Vifam7

I just hope the economic slowdown around the world does not affect this line. Does anyone recall the pace Bandai released the GFF figures?

We do not know if it's truncated or not. And if it is, what the reason for it is. Until we examine the toy, it's hard to determine whether a longer gear was/is possible. Never noticed it as an issue. Might just well be Kawamori tinkering with his own design. While aesthetic is important, for a collectible "toy", durability is also super important (IMHO). Because no matter how good it looks, once a toy is broken, it's value as a collectible drops like rock. If you can't play with a transformable toy for utter fear of it breaking then what's the purpose of it being a "transformable toy"?

I have a DL DVD burner but I have no idea how I would rip my disc then reburn it minus the region coding.

The only problem is - i have to buy a Japanese PS3 if i want to play my DYRL DVD. Which means I can't just go to my local BB and get it.

You've given me a reason to buy a PS3.

I don't think the issue is knowledge of film restoration. I have plenty of remastered anime DVDs from Japan that look awesome. It's more often what materials are available for restoration work. That said I have no idea what happened with the remaster version release. My Perfect Edition Japanese DVD (IIRC released back in 2000) has excellent video quality. In fact, far better than the newer remaster version when viewed on a HDTV. However, the remaster version has better color. I believe the fx bootleg is simply a rip of the Japanese PE DVD. The Animeigo release was commendable for the work that was done with utterly crap materials. But there were limits to what they could do and it showed in a few areas. In certain episodes grain was artificially inserted to maintain detail but it turned out like crap. There are also complaints about the color restoration being overdone which I noticed but not big deal to me. I heard that the recent remaster TV series set released in Japan is the best representation but I'm not willing to buy the series all over again.

From what I know, bidding wars do not occur for production of an anime series. It's usually the other way around - production companies begging and pleading for sponsorship. And I seriously doubt Bandai and Yamato had to compete with each other for the license of Frontier. Afterall, I doubt Yamato had any kind of resource to sponsor a full blown anime series. If anything it probably just a case of the stars lining up right. The generation that watched Macross on TV had reached positions at Bandai, the pre-plans by SK and staff were done right, the story appealed to the brass, the right sales people were working, maybe Bandai wanted to revisit an old property (revisiting the classics seems to be in full swing lately - and not just at Bandai), perhaps Big West gave a nice deal to Bandai (like all media & merchandising for Frontier property in perpetuity) etc etc. etc. Yes perhaps Yamato's products may have had some influence but I don't think that alone was the key to Bandai sponsoring Frontier.

Bandai's upcoming VF100s line may be up your alley. Check out the thread. It allows transforming via swapping parts but it's proportions in all modes (judging by the pre-production photos of the VF-25) are fantastic. Other than that Wave is coming out sometime next year with a line of easy snap-together fighter-mode only 1/100 scale VF-1 kits.

A quick and easy way to get rid of that plasticky swirl is to lightly sand the surface. I heard spraying clear flat also eliminates it. I'm working on a MG Nemo, MG Zaku 2.0 and an old 1/100 Heavy Gun at the same time. I screwed up on the Nemo so i'm waiting for HLJ to send me a replacement runner. The old 1/100 Heavy Gun kit is awful. Despite being snapfit and (mostly) pre-colored, it requires plenty of glue and paint. The gaps and seams are terrible and various areas require paint to look half way decent (dunno if I have the skills to get that far) ^^;. It really makes me appreciate the current MG kits.

I thought Alto was a fine and very likeable character. Much more so than Shin in Zero and far far above Basara in Seven. Amuro and Camille are 2 of the best characters ever created (IMHO). Some of the later Gundam series characters are nowhere near as developed or likeable. Perhaps the worst being the cast of characters from the current 00. It's a bad sign when you're wishing hateful death on the lead character (Setsuna Seirei). Best anime of the year - Gurren Lagann. MacrossF, Hyakko, & Allison&Lillia all tied for 2nd. (my tastes are varied) Worst anime of the year - Sekirei (unoriginal moe crap)

I posted in another thread that recently a few posters at 2ch alleged/suggested that Big West in general charges very high license fees for anything Macross. Thus the reason why the volume of Macross products has been low and why Macross products are so expensive. Ofcourse it is a 2ch post so it could be total BS. But it's not completely unbelievable either. Because Macross isn't really niche and Yamato isn't that small of a company.

That answer could go both ways. Because it's possible that they aren't suckers and don't really buy these toys. That only the hardcore or masochistic buy them. Hence the high prices.

Prices also reflect how a company feels about the product's popularity. Even though Valks are more complex, there's no question they are more popular (thus sell more) than destroids or labors. As for greed. It's not greed if customers are willing to pay for a company's product and the company is making profit on it. Personally I think Yamato toys are a bit overpriced. But that has nothing to do with greed on Yamato's part. Just an issue of my personal bias and finances.

There are some Japanese reviews. Gamu toys has a review on it: http://gamu-toys.info/goukin/gouki/44stetu...etuzin2801.html As does GSR: http://gsr.seesaa.net/article/110413410.html#more Both give positive reviews on the Tetsujin 28.

I have 1/72 scale diecast fighter planes that are absolutely superb in detail and still cost less than $60. For a high quality high detail diecast, $70 is about the max one would probably pay. Interestingly the best F-14 Tomcat diecast model costs $70 and just about every diecast airplane collector raves about it. As for plastic, recently a company called Model Rectifier Corp started a line of completed plastic aircraft models. I'm not sure how detailed they are but their A-10 Warthog costs around $40. They're supposedly working on Tomcats and Hornets. Their website here: http://www.modelrec.com/all-brands/easy-model.asp I think a highly detailed fighter mode only* Valkyrie has some market potential as a "display model" product (ie. not a toy). Scale should be 1/72 to be in line with aircraft models. Going to a smaller scale like 1/100 or 1/144 can be problematic as getting smaller means more difficulty in getting the detail in and thus raising the price. * Fighter mode only - I believe fighter mode is the most popular mode and the one that would work the best. Gerwalk mode doesn't seem too popular and battroids have been covered by GNUs and Revoltechs

Generally when folks here talk about clear coat before panel lining via a wash, they're talking about using a floor finish called Future. Everything you want to know about Future is here: http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html. Other alternatives include stuff like Tamiya Gloss Clear in a Spray can (http://www.hlj.com/product/TAMTS-13) or GSI Creos' Gloss Topcoat in a spraycan (http://www.hlj.com/product/GNZB-501) If you're not doing a full paint job, you don't need to clear coat before panel lining (whether via wash or via marker). If you are painting, then you should coat with a gloss type clear coat.

It's been reported that the toy will be a mix of ABS, POM, and PVC. Bandai has been steadily moving away from PVC use so its use in this toy will probably be minimal. We know at least that the wings are ABS since the GA Graphic article stated that the wings are thin and sharp. I wouldn't take the gaps seen in the prototype as a sure fire sign of PVC use. I have one on pre-order so I'll be one of the first to know exactly what this toy will be like.

The Y-stance is basically standing with the legs spread apart (think upside down Y) . Pretty much all the Revoltech robot figures stand in that style. The ability to spread the legs allows for more dynamic and cool looking poses.

Both are available at GundamStoreandMore.com. Cheaper than ordering it from HLJ. Yes, there is a difference between the 2. GM02 has the hard "chip" type tip and the paint is lacquer based. GM21 has a soft felt type tip and the paint is acrylic based. Which one is better? Dunno. Though I guess it would depend on what type of final clear coat you intend to use.

As I wrote a few pages back, it's most likely a necessity caused by the need to make the legs spread in the now de rigueur Y-stance. You'll notice that the 1/72 model (which has the hips in the correct position) can't make the Y-stance. As this is an action figure and not a model, posability most likely comes before strict lineart adherence.

I can read Japanese and I have been reading 2ch, misc. BBS boards, and various blogs. At the 2ch I saw some of the similar complaints seen here. But at the sametime, there is also excitement for the toy as well as calls for sturdiness in light of the fragility of Yamato products. The complaining doesn't seem as pervasive as MW though that might simply be due to the limitations of the 2ch board. I hate 2ch as it's a crazy place with weirdos and idiots posting away sometimes it's hard to wade through all the crap. Not to mention that it’s a BBS board and not a real forum-type software like vbulletin. Not one bit of complaining on the official (Big West's) Macross website BBS. I suppose that's not surprising. Some bloggers stressed the importance of durability and “playability” (ie. for high playability, the toy must be worry free of breakage). Most others seem to be content with just the 1/72 kit. Generally, the outlook in Japan seems to be quite positive on the DX toy. So far anyways. The real critical comments may come when it’s actually in the hands and reviewed. On a side note, a couple of recent posts in 2ch suggested that some of the high prices and lack of volume in regards to Macross products is due to the absurdly high licensing fees that Big West demands from licensees (like Yamato and Bandai).

Um, this is precisely why Bandai kits are snapfit, pre-colored, and comes with stickers.

GERWALK mode Gundam.

Test shot model. Not representative of the final product which is likely to be fully detailed and tampo printed.

The landing gears will likely be painted in the final product. This one is a test shot model says the article. A non-swapping landing gear would be near impossible at this scale. Even the best 1/72 diecast F-14 Tomcat model comes with swappable landng gears.