Sumdumgai

Well I bought Seiya for $48.44 from HLJ including EMS shipping ($32.52+15.92). Expect to pay the same amount for the rest of the Bronze Saints. If HLJ gets Unicorn Jabu back in stock, it would cost you around $45 with EMS shipping (EMS about $14), although they have SAL (around $6). In my opinion, for Bronze Saints a price range of $40-50 is acceptable with shipping or in a walk-in shop. For Gold Saints and the other more armored figures, something around $40-70. Heading towards $70 are the really delux figures that come with a LOT of stuff, like Gemini Saga. If you wanted to get Sagittarius Aiolos right now, HLJ has him in low stock: Sagittarius Aiolos low-stock re-stock He must have been restocked yesterday night or early this morning, because he wasn't in stock when I looked last night. He's $34.23 with the option of $17.46 EMS shipping or $8.39 SAL shipping. If you want him, you should snatch him up now while you can. How much did you pay for Seiya by the way? As for the name of the thread, a mod is screwing with us. But, hey, we can take it to mean that they're the ultimate "happy" figure collection.

If Bandai decided they'd bring some competition against Yamato. If Bandai put as much effort, energy, money, and spirit as they've done with the Saint Seiya Saint Cloth Myth line and re-did the M7 valkyries... I'd pick up a VF-17, a VF-22, a VF-19P, and a VF-5000. But I don't see that happening. What I am curious about, as much as about the new series, is what the toy situation will be with the new series.

Personally I think they would look better covered in space-whale blood. But that's just me. Seriously they make me think of the Jetfire VF-1 Transformers toy.

And the rest up to that point. Dragon Shiryu version 3 armor top left, Unicorn Jabu middle left, Pegasus Seiya version 3 armor top right, Wyvern Radamanthys middle right, Pope Shion special figure bottom right. I linked the last pics because a couple of them are rather large-ish.

Here are pics of the busts/appendix/addition packs: Gemini Saga/Kanon Virgo Shaka (and to show how the Myth Cloth looks in comparison to the new sculpted head, and also to show how the original Saint Seiya figures were, the chunky monkeys of Saint Seiya) Wyvern Radamanthys And the Myth Cloth figure's original head sculpt. Here's a pic of Leo Aioria/Aiolia next to his chunky-monkey counterpart: I think that Bandai should go back and redo the armor of the older Gold Saints, or sell a set of resculpted armor with the Appendix line at the least. Aioria's Cloth could fit better... Between Leo Aioria and Sagittarius Aioros (they're brothers by the way), go for Aioros because your Seiya can wear that armor! Besides, the way the Gold Cloths are set up, you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the super posability of the newer bodies, particularly the chest and abdomen areas (they're covered up and unable to move). If you like a particular Gold Cloth, pick it up when it's re-issued. And so you know, there is one more version of the Bronze Cloths of the main cast that I am certain will eventually be made. They're known as "kamui" and I won't go into details, but I'll say that they're even more impressive than the version 3 armors and have a lot more armor to them. To be honest I don't know when Bandai will do those, but it's a given that Bandai will make them. And as a follow up to my last post, here's a few pages from Figure Oh that shows what had been made up until that issue. The Main cast of five Bronze Saints in their version 2 armor. Dragon Shiryu top left, Cygnus Hyoga middle left, Pegasus Seiya top right, Phoenix Ikki lower left, and Andromeda Shun lower right: The next one isn't ordered by when they were made or even by zodiac sign, these are most of the Gold Saints. Gemini Saga top left, Aries Mu top right, Taurus Aldebaran upper middle right, Cancer Deathmask lower middle right, Virgo Shaka bottom right, Leo Aioria middle left, Scorpio Milo bottom left: The rest of the Gold Saints. Sagittarius Aioros top left, Capricorn Shura middle left, Libra Dohko top right, Aquarius Camus middle right, Pisces Aphrodite bottom. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Libra Dohko's armor comes with a set of 12 weapons (if you count the shields as weapons). Two swords, two spears, two shields, two batons, two three-sectioned-staffs, and two nunchaku. Last pic in next post because I can't post more pics in this post, it won't let me.

Great way to rekindle interest in the series and maybe get some of the younger generation interested in Macross before dropping a new series into everyone's lap. What the hell, I've been stockholmed already... BOMBA!!!

Congrats on getting yourself your first Saint Cloth Myth figure! Consider this whole long thing as a summary of information about the Saint Cloth Myth line, and a refresher for those who have some interest but haven't kept up with things. It's super long so browse at your own discretion. I wrote such a long post because I really love Saint Seiya and I want to help anyone that's interested in the series or toys. Okay, you got Pegasus Seiya with Version 3 armor. That's the latest sculpt of Seiya, and there is a "Myth Cloth" Bust (Appendix) coming out of Seiya with 2 new head sculpts that can replace the head of the current Seiya you have. Here's a pic with both heads: It also comes with replacement armor pieces so you can have at least one shoulder piece busted. On the more recent figures there is even more metal content than on the older Myth Cloths. Also the more recent figures have superb face sculpts that make them look like the characters in the anime. This started around when they released the Seiya you bought. Some characters have optional pieces that allow you to have their armor look more like the version in the manga (there are some differences between how the armors look in the anime vs the manga). You will generally find the Bronze Saints for cheaper than the Gold Saints, because overall they generally have less armor, so there's less material to pay for. The first ones to be released were the five main cast members of Saint Seiya. These were the very first sculpts and they look horrible now. Bandai has come a looong way in terms of sculpt quality, ingenuity, and experience of designing the armor to look and fit better. What to expect to pay? The older the figure, the more you will be expected to pay from my observations. Unless, it has been re-released. A number of the older Gold Saints have been re-released. If you like one of the more recent figures that have come out, if you can get it, pick it up or pay a higher price later. If a character is particularly popular, you will probably pay more. Gemini Saga, Sea Dragon Kanon, Wyvern Radamanthas, Griffon Minos, Garuda Aiacos, and Andromeda Shun are particularly popular due to the OVA that's being animated. Sumdumgai's suggestions based on personal preference for Armor and/or character coolness: 1) Gemini Saga 2) Sea Dragon Kanon/Garuda Aiacos 3) Pisces Aphrodite/Dragon Shiryu version 3 armor (bluish armor)/Duhbe Siegfried 4) Aries Mu/Taurus Aldebaran/Scorpio Milo It also depends on what methods you choose to get them. Surest bet is to pre-order on Hobbylink Japan if you live out of Japan, they have good prices. They're as close to retail as you get, which is around $40-50-ish depending on the figure and the accessories. Hobbysearch are a bunch of jerk-offs that refused to refund me after they sent my Q-rau to the wrong place and it got sent back to them (poor communication too). I don't know how much they charge since I stopped using them. If you live in France or live close enough to France to visit toy stores, you're in luck because Bandai France imports them for general release in toy stores! That's one thing I miss about France I could pick up a Bronze Saint for between 35-40euros and a Gold Saint for between 40-50 euros. Prices might have gone up though, I recommed "Jouet Club" because the one near the Opera in Paris, you could get them for 20 euros less than at the other shops (the other shops were wallet gouging like mad). I don't know where to get any from shops in the US really... Big Bad Toystore has some, but you pay out the wazoo for what they do have. Amazon Japan doesn't ship toys out of Japan. Which really pisses me off since I can buy cds, dvds, and books from them. However you could go through a deputy shopper to buy the figures from Japanese stores online, or you can go through the Japanese Yahoo auctions. But you pay deputy shopper fees, possibly shipping from the Japanese shop to the deputy shopper or auctioneer to deputy shopper, and then shipping from Japan to you. That's not taking into account the possibility of your friendly country's customs agents... Here's a list of the Saint Cloth Myth Figures that have been released from oldest to newest (or altenatively go here so you can at least see pics: saint seiya toy page in Japan go through pages 1 through 4 ): 5 main Bronze Saints, with the version 1 bodies: Pegasus Seiya version 2 armor: silvery metal colored, looks kind of like pot metal though. Dragon Shiryu version 2 armor: metallic green, his long black hair is three chunks that move like a flap. Cygnus Hyoga version 2 armor: silver colored, blond. Andromeda Shun version 2 armor :metallic pink, green hair, face looks horrible, he normally looks like a girl. Armor comes with metal chains and plastic pre-posed chains. [/u]Phoenix Ikki version 2 armor: metallic purple, silver, and gold, dark blue hair, he's a badass. *note: Seiya can wear the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, Shiryu can wear the Libra Cloth, Hyoga the Aquarius Cloth, Shun the Virgo Cloth, and Ikki the Leo Cloth. 12 Gold Saints each a Zodiac Symbol (version 1 body), Specters (version 1 body for one and version 2 bodies for the other two), and some bronzes (version 2 bodies): Leo Aioria/Aiolia:he's been reissued at least once, he'll probably be easier to find since he's the main character of the Saint Seiya Episode G manga that's currently being published. Although in that manga he has red hair and is all angsty. Aquarius Camus: horrible sculpt, armor's pretty cool though. Light blue long hair, like Shiryu the long hair section is hinged to the back of the head and can flap up and down. Comes with optional upper arm-guards to make him have the manga-type armor. Expect the Surplice version to come out in the next year or two (dark purple, like the Aries Shion Surplice seen in my earlier post, with the same basic Aquarious shape, but with different sharp looking motifs on it). Virgo Shaka: such a horrid head and hair sculpt, armor is cool though. There's an Appendix Bust coming out of him with a great head and hair, sculpt and replacement armor pieces. Blond, keeps his eyes closed to conserve his power. If you annoy him enough to make him open his eyes in a battle, you're as good as dead. Pretty popular character. Sagittarius Aioros/Aiolos: horrible head and hair sculpt, looks nothing like him. Armor could be built better. The one I have was a pain to put together and keep together. Doesn't come with a cape like the other Gold Saints, you have to get that one special included with the Pope Shion figure that came out later. Capricorn Shura: Head sculpt not that bad, except he's cross-eyed, which pisses me off since he's one of my favorite characters. Badass, uses an attack called Excalibur where he can cut through practically anything with his limbs. The armor is really well done. I brought this one with me when I moved back to the States. Wyvern Radamanthys (Specter Judge): okay head sculpt, badass silvery/purple armor. Lots of metal, although the wings are plastic. Has an Appendix Bust coming out with new head and hair sculpt. Has a unibrow, but you can't tell when he's wearing his helmet. One of the three Judges of the Underworld. Libra Dohko: not so hot face or head sculpt. Armor is pretty well done from what I understand. My wife and I never bought one of him. Neither of us care for him. He gets no love. Pegasus Seiya version 3 armor: the version that you, scream man, just bought. Seiya with his upgraded armor, a body that has ball jointed hips versus the version 1 hips that allow the legs to pop off in certain positions (Shaka sitting cross legged tended to pop off one or both of his legs with the one we have). First of the new good looking sculpts. I finally went out and ordered one from HLJ, it hasn't arrived yet but I'm looking forward to Seiya! Cancer Deathmask: looks pretty much like him, a bit thin faced though. All the Golds have version 1 bodies by the way. Very pointy armor. Has an additional add-on chest plate to make his armor look like in the manga. Expect Bandai to re-do him in his Surplice form, with even pointier dark armor. Aries Mu: One of my favorite sculpts, he is Aries Mu in figure form. Has a really good sculpt for his long hair, no longer multiple chunks of plastic glued together. He has dots instead of eyebrows. He's one of the few characters that I find looks good with or without the helmet. Comes with a hammer and chisel that are metal (he uses to repair armors in the series), and comes with alternate over-the-shoulder horns to look like his manga armor. The horns are plastic, but almost everything else is metal. His cloth can fit on the Pope Shion special figure. Scorpio Milo: very good sculpt, they caught his arrogant expression pretty well. Has a very good long wavy purple hair sculpt. His armor is done very well. A lot of metal content here, although the front chest of his armor is plastic I think (can't remember, left him stored in France). Dragon Shiryu version 3 armor: Looks like he stepped out of the anime, his face and hair sculpt are that good. The armor kicks ass. Only gripes I have about this figure are that I have trouble keeping his hair parts held together (you can switch hair pieces so that he can wear his head-piece over the hair, like with Seiya), and that for some reason the paint scrapes off his armor super easy. It's a shame because it's an awesome figure, and Shiryu rocks. He also comes with at least one hand to allow him to go into the pose for using the Excalibur technique. Taurus Aldebaran: it's Aldebaran, he's ugly, but he looks ugly normally, so they did a good job sculpting his ugliness. And, god damn is he massive. He is the brute squad, seriously, he is so large that they pack him with his feet taken off the figure, because he's that tall. Seiya version 3 armor only comes up to his shoulders, and that's counting the top of Seiya's hair (and that Seiya is taller than the version 2 armor Seiya, also because he's a bit older and has grown a bit)! The Taurus Cloth is done with so much metal it's impressive. Pretty much every part of it is metal, exception being the helmet and I think the side parts of his belt (the front and back are metal). Even those massive shoulder guards, with the spikes, are metal. Hydra Ichi (Bronze Saint, version 2 body): great sculpt of a truly ugly character. If you know The King of Fighters characters, Choi Bounge was based off him. He's got a kind of a mohawk, black eyes as in no whites, and no eyebrows. Has a kind of a sick smirk on his face. It looks like Ichi, it's just that I hate that character and never bought his figure so I can't really tell you how well it's made. He has silvery colored armor. Shoulder guards, torso armor, fore-arm armor, knee guards, and armor for the lower legs. Of course his feet are armored as are all the Myth Cloth figures. Has claws that you can attach to the back of the hands so it looks kind of wolverine-ish, although Ichi's are curved. Also has alternate knee-guards with claws. Unicorn Jabu (Bronze Saint, version 2 body): Seiya's rival sort of at the beginning of the series. It looks like Jabu a lot, not perfectly, but the sculptor really got the spirit of him there. The smirk of superiority makes me want to rip the head off that figure, so although the face doesn't look perfect, they did a good job of conveying the character. Has a headpiece to look like how he appears in the manga (a circlet with a horn sticking out of it), and has his unicorn helmet like in the anime. Has a bluish/purplish metal torso armor, shoulder armor, upper-leg, knee, and lower-leg armor. Didn't get him because I really don't like that character. Pope Shion: He was a special release that you had to collect proofs of purchase for and send in with money, in Japan or China. You could pick some of these up for retail in France as a limited release imported by Bandai France (but it was very limited and supposedly only one large shipment to France). Awesome sculpt of the young looking Aries Shion that become the Pope of Sanctuary. Has really pale skin, the dots instead of eyebrows like Mu, long green hair with spiky tufts on his head. Comes with a gold collar armor thing (it's not a collar and it's not a chest protector...). Comes with a cloth robe with gold embroidery along the front that closes with velcro. Comes with an alternate black head to put on when he wears the Pope helmet so it looks like he's wearing a black mask. Also comes with twelve display stands for the twelve Gold Saints, and a cape for Sagittarius Aioros/Aiolos. He can wear the Aries Cloth and even wear the helmet. Although you have to switch his feet out with Mu's, because although his feet are shaped to look like the Aries boots, his are dark silvery purple. Alternately I think you can exchange his head and Mu's head. Expect to pay a hefty price to pick up this figure now. Gemini Saga: If you were limited to buying only one more figure, I would suggest Gemini Saga. The sculpt is one of the best if not THE BEST. You not only get the figure of Gemini Saga with his long wavy blue hair, you get an alternate head and hair for a different look, and you get a black body with black head (as in black black, not African black) for use when you want to display him as the "remote controlled" Gemini armor with mysterious shadowy figure inside. And, you get a head that goes with either of the two bodies that is made to look like the mask of the Pope, because you get the Evil Pope robes, shoulder armor with spikes, helmet, throne, and golden dagger. So you get two figures, four heads, two different hair sets, the Gemini Cloth with helmet, the Evil Pope robes, Evil Pope shoulder armor, Evil Pope cape, Evil Pope Helmet, and the golden dagger. I'm trying to keep this spoiler free, in case anyone wants to watch the anime or read the manga, so bear with me for those of you who already know the story. The Gemini Cloth is pretty much full metal. The only plastic part of the armor are the pieces of the belt that go around the waist (the stuff that clips onto it and hangs from it, all four are metal), and the helmet. He's a badass character, is important in the series, and is the most popular of the Gold Saint characters. Be prepared to pay extra, but he's worth it. Pisces Aphrodite: Yes, HE is a man. I know he looks like a woman, but believe me, he is a man. Yes, he wears lipstick. He is one of the main characters in Saint Seiya that started off the popularity of the pretty-boys that look like women. He even got parodied by Rumiko Takahashi who based Kodachi Kuno off of him as a parody. The sculpt is fantastic, it's Aphrodite. Looks good with or without the helmet. This figure has extremely pale skin, because that character has pale skin. Like Gemini Saga, the armor is all metal except the belt and helmet. Despite the character looking girly, I find the armor is really cool with the fins sticking off of it like blades and the double shoulder armor. Comes with two heads, the second one is so he can hold a rose in his mouth. Also comes with hands that hold roses, since he attacks with roses. Includes white roses, red roses, and black roses (Kodachi "the black rose" Kuno). *Starting from here everyone else has version 2 bodies Cygnus Hyoga Version 3 armor: It's really Hyoga and damn he looks good from the pictures. Haven't picked up this figure unfortunately. Comes with a second head to have one of his eyes bandaged. Also comes with an extra hair piece and a new head-piece from the Aquarius Cloth so that this figure can wear the Aquarius Cloth (and damn he looks good in it). Lionet Ban (Bronze Saint): Well done ugly character. Didn't get him. Unimportant character who gets something like two lines through the whole series. I wouldn't recommend getting this figure unless you really like that character or the way he looks. Wolf Nachi (Bronze Saint): Well done not so nice looking character. Simple Bronze armor like all the other un-upgraded Bronze Saints. Has more screen time in the series than Ban, but less than Jabu or Ichi. Wouldn't recommend getting unless you like the way he looks or like the character. Garuda Aiocos (Specter Judge): Fantastic sculpt, it looks like him. Unfortunately I don't own him yet. But from what I could see, his armor is superbly done. I don't know how much metal content, but I would think it's mostly metal. Wings are probably plastic. Lyre Orpheus (Silver Saint): Very well done character, it looks just like him. God, how I can't stand this character. I don't own him. I'd hazard a guess that his Cloth is mostly metal. Andromeda Shun Version 3 armor: Looks great, it's Shun. He looks kind of sad. Again, armor is probably mostly metal. Comes with metal chains and plastic chains that are pre-posed. I don't have him yet either. Duhbe Siegfried: It's Siegfried from the Asgard Arc (anime only). Looks pretty cool and he's a pretty cool character from the little bits I have seen and have been told. Don't have him though. I would guess his armor is mostly metal too. Bear Geki (Bronze Saint): Ugly as hell done well. By far he's got to be the best done ugly sculpt yet. Another throw away Bronze character. Griffon Minos (Specter Judge): The third of the three Judges, well done sculpt and armor, but I don't have him. Dang. Too many figures to buy. And he's a sick sadistic bastard. Pandora: Second special release figure that you had to collect proofs of purchase and all that. Didn't get her. Comes with cloth dress, a giant harp, a spear, and three display stands for the three judges. Has a different type of body that's less poseable but gives her womanly shapes beneath that dress. It looks like her, and do I hate her guts. You'll probably find her more easier and possibly for cheaper than Pope Shion, but I could be wrong. Kraken Issac (Marina General): very well executed. It looks like the character, and they did his armor looking really well. I don't like the character enough to have bought him yet though, although I'll think about it in the future if I can get him for a not too steep price. Sea Dragon Kanon (Marina General): Well if you look at all the figures you'll notice he looks like Saga, well the cat's out of the bag, he's his twin brother (but that's all I'll say about that). You get an alternate figure with Kanon. So you get his "Scale" the Sea Dragon armor, a second figure of him that you can place a cloth tunic on, and an alternate head to give him that mysterious shadowed over eyes look when he wears his helmet. Currently waiting for this one to arrive. Phoenix Ikki Version 3 armor: The latest Saint to be released. I think he's hitting stores now or will be soon. Looks totally badass. I don't have him yet. He looks awesome. Surplice Aries Shion: Looks awesome from the few preview pictures out. Dark version armor with sharp motifs. Looking forward to getting this one. I missed the pre-order on HLJ, goddamnit. There's a special Hades figure that you have to get by sending in proofs of purchase with money, in Japan. I didn't pay attention to the details because I didn't care to get him.

Blue (Shin Kudo VF-0D blue) and white: Shinsengumi Squadron. Hell, Japan had a Shinsengumi Squadron during WWII. I dunno about the white triangles... Maybe have them along the wings and rear of the plane (stabilizers, backpack, arms, and legs). With the kanji: Makoto as the squad symbol.

When I said I was waiting for a repaint 19, this isn't what I had in mind...

My god those ARE hideous. Please say it ain't so!

Damn, you look tall port! Awesome Clonetrooper armor! Got any close-up pics of your blaster? Besides the movie schemes, there's also the EU schemes that are being pumped out with the action figures (5th Fleet Security, 442nd Siege Battaltion). Since you're in the 501st, the 501st scheme would fit just fine. By the way, is that a MR helmet?

Surplice Aries Shion: Looks like the head may be the same as Pope Shion. I don't care even though I have Pope Shion, I want that Aries Surplice! As usual pic taken from the white zeta forums.

The differences between the YF-19/VF-19A and the VF-19F/S are pretty big if you look closely. David-mod (sorry I can never get the second part of your name) could explain it better in more technical terms. You'd basically need to redo the 19 from scratch for a 19F/S and probably for a 19custom and 19P. Here are the differences I could find, although I think David-mod had done a list on Macross Nexus when MW was down. There was some discussion on this subject lechuck, and there were a number of people who participated but I can't remember names, so I'll just sum up what I remember. Making changes in one part of the design will affect the transformation. Even little changes. Changing the shape of the shoulders could prevent it from transforming properly if you don't change the shape of the legs, for example. Therefore you can't just do some modifications, you have to redo the whole damn thing. Look at what happened because someone changed something small between the prototype of the new 19 toy and the production model: crooked gunpod. In any case here's the differences between the YF-19/VF-19A and the VF-19F/S, and anyone who has a remote grasp of vocabulary for aircraft is going to cringe, so I apologise in advance: -no canard wings -longer LERX (not sure if it's the right term), what becomes the hips are longer on the F/S model. -the head sits flush with no gap in fighter mode on the F/S model -different head(s) -the shoulders are a different shape and have flaps that fold down behind the shoulders in battroid mode for the F/S model, that the YF-19/VF-19A doesn't have. -different shield. -different legs so that the shoulders can lock into them in fighter mode (since the shoulders are shaped different) -new ankle things -different (crap I forgot the name of that part!) the wing things that stick up in the back, they're farther out, on the wings versus on the legs -different wings -different air-intake covers for battroid

Guess I can stop holding my breath. Dang, I was looking back and forth between my old VF-11 and the VF-0A, thinking: "Oh man, a resculpted 1/60 VF-11 would be so awesome". The current generation of Yamato valkyries really blows me away though, despite QC problems and flaws that need to be corrected in the design. I just pulled some of my old Macross stuff out of boxes and looked at my old Joons VF-1J, then pulled out my Bandai VF-19 Fire Valkyrie chunky-monkey that I had bought in desperation for a 19-toy before Yamato was around... I passed up the old Yamato YF-19 because I thought that it could be done better and I didn't want to make the same mistake I did in buying the Bandai VF-19 due to desperation and there not being anything better. I'm waiting for a 19 in a different scheme from Yamato right now. It's the same reason I skipped out on the YF-21. I sure as hell don't regret getting the VF-11 before the FP version came around, but I would love to have a resculpt since it's one of my favorite valkyries! I'll bet amongst all the teasing that Graham does, he's going to drop a bombshell in our laps and we won't even realize it, thinking it's more teasing.

Well wouldn't it kick ass to have the series take place between SDF Macross and Macross Plus, featuring the VF-4 as the main variable fighter? Then again post VFX2 or VFX2-era with new stuff could be just as cool... And VF-1s with laser-less heads look wrong.

Woah Gubaba using music to destroy and depress, what a horrifying thought!

I'm hoping they do things right the first time, don't have errors like crooked gunpod, and test the crap out of it for durability. Also make sure to use POM in any possible stress points to avoid the VF-0 shoulder issue. But until a VF-11 can be confirmed, it's all just wishful thinking...

Confirming what Lord Breetai was saying. In the manga world, unless the mangaka is famous, the editor is closely involved with the story of the mangas. Stories have to be reviewed and passed by an editor before they can be drawn. If the editor doesn't like it or thinks it's stupid, the mangaka has to redo it or the editor will tell them what they're going to do instead. Editors try to keep a series from going downhill by vetoing potentially uncommercial ideas, but of course that's at the cost of artistic freedom. That's one reason there are few western mangaka in Japan, because of that major cultural difference in views on artistic freedom and comics. Of course if the mangaka is famous and successful as hell, they have a lot more freedom and power. Like Naoko Takeuchi sends her editor to pick up doujinshi for her at comiket when she's busy doing manga. But when you look at the big picture and see how many really famous mangaka there are, versus how many mediocre mangaka there are, there isn't that much artistic freedom in the manga industry. Back onto Macross. I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out what's going to happen with the future of Macross!

The pocket of the jeans thing, well as someone brought up earlier it will be a small toy if it's 1/60 scale. It would be close to the size of the 1/60 VF-1. Unless I mixed the sizes up in my head. If it's true, I really hope they do away with those shoulder bars... That really spoiled battroid for me.

A VF-11 would kick so much ass! Need a VF-11! Now I'm all excited over what could be nothing...

Whatever that Kawamori scheme is, I sure hope it's not like the schemes he did as concept art for Basara's VF-19. They really sucked.

Stealth with red visor and nose-sensor. Black and dark-grey scheme. I would definitely buy it. In fact I'm holding my breath to see what schemes Yamato comes out with, since I'm only going to buy one 19 series valkyrie by Yamato (unless they come out with a scheme I MUST HAVE). Secondary choice would be a Low Visibility scheme, or something with a scheme with dark blue and dark grey. Third choice, Supernova Blue. I don't actually like the scheme of the VF-19A. It's an icky light blue, and I dislike the green.

Great thing I have a few metro tickets left from before I moved. Now if only I weren't too lazy to try to make an x-wing or two...

Actually if you look closely, they're retooled VF-11 drones. The body shape is the same with different canards. They even have the VF-11 fast-pack back boosters. It was forshadowing of things to come in M7 I love the VF-11. Didn't the timeline included in the Macross VFX2 manual classify MII as Alternate Universe as well? edit: Azrael beat me to it.

Yamato. They've proven they can evolve, learn from mistakes and make corrections, and they listen to some input (not that they're perfect mind you). They've got a pretty good track record, with some snafus and a couple cluster-f**ks... But overall a good track record. I don't know enough about Max Factory or CMs mecha products to take a risk on them. Bandai as said before, has done jack with Macross. And their M7 line was craptastic to say the least. Dureable, ugly, chunky-monkies. As for toys for the new Macross series... I'm holding my breath to see what they look like before wanting to buy something I haven't even seen yet. We might get some breast-fighters, or VA-3 Invader-ish variable fighters... ... Then again maybe we'll get the Schneeblume or that other one I am too lazy to look up!