Nani?!

I have 4 low viz with armor, and they are simply perfect.

Grrrrrr...

sorry... I get all envious when I hear people have multiple low vizs when I got none... it's my fault.... but the fact saddens me...

OFF TOPIC! MY BAD!

So, IF it IS for the Armour, then how would the armour work on the 1/60s?

Because the 1/60 nose isn't as long.

We're not going to get 100% accuracy as far as the GBP goes...

even if it's on the 1/48. I'm sure yamato will figure it out... that's what they get paid for...

and oh, almost forgot... IT's NOT even announced or planned yet!

we're getting ahead of ourselves here...

awesome tips guys. thanks! looks like i did the right thing and asked first. i'll have to look into both the takatoys stickers and anasazi water decals. has there been any threads or articles on the best way to apply? i'm thinking a nice set of fine tweezers and a new x-acto blade are musts. any other tips?

apu, if you must know, i dropped $660 on all the 1/48's including the super and strike parts set. still need a low-vizzle.

haterist, yep, that would be me. and you are...?

go to Twin moons

they have a page dedicated to applying water slide decals.

material you need basically are:

-xacto knife w/ extra set of blades (just in case)

-qtips

-Micro Sol setting solution. A MUST!!! Some people suggest Micro Set, but I tried both and I prefer the strength of Micro sol, It really makes the decal look almost like paint.

-small flat up to an 1" deep tray for room temp water.

-a thin tip brush (I used a good quality water color brush)

-tweezers

-patience and extra care

Application directions should be on Twin moons site...

Well, sometimes "extra" things aren't always good.

*cough* lit-up heads *cough*

yeah I agree,

I don't think it's a prominent feature in valks as much as it is on a gundam. I don't recall a specific moment where eyes lit up in Macross (maybe reflecting light but not being a source of). And even in gundam toy line 99.99% (maybe even 100%) of them don't have light up eyes.

As for the nose cone... I dont think it was made for a probable GBP addon to fit better... It's clearly to add more detail (even though it looks pretty cheesy)... It's possible yamato could use that feature for the benefit of the GBP but I dont think it was included there because of it.

IMHO,

it makes a world of difference. I bought Anasazi's waterslide stickers and a bottle of Micro sol setting solution with my first 1/48. It takes a while to cut them out and apply them at the right places, but once you got them all on, it's becomes a work of art. It took me 3 days to decal up my 1/48 and it's fastpacks and panel line them. But it's worth the effort and extra 20 or so bucks.

Go for it man... Anasazi's decals are sold in Twin moons, and you can find a bottle of micro sol in any hobby site or store.

It's a good looking rendition of the q rau. Just an unposable one.

not to be redundant, but no matter how much I like the Qrau and wanted one as a toy for all these years, it still stings when I think about how little you get for the money here. Really negligent those folks at yamato were with the Rau.... and in a way.... must I say,... Cheap.

I don't really have anything critical to say to what is present, it's just the lack of what is present that makes it just a bit less than special.

The real world problem with forward swept wings is that it hinders high speed maneuvers. The resistance it has against the wind is too much for the wings... They make a jet highly manueverable but hinders how fast the speed at which those manuevers can be made in. (this is what I read)

Given this, I suppose the 19 is made of stronger materials than what is currently being used on jets. Apart from the scene in the Plus series where the 19 folds in space (where there is no wind resistance), I would think the 19's wings fold back when it flys top speed in the earth's or eden's atmosphere.

some thoughts and replies I have to what's been posted:

1) Panel lines aren't hard for a toy manufcturer to do... nor is it very expensive. Yamato did i before with the 1/72's and I think it's more than safe to say they'll do the same for the Vf-0's. I really think this is a good step forward. For the amount of profit one of these make for Yamato, more detail is definitely warranted.

2) I think it's almost certain a bigger version will be made so all the people who can't get over the small size should not worry too much.

3) upon my years of buying japanese products I think despite their kick ass quality, they (the japanese) seem to forget (better word, neglect) smaller but nevertheless important aspects of the product that really hinders it from being perfect. The errors almost seem totally "DUH!", and hard to overlook but they do so over and over again. Yamato's are plagued by these and a lot of their electronic products (ie. Gameboy advance first version, Playstation 2 lack of four controller ports, etc. etc.) I guess it can seem like a generalization but because their products kick ass, you kinda wonder about these obvious gaping flaws.

4) I don't think perfect transformation was bypassed here because of "accuracy" issues as yamato claims. Though, again I must say I'm not worried by it, it could have been done if they wanted to. I think it's quite clear they went the easier path because the engineering of the transformation is probably what costs the most in production. The VF-0 is far from the most complicating transformation. It obvious they wanted to maximize profits.

5) I like the VF-0 design. I liked it even more when I saw it in the Macross 0 series. Why do some of you hate it so much? Just a question. I really want to know what reasons.

6) Lastly, I wonder how yamato will treat the other valks of the series. For the SV-51 and even the 0D, I think yamato should get on the bandwagon of better detail in the paintjobs. I dont think they can simply rely on colored plastic as much as they did in the past. I hope their growth really allows them to add more detail and bang for the dollar (or yen). Overall, they're getting a bit better (given what I see now) with the VF 0S.

Thanks for the pics. The more I see of the Zero, the more I like it, however it still does not look up to par with the 1/60s and 1/48s.

yes, because it's a 1/100.

It'll NEVER come close to a 1/48 but I think it's up there with the 1/60's...

It seems to sport a better paint job. hopefully it'll look even better at hand.

Graham,

any tidbit of info on the YF 19 FP? Like if it's still in plan?, if it's anywhere near completion? what quarter of 2004 (or even what YEAR perhaps? ) Even your speculation would be nice. yes, no? (if no, oh well, worth a try~ )

thanks in advance

Edit - typo

Congrats vibayo.

like everyone said, it wont be your last.... I started with the original 1/72 mac + line and I've bought everything but the 1/48's since(I only have one 1/48). Great price I must say.

and to Fort max:

Though I saw the original macross series back in the 80's I never really became a fan till macross plus came along. So yeah, I understand your point about perferring the newer valks over the old. However I must say, once you buy one of the older ones (especially one of the 1/48's) you'll REALLY appreciate them a lot more. I really recommend getting a VF-1 1/48. It's really worth buying one (even though it costs more than a playstation 2).

welcome to macross fandom!

I think its decent but should be 3,000 yen rather than 4. I really think yamato could care less about what we think and that them being hush has nothing to do with us at all. Do you think it matters? Probably not. Hey as long as hey make money thats what matters...to them money speaks not fans. I hate to say it that way but think about it they are a business they aren't out to become your friend they are out to get your money. Simple economics at that.

I thihnk they are hush because it is known that this site is a melting pot and THEE source for macross toy innfo so much that japanese fans go here and make fits if we get first dibs on breaking news. Why? Well after the admin of valk scramble became a father(kind of like jawjaw who had to end his site because hes gonna be a dad too) the admin of valk scramble had to stop his site. HIs site may have been the equivalent of ours since at that time when the 1/60 was released...he and shawn were to unleash the 1/60 review at the SAME time. Soon after the site ended and the japanese fans were leftr with no alternative cept this site.

So yes they do make a fit if we get soemthing first . that is why graham has to be so hush. Remember he got in trouble for the qrau announcement. THAT is what matters people. Whether we bitch or not, I never recall yamato actually caring enough to even be offended. They fix things when needed. Is like the same thing with transfans worrying that if they bitch to hasbro, transformers will cease. Do they look ilke they are ceasing? IS hasbro's feelins hurt? Please i am sure all that money brings a SMILE to their face.

Granted I this toy is decent. And kind of cheap regarding yamatos other endeavors. But bear in mind it is unfair to say and label ALL of us complainers that will still buy it. We are far from that. Read in this thread. There are legitimate complaints abound. The hips, the landing gear, both can be improved. Who is going tio say they loook perfect? noone? exactly.

ANd while money speaks more than we ever will infinitely yamato listens in when needed. But don't thinbk they take it personal when we complain, for everyone of us that complains there are 10 fans who will probably buy the complained about toy.

oh, I totally agree shin.

Yamato is a business corp, not a buddy family toy maker.

And the criticism some people gave were constructive and insightful.

The complaints I'm talking about are those who foolishly try to compare this with the 1/48 line and forget the fact that this is a different price point toy.

That alone should explain the reason for smaller scale, less accuracy, etc.

it's all relative. But people still try to undermine the product itself by comparing it to a toy more than 3-4 times it's price. That's just being unfair.

I personally had lower expectations of this latest endeavor by yamato. It's going to stand smaller than the 1/60's and going to feature swapable parts and yet when seeing it's progress, I'm really liking what they've (yamato) done.

Despite it's flaws and when not compared to the colossus of the 1/48's detail and size, it's a great toy.

That's all...

I think it value for money, but i HATE, hate hate swopping parts, its cheating!!!

oh, swapping parts aint that bad... it's a display piece.

it's not like you'll dramatically reinact the tranformation every time you do so. or do you?

The complaining around here can be sickning. You do all this complaining and you know you will all buy it 

Right on APU,

Before I say anything else,

Graham, Kick ass man. Thanks for the pics and the updates.

-

Some of the complaining you people do really makes me understand Yamato's decision to remain hush about their up and coming toys.

Get in your mind that this isn't a huge, $180 1/48 scale toy. It's yamato's attempt to offer something at the lower end of the price spectrum. A decent, no, a GOOD one at that.

Some of you are complainin' about the VF-0 design itself! Good gosh. Really folks, lets stick with constructive critique rather than whines and groans. Some of you guys really seem to beg yamato to be secretive with their work. I commend those who stuck with constructive criticism.

And pleeaassse... quit kidding yourself. If you're a fan of Macross 0 You know you're going to eat it up anyway.

As far as my two cents about the sculpt,

It looks great. I'm really amazed how far along yamato came in just a couple of years. For a 1/100, I'm really impressed with the amount of detail they were able to put in.

I'm sure they sculpted this with CAD no? really nice.

Paint job is tight for a yamato. I hope the actual distributed product has an equally great paint job. Panel lines and all.

Speaking of panel lines, given that they actually took the effort for them, I wonder why they left out the skull? No matter, it's nothing Takatoy's or devin's decals can't fix.

The only thing I think takes away from the overall quality of the toy is the leg pegs... generally, the hip area as everyone is pointing out to. If yamato has any intention on making last minute changes as Graham said they probably would, I think it can be over looked.

I'm psyched. I'm sold. 2 for me!

Thanks for the pics Graham!

EDIT - emphasized text

Yeah, looks as though the box was terribly mishandled....

As for your question about twin moons, I must concur that his packaging is comparable, if not better than big bad toy store. I purchased my valks from both, and Twin moons is cheaper (most of the times) and extra careful with packaging. That dude even signs personal thank you notes in his packages. your toys are in good hands natgun, Tam's the man.

Well all this talk about Yamato will or will not do it because how things sell. I mean they thought the sales of the 2 seaters were pretty low but you have to remember that the 1/48s came out and so did everyone assume they will release it for 1/48 as well? I mean Yamato essentially did cannibalized the market. I would definitely like to get the GBP but not in the 1/60 scale. But if there will not be one for the 1/48, I have to consider buying the 1/60 scale.

GBP for 1/48 is not confirmed...

and that's basically it...

I think we're bound to see it someday. Afterall it's just a separate armor accessory kit like the fast packs... the engineering for it wouldn't be too difficult for yamato.

you know what I wan't that's more doubtful of happening?

Reissue the LOW VIS!!!!

I think the only thing that can plausibly (in the foreseeable future) take yamato down is if bandai decides to competitively enter the macross market with newly sculpted, cheaper (as in more value for the money) valkyries. Yamato really has the lion's share of the macross market and though I'm very fond of it's products, they're really stretching it when it comes to price. (In my Opinion )

Anyway, it's unlikely that this is going to happen anytime soon. Bandai has no real reason to invest in a macross market that's relatively miniscule compared to that of say gundam or even evangelion. Though I wish Bandai or any sort of REAL competition would come by, our market simply isn't big enough.

And as for yamato... Stop making valks? Stop making 1/48? nah.... They're comfortable with what they have right now. As long as they've got us by the balls, they'll keep making valks for a while... they got a ton of material to work with, they just have to get to it. I honestly don't think anything is out of the question (including two seaters) simply because they said it was unlikely in the past. Since when did anything they say hold up ENTIRELY?

Lastly for Japan, I think the japanese fans are a bit more conservative with their money (for anime) compared to foreigners. Given the high saturation of all the anime they produce and watch every year, and also given the choices, a $110 plastic 20-year-old-design valkyrie and $60 plastic fastpack would be easily passed on for gazillion other alternatives. I honestly don't think they have as much nostalgia for Macross as we do. The reason gundam is doing so well is because they crank out another new series every 2 years or so. How many did us macross fans have for the past 20 years? only 4...

Anyway... I don't think you should worry, Yamato isn't going anywhere...

Edit: Typo

The Compendium is official. Anyway, there's a picture on p. 33 of Macross Design Works and on page 152 of Perfect Memory which appears to show one of the hooks and text pointing to it that may say exactly what it is. There's a picture on the same page that shows a Valk coming in for landing. Part of the same text appears--based on puzzling out the kana, it looks like it says "arrest[something]".

Here's the picture from MPM:

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but

According to the illustration of the VF-1a in the image Ewilen posted, the "mosquito nose" of the 1/60 yamatos that everyone complained about seems pretty accurate.

This was probably mentioned before, but given I don't own MPM, it just hit me when I saw that pic.

anywayzzz,

THE END:

HAHAHAHA

Hooooooly crap,

I've never knew I could actually crack a decent laugh from macross pictures, but you proved me wrong.

Funny stuff.

Well... it has been reported several times that the Macross Plus toys were basically Toycom/Yamato's attempt to impress Big West enough to get a new license to make VF-1 toys, as well as gauge fan interest in new transforming Macross toys, both in Japan and the U.S. (obviously the U.S. part of things ended up setting off a rights debacle).

So in that case it was more of a market test, but I'd assume that the target age range was similar to what they're doing now. Of course, Macross Plus is a newer anime and those toys were priced far cheaper by Toycom than what they ended up costing to import. And far cheaper than Yamato's higher price point items, like the 1/48 and the Q-Rau.

Yeah...

I remember preordering the yf 19, yf 21 and the vf 11b for $40 bucks each.

Everytime I think of those days and compare to the prices I pay now, it just makes me wanna go ballistic on HG.

Also, looking at the quality of Macross plus valks they made then and comparing it to the 1/48's really make me feel optimistic about what yamato will do with another try at Macross plus.

Anyway, gosh am I the only one who feels yamato will release more than just another yf 19 FP? or am I being too optimistic?

Though I understand your point that fan bases grow and expand with new series (Mac +, Mac 0) and reruns of the original series, yes, many of the current fans are those who watched the show as kids in the early 80's.

Macross Plus and 0 were never brought into this because they are not nearly as popular as the original show.

If you see the simple decisions yamato made in the creation of the toys themselves, you can clearly see that these weren't specifically meant to be in the hands of 12 year old fan.

I never said they were meant for 12 year olds because that would be silly.

They're more model like

They are not model like... by any stretch of imagination.

it still doesnt change the fact that the bigger portion of yamato's profit comes from the original viewers of the series

It still doesn't change the fact that very few japanese fans are loyal to a show. Most of them move on to greener pastures after the show is done. To base toy sales on a demographic that will probably not be there, interested in toys, or willing to pay said price, is insane at best.

You just listed a bunch of your assumptions with that post and you're saying that some of our arguments aren't based on anything?

Many people get drawn into Macross through newer series like Macross Plus and Zero. Given the shorter amount of time since they released, their popularity isn't as grossly dwarfed as you assume.

-

Also, you thinking 12 year old fans as being silly is no different than the fumed argument you're presenting to us and our point that the original viewers are the PRIMARY market.

-

They are not model like... by any stretch of imagination.

you took my words out of context. I said they are more model-like than the bandai's and the takatoku's. Do you own a 1/48...? and have you seen the customs that these babies are the canvas' to? please... dont take what I say out of context...

-

Lastly, like fifbeat mentioned, you grossly underestimate the loyalty of original fans. If people simply move on like you suggest, why in the heck would a company like yamato use an old series ("that people moved away from already") like macross as their core business?

You seem very ardent with your arguments, but I suggest you have the knowledge to back it up if you wish to argue so passionately...

Really my last post regarding this topic....

By the way, I believe there is another version of Minmay Guard decals (for 1/72 model), do you know where I can get that set of decals too?

I believe all of devin's (Anasazi37) decals can be found at Twin moons. The specific one your looking for is here.

By the way, it's on preorder.

Ok, sithlords collection is just holycrap-gross.

That's sick dude...

With all due respect.... how do you base that? On the assuption that 90% of the fans are those who watched the show back in 1982? 

Though I understand your point that fan bases grow and expand with new series (Mac +, Mac 0) and reruns of the original series, yes, many of the current fans are those who watched the show as kids in the early 80's.

If you see the simple decisions yamato made in the creation of the toys themselves, you can clearly see that these weren't specifically meant to be in the hands of 12 year old fan. They could be.... but they weren't meant to be... They're more model like than say the Bandai's or the Takatoku's. Though I personally at the start of this arguement, would have broadened the primary target group to about 21-30, it still doesnt change the fact that the bigger portion of yamato's profit comes from the original viewers of the series. Anyway like I said... it isnt the ONLY group... but yamato is definitely targeting them as primary.

that's enough said from me... this topic isn't worth arguing about.

Awesome job Jung,

You took devin's (already awesome) decals and enhanced them flawlessly.

Awesome work.

However when Yamato decides they are going to produce a Macross toy they FIRST look at how much they should charge to hit the perceived value price point for the demographic they are looking for.

Right.... but it wishful thinking and bad business decision to do that. Why? Because they would be expecting ppl at that age to just be consumer-whores and buy the toys for the simple novelty of being macross toys.

It isn't BAD business... Its ALL business, thats just the way marketing works.

And I'm telling you... thats not the way Yamato went about it!!!

No way in hell the average Macross fan age is 25-30.

I'm not saying that Yamato decided that ALL Macross fans were 25-30... They decided they were going to target Macross fans who were 25-30 (or lets say 30+).

Who said thats their target? You are basing your argument on a wild assumption. Theres no proof that the ages of 25 to 30 are yamatos target audience. Simply because there are as many 25-30 ppl who complain about the price as there are early 20 fans who don't complain at all.

Who said thats their target? You are basing your argument on a wild assumption. Theres no proof that the ages of 25 to 30 are yamatos target audience. Simply because there are as many 25-30 ppl who complain about the price as there are early 20 fans who don't complain at all.

With all due respect abomb, the 25-30 age group is the primary market. The height of Macross' (original series) popularity was when that age group were kids. It's not the only group of fans, but they are the primary market group.

Anyway, it's just business. A huge Majority of businesses (if not all) work pretty much the way agent one explained. They all designate target markets and ALL decisions are made based on it. Again, the 25-30 age group isn't the only group... but it's definitely the primary.

Anyways, right or wrong, this is a stupid topic to argue about...

peace people