eriku

P A N I C ! ! ! ! Seriously though, I'm going to wait for more than TWO reports before assuming the heat shield is a common problem.

I've always been under the impression that the VF-11 was only slightly larger than a VF-1...

If any of you get a VF-11 with a faulty heat shield and don't like it, I'll buy it off you for a discount.

Actually...he didn't. Regardless....W A N T

Yeah, looking at things logically. But look at how many Macross releases there have been from Yamato in the last few months, it's like they've gone nuts. They've already proven that they are willing and able to release a zillion toys at once. I'm just curious to see how long they can keep it up.

Whatever works for the owner. I find that having stuff in a chaotic pile is counterproductive. Bandai has the parts laid out neatly in trays and it was extremely helpful for me to know which piece came from which tray. It would take me far longer to transform one of these if I had the parts in a jumble that I had to sift through, and I would probably end up losing some, and that would be my own fault, not Bandai's.

I'm not sure if anyone is currently doing recasts of that part, but you can get the actual part from Yamato through OverDrive: http://www.over-drive-inc.com/macross_parts/

I think he greatly exaggerates or at least exacerbates the tediousness by dumping the parts in a pile. It's obviously going to be more confusing and frustrating if the parts aren't neatly laid out, so he just made it worse for himself. It doesn't seem like a 'clear demonstration' to me with him tossing the parts around like that. He's welcome to be upset with the partsforming nature of it, but his ultimate conclusion of "it's crap" I find unfair and clouded by crankiness.

Hmm....not sure if I'm concerned about the heat shield or not. For myself I mean. It's an unfortunate problem if there turns out to be no way to lock it, but for myself I'm used to having the 1/72 version in Battroid with no heat shield (I refuse to use the cut-out one provided by Yamato) so I may just keep the canopy uncovered on this one as well. How is the transformation compared to the 1/72? Similar? Easier? More complicated?

It's funny on one hand (nerd rage is always funny), but on the other hand it would be unfortunate if a lot of people take him seriously. The thing isn't that bad of a piece as long as you don't mind assembling it. It's obvious that Josh was furious with the parts-forming aspect of it...which he should have known full well long before doing the review, so it's almost like he did the review just to showcase how much he hates partsforming. I don't like partsforming either, but the toy really didn't frustrate me. And if you leave the parts in the tray rather than dump them in a chaotic pile it's really not that hard to figure out what goes where. As for the Toynami comparison, I like Toynami's 1/100 valks but Bandai's so far are leagues better in terms of plastic quality and finish.

mmmmmmm....the want is so strong.....

Good thing. On my Roy the shoulder balls were so tight that trying to move the arms really wrenched on the shoulder hinge. On my new Max the shoulder joints are not as tight as that. I'm not saying they are loose if that's what it sounded like.

It's hard to tell without having an older one in hand to compare it to, but the plastic around the pin does appear to be thicker, which would indicate a smaller diameter pin. The only other differences I notice is that sliding the piece over that bump feels smoother than it did on the Roy, like I didn't have to put as much force on it. That and the shoulder joints weren't so tight so when I move them there isn't as much pressure put on the shoulder hinge. Hopefully these small differences will be enough to prevent broken hinges in the future, but only time will tell. For now I'm not going to worry about it.

Got my 1A TV Max today and I'm quite pleased with it. This is my re-introduction into the 1/60 2.0 line after being scared away by Roy's broken shoulders. I still am not fond of the whole shoulder hinge mechanism and how it doesn't lock into anything in Battroid mode, but at least it has been improved (I'm taking Yamato's word for it) and shouldn't break as easily. I decided I really want to enjoy this thing so I'm just not going to worry about the shoulders. If they break in the future I can be upset about it then. For now, this thing is a damn fine toy. I really hate to gush but QC-wise almost everything is perfect on my sample. Perfect parts fit, perfect paint, perfect tolerances in the joints. The only part I had trouble with was the feet/thrusters. They were incredibly hard to pull out of the legs. I actually thought for a while that I would have to take the legs apart and see what was in the way. The color combination is so vibrant on this bird. I have him displayed with my CMs Legioss and Tlead and the colors seem to be an exact match - they look incredible together. That said, I think I still like the 1/48 scale better but after so many years I'm so familiar with the 1/48 that I feel I can't make a fair comparison until I've spent a few years with the 1/60.

Meh, yet another review from Josh that I can't take seriously. I think the guy needs to take a break.

To clarify, the VF-22 Gamlin is confirmed for Yamato, not Bandai. The only M7 toy Bandai has announced so far is the 1/100 VF-19.

I actually prefer the clip on/over-the-wing approach to the locking rings, too. To each his own I suppose.

I really can't think of another valk that I want more than the VF-17. That's what my fingers and toes are crossed for.

Isn't there another fanracer toy out there right now? In the 1/200 line? Or has that not been released yet? (I should probably check the thread for that line, shouldn't I?) :EDIT: To answer my own question, yes, there is a 1/200 fan racer in the upcoming series 3. I'll just settle for that.

Awesomeness. Thanks for the pic, Swoosh! Do you have any complaints with the latest Max valks or are they pretty much as perfect as the 1/60 can be?

Throw in a Hikaru, Minmay, cooking fire and giant tuna head and I'll take one. In that case, B O O !

I think the crotch peg problem has gotten to the point now where Bandai really needs to address it and fix the mechanism on future runs. If it were simply a round peg that folded out and fit into a round hole I think it would be better.

I put clear nail polish on just the T-shaped tab, all sides, but some people have applied it to the slot instead. If you try it make sure to start with just one coat and let it dry completely before pegging the pieces together. If the hold still isn't satisfactory try another coat.

Same here. I 'fixed' it with nail polish but now that's wearing down and the prospect of having to put more on every month or so is a bummer. Let us know if you figure anything out when you take it apart. I've had mine apart a couple of times now but my non-mechanically-inclined brain couldn't come up with a solution.

Aw man, I'm so out of the loop I didn't know there was such a nice Baker figure out! He's my favorite Doctor (yes, typical) so I'll have to track one of those down. Great review! And am I correct in translating your rumor as ? Wow.