combined arms

Been off on the MWF for years, but the D+/Hulu drop of Macross has brought me back. I just watched all of Macross Zero this morning before work and can't wait to dig in to all of the other series that I've missed! Any idea if they plan to have the English dubs of Macross Plus? While I prefer the subs for when I'm really watching, there's something about Bryan Crantson's portrayal of Isamu that just makes me giggle.

i've always been something of a military history buff. "combined arms" is the doctrine of mixing multiple types of combat units to create a more flexible, lethal team. think of armored cavalry today. you have armor, infantry, and even strike helicopters working together on the battlefield. to me, the multirole capability of a valkyrie in the macross universe seemed to naturally fit into that framework. hit the enemy with an airstrike in fighter mode, then get up-close-and-personal in battroid mode.

almost ready to kick some shadow butt

99% of the time, i find cosplay to be just odd. but that gundam suit is very impressive.

Woohoo! Of course, I already own the DVDs, but this is great news for the commercial outlook of the film. And yes, I would expect that SciFi will run them in the proper order. The only reason it may not make much of a difference though is because the people that would be watch SciFi's Friday night lineup already know about Firefly & Serenity.

I surprised that they don't have Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon faceplates ready right out of the gate. It probably means that they'll just be promo items that come with a game but jack up the price some.

Very nice. Of all the Macross toys out there, I really wish Bandai would reissue the joke machines. It's totally about nostalgia, but I love those little suckers.

I agree. The head doesn't look right peeking out over the chestplate. That's really the only thing i don't like about this sculpt. I'm sure I will end up buying it anyway, though. Now I just need another 1/48 to put it on.

the only items in that lot that i would want to buy are the Yammie and the Matchbox Invid. The others don't appeal at all.

I don't think it was mistaken for gameplay footage, but it looks good even for an intro or cutscene. do we know yet what game it is for? Is it old or for an upcoming PS3 game?

Awesome work!

There was a link to it here in the PS3 thread I don't know what it's for though. is that an upcoming game?

Those photos are amazing. Where did they come from?

I'm going to go during the day next week. I don't have to bail out on work, since i am a grad student, and i am not going to deal with opening weekend crowds. I did the 12:01am thing for The Phantom Menace. Even though that movie wasn't so hot, I am glad i did it. It really was an event - the first new Star Wars in 20 years. surprisingly, the theather that i went to then had very few costumed fanatics.

i rarely use ebay and don't know much about the intricacies of auctions, but i would think that he could get more money by breaking down that lot into individual item sales.

i think this is the best looking box of the three new consoles. but is it slanted or is it just that the base holds it on an angle? i can't quite tell from the photos linked above. the usa today article said that nintendo is going with only wireless controllers. interesting decision. at least they've given in and moved to dvd formatted discs. i am glad to see that they will be backward-compatible withthe gamecube.

Thanks, I forgot to change how far back to view the forums and missed that thread. I like that this stand can display all of the different Yamato toy scales, but it does seem a bit pricey. I guess it comes down to whether or not the "cool factor" of having a valk on a launch arm is worth the price. Any other opinions out there?

I finally got my 1/48 LV back in action and now I plan to put it back out on display. (Rohby, thank you for the BP8 recast!) Rather than just have it sitting on the shelf, I am thinking of getting a stand for it. The Yamato stand that looks like a launch arm looks interesting in the pictures that I have seen. Has anyone here purchased one? What are your thoughts on it regarding quality, sculpt, sturdiness, cool factor, etc.? How does it stack up to the clear, adjustable stands that i have seen for sale also? I plan on keeping the valk in fighter mode, so transformation won't be an issue. Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Neil

reading this thread makes me think of the episode of "the venture brothers" on adult swim when dr. venture has the yard sale, one of the monarch's henchmen buys a "lightsaber" and then tries to fight brock with it. for the record, i had a $5 knock off of the hasbro ones back in college. me and a couple of my buddies went to see the special edition of ROTJ in the theaters, then went to a bar next door. at about 2 in the morning, we were drunk as all hell and stopped in a convenience store on the way home for some snacks. they had the fake hasbro sabers there, we each got one and proceeded to make fools of ourselves by having our own little saber duel in the dorm lounge. i think we all broke them in about 20 minutes. right now, i wouldn't mind getting one of the MR props to display but $300 is way out of my price range. I would only be willing to spend around $50 for one.

yeah, there was a boxed (not blister packed) aile strike with sky grasper released in the US. see here: 4.5 inch aile strike I remember seeing it at a toy store way back when, before i even knew what gundam seed was, and thinking, "that's sweet." I haven't seen it in a store since. there was also an "arch enemy" sized aile strike, too. you can find it on ebay, but i have never seen one in person.

I see where you're coming from. by "sturdier" i didn't mean the 1/60 was more playable than the 1/48, but less likely to break. I think I may be jaded about the 1/48s because even after reading the transformation guides here and knowing what to be careful with, the BP8 on my very first one came right off on like the third time I ever transformed it.

There ain't nothing wrong with the 1/60s. I know they aren't a perfect trasformation, but they feel much sturdier in the hand then the 1/48s due to the greater amount of die cast metal used. Also they don't suffer from the bane of the 1/48's existence - the dreaded BP8! I love my 1/48 because it looks so damn detailed but it sits displayed on the shelf and is never touched, while I have no qualms about handling and transforming my 1/60.

I've been lurking over at the GundamOfficial.com forums and according to the folks there, the Sword Strike MSIA never made it to the US. I've never seen one either, though I haven't been to a toy store in a while. It's one of the few US release SEED toys that i haven't been able to pick up, the others being the Aile Strike MSIA and Arch Enemy.

Graham, I am sure that it is just a matter of time before someone picks up the license. Though I do suspect that the sales figures for the original series toys might have some affect on it. Does anyone have any info on how they are selling, anecdotal or statistical? Neil

is the 1/3000 sdf-1 the larger, transforming toy or the smaller, die-cast robot version? I had the smaller one from matchbox back in the day. it had way too many pieces to misplace. it's still packed away somewhere in my parents' house, but unlike my valks i haven't seen it in years.