Hurin

Well, I'll most likely just get over it. But, that sounds like it will work. In case I do ever try it: 1. I don't have an airbrush anymore. Can this technique be used via hand-brushing? 2. Also, regarding the clear-coat. Is a spray can alright or should I, again, try to locate an airbrush? Thanks for the great post man! Short of actual brand and color recommendations, I think that's the most information I could hope for! H

Actually, I think they delayed the release because it was too good. So, they went back to the drawing board and introduced a few flaws. That way they can make more money by selling you a second, improved one later. H

Uh. . . what? The seat is glued incorrectly. Not all are like that. I know, cuz I now have a non-crooked seat. Here's the post with a picture of it. When the seat is straight, the pilots still fit fine. Man. . . I'd better stop there before I lose it completely.

Yep, I had the seat problem too. The dealer I bought it from was nice enough to swap the seat from his own private collection. Here's the post with a picture of it. The seat is really well-glued (nearly fused) to the base of the cockpit. But I'd think you'd be able to remove it with some perseverance. Exo, does the goo-gone break down the glue? Will it also harm the paint? Once it's loose, just re-glue. It's actually very easy getting the fuselage apart (open the landing gear door, and the T-Bar hatch on the nose. Then you should be able to undo all three screws). The cockpit floor assembly fits very snugly in the fuselage. . . so what you do shouldn't affect the landing gear. . . cuz it will only go in one way and is held there securely. Getting things back together can be a pain. But just go slowly as you take it apart and note how everything fits together. You'll get it eventually. I've found that turning the valk uside down, placing the top part of the fuselage in place, the filling in everything from there is the best way. That's tough to explain, but once you have it apart, you'll hopefully see what I mean. Otherwise, you're putting one part in place, only to have another one fall out. . . Good luck! Let us know how it goes! H

Hell, I'm just going to put TV Fast Packs on it and forget it's there. H

Yeah, the part that really bothers me is up at the top where the two horizontal lines come across. It really makes it stand out in certain light. But, I think I can live with it. It's just that every other aspect of this valk is perfect, so I'm obsessing on this one spot. There's always something. H

Okay, I took it out of the box so I could get an image of it. Here's a picture. Am I crazy to even care about this? I'm usually easy-going about face gaps, fuzzy lines, loose joints, etc. So I realize there is a bit of irony here. But the skull tail fins are particularly cool/important part to me, especially in this case because I was excited to finally get a Roy with straight skulls on the fins. Am I just being anal? H

Thanks for the info David. I was assuming I'd use flat black. But does anyone know a specific type of paint that matches the one Yamato uses? Will I need to seal it after the painting? Sigh. . . I'd ask for an exchange, but I like the dealer and he already exchanged my Max seat. Don't want to hassle a nice guy. H

Howdy all, I just received my re-issue Roy. Without even opening it, I can see something that sorta bums me out. I was excited about finally having a Roy with straight skulls on the tail fins. But looking at the tail fins, I see that they messed up a bit in painting the black on one of them. The black doesn't quite meet with the panel line. So there is a gap of white between the black paint. . . then the bare plastic, then the panel line where the black should have stopped. Does that make sense? I gives it a strange double-lined effect. Anyways, any tips on how to remedy this short of returing the valk? I was thinking I could mask it and paint it. . . but I'd want the paint to match perfectly if possible. And brand recommendations? Would there be a demarcation between the factory paint and the custom paint? How about a Gunam marker? Or would I have to use an airbrush to get the proper texture? Any help with any of those questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! H

I've had my legs fall off the little rubber pluggy thingy before. But it slides back on and stays pretty securely. Is this breakage permanent or were you able to just slide it back on? H

LOL. Yeah, it's rocket science. Only you are capable of such arcane wisdom. That's all fine and dandy. What you are referring to here is yet another instance of "economies of scale." Though, I must point out that the amount of time (6mo or a year) doesn't matter. What matters is how many pieces have been manufactured in the interrim. So, yes, releasing any valkyrie at this point is going to be less expensive where casting and part manufacturing costs are concerned relative to the costs during the initial runs. Yet, this has absolutely no bearing on our current debate. Nor does it mean that re-releasing a Max today would be less expensive than releasing a Roy 1S today. And, for the record, the Roy and Hikaru were re-released because stores had sold out, not because they wanted to sell you the same toy twice. Never said that they manufactured the pigment themselve (nor does it matter!). I said that they manufacture pigmented parts. As for paint, that's an entirely different thing. They have to paint many parts of the M&M that remain white on every other valk. Thus, there are more expenses in producing an M&M valkyrie than any other valkyrie model to date. Yes, economies of scale make it less expensive to create than it otherwise would have been two years ago. . . but compared to any other valkyrie on the list, they are still more expensive to create in real terms. So, to expect them to jump at the chance to build more of them seems counter-intuitive. In fact, here's how you appear to be seeing this play out: 1. The M&Ms suck. 2. Few people buy them. 3. They languish on the shelves and possibly go on clearance sales 4. Yamato says: "Well hey! Let's make more of them!" What kind of screwed up business model is that!?! Fixed or not, I doubt Yamato would want to get involved in that sort of situation. Of course, I think the M&M will sell just fine. And therefore Yamato won't be in that situation. And if we see more M&Ms, it will be because they did so very well! No amount of "reading more carefully" gives any such indication. You clearly consider it a possibility: That's an either/or statement. Either one, in that sentence, is considered a possibility. You may have intended to say something different, but that's not what you wrote. So, please don't call my argument "flawed" or tell me that I need to "read more carefuly" when what you wrote is actually not representative of what you now claim to be saying. All that "math" is pure conjecture. I could pull contradictory math out of my ass too. But it wouldn't solve anything. As Blaine pointed out (even with a quote! Hooray!). . . this is exactly what you alleged. When called on it, you tempered your assertion by saying that they weren't doing it intentionally. . . and then tried to somehow demonstrate that malice on their part wasn't necessary because the M&M would be cheaper to re-release than the Roy or Hikaru were. I'm merely pointing out that there is absolutely no reason to believe that the M&M would be cheaper to re-release than than any other valk today. In fact, due to the pigmented plastic, larger painted areas, more painting labor, and non-generic parts (FAST Pack coloration), the M&M would appear to be quite a bit more expensive to produce than any other valk. Well, I can see where you'd think this would vindicate you. However, Yamto releasing more does not mean that they intentionally botched the first batch or let a shoddy toy out the door in hopes of selling you another one later. Oh, but wait, you never alleged that. Yah right. H Sorry for the tone of the above post. Re-reading it now, it seems overly heated. . . but that was not the tone in my head as I wrote it.

Personally, I'd like to see this. If you've got the money to burn and you don't mind possibly harming your valk. . . go for it! Sadly, this thread was supposed to be about how to go about it. . . and has turned into an MPC bashing thread. Yes, the MPC sucked (I had one). But putting a lighted visor on a 1/48 does not make it an MPC. H

It's be great to have the blast shield and aircraft carrier runway diorama. . . and swap out the F-14 for a 1/32-scale VF-1! Not that the F-14 isn't beautiful! H

Hehe, it looks like he's got a ThunderCats emblem on his chest! Sword of Omens! Give me Sight Beyone Sight! H

Regarding the arm armor. I keep meaning to post this. . . but it is the easiest fix in the world. No, you shouldn't need to fix it, but if you want it to work. . . it's five seconds with and exacto blade. After stickering my Max, I thought "what the hell". . . and just took a little snip off the offending edge that keeps the gunpod from inserting fully into the slot. It was just the tiniest amount. . . and now it fits fine and stays snugly. I can post a picture of what I snipped. But that has to wait until I get home. Of course, you should do this to both sides. cut/shave off a tiny amount (you can take off more if needed). If you're really careful, you won't even discolor the plastic. H

Okay, I'm not even sure what you're trying to say there. But your initial point is that it is more expensive to re-release the non-M&M valks. . . If they wanted to make more Milias, they'd have to manufacture more red pigmented parts. When they made the re-issues of the VF-1A and VF-1S, they could use the exact same parts that they used for the Max VF-1A and the Hikaru 1S. There were no changes needed. The Max has a unique pigment to its plastic. So does the Milia. The rest are generic white. The Max and Milia both use a lot more paint. To say that the Max and Milia are easer or cheaper to re-release is just utter nonsense. Especially when you start saying that they might even change the texture of the valk to refine the painting process! Well, now you're saying something different (if I understand it at all). All I have to say to this is that you and I seem to have a different definition of "satisfactory". . . and a different view on how many people are willing to spend another $200 on something with which they are already "satisfied." (70%). I can't. Since I have no idea what you just said. But you admit you're guessing at whatever numbers those are supposed to represent. So, uh. . . OKAY! Good luck with that. Look, you think Yamato is out to screw people by intentionally releasing shoddy products and then selling them the same thing again later. I don't. I think that's silly and more than a little paranoid. I'm done with this discussion. I'm going to take the Blaine-approach and just label your arguments as silly and move on. H

Hardly easier than a plain white valk with a couple black stripes. But. . . okay. . . not even sure what you're trying to say there. Uh, your math is off. 70% of the people here are satisfied or higher. Man, talk about spinning the numbers! First, I doubt our reviews here matter at all. You may be "sure". . . but apparently, 70% of the people here like (or love) even their Milias. Max has an even more favorable vote (last I checked). Yes, those who hate these toys are more vocal, but I'm beginning to think that this is no different than those who decried the face seam on the 1S, or the fuzzy paint on the Hikaru 1S. There are always very vocal people who want to make sure that everyone knows how unhappy they are. Not that this will please him. . . but I'm with Blaine. . . these "Yamato is trying to steal my money" conspiracy theories are just so sad. . . And yes, when you're saying that Yamato intentionally didn't do as good a job as they could have and are already planning a second release. . . that's a conspiracy theory, if not sabotage. I highly doubt Yamato is already planning a second release given that 70% or higher already think their toy is fine. H

Until its time for you to bitch? Yes, that little fin is white on both the Milia and Max. It really seems to bother some people. As for the white showing in the gap between the chestplate and back. That gap has always been there (as I'm sure you know). . . so it's a trade off. You pay the price of seeing the white in fighter mode to get what (in my opinion) is a much cooler looking white "shoulder" area in battroid mode. H

What is the context for that picture? Seriously? H

We're in complete agreement here. That's the argument I would make in the discussion forums for Ultima Online when everyone would say that "everybody thinks this game sucks!" Or when people would visit a tech support forum and come to the conclusion that a product must suck if "this many" people are having problems. Happy people don't tend to drop by to post how happy they are. At least, not as often or as intensely as those who are pissed. I had a feeling that this was the case with the Max and Milia (actually, just about every Yamato release). . . and I decided to test the theory with a poll. (Edited out a reference to a possible future poll that might have skewed the results of said poll) H

Doesn't really seem worth a new response, so I'll answer you the same way I did in the other poll. . . since you found it necessary to go off twice. H

Uh, these polls are here as a direct result of those threads. Since, reading those subjective rants and opinions might give someone a skewed idea of how the Max is really considered among those who own it. I know that I was beginning to think that everyone really did hate it. But the poll shows differently. Reading the threads, I think a lot of people would get the impression that the Max is just terrible. Yet 80% so far are satisfied or better. As for a debate about them being lame? I don't see one. Just you. And Mechamechanic wondering if two were necessary. And they were. H

Is it me, or are her hips extremely. . . wide? Or is it that way so that she'll have a Badunkadunk! I have no idea how you damn kids spell that. H P.S. Get out of my yard!

For the record though, polls are limited to 10 questions each. So I'm serious, if anyone can figure out how one poll can cover all the contingencies listed above, that'd be cool. Looking at the "math" though, I don't think it's possible.

Like I said, I don't really care. Mechamechanic pointed out and reminded me that we have to be careful about making too many polls. That prompted me to do the same here. Don't be so touchy. Make sure you post what he eventually buys! Maybe make a poll about how we all feel about it? I mean, if we're making poll about our buying decisions. . . might as well go nuts. I think I'll make a poll about whether I should buy the Milia 1J, an MP3 player, or groceries this month. That'll excite everyone! H