Major Focker

thanks. just luck, really. i went there because i was craving for prawn noodles i suppose it's an indication of how small singapore is, or perhaps how organized/compartmentalized things are. i just mention weekend market, and it's about a toy, and everyone simply puts the two together and know exactly where it is!

thank you to those who chimed in. it's comforting to know i didn't get KO'd. guess this is one of those cases where i should've trusted instinct over logic. hope i bump into the vendor again so i'll get a VT-1. i hesitated getting the whole lot mainly because i wasn't comfortable with the possibility of misrepresenting the authenticity of the item if i resold them. not worth getting a bad rep for.

argh, i checked the falcon website last saturday and they didn't have it. i just happened to walk into Latendo at Funan ogling the merchandise, and just blurted out VF-171 when a store helper asked if i was looking for anything. to my surprise he started flipping the pre-order catalog and there it was. anyway, Funan is much closer to my place, so i guess i'll just chalk up the difference to cab fare..

for members in SG, Latendo still has pre-order open, albeit SGD260. i placed an order, but to be honest, i'd rather trade it for a YF-29

i say, keep 'em coming!

need some opinions on this one. found a VE-1 v2 at a weekend market for $100. yes, a hundred bucks. as you can imagine, it immediately set off alarm bells in my head. i started inspecting it and the box was in very good condition. seller even took it out of the box so i could take a better look, albeit he stopped short of removing the plastic inner case. from what i could see the toy plastic didn't look cheap, details were sharp, and i could make out some tampo printing which also registered well. in short, nothing that screams knock-off. while i was doing the inspection, the guy was rattling off "just arrived from japan", "brand new", "cheaper than store price", etc. i was skeptical so i said i'll come back after a visit to the ATM, and he set aside the item for me. i started mulling it over and hit up HLJ on my phone desperately trying to find something that would confirm whether it was a fake or not. in the end i couldn't get anything definitive except that it should have cost at least twice. some of the things that threw me off, or at least initially: - no viewing window. but then the VF-22S and other re-issues didn't have box windows either - the Macross Big West sticker wasn't hologram, which i seem to recall it should be. but later when i got home, it turns out the sticker on my other macross toys (bought from HLJ) only had the letters printed with a dull, metallic sheen. - the orange nose seemed a touch paler than the HLJ pics - looking at the box again, some of the japanese characters seemed a bit soft, and some started looking chinese. or it could just be my mind playing tricks on me. when i first saw the box they looked perfectly authentic when i got back, the guy had the box in a plastic bag. i flashed my money and told him i was going to buy it anyway so he might as well tell me if it's fake or not. he started saying that his friend was "clearing out stock", "getting out of toy business", "baby on the way", and assured me the item was "100% original" and "brand new". at home, it quickly became obvious it wasn't new: - the inner plastic casings weren't taped together - there was only one loose piece of plastic on top of the plane. usually, one would find light plastic wrapped around the wings, nose, fins - and as you can see in the pics, visible dust on the feet and lerx so at least i knew he was lying about something ie. item is clearly not brand new. but other than that, i couldn't spot anything that would tell me it was a fake. the dust was strangely comforting. it tells me it was actually from someone else's collection, rather than the other scenario in my head which was that the Chinese factories Yamato was using did some unauthorized production runs. right now, i'm thinking it is legit after all, but appreciate hearing from other folks here who also have this bird, to point out any discrepancies from the pics below. i'm not after affirmation just for the sake of it. he also had a VT-1 which i passed on, despite also looking authentic. so i plan to catch him again next weekend. and for other folks who are interested, he actually had 3 VE-1 (well, down to 2 now), and 2 VT-1. happy to pick up the spares for other members but as i'm sure you can appreciate, i cannot vouch for the authenticity or if it's brand new. also, i can't guarantee the price, when i came back, the other boxes now had small stickers saying $200. fortunately for me, my stern stare reminded him of the price he originally quoted me

ah, yes that's it! actually it's square+X, but triangle+circle is also a cool variation. thanks. now i can't believe how ridiculously overpowered these 2 moves are, specially considering how easy they are to pull off.

it's different from the quicktime movies when you finish off a boss or big mech. no onscreen button prompts. in this clip , the move is done a lot starting at 0:15, and at 0:26 it's done to an enemy which just arrived at the scene and had full health. i'm already on the last mission, but regardless, i'd love to know how it's done. is it one of the saber combos or a parry and counterattack? thanks

just started playing ST: Force Unleashed 2 last night (i know. late to the party. very.) watching walkthrough videos i frequently see this move, usually against the saber-wielding sith acolytes. it starts with a saber strike (which seems to break through guard/block), triggering a cinematic showing you turning your back to the opponent and then stabbing backwards to impale the enemy, then hurling him away. in most cases it seems like instant kill. i can't figure out how to do this move, so hope someone here might be able to explain to me. also, exactly how does one do a parry and counter-attack? i do well enough on Assassin's Creed but can't seem to pull it off in STFU2. any tips appreciated. thanks

i bet that's the same YF-29 i saw when i visited HK last month. it was the only one in all of mongkok. asking price was HK$3280 including super parts

got excited when i saw the thread title, then confused when i saw the pics, until i noticed it was Nothung 2. was hoping it was the VF-19ACTIVE NOTHUNG

just won an Orleans Sheryl on yahoo japan auctions for 6500yen. probably works out to 8000yen max when i factor in the proxy service commission and intra-japan shipping. from early auctions last weekend asking 10k, prices seems to have bottomed out at 7k (i was probably lucky because the one i bid on ended midnight in japan) and are picking up again towards 8k. those who want one, better get in now.

thanks!

that looks awesome! would like to know from where it is too

you said it

not to mention that there was much, much tighter integration of the music while all this awesomeness was happening - foreboding intro of Northern Cross was perfect for the start of the counter assault. add in Alto doing his Isamu and Sheryl striking those poses and it's a recipe for goosebummps - Northern Cross also felt right as the backdrop when Luca was unleashing the Ghosts - Diamond Crevasse transitioning to instrumental when the Vajra shielded the Frontier - the pause in the music when Galaxy shot at Frontier was genius. the silence amplifies the suspense of the VB-6 scene - What 'bout my Star/ Lion surging back as the Quarter swooped in - drawn out Lion chorus end as Alto was making a charge and everybody else going Rambo, then transitioning to down tempo with fragments of Oboete Imasu Ka as Alto was recalling Michel - Sheryl reaching a non-lyrical crescendo mixed in with the repeating phrase from Oboete when Hikaru was making his final run. the Oboete lyrics ("I am no longer alone") relevant to the dialogue between Grace and Alto/Brera - Sheryl and Ranka coming back together on the final Lion chorus when Alto/Brera made their breakthrough i haven't seen this last episode since probably more than a year ago, yet i can recall nearly every moment of it. in contrast, not one scene in the MF movies has stayed with me despite having seen them more recently and also multiple viewings. at times, the music just felt slapped on, the concert scenes were basically just MTVs which had no particular significance to the plot, and i can't recall a defining moment when the music and imagery really came together

i second that. been hearing about haruhi for years. no idea what the fuss was about. thought it was just one of those school/slice of life shows. chanced upon it on animax and sat through an episode thinking that it might be like K-On (which i enjoyed, unexpectedly i might add). i was so wrong.

or a video. would really appreciate it, as i'm sure others will

just watched it. i guess i'll be part of the minority that prefers the series over the movies. and i usually prefer OVAs. will rewatch both movies this weekend to see if i can appreciate them more. some quick comments: - i liked the triangle resolution. it wasn't exactly original and yes it was bittersweet, but it felt fitting - songs are far weaker and don't mesh well with the action. the singular exception was the Northern Cross acapella - i usually get goosebumps from musical scores. quite a few moments of that in the series, a couple in the first movie, none in this second outing. is it still YK doing the score? - two concert scenes with a full song duration and nothing/very little else happening in parallel. nice visuals, but what a waste of story telling time. concerts were much better integrated in the series. ironic considering the movie was more time constrained and yet chose to do full MTVs. - the Alcatraz concert is probably the cookiest breakout i've ever seen, but i appreciate it as an homage of sorts, and at least it was advancing the plot rather than just eye candy - other nods to previous series and other anime were done well. particularly like the DYRL ones ie. stand-off missile attack and hard brake to gerwalk to break formation and engage - appreciated the added depth to some characters. worked for grace, ranka to some extent, but i'm still confounded with Brera's. liked the additional layers to sheryl and that she's actually not as innocent, but can someone please explain to me what was her motivation for going along with the galaxy plan? she knows she's being used but what was their leverage? or what part of that plan would actually give her cause?

and i thought it was about an old anime also called "Windaria"

i thought the only difference between the normal hybrid pack and complete set are the script books, art cards etc.. so is there additional content on-disc in the limited edition that is not in the standard normal BD?

there are 1/3000 VF-1

had a close call with this one. just when i've decided to pull trigger after reading the recent feedback, HLJ account maintenance went offline for nearly the whole morning. when it came back on alto's VF-25 was already discontinued but i asked for all my orders to be shipped anyway. anxiously waited the rest of the day and now finally i got confirmation that it was included in my shipment. phew!

i'm still having the same problem with the board reverting to barebones as soon as i log in (see my earlier post). this time i cleaned all bookmarks associated with MW, all cache, cookies etc. using CCleaner, and even rebooted my modem and router for good measure. and still no change. also tried accessing from my other laptop and it's the same weird thing. could this be something from my ISP end? anyone else in singapore using starhub having the same problem? this is driving me nuts! help?

this gave me goosebumps! can't wait for mine to arrive