Graham

Eh, GF? Last we heard you were single. So what does she think of all the 1/48s? Graham

You're just saying that 'cause you're in it. Hands up, anyone who's seen Graham and Nick Cage in one place at the same time? 316133[/snapback] I resemble that remark. Graham

Looks good. On my 'to watch' list now. Graham

Well, despite the non-removable Dragoons, it's still a pretty good figure. No real flaws, no warping. Good articulation, joints nice and tight, holds weapons well, reasonable paint job (although I don't like the gold bits). Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Shinn in Destiny kick Kira's ass in Strike Freedom, cus we all know that after Impulse delivered the smackdown on Freedom, Kira is Shinn's bitch . Graham

Seen the cut version a few months back. Pretty good stuff. Would like to see the uncut version. Graham

I think I actually prefer the VF-0S to the VF-1S design now. And there certainly aint nothing boring about the VF-0D. One of the most beautiful looking fighters in all of Macross IMO. Graham

Hmm......just noticed on the Zinc Panic site that they listing the designer of the 1/60 VF-0S as FLEX, which should in theory mean Nishikawa-san (same as 1/48 VF-1). Hope this is correct. Graham

Out shopping last night with Blackaces and Valk009 and we came across the newly released transforming Bandai Nirvash toy. Blackaces picked up one. I was going to get one as well but it was the last piece in the shop and none of the dozen or so other shops we visted that night had any. We broke the toy out of it's window box over dinner to examine it. Lots of twist ties to remove to free him. Anway, the toy stands about 6-7" tall and is mostly ABS construction, with some small rubber and PVC parts. There are no die-cast metal parts at all. Paint job was ok. Arm joints were fairly tight, but the hip joints were quite lose. I decided to try transforming to vehicle mode. There are quite a few steps to the transformation, but the instruction sheet provided is well illustrated. However, transformation is still a bit of a pain as there are lots of small parts that have to be swapped out. Overall, it's not a bad toy. It seems quite posable & comes with several types of swapable hands, two surfboards (1 for the robot to stand on and one folding board to attach to the back of the car to form the spoiler) and two of the boomerang knife thingies. Graham

Guardian Of Unity Forerunner. 314907[/snapback] Gawd, and I bet you're not just making that up.... that is just sad. I wonder if Babi has an acronym too. 314922[/snapback] DOM = Dauntless Obliterator Magnificent Graham

Use the incinerator units Graham

We've discussed this many times. IMO the VF-0 is only inferior to the VF-1 in a few areas. Basically handling was more delicate due to the limitations of regular jet engines as opposed to the thermonuclear engines. Range was limited, again due to the engine's reliance on conventional fuel. If thermonuclear engines had been available this would be a different case. Also, the VF-0's skin was conventional material (titanium/carbon composite) as opposed to Overtechnology material like hyper-carbon. Remember, the VF-0 was an Overtechnology testbed for future variable fighters, so it did have some features that the VF-1 did not have such as an active stealth system. Graham

You are correct, the VF-0's hands do not retract into the forearms. Graham

That pic is from the new September issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine just released a few days ago. And yes, Hasegawa will be releasing the VF-0A with booster in September or October. This was announced a few months ago already. Graham

This could be the one toy that tempts me out of my semi-retirement to do a review. Graham

OK, I've emailed Yamato about the incorrect head lasers. Let's just wait and see if they respond. Graham

Too be honest, I was somewhat underwhelmed by this book. I thought the Kawamori design works was far superior. Graham

Just wondering should I try emailing my old contacts at Yamato about the incorrect head lasers? They haven't spoken to me in more than a year, but I guess it can't hurt. Graham

I voted for the grey VF-0D. That's how I have my Hasagawa VF-0D painted and it looks awesome. My second choice would be a Nora SV-51. I don't know why Nora's scheme doesn't get much love. I find it much more striking than Ivanov's, which IMO is too bland and boring. Graham

Hmm........I've spotted a couple of mistakes in the VF-0S CAD drawings. 1) The head lasers in the CAD drawings are placed exactly in the center of the ear disc. This is incorrect on the VF-0S, as both head lasers should be closer to the edges of the ear discs. 2) The VF-0S should have pointy toes. In the CAD drawings, the toes (front of the feet appear to be straight (like the VF-1). See comparison pics below. Graham

The previous white lineart on black background pics are from the Sept 2005 issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine. The Sept 2005 issue of Hobby Japan has black & green lineart on white background. See attached. Graham

Comparing the Yamato fighter mode lineart to the Hasagawa fighter mode lineart, it appears that the Yamato has a smaller canopy. I guess this was done to make it easier to fit under the chestplate and heatshield in battroid mode. Graham

I'm betting that the nose antenna (pitot tube is it called?) will either fold or retract into the nose somehow. Graham

Looks great. Can't wait to get 3 or 4 of these. I glad Yamato decided to cancel the smaller scale and go with a larger size and do it all CAD, unlike the 1/100. I notice the LERX (or LEX) are still not very visible in battroid mode though, just like on the 1/100. I hope we get a VF-0D later, especially the standard grey version, which IMO after having a Hasegawa built in that color looks so much better than Shin's blue paint scheme. An SV-51 would be great as long as Yamato paints or Tampo prints Nora's yellow markings. Having them as Yamato decals would be a nightmare. Graham

I've finally watched up to episode # 8 of both Eureaka 7 & Aquarion and out of the 2 shows, I'm enjoying Eureaka 7 far more. The characters are just so much more likeable and cute and the interaction between the characters is great fun. The characters in Aquarion on the other hand I just find annoying. I also prefer the mecha designs and action in Eureaka 7, it's got a definite old school 80s mecha anime charm to it. Watching the mecha fights in Aquarion though makes me feel like I'm watching a PS2 mecha fighting game. Plus the Aquarion designs are too busy with far too much kibble. Definitely looking forward to the Eureaka 7 toys. Graham

Hmm...............so it looks like I've got a limit of 1.95mb for attachments, but the problem is from my old posts I've already posted over 200mb of pic attachments. So it looks like unless I delete nearly all my old attachments I can't post any new pics. I can't upload anything to the new sever as it looks like the access codes have changed and I don't have the new ones yet. Graham