Artifacts: My Alpha Fighter Model

This is one of my most prized artifacts, an actual Robotech Alpha Fighter model.  However, this isn’t some pricy import obtained from a very well-stocked anime-themed outlet or website.  I actually bought this before Robotech was ever on the air here in the US.  I found it at a variety store near where I used to live in El Paso.  Dollar stores are only a pale, pale imitation of the old variety stores that used to be.  Variety stores were great places for kids because they usually had awesome toy departments.  In any case, this was about the least likely place you could imagine finding exotic models directly from Japan. 

Suddenly one day at this store, a pile of these cool-looking Japanese models showed up.  There were several shelves full of them with a full variety of mecha from the Genesis Climber Mospeada show.  If you’re a Robotech fan, you’re likely crying right now over the thought of acquiring something like this so easily.  I’ve certainly haven’t stopped crying. 

It gets worse.  Not only did they have the models, they were selling fully transforming Alphas in blister packs.  They were maybe a little bigger than a TMNT figure.  Oh yeah, they were cool.  They were also expensive for the time (now, they’re effectively priceless).  I could not procure funding for one of these mecha (from my parents, I had no money).  I was lucky I got this one model, probably for a birthday present.  So, I’m left with only a haunting memory of what could have been.  People often speculate what they’d do if they could time travel.  I already know.  I’ve got a mental shopping list of places in the past I’d be hitting.

I’m just putting up this one picture of the model, because I pretty much butchered putting it together.  I think the paint job is actually red fingernail polish.  (No, I can’t tell you now how that came about.  I don’t remember or am repressing it.)  I’ve never been a great modeler in spite of lots of practice as a kid.  This is a fairly sturdy model though.  I did actually play with it and the little included figure (which I modified with an improvised gun).  This led to me changing my mind about whether the landing gear should be up or down more than once.  If you’re a good modeler, you don’t want to see the bottom of this.

Piling on the irony, these models were probably being sold just a couple of years before Robotech came on the air.  By that time, my model was sitting in a box in the garage with most of the rest of my toys.  While Alphas were prominently shown in the opening credits, it probably wasn’t until the Invid Invasion episodes that I finally recognized it.  Hey, that looks familiar!  At that point, I rescued the model and put it on display.  Of course, the models and toys at the store were long ago taken down and sent to who knows where.  (Who knows how they got here to begin with.)  All I could do was weep.  

Here’s the rest of the box.  Anybody who can translate Japanese, feel free to do so in comments section.  I’m actually curious.  I know this was kind of a sad story to relate, but I hope it was interesting.  I am grateful, however, that I have this really cool model.