Graham

Larger scan of the Hikaru color VF-25 number 'SMS 007'. Note the head lasers lying flat and pointing rearward on the top of the fuselage behind the cockpit. Also the VF-25 appears to have hip/wing-root guns similar to the SV-51 (refer to the grey VF-25 pics I posted earlier). Note what appear to be small windows on the nose ahead of the cockpit. I'm wondering if this elongated nose houses an internal fold booster? On the video, I saw missiles pods on the wings of the VF-25. Graham

Nothing wrong with them. This is the OVA cannon fodder scheme, or what Kawamori and Tenjin say Yamato should do for the CF scheme. Graham

Got the December issue of New Type. Here's a larger and clearer scan of the grey VF-25. Note it is number '001'. Markings on the wings and legs say 'SMS 001'. No UN Spacy emblem visible on this one or the Hikaru color version. I'm really growing to like the design. Graham

No, the Dobber is not confirmed, but it is a strong possibility. Graham

I think that the New Type article may possibly refer to the VF-25 as "new", in that it is a new for fans to see, but not necessarily new in the Macross timeline. Who knows, by 2070 the VF-25 may actually be a fairly old VF in service for several years already. Another point is that we do not know how long the colony fleet has been in space. I get the impression that for colony fleets, especially those that have been in space for a long time and not encountered any threat, upgrading to the next main variable fighter is usually a very low priority (finite resources and all that). Another thing to consider is that with advances in technology and VF capability, UN Spacy may have dropped the requirement for having both a main VF and a Special Forces VF and standardized on only one type, which would cut down on the number of new models. Even if we don't see any additional new VFs in the new TV series, I'm fairly confident we will at least see FAST Packs and hopefully full armor. Also, having fewer new fighters is something that is paralleled in the real world. As capability increases and technology improves, cost increases dramatically. Just look at how few new designs we have today, compared with say the 1940s', 1950s' & 1960s'. Assuming the VF-19 didn't enter widespread service as the main variable fighter until the 2050s' together with the VF-22 as Special Operations fighter, that has them in service for less than 20 years, which is a reasonable lifespan. Graham

Looks great IMO. I"m buying 2. Large pics going up on main site soon. Dobber scheme is still a possibility for later. Yamato have to release the OVA versions first. Graham

I think having only three new VFs (VF-23, VF-24 & VF-25) between 2045 (M7) and 2070 (MF) is about right. If we look at the in-service dates of the main variable fighters (not counting attack craft, special forces fighters, light fighters etc), they are: - VF-1: 2009 to 2020 = 11 years. VF-4: 2020 to 2030 = 10 years. VF-11: 2030 to ???? VF-19: Decision made to adopt VF-19 as main Variable fighter in 2041, but by 2045 or even 2050 (VF-X2), it appears the VF-19 was still not in widespread use. Graham

Yes, there was a fair amount of atmospheric flying in M7. Graham

Damn, just checked the hobby shops near my work, but they don't have the December New Type yet. The VF-25 is a definite mish-mash of the SV-51, YF-19 and VF-1 IMO. Graham

26 from what I understand. Graham

The powerful enemy will be Nekki Basara back from his travels with the galactic whales...! And who's betting the older brother/experienced pilot/Roy Focker type dude buys it half way through the series. Graham

Gamlin kicked ass in a VF-11C in episode # 7 to be exact. Don't blame the mecha, blame the generally crap pilots in the M7 fleet. I'd take a VF-11 into combat over a VF-1 any day. Graham

Which is as it should be....Mwa Ha Ha Ha. As much as I like the Ace Combat series, I've got no plans to buy a 360 just for this game. Still happy with my PS2. Graham

Toynami's "odd way" of mounting the gunpod under the wing of the MPC is actually correct according to the official Studio Artmic lineart. Anyway, looks like Aoshima good royally screwed by Toynami. Graham

Heh........Aoshima uses 'a strap on'.....LOL! Graham

Both Versions of the Dragonar come with Flight Packs and both Flight Packs are a different design. The Opening Silhouette version out now has the nicer looking flight pack IMO, but it lacks the wing-mounted missile pods. The TV series version which will be released in December is overall not as nice looking IMO (I'm still getting it though), but has missile pods on the wings. Graham

Obviously fake, they got the CEO's name completely wrong. Graham

The Dragonar is an awesome, awesome toy. Highly recommended. Good detail and paint aps. Excellent articulation with nice solid joints and all the accessories stay on. I'm lucky enough to have watched the Dragonar TV series a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Graham

This is an official request to all. Please do not post any pics from existing Macross anime and/or games in this thread. It is misleading, not to mention annoying. Only post pics if they specifically relate to the new TV series or 25th anniversery. Graham

I've been thinking about what I can write about the meeting and the answer is not much to be honest, at least not without violating the non-disclosure agreement. Obviously, I can't divuluge what exactly is going to be released until I'm given permission to. All I will/can say is 2008 and 2009 are going to be very exciting years, with lots of surprises. Yamato seem satisfied with the new harder ABS and SBS shoulders on the VF-0 toys and so far there are no breakages reported. I'm probably going to get a second VF-0S with Ghost just for the purpose of putting the arms through an extended and very rigorous test. No news on whether the Nora face/hand/joint colors will be changed. It looks lke this might be another case of Kawamori wanting his way, regardless of what the CG pics on the official site show. Anyway, we will see. At least the missiles are now the right color. Graham

Going down to 1/72 scale may result in increased fragility, if the same level of articulation/feature/detail/gimmicks etc were to be kept. Yamato chose 1/60 as the best compromise between size/durabilty/cost/features. Graham

Nope, no info in either of the December hobby mags. Of course if you want pics, you could just hack my hard drive. Graham

The SPEC Dragonar is just out. Going to pick mine up tonight. Graham

Good meeting. Found out lots of very interesting new stuff. Unfortunately as usually, I can't talk about 99% of it yet. However, I will say 2008 is going to be a fantastic, if extremely expensive year, from the sheer range of stuff planned. I'll try to address the individual questions posted in the first 9 pages of this thread later, as far as I'm able. Graham

I've heard that Macross Frontier should airing Q2 2008 and we should start seeing some info by this December. Graham