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Yep, that 'Robotech' thing always seems to come up. A few months ago, in a moment of nostalgia, I purchased a special set of the entire run of 'Robotech - The Next Generation'. The legendary conclusion to the first 'Robotech' saga. The sad story of Scott Bernard. The VERY surprising identity of Yellow Dancer. (Screw 'The Crying Game', this was the first one to do it... and still a shock!) And the legendary Cyclone, Alpha, and Beta Fighters! I played the DVD... and boy was this stuff... well, I wouldn't say bad, but time messes with you pretty badly. Choppy animation, voices were barely mediocre, you get the idea. That still doesn't change the fact that this was very revolutionary storytelling; the giant epic, characters killed off. Yes the likes of 'Babylon 5' and 'The X-Files' did Epic Story Telling better. Still, considering this was a kids show in the '80s, this was amazing stuff!
Time passes and naturally assorted toy manufacturers took full advantage of the re-issue craze and created some very high-end stuff. One of them is Toynami. A few years ago they started to re-issue gorgeous pieces from 'Robotech'. First the legendary Veritech fighters from the "Macross' saga, and last year the Alpha fighters from 'Next Generation' appeared. But what collectors remembered from the show is the way the Alpha merged with it's big brother, the Beta fighter. The two created this massive fighter/booster combination, and in the 'toon the Alpha could even transform into battloid mode and still use the Beta as a booster! Sweeeeeeeeet! So we waited, praying would Toynami bless us. Yep, they are, as shown at the San Diego Comic Con!
The new Beta fighter is in scale with the Alpha... which is pretty amazing since the alpha is about 12" tall! Ok, quick caveat here since all that appeared at the SDCC was apparently a mock-up to give fans a general idea of what the Beta will be. In other words, the piece didn't exhibit a lot of articulation, poses, accessories, et al. It was basically there to get fans salivating. However, considering the Alpha's workmanship, there are a few assumptions we can probably make.
First, this will be well articulated and very, VERY detailed. The Alpha used die-cast metal and plastic, and featured a ton o' joints for multiple poses. There should be a number of posing options on the Beta as well. What took my breath away on the Alpha were the missile doors OPENED AND CLOSED. Yep, not just sculpted panel lines, the dang doors opened! The Beta is also covered in tons o' missile-hatches, so be prepared for a lot of possibilities. Woohoo!
Second is the ability to merge with the Alpha. Yep, the mock-up at the SDCC was shown MERGED with an Alpha and appeared to be in-scale in promo shots to merge with the current version of the Alpha! The merging was only in fighter-to-fighter, nothing was shown for fighter-to-battloid. Hopefully that will be an option as well. Either way, being able to recreate the merging sequence is a huge plus, especially since it hasn't been done before in the US!
Ah... but the other important questions; when and how much? Neither was mentioned. I would imagine that by the end of this year 'Robotech' fans everywhere should be satiated. The touchy question of PRICE... that could be painful. The Alpha is about $80, and the Beta is, gulp, bigger. Oy!
In the end, this is a VERY hot looking piece. Save your change, fans. Looks like a great one.