Graham

The average Triad member doesn't dress in a suit, well accept perhaps in John Woo movies! Mostly, they are uneducated, semi-illiterate scum, who wear dirty or torn vests or T-shirts and jeans and often have dyed hair, heavy suntans, several tatoos and a cigarette hanging from their mouths. Also, incapable of speaking a sentence without every second word being a swear word. Should all be lined up against a wall and shot IMO! Graham

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the new series was a sequel to Escafowne! Graham

And just what's wrong with sitting around eating and drinking beer? I think in January, you should still be able to find the VF-1S Hikaru, VF-1J Hikaru and perhaps the Q-rau and Escaflowne toy as well. Also, I'm sure there will be lots of older stuff. Graham

That's really difficult for me to predict as I don't know the size of the production run or whether Yamato will do another production run. However, as it's only early September now and January is still a long way away, if I had to give my best guess, I'd tend towards a worst-case scenario and say by the time of the Shopathon they might be very difficult to find. Hope I'm wrong, but just to be safe I'd get a few extra sets now if I were you. Graham

The 1/48's ankle, knee and hip joints are strong enough to support the weight of the FPs. However, in Battroid mode it is very back-heavy, so a bit of care and common sense needs to be taken when posing the toy. Graham

Go for it, you won't regret it. The FPs are a first class product. I always thought the 1/48 VF-1 by itself is beautiful. Also, the FPs by themselves are beautiful. But when you combine the two together, you end up with something where the whole is oh, so much greater than the sum of the parts. A FAST Pack equipped 1/48 Valk is stunning, really a work of art and all the photos to date just don't do it justice. Graham

Actually, I also like the light weight of the naked 1/48, it does make it more playable IMO. If anything, I think the toy becomes too heavy with the FPs attached. While the FPs are lovely. The most accurate and detailed rendition to date, they do turn the toy into more of a display peice beacuse of the weight. Still I'm really happy with them and can't stop staring at my FP equipped Valks. Graham

Oh yes, you will definitely feel some substance. I recomend you start working out with some weights at the gym in preparation For those of you who were dissapointed by the light weight of the 1/48 VF-1, you will be pleasantly surprised by just how heavy the Valk becomes with FPs attached. Graham

Personally, I'm not fussed about the lack of a cockpit view in the new Macross game. While I don't mind having the option of a cockpit view for pure flying games, I definitely prefer a chase view for giant robot games. Whenever I play a robot game with a cockpit view, I get no feeling of actually piloting a giant robot. This is especially true with Macross games, where a cockpit view gives you little feeling of the difference between the three modes (F/B/G). On the other hand, when I can actually see my mecha (ala VF-X2, Armored Core series etc), it gives me more of a feeling of being in control of a giant robot. I'd much prefer the designers put in a two-player split screen vs mode and also a survival mode. Just my 0.2 cents. Graham

The only diecast content on the FPs is the twin pegs that plug into the holes on the side of the VF-1's backpack. However the FPs are made from a very solid and weighty plastic. IIRC, the Valk with FPs attached is close to double the weight of a naked Valk. I don't recall the exact weight, but I'll weigh them tonight when I get home, unless someone else does it first. Graham

Only the Destroid Monster is confirmed in 1/60 scale for 2004 relaese. No other Destroids are confirmed at this time. For enemy mecha only the 1/60 scale Q-Rau in Millia, Max and standard colors is confirmed for late 2003, early 2004 release. No other enemy mecha are confirmed at this time. Graham

The armor attaches very firmly and will not fall off. In fighter mode, the Valk locks together very solidly, except perhaps for the arms, which could do with a better method of locking together, but this applies to the naked VF-1 as well IMO, not just with the FPs attached. In fighter mode you do have to exercise a little bit of care when you pick up the toy with the FPs attached as it is extremely heavy. If you were to pick it up just by one leg or by the backpack and it slipped and fell, you might risk damage to the Valk, as the weight of the FPs is extreme. When I pick it up in fighter mode, I usually hold it so that my palm is under the Valk and my thumb and fingers are gently applying sideways pressure to the leg FPs. This keeps the arms from unlocking and dropping and means the Valk is safe from being accidently dropped. Graham

Yes you can make the payload from the begining of DYRL. Here's a couple of pics I previously posted in one of the other 1/48 FP threads. Graham

Running out on the street with a replica (but real looking) M16, that kid's lucky his neighbours didn't call a SWAT team down on his ass. Although airsoft can be fun it it does often lead to somewhat irresponsible and reckless behavior among people who have not recieved proper training in the SAFE use of firearms. Graham

Hear, hear! Well said that man. Couldn't have said it better myself. Graham

Yes, poor VE-1, while in the prototype stage he took a vacation to Papua New Guinea and tangled with a tribe of head-hunters and got his head shrunk Graham

As Hurin said, it doesn't make sense for Yamto to produce as many FPs as the total number of Valks produced, as not everybody who bought a Valk will buy an FP. I've no idea of the production run size, but if the FPs do sell out quickly and retailers start demanding more stock, I'm sure Yamato will do a second production run. Dont worry, be happy Graham

Well, if Yamato do reissue the FAST packs, I'm sure it will be beacuse the demand is so high and the first batch sold out, not because there is anything wrong with them. There's not, they are perfect. Well, the RMS-1 missiles are a bit loose on their pylons, but that's the only very minor problem. The FPs are as close to perfect as you can get IMO. Graham

Does the condemed have any final words? ........................... No. Squad! Take aim........ FIRE! Graham

Stone the heretic! Cast out your evil SEED kits, get down on you knees and pray to the hory Froating head for forgiveness I gotta admit back in the dark decade of the mid 80s to mid 90s I must have bought over a hundred Gundam model kits to satisfy my love for mecha (even though I consider 99% of MS designs the ugliest mecha in the history of anime) as at that time there were few decent mecha toys available, so it was a case of buying Gundam models or nothing. These days, I've pretty much renounced all Gundam merchandise, with the sole exception of the Sentinel FIX, as I love Katoki's Sentinel designs so much. Graham

I have the original cartridge. I agree it is a hard game. I've never been able to finish it. And technically, being a Japanese game, you should refer to it as a Super Famicom game, not an SNES game (I know, same system diferent name) Graham

I couldn't agree more Rob. Big West really needs to be more proactive about advertising and they really need to get a new Macross TV series on air as soon as possible and push it as hard as they can. I've heard very vague rumors of a new TV series coming after Zero finishes, but nothing concrete. Perhaps Egan Loo (Macross Compendium) would know something? Personaly, I think BW dropped the ball long ago by not airing a sequel TV series to Macross in the mid-to late 80's (and then a new Macross series every 2-3 years thereafter). Original Macross was pretty damn popular at the time, but BW wasted too much time on other less successful projects before returning to Macross in the 1990s. By that time they had left it too late and a lot of fans had moved on or lost interest. If BW do release a new Macross TV series, I think they would have to go with a more mainstream approach in order to capture a bigger fanbase. While I personaly love Macross 7, it was a little to 'out there' for many people and alienated a lot of fans. This of course begs the question, what do we as fans want in a new Macross TV series? Do we want a more mainstream approach ala Gundam SEED, aimed to appeal to a younger audience and thus sell more toys, models and CDs? Or do we want to trust Kawamori's vision, knowing full well that he may veer off into unpredictable teritory and give us a Macross that while inovative and fresh may only appeal to a limited audience? Graham

I say go for the 1/60 Super Ostrich. It looks loverly in fighter mode. Graham

If it's correct, this will be the first time ever in the history of Macross games that one actually gets released ahead of scheduled. Macross games are infamous for suffering multiple delays and being released months after the first published release date. Graham

While Macross is not as popular as Gundam in Japan, it still has a large hardcore mostly adult fan base there. The reason for the poor sales of the Bandai 1/55 toys in Japan was not the lack of popularity of Macross, but that the majority of the mostly adult Macross fanbase thought the toy was too old school in design. This according to people in Japan who have spoken with Japanese retailers and fans. Of course Yamato's income from exports of Macross toys overseas is mariginal. Actually, it's non existant beause of the HG blockade! However saying there is no overseas market is pure BS! Actually, there is a potentially huge market for overseas sales. If you review the sales figures of parallel (grey) imports of Yamato Macross toys bought by Macoss World members, it works out that the average fan has purchased 12 Yamato Macross toys (all scales). This based on a survey of around 200 people. If Yamato were free to export the Macross toys, retail prices could be lowered and sales would be much higher. One only has to look at the large number of Macross models Hasegawa has released over the past few years and continues to release to get an idea of popularity. If the models did not sell well, Hasegawa, would not keep on releasing new models. The same with Yamato. If the Macross Plus 1/72 and DYRL 1/60 and 1/48 toys were not selling well enough for Yamato to recover their costs and actually make a profit, they would not keep on releasing new toys. Graham