The Energon Pub

I know the history of Jetfire and how he was actually licensed from the Macross people, but particularly if Japan is unwilling to release 1/55 Robotech/Macross Valkyries in the U.S. I don't see why they couldn't simply reacquire the rights. I've owned several Macross "jetfires" of various types over the years and I'd probably drop at least 80 bucks for a new one with all his gear.

Is he popular? His toy's price would make you think so, but then he's also big and didn't have a large run. He was my favorite toy-that-I-never-had growing up, I'd really like to see him come back as that mold is just an amazing transforming robot all the way around. I'd dare say one of the best. I plan on acquiring an original regardless of whether they reissue, it would just be so right on if they did.

And if we don't see this, will it be because of the rumored Robotech movie?

Necromanis wrote:I know the history of Jetfire and how he was actually licensed from the Macross people, but particularly if Japan is unwilling to release 1/55 Robotech/Macross Valkyries in the U.S. I don't see why they couldn't simply reacquire the rights. I've owned several Macross "jetfires" of various types over the years and I'd probably drop at least 80 bucks for a new one with all his gear.

Is he popular? His toy's price would make you think so, but then he's also big and didn't have a large run. He was my favorite toy-that-I-never-had growing up, I'd really like to see him come back as that mold is just an amazing transforming robot all the way around. I'd dare say one of the best. I plan on acquiring an original regardless of whether they reissue, it would just be so right on if they did.

And if we don't see this, will it be because of the rumored Robotech movie?

Bandai (NOT the US branch mind you) owns the mold, but making crossovers shouldn't really be an issue as the US Roadbuster deco of the Mugen Calibur has made an appearance there as part of Gokin lines. Bandai and TakaraTomy seem to be on somewhat good terms.
But for the U.S. side, Harmony Gold is squatting on the rights to the Robotech IP without actually doing anything with them, aside from throwing lawsuits at Hasbro (though as of the SDCC G.I. Joe Crossover Jetfire toy they no longer can for Jetfire figures). Admittedly, that's the last thing I heard, anyone care to update me?

That's a shame if Robotech IP is the only thing holding them up, if there's never going to be such a thing as a Robotech 1/55 Valkyrie in the U.S. then they might as well take their cut and let him be reissued as a transformer.

Which he legitimately was, even if his mold was from something else originally. Something tells me we'll either see Valkyries on the store shelves when they make the movie (which I've only heard rumors about) or we'll get a reissue Jetfire once they fix the paperwork. I could even see him coming out at roughly the same time as a future movie just to capture maximum nostalgia for those of us who were old enough that we KNEW he a Valkyrie and still liked him as a Transformer too because that was the only toy of it's type ever imported.

This may be just me, but I much prefer the Jetfire deco compared to the Macross or Robotech stuff, so it would be great if they reissued him. It would also probably be way cheaper than what I see on import sites. But with Harmony Gold, that may not happen sadly, so the closest we can get to one is the T30 Leader, which I am not complaining about

Gonna check out the T30 Leader. I actually like the new molds as well, they are much more cartoon accurate and it's awesome they were able to recreate that non-existent toy. I wouldn't mind having one.

Nostalgia is a heck of a drug though.

Honestly, Harmony Gold just can't do **** to Hasbro over Jetfire, as stated above. Also, I believe Tatsunoko Pro (the company who animated the original Macross) owns Tomy. In addition, if Siege Jetfire can have armor that homages the original's chest stripes, then a reissue shouldn't be TOO out of the question.

Necromanis wrote:And if we don't see this, will it be because of the rumored Robotech movie?

Something tells me we'll either see Valkyries on the store shelves when they make the movie (which I've only heard rumors about)

I've been told by a friend on the Macross Discord server that the RT movie is completely dead:

Discord friend wrote:well the RT movie aint a thing anymore
sony pulled out
the beast is dead

sony hasent sand anything so far
they pulled out 8 weeks ago
lmao
and havent said a word
HG was too dificalt to work with acoarding to insider contacts

so sony is staying silent on the matter
and will probably come out and say somthing like
we decided t ogo our seperate ways
instead of acknowlaging how difficalt hg was

EDIT: Correction, Tomy owns Tatsunoko, not the other way around.

There's still the owner of toys, Bandai, to consider, plus the fact that none of the "imported" releases (i.e. created by neither Takara, Tomy or Hasbro) have been reissued, not even Shockwave, the only one to see release in Japan.
Sky Lynx and Omega Supreme are special cases: ToyBox, the original manufacturer, actually had the design outsourced to Tomy, and copyright defaulted to the latter. Upon the merger with Takara, those reissues became possible.

No Robotech movie? Well that's one less thing from my childhood for them to ruin I guess.

Things might be looking up with that out of the way. It's just all about securing rights. I'd really really like to think that Hasbro/Takara would still reissue him even if they had to pay Bandai (or whoever). Like I said, make him $80. Roughly the price of a loose original. That'd be good enough for me. Heck I'd buy two.

I went ahead and ordered up a T30 Leader version to fill in in the meantime. I needed at least one autobot in my collection so he'll do for now.

Necromanis wrote:No Robotech movie? Well that's one less thing from my childhood for them to ruin I guess.

Things might be looking up with that out of the way. It's just all about securing rights. I'd really really like to think that Hasbro/Takara would still reissue him even if they had to pay Bandai (or whoever). Like I said, make him $80. Roughly the price of a loose original. That'd be good enough for me. Heck I'd buy two.

I went ahead and ordered up a T30 Leader version to fill in in the meantime. I needed at least one autobot in my collection so he'll do for now.

Great! How much was he? Because I can't find anything under 35-40$. Other than that, he is a great figure, and an awesome plane

One thing to note though, is that the chrome on his weapons chip. No one has come and told me a direct answer on how to fix that, so my advice is to be careful I guess

I paid 38, not bad for a five year old figure. Really liking his looks and I'll be sure to be gentle with his chrome.

After some research, according to Transformerland he'll likely never be reissued because of the rights tie-up. Harmony Gold (who owns the rights in the U.S.) tried to sue Hasbro over the mere paint scheme of Leader Jetfire, but of course Hasbro invented that paint scheme so it was thrown out. Bottom line, HG does not want to cooperate at all, they even sunk their own movie.

Gonna start saving up for a nice G1. MISB is overkill but a white one in a non-mint package would do. I think he deserves a place in my collection just because he never should have existed, it's like Disney bought the rights to Bugs Bunny (they own them now, but pretend they don't) then recolored him to fit Mickey Mouse! That places him in a special spot, not sure any of the other G1's went through the licensing mess Jetfire did. We always knew he was a Valkyrie and that made him that much cooler!

HG's rights expire sometime in the next few years, for now. Until then there is 0 chance it will be reissued. Even after that, the chances are probably slim as it gets. Saving up for a nice vintage one isn't awful and definitely what I'd recommend here.

Badai continues to release updates to the VF-1J Valkyrie every so often. However the original mold has not seen a release since around 2006 or so.

Last December Bandai released a new version: https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarde ... 9709e83be3

That probably makes it a bit difficult for Hasbro to license the mold from then for a "western" release.

Beyond that, I've seen a few knockoffs doing the rounds. Several years ago I picked up a gun metal gray KO, its a bit floppy, but serviceable.

I think that 1/48 looks pretty cool, but it's already so expensive. I stopped collecting Robotech/Macross because of that, nothing gets rereleased regularly or outside of japan so it is the definition of niche.

Just ordered a complete G1 Jetfire in a slightly torn box with unapplied stickers and near mint figure for $350+ shipping. Good thing this month is my birthday. Funny I'd have to spend as much or more for a newer macross figure that admittedly looks great. Maybe if they release more and I can get one under $200 (was always more a Max and Mirya fan). At least I know they'll hold value, still can't understand why they haven't released them full out in the U.S. (well I can, Harmony Gold), there are plenty of us old Robotech fans lurking about, as the prices for VF1s vs VF25s shows.

Quick question if anyone can answer, if I ordered a repro sticker sheet for Jetfire and put those on him for display, considering how easy they are to remove would it actually take value from him?

I like getting the G1s without stickers (and my soundwave can stay that way) because otherwise they're always bunged up and carefully applied repro stickers sound like a better idea than using the old ones, which I'd never do, and repro stickers would give him a much better out of box look. Soundwave I have the luxury to simply never unbox, I have several reissues for that.

Is using repro stickers in this way frowned upon among collectors? I'd still have his original sticker sheet. I suppose I could always carefully take them off before I ever sold it, which would have to be some time from now when he's worth more. Just wondering what the consensus was before I do it?

ScottyP wrote:HG's rights expire sometime in the next few years, for now. Until then there is 0 chance it will be reissued. Even after that, the chances are probably slim as it gets. Saving up for a nice vintage one isn't awful and definitely what I'd recommend here.

Their Macross rights expire in March 2021, but their Robotech rights last until December 2022. Wild theory, but I'm thinking in 2021 Hasbro is going to announce ownership of the Macross license and a live action Macross movie for late 2023, but in early 2023 they'll change it into a Robotech movie once Harmony Gold and their toxicity is out of the picture. This would give them uncontested creation of a new Valkyrie mold that they can also use on a Jetfire figure.

Emerje

That's interesting about the rights situation. I know bandai has almost zero interest in working outside of Japan, while I'm certain Hasbro would love to reacquire the rights (and distribute Macross at the same time in the U.S.) so something like that could very well happen. I'd love to see a Jetfire made from one of those new molds or even just a straight reissue, even though I have him now you can never have too many. I guess we'll see in about 4-5 years. Thanks for the info!

Necromanis wrote:I know bandai has almost zero interest in working outside of Japan

Not quite true. Bandai has a branch in the US, but its role seems to have diminished a lot over time:

• In 2009 Bandai US had to resort to making its own molds for the Power Rangers line, instead of importing the Japanese toys
• Now Bandai US has lost the Power Rangers toy license to Hasbro, with its Beast Morphers line just hitting the market (NOTE: different design team, so don't expect TF levels of articulation!)

Bandai US may cease to be a player in near the future, opening the way for Hasbro or any other major toy company to fill in the void, but that's just me speculating, based on the fact Bandai US got passed over