GU-11

That's a sweet deal if I ever saw one, especially if it's MISB. One question, though; is this being sold on Ebay or an online shop? If it's the former, you might want to be careful about deals that look too good to be true.

Judging from the pics, that's probably all the essential bots from G1 on the Decepticon side. The Autobot "staples" are a little lacking, though--Prowl, Bumblebee, Trailbreaker, Inferno, and Grappler. IMO, one of your best selling points is that all your toys, especially the white ones, show no signs of yellowing. Old toys sometimes suffer from UV degradation or oxidation, but I guess you've kept your toys away from direct sunlight throughout the years. Just my two cents' worth, but like Valkyrie Hunter D, I don't think you'll have much trouble selling such a comprehensive collection for a good price.

Very nice toys, but like others have said, I'll stick to my 1/60 Yamato's as well. Between the need to swap parts, the too-high skull emblem, and the "different-looking" head, I'm just not ready to put my money on the counter for it. It's only slightly cheaper than a 1/60 Yamato, but is substantially smaller in size. That said, if I had a lot of spare cash (which I currently don't), I'd pick it up. From what I've seen, it looks more poseable than a Yammie, and the size makes it perfect for a desktop ornament/plaything.

Agreed. Personally, though, I'd much prefer the VF-4 over the VF-17. Was never much of a fan of the -17's bulky design, although the -17D's nose is an improvement. Amen to that.

Thanks, man. Hmmm, I'll have to hit up Youtube again and look for that scene. Must have missed it, since I only watched it once.

Well, I guess that means I'll be waiting for that eventual VF-17 that may or may not come after Yamato's done with the Mac7 VF-19's. The completionist in me demands that I possess at least one variant of every Valk ever designed. Huh?! Where? I can safely say I've watched the movie edition of MacPlus for over 50 times since I bought the anime, and I don't recall any VF-1J's making an appearance. In the 3-part version, maybe? I watched it on Youtube, but didn't notice one, either.

About the joints, I try not to pose them with upheld arms holding a gunpod for prolonged periods (more than two days). And those cool aerial poses where the battroid propels backwards with gunpod blazing? No more than a day, then it comes off the stand. Generally speaking, and I stress, GENERALLY speaking, Yamato VF's come with pretty stiff joints. Still, I just don't like the idea of stressing the joints too much. In most cases, my VF's are standing with feet apart, and gunpods held downwards in both arms. Vermilion Squadron gets the Charlie's Angels treatment, but all gunpods are supported with the free hand and held at waist height. With such high end figs, paranoia is justified.

I agree, and their discounts are more frequent AND cover more Macross items than HLJ. Too bad they don't have FED-EX shipping, though. Why does this concern me? Well, where I'm at, there's something called a tax-free threshold, and anything above approx. 165 USD plus shipping gets taxed. But the worst part is that in order to pay the import taxes, one has to drive to the airport (about two hours drive) to the customs department. The only other option is to ask the local post office to collect it for you, but it's an extra 15 USD, plus you'll have to pick it up at the post office yourself. With FED-EX or any courier service, they send it straight to your doorstep, and you pay whatever taxes when the item arrives. So, I still have to rely on HLJ's FED-EX shipping for anything above 165 USD.

Um, I think he said Mac+, aka Macross Plus. Not Macross 7. Macross Plus only has 3 (YF-19, YF-21, VF-11B.) Then again, technically there's four if you count a probably-never-to-be-produced Ghost X9.

That'd be the Gamlin Type. BTW, sometimes keeping them MISB won't really save them from damage. In fact, you'd be better advised to open them up and transform them to make sure they're okay. That way, you can quickly contact the store for a replacement or refund. My first SV-51 Nora Type came busted up in the box--wing hinges just broke off during its first transformation. Fortunately, HLJ is giving the replacement they're sending me a thorough checkup before shipping, as they say they can't afford to replace another one if this one ends up busted in the box.

IIRC, Bandai's MF 1/72 model kits also include a separate sheet of stickers. Use those on the areas that are subject to friction during transformation, and use decals on the parts that aren't likely to come into contact with your hands or other plastic parts. As for potential breakage, I wouldn't know, since I don't own one (nor plan to).

Nearly forgot. HLJ asked me to send the fig back using the least expensive trackable option. As far as I know SAL is non-trackable. So does that mean I have to use EMS?

Dunno if anyone still remembers (or cares) about the busted up SV-51 Nora I bought in July, but HLJ finally confirmed that they can't get the replacement parts for it. And because they have to get back the defective fig to claim money from Yamato, I'll have to go through the hassle of getting it put in a box (fortunately, I kept the original HLJ box they used to ship the fig to me) and send it back. Well, at least they're compensating me for shipping the busted fig back, and obviously will pay for the shipping of the replacement to me. Rant done, stepping away from the lectern now.

Yeah, when transforming my VF-11B for the first time, I ended up chipping a tiny bit of paint from the lower heat-shield. Tried to secure the thing by pulling at it with metal tweezers (I know, stupid of me). Can anyone give some advice on which is the closest tone of orange I should use to paint up the chipped part? I plan to use a cheap can of Pylox or Krylon since it's at most just a millimeter or two wide. Thanks for any advice.

I just bought a can of Mr. Super Clear UV Cut flat, and besides using it on some Gunpla, I thought of using it on a couple of primarily white-colored VF's (YF-19 DN, VF-1S, Vermilion Squadron). Thing is, I've heard that the spray might eat into water slide decals. What I'd like to know is if dry-transfer decals and marking stickers are safe. Are they? More importantly, is the spray safe to use on the Valks themselves? Also, I've read from a doll-making website that sells the spray (long story) that the spray itself will yellow in time, and you might need to remove the spray and reseal the doll/BDJ or whatever they call those things. How true is this? Does the same apply to Gunpla and Yammie VF's? So, any advice and tips about the spray is much appreciated. Muchos gracias.

Probably wishful thinking, but could Graham's VF-** possibly be the VF-25 Messiahs? Then again, it's only the most natural thing for Yamato to follow up on the Mac7 line and produce the VF-17 after the VF-19's. Besides, it doesn't seem too likely that Bandai would be selling the rights to MF so soon, so I guess it's probably the VF-17 after all.

Buffalostyle's VF-4 pics swayed me a little a lot, but I have to stick to my VF-2SS vote. The VF-4 is all kinds of awesome, but there's something I don't like about the head sculpt. Either way, the clean lines on the -2SS won me over yet again.

Thanks for the info, people! Glad to know I can still play MGS Rising or any other 3D-capable game with my current equipment. Will probably be picking up COD Black Ops. If it's as good as Black from the PS2, it'll be worth the cash. Believe it or not, I still occasionally play that game (Black) on my PS2, and its STILL kickass! I can't even count the many times I've replayed through the years.

I've got a question about the PS3's adoption of stereoscopic 3D and some upcoming games. See, I've been salivating over the idea of Metal Gear Rising ever since it was announced. What I've heard recently is that it's going to be 3D, and that a firmware update on any existing PS3 console can give it 3D capabilities. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about 3D, and am not about to go buy a 3D TV just for one game. Hell, my current LCD TV is barely 2 years old! What I would love know is, if you can still play 3D capable games on a non-3D TV and console. I've scoured the Net for info, but nada. BTW, how long and/or replayable is MoD: Black Ops' campaign mode? I'm a stickler for replay value, and am not much of an online multiplayer fan.

Man, that's the whole UN Spacy army right there! Heheh, must be what judgment day looks like for rogue Zentraedi.... Thanks for sharing those pics. Awesome. Just pure awesome.

Yes it can, although IIRC, the YF-19's range of motion around the knees is around 5 to 10 degrees lesser than the Fire Kai resin model. As for the Fire Kai's headsculpt, I've never liked the design of the face. But aside from that, the the mold is really looking great.

Well, considering where I'm living, the cost of shipping alone would be through the roof having it sent from Canada. And judging from the quality of his work, it ain't gonna be cheap. I wouldn't b surprised if the price of a custom built 1/60 X9 would cost about as much as an SV-51 at full price. How and WHERE the frick did you get that? Model kit or scratch build?

I've been asking myself that question ever since Yamato started releasing its V2 MacPlus figs. At this point, I think it's time to perish any thoughts of ever seeing a 1/60 fig of the X9 being produced. I'll just have to content myself with a Ghost Booster from MacZero.

As of last week, my Macplus is complete with the arrival of the YF-19. As for SFD Macross, the arrival of the long awaited VF-1A Kakizaki TV version today completes the line, unless you count Destroids and canon fodder Valks as part of the line. Still missing the SV-51 Ivanov and Shin Kudo VF-0A from my MacZero collection. Don't own any DYRL Valks, and don't really plan to. Well, maybe the VT-1 and/or VE-1. As for MF, I'm going into hibernation mode to wait for Yamato's eventual take on the VF-25 Messiahs.

Here you go, man. This one's even better than the one I originally saw, as it's from Yamato's English website. So for better or worse, it's been translated to English Engrish.