Graham

Edited topic title. Graham

I saw them in a shop here in HK yesterday and picked up one box at random. I ended up with Hikaru's TV VF-1J. Haven't taken it out of the plastic inner tray yet. Overall it looks pretty good, except the seam on one of the legs seemed to be coming apart. Should be easy to fix though. Comes with parts allowing you to display it either wheels up or wheels down. I'll try to snap some pics at the weekend. Graham

The HCM-Pro #38, the RX-79G Ground Type Gundam is just out here in Hong Kong. I just picked one up during my lunch break for HK$178 (US$22.82). That's an expensive price, as it's a just released 'hot' item. I'm sure the price will come down to around HK$120 (US$15.38) to HK$135 (US$17.30)in a week or two. Once the price comes down, I'll probably pick up 2 more, as this is my favorite Gundam. It looks fantastic, with loads of Tampo printed markings. The sculpt looks extremely accurate to the lineart as well. I haven't taken it out of the box yet to check articulation and the tightness of the joints as I'm still at work. My only negative comment is that it's much smaller than I expected, but then I only have some of the Char's Counter Attack HCM-Pro figures for comparisson, and they are huge mecha, so I guess their size has spoilt me. More comments tomorrow after I've had a chance to handle it. Crappy phone cam pic of the box on my desk at work below. Graham

Never heard any NIN before, at least I don't think I have. My metal tastes are somewhat more old school, e.g. Iron Maiden, Dio, WASP, Black Sabbath, early Metallica and early Megadeath. The buzz on this Year Zero seems pretty positive, so I'm wondering if I should give it a try. I like stuff about post apocalyptic and distopian futures, so maybe I should try it? Graham

Isn't a Dark Jedi just a Sith on a waiting list? Graham

Isn't it the job of a commander to lead, not act as squad gunner or heavy weapons specialist? Graham

Yeah, don't expect any major news for quite a while. It's still in the very early stages of development. Graham

FYI, the Votoms graphic novel "Supreme Survivor" that is in PDF format on the CPM bonus disc is a graphic novelisation of "Roots of Ambition" OVA, plus a novel called "The First Red Shoulder", plus the first epsiode of the TV series. I'm still reading through it, but so far It's pretty well done. Graham

Toynami..........cough....30% diecast content in VF-1 MPC....cough! Keep promises, yeah right! Graham

It's in the volume two (red cover) of this two book TIA books. Graham

I spoke with Yamato a few days ago and they said the replacement VF-0A POM arm parts should be available some time in May. I'll post more firm data as soon as I know. Graham

Yamato definitely has an edge on internal mechanical detail, but overall external sculpt is a close tie I'd say. Graham

Prometheum 5 has first refusal, as he did ask first. I do want to sell the stuff as a whole set rather than breaking it down piecemeal. Graham

PM Sent. Graham

I think the helmet looks great. It's got a nice sci-fi anime look to it. Graham

Picked up a Yamato 1/12 Red Shoulder ver.2 Scopedog a few days ago as well as some of the accessory sets and Chirico Cuvie pilot figure. I have to say although I’m normally a big Yamato fan, I’m not terribly impressed with their Scopedog, especially when compared to the sublime Takara 1/18 scale rendition. The problem is the Yamato is just too big and heavy for its own good and even the improved ver.2 joints are not strong enough to allow you to pose the toy in any but the most neutral static poses keeping within the toy’s extremely limited center of gravity. Attempt any sort of dynamic action pose and the toy more often than not wants to topple over, resulting in limbs and other assorted small parts flying off! The balance problem is made even worse if you fit the Parachute sack. Right out of the box I encountered a problem with the right elbow being so loose, it would not support the full-sized GAT-22 rifle at all. On removing the outer armor, I found that one screw was missing from the elbow! After finding a suitable replacement screw, the elbow joint was better, but the elbow ratchet will still not hold a 90 degree pose with the weight of the rifle and will sag one click even when holding the short barrel GAT-22C carbine. Forget even trying the heavy SMAT-38 9 shot box missile launcher, it is just too heavy. I’ve had problems with the arms and legs falling off the toy, especially the arms. As mentioned above they are just too heavy and the joints insufficiently strong. Also, the bicep armor on both the left and right arms and the antenna all constantly fell off. This got so annoying that I have crazy-glued the arms and legs onto their respective shoulder and hip sockets so they are no longer removable and also glued on the bicep armor and antenna in an attempt to make the toy more playable. This means I can no longer completely strip the toy down, but that doesn’t bother me too much. Another minor problem is that the cockpit hatch will not stay open to full extension and will only stay about 60% open. The cockpit hatch is also the least smoothly opening of any Votoms toy I’ve handled. The crappy thumb also kept constantly falling off the gun hand, so this has also been crazy glued on. Means I can’t change weapons, but at least it is not so bloody annoying. In terms of paint job, markings, articulation, tightness of joints, ability to hold dynamic action poses, the Takara 1/18 beats the Yamato 1/12 hands down. The only areas where the Yamato shines are in the Chirico Cuvie pilot figure which is head and shoulders above the crappy Takara Microman version. In a perfect world, Yamato would make a 1/18 scale Chirico to fit in the Takara DMZ. I’m sorry, but the Yamato is just not an enjoyable toy IMO. You are constantly struggling against it to get it to balance and hold a pose and this just takes away the fun factor. I’m probably going to sell off my Yamato Scopedog and accessories and stick with the DMZ line. Graham

Peace through superior firepower. Graham

Just one look at the pics posted in this thread is enough for me. Not a fan of this sort of anime at all. Graham

Heh, that 'Jump In My Car' song is great. Graham

Topics merged Graham

Just spoke briefy with Yamato and was told the TAF schemes are not going to be made into production toys. Graham

Just spoke briefy with Yamato and was told the TAF schemes are not going to be made into production toys. Graham

It seems to be a serialization that's been running in Hobby Japan the last few months. Text with some photos and drawings. Yes, Max factory will be releasing their 'big head' 1/35 PVC Scopedog toys in Commando Vorct colors in May or June this year IIRC. I think there is also a garage kit manufacturer releasing some resin conversion parts, possibly for the Takara plamodels? Graham

I'm loving the TV series so far. I'm about half way through the Kummen Jungle Wars arc. I recently ordered and recieved the first three R2 OVAs "The Unknown Red Shoulder" 1985, "Battle Of The Heterogeneous Species" 1986, & "Red Shoulder Document, The Root Of Ambition" 1988. I've watched the first two and they are great. I've also just placed an order with CD Japan for the 5-part OVA "The Defrost". Can't wait for the new TV series to start later this year. Chirico is such a great character. It's nice to see a professional soldier as the lead, instead of a whiney, angsty teenage brat, as is common in many mecha shows. After a few days with my DMZ #02 Strikedog, I've found that the shoulder and hip joints, especially the hips are much looser than my DMZ #01 Scopedog, meaning it tends to overbalance fairly easily. I think I'm going to have to take it apart and see if I can tighten up some of the joints. Poseability is also a bit less less on the Strikedog, as the ankles don't have as wide a range of movement as the Scopedog's and you can't really get the feet flat on the floor with the legs spread wide. Still a great looking toy though. Graham

I voted for the X-Wing. While Fett's armour looks cool, the guy was a real wuss, getting beaten by a blind man with a stick. Graham