Graham

Nope, no news of the 1/100 VF-0S. It's been 6 months now since any of the hobby magazines had any new pictures or info. Add to that the fact that Yamato did not have the VF-0S on display at last month's Wonder Fest, then I have a nasty feeling that it has been dropped from their production schedule. Graham

Don't speak too soon, we haven't seen the 1/48 groin armor yet! Graham

I thought we established in another thread a while ago that Star Wars takes place in just one galaxy i.e. "a galaxy far, far away". So what's with calling a game '"Star Wars Galaxies"? Confused! Graham

And a close-up of the filler piece between the chest and back plates. Graham

Now for some close-up scans of the armor. Graham

Here's the latest pics of Yamato's upcoming 1/48 GBP armor from the just published May 2005 issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine. For the first time, we get to see an actual physical sculpt of the shoulder and forearm armor, rather than just CAD drawings. It looks like all the missiles from the shoulders and forearms will be removable. There's some nice detail on the inside of the missile bays. Although the VF-1J in the photo is shown with DYRL type hands, from the pics of the forearm armor it looks to me that the TV bubble type hands should fit as well. I'm still not too happy that just like it's smaller 1/60 scale cousin, the larger 1/48 version still has to use false shoulder covers in order to fit the shoulder missile launchers. I guess we have no choice but to live with this . I notice that the false shoulder covers seem to have a small sliding cover on the side. One thing which I find very interesting is the addition of side armor to fill the gap between the battroid's chest and back plates. Graham

Cyclones aren't Macross. Graham

That God Zeta V2 kit doen't look half bad. Nah, don't you mean 'God-Strike-Wing' Graham

I dont know if it's correct to say it's wrong per se. While it's usual for the VF-17 to use the elbow lasers in Gerwalk mode and keep the gunpod holstered, I don't think there is any technical reason stopping the VF-17 from using it's gunpod handheld in gerwalk mode. Perhaps Brando's VF-17S did not feature the elbow/wrist lasers. It's possible they could have been removed to make room for the jamming system. Graham

Nope, I haven't had time to collect it from the guy I commisoned to do the job yet. I should be picking it up next Tuesday or Wednesday. Graham

That is incorrect. I also used to think that the the YF-21 could only have guns if it had FAST packs. I BLAME YAMATO!!! To be fair to Yamato, the based their YF-21 toy onepisode # 1 of Macross Plus,where the YF-21 was not armed with the two gunpods. Graham

Yes, the gunpod can be fired from inside the VF-17's leg in fighter mode. Graham

That is incorrect. I also used to think that the the YF-21 could only have guns if it had FAST packs. However, take a look at the pic below from page 88 of the Macross Design Works book, which clearly shows the YF-21 without FAST Packs, but with the two gunpods semi-recessed into the leg bay cover panels. The Hasegawa 1/72 scale YF-21 model kit and the Doyusha 1/144 scale die-cast YF-21 toy are also set up like this with two gunpods semi-recessed into the leg bay cover panels. Also, if you watch episode # 2 of Macross Plus OVA carefully, during the weapons testing, there is a shot of the underside of the YF-21 in fighter mode, where you can see the gunpods attached without FAST Packs. Graham

Unfortunately in real life trying to shoot two guns at once just means you end up not hitting anything. It may look cool in John Woo movies, but it's a really shitty gun fighting technique in real life. Graham

Err....have you watched Macross 7? Check out these screen shots from ep # 44 which clearly show a Fold Booster on Max's VF-22S. And the VF-22 has different leg bay cover panels than the YF-21. Each leg bay cover panel on the VF-22 has the gunpod stored internally as well as a pair of micro missile launchers and a bay for a reaction missile. Yes, you have to suspend belief a little to imagine that all that stuff could fit into the panel . Graham

Manfred Brando's VF-17S color scheme in VF-X2 is different from Millia's red VF-17S in Macross 7. See the attached pics. Note, the yellow trim on the shoulders and wings of Brando's VF-17S is a different more fancy design and the UN Spacy emblems are replaced with what looks like an eye emblem. Graham

Call me old fashioned, unwilling to adapt to change, a dinosaur, etc, etc. But I have absolutely no interest at all in online games. Tried them a couple of times, didn't see what all the fuss was about. I'd much rather just play a good single player game by myself or if there is a 2-player mode with a friend next to me sharing beer and pizza. I guess this is a minority opinion though. I'm not a hard core gamer at all, but I have been playing games on various systems for 20+ years. Graham

Well, at least they are being honest. I've been to a lot of restaurants that served crap, but would never admit it. Graham

Shawn is a legend, a myth. Some say he was once real, others say he never really existed, a figment of the imagination as it were. What is known is that he went MIA years ago, rumoured to have been kidnapped by those dastardly blaggards at Harmony Gold and their evil henchmen, the Row-Boat-Techies. There are those that claim to have sighted Shawn in the years since his disappearance, but much like the ledgendary Yeti or Loch Ness Monster, those sightings remain unconfirmed. Other schools of thought put forth that Shawn is actually not a human being and is in fact the name of the Macrossworld A.I. server. Graham

Puffy are OK, I've got a couple of their CDs, but for J-Pop/J-Rock I'm more into Nanase Aikawa. Graham

I have it from reliable sources that the 1/100 Macross Zero toys were originally planned as a lower budget mass market line, which would proceed a larger scale perfect variable 'collector grade' line of Macross Zero toys to be released at a later date. This is basically analogous to the 1/60 & 1/48 VF-1 marketing, where you have the smaller, cheaper and generally crappier toy line released first and then after selling multiple variants you come out with a larger more detailed version, forcing fans to buy the same mecha (only better) all over again . Unfortunately, it looks like the 1/00 VF-0 toys may not even get a release, which does not bode well for any future collectors grade versions. Graham

Be careful, you might make Agent One jealous . It's pretty dangerous making anybody who looks like a giant tomato angry! Ever seen the movie 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'? Graham

What I would like to see would be a new Macross game from Sega-AM2 set in the 2050s to allow a wide choice of VFs. Not a remake of VF-X2, but perhaps VF-X3, continuing the adventures of Aegis Focker. Either that or a combined Macross Plus and Macross Zero game, as neither anime is really long enough by itself to provide enough stages for a decent length game. And of course for extra reply value a Macross game really needs a mission generator, that allows you to choose terrain and input the number, type and location of enemy units, as well as perhaps choosing different misson objectives, i.e. destroy a bridge, rescue a hostage etc. This is my number one requirement for a new game. If the old Sega Mega Drive F22 Interceptor cartridge game (great game BTW) could have a mission generator back in the early 90s, it should sure as hell be possible to add one now. Graham

Note, Guld was only part of the design team of the YF-21, not the main designer. The Macross Compendium has the following to say about this matter: - Graham

My suggestion for Shawn, get to a computer and spend some time posting on Macrossworld Graham