Robotech (Southern Cross) Veritech Hovertank / ATAC-01-SCA Spartas
DSCF3100, originally uploaded by MicroBry.
Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross didn't do so hot in Japan, and was kind of the "weak link" in Robotech's adaptation of it linking it to originally unreleated series Macross and Mospeada. Still, I always kind of liked the ATAC-01-SCA Spartas hovertanks and had wanted this toy for some time. It's actually pretty close to figure-accurate scale and doesn't seem to have any grossly cheated proprtions. The down side is that the robot mode doesn't really seat a figure (not that you'd be able to see it inside anyway, but still...), the gerwalk mode does but is a little unwieldy and awkwardly designed, and the toy doesn't fully transform to the tank mode itself...but at least it transforms partway, which is more than can be said for the Veritech (Valkyrie) fighter from the same toyline, which I'll review here soon. The articulation is really limited, too. But, that all said, it's a nice, sturdy, big, solid-looking robot toy that is in the 3 3/4" or 1/18th action figure scale (and almost fully to scale), and looks fantastic, especially when paired with its pilot figure of Dana Sterling (Jeanne Fránçaix), which is one of the few figures of named characters that Matchbox made in the scale that doesn't look really horribly anime-inaccurate. It's also pretty nice in that no such toy in any scale was ever made of it for the Japanese market that I'm aware of.
The transformation is actually pretty elaborate and well-thought out on the toy, making one wonder why they didn't go only slightly farther and make the last couple of workings to the legs to make it complete. It almost could have accomodated a figure inside it in robot mode, and there's a way you can kind of cheat a pilot into it, if not in a very canonical fashion.
Overall, it's a great piece though, and certainly comparable to some Japanese toys of the era. At over 12 inches tall, it looks great in any larger robot toy collection, especially with ones in the same scale (expect a group shot later). I highly reccommend it if the lack of tank mode doesn't bother you.
What did you think of Robotech, then and now? Abomination? Inspired genius? Madness? Have you watched the original anime of Macross, Southern Cross, or Mospeada? Have you compared the originals with it? Did you see Robotech when it first aired, or later? Did you also watch Transformers? How did the two compare, in your view? Both were adapted from Japanese properties, and made lots of changes, but in very different ways...
(Special shout out to Robotech Research for the best ATACS Hovertank links on the web!)