Drad

So far I have 2 and neither have any problems or loose right arms.  As it is I am very happy with mine.

Wow.. 2 outta 2! 100% problem-free... that's awesome, man. Enjoy them.

You're part of a very lucky minority.

Hope they fix the problems in the next batch of alphas. In the meantime I will have to enjoy fixing this one.

Lucky. I wish I were the type that enjoyed fixing/customizing things. All it does is piss me off. It's work, instead of fun.. that I shouldn't have to do for an $80 toy.

... even if they (Yamato) no longer want to talk to me

Graham

Graham,

Let me say that regardless of what happened with that whole fiasco with Ms. YouKnowWho, I appreciate everything you've done in the past and what you and Shawn continue to do for us as a community of Macross fans. Yamato's stance toward you is regrettable, but we're all still here.

Thanks Graham.. and thanks also to Shawn.. for giving all of us a wonderful place to play.

-Brandon

Until then, i'll keep everyone posted on my visit to "arafat209" world.

::: Images of vintage Valkries growing on mythical trees come to mind, along with the droning, garbled yet eerily cheerful songs of dozens of ARAFATrolls, tending to scores of cardboard boxes filled with a Valk collector's nightmare: damaged and broken vintage Valkyries (they "process" the Valks after they pick them, you see). And standing above it all.. is the shepherd of the flock, ARAFAT209 himself. Veiled in the shade of his largest Vintage Valkyrie Tree, he rubs his grubby hands together and allows himself a crooked, wry smile... :::

What a wacky, warped, Technicolor world that must be.

Keep the votes coming in, please. Leave details if possible. Thanks.

Damn, man.. I'd love to put one of those guns in my Valks' hands!

Old Painless...

Flying bellybuttons. Ooo.

Clayburn Moore does it again. Based on art by Greg Horn.

Emma Frost - Click at your own risk!

Yup, that's the one I got too. I'm pretty sure that it's the heaviest one of the bunch.

Hahah!! That's the same thing I said when I pulled mine!

Giving a shout to glane21! Very communicative and helpful. Paid immediately too! Thanks Greg!

I know, maybe gashapon aren't a big deal to some of you.. but the sculpt and detail on this tiny piece of work are just amazing. Man, these things are getting better every day.

("Tetsuo-----!!!")

Wow! Chimps in this thread too?! 

Everything is better with monkeys in it.

I dunno about that. Look what happened to this place.

No! Around ME!

Since I am the #1 Millia Fanboy.

Vostok 7

I saw that one coming lightyears away.

Also: "I'll buy them if they improve. If I'm spending $80, I'd like the product to justify the price."

Now then, who wants to see one of the biggest changes to the OT? I'm referring to the addition of Ian McDiarmid to The Empire Strikes Back, of course! Say goodbye to the old Chimp-lady

Wow! Chimps in this thread too?!

(chimps are cheap, tho' )

Apparently so are the executives of a certain toy company and its licensor.

Cheap chimps hiring.. cheap chimps?

Toynami is learning to make toys the hard way, but no one can say that the Alphas are just as bad as the VF-1 line (in fact most of the people here that bought the Alphas never bought a single VF-1 MPC). Seems that the main problem here is that Toynami (perhaps to save some bucks) entrusted the assembly of a complex toy to some cheapo chinese factory. That problem can be easily solved just by moving the operation to other manufacturer for future releases.

Toynami IS improving their Masterpiece line. Slowly.. but they are improving. You can tell just by looking at the Alpha itself. The sculpt is great, outside of a few forgiveable flaws, and you can see several other areas in which they really tried to do things better this time. Now if only they'd switch to a better production facility, use better materials and get some humans for quality control (I suspect trained chimpanzees at this point), the Masterpiece line really would begin to approach the quality that it's named for.

... I'm just asking for a bit more objectivity...

Understandable. I worked hard to be fair, honest and objective in my review. But I only have control over my own thoughts and feelings about it. It was that lack of objectivity in many other reviews that made it REALLY difficult for me to decide whether or not to buy the Alpha.

I wish Lucas would also release the original Star Wars in the THX version.

PM/IM me.

Don't forget to add your votes to the Alpha poll, guys! Keep those numbers coming in. Thanks.

Rohby-man.. I'm not a customizing kinda guy, but I have to say..

.. those VF-1S head recasts are SUPER NICE! Thanks for providing our community with another great product!

More doesn't equal better, and I'd honestly rather not have a point in the future where I look at Macross and see something that has stretched so far into the future beyond the original that it may as well have no connection at all, or something that has numerous OVAs/movies stuffed into every conceivable part of the timeline where something could have been told.

Yeah. Definitely agreed, there. There is such a thing as straying too far from the original.. so far that you lose almost everything that made the series enjoyable in the first place.

no, I disagree... I think if a universe is fleshed out well enough, you can tell all sorts of stories without having to reference the original plot/characters.

True, but I was referring more to the loss of critical elements that make the series successful to begin with. Improvements are fine. A certain amount of reinvention is also necessary, to a point. Otherwise things get stale. But as far as the critical elements are concerned...

.. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

GameStop just got tired of scooping up Toynami's mess. Sorry, folks...

ALL SALES ARE FINAL.

I wish Yamato would make toys out of the original hard suits instead of the 2040 redesigns Still they look nice and the joints are well hidden.

Those are the classic BGC hardsuits. Not the 2040 redesigns.

More doesn't equal better, and I'd honestly rather not have a point in the future where I look at Macross and see something that has stretched so far into the future beyond the original that it may as well have no connection at all, or something that has numerous OVAs/movies stuffed into every conceivable part of the timeline where something could have been told.

Yeah. Definitely agreed, there. There is such a thing as straying too far from the original.. so far that you lose almost everything that made the series enjoyable in the first place.