Graham

Try PMing Blackaces, he usually has info on show dates. Graham

Back in 2002, when I went to the Tokyo Toy Fair, the first two days were for industry people only and the last 1 or 2 days it's open to the public, although of course you have to pay to get in. Graham

Giant Robo was one of the first anime titles to get a HK DVD bootleg box set release a few years ago when anime DVD bootlegs with English subs started to appear. However, the HK set (I forget by which company it was by) had the most appalling subtitles I have ever read. The sentence structure just did not make sense at all and all the characters names were completely changed to either Chinese names or total stupid sounding made-up names. The subs were so bad that I really had to force myself to sit through the whole thing and once I'd finshed, I threw it out at once. One word of warning about Giant Robo. If you are expecting lots of mecha action (as I was), you will be very disappointed. Apart from the first episode, there is hardly any mecha action at all. Most of the action (and there is quite a lot of it) is in the form of hand to hand combat or gunfights between the characters. Giant Robo is well animated and has a good story (I suppose). It certainly has a fairly large fanbase, but I just didn't enjoy it much due to the lack of mecha action. Out of the recent Super Robot genre titles, I far prefered Shin Getter Robo Armageddon and Mazinkaizer, both of which featured far more mecha action. Graham

$150 is a very good price for a Bandai 1/55 Strike Valk with box and all accessories, even if it is yellowed. However, as others have mentioned, this one has been modified and the forearms are either no longer the original parts or they have been repainted. Without examining the toy in person or seeing some close-up photos, it's difficult to tell what else may have been replaced or modified. Still, $150 is not too bad even just for the FAST packs Graham

It's not too expensive to get in. IIRC, last time I went to the Tokyo Toy Fest a couple of years ago it cost between ¥1,500-¥2,500 to get in (I forget the exact amount). Graham

Noel (Blackaces) is in Tokyo at this moment. Graham

Just added some updates to the site:- 1) The long overdue VF-11B FAST Pack review. 2) Dengeki Hobby Feb & March 2004 scans here. 3) Hobby Japan March 2004 scans here. 4) Character Model Winter 2004 scans here. Graham

Hmm....first time ever I've seen that part break on a 1/48, strange! Need to check is it actually screwed or rivited in place as well. If it's rivited in place, you'd probably need to get a whole replacement backplate assembly. I wish people would stop calling the 1/48s fragile though. IMO, they are pretty tough toys, with the exception of part # BP8, which even I admit is too fragile and needs to be handled with care. The only parts I've ever heard of breaking on a 1/48 are several backpack hinges (part #BP8), a couple of head lasers, but that's usually through carelessness and I think on one or two occasions the canopy hinge. But considering the total quantities produced, there has been little to complain about generally. Still, it does suck though when something does break on such an expensive toy. Graham

That depends on how many official color scheme's there are of this model in Mac Zero. So far there have been three color schemes shown in the animation: - 1) Nora's SV-51. 2) D.D. Ivano's SV-51. 3) Tan Cannon Fodder. SV-51. Graham

Looks nice, but how about adding a US Army style 'Chocolate Chip' desert camo scheme. And that purple Heat hawk really clashes. IMO it really needs to be a darker color, maybe gun metal grey or something. Graham

Yep, I've been told that the GBP-1S Armor will fit all 1/60 Valks, except for the two-seaters VF-1D, VT-1 & VE-1. Not sure if the armor set by itself comes with the big hands, but i presume so. Graham

The charcters kill this show for me. The main character is one of the most annoying in anime history. I just cannot take angsty main characters in anime anymore. In real life, the main character (Rei?) would never have made it as a military pilot the way he acts. Graham

Err...they should have identical articulation as they both use the same basic battroid body, just one has FAST Packs and the other doesn't. The only real difference between the two kits is that the Strike battroid should have the newer 'improved' stronger hips, while the standard battroid has the older hip design, which is supposed to be quite fragile. Graham

Not a Trekkie, but I don't mind watching TOS, TNG and DS9 if they are on. Never liked the characters in Voyager, although I've only seen around 3 episodes, so maybe I'm not giving it a chance. Enterprise hasn't been shown here in HK yet, but I did catch a few eps last time I was back in UK. However, what I saw seemed really dull and lacking in any atmosphere. For me Star Trek is one of those franchise, that I don't mind watching if it's on TV, but I certainly don't like it enough to buy the DVDs, toys, models etc. Graham

This is just my guess, nothing official, but I think either a Kakizaki DYRL VF-1A or a VF-1A Cannon Fodder are most likely. Graham

Like most resin kits, they are produced in fairly limited quantites, so yes they are fairly rare and expensive. The molds used to make resin garage kits don't last for long, so unless somebody recasts them, it's possible that we may not see these kits being made again. It seems like SHE has moved onto Super Robots as they have not made a Macross product for a long time, basically since Yamato came on the scene. Possibly they have not renewed their Macross license with BW I have owned the YF-19, YF-21 and the VF-5000B (ver.1). However, not being a modeller, I hired somebody to build these for me, this being prior to Yamato releasing their Macross Plus toys. The YF-19 and YF-21 look nice, but depend mainly on screw tension to keep everything tight. This results in very floppy kits. Also, they are very fragile and prone to paint chipping during transformation. If you want a transforming Valk, buy a Yamato or Bandai toy. If you want a nice looking fighter model, buy a Hasegawa kit. The SHE perfect variable Macross kits were fairly revolutionery for their time, but this day and age when we have far more choice, I can't really recommend them. Graham

Nope, hothing. Complete silence so far Graham

Not bad. Definitely better than the US AnimEgo set box art, which was very disappointing IMO. Graham

1) DYRL Minmay. 2) MD7 Mylene. And Mao is only 11, not 14.....sickos! Graham

2045 definitely. Can attend Fire Bomber concerts. BOMBA! Graham

No, Yamato make toys, not model kits. Graham

Why did you bother going to a TRU in HK, when there are so many excellent toy and hobby shops here selling Japanese toys? Graham

the real question is what are they going to call it? Macross DYRL? or Macross : Clash of the Bionoids? That would suck!! It's already been established that HG is using the 'Do You Remember Love' name. Here. Graham

Pick the fastest plane you have, fly to a wheelie thing, slow down, and approach from the front so the wheelie is on your left. Switch targets until the orange target (I guess it's the wheelie's bridge) is highlighted, then fire four missles right at it. Jet off as fast as you can to the next, and repeat. Don't waste time with any of the other targets. I've figured out by myself, that you just need to shoot the bridge of each wheelie. I've been using the F-105, which is pretty fast. I have it armed with the air to surface missiles, which lock-on at longer range than regular missiles and seem to do more damage. The problem is, I still can't kill all the wheelies before one of them makes it off the map, there are just too many of them. I don't know how many there are, I'm guessing at least 12 (4 groups of 3?). Seems like some of the planes don't have afterburner. SU-25 Frogfoot and the F-8 or is it an A-7 (I always mix up the two)? Also found that if you time the release right, the Frogfoot's FAE bombs can be quite effective against the wheelies. Starting to get frustrated. Graham

Johnny Destiny, Space Ninja!!!!!!!!.........LOL. Love it! Great one more thing I can use that to annoy the Gundam pukes. Graham