Graham

Just took my SV-51 Nora out of the box. Haven't transformed it yet, but I'm happy to report two things: - The Nora pilot is an all new sculpt, not just a repainted Ivanov. And yes for those that are wondering, she does have breasts! Yamato have improved the fit of the underwing weapons and the missiles and compsite micromissile pods/fuel tanks now attach rock solidly. Graham

We know, but at first glance, it sure looks like Flantier. Graham

Hey, if we take several flans and stack them on top of each other, do we get a Flan Tier? .............................sorry, couldn't resist. Graham

Heh, I know they are very stylised letters, but to me it looks like "Flantier"....... Graham

To be honest, I find them only a small step up in quality from the earlier gashapons by Bandai and Kaiyodo. Not really my thing at all. Give me variable VFs any day! Graham

So, did anybody see this? Any Macross F news? Graham

Now that the novelty has worn off, I'll probably sell mine, or just give them to the neighbours dog as chew toys. Really finding the Revoltech ball joints ugly and distracting, especially the neck and shoulder joints. Graham

What does "CM" stand for? Graham

I also think that Destroids, with the exception of the variable VB-6 have effectively been rendered obsolete sometime after Space War 1. The only times we see Destroids post-Space War 1 are when they are used as targets in the New Edwards test facility (Destroid Monster getting blown up by the YF-19 in Macross Plus) and as carnvial attractions in Macross 7. Also, in Macross 7, it's obvious that prior to becoming carnival attractions, some of the destroids were converted for construction use, as shown by IIRC drill arms on some of them. I tend to agree with Sketchley that the new option parts shown on the VF-25 are likely Super Parts (AKA FAST Packs) and not Full Armour. Or perhaps a hybrid FAST pack and light partial armor. Graham

Yep, it's out. My local toy shop called me this evening and asked me to come and pick it up. I'll get it tomorrow. Graham

I just had a thought. I'll probably be in the minority here, but I hope when the new series is released on disk that it is released on plain old DVD and not just BlueRay (or whatever the next gen disk format is). Or ideally released on DVD and BlueRay, which would be a win-win situaton for consumers. As much as I love Macross, I really don't want to fork over a whole load of cash to upgrade my TV and movie player yet, just so I can watch Macross F in BlueRay or HD or whatever. I'm still quite happy with DVD. Heck, there's no way my wife would ever approve the expenditure anyway unless my TV and DVD player were both to suffer sudden catastophic unreparable failure and a HD TV and next gen player suddenly dropped in cost to the cost of standard TVs and DVD players. Graham

eugimon Mig29/35!!!!!????? Sorry, I just don't see any resemblance with the VF-5000 at all. David Hingtgen IIRC, the first published lineart of the VF-5000 appeared in the TIAS Macross Plus OVA book in 1995. I'll have to check the pic when i get home, to see if Kawamori put a date on it as he sometimes does. Graham

I'm really hoping that we eventually get a 1/60 scale VF-25 and VF-171 from Yamato, as IMO they are the only company with the skill, experience and willingness to make stunningly beautiful and accurate Macross toys. Bandai have little experience with Valks and also in the past little desire to put the effort into making decent Macross toys or models. At worst from Bandai I think we will just see some sub-par model kits and low-grade toys. If we are lucky, maybe some HCM-Pros, but I doubt it. Anyway, toy situation aside, I'm increadibly excited about the new show and liking everything I've seen so far. Graham

LOL.....cruel, but so true. Graham

Yes, we saw the VF-17's landing gear on a few occasions and there is detailed lineart of it in several art books. I'll post a scan when I get home. Basically, it is located on the inner side of the lower legs. Graham

Landing gear!? We don' t need no stinkin' landing gear! Good point though. Graham

Actually, I'm really suprised that the Super Armor has been revealed so soon. Normally, we wouldn't get to see it until at least a third of the way through the show. I guess Big West really wants to build up the hype. I just hope they leave something to surprise us with. Graham

My guess is the bugs are somesort of bio-mechanical lifeform. Graham

It's static. It might be possible to prise it off and reverse it, but I'm not going to risk it. Not sure how strongly it's glued in. Graham

While we can't be certain, it does appear to be an updated version of the VF-17, with major changes to the nose and canopy and also the addition of wing-mounted ordnance. Graham

Yep, looks like you are right wolfx, they do look the same. Thanks for the new pics. That means we have confirmation that 3-mode transformation is possible with the new FPs. Graham

Having terrible luck with my Macross Revoltechs. First my VF-1S Focker is missing the open left hand. Now my VF-1A Hikaru has a split/crack on the chestplate, just above the heatshield (I’ll post a pic later). Also, the red paint application on the top of the chest plate is fairly sloppy. Graham

Not sure why so many people are getting worked up over the electrical discharges during the VF-25’s transformation. As has been mentioned, these type of flashes were present IIRC in M7 for both the VF-19Kai and the VF-17D/S transformation, although to a lesser degree. Although, the main purpose is probably just to add a bit more visual appeal for the SEED/SEED Destiny generation. I’m sure Kawamori probably has a technical explanation for it. Same with the VF-25’s Swing-bars, what’s the fuss? These look pretty damn big and strong to me, especially compared to the ultra thin swing-bars shown during the VF-0S transformation. Designing a transforming toy of the VF-25 should be not too difficult according to my understanding of the transformation. Probably the most tricky area for a toy is going to be the shoulders, as these seem to use a VF-11 type transformation method. Graham

I'm very happy with my SPEC Dragonar-01, but yeah, generally, Bandai only puts their top designers and a big budget on Gundam, and their 'B' teams gets to handle everything else with a smaller budget, often resulting in sub-par products. Graham

It looks that way. From what I understand, as major sponsor of the TV series (i.e. financial backer), Bandai gets first dibs on the licence and then it becomes available to other interested parties after a couple of years. This could be good or bad. Traditionally, Bandai has no great love for Macross and has never put a great deal of effort into merchandising. Look for example at the lackluster job Bandai did for Macross 7 toys and models and the way they completely ignored Macross Plus. However, this is not 1994 and the toy industry has changed a great deal in the intervening 13 years, with the market for collectors grade toys really booming in recent years. Basically, I see this as either going two ways. One, Bandai will completely screw us and release minimal crappy merchandise. Or two, Bandai will do good and release multiple lines, such as HCM-Pro, SPEC, etc in multiple colors. Graham