MacrossMan

I was lost at "melt your lungs". I keep my stuff out of direct sunlight, but from what I have heard, these toys turn yellow regardless. I love to look across my desk at my collection, but other than keeping these beauts boxed up, what would you guys suggest for keeping them looking minty fresh? As of right now they get a compressed air blasting once a week. Dusting from the cleaning service resulted in a busted up Hikaru VF-1J in GBP armor.

Tell me about it. I had a 13” black & white set with set of vice grips attached to one of the knobs to change the channels with a wire hanger for an antenna when I was a kid. No VCR; they were still like a $1000 at the time. That 13” was a hand me down because it was time for a new set somewhere in the house at the time. My son just gets the benefit of being able to use this set as his main TV because it is in a guest bedroom that has been designated his play area. We hardly ever have any guests, so I refer to the room as a playroom. His actual bedroom has no TV. When he is older, that guestroom will become his bedroom as it is on the other side of the house. The TV will be his then. I imagine there will be some other new technology available then, but he will be stuck with the “old” Vizio. The next TV he gets will be when moves out on his own or when that one doesn’t work anymore.

I am quite happy with the Vizio. If my memory serves me right I believe the Sharp Aquos was probably the only reputable LCD available when I purchased the plasma a few years ago. Understand, that when I purchased the Pioneer in March 2005, the cost of plasma sets were just coming down to “real world” prices and the technology dominated the market. The set actually retailed for $4500 at authorized Pioneer Plasma dealers. I found one of their authorized online retailers (Monitoroutlet.com) that offered a discount if you paid by wiring the money; plus free shipping and no tax. The same set in the Elite series sold for $6000 or $6500. I won’t even mention the price of the 50” at that time. You almost always pay a premium for quality merchandise. Although the prices of Pioneer plasmas have come down some what, they are still considered expensive by today’s standards. At the time, Pioneer was hands down the best set you could buy. Their black levels rival the best CRT’s available today. It’s hard to explain, I guess the best I could describe the Pioneer’s images would stunningly natural. I would argue that there isn’t anything out there today that can even compare or compete with Pioneer plasmas except their new Kuro line or any of their Elite series. That being said, the Vizio is packed full of clever features. The 3-D effect is “neat” and the “live set” look to movies is “cool”, but overall, it can’t hold a stick to my older Pioneer plasma. I would like to see what a Pioneer plasma could do with the ability to display full 1080p HD with a 120hz refresh rate and 24fps technology. By the way, my Pioneer plasma is 4 years old this month. Performs as solid as the day it was purchased. I also have a 50" Samsung that was 2 years old in December that still performs flawlessly.

That was a sad day when I heard that Pioneer will stop manufacturing plasma sets as the demand has weakened. According to what I read, LCD's are a lot cheaper to produce, much lighter (so they are cheaper to ship), and with the economy the way it is, consumers are more mindful with their spending; LCD is driving the market now. Pioneer's plasma technology will be used by some of their competitors now; Panasonic in particular. I've played a few action scenes on the set. I used the opening scene to The Incredibles as reference material to dial in the settings. I then played back the opening of scenes Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Watching Revenge of the Sith is hilarious! It's like all of George Lucas' movie magic has been expsoed. Anything CG is incredibly obvious. Especially when paired next to real actors. The 120hz refresh rate is overkill at times and can cause an occasional "stutter", but for the most part it's not noticeable. When watching the opening scene on Transformers, the transformation of Blackout is so fluid and smooth I had to watch over like 15 times! And again, watching the movie is like being on the set! The movie looks like the footage that is shown in "the making of" scenes. It's really phenomenal to see. At times you can't tell if you are watching the movie or if you watching the movie being filmed; if that makes sense. I'm anxious to see what Blu-ray will look like on this thing.

Ha! My stuff is displayed in my office and some days I come in and literally kick my shoes off in here. Jokes aside, you have a keen eye for style youngling! Cop your own pair here while they are on sale - Mezlan Platinum Crocodile Shoes

So I was looking for a fairly inexspensive TV to go in my son's playroom. The last TV I purchased was a Pioneer 43" PureVision plasma in March of 2005 (paid just $4000.00 online; excellent price at the time). As I begin reading up on the technology I find out LCD has gotten a lot better and is cheaper than plasma. Long story short, looking for an inexpensive set lands me in the neighborhood of Vizio which I had heard wasn't all that great. I then find about their new XVT series of sets. The major reviews were encouraging, so I start searching online. I ended up finding a site that sells refurbished sets for far below retail with the same manufacturer's warranty. I ended up paying under $700 for Vizio's 42" XVT series. All I can say is WOW! BUY THIS SET! The reveiws I read touched on the TV's 3-D like images and I did not understand until I saw it for myself. The images from the TV look as if one could stick their hand or head into the screen. I've only been able to see what the set is capable of using 720p HD and an up-convert DVD player connected using HDMI. Movies now look like they were taken from the video they use for "The Making of" stuff. The light is different and everything! The clarity is so amazing that any computer generated stuff that was convincing before is now exposed. There is precise seperation and depth in an Pixar movies. All the new Star Wars' computer generated stuff looks phony on this TV using its 120hz refresh rate. There is even a 3-D'ish look to the old Macross DVD's! More depth. Again, almost like you can put your hand into the TV; with 3-D glasses! I would recommend this TV to anyone looking to purchase a flat panel set. The price is great, the quality is superb, and you won't be disappointed!

1/48 lover dream come true.

This 1/48 fiend is drooling...

Thanks. Trust me, you won't have to win the lottery to display your stuff like this. You can pick the glass up for next to nothing from your local glass retailer. The base was a bit much going for over $400 plus shipping on some websites. Wal-Mart carries it now for $168 with free shipping to your local store, but that is for the 63" base (made for a DLP or panel TV). They make a smaller version for a 50" TV which is a little cheaper. I'm using 14" glass panels. With the hardware attached it is 58" x 58". Thanks! Thanks miriya. It's good to be back and seeing all the cool stuff that is out and available. The 1/48 VF-1D is one of the gems in my collection. I remember when it was posted for sale. I was on the edge of not getting it, but thanks to Ryno for convincing me to pick it up. The Ron diorama sits on the credenza behind my desk with a couple of 1/48's a two ground crew sets. You don't need me to tell you how awesome it is. You opened the door for myself and a couple of others to get our hands on some of his work. It's too large to fit in the display, but all I have to do is spin around in my chair and admire its goodness!

Been a while since I posted pics of my Macross stuff as has it's been since I've had any interest. With the 1/48 TV Max out now I found a large enough base to hold the glass for my display to make room for it as well as the 1/48 TV Kakizaki. GBP Armors and a few 1/48's are still packed away, but they will be displayed soon enough. I'll be picking up the 1/60's too as they are cooler than the other side of the pillow, but I am still a diehard 1/48 fan. 1/48's...ALL DAY EVERYDAY!!!

I can't say that I would let my son transform a $100 plus toy with the possibility of him breaking it. I only let my son "whoosh" them around in fixed poses. I let him do it only because he gets a feel for taking care of his toys. My son is only 7, but has "collect" confused with "taking care" of his toys. He "collects" his Transformers around the playroom when he is actually displaying them. Your son being 11, I think he might be a little more advanced and ready, but only you can answer that one. MM

Can't speak for the Bandai Macross Frontier toys as I do not own any of them. But I allow my 7 year old son to "play" (and I mean actually play) with my v2 macross 1/60 toys. They're not to really be toyed with in my opinion because they really are model toys, but they are sturdy and tight enough for him to "whoosh" around the house with them without me worrrying about breakage.

Anybody here get a chance at purchasing one of these? I've seen one E-bay auction that mentions a "be on the look out" for one. Just curious. Even with the economy the way it is I believe these will go at a premium. What do you guys think. MM

Honesty. That's why you will always be one cool cat in my book. Please believe you are not alone. For me, maybe not now but, been there and have the T-Shirt to prove it.

My sentiments exactly Ron. 505 sure hit home with me about 10 years ago. I was a foolish CC freak back in the day (wish I had known about Macross toys then ) . I learned my lesson and deal in cash only now. That's not to say that I haven't financed anything within recent years. I take advantage of the 18 month no payements no interest stuff, but I pay it off well before it's due where as in the past, I would just transfer the balance to another CC. These days I save for what I want and pay for it up front. Take the next vehicle I have to purchase for instance; it'll be a cash purchase (pre-owned of course). When I first learned about this hobby in January 2008 I was silly nilly with it. If I saw it and wanted it, I bought it; PERIOD! Now that the misses knows about the hobby and the expense associated with it, I have calmed some what. That doesn't mean I don't get what I want, it just means I have to be more logical when making purchases. When I first started collecting I had to appropriate funds to pay for my purchases. My wife, being the person she is, has figured out a way for me to still enjoy the hobby while at the same time not get silly with the purchases like I did in the past.