Graham

Wow, can't believe my Fighter to Battroid transformation video guide on Youtube has been viewed 560 times so far! Graham

Meeting confirmed for Thursday afternoon. As for posting an interview, we'll see. Graham

Very nice. Graham

Can't find where I read it, but I seem to recall hearing that it was only the case with the VF-0, not with other VFs. Graham

According to the Macross Compendium, the vF-0 did make use of conventional materials for the outer skin. See: - STRUCTURE: Space metal materials are used for the composition of the fuselage's frame, but titanium/carbon composite is used for the outer skin. Due to AWAG/RA 105 SWAG energy converting armor which uses Overtechnology, the VF-0 can employ surplus power to triple the Fighter mode's armor strength in Battroid mode. (Future variable fighters will incorporate similar technology.) Graham

If there's any questions you want me to ask, can somebody please put them all in one post and quickly as the meeting should hopefully take place in the next couple of days. Graham

The things on the back of the legs in Fighter mode are the Battroid mode shoulder FAST packs. Graham

We should add this 1/60 VF-0S Max Custom: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=21269 Graham

I would recommend a Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1 toy, as the look good, are durable and there are many colour variations to choose from. As to whether you choose a VF-1A, VF-1J or VF-1S, that is up to you and depends which one you think looks best. I'd also recommend the new 1/60 scale Yamato YF-19 toy. It looks fantastic and so far (touch wood), seems durable. Although the 1/60 VF-0S & VF-0A toys look beuatiful, many people find the joints on the VF-0S too loose (although I don't think so). The VF-0A seems to be having some serious problems recently with the shoulders and biceps cracking, so until Yamato improves the design of the upper arm, I cannot recommend this toy. Graham

I hope a live action Macross never happens. I have no interest in seeing it. I'm quite certain that it would end up as an abomination regardless of whether it was produced in Japan or Hollywood. I'm quite happy with Macross staying as an anime thank you very much. I've never understood this fascination some people have with turning perfectly good anime into live action. Graham

You guys haven't got your 19 yet? Aww come on, the 19 is so last year already. Graham

Can somebody please scan the Wave VF-0S & VF-0A box, instructions, decal sheet and parts trees for the MW model section please? If you are willing to help out, please PM me and I'll give you an email address that you can send the scans to. Graham

Beacuse after popping out 7 kids she was as loose as a goose. There were many younger, cuter (and tighter) bridge bunnies available to Max. That's my theory anyway. But seriously, I think Keith's post (above mine), pretty much hits the nail on the head with regard to why they split. Graham

I beg to differ regarding Mac 7. Kinryu & Physica of Diamond Force as well as the two VF-19F pilots of Emerald Force are all shown all dying in combat. Also Ray's friend and fellow pilot Stephan(?) of the Pink Pecker Squadron is also killed in combat. Graham

More pics of the Max VF-0S custom please in all three modes. Graham

I don't know, but I will find out. I hope so. Graham

I voted no. Not a big fan of panel lines and Yamato would probably make them too thick. Graham

But didn't you only get your first VF-0A recentlly? If yes, that means it had still been sitting in some retailer's store or warehouse for a month or two, time for any reaction between materials to work, if my theory is correct. Grahanm

Recently I had Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson & Megadeath on my MP3 plaer for nearly half a year, but have just changed to a mixture of Macross Plus & Macross 7 tracks. My mum bought me Bob Dylon's new CD for Christmas, so I'll be converting it to MP3 soon, so I can listen to it on the way to work and back. Graham

Please definitely continue. Even if Yamato do improve the design of the upper arm on the upcoming VF-0A Shin and make replacement upper arms available in Japan, it would probably be difficult for customers outside of Japan to get official replacements (and we all know who to blame for that). Graham

Actually, these days I'm not gentle, but your point is well taken. My first ever VF-11B was fine for months and I'd transformed it dozens of times, but the first time I gave it to my wife, she managed to break the hip joint in about 2 seconds! An English langauage transformation guide on Yamato's site is not possible at this time, as it could be seen by the opposition's lawyers as catering to the market outside of Japan, which could cause problems for Yamato & BW, as Yamato is only licensed to sell Macross toys to the Japanese market. I'm going to be meeting again with Yamato mid-January and redesign of the VF-0 upper arms will feature prominently in discussions. Graham

I can't go into specific details, but I know of at least one example of an (unnamed) toy where the ABS on one part of a toy was somehow reacting with IIRC the PVC causing cracking. Luckily the problem was spotted before the toy left the factory and the affected parts were removed and new parts were installed using material of a slightly different spec that was stable with no reaction. Just sometimes sh*t happens despite the best intentions and efforts of everybody involved. Yamato do try their best to catch problems and mostly succeed (there's a lot of stuff you never hear about), but unfortunately sometimes something slips through the cracks. Graham

I hope the HCM-Pro line gets around to covering '08th MS Team' toys someday. An HCM-Pro of the RX-79G and Gouf Custom are probably the only Gundam toys I'd allow myself to purchase. Graham

Wow........that is an insane amont of kibble on the underside of that Starscream movie version F-22 Jet mode. Increadibly chunky from the side view. Me thinks they really need design help from Kawamori's there. Graham

Unfortunately, problems don't always show up during testing and production. Before the toy is approved for production all the joints on the toy are put through a certain number of test cycles to see if they are durable enough. I forget the number, but it is in the hundreds IIRC. A case in point would be the original VF-11 toy. During initial testing not a single hip breakage occured. I also had one long before they hit the streets and was not at all gentle with it, but again no breakage. It's interesting that these shoulder breakages on the VF-0A are only coming to light about 3 months after the toy was released, which makes me wonder if perhaps the shoulder plastic is having some sort of chemical reaction with something which weakens it after a while? Graham