jenius

I'm pretty sure Yamato did a photo-shoot using two right arm armors on one toy. The reason you see the screw is because that armor should be on the other arm (screw should be facing backward so you don't notice it.). I'd say the odds are 99% that the actual production model will come with individual right and left arm armors and when installed correctly the screws will only be visible from the back of the valk.

I assume they're not going the extra mile because only like 5% of all collectors are probably aware there even is a difference and only a percentage of the people who know of the difference would care enough to let that affect their decision on whether or not to buy the toy. The fact Yamato did it is really praise-worthy (although their execution wasn't so hot since the gun didn't hold so well on the TV armors) but beyond that it doesn't really bother me on the other valks.

I'm almost certain the GBP would take a whole new mold... I've heard multiple times (back in 2002) that the GBP mold was lost/ruined. It may just be a rumor but it sure was a popular one. That same rumor also had the mold for the 1/3000 also being lost/ruined. Two sad losses to be sure. I kind of doubt the 1/3000 mold rumor though since Bandai and a dozen knock-off companies made more of them.

Overdrive said the $200 price mark after speaking with reps at a show IIRC...

Yeah, I thought we agreed on "toycrappi" although I did notice one of the hands included with the 1/100s did look suspicious like a heil...

From my experience, there's absolutely no way that anyone at Bandai would have had to 'sign off' on a press release. Press releases are not legally binding in any way so lawyers don't really get involved in their creation and companies almost never stipulate proper press release etiquette in contracts. I think it's more likely that Toynami is waving the variants flag in the same way they waved the Beta around. Five years later we may actually get the Beta but with the chunkies Toynami has no control so it's probably a rather disingenuous ploy on their parts that's 90% hope and 10% expectation. That said, they probably didn't make it up entirely, someone at Bandai probably said something like "We might re-release everything, we might even make new stuff, the sky's the limit!" and Toynami is just running with it.

I think Danth has ample ground to stand on here. Toynami seems more in the business of misinformation than they do selling toys. They've produced more Vaporware in the last few years than actual toys. The only sliver of hope of this being true is completely dependent on Bandai and this being Bandai's goal.

With Bandai selling toys through Toynami it would seem HG and BW are both finding ways to make money together now.... maybe this movie will be one more example of that.

VFTF1 makes a point I tried to make in another thread about the cost of oil. Americans are fond of citing the cost of oil as a global epidemic when it's really just localized to America. I think he gets a little off course when he starts discussing what's going on with the actual cash but that's a higher end economic debate (I think it's not really a supply issue with the American dollar, it's a demand issue caused by no one wanting to buy our debt after the mortgage backed security fiasco). One point beyond any debate is that the American economy is not doing so hot. I know next to nothing of the Japanese economy but that seems to be more important for us Macross collectors. Has the yen been devaluing lately on its own (I know it's gone up about 20% in comparison to the dollar so I imagine the yen is still strong). If the yen is fine then oil prices shouldn't seem nearly as bad to the Japanese. If Japanese consumers still have disposable income than Macross manufacturers still have people to make toys for and we can keep leaching toys away through our importing.

A bit off topic but I think the poster in the background of the Yamato gashapons shows the chase valk... but it's not one I immediately recognize.

go to anymoon.com and do lots of reading MPC = Masterpiece Collection

I liked this episode much more than the 4th one. We've seen dates in Macross before but I definitely wasn't getting a rehash vibe from any of it. The vibrating scene was a bit much at first but after that it was a fun exploration and character development tool. One thing I don't get, they always do such a good job of showing the women and their crushes but how come the men never seem to like anyone? All the men ever seem to do is get startled or embarrassed. I imagine they just treat things that way because the boys are supposed to be young and awkward while the women are already more mature at that age (uh, I only mean sexually aware by mature)?

Does that mean they're reissuing series 1 and 2? That might be cool because then people could get a Series 1 with the fixes of 2.

Okay, you guys are right, the two episodes named Miss Macross are extremely disimilar. I don't know what I was thinking when I said it felt really predictable. I mean, who could have seen any of those major things happening? Alright, sarcasm aside, I'm probably being overly critical. I'm sure if I rewatched it now I'd see a TON more stuff that was different from the original and I know it's not 77% recycled motions. Still, the percentage is far more than simple "homage" would lead one to believe. Absolutely not. I think this is a good show and I think most Macross vets here agree with me. I think it's such a good show that most just find the 'homages' thusfar charming. I know no one likes to hear this but it's not like this is an unbiased Macross crowd and we're all giving the show the benefit of the doubt. I'm just hoping the show doesn't abuse that benefit and starts defining its own path more clearly. If you don't like that criticism then you should probably steer very clear of reading anything I've ever written about Macross7. I really hope that people could occasionally criticize MacrossF in these threads instead of talking about how great it is constantly. If you disagree with my points that's fine. I'm not the first person to label this show "homage heavy" so don't think I'm alone here.

Eugimon, you're way over analyzing. Like I said, different characters going through the same events. I'm not saying Alto's motivations are the same as Hikaru's or Ranka's the same as Minmay's. They're clearly different characters with different motivations but they're going through the same motions. Sure, you can add lots of little nuance points that don't affect what's happening to the characters that's different from the originals. Alto didn't run past two trees, Hikaru did! Not making things fresh... Again, of the MAJOR plot points I listed, 77% recycled. PS - Hikaru sortied for a patrol and stumbled into bad guys IIRC... not at all like how Alto sortied for a training mission and stumbled into bad guys. PPS - you're right 00X, I did say the outcome is essentially the same but I'm talking about the context within the episode (this is just ep 4 chat). In the end the outcomes will definitely be vastly different as I hope this show won't be a larger homage where we see PC playing with Ranka dolls. PPPS - I still liked the episode and I'm still a MacF fan thusfar and all I'm saying is that I hope it avoids the homages becoming so thick I feel like I know what's going to happen... like I did in this episode.

I agree, I'm no huge chunky fan but this could mean a LOT for many different reasons. Does this mean BW and HG are finally warming to each other again? Has money bridged the gap? This might mean a TON of GREAT things... or nothing at all.

Are we discussing the outcomes or the story? Think of it as trains. Say your board the same train on two different days but on one day you follow it to the next stop down. Will that make it feel like a brand new train to you? No, you'll just feel like you took the same train to a different location. Summary of the two episodes: 1) Please show up to Miss Macross 2) I'm competing in Miss Macross but these other girls are so much better at this than I am 3) I'll wow them with a song! 4) Oh no, the boy I like is missing! 5) Boy, it sure is incovenient I had to leave the show. 6) Oh no, bad guys! 7) Good, bad guys are defeated, but someone is going to need to drag me home. (end similarities) In one the girl wins, in the other she loses 9) In one the bad guy is totally dead, in the other the bad guys escape in an emergency vehicle. So, you're right, the stories are only about 77% the same... and I don't know why that doesn't equate to me feeling like this is totally fresh...

I'm definitely NOT arguing that all the new characters are meant to represent the old ones. That said, doesn't it feel to you like the Miss Macross episode played out a lot like "What would happen if Ranka tried to be Miss Macross instead of Minmay and Alto had to leave during the show instead of Hikaru?" The events then unfold but with the different characters and the outcome is essentially the same except Ranka doesn't win the contest and no spies escape in a pod. Besides that, all I'm arguing is that the events feel too familiar, not that they're carbon copies. If they were copies we'd all be complaining. I am certainly not ignoring the many differences, I've even pointed many of them out. The fact remains some key elements occasionally don't feel fresh. Again, I still like the show, I just hope they slim down the 'homages' a bit. Give me a camera angle that's familiar, give me a location that's familiar, I don't need events that seem lifted right from the original... but with a TWIST! "Ha, you totally thought Ranka was going to win Miss Macross but she didn't!" I only thought that because the rest of the episode was so familiar.

Uh, Alto still caught Ranka... maybe there was a stylistic change but that doesn't really change the scene. Girl plummets to death, boy nearly dies saving her, both live, huzzah! Or the Miss Macross homage. Girl implores boy come to show, boy shows, boy gets called away, girl looks at a crucial time to find he's not there. Those are AWFULLY familiar scenes. By no means am I making the argument that MacF is just a rip-off of Macross, there are tons of nice differences, I just think it feels a bit too familiar at times. So far that hasn't turned me off too much but the series itself is never going to feel really fresh to me until I watch an episode that doesn't have a major plot element lifted from the first series (even if there is a nice twist on it). By the way, the "oh no we're trapped" homage I felt was much more fun in Mac F than it was in the original series so it's not all bad even when it is familiar (although the original was much more poignant and there's something to be said for that obviously).

Because we've seen it before. The Alto saving Ranka one is a good example. I didn't mind the Gerwalk mode ending of the first episode that was so similar to Macross because it was subtle, the shot itself is a nice homage. It just seemed to go too far when we once again having a girl falling perilously (even if upward) only to be saved by an opening cockpit yadayadayada. I've seen that before, it was great the first time. I like the minor homages but I don't like that sinister feeling that I start getting during an episode that makes me think I know what's going to happen next. That's what I'm really hoping Macross F avoids and Thank GOD Ranka didn't win Miss Macross. Still, did you know the moment Alto made plans to go see the competition he'd be called away half way through it? I bet you did because it was obvious within the context and because you'd seen it before under slightly different circumstances. I'm still on the fence, I think they're not getting too carried away just yet... but I do hope they break away 'cause I don't want to feel like I know what happens next, I like being surprised. The point that these repeated elements are not akward to people unfamiliar with the show doesn't hold a lot of water. A remake is a brand new movie to someone who hasn't seen the original... it doesn't mean it should be billed as a sequel. Again though, I'm not saying I'm not liking MacF but I certainly see where the complaint is coming from.

YES, humanity needs to be more perverse! They're definitely laying the homages to the original series on WAY thick at this point. For all of you who think they're not over-doing it, imagine the series thusfar without ANY homages. It'd be a pretty thin skeleton of a story. So yes, there are a ton of differences to find within the homages but it definitely is relying pretty heavily on the original series thusfar. I've been okay with it through 4 episodes but I'm really hoping we see a drastic thinning of homages going forward.

True, Basara was a Macross super hero as portrayed in Mac7. We're also on the verge of just having to accept that G-forces are going to be overcome by some technology by some race. I can just see it now... Protoculture pilots will sit in embryonic sacks with a fluid that nullifies G forces in their bio-mechs... I'll bet we already saw that in MacZero.

In RT terms, IIRC there's an episode where Scott tells Rand the Cyclone won't transform if the rider isn't wearing the requisite armor. I think it's that second episode where Rook shows up and saves the day.

My odds on Toynami book box holding a chunky: 1:1,000,000

Very nice! I can't wait to see the custom weathered versions!