Graham

The VF-25 is roughly the same size as the VF-0 or YF-19. Graham

VF-171 out of the ones on the list. A VF-22SS w/SAP would be top. Never really been a huge fan of the VF-4. POerhaps if we ever actually got to see it in action, I'd change my mind. Graham

Most looking forward to VF-171 and VF-2SS w/SAP. Of course a decent VF-17 would be great as well. Graham

Err.........I take it you have not watched Frontier at all, or been following the many Frontier discussion threads for the past 6 months? Basically, the VF-25 is used by 'SMS' (Strategic Millitary Services), a private millitary contractor, not by the UN Spacy, hence the lack of UN markings But in Frontier the UN Spacy has become 'NUNS' (New UN Spacy) and they also use a new logo, instead of the traditional kite symbol. Graham

I've put the first 3 issues in the binder, but I've decided I'm probably gonna stop putting them in the binder until all 50(?) issues have been published. The various sheets are being published in such a random order that putting them in the folder at such an early date is pretty pointless IMO, as I'll only have to remove them later arnd reorganize them each time one binder fills up and a new one starts. Graham

Preview pics are up on the official site for ep # 22. Graham

Why doesn't yours transform? Graham

Haven't seen these for sale anywhere here in HK yet. Either they sold out really quickly, or none of the toy shops bothered stocking them. Wouldn't surprise me if it's the latter, as apart from the Max and Millia, the rest of the 2002 reissues didn't sell well and sat around collecting dust on shelves. Graham

I'm sure the final production version will have a clear canopy. Don't panic. Graham

I may be wrong but, but I seem to recall that somebody did a partial translation of one of the magazine articles (either Great Mechanics DX, Newtype or Hobby Japan), that mentioned: - The VF-25 with Armored Pack is just as fast as a plain VF-25, but slower than a VF-25 with Super Pack. The VF-25 with Armoured Pack can transform into all 3 modes, unlike the older VF-1 with GBP. The VF-25 with Armored Pack is capable of atmospheric flight. The VF-25 with Super Pack is proimarily for Space use. Maybe I'm remebering wrongly though. Graham

The main material is ABS plastic. However, there are various grades and types of ABS plastic. Presumably some have some sort of aditive to prevent or reduce the chance of yellowing. The 1/60 is too new and has not been out long enough to tell if the plastic will yellow or not. All I can say is that none of my Yamato 1/48 toys have yellowed at all. Graham

Diamond Calling was always my favorite track. Graham

I thought it was established in official literature months ago that the VF-25 Armoured pack can be used in an atmosphere in all three modes, but the VF-25 Super Pack is primarily designed for space use only. Graham

Are the Max and Hikaru DYRL 1A actually out yet? Haven't been keeping track of the 1/55 reissue situation. If not, when are they due out? Graham

Here’s my theories on the final 4-5 episodes of Frontier: - •Ranka and Brera will find a Vajra colony or main base. Ranka will become their queen and decide to stay with the Vajra for good. •She will mutate/change into some sort of half-human / half-Vajra. •Being able to communicate with both human and Vajra, Ranka will realize that the whole conflict was a mistake and the two races will either (a) henceforth live in harmony, or (b), the Vajra and Ranka will disappear off to the center of the galaxy, never to be seen again, ala SDF-1, Shin & Sara. •At some point Ranka will regain her full memory. She will realize that the attack on the 117th Research Fleet was in fact the Vajra trying to rescue her from Grace and Mao’s experiments. •Ranka will end up curing Sheryl of her illness. •Alto will either end up with Sheryl, or will die in a blaze of glory fighting against the Vajra, before Ranka negotiates a truce. •Klan goes insane with grief and dies during a suicide attack on the Vajra during the peace negotiations. •Ozma & Cathy will depose and probably kill Leon. •Brera will turn against Grace and end up killing her and will die in the attempt. •Luca will finnally hook up with Nanase. Graham

I sure hope they are kissing PVC goodbye. Shin, just curious why do you keep spelling it "Damashii", when AFAIK, all of Bandai's online and print literature spells it "Tamashi". Graham

Keeping lineart accuracy, durability and perfect transformation is a big challenge at 1/100 scale. I can understand why Bandai is going with parts swapping from a durability aspect. While I'm sure they could make it perfect transformation if they wanted to, durability would likely suffer unless parts of the design were bulked up and strengthened, but then lineart accuracy would go out of the window, i.e. you'd end up with a chunky monkey. My main concern at this point is that they minimise the use of PVC. I do not want a toy with floppy or warped wings, tailins, weapons etc. I've owned a boat load of MSiA and GFF PVC dog poo toys over the years and every single one of then ended up with warped, floppy or bent parts. Or armour that fell off if you looked at it wrong (yes, Sentinel GFFs, I'm talking to you!) Graham

If the 1/100 VF-2SS toy looks good and comes with the SAP, I'm buying a whole squadron. I don't care how much parts swapping is involved. I've been waiting for a decent VF-2SS w/SAP toy since 1992. Graham

With Yamato, Kawamori-san has the power to make them change something he doesn't like. With Bandai, maybe it's a different case? Graham

IMO, it's been a great time to be a Macross fan since about year 2000 or maybe 2002 onwards. Graham

I'm not counting out Bandai's 1/60 yet. I'm sure when we see a production standard version posed properly, it will look better. But at the moment, it's definitely got 'child bearing hips'. ...LOL As it is, both the 1/72 scale model kit and 1/100 parts-former are looking better at this stage. You would think that Bandai would have realised that with Yamato upping the bar on appearance in the past few years, most fans now want a toy that looks as anime accurate as possible, rather than something big and chunky and out of proportion, just cus' it's got the chogokin name tied to it. Graham

I don't know, but I'm guessing that Yamato allowed the 1/100 licence to expire and chose not to renew it. Yamato's main focus now for Macross is 1/60, GN-U and 1/200. Bandai have the Frontier toy and model licence locked down solid for the next several years, as they were the major sponser of the show. Graham

I'll buy the 1/60, but I'm definitely not happy with how chunky the battroid looks at the moment. It's interesting that we have yet to see a test shot in the production materials (ABS & Diecast). So far all pics have look like either unpainted resin or hand painted resin. Possibly Bandai knows people are unhappy and may still make significant changes. Still, if they want to get this thing out by November, they will have to hurry. I'd still love to see what Yamato could do with the VF-25 in 1/60 scale. Graham

A large scale Macross from Yamato could be a possibility someday. Never say never. It's certainly been discussed for a possible future project, but no decission has been made yet. Graham

Looking very nice, certainly much better than the 1/60 DX toy. Does anybody know if the official release date is still set for 25th September? Graham