1/1 LowViz Lurker

And how are the joints? To the guy saying tv version design is not canon: I thought the tv series valkyries were canon back in the day when the war was on but by the time of the in-universe 'DYRL movie' they were forced to use the newer vf-1 with the improvements because there were no more SW1 vf-1 left? (different cockpit with the B G F levers to change forms instead of using the sticks like we see in the movie) Yeah I get that bubble hands are not canon and that exedor might not be canon (as we see he has tentacles in macross 7) but those planes from SW1 in the tv series were. (just that those were no longer around by the time the movie was made so the makers of the movie just went with newer vf-1 in place of the originals) Look I like the more adult minmay from dyrl just like the rest of them, just that I don't accept the characters from the DYRL version or the valks (where all pilot character is in skull squad with different coloured jolly rogers symbol on their heat shields) as the canon for those people. The DYRL valks do exist, just that roy died before strike pakcs were invented because the real timeline wouldn't have allowed him to see the newer vf-1 where he could change forms by tilting the throttle. Anyway, maybe Kawamori will change this so that "tilting the throttle to change forms" did exist before roy died just like he changed the colour of shins valk from white to grey in macross zero so this debate is meaningless.

I want to get tv roy at some point. That is the story canon after all. No way roy suvived the end of the war through the use of zentradi cloning chambers to appear as an actor in the movie. He was shot down, forgot to see a doctor and was officially known as the guy who got beaten by some rookie girl mech pilots thanks to his drunken behavior..Not having the tv series version is just a DYRL fanboy's excuse to avoid this harsh truth. Shin on the other hand.. he beat his woman rival despite an earlier humiliation in hand to hand combat and then got to fly to space for free where hikaru minmay and misa are waiting for everyone having a huge party at the centre of the galaxy where all the space whales go to for refuge away from scientists who want to extract things from them for study.

1/60 v2 = enhanced 1/48 vf-1 shrunken down and given more posability for robot mode fans. The hands are no longer girl robots since in proportion to the rest of the robot's body, they look normal. Hands I reckon are important. As an example: GBP 1/48 made the hands look so ridiculously small, that they needed to blow the size up more by giving you bigger versions of hand that were larger than the tv series bubble hands, just to keep the tough look consistent. The new yamato direction is to make the feet small now. As has been seen with the 1/60 yf-21. Girl legs, and tiny feet for Guld's robot.

So glad these came out. Now yamato: Miria vf-11 thanks.... When is it it coming out?

I like both. I think yamato go for the "it must look close to a model" idea more, and bandai want the toy look. (that's what they are after all) If yamato started releasing kits that would be cool. But everyone here complained about the swappable parts 1/100 VF-0 that we were supposed to have, and then they had to make the VF-0 perfect transforming toy instead. It's all the fault of MWB. Don't blame yamato. --- Great pics of this toy. I want to get one, but I caved and bought the VF-22S Max. Will these bandai toys ever see improvements in future? I'm wondering if I skip out on the early oness sometime down the track, they will have enhanced versions that are better or something. (like a pilot with boobs, just kidding.) I would like to see a black non-canon variant similar to ivanov sv-51 heh.

I think prime being more herioc means he will be like an action star who singlehandedly rescues all the autobots without any help while making it all look easy to the others. Prime is the perfect leader while the others are mostly ordinary guys who try their best. Nah it probably just means more flames on his body. And keith I thought you liked robots with faces on them? (basaras valk for example) Does it reverse for the transformers world? The battlemask idea is a good one though. This way it makes the good guy less menacing but when they fight it offers protection for the face. (still can't find human alliance bumblebee in the department and toy stores where you can have him with or without the battlemask on) I think the decepticons are better with helmets and masks, because they don't need to emote as much but the good guys should be displayed without them (unless fighting) so as not to make them too scary. Prime has covering because he was built as a battle robot in g1 so it suits him imo.

He seems to be pretty strong in it too: lifting up giant robots and stuff lol.

an armored version of this simple and effective close range weapon. Punch, then stab them in the side of the neck with the other hand to finish them off. You get pin point barrier glowy bits on the knuckles to protect the hand from damage, and anti-armour blade to pierce the sensitive areas which require some level of accuracy and speed. Not a main weapon, but perhaps something to back you up when your other gun is reloading or jammed or something. This way the hand is small enough to properly grip all kind of weapons, not fat and chunky like the spartan ones.

I think a good melee weapon would be a mech hand with a knuckle duster. hehe.

So far in macross human have encountered: giant humanoid beings that can't repair things elves giant inbit style creatures But if humans were to be attacked by something new like another race of intelligent beings similar to us, I wonder what impact that would have on the technology used? Would we go to smaller mechs like the characters in genesis climber mospeada so they be harder to hit and can fight in smaller space easier? Have smaller versions of the destroids which are more like the valkyries and don't have built in weapons but weapon packs (ie vf-25? Perhaps larger versions of the ex-gear which is something closer to the size of a powerloader from aliens or the mechs in bubble gum crisis? Personally I think the most interesting thing would be if humans had another war similar to the war they had on earth before the alien ship arrived but this time in space. (ie gundam) There may be some kind of technology that is too dangerous and similar to the islanders in macross zero you have anti un and un spacy trying to control it for themselves, and an alien race that fights both of them off out of fear it will be exploited. (something that feeds off the energies generated by the mixed races and possibly mind controlled by the last aliens races that had visited but misused the technology - forcing us to have to destroy it) Enter a new macros sspin-off series featuring the heroic transforming destroids which go in first and get slaughtered because they were too bulky. This then results in a competition between two companies to create a smaller mech: 1. upgraded EX-gear with agility (like the yf-21 which is sleeker and more sophistacted, may be more stealthy) 2. small destroids with heavy weapons and just-enough armour (the underdog which wins the contract because it looks safer) Smal destroids would be like the legioss with mini versions of the gunpod, a transforming ability, but unlike valkyries (and depsite being smaller than them) the armour is thicker. (ie a mini destroid) However since they can hover and transform they retain a respectable speed unlike the destroids which walk like they are glued to the ground. It would be closer to a valk with GBP armour but just more compact.

I like the look of the QRau, but like others wish it had better posability. It;s good that yamato released an enemy mecha though. I bought it on the basis that it would show support for non-valk mecha too. I would like to see more enemies. Where is the variable glaug yamato?

They are toys that are trying to get the look of a model. But still toys. Stop deluding yourself buddy. That's damage control. You feel buyers remorse everytime you experience a breakage just like the lot of us haha. The only reason we tolerate it is, well, ...because we have no choice by not being lucky and living in japan where the breakages are covered and replacements are easy to get. lol Not picking only on yamato here so don't bother thinking I'm a shill for bandai or other companies, it happens to toynami as well.

I think destroids would be easier to use simply because you are moving around slowly and not constantly having to aim while moving at high speed all the time. The heroes in the anime do what they do because they simply can't be allowed to die. Max has intuition, milia is one of the best pilots of the zentradi, and hikaru was a acrobatic circus pilot before he ever decided to join up with the military to use his skill to kill aliens. Sure he never got shot at doing the stunts but he has developed skill through actual experience and not just developed that level of precision from the training given to him after joining up. It would be like taking a trained martial artist and seeing how long he can last in a bar fight and saying how easy it is to control the human body as a weapon vs putting an ordinary guy with no fighting experience and ignoring that he got damaged way more badly due to lack of preparation. Let's just say that using aces and stunt pilots is a bad example to show how easy a valk is compared to destroids. Luke Skywalker is not typical of an ordinary pilot in star wars universe in flying x-wing since he has the force, right? So in macross hikaru who treats flying as his single dream, is not typical of the ordinary cannon fodder brownie. You can't say: "but look how easy hikaru manages to learn!" as if that is a good example of the average person. But the bottom line: destroids are not flying in the air while trying to shoot other flying aliens around them. They are shooting from a still position at moving targets, while not moving themselves most of the time. (due to being slow bulky machines) Shoot while standing still at a moving target. Now go shoot while you move, at moving targets. Which is easier? You see valkyries strafing around in gerwalk mode and changing to battroid mode halfway through a fight and then to fighter mode to make a quick escape to avoid missiles swarms all the time in macross. That just requires more skill than not having to do that. It's not just moving the vehicles to do mundane things, it's knowing how to utilise ALL 3 modes while in combat as shown in macross zero when roy has to get shin out of the "fighter mode only" mindset. On top of just using them, knowing: 1. When to use them, 2. training yourself how to use them EFFECTIVELY, and 3. how to combine all 3 modes within a single battle instead of just using 1 mode for 1 role and sticking to that one mode. Ie using all 3 modes depending on how the enemy chooses to fight you (assuming you both have VF capability) and tactically mixing the modes to confuse your opponent. (the dogfight between shin and nora is a classic example: the gerwalk mode gave him just the right amount of time to shoot sideways, which fighter mode lacked the ability to do) Yeah ok ok it gets easier to know how to drive one as technology improves. But the concept of having more options requires more thought. With a destroid you have less options to think about because the thing just isn't able to move around fast. There are no sudden sharp changes in speed that throw timing off. Don't tell me that dodging a microsmissiles swarm in fighter mode is just autopilot or something like that. It's elite skill. All the destroid pilot and reguld pilot has to worry about is being behind something on the ground (like a building or something) so that the missiles hit something else and blow up harmlessly because there isn't a clear path between itself and the missiles. This is actually why max did so well against milia's Qrau in the SDFM tv series by purposely choosing a battle environment in a confined space that made it hard for her space-use robot (designed to fight in open spaces), to use her best attacks (spraying the area with guided missiles) You can't do that if they blow up in your face or there is lots of places for a smaller target to seek cover can you? Her strength became her weakness and since her powered suit is larger than a valk, she became an easier target. Destroids not being useful for space would make them less useful than valks but imo they would provide great defence inside the ship if giants ever managed to get inside. The valks can do everything they can AND fly, but your best pilots should be the guys out there flying the fast robots which have to scramble and get from place to place at high speeds, not wasting their talents and skills piloting slower robots which stand on one spot and defend against ground robots or giants. Even though destroids are less useful, macross the tv series is really about people with limited resources using crazy unconventional ideas to achieve a goal without an enemy being able to have planned for in advance. That's why the deadalus attack worked because if the enemy expected something like it, there would be no element of surprise would there? I can still see destroids being useful on the condition that being seriously outnumbered meant a high probability of giant aliens being able to enter into the lone ship and try to take it from the inside for whatever reason. You want more guns and heavy weapons than speed in a confined space. Before the super and strike packs valks look to me to have lacked enough weapons. Having a bunch of cheap destroids with easy to use controls that are less complex to repair and require less parts has got to count for something in times of limited resources and lack of time before you can develop something more appropriate. If I wasn't a hero pilot, and assuming I was lazy and had limited memory because I was dropped as a baby, the destroid would be my robot of choice. Yeah it's more slow than a valk, but you don't want to fly around in a crowded environment and risk smashing into stuff, so to me the slow speed becomes less an issue if your only job is defending, not trying to chase something that is constantly sldiing around in the open space. Just because the tv series' focus is on the heroes overcoming enemy aces, (hikaru defeating kamjin, roy being bested by females, max defeating his girlfriend etc) that doesn't mean enemy cannon fodders weren't also being shot down by destroids. It just means that future macross shows where humans are not up against superior numbers of alien will tend to not show defensive-type battles as much as "flying around in the open" battles with missiles spewing all over the place; with people having to fly at high speed and high precision to dodge it all. Maybe in future macross shows there is less need to show us the grunt mechas since none of the wars seems as epic and big as SW I in terms of humans fighting just to survive with an upper limit to how much supplies they can tap into. (at one point in the war you can see them resort to hand to hand fighting - you could argue that perhaps a low tech cheap substitute for less important tasks was something needed badly as there was only so much to go around) The original tv series didn't just show us a space war but several ground ones that involved giant aliens roaming near cities with tiny human people. Ground-use robots against giants (that cannot fly around) would have sufficed at that point.

I just think Avatar deserves to be bashed far more than district 9 since it had come around with a lot more pre-release hype imo. Cameron hadn't released a movie in a long time so expectations were higher for it to be great than distrct 9 having to be good. Having higher expectations mean higher chance of a negative-sounding review. Because you expect much more from a well-known guy than an unknown. In a way it's like the bandai vs yamato toy company debate. You like both companies but who impressed you more? I think D9 had way deeper characters that made me care about them vs avatars ones. You avatar lovers are just in damage control mode because you never set your expectations as high as others imo. Cameron could do better with the story but I don't think he put as much effort into that vs the effort put into the 3d technology. Avatar is to district 9 what macross zero is to macross plus. Plus was more impressive to me for its time and limits than macross zero was to me for its time. Although Macross Zero has better visuals than Macross Plus with the 3d valks and realistic looking dogfights, I preferred macross plus because it was Top Gun with robots. Zero's focus on just telling us about magic priests and religious artifacts which came from space seemed more adventurous and epic, but it had a slower pace to it that could bore you more easily. Same with Avatar. It was meant to be a relaxing experience not action packed and loud. If Avatar ran at a quicker pace, maybe 2-2.5 hours perhaps it would have recieved a more positive response from those who didn't go to see a relaxing movie? Remember the days when movies only ran at about 1.5 hours long? Big effects-driven stuff like king kong and avatar could be just as good if not better if they were not these 3 hour epics. But I personally don't mind long movies, just saying that others might.

Better have a chest that locks together. Graham you should meet up with them to let them know we want a chest that doesnt flop around. Good news, but who here is more a fan of the blazer valkyrie? I remember a long time ago wanting to get the bandai chunky munkey of that, and was sad that I could only find fire valk on ebay, otherwise I had to go get a bootleg. hehe finally I can chuck those overpriced fat things in the trash can. I will probably avoid fire valk and just get the variants that I like that have no customised bodies.

he means it must transform differently to be of interest. In other words: vf-1 and vf-0 both have the "robot head folded into its bum" transformation so they would be essentially the same thing because the transformation hasn't changed enough. But vf-11 is unique to vf-1 because it transforms differently. Vf-11b would not be different from vf-11 c since they are the same frame and the transformation is the same. Nor would vf-22 be different from yf-21 since they still transform the same depsite having different looking heads and cockpit/chest. Unique transformations is what he is looking for.

VF-1 and VF-0 are similar yf-19, yf-21, vf-11 are different from each other. (that's easy) vf-22 and vf-19 are just the yf-21 and yf-19 bodies respectively with a few differences and transform the same. If you get a yf-21 you have vf-22 with a slightly different body (head and cockpit windshield). If you get a yf-19, you have a atmospheric version of the vf-19 really but the trasformation is the same. vf-11 b and vf-11c are the same transformation, just as the vf-22 and vf-19 are similar to yf-21 and yf-19 transformation. SV-51 = unique transformation. (which is why I reckon noobs would like this because of its claws for feet and cool folding wings) As for vf-25 series, well they are different from anything in SDF-M, macross plus, and macross 7. (at least get one) But the distinct thing that makes each vf-25 different from each other is more the role they play and type of weapons they come with. (some are snipers, others have lots of missiles and armour, another is stock standard, another has radar thing on its back, another has high speed FAST packs etc you get the point - same body same transformation, different weapons.) Also this is why a variable glaug should be done. Give us some more alien looking mecha. Surprise us yamato.

My view of avatar: Good relaxing movie. But not masterpiece film as everyone was hyping it was going to be before release. The money it makes will probably be good for the sci fi genre overall though. I only saw this once in 3d and it had all the ingredients to make it a great movie but like everyone else thought the characters needed a bit more depth so that we could tell one guy from another. I did like the idea of a carjacking of the animals to exploit them. They could probably do a sequel to this movie showing how the animals revolt against the navi because they are being sexually abused all the time instead of taming them properly. One thing I would have liked to see more was a bit of darker tone to the wilderness and showing the savagery of the animals that fight amongst themselves to compete for food. We never see any horror like the mutilated remains of a navi that got eaten by a wild animal, (something like jaws? giant versions of normal things) or humans getting caught in a brutal trap set by a hunter who didn't expect a dumb human person to wander into it because they lack awareness. They probably wanted a family movie for hippies and there is a deleted scene somewhere of people dying with no way to seek help using the advances of modern technology to save them. Edit: district 9 probably had more entertainment value for me, but I can see avatar's move to 3d as a step to getting butts on seats again. People who want to see something new will be curious about how the 3d experience feels and that is probably the real motivating factor to going to the cinemas more than the characters or anything like that.

This movie wouldn't have to be 2 hours would it? They can make it 3 just like peterjackson did with king kong and LOTR. Evangelion will probably have all the characters changed around so it will be unrecognisable from the original anime. Shinji will be renamed Sparky, his robot will have 5 sets of eyeballs and claws in place of where his hands are, and there will be lots of jokes about masturbation and having a female walk in while the main character is caught in the act doing it and the girl blackmails him to reveal footage of it if the main character doesn't do humiliating things that makes him look like an idiot. The robot will be completely redesigned or if it goes with the original you will be constantly reminded that "it looks foreign" by the characters. Didn't live action Voltron completely go against the cartoon and instead of be this legendary robot it was just a pile of junk that was put together? Then it was cancelled? They should just make a tv series and have power rangers -style fights with a guy wearing a rubber suit and model cities and save money, then use the money on something that might have been inspired by these animes but is original in its own way. Even if it has good effects, best to keep expectations really low.

The thing is, I still don't undestand how the beagle ride armor failed? I was sure something like that would sell huge because of how little has been done for mospeada. Is it just bad timing? Seems like there was barely any hype for it.

Good review. Chunky munky is the toy you can safely hand down to a kid and not worry of it breaking in half.

People, if you like something a bit different you should be asking for a variable glaug. Two versions of the thing: the zentradi and un spacy one. I've seen them in the design works books, I like the appearance of them, and because they look like old glaug from SDF:M it would be somewhat recognisable to fans of the non transforming glaug in SDF:M. We have the variable QRau in the form of the VF-22, and YF-21, now give us the variable glaug. Two opposing mecha that look different from the usual valks.

Huh? Where is all this coming from? I never said he had to be a philosopher, just that he'd be a bit aware of tactics and understand when to fight and when to flee. As an example: the part where arnie beats those big guys by setting traps is more what I like. He didn't need to try to fight one guy while another hits him for free. He had to use all the tricks he could to give himself an edge. He can still be a barbarian as well as other things. Like he might be good with a sword, but he can steal a bow and take some guys out from a distance if he needed to. He was trained by the samurai guys in the original movie so I think a bit of speed wouldn't be so bad. I like the idea of a big beefy muscular guy too, just that I can also visualise an agile conan with fast reflexes and athleticism too. Remember this is a remake so it will probably have nothing to do with the arnie movies. I would only want arnie to be in a movie that is a sequel to the original movies, not in a remake. If this is a remake, and they go for a cunning warrior (provided it is done good) then I won't mind. Yes having big muscles is going to help with heavy swords against big guys and giant monster snakes, but maybe if conan is just fighting some light armored guy who is speedy, he decides to just take a katana or something which is equally useful at chopping a guys head off, but more efficient? To me seeing him moving his feet and dodging to evade because he is fast doesn't destroy the image of conan, it only adds to it. But none of that matters anyway since this is a remake movie and won't be a continuation of the old ones. If it really really sucks, it just means the remake takes the blame. meh I'm more a fan of Slaine anyway.. I DO think that he should NOT be allowed to use magic though. Magic is for nerds! Maybe they can make an Elric movie if they need a weak guy who relies on magic to fight? He is supposed to be the "anti-conan" you guys have in mind. Physically weak, very reliant on his ancient sword and demonic pacts to give him power, starts out as a guy with everything (is a prince I think) and goes in the opposite direction to conan by leaving it all behind. Think of characters like Sephiroth form final fantasy 7, Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Dante from Devil May Cry, Kain from Legacy of Kain etc... as clones of this character. (dark magic being used for good purposes by a long-haired albino, warrior-mage, with barely any muscles, who struggles between doing what his conscience tells him vs what he is supposed to do because of what he is.)

I actually like that these are perfect transformation as I am a PT fanboy. But there is still room for improvement imo. I think the chunky fighter mode isn't as nice as the banpresto which is skinny. I am still interested in checking these out. I agree people expect way too much from a tiny figure. One thing I will say though: I much prefer a toy that is PT and a inaccurate in proportion vs a perfect propertion toy with millions of tiny swapping parts. There needs to be more attempts by companies to try to make a good small PT vf-1 because there has got to be those out there who want to buy a bunch of these guys in various poses using superposable joints, but still like them to be a transforming figure too. I like the look of the robot mode of the revo's but I prefer the banpresto idea, which offers all 3 modes and the ability to do decent poses. I just want a better quality banpresto, with the same skinny fighter mode look that the existing one has. Something that you'd put on your desk and muck around with because it's cool, not a "it's a crappy toy so I'll give it to my son because I'm too cheap to get him something good" thing.

Told ya. Banpresto valk is the king. They need to do a high quality version of it. Fighter mode still looks decent, robot mode doesn't have big shoulders like the toynami, and you can custom them by swapping heads and arms and stuff with ease. lol If yamato ever decides to do a banpresto challenger that can transform but defeats it in looks, (personally I think they stand a bit too tall) that would be cool. Everyone hates it, but I think the little banpresto valk when given a bit of gummy material to the joints to make them stiff, is pretty cool display. ....from afar. Just don't expect perfect details like the bigger valks. The thing I like about them is that they actually look better than chunky munkys but are smaller. All they need is some quality for the shoulder hinge so they are more sturdy, better kneecap armour that swivels independently, and a thigh and bicep swivel for even better posability. Keep the hands blocky and robotic, (not the puffy clown hands) and if possible have the hand able to transform into the forearm this time instead of you just popping them off. How hard can that be?