Graham

Ah yes, I remember that now. Graham

Ooh! Valk porn! Full frontal nudity no less Shield your eyes kiddies. Graham

You have to exit the ship before it blows up, i.e. before the time limit runs out. Not sure what the story behind this is supposed to be. Graham

No, that line should just die out. Bad luck comes with that name. While I agree that the original macross Digital Mission VFX was a steaming pile of dog poo, the sequel 'VF-X2', was pretty good IMO. It had a great story and pretty good gameplay. It's definitely in my top 5 favorite Playstation games along with Armored Core, Bushido Blade, Ace Combat 2 & Macross Plus Game Edition. Graham

Yup I agree the colors are different. They don't even call it red on the color selection screen, it's 'ochre' IIRC. And of course you don't get the Skull sign on the FAST packs either. I usually choose grey, definitely looks cooler IMO than the defult purple scheme. Graham

Bought tickets to see it on Friday Nov 7th at 7.30pm together with my wife. Graham

Here's my current list of top 5 VFs. This list changes fairly frequently 1st place goes to the VF-17D/S Nightmare Stealth Valkyrie, especially when fitted with FAST packs. 2nd place= Hikaru's VF-1S Strike Valk. 3rd Place = VF-5000B Star Mirage. 4th place = VA-3M Invader. 5th Place = VF-3000 Crusader. I'm really getting into the Macross Zero VF-0A/D/S and SV-51, but I need to see them in action some more before I consider moving them into my top 5. Although I love Macross Plus and the YF-19, YF-21 and VF-11 used to be on my top five, I've sort of got a bit tired of them recently. Graham

I love the 1/48 Hikaru VF-1S, but that's hardly suprising as it's always been my 'holy grail' of VF-1 toys. The Yamato VF-1S Hikaru comes with all the expected improvements, plus one new one: - Brand new improved pilot sculpt made of the same rubber type material as the Low Vis pilot. Improved nosecone and flaps, first introduced on the Max VF-1A. Improved 'easier opening' front landing gear doors, first introduced on the Low Vis. I'm happy to report that on the two I bought there are no major QC problems. The Skulls on the tails are straight. The head seam is glued better that the older VF-1S Focker and the canopies stay up without problem, although one other MWer who already bought the VF-1S Hikaru reported a loose canopy....luck of the draw I guess. The only minor problem I have encountered on one of my VF-1S Hikaru's is that the air brake is very loose and cannot stay up by itself very well. Definitely my favorite 1/48, closely followed by the Low Vis. Anyway, I'll try to get some photos taken during the weekend. Graham

Actually, Max refers to them as FAST packs in the TV series. You can hear him say it in English the first time they are shown in the hanger when Max walks past them. I forget which episode. Graham

That's gotta be it I reckon! Rob's evil alter ego Graham

Duh.........every red blooded male knows that you are not supposed to stand these figures, you are only supposed to look up their skirts at their underwear Whoops........did I actually type that Graham

However, page # 42 of the Macross Design Works book does have lineart for the battroid mode of the VT-1. Graham

Hey Rob, I liked your Monkey suit avatar much more than the present one. BTW, you're not the same Rob as on robpongi.com are you? Graham

Season 2 is showing on HK TV at the moment. We should be on the last couple of episodes. Not sure when they will show season 3, probably early next year sometime. Oh yeah, and that Kim really is a trouble magnet Graham

Banprestos! Pah....we don't want no stinkin' Banprestos Graham

Well, with FAST Packs fitted you carry more missiles (I think) and also fire more missiles per salvo. You may also be faster, but as there is no speed gauge (grrrr ) it's difficult to judge. Oh, and the Strike cannon is awesome. Although it's limited to only 29 shots (IIRC), it does a lot of damage and takes out Regults with a single shot. Can't remember if it can destroy a Q-Rau with a single shot or not. Graham

A quick comment on Takatoys FAST Pack stickers. I fitted a FAST Pack to my new 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru last night and wanted to apply Takatoys FAST Pack stickers. However, I noticed on Takatoys sticker sheet that the big circular red skull sticker that goes on the side of the booster is marked with a '011', which is OK for Hikaru's DYRL VF-1A, but incorrect for Hikaru's DYRL VF-1S, which should be marked '001'. So in the end I had to use the standard Yamato sticker I hope Takatoys can modify the FP sticker sheet to include a DYRL Hikaru VF-1S sticker. Graham

Well, I can't 100% confirm it until I actually have one in my hands. However, I am prepared to say I am 99.99% sure that the reissue VF-1S Focker and VF-1A Hikaru will have all the improvements. And what makes you so sure we are at the end of the VF-1 line eh? Graham

I thought T3 was a mediocre effort, not good, not really bad, just sort of passable. It's certainly not a movie I would go to see more than once at the theatre (unlike T1 & T2) and I wouldn't buy it on DVD either. IMO, it would probably would have been much better if James Cameron had directed it and also if Linda Hamilton had stared. Mind you, if Cameron had directed it, given his obssession with all things oceanic, he probably would have had freediving Terminators battling it out on the sunken hull of the Titanic Graham

Yes, it was . . . . . . . The VF-1S, I'm talking about of course! Graham

Basically no, the VF-1 FAST packs manufactured by Takatoku, Bandai, Yamato and Toynami will not fit on the the VF toys from other series, i.e. the Yamato Macross Plus toys or the Bandai Macross 7 toys, at least not without some serious modification. There are 4 types of VF-1 FAST Pack manufactured in the following scales: - Takatoku/Bandai 1/55. Toynami 1/55 Yamato 1/60. Yamato 1/48. The Macross Plus toys were manufactured in 1/72 scale, except for the VF-11B, which is a slightly larger scale. The Macross 7 toys were made in 1/65 scale. As you can see, the scales of the VF-1 FAST packs is different. However, it is not just an issue of differing scales, but also each VF is significantly different in shape and design that even if they were all the same scale, the FAST packs would not be compatible. I think the common misconception that FAST packs from one type of VF are compatible with other types of VF is an erroneous assumption made by Dave Dietrich's Macross Mecha Designs web site, which is not noted for it's accuracy. Graham

Any pics of that?? Heh, heh.....you wish Graham

I compared old and new pilots last night and I can confirm that the pilot figure that comes with the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru is a completely new sculpt and much better looking IMO. I gotta say that this is now officially my favorite 1/48. I love this Valk. The canopies on the two I picked up were fine, not too loose and not too tight either...."just right" as Goldilocks would say However, on one of them, the air brake was very loose. Sorry, didn't take any pics last night. Spent some quality time with my wife instead Graham

I've got the first of the guide books already, the one published by Softbank Publishing and released on October 24th. It's small (A5 size) and only 80 pages long. I don't think it gives away any secrets. It just basically explains the controls and has descriptions of the first few stages only for the TV and DYRL missions. It doesn't even cover the later stages. I get the feeling it was sorta rushed. And no, I am not scanning 80 pages! I'll scan the cover and maybe one or two internal pages for the MW book section when I get round to it. Hopefully, the other guide book by Kadokawa Shoten which comes out on November 21st will be better. Graham

Ah, I've got one of those Sony SCPH-1110 Analog double Joysticks buried in a closet somewhere. Can't remember how much I paid for it when I bought it back in 1997. They are long out of prooduction and just about impossible to find now. I bought mine to play the original Macross Digital Mission VFX game for the Playstation. Can't remember how well the double stick handled, but can't have been too good as I ended up going back to the original control pad. BTW, does anybody know can you safely use original Playstation controllers (the grey ones) in the PS2? Graham