brouken

Barrel rolls huh? Have you tried loop-de-loops? Seriously, who wouldn't want to zoom around with this valk? Its so tight and solid that you can't help but hold it aloft and fly around with it. Anyway, about the canopy tabs. If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed! They're pretty much invisible in low light so it doesn't bother me one bit. I've gone through a fair bit of transformations and I haven't had any shrapnel fall out on me yet. Hopefully, it won't happen ever. Oh, and that Yamato video was VERY helpful. Thanks for that!

Thanks man! Yours has loose shoulder armor? That's weird because they're pretty tight in my 0S. Its disheartening to hear that even the supposedly fixed 0S with the Ghost pack is also floppy. I thought they fixed that. Oh well. Anyway, back on topic, I've put on the fast pack on my 1S and it went from gorgeous to OOOH-LA-LA! THIS is the valkyrie that I've been wanting to have since I became a fan of Macross many, many years ago! Thank you Yamato for making this wonderful toy!

Great pics man! OT, I see that you have the VF-0S with Ghost pack. How is it? Is it floppy or loose in the joints? Are the shoulders okay? I'm thinking of getting the ghost combo (I'm so pissed off with my first gen 0S), so I'd appreciate a little feedback on it. terimah kasih!

Uhm, first of all dude, I'm not "western". (Well, okay, maybe just a little. Being a Filipino, I can trace some of my ancestry to some Spanish roots, but then that's already how many generations back). I was born and raised with Asian ideals so I can definitely relate to a lot of the things that the Japanese consider important, culturally speaking. I won't deny the fact that I'm fascinated and have a great deal of respect for the Japanese. This notwithstanding the fact that Japan invaded my homeland in WWII and did a lot of atrocities to my people. A lot of our elders in the Philippines still remember the time of the "Death March" and the use of Filipinas as comfort women, not to mention a lot of other horror stories of Japanese soldiers tossing babies in the air to be bayoneted or of men and women being used as human practice dummies for katana-wielding imperial officers. Our history classes still teach us about the so called "Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere", and the puppet Philippine government used by the Japanese to promote the idea. We definitely have not forgotten about our dark history with the Japanese, and I certainly hope our younger folk won't. So no, I don't "elevate" them to "superior beings". And I certainly don't think them any more capable of humanity than the next person in this forum. Sure they have A-holes in their society. But so do we. I've ridden the MRT and LRT in Manila, and the JR Trains in Japan (lived there for a year under student scholarship) as well as the subways in several other countries. And I can tell you sadly enough, that young punks without respect for elders are becoming rampant these days. But an apathetic youth is the problem of the entire human race in general, and is something to be discussed and addressed, not just by our leaders, but by ourselves as well. I apologize to dreamweaver for this somewhat unrelated post in this thread. Let me end by saying that there are many things that the Japanese have that are worthy of admiration, respect and even emulation. I'll be audacious and say that EVERYONE in this forum acknowledges this as fact in one way or another. Macross after all, is a Japanese product.

Another Perfect vote here! Just one minor complaint though. Man, that new QC guy must've been briefed very thoroughly about the floppiness of the VF-0 series, because this new valk is freakin tight, and I don't mean that in the slang term for cool. I can imagine the QC guy giving a talk to the factory heads: "Okay, we've got a million complaints about how loose and floppy the VF-0 toy is. I don't want anymore of that you hear? I want this new valk to be tighter than a sheep's @$$! No, TIGHTER. You've got to realize you're working for Japan Inc. now! You ain't making Taiwan knock-offs here! You all ain't getting PAID until you make this new bird solid as a rock!" Those poor Chinese workers must've been scared outta their pants because all the joints on this valk literally is TIGHT as hell. So tight, that I cringed each time I tried to move a joint or lock/unlock something into place. Fortunately for me, I've gotten through battroid mode without anything breaking. No cracked shoulders and crotch hinges. Let me re-emphasize though that the crotch area is a MAJOR pain in the @$$ to get right every time. Make sure you get the angle of the hip bar JUST RIGHT, or you'll be cursing left and right trying to figure out how to get that thing into the fuselage area and out again. Friendly advice. All in all though, the v.2 1/60 is light years ahead of the VF-0, in all aspects but design (but that one's because of Kawamori himself, not Yamato) . Good work Yamato! You've made a believer out of me with this one!

Just got mine! W00T! I'm glad I got over my flip-flopping on this one, after hearing that its mostly sold out in Japan. HLJ still has it in stock last time I checked though (that's where I ordered from). They also have the naked 1S in stock too. Wow. What else can I say? Just WOW. I'm looking at the valk right now as I type this and its just GORGEOUS. Compared to the VF-0S (my only other Yamato Valk), the new 1S looks like it was made by another higher-end company. It's infinitely tighter and the plastic used feels of much MUCH better quality (only time will tell though if it will become brittle and disintegrate like the 0S's shoulders). The details are also cleaner than the zero's. The new 0.2 mm panel lines look like they're going to give me a pain to line though. I haven't transformed it yet. Just soaking in the valk glory right now. I'll save my vote in the other thread until I completely transform this baby and back. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't encounter any breakage during the process. Overall, for a semi-newbie valk collector like me, the new v.2 1/60 is a Godsend. I'm saying it again. Its GORGEOUS. Pics don't do this baby justice. Oh Yamato, whatever you're paying your engineers and that new QC guy for this one seems to be paying off!

They're talking about this I think: http://www.rosettastone.com/personal/languages/japanese Language learning software basically. Anyway, has anyone here who bought the MF Blu-rays tried to check if they incorporated BD-Live into them? I'm interested to see if they plan to push through with BD-Live's promise of being able to download additional voice tracks/subtitles down the road. Might be a reason to give the missus. You never know.

Hehe, that's pretty involved man! If you reacted that way to those episodes, I wonder how you were affected by "Pineapple Salad". BTW, I watched the original Macross (locally dubbed in english) on Philippine TV way before I watched Robotech. The only reason I got interested in Robotech was because I missed a lot of Macross episodes (to this day and my utter shame, I still haven't completely seen the "Ai ga Nagareru" or "Love is flowing" episode ). I ended up hating RT though. Especially after seeing what they did to Misa/Lisa in the Robotech Masters OVA (Seriously WTF!?) And seeing Hikaru/Rick Hunter all buffed up is just too much. Never watched another episode of Robotech since then.

I've just finished watching episodes 15 and 16 last night (blames my slow ISP) . While for me the story so far is good, I'm not so sure it ranks with the original SDFM/DYRL. At least, not just yet. I miss the subtleties of the latter. MF is beginning to seem forced. I hope things improve with the later episodes. And I don't know about you guys, but Ranka and Sheryl are nowhere near as desirable as Minmay and Misa. (I blame the bright green and marshmallow pink hair. ) I remember being so hopelessly infatuated with Misa as a kid. When the TV series ended, I was like in withdrawal for the longest time. I would spend many hours just looking at the sky out my bedroom window, a dull painful longing in my chest. Kinda like Frodo after the War of the Ring. THAT's a sure sign that a story is a winner. And THAT is why we're all hung up with the original SDFM characters. Despite an innate desire to see them again outside of re-watching the series or the movie, I would have to say that I would rather have the dull ache of longing than to have that feeling ruined by at worst, a half-hearted attempt to bring them back due to fanservice.

Just happened to browse this thread and decided to throw in my two cents worth. I'm a huge admirer of Japanese culture in general (not just pop), and from what I've understood so far (as if "understanding" the Japanese were truly possible! ), the Japanese love nuances. Most westerners, who've gotten so used to being direct to the point are more often than not understandably flabbergasted at the Japanese way of doing things. Its a cultural difference that would remain as distinct as our racial/physiological differences. Every once in a while, a few of us might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse into the Japanese psyche, either through being with them and enjoying their company, or through their works -- like anime. What makes a story or characters more memorable in Japanese terms is either 1) make it/them tragic; or 2) leave the ending/their fates open to interpretation. Obviously the original SDFM/DYRL love triangle is of the latter (for which I am glad). Like what dreamweaver said, it effectively "immortalizes" the characters in the audience's minds--planting the seed in them so to speak--for them to spread the word to other people. Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear video game franchise) also mentioned this during his interviews: about the need to leave something in the minds of others so that one day, they might be able to continue the universe he created. It's effectively a way of immortalizing yourself, through your work. Which is why I would have this to predict about the ending of Macross F: Alto's love triangle with Ranka and Sheryl will NOT be resolved. They're ultimately more interesting that way I think. And then one day, dreamweaver would probably open a new thread called "Breaking the Frontier: resolving the sixth generation Macross Triangler"

Does the Macross F Blu-ray have English subtitles? I'm asking because I have the Innocence (GitS) Japanese Blu-ray and it has English as a subtitle option. Though I speak a little Japanese, my wife doesn't (she's also a big Macross Fan), so I wouldn't be able to justify the purchase to her if there aren't any English subtitles.

So let met get this straight: The heads are swappable right? So if you get both the Roy 1S and the Hikaru 1A, you can just mix and match and basically have a Hikaru 1S Strike right there? I mean, even the sticker sheet has different color schemes for the fast packs so that you can use any of the skull squadron members color schemes right? Apologies to ruskiiVFaussie for saying that I would wait for the Hikky 1S. But for the time being, I've decided to begin my collection with the skull leader valks. Money (and wife) permitting, I'll probably get into the other valks later on.

Soo, any news of the DXes having super and armored packs?

Okay, after seeing Swoosh's pics, I've also broken down and ordered from HLJ, regardless of the QC issues discussed here. It's a terrific looking valkyrie, made even more so with that side by side pic together with the 1/48, 1/55 and old 1/60. This will be my second Yamato valk. I just hope my luck with Yammies change with this one (started out with a VF-0S first gen, cracked shoulder and all). OT: I've begun watching Macross Frontier lately, and I must say, I'm pretty darned impressed. I'll probably get the upcoming Bandai VF-25S too! Still, the VF-1 is where it all started, and the V.2 1/60 seems to be the best of the lot for the time being.

See, now this is my point entirely! I can't take it that the hero valk toy from Macross Zero is gimped compared with the enemy valks (not that I have anything against the SV-51). I mean, the hero unit is supposed to be SPECIAL dammit! You'd think they'd put in some extra QC lovin' on these! Ah well, depending on how the v.2 comes out, I might get the VF-0S with Ghost Booster pack later on. I really REALLY like the design of the Zero, and really hope my next one will be free from any QC issues.

I cancelled my order for the Strike VF-1S v.2 at HLJ for the time being. Despite the positive feedback so far, I've decided to just wait and see how the first production run will go (and probably wait for Graham's review of it too). Why the change of heart? Well, I was tightening the shoulder screws on my VF-0S one day and lo and behold, the dreaded cracked shoulder rears its ugly head. I felt so deflated that I decided not to buy any first runs of any product anymore. Sorry for sounding so negative. I might re-order the v.2 when Hikaru's VF-1S Strike comes out (huge DYRL fan).

Is it me or does the VF-25 look like something from Sega's Virtua-On? I haven't seen a single episode of Macross Frontier yet (though that's about to change soon, I hope) so I can't really say I know a lot about the Messiah. But compared to the original valks, the new designs don't seem to appeal to me that much. I'm looking forward to the toy however. As a chunky fan, I can't wait to see what Bandai does with this new Macross line.

That YF-19 sure is pretty. How's the structural integrity of it? Any loose and floppy joints/parts like the Zero?

Hi all! Just wanted to share a few noob pics of my own:

thanks for the reply! Actually, I like Hikaru's red color scheme over Focker's yellow. But I really wouldn't mind either one, as long as the build quality was up to standard, if not beyond. I mean, its been said many times that we pay a premium for this stuff, so anyone who says toy collectors are a finicky bunch are probably just snooty kids who are used to getting everything from their rich parents. Anyway, back on topic, yeah, I've seen some of the differences in the pics, especially at the Yamato site. I've never handled a 1/48 before, so I can't really say I have a clear picture of the differences, especially the transformation process--my only basis being the Zero after all (funny how appropriate that name is to the toy, now that I think about it) Again, I would like to ask if the plastic material has been finalized yet. The latest pics above again show the white plastic being used. Will that only be for the Hikaru version? Or will it be the same for all the 1/60 VF-1's (besides the trainers and ELINTs of course) By the way, you mentioned the YF-21 being perfect. How about the YF-19? I'm looking to add that plane to my collection later on if the quality is as good. TIA

Hello MWF people! Although I'm a long time Macross fan, this is going to be my first post here. My first Yamato is the VF-0S, though it wasn't my first valkyrie (I had some Bandai spin-offs and a joke machine, but never the 1/55). While I must say that the VF-0S looks fabulous in pictures and in still poses in real life, it was all in all a disappointment for me in terms of build quality and durability. (Mine didn't really have all of the first run QC mistakes, but it nevertheless wasn't perfect in my opinion). Needless to say, I put off spending on any more Yamato valks since then. But then I saw the new 1/60 line on HLJ. I searched for more information on this line, the trail eventually leading me here. I've read this thread to death, and I'm still hungry for more info on this new line (even though I've already pre-ordered a 1S Super/Strike from HLJ). I guess after being burnt by the Zero, I'm constantly looking for assurance that this will not be another costly mistake. My questions are: 1) What kind of plastic will be used for the production run? The pictures at the Yamato site are inconsistent. Sometimes its a shiny white (similar to the old Bandai's) and sometimes its a resin-like beige (like the 0S, which I feel is brittle and unwieldy). I definitely hope its not the latter. 2) Anybody have more detail on the transformation? Will it be EXACTLY like the 1/48s? Any improvements/diferences besides that tail fin latch? 3) What are the confirmed die-cast parts if any? Here's hoping that I don't get burned again.