eriku

No, you have every right to do that. And they have every right to say, "But I don't like the RAV4..." I totally get the 'spindly' or 'anorexic' descriptives that people bring up about the Frontier valks and some other modern robots. It's just that not everyone dislikes this direction. Some people like it better than the older designs, some people hate it, some people (and I include myself here) just appreciate the designs on a different yet parallel level. There are plenty of designs out there that I just 'don't get'. Like a lot of SRW robots. Something about them just doesn't appeal to me. There are even designs that I found wretched at first and then ended up finding a great appreciation for, like the Evangelion EVA units.

A lot of us were quite familiar with the Frontier designs well before seeing the series. I already had the DX toy preordered before seeing any of the series. Most people here just like what they like and have fun with it, there's no need for any of us to pretend our opinions are better, unbiased or at some kind of higher level. You don't like Frontier designs, big deal. Just because you can't understand the appeal of something doesn't make it bad.

I'm not sure how age is relevant in terms of this discussion. There are plenty of people here your age, some possibly older, that have no problems with Frontier designs or modern designs in general. People just have different tastes.

A bad idea?

Ah, but my chimp (I think Clyde was an orangutan) speaks with a distinguished English accent and we don't deal with redneck types (unless we're busting an illicit cousin-swapping ring) so it'll be much better than those awful Eastwood films.

That's an insult to Gamera!

I ride around the world on a motorcycle with a chimp in the sidecar. We solve crimes and mysteries. For some reason the chimp always gets the girl.

Awesome pics QJ. I see a Luca in my near future.

The orignal Englsih dub of Totoro was fantastic. I actually can't stand the new Disney dub though, the girls sound like nails on a chalkboard to me. Aside from that, the Disney dubs have been great. I just find it unfortunate that Disney doesn't have faith in real voice actors and instead relies so heavily on name recognition. For god's sake they have Hannah Montana's sister and one of the Jonas Bros. voicing characters in the upcoming Ponyo on a Cliff dub.

I think I gave GL a fair shot. I watched the first 6 or 7 episodes and by that point I had so little interest left that I didn't bother to watch anymore. I have no reasons to bash it or hate on it, but for various reasons it's just not my kind of show I guess. I don't even like the mechs enough to track down a toy. I do see where the appeal is, but it's just not for me.

And not only that but the Quarter will have a Vajra tail dangling from his makeshift cap just like Davey Crockett's coon-skin cap! Yes, of course I'm kidding.

Yeah, aside from the color scheme (although plain, I love it) it's really the awesome TV head that makes this particular toy stand out. I don't even like 1A heads generally, but this one looks fantastic.

Meh, in terms of old technology looking more futuristic than new, I always look at our own world for example. To me a lot of designs from the 30s through the 60's for cars, planes and sci fi look more 'futuristic' than modern stuff does. In regards to the Star Wars prequels, it's been stated many times that this is the exact reason why the ships and designs looked more 'advanced' than the OT ships and designs. They were going for that 'classic' sort of look. As for Macross, I do agree to a certain extent that the fighters in M0 look more futuristic than the later VF-1, but overall the timeline is so close that I find it a moot point. I've never really noticed the insectoid appearance of the Frontier battroids until now, but I can't say it bugs me. I still and will always prefer mechs with simpler designs, even bulky and blocky and chunky designs that wouldn't work in the real world, but I my tastes are broad enough to allow me room to appreciate things like the Frontier designs.

My vote goes to that one from several years back about the ping pong club. Really terrible animation, gross situations, testicles frequently taking the stage. I forget what it was called, but my god it was brilliant! In reality it's hard for me to pick a favorite because I find myself loving shows differently at different times. For a time Evangelion was OMG BEST EVAR to me, then it was Bebop. Mospeada and Votoms were edging for the top for a while. I even got pretty into Love Hina for a while and still think it had a really great structure, regardless of all the mindless boobage. Frontier is my current favorite. SDFM is always the solid concrete base favorite because it features my favorite designs and also has more nostalgia going for it than any other. Ultimately I think I have to go with Evangelion. Even though it doesn't feature my favorite mech designs it is the series that made me use my brain the most, and I always appreciate giving that grey blob some excercise, even if it is just a quick jog (NGE isn't exactly high philosophy or anything). It is the series that affected my emotions the most and actually made me feel a little depressed at the end. It's the only anime that has invaded my dreams. As for films, it's a tie between a few Miyazaki titles. Primarily it's Nausicaa and Spirited Away that are duking it out for 'favorite'. Sometimes Totoro and Mononoke and Laputa jump up there, but it almost always comes out with Nausicaa on top. Oh, and I was only kidding about the Ping Pong anime. It's a real show and I was sort of entertained for a couple of episodes, but overall it was a little too disturbing for me.

When you say weight of the hands, do you mean when they are holding the gun/sword? Or do you mean the weight of the diecast dino claws? I don't seem to have any shoulder problems on mine. Not sure about the magnets, either. For their to be working magnets the metal would have to be something other than diecast because diecase is a zinc alloy that isn't magnetic. In any case, could you take a photo of the area you're talking about?

I just assumed it was from an episode where they disguised the Iron Gear while trying to infiltrate an Arabian mob. Back on topic (kind of, but not really) I heard that in the Frontier movie the Quarter is going to kill and gut some Vajras and then wear their carcasses in an attempt to infiltrate the Vajra base. Maybe we'll get that accessory with the DX toy?

Good point. I'm also surprised the Angelbirds was a wide release (another hugely unpopular scheme) instead of an exclusive. What's funny is if it had been the other way around, with the Max TV 1A as a wide release and the Angelbirds as the supah-exclusive toy, it could be the Angelbirds going for big bucks now and the Max 1A languishing in clearanceville, HLJ.

Awesome, thanks guys! And I wouldn't leave Max headless, I would put the Angelbirds 1A head on him.

Those of you who have the Max TV 1A, could you tell me how closely the blue matches the blue on the Angelbirds? I'm seriously considering getting one of these and doing a head-swap. Yes, I realize I am insane.

I think it's way too early to tell what Bandai's release plan is, or weather they plan to release all variants possible or just the main valks. We are only about 3 months into the line afterall. The line seems to be a success for them so far, so if the popularity remains then Bandai should have the incentive to produced more variants. Basically, anything is possible. Angelbirds didn't exactly get much screen time, either.

Grimlock can be powerful and mean or he can be quite hospitable by dressing up and serving you fancy drinks. The choice is yours!

I might check it out. I've pretty much gotten over it after posting this over 5 years ago (yikes!).

Technically he did say 'lineart', but point taken. Correct or not, the curved wings on the DX never bothered me. Actually when I first saw them I thought, "Oooh, curved wings! That's new for a valk, isn't it?"

To be fair, Iron Gear does come with the painted and articulated Xabungles and Walkers along with the gaggle of unpainted guys. For the Quarter I'll take either but I agree painted would be preferrable. Give us one for each main character. Hell, throw in a QR and a Monster, too.

You got PM. The 5" Kaiyodo figures were awesome. Haruko is a little fiddly because she's spindly and has a lot of joints, and she doesn't seem to sit on her Vespa perfectly, but the detail is amazing. Did you say there is a 12" Canti? Any idea who made it?