shogun029

Judging by the last photo, the nose doesn't look that bad after all. Stubbier than the 1/48 but still not bad. And I don't have a problem with the canopy except that in battroid mode it makes the chest bulge out more than I would like it to. But in fighter mode, it'll work fine. I imagine in dogfighting it would be valuable to be able to look behind at your six o'clock to see if someone's there instead of letting your 'lock-on' warning signal tell you that someone's there. I guess the bubble canopy can help with that somewhat.

That's tight. Oh, by the way, what do the characters mean?

Bienvenue, mon ami. Ca va? I think your choice of going with Focker's 1S in 1/60 is a good one. You can't go wrong with the only valk that stays the same pretty much throughout the series and movie (accept when it's blown up in the movie...didn't like that). And the new 1/60 looks to be quite an improvement over previous versions.

You're probably right. Still prefer the birds with the big beaks, though.

It looks fantastic! Love the characters on the shield. Could you show pics of it in fighter mode?

Man, I don't know. I'm a fighter mode junkie. I just can't get over the difference in the shape and length of the nose cone/fuselage area. Maybe it's the angle of the shot or maybe it's just me but the 1/60 looks almost stubby when compared to screenshots from the series and movie. And with the FAST packs, proportionally...it just looks a little off to me. I'll still problably wind up getting one or two but there's no way in heck I'm getting rid of my 1/48s.

How old is Ozma? Isn't he in his late 20's? I can't tell. Isn't Nanase in high school? If they ended up together that would be statutory...uh, nevermind.

I must say that I wasn't planning on collecting the new 1/60 series. But now that I've seen that photo of Hikaru's VF-1A I might have to rethink that plan. Damn, it looks nice.

This may or may not help you but I'll tell you what I do. I have a pretty strict, have-no-fun-on-the-job, if-you're-done-with-your-work-then-just-sit-there employer. I bring my wi-fi equipped laptop to work. Fortunately, my place of employment is a county building with free wi-fi available to the public within a limited radius. So I avail myself of this free public service whenever I have some down time or over lunch break. Do you work anywhere near a public building like a courthouse, city hall, public library, etc.?

Not to mention any names (*cough, cough, Star Pro, cough, cough*), someone got lazy. Check this thread out: Anime Friend link

Yup, I cast my vote for her the minute I found this thread. Hopefully she'll get more screen time and character development but...as things look right now, I think she'll remain strictly a background character. Eye candy, if you will, like the bridge bunnies. God, I hope not.

Nanase. Nanase. Nanase. I will always find a girl of her proportions who wears corrective lenses attractive.

I'll probably attend the convention at least one of the days. Most likely Saturday. It's always good to meet Macross-loving brethren. Hopefully there will be enough of us at the convention to make it worth your while.

Genius..or should I say, Jenius.

I just hope that Bandai does the VF-25 justice. Although Yamato has put out some question marks in recent years, I still trust them to do a good job of making the complex designs of a Valkyrie a reality. I was traumatized by Bandai when I was 7 years old. I saved up my allowance for a few months to buy a VF-1J Hikaru that was made, I believe, by Bandai. It broke the same day I bought it. And it wasn't because I was some clumsy kid who was too rough with my toys. I took care of my stuff (I never lost any of the weapons to my Star Wars action figures). It just broke and there was no way to fix it with my limited skills at the time. So I swore off buying any more Bandai stuff. But that was a long time ago...

The detail and stitching are amazing. Bravo! Where'd you get a Zentradi patch that small?

I'm the same with my Transformers collection, if you can call it that. For a time, I was collecting the Alternators line with the aim of collecting them all. But, I found that I didn't want to pay $70 to $90 for a Prowl (I got Red Alert for a great price) and I just didn't want to collect all of them. I kept Red Alert, Wheeljack and Smokescreen and said 'good-bye' to the rest. But with valks it's different. I feel compelled to collect all of them..within reason. No offense to anyone else but I don't feel the need to get an Angelbird, a Low Vis. version 1 nor a weathered edition Focker to 'complete' my collection. I mean they're cool, I'll admit. But in my mind I've drawn the line at spending $300 or $400 dollars on a 'toy' albeit a very well-designed and nostalgic one. That's why I appreciate Dreadpyrat's (Roberts? ) original question about which valk he should purchase. It seems that he's trying to be judicious about where his money is going and is looking to get value for his money. I think we all are in one way or another. Collecting 'em all may not be the best way to go if that's the case.

I guess deciding whether you want to collect all variations of the VF-1 or not depends on several factors: 1.) How much money you're willing to spend on collecting them. 2.) How much room you have in your house to actually display them. 3.) If applicable, how amenable your spouse or significant other is to your collection taking up space in the house and taking away from money that 'should' be spent on her. 4.) How much of a completist you are. and.... 5.) How much money you're willing to spend on collecting them

Personally, I prefer the DYRL valks in 1/48 scale. I started my collection with the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru and later added the FAST pack to it. But by itself the VF-1S Hikaru is still iconic and at the same time I've seen it on sale for about $130 plus shipping. In fact you could collect the whole DYRL Skull Squadron for a pretty reasonable sum, relatively speaking. Of course, it make may take time to get all four, not to mention getting the FAST packs for them. The cheapest one out of all of them that I've seen is the VF-1A Kakizaki which I've found for around $100 plus shipping. They're all well made and for the most free of QC problems. If you're not interested in collecting a whole squadron per se and just want to get your 'feet wet' to see if this something that you want to do long term, you can't go wrong with the VF-1S Focker. However, there have been issues (accept for the 2nd run, I believe) with crooked skulls on the tailfins. Mine has this issue but it doesn't bother me. Or you could go with the series icon: the VF-1J Hikaru. That was the second one that I bought and I bring it out to admire it more than any of my other valks. But that's just me. For the most part, you can't go wrong with the 1/48 VF-1 series. Hope this helps you in your decision but be careful...collecting valks, not to mention all things Macross, can become a very expensive addiction.

Holy crap!!! Thanks for the awesome list! Is there a link to it, by any chance? And would you happen to know if there is any line art for the VFs on this list?

While we're on the topic of the numerology of Macross, I've been thinking about something else. The VF-1 was designated "Valkyrie." The VF-4, the "Lightning," VF-11, "Thunderbolt," VF-25, "Messiah," and so on. Those are just some of the ones that we have come to know and love in the Macross series through the years. But what about the rest? For example, what were the names of the VF-2 and 3, or the VF-5, 6 or 7? What was in between the YF-19 and the YF-21? Was the 'YF-20' a tested and failed design? Does anyone know if there is a list out there that designates the rest of variable fighters that have been used in the Macross universe? Just curious.

I've been collecting Yamato products for a while now. Next, to the VF-1, the YF-21 is, in my opinion, the best offering to date for a first-run release from Yamato. It really shows how much time and effort they put into getting it right the first time. I was worried there for a second when they released the flawed-from-the-beginning VF-0 series and could never really get the QC issues corrected. But the YF-21 to me shows that they're trying to be more conscientious about releasing a good product given the high price point. However, I do have a couple of small problems with it. The first is similiar to the problem I have with SV-51r: I have trouble hiding the hands in fighter mode (maybe it's just mine). The second is the rear landing gear don't lock into place in the 'landing gear down' position which was a problem mentioned by Graham in his review. Other than those things everything else is spot on.

Sheesh, talk about low man on the totem poll....It's funny, though. I thought that Max and Milia each had their own flight (3 pilots assigned to them). Yet, their VFs were numbered even lower than when Max was just a new recruit.