Graham

SDF-1 already confirmed. 3 Valks on shortlist for next all new PT VF. Not sure if choice has been made and work has started yet.

That's what I thought you meant. Doesn't bother me at all. I seldom used it. Didn't like the rattle.

When you go by the Japanese MSRP, then yes. But not always by street price outside of Japan.

Err.....No.

1) Yamato were never really happy with the original 1/72 YF-21. 2) The VF-X2 VF-19A didn't sell that well. It was never a case of Bandai blocking release of a VF-X2 VF-22.

Theoretically yes. Regarding the VB-6, Yamato's licence is for the VF-X2 version. Theoretically, Bandai could also have a licence for the Frontier version.

Heh, I'm old enough to remember when the .357 magnum was a common round for US law enforcement & the 9mm was the esoteric.

Eh?

Initial impressions are that it seems to be, but until it's been out longer, in more peoples hands, it's difficult to say for certain.

Just to make this clear, there is no secret licencing deal between Bandai and Yamato to decide who makes what. Licencees such as Bandai & Yamato can only negotiate directly with the franchise licensor, i.e. Big West, over who makes what. Basically Bandai has the exclusive on Frontier for at least the next few years. As I understand it, licences for SDFM, DYRL, FB, M+, MII & M0 are negotiable on a scale/type basis. There is no exclutivity. M7 & MD7 licences were previously Bandai exclusives, but may now be open to others (stay tuned for further news).

"Circle-Bar Verniers" is the approved MW term.

Well, bit the bullet and went ahead and placed my order with OverDrive for two of the Ghost+weapons set and one of the Fold Booster+speaker sets. Was originally planning to get one more of each, but the higher than expected price of these has nixed that plan. Remember the heady days before release of the DX, when we were all excited cus' these toys would be cheaper than the Yamato offereings......Hah! Graham

Guess your've never heard of the F104 Starfighter then? Graham

It was based on the long defunct Calico 9mm SMG, which used a top mounted 50rd or 100rd helical feed drum magazine.

Technically the blue & white and orange & white Project Super Nova paint schemes first appeared in the Variable Fighters Aeroreport chapter of the TIAS Macross Plus book, which predates the Model Graphix articles & Hasegawa by several years.

I think you might mean the M1 carbine, which fires the .30 Carbine cartridge. A light, handy weapon good to about 100 yards. Quite a good choice against Zombies IMO. One of the characters in the Romero Land of the Dead movie used one. I'd stay away from anything chambered in .22LR due to lack of power and reliability.

Good catch. Same on my two VF-25S. Bad Bandai, cutting corners!

I love this toy. The sculpt is awesome in all three modes, transformation is easy, it locks together well & has good poseability. This is the VF-11B toy I've been waiting 15 years for! Now bring on the VF-11C.

I have turtles. Slightly more mobile than a fish.

My choice of Glock stems more from limited parts availibility & lack of competant gunsmiths in this part of the world, plus I'm a Glock armorer. +1 on the Hi Power, lovely pistol. Not a fan of CZs though, seen several low round count guns with broken slide stops which puts me off. Plus they just don't fit my hand. Also shot standard & revolver class. Can't stand race guns either.

Moving this to the 'Movie & TV Series' forum, as it's a technology discussion and doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with toys. My take on the rear pointing head lasers is that they are likely semi-autonomous. It would be very difficult in a dog fight siituation for a pilot to fly, aim and fire a rear firing weapon all at once. Probably the pilot can select between 1) full manual control, where he does everything, i.e aims and fires. 2) Semi-autonomous, where the onboard A.I. does the aiming and just tells the pilot when to fire and 3) faull autonomous, where the onboard A.I. does everything, i.e. aims and fires. Graham

I don't think typical toy-grade, die-cast pot metal zinc would hold up unless the parts were made much thicker. Machined aluminum or steel would do the trick, but may be too expensive. Graham

Still haven't opened my reissue VF-25F yet. Saving it until I come back from my business trip on Saturday, so I've got something to look forward to. Graham

Heh, I can actually reload pretty fast (or used to be able to). I used to be a very active IPSC competitor before my son was born. I love the 10mm round, but wouldn't choose it due to limited availabilty. If I did go with a 10mm, I'd go with a Glock 20 in 10mm not a Para. Seen too many Paras go down to ever really trust one. The loadout I mentioned is manageable with decend load bearing gear. Certainly many troops are carrying more in terms of sheer weight. Two guns minimum are a must, in case of parts breakage or a stoppage that can't be instantly cleared with a 'tap-rack-bang' or other immediate action drill. There are certainly many modern surpressors that work just fine on locked breach pistols and allow the pistol to cycle just fine in semi automatic. I used to be in law enforcement arms sales, so this is an area I do have some experience with. And I repeat, a minigun is only man-portable in the Predator movie or if it's an airsoft minigun, not in real life. Graham

There's a hotel near my office where the HK Government has quarrantined all 300 guests and staff for 1 week, after a Mexican guest staying there became HK's first confirmed case of the Mexican Swine Flu. Just waiting for them to all turn into flesh eating zombies any day now. Graham