Graham

Would prefer Hikaru's VF-1S Strike Valk, but I may end up getting this. Graham

The problem with internal weapons bays, is that while they do help with stealth, they are always going to be limited in the number and type of ordnance they can carry, due to limited internal volume. Thus a VF that relies soley on internal weapons bays (and internal fuel, in space), will always have to break-off combat sooner than a VF with additional weapons and fuel mounted on external hardpoints and FAST Packs. Frankly, I doubt we wil ever see an end for the need for FAST Packs or optional Armor for VFs in the Macross universe. I know if I were in a VF-19F/S facing massed foes, I'd much rather have FAST Packs fitted, giving me 200+ missiles, rather than relying only on my 12 internal missiles in the leg bays. Graham

I think it's a bit of both. No matter how many external hard points a VF has or how many internal weapons bays, FAST Packs are going to provide extended combat persistence (endurance), in terms of additional weapons and fuel, thus allowing the VF to stay in the fight longer. Simply put, a VF without FAST Packs is going to run out of weapons and fuel (in space), sooner than a VF with FAST Packs. Graham

No, they didn't change anything for the Blazer. The hips are just as poseable as the Kai. That is to say very poseable. Graham

Thanks for clarifying the source. I must admit that Trash is not something I really paid much attention to or liked. Graham

Let's keep this thtead to discussion of the upcoming 1/60 Yamato VF-19Kai please. Discusions on the D-Stance YF-21 or Bandai making a VF-22S do not belong here. Graham

Whoa!..............where are you getting this information about the VF-4 being used as a test platform for newly developed spiritia weapons? First I've heard of this? Graham

I disagree, I find it very poseable in battroid mode, even more so if you pose it using the display stand. You can achieve some very dynamic poses. Heh, and I like mine so much I'm planning on picking up a 3rd one tonight. Graham

Actually, yes you can attach the open leg-bay doors with the missiles in fighter mode. See the 3 attached pics. I made a mistake in my previous post when I said the wing tab wouldn't lock into the leg with the open bay doors attached. Actually, the wing locks in place just fine. Graham

Interesting topic and I concur that the VF-11 is likely the most produced VF in terms of sheer numbers in service. If certain fleets such as the Macross 7, ended up eventually replacing all their VF-11 with the VF-19 on a 1-1 basis, post-Protodeviln war (as seems to be infered by the recent Hi-Metal information refering to the 19 as a mainstay fighter), the total number of VF-19 produced could easily reach higher than 2000+. Although I feel that due to the cost and complexity of the VF-19, a 1-1 replacement was unlikely. However, given that the VF-19 is a far more capable fighter than the VF-11, it may have been decided that a smaller quantity, say something like a 1-2 replacement was acceptable (all pure speculation on my part). Not sure I agree with the estimate figures for the VF-171 though, they seem a bit on the high side. Just my gut feeling is that in the 2050s, manned craft numbers have been trimmed drastically, so that there is only a skeleton force of manned VFs and unmanned craft (Ghosts) now make up the bulk of the forces. Although again, this likely varies, as we have seen from fleet to fleet and planet to planet. Please feel free to correct me if any of the above speculation on my part has already been contradicted by officially published info. Graham

Yes, you can........sorta. The open leg-bay doors block the wing tabs from plugging back in, but the wings still hold position. I'll try and post a pic when I get home tonight. Graham

I do think that Yamato's stickers have greatly improved in quality over the years. They are now much thinner, adhere better and longer and have smaller clear borders than in the past. That said, I only use the bare minimum stickers on my Valks, usually just the UN Spacy Kite emblem on the Valk if necessary and the pilot name and of course the Skull Squadron or UN Spacy Kite for the VF-1's FAST packs. I would never use decals on transfoming toys. Decals are far too fragile IMO and a pain in the ass to work with. Graham

Ha, wondering how long it would be before somebody asked again. Graham

Let's keep this to discussions on the YF/VF-19 please. Graham

Jarrod, what did you use to make the attachment strut for the gunpod? Looking to do a similar modification for the Hi-Metal VF-19S Blazer Valks gunpod. Graham

Definitely going to look into modifying the gunpod on my second Blazer (which I keep in fighter mode), so that it can attach to the fighter. Should be fairly easy. Just need to copy the mod that Jarrod did to his Fire Valk's gunpod (see Jarrod's pic attached). Graham

Have faith. You know they never show the full monty all at once. We'll get more reveals of the next few months. Graham

Wondering whether Egan Loo might have been hired to write for Bandai. Graham

Word from above, the WF display will be battroid mode only. Guess us fighter fans have to wait a while longer. Graham

Nothing floppy on my VF-1J, although as I mentioned, I would have liked the swivels on the legs to be a little tighter. My only real issue is the glued on intake on mine. Also, I spoke to Noel (Blackaces) at the weekend. He picked up a Hi-Metal VF-1J, but didn't like it. He told me he broke the head laser on his and he said he thought the plastic looks and feels cheap. While I think the plastic does look a bit cheap the quality seems good. Although I do think the plastic used on the VF-19Kai and Blazer Valkyrie has a much better appearance than that used on the VF-1J. Graham

I pretty much keep all my Yamato 1/60 YF-21 and VF-22 in fighter mode all the time. It's the niceest looking mode for that particular VF anyway. Graham

Agreed, a lot of people don't really grasp the difficulties involved in design and manufacture of a transforming VF toy, or appreciate that many of the requirements that consumers want are often conflicting. Consumers these days are very demanding. We want: 1) Perfect transformation. 2) Easy and quick transformation. 3) Lineart accuracy of the sculpt, with a high level of detail. 4) Excellent poseability with many points of articulation. 5) Extremely durability. 6) Lots of gimmicks. 7) Made of high-quality materials. Including many accessories. 9) Tight (non-floppy joints), which retain their tightness after time. 10) Low cost. Certainly there is often conflict between points 1, 4, 5 & 10. The more points of articulation you put into a toy, the longer it will take to get everything lined up just-right to transform. The more points of artculation you have, the greater number of parts, which will be pulled, moved, twisted etc. which means greater chance of something breaking. The higher number of parts also equals higher cost. Again point 10 is often in conflict with many of the other points, especially 3, 6, 7, & 8. Graham

The next logical step I always thought after Aliens, was to have Newt, Hicks and Ripley make it back to Earth, but also have the Aliens get back to Earth, get loose and start taking over the planet. Graham

T-shirts? Whos doing these? How do I get the VF-17 one? Graham

As long as they have enough folding, collapsing or removable parts for the back of the legs, we should be OK for a decent enough fighter mode. The back of the legs is always a critical area for getting the fighter mode right on the 19. Looking forward with great anticipation to the 25th, although I expect that Yamato will only display the prototype in battroid mode. Graham