Renato

Wanzerfan, don't worry, if you check the front news page you can see the image. That's how I saw it, I would rather not sign up either. They basically hid the message "Next Masterpiece, its name is RODIMUS" within the lines of text. Very clever, actually. Heh. Yeah, I think I know what you mean. I would have to watch it again but I think predominantly he is shown having to rotate his arms around, which makes sense because if you look at the animation model the wheels on his shoulders are facing the rear, which no toy of him that I know of has ever recreated. Yeah, now that I hear myself going anal over it, I guess it's not that big of a deal really.

I was never a big fan of the YF-21 and by association the VF-22. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I got the DX 27 which I had had on order since March or so, and then the following day or so got the VF-22 out of impulse. For a while I was torn over which toy was better. All things considered, I have to say the 22 is much nicer. Thanks, VF5SS, for pushing me off that fence. The grass is much greener on this side.

OK, that was really ingenious, to have the hidden message read vertically. I never would've figured that out! I've been wanting an MP Hotrod for quite a while, but if it doesn't look and transform just like in the movie, it's a no-deal for me.

? What do you mean?

? What do you mean?

Four years ago I started a thread for the German World Cup and it proved quite popular despite it being neither anime nor sci-fi. So here is the sequel. I am aware the mods might want to take it down, so let's try to keep cyber-hooliganism, insults and overt nationalism get the better of us. Last night I watched the Japan-Paraguay match. Man, Japan really, really kept a tight defense, all the way through. Extremely impressive. And with so many missed opportunities to score, I had confidence that, at that rate, the planets would eventually align and they would get one in. However, I was gutted that not even at the end of full time but rather both rounds of extra time, that is, two hours later, they were still at a stalemate. The one situation I didn't want to realized was the one option left to decide who goes through and who goes home: the penalty kicks. Alas, it only took one miscalculation for Japan to witness their hopes and dreams pulverize before them. Despite most statistics showing both teams evenly matched to a stunning degree, the problem seemed to me to have been the issue of ball possession, which was considerably higher with Paraguay. Japan's long passes rarely made their target, and yet ex-player Nakata commented that they weren't giving it their 100%. Invariably, more ball possession means more leeway to set up strikes for the goal, and Japan just kept either giving the ball away during passes or having it taken from them through tackles. There were points where they even lost the ball in mid-dribble without there being any opponent around. It's a real shame, it would have been nice to see Japan go further, but I agree with Nakata, they could have done better, even if their defence was impeccable. The previous games showed Japan's team having excellent balance and teamwork with both attacks and defence. That balance seemed somewhat askew last night. This was one match that really should not have gone into extra time. Honda and gang should have done the job right there and then. Heh... and what about that England v. Germany match?

Well, I don't think the TV stations are using those tracks without permission. Everything has to go through JASRAC, as I understand it.

♪ It's more than a feeling... when I hear that old song... ♪ RIP Brad Delp.

Not sure if this has been posted before, it's a video of the stage greeting by the staff and cast: There are two other videos from the same show but none of them show any interviews or anything worthwhile. Unless you like cross-dressing, that is.

Got the stickers today. Just a bunch of numbers. 302 is there, though, for those that care.

Yeah, you're right! Bonus features: Pre-production sound versions of three songs: "Suimin-Heaven", "Candy" and "2Moon" Handwritten lyrics by CK Bonus movie Looking on the homepage, it seems the first pre-ordered drives will also be individually signed by Chie. I'm still on the fence, though. 5000 for 2 GB? BTW, I got my tickets for her July 24th concert. Hope to see some MWers there, I know Tochiro at least will be there.

Oh yeah, I forgot about those. Heh, I think I didn't do any of them in the second game BECAUSE of bloody Ranka and Sheryl... but anyway, whatever rocks your boat.

It's in Japanese, but it's not as if it's an RPG or anything, plus I think there are extensive online English guides to help you.

I second the motion to avoid the PSPgo, for the main reason that, as mentioned, you won't be able to play Macross Ultimate Frontier on it as it's not available for download, and the PSPgo does not have a UMD drive. Be aware, however, that UMD-Video discs ARE region-encoded, so you will not be able to view them on an Australian PSP. Thus, unless you like the pretty box, you might as well avoid the "Special Edition Nyan Nyan Pack" 2-disc version of Ultimate Frontier which comes with the game and a video disc. Just go for the single-disc, game-only release. Half of the content on the video is about the same as that of the Macross 20th Anniversary DVD anyway, so you won't be missing much.

Heh, thanks anyway. I've spent several hours with it by now, and the only real thing that I've noticed may be causing the stress is that one of those kneejoint rings seems warped somehow. In any case, they don't look symmetrical. I only noticed this now as I was putting it into Fighter again, so I will inspect it more closely when I switch it back to Battroid. Another possibility is that I'm getting the feeling that one of the kneejoint ratchets is out of sync with the other, or somehow different. Either way, I think the problem is in the way the legs store inside the bay. But hey, great toy anyway. Can't wait for Sound Force, Diamond Force and Emerald Force. DOKKKAAAAAA!! POLAR STAR, KAKUNIN!!

Wow, thanks! That was fast. I still can't do it, though. I tried repositioning the legs, shifting a lot of the panels around, but I still cannot get that perfect seam, I just end up with gaps everywhere. Take a look. The swingbars on the shoulders also have a tab which slot into part of the backplate. There is so much pressure on mine that they won't stay on at all, I've taken as close a photo of that area without losing focus as I can. Of course, it still looks like a VF-22, so I'm not as bothered with it as I was with the whole "VF-11 leg falling off" fiasco, but still...

Yeah, that's right. Well, technically, it's in the building behind Mori Tower. It was actually my first time there. Kenji's Spring, huh? You know that is only out on VHS (to my knowledge, anyway). A while back I rented the tape and copied it (in abysmal quality as usual) to my hard drive so I do have the film somewhere. I never got round to watching it, though. I will do one of these days. You were lucky to catch a showing on the big screen!

Part II: "And now... The conclusion." After the applause, people started getting up for their bathroom break. I spoke to Tochiro and Save who were elated that they had noticed so many tiny details that had previously eluded them, among them being Hikaru's fourth-wall-breaking shifty eyes during the scene in which he and Misa return to the Captain's room on the SDF1 after wandering on Earth. I always thought he was just looking at Claudia, though, since there is no other indication that she is in the room until her close-up. Anyway, after chatting for a bit with the two guys next to me (one of which had seen the MacF movie already but the other was a first-timer) about how one of them bought the VHS tape of DYRL when it first came out and made a copy of it for the other guy, because they were hella expensive back in the day, the MacF movie began... no introduction nor nothin'. So, what can I write? Shall I put spoiler tags? Ah, you know what, just read my thoughts on it in the MF Movie thread, because even though this was my second time, I had exactly the same impressions. I took the opportunity to leave during one of the more, er... Macross Frontier-ish scenes and gargle, because the air was getting pretty intense in there. I came back a good few minutes later and we were still in that interminable scene. So, after Michael Bay's Macross wrapped up and the credits rolled... we got a deafening silence. No-one spoke, let alone applauded. This was so funny, we all could feel it hanging in the air. I went over to Tenjin's seat and congratulated him on the technical art in the MF movie, because that is the stuff that truly is amazing about both MacF and MacZero, and it's the reason to watch it on the big screen. He was like, "what do you mean? That was easy. After watching DYRL, nothing compares." Then as we stepped outside of the theatre we were struck by daylight. It was only like 4am or so but it was so bright out. We then embarked on the epic quest, a search for somewhere to grab a bite -- which turned out to be McDonalds -- and after an hour or so talking about 25-year-old cartoons, Sammo Hung, the similarities between Macross II and Frasier, and finally how I'm seemingly the only idiot who actually likes the movie "Kung-Pow: Enter the Fist", we decided it was time to go our separate ways. On the way out, Tochiro got chatted up by a straight-out-of-Eastwick 60-year-old hag out turning tricks. I didn't catch what she said, but I'm sure it was "Wanna see my cauldron?" or something equally non-sequitorial-like. And that was the highlight of the night!

Really? That would be great. There is that MWer who did one for the YF-21, but his panels don't lock together because his tabs broke off, probably because he was doing what I'm doing...

Rargh. OK, I got this Blue Gazer thing in the mail today. My fingers ache from all the transforming... It's pretty good, especially in Battroid mode, but there are a few tiny things that annoy me. First, it's really difficult to balance and pose. Second, I have no idea how to properly fit both the legs inside the bays, and get the two belly plates lined up perfectly with no stress or bending or unaligned seams. I saw VF5SS's reviews and they always begin perfectly lined up, so whatever the secret is, he knows it.. I hope those tiny tabs don't give way, as some of them even came with stress marks fresh out of the box. Overall, quite a nice toy. Will look great next to the upcoming Fire Valk.

If you put a sticker of whatever number Grace was on the toy, then it's a Grace custom.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN... De-de-de-DERRR, Dee-dee-dee-dee-DAARR, De-de-de-DERRR, De-de-de-de-Da-da-dah, dah-dah-dah..... etc

Damn you, VF5SS, your excellent reviews have had me thinking of buying a Max for a few days now. One of these days I will undertake Operation Stargazer in my living room for the vinn. Are there any issues I should be aware of with these, before I take the plunge?

OK, since you asked so nicely.

There was a photo in one of the posts above mine. I don't have Brera's, so I can't compare, sorry. I imagine it would be the same.