One of the best parts about this toy is the little Alto in ex gear that it comes with. He's not articulated, but he does come with a base stand and a wire that shows off his flying. So, so cool.
The cockpit is very interesting as well. Here, you see how it is packaged: Alto in the front, as a one seater.
In the show, it is a two seater. You can remove the back plastic cover plate, and push the second seat back to reveal the two seater. I took the Ranka Lee figure from the VF-27 and plopped her in. Looks great!
Overall, this is a fantastic toy. This is the way the toy should have been made the first time! Bandai really outdid themselves this time. Word is, it was a different team that worked on this version, and it was overseen by the guy from the Bandai hobby division, who worked on the excellent 1/72 scale model. I can't say enough about this toy. It's perfect. Probably one of the most beautiful Macross pieces there is.
Cons: the quality control I have heard is spotty on this toy. Mostly just paint chips, chips in the plastic, and some of the finer details being bent or stressed. The latter seems very rare and not widespread. Mine had no problems for the most part. Tight joints all around, perfect paint applications, nothing broken. However, my valk did not escape QC problems entirely. If you look at the circled spots, you will see the issue. The right side is normal, but on the left side, you can see some paint missing in the black paint. That is not a paint chip. The plastic is actually bent down and folded away. Looks like someone at the factory used more force than what was necessary. Still, nothing to cry about, and you really don't notice it unless you are specifically looking for it.
Price. MSRP is 14,000 yen. I got mine from Amiami for 27% off, at 10,150 yen, which came out to about $135 + shipping. This is a fantastic valkyrie for such a low price. Yamato valkyries average these days well into the $200-$250 range, so you're really getting a great deal. The problem is, the preorders sold out super fast, and pretty much everywhere you look online, it is sold out. Some places still have it for sale, at around the $180 range. Buy one now, because if you miss out, don't be surprised to see this go for double, even tripple the value. These new v2 valks are highly coveted and prices will keep going up.
EDIT: Amiami just restocked. Unfortunately, no discount. You're basically paying MSRP now, which is about par for where everyone else that still has any in stock is charging.
