Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a toy from the original Macross TV series to review. Specifically, the VF Hi-Metal VF-1J in Hikaru Ichijyo’s colours. In addition, to give the toy some context, we’ve also linked some anime and gameplay footage of it in action in Macross Ultimate Frontier at the end of the review.

As part of Bandai’s increasingly infuriating Tamashii Web shop exclusives, they have finally announced that they’ll be releasing Soul of Chogokin Spec toys of both the Dragonar 2 and 3 units from Metal Armor Dragonar. Now, Dragonar has had somewhat of a resurgence since it was featured in all three of the PS2 Another Century’s Episode games (though it had obviously been featured in a multitude of Super Robot Wars games prior to that). Up and till this point however, Bandai had only released toys of the Dragonar 1, specifically two variants of the design; one with original proportions from the show and another that was stylised by Masami Obari. These new toys obviously seem to fall into the latter Obari stylised camp, not that we’re complaining. At present it’s not clear whether these toys will also sport the “lifters”, backpacks with wings on effectively, that were used in the show but we may see more options surface in the oncoming months. Both toys will be released in December, though you’ll obviously have needed to pre-order them online first. Personally, we’re holding out for the day when they finally release a Dragonar 1 Custom.

Over at GA Graphic they’ve got a preview of the upcoming Hasegawa kit of Guarayakha Queen from the Sky from Virtual On Force that’s out on July 11th. Hasegawa will also be releasing the holographic finish separately for the wings as well. This is a follow on kit from original released a few months ago.

The iconic PTX-003C Alteisen has finally been previewed in its new Super Robot Chogokin form over at GA Graphic. This design was one of Banpresto’s earlier original generation or “OG” efforts for Super Robot Wars and was apparently meant as a riposte to Capcom’s Blodia from Powered Gear and Cyberbots (though that information remains largely apocryphal). It was first featured in the second Compact game on the Wonderswan and then went on to reappear numerous times after that in both games and anime. This new toy, out in October, looks to capture the design rather magnificently and for the price of 5,040 yen it’s a bargain too. Considering that Bandai are using their prior Chogokin expertise on this new toy line, these toys could end up being rather special indeed.

The wondrous news of a MBV-04-G Temjin toy on the way has finally manifested itself via an official site from Bandai. Despite specifying both the release date for October this year and the price of 5,040 yen, the site also sports the “theme tune” of sorts for Temjin (or more accurately the stage music where you face Temjin in the original Virtual On). Called In The Blue Sky it’s been a recurring anthem of sorts for the series as a whole. The site also shows a curious lighting effect for the beam sword, whether this is a photoshop special (most likely) or an actual feature remains to be seen. In addition to the site going live there’s also an interesting interview with Juro Watari (effectively the “creator” of Virtual On) over at the official Virtual On site about this new toy.

Over an 2chan they’ve managed to uncover (via a scan from this month’s Hobby Japan) the truth behind the mysterious animated gif we reported on Tamashii Web. It turns out that the next Composite Ver. Ka, a new toy range personally supervised by renowned Japanese mecha designer Hajime Katoki, will be none other than his very own design of the MBV-04-G Temjin from the original Dennou Senki Virtual On (they’ve even updated the image banner on the Tamashii Web site to this effect too – despite still using the Oratan font). This is not the first time an original Temjin toy has surfaced, as SEGA made a selection of toys back in the late 90’s. In any case, Temjin is by far and away our favourite VR from the series, not only in terms of functionality but also due to its clean and classic aesthetic. What’s nice with this new Composite Ver. Ka toy is that it will also feature the rail gun used by the initial prototype (something that you see in the leaderboards background in the game itself). If you’ve never played the original Virtual On (shame on you!), then the SEGA AGES PS2 port is unarguably the best version to date and in some ways even eclipses the arcade original, as you can force a higher framerate amongst many other things (you can also still buy it here). Though the PS2 port does lack sticks, unless you mod a pair of old Saturn ones (like we did). In commemoration of this toy announcement it only seems fit to show the original game in all its wondrous glory and be sure to check out our feature on the Virtual On games too. Enjoy!

A rather interesting animated gif has appeared over on the Tamashii Web front page. Despite talking of a collaboration with Hobby Japan, the interesting aspect is that the font used for “Ready” as well as patented SEGA blue sky background (not to mention the green hatching) makes us think that a Virtual On Oratorio Tangram toyline could be on the way. Bear in mind that the Tamashii brand is squarely aimed at collectors so we could be in store for something rather wonderful. In any case, we’ll know more on the 25th June.

Over at HK-TF they’ve undertaken a picture review of the new Optimus Prime toy from War for Cybetron. First impressions is that this is a toy done on the cheap and whilst the sculpt looks more or less accurate it’s still very basic. To be fair the price of this toy costs a lot less than most of the Japanese equivalents, so a reduction in quality is to be expected. That said, it does seem odd to aim the game at an older demographic yet pitch the toys beneath that in terms of price bracket/quality. In any case, for those that have a hankering for all Optimus/Convoy type toys then go here and pick one up. Alternatively, you could save those pennies up and get something properly brilliant.

Bandai have previewed their upcoming VB-6 König Monster toy from Macross Frontier. The VB-6 is actually an interesting design though as it’s based upon the frame of an early destroid, specifically the HWR-00-Mk.II Monster, and was originally created for the PlayStation game Macross VF-X 2. Over the years it’s been rendered in toy form at least once and it seems that Bandai want to make their mark too (so much so that Shoji Kawamori supervised this toy’s production, which helps explains why it’s using a lot of diecast). Interestingly, this toy is also a collaboration between the DX Chogokin and Robot Damashii line, which could birth some pretty epic articulation. There’s also a special Sheryl Nome variant in the works, which will feature a variety of moe tranfsers to sully this great design. In any case the toy will be released in September for the eye watering price of 16,000 yen. Still, we thought it worth finishing off with the FMV intro from Macross VF-X 2 in all its robot stompy tank crushing action!

One of the most beefy designs from Armored Core 4 and For Answer has been announced to be making an appearance in kit form, courtesy of those brilliant people at Kotobukiya. The GAN01 frame is probably one of the most heavily armored set of parts available in the games. Built by the corporate remnants of North America, in the form of Global Armaments, they specialise in the “hammer” and “nail” type of engineering finesse. Where the bigger the hammer is obviously better. Unsurprisingly, they also make some of the best solid ammo weapons in the games. This kit, despite its somewhat straightforward appearance, will feature numerous gimmicks; from the seamless overboost mechanism to actual missiles in the CHEYENNE02 missile packs. It’s also worth pointing out that this kit is made from an all new mold, rather than built from pre-existing parts. The kit will be released in October for 5,565 yen (inclusive of tax).