Graham

Modelling is all well and good if you have the skill, time and patience to master it, which I don't unfortunately . For me, model kits could never replace my love of toys for the simple reason that they are just too damn fragile. Yes a well built model will almost always look better than any toy, but unfortunately they just don't stand up to anything but the most gentle of handling. I occasionally pay to have models built (beacuse I can't paint worth a damn), but only if it's of a design I really like of which there is no toy yet. I love my three painted Hasegawa Macross models (SV-51, VF-0S & VF-22S), but I'd much prefer toys of them, as I can't enjoying handling or playing with the models as I'm in constant fear of breaking them. Actually, I don't think anybody here is saying that those who love diecast are irrational. All I'm doing is stating my reasons why I personally don't like diecast in a transforming toy. I'd definitely agree with you that the 1/48 is more durable than most people give it credit for, but I'd have to disagree that describing it as a model is more relevant than calling it a toy. In my opinion, the 1/48 is most definitely a toy as it can be played with, handled and transformed fairly roughly with little fear of breakage. The main reason my 1/55s are in storage is that I simply have no space to display them. Houses in HK are small and I only have space for 1 display cabinet. If I had a bigger house, my 1/55s would probably still be on display. As it is I prefer to display the nicer looking (IMO) Yamato Macross Plus toys, Yamato 1/60 VF-1 toys and the Yamato 1/48 VF-1 toys, which completely fill up my display cabinet. As for saving the 1/55s for my son, why is that destoying them? I don't plan to give them to him until he is old enough to appreciate them. Plus I have my own collection of 1/55 toys as well. He's not getting all of them you know I hope, I will never grow out of toy collecting. And just because a piece does not have any diecast doesn't mean it is not a toy. Personally I prefer toys that are durable and can be handled without fear of breakage. However, I do want my toys to look as accurate as possible to the source material, given the limitations of the sculptors and toolmakers skills. And with the current state of toymaking technology, it is possible for toy companies to make toys which are durable, playable and yet asthetically pleasing either with or without diecast as Yamato and other toymakers have shown us. It's just my personal experience that diecast does not always equal durability or playabilty. I hope nobody will defend me, there's certainly no need to, as I don't feel I'm being attacked. I don't know why you get the impression I don't love toys? I'm still an avid toy collector, and love toys, but for both financial reasons and space limitations, my toy collecting these days is limited to Macross. Graham

As others have mentioned, Glock offers an extended slide release, which is much easier to use, yet still low-profile enough for both concealed or uniform carry. I shot my G21 in IPSC for several years and never had any difficulty using the standard slide release and I only have medium size hands. Anyway, some clarification is on order. Glock doesn't actually refer to it as a 'Slide Release'. It's actually a 'Slide Stop Lever'. Glocks philosophy is that it is for locking back, i.e. stopping the slide only and the correct way to release the slide is to use your weak hand to pull back and release the slide. Of course, there will be times when your weak hand is being used for something else and you will need to use your thumb to trip the slide. You say "There's no hammer, and no decocker" like that's a bad thing? The stiker fired 'safe action trigger system', with it's consistant shot-to-shot trigger pull doesn't require either a hammer or decocker. Gaston Glock designed his pistols to be as snag-free as possible, without any extraneous levers, switches, gadgets, gee-gaws, bells and whistles on the exterior surface to provide for a smooth draw, thus minimising the chance of the pistol getting cought up in clothing during the draw. While HK make good quality firearms, if I had to choose between a USP 45 and a Glock 21, I'd take the G21 any day. I've fired the USP and didn't like the mushy trigger, the 1 rd lower capacity and the larger percieved size (not sure if actual size is bigger or not). Mostly I'd choose the G21 beacuse of it's lower bore axis. For me it has the least muzzle flip of any 45 I've ever shot. I personally find the G21 to be the softest shooting 45 ever, with minimal felt recoil and almost no muzzle flip. On the other hand the USP has a very high bore axis and I found shooting it, my shot-to-shot times, were much slower. Anyway, firearms preference is a highly individual thing and we are lucky enough that there are still enough manufacturers that make something for everybody to like. Graham

Yeah, more of my extremely limited shelf space taken up, which is not good Graham

Let's see it hold that sword above it's head without any support Graham

Actually, I've always been very vocal supporter on Macrossworld of less die-cast metal parts is better on a transforming toy. I'd be quite happy if all future Yamato Macross toys were all ABS and POM plastic, with only the bare minimim metal part where absolutely necessary for strength. In fact if a toy is designed right, metal parts (apart from screws) aren't necessary. A good example of this is the Bandai 1/65 scale VF-17D/S toy. This toy has zero metal parts (except for screws and 1 or 2 pins), but is one of the sturdiest Macross toys ever made. I don't mind die-cast metal parts on a non-transforming toy, but on a transforming toy, you inevitably get paint chipping and increased wear and often premature loosening of joints. Also, I've found that when a toy includes both die-cast metal and ABS plastic parts, it is often difficult for the manufacturer to get an exact color match between the painted metal and the plastic parts a good example of this is Yamato's YF-19 toy. Graham

NOooooooooooo! Good in Blackhawk Down, Terrible in Hulk. Not suitable for Bond at all. Graham

Yes it is expensive to have the models built. I'm usually a toy guy and don't go near models as I find them too fragile, but I figured as we'll probably never see a VF-22S toy and who knows if Yamato will make an SV-51, so I decided it was worth it to have the models built. And I couldn't resist getting the VF-0S made, as I love the design and so far the prototype Yamato 1/100 VF-0S toy looks pretty crappy. Yes, you are correct. The Ivanov and Nora types differ only in color and decals. I'm sure Hasegawa will release an Ivanov version soon, perhaps with the large FAE bomb featured in episode # 4. Graham

As the base color is white it would be a good toy to custom into a VF-19P from Dynamite 7 Graham

Last pic, the Zero and SV-51 together. The SV-51 is a huge bird, it would absolutely dwarf a VF-1! Graham

SV-51 from the front. Graham

Now for Nora's SV-51. Graham

Another VF-0S pic. Graham

Next up, the VF-0S. My only gripes with this kit is the guy who built it for me forgot to add the arrestor hook and he put one of the '301' decals on the leg fins upside down Graham

Front view of the VF-22S. Graham.

Another pic of the VF-22S with different lighting. Graham

Here's some photos of my Hasegawa Macross models. I paid to have these built, as I can't paint for toffee I asked for all of them to be built 'wheels up', as I think Valks look much better in flight. First up, Max's VF-22S from Macross 7. Graham

One wierd thing about the Full Armor RX-78 MSiA, is that the foot armor is not removeable, it's just molded onto the foot. All the other armor pieces can be removed, but not the foot armor. So if you do take off the armor, you end up with an RX-78 with big looking feet. Oh, and the new September issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine shows that Bandai are working on an all new sculpt of the GP-01 with a removeable core fighter. Graham

Try Mari's official site: www.marimusic.com Mari has quite a lot of English songs, but I still prefer her singing in Japanese. Graham

The mecha scenes in 3D VF-X looked pretty damn good as well and looked as if they were made by the same company and at the same time as the VF-X2 game intro movie. IIRC, I think there was some shared footage. Graham

Thankfully, HK is a very safe city and we have very few crimes involving firearms. There are probably only a couple of armed bank or jewellery store robberies a year here and a lot of the time the bad guys are carrying imitation (airsoft) firearms, not the real thing. It's not particulaly difficult or expensive for criminals to get fireams if they want them, as stolen PLA (Chinese Army) firearms can be smuggled across the border from mainland China pretty easily and bought cheaply. However, it's pretty rare for Triad gangs to use firearms here. Don't believe everything you see in HK movies Triads are businessmen, with their main businesses being pirating movies and software, prostitution and smuggling. Having mass shootouts in the streets is bad for business. However, back in the early 1990s, we did have quite a few big shootouts in the streets with ex-military criminal gangs using AK-47 rifles coming from mainland China to perform bank robberies in HK. Thankfully that doesn't happen these days. In HK you can walk pretty much anywhere you want at anytime of the day or night wihout fear. Although there have recently been quite a few cases of poor mainland immigrants robbing hikers in country parks. Of course we do have crime just like every other country, but according to the annual police report just released crime is down 7.5% from last year (read story here), except I think for the number of pickpocketing cases and rapes which are slightly higher. Graham

Yeah, somebody go bang on his cage with a big stick Graham

I'd hardly call M7 a failure. While it may not be a fan favorite of mecha fans like Macross Plus, it does have a large hardcore fan base. When Macross 7 first aired on TV in Japan (1994-95), merchandise sales, which are a good indicator of a shows popularity were pretty stong, expecially the CD sales, which were very high by all accounts. And compared with many non-Gundam mecha shows, there was also quite a large number of toys (12), plastic models (9) and many garage kits produced. While the number of toys and models can't compare to Gundam, it does compare very favorably to other contemporary mecha shows like Escaflowne, Nadesco & Gasaraki. Also, for a while both Mylene and Basara were ranked very highly in the Newtype magazine readers poll of favorite characters. I'd have to dig out my old issues, but IIRC, for a while the may have even held 1st place and were definitely in the top 3! Also, since Macross 7 finished it's run on TV, it has been released at least twice on LD incluing a boxed set and been released on official R2 DVD at least once as well. Unpopular shows don't get that many releases. Also, a show which is a 'failure' would be cancelled before running it's full term (cough, cough Gundam X), not to mention having an additional 3 episodes released as an OVA and a 4 part sequel (D7) released. No, I think it's safe to say that Macross 7 was not a failure! Graham

I haven't heard about 'things getting in the way'. The rumor I did hear was that the CG character designs, which IIRC were first shown in an issue of New Type magazine received a lot of negative comments and so the project was cancelled. Perhaps Egan Loo can clear up this matter for us. Personally, I liked what I saw of 3D VFX on the 20th Anniversery DVD and would have liked to see it completed. Graham

Unfortunately, the TV animation is not consistant in its depiction of the colors of Max & Milia's FAST packs and IIRC, the colors change a few times in the episodes where the FAST packs are shown. Yamato will have asked Big West what are the correct colors, so it can be understood that the Yamato colors are official. Graham

That diorama is from an old issue of Hobby Japan. I used to have that issue, but unfortunately, no longer keep it as due to space limitations I only save the Macross pages from my hobby magazines these days and junk the rest of the magazine. Graham