Wow... Just... Wow. I get all tingly looking at the box even before I open the flap and when I do... I start sqealing like a little girl! It's just THAT cool!!!!! For those of you who don't know, Roy was THE MAN. I use the past tense because he went solo into a showdown with Miriya, as I recall, (she'd be THE WOMAN) and got seriously shot up. Stupidly, he didn't bother getting that whole medical attention thing he SHOULD have after he WALKED AROUND, changed, smoked, etc. and then he croaked all dramatic-like. That's right, he's deader than Ben Dixon >_< Sadly he left the mortal coil long before he beat Rick into being a bad-ass not unlike himself, though considering Rick is the one to replace Roy as the leader of the Skull Squadron I'd have to say he did a decent job while he was around.
But enough yammering about the friggin' pilot! The Jolly Roger bearing Veritechs belong to the feared scourge of the skies in the RDF, the infamous Skull Squadron. This VF-1S is typically referred to as Skull One and is generally regarded as the most powerful Veritech model around. While the only visible differences are the Jolly Roger crossbones, Yellow and Black bands across the battloid chest/jet midsection, and the distinctive visor with 4 laser bearing antennaes on the head. Besides the Veritech, the set includes the magnificent, faux book packaging, Gunpod, Roy Fokker pilot, ladder, heatshield, missles and Guardian backpack antennae. But with all the bells and whistles at this thing's disposal, is it any better than an import you could get for $10 more?
Why it sucks: You know... I'd heard other people's opinions long before I held it in my hands. I'd looked right at it in stores. I even had an earlier piece to examine just so I'd know what to expect (namely the Dixon VF-1A Masterpiece). And still I somehow expected the VF-1S to be different, BETTER in some way. But sadly, the difference primarily lies in colors and the battloid head, this is exactly like the VF-1A! This is not a good thing. The piece as a whole feels fragile, brittle and nowhere NEAR as well thought out as it could have been. In fact, if you've ever held one of the Bandai Valkyries in your hands (or the G1 Transformers Jetfire), this would be identical except for the obvious fragility, the comparatively odd proportions like of head, legs and arms to the torso; the transformation is the same save for the messy business of stowing the hands. To Toynami's credit though, they did add a new joint in the middle of the shin, gave it articulated hands with ball joints in the wrists as well as tossing in the Yamato styled feet that bend forward and back for extended poses. Besides that, the missles don't stow all that well in fighter mode, I couldn't get Roy to sit in the frickin' cockpit and the ladder and gerwalk antennae are SO brittle you're better off just leaving them in the box for fear of them catching a breeze and snapping in two. Besides being a display piece, there's just not as much justification for this sucker being in your collection as there is for sayyyy... The Yamato VF-1S.
Why it rules: Honestly, this is THE ONE. While I admit Rick was the star of the series, Roy was THE MAN. He had without question, the COOLEST veritech around and was as cool outside the cockpit as he was inside the cockpit! But anyway, all that aside, this is easily the best Robotech related figure ever made on these shores! Actually it was MADE in China, but well... you know what I mean! >_< Distributed anyway. The light up visor was neat on the VF-1A, but on the VF-1S it's utterly awesome! The Jolly Roger insignia is painted on and is more impressive than the sticker you're stuck with for the Yamato Valks. This figure can actually manage some pretty cool poses, especially when stacked next to the extremely restricted arm movement of the Yamato Valk. The packaging is utterly exquisite, and despite the fact that the item within the package isn't as up to snuff with its competitors; it's an great piece nonetheless. You could slip a turd into this package and that would be a truly awesome turd, likewise the Toynami VF-1S vicariously enjoys the magnificence that it's packaging radiates and undoubtedly benefits from the attention. I mean, hey, if it makes Ben Dixon's junk heap seem like a gleaming diamond encased in a gold box encrusted with jewels; imagine what it can do for a character worth taking seriously and a mecha to match. Yowza. The notable, award winning packaging is probably the best reason to snag this stuff. Pick a character and go with it. Within the book, beyond the veritech tray that easily slips in and out, is a small booklet detailing sticker placement and shows some doctored images of the figure in various modes in places like an RDF hangar and flying in the sky. Suspended in the left cover is a numbered certificate of authenticity and above that is a small diagram of the Veritech weapon systems on the VF-1S. One other thing I forgot to mention was the rolling rubber wheels, at first I thought that it couldn't possibly make a difference, but then... Then when I did a Toynami VS. Yamato comparison, the wheels did in fact roll, and rolled smoothly. The detail on them was fantastic. And they are rubber, which is indeed swanky and rather remarkable when you think about it.
Overall: At Comic-con, Toynami had all the Veritechs posed around a detailed RDF hangar built to their scale. It was incentive enough to make me CONSIDER buying Rick there, but was not enough to actually make me do the deed. Roy on the other hand I'd been sold on the second I'd heard they were making one of the VF-1S. Until I'd gotten the VF-1S, I hadn't truly grasped the stongest element of the Masterpiece series... Their packaging. The model hangar only encouraged this line of thinking what with the focus on the figures in another element altogether as opposed to the figures themselves. All by themselves, the Masterpiece figures (VF-1S being no exception) are rife with flaws and annoyances, not to mention the incredibly fragile plastic. But kept safe within their package, they DO look good. Incredible even! But without the package they are weak, and when competing with some already well established overseas toymeisters (Bandai & Yamato), it's a tough gig to work out. I'm hoping to see some marginal improvements when they finally shell out the Alpha Veritechs from the Next Generation.