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

I think, I'd definitely purchase mulitple sets of these as insurance, as long as they are cast in a shade of grey as close to the original as possible. Graham

Heh, and what about test shots, preproduction version etc where do they go? LOL......just joking. Anyway, completed all the surveys. Graham

Not sure how much it helps, but I'd recommend anybody getting a VF-0A or S, to immediately remove the outer shoulder armor and slightly loosen the two screws on the shoulder unit. Graham

Just to clarify, but should I be entering the number I have in my possesion as of now, or total numbers I have purchased altogether? The number would be very different, due to selling off quite a few. Graham

Updated list of members with VF-0 toys with arms with stress marks, cracks or completely broken. 1) Gatillero PR. 2) Pierre. 3) prometheum 5. 4) UN Spacy. 5) Scream Man. 6) Master of Puppets. 7) Ghostryder. Magnus. 9) eugimon. 10) Kiririth. 11) Graham Graham

I decided to do a closer examination of my VF-0A & VF-0S toys today. When I initially examined the shoulders last week, it was only a very casual check and I didn't bother to remove the shoulder armor. No cracks were visible with the shoulder armor on. This time due to the increasing reports of breakages, I decided to remove the shoulder armor to inspect the grey inner sholder part. I checked two VF-0A and two VF-0S that are in my display cabinet. I have not checked my MIB VF-0A/S toys yet. The result was as follows: - 1) VF-0S # 1: Minor white stress mark approximately 3mm long on front of left shoulder. No corrective action taken. 2) VF-0S # 2: Minor white stress mark approximately 2mm long on front right shoulder. No action taken. 3) VF-0A # 1: Approximately 4mm long crack on front and 2mm crack on rear of right shoulder Used epoxy to fill cracks. 4) VF-0A # 2: Approximately 3mm long crack on front of right shoulder Used epoxy to fill cracks. Hopefully, the epoxy will hold. I will definitely be taking this matter up with Yamato. Graham

Definietely reminds me of the Riviera from Macross 7 (featured in episode # 7). I love episode 7. It's one of my favorite M7 episodes. Mylene in a bikini and Gamlin kicking Varauta ass in a borrowed VF-11C, what's not to like. And yes, indoor beaches like this make perfect sense. You can use them 365 days a year and you don't have to deal with polluted sea water. A major problem here in HK. And as others have mentioned, no Sharks or Jelly fish. Graham

Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys? Graham

I'm gonna resist conversion for as long as possible. I'm not really a videophile and I'm quite happy with the video and audio quality of DVDs. I'm certainly not going to commit to a new system until a winner becomes clear. No more VHS/Betamax fiasco thank you very much. Graham

They are not really that small and as david mentioned, increasing the size could vreate problems with GERWALK mode. Graham

Pass. I've never liked mecha designs that are based on transforming/combing animals. Graham

I originally put the first set of Wolfpack nose stickers directly on the chine, but it didn't look so good, so I peeled them off and put the stickers from my second toy above the chine. Graham

Amended. Graham

IMO the VF-0's elbow and shoulder articulation is definitely improved over the 1/48. And the extra joint in the upper leg for GERWALK mode is a huge improvement. Graham

Better late than never, here's my full review of Yamato's VF-0A. Graham

From what I can tell from reading through the various VF-0 threads, we so far have 9 reported incidences of VF-0A or VF-0S shoulders already cracked or showing stress marks. The following members have reported this problem: - 1) Gatillero PR. 2) Pierre. 3) prometheum 5. 4) UN Spacy. 5) Scream Man. 6) Master of Puppets. 7) Ghostryder. Magnus. 9) eugimon. Anybody else? I'd like to keep a running total. Hardly an epidemic yet, but still cause for concern. Graham

You mean by dropping coloneys on it! Graham

From the front on, that VF reminds me more of an SV-51. And no, I hadn't heard of this, but I shall certainly try to find out more. Perhaps it's a way around HG's stranglehold on anything with the 'Macross' name in it? Graham

Just checked the shoulders on my VF-0 toys last night (4 x VF-0S & 3 x VF-0A) and thankfully all are fine. Graham