the_foul_fowl

I'll be picking up a box (12 pcs, random) too when I drop by Tokyo next week. I agree with Graham, the little things have started to grow on me. The selection of valks in Set 2 feels better than Set 1 too. I just hope there's VF-25 Tornado in every box!

No, actually, the Guntank I'm waiting for is this: Mass Production Guntank: http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/08thmsteam/rx-75.htm Love how much more utilitarian and less-super-robotish it looks.

Yay! I'm glad I waited and stopped myself from getting the VF-11B. The 11C Looks gorgeous! Estimated shipping date... November, as stated. That's fast!

Count me in as one of the newly converted. I only recently completed M7 a couple of months ago, but one of the best things about M7 was the music. Heck, even Planet Dance, though played ad nauseum in the first few episodes, grew on me too. Picked up Ultra Fire during my recent trip to Tokyo as a 'best of' compilation. Eh, I see lots of mentions of Fukuyama Fire. Issit good? I was under the impression that it was a compilation of his previous songs. There're a lot of 'Fire' CDs, don't really know which are the good ones. Actually, this was mentioned on the MF thread months ago, but I think a May'NxFukuyama album would rock. Their performance of 'Totsugeki love heart' was great... FairyxFire anyone?

In the pic from HJ, it says that the facemask ("face shutter") is removeable/replaceable, can't make out the rest of the kanji clearly, but it's a good option for those who like their valks mouthless. Having seen th Fire Valk up close earlier this month at C3, I think 7000 yen is reasonable for it. Size wise, it compares well to the Yamato's VF-1. I think all that remains is to see more shots of the fire valk in fighter mode, since Battroid seems to be done pretty well. Another plus (or minus, depending on how you see it) is the glossy coating on the fire valk. It does make it stand out, but could be potentially prone to scratches.

Seconded. Other possibilities can be the flight deck (with moveable blast shields) or hangar deck (with repair/equipment cranes). Doesn't have to be too big, about the size of the current 1/60 boxes could do nicely. Then include the appropriate accessories like weapons, racks, ladders to simulate launch or maintenance. Can a Regult be considered a peripheral?

I voted VF-0D. It's a pretty bird, and'll finally round up the M0 line. My second vote would be VF-17, in the hope that it'll also lead eventually to a VF-171. Lotsa things you can do with the mold.

It must be... Miria's VF-1 from M7! j/k

Argh, when this topic came out, I thought it was to announce that ADoD was DONE! If each book is supposed to be one TV season, then it's gonna be a long time before it'll ever be completed, since there're supposed to be 7 books, and we're only up to the 4th book, with what looks like a minimum of 4 years between each book... Still, the cast looks good, but I hope the TV adaptation is well structured. As much as I think ASoIaF is THE fantasy series today, the large number of characters and locales can be quite confusing even as a novel, and could be a huge problem for the TV show...

A-W-E-S-O-M-E! So excited, and I just bought Ultra Fire in Akiba too... hehe, hope I can have it autographed! Although, I heard that this time round, the performance won't be in an open area a la AFA08, but will be closed up, so you really have to pay for ticket upgrades to watch the performances. Still unconfirmed though, so don't quote me BOMBA!

Is anyone else having problems logging in to LAFtoys.com? I placed an order last Saturday, but can't seem to be able to log in to check my order status. Sent a couple of emails too but no reply. Wondering if Carlos is having some problem with his server?

I remember Great Mechanics DX being mentioned a few months back in one of the threads, but can't seem to find a dedicated thread for it. Thought it would be good to do so since the mook has Macross content occasionally. That said, has anyone seen the latest issue, DX9? What's interesting is that the feature of this issue is the development of variable fighters from MacZero to Frontier. Wonder if this is worth picking up... In previous issues of Great Mechanics with macross content, were they relatively unique to it, or are they just re-prints of info from other sources?

(continued from here ) Here's the booth for the MF Movie Unfortunately, no booth babes. Just have to make do with the standees Well, that's it for this short trip report of all things macross. Hope you enjoyed the photos. It was a heckuva experience being at an authentic Japanese hobby show, from the queuing for exclusives, to the gathering of fandom. I didn't take pics, but Macross Ultimate Frontier was available for play, the LuckyStarxMF protos were out, and there was even a Nyan Nyan box with frozen soba... Hope to be able to go for the next one!

(continued from here ) The YF-25 was displayed in all three modes. Note the 'Prophecy' decal. Didn't take photos of the entire kit since it's pretty much same as the rest. I focus on the head in the next two shots though I like the asymmetry of the head. And the bulbous visor reminds me of Lazyner. Next: MF Movie booth

(continued from here ) Took a single shot of Alto cos I think there're lots of photos floating around. Very nice matt finish. I wonder if the control pod will have more detail though. Next: From cabaret to prophecy

(continued from here ) The Robot damashii Q-rea was on display at C3. Very menacing. Also note the ball and joint on the lower arm, elbow AND shoulder. I bet its poseability will be amazing. Front shot. Again note the ball jointed hips, and ankles =) Group shot with the other announced VF-25. While the VF-25 looks kinda dorky, the Q-rea looks like it'll beat the crap out of anything. Next: Alto

(continued from here ) Right, Macross Quarter. There seems to two color version of the quarter. The darker one we're all familiar with (in the background), and this lighter one. I wonder if this is the Movie color and the darker one is the 'Real' color. I think I prefer the lighter colored one though, brings out the details more. The darker macross quarter... As we all know, the Quarter will come with in-scale VF-25, Konig Monster and Vajra. But you're really gotta to see it appreciate how tiny they are. They're about the size of your thumbnail! If you look closely (sorry for the blurred pictures, it's an old Canon A620 ), there's actually quite a fair bit of sculpted detail especially on the Vajra and Konig Monster. At first I was disappointed that these didn't look like they would be painted. Then again, given how small they are, I think it would be something short of a miracle if they were painted well and the paint didn't leak all over, so having it unpainted might not be a bad thing after all. Next, close-in shots of the Quarter herself: Somehow, this shot reminds me a lot of the Gundam ships, especially the White Ship and its derivatives When I reviewed this picture, I was wondering where the lower torso went. It really does look like it got chopped at the waist! All in though, when viewed in person, the Quarter just has presence, even next to the Armoured Alto VF-25. I'd start saving up for this pronto. Next: Q-rea goodness!

Today, I visited C3, since I'm stopping over in Tokyo for a few days. Took a few pictures of some of the upcoming macross items at more unusual angles so that it'll give everyone a hopefully better idea of the product. Instead of opening up a new thread, I'm just gonna split up the photos and comments into the relevant threads. First off, Basara's VF100 VF-19S: Size comparison to the Family Mart VF-25 repaint. There's been a lot of comments on whether the 'gullet' of the VF-19 is too large. I don't know how lineart accurate this is, but it's really not too bad. Note the part which fell open under the cockpit. The next few pictures may have inadvertently emphasized the gullet due to the angle. In this shot I tried to go as low as possible to have a better look at the underside. The hollow part behind the gullet looks a bit weird, perhaps due to the need to put on a stand? Also, note no gunpod shown while on the stand. That said though, I think the VF-19S looks fabulous in person. There's a slightly gloss overcoat which really makes it stand out. And it actually looks really good next to the VF-25. Here's the queue for the Bandai C3 exclusives. Picked up the special coating VF-25 Ozma and Alto, Ozma's coating looks especially good. It's too bad that the sheryl stand only came with Alto, else I'd have skipped alto Next up... the quarter pounder

Oooh, someone else who appreciates V Gundam? I've always thought that V Gundam is under-appreciated in the fandom. It gets grim (Shrikes anyone?) yet I find the sacrifices make it all the more epic. One my favourite Gundam series. Ends well too. Too bad the Victory Gundam never got any MG love. I would have thought that with the advent of the smaller MGs (F91, Crossbones) that Vic would be the logical next step... oh well...

How do the DRYL Strike/Super packs or TV Super packs look on the CF VF-1A? I'm thinking that the darker DRYL packs would look better on it due to the darker brown, kinda like how the TV Super looks good on the CF1J due to the lighter shade.

My advice would be to go for either the 8th MS Team (12 ep OVA), which is about the actions of a small mecha unit set against the backdrop of the larger Zeonic ground invasion, or 0080:War in the Pocket (3 ep OVA), a rather intense story of a boy who befriends a member of a Zeonic infiltration team. Both don't require you to know that much about the history of UC or Char/Amuro. Some would recommend Stardust Memory, but I can't stand the whiny-ness of Shin, the main protagonist. Though, the mecha designs, which Kawamori had a hand in, are pretty awesome.

Just browsing through my copy of #27. In the mecha development timeline for the VF-19, it states that the YF-24 is the direct successor to the VF-19. Anyway, I hope somewhere along the line we have more info on the YF-24, looks like an interesting delta-wingvalk. =)

PSN: the_foul_fowl A few mths back, I asked which was better: Resistance2 or Killzone2. Got both, and I gotta say, KZ2 is loads more fun than R2 IMO. The single player campaign is intense, and I prefer the grittier feel of the graphics and the inertia movement has. I'm also still having loads of fun with KZ2's multiplayer, pretty much playing a game or two every night. Any MW clan? Anyone ever noticed that the standard Helghan trooper looks so much like the Protect Gear?

Yup, there was a preview/hands-on on eurogamer a couple of weeks back: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/il-2-stu...f-prey-hands-on The preview is quite positive, lovely graphics and high level of realism! Hoping a demo comes out on the PS3 too.

Interesting. I recently completed M7, one to two eps per day while on the train home. A couple of years ago, I watched the first ep, couldn't accept the premise and couldn't go on, so I can understand why many people give up after the first few eps. But I think the key to enjoying M7 is not to take it too seriously and just have fun with the show. Music is awesome, I think Mylene is the cutest Macross babe, and Gamlin rocks. I'll take any M7 valk anytime, even Mylene's VF-11Boobfighter er VF-11MAXL Would love to re-create Operation Stargazer when you had a ragtag bunch of varied fighters sortie-ing!