Graham

You are forgetting Yamato's earlier 1/60 version! (Although many of us wish we could forget it) . Graham

Errr.....ok. When Yamato have spent nearly a year in development, have the CAD designs finished and already have a completed physical sculpt, plus have probably started to cut the steel molds, I'm sure they will be influenced by a photo of a model from an old hobby magazine . Just because a few fans prefer that model kit sculpt, doesn't mean Yamato is going throw out their existing design and start all over from scratch. There is already a lot of money invested in the design so at this stage of development there is no way that they are going to be making any major changes. Graham

And in July, they will release a 'Silver Spar Squadron' repaint. I like this one as it has kill markings under the cockpit. Graham

I guess Joyride have been listening to fan complaints that their first Viper toy was too dark, as they are releasing a whiter 'Blue Squadron' Viper in May. Graham

Wow, she looks about 35 in that photo. Graham

Them be child bearing hips! Graham

The head/Body of ED-209 always reminded me of an electric razor. Graham

I watched 4 episodes of the original series on DVD over the weekend. Gotta say the stripes on the Vipers definitely look more orange than red on my TV. Wow, that filming model actually looks suprisingly badly painted. The little Konami trading figure actually looks much better IMO . Graham

I've loved Sledge Hammer since when it first originally aired on TV in the 80s. I already own the season 1 DVD set, so I'm ordering season 2 right away. Graham

The news is also on the Macross Compendium. Here's what Egan has to say: - 1/72 SV-51γ w/ Twin Boosters "Macross Zero" Plastic injection model Buildable as Ivanov Type or Nora Type Lift fan hatch and cockpit buildable as opened or closed Includes 2 overwing booster units; pilot; weapons, including gun pod, composite pods, anti-ship missiles, and two additional missiles; auxillary tanks; decals for Ivanov Type or Nora Type Compatible with Macross Stand Length: approximately 319 mm Macross series 65776 Hasegawa 2005 May, end of (scheduled) Y3200 Y3360 (tax included) Yes, this version appeared in episode # 5 of Macross Zero. It will be a very big kit. I've got the standard SV-51 and it is a big bird. I'm guessing a booster equipped VF-0A/S from episoode # 5 won't be that far behind from Hasegawa Graham

Check the YF-21 Gerwalk lineart and you can clear see the shutters on the underside of the two main engines. These shutters open to direct thrust dowards for hovering. The Macross Compendium has the following to say: - "Two banks of pivoting underfuselage slits acting as main nozzles for VTOL hovering in GERWALK mode". Graham

As there's been a few threads recently complaining about the slow order processing/delivery time with HLJ, I decided to try an experiment. When the Tenjin book was first announced several weeks ago, I placed a preorder at the same time with both HLJ and amazon.co.jp. The preorders were placed just minutes apart. It will be interesting to see what the time difference is between the arrival of the books from the two companies. Graham

I have that, but it's not for sale. Graham

Nah, the devil gets beaten too easily in most movies. Graham

But in the movie Demolition Man, the character of Simon Phoenix used a S&W model 3913LS 'Ladysmith' 9mm, a pistol marketed for use by women for self-defence. So just for carrying a woman's gun he's way down on my list of bad guys . S&W 'Ladysmith' 9mm. Graham

For those that ordered from HLJ, I expect you'll receive you books.......oh in about 5 weeks or so Tee Hee Graham

Cough....'toys'...cough......This is McFarlane you are talking about. Don't you mean: - "expect new breakage-prone, poorly articulated statues". Graham

Stay on target. And behave, don't make me have to get out my spanking paddle. Graham

I think one member did have plans to do this. I forget who it was though, but nothing has been heard in a long, long time, so the project is probably dead. You can try doing a search, although I suspect that it is so long ago that it might be on the old forums. Graham

Just received an email notice from amazon.co.jp that my book has shipped, so I should receive it in about 2 days. Graham

Who is the big ass chick in Spandex and why is she flying around in the beginning like a US Superhero? Made me think of Phoenix from the X-Men. I'm sorry, but the dialog and voice acting is cringe-worthy. Yes, I know it's just a cartoon and a ram-it-down-your-throat propaganda announcement to boot, but nobody and I mean nobody actually talks like that. Nice to see a Legioss though however breifly. That really looks nothing like Stick. Graham

I far prefer the Destiny designs to the UC OYW mecha. Give me Impulse any day rather than a RX-78. Graham

Bandai wouldn't be Bandai if they didn't release at least one new RX-78 toy or model each week I've never understood why so many people like the RX-78 though. Nostalgia be damned, it's one of the ugliest, most boring mecha designs ever IMO. I hate it with a passion. Graham

Yep, that pic is of a very old sculpt. The sculpt has actually gone through some revsions since then (head laser angle changed, hip sockets redesigned smaller). The revised sculpt was displayed by Yamato at a few hobby shows in Japan around the middle of last year. If you search, you should be able to find the threads with the pics of the revised sculpt. However, for 6 months now there has been no new news or photos of this toy in any of the Japanese Hobby magazines. Also, Yamato has stopped displaying the sculpt at the last few hobby shows, which has lead many of us to suspect that they have decided to drop it from their production schedule. Graham

One thing that the Joyride Viper got wrong is the center windscreen of the canopy. As shown in this pic, it should taper downwards to get narrower at the bottom, but on the Joyride toy, the center windscreen has nearly no taper. The Konami Viper's canopy is much more accurate in this regard. Also, the Konami viper has the red strip on the bottom of the Viper that is missing from the Joyride version. Graham