TheLoneWolf

Awesome pics guys, thanks! This is really rare art that I've never seen before. waters7, I know where you're coming from, have a similiar scanner/printer all-in-one. If you want, you could scan the LD covers in segments and send them to me and I'll try to assemble them as a single image.

Toynami is the only realistic hope for Macross II toys. They probably wouldn't be able to make the Icarus and Metal Siren, but they do have the Bandai VF-2SS variable model to copy off of. It would require some modifications since the model's wings are molded in one piece, but most of the legwork would already be done for Toynami. Even if it were less than average, I'd probably buy one since there is no alternative. At 1/100 scale, the VF-2SS could easily fit in with their 1/100 VF-1's. Once they work out the kinks in 1/100 scale, they could then move up to 1/55 or 1/60

I was always under the assumption that garage kit makers (in Japan) had to apply and pay for a license to produce a kit, this is the reason why official Macross garage kits have the Big West sticker. Often the cost of the license is expensive and in proportion with the amount of garage kits the makers plans on making, which explains why garage kits usually have low production runs and are very expensive.

That's actually a very good suggestion, it shouldn't cost Yamato much to throw in an extra gunpod. Although I don't think the YF-19 + FP set should need the extra gunpod. I'd imagine that if someone bought the 1st release of the 19, they'd just buy the Fast Pack set.

Since the crooked landing gears was a planned decision, is the Fast Pack bundle is going to feature the same "problem?"

I sure hope that coloring on the fold booster isn't final. To get a anime accurate colors I made some screencaps from the R2 of Macross Plus (the R1's colors have been oversaturated and contain lots of artifacts, thanks Manga!). The fold booster appears to be a gun-metal grey with a tint of green. Yamato seems to be taking it from the opposite direction by coloring it green with a gun-metal tint. How quickly they forget that the Purple People Eater, aka the YF-21 FP, sold poorly because no one likes their mecha sporting fruity colors. Ok, transfans do, but they're the exception. Just noticed that the YF-19's gunpod does seem small in fighter mode, looks like Yamato got that one right after all! Also noticed that the fold booster glows red while folding, weird.

The 1/60 YF-19 is a great toy, but it's high pricetag make it's few flaws ever the more glaring. I had to vote for "Could have been worse/better" Best toy of the year should go to the Kakizaki 1A! Kakizaki needs some love like he needs a diet!

Sounds like Nintendo's servers are getting hammered. Either that or the software on their servers isn't stable. Considering this is Nintendo's first serious venture into the online world, I can't say that I'm surprised. Hopefully they can take care of it in time.

I too have found Yamato's recent prices questionable. When the 1/48 was released, we justified it's pricetag due to it's 1) relatively small production run and 2) the R&D involved in making such a complex toy. Four years later, with numerous reissues and repaints under their belt, and the prices for the 1/48 have actually gone higher? Sounds like we're being taken for a ride. The 1/60 YF-19 is a marvelous piece of engineering which would seem to justify it's high pricetag. But having built several of the past YF/VF-19 models, owned the Bandai 19 toys, and even Yamato's previous 1/72 YF-19 toy, there doesn't seem to be as many innovative transformation techniques used here as there are improvements of what's already been done in the past. Kudos to the accurate canopy, cod piece, and rotating canards which were all new (to me at least), but the folding fists, rotating knee joints, et al have all been done before by Yamato or other companies. So does this justify the 19 as Yamato's most expensive Valkyrie to date? And can we expect the 19 to become even more expensive with the inevitable repaints and reissues? David, I agree with you that Yamato's boxes are unusually large, but I wonder just how much Yamato can shrink it down without risking the toy being put to risk. On the other hand, the VF-1 FAST Packs have absolutely no reason for such large packaging, and I have a feeling that the YF-19 Fold Booster and armor will come in a similiarly sized box. Other than protecting it's contents, I see no advantage in large boxes. If you're going to embellish it with beautiful artwork (Takatoku) or intricate designs (Toynami), then it's ok. But Yamato's boxes are very dull and won't catch the eyes of non-Macross fans. Having worked in retail, shelf space is very precious and I think Yamato is hurting themselves with their bloated boxes. I realize Yamato isn't a charity group and that they're here to make money, but if I'm going to pay the premium for a toy, it had better fantastic and not require me to modify or reinforce it right out of the box. Threads like these remind me why I stick to 2 - 3 Yamato products a year.

Toynami's showing off the Beta again to help push sales of the new Shadow Chronicles Alpha toys. Remember when Toynami did this exact same thing during the initial run of the MPC Alpha's? I can see it now... Toynami: "And these new Shadow Chronicle Alphas will be able to combine with our upcoming Beta!" after the all the SC Alphas have been released Toynami: "Gee, sorry guys but it looks like we won't be able to release the Beta for X, Y, and Z reasons (suckers!)"

It's possible mine was defective with larger tabs, but I do know that I had to apply an excessive amount of force to get it through. I would take pictures, but I still don't have a digicam and recently traded away my 19.

Sorry to hear about your broken YF-19, WA Those two broken tan tabs are exactly what worries me too. With my 19, I literally had to force the tan tabs through the gray plastic area. My first reaction was "these two tabs are going to break after a couple of transformations!" I haven't transformed my 19 since. I circled the areas where you can see the scrapes and indentations where the tans tabs had to be dug into the gray plastic in order to get them to slide over. In my case, I literally had to plow the tan tabs through the gray plastic. As far as I can tell, there's no "trick" to getting them through aside from brute force. I had hoped that mine was just a defect with oversized tan tabs, but it's not looking like it anymore.

Great scans, I haven't seen most of that artwork before! Are the LD's shrinkwrapped or are the plastic bags removable? If the plastic is removable, would it be possible for you to scan the LD's without the obi's? Also, the plastic wrap seems to create a moire pattern on the artwork.

Sounds like a cool mag, so I went to Borders and Barnes & Nobles yesterday but they didn't have it.

Studio Nue did the mecha designs for this game, and Kawamori himself designed the Rafaga (which is why it looks like a YF-19).

Wrong. Lucas also handed off the script to Leigh Brackett. Unfortunately she died before being able to complete the job so Lawrence Kasdan had to finish it off. I like lord_breetai's idea of another video game or drama cd. Another vidgame is always welcome, and the drama cd may not be completely off the mark, why else would they mention Hiroko Kasahara (Ishtar's voice)? Either way, at least the continuity has a chance of staying intact.

I think attendence must be, at least, in the double digits before you can classify it a convention

If the factory made this decision, then I assume it's beneficial towards the manufacturing process or the overall structure of the toy. So can anyone explain how crooked landing gears are supposed to be advantageous? This is definitely not a major problem, but given the high pricetag the 1/60 YF-19 carries, I think Yamato is being a little inconsiderate. If we were talking about a $20 Transformer, then it'd be a different story.

Very nice visuals, especially with the fall of the ship, but there seem to be some unusual camera shots involving the SDF-1. Is this because the SDF-1 model isn't complete yet? For a 1 minute clip, it's very impressive. If this project does take off please don't neglect story and character development in favor of flashy visuals. Good luck!

Ho hum, another tree-hugging, preachy, mystical anime that just happens to feature slick planes that transform into awesome robots. I know, it must be Macross! The way the series is going, I'd be more satisfied with a new Kawamori Design Works than another Macross sequel.

Don't base scales off Yamato's pilot figures as they're off. Roy is well over 1 ft taller that Hikaru, yet their pilot figures are the same size. Then there's Kakizaki who should barely be able to squeeze into a cockpit, yes his pilot figure is just as slender as Hikaru's. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Yamato for using the same pilot figure across the board as it makes perfect financial sense, but we shouldn't be using the pilot figures as a method of measuring the toys scale. And let's not even get started with the 1/60 VF-1 and 1/72 pilots. "Spud Guld" is only in scale with...an abomination!

Crikey! It's Roy, Hikaru, and Kakizaki flying VF-19's! It's a dream battle!

Roger Harkavy...that name sounds so familiar. Did you post on alt.tv.robotech?

That's exactly the message he was trying to convey, and he thought he was being clever. How sad.

Whatever Bandai's reasoning for changing the music and leaving out the screen text, there is a definite condescending slant in that 4th paragraph which is utterly unprofessional and uncalled for. Having worked in customer service, I would never approve the use of "die-hard stickler" and "who must have-it-the-way-it was" phraseology towards our customers, especially in written correspondence. After seeing how rudely Bandai treats its customers, I couldn't blame anyone for boycotting this release and sticking with the fansubs.