Skull-1

Hmmmmmm....... The fuselage sections with lowered nose blisters would be attractive for a TRANSFORMABLE 1/55 from my end. I just did my first "blister transplant" on a 1/55 and it was a major PITA. If I were to go to a non-transformable one I would want it permanently in GERWALK mode so that would mean revised intakes and nosecone. That would be pretty nice.

I'm with you dude!!!!!!! I have enough toys to last me a lifetime now. Other than supporting our friendly re-cast and decal experts I am done, too. If Yamato would do me a favor and cut the prices or slow down the release schedule then perhaps I could keep up. But as it stands now I can't do it any more.

MINE JUST ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!! THIS STUFF IS SUPERIOR TO THE ORIGINALS IN EVERY WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NICE JOB SD!!!

Thanks four vouching for me. I honestly wasn't trying to screw a fan out of his hard work or advocating anyone do such a thing...

That's four. WHO ELSE wants GBP "SUMO" ARMOR?????????

GERWALK mode. Because fighting conventional jets in a Gerwalk would be like clubbing baby seals!! ROWR!!!!! *fangs out*

Mine is on its way! I can't wait!! WOOT!

I will get one from them when it happens. Most excellent.

WTF are you talking about????????? Directed at me? I don't even know how to cast... Sheeesh. I was simply suggesting that someone should come up with a resin version of the 1:1 helmet so it doesn't have to cost $1000. I didn't realize it was your (or anyone's for that matter) exclusive intellectual property. Besides I quickly realized you were making one and EDITED the post to in effect say, "Never mind the recast comment." Nice attitude problem, there, bigshot. Well forget it. You won't get an order from me.

That's three. Who else wants GBP armor for a 1/55?????????

That was my idea. Yep. I haven't followed up on it in practice because I still have a few of my swivels left and one of the guys offered to cast some for me if I need more. I can't wait to hear what the BIC Pen Principle produces!! Keep us POSTED!!!!!!

I will buy TWO.

Since SilverDragon is doing Ostrich armor I was wondering if anyone is going to do or has done 1/55 "SUMO" GBP armor? Did Bandai ever re-release that stuff with the re-issues? I seem to have lost track but my thinking was no. That means recasting is my only hope...

The finest of the lot. My absolute dream Valk.

Yeah but it doesn't work as well as I wish it would. I guess I am expecting it to look too "humanoid" when it poses. I like those shots though.

Drat! Gotta' get my hands on some of these...

The Hikaru is lame. The only one of his I like is the "J".

That would be the key--finding a ball/socket joint that did not loosen over time.

http://mechaskunk.com/images/hips/ I did the same mods about, oh, 6 years ago, and made about 50 valks with the modified hips/knees/feet... One guy bought 30 of them I believe... 418276[/snapback] To be fair, our mods are not the same. My approach is perhaps more crude/unsophisticated than yours. My reasoning is simple in that I do not yet trust the frictional properties of ball joints. I haven't even had the chance to get my hands on any to see for myself. Thus I looked for another solution. I was, interestingly enough, inspired by the MPC I believe as it swivels the thigh similarly to the way I do mine. My mod has the uniqueness of using 100% 1/55 parts. There are no outside parts introduced. I kinda like that. I have also experimented with the foot mods and the super poseable knee mods and they don't add much to the poseability when used with my thigh mod so I did not encorporate them. My mod also has the disadvantage of being fairly useless in Battroid mode. But since GERWALK is my favorite any way, my goal was to make it look good there. I wanted a simple modification that could enhance the Gerwalk mode while using nothing but 1/55 parts. In that I succeeded. I reinvented the wheel...and it's not the best wheel...but it works. I thnk it looks very "anime correct" with the "high angle" cut. ---- For those who are interested I would be willing to do the mod for you. However, you might be better off getting Fulcy's thigh ball joint mod instead.

KingNor we need to add a member to our super poseable crew.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I like the arm mod. Do they still click into the stowed position in fighter mode? NICE! As for the thighs.... Did you use my version of the mod by chance? If not, how did you make the joint for the thigh? SWEET!!!!! That is so f'ing badass!! LONG LIVE THE 1/55!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, just for the record... I have modified my thigh one additional time PURELY by accident and achieved better results. I was trying to improve the angle of the feet when in the "A" stance and cut the thighs from front to rear (high to low). Wrong!!!!!! It made the rear of the feet almost touch when swiveled. AWFUL. So I filed and filled them then reversed them. Now the cut starts at the lower front of the thigh and ends at the rear slightly higher at about a 30-45 degree angle. The result is an almost flat footed "A" stance. Compare the leg angles on my blue Valk to the Green one. The green has a better stance. So cut from low to high, front to rear on the next one for even better results. * * * Take a look at my swing bars and compare them to a standard set. You will notice that mine are thinner. I filed them way down and they make a huge difference.

I have posited a theory backed up by research with multiple variables. I have done so entirely as a public service. *YOU* are attached to some mythology about humidity. If you wish to conduct a similar bit of research we will all be interested to hear your findings. In the meantime...... HUMIDITY DOES NOT YELLOW VALKYRIES, UV LIGHT DOES. Other factors OUTSIDE the realm of humidity that have as yet gone untested are: - TOBACCO SMOKE - PLASTIC BREAKDOWN OVER TIME - *LOW* HUMIDITY - AIR POLLUTION After 21 years and counting my Valkyries with shaded parts are as white as when new DESPITE being in the second most humid environment in the United States. If you live anywhere North of McAllen, Texas your Valkyries are safe from humidity damage. You can take that to the bank. Those of you with YELLOWED Valkyries that were *NOT* exposed to light...... I would be interested to see if the yellowing is INTERNAL as well. To date, with over 30 Bandai Valks of all manufacturing dates and classes (and in varying stages of yellowing) NOT *ONE* has yellowed inside the legs or gear wells. NOT *ONE*. Parts shielded from light remain white.

Hurin = Apparently, we have to. Because your conclusions don't match your findings. They most certainly do. _________ Hurin =Of course, when you originally stated your "findings," we weren't capable of drawing our own conclusions because you hadn't supplied any of your "data." We were supposed to just take your word for it and stop concering ourselves with where we stored our valks as long as it was dark. Oh, so I am a liar now? I get it. _________ Weren't we also discussing heat?. . . but I digress. . . Indeed we were which is why I placed the control subjects in HUMIDITY, SHADOW, *AND* HEAT (an attic) to see if yellowing would occur. It did not. During the "accidental study" THREE *DIFFERENT* VALKYRIES were exposed to heat and humidty over varying levels of time. (All of this was purely by accident, but I have expanded upon the details in response to your "Doubting Thomas" attitude. This study was in fact posted about on the OLD MWorld forums with photos. It is not an invented study.) Despite varying plastics (three different Valkyries - Bandai Jetfire, Matsushiro Jetfire, and Bandai Strike) and exposure to heat and humidity in storage... Yellowing *ONLY* occurred (on all three I may add) when exposed to indirect sunlight. _________ Is it not also possible that some valks (within the same line) were made with a higher quality of plastic less prone to yellowing? is it not also possible that some valks might have higher quality paint less prone to yellowing? There are more factors possibly at play here than you're acknowledging. Before you could even being to approach such definitive conclusions, a lot more "testing" would have to be done. Addressed above over a period of 21 years, 19 years, and 18 years respectively (Bandai, Matsu, Bandai Strike). _________ Incidentally, I've had two valks, stored identically, yellow at entirely different rates (while some of my Joke Machines yellowed and some didn't at all). Some have noticed yellowing with valks that have always been in cool, dry, dark places. Then it may very well be the dryness that is causing them to yellow and not, as you suggest, high humidity. _________ "Rapidly increasing number of studies"?? WTF is that supposed to mean? It means that you seem to keep pulling longer and longer duration tests out of your butt. First one year. Then five years. Now twenty-one years. . . This study was mentioned numerous times over the years on the old MW forums when I was "Sand Pebble One". There are numerous people here who will vouch for my credibility on this point. I still have the original pictures I took of this study somewhere. _________ There was one "accidental" study and this one. I think you mean "anecdotal." No, I mean ACCIDENTAL. I did not intend for it to be a 21-year study it just happened to work out that way. At the time the Valks were removed from storage and placed on the shelf I was completely unaware of yellowing. It was only after a few years of them sitting on the shelf that I noticed they were turning colors and thought, "What the hell is going on here?". It was an accidental but highly enlightening study, albeit at the expense of two highly valued toys (my Bandai Strike and my Matsushiro Jetfire). Live and learn.

I don't have any spare 1/48 parts with which I am willing to test but I am certain the plastics *are* different. I can tell by the way they handle when sanded and shaved with razors that the composition is different. This is very likely (and hopefully for our benefit) going to change the way Yamatos yellow in relation to Bandais.

Also it should be noted...... Even areas that are covered with decals *WILL* yellow THROUGH the clear sections of the decal. Example: Vernier Thruster Circles. The bisecting thruster line will show yellow underneat it because the sticker material does not block UV. However the colored sections of the decal "shade" the plastic. Meanwhile, gear bays and areas not exposed to sunlight (this toy was in fighter and Gerwalk modes for its entire existence) are bone white. Opening the Battroid Head Hatch reveals that the arms and innner segments of the dorsal plate are bone white. *BONE* *WHITE*. Humidity can still penetrate these areas yet they are *BONE* white after more than TWENTY YEARS. BONE WHITE.