Graham

It's extremely rare and has been out of production for many years. There's only a couple of MWers who own one of these. Anyway, your best bet to find one is probably Yahoo Japan auctions, but even then the chances of finding one are slim. Graham

I bought that magazine last week. In fact the cover pic from the magazine is now the new MW main page pic The pic of the VB-6 is nothing special. It's just a very small pic that shows a grey color VB-6 in Battroid, Gerwalk and Bomber modes. I'll try and scan it tonight if I have time. Graham

Please discuss MPC related matters in the pinned thread at the top. Thanks, Graham

I also think they are FAE bombs as before the bombs hit, they seem to spray out some sort of grey substance in a dome (umbrella shape), which could be the fuel. If the Anti-UN was using nukes, we could probably say goodbye to Shin, Sara, Roy and Aries as well Graham

Mine just arrived at my office, but unfortunately I have a class tonight, so won't get home until midnight to watch it Graham

just received an email from CD Japan to say that my R2 DVD of Macross Zero episode # 4 has shipped today by EMS. Should be in my sweaty little hands in a day or two Graham

i used good old crazy glue but i didn't go overboard since crazy glue melts plastics. Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. I'm trying to track down a source of Neodymium (sp?) magnets in here in Hong Kong, as I think this modification is such a good idea, I but don't want to end up melting my 1/48s. BTW, what is the diameter (in mm) of the magnets you are using? Graham

I'd say buy and watch the 110 episodes of the main story first, then buy and watch the set that contains the 50+ episode sidestory and two movies. Great series, I just recently finished the 110 main episodes and the two movies, "My Conquest in a Sea of Stars" and "Overture to a New War" and I'm just starting on the sidestories. Highly recommended. Graham

Haterist, what glue did you use to stick on the magnets? Is normal super glue OK? Graham

Of course, I'd love to see a line of Macross Zero HCM Pro toys from Bandai, but I really doubt it will happen as Bandai seems to have no respect and interest in Macross. When Bandai have made Macross toys or models in the past, they either do a half-assed effort like the Macross 7 toys and models or are too late and miss the boat completely, like with the 1/55 reissues which flopped due to too much competition from the existing Yamato 1/60 and 1/48. And if Bandai did decided to release some Macross toys in the HCM Pro line, I bet they would just release VF-1 toys (yawn, like we don't have enough of those already) and then they would wonder why nobody bought them....jerks! Bandai, if you are listening, lets' have either a 1/55 Chunky Monkey VF-0A/B/D/S or a line of HCM Pro Macross Zero toys. Graham

Although the HCM Pro line seems to be well sculpted and engineered from the photos we've seen, I think Bandai is making a huge mistake going with this tiny 1/200 scale. Even if I was still into Gundam, I don't think I'd be interested in toys this small. And I personally strongly doubt that we will see any Macross toys in this line. Lots of Gundam, some Super Robots, maybe some Dunbine, Patlabor and L-Gaim, but no Macross. Graham

While you are probably correct that the HCM Pro line wont be entirely Gundam, my guess is that the first 5 years will be nothing but Gundam. I bet Bandai is just going to release the exact same OYW, Z, ZZ, 08MST, 0080, 0083 Wing, G & SEED Mobile Suits that have already been released as MSiA toys. And of course Gundam fans are gonna snap them up regardless of whether they already own the exact same MS as a MSiA, HGUC, MG, PG FIX etc. Graham

Kawamori is apparently a very busy guy and I've heard that it can take a couple of months just to get a 30 minute appointment with him. Graham

That is not Garfield! The image scared the crap out of my when I clicked on the link for the official site. Graham

It's highly probably that this is indeed a low-end product marketed at people on a budget. However, that is no excuse for the poor sculpt. Poor sculpt or not, I'm still gonna end up buying it anyway though Yes, I'm a sucker for Macross toys. Graham

I always have a chuckle when I hear Americans complaining about their 'high' gas prices. Gas prices here in Hong Kong are about US$1.6 per litre (one of the highest prices in the world) and have been that high for years. You don't know how lucky you are. Also, gas prices in the UK, France and Germany are quite a bit more more expensive than in the US. Not sure about Japan, but I would imagine it is high......Rob? Graham

If Bandai put as much effort into Macross as they do for Guncrap, sorry Gundam, they could make some kickass Macross Toys or models if they wanted too. Still, we all know that Bandai has little respect for Macross and when they do make a Macross toy or model, it's always a half-assed effort, a case of too little too late. Graham

I think it was pretty overrated. In fact I find it quite boring. For similar style horror movies of that period, I far prefer The Omen (1976) and Rosemary's Baby (1968). Graham

Can't you colonial rebels (sorry, US citizens) learn to speak the Queen's English after all this time? It's 'Trousers', not 'Pants'. Pants in British English means mens underwear! And to stay on topic, I say no pleats, but then I wear jeans most of the time and I'm allergic to ironing anyway. Graham

Should be end of this week or early next week. Graham

I find it a bit worrying that there has been no hint of an SV-51 toy from Yamato yet. Mind you, the transformation is pretty complex, so it's probably got Yamato scratching their heads over how to accomplish it, even with parts swapping. An SV-51 toy would involve lots of small joints and hinges. And I bet Yamato would have a real problem with Nora's paint scheme. It probably wouldn't be practical to paint on all those yellow markings as there are so many. And stickers would look truely awful. That basically just leaves Tampo printing, which would work, but from what I understand is quite expensive. Graham

Well, to be honest, IMO they didn't really do too great a job with the sculpt of the 19 or 21, although at least they had perfect transformation I just hope Yamato does plan a larger perfect transformation version of the VF-0A/B/D/S and gets a decent sculptor like Nishikawa-san to do it. Graham

Have you all seen this page.? Graham

But you have to admit, Graham, the bloody Banprestos are better designed and better value than this thing. All you need to remove are the heatshields and maybe hands. And swing bars could be made of die-cast for the VF-0, since there is no other die-cast content in it whatsoever, meaning the whole thing would be light a a feather. That way it would be thin yet strong. It would be a similar deal to the 1/48 swingbar, only one bar for each leg, a la the Banprestos, or even the actual Zero animation. I don't see wh that's not possible. The more news I hear of this, the more disappointed I get. I just want to clarify that my above post is not meant to be in defence of Yamato's poor sculpt of the 1/100 VF-0S. In the past I've been very supportive of Yamato, but a poor sculpt is a poor sculpt regardless of whether or not I like the manufacturer. Personally, I think that even if the sculptor only had access to the line art and CG art reference pics from the Bandai Visual and Big West sites and had access to the DVDs, there is enough source material there to make a nicer looking sculpt, given a halfway talented sculptor (which Yamato obviously didn't use). Note, I'm not talking about the transformation mechanism or function as that is still not 100% known, especially as to where exactly on the nose the legs connect to. My major gripe is with the sculpt. And I still think that on a VF-0 toy of whatever scale (1/100, 1/72, 1/60, 1/48), if the hip bars were as thin as shown in the anime, they would not be strong enough, regardless of the material and they would have to be enlarged. Personally, I'd be happy if Yamato went with a back bar as on the 1/48 VF-1. Graham

Yeah, he does look a bit more buff doesn't he. I guess he's been hitting the weights in the six months since episode # 3 Graham