Vifam7

Kawamori and other creators often tweak their works. In some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse.

Before they get to all the Frontier Valkyries, i want to get a VF-4 from Hasegawa.

It's most likely just a result of it being a pre-production rush paint job. Not only is the forward fuselage paint trim not extending into the nose cone but it's also missing the aircraft number. Number is also missing on the starboard wing. The gerwalk display has the inner leg black trim missing as well. These are all correctly on the CG artwork so i assume they'll be right in the final release. However, the chest paint trim is incorrect on the CG art and on this display model.

This VF-1S battroid seems to be mistransformed. The VF-1A battroid pic looks more correct.

Looks okay to me. The nose in fighter mode doesn't look as bad as the pre-pros showed it. On the other hand, the tail fins look a bit small. Battroid mode seems to have waist joint.

I've read it. The main problem I had with the manga was that the lead heroine wasn't very likeable due to her being a former IRA terrorist guilty of shooting down airliners. Also, IIRC, the series was cancelled without finishing. The author, Toshimitsu Shimizu does decent air combat manga but this series just didn't work for me. If you're looking for a really good air combat manga, check out Toshio Kasahara's "Reds in Blue" series. (if you can read Japanese)

Vaporware. You can't detect it, if it's never going to exist.

No option for a 1:1 scale 'real doll' Sheryl?

Anime fans often get it wrong or confused. "Shoujo" generally means - for girls (ie. targeted at the female demographic). If the series orginates from a manga that runs in a male oriented manga magazine, then it's not "shoujo". Risky/Safety manga ran in Dengeki Comic Gao which is very much male otaku oriented.

It's a model kit in the sense that one has to build it. It's not just a smaller fragile Yamato kit. The draw to Bandai's kits are their ease of construction for the novice, busy, or lazy builders. Snap fit construction and pre-colored plastics being the main key points.

Maybe so, but I'm always open to alternate renditions of the VF-1. Revoltech, GNU, Wave, Bandai Hi-Metal, Yamato 1/48, Yamato 1/60v1/v2, Hasegawa, Doyusha, F-toys, Takatoku, Arii, Imai, and even Toynami... tried them all. Some of them better than others but all of them interesting in their own way. I never tire of the VF-1.

The posted article mentioned that the paint scheme is still under planning and certain elements are subject to change. In other words, the design hasn't been finalized. So, it's confusing as to know what is what. What the article does say is that Hasegawa and Arcadia are working together and that are each is releasing their versions. However, it's unclear as to whether that means Hasegawa is doing a kit and Arcadia is doing a 1/60v2 toy. The article was very vague in regards to what Arcadia is doing. The only thing it says is that the Arcadia version will have "high play value gimmicks". Does that mean for a kit version or for a toy version? Unknown. It could be a 1/60v2 in kit form or a 1/60v2 as a completed toy. Since the sihouette pic suggests 1/60v2 it's unlikely to be a modified Hasegawa or all new toy. Then again you never know.

To be realistic, the only way another scale would appear from Arcadia is if the price of the current 1/60 series become so prohibitively expensive, that fans stop buying them or if there are no more Valkyrie types that will sell. Won't stop me from arguing that 1/72 is a better scale size though.

The argument was more about what it should've/could've been from Yamato rather than what is should be from Arcadia.

That's why I think, the upcoming Bandai kit kinda works out. It's not aiming for the longtime 1/60 Yamato/DX collectors. It's aiming for a different segment and its price isn't so high as to compete with them. At around US$40, I can satisfy my wish for 1/72 despite already having some 1/60 Yamatos.

Sideview comparison borrowing what forum member Dan Bickell created a little while back (I hope he doesn't mind). I simply pasted a blownup & flipped pic of Bandai's sideview CG.

Considering that Bandai's 1/100 scale Hi-Metal is quite sturdy, the argument that it needs to be 1/60 size for sturdiness doesn't really hold water anymore. And these days, I've seen amazing detail on diecast airplanes all the way down to 1/144 scale. While I'd agree that the pricing would not be much different between 1/60 and 1/72, in terms of size, a 1/72 VF-19 would be just as big as a 1/60 VF-1. A 1/60 VF-0 is about the same size as a 1/48 VF-1.

Yamato should've continued in 1/48 scale instead of switching over to 1/60 scale. If they were going to switch to a slightly smaller size, why didn't they use 1/72? It irks me that Yamato's Valkyries are out of scale with just about everything else (most annoyingly with real life aircraft models) save a handful of PG Gundam models. For some reason it seems some Macross fans only want one choice, whereas fans of other franchises are fine with supporting multiple scale sizes or brand lines. .

Probably next month at Shizuoka Hobby Show.

Military planes were painted with huge markings on their fuselage. Huge stars and bars and big black letters boldly stating what air force they belong to.

Gamu Toys review says Bandai made some improvements in regards to the wing pins and the breast plate.

I totally understand. For us Japanese kids, it was Gundam, Macross, all of the Sunrise robot anime, the Matsumoto Leiji works, and everything from Shonen Jump/Sunday comics. Is it any wonder that we've had a revival of anime and toys from that period? My parents didn't buy me expensive toys like chogokins or the 1/55 Takatoku. And plastic models back then were very difficult to build (especially for a kid) and thus they never turned out right. Fast forward to today and now I have some money and even some skills to build a model kit. So I collect the toys and kits I couldn't get or build back then and/or buy the modern day stuff with all the great advancements they come with. As a kid I experienced plenty of not getting what i wanted (in regards to toys and model kits). Thus these days I don't really angst over imperfections, the price, or not being able to acquire something today.

Personally I don't need durability in a model kit. One transformation to the mode I want and it's going on permanent display. If I want durability, I'm pulling out my 1/55 Takatoku.

I use Tamiya polishing compound (fine). Not sure about it being color safe. I wouldn't use it over anything painted. But it works great on pre-colored plastics like those of Gundam models.

I'm going to wait until I see the final painted up model before I make too many judgements. The nose shape is my big concern. It looked okay on Bandai Hobby website (below pic) but not so good on the above magazine photos.