GU-11

I think it's this DX Chogokin one from Bandai: You can get the full review of it on Scorched Earth If you plan to buy the Q-rau, you really should also get Max's DYRL VF-1A. For me at least, the whole point of a DYRL Q-rau (the only version available from Yamato right now) is to pose it in a diorama with Max. Now if only Yamato would release a green TV Q-Rau, my Max VF-1A TV version will be a happy camper. Me neither. The minimalist paint schemes just don't do it for me.

Heheh, when I first started getting into Macross VF collecting about a year ago, I'd only planned to buy either the YF-19 or -21. To date, I've already bought nine VF's, including: 4 VF-1's (VF-1J Max and Milia type, VF-1A Max TV version, VF-1D Virgin Road), 1 YF-19 Double Nuts, 1 YF-21 Omega One, 1 VF-22S Sturmvogell II Gamlin Kizaki, 1 VF-11B Thunderbolt. And I plan to buy at least another eight: VF-IJ HIkaru GBP-1 set VF-1S Roy Anniversary Plus VF-1D YF-19 Original Color reissue VF-0A Phoenix VF-0S Roy SV-51 Gamma Ivanov SV-51 Gamma Nora A minute amount to the veterans here, but I've never dreamed I'd ever put down that much money for a figure...but once you start buying, there just ain't no stopping.

Thanks for the link! Damn, took me almost 10 minutes to read everything. Way complex plot with a whole lot of info to keep track of while trying to level your characters up. Anyways, thank!

Man, I was probably so distracted by Tidus' super-annoying character that all this plot just flew right by me. Sorry for being "thick", but how does this tie in with Sin?

OR you could make your own from scratch with a combination of lobster, crab, shrimp, and crayfish shells after a seafood dinner. They're all naturally red after you boil them, anyways. All you need is a resin base to hold the shell/carapaces together. Just make sure to have a few cans of air freshener ready once the shells start to rot...or you could dip them in formaldehyde first

Love the panel-lining! Really brings out the anime feel!

Hi klvru! Like VF-18S Hornet, I'm also a great fan of HLJ. Good range of items, user-friendly website, Paypal, and they even guarantee to ship you a second replacement if the first one is broken in the box or gets lost in transit.

Cool! At least I won't have a "Tinkerbell" wannabe narrating the story for me.

Thanks for clearing up the thing about Tidus, but who, um..."dreamed" him into the real world? All along I thought it was Auron who sort of found him during that FMV at the blitzball stadium, and basically "plucked" Tidus from the dreamworld into reality like Morpheus did with Neo in The Matrix. And what about his dad Jecht? And wow, 50 hours for ultimate weapons and monster hunts? I admit that would really give XII's Hunter's Guild quests a run for its money. Sadly, the linearity still kind of bothers me, but if it's at least no worse than X, then I guess I'll put XIII back on my to-buy list for a later date, after buying GOW 3 and Yakuza 3. The IGN review described the story-telling as somewhat subtle and vague in that it's basically narrated to you by Vanille, described by most players as plain old annoying in an overly-cute little girl kind of way. Is the narration-style storytelling really as bad as I think it is? Heheh, totally agreed! Um, Vaan kind of reminded me of a blond Aladdin, actually. Accuse me of living in the Nineties if you want, but Cloud's goth-rock look never gets old!

Too bad the sale's over at HLJ. Oh well, there's always the next sale...or I could buy it now and subsist on stale bread and potatoes for the next few weeks. Decisions, decisions....

When it goes on clearance sale at HLJ

Just my 2 cents' worth, but Vajra's probably wouldn't make for very interesting figures, being the alien lobster-looking things that they are. IMO, Yamato sees it as a huge risk every time it manufactures enemy mecha or non-hero Valks, and logic would dictate that Vajra's are even less likely to sell than Q-Rau's and Destroids. At least the Q-Rau's and Destroids had detailing and gimmicks--opening canopies and missile hatches, realistic missiles, etc. There really isn't much you could do for a Vajra figure to add to the value; no pilot, no missiles or accessories. At most, they might be able to include swappable battle-damaged limbs or carapaces. Honestly, I could just grab a boiled lobster from a restaurant and pose it in a fight scene with a VF-25, and I probably wouldn't notice the difference. In any case, Yamato doesn't even have the license for Frontier, which means they can't even make VF-25's and -27, much less Vajra's. Still, if and when Yamato DOES get the rights to manufacture stuff from the MF series, they could probably sell Vajra's at a super affordable price or maybe sell them in a set. Any way I look at it, if Yamato still hasn't gotten around to making a green TV version Q-Rau for Milia, what with a readily available mold from the DYRL Q-Rau and confirmed demand for it, Vajra's might never see the light of day.

Well, among all the FF's I've ever played, X is the one game I hated with a passion. Annoying protagonist, super-linearity, and while the graphics were mind-blowing (at the time, for a relatively new PS2), I found the plot somewhat confusing, what with the whole thing about Tidus and his dad being from the dream world of some hibernating ancient race, and all of it being haphazardly overlay-ed onto the Yuna vs. Sin plot. It was never even explained why Jecht and Tidus were sucked into the real world in the first place (or did I miss something in the plot?). From what I've heard, at least the protagonist for XIII has a pretty cool chick named Lightning, and I don't think there might ever be a lead character in the history of FF past and present that will ever be as annoying as Tidus. Basically, I liked FFXII for the overall atmosphere, from the beautifully rendered underground city to the vast forests and ruins. And I loved the fact that you could explore them at any time, at any stage of the game. It takes a lot out of a RPG if you're not allowed to explore the world. I guess the big question is, is there anything else to do in FFXIII besides playing through to advance the story? I mean, VII has all those crazy games at that giant carnival thing (Golden Saucer?), and both VIII and IX had card games. Heck, even X has blitzball while XII had the Hunter's Guild. What about XIII? Are there any hidden quests you could go on to get ultimate weapons and armor, or people you could talk to to unlock specific side-quests and/or character development? You know, standard RPG stuff; something that gives you a reason to play it a second time or third time.

Well, then I guess the best thing to do is to just hold onto my pre-order. If the store owner I'm pre-ordering from actually had the foresight to reject the batch of faulty GBP-1 sets and wait for the reissues (he DID mention the delay was due to "issues" with the figures), then I guess my pre-order should be among the reissues.

Damn, now I want one for myself!

Superb news! Thanks for the heads up! Maybe that's why my pre-order still hasn't arrived yet. The store owner at my local shop did mention something about the delay being due to issues with the figure. Guess I'll just have to wait a while longer for the re-issued stock. BTW, when they said re-issue, is the stock that's still out there going to be recalled, or are we still going to be walking a mine field with "exploder" VF-1J's mixed in with the re-issues out in the market? I wonder if HLJ would have enough integrity and separate the re-issues from the old stock when it arrives? Yup, better a quality product at full price than a fragile one at 50% discount! Anyways, thanks for the good news!

Heheh, then I guess the battle's down to Yakuza 3 and Star Ocean. I've been a FF fan since 7, and from what I've read in the reviews, 13 seems to be the furthest removed thing from the things that made FF what it is.

Thanks for the reply! One thing, though; are the shoulders in this particular version of the VF-1J Hikaru better or worse than the one that comes with the GBP-1, or are all VF-1J Hikaru's potential "exploders"? Any somewhat safer versions I could buy?

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread here... Um, I've heard that FFXIII has major linearity issues; the IGN review basically states that you'll be trudging from one dungeon to the next with absolutely no option of exploring the different place in the world map...in fact, there isn't even a world map. Truth to be known, I'm undecided whether to get this game or either Yakuza 3 or Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Replay value means a lot to me due to the prices of these PS3 games (can't divert too much cash from my Macross funds ). Unfortunately, the linearity could really lower FFXIII's replay value, since without the ability to explore the world, you'd be basically put on a guided tour of the story with with each playthrough, without the ability to make any detours. So, how does FFXIII measure up in terms of replay value? Is it the kind of game you'll only be playing once, before tossing it in the attic? IMO, as far as FF games go, the only one with any replay value at all was FFXII with its huge non-linear world map and Hunter's (?) Guild sidequests. It was the only FF that I replayed more than twice. So, is FFXIII any good in that area?

I've been thinking about whether or not I should consider canceling my pre-ordered VF-1J Hikaru GBP-1 Armor set. As it is, I'm looking to buy the VF-1S Roy Anniversary Plus and and the VF-0A Phoenix, and I could certainly use the extra cash. The only thing keeping me from canceling is the possibility that Yamato might never reissue a VF-1J with "fixed" shoulder hinges, and this might be my last chance of owning a 1/60 VF-1J Hikaru. So, is there any chance I might see a future improved VF-1J? BTW, I was thinking of buying the VF-1J Hikaru with Super Parts that's on sale at HLJ right now, since I'm not crazy about the GBP-1 armor (honestly, I bought it partly for the Valk), and it's a lot cheaper that way. How do the shoulders hold up on this one? Thanks for any advice!

Wow, surprising how it looks so fitting with a VF-1 with just a coat of paint and some decals.

Hmmm, that makes sense, too. The YF-19 Isamu was missing his feet. In fact, the VF-11B Isamu actually looks a lot better inside my YF-19's cockpit, although it looks loose enough to fall off if I flipped the jet upside down. And speaking of gummy pilots, I noticed that the Milia pilot that comes with the VF-1J came with male proportions (read: flat chested). On the other hand, the Nora pilot for the SV-51 Gamma was actually gender accurate. I guess a higher price point comes with better details....

Oh well, there's always the future potential, might-be, not-totally-out-the-question possibility that Yamato might get the Frontier license to manufacture a fully-articulated MacFrontier VF for me to splurge my salary on. Here's hoping!

Finally, a Frontier VF with a real GERWALK mode! For once, I'm actually contemplating on buying a DX Chogokin. Hopefully, Bandai will revisit the older VF-25's and have the new team redesign them. I'm still not crazy about all that paint on the Chogokin VF's, though. Maybe Yamato might buy the MF license someday and make their own Messiahs; I still prefer colored plastic to painted surfaces for peace of mind.

Man, that custom stand is awesome! Is that a customized Bandai Gundam stand, or a Yamato Mighty Block?