Graham

We don't need two threads on the same toys, especially when the original thread is still on the first page of the toy forums! I'm merging the two threads. Graham

One good thing about Bandai, is their product development lead time is usually shorter than Yamato. Hopefully, they will be able to release the toys while the show is still on the air. However, if what we have seen in the pics is their present state of progress so far, it's likely we won't see any transforming toys until the show is already half to three quarters over. Graham

Read Watchman dozens of times since I first bought it back in 1987. I definitely think a mini-series would be preferable to movie. There is no way you could fit everything into a movie, even if it was 3 hours long, without cutting or changing too much. Personally, I have my doubts that the material is even suitable for adaptation to the screen, even as a mini-series with a highly-talented director. Graham

Chill out guys. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I sense a lot of hostility to what was inteded as a humorous remark. Graham

Heh, my comment about 'Bandai dicks' did seem to stir up a hornets nest. The Bandai staff turning up to a meeting about Macross Frontier with Kawamori-san, who is one of the top three mecha designers in Japan (if not the world) and the main the creator of Macross, while wearing Gundam jackets is a definitely being a tad disrespectful in my opinion. I know if I had been Kawamori, I would not have been pleased. Dante74, your thought balloons were hillarious. I can actually see it being true. Kawamori does enjoy a pretty good working relationship with Yamato, and while I don't know it for a fact, I'd wager that if it was up to kawamori, he'd choose Yamato to make the Frontier toys. I've heard he is extremely happy with what Yamato have been doing. And he does seem to look pretty unhappy in all the photos shown so far with the Bandai toys/staff. While of course, I'd personally prefer Yamato made the Frontier toys and Hasegawa the models, I'm not counting Bandai out. They certainly have the technology, experience and talent to make some amazing toys and models if they chose to bring their 'A' game to the table. However, as many others have commented, they do need to prove themselves, as except for the HCM's back in the 80s, all their other original Macross efforts have been either mediocre, to downright bad. Graham

Chapter 1, page 66. Graham

Chapter 1, page 65. Graham

Chapter 1, page 64. Graham

Chapter 1, page 63. Graham

Chapter 1, page 62. Graham

Chapter 1, page 61. Graham

Chapter 1, page 60. Graham

Chapter 1, page 59. Graham

I'm sure Hasegawa would love to do the kits, just as Yamato would love to make the toys, but it all comes down to money. Bandai paid a whole heap of money to be the major sponsor of the show and one of the benefits of this is that they get the exclusive toy and model kit rights for at least a couple of years. Graham

Chapter 1, page 58. That's all for today. More pages to come tomorrow. Should be able to finish the rest of chapter 1 within 2 more days. Graham

Chapter 1, page 57. Graham

Chapter 1, page 56. Graham

Chapter 1, page 55. Graham

Chapter 1, page 54. Graham

6 more pages of chapter 1 scanned in. Page 53. Graham

Buncha Bandai dicks sitting around in Gundam jackets, really inspires my confidence. They'll probably try to stick yellow V antennas on everything. Graham

Pah, as a long time George Romero fan, I absolutely hated the Dawn remake. Zombies, do not, I repeat DO NOT run like olympic spriters, period! And 300 was a fun but forgettable summer popcorn flick. I definitely have no confidence that Snyder, or any director for that matter could make a good Watchmen movie. Graham

For those of you that haven't been following the Wonder Festival news or the Macross Frontier toy thread in the toy forums, here's what is known so far about Macoss Frontier toys and models from Bandai: - At Wonder Festival on Feb 24, Bandai displayed some very early, rough sculpts of the VF-25 in Fighter, battroid and Super Fighter. However, these are not really representative of the final products, as they were just made from the anime CAD files printed out on a rapid prototyping machine and were basicallly just fixed posed statues. However, Bandai also had signs up announcing three (3) distinct product lines for Macross Frontier: - 1/60 scale DX transforming VF-25 Alto and VF-25 Ozuma toys. 1/100 scale action figures with simple transformation. 1/72 scale plastic model kits. Beyond that, little else is known so far. Graham

Judging by the pics we've seen so far, Bandai seems to be in the extremely early stage of product development, so I would not expect we will see anything, except perhaps gashapons in the shops for at least another 3-6 months. Graham

Think I'm gonna go for the MH. The finishing just looks so much nicer than the CM's IMO. The cheap shiny looking plastic on the CM's is a real turn off for me, as is the breakage-prone windshield. Sounds like I can live with the minor issues so far reported about the MH. Graham