eriku

No real details or specifics are mentioned in the review so any Yamato involvement is just speculation at this point. And it may just be that the person or persons involved were formerly employed by "the other company" rather than Bandai actually getting help from "the other company". Regardless of the whats and whos, I'm glad this turned out to be a great toy and I look forward to getting Grace.

The guns can be taken off and put back very easily. They're just on pegs, so all you have to do is pull. Not much different than putting a gun in the fist-hole of a G1 TF. Once I discovered this I liked Scattorshot a lot better. I also like both modes better after removing the plow. I guess I'm not much of a plow guy. Natural aversion due to being a lifelong Minnesotan perhaps.

Thanks to your heads-up on the date I was able to be at Bambaland at the right time and grab a Little Shadow. I logged in later and saw the 2-pack with the zombie bot and was very, very tempted...but I couldn't shell out that much in one drop. Now the long wait until late May, which I assume means June.

Aw man, that's awful. I've been a fan and follower of his work ever since I was turned on to it through Champloo back in 2004. In fact, his music has transcended Champloo in that it's a fairly regular part of my life. RIP Jun, you will be sorely missed.

Yeah, I've had mine in that configuration since the day I got Skystalker and I love the combo. I really like Skystalker on his own, too. I like how you took out the 'Con symbols - it looks much better that way. Time to grab the rubbing alcohol!

I don't have Dirge so I can't compare, but I do really enjoy Mindwipe. The twin blades are, for me, the biggest minus. They do fold back, but his hands have to be positioned at an odd angle to do so and like you said they don't really hide or retract. Normally something like that would drive me nuts, but I like the rest of Mindwipe enough to forgive it. The biggest pluses for me are the super-slim alt mode, the simple and fun transformation and the overall look of bot mode. The fact you can choose between regular legs and goat legs is really nice, too.

I think he's still somewhat of a new release. I've only seen him in a store once so far. I picked him up, but I didn't like the goat legs so I didn't buy him.

Very nice. I love the facial expression. Remind me, when is Shadow (I think that's what she's called) coming out? I'm rather keen on getting her, although something tells me she's going to be difficult to obtain. Speaking of unobtainium, I need me a Bramble something fierce.

There's no fallacy in what I said. Both are opinions and both are valid in that context. And honestly, why does anyone need to list reasons for not liking goat legs or any other design aesthetic? To suggest that someone is "ruling out any chance of change of mind" just suggests that you think they should change their mind, which again suggests that you believe their opinion is "wrong". And if someone reads "Ugh, more goat legs" and takes that as a "denigrating generalization towards an entire toyline and its fans" then they are reading way too much into it and are bringing that sentiment in themselves. Just because you think it's a slight against an entire fan base doesn't mean it is. You seem to be genuinely irritated by the fact that some fans complain about modern TF toys not being made like they used to be made and wish they were more like toys from the old days. Why does this bother you? All that said, I believe we're in danger of derailing the thread too close to "locked" territory. We should stop discussing opinions and get back to toys.

I don't find arguments between people over aesthetics to be the same as someone making observational criticism of a toy. One is personal, the other is not. If someone says, "Ugh, more goat legs" every time a new RotF toys is revealed, it's not any different than someone saying, "Wow, that looks great!" It's just people voicing their opinions and expressing their tastes. Getting into an argument over it or personally attacking/questioning someone for their preference is entirely different. An innocuous complaint over goat legs is just that - innocuous. It's when someone else replies to that comment with a sarcastic or mean-spirited comment directed at the individual that things get stupid and usually devolve into petty arguments. Someone complains, "Yuck, more goat legs" and then someone else will inevitably quote and reply to that comment with something like "Oh noes, robots has goat legs! " . Which translates as "i don't agree with your opinion and I think you are stupid for having that opinion" . What began as a harmless comment directed at a toy is then turned into a personal matter with tastes being questioned, etc.

Arguing over personal preferences in TF aesthetics is silly because there is so much to choose from. Using the Action Masters to symbolize "the good old days" is just as silly as using Arcee to symbolize all of RotF toys because there is a lot in between those extremes. Just liking what we like and not trying to pretend it's the right opinion or pretend that any current style is "the right direction" is the only way TF fans can really reconcile our differences with each other and get along. Nobody is wrong for liking movie aesthetics and nobody is wrong for preferring "the good old days". And since I'm listing things that should be obvious to us all: water is wet, most birds have the gift of flight and the Earth is round (prove me wrong, Flatists, prove me wrong!).

Nah, they usually have their ire at maximum level to begin with.

My love of Transformers spans from the "old days" through current times with many modern toys topping older ones on my 'favorites' list. It's pretty much just Michael Bay's Transformers that I find mostly loathsome. Oh, some of them are alright like Mindwipe, but I find the ones I warm up to are the ones that exhibit the least amount of resemblance to a spilled tray of dentistry tools walking around on goat legs (or worse, like Arcee, who looks like a motorcycle that transforms into a motorcycle accident) But it's just one design avenue of Transformers, and I know it's not how they'll look forever, so I do my best to ignore it. I do find it cute when newer fans of the Michael Bay Transformers get up in arms over people who prefer the older and classic designs, as if there were something inherently wrong with preferring one design over another. They're so argumentative and 'correct' in their opinions that I just want to squeeze their cheeks, tussle their hair and send them down to the corner with a nickle to buy themselves a soda pop.

Looks like they're doing ScarJo. According to this promo card, along with War Machine they plan to do MK6, Black Widow and Whiplash. Hopefully they'll come to their senses ditch Whiplash in favor of a MK5, Monger or drone. I'm sure they'd do a killer job on Whiplash, but....he just really doesn't look interesting to me.

The feet look fine to me, especially since they're actually articulated.

Awesome that it's going to come with the booster. However I'm anxious to see some real photos of Grace's 27 instead of Photoshopped Breras.

Out of the Macross toys I have, the one that gives me the most grief is the SV-51. It all feels rather counter-intuitive to me, and the way the whole shoulder system works bugs me and never seems to stay in place. Great looking beast of a toy, but not much fun to play with. I don't know if any valk toy will ever match the fun and ease of the Chunky Monkey and Joke Machine, but the 1/60 VF-11 comes close.

Heh, I never put mine into Gerwalk so I wouldn't have noticed. Yeah, I read about a couple people having their fire valk come detached at the shoulder, but I didn't assume it was a widespread thing. At least they snap right back on and aren't actually breaking I guess.

The QC on the VF100 VF-25 is actually pretty excellent, it's just the 1000-Pieces-of-Madness transformation system that is the bane of that toy. QC on my Kai is excellent as well. Was there a widespread loose shoulder problem?

You may hate it, but I'm lovin' it.

D'oh- for some reason I thought the 1/72s were also under the "Hi-Metal" banner.

The original Hi-Metal VF-1 toys were 1/72 scale: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/toys/_bandai_hcmj.htm

Agreed. I think the Hi-Metal line is priced exactly where it should be. Heck, I remember paying around Y7000 for the Yamato 1/72 YF-19 when it came out. The Hi-Metal VF-19 Kai isn't that much smaller and it's an infinitely better toy. For it to be right at the same price as the 1/72 Yammies were when they came out 10 years ago is pretty amazing. Now take the VF-1. The original 1/72 HCM VF-1 retailed for around Y3000 waaaaaaay back in 1985. This new Hi-Metal, albeit a bit smaller at 1/100, is retailing at around Y5000 and can be bought for Y3900 at places such as AmiAmi. The new Hi-Metal VF-1 is almost certain to be a better toy than the old HCM. Y900 difference between the two is pretty damn good for toys that have an age difference of 25 years. CollectionDX actually has a recent essay/discussion on 'value' and 'worth' of toys that makes some excellent points. Check it out: http://www.collectiondx.com/article/a_question_of_value

It's pretty much just the lightning bolts on the fuselage and a 'V' detail on the shield, but it's nicely done.

My Toynami 1/100 is getting rid of itself. *looks at crumbling Toynami joints*