Graham

The shoulder weapon, actually predates the design of the Strike Valk cannon by 5 years. On the blister packing of the US version of the Kaiyodo Powered Suit action figure toy, the shoulder weapon is described thus: "Rail Gun Launcher discharges missiles using magnetism, and smashes enemy fortresses". Graham

I've had the anime on VCD for about 5 years, no English subs though I actually first watched it on rental LD about 12 years ago. The Powered Suit designs are gorgeous (of course as they are by Studio Nue) and the anime sticks fairly closely to the book. However, there are no Skinnies, Johnny is blond and the bugs are not really bugs, but wierd, energy spewing beings. Also, apart from a few training scenes there is not much combat, except for the last episode. It's worth watching just to see the action in the final episode though. Graham

Nope, they are supposed to be colored. Graham

Shall pass on this. Not into cutey comedy anime at all. Graham

While it's true I did coin the term 'Chunky Monkey' in reference to the 1/55, it was always meant with affection After all, I've owned 1/55 toys for 13 years now. I wouldn't keep them that long if I didn't like them. However, I still consider the 1/55 to have a very inaccurate sculpt compared to both the 1/60 and 1/48. Also the 1/55 is fairly limited in it's articulation and poseabilty, especially compared to the 1/48. However, despite these drawbacks I still consider the 1/55 a good toy, and for it's time (early 1980s') it was a great toy. IIRC I coined the term 'Chunky Monkey' when Yamato first released the 1/60 VF-1A Hikaru toy. Initially I was wowed by the more accurate-to-lineart sculpt of the 1/60 and it's wider range of poses. However, the various well documented problems with the 1/60, especially the loose hip joints and stability issues, as well as the coming of the far superior 1/48 have left me somewhat jaded as to the 1/60. If asked now as to which I'd buy if given the choice, a 1/55 or 1/60, I'd probably have to think very carefully before deciding. Of course, the 1/48 is king and rules all, so I don't need to think about buying anymore 1/55 or 1/60 Even though my 1/55 toys are all in storage now and no longer have a place in my display cabinet (apart from a single solitary DYRL VF-1A Hikaru reissue), they will always have a special place in my heart. In fact I'm saving the Bandai reissues for my son, for when he is old enough for his first Valks. Graham

Huh. Well, where does that rumour come from, then? The Macross Compendium has a list of animes on which kawamori has worked in various capacities. See it here. Dorvack is not mentioned, but then again the Compendium's list may not be complete. Graham

Too true. AFDS started off fun, but after a while the missions just got ridiculously frustrating. Not good for the old blood pressure, let me tell you Before I gave up playing I was getting to the stage where I was shouting and swearing at the game and throwing my PS2 controller on the floor in frustration. I sorta figured it was time to give up then move onto something else Graham

Kawamori did design a Transformer. It's called Jetfire. Ha dee ha ha That's not even funny. Even after all these years, I'm still pissed that our beloved 1/55 VF-1 was made into a Trannie. Is nothing sacred Graham

You could probably kill a boar with a sharpened stick but that doesn't make it a good idea. The 10mm sounds like the best idea yet. I shot clean through an old refrigerator with my S&W 1006 and when I opened the fridge there was an old enging block inside. .40S&W may also be something to consider. You have a 1006? Oh you lucky guy. I love the S&W large frame 5" 45/10mm autos (645, 745, 945, 4506, 1006). I've always wanted to try a 1006, but have never had the chance. My very first 45 pistol was the two-tone 745, totally reliable and great trigger and sights. I'm still pissed at S&W for dropping the 5" 4506 and 945 Graham

I'm not a big fan of the H&K MK23, IMO it's really just too big for what it is. I admit I've only fired a single magazine through one, but I found the grip too blocky and the gun was just too large and didn't point well at all for me. The beavertail is also too square (H&K should have rounded the corners) and it makes disengaging the safety a little uncomfortable, at least for me. The MK23 would really benefit from a size reduction. If you really must get an H&K 45 pistol, I'd go with the full size 45 USP. Very reliable, much less bulky and points better than the MK23 as well. I'd recomend the variant without the decock function though if you carry cocked n' locked as I've seen several shooters who do carry cocked n' locked sweep the safety down too far on a speed draw and go into decock, instead of fire. Result = gun don't go bang and you have to waste half a second to let the safety/decock lever go back to fire position and then fire from double action. Seen the same thing happen to shooters of the Taurus PT-92 series autos who carry cocked n' locked as well. Of course, I still recommend a G21. Points better than any H&K, less muzzle flip due to lower bore axis and with hi-cap mags you get one more round than the MK23/USP.45. Completely OT, but my R1 Sledge Hammer, season 1 DVD box set just arrived from Amazon.......Yee ha! Can't wait to get home and pop it in the DVD player "Trust me, I know what I'm doing". Graham

I'd actually like to see Kawamori design a Transformer. Bet you wouldn't have doors and all that other crap hanging off the bot mode then . Graham

I'll admit that the BT toys look good in vehicle mode, but I still think that the bot modes looks a mess. If I was ever going to buy a TF toy, the only one I'd ever consider buying would be the 20th Anniversary Optimus, as not only is it well articulated, but it actually looks accurate and good in both modes. It's actually the only TF toy that I've seen that I think does look good in both modes. Plus it has none of that ugly neon plastic weapons that so many TF toys have. Graham

I've seen this thing in person at the recent HK Toy Fare........Trust me you don't want pictures Actually, it's not too bad. Transformer fans will probably like it, as the design principal, quality etc seems similar, but it can't compare to a Macross Variable Fighter. Graham

I'd have to completely disagree with you that civilians owning a gun for home protection or defence is practically useless. However, proper training, the correct mindset, a lot of practice, not to mention a good dolop of common sense and a cool head is recommended as well. I'm a big supporter of civilian gun ownership, but I do feel that mandatory training is a must and should be fairly comprehensive, as I've seen too many examples of extremely unsafe gun handling from untrained or poorly trained people. There are several good shooting schools, especially within the US that can teach the skills necessary to be victorious should you be unlucky enough to become involved in an armed confrontation. Gunsite and Thunder Ranch are two that spring to mind. Also, some of the shooting sports such as IDPA and IPSC, which has it's roots in combat shooting (although is now a bit too gamey for my tastes) are very good training for teaching you to shoot fast and acurately at multiple targets and moving targets at different ranges, while moving, shooting from behind cover etc. I'd even go as far to say that the average IPCS/IDPA competetor is a far better shooter than most cops, for the simple reason that they are firearms enthusiast and practice a heck of a lot more, whereas most cops are not really gun people and view a gun as a tool only. The only time many cops practice is at the mandatory quarterly qualifications, whereas a lot of IDPA/IPSC shooters may shoot several hundred to several thousand rounds a week. Shooting is a perishable skill and without constant practice, which most law enforcement personal do not have enough of, skills decline. I'm only a fair to good shooter (been shooting IPSC for about 10 years on and off), but at a Glock Instructors course which we hosted back in year 2000 for the local Anti-Terrorist team, I was able to shoot as well as or better than most of them with a handgun. Of course, they were much better than me with their MP5s though . Graham

The YF-21's two gunpods can be attached to the YF-21 in fighter mode either with or without the FAST packs fitted. Without FAST packs fitted, they are stored semi-recessed in the leg bay cover panels (belly plates) in fighter mode. This can be clearly seen in the line-art circled '94.5' in the middle right panel on page 88 of the Shoji Kawamori Macross Design Works book. Also, both the 1/144 scale Doyusha YF-21 toy and the 1/72 scale Hasegawa YF-21 model kit have the gunpods correctly semi-recessed into the belly plates. Interestingly, neither of the two TIAS Macross Plus books feature that particular piece of line-art, which has led some people to the incorrect assumptions that either the YF-21 fighter could only carry the gunpods when the FAST packs are attached or that without FAST packs fitted, the two gunpods are stored completely internally inside the belly plates (an assumption I wrongly held until fairly recently). In episode # 1 of the Macross Plus OVA, the YF-21 does not have the gunpods fitted, which is why Guld uses the wrist lasers to shoot down the drones. However, if you look closely at the YF-21 in episode # 2 during the aerial gunnery scene, you can see the gunpods semi-recessed into the YF-21's belly plates in fighter mode. As the line-art of the YF-21 fighter mode without FAST packs but with gunpods fitted was not published until the end of 2001 in Design Works, I'm thinking this is probably why Yamato's original YF-21 toy which came out in 2000 did not have gunpods, as Yamato may have only had access to or seen the more common line-art, which shows the non-FP YF-21 Fighter with no gunpods. Graham

Although I'm more of a Glock 21 fan (had 10,000rds through mine with no failures to feed or fire), I also love the Glock 20, although none of the gun dealers stock 10mm ammo here in HK, so on the rare occasions when I still do shoot, there's no way to shoot 10mm On one overseas trip I did once have a chance to shoot steel falling plates at 100m with a Glock 20. Fantastic gun and very flat shooting at that range. For hunting with the Glock 20, I'd recommend the factory optional 6" barrel, which should probably add a couple hundred fps velocity. And Glocks are NOT butt ugly. They are beautiful guns. Graham (Glock dealer & Glock armorer since 1996)

In the the S&W .500 Magnum, I far prefer the shorter barreled version. Should be much easier to carry when hiking or trekking and by all accounts it's a real blast to shoot (pun intended). Graham

Glad you and your wife are ok and your 1/48 collection was unharmed Just as others in this thread have said, you did take a big risk as the kid could well have been armed and you could have ended up shot or stabbed....not good. Luckily this time it had a happy ending. Personally, I'd recommended buying a quality home defence firearm and make sure you get the training how to use it and practice as well (very important). If you are unlucky enough to have another buglar, the safest plan is to barricade (lock) yourself and your wife in your bedroom, which should be fitted with a reinforced door and call the cops from there. Of course the bedroom should have it's own phone line. The firearm is basically for defending yourself only if the badguys are breaking down your bedroom door, not for going out to hunt them down with. It's never a good idea trying to confront buglars or home invaders and no personal property is worth risking your life over, not even a Low Vis 1/48 If your are uncomfortable with firearms in the home for whatever reason, invest in some OC Pepper Spray or a few strategically placed baseball bats around the house is probably better then nothing. Graham

That's a great idea for a stand, but personally, I think I'd be too scared to go drilling holes in my Hasegawas, especially after I paid so much to have them painted . Graham

I hope Yamato are not giving up on Macross, but to be honest, there doesn't seem to be many new products on the horizon and I'm pretty sure the YF-19FP and non-transforming Destroid Monster are now vapourware There is still so much stuff Yamato could do. Personally, I think that is this year is the 10th anniversery of Macross 7, it would be a good chance to release some high detailed, accurately proportioned, perfect transformation Mac 7 toys. I'd definitely buy multiples of the following toys if Yamato made them: - Macross 7 Toys, either 1/55, 1/60 or 1/48 scale (1/72 is too small) VF-22S Max Colors VF-22S Milia Colors VF-22S Gamlin colors (D7) VF-19Kai w/Sound Booster VF-19S w/FAST Packs VF-19F w/FAST Packs VF-19P (D7) VF-17S w/FAST Packs VF-17D with optional Radome VF-17S Milia colors VF-17TKai w/Sound Booster VF-11C w/Space FAST Packs VF-11C w/Atmospheric FAST Packs (from Nightmarish Invasion) VF-11C Full Armour VF-11D w/Sound Booster FAST Packs Fz109F Fz-109A I deliberately didn't include Mylene's VF-11MAXL Kai on the above list as there is only one version of it that Yamato could release, so they would probably loose money on the tooling. However, all the other toys; VF-11, VF-19, VF-17 & VF-22 have multiple versions which could be released, mostly just involving a head and color change and some minor resulpting, thus making it more likely that Yamato could recoup their costs and turn a profit. Of course a VF-11 and VF-22 toys should be all new resculpts and not based on the existing Macross Plus toys. Of course there is so much other Macross stuff that I'm convinced would sell if only Yamato made them with decent sculpts, such as Mac Plus resculpts, Mac Zero Perfect Transformation toys, M3 mecha to name but a few. Graham

I think both the 1/100 VB-6 Konig Monster and 1/100 VF-0S are presently scheduled for end of the year, although I wouldn't be surprised if that slips again to 1st quarter 2005 Graham

Unfortunately, I suspect that is probably true With no new Yamato Macross products slated for release until the end of the year, except the Max Q-Rau and CM's Milia figures, it looks like Macross toy fans are in for a boring 2nd half of 2004 Graham

So little, I'm surprised. I would have thought the Phalanx would have a huge magazine capacity, compared to when the Vulcan gun is installed in a fighter jet, given that there should be far less space restictions on a battleship compared with sticking the same gun in a fighter. If it's not classified, can you tell me what is the magazine capacity of the Phalanx and how many rounds on average are fired in a single burst? Graham

If you want something more sturdy, but which still looks great, I'd recommend buying a toy like the Yamato 1/48 VF-1 instead. Hasegawas are supposed to be traditional (fragile) model kits, not the half-toy half-models that the Bandai Gundam kits are. Although I'm not a model builder, I recently comissioned a pro-painter to build me 3 Hasegawa kits (VF-22S, VF-0S and SV-51 Nora), all built wheels up as if flight and I'm absolutely blown alway by them. I can't believe how big the SV-51 is, it's a monster. Graham

Er...what's RAM? I presume you are talking about some sort of launcher and not Radar Absorbent Material? And what's a NATO Launcher? Something for getting rid of those pesk NATO allies when they don't agree with US policy? Sort of like one of those cannons they use at the circus for shooting out the human cannon ball.......simply load in any NATO ally that is being troublesome and fire him overboard Sorry for the ignorance, but I'm not as up on ship defensive systems as I am on aircraft and smallarms. Graham