Graham

And the topic title needs changing. Not sure why you guys think it is a D. Just saying. Graham

Haha, probably I locked it by accident on my touch screen Android phone and didn't even notice........whoops! Graham

Should be out of hospital today and will start on the review tomorrow. This toy really gets a 10 out of 10 from me. For those asking why the NUNS stickers, they are from the VF-19 variants from the Variable Fighter Master File book. And yes, Yamato put a lot of love into this toy. Graham

Love that there is an Emerald Force VF-25. Graham

3D, Hell No! Graham

Unfortunately, as the sample was late and I only received it yesterday, I'm not sure I will ne able to get a review done in time, as I'm in hospital on Thursday for a few days for some minor surgery Graham

They have a black stripe on them now. Graham Wrong thread to ask in. VF-19 comments and questions only please. Graham Some unexpected diecast metal for those that like it. Graham

Holy crap! Buy, buy, buy! Best toy from Yamato ever. Super tight joints, loaded with cool gimmicks, great finish, fantastic attention to detail and the coolest sticker sheet ever! This is how a 19 toy should be. And no gullet Quantum leap from Yamato again, they have really raised the bar. Oh and surprisingly small box. Graham

I could tell you what I'm getting today, but then I'd have to kill you. Had a phone conversation with Yamato today, they say this is their best VF yet and they have put a lot of effort into making sure the joints are all tight and that the toy locks together very well and is really solid. Graham

Actually, just looking at the book now and counting the micro-missiles and the cutaway FAST Pack drawing shows 320 micro-missiles! Graham

But the figure of 90 doesn't tie in with the illustration! If you count the missiles in the drawing, it is far more than 90! I don't have the book in front of me right now (I'm at work), But IIRC it is either 130 or 180 micro missile per Super Pack. Graham

Picked up mine at the G/F Japanese magazine shop in Sino Center, Mong Kok, yesterday. They had quite a few just in, for any HK members wondering where to buy it. Love the artwork, but as others have said, there's hardly anything on the Armored Pack and Tornado Pack. I was surprised that there were a few small, but nice pics of the YF-29. Surprised the gunpod magazine is drawn so small, given the size of the stock. I'd assumed the magazine was a non-removable you're that took up more space. Good book, but hope we get a second volume, with more emphasis on the various packs. Graham

Thanks David. Nice to know that Kawamori didn't screw up then. Graham Yes, but what exactly does a Fold-Wave Projector do? Well, I'm guessing project fold waves ..........but what does that mean from a practical effect standpoint? Graham

Still no plan to buy this. Call me a dinosaur, but I'm still not sold on Blu-ray. The disks (at least in this part of the world), are too expensive compared to DVD. Happy with my Star Wars DVDs. I'm not enough of a videophile that I care about improved video quality over DVD and I really don't care about extras, which I seldom bother watching. Graham

Actually, I'm really looking forward to this toy now. Too bad I'm gonna be on holiday in Greece when it comes out. Going to have to ask one of our HK members to pick it up for me. Graham

Still wondering why Kawamori designed the wing-mounted engines, with the protroding spike at the front-side position, rather than at the 12 o'Clock position. As somebody else mentiones, wouldn't the spikes block airflow to the engines during turns? And I still want to know what is the purpose of the flower petal/propeller looking thingies on the super parts? Graham

Wadda ya mean? I do too totally look like my avatar! Graham

Tried to pick up a copy yesterday, but because of the public holiday yesterday, it likely won't be hitt ing these shores until today. One more question, is there a cutaway drawing of the VF-25's gunpod and any mention of ammo capacity. Graham

Is the Tornado Pack for the VF-25 covered in the book at all? Also, any mention or pics of the YF-29? Grahm

Doing a rough count of all the micro-missiles in the photo, it looks like the YF-29 carries about 130 micro-missiles in total (15 per shoulder, plus 25 per each of the four leg packs = 15+15+25+25+25+25 = 130. Only an approximate number though as you can't see all the missiles in the photos. Graham

IIRC, last time I visited Tokyo, Save told me that the really responsive staffer at Over Drive who was responsible for handling overseas orders and emails had left the company. There was some more to the story, but I'll let Save tell it if he wants to. But my 2¢ based on my own last experience with Over Drive is that I wouldn't order from them any more. My last few emails went unanswered. Pity, as they started off so well. Graham

Ah no, I haven't been checking the novel on the Dengeki site. Actually, I didn't even know about it until you mentioned it. To be honest, as I don't read Japanese, I've not too much interest in a novel and wouldn't buy it. The Visual Book interests me greatly though. Presumably this would be reprints from the Dengeki Hobby printed magazine, with possibly some additional material thrown in. I still think that unless they are going to include a lot of as yet unseen material, it will be an awfully slim visual book. Graham

I like that the leg micro-missile pods can completely open, this means that in theory, the pilot can select to either fire the micro-missiles through the opening ports when only a few missiles are needed, or if say surrounded, facing multiple enemies, they can select to open the pods and fire off all the missiles at once. Graham

From the latest DX toy pics in the new May 2011 issue of Dengeki Hobby magazine (see the DX YF-29 toy thread for the scan), it is confirmed that the wing-mounted engines can swivel ala the Tornado pack. The wing tips however, do not appear to be able to swivel, so the wing tips will point in whatever direction the engine pods are pointing. It really seems like Kawamori did a good job of integrating the functions and performance of the Tornado Pack into the YF-29 - swivelling engines for greater manuverability, twin beam gun turret that can fire at tarrgets all around the Valk in all three modes, and large micro-mssile capacity. While I'm still not 100% sold on the looks, I understand the design justification behind it much better now. Graham

The choice of director does not inspire confidence. If they seriously want to save this franchise, they should get a tier 1 director on board, not a tier 3 or 4 director that nobody has heard of (at least I haven't). I mean, somebody who's main claim to fame is directing The Fast and the Furious sequels........c'mon! That already tells me all I need to know about this movie. Graham