ghostryder

After spreading (thinly) some epoxy on the leg-backpack tabs and between the knee swivel joints, I'm happy to say the fighter mode is as solid as my 1/48s. This goony bird is panel lined and waiting for Takatoy stickers...

Has anyone found a satin off-white paint that matches the Yamato 1/48 white ABS color? I prefer a more durable enamel that needs no clear coat for play-durability. thanks

The original SDF Macross series is what pulled me back and really started putting a dent in my wallet buying Macross crap. I for one only watched Robotech as a kid for the VF-1, as it was THE coolest transforming robot. Couldn't stand the characters, voice actors, or music. I however really dig the SDF Misa and DYRL Minmay characters. I still have a hard time relating to Hikaru, and wish I would have watched SDF and DYRL as a kid when I could have empathized more with his character. The music is a matter of taste, but at least you get about half dozen decent 80s J-pop songs in SDF, while you get 3 overplayed chalkboard-screeches in Robotech.

Oh, you're no fun . I'm waiting on T-cracker, so I'll wait and see how MP-3 turns out.

Ditto, 0.3mm mechanical. Fast, forgiving (for us novices), and more subtle than paint. I also use a Pigma micron 005 (0.2mm) black pen for darker parts like fastpacks, feet, and intake covers. In the process of penciling/penning my zero now.... as well as tightening those pesky loose knees and leg-backpack peg connections

Funny that's exactly what I was thinking to make the fighter mode awsome. That under-cockpit gullet may be necessary to house tranformation bits AND retractable landing gear. How did the SHE kit manage to keep the forward fuselage so thin (removeable landing gear?). I think making the wingspan bigger would be the easient thing to do to improve the fighter looks. From the Toys section:

Farkin' hilarious! I think the problems is that skirty-waist thingies only work on robots that have a samurai-like quality (Gundam, YF-19). There's nothing samurai about any of the G1 figures. Oh... I'm in the camp of kibble being 'bot bits hanging off the alt mode in a very conspicuous manner. The aerialbots and any jetfire/skyfire incarnation are good examples.

Rolly eyes were in reference to what the 1/60 might cost, not at you. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

i don't really know why everyone all of the sudden wants to dump their 1/72's? i realize the 1/60 line will be far superior but theres still some value in owning the very first renditions of the 11/19/21. i mean, look at all the guys who dumped the 1/60 line after the 1/48 was released. it seemed kind of silly(to me) considering its the most complete line of macross toys to date. to answer your question, i'll be holding onto all 4 of the 1/72 releases. 410265[/snapback] To milk their resale value before word gets out on the 1/60, and to finance buying these new $160-$200 toys ? It would be good to keep a few to stand next to HCMs...

The new CFTs molding make the plane look much better - but now the arms are huge, made to look more huge because the legs are skinnier. Something about the robot proportions/aesthetics do not flow. They should stick with the boxy G1 style from the waste down.

Wow, 75 posts overnight I hope the final product shows major aesthetic improvements over the 1/72. I've always been a fan of the Hase YF-19 model, but the 1/72 toy blows. The 1/60 fighter looks sleeker overall (nose section is appropriately long), but the wings look small and the forward fuselage looks fat from the side. I think we have been spoiled with the accuracy of the 1/60 VF-0. Then again, the VF-0 had a huge advantage going from anime to toy, since it was CG-based from the get-go.

Just peel em off, panel-line away, and wait for Takatoy to come out with his VF-0 stickers

I agree, the knee looseness of issue #1 isn't terrible and doesn't affect poseability. The way the legs don't lock to the backpack in fighter mode bugs me more, as that affects my ability to hold the fighter and zoom it around the house . Can they redesign the leg-backpack pegs? In the long run, I think I can fix all the minor quirks of the first issue myself. The paint and tampo printing is essentially perfect on mine, so I'm reluctant to buy another just to get one improvement, only to risk having something else bunged up. I have my 1/48s to "play" with, as they are rock solid throughout. Bring on the VF-0A!!

Tell me about it .... 408302[/snapback] Uh, yeah. I'm still sitting here with two (2) 1/48s. Here's Hikaru in crappy midnight basement lighting showing off Sempai's heatshield - Reminds me of the 1/55 strike box art . It's also canon if you count that animation error in DYRL after he blows up Bodolza.

I've never seen the Vermillion Team valks look so good. Great job.

Well, this just happened on mine on transformation #3... I didn't even notice the pin come out, the legs just fell off. I don't know if the pin fell out during transformation or prior to, but I can't find that damn pin anywhere. Not a hard fix with maybe a pin nail, wire cutters, and super glue, but man, at $160 that's a pretty lame thing to happen. If this toy wasn't so great looking, I'd just box it away and play with my 1/48s.

Grrr.... I'm trying to curb my spending by rediscovering my 1/48 Hikaru Strike 1S, and by telling myself, "Shin is a putz, Shin is a putz, Shin is a..."

I dunno, I always thought the MPC "armor" made the MPCs look better - they transform a Kate Moss-looking battroid into, well.... Kate Moss with big calves, big forearms, and backpack thrusters . In battroid and gerwalk, the armor relies mostly on clips to attach, so there's not too much reliance on magnets. The fighter mode is a floppy mess. But, the stickers actually stay on the armor, unlike stickers on the Yamato fastpacks. If you can get them for cheap and you want to not have to hide your Toynamis in shame, give a set a try.

At first I didn't believe that the CAD drawing of the fighter mode was of the actual toy... holy crap!

Put me down for 2 x 1/48 1/60 VF sticker sheets.

I've got my VF-0 at work also. Just got it and am still learning how to transform quickly. I cant take it out to play with otherwise everyone around me would be hearing "click" "clack" "@#$%" for about 1/2 hour.

I definitely find the VF-0 landing gear to be harder to pull out. There's a bit less "fingernail" access to flip open the bay doors, and then the gear are tight as frack. I do love how the gear struts are slimmer than the VF-1, more fitting for the scale. I'm liking the fighter mode so much, I think i'll leave it in this mode for now - and put the pitot tube/antenna back on the nose. It's got such a cook menacing Flanker profile from certain angles. I still think VF-1 is still sleeker looing in fighter mode, and overall a better "toy" to transform and abuse.

Just got mine from Neova yesterday (thanks, Tony!) and had a chance to quickly transform it. First of all, no major QC issues – tail fin tips intact, correct shoulders, clean paint. The FASTpacks are awsome - easy, snug, and tight fit with the magnets. Battroid has no problem holding gun pod. The elbow swivel joints are just a bit looser than my Hikkie 1/48, but those darn thigh swivels are loose as a goose. Overall, everything doesn’t fit quite as well as the 1/48, but I see this more of a result of needing to compromise the amount of robust toy connections for detail and anime-accuracy. Does the head just sit loose in battroid mode, or is there a way to “snap†it in? I did manage to get the fuselage top hatch to recess into the back of the body, but the groove in the hatch where it looks like the back of the neck plate supposed to rest in, doesn’t line up.

I knew it! Now Roy can jettison all his ordinance just like Shin and go hippie tree-hugging bird-man on us...

I'm gonna cry if I have to go another week waiting for this bird to land