Valkyrie

I posted about it in the Yukikaze Thread a few days ago, actually. I included links to a bunch of pics of it, so check it out I should be getting my kit today or tomorrow. I'm quite anxiousto get my hands on it

It's out! It's finally out!! I'll soon have my 1/72 FA-2 Fand 2!! After repeated delays, and a good 16 months since the last 1/72 Yukikaze release, Platz delives once again (better late than never) with another of their great kits. Here's about all the pics and info I can find on it so far Hobby Seatch - Lots of pics of parts and instructions HpbbyLink Japan - Great finished model pics Platz Homepage - More finished pics and some awesome CG profile views (click the pic) I was really hoping for a good cockpit in this one, but it looks like I'm in for more of the same... From what I can tell, it's another solid, clear resin cockpit, with no interior detail, just like the Supersylph had. At least the Mave's cockpit was a step forward... So I'm a bit disapointed in that respect, but it looks like the sculpt quality and esquisite detail alone will make it worth the money for me once again. I just told HLJ to ship it to me (via EMS, of course), so I'm quite anxious to get it Also, Hobby Search has pre-orders for a bunch of pre-painted 1/144 Yukikaze kits... With pics, finally! These things have been delayed for literally a year now, so I'm very happy to see that they're finally going to see the light of day. Among them are a few variants I've never heard of, including a Mave with dummy missiles (seen in episode 2), another Mave with the new engines (seen in episode 4), and the TS-X1 version of the Rafe (also seen in episode 2). However, still nothing on the FFR-31 Normal Sylph, which is the one I really want! Have a look at em all here!

The commercials were on the original laserdisc and vhs releases of volume 1, and nowhere else, as far as I know. They were removed from the LD box release, and I think from the DVDs also. And in case you're wondering, the commercials were for two Bandai toys. Little Lady Club (a series of dolls), and Ichi Nitto San (a kid's knitting machine).

Episode 1 was shown by pay-per-view prior to its DVD release. It's not an extremely uncommon practice, actually. Yukikaze has also been doing it. Though usually about 2 weeks before the DVD release, not 2 months like they did with Top 2... I presume they do it to try and get the otaku over there to pay for the same thing twice. They'll pay $5 or $10 or whatever to see it over PPV, then buy the DVD for $50 a couple weeks later to get a better quality copy, with none of the scrolling advertisements that the PPV version has.

I have a pic of one of the cels from that scene saved somewhere... but I can't seem to find it. But that valk is indeed in Kakizaki's Skull Squadron colors. And for what it's worth, both the colors and the skull on the booster are quite clear in my CAV laserdisc box version of the movie

Actually, that's not true. The only thing ガンバスター definitively means is ganbasutaa. Any word written in katakana is nothing more than a series of sounds from the japanese syllabary, strung together to aproximate the pronunciation of a foreign word. So the meaning of katakana words can be a bit subjective. And you can rarely trust Babblefish translations of them For example, while スター (sutaa) written on its own could mean 'star', that same スター could form the '-ster' in 'Gunbuster". Same characters, same sounds, different meanings. So in the end, it's all about context. What's Gamba Star mean in relation to Top wo Nerae?

I wanted to like it, to some small degree, at least... but even that's pretty damn hard for me at this point. I think what bugged me the most was that they made little effort to tie it to the original series. If it wasn't for the title and the Gunbuster theme as the Dix-Neuf made its grand entrance, you never would have known it's a Gunbuster sequel. They never even mentioned what year it takes place in, leaving you guessing even more as to what's happened since the end of the first series. Hopefully the backstory will be filled in with the upcoming episodes though... But what bugs me most of all is the Buster Machine design. It definitely looks really weird and all, but it was animated really well, and it even looked kinda cool in action. So I might have been able to actually grow to like it. That is, if only it wasn't so Eva-ish. The similarities are pretty uncanny, if you ask me. The Dix-Neuf is like a transformable, and slightly more user-friendly version of an Eva. I suppose you could call it another of the anime references Gainax is throwing into Gunbuster 2... But I'm finding it odd that all of the references I've been seeing are ALL Gainax shows. In the first series, it was all over the board. They threw in references from EVERYWHERE. From scenes straight out of shoujo anime (Aim for the Ace), to scenes mimicking cheesy live action SF movie SFX, to real-world stuff that really made no sense (like the train conductor's controls inside the Buster Machines). And even the Gunbuster itself seems to be a parody of many, many old Super Robot designs. Especially in how the transformation/combination is obviously impossible, even though they showed you EXACTLY how it happens There were a few Gainax refernces in the original, but they were all little stuff. The names of ships from Nadia (Exelion and Eltreum) are the only ones that come to mind. Nothing nearly as overbearing as the FLCL and Eva references we saw in Top 2. So it seems like the many of the anime referances and in-jokes they're using this time are quite uninspired compared to the original. Unless we're all missing something here. But in any case, I'll keep watching... and keep praying that Top 2 does at least some justice to the original...

Where did you hear March (or may) for the episode 5 release date? I've been looking for a while now, and I haven't heard a thing about it... But man, that'd really suck if it really is March... That's a full year between the release of the last two volumes!

I think you'd be better off using Yellow Sumbarine's joints, not Wave or Kotobukiya's. They both tend to be a little loose. Yellow Sub's joints are nice and stiff, and they'll stay that way pretty much forever http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?YLS40101

I have pics of #11 and #14 in that series, which the MW page is currently missing. So I know those exist. But I haven't been able to confirm the existance of any kits above #18. That ad is quite interesting... I've never seen it before. They got the pictures of the Sound Boosters all mixed up, but the numbers and the text are right. But #19, the upcoming (at the time) 1/100 VF-19 Kai Sound Booster.... very interesting indeed! That would be for Bandai's 1/100 variable model. It would be cool if it exists... but I doubt it does

Here's a pic of the VF-11C version. And I don't think I want to sell it. I actually want to build it one of these days

Retppu's Macross Plus VF-11 kits that Carl has don't say VF-11B, but that's what they are. I have the Macross 7 VF-11C version of the battroid kit, and that version does use the variant letter in its name. About the only differences in the two kits are the different gunpods, and slightly different booster packs. Both of the battroids are excelent kits. But from what I can tell, Club-M made a better fighter mode version. Also, I couldn't find anything more on the Switchblade kit, but I did grab these offa yahoo japan a couple years ago... A different 1/72 YF-19 variable kit... with FAST Packs! I never did find out who made it though.... Edit: D'oh! I completely missed Carl's post of the same kit

I've been trying to confirm the existance (or nonexistance) of the Wave 1/72 VF-22S for a while now... and that HLJ page is still about all I have to go on But it does provide one good hint; It's item code, MC-16. A while back, I tried to put together a list of all the Wave Macross kits, and the 1/72 VF-22 filled in one of the last few holes in the item codes (which ended at MC-21). I ended up with two other holes, MC-14 and MC-19, but I believe one of them is the limited YF-21 with FAST Packs. I never could confirm the item code of that kit. But anyway... in all my many days of scouring Yahoo Japan Auctions, I've never seen a 1/72 VF-22S kit. But the search shall continue...

Hey, good idea, Chris! Here's a few that you missed, off the top of my head... IHP 1/72 variable VF-4 Retpuu 1/72 VF-11B Fighter Retpuu 1/72 VF-11B Battroid Retpuu 1/72 VF-11C Battroid Karakorum Creations 1/72 Zentradi Fighter Pod Hasegawa upgrades: IHP VF-1 Variable conversion 1/72 VF-1 Launch Arm 1/72 Fold Booster Trans Factory 1/72 VF-19 Sound Booster Misc WonderFest kits: 1/72 Ghost X-9 1/72 Ghost X-9 with FAST Packs 1/72 Destroid Phalanx Switch Blade 1/72 variable YF-19 And also, the Musasiya VF-4 isn't the VF-4G. It's just a VF-4

By the way... if any of you Gunbuster fans happen to be able to translate japanese... I've got all of the Fim Comics and Comic Gunbuster books, and they have TONS of manga stories (many taking place after the episode 6), text stories, background information, and design works. And I'm dying to do 'scanlations' of them If anyone can help me by doing translations, please PM me. You'll have the undying gratitude of countless Gunbuster fans

I guess you missed the recast of the Club-M version. I can't believe you guys wouldn't rather see something original that's never been done before in 1/72 rather than a "nicer" version of something that's already out. Actually, the Club-M kit was of the final version of the VF-4, the VF-4G, which appeared in VF-X. And there WAS a 1/72 resin kit of the Flashback version too. Musasiya made it, and it's a really good kit! I've got a recast of it, but I'm still trying to find an original... But about the next project... A GBP would be cool, but I'd hold off on it for a while. There's still a chance that Hasegawa will make one. And I voted for the VF-17 too. I've always wanted a large scale fighter mode VF-17 kit!

Heh! Ok, glad to hear it

If you truely feel that way, then I suggest you go out and buy yourself the Bandai HG version instead. I do hope you are kidding. But if that's not the case... Did you make any attempt to understand exactly what it was you were buying? I mean, does anyone really think "pre-colored and snap-fit" when they hear the words "resin-cast garage kit"? And hell, even the base Hasgawa kit would need to be glued and painted....

Well, the Monster project is winding down, and I'm hoping to have it finished in about a month. So it's about time I picked a winner so i can get going on the packaging end of the project So, without further ado, the winner is... VF-22Red! I've decided to go with this design of his: Original Design And here's VF-22's revised version, with the layout changed a bit to match my box size. It won't be the final version though, as I'll probably be asking for some minor changes to be made. I wanted to host the images on my own webspace to spare Shawn's bandwidth, but I had some problems with the revised version, which was sent to me in PDF format. It seems Comcast won't accept PDF uploads, so I had to compress it and upload it as a ZIP file But here it is: Revised Design (Zipped PDF) Congrats to VF-22Red, and thanks to everyone who entered!

Er... how could HG dictate Bandai's actions? Japan is the one country where HG has NO control over Macross merchandising. I'm more inclined to believe that Bandai limited the production numbers of the Max and Milia valks becuase the Hikaru, Roy, and Cannon Fodder versions that came before them sold so poorly. Bandai saw that they over-produced them quite a bit, and wasn't willing to risk further losses on the M&M valks. So they ended up producing much fewer of them. And aparently even they didn't sell well enough to convince Bandi to do a second production run of them.

A color version of episode 6?? Why?! And... how?! The cels were painted and black and white!!

I don't know about the BGM, cause I haven't watched it in years... but I've got the Manga tapes and volume 6 of the japanese version on laserdisc. All I can tell you off the top of my head is that the opening theme is the same on both.

Thanks anyway, but I actually got my hands on some PE diamond plate already

Alright, got a bit of good news for you all I just got a package in the mai a couple hours ago. The same guy who loaned me the Monster kit was kind enough to also loan me his white, IHP version of the same kit, at my request. He won it on yahoo japan a few months ago, and when he got it, he mentioned to me that the casting quality on it were MUCH better than the green kit. That was a bit frustrating to me, since I had already spent a lot of time and money making molds of the green kit at that point. But, after posting last week's update, I got an idea that, honestly, I should have thought of a lot sooner... The way I've been going, I'd have had to make a whole new set of molds when I was done doing all the cleanup on the parts (and I'd still have a long ways to go there). So I got to thinking that if the white kit is as high quality as he says... I could just scrap my progress recasting the green kit, do a straight recast of the white kit, and I'd be done! No more parts cleanup needed, and no more moldmaking than I would have had to do with the original plan! So I proposed the idea to the owner, and he accepted my proposal. And now I've got the white kit in my posession. Will it be as easy as I had hoped? Well, no. But it'll still make this project move along a hell of a lot faster! The castings are indeed much better than on the green kit. The two kits were actually cast from the same set of molds. But the green ones were cast after the white ones, and the molds had become quite worn out at that point. The green kit was missing a good 80% or so of its screwholes, because those parts of the molds had been torn away. The white kit is also missing a few, but not nearly as many as the green one. Aside from a few (and I mean very few) damaged screw holes, the white kit is really, really, good, aside from a few damaged nozzles on the nose. So I'm still stuck repairing all those. So anyway, here's what's gonna be happening. As soon as I finish scraping up a bit of cash for another round of resin and mold rubber, I'm going to be starting on molding pretty much the entire white kit. I'll be substituting in my cleaned-up casts from the green kit whevever possible, and doing whatever I have to do to fix up the overly damaged pieces (mainly those damn nozzles). One downside this new plan has, though, is that the final kits will need a bit more cleanup, becuase the original kits have a lot of pour stubs on them, and I won't be able to get rid of most of them now. Not a big deal really, as they're easy enough to cut off And now, the bottom line. I think this new plan is going to work for everyone, as it'll get done a lot faster (I'm guessing it'll take less than 2 months), getting you your kits quicker, and giving me more time to work on other projects sooner. Plus, they'll be cheaper! Less work for me equals more savings for you I'm guessing they'll be around $200, rather than the originally planned $250 I'll try to get some comparison pics up later tonight

So, you can't see a link between easily available recasts and a company no longer being viable and no longer holding a licence? I certainly can. Actually, when the the VF-1 recasts started surfacing, Club-M was already pretty much dead. Plus, the Hasegawa valks were already out at that point, so a re-release of the resin kits would be unprofitable to say the least (even the cheap recasts didn't sell particularly well, from what I could tell) I'm not saying that recasts didn't hurt Club-M. I'm sure they did, to some degree. But I highly doubt it's as clear-cut as you assume it is. But the fact is, there are no more major companies in Japan making Macross resin kits any more. None. Club-M's gone, Yellow Submarine let their liscense expire (they had a Macross kit fire sale in their shops last year), and even Stufio Half-Eye seems to have abandoned us (and you can't blame that last one on recasts ) The only new garage kits are coming from small groups selling their kits at WonderFest. And even those are none too frequent these days. But very few of those have been recast either, so again, no excuse