mechaninac

Thanks, I needed the laugh

While 1/15 may be smallish it does have one advantage: it's in scale with Yamato's Garland... I'm a sucker for consistency.

I definitely like Ivanov's ( got one on pre-order) and the CF scheme on the SV-51, but Nora's... not so much. The gold on the magenta airframe looks paradoxically cheap (like Bandai's VF-19 Kai cheap), and far too toyish (it is a toy, I know ) for my taste. I think that solid, or even translucent, yellow would have looked far better. As for camera flash affecting how it looks, the magenta is definitely affected (the darker image is far more flattering), but the gold just goes from bright metallic to dark, rusty, brown, and unappealing either way. And I agree that the SV-51 just screams to be given some Russian paint schemes, specially SU-27 inspired ones.

Yamato could cheat a bit and make the VF-11 in 1/55 scale and call it 1/60. That would get them close enough to appease the scale purists and provide a larger volume to work with; the larger size over the "1/72" would allow them to engineer the toy with better proportions, some gimmicks, and without the kludgey wing-root bulges and slides, not to mention the elimination of most/all the screw caps. But to really do the VF-11 justice, Yamato just go with 1/48 scale and give the venerable VF-1 a tarmac companion.

Sure, how about cubits?

Preach on brother... young folks these days...

I've got this pre-dug gra...er...earthen cavity in the desert ready to go if/when you need it for, ummm, "clean-up".

If a 1/32 scale YF-21 were to be made you could do a lot of nifty sh!t to mimic the morphing wings, including fowler flaps and malleable materials. At 1/60 scale.... Uhm.... No, not gonna happen, nor would I want them to even try; it has disaster written all over that idea.

From a technological knowledge standpoint, the Protodevelin would possess the know how from their native dimension; all the information, if any, stored into the Evil Series Constructs they inhabited upon entering the "Macross" Universe; PC/SA technology from any PC/SA individual(s) they may have taken over, if any, at the time; as well as the combined knowledge of the inhabitants of the Megaroad 13 Fleet. On "paper" the Protodevelin are formidable foes, but as presented in M7 they fell prey to their arrogance, pettiness, and selfishness far more than their vulnerability to Basara's singing induced Spiritia barrages; they were, therefore, ineffective villains. At least that's how they came across to me.

YMT00056 1/60 VF-0A Kudo Shin w/QF-2200D-B G: ¥18,810 Merchandise Total: ¥18,810 Shipping Charge: ¥4,700 Total: ¥23,510 Total: 23,510 yen converted to USD at 117 yen/dollar = $200.94 (31 May 2007)

I just took the plunge on the YF-19 combo set and Yamato hits me over the head with this... Not that this news wasn't expected.

You're right, space is not a perfect vacuum; but for all intents and purposes, a few thousand atoms with a few dozen molecules per cubic meter do not an atmosphere make. With that in mind, Eugimon's statement is right on the money.

Intriguing, Inviting, and scary all at the same time, isn't it?

I'm sold! Damn you Yamato!

Re: Batteries not included. Should Yamato have included the batteries with their FB/FP and FB/FP/YF-19 sets? Given the asking price for these pieces... yes, they should have. Does is really matter? No, they are just batteries that can be cheaply purchased anywhere. Is the b!tch!ng about this oversight justified? Not unless you're on the prowl to find things to complain about.

The only VF-0 I'd be interested in at this point would be a D model. I adamantly refuse to buy the same thing twice just because it now has fixes that should not have been needed in the first place (and some of those fixes/upgrades are still debatable). The only thing that could possibly entice me to even consider another VF-0S would be a reactive armor bundle, but I'd still probably opt for an armor set only.

Spatial temporal disturbance reminds me of Space/Time Oscillation Bomb That little blurb/clarification does seem to point to an AU story for Macross, but it could just as easily be a way of referencing the defold of the ASS-1 (though the date does not jive). It's far too little information on which to make any coherent speculation.

Yay! They're out, fugly box and all. But what I really want to know is if the issues with the stand alone YF-19 have been addressed/corrected on the combo pack, or if, like the VF-0A Shin, it's still the same "defective" product. If the reviews are positive, I may get this.

Yes, Tampo printing of all emblems and numbers should be done, and would be awesome. Another thing I'd like them to do is mold the canopy in transparent golden orange plastic to mimic what we see in the animation... or include the "tinted" canopy to allow the buyer to choose which to use, like they did with the extra canards on the YF-19.

That's an easy fix, if you have the patience. I had the same problem with the right wrist on my VF-0S, and here is what I did to it: 1. Get a hold of a needle pin from a business shirt. 2. Get a drill bit of a diameter smaller than the pin. You'll also need a pin vise to hold the drill bit. 3. Drill the peg right down the center until the drill almost breaks through the other side (1/32" to 1/16" short is ideal). 4. Cut the point off the needle pin so there is no chance of it breaking through the plastic. 5. Insert the pin into the drilled hole as far as it will go. 6. Cut the pin flush to the surface of the peg. 7. Push the wrist/hand assembly back into the forearm. Done This fix does two things; it reinforces the plastic with metal, and it makes the peg a bit fatter which will eliminate its tendency to come off the slot when you deploy the hand. It goes without saying that you should not ever have to do this if the manufacturer does their homework before releasing the product to market.

Damn, now I have to take the shoulders on my Shin 0A apart in order to reinforce the insides with epoxy or super glue to prevent Yamatitis (def: the tendency of critical parts breaking under stress that should have been considered during the development process) from compromising the upper arms. This is very disappointing on such a expensive and beautiful toy, and specially considering that POM parts exist for replacements that should cost the consumer nothing other than a small processing fee and shipping. Canceling my VS-51 preorder is getting more and more tempting. And why the whole arm assembly for replacements? Why not just the upper arm/shoulder parts? Who needs extra forearms and hands anyway?

There is no visible way to tell them apart. POM is a more lubricious plastic than ABS, but that's very hard to tell since I'm sure both versions popped out of the same tool. One way to tell them apart would be to burn them and smell for a difference in odor (different plastics have distinctive odors when burned), but that is a destructive test I'm sure you'd not like to employ . Lastly, since POM is a bit denser than ABS, and since both versions occupy the same volume, the heavier of the two would be POM, but you'd need a very precise scale to detect the difference. In other words, you have to take Yamato's word for it...

I tend to agree that Mylene is the protagonist in M7. Basara is more akin to the White Whale in Moby Dick... a force of nature; you can try to fight it, you can roll with it, or try to get out of it's way, but you can't ignore it. I'm just hoping that the new series will further the Human Zentradi integration, expand on the PC and SA background, maybe tie in a bit with M0 in order to shed some light to the events shown in that OVA, and most important, remain true to the slightly more "mature" narrative of SDFM, M+, and M0 (keep the over the top, goofball stuff in M7 only).

If they offered a reactive armor bundle I'd probably go for the VF-0S re-issue. As it is, I too will stick with my 1st edition one... these toys are way too expensive for me to buy multiples just because the latest version has corrected mistakes that shouldn't have been present in the original in the first place.

HLJ's charging for the parts as well as shipping does strike me as profiteering (they have every right to do it, but it still stinks) if they are not, themselves, being charged by the manufacturer for these replacements. A nominal processing fee on top of the S&H charges would be entirely expected, but what I've been reading comes across as squeezing substantial bucks off non-stock courtesy items that cost them nothing... not the best way to engender customer loyalty.