David Hingtgen

At this point and time, you can put either a Sidewinder or AMRAAM on the tip, but just a few years ago it'd usually be an AMRAAM, unless it was an ANG plane. But the original configuration was the "logical" choice of AMRAAM outboard, Sidewinder tip. Then they switched, but now they're back to the original way for the most part. The only real rule is that an AMRAAM can only go on an AMRAAM rail, while a Sidewinder can go on either a Sidewinder or an AMRAAM rail. (Backwards compatability) HARMs are rail-launched, and most missile launch rails are basically a wide flat track with thin lips on the edges---the missile has (hard to describe)---flattened "T" shaped brackets that fit into (or around) the rail--the missile slides on and off. This is the best pic I have showing how a HARM physically attaches to its adapter:

I never saw Robotech until Cartoon Network showed, my first animated Macross was Plus. (I'm a Macross fan due to Jetfire, actually)

The thread titles are intentionally a bit different, so that people don't just "glance" at a thread and click/post in the wrong one. And as I said---I haven't followed this at all, so can't really say much about it. All the mods are free to edit this thread as needed---including the title. And the first day or two of all the new threads will need a lot of editing just to get all the pics/info sorted out. Hard to compress a 100-page thread into a single post and take the 1% of it that was about the 1/100 out into this one...

There used to be an F-101 flight demonstration team called The Warlocks. Who knew? Skip to 1:30 to actually get to the planes. Ahh, jets from the 60's---back when each design actually looked unique.

First of a new line of 1/100 transforming valks from Bandai. PVC/ABS/POM mix, some parts-swapping required.

Sept 26: Lots of new pics here: http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/011152/index.html#01 Any post with a picture of the 1/72 kit, 1/100 toy, or any other VF-25 that's not 1/60, will be deleted. Any post in response to a pic of the 1/72 etc telling someone "that's not the 1/60", will also be deleted. What we know so far: 1/60 scale, perfect transformation, part of Bandai's DX Chogokin line--which means it'll have at least some diecast, almost certainly more than recent Yamato toys. We have seen prototype Super/FAST packs, but nothing about a fully armored set.

I plan to basically follow the YF-19 v2 thread style for the 1/72 thread----thread will run normally, but new pics and info will be added to the first post, so that people can just keep checking the first post to keep up to date---discussion/rumors will be in the posts themselves. As that thread is pretty much 1/60-free and much shorter than this one, it will remain intact, and there will be no new 1/72 thread. This thread is beyond saving, and the new 1/60 thread will be run similarly to the 1/72 thread will be (new pics in first post etc), but will be "ruled with an iron fist" in that no new pics will be allowed without mod approval. I also plan to make a 1/100 thread, to keep it separate from the 1/60 and 1/72. (now that we have "grey unpainted prototype pics" of all 3 sizes, it'll only get worse). I think part of the problem is that the 1/72 is much further along, but there's much more interest in the 1/60---so as we keep getting more 1/72 stuff, people keep getting jumpy hoping that new pic if the 1/60---but it almost never is. While all the new pics ARE of the 1/72 usually--so they find their way into the 1/72 thread just fine.

I'm expecting foil stickers----just like a G1 Transformer. (water-slide decals have been confirmed, but I think that's in ADDITION to foil ones) PS--new rules/style for this thread. Important new pics and info will now be added to the first post, so people can just keep checking the first post to keep up to date, rather than reading through every new post.

Hmmn. If there is to be a flurry of new pics due to Chara Hobby, now would be a good time to close these threads and start new ones. I'm not going to do it tonight though---but other mods are welcome to. PS--of course, assuming we see NEW stuff from Chara Hobby. Not the same old hand-painted rapid-prototyped samples we've seen the past few months.

I completely agree. I "missed out on" all the discussion about Zero due to having a very slow (even by then-standards) dial-up, which made it impossible to follow along as it was released as I couldn't download anything. I had to avoid all those threads for months and months, and never did get to see the whole thing until probably a year after everyone else had. But now that I have broadband, and due to the "modern age" of fansubbers, I can "join in" on all the discussions about Frontier. And we not only have Frontier stuff coming, but a ton of VF-1 and Plus toys as well recently. The recent "Macross wave" got me to re-watch M7, which I haven't seen since the first time years back---and back then I had to watch it in very poor-quality and tiny-resolution .rm files (all that I could get and download back then). Whereas now I can see it in nice Divx-encoded avi's etc.

That's because Gundams are designed with whole areas of separate color--you rarely see striping or patterns. So many are "white overall, a chunk of blue torso, red waist, red feet, and maybe a few small yellow bits". Lately there seems to be a lot of black though. But again---no stripes/patterns. Just whole pieces of armor. No valkyrie has large "chunks" of color like that excluding feet and tailfins---they have stripes. Even a $100 PG kit of a valkyrie probably wouldn't be able to have color injection to the degree needed to do the paint scheme properly, even of a "simple" scheme like most VF-1's have. Honestly I think Bandai gets a decently big say in how Gundams are colored nowadays, to ensure that they can be molded as accurately as possible. "Sorry, you guys can't draw the shoulder armor like that---we can't mold that in 3 colors without increasing the kit price by 700 Yen"

Probably not---it'll be about 40% dark grey, 60% white. And a lot of stickers and decals to make the coloring. You can't mold "stripes". Part of the issue seems to be (so far) that Bandai hasn't learned what Yamato knows---pure white overall looks bad on a valk (unless its skillfully weathered). You usually want very light grey. Both the 1/72 and 1/60 so far appear to use PURE white for Alto---and that just looks bad, even when painted, much less molded.

Over in the model thread, azrael just instituted a "posts talking about the wrong thing will be immediately deleted, as will responses to those posts" policy. I do like eriku's suggestion of closing the existing threads and starting over again. Would have to clear that with other mods (and Graham) though. (well, I don't HAVE to, it's just that I don't want to mess with multiple important threads like that without a bit of fellow mod-consent)

I am *this* close to imposing a rule about banning people who post images of the 1/60 and 1/72 who can't tell them apart. Literally half the posts in each thread are wrong now, and we get repeats within the thread each day---seriously, someone posts a pic of the 1/72 in the 1/60 thread at 7AM, then everyone says "that's the 1/72"--then 2 hours later that pic gets posted again, people say that's not it---then I log in that afternoon just to find it happened again. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, DON'T POST IT. New pics are going to be found and posted by people who know what it is. If you don't know what it is, then you are not the first person to find/post that pic--so we don't need to see it again. I can't imagine how cluttered the 1/60 thread will be when the 1/72 is actually released and there's a zillion pics of it finished. Hell, maybe I'll just temporarily close the toy thread that week.

Because it'd be another "giant, yet very simple toy full of lights and sounds that nobody really wants and is just a shelfwarmer". IMHO, most $50 toys Hasbro makes are STILL only slightly better than Supreme Cheetor.

Question: This pic (lower-left) seems to be a physical model, but it says "CG"----and it's PERFECT. Is that actually a rendering, or is it a prototype Bandai made that perfectly matches the CG just to show what it "should" look like but can't be made into an actual transforming toy/model?

Just checked--it was ep 2. I just never saw that as "wanting to eat the lobster".

Just a little FYI, not sure if you've seen it, but a PURE red valk is canon---Basara's VF-19P in M7: Dynamite---even more red than his standard one.

That was either really quick or I don't remember it---when/where was that?

I still constantly shift between do I want Alto's or Ozma's in 1/60... (I lean towards Ozma, but Alto's keeps growing on me---probably because we see it so much more) My plan for a while has been to get one 1/72, and one 1/60. I have Alto's 1/72 on order, thus a 1/60 Ozma. But I may switch that around---I basically have until the first 1/72 kit ships to decide for sure. (and if there is no *full* armor for 1/60, I probably won't buy any)

Shouldn't this go in the Transformers thread, rather than the "YF-21 FAST packs" thread? PS--thanks for the video, I should be getting my YF-21 next week.

All other Yamato Roy valks (1/60 v1 and 1/48) also have "no yellow circle". Right or wrong, that seems to be their intention, and it's not a "mistake" on this release. Checking DYRL, it does seem to be yellow in every scene. Hasegawa says yellow. Bandai/Takatoku don't have it yellow, but they simply don't even have that area molded with canon details it seems--there's no circle at all. Still--Roy's valk clearly is not a PERFECT color-copy of Hikaru/Max/Kakizaki---otherwise, he'd have a yellow heatshield and yellow background for the skull on the boosters. Roy seems to prefer "not quite so much yellow".

I currently rank it only below Plus.

Umm, Encore isn't classic, it's G1. But better than the originals. (Heresy you say? Nope---insignia are printed on instead of stickers)

Wanted to ask a few days ago but the boards were down: Does anyone want to split an Encore Thundercracker/Skywarp pack? I just want Thundercracker.