody was already importing the Gakken toys, maybe Harmony Gold simply too late. That ToysRUs had tons of odd robots, like a huge robot from Acrobunch, the original Astro Magnum, and even some Machine Robo in Japanese packaging. So SOMEBODY was importing this stuff in quantities big enough for a huge toy store chain to stock them. Back to the Gakken Legioss, while it was cool to have, the toy itself is not that great. The wings don't fold and transform. You had to remove them and replace with a huge backpack shell thing. And the toy fell over a lot. The most interesting part of that Legioss, by far, is the back of the box where they actually recap the true Mospeada storyline. And it's freaking grim and way more exciting than the way Robotech made it seem. I have NEVER forgotten the words from that story recap on that package, and today when I watch Mospeada, it's impossible to watch it without lots of tears because I feel like I really understand what is happening at a different level.
There were two different sizes of Legioss and Mospeada. It sounds like you were describing the smaller size Legioss which was all plastic and not really well articulated. The larger size Legioss had plastic and die cast parts and was much more detailed. It also had wings that folded for the transformation. I had one of the larger Legioss in green. I also had at least one of the smaller ones in red. I had all three of the smaller Mospeada toys which also were all plastic and not as well articulated. I did not have the large Mospeada toy. (The larger size toys are what Michael is showing in his video.) I used to see lots of obscure robot toys in Toys R Us as you described. But we also had a super market nearby called Eagle. And whenever we went to Eagle, I always saw the smaller Legioss and Mospeada toys on the shelf in the toy section. That might have been where I got that smaller red Legioss. This was before Robotech ever aired. I later got my green Legioss and small Mospeada toys in Robotech packaging. The closest I got to having a large, detailed, highly articulated Mospeada was the Revell "Cy-Kill" model hit I had. Revell had licensed and brought over a Legioss as Leader 1 and the Lancer Mospeada as Cy-Kill. I collected GoBots too, but I remember seeing that "Cy-Kill" model kit and understanding what it really was. The model was toward the larger size and was very detailed and a challenging build. It motorcycle had real rubber tires. The motorcycle was also transformable into the ride armor and the proportions for both were pretty spot on. It was a challenge to get Lancer to remain standing with the ride armor on him as it made him top heavy towards the back.
'Legendary Peg Warmer'... Lol. Def. Gonna steal that
And now the awesome snapping power of the Southern Cross Hovertank! Hilarious. The Matchbox destroids go very nicely to scale with the Yamato 1:60 Macross Veritechs and are excellent toys.
thanks for this series of videos, as a kid of the 80's i loved this show . BTW the action figuers wer Hilaious !
This is really exceptionally well done. I'm very impressed at the respect and coverage you've given the original TT Valk toy. And all the small details, sales reel clips and other minutia is exhaustive, but not exhausting. Nice stuff!
Hi Michael, this is the best review ever about vintage robotech toys! I’m a big fan of robotech and I hope you can make more videos soon
I had a hover tank and for the record it never broke in half.
Now the Gakken big Legioss Alpha Fighters (which were imported by Excite) did get reboxed by Matchbox. I did like the fact that they were perfectly sized to fight the Invid shock trooper. You could even put the little gray pilot figure from the Alpha into the Invid's claws.
You want to get really crazy, try diving into Robotech model kit history and why Harmony Gold went to Revell to license the name. It covered initially Dougram (with many of those designs ending up in Battletech), but some Macross and Orgus mechs as well. Weirdly, two Mospeada model kit designs (Rook's red Legios and Yellow's Mospeada (Cyclone) ended up getting released in the states by Monogram as part of a GoBots license as Leader-1 and Cy-Kill.
That ratchet joint at the waist for the Hovertank is super stiff and scared everyone that attempted to change modes but I've never known anyone to break it either, except for the gentleman in the demo!
I had the Monogram Cy-Kill model kit. Being also a Robotech/Mospeada person I knew what I was getting. That model was highly detailed and articulated. The Mospeada could transform between motorcycle and battle armor. The blades were even extendable. Yellow/Lancer's face was moulded in detail complete with hair and head band. I seem to recall the motorcycle tires were real rubber. This was probably the best proportioned Mospeada toy/model one could acquire. Unfortunately, it was too fragile to play with.
Oh yeah, especially the hip joints on the rider. By comparison the Leader 1/Rook fighter model kit was relatively sturdy. Fun times!
Thanks for the comprehensive coverage of the Matchbox Robotech action figure-based toys, and thanks for the entire four-part feature! I especially love the close look at the SDF-1 playset.
Thank you so much for completing the arch of your Robotech videos at last! I've been waiting for ages and you didn't disappoint with the completeness in this video!
I spent a month in British Columbia the summer of 1986 and Robotech was huge there. Unfortunately I'd spent my allowance on a Transformer (the tank/plane/robot one) before I discovered the series and I do remember seeing in stores there the VF-1 mechas, in their full Japanese glory. Can't remember if they were labelled Robotech or Macross though. I guess Canada was outside of Harmony Gold's reach. I sorely wanted a VF-1S, only got a Toynami one in 2009. Robotech hugely influenced my imagination back then, recreating as much of it as possible in Lego.
I also remember seeing the VF-6 Alpha in what looked like metallic diecast versions ( in the red, blue and green variants) in stores in Switzerland around Christmas that year, always in robot or gerwalk mode only. I was never sure they fully transfromed, they were very very expensive toys at the time (Japanese imports I guess) and no one I knew had them.
An excellent bookend to your Robotech videos Michael. Great job as always and cheers to you and the Retro Blasting crew. That SDF playset looks killer. No of my friends had any of these figures growing up...I can see why this might be a rare/uncommon toy line. lol.
As a kid, these toys from my favourite cartoon series were my 'unicorn' toys: rarely seen and as a very poor family, financially unattainable. Thank you for the very comprehensive overview of the line.
I'd still happily watch the EXO-Squad debacle and 'Robotech' micro-robot Lego style modular building toy reviews (sorry, I forgot what they're actually called).
9:49 I love the fact that Max Sterling, one of the best pilots in the series, has the most opaque glasses ever, like he's some kind of a blind man that accidentally changed into a pilot's uniform and wandered onto the SDF-1. I can't help but imagine him crashing his Veritech Fighter into the Macross City buildings inside SDF-1, clumsily and ineptly pushing his joystick side-to-side while tumbling into buildings, and throughout believing he's in a non-existent battle with the Zentradi.
Excellent video and review of this topic. Very detailed and accurate too. Thank you for putting this together.
I love the Mad-Libs naming scheme of Japanese Manga series.
Not sure if this is true, but I once heard that The Southern Cross toys from Matchbox did find some popularity in Japan. As they were the only toys from that show in existence for collectors.
I had read about all this information about Jetfire and the Valkyries in the past, and I never really understood it, but this feature makes it much more clear. Thanks!
Been waiting so long, and this did not disappoint! Iv'e been so excited for this one ever since part 1 (probably my favorite Retroblasting video.) My sincere thanks to you guys and and everyone that has helped you.
Also love your shirt Micheal!
Excellent work on this. This line baffled me as a kid.
OUTSTANDING JOB!!! 👏👏👏
As a fan of both series, I think you knocked it out of the park!!!
I only hope you can score some of the later series on DVD from eBay or find an app to check them out.
Again a MAGNIFICENT summary!!!
I still have that Jetfire toy!
Also had a Cyclone: I immediately broke off one of the front parts because I assumed it could transform!
Good on you for holding on to Jetfure, especially since they can be so fragile when transforming.
@@williestyle35 Yes...sadly, one of his arms did break off. The toys I still have are for sentimental value. I don't think many of them would sell for much (but you never know).
Great review! Quite an eye opener to discover the toy robots that were available on retail shelves when I was a kid were almost entirely informed by licensing.
I remember jonesing over the super deformed Robotech figures when I saw them in stores, but for whatever reason I never got one. Too late now... they’re way too expensive on the collector’s market. 🤷♂️
When I was a kid I kind of remember this line. I never knew anyone who had any of these toys. Had I been given these I would have just used these for my GIJOE/Star Wars/other random 3 3/4 action figures.
With that said, as always Retroblasting has done a wonderful job. I never knew there was so much history about this line. And I feel that that Matchbox tried very hard to make a good line
I still think Broken Vader should have his own spin off talk show
When I was a kid, I was so utterly flustered and confused by what was going on with the figures and their inconsistencies with the show, and all the incorrect scaling. I was aware that there was some sort of legal situation with Jetfire being in Transformers and just figured it was because HG couldn't get the rights to the Valkyrie because Hasbro had it. It was actually kind of amazing to get any information at all back then considering there was no internet to refer to. My friend and I would sit around looking at the box art and my _Robotech Art Book 1,_ puzzling over what was going on and laughing at our weirdly molded figures' heads. The most infuriating things for me were why the Bioroid was supposed to be a big mech suit but the figure was so small and looked kind of like an ant, and why Scott Bernard had his Cyclone armor on (except for the wheels - where'd they go?), yet could get on the transformed Cyclone in motorcycle-mode at the same time. It wasn't until around '87 when we started going to NYC and could get Japanese anime from comic book, scifi and toy conventions, and information from other people, that we started to figure out more of what was going on.
I was one of the kids who got *duped* by the Matchbox Valkyrie. I had begged, and begged to get Jetfire. But, he was too expensive, or just that rare after the initial release. Toys-R-Us was *big* into the Matchbox toylines... and, seemingly, I had *finally* found one, on the day we could get one. And I thought it was the real thing - I was maybe - 8 or 9 years old.
I get home (if I made it home - I probably opened it in the car) - annnnd.... No transformation.
I was *pissed* - and I hope I didn't take it out on my Mom... she didn't know either.
Same thing happened with Voltron. I wanted the Matchbox, and got the plastic one.
The 80s...
@@LastBastian I acquired one in HS, and hauled it with me all over... from Roi-Namur, to Montana, up to Alaska, back to Montana, down to Nevada, and now Arizona... My Jetfire gets around. Yellowed, but still in decent shape, with all of the parts.
@@LastBastian But, I want a new in box one - doesn't have to be sealed, but... I want the feeling of opening that box, sliding out the tray... and smiling ear to ear, the whole time. LOL
Looking forward to the inevitable Exo-Squad vid, or vids. Totally can understand why you want to save that all for another time; it certainly deserves it.
Huh... a moment's sympathy for Harmony Gold.
Aaaaaand it's gone.
You're absolutely generous in giving them a moment. I haven't given them any. They screwed Big West so much during the licensing deal. To be fair, though, the latter should have had more faith in the Macross franchise back then. Being in the Philippines, I have access to both Robotech and Macross and I can definitely say that I favor the latter overall. I'd get behind Macross 7 over Robotech's second arc (Southern Cross) any day. That's saying a lot as I find Macross 7 absolutely weak compared to everything that came after it.
Raul Pimentel I don’t know how, but we at least managed to get a video release of Macross Plus in the states. It’s probably my all time favorite next to the original tv series.
I will allow them a quarter second... nope.
I give them a whole second for bringing this stuff to my attention. But nothing they did with any of it after that is worth anything.
This Review was AMAZING BRO!!! THANK YOU!
I was 10 years old when these toys were first introduced and they were very hard to find at stores! I never got to own any of the Cyclones simply because they were not available at stores. All that was available was the Valkrie/Jetfire toy, and even that one wasn't always available at stores.
Thank you. This episode was awesome
Great video Michael, perfect ending to a great 4 part series!!!
I have some robotech figures didn’t know that till now 🤯🤠🤘
I was with my friend who bought a Jetfire and we were surprised to see it included stickers of Lynn Minmey and Lisa Hayes in swimsuits.
Fun fact: one of the girls in that Women of Robotech ad is Natasha Lyonne of Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll fame.
And I may have let out a cry of shock at that Rook toy. I don't think I'd ever seen her before.
Thank you for all your hard work on this and all your series/livestreams on the channel
The cardboard SDF 1, got to see that one in person at a convention probably a decade ago. Look forward to see you guys delve into that one some day.
But glad to see part four, and it was well worth the wait.
As a huge Robotech fan I knew much this, but still learned a lot from this and thoroughly enjoyed the levity and overall presentation. Great job as always.
It's been awhile . For this part but we'll worth it Bravo. Good job Michael
As a kid I thought the Robotech line wasn't very good. The one thing I loved and bought at a comic book shop was a Japanese import Mospeada bike. It was fun but it was also fragile.
I had the Mospeada also. That and the Alpha.
Just got me a Ban Dai VF-1J^^ Just like the one I had as a kid. Best Transformer I ever had.
I've been waiting for this for a while. Thank you Michael!
Skyfire was seen emulating a Valkyrie's Gerwalk mode in the Transformers' episode "Rise of the Machines".
Skyfire's vehicular mode in the Transformers' was never actually described if its a fighter-bomber or even a transport.
seems like his jet mode was whatever the story needed at the time.
Great video as always.
Lol I did my marketing class presentation on this back in 2005. It's a great subject on the licensing issues.
I picked up a few of these at Kay Bee Toys on clearance in the 80s along with a 3.75 transforming Valkyrie made by a different company all together. This was a Convertor called Zark.
I Had jetfire as a kid. Awesome toy. They need to re-release this!
I have the Gakken's transformable Ride armor and the transformable Legioss, I also have the large Matchbox release of the Takatoku SDF1 and the Valk. Takatoku was an amazing toy manufacturer and i'm glad that some of their designs did make it into the Transformers toy line (thought their style was certainly different than that of Diaclone and Microchange). I had heard that their Batrain/ Sasuraiger was nearly incorporated into Transformers as well, but they were unable to acquire the license before Takatoku folded.
The best part of that toy rep breaking the prototype is how he tries to cover it up by holding it together with one hand and continues to show it off by putting the gun in its hand. He even remarks how easy it was to transform. To be fair to him, he says at the beginning that he has to be very careful with it because it is a prototype. Though I assume the final was about as fragile from the sound of it.
Great video examining this shift of Robotech. It is very informative.
I was waiting for a whole chapter on Battletech
Robotech part 4? It isn't even my birthday. Thank you.
Been waiting for this episode for a long time... well worth the wait. THANK you, Mike!
Can't help but wonder why the sales rep didn't edit out the part of the video where he breaks the product he's desperately trying to sell. Can you imagine being a toy buyer and seeing that in a presentation?
It was a video made *during* the rep's presentation to buyers. Could have edited it after the fact and left no trace, but then we wouldn't have fun now. (:
Great video ! Thank you for this great series !
Oh Harmony Gold, thorn in the side of any Battletech fan...
They took BTech to court again recently, but the judge paid attention this time when HG claimed that the *Atlas* was HG property. Case dismissed with prejudice.
@@MrMyu Yup, and Battletech took a page from HG with their new reseen designs - Change the image enough. I also had no idea that the veritech fighter did not have a battloid mode.
@@MrMyu But Atlas has human shape and the Robotech mech too... LOL!
I had the SCOTT Bernard transforming motorcycle. It was so hard to transform the bike to the armor that fit in SCOTT. It took me forever just to learn how to do it. If I recall correctly it came with step by step instructions that seemed like a novel!
Worth the wait, thank you!
Yay!!! Broken Vader!!!!!! Great video all around!!!
This is an amazing work.
And I love your shirt here!
We need a Part 5 that covers the end of a long nightmare, and a new beginning that will make you remember love.
(Makes me wanna sing like Basara from Macross 7 right now.)
@21:45 Ahhh, who didn't LOVE the old Christmas catalogs!
I remember in the early 1980's I saw one of the original Takatoku Valkyries at the dealiers room at a sci-fi convention in Dallas. The guy at the table was telling everyone it was from Captain Harlock, obviously because it had the skull and crossbones insignia! When I told him it was from Macross he laughed at me and told me I didn't know what I was talking about. Hilarious!
I only have Japanese Macross branded valkrie from japan. I didn't know about this Legal battle that happened in the USA.
Arguably, it's still ongoing.
VFs are still being created for Robotech and not SDF Macross today.
Thanks Michael for another quality video
the invid scout from the exosquad releases has set on my odds and ends collection for years. it's kinda weak but is great to look at.
I was born uk in 87 so I only heard about robotech when the blu rag came out.
It’s so interesting finding out about the history
Man! I love the look of those old packaging. Even the companies I never heard of. They just look so good and fun.
Despite your lack of enthusiasm for doing it, I’m looking forward to your video on Macross Do You Remember Love.
Love Robotech but I never could find any of the toys, glad you did. Thanks for the review.
Woo hoo! Finally Robotech! Thanks for this.
I love the clip of the dude breaking the hover tank, lol
I fully expected Michael to cosplay as Lynn Minmay and sing the time to be a star song. So disappointed!
17:05 I've been playing the Palladium RPG for years and I always called it Raider X, as in the letter.
Imagine it was also a slap in the face that Select Toys had rights to the Valkry as well and used it for their budget line Convertors.
Convertors... was that a line of small plastic transforming robot toys on card back? If it's the line I'm thinking of, they did offer mecha from a wide variety of properties including Macross, Orguss, and others I don't know the name of. There was a Valkyrie and the SDF-1 from Macross. I had the Valkyrie. I also had the mech from Orguss (the same mech was available as a model from Revell called Nebo in their Robotech line.)
My first introduction to Macross was actually scale models of the Battleoids that were sold in Australuan stores in the mid 80s. I had 3 of the 4 main variants and even enjoyed playing with them, but had no idea about the robotech universe, the were just cool models. Seeing the model robots on display in my room come to life on TV blew my young mind. Been a fan ever since.
in the early 2000s, ADV did make an official dub for Macross, Macross II, and Macross Plus. I've got the dubs for Macross and Plus and they're solid. It features Monica Rial as Misa and Vic Migogna as Hikaru with Mari Ijima even reprising her role as Lynn Minmay in the dub. A short while back, LootCrate had a Robotech themed crate that included a figure of the Spec Ops VF-1J. This black and red Veritech only appeared as a *skin* in the PS2/Xbox game Robotech Battlecry (which is actually pretty solid as well).
That was a sight to see, done in the finest retroblasting standards. Once again I’m seeing hasbro as the villain in all this. We could have had our own chunky monkeys to play with back in the day....
I was just thinking about this the other day: If the Zentradi are meant to stand 60 feet tall then their mecha should be scaled 10x accordingly rather than positing a 60-foot pilot tightly crammed in fetal position within the cockpit of a Battlepod no larger than a Veritech, with no thought for space to accomodate a fuel tank for the thrusters or room for ammunition... And the "Robotech Art 1" book entry claims that this 50-foot tall sardine can is able to seat one or TWO Zentradi warriors! 😵😵
Those Matchbox toy were complete trash back in the day. I use to remove them from their packaging notice a split in the plastic and ask if we could return them.