TheLoneWolf

Right on. The only way to stop Yamato from releasing exclusives is to stop buying exclusives. Like that'll ever happen.

Hmm, I'm a bit disappointed with the grey color Bandai went with. I was never a fan of the fluorescent white that the DYRL Hikaru 1A sported, but I thought that the Super Hikaru 1S nailed it perfectly with its eggshell white color in '02. I've got this one on preorder still and will wait to see it in person before passing final judgement.

Interesting. I used to have a v1 1/60 Milia and never had a problem with the head springing back in battroid mode. The only trouble I had was with the head drooping at an angle in fighter mode. If you're feeling adventurous, you could try taking the neck piece apart. It's possible that it wasn't properly assembled at the factory.

Nice!! Even though these probably won't be perfect transformation, I'll get the VF-2SS and VF-4, just as long as they don't look like @ss.

According to this court document, Harmony Gold got their license from Tastunoko on January 15th, 1984. The 1/55's patent was filed after Harmony Gold acquired Macross.

That's the link right there, unfortunately I don't have eidetic memory. Thanks for posting it.

I've got the book and can scan that article for you. Chronicles #1 also has some nice coverage of the 1/55, if you want I can scan that also. Take all the time that you need, I don't think anyone here can argue with a free translation. I believe you're right. A long time ago someone posted a link to the 1/55 patent from the USPTO archives, and IIRC, Hasbro had filed it.

Where are the FP's?

Yes, thanks again.

Dashgtr, thank you!

Save, can you or someone else post images of what the coupon and order form from Chronicles #1 and #2 are supposed to look like? After hearing that some online retailers are removing the pages with the coupon/order form before selling the magazine, I'm now wondering if my issues have been clipped.

Not to mention that Yamato would probably charge $1000 for it.

In the Ishiguro interview, he said that Kawamori had already demonstrated the VF's transformation process out of a paper valk, but that "considering the inflexibility of plastic, a faithful transformation would have been impossible." Or, by Renato's account of Design Works, Kawamori made it out of some sort wood substance and brought it to Takatoku. edit: Ishiguro also mentions that Takatoku took out patents on portions of the VF's transformation process. Which parts though, he didn't specify. If Kawamori did design the 1/55, I would hope that Takatoku didn't patent portions of his work. My guess has always been that Takatoku did the lion's share of the work and Kawamori polished their prototype for accuracy. Renato, if you have any free time, would you mind going through Design Works again? Now I'm also curious as to how much (if any) work Kawamori did for the 1/55.

I don't believe Kawamori worked on the 1/55. Noburo Ishiguro was interviewed in an old issue of Animerica where he mentioned the old 1/55 toy. During Macross' production, he and Kawamori were worried that no toy company would be able to build a perfect transformation Valkyrie toy. But when Takatoku demonstrated their 1/55 prototype, he says that both he and Kawamori were shocked "like the apes who saw the Monolith."

From what I understand, he went off on a 9/11 tirade and simply could not be mollified. The relevant posts were deleted and he was banned. 7 years later, details of this incident are still taboo.

Awesome! From looking at that wiki's history, Egan Loo has definitely been keeping an eye on it, so I guess that settles it: the Drama CD's are canon. Shao Pai Long winning a movie award is as questionable as the Flower Girl appearence. But like lynn2009 said, both are probably mentioned just to get fans excited.

sketchly, azrael, thanks for listing the contents of issues #3 and #4. How about adding the contents of each issue to the first post of this thread? It would make it easier to reference rather than sifting through all these pages, it also may help out newcomers.

Despite what their lawyers may say, Fox is probably just looking for a payday. That would explain why they waited so late in the game before coming forward, just when the stakes are at their highest for Warner Bros. Stopping WB's Watchmen during pre-production would have earned Fox nothing. I find it amusing that fanboys are furious at Fox. I've read and have been thoroughly satisfied with the Watchmen graphic novel, therefore I have no interest in seeing a live-action version of it.

Yes, I've read that article before and I know that it does not state whether or not the Drama CD's are canon.

Before we can debate whether or not this is the same Flower Girl that appears in M7, we need to establish whether or not the Drama CD's are considered canon. If they're not canon, then anything is possible. If they are canon, then we have a bona fide mystery. Unless the Drama CD's explicitly state that they are canon, only Kawamori, Studio Nue or Egan Loo can render such an assessment.

lynn2009, thanks for that translation. There's plenty of thunder for you guys to share

Just curious, but is that $53 - $60 shipping estimate for Surface Mail, SAL or EMS?

So, according to the box set, Neya Michiko did her own singing. Well that explains a lot. Good sleuthing, d3v!

No kidding! We'll have to track down Egan Loo and ask him.

Thanks for the translations, they're fun reads. At first I thought you were only kidding when you mentioned Minmay's "short, thick legs" Does the CD say who wrote the script?