captain america

400 bucks? HA! I'll do it for $500

Agreed. I don't see any tremendous similarities in the two designs. Toynami worked-over a 1/48 Imai model. About the only thing that may have been derived from my model was the prominent "elbow" shaped LEX, but then, this feature is in the original japanese animation model sheets, so as far as I'm concerned, it's fair game.

The background for the Glaug is an aluminium briefcase... Ain't it purdy?

Hi Pfunk. Nah, that's the 1/100 kit alright. Original imai release, whereas the 1/72 was made by Arii. Neither one is all that great, and I had to do a bit of a hatchet-job on this one to get it to look right... Namely increasing the size of the main pod/cockpit, and modify all the arm/leg joints.

One more.

Hi Gian. Here you go.

Hi Graham. Thanks for showing us the latest on the VF-0. A shame you may not be getting one to sample. I truly hope Yamato reconsiders; it's great free advertising for them. Considering that the toy is 1/100, the detail is actually quite good. I think that they can very easily minimize the hip/groin peg housings. Since I doubt that the intake covers come off, they can house a ball-joint inside the intake/hip itself, and delete the extended housing alltogether. If they're having teething troubles, tell them to give me a call, and I'll fix it I think this is just about the only real alteration the toy needs: the joint that allows the thigh to pivot foreward can't help but be that size; any smaller, and it would all-too-easily snap upon manipulation. Overall, I think it'll be a very welcomed product, and should sales figures permit, let us hope that a larger scale toy will find its way through the pipeline

I may have a solution to the problem of yellowing plastic: Castrol Super Clean is designed to, among other things, clean yellowed patio furniture and plastic microwave trim parts. Technically, this will probably work for the Valks as well, but the only thing I can't say for certain is whether this will also affect (damage) the painted surfaces. For those of you who have broken/spare valks, you can probably give this a try on the underside of one of the parts to see if it reacts. The best way to go about this is to dilute the Castrol Super Clean ( 16 parts water, 1 part Super Clean) and proceed to gently scrub the part with an old toothbrush. Rinse immediately, being sure to NOT let the solution dry on the plastic. Hopefully this would be a successful solution.

Actually, while we're on the topic of yellowing, here's a question for those of you who have multiple 1/48s. I recieved a brand new VF-1J Hikaru about 2 weeks ago, and one of my first impressions was that the light grey plastic seemed just a touch "warm" in hue. Now the problem is that this is my first and only 1/48 Valk for the time being *dodges tomatoes* so I don't have any other 1/48s to compare it to. I promptly took an old T-shirt and some rubbing alcohol and proceeded to wipe-down the toy, just in case the yellow was a result of an assembly line worker's dirty hands, but to my surprise, the cloth stayed clean. Essentially, Is the Hik 1J the same color plastic as the previous releases?

I've seen the Max Wantabe pre-shading technique discussed earlier in the thread, and I just wanted to say that there are better ways of creating a weathered look that is infinitely more realistic. All you really need are acrylic paints, a good airbrish, some chalk pastels ( cheap ones are great) and a few Q-tips. You simply paint & decal your model as normal. No pre-shading or nonsense of that sort necessary. Once you're done, apply a flat clear overcoat and let dry. Now the fun begins... You take your airbrush ( a very fine spraying ability is necessary) and spray a slightly darker or lighter shade of the base coat, but in small, carefully-controlled patchwork shapes. You must absolutely be using flat paints for this. Once these small patches are dry, take a black or brown stick of chalk pastel & over a small shallow dish, gently scrape-off some of the chalk with a sharp hobby knife until you have a small pile of chalk powder. Now, take a Q-tip and swirl it into the chalk powder sparingly, being sure to wipe off the excess, and then rub the Q-tip gently in random areas to create a dirty look. A stippling motion works best, and don't worry: if you apply too much, just blow it off and start over. once you've covered all the desired areas with the chalk, proceed to re-airbrush some different colored patchwork over this to make your mecha look like it's been maintained/repaired. This technique mostly replicates the look of naval aircraft which have a worn & repaired look to them... Probably similar to what a Valkyrie would look like in service The pic below shows the technique applied tol a 1/48 Tomcat.

They're most likely just out of production for the time being. There just isn't enough demand for Yamato to be churning them out 24-7. When they get a large enough order, they'll set the molds back up again and pump them out accordingly.

That's an open-ended question that won't get you any real answers. The "better" proportionned toy is mostly in the eye of the beholder/nitpicker.

Actually, though I have no concrete confirmation of this, it IS theoretically possible that Yamato MAY proliferate the 1/48 scale in the future. I think the reason that we haven't seen this done YET, is that Yam are trying to exploit the 1/60 scale as much as possible, and very obviously, they're avoiding parallel marketing in 1/48 so as not to cannibalize their own market. Also, the 1/60 line serves as something of a market evaluation series. I guess that if an item sells well enough in 1/60, they would most probably consider scaling-up later if market research and sales justify it. Perfect example, just look at Bandai: with regards to almost any Gundam series, they almost always invariably start with releasing the cheaper skus of the MS first, and gradually work their way up the ladder if sales are good. They also dis this with Eva; releasing the LM, then HG, and finally a MG. Anyhoo, getting back to Macross, Zentradi Regults & Glaugs would be very feasible: the pods are infinitely less complex than Valkyries to engineer, and I dare say that certain components like the main head piece & the Glaug's massive arm cannons could be blow-molded in PVC to save on cost, while still being very well detailed. With regards to packaging, a Regult could very well fit in the same size box as the 1/48 Super Valk, all you have to do is collapse the legs. With regards to a 1/48 GBP-1 set, this could be sold as a stand-alone set without the Valkyrie, just like the FAST packs. Very feasible to get something in the 7800-9800Y price-point. As with anything, time will tell if Yamato take the plunge.

ROFLMAO!!!!! TAMPON!!! Seriously, say it out loud. It'll make ya feel better

... That's the exact look on my face when I heard about this whole mess. I still have a hard time believing that Tanmen would be such a screwball like that. Talk about lack of personal or professional integrity, REGARDLESS of his political opinions. Ironically, he makes money by sculpting/selling models of war machines... Talk about being a hypocrite

If Valkyrie/Macross toys were made "here" ( north America), they'd most likely be double the retail price they are now. Do you have any idea what the salary gap is between north-american workers and chinese workers? Whether it's branded Yamato or Toynami, both toys are manufactured in China and exported to their desired markets. MPC OPTIMUS Prime: part of the Transformers franchise, which, like it or not, has a much, much greater fan base than Macross, Mospeada and Robotech combined. Bigger market = more units produced = R & D costs amortized over larger production run = lower unit cost. This combined with the fact that Hasbro has key distribution in retail chains that market toys as lost leaders = even lower retail price.

...A special edition Toynami Invid series with metallic paint and light-up eye! ...And when you squeeze the Gurab's tummy, it says "bite my shorts man"--Oops! Wrong sound chip! Seriously though, this belongs in "Other Anime & Sci Fi."

Just prior to the release of Yamato's 1/60 VF1s, I believe that Graham had divulged that a MACROSS/SDF-1 was surprisingly low in demand amongst fans...If you recall, Yamato actually had a little poll going on on its website 2-3 years ago inquiring about what fans would like to see made. the Macross was virtually at the bottom of the list. Probably the reason it hasn't been/won't be tackled.

To be perfectly fair on this matter, George Sohn/Toynami aren't getting $80.00. You must remember that the toy goes from the manufacturer to the distributor, and then to the retailer; all of which need to make a mark-up to make a living. The Manufacturer sets the MSRP based on feedback from distributors & retailers telling them(roughly) what the market will bear, and then work backwards to manufacture a toy for a maximum specified price, to which the manufacturr makes its mark-up & so on. I think what a lot of people don't realise is that large stores like Wal Mart and Target have different pricing policies regarding toys than smaller stores. To large chains, toys are considered lost leaders, and are often priced at cost or even slightly BELOW cost: the logic behind this is that the large retailers both--crush any other competitors carrying the same item, and also LURE buyers into the store for the low-priced toy, knowing that these same people, once in the store, will most probably also buy other things ( garden hose, candy, DVD player, etc) on which the store makes a much greater mark-up. Small collector stores, like Kevin, Spidey, etc. are much more limited in their buying power, and carry far fewer items/skus, so they can't really afford to sell items at/below cost: they have to make a mark-up just to stay afloat. Since the MPC Alpha is essentially aimed at collectors and collector shops, there chances of seeing them at $54-59.99 are very slim. That having been said, if demand suddenly falls-short, it's the retailer that usually takes the hit by selling them at reduced prices. This having been said, Toynami is very obviously milking the item for all it's worth. Based on the Veritech MPC, they use very cheap plastics and cut corners on the tampon printing, not to mention a few other things. About the only way to get these items cheaper is to hold back from buying the item at full price. If retailers can't sell as many at full mark-up, they will most likely order fewer of the second batch, or squeeze the distributor for a better price, who will in turn squeeze Toynami for a better price at the source. The flip-side to this is that poor sales MAY send a message to Toynami that the item isn't popular enough, and they may cut later skus, thus depriving fans of other variants, and most certainly the BETA. It's hard to say just how poor sales would affect Toynami, but I get the impression from all of their promotion, that they're committed to producing the Alphas one way or another; they'd look like dolts if they pooped-out half-way through the skus and called it quits. Besides, they need the higher sales numbers to offset production costs, so my advice would be to hold out if possible, and if you simply MUST buy it, try to get it at the lowest possible price... Let them know that you, as a consumer, don't appreciate being gouged. The only way to get through to a company is to poke them in the wallet.

Regult please Actually, I'd buy pretty much whatever they release; male power armor, fighter pods & all, they're all good choices, though some would obviously sell better than others. If I MIGHT possibly make a projected suggestion: if Yamato DO make a Regult, I think it would be a wise move to make the Zentradi pilot articulated; the cost increase would be neglegeable, and the added bonus of being able to stand/display the pilot next to the pod goes a long way in the eyes of the target consumers/collectors. That was about the only drawback with the Miria figure included with the Queadluun Rau, but it's not enough to detract from the toy and I'll end up buying one anyway... Just make sure you keep 'em coming Yamato

Hi Legios. Yamato doesn't make any Mospeada toys. On the subject of anime line art accuracy, my Legioss design is very different from the source material, I never said otherwise; there are a lot of segments/details that aren't "accurate" to the anime, and this is precisely the way I wanted it. The anime style sheets were a starting/reference point, to which I made alterations and added features (H/I flare dispensers, a boarding ladder, wing slats, ankle-armor speedbrakes, etc...) that suited my OWN view of what a Legioss should be... A Legioss--"Moscato ver", if you prefer. With regards to radars, escape velocity, pointed nosecones and such, I'm not an engineer or a scientist, just an artist. However, when it comes to mecha that transform from transatmospheric aircraft to giant robots, I think it's safe to say that "realism" flew out the window long ago. The idea of a "transforming" mecha is little more than an entertaining flight of fancy that has very little grounded in reality, so I don't get bent out of shape worrying about these things. Rather, my aim was to take the original concept, and subtlely implant little details that allow people to more easily relate to it and think it MIGHT be real. For example, my Legioss model is dotted with rivets. Completely obsolete by even modern standards, as epoxies & adhesives can do the same job with greater strength and less weight, but when people see rivets and stressed-skin, they almost automatically think "aircraft" and "realistic details." Besides, they just plain look cool, and looking cool is what sci-fi models are born to do.

Hi Indigo. Your conversion is absolutely great, I love it!! Honestly, I'd disagree with the comments to delete the red hot section lines on the legs, I think they tie-in nicely with the red on the V-tails, and i'd even offer a further suggestion: have you contemplated possibly putting the "Felix & The Bomb" cartoon on the heatshield? This and having the heatshield in red would really distribute color more uniformly, but even without, your job is still excellent--kudos! I'd personally love to see other conversions using existing squadron markings

Hi Rocco. The software I used for the image flop was Corel Photo Paint; probably version 8. I'm sure there are better and cleaner ways to achieve what I did and if anyone would like to try, they're more than welcome As for finishing the model, I've never ruled it out; in fact, I intend to finish it for myself when I have some free time. Until then, it will collect dust, sealed in its cardboard box in the far corner of my garage. This model is sort of like Elvis: most everyone rightly assumes that it is dead in its tracks, mourns and moves on. However, there's always a small group of resilient loyalists who swear it's still secretly alive. Every once in a while someone thinks they hear some new tidbit, or see part of it in the corner of a photograph. Some even claim that they own parts of it and are working on finishing it even now. Who's telling the truth? Who's right? And more fundamentally, what do you believe to be true?

Actually, the "photoshop" job is mine, and a rather pitiful one at that; really not my forte. Just a little pinhole-opening of insight as to why my Legioss design has a short/stubby nosecone: I conciously and intentionally made it that way for three reasons. Primarily, it was so the Armored Soldier wouldn't have some obscenely-long "cubumber" clanging against his calves. It also makes for more liberal posing of the legs. Second, as per contemporary fighter/attack aircraft trends, newer technology/miniaturization allows for lighter, more compact electronic components, and if we project foreward into the "Mospeada" timeline, roughly 2080-ish, the radar/fire control system/mission computers would be quite small indeed, and thus wouldn't require such a large nose/foreward fuselage to accomodate them. Lastly, the shorter nose allows for improved foreward visibility; especially at high AoA. This, combined with the high seating position/low canopy sills provides the pilot with excellent all-round visibility. Well, about as good as you can get with those enormous LEXs and the missile pod/shoulders blinding your 5 & 7 O'clock

"Comparing a garage kit that would have cost well over $300 to a mass produced toy isn't realy fair. They're two completely different animals." Yes and no. The comparison shot was mainly to show the difference in proportions/aesthetics, not details. Whether you engineer a toy with "nice" proportions or bad ones, the price and the work is the same; the only difference is in the talent of the person executing the work. Once you delete all the open access hatches and reinforce certain small joints on the 1/32 model, you can very easily convert it to a toy, since the outer shapes have no undercuts, and would pantograph-down to a smaller scale very easily. Nevertheless, Toynami did what worked best for them, and though the overall proportions leave me flat, I hope that the Alpha toy will be a success and ensure future Mospeada/New generation skus; a win-win situation for them and for the fans.