Blog Archives

The VF-4 and the curious case of the SDF-018

Raise your hand if you like the VF-4 from 1987’s “Flashback 2012”.

For a valkyrie that only ever had a scant few seconds of screen time, it’s proven to be a fan favorite over the years, partially due to its mystique – no-one knew how it actually transformed until Digital Mission VF-X was released for the Sony Playstation a decade later in 1997 – and partially because of the potential it hinted at for the future of valkyrie design.

There is another mystery surrounding the VF-4 though, one that has reared its head before but has become topical again with the release of Bandai’s Hi-Metal R VF-4 Lightning III earlier this month – the mystery of the SDF-018.

Macross Modelers 2019

The winning entries of this year’s Macross Modelers contest were announced at a small awards ceremony attended by Shoji Kawamori and Nishida Nozomi and went on display today in Akihabara at Softmap buildings 1 and 4. Building 4 is displaying winning entries while Building 1 has honorable mentions.

This year’s contest was the biggest yet and attracted some very creative entries from some seriously talented modelers. The following is a gallery of photos of most of them. (The models were packed in tight in very reflective glass cabinets, meaning that some were a little difficult to photograph).

Enjoy the deculture!

Transformers 35th Anniversary Exhibition

Part art exhibit, part toy display, part promotion for the upcoming Japanese release of the Bumblebee movie on March 22, “The World of Transformers – 35th Anniversary Exhibition” opened at Ikebukuro Parco Department Store last week.

Focusing primarily on Transformer box art, with a smattering of other designs, from the 80’s and 90’s, the exhibit will run until April 1 and is only 700 yen to get in to. The bulk of the art from the exhibit has also been compiled into an event book which, at this point in time, is only available from the event itself. Photography was permitted in most areas of the exhibit however, and the following are a few shots we snapped.

SpeakerPODcast Ep.123 – How much news can we fit in a single podcast?

This was supposed to be our Wonder Festival 2019 (Winter) podcast. And I guess it still is. Sort of.

But there’s a whole lot of news to get through first! Not to mention Cassie & Mary joining us to talk about the Oshare Macross Boys popup shop. We also attend the Macross Frontier 10th Anniversary Gorgeous, Delicious, Deculture Festival to hear about what it was like to be a Misa fan 37 years ago and the third love interest that was cut from Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell.

Oh, and did we mention that Sharon Apple is BACK?!