Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

...and now, some Thunderwing! Generations Thunderwing Alt Mode

Who gives a f^&* if Kawamori loves Gundam or not? His anime preferences don't change the fact that he approved the DX VF-25. That toy was very disappointing. The SDi figure that was just released is more poseable. It's sad when an SD figure is more poseable than it's bigger DX cousin or brother or whatever. The DX VF-25 is a toy Bandai should improve and at least redesign some parts of. The VF-27 is proof that they can. The DX VF-25 is not even up to par with their SOC toys, and with Bandai having the license, I was expecting SOC quality on Macross designs. Like joints that can hold their position, not loosen up relatively quickly. Good range of motion. That kind of thing.

Wow that's disappointing, it's supposed to come with stickers.

Image request, can anyone post images here of the following? Haven't seen much of them: ASF-14 Tomcat II(just heard about it recently unless it's another name for Tomcat 21) Quickstrike F-14 The reason I am asking is because I have only seen the schematic and desktop model for Tomcat 21, not much else, if at all(and 1 schematic of the ASF-14 but I don't remember where, I think it's from World Air Power Journal from the 90's).

Dude if you ever decide to get one, the Prime upgrade is worth it, I got one a few months back in summer. No regrets. The G3 trailer is EXCELLENT too. The Rodimus upgrade looks promising, I dig the different modes the trailer has, and the new Targetmaster gun. With the armor, Rodimus gains new arms that can swivel outwards to the sides much better. Never liked Hot Rod as a character(in Animated he is okay, and the figure turned out excellent), but his figures(sans Energon) usually turn out well.

Wow I didn't know some had 6th paint schemes. What does that Typhoon look like? I only have 3 for it so far. The 5th Tomcat looks BAD ASS.

I haven't even tried co-op yet man, I've only played multi-player battles like battle royales and team matches. The game is fine in single player mode. Lots of replay value too, because I have barely unlocked most of the stuff during my 1st play-through, and this wasn't the case in previous games.

The designer wants another shot? Care to elaborate? What else did he say, and when?

Bandai 1/55 VF-1J Valkyrie Hikaru Custom from Origin of Valkyrie. 2nd would be the VF-1S Super Valk set. 3rd maybe the V2 1/60 VF-1A Super Hikaru

Okay done with my 1st playthrough. While the AI for the enemy fighters seems easier to take down overall, the game itself is harder than some of the previous games. It's noticeably more difficult to obtain A and S rankings. Not to mention, it seems that the only way to obtain weapons for your specific planes is to keep using said planes. For example, in previous games, you could use an F-5 all throughout, by other planes, and if you get further in the campaign, most of the weapons would be unlocked. In Joint Assault, if you want to unlock the Tomcat's weapons for example, you have to keep using the Tomcat to get the rest of its weapons. By the same token, if you buy the F-16 and never use it, by the time you finish the campaign, you will never have unlocked any of it's additional weapons. It's like the same premise as AC5 with regards to upgrading plane, only with weapons this time. Each plane has 8 weapon slots and you have 4 different "short range" arms and 4 different "SP" weapons per plane. It seems like you get less money in this game too. I have only unlocked under 10 planes so far, and there are a bunch in the game. Up 2 5 paint schemes each too. In addition to weapon unlocks, you can upgrade your planes' parts. Not all parts are compatible per plane. For example, the Tornado IDS can use the Raven upgrade for avionics, which boosts its A2A capability, meanwhile the F-16 and others can't. I personally like this upgrade system and think this should be available on future AC games. Music is good, better than ACX, and there are some songs from AC2 that fit the mood and missions well too. In fact, while ACX seemed like a love letter to AC2, this game seems like it goes further. All in all, Joint Assault is a worthy and superior successor to ACX. It definitely feels more complete with more to do. Your character, an Antares Sqn pilot, is not hyped up anywhere near as much as Moebius 1, Blaze and Cipher THANK GOD!

Holy crap..I didn't realize that when I played it last night or today! I set the language to Japanese, like I did with AC5. Might try it in English after I finish the campaign. Fought online last night...did a 1 on 1...me in an F-5E, other dude picked a Cariburn(seriously?). Anyways, I wasn't able to shoot this guy down but I managed to hit him twice. Unfortunately, the old tricks are still here; pick any super fighter, hold R1 and you'll pretty much run circles around everyone else. Music and gameplay is good so far but on normal(I want to finish this on normal 1st), the AI seems a bit too easy for the enemy fighters. Was able to rack up a bunch of gun kills easily since some of them just float around waiting for you to shoot them down.

Those upgrades are for the futuristic original planes, like XFA-27, Forneus, et al. Got my copy today too. Have not played yet. RELIEVED to here the atrocious dubbing from the 1st ACX was done with.

They are the reissues. I got my 0S from them this year.

Hmm...I think it will be fitting if Yamato makes an a V2 YF-19 for the later half of 2012; 30th Anniversary of Macross, with 1/60 VF-4 during the 1st half...fitting for the fighter that debuted in Flashback 2012 My reasoning for the 19 is that unlike the VF-11 and YF-21 in 1/60 scale, it looks dated compared to all the recent releases. Anyways back on the Fire Valkyrie, I hope the toy feels very solid and durable. Ratchets/detents on joints, et al. Yamato has improved a lot when it comes to making more solid toys.

Is the prototype you are going to handle made out of resin? I was wondering if they are far enough to have a plastic prototype. It would be cool if they let you man handle it so they can iron out any issue before final production. That way we don't have a beautiful design tarnished(V2 1/60 VF-1 shoulder hinges on many of the initial releases). Also can you ask them if the Blazer will be released by summer 2011? Fire Valk is cool but I want Blazer more. I will most likely get the Fire Valkyrie too, but maybe after the Blazer.

The one thing I do not like about the VF-0 reissues from this year are the arm sockets. They have rubber coverings over the ball joints and I already have seepage on my 0S/A. On my 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru, once the rubber wore down over time, the shoulders got loose. The same thing will most likely happen inevitably to my 0S/A. I really wish the shoulder innards were the same as the V2 1/60 VF-1...which IIRC are not made out of rubber and are not prone to looseness even after constant handling. Anyone got ideas on how to tighten the shoulders?

I'd like to see universal rotation/ratchet/detented joints used in lieu of ball joints. I might be in the minority, but the 1/55 VF-1 shoulders are my favorite design, because the shoulder clicks into place in any direction it is moved in.

More ratcheting/detented joints, more sturdy plastic and more use of durable interlocking tabs/clips.

Awesome pics Homura, the 19's look sharp!

Hey guys, I do like the bright white this toy is molded in. Do you think it will yellow over time? That's what I am afraid of.

I have a feeling we will see 2 leader class Primes in TF3: Voyager or ultra sized Prime with trailer in leader class box, maybe in-scale with deluxe figures Leader sized Prime sans trailer with no gimmicks aside from light/sound The primary difference between the 2 movie lines is that for TF1, Haskaromy worked off of concept art and not all of it was even finished. With ROTF they worked off of completed CGI models. I am not sure if Starscream will get an all new leader figure but I have a feeling we will see an all new voyager version. The leader version is relatively new. Bet we will see an all new Prime in leader class. What I want to see is a leader Megatron that isn't compromised like the last 2 figures. Hopefully it's like ROTF leader Prime where the compromises weren't that bad. The combining gimmick was much easier to conceal and hidden much easier on ROTF leader Prime than on Jetfire. I would see the HA is a better figure but it did not live up to the standards of HA Bumblebee. HA Bumblebee raised the bar; Barricade came close, Skids is decent, and Jazz is up there too with Bumblebee. HA Sideswipe is the worst HA figure but by all means, not terrible. The leg articulation is hindered due to the rubber pipes at the hips, and the knee pistons from the back were confusing to figure out. They don't lock into place.

Wait...am I reading this right, Harmony Gold actually licensed this as part of Robotech?

I think the Blazer will trump it. I've had a fascination with that design since I saw the 1/100 plamo in 1997. It's like YF-23 with blue, with FSW, with SKULL LEADER STYLE BATTROID HEAD! Overall it was a design that I did not like it 1st but grew to love. Blazer for the win. The F model looks cool too, the VF MASTER FILE guys must love it because it's all over that book.

Is this a transforming one? If so: If it has metal swing bars it's the 1/55 scale MPC If it's about 5" tall and all plastic, it's the 1/100 VF-1 Tamashii's VF100's and VF HI METAL releases are in-scale with the latter, Bandai's reissue VF-1's are in-scale with the former*. *give or take

The upcoming reissue will feel dated by 2012, assuming that that's the earliest release date for a potential V2 1/60 YF-19. The original 1/60 design was already started years before its eventual release in 2006. Good point I wouldn't be surprised if we got a few new designs before then. The 17 is the only "main" VF left out of the 1/60 Macross 7 releases by Yamato(considering that the VF-19 is being made, VF-11C was already released, as well as the VF-22S'). I doubt Yamato is going to pass up the opportunity to make not only a unique valk, but one that was also shown on the show quite a lot, and was the main "super" fighter until Emerald Squadron came on the scene. Plus, it does not hurt that Gamlin flew it. I think a V2 1/60 YF-19 would be at least 2 years away. Between now and then, I wouldn't be surprised if Yamato will release new releases that they have been working on in secret. They can't make the VF-171EX or anything in Macross Frontier. Bandai holds the license. No one here knows when it will expire. F/S are definitely within the realm of possibility; Yamato isn't the type to pass up variants like those especially when they need to cash in on the molds to recoup the money invested in tooling them. Double Nuts looks slick, my favorite Yamato YF-19 so far. Reminds me of a YF-19 if Max got his hands on it.