To Macross collectors of any brand or variety, Arcadia is synonymous with top shelf quality, perfect transformation, and a price tag that matches. This Fire Valkyrie is no different. There's more Fire Valkyrie toys and collectibles than any other machine from Macross 7, but none of the others quite approach this offering in size, quality, faithfulness to the source material, and/or how much one will set you back.

It comes in a hefty box with industry standard plastic trays securing the contents. Other manufacturers for these kinds of super deluxe collectors items might use styrofoam instead, as a callback to classic Chogokin releases, but not here. Besides the main body of the VF-19 itself, this piece includes several stand adaptor parts that allow it to attach to an Arcadia stand. There's also parts to attach the Sound Booster, the gun, a handful of parts you can swap out between transformations for greater animation accuracy, and six! character figures. Two of Basara sitting to fit in the Fire Valkyrie's cockpit, and all of Fire Bomber performing. There's also some cool stickers, none of which have been applied.
It looks great in Valkyrie mode. For this release, the red is nice and shiny, and the yellow is closer to gold.
Using the adaptors to attach the Sound Booster enhances an already remarkable collectible. I love the contrast of the back and forward swept wings between the plane and booster, the red and the blue. By first freeing the legs and then rotating the arms over the wings, we achieve Gerwalk mode.
Gerwalk mode is frequently my favorite, there's something so charmingly stupid about a plane with arms and legs. Basara doesn't use Gerwalk a whole lot, but it's perfectly rendered here all the same. You'll see the Arcadia display stand used again here, with the caution lines on it. I wouldn't say it's a must have if you get a Valkyrie from this manufacturer, but it allows for more dynamic poses.
With the arms and legs already free, pop the head out and fold the body into itself a few times. Once you've transformed into Battroid Mode, you can swap out or add the parts to make it more animation accurate.
Articulation and range of motion is excellent, especially considering this transforms. With parts swapping, you can recreate the faceplate.
Another look at the figures. Veffidas just gets a boombox, with is understandable, recreating her drumset in 1/60 sounds like a nightmare.
Not only can you recreate all sorts of cool poses, but there's plenty of gimmicks! The missiles in the legs (y'know, the ones Basara refuses to use) come out of a leg panel. The shoulder speakers can be revealed with no parts swapping. Even the entry hatch behind the head can be opened up!
Now let's attach the Sound Booster to Battroid mode. Open up all the panels and you've got a sizeable shoulder speaker system. Makes the whole thing a little back heavy but it's not as unbalanced as you'd think.
Now, why don't we compare it to other luxury collectors' pieces? The Arcadia Fire Valkyrie is actually the same mold as the Yamato you see on the right. The Yamato is still quite nice, just doesn't have the shiny finish.

Now really, the only downside to owning an Arcadia Fire Valkyrie is that it's expensive. The (at press time) recent reissue is a little more expensive in raw yen price, but with the exchange rate, is substantially cheaper than the original release. If you're really itching to own exactly one high quality Fire Valkyrie next time your tax return comes back, this is the one I'd recommend.