MacrossJunkie

They decided it looked too good so they messed with the colors to make it look sillier so people would have something to complain about and give Bandai the opportunity to release a darker repaint later so that people would have to buy it again to get the better looking one ... obviously

Oh, I see. Thanks. I thought they found some clever way to handle it, but guess not. Well, that feeling of finally being impressed by Bandai sure faded really quick.

That tornado pack VF-25F doesn't seem to have the bluish tint that the movie super pack does despite the fact that both are from the movie. What's up with that? (the question could be interpreted as either why didn't they add a blue tint to the tornado pack version or why did they add the blue tint to the super pack version)

I wish there were more pics of that VF-19 in fighter mode. I'm curious how the profile looks compared to Yamato's 1/60. Also interesting is that they were able to make it PT while not having the back of the thigh area skinny and hollowed out like the 1/60. I'd like to see how they did that. That VF-1 doesn't look too bad either. Looks like they borrowed Yamato's T-bar idea for the legs instead of sticking to their traditional swing bar.

Which they really should have thought to add given how easily both the arms and legs droop in that mode.

Hmmm, I'm disappointed that carrier mode is really floppy and the arms can't keep straight without the use of the stand. As soon as he took away the stand, it just all sagged down. Just looks like a mess. I knew it wouldn't be able to stay up in attacker mode without help, but I figured the carrier would be different. It would be like the wings on a valk constantly sagging down without your hands supporting it to keep it up.

I'm glad to hear they are finally putting some real effort into making these things right. I'm excited about this upcoming release of the 27. I wonder if it will have an insert like the model has to go in between the two halves of the gun to simulate an energy charge. It's oid that this time, the model looks somewhat bad and the toy looks much better. The model's main problem is that they made the nose cone too long for no good reason which also causes the battroid to have an strange looking extended torso. I hope they will keep up this level of effort for the VF-171 (and EX version).

I doubt it. Take a look at these pics for comparison: resin prototype: final(?) product: Both pics are brightly lit. Also take a look at the front of the legs. The resin prototype is baby blue on the legs, but a dark gray on the final. Lighting can't account for that. I think they found the mix of colors they wanted. More color than the original protoype, but not so bright and pastel as the second one.

Personally, I think the price is still a bit much at a 50% markup over the non-weathered versions. Particularly since they won't look right if you try to put stickers on them with the stickers looking all bright and squeaky clean. Maybe if they had the that stuff already printed on and then had the weathering applied over it. I preferred to get the regular versions and then do the weathering myself to get the whole thing to look right and pay less for it as well. I do understand that people don't have the time or would not want to expend the effort to do it themselves, I just think the huge markups for the exclusives are just robbery.

Yeah, I just used the Hasegawa decal guides for the VF-22S though it was for M&M's 22s. Almost all of the markings between the YF-21 and the VF-22S are the same, so I figured there shouldn't be much difference with Gamlin's either. I used the printed manual that came with the model, but MW has some scanned in the model section as well that you could use. And here's the YF-21's just for comparison.

Am I missing something? The latest pics don't look like the white and baby blue that the pics from a few pages ago had. It looks more like a middle ground between the original prototype and the baby blue one where the blue is more of a darker blue with some tinge of gray mixed in and overall looks darker colored but not quite as dark as the original proto.

Well, to be fair, it's not possible to do the intake cheating that the 25 does even if they wanted to because the intakes are not connected to the legs

Yeah, they're still a bit high, but at least it's not as bad as the 25 was in that regard since the intakes are not built into the hips. With that in mind, the leg movement seems like it should be better than the 25 as well since you don't have the intakes butting up against the LERX or risking scratching off paint. I'm also glad they actually include some removable covers for the intakes. I think the DX actually looks better than the model version for once, at least for battroid mode. The model's battroid looks really off, particularly the really elongated torso. Looking at the cockpit of the multi-colored prototypes of the 27, it's kind of blurry, but it kind of looks like they bothered to make it a 2 seater. If they did, I wonder if they would include an optional Ranka to put in the back.

Dang, Yamato is such a tease. They make a big deal out of the Macross, tease us with pics of it and lead us to believe it was going to be a toy (other than the fan racer, they don't really make models do they?), and then much later on do they actually reveal that it is just a model and is going to cost over 2 grand. Why do they put so much effort into making this and then make it so that the smallest number of people possible will be able to actually purchase it due to very small number to be produced and high asking price? Will they even come close to making back what it cost them to sculpt and produce it with such a limited release and high price?

Do they only ask for payment info when it's ready to ship? I tried placing an order with them but didn't get any request for payment info unlike HLJ which asks you for payment info at the time of the order, even though they don't charge until they are about to ship.

Yes! The legs are positioned properly in fighter mode unlike the VF-25. Looks like it was not transformed properly as the shoulder blocks are not positioned right in the fighter pic. I hope it's just the lighting in the pic, but it almost looks like some parts are slightly different colored. Hopefully we won't have another repeat of the RVF-25. Also hope they allow attaching the gun while in fighter mode, particularly with landing gears down. I was disappointed with how the VF-25G's sniper rifle was handled and how the gunpod couldn't even attach for the armored VF-25. So far, it looks great. I may actually get 2 of these. I'm not fond of the green CF color scheme so there's no need for me to wait to get one of each.

I haven't really had any issues with HLJ. I think they've actually gotten a lot better with shipping their orders quickly compared to how they were many years ago. Back then I waited a couple weeks or longer to get an in stock item shipped. Now, unless there's a holiday, they usually ship within 1-3 days. That said, I prefer Overdrive. The biggest advantage for me is that they charge in USD rather than yen. I have a pre-order with HLJ which I think I'm going to have to cancel with how quickly the value of the dollar has been sinking (and still dropping). I'd have to pay $20 more already than at the time I placed my pre-order and I expect that difference to still increase more by the time the item is actually released. I'll just have to hope that OD will have some left over or just do without. OD's prices also tend to be very good often times still being cheaper than HLJ's prices even with the early bird discount. Its biggest advantage is also the biggest con, however, since they have to charge at the time you place your order instead of when the item is ready to be shipped.

I didn't have much issue putting stickers on the curved parts though I didn't use the D or 7 in particular. One thing you could try is to trim off all the excess clear parts of the sticker right down to the edges of the letter/number. That would make it skinnier and thus easier to place with less wrinkling (I assume it's wrinkling of the sticker that you're having problems with).

Graham, Would you be able to find out from them if they will be improving the stability of the cockpit in fighter mode? My biggest complaint with the 11B is that the cockpit doesn't sit right and wobbles around with the slider all the way up and you have to find some point where the slider is down just enough to get the cockpit caught on a couple nubs without it being too low. It's a serious pain in the butt and still doesn't hold that well as slight movement can still knock it loose.

In order to properly recreate Operation Stargazer, Yamato will need to make some VF-17s and VF-19s. So they should probably get on that too

It comes with the same stand that comes with the 21, except it's black instead of clear. It's only compatible with the -51, -21, and -22s. No other valks have connectors (that I know of) that will attach to that stand.

Yes, unfortunately. At least the clear version anyway.

I take it that the little display cards in front of the VF-27 DX didn't give any general hints as to when it would be released (like 1st, 2nd, 3rd qtr of 2010)?

You actually want the Pink Pecker squadron scheme? Well, you could just get the 11C, drop it in a large bowl of grape juice for a day and slap on a wing insignia on the heat shield that will probably be on the sticker sheet and you've got yourself a Pink Pecker themed valk.

Nah, Michael's will probably be a neon blue with hot pink trim in the areas that were white