little help establishing what this thing is worth, please- 1980s SDF Macross

[shadroch]

I was at a flea market and came across a pretty unusual item from the mid-1980s. The seller had just picked it up the week before at a garage sale and didn't know much about it either.

It's a cardboard model of Super Fortress Dimension Macross, that says it is easy to build and the finished model is over five feet long. The box is opened, but everything appears to be there. There were two dates- one on the instructions said 1985, but the box said 1983.

I didn't find anything like it on eBay. There are some plastic models, but this is entirely made of cardboard.

Seller was asking $100 for it, but would most likely take less as he didn't sell it this weekend and he likes to move his merchandise quickly.

 

 

[hockey&comicsguy]

never heard of one of those. The vintage toy is very desirable among Macross collectors but even that generally sells for around $100-$150 depending on completeness/condition.

 

My guess is there wouldn't be huge demand for this. I'd say $50 bucks max and that's just to own it personally. If I were trying to sell it, probably $20 bucks and hope that a couple of ebayers just have to have it.

[shadroch]

I'm hoping this is to Macross what the aircraft carrier is to GI Joe.

I'm not sure if there being none on eBay is a good thing or not.

[hockey&comicsguy]

That's the trouble with these things, they're models. And they're cardboard. They don't have the same wow factor as an actual vintage toy does, like the GI Joe Flagg or a vinyl cape jawa. I think the only cardboard collectibles I've ever seen worth decent coin are vintage Star Wars ones that were used for display in stores.

[Bronty]

took the words out of my mouth. if the uss flagg was cardboard nobody would care much

[comicwiz]

This is one of those specialty collectible items that would require some time to match up with the right focus collector. But if you do find the right person, I could see you being able to make another $50-$100 on top of his asking price.

 

The things it's got going for it, according to what you've said about it, is it's rare, and because it's cardboard, lightweight. Condition is a huge factor, as with acidic cardboard, you might have some discoloration of graphics, colours, and without another to compare it with, it's hard to know.

 

It sounds like it crosses multiple categories, model, display, paper, etc.

 

The size of it would normally be too bulky for most collectors to want, except from the sounds of it, it could be folded and tucked away quite easily.

 

I have a guy local to me that has some life-size promotional Star Wars characters. I just wasn't interested because even though they might be an interesting item, they're too big to ship, and to find a local buyer who has the space for it might be tough no matter how good a price I can get it for.

[hockey&comicsguy]

This is one of those specialty collectible items that would require some time to match up with the right focus collector. But if you do find the right person, I could see you being able to make another $50-$100 on top of his asking price.

 

The things it's got going for it, according to what you've said about it, is it's rare, and because it's cardboard, lightweight. Condition is a huge factor, as with acidic cardboard, you might have some discoloration of graphics, colours, and without another to compare it with, it's hard to know.

 

It sounds like it crosses multiple categories, model, display, paper, etc.

 

The size of it would normally be too bulky for most collectors to want, except from the sounds of it, it could be folded and tucked away quite easily.

 

I have a guy local to me that has some life-size promotional Star Wars characters. I just wasn't interested because even though they might be an interesting item, they're too big to ship, and to find a local buyer who has the space for it might be tough no matter how good a price I can get it for.

 

bolded for truth

 

I grew up loving Robotech and collecting Robotech/Macross toys. I've never heard of one of these and it sounds really cool. Unfortunately, what makes it cool also kind of makes it a burden and imo, difficult to sell.

 

If I had the room for it i'd buy it for $50 bucks. Otherwise I think outside of the right conditions (timing, right buyer) it'd be hard to sell this thing for $150-$200)

 

Alongside the coolness aspect of it being so large, is it's an SDF-1. The symbolic ship of the entire saga. That could make it worth something to the right collector.

 

 

shoot/leap of faith. For $50 bucks who cares, right. Maybe buy it and see what happens. For $100 bucks, ....i'd like a little more certainty.

[shadroch]

I'm not certain, but once this thing was assembled, I don't think it would easily disassemble. I'd imagine it would be displayed flat on a wall or perhaps suspended from a ceiling The box itself is about four feet high by two feet wide by about six inchs. A big drawback would be finding a box big enough to ship the box in.

I use auto radiator boxes to ship Marx playsets, but this is even bigger than your typical Fort Apache playset.

 

Just to clarify- I'm using the word model because I'm not sure what else to call it.

[comicwiz]

It sounds more like a display. There are paper models, but from the way you are describing it, this fits more into the category of display. A far more limited market than models if there was one. If you're able to take some pics, I could ask a few people I know that are into this stuff to give you some idea on value and rarity, as well as if they might themselves be interested. Right now though, and based on what you are saying, the pool of buyers would be fairly limited, and would likely generate the most interest from someone tackling the project of archiving or curating all things Macross.