Thanks for the correction

 

I'm just a nerd, so it's no problem

 

When I think of the Top Gun Transformers toy, what occupies my mind is a 3D interaction of shapes. What causes this is the unknown factor, of linking Top Gun to Transformers

 

Actually... not to be a pain about it, but the G1 Jetfire isn't an example that's really useable as it was the Macross VF-01 toy that Hasbro re-released with the colours and Autobot logo, So Hasbro would never have been able to reuse it, and they were told to stop anyways, and it's been a problem and why we've never had a re-issue or true update for it due to the legal stuff involved.

That said, it was stated at some point by it's designer that it wasn't inspired only by the F-14 on it's own (though it was in large part, of course), but also other the "swing-wing" type jets that was popular and in development by many countries at the time, and the F15 for it's sleaker form (less rounded proportions and tighter fuselage).

And while they did get a pass due to contract/agreement/licensing to do an actual F14 jet for this Maverick one, I'm thinking that trying to do another F14 type that looks too close to a Macross/VF (that would be outside of this agreement), would most probably still be a legal issue for the Macross/Harmony Goal stuff.

 

That's why I said "heavily based" and not "solely based". I just didn't feel like explaining the Jetfire controversy, but I'll admit I made an oversimplification.

 

That's exactly what I've been waiting for.  

 

No problem... I only meant to mention it in passing in case someone doesn't know.

I hate the situation probably as much as everyone else.

If anything, I was surprised that at the time, that Hooligan (Cyberjet) did pass through and got produced without a word of legal issues... as he is seriously a great mini "VF"... One of my all time favourite figures because of it.

The "classics" was also different enough I gather... it also surprised me when it was released, that it passed.

 

Perhaps ironically, Classics Jetfire is actually a lot closer to an F-14 than the Macross toy was.

 

Didn't Harmony Gold lose a court case in regards to Jetfire a few years ago?

 

It was 'dismissed with prejudice', so not exactly, but apparently the 'with prejudice' part may mean HG can't sue over Jetfire again. But we don't have the exact details of the case or dismissal, so no one who wasn't involved knows for sure.

On the one hand it is worth noting that T30 Jetfire was made shortly after that case was dismissed, but on the other hand I always wondered if that figure's use of faux parts may have been partly to make it less similar to a Valkyrie to avoid potential issues so who knows. There's also the Funko Pop Jetfire that's a straight-up copy of the Valkyrie robot mode, although of course being non-transforming and chibi-styled HG might've just not wanted to bother. I definitely don't expect there to be an official transforming Jetfire that looks much more like the G1 toy than the Classics and T30 ones did, but we really need at least an updated take on those designs. Given what Jetfire's Cyberverse design looks like I doubt there'd be any issue with that.

 

F-15 wasn’t 1 of them. He said aside from the F-14, it was inspired by the F-111 and F/A-18.

It’s because the mold itself is based on a Braves toy Takara made prior called Jet Silver which had an F-14 alt mode.

Doubtful. Main reason they probably could’ve gone after Hasbro for the SDCC Jetfire Skystriker was because the boosters were directly based on the VF-1 FAST pack boosters. Case was thrown out regardless IIRC but the FAST pack boosters were probably the only main point of contention and Harmony Gold probably used it as an excuse to go after Hasbro.

Easiest way is to make a new mold based on Cyberjet G2 Jetfire but start out with Robotmaster R Blade colors(G1 Jetfire colors). Alt mode is the NATF(cancelled naval variant of the F-22 intended to replace the F-14). Even Classics Jetfire, aside from similar arrangement of parts, looked very different from a VF-1 Super Valkyrie.

Mold-wise, there’s nothing similar between G2 Cyberjet Jetfire and a VF-1 beyond being swing-wing jets with horizontal and vertical stabilizers.

And the easiest path for Hasbro to make a new G1-based Jetfire with no hurdles is to grab the Robotech movie toy license from Harmony Gold/Sony(if the movie ever comes out and since Harmony Gold is now able to use SDF Macross designs in a movie due to finally making a deal with Big West earlier this year) and that gives them an opportunity to make a new Jetfire based on a new VF-1 mold.

 

That'd definitely be ideal for me. The base mold could be roughly Kingdom Cyclonus-sized and sold as a Voyager as G2 Jetfire and Hooligan, and with the added boosters and armor for Jetfire it could be sold as a Leader. It'd probably be safer to style the boosters more like on the T30 figure, and between those and the alt mode (that figure was also based on a swing-wing F-22), it'd basically be just like an improved version of the T30 figure without a faux chest.

That would also be really great. I'd be surprised if Hasbro got the license, but I have been hoping that if that movie actually gets made, it might spur the creation of some new Valkyrie toys that aren't ridiculously expensive and don't require so much partsforming for the hands and such.

 

It could be based on Classics or T30, neither of them are directly based on Macross but I prefer the Classics armor over T30.

The main parts forming Valkyries out there are the transforming model kits, Revoltech Valkyries, Yamato’s 1/60 VF-1 version 1 line and Bandai’s HI METAL R Valkyries(mostly cosmetic, swapping not really needed for transformation). Most of the modern toys are considered “perfect transformation” aka no parts swapping needed for transformation.

With Harmony Gold and Big West’s agreement, who knows. It would be interesting to see if Hasbro and Takara go for the Robotech movie license. Unlike Harmony Gold’s main licensee Toynami, Hasbro has a footprint at all major retailers in the US.

There’s some speculation that Hasbro’s F-14 license from Northrop Grumman also included the Haslab Skystriker but I’m not sure if they’re considered separate licenses or if the F-14 toy license they got is all encompassing for years to come.

Top Gun got delayed until next year there’s opportunity for another repaint as the

Spoiler

Tomcat that was shown during filming had different markings presumably for the enemy side(Darkstar as seen in behind the scenes photos and on some of the Matchbox Skybuster F-14s from the movie)

 

Me too, as long as they're willing to risk keeping the boosters boxier that's what I'd prefer. My ideal CHUG Jetfire would be a base figure that looks like the T30 one but with the real cockpit forming the chest and the wings neatly folding up behind the back, and armor and boosters styled more like the Classics design with cannons that fold out of the boosters (as long as they don't make the figure too back-heavy like the Classics one is).

What does it look like? I'm not finding any differently-colored Tomcats, just the plain grey one.

 

From The Drive:

Spoiler

An F-14 Tomcat Has Returned To The Deck Of An Operational Carrier For Top Gun 2 Production

 

If they can make it with a nicer looking grey plastic and no ugly weathering (or at least better-done weathering, if they keep it) I'd buy that.

 

Is that shelf all collab figs? If so, who's the black robot on the left in the back row?

 

That's a black repaint of a 3P Jetfire.

 

My hopes for the Robotech movie wasn't that it follows the original story all that much (I prefer adaptations to straight "done the same as" mentality) but that it created an opening for a toy line with modernized versions of the ship (SDF-01) and the VFs (akin to Macross 2 would be amazing), regardless who gets the toy rights, only that they would be done well.

I'm a huge fan of Robotech/Macross, but I never dug into the figures as they are way too expensive for what they are, and too fragile to play with. A huge part of my TFs collection was as a cheap alternative, as between a lot of figures, you have the tanks and jets/plane and the spaceship type that does have the Macross feel to them.

 

It's Maketoys Buster Stealthwing, a black repaint of Buster Skywing, he turns into an MCU Quinjet, so he goes pretty well with the collab figures. Other than him, yea, it's all official collab figures except for the little clear green targetmaster, Vector Oracle, in front of Ectotron.