shogun029

I'm in L.A., too. Mine has been in customs since 12-31. They must be wondering why all these identically-sized boxes are coming from Japan at the same time.

That is THE most beautiful SDF-1 DYRL I have ever and will ever see. Bravo!! I truly envy the owner(Guard that thing with your life, good sir!). As far as I'm concerned, it is the custom to end all customs and is worthy of THE first entry into the Macross Hall of Fame (whenever someone decides that there should be one, that is). Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how much this thing cost from beginning to end. I know the number will be astronomical but knowing will help me sleep at night.

The new Yamato displays have been commented on before. People have complained about how unsteady they are. I have a half dozen of the older Yamato launch arm displays. They're pretty sturdy but are limited as far as the amount of angles that you can display your valk. The best (and easiest to work with) displays IMO are the Flexidisplays sold at Lost and Found Toys (laft.com). They come in three different sizes and work very well. You can't really secure or attach your valk to them. But they have three arms that can be adjusted independently and have rubber contact points that hold whatever you're displaying steady. They're especially effective if you plan on displaying your valk in fighter mode. Hope this helps.

Don't feel bad, fellas. Even people who make a decent living would have a hard time keeping up with Yamato and their flood of releases. Still, it would be hard to say 'I'll pass' to these two in particular, especially if you live and die for M7....or for the Jenius family.

I, too, love FB 2012 for the precious few seconds of new footage. But I tend to agree with Graham. And, IMHO, it was a merciless tease to keep people wondering and interested until new Macross-related content could come out...several years later. Mission accomplished.

I'd be in for the VF-171 in any version they choose to make.

Affirmative to fighter-mode GN-U's.

If I could only buy only one I would buy the 21. The fighter mode is just gorgeous and anime accurate. After that if I could afford to buy another, I would go for the 1/48 VF-1J Hikaru for it's icon status (It's the first Yamato Macross toy I ever bought and I still don't regret it). The 1/60 version is on preorder at a lot of anime toy websites right now. It's smaller, relatively cheaper, and even more proportionally accurate than the 1/48 version.

It makes sense considering the price of it, that some would buy it simply as an investment to turn around and sell at a profit or as a collector's item to kept in mint condition, out of sunlight, etc. Still, it's a little sad to think after spending that much money on it that one wouldn't at least handle it once or twice to view it's details up close.

I have most of the 1/48 scale VF-1s (except for the Angelbird, Low Viz. v.1, weathered Roy) and I just love 'em. They look best in fighter mode and you just can't go wrong with their scale and detail. I guess it all depends on what you intend to do with your new valk. If you just want to display it, then the 1/48s are perfect as they're beautiful to look at once you add all the decals and accessories. But if you want to play with it then that's another story. They're notorious for shedding their accessories if you try to barrel-roll or transform them. On the other hand, the new 1/60 v.2, as represented by Roy's Skull 001 that was recently released, is much tighter and the accessories (missiles, pods and FAST packs) are designed to stay put regardless of how many barrel-rolls and Immelmanns' you perform with it. And most of the important markings are already printed on. Plus, if you intend to collect as many valks as you can and if space is an issue, you can't go wrong with the size of the 1/60s. Like I said, it just depends on what you have in mind.

I think the second version of Roy's Skull 001 in 1/48 scale was the only one with straight skulls on the rear stabilizers, asaik. Very hard to find someone who'd be willing to part with one, though. The weathered addition is coveted right now but you'd have to shell out between $400 and $500 to get one off of e-bay. I know you wanted a 1/48 version but the 1/60 version is beautiful and sturdy, very well-made and a bit cheaper. Most of the important markings are tampo-printed on already. And it should be relatively easy to get one at a reasonable price right now. Hope this helps.

I use a simple pin. I was in a wedding I while back and they used a long pin or needle or whatever you call it to pin the flower to my lapel. I've been using that ever since to apply stickers, open landing gear doors and cockpit canopies and, yes, to remove the air intake covers. It's pretty low tech but it works just fine.

I couldn't find anything in this thread about any problems(QC or otherwise) about this release. Has anyone reported any?

I felt the same way you did. I didn't think that I would want to start my whole valk collection in the 1/60 scale. That was before I got my Roy today. I can't stop looking at and playing with it. Yeah, I'm actually playing with it. Everything on it is nice and tight and the missiles and pods don't fall off like the some of the 1/48s. Don't get me wrong. I still love my 1/48s and I'll never part with them. But this 1/60 Roy has opened up another dimension to my love of valks. Maybe you're better off not getting one. 'Cause if you do, I think that it'll be hard not to get hooked.

I guess you get a different response based on where you happen to be and on who actually pays any attention. In my case, people know that if they give me a hard time, I'll kick them out of the courtroom. In any case, my valks are pretty small and if people are paying attention to the proceedings (like they're supposed to be) then they won't even notice they're there. I had a 1/48 scale Stealth valk here before but management didn't want anyone to get a hold of it and use if for a weapon. The little guys'll do the trick, though.