Graham

According to the FAQ I've been using: - To get the Morgan you have to complete the campaign on all ace styles on any difficulty. To get the Falken you have to be awarded the Supreme Mercenary, Supreme Soldier, and Supreme Knight medals. To be awarded the Supreme Knight medal, Complete the Campaign with the ace style meter at the extreme right. To be awarded the Supreme Soldier medal Complete the Campaign with the ace style meter at the exact center of the style gauge. To be awarded the Supreme Mercenary medal Complete the Campaign with the ace style meter at the extreme left. Graham

Eh, I wasn't aware there was more than one book, at least not by Philip K. Dick. Graham

Heh, I'm not supposed pics until the toy is officially released, but I guess I can do that now. Graham

No, it's not complex in function. Variants are: - 1) 1/65 DX VF-17D, released 1995, price ¥4,980. Packaged in Battroid mode. The blue trim & UN Spacy Kites are stickers. 2) 1/65 DX VF-17S, released 1995, price ¥4,980. Packaged in Battroid mode. The yellow trim & UN Spacy Kites are stickers. 3) 1/65 DX VF-17D Limited Edition with dark metallic finish, released 1996, price ¥????. Packaged in Battroid mode. No stickers, but comes with numbered plastic collectors card with VF-17D, VF-17S & VF-19S head illustrations by Kawamori-san. Plain box with no box art. 4) 1/65 DX VF-17S Limited Edition with gold metallic finish, released 1996, price ¥????. Packaged in Battroid mode. No stickers, but comes with numbered plastic collectors card with VF-17D, VF-17S & VF-19S head illustrations by Kawamori-san. Plain box with no box art. 5) 1/65 DX VF-17S reissue, released 2001, price ¥6,800. Packaged in fighter mode with redesigned box. The yellow trim & UN Spacy Kites are now painted on, instead of using stickers. 6) Unreleased 1/65 DX Millia type (red) VF-17S. Prototype was displayed by Bandai at a Japanese toy show back in 1995 along with a prototype VF-19F. Both were never released. Graham

Finished the game last night on normal difficulty in my trusty Typhoon as a Mercenary Ace. Started playing though a second time on Hard. Going to try playing as Soldier Ace. AC0 is a great game. I had no desire to replay AC5 after completing it, but I really want to replay AC0. Graham

That's what I've been hearing as well, that it's the US congress, not Bush himself that is deathly opposed to the ITAR waiver. Oh well, I'd rather UK have more Typhoons and a navalised Typhoon variant than F-35s anyway. Graham

I'm also surprised at the apparent lack of a sense of humor in some of the posters in this thread. Come on guys, it's supposed to be a parody, it's not supposed to be taken seriously. Graham

Heh, for those of you who have seen it and think it's crap, I'm gonna say "I told you so"! I mean it's Brett-Frickin-talentless-hack-Ratboy (sorry, Ratner) directing. In my book, he's right up there with Uwe Boll & Paul W Anderson. I had the displeasure of having to work on set with Ratner when he was filming Rush Hour 2 in HK (my company provided the blank firing guns & ammo) and the guy is a clueless dick IMO. Graham

Do not touch Gundam! Step away from the Gundam! In Gundam lies the path to damnation. Stick with Macross Graham

First of all, it's not a Stealth Bomber. According to the official Macross Compendium, the correct designation of the VF-17 Nightmare is; "UN Spacy special operations variable fighter and heavy battroid". In the Macross 7 TV series, the VF-17's of Dimaond force are actually used more as interceptors than in any other role. IMO, the Banadi VF-17S (original or reissue) and VF-17D (original) toys are definitely worth getting. On the positive side: - They are probably the most durable and rugged variable toys Macross toys ever made by any company, despite being all plastic, with no metal parts except screws. You would have to work really hard to break one of these. Proportions in Battroid mode are good. Arm articulation is good. The toy has a lot of panel lines, more so than Bandai's VF-19 toys made at the same time. In fact, the VF-17 toys have all the panel lines shown in Kawamori-sans 'detail-up' lineart. Transformation is quick and simple (30 seconds or less). It got that mean "don't mess with me look". It's Gamlin's ride. Gamlin is a special forces pilot from Macross 7 and my favorite character in the TV series. On the negative side: - In Fighter mode, it's too chunky when viewed from the side, but looks great when viewed from above. The knees do no bend backwards, so the toy cannot be put into a kneeling pose, although it is possible to modify the knee joints so that the toy can kneel. Hip articulation is limited, so the toy cannot do a spread leg pose. The landing gear is terrible, basically just little fold-down tabs of plastic, with minimal detail. Hands are non-articulated. While no doubt if they choose to Yamato could make a much better VF-17 variable toy, but I can't see it happening. Personally, I love the Bandai toy and have about 10 of them. Graham

Looks better than Ghost Rider and X-Men 3. Graham

The July 2006 Dengeki Hobby magazine scans (just added to the main site), have a great 2 page photo spread on the Wave 1/100 VF-0S Battroid kit. Graham

The July 2006 Hobby Japan magazine scans (just added to the main site), have a great 4 page photo spread on the Hasegawa 1/72 VF-0S Battroid kit. Graham

The July 2006 Hobby Japan magazine scans (just added to the main site), have a great 4 page photo spread on the Hasegawa 1/72 VF-0S Battroid kit. Graham

Guys, Here's the 3 page article from the new July 2006 issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine. Not sure if the weathered finish is custom or going to be standard on the production toy. My guess is it's a custom just for this article. Garland Page 1 Garland Page 2 Garland Page 3 I've also added these pics to the Garland Page in the MW toy section. Graham

What's the name of the plane that looks like a YF-19 with fold booster that you have to fight in mission 18? He never hits me with his punny laser or psychedelic missiles (whatever, they are supposed to be), but boy is it difficult to shoot him down within the time limit. Graham

Don't you mean VF-0A variants? Graham

Actually, I'm really looking forward to a VF-0A CF. I love the head design and the color scheme. One thing I've been trying to find out from Yamato, is whether a VF-0A CF will have Skulls on the tail fins, or the bunny head emblems like on Tenjin's Hasegawa VF-0A CF model box art and decal sheet. Graham

Actually, I really don't know which it will be, but I can find out. Graham

Guys, The new July 2006 issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine and Hobby Japan magazine shows CAD lineart drawings of the upcoming Yamato 1/60 VF-0A head. From the information given, it looks like we can expect to see the VF-0A released in August. Not sure if the articles mention whether the toy will be the Cannon Fodder (brownish-grey) version or Shin's (blue & white) version, but I'm betting on the Cannon Fodder coming first. Enjoy. Click on pics to enlarge Graham

There's a great 3 page article on the Yamato Garland in the new July issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine. I'l get it scanned in tomorrow for you all to see. Graham

I've never really paid much attention to Toynami 1/55 FPs before. I didn't know that their leg FPs had removeable covers like the Yamato 1/48 FPs. So which came first, Toynami 1/55 FPs or Yamato 1/48FPs? Graham

Avoid the 1/60 GBP like the plague. IMO, it's the most disappointing addition to the 1/60 line that Yamato made. As others have mentioned, the front groin armor falls off if you even look at it wrong and the legs constantly fall off, as adding the armor means the hip joint pegs cannot fit deep enough to stay in. Plus the missiles are non-removeable, the sculpt is lacking detail, the proportions are a bit off and the Valk with armor has balance issues. If you want a good GBP, buy the excellent Yamato 1/48 version, or if you are a 1/55 fan track down the old Takatoku version on ebay, anything but the Yamato 1/60 version. As much as I love Yamato toys in general and am a big admirer of their efforts in bringing us a wide range of quality Macross toys, there are two products of theirs I cannot stand, the 1/60 GBP and the 1/72 YF-21FP. Graham

Not to burst your bubble, but this is only about the three hundred and fifty first time that somebody has posted a thread on these Lego valkyries. Graham

Actually, you have got the order wrong. The factory finishes the production run and then the toys are shipped out from the factory and from there make their way to the retail stores, usually through a chain of wholesalers and distributors to the retail stores where they are bought by you, the customer. So by the time the toy is 'released', it's technically already out of production, or at least that producton run is over. Yamato production runs are not that high quantity. Remember, these are high-end collectors grade figures, with a limited customer base, not cheap mass-market toys that you get with a Happy Meal that are produced in the millions. So basically, the toys are not kept in continuous production and as I mentioned above, by the time the toy hits the store shelves, the factory has already moved on and is producing something else. Whether Yamato reissues toys, i.e. asks the factory to create another production run, basically depends on whether the toy sold well and whether they get enough orders for a second production run. As to whether you should buy a 1/48 GBP or 1/60 VF-0S, that really depends on which one you like best. The GBP initially sold out very fast, but most shops (at least the ones where I live) do have stock again. The VF-0S sold out very quickly, but a second batch is supposed to be on the way next month. Graham