Vifam7

These days Japan is starting to release Blu-rays with English subtitles included. The quality of the subtitles can vary though.

They also had a series of HG Aestivalis kits. There's also a 1/48 RX-78 Gundam coming soon this year. But in general Bandai does not release kits in 1/48 scale for obvious reasons.

Looking forward to Wave's 1/100 snap-fit VF-1s. Both fighter and battroid mode kits. Fighter mode kit is supposed to be out sometime this month. Battroid next month. Hopefully these kits sell well and they move onto more esoteric Valks. I also hope that Bandai continues to expand their Frontier lineup.

Use the matt clear coat spray. For those of us who do not do full paint jobs on gunpla, matt coat or clear flat spray is our big cheat. Testor's Dullcote, Tamiya TS-80 Flat Clear, or Gunze's Top Coat will all do the job. I personally like Tamiya's TS-80. Keep in mind, it's a matt finish clear coat, so once sprayed on, the shiny factory plastic color will be dulled down. But that's what makes the model look so much better IMO. Make sure to spray the entire model (save the clear parts area). Otherwise some areas will be shiny and other areas won't. Now if you want to keep the factory plastic as is as much as possible and JUST want to protect the decal (ie. not spray the whole model), I guess what you could do is get semi-gloss coating in a bottle and simply brush it lightly onto the decal.

Sorry, I have to disagree. I thought Yamato 2 was a cop out. Arrivederci was magnificent and that movie should've been the end of Kodai and Co. They could've made Yamato 2 with a new cast of characters (IMHO) but we all know that couldn't happen. Final Yamato was a complete mess IMO. From the magically autopiloting Yamato to the . Still, despite some faults, I enjoy all the Yamato movies and TV series. Dunno if I'd recommend watching Yamato 2 before Arrivederci. Personally I'd watch Arriverderci first as that's how my generation experienced it. IMHO, the shock and emotional effect of Arrivederci is lesser if you watch Yamato 2 first.

Yuck. No thanks to a hunchback. (That "F-17A" is armed with obsolete missiles. ) The Super Hornet looks way better.

And here's something for you Mospeada fans:

"directed by Michael Bay"

"NOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!!!!"

Pose no. Display yes. There's no law saying you have to hate Gundam if you love Macross. Getting back on target, the blurb on the VF-1 parts mentions intake interior detail parts. Also it seems the gunpod requires swapping of parts.

1/48 scale RX-78 Gundam kit.

Kinda makes 'em look a bit cartoony I think. If it were anime, I could see cannons to sticking out from the "back packs" I wonder how those CFTs affect performance.

From what I can gather from the text, it appears to be a prototype showpiece to show the transformation mechanism they're working on and some of the details. It says that the gimmicks and sculpt is not yet finalized. This prototype doesn't show where the diecast will be used though the text suggests the swing arm?* and arm block (which they suggest, seems like a modified Takatoku with a hinge in the center?*) will likely be made of diecast. * I might have the translation alittle off since it's hard to translate and figure out what they're talking about in regards to Valk transformation mechanism. Words like "Hi-Metal" and "Chogokin" are just marketing terms. An homage and marketing gimmick to recall the beloved toys of yesterday In reality, it generally means "some" use of diecast (sometimes more, sometimes a lot less). SoC collectors know what I mean.

It's from the anime/manga series "Urusei Yatsura". One of the all-time anime classics. About as old as SDF Macross TV.

Early buyers in February will get a bonus poster. Then if one buys a DX Chogokin again from March onwards, you get another poster which combined with the February poster becomes one special giant poster.

I haven't watched Gurren Lagann yet but I've felt that robot anime action scenes have lately been utterly boring. The action scenes in Seed were absolutely awful. Even Macross Zero and Frontier have left me rather unimpressed. When I think of great action scenes, DYRL and the First Gundam movies come to mind. Action scenes where things are moving, the pacing is good, and you can actually follow the action. These days everything seems to be zipping across the screen in a blur or barely moving at all. Or maybe I'm just getting old and my eyes aren't as good as they used be.

More pics here : http://www.akibaos.com/?p=6134 Click on the photos for bigger size. Note the price: 2400yen Not a bad price IMO. No matter what one may think about the sculpt, Revoltechs have always been good for those who like to play and pose their figures. They're great for making anime-like poses. Few toys match Revoltechs for pure posing fun. Best of all, they're cheap and rugged. No fears about fragility, stressed plastic, or ruining a valuable 3-figure priced toy.

Even built it old-school style! I think a good many of us Macross fans bought and stocked a number of these classic kits over the years. I had this particular kit since 1995! I have 1 more of these old 1/100 Arii fighter kits and an Imai 1/100 full-transform Super Valk still in my closet. I need to get them built before Wave's upcoming 1/100 kit and Bandai's Hi-Metal toy spoils me.

Yup, the latter. Masking the cockpit. Yeah, what I do is "glue the canopy on before painting the actual canopy frame, then mask over the top of that and carefully cut around where it meets the fusalage for cases when there's a frame that's a different colour to the area just under the canopy". Just wondered if there was an easier or alternative way.

How about some love for Shammie!

I suspect you have never seen Space Battleship Yamato.

What's the best way to mask the canopy? When spray painting the forward fuselage, you need to somehow mask the canopy and/or protect the cockpit inside. My method in my Arii VF-1S build was to completely wrap the canopy with masking tape and gluing it on with regular white glue. That way when spraying the fuselage body, the paint doesn't enter the cockpit or affect the clear canopy. Using white glue allowed me to easily remove the canopy later on. It all worked for my build but is my method wrong? Is there a better way? How does everyone else do it?

Here are my rules: Ask your self the following questions. 1. CAN I AFFORD IT? 2. IS IT ON SALE? 3. DID I BUY IT? 4. AM I HAPPY THAT I BOUGHT IT? 5. GOOD OR BAD DEAL? Then follow chart. 1. YES 2. NO 3. YES 4. YES 5. GOOD 1. YES 2. NO 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. YES 2. NO 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. YES 2.YES 3. YES 4. YES 5. GOOD 1. YES 2. YES 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. YES 2.YES 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. NO 2. NO 3. YES 4. YES 5. GOOD 1. NO 2. NO 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. NO 2. NO 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. NO 2. YES 3. YES 4. YES 5. GOOD 1. NO 2. YES 3. YES 4. NO 5. BAD 1. NO 2. YES 3. YES 4. YES 5. GOOD 1. YES 2. NO 3. NO 4. not applicable 5. not applicable 1. NO 2. NO 3. NO 4. not applicable 5. not applicable 1. YES 2. YES 3. NO 4. not applicable 5. not applicable 1. NO 2. YES 3. NO 4. not applicable 5. not applicable

Some new photos are up at GA Graphic. http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/014232/

Actually I did panel line it. I used a mechanical pencil so it came out rather light. The camera flash pretty much wiped it out. Thanks! Yes, as I noted above, the sculpt of the head is utterly wrong. When I first saw it, I was like "what's this? this is no VF-1S head!" I actually had a 1/100 scale pilot from an old Tamiya 1/100 kit which I considered inserting but nixed it when I saw the thick canopy and figured you'd only see something distorted anyways. As for the decals, maybe that's why I got such bad silvering. Though I think it's mainly because I didn't prepare the surface better and didn't use any Microsol. I'm looking forward to the Wave kit. It'll be interesting the compare the 2 kits.