Vifam7

I don't think this competes against Bandai's kits (or Hasegawa's for that matter). I don't know where these kits fall in the market. It's too simple to be a traditional kit and yet it requires painting. Is this a toy or a kit? It's too simple of a kit and has little room for mods for the modelers yet not complete enough to entice toy collectors. These kits do not leave much room for the kit builders to do their magic except in the paint job area. But that leads to a problem. Since they're not painted, it has to be painted. But these are supposed to build up into robust PT toys. If the completed work is handled like a toy then paint scratches will be a problem. If it's going to stay static then these kits don't make much sense. Bandai's kits suffer the same issue in regards to paint but at least they come pre-colored and aren't expected to be handled like the Yamato PT series. Plus, IMHO, these kits are in the wrong scale size. If Yamato is to compete in the model kits market, I think they need to come down to the more established scale of 1:72 or return back to the 1:48 scale.

If a $40 Hase 1/48 and a $20 Wave kit is going to get you in trouble, I hate to know what happens if you buy a $200 Yamato. Maybe they're going for the TV anime look? That and perhaps we've all gotten so used to Hasegawa and Yamato's iterations of the VF-1? I do notice that the neck is shorter in Wave's version.

WOW. There are 3 TV series titles there (not including K-On Series 2) that I have to check out. Working B Gata H Kei Kaichou wa Maid-sama It's been awhile since I've looked forward to more than 1 title. But that's because I've been reading the manga versions of these 3 titles. Gundam UC, I already have the Blu-ray on pre-order at Amazon.com.

Wave's 1/100 VF-1J kit coming in April. Check out the photos here: http://ameblo.jp/digitamin/entry-10455004943.html

Excellent work! What kind of shortcuts did you take? I'm always looking for shortcuts when building models.

I think it will. Japanese companies tend to work close together. Not to mention that Kawamori was/would be involved in any new Valkyrie toy.

There's always room in the market for 2 different scale sizes. Bigger is not always better and priorities differ from one person to another. I'd hate to see the Hi-Metal series or any other line end just because there'll be a Yamato version. Vice versa too.

To my knowledge, most soft-vinyl figures are fixed-pose. They'll probably have to switch to a different material if you want more articulation.

If it's soft-vinyl, it could possibly be quite cheap with very minimal articulation. Like $20 with articulation only being shoulders & waist. Kinda like these 2 items: Soul of Soft Vinyl Sachiel Soul of Soft Vinyl Kamen Rider

MG kits generally do not need cement. However, if any part seems loose or does not click into place, a little bit of Tamiya Extra Thin cement works wonders.

All 3 of the RX-78-2 models look horrible. The "TV style" looks more like OYW style. The "modified style" is anorexic and ugly. The "heisei style" looks like it belongs in SEED.

Those are from Gundam F91.

It shouldn't be a problem since the latest AIM-9X Sidewinder has "Lock-on after launch" capability. IIRC the one of the requirements for the F-35 was agility equal to or better than that of the F-16. In clean configuration, it should be better than a F-16 with missiles hanging everywhere.

Maybe something like this will help the F-22.

Probably not. Turkey signed on to the F-35 program. It'll be interesting to see who wins India's MRCA contract. The Eurofighter Typhoon is supposedly in the lead.

A long time ago, someone used the word "bastard child" to describe Robotech. It's nothing special. The situations and jokes are utterly cliche. Fanservice galore. The show boils down to - throw good-hearted guy into a school filled with maids and princesses. What saves this show from the crap pile (so far) is the 2 lead female characters (one is scheming & somewhat blackhearted, the other a tsundere stuck-up who just can't seem to get a leg up on anybody). The show can easily go south but I'll watch it til then.

I'm embarrassed to say this - but I'm currently watching Ladies vs. Butlers and enjoying it. Complete fanservice fluff anime. For those of you who like classic 80's mecha anime, a fansub group called Anime-Classic has subtitled Round Vernian Vifam and Zillion. DVD release of Dairugger XV coming out later this month. I can't wait to watch Dairugger in original Japanese.

That is if Sukhoi can stay in business too. I don't recall Russian planes being hot sellers lately. Futures sales are unknown and who knows how many Russia itself can afford to buy.

????? First of all, Japan and Taiwan are hardly enemies of China unless China wants to go to war with them. Secondly, Japan flies outdated F-15s, ancient F-4 Phantoms, and the F-2 (which is nothing more than a slightly upgraded F-16). Taiwan flies early model F16s, the Mirage-2000, the homegrown Ching-Kuo (a lightweight F-16-ish fighter), and some elderly F-5Es. Neither air force is a threat to China. The PLAAF has had the Su-27 in service since the 1990's. The J-10 I think has already been in service for 5-6 years. And ofcourse the PLAAF is numerically superior to pretty much everyone else in the region.

The general planform looks a bit like the F-22. What makes it looks nicer than the F-22 (IMO) is the smaller tail fins which are very widely spaced apart.

DO NOT USE GUNDAM MARKER REMOVER. That thing eats into all sorts of paint and if used too much, probably eat plastic too. Your tampo printing will get ruined if you use Gundam marker remover. IMO Gundam marker remover should only be used to eliminate small blemishes on bare plastic.

In case anyone is interested, Bandai has made a TV commercial for the DX toys. Watch it here: http://bandaitv.jp/movie/201002/entry5447.html Sheryl makes it sound a bit ecchi.

In case anyone is interested, Bandai has made a promo commercial for the Hi-Metal Fire Valkyrie. Watch it here: http://bandaitv.jp/movie/201001/entry5428.html Was cool until the squeaky narrator jumped in.

Does anyone have a pic of Basara in a flightsuit? I forget, did he ever wear one?

Hey guys, the Easy-Off worked! 2 nights in the Easy-Off made the paint very soggy loose. Some scrubbing under warm water followed by a bit of sanding got it done. The Easy-Off didn't seem to affect the plastic. Could be that the plastic on this Bandai kit is made of tougher stuff. Nevertheless, I'll try brake fluid the next time I screw up. Thank you all for the advice.