Chronocidal

You know... I know CAD lineart is supposed to be accurate... but good grief, I could make so many jokes about that side view of the limp nose. You know those cartoons where there's an alligator who gets his jaws pulled out somehow, and his whole face droops? That's what this reminds me of. Or maybe an anteater. All things considered though, they do look good with the armor. I think it helps cover up the small things a bit. *shrugs* I may get one or two, but I have a long list of things I need more than toys right now

Oh come now, they're not out of Valks yet, we still have the VF-4 afterall. After that though, I think I'll just go back to hoping for a 1/48 YF-19 and YF-21, or at least a YF-19 that doesn't look like it swallowed a horse. That heat shield mechanism does look rather innovative though, I can't way to see how it works. The cockpit probably doesn't rotate like a Joke Machine, since it comes out entirely, and you can see from the shot that it's an angular shape... but I wonder if the bottom of the cockpit pod isn't actually the heat shield, and you just pull the cockpit out and flip it over. I don't think that's the case, and I hope the shield slides in from the nose, but either way this is looking good.

Actually, even though they're still tiny, they've grown by maybe 50% over the 1/72, and the placement is much better. On the old one, the tails weren't even as large as the outer part of the canards, and didn't quite reach above the top of the engine. You can't really see them from the front at all. The new ones look to be mounted at a slightly different angle, and are much higher in relation to the wing, so they stretch a good deal more into the airstream than the old ones. They're nowhere near perfect, but they did improve them.

Well, after lurking in here for what seems forever, I think it's time I actually contributed. Just starting this, still trying to decide on hair/facial expression. Colors are probably going to be standard YF-19 though, at least for now.

Same here on the YF-19, they just killed the sleekness of the aircraft with that gullet (among other things). I may still get one to get a complete set of Mac+ Valks, but this VF-11 is leaps and bounds ahead of it in terms of looks. I'll probably get a YF-21 and VF-11 first, and hold out for YF-19 Version 3.

You know, while I don't care for the tails, I think that's honestly my only complaint about this one. I'm sad that they didn't use a combo fold/slide rotation to get them bigger and further into the legs, but the mechanism I suggested earlier is pretty complicated, so I have to give them credit for making them as big as they did this time. Now the feet... that is odd, but I bet I know why they did it. It looks like the feet don't extend, they might just fold out. The double joint lets the feet be flat on the ground without dropping out of the leg. The big question is, is that the only reason the tails are as big as they are this time around? Removing the sliding mechanism to extend the feet would probably free up a lot of room in there for the gear and tails. I agree the nose could be longer, but I actually think it looks fine as is. It's a good compromise... it looks about midway between the fighter and battroid lineart, and they avoided the annoying duckbill shape that you sometimes see on VF-11s. Plus (and I'm REALLY relieved about this) they didn't oversize the sensor bulges. They actually look comparable to real streamlined aircraft ones, not like someone glued giant blobs to the nose. What'll make me really happy is if the wings sweep normally in fighter mode. There's really no reason they shouldn't on the VF-11. Btw, I don't see anyone mentioning the obvious improvement in the way the wings mount.. looking at the 1/72, I don't see any sign of that bulky hinge under the wingroots on the new one. I gotta say bravo for now. But it still makes me sad they couldn't get the YF-19 even half this sleek.

You're kidding... you mean they actually included a set of display cannons to replace the launchers? Man.. toys are gonna suck me dry this winter.

hmm... if he doesn't take it up, I have a drawing that might be adaptable...*digs through random sketches and grabs tablet*

Hmm.. somehow I don't think mere cartons would suffice... they'd have to be full sized gallon jugs. Actually, Macross already has the Milky Dolls.. they just need to bring them back, and capitalize on them.

crud... well, there's one more X-wing I'll have to buy I wish they'd quit the kiddie-proofing and put back the original nose cone though... the Red-Leader/Dagobah one looks like it ran into a wall.

*drools* Yep, definitely know what at least 2 of them are. Can't wait

Good point actually, I guess paintings are a bad example. Art can be interpretive that way, and the commercial market has its own ways. What I mean is that leaving flaws in that, even if the overall result is good, has a way of tainting the whole thing. If this were a mainstream aircraft replica, something like an F-14 or F-18, people would just show their opinion with where they took their money, since there are multiple manufacturers of stuff like that. Unfortunately, Bandai is the only option for getting a VF-25 of any kind, so they really aren't losing any business to anyone else by not fixing the problems.

To be fair, it is their first high quality Valk designed in-house. There are going to be bugs to work through. Unfortunately, I think we've become spoiled by Yamato really. Think about it.. when Yamato first began making Valks, we grabbed them up like crazy, since nothing else that good had ever been available. Yes, the Mac+ stuff had problems, and the 1/60 V1 VF-1 wasn't PT. The real boom didn't start until the 1/48 came out (and there was much rejoicing). Now, it's several years later, and Yamato has had tons of practice at this. Despite the QC issues on some, they've consistently been producing beautiful planes, and being as faithful to the fans as possible. Bandai is completely new to this. Let's face it, we're addicts who keep needing more and more detail/accuracy to get a Valk-based high. If Yamato had never started making Valks, and Bandai was unleashing this on a fresh market, we'd probably be much more accepting. That being said though.. there are problems with this plane that go beyond accuracy. And the main problems are things that I seriously doubt have anything to do with the translation between CG and real manufacturing. I could almost understand the legs, but the misshapen nose and fugly gear just kill it. It makes it look like they don't care. Like imagine if DaVinci had painted the Mona Lisa with her eyes crossed, and six fingers on each hand, and refused to fix it? It's a great work of art.. but the stupid flaws left unchanged would kill an otherwise beautiful painting.

Personally, I've grown to care less whether the ship has sounds/lights.. I have two FX X-wings (well.. one and a half, I bought a spare fuselage off ebay for the good nosecone to stick on one of my Red Leader versions ) That A-wing just looks too cool, and electronics might just mess it up. I never cared for all the gimmicks the FXwing had, especially the flight handle. I'd really like to get a B-Wing, but the Y-wing has never impressed me much... it's just too much like a joke machine, since they stubbyfied it. The B-wing looks better somehow, and the A-wing and FXwings look nearly perfectly scaled, but the Y-wing got the (very) short end of the stick. Now that new pilot pack is awesome... I considered getting it just to have a Wes Janson figure, so I can use him to torment my Wedge figure.

oooooh.... *drools* I might have to get one of these. grr.. first the X-30, then the F-22, now this. Only thing that saddens me is how many F-14s and F-16s had to die to produce all these.

Hmm... sad, now that I have an actual job, I dunno if I want to buy the thing. I'll give them this, it looks like a VF-25. Unfortunately, it also looks like a flawed bootleg of what Bandai could actually put out. Even if the thing is utterly sturdy, and very detailed overall, it doesn't look like it for several reasons: 1- the legs don't fit right, making it look like the leg joints are floppy/drooping. Even if they're sturdy that way, it just looks wrong. 2- the nose is angled down too much, and doesn't match the original profile well, again, making it look like joints in the nose are just droopy and misaligned. 3- the landing gear are an utter and complete joke. Seriously, I think this is the worst part. There is no excuse for something that stupid looking when the rest of the plane is so detailed. The landing gear on a $6 toy I bought at Disneyland are 10x better than that, and they don't even roll. The least they could have done was put the tire on one side of the strut, rather than in the middle. I can understand the diecast, and a little proportionality difference overall.. but when they managed to make a model that keeps the shape of the plane so much better, it becomes obvious that they know it could be better, and just aren't changing it. I'm not even talking about how it moves or transforms.. the shape is just different. In the day of hand drawn animation I can understand that easily, but they've been working from computer drawings from the start. Shape should NOT be an issue, period. That said... I may still get one eventually. I'll probably get a bunch of models too, but it'd be nice to have one sturdy one I don't have to worry about breaking. If it didn't cost so much, I'd customize the heck out of it in a heartbeat to fix the problems though. Edit: You know, comparing that recent lineart for Luca's version with the line drawings in the 1/72 kit instructions... I seriously wonder if they just somehow managed to mount the nosecone upside down.

this what you were thinking? Btw, I just noticed this... you can actually see the edge of the saucer in the viewscreen. I wonder if they're going to ditch the whole "eye of god" viewscreens they seemed to have in later trek shows, and go with something a bit more realistic?

roflcopter Need translation.. i love the windows blowing out, it somehow fits so perfectly. Btw, that made me wonder how hard it would be to make Guitar Hero/Rock Band versions of MacF music...

To be honest, I wouldn't mind hearing english versions, provided they were done with the same level of quality. Fire Bomber American was... strange. The voices just didn't have the same feeling at all. If you could get people with similar voices to duplicate the emotions that May'n and Megumi put into their versions, I'd be all for it. Translation often seems to be an issue with those unfortunately. That recent english fan version of the DYRL theme was pretty well thought out, but then you also have things like the english version of Voices...

Gah...soo hard to choose one. I agree the medley is good for a taste of everything, but it really depends on what type of mood I'm in. I love Infinity, Lion, Yousei, and Northern Cross as stand alone, or in the medley. But I think Diamond Crevasse really is my overall favorite (I would've liked more of it in the medley really). It fit so perfectly in the concert/farewell sequence of.. I think episode 7. I dunno if any other song in the whole series topped that sequence for me. The pairing of Infinity with the Macross Quarter attacking in the next ep comes close though.

Hmmm.. I just unearthed my old shuttle from storage, and found out the plastic has yellowed something fierce (probably from heat, it's been boxed up for years in a garage). Anyone have any recommendations on how to restore it? I've considered giving the whole surface of the body a light sanding to see if it whitens, and even considered stripping it down and painting it, but I'd rather modify it as little as possible (I already went to town on the cockpit instruments with paint markers years ago).

Well, I finally got myself an X-30 (after.. oh, about 18 years since I first saw it). Lucked out, and the target I walked into yesterday had a full stack of them. Went back later, and they added a Rattler, but figured one toy I don't have room for is enough for now (still organizing my new place, and need to find room for my old Crusader Shuttle and Hurricane before I buy any more ). I think I'm going to grab at least one of those Raptors though... that is a thing of beauty, especially for $25.

Ok, I have to ask.. does that thing have metal axles/gears in the hips? I've been trying for several years to find a way to support the hips in my 1/18 VF-1, and still keep it transformable... forget perfect transformation, I'd just love the hips to hold the thing up, even if I have to use a 1/60 V1 type of hip joint connection. I guess the problem is that no matter how I look at it, with the pieces I have, the joint has to be supported by a single axle. Are there stronger joints available, that would still allow some posability and strength in a VF-1-type hip joint?

Heh.. 1/60 nothing, I want one in 1/48 to go next to my other aircraft models.

ROFL at the Ranka fan section in the back.