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Quite the change there, @Papa Rat! Good looking finish.

The only variant yet mentioned has been the VF-24A, yes, and the details are predictably pretty sparse. Honestly though, don't let yourself feel "locked in" by what the official media says. The (partially redacted) YF-24 Evolution blueprints were shared to all New UN Government member governments galaxy-wide. It's very likely (bordering on a certainty) that multiple emigrant governments working with less resources than the fantastically wealthy Frontier and Galaxy fleets either opted to purchase export variants of the VF-24 directly from Earth's government or just used their own locally produced technology to fill in the various gaps left by the omission of Earth's proprietary developments and produced their own version of the VF-24 via a build-under-license agreement. There are likely a bunch of slightly different local variations of the VF-24A with slightly different capabilities depending on who built them, which could go anywhere from differences in equipment and armament to changes in appearance. EDIT: I should add, this same logic applies to basically ANY VF produced from the 4th Generation onwards... with the VF-19, VF-22, and VF-171 all having local variations that've appeared prominently in Macross the Ride, Macross Frontier, and Macross Delta. A beautiful official customization carte blanche for fanart and fanfics. 😉 Even before that generation we get some generous variations. The VF-14 has two official designs which design language (one's a lot more bulkier then the other, curtesy of Miyatake designing the Fz-109's Battroid mode,) and even armaments like the 7 Plus' lack of shoulder laser cannons and M3's lack of chest cannons, is noticeably different, but they're only considered variations of each other as opposed to the VF-171 being a different aircraft that's only based off the VF-17. The VF-19 is also a good example though, as the ones from 7 took noticeable differences from the A-type based off the YF-19; notably its shoulders and legs being structured a bit differently. (As a side note, always made me curious on how a more "bulkier" VF-24/VF-25 would look, as if he was designing it for a 90's series) It's the beauty of Macross's potential, the vast universe is ripe for freedom of whatever setting and designs you want to work with. It's even better with the franchise's loose sense of continuity.

I agree with your assessments. My copy's on its way, for some reason shipping with DHL. Yesterday my copies of TFOne Arcee and AotP Alpha Trion arrived by FedEx and USPS respectively. I'm digressing, but I find it odd that they're using so many delivery services seemingly all of a sudden when USPS has sufficed for years. Regardless, I'm just happy that they're coming. As to the fig, just based on your review, the first I've seen, I think they did a pretty good job overall, although I'm with you regarding the lackluster disguising of the head and the missed opportunity for hidden gun storage, one of my greatest pet peeves in this hobby. It's not often that the design as--is yields up a nice space to stow a weapon out of sight, so the fact that this one does and they still didn't use it just boggles the mind. I'm thinking the care isn't there, although I give Takara huge props for the elegant weapon storage on Studio Series Concept Widow. More of that please. I still fancy my TR version, as it had to look like the character and accommodate a Titanmaster, and Takara understood the assignment. My TR copy came from Pulse missing a prop, so I'm happy to see that this new update has them pinned on. Too, I like the minimalist toy deco, often with molded and painted details to homage the OG toys' decals, that they do on these toy-based figs. It's a nice touch. Kind of a shame that there aren't any small wheels for him to roll about on, but given the dearth of good placement options on the underside where they wouldn't somehow compromise the bot mode, I think they made the right choice. Anyway, another minibot down, with only a handful to go. I hope they maintain this standard. Windcharger's legs are looking a bit hollow and somewhat unsightly, but I'm sure there'll be upgrade kits to address the issue. Otherwise, I opine that they've been doing a splendid job with the upgraded Minibots overall. Looking forward to the rest.

^^ I remember trying to do that pose years ago with the Yammie 1/48’s.

I’m calling it on this Ashura-Temple. Not really pumped on how it turned out but moving on. Apparently couldn’t be bothered to go back in to fix some seam lines and shoddy masking. Oh well. Here's a before and after.

Awesome. Thanks for the link!

Nice. Not seeing any of the big gaps that plagued the older ones.

Apparently there is a newer version of our beloved Detolfs now for anyone who is interested..... https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/blaliden-glass-door-cabinet-black-00520519/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11019489087&gbraid=0AAAAAD27g7w7JINv_96PNdwMcZmBiVqu-&gclid=CjwKCAjwr8LHBhBKEiwAy47uUpad2p4yQ-sO6Ru2mkT2mObLBzCqV5KsFUdkn4Odhuxwwy5213J08xoCJgUQAvD_BwE

Thank you! Goes to show how much I remember from that movie...

The Concert in Shanghai! https://mayn.jp/news/live/macross-f-galaxy-live☆final-2025-in-shanghai-チケット情報正式解禁！/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNd5D5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjRCo3OKQuv-CBiIxL2IN4AxplQG1uVIatcI_J3kXbtQ1SFtfZG4-leMV443_aem__zCRY6O0-uOgR1d_6Y9bLA

Me too! He had that great blend of boasting and whining all in one. It was perfect. @Big s Don't know if I'll buy anymore of them, esp with the Trumpeter Transformers, but it is a nice little kit. Quick and easy build and it even has a small light module in the chest. So the eyes and a panel on the chest lights up. Seems motion sensitive and goes off after a few minutes. @SteveTheFish Great looking VW Bumblebee! The nostalgia is real, yo! Decided I'd also do the Trumpeter Arcee kit as well as Starscream. I started to do a little detail painting last night, but found my paint 'beading' on the surface. Don't know if it's the plastic or some coating, so I hit all the spru with a flat coat this morning, so hopefully I can get back to that tonight. Thom

Hahaha. So true. Max and the SDF-1 run a tight ship. I slathered on the wash and just toweled off any pooling. I haven’t done any clean up with spirits yet and may just leave it a dirty dog. Oh, and yes it was my first Valk build and first Hasegawa kit. I was just starting out and decided to use all the color correcting decals to see how it would work out. Lesson learned. Hahahaha. In the end it was a fun and clumsy experience. 😅

I don’t know. According to the article, the problem stems from the shipper incorrectly filling out the custom forms and not making any attempts to fix it. I doubt using a more expensive shipping method would fix the problem completely. Your item may not get disposed of but it’ll probably still run into delays or a really expensive bill for tariffs/fees owed.

HaHA! Dibs!

It sounds like spending a few more $$ on FedEx to the U.S. is worth it for all my HLJ orders. MB

Wasn't sure bets place to put this but since I know a lot of folks ship UPS, this is definitely concerning. tl;dr: The de minimis exception going away has lead to a backlog of customs clearing at UPS. About 10% of items shipping don't have enough information and if shipper doesn't get back to them, they have been destroying items. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/ups-delay-customs-tariffs-packages-destroyed-rcna236607

Yeah, those parents never came back

I guess you guys can split her. I always had a thing for Shammy. She seemed fun and less attitude

Looks pretty scary, will check it out.

Still waiting on that broader TB5 support. That will be a bigger game changer for me. Until then, these marginal gains aren't worth it - they're outpaced by the runaway pricing changes.

It looks like a confused teenager who got lost at the mall or something...

Right? I'd have taken Misa in a hot minute! Let Hikaru have Little Miss Indecisive; we'll take the lady who invented The Daedalus Attack!!!😁

While you're at it, Greg, you might as well give him the proper licence plate. I mean, if you're gonna go the distance, then go the distance, right? 😉

Weathering can be a double-edged sword. It's gotta be dirty to bring out that detail, but we all know that Max wouldn't allow it to get that dirty (much less the SDF-1 maintenance crews)... It's not realistic in-universe, despite how cool it looks. 🤷‍♂️ Is that a Hasegawa kit? Actually, that's the live-action Arcee from Rise of the Beasts.