Graham

Guess, I'm gonna have to start planning where to take you guys. The good news is that most shops are open until 9pm or 10pm at night, 7 days a week. The bad thing is that most of the hobby/toy shops don't open until at least 1pm. Some of the smaller shops only open in the evenings from 6pm onwards. This means that for those of you suffering from jetlag, we won't have to start too early in the morning! We will not be able to visit every major toy and hobby shop in one day. It will take at least two days. Here's what I'm thinking. Day # 1 Kowloon Side 1) Allied Plaza in Prince Edward. Several shops selling Japanese Hobby & game magazines. 2) Animate on Nelson Road in Mong Kok for toys and magazines. 3) Sino Center on Nathan Road in Mong Kok for toys (Animate & Kanto Hobby). Also, many shops selling bootleg anime DVDs. Several shops selling original Jpop CDs. 4) CTMA Center on Sai Yeung Choi St South in Mong Kok for Toys (Superman toys & Ant Shop + several other toy shops). 5) Several misc smaller toy shops scattered around Mong Kok. 6) If any of you are airsoft fans, there is a whole street full of airsoft shops in Mongkok. 7) 111 Richmond Center in Argyle Street Mong Kok. Several toy shops and one hentai manga shop! Perhaps the Ladies Street Market and Temple Street market for bootleg gashapons if anybody is interested and clothes shopping for the wives. Day # 2 HK Island Side 1) Causeway Bay Center on Sugar Strret. One large branch of Animate, plus several other toy and model shops. 2) Japanese Dept. stores Sogo and Mitsokushi. Big manga and magazine section, but the toy and model sections are overpriced. Still, worth a visit. 3) 108 Center in Wanchai, several toy and hobby shops. 4) Other misc toy and model shops in wanchai. Of course, we also have to fit lunch and dinners and pubs in as well. And do you guys want to do any regular tourist type stuff? Lastly, I'll ask, but Yamato's office will probably be off-limits. The general manager would probably never speak to me again if I came a knockin' with a bunch of rabid Macross fans in tow. Anyway, there's not much to see there unless they happen to have some prototypes or tests shots in the office on that day. Graham

As well as the stuffed VF-1S, there was also a stuffed VF-19 Fire Valkyrie. Also extremely rare. I only know one person who has one. Graham

Ah right, I remember passing one when I was in Orlando last February, but didn't have time to go in. Hmm....maybe next year when I'm in Vegas......I love pancakes. Graham

As somebody else suggested a while ago, buy two monsters and a big sheet of rectangular shaped glass. Put a Monster under each end of the glass and you have an instant coffee table B) Graham

It doesn't have to...with some celing track and some electric motors, you could have a formation of 1/48s flying around in the air! That would kick SO much ass. Yeah, until one hit you in the head...... and break into pieces LOL, if you got hit in the head by a flying 1/48 with FPs attached, it would be your head that broke. Those suckers are damn heavy. Graham

Unfortunately, Burger King, Wendys & Jack in the Box closed down years ago, forced out by McDonalds For western fast food, we have McDonalds, KFC, a few Hardies and Pizza Hut. For burgers though, I generally prefer slightly more upscale places like TGIF, Hard Rock Cafe, Ruby Tuesday or Dan Ryans. Graham

I hope they have something edible. I am a picky eater. I do hear there is a micky d's over there. I guess I will suffer. But the toys...Ah yes the toys ALEX Lot's and lot's of McDonalds here. We probably have a greater density of McDonalds than any other city in the world. I think HK has something like 200 McDonalds branches. Wherever you are in HK, you are never more than 5-10 minutes walk away from a McDonalds! Graham

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong Hmmmmmmmmmm, any Red Robins or IHOP in HK? No robins here, just lots of sparrows, pigeons and the occasional hawk. I have no idea what an IHOP is!? Graham

AFAIK, the VF-1S Hikaru is scheduled for late October and the VF-1J Hikaru for late November or early December. However, release dates are like weather reports and should be taken with a grain of salt. Graham

Ewww! ....Nooooo Sorry...But am I the only one who doesn't like Escaflowne? Melissa I'm not saying that's what I want. It's not. Although I enjoyed Escaflowne, I'm not really interested in seeing a sequel. But it is a posibility Sunrise and Kawamori will make one. Of couse, I want a new Macross TV series and just for the record, I'd like it set in the 2020-2035 period. Graham

About 30cm (12") tall with Super packs and 34cm (13.5") with the Strike Cannon. I had to adjust the shelves in my display cabinet to fit them. Graham

Yuk....if that's what you guys are going to eat, count me out. I hate sea food Graham

Err....areaseven, didn't you already post this review in the old forums. People can find it archived there. Graham

Despite living in HK for 16 years, having a Cantonese wife and spending thousands of HK$ on Cantonese lessons, I only speak very basic 'Survival Cantonese'. In fact languages have never been my strong point, and I only use my Cantonese when absolutely necessary. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Graham

Don't worry, I'm a burger, steak and pizza kinda guy. I'm not into exotic food at all. In fact despite living in HK, I don't really like Chinese food much and the only time I eat it is when I have to visit my wife's parents. And the weather in January should be around 12 to 20 degrees Celsius (That's 53.6 to 68 Fahrenheit for you Yanks). Humidity should be low in January as well. 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