QuinJester

Yes, but while the name is the same, the figures are very, very different.

There are several shots of the parts runners that show the clear parts are straight transparent, no coloring. You can also kinda see the unevenness in the canopy coloring in gamu's photos, so it was done by him. The model builder will be able to coat it any way their heart sees fit, no worries.

Yes to the first, most definitely not to the second. The only things I can think of that might cause strain there during any sort of movement or adjusting would be angling the hips out in battroid mode, but to think that the plastic itself would give like that from such secondary pressure is boggling.

Sure, I can post a couple of pics. It's fortunately hidden in Battroid mode, but in fighter mode... It's sort of glued down now (I hope), you can see some of the ACC residue on the back end and on the grey hinge. The counfounding thing is that it really isn't any sort of high-stress area, at all. It's just like the plastic said "nope! I'm done!" and cracked in half. It's not like I go around twisting the neck sideways during transformation, either. The thing's been changed from fighter to battroid mode maybe 5 times, tops, and I've always been careful with it.

Gamu's pictorial guide for the kit is up: http://gamu-toys.info/gangu/pura/r3/mf01/mf01.html He doesn't use the underbody support in his fighter mode displays.

Fortunately, the stand will cost you all of an additional $5-8 and is versatile enough to hold plenty of things even if you don't want it for your VF-25.

Found the first real problem with my YF-19, and it's in the neck... but not at all the place you would think. The cream colored plastic has cracked almost in half (and it's just been sitting on display for the last few months, so I have no clue when this might have happened) at the base of the gullet where the grey hinge that attaches to the battroid torso piece swings/next to the hip joints. As a result, the torso pretty much just falls off when transforming it, and there's a pretty clear and annoying crack on display in fighter mode . It's awfully disappointing considering the 19 really is one of my favorite designs, ever.

You can also try Entertainment Earth: http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=TN7330

You can see that he did, yes, because the bottom of the cockpit it peeking out from under the heatshield. You get to pick one or the other; a misaligned heat shield or a head at the top of the shoulders. Honestly, I thought it would be more noticeable but the head placement looks totally fine on the in-hand model.

Want, oh so very much. The pricetag is a nice touch; I wonder if it's an actual sticker or a physical part of the box art...

That was Yoji Shinkawa, who's only really noted for doing the mecha designs for the Metal Gear and ZOE series'. The Linebarrels designs do hearken a lot in shape and form to his bots, but they're all done by Hisashi Hirai, mecha and character designer for Gundam SEED. All those kits and figures look pretty cool, but it's disappointing that 90% of them seem to be 1/144 scale. It'd be nice if there was some variety in scales as well as form factor. The kits look like they'll be pretty easy to detail and look good with all the molded colors, so I'll probably pick some of those up. EDIT: Dear god, that intro song is painful

In low light, when I first got my 1/60 VF-1a I thought it was actually tinted slightly greenish, which was offputting. I've seen quite a few white plastic molded figures and models that had this greenish tint and I've never liked it. In regular light, it seems normal, if a bit creamy colored. Definitely not perfect bone white, though.

Non transforming designs are a hard enough sell as it is. Non transforming and jet mode at GN-U prices, not a chance.

That's pretty much right. "Chogokin" is a term that has been used for a while to describe die cast/plastic combination toys, first used by Popy (who later became part of Bandai), and goes back for years to the eras of Shogun Warriors and Jumbo Machinders. Bandai uses it a lot as a descriptor of their high end collectors lines; Soul of Chogokin, Super Imaginative Chogokin, and so on. Nowadays, "gokin" has sort of become synonymously associated with die-cast Japanese toys and gets used by several other companies.

Probably the best thing, coming from owning a 1/48, is the complete and utter unreliance on the backpack latch in battroid mode. you don't need it. At all. In non-fastpack mode, it's more than supportive enough to hold itself up. If you have the fastpacks on, the packs themselves will latch it in place. You don't need to mess with the latch or the clicking in (which puts undue pressure on the paint of the tailfins) at all. The latch is there if you're paranoid, of course, but it's completely, utterly, unnecessary for the enjoyment of the figure. Bonus.

It's a toydel. Neither one, nor the other. A "build your own toy", if you will.

I have to say, I'm frankly shocked now that I've had it out and transformed/put the super parts on and off several times. Yamato went and made a damn solid toy. And I mean that in the BEST possible way. The fighter mode is gorgeously solid. Gerwalk equally so. The battroid mode suffers a bit from not enough/not strong enough ratchet detents in the ankles, and that's really my ONLY complaint. The entire figure is absolutely solid and a complete and utter departure from any other Yamato product I've ever owned. The shoulder ball joints are smooth and not too tight, so I don't feel any hesitation fiddling with the arms. The only place that they give me concern is in Gerwalk, where the shoulders are very difficult to put in a decent looking place where they don't butt heads with the wings. I didn't think I'd actually believe it when I got it, but the new 1/60 really IS better than the 1/48. It benefits from the smaller size, I think. It's a cheap (hardly) thrill to grab the fighter by the fastpacks and whoosh it around. I would never have done that with my 1/48 Stealth and his repro BP8. It's a pity that I'm having difficulty making the legs pose in a pleasing position in Battroid mode, though. I can see now why 1/2 of the yamato photos have the hip extensions popped out by one click in most photos. I don't like the look of it, but it's hard to get the legs to hold the battroid straight (with the fast packs on, anyway. It's less of a headache without) without doing the same, which I'm not wholly enthused about. Overall, I'm totally glad I A) Waited for the second 1A release (woo smooth shoulders) and B) picked it up to begin with. I wanted to resist being overly impressed, but I have to admit that I am.

It's not 80's, I'll admit, but it hearkens so much to that style of 80's godawful cinema that I think it should still count: The Super Mario Brothers movie. I even own it on DVD. Cost me $5. Booyah.

Got my VF-1A in the mail today, sitting under my work desk. I'm trying very hard not to let all this talk of breaking shoulders kill my enthusiasm. I managed to love the YF-19 and it's snap happy neck, so hopefully I can maintain my enthusiasm.

I'll bet SHE could do a PT version . Lazy Yamato! My one complaint with the Groizier is that, with the amount of swapping involved, you almost feel like Yamato could have just put two separate toys in the box. At least then you'd be able to display both modes! It's cool that more and more companies are expanding into each other's markets though. CM's into Gokins and plastic Origami S.H.E. style pieces, Yamato into small action figures and Die Cast Gokins, Bandai into, well, everything. There are all kinds of options for figures you wouldn't have imagined would ever get made.

All of this reminds me that I need to finish watching Banner of the Stars. Bah!

This. This is what people don't realize, and this is why toy and collectible companies will almost NEVER label revised or fixed editions.

If you want to talk residents, The 51 is lord mayor of Leg City. Unsurprisingly, my favorite valks include the SV-51, YF-19, and the VF-25. What can I say? I likes me some legs.

HLJ will list items as "discontinued" sometimes before they're even released, because they don't think they'll be allocated any additional quantities for orders. I've seen "discontinued" items become "in stock", as well, shortly after release, probably due to cancelled pre-orders or returns. Dealing with distributors at my own job, I understand that "discontinued" is a subjective term, and should never be taken as rote, because it usually just means that distributor doesn't intend or expect to get any more, NOT that it's actually discontinued by the manufacturer. Just as the HLJ says and you quoted, "other merchants could very well have stock of such items". Which is all a long way of me saying yes, never give up