GabrielV

I voted for Minmay from DYRL with a note that either concert outfit would be good.

I may post pics later. Right now I'm irritated. I got a Eaglemosss big scale TOS Enterprise. Directly out of the box the deflector dish fell off. Also, while examining it, I noticed the starboard bussard collector has something wrong with it. It looks slightly mismolded on the bottom and the color isn't consistent. I'm basically just bitching right now. I don't intend to return the ship. I don't want to deal with the hassle. I'm just going to take my lumps and move on. And I've already repaired the deflector with some superglue. Of course, that revealed the central spike of the deflector dish is molded crooked. I'm very disappointed. My first impression is that my little Corgi Enterprise is better. Crap. I just noticed something else. The starboard nacelle is ever so slightly tilted inboard. I'm glad now that I only ordered this ship. I had originally intended to order the D and the E along with it, but I reserved myself to only check out the TOS and go from there. I won't be ordering the D or E now. I also won't be ordering any of the smaller ships. I may give them another chance on a mega scale Constitution Refit, but otherwise I've been given a negative impression of the Eaglemoss product. Derex, maybe I should have just ordered a Diamond Select Nemesis Enterprise E. I'm not a fan of the E, but I bought the original release of the ship ages ago and it has sort of grown on me. In pics the Nemesis re-release looks like a good upgrade.

OK, got it. They just looked different from what I had seen before. False alarm.

I don't know. I was referring to these: http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-RBT-4463 http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-RBT-4464 http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-RBT-4465 To me they look very Gakken-like: thick and stocky in battloid mode, leading edges of the wings seem to just rest on the intake covers, stubby nose.

Forgive me if I missed it, but has anyone seen the 1/48 Aoshima Legioss models? I saw them on AmiAmi today. And they look like slightly modified Gakken 1/35s.

I probably only notice it because of the old Bandai 1/100 model. On that model it's on a slider: forward for battloid, back for gerwalk and fighter. The lineart I have access to in the Macross II This is Animation Special #5 doesn't show the shield moving as part of transformation (it doesn't show SAP transformation at all), but it does show it in a further back position in gerwalk and fighter than it occupies in battloid. Having it further back does give the fighter mode a nicer side profile (IMO). It's kind of like the antenna. It's something you never really notice unless you're specifically looking for it. In fact, the only reason I pointed it out at all is because I had missed it myself. As for the stuff about the ET VF-2, no worries. It was just a minor quibble, and it wasn't even the focus of the review. A comparison between the two toys is expected and required in this case. It's undeniable the ET version doesn't come out looking good. I just kind of went "huh" when you said the SAP wings couldn't pivot because I had been trying to get them tilted back just the right amount when I was taking pics of mine in battloid a while ago.

I just got done watching the video review. I think it was pretty on target. I sort of wish we could stop beating up on the ET VF-2, but as yours seems to be disintegrating as you handle it, I completely understand why you did. I only noticed two things: You have the SAP equipped fighter mistransformed. The top missile shield should be further back. I made the same mistake when I was taking pictures of mine a while back. The shield pops off and is remounted via another peg hole making it sit further back. You seem to imply that the ET VF-2 doesn't have articulation on the SAP wings. It does. The SAP wings can be tilted back/up. The range of motion isn't as much as on the HMR, though, and that was possibly what you meant. Not that it has any bearing on the review of the HMR. Otherwise, I think you hit the nail on the head. Like you, I initially had a negative impression of the toy. Then I started handling it and warmed considerably to it. Personally, I don't think it looks bad at all in battloid, but the jet mode really does shine.

I am proud to announce that I am releasing a new Premium Edition VF-0A! I even have a promo image: I am now accepting pre-orders. Quantities are extremely limited. Pre-order before the entire stock is gone!

Is there a regular re-release as well, or only a premium release upcoming?

Yes, yes, and yes. And if they can't, then I've been playing Super Robot Wars V all wrong.

I got an Ex-Gokin God Phoenix (repaint version) today. I'm not sure why it's a "repaint" when it's the original colors of the vehicle, but whatever. It's been almost 40 years since I first saw Battle of the Planets on TV. It was the first anime I loved, and while I don't have much affection for the overall show anymore, the iconic characters and vehicles give me the warm fuzzies. None of them do this moreso than the G-5 Phoenix. I remember watching that show as a child and wishing I had a die cast Phoenix just like my Dinky Toys Enterprise to play with while I watched the adventures of Mark, Jason, Princess, Tiny, Keyop, and 7-Zark-7. And you're damn right that I watched the intro to Battle of the Planets earlier while I swooshed this thing around! The holy trinity is now complete: Phoenix, Argo/Yamato, and SDF-1, the Genesis of anime for me. If only I still had the Millennium Queen poster I had in the early 80s, that would be the perfect personal backdrop for the three. Treatment's photo of his SDF-1 and Yamato over in the Arcadia SDF-1 thread inspired me to do this one:

Sorry, nothing to report. If there are places for them to go, I've completely missed them.

That summary helps. I saw this trailer earlier today and my reaction was a completely bewildered WTF, and not a good bewilderment either.

Recently I was playing with my Evolution Toy VF-2SS. It's definitely not my best Valk by any stretch. Hell, it has problems competing with $50 Leader class mass market Hasbro Transformers. But I don't hate it. It got me thinking that maybe I should haul out my Toynami MP Alpha and give it another chance. After a few minutes of handling the MP Alpha I was reminded in vast detail what a horrible POS it is. It's floppier than a wet noodle and is impossible to get lined up worth a damn. One of the hands on mine broke long ago, requiring me to superglue it in place, and while handling it again joints in the interior of the leg and arm broke. Admittedly it's over a decade old, but I have a lot of toys that are older than that and they don't disintegrate while I handle them. So, I see that the ET version of the toy is just a "refined" and bigger version of the Toynami MP. And while I'm not singing the praises of the ET VF-2, it isn't a total trainwreck like the Toynami Alpha is. So, my question is, did ET improve the build quality over the ridiculously naff Toynami MP. For me that Toynami one is the absolute low bar for premium transformable toys. So, is the ET version at least a notch up from that? Is it at least VF-2SS level? Because that red version sure does look nice. I may be willing to roll the dice on ET again. Regardless, I'm probably going to hunt for a 1/35 Gakken sometime during 2018.

Not really anything big and impressive, but the other day I noticed the Diamond Select Starship Legends Romulan Warbird was on sale. Since it's a childhood fave, I decided to pick it up.

There's a switch you flip to unlock the center torso and the thrusters. After rotating the center torso into place and lifting the thrusters, flip the switch back to the original position to lock things in position.

Earlier I spent time cutting sprues and pegging in tiny little pieces. So you're damn right I'm going to spam this pic in this thread too.

My two most recent arrivals.

I guess I'm missing something. Anyone know where runner parts #30 and #32 go?

I think it's that the chest thrusters haven't been pulled up.

How bad is it to plug in the ARMD platforms this time around? I understand they were legendarily brutal the first time around. I see those sprues. How long am I probably going to be sitting around with sprue cutters and squinting at instructions to get things assembled?

The rear of the neck plate kinda/sorta pegs in to the folding back plate, but not securely. Otherwise it's just held in place by the front of it folding between the two joints as you change it to battloid.

Proving that the Evolution Toy and Hi-Metal R VF-2SS can coexist peacefully.

Hopefully this looks OK.

I had my AmiAmi payment request this morning. EMS shipping was 5,900 yen.