Top Gun: Maverick may be 4 years behind us, but that does not stop the folks at Bandai from wanting it onboard its VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie. The Japanese toy maker has announced a special collaborative VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie that marries Macross Frontier and the 2022 hit Top Gun: Maverick in the vaguest way possible.
The star fighter in Top Gun: Maverick was the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which is not related to the VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie in any shape or form, unlike its forebear, the VF-1 Valkyrie, which was inspired by the real-life Grumman F-14 Tomcat. To be honest, Hasbro’s Transformers x Top Gun: Maverick made a lot more sense. Just saying…
In case anyone’s wondering, the collab did not happen out of the blue. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Top Gun franchise. Part of the celebratory event was the return of Top Gun: Maverick to the cinemas on May 13, 2026, for a limited theatrical run.
The DX Chogokin VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie Top Gun Maverick Ver. is the VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie you know and love from Macross Frontier, which is set 47 years after the events of the original The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, but sporting the same color scheme as Maverick’s machine from Top Gun: Maverick.
It is very subtle—and vague, as I have said. In Fighter and Gerwalk modes, the only signs of the collaboration are the colors and a couple of U.S.A.F. logos. However, in Battroid mode, a.k.a. humanoid mode, the robot rocks a helmet design inspired by Maverick’s helmet in the film. The helmet’s pattern remains visible in both Fighter and Gerwalk modes too—just behind the cockpit section.
Another hint of the collab is the included stand, which bears both the Macross Frontier branding and Top Gun: Maverick branding. The stand allows you to display the figure in any of the three modes.
As expected of the DX Chogokin line, the figure is made of ABS and PVC and features die-cast parts. It stands around 250 mm (9.8 in.) tall in Battroid mode. Also included with the toy are three sets of interchangeable hands, a gun pod, and an assault knife.
To be honest, they should have pulled the old VF-1 and collabed with the first Top Gun movie instead. Sure, both may be as old as an un-rewound VHS tape from Blockbuster, but at least they would make more sense.
The DX Chogokin VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie Top Gun Maverick Ver. is expected to arrive this September for 26,400 yen (incl. tax) [JP] in Japan. Pre-orders are already underway. Folks in the U.S. can secure a copy by pre-ordering it from Amazon.com for US$230, with delivery starting in December 2026.
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Images: Tamashii Nations [JP].
