Awacs

I think it may be the same error that the UK R2 "boxed set". That has both the movie and OVA versions on three discs. However, the movie edition is labeled as "Episodes 3 +4" and as I recall, Episodes 3+4 are labeled as "Episodes 1+2" and Episodes 1 +2 are labelled as "Movie Edition" (I think, the OAV version doesn't get as much play in my house as the movie edit). I can't speak for the US release but as far as I know the entire UK R2 release had the same error. (I ended up swapping the discs between cases so that at least I knew which disc was which, even if the labels are all messed up.) It sounds like they may have used the same labels for the US discs as for the UK pressings. Karl

Sadly they don't tend to go for that kind of price level around here. Last one I remember seeing went for about £20 - £25, which is about $40 - $50US. If it had come up earlier in the year I would have snagged it like a shot. But unfortunately my financial situation has changed a bit recently and put it outside the price range I could justify. But as you say, worth keeping my eyes peeled as you never know. Karl

Wow, I think that is the first time I have said anything anyone on any message board found sig-worthy. (Who am I kidding, it'll like as not be the last time too. :-) ) Karl

A shame. The Lightning is one of those VF's I have a great affection for (along with the VF-9, another one that I know that no-one will ever make), and I do like the VF-2SS but for some reason only in "clean" configuration. I'm not particularly fussed with it once you add the SAP system to it. I occasionally see the kits for sale on Ebay over here in the UK but they a) usually slide beyond my price range and b) are usually already built so it would be an absolute bear to try to dissassemble the SAP. Ah well, we can dream right? Karl

Yeah, I thought that if I was going to weigh in on this poll I would try and get in before the shooting starts. Wouldn't want to walk into a situation where folk where going John Woo with gunpods. I honestly don't have any strong feelings about Basara based on the 60% of Macross Seven that I have seen. He hasn't really stirred either like of dislike in me so far. I just feel a sense of acknowledgment of his presence and the function he plays in the drama. But there isn't any emotional reaction at all. But then that is fairly true of my reaction to Macross Seven in general. I like bits of it, don't like other bits but for some reason it doesn't really make any sort of impact on me as a whole. I'm not sure why it is but I can't really get engaged with the series as a whole. For me Basara, like Macross Seven overall, is just something which exists without provoking any actual reaction in me. (Probably means there is something deficient in my Spiritia.....) Karl

Well, a very happy Birthday to Macross. Ironically I was trying to work out earlier on today when the Birthday came due. If I'd known I would have picked up some whiskey to share a dram with my Valkyries (I've got several Focker-types, so it almost has to be spirits....). Happy Birthday to Macross. (And Happy Birthday to Elintseeker as well). Karl

See that is actually why I like the Jigabachi. It is a terribly ugly creation that seems to nicely evoke its namesake - like a wasp it buzzes through the air like a hungover, aggressive, 800-point gorilla........ But then some of my favourite aircraft don't fit the generally accepted ideas of aesthetically pleasing. I have to say the Comanchero would make a nice little piece - it would probably be the kit that broke my duck in terms of Macross kits. Karl

That is a very, very nice custom. Makes my one attempt at a repainted Valkyrie look even shoddier than it actually is (which I didn't think was possible). The colour scheme works really well on the -19. Makes me want to get a Hasegawa -21 and see what it would look like on that. Karl

Definitely interested in the FAST pack sets. They will go nicely with my Max and Miria -1j's (I originally only bought the Max to evaluate the line, but it looked lonely sitting there on its own so as I'd been paid this week I thought I would pick up the Miria to keep it company). Mind you, I've been interested in these since the were first seen at a show, what, the end of last year? So I'm not holding out much hope of them ever actually emerging. Karl

"Shadow Rising" - is that not just what happens when the bloke sitting in front of the light stands up? I'm not expecting much from it to be honest. "Shadow Chronicles" underwhelmed me considering how long it spent in development - after being several years late it should have been a lot better than it was. The fact that they are only promising it will look as goof as "Shadow Chronicles" (i.e pretty lacklustre) despite a projected two years of development suggests that their budget fails to match their ambition. Plus the thought of having to put up with those faintly ridiculous character models for another ninety minutes doesn't thrill me. Karl

Now this is good news to come home from work to. (Mind you, it does mean I need to get my skates on and scramble up the money for a -19. Can't have one competitor around without the other really). Funny to think that a couple of days ago I was watching Mac Plus and thinking about how much the -21 has grown on me over the years. I think I need to start looking at a procurement fund to pick this up in due course. Now that we've got the whippersnappers out of the way, when do they announce the VF-11 eh? Karl

As long as it wasn't "Too bad she won't live" then we are probably alright...... Karl

That is quite mind-searingly terrible. Even in the pantheon of 80's cartoons of which their were many poor examples, that is bad in rather a special way. Karl

I would go further than that - the Protoculture of Macross are _us_ just with better technology. The sense of superiority of their culture resounds of empires from all across human history - the Greeks, Romans, the Venetian trading states, the British Empire, right through to the modern day. The Protoculture did the same thing that human societies do - conflated "sophisticated, mature society" with "exactly like us". They thought they were the pinnacle of civilisation until they were brought down by weaknesses in their own society. That's one of the things I like about the set-up of Macross - their god-like progenitor species was no more godlike than say, westerners arriving on a pacific island that had never seen iron ships or guns. They were just folk with more sophisticated technology - still pray to all the weaknesses of being folk. (And on the subject of PC technology, in terms of Macross Zero I'm comfortable with both the mystical view of it held by the islanders and the more mechanistic view that has been espoused. I fall back on 'Clarke's Law' - "Any sufficiently advanced technology would appear like magic" - so as far as I'm concerned you could look at it either way and be right from different perspectives.) Karl

I'd agree with you that the Wave 2 is a little too tight - I wasn't sure if I was going to wrench the head off my Max-type before it turned, and getting the legs to lock into place for fighter mode turned into an exercise in excessive force. Karl

Gundam eh? Not something I've ever gotten hugely into - I like it fine, but not attached enough to it to actually own stuff(not that my house would actually accommodate me starting a Gundam habit along with my Macross, Mospeada and Transformers collections). . I do think that the UC has some fantastic capital ships though (big fan of my capital ships and mecha carriers me). Finally got a chance to play about with my 1/100th Max-type in all three modes. Jings, some of the transformation joints are tight on this wave - the chest plate doesn't want to slide all the way back for fighter or Gerwalk mode at all - leaving a small gap on one side because I don't feel I want to force it any further. Were wave 1 this tight or are they overcompensating for flaws in the first wave? The good thing about the tight joints is that it does mean that they seem to hold poses quite well, and the ball joint on the stand holds some good angles - got my Max-type in fighter mode rolling in for a ground attack run quite nicely. Unfortunately in battroid mode the right arm doesn't want to stay in - any significant amount of force applied to chance the angle of the arm or switch hands means it pops straight out of its socket. A little frustrating when posing it. 1/1 Low Vis, you were asking what difference the FAST packs might make - I think they'll be fine in Gerwalk and Fighter mode - the ball joint is sufficiently firm I reckon that it'd still be pretty stable on the stand. Might not be so stable standing on its feet in Battroid mode. I reckon that'd need to be a "lean forward a bit" to keep them balanced. Karl (Who has just realised that the spare missile pods from his Toynami VF-1 are the right scale to work with his Banpresto CF.... Time to requisition some more Blu-tack hardpoints from stores.....)

Yeah, I live in Falkirk - right slap bang in the middle of the central belt. Good to meet a fellow Scottish Macross fan. For a while I thought I might be the only one up here in the north. Play have the 1/100ths? Didn't realise that. Might see if they still have the Milia in that case - could go saving myself a couple of quid on the price I paid in Forbidden Planet. Ta for the tip there. Karl

I picked up one in Glasgow at the weekend. Had been itching for a new Macross related acquisition, and I wanted a TV Max-type in a decent scale to go with my Banpresto Milia-type ( I needed a third fighter to complete a "flight"). At £15 it wasn't a bad buy at all. If it had been at the price they were _claiming_ it had originally been (£24) I would have balked - but for what I paid for it then it isn't bad. I'm in two minds now as to whether to keep the mini-Toynami in the house or to send it on a "overseas deployment" to my desk at the office. It would look quite good keeping company with the little F-22 that sits on my desk. Karl

$75 isn't bad at all. Exchange rate is rather in our favour at the moment which is always nice :-) I have to say I probably wouldn't personally be in such a rush to ebay the Robotech discs myself - but I'm an oddity that way, there isn't enough of a purist in me to make me rush to dispose of Robotech. Each to theirt own For every thing I dislike about Robotech (and there are more than a few things to dislike) there is something I like (some of the voice actors I think do quite a creditable job). But then, the fact that my copy of "Genesis Climber Mospeada" sits on the shelves right next to my "Robotech:New Generation" discs probably marks me out as a heretic to both camps in any event. I tend to see them as different animals that share some common ancestry, and which one I watch depends very much on my mood. In terms of paying for Import Duties, what happened last time I ordered something from the Robotech.com store was that I got a letter from the courier firm stating that their were charges to be paid and that they were retaining the item until the charges were paid and allowing me to either phone them up and pay them by credit/debit card or send them payment by cheque. In my case I gave them a ring with my debit card details and sorted it out over the phone. Very straightforward procedure, certainly a lot less hassle than when I have to deal with Parcelforce every so often to ransom back my Valkyries. In fact the only hitch in the process was that the Robotech.com store didn't provide me with the tracking number for my parcel, meaning I wasn't able to track it until I got the letter from the couriers telling me it was in the country with charges oweing. Slightly annoyed me because I am so used to maintaining a weather eye on the progress of my parcels from HLJ. (Yeah, I'm a bit tragic that way I guess...) Karl

The Robotech.com webstore carries repackaged versions of the Animego release:- http://www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=93 They definitely ship to the UK, my Masterpiece Miriya-1J came to me that way. They use either Fed-Ex or UPS for shipping mind you so it will be relatively expensive to get it shipped, but any trackable shipping is going to cost you anyway. The other option might be the ADV release - which you can get from a number of sources on-line - www.playusa.com and www.dvdboxoffice.com might be worth trying. It's only available as individual releases, no boxed set as yet, and has subbed Japanese audio and a new English dub on it. (I can't comment on what the dub is like as I haven't heard it but what I have heard around here is a bit mixed). If you want the lot in one go I would say the repackaged Animego version that Robotech.com has is probably your best bet. At the current exchange rate the price before shipping and customs charges etc is pretty favourable. Besides - if you tried to sub the Robotech Remastered release you would still have to put up with Reba West attempting to sing (earplugs have never been so welcome). With proper subbed Macross comes proper Macross songs.. :-) Karl

Looks like it does have the underintake missiles from the model kit, and I'm beginning to suspect that they are unfortunately fixed. Still swithering about buying the red version, I don't have a three mode version of Hoquet's Legioss and it is my favourite colour scheme. Curse the little part of my brain that is tempted to pick one of these up. Karl

Never noticed that! Must go back and have another look when I get my DVD's back from loan. (Not that I really need an excuse to rewatch Mospeada). I must admit I've never been a big fan of the look of the extra missile pod. I don't mind it in Armo-fighter mode but I'm not sold on it in any of the other modes. I'm kind of hoping that it will be removable on the Aoshima Legioss. Much like I'm hoping that the other missiles mentioned will be removable. Hmm, thinking about it Aoshima are pretty much modifying the Toynami version back towards the kit that it was originally "inspired" by. A sort of "circular evolution". Karl

Once I pick up a 1/48th GBP it'll be going on one of my Roy -1S's. Partly because I don't have a Hikaru-1J to put it on, but even if I did I would probably still put it on the -1S, I think it looks quite neat on there and I don't worry too much about anime accuracy in things like that. I figure that somewhere in the Macross universe a -1S has stomped about with GBP on, and that is a good enough justification for me. :-) Karl

All of mine are on display. I don't even have the boxes for them anymore - long since flattened and recycled. (In fact the only Yamato box I still have is the 1/60th GBP box, and only because it is in the far corners of my attic and I can't be bothered chasing it down). My three 1/48th's are on the display shelves in my living room along with some of my other Macross and Mospeada stuff. Can't see the point anymore in having stuff I'm never going to display, so anything that is going to spend its time in a box I'm not planning on keeping. Karl

I am liking the CMs Legioss/Tread combo more and more - the little extras are really going a long way to making it a really good package. I'm definitely going to be going after one of those. Of course now I have to clear a display shelf to fit all this wonderful Mosepada stuff coming my way this year... As to those reimagined Inbit.... They are certainly different and I can see how they relate to the series designs but.... they are rather far removed from the Inbit aesthetic. Not sure how those designs make me feel. Karl