T.V.

Yeah, the Ghost booster is rather WTF. I doubt that the extra thrust of the engine would justify the added weight and drag... That said, there is sort off a historic precedent for the configuration, if not the intended function. Mistel - Composite Aircraft

LEGO-en.. dat was nog eens een tijd! I used to make LEGO Transformers, transformable of course, because my parents didn't want to buy me an Optimus Prime, Starscream or Bumblebee.

Nah.. It's more a case of prefering the line-art towards Yamato's version, I reckon, since Hasagawa's models tend to stay closer to the line art by virtue of it not having to transform. LEGO VFs... I need to get to my parent's place and get back my youth's supply of LEGOs.

D'OH! Should've checked...

That's pretty much it. The configuration - nose engine bays, wing surfaces - really remind you of the planform of the Hornet, but certain visual clues point towards the Flanker (and other typical soviet/russian designs), such as the IRST, canopy, shape of the nose, LERXs, cannon muzzles, and the nose landing gear. Also, at certain angles it has a similar swooping look as the Flanker. I'd say the Yamato version edges slighty towards the MiG-29, being more stout and all.

Just a quick video plug. What do you do when your F-15 loses an entire wing in a mid-air collision? It's easy, you just land...

I'm not talking about diecast metal, which is a lot more doable costwise, but machined aluminium. Aluminium is much more expensive than diecast grade steel. However, the biggest kicker is the machining process. Machining is an expensive method to shape materials. The casting process costs only a tiny fraction of that. I probably jumped on it in a too litteral context though, but I just wanted to make that clear.

Just plane crazy. I did study aerospace engineering for a few years, but that amounted to nothing. I switched to industrial design, which suits me much better. Regardless, I've always had a fondness for aircraft since my early childhood, especially military aircraft. You're confusing them with the russian R-33 Amos missles, which the SV-51 canonically is associated with. They're actually more or less the russian equivalent of the AIM-54 Phoenix, and are carried by the MiG-31. Note that the SV-51 carries the fictional R-33D Amos+ variant, which apparently looks more like a Phoenix, due to the revised fin layout.

I don't any Yammies yet - planning on getting a VF-0 and SV-51 though - so I can't comment on their (lack of) durability, but this is a rediculous request. The materials they use, ABS, POM, etc., are all relatively cheap materials to process. If you'd use machined aluminium the prices of the toys would skyrocket well beyond the $500 mark, perhaps above $1000, with current production numbers in mind. When they're expect to sell even less toys, the developement and production cost needs to be spread over even smaller volumes, meaning yet another price hike. The production costs would simply be too high for the toys to remain marketable. What seems to be the problem is that the material on some parts is too brittle for 'heavy' usage. You could make the plastics less brittle with using a different mold tempering process, but then you'd loose some strength and gain elasticity and plasticity. It's the complexity of the toys themselves that are the biggest problem, I reckon. A lot of mass needs to be held together with comparatively little components.

Probably vortex or shockwave inducers. (See QSP and Aerospike) Helps the forward swept canards cope better with transonic and supersonic speeds. I don't think they're mass balancers, because that would exaggerate the divergence rate on forward swept aerodynamic surfaces, making flutter a bigger problem than it already is. Ultimately it could simply be a stylistic element from Kawamori's side, though. Nice work on the comparison image, Dobber. Really shows that the Yamato version has a comparatively beefed up fuselage and less pronounced spine.

You could argue that they've captured the sole of the character though...

It's more of an optical illusion than anything. The LERX in combination with the straight intake creates it, while it is enforced by the high set shins and spine.

I think it's a design feature rather than due to the apparent floppyness of the mold. It may look like it sags in the middle, but the CAD design could simply be that way. The shins are more pronounced, possibly to give enough roon for the LG and moving TVC nozzles/feet, and the nose doesn't feature the same amount of droop, also to possibly improve the waist/torso transformation geometry. On the sides, from the LERXes down to the empenage, the mold doesn't seem to display a distinct bend. I'm looking forward what Graham has to say about it.

True. I'm not advocating a series that doesn't feature any VF's though. Being a bit more destroid oriented simply adds some flavour, provided it's well written and directed. Isn't really a suggestion for a main series, if we ever get a new one, though. As I said, more for something like an OVA exclusive offshoot. There's always the retro-active approach. So.. how about a new triangle. VF pilot - Destroid operator - civilian musical artist.

Seems like an obvious marketing shoe-in... LMAO! The figures are wearing themselves!

Looks good sofar! Ah.. I see they made the intake section and thighs squarer than the lineart suggest. Probably done to give the thighs enough beef and make the hip section strong enough. They've also 'cheated' with the guns. They don't align with the muzzle covers on the thighs any more, but are simply set to the inner walls of the intakes. He ain't shooting nothing but the intake to pieces in fighter and gerwalk mode! Also, the relatively long heatshield/fan disks cover really shows itself in battroid mode. Where does the front LG go? Does it overextend and fold backwards to the onderside of the cockpit? Questions, questions... I'm impressed though, with what Yamato manages to do, even though it's probably a painted resin mock up.

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb....c;f=36;t=004233 Couldn't find it on a short notice on the IDW boards. There it is in higher detail with Su commenting it being a Macross hommage.

The movie transformations are fairly realistic though. While they resort to elastic shell components, as if they're made out of different kind of piëzo-electric materials rather than plain ol' steel, they don't cheat with the geometry of the transformations. The designs are simply too complex to be able to capture well in a toy. The old G1 designs, by virtue of their simplicity, are a lot easier to recapture in newer designs than the ones of the movie. Now if the movie CGI design's transformation was decidedly less complex, then the toy would've had a bigger chance to remain more faithfull to the alt mode.

*chuckles* People.. it's just a show! I don't mind what Kawamori did with the VF-0, which is essentially a refined version of his VF-1. How couldn't he? 20 years on he isn't able to make a backwards design and feel good about it. I wouldn't, if only because it would make the currently designed mecha look even more dated than the VF-1 does today. Instead he designed the VF-0 to reasonably fit in the pre-existing continuity while still adhering to current and near future fighter developments.. just as he did 25 years ago with the development of the VF-1 for the anime.

Yep. Even though I really like the Valks, I think that the destroids haven't been used to their potential.

They're probably from the same anime... Elfenlied switches frequently between both styles.

The same with me. I'd hoped for better alt mode likeness this time around, but was dissapointed when in turned out not to be the case. Although, the seemingly good poseability does give him some redeeming qualities. I'm not a real fan of the humongous missle pods/arms under the wings. I'd hoped they'd be able to tuck his (fore)arms in the main weapons bay, just like the CGI will probably do.

Eh.. The underside of the Diaclone planes are about as "not true to life" as with F-22 Screamer... Which isn't really a defense for the movie version, but it just says that the diaclone planes weren't alt mode marvels either, with their split engines non characteristic cockpit canopy, underfuselage kibble and wheels at the wrong place. As much as I'm in wonder of EJ Su's skills, his Seekers aren't free of animation/comic magic. Especially in the chest, arm and hip department. I don't see that all being able to fit smoothly when it occupies pretty much the same space. He did do one fantastic drawing early on, with Starscream being in mid transform as an homage to Macross style plane-to-gerwalk landings.

How 'bout if they pulled an 08th MS Team and made a short OVA series about a destroid squad... Maybe playing up the elitist element of VF pilots vs the destroid grunts. Off topic: What I like about the Tomahawk and its derrivatives is that it represents the transition from FASA type walking tanks to fully, almost human-like, manoeuvrable battroids.

I don't agree with that notion. Just because Hollywood screws the pooch every so often, doesn't mean they aren't able to make decent adaptations now and then. I can't say that the X-men and Spider-man franchises have been boxoffice dissapointments or poor live-action adaptations. I welcome a live-action feature from GitS (and Macross for that matter) very much, simply because it's live action. As a viewing experience, it's simply a step up, by virtue of looking more lifelike/real. The translation from manga to anime doesn't always go as smooth as well. Especially when an anime tries to cover as much ground as the manga did, but simply can't due to the running time limitations. With any translation/adaptation, there's always a risk that it doesn't meet expectations. However, you can't judge what you haven't seen. Heck, a lot of people were convinced that Peter Jackson wasn't able to pull of LotR on the big screen, because the books were supposedly unadaptable.