Graham

I don't get it. Aren't all "prototypes" a scratchbuild anyway? Why can't they take that "one off custom job" blue white YF-19, make moulds for it and make it in ABS/Die cast? It looks pretty solid to me for a model.....imagine how durable it'll be when its casted in ABS. That Hasegawa custom would make a better mould IMHO. Well simplicity is one thing. But I'm sure we all want something more detailed and articulate ala 1/48. Otherwise we'd all be harping for more Bandai reissues. I don't mind the LS version....but if Yamato has to choose between LS mould and others, I hope they don't get the LS one and close the macross plus franchise forever. What a lot of people don't understand is that there is a huge difference in the design of a toy and the design of a plastic model or resin garage kit. Converting a model design to become a toy, is not simply a case of just injecting ABS into the model molds instead of resin or model-grade styrene, then drilling a few holes and adding a few screws. Sorry, it just doesn't work like that. Generally with toys, you are have thicker plastic walls than with model kits, the locating pins are much bigger and not just used for locating, but actually holding parts together. Then of course, joints have to be more durable and of course, there is the issue of screws and rivets which toys use a lot and the space they take up. You can't for example simply take the Hasegawa YF-19 steel molds and use them to make a toy without extensive retooling. All you would end up with would be a thin walled, fragile YF-19 that would still need to be glued together. Basically, you would have to design the thing from scratch and have all the tooling cut from scratch. Same situation applies with most resin kits,w ith a few differences in that most resin kits use big chunky resin parts that have to be glued together and are made using silicon molds, which deteriate very quickly. Converting a scratch-built custom into a toy is often even harder as athough many of the sculptors are very talented, they often don't understand the limitations of toy tooling (something Yamato used to complain a lot about when searching for good sculptors for variable toys). What impresses me a lot about the LS YF-19 is although it is a resin kit, it seems to have been designed more like a toy rather than a typical resin kit, so if steel molds were to be cut for it, it could be put into production with little to no time spent on modifying parts because of tooling limitations. Yes, of course I to would love a larger scale perfect variable YF-19 with better articulation and more detail. However, I think the LS would be a perfect candidate for a lower cost, smaller budget version, priced somewhere in the ¥4000 to ¥5000 range (similar to GFF pricing). Graham

Probably the Yamato 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru with FAST Packs. Grahanm

The hands have to be removed for fighter mode as well I think. Graham

That blue & white transformable YF-19 as featured in the June 2002 issue of Model Graphix magazine was a one-off custom job, using the Hasegawa kit as a base and would be just as or even more fragile than the Liquid Stone YF-19 IMO. Although the larger scale (1/72) does allow for better articulation. More importantly, the custom, scratch built nature of the blue and white YF-19 makes it not really suitable for translating into a mass production toy. While the Liquid Stone 1/100 may have less articulation (hey it is a smaller scale), what really impresses me about it is that it seems to have been designed with an eye to turning it into a toy. I would think that the relative simplicity of the design and modular nature of the parts would readily lend itself to mass production if Liquid Stone (or Yamato) were to have some steel molds cut and make it in ABS. Graham

Anyway, Noel you know the drill, take lots and lots of pics and use all your deep interrogation methods on the Yamato staff to find out more info about any upcoming Macross toys. . Obviously, the items which are of most interest to MW members are any news of what's happened to the YF-19FP and the Macross Zero toys. Graham

Eh, I thought you were going to the Summer WF, but not the winter one? Graham

I suspect that they wait until they have a large enough quantity of parcels, before they call the post office to pick them up. Either that or they are seriously understaffed and work on a 2-3 week backlog before they get to your order. However, as a customer, if I am paying a premium price for fast shipping, I expect fast shipping. There is absolutely no point in paying extra, if all HLJ does is keep the goods sitting around in there warehouse for a couple of weeks before shipping. this is why I seldom use HLJ anymore. Luckily, living in HK, I'm able to find 98% of Japanese items easily enough. Unfortunately, there's always that 2% of items (mostly garage kits), that have to be bought through HLJ . Graham

Yamato have got to realize that there is a huge demand for a nicely sculpted YF-19. It's been what 5 or 6 years since Yamato released their original YF-19 and these are long sold out and hard to find now. When they can be found, they command pretty high prices, US$200 here in HK. If Yamato put the 1/100 Liquid Stone design into mass production, I'd buy half a dozen at least. I bet many MW members and Japanese Macross Plus fans would buy multiples as well. Given that the Liquid Stone design is fairly small and could probably be made all in ABS, except for screws, the retail price point probably wouldn't be too high, ¥5000 or less I'd say. Another good thing about the Liquid Stone design, is that as it is molded in 3 colors already, it wouldn't require much paint application if made by a toy factory, basically, just the red trim, the green visor and the black canopy frame. Come on Yamato, give the fans what they have been clamoring for for years. Graham

I really wish they would make the mecha in SRW games non-SD. Graham

'Disc's of Doom'.....heh, sounds a bit like my wife's pancakes . Graham

Oh yeah, forgot about Min (sorry). Haven't seen him posting on MW lately. Graham

looking at the pics of the unassembled shoulder and wing in the link I posted, I love the ingenuity of the designer(s), how they have used seperate black pieces for the wing and shoulder stripes rather than having them painted on and how it fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. Sheer genius. Graham

Liquid Stone just updated their site, with some new pics of the 1/100 scale pre-built YF-19 resin kit, including pics of the decal sheet. Thanks to Bariaburu Faita for news of the update. Now if only Yamato would buy the rights from Liquid Stone and release this as an ABS toy.......sigh. Gotta love this pic of the three modes. Graham

Heh....guess you are on your own Howard. I know Monkey-N and Blackaces are not going. I think Renato mentioned he won't be either. I wonder if Seichi is going? Hmm......so who else do we have in Japan at the moment? Graham

The lesson, which I keep getting hit over the head with repeatedly (but never seem to learn ) is never order anything from HLJ if you want it in a hurry. Even if the item is listed as 'in-stock' and even if you chose expedited shipping, i.e. EMS, HLJ still take forever and a day to get your order sent out. Graham

All 1/48s except the first couple have the improved nosecone and flaps, so they are all good toys. Your decision should really be based on personal preferance. Which head design do you like, VF-1A, VF-1J or VF-1S? Which character do you like, Hikaru, Roy, Max or Milia? Decide based on that. The toys are pretty much identical anyway apart from the head and coloration. Graham

One thing I've never liked about the SRW games is that they add their own non-anime mecha, which I dislike. I wish they would just stick to anime only mecha. Given the popularity of anime outside of Japan, you would think they would release an English language version of these games. Still I guess licensing could be problematic. Graham

Nice looking kids. Barney is banned in my house, as is Teletubbies My boy quite likes watching Sesame street though. Graham

There's also the side view pic from my review. Graham

Of course, posting that a MW member is going to visit their booth might not be such a good idea Ah, but of course don't forget to wear a cunning disguise, so Yamato won't recognize you as a Macrossworld member . Graham

Of course, posting that a MW member is going to visit their booth might not be such a good idea Nah, I doubt anybody there reads MW forums anymore. They seem to have crawled so far up their own a-holes, that they can't see daylight any more Who me......bitter?....Nah! Graham

We did actually have 1 or 2 threads previously about what is the best Valk toy for toddlers and young kids and also how to child-proof the toys, so small kids don't injure themself playing with them. Obviously, if your toddler is still at the stage wher he puts everything in his mouth, then no Valk toy is suitable, with the possible exception of the 1/65 Stealth Valks, which have no small removeable parts which could be a choking hazard. Obviously, the Yamato 1/48 & 1/60 or Banprestos are not really suitable as they have too many small parts and they are too complex or fragile. A 1/55 is a good first toy, as long as the spring-loaded landing gear is disabled, as those pop open landing gear can easily hurt small fingers. Also, if the 1/55 is a reisue, the canopy should be glued in place, so that it cannot be removed and swallowed. Also, as mentioned above, I personally think a 1/65 VF-17S/D is a great toy for a first valk as it is light weight and durable, so wont hurt too much if your kid accidently hits themself on the head with it. It has no removeable parts or small parts that could come off for the kid to choke on. Transformation is simple. The toy doesn really feature any sharp edges. Graham

Yeah, Bariaburu Faita, tell em you're from Row-Boat-Tech.com Or even better, tell them your an employee of HG and see if you make it out of there alive Graham

I've actually been thinking of doing some retro reviews of the Mac 7 toys and also the 1/55 reissues as well. I can't promise when they will be ready, but I will get round to it........eventually . Graham

Thanks for all the feedback fellas. It's been very interesting and helpful reading all your opinions. I think I'm going to stick with subtitled Macross for my son. I was perfectly happy watching anime I couldn't understand as a kid, so hopefully my son will accept it also. I'd really prefer to avoid showing him RT. Actually, I don't even own any RT DVDs or VHS and I'm not really keen on buying it. Plus isn't forcing your child to listen to Reba West considered a form of child abuse? The Studio Ghibli movies sounds like a good introduction to anime, I think I'll probably try that. Anyway, my little guy is only 8 months old, so I still have a ways to go yet before he'll be interested in watching any anime. It's so sad to hear that so many kids and adults are not into reading. Books have been a huge part of my life since I was a kid and I still go through 1 or 2 novels a week. If I had to choose between books or video games, books would win hands down. I'm going to do everything in my power to encourage my kid to read. Graham