blacklotus

I vote 1/2000 scale.

Ideally, I want it bigger to rival the 1metre long 1/350 Tamiya Enterprise carrier. But I doubt Yamato's will do so now. So just make it as it is originally meant to be - 1/2000. Any smaller and I will be putting it on my "KIV till spare cash is available" list rather than my "Gotta Have THEM ALL" list.

I don't even know which one i have considering that i have 3 YF19 combo's with the FP boxes and 2x25th Anniversary YF19, and 5x1st Ed YF19.. crap now that i think about I might have too many YF19's.

Wow. Ok, I got to ask: How's the quality of the 25th Anni YF-19? Any serious issues/stress marks/breakages? Thanks. I just ordered one from HLJ Yamato sales. Since it's released 1 year after the anime YF19, I hope Yamato did fix up any serious issues. Thanks for any info provided.

I just got an email back from them. They're now sending SAL in 2 boxes. The shipping's only 2,860 vs. 4,980 (original EMS + SAL) vs. 6,400 (bundled EMS). I guess they thought I was a cheapskate after reading my email and decided to send the big, expensive, and heavy Mugen under SAL too?!?

I'm glad in a way that I'm saving on the shipping but now I'm also kinda nervous about the safety of the Mugen.

SAL is safe too since they're shipped in the same heavy cartons as EMS. The only problems with SAL (at least in my country) is the possibility of parcel loss/misplacement. Not HLJ's fault as the items actually reached Singapore's shores. But after that, anything goes. Since SAL has no insurance cover, the loss becomes my loss. At least with EMS shipping, my monetary losses are covered, but if the toy's a very limited collector's item, I won't be able to get another replacement.

So far, it has happened to me once in 4 SAL orders. But all my EMS orders are safely in my hands. (over 200 EMS orders thru various online shops). So I don't mind paying the 100% extra for shipping. I do know that shipping from Japan to Asian countries is cheaper than shipping to the Americas. So, I'm lucky that way.

Anyway, enjoy your new purchases. I know I will. It's been a while since I play with a transformable mecha.

My favourite original capital ship design has to be the Imperial Class Star Destroyer. (But does it qualify as a battleship? Or is it a destroyer? )

As for the Yamato, that's my favourite "real" ship design. It really trumps its sister ships the "Musashi" and the "converted to carrier" Shinano in terms of popularity.

This is my ultra fav pic, the Macross IS monstrous and legendary (ofcourse it is) and THIS is why i want a 1/2000.

Ahh i can't wait!

My favourite picture too.

The TV series should have ended here, instead of continuing with the "Hmm, I think I should cheat on Misa with Minmay as Minmay's still the girl for me, even though I just risked my life 1 episode ago to save Misa from a collapsing Star Wars Laser base because she's my 1 true love" scenario.

I did mention that I'll call it the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP) from the start. I also referred to it as "the latest reissue of YF-19". I don't understand how it can be misunderstood.

Right, attached here is just a simple comparison photo of the differences so you'll know what to expect in the YF19 before the Bird of Prey (YF19BBOP).

Edited to correct a typo in picture!

Thanks for the review and the pictures. I ordered my 1st Valk/mecha in almost 3 years - the black YF-19 25th anni version that was on sale at HLJ.

Guess I will wait for more reviews about the BBOP version from fellow Macross fans before I get an anime color scheme YF-19. Cash is tight anyway. Need to save up for a pair of rumoured 1/60 Monsters or the equally expensive 1/2000 SDF.

Between the SDF and 1/60 Monster selling at the same price point, I will definitely buy the 1/60 Monster (or 2 or 3) and KIV the SDF.

sale is going quick, EMS shipping kinda kills it, wonder what SAL would've cost me. I think EMS cost me $64 for two valks and a fast pack.

But it should be here by the end of the week, so I can't complain too much.

Glad to see items getting sold out quickly after I posted this thread. It shows the items on sale are actually hot, but the original prices make people think twice before buying them, especially in this New Age of Austerity. (I got that term off BBC news today. )

If I remember correctly, EMS costs twice as much as SAL shipping for me. I live in Singapore. But it's been a while since I shipped via SAL because shipping takes at least 6x as long (2 days via EMS vs 12 days or more via SAL)

On top of that, SAL shipping is not insured, so if the parcel goes missing, it's my loss. And I cannot track SAL shipping, unlike EMS. So the extra S$30 I pay for EMS shipping for a 3kg parcel is fine by me. If I really want to save serious money, I'll stop this hobby of collecting toys.

Ordered that black YF19 after all. I guess it'll come with the "faults" of the anime series YF-19. But if I leave it in fighter mode, it should be ok.

I just ordered the black 25th Anni version of the YF-19 from HLJ which is currently having a Yamato toy clearance sale.

I just found out about the "faults" of the YF-19. I suppose the 25th anni version will have the same "faults" as the YF-19 anime color version. Still, I really like the black color scheme. And it's on sale as well.

As for the re-release of the YF-19, I prefer to wait for reviews 1st. One can never tell if more faults will be found in the updated version.

Among the original 3 anime color versions, I will buy the YF-21. It's cool blue. And I always have a preference for villains. (I know Guld's not a real villain, but still, he's the main rival of the hero, so...)

Quite a good selection for sale:

http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljsalepage2/?C...andstr=7wfatgm8

p.s. I'm not in anyway affiliated with HLJ. I just happened to buy stuff from them. And they were the 1st online shop I ever buy stuff thru the internet from. So far, I'm happy with their services.

And my request: Is there any review on the black 25th Anniversary YF19, especially on the quality of the toy (e.g. loose joints, exploding shoulders, etc) ? I do like the color scheme quite a lot, and this would be the 1st Valk I'm buying in a long long time. So all comments are welcome. Thanks.

Interesting news. Guess I better get back to building my 1/350 scale Yamato. It's been in cold storage since I bought it 2 years ago.

How do you shop with amiami who only ship inside Japan? Is there a proxy company that handle returning toy too?

So far, I've yet gotten a wrong toy order or damaged package from AmiAmi. Similarly for HLJ and Hobbysearch.

But I only buy from them if I can't get the items from HLJ or Hobbysearch, like the alternate color schemes for Griffon Queen Blade's figures. Like you said, to buy from Amiami, I needs a proxy if one is outside Japan. So it's more expensive.

On 1 occasion, a blade was missing from my Witchblade figure, and one of her spikes was broken. HLJ promptly sent me the replacement parts with my next order.

NOTE: I've not bought anymore mecha stuff since my bad experiences with locally purchased Yamato VFs about 5 years ago. That's also the time when I switched to figures, and online shopping. So, unfortunately, I cannot tell how good or bad the aftersales service will be for defective mecha products from these online shops.

I don't think the '70s are that old in Archie terms. If you talk about "old Archie comics," I'm thinking fifties.

And I think you're being too harsh on what is essentially a children's comic. It's for children who want to be teens, and really not for anyone else.

That said, I agree with you about the characters aging. I always thought Doonesbury was pretty cool because the characters actually got older, got married, and had kids who are now growing up.

Yup. Archie comics is Camp Rock/Musical High School for the pre-MTV age.

And yeah, I read quite a number of them during my elementary school days. Why? To improve my English.

Oh, and if anybody can enlighten me how to obtain a perfect trance, I'd love to know.

Graham

Listen to Sharon Apple's songs?

p.s. I don't really like the OVA and movie, but I do love the soundtracks and songs of Mac Plus.

Well I ended up weathering the TV Kaki..

Here's a pic for your perusal next to an unweathered Max TV.

Personally I think it came out quite well.. Still a very white valk compared with the DYRL Skulls but now a bit grubby and less plasticy/toy looking.

Very nice work. Definitely looks better and more realistic with the panel lines. The Max looks like a cheap toy in comparison.

And just to clarify what's the difference between the versions, you should always get the latest version ones. The latest versions will usually have the problems faced by the previous versions fixed. But sometimes, the latest versions also introduces other new issues. Just like software.

same as MS, Bandai won't stop doing what they're doing and will remain the top dog coz everybody keeps lapping up whatever they churn out... just the way it is...

Strange thing is that Bandai's subsidiaries (Megahouse, Alter, AlphaMax) can release excellent quality figures at very attractive pricing. So what gives? Sometimes I don't understand their company culture at all - the subsidiaries can do better than the group company.

And not all Bandai products are bad - their model kits are excellent too. I have their Yamato 1/350 scale and a few 1/60 perfect grade Zakus and Gouf. These are great.

So like I said, I don't understand why the quality differs so greatly even in the same company...

Yeah, was there too yesterday, that's why when I saw the thing for HK$ 295 I thought "what the heck, I am getting the G for a (eventually) complete skull squad"...then examined 3 copies in their boxes until I settled for the one I thought was OK, until I got home and saw the beautiful "gluemanship".

On a positive note, after an unnecessarily time wasting "discussion" with the shop owner, she finally agreed to reluctantly exchange the crappy toy for a new one, not without complaining that she cannot get a replacement from her supplier, and hinting it was my fault (WTF?) that I didn't do QC correctly. This time I asked her to at least take the trays out of the box so I could see it. I examined the thing without taking it out completely because it really is mummified in tape and plastic.

As ff95gj guessed, the sniper rifle IS actually assembled like that, 2 pieces stuck together... only the first one I had was horribly glued and misaligned as you can see from the pictures in the first post. I really don't get why Bandai can make such a piece of overpriced toy with such crappy QC. Ultimately, I am the one to blame, for liking macross stuff and bothering to buy the VF-100s!

(PS. Opened the box at home now, and the sucker has a spuerglue smudge on the right foot...I will sand that with 2000-grit paper and forget about this nightmare)

Consider yourself lucky, and Hong Kong's toy shops aftersales services ain't that bad, since they allow you to exchange. In Singapore where I live, one can forget about aftersales services after you fork out the cash and walk out the door. That's why I stop buying locally for almost 5 years now. I only buy online straight from Japan (HLJ, amiami, etc), where the online aftersale services are infinitely better than Singapore's ZERO aftersales services.

Anyway, that's 1 reason why I stopped buying robot toys and switched to fixed posed figures. Even the ultra expensive SHE's ones (I had a perfect transform getter robo and a gunbuster) aren't problem free either.

I have faith in Pixar. They've not disappoint me as yet. I think this is about the only "film" company that has a 100% record, imo.

Well - with the Minmei attack, the SDF-1 just broadcast the songs over Zendradi frequency. And I think once Bretai offered his help, the power of the broadcasts increased since I'm sure Bretai had ample equipment and knowledge of Zendradi communications to broadcast the songs to at least his entire fleet, if not the entire Boldoza fleet.

You could ask "why didn't they just turn it off?"

But that's ridiculous. If Lyn Minmei, wearing that pink dress, started nodding and winking at you while singing a love song... would you turn her off?

Pete

Point taken. I definitely won't turn her off. Then again, considering how old I am now, and balding as well, I think I will turn her off. The phrase 'DOM' comes to mind nowadays.

Unfortunately, real humans cannot stay youthful forever. Maybe that's why there's a recent surge in the number of handsome/beautiful people committing suicide.

It doesn't really have much to do with hand-washing. My collection dates back to 1978, and I have very few yellowed pieces. I certainly wasn't careful about hand-washing as a kid.

The bricks aren't dirty, they have actually changed color because of a chemical reaction in the ABS.

It's most likely UV exposure, as discussed in this thread:

http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=30675

My collection was stored in our basement rec room when I was a kid. I didn't play with my lego stuff outside for fear of lost pieces.

Today, it's stored in my own basement rec room I am careful not to allow it to get direct sunlight. MOCs that travel to displays or conventions always go in a box or a plastic storage bin with a lid.

Because of all this, I also don't keep any of my toys or collectibles near windows that receive direct sunlight.

Same here. I keep my toys away from direct sunlight.

Hence, I love my yellow brick castle from the early 80s. One doesn't have to worry about that turning yellow, since it's already yellow.

I also love my early 80s space exploration series.

BTW, is there any sites where one can view those early series? As a kid, I don't have the luxury of getting the full series. So it's good to know what I had missed out back then.

The regular version has been released.

(Very NSFW link) http://d.hatena.ne.jp/type97/20090519

Painted stars...

Think of them as nipple tape. She's still underaged after all (in most parts of the world, except Japan and France)

Anyway, the figure production quality is very good, as expected from Megahouse. No complaints there, except maybe for the hair color.

As far as Ranka's hair being anime accurate or not, you have to remember that Minmay's hair ranged from jet-black to a dark purple color, depending on the in-universe pin-up you were looking at. Her hair even appeared purple in Flashback 2012...

So I'm going to go with the "It's Artistic License" group...

But at least those are still shades of similar dark colours. Green and Yellow are totally opposites in the color scheme. Anyway, unless the Japan only limited magazine tie-in version is on regular sale somewhere, I just have to be contented with the Monster poster color correct scheme.

oh what the hell.. their really milking producing different versions of the figures now..

You didn't actually believe they'll stop at just 2 or 3 figures right? If you've been in this anime hobby long enough, you'll know that figure releases are just the tip of the merchandising business. BTW, the anime is nothing more than just a very well-produced 13 hour advertisement to get people to buy the merchandise.

Anyway, definitely getting the Nyan Nyan Ranka Lee. Goes well with my other 'maido' theme anime figures.

Hopefully, this time around, she comes with the anime correct green hair. The Monster Ranka Lee has yellow hair, unless one managed to snag a Japan only limited-release magazine tied-in green hair version.

Always loved Haruhiko 'HAL' Mikimoto art. The reason why I was drawn to Eve in MEGAZONE 23, SDC: Orguss, Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket. Also perhaps the real reasons why I absolutely adored Macross 7 & Macross II (both charcter designs by HAL) without any residue hangups, unlike a few MWers.

Also hoped that Macross the First will be done in mangaka format like Macross 7 Trash. The new Minmay reimagined is hawttt!

Thank you. That explains why I too love M7 and M2, and the various other anime you mentioned above (especially War in the Pocket) but dislike M+. Like I said in another thread, M+ is just a CGI tech demo to me.