Vifam7

The text says it's a pre-pro sample that they quickly put some paint on and that the final version will have more details. I'm not worried about the canopy. Everytime we see pre-pro models we see all sorts of foggy and tinted canopy colors but in the end it usually ends up being clear.

It says it is not yet known if the shoulder speakers will come as part of the sound booster set (though it sounds likely). They're also looking into landing gears as part of the package.

Finally! After being pushed back month after month after month. >_<

A lot of old school anime had such "play" inserted by crazy people involved in animation work.

These two back in the early 80's. I was a wee little kid back then. But I remember that each one came with a packet of mysterious yellow glue.

You don't go to the hospital to check out the doctor. You go to see the hot nurses. Like the one Hikaru had -

When was anything from Yamato (or any Macross toy) super affordable?

I'm near complete on my MG Ver2.0 RX-78. Need to do the weapons and shield. Painted the chest to a more darker subdued blue. I just didn't like that turquoise blue color of the plastic even though it's anime accurate. I have to say, this was a rather difficult build. I made a few of mistakes along the way and had to make repairs. I still can't seem to close the front hatch fully.

I usually just apply some Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, clear lacquer, or superglue when something is loose on a gunpla.

It is very much appreciated. And I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Bandai/Yamato hires contractors for assistance in developing a toy. Even with the old 1/55, Takatoku had Matsushiro do the drafting work.

That'll never happen. Even after nearly 20 years, the 6-episode OAV series Aim for the Top! Gunbuster as a Region 2 DVD box set costed about $150. The 2-disc Japanese release of Gundam 0080 still costs $130 total. I suppose you could wait for a release by a US distributor. But it might not ever happen too.

Claudia probably later realized that the idiot flyboy should've gone to the hospital. Personally, I thought the TV series death of Roy Fokker was stupid. Dramatic maybe but stupid. The character being stupid and the whole unrealistic idea of him going to Claudia's place to keel over. While the DYRL death is perhaps cliche, it's a bit more believable for me.

The reason why Transformers toys cost less than Macross toys is generally due to the difference in market size. In general, the more a product is made and expected to sell in volume, the lower the price. Plus the price is what it is due to the fact that many of us accepted the price and toy. The companies will charge maximum what the market will bear and what will make them profit. That said, there's really no way to determine what a "fair price" for a particular toy is. You could compare against other toys but even then it's hard to gauge it since it generally boils down to one's own subjective opinion. You can try to argue such and such toy is worth more because of such & such reasons, but at the end of the day it's really comes down to one's own viewpoint. Obviously here at Macrossworld, you're not going to get much sympathy or agreement if you try to argue that a Yamato Valkyrie is overpriced compared to X or Y.

I don't think the feet is all THAT bad looking. Making a mountain out of a mole hill in my opinion.

Both the Yamato and Bandai toys are aimed at otaku collectors rather than kids. Both are aimed at folks who tend to display rather than play. Instead of comparing to Yamato, a better way to look at the price might be look at Gundam prices. The GFF Next Gen. RGZ-95 ReZel costs 6,000yen. It's roughly the same size as a 1/100 VF-1 yet it contains zero metal and is not even perfect transformation. The GFF NG ZII is also similar in size but is perfect transformation and contains some metal. But it costs 7,800yen. When I look at those GFF toys, I think the VF HiMetal VF-1J at 5,500yen is fairly priced.

It just says you can add on the fold booster and/or fast packs (which are sold separately).

A non-transforming kit doesn't necessarily guarantee better proportions. For example, the Hase VF-1D is pretty off IMHO. Besides, I don't see anything terribly wrong with the proportions of the Bandai kit in fighter mode.

Don't forget to show him the Studio Ghibli movies. All of them masterpieces (IMHO). Also, I'd recommend - Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Area 88 (the original 3-part OAV series) ...to show the sadder/grimmer side of war and conflict.

Shouldn't this discussion be part of the 1/72 Frontier kit thread? Anyway, I agree that making this model kit transformable was not needed. Certainly, it would've been a heck of alot easier development for Bandai and easier build for us. But I get the feeling that there's a sizeable contingent out there (in Japan) who would say that a model kit of a Valkyrie that doesn't transform is not a accurate representation of a Valkyrie even though they have no intention of playing with the built kit. Kinda like how most expect models of F-14 Tomcats to come with swinging wings even though most builders lock them into place or have no intention of moving them in fear of creating scratches on the paint job. I'm currently building the VF-27 in a different color scheme. I'm probably going to lock this in fighter mode. I've only just started this kit and so far glue and sanding does not seem to be necessary - though I've decided to apply a bit of glue in a few places just in case. BtW It sucks that Bandai didn't bother to include cockpit instrument decals

I don't think the F-35 could ever really replace the A-10 in the CAS role. The one ingredient that the F-35 doesn't have that the A-10 does have is loitering time. Plus the F-35 is probably too delicate for the role. Whatever the standoff capability the F-35 may have, I would imagine CAS often/sometimes? leads to aircraft coming down to where enemy light AA guns come into play and/or visual identification/confirmation is needed.

The kit itself is exactly the same as the normal version. This kit however has a special kind of overcoat on the pieces plus a water transfer decal specialized for it. I suspect the overcoat is something similar to the glossy pearl coating that the HG L-Gaim kit got several years back.

I believe that's pretty close to what Pierre Sprey and others would like the USAF to be. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fu...askthisid=00197 http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewl...us-airpowe.html

You might have to make do with 1/72 scale stuff. There may be some things available 1/64 scale - which is a scale used with diecast minicars and S-gauge model trains. 1/60 is a scale that is just not popular. Yamato and Bandai are the only ones to have any kind of significant lineup using that scale and even then it's really not much compared to what's available in the 1/48 or 1/72 scale models community.

How about the Gnerl fighter pod? Looks like a simple enough toy that could be priced under $20 (esp at 1/100 scale).

I believe Yamato can't use the term SD either as that's also a Bandai brandname. They'd have to use a term like Chibi-chara or something.