D_Unit

Just over 50 of various types, genres, and sizes. Most are in my diorama and a few others are displayed with my Transformers. Funny thing is, my Macross toys have the biggest diorama even though I have close to 800 Transformers. I spent some time and made room for future additions, but I'm gonna run out of space eventually.

Yup. Exactly.

Holy crap... If gas cost that much where I live I'd probably have to use one of these: I wonder how many people are siphoning gas as I speak.

I've was able to watch Vol. 1 -5 of Macross Frontier recently. Not only is it a lot better than I thought; the 4 pilots play such an integral role in the story line. Now I'm more and more inclined to get them all. So far I got Alto (and PO'ed the super-pack), I guess the logical combos next would be Ozma+Armor, Michael then get the Fold Booster, and Luca then get the Ghost Pack. Crap, I will have spend over a G after this is all done... and maybe more to come?

About 13 1/2" is darn good... now it's a definite must-have for me.

I got one of their VF-1 KOs for $10 at a small toy convention a few years back. Their almost an exact copy of the VF-1, except with very horrible colors. They have real diecast parts and could suit someone who can paint. As for their other "Macross" KOs; they're horrible and nothing... I mean nothing like the real deal (I saw them in a toy store before). Below is a picture of mine; I try to keep it out of visible sight in my diorama.

I found a glimmer of economic hope this weekend... a store in my area that sells imports for less than I would have paid anywhere online (with exchange rates and shipping factored in). The drawbacks are that they're 2 hours drive from my house and they only stock Transformers & Toynami (N. American Macross/Robotech products). PS: The "toy swapping" in my area seems to be getting worst, at first there were deluxe Cybertron Transformers stuffed and returned in deluxe Universe packaging, yesterday someone found an Armada Laserbeak stuffed in a package that scanned for $25!?!

I don't know if this is happening in other areas of the world but there's been an increase in sightings of new Transformers in my area being returned with older/less popular Transformers in their place (new packaging re-taped with the old crap inside). I guess the mass retail store clerks aren't keen enough to notice the difference. I'm glad Macross products can't be returned/repackaged so easily. I know we're in a recession, but this is a new low.

Thanks. I've got some wider shots of the diorama in the galleries section of my site. I was so excited about retaking the photos (with the ankles stretched) and fixing my review that I left my memory card stuck in the computer before I left for my sister's house for dinner with the camera. It was a big feast (we even had a huge king crab), and I took many, many precious family photos... not! When I got home I realized what had happened and I just laughed my stupid head off... I regret nothing!!!

OMG, I'm such a freakin' fool. I just update the review and the pics. Thanks for the heads-up Negotiator. I guess that's what I get for skipping most of the instructions. Dang it looks good now!

Is there going to be a version of the DX RVF-25 that will include the ghost & missiles? Sorry, too lazy to search for the answer myself. PS: Here's my super late review of my DX Alto. I do have similar raves and rants about the VF-25 as most of the comments in this tread. http://loopydetails.com/index.php?/Core-Ar...tom-review.html

You have a good point. Although the spot is a good potential for a flying scene, it's also a potential for a horrible, horrible disaster. I will now spend the next year contemplating about it. And yup, it the Flagg.

Ya, it's the Matchbox Hovertank. I decided to make the space now in order to clear out/rearrange some areas on the main deck of the carrier. Things are so crowded in the diorama as it is, so I'm taking out as much non-Macross stuff as I can now while I still have some wriggle room.

Here's a picture of the exact spot I have in mind for the Space Fortress mode; now it's just a matter of money, money, and money.

I spent an hour on my diorama and made room for this guy, so I'd better have enough money to get it.

Even with the massive debt load (and worst kinds of exposures) that America has; it's also has a good chance to recover. It might sound like a cliche but American's do know how to get themselves off the floor and kick some major *ss... (of course that's only after they've made every single mistake in the book). Japan (to me anyways) seems to be a nation of great people and culture (I really hope I can visit it next year but that seems less and less likely). Unfortunately, its government wasn't bold enough nor swift enough to act after the economic crisis of the late 80's. Now they've exhausted all their options... being the world's banker won't hold off the inevitable. Still... it can recover with the help of other nations (yes... even China). The rise in the stock markets today gave me new hope. Not because of a simple fluctuation to the upside, but because such a day could have been possible in such a depressed economy. It shows that faith and inspiration could still have an effect on the markets (weather its logical or not). I don't think we're anywhere near the bottom yet, but I do have hope. Back in the Great Depression, it wasn't the Great Deal or WW2 that got the world on its feet, it was people's faith in themselves and each other. I'm not a religious person, but time and time again, humans showed that they can achieve the miraculous when they just have enough confidence. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach the dumb*ss to fish and you feed him for life. Sometimes people need a swift kick to the balls to realize the folly of their ways; and usually, they have enough sense to pick their nuts off the floor, learn from their mistakes, and achieve far higher goals. It's the first day that I haven't had to use a glove for my eczema today, and the past 5+ months of blinding pain & being high on meds have given me a new outlook on life. I think adversity only makes people stronger and better.... let's home I'm right.

I've been discussing about a subject (that's been giving me the chills at work) and I guess if I can make the dudes there understand it I might as well discuss them here. And that's the quadrillion+ in outstanding contracts in the derivatives market. Here's a definition fro Wikipedia (don't worry, I don't think anyone on Earth truly understands the derivatives market): Derivatives are financial contracts, or financial instruments, whose values are derived from the value of something else (known as the underlying). The underlying on which a derivative is based can be an asset (e.g., commodities, equities (stocks), residential mortgages, commercial real estate, loans, bonds), an index (e.g., interest rates, exchange rates, stock market indices, consumer price index (CPI) — see inflation derivatives), or other items (e.g., weather conditions, or other derivatives). Credit derivatives are based on loans, bonds or other forms of credit. The main types of derivatives are forwards, futures, options, and swaps. Derivatives can be used to mitigate the risk of economic loss arising from changes in the value of the underlying. This activity is known as hedging. Alternatively, derivatives can be used by investors to increase the profit arising if the value of the underlying moves in the direction they expect. This activity is known as speculation. Because the value of a derivative is contingent on the value of the underlying, the notional value of derivatives is recorded off the balance sheet of an institution, although the market value of derivatives is recorded on the balance sheet. Hedging Derivatives allow risk about the value of the underlying asset to be transferred from one party to another. For example, a wheat farmer and a miller could sign a futures contract to exchange a specified amount of cash for a specified amount of wheat in the future. Both parties have reduced a future risk: for the wheat farmer, the uncertainty of the price, and for the miller, the availability of wheat. However, there is still the risk that no wheat will be available due to causes unspecified by the contract, like the weather, or that one party will renege on the contract. Although a third party, called a clearing house, insures a futures contract, not all derivatives are insured against counterparty risk. From another perspective, the farmer and the miller both reduce a risk and acquire a risk when they sign the futures contract: The farmer reduces the risk that the price of wheat will fall below the price specified in the contract and acquires the risk that the price of wheat will rise above the price specified in the contract (thereby losing additional income that he could have earned). The miller, on the other hand, acquires the risk that the price of wheat will fall below the price specified in the contract (thereby paying more in the future than he otherwise would) and reduces the risk that the price of wheat will rise above the price specified in the contract. In this sense, one party is the insurer (risk taker) for one type of risk, and the counterparty is the insurer (risk taker) for another type of risk. Hedging also occurs when an individual or institution buys an asset (like a commodity, a bond that has coupon payments, a stock that pays dividends, and so on) and sells it using a futures contract. The individual or institution has access to the asset for a specified amount of time, and then can sell it in the future at a specified price according to the futures contract. Of course, this allows the individual or institution the benefit of holding the asset while reducing the risk that the future selling price will deviate unexpectedly from the market's current assessment of the future value of the asset. Derivatives traders at the Chicago Board of Trade. Speculation and arbitrage Derivatives can be used to acquire risk, rather than to insure or hedge against risk. Thus, some individuals and institutions will enter into a derivative contract to speculate on the value of the underlying asset, betting that the party seeking insurance will be wrong about the future value of the underlying asset. Speculators will want to be able to buy an asset in the future at a low price according to a derivative contract when the future market price is high, or to sell an asset in the future at a high price according to a derivative contract when the future market price is low. Individuals and institutions may also look for arbitrage opportunities, as when the current buying price of an asset falls below the price specified in a futures contract to sell the asset. Speculative trading in derivatives gained a great deal of notoriety in 1995 when Nick Leeson, a trader at Barings Bank, made poor and unauthorized investments in futures contracts. Through a combination of poor judgment, lack of oversight by the bank's management and by regulators, and unfortunate events like the Kobe earthquake, Leeson incurred a $1.3 billion loss that bankrupted the centuries-old institution. Basically derivatives is like a play on a play, a bet on a bet (just in many multiples more)... to put a number on it would be that the current outstanding derivatives contracts in the world would equal to about 25 years of the world's entire GDP... but no one can really put a definite number on it. Allan Greenspan facilitated the use of derivatives after the crash of the 80's when he explored ways of negating the negative effects of a catastrophic event to the markets. So instead of massive bankruptcies and years of suffering leading to an eventual rebound... we get these new fancy vehicles that will grant us "salvation". It's not as bad as the massive printing of money by Germany in the 20's, only because people can't see derivatives for what they really are. Historically, 2 "solutions" have worked successfully in dealing with dire economic situations: The purely capitalist solution had be for businesses to fail and bankruptcies to occur. Many people will suffer, stave, etc... but a bottom will be reached and growth will return. The purely communist solution would be to confiscate all the money that the Wall St. M.F.'s has swindled and return it to the economy. A few people will suffer, starve, etc... but a bottom will be reached and growth will return. OK, maybe a third... start World War 3. I have a feeling all this bailout is doing is to prevent the derivatives market from collapsing. Saving a few million people from loosing their jobs aren't worth a trillion dollars of stimulus money, but saving the world from economic Armageddon is. A budget in the trillions is still comprehensible and (maybe) manageable. But when we get to the quadrillions, money stops having any of its effectiveness... jobs won't matter and no money that the world can infuse would make a difference, because if hyperinflation is world wide... money might as well not exist. I would hope that the world can get a new system to guild our economies... or (selfishly) we get to kick the can further down the generations till I'm long gone... 'cause I ain't into living in an "apocalypse". Man... I sure hope I'm just being paranoid. Anyways, I think we should all practice being kind to one another... we may need other people's help when times get worse.

How about gold, it's worked work for centuries. But here are just too many powerful nations with their own agendas to make that a reality these days. If we peg the world's currencies to gold again, economist predict that many first world nations will loose their grip on economic dominance. The inability of politicians to have a cohesive agenda is a good thing in this situation. As gold is a non-sentient entity, it can't make policy or shift economic priorities. So if the European countries cannot band together to screw the rest of the world (due to too many bureaucracies), then the Euro can act as pseudo-gold. The debate against using the Greenback as world standard has ended in many circles, though if we can do anything about it is still in debate. Anything we little private citizens say or hope for may be moot.

Somebody (governments) somewhere has got to have the guts to stop having the world's currencies peg to the Greenback. There's nothing in the past that I know of to measure what the U.S. is doing to the world's economy with their monetary policy. Japan's been printing Yen and converting to Greenbacks (for the U.S.) for years (soon to be decades), yet both currencies remain at relatively high levels due to their implied safety. And what is it with U.S. debt/treasuries that make it so appealing to China? I know they needed Americans to buy their goods before, but America's broke now?!? I've read so many rational and experienced economists predict that the U.S. dollar may end up as useful as the old German Papiermark (a bit exaggerated I guess), but we are in uncharted territories here. Being Canadian, I may frown off the fact that I've just lost 20% of my purchasing power when it comes to imports, but at least it's still 20% higher than 10 years ago. Huh... what the heck is that supposed to mean?!? Oh I give up! I guess I'm better off just figuring out my own personal fiances, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. In Canada, we now have a $5,000/year tax-free investment account (even if I make a million out of that account it's still tax free... [that's what they say anyway] and I can add $5,000 the next year). Unfortunately, I'm spooked by the markets... and I may need that $5,000 for food rations, medicine, guns... and plenty of ammo.

Ironically, I have a perfect spot for the spacecraft mode in my 3' x 3' x 7-1/2' enclosed diorama. $500 is doable for me but not in a collector's stand point. If I was just collecting, I couldn't justify spending so much money in a downturn economy. But since my friends' kids love to come over to see my displays and since I could share photos/videos of it with everyone via my website; then I guess I can justify selling that extra quart of blood.

Agreed. No matter what walk of life most of us are from I think we do share many of the same convictions. There were times when people spoke from their hearts and not their egos. Maybe the one bright spot from this economic mess will be that people will get back to the basics and to what's really important in life. Cheers.

I currently work as a graphic artist in an printing company (we do labels and such for major industries). Right now things are slowing down and I've personally took a lot of time off for health reasons (freakin' eczema!). The one good thing about not being at work as much is the fact that I don't have to be around some of the retards at work (the boss's sons); we have a high turn-around because the two little "Nazis" keep pissing people off. I also do web design and work on my own website on the side. I've been collected Transforming toys for most of my life now and I don't see that coming to an end anytime soon. I've had a pretty hard life but I've also had many great moments. I got my business degree from University so I saw this catastrophe coming years ahead... it's just common sense I guess. It was a couple of years ago when I reached a moment in my life where I was faced with joining the rest of society, marrying a young career woman that I been dating for years or... Well, I took one last trip abroad and when I came back I broke things off with her. The thought of dumping/selling my collection and living the rest of my life with an opinionated hag just didn't seem very appealing. At the time I worked hard enough to own my new home out right, my car payments were almost done, and everything was set for a family. But as I mentioned earlier, I lived a relatively "colorful" life and I've been with many different types of people. To spend the rest of my life shopping and gossiping about nonsense would be betraying all the people that I've shared the past good/bad times with. Financially, I guess I've done all the preparations that I could do to weather a long downturn. I'll have to buy less toys/figures so that I can afford the ones that I really want, just in case my future income may cease (almost everyone has to prepare to that scenario). Emotionally, I've taken quite a toll the past few years. Because of my last relationship I've broke ties with many of my friends (what an idiot I was). Still, it may not have been a big loss since most people around me bought into the massive commercialism blitz after the turn of the millennium. I couldn't have a decent/meaningful conversation without some idiot bring up the subject of real estate and stocks. I really miss all the bros that I rolled with, and all the hunnies that made life uncomplicated. Bottom line - friends and family come first, then things. But if the people you're with ain't worth it, then stick with what you love. If money is a problem, take care of yourself and your basic needs first; one day things will get better and you will have money to start collecting again. I found through making my toy-fan site that you don't have to buy/own a lot of figures to be passionate about toys. There are so many things that people can do that give life meaning. You can volunteer, play sports, take inexpensive trips, or just spend time with the people you're close to.

Man I'm envious of anyone who's able to play with their VF-25's till the paint peels off. I've been having a painful time with my falsely diagnosed eczema (witch ended up to be just a fungus infection) on my hands. It's been almost 3 months now and I'm finally coming out of this extremely painful experience (with the correct medication this time). I've got my Alto (and waiting for my P.O.'ed super-pack), my MP Beta along with a bunch of other toys for a while now but I'm afraid if I opened and played with them, my skin will start to peel off... again. Anyway, when this is all over I'll be so freakin' grateful just to be alive without pain that I might just end up buying everything... or go on a rampage.

About the bent antenna; I've successfully bent plastic after heating it up with a hair dryer, then holding the plastic either straight (to straighten) or bent (to bend). Just be careful not to melt your toy. Or you can just leave it the heck alone. Yes... I'm a deck Swabber now!

Thanks for the info. Well if that's the case, then this is probably Bandai's way of releasing the stand alone fast packs... in other words I'll probably order one when I get home from work.