Shaorin

pics getting me really excited about this now! mine should be arriving tomorrow (7-8-13) with the HI-METAL 1S focker the day after!!

wow, you're really getting your ass handed to you, DG. i feel for you; been there myself many times...

indeed, the only areas i recall are the head lasers, chara figures, landing gear wheel hubs and minor cockpit detail...

or even 1/60, really... i'm of the mind that this "model kit" is best treated as an unassembled toy...

why do you suppose? because most of us generally agree that YAMATO/ARCADIA's 1/60 TOY gets so many things right where this BANDAI 1/72 MODEL KIT gets many of those very same things quite wrong...

thanks. this whole thing is still cool as all hell though; finally MACROSS is beginning to get treated in Japan with something roughly akin to the respect that MS GUNDAM has been lavished with during pretty much the entirety of my lifetime... (born in JAN. 1982)

i'm a die-hard fan of Anime dolls, (wish i could afford to have a custom VOLKS DollfieDream Mikuru Asahina made) and even i find those "AngelPhilia" creepy as all hell. i guess ARCADIA's only profitable avenue into the scale doll market is via Dollfie knock-offs stuck with horrible expressions of brutal Sodomy...

- and at least a DOUBLE NUTS as well...

the gear on both of my 19S stay in place just fine...

i like it, a lot. sure there are lots of external parts falling off constantly, but that isn't anything a little gluing in all the right places won't fix. now, he was having issues with the leg-delivery panel armature coming loose, but he was handling it fairly brusquely for the camera... BANDAI has had a long history of lazyness in regards to MACROSS, and one could argue that they continue that attitude to this very moment. still, be thankful i say; this is in fact the hardest BANDAI has really tried with anything MACROSS-related since 1985 and their 1/72 HCMs, and it is a damned sight better than both those and the 1/72 IMAI-sourced parts-former kits...

actually, that asinine nose sculpt was all IMAI's fault, not BANDAI's. when IMAI went under in the early 80's, BANDAI bought out all of IMAI's MACROSS model kit molds, and, starting in 1985, went on to lazily re-release the best-selling of those kits every half decade or so, until fans were generally quite sick of the tired old things. AFAIK, the last major re-release of those dated old kits was for the 15th anniversary, but i believe BANDAI might've ponied the ancient things out once more some time in the interim between 1997 and the day they finally got off their lazy GUNDAM-spangled asses to deliver this new VF-1 effort for MACROSS' 30th...

remember; this was the early 1980's; 1970's sensibilities, while beginning to fade, were still making their presence felt...

very sorry; should have read; "the HI-METAL 19k and S are both fairly awful IMO..."

anyone an idea on that Photo Album though? the very same as that which was featured in SDFM's ED?

i've used hot water before, but that sounds like a great idea too...

'sup with the U.N. SPACYs on the GU-11 strap? even though i've seen them there on most every build-up of this kit so far, it still looks rather goofy to my eye, kind of like the modeler had extra decals left and didn't quite know what to really do with them. yeah, i'll definitely be leaving those off of mine...

regardless, they're still the best model paint bottles out there, IMHO. then again, i've got a REALLY strong bare-handed grip...

suppose it's the very same one they used in the SDFM ED sequence, or merely a reproduction? by rights there should be a 1/1 Hikaru 1J T.V. BATTROID, with a 1/1 Minmay mannequin in DYRL dress, right beside that 1/1 RX-78. then Japan would Really be the Mecca this pilgrim had to journey to at least once in his life...

no existing VF-1 scale toy or model is 100% line art accurate, nor will one ever be, since the original VF-1 line art depiction would never be able to transform. the original VF-1 line art simply lacks the proper proportions for such a transformation in the 3-D physical world, in any one of Kawamori's three early-1980's mode drafts. admittedly, in many ways the original line art comes damn close, but it still ultimately remains no joy. in sum, the line art is a fantastic starting point for a variable model/toy, but a mere starting point is all it will ultimately ever be. indeed, this new BANDAI design is very good, and infinitely superior to the old 1/72 early-80's parts-former, that said, most fans agree that the YAMATO 1/60v.II is the current definitive reference in best-balanced proportions in a variable VF-1 scale replica. as such, 1/60v.II is the yardstick most fans hold every other variable model/toy made to date up against, including this latest BANDAI effort, and many, if not most fans have found it to be rather wanting...

the HI-METAL 19k and S are both fairly awful... http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=3724 http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=4276

i'll be joining the club soon with a 1S Focker with FAST packs i'll probably be receiving from a fellow MWer in a week or less...

YOU WISH...

yep, that's definitely getting into questionable taste territory for sure, IMO. still, i have seen worse...

in that case, why not buy at least four kits, if your budget can handle it? three to go all out on, building them up in their assigned respective modes, and one for "fun" to do the basic assembly/finishing job on so you can fiddle with and transform without worry?

indeed, much as i like the Z-GUNDAM, i must confess even i feel it's transformation and WR mode to be a flaming train wreck, especially in contrast to just about any VF, most especially the VF-1. while the ZETA is very nice as far as GUNDAMs go, IMHO, it's design, like many others of the GUNDAM universe, is most definitely what i would ultimately consider worthy of fellow MWer UN_MARINE's "Cartoonish" descriptor, Real Robot era design or no...