Graham

I vote from now on he be called 'Eyebrows', rather than Hory Froating, Head, Shoji, SK or Kawamori. Graham

I've informed Yamato about the 1 broken VF-1J. From what I understand, there have been no running changes made to the materials or design of the V2 1/60 VF-1 series, but the factory were instructed to be more careful and pay more attention to assembly of the shoulder. This largely seems to have worked, as the initial rash of cracks with the first issue VF-1S Focker, slowed to a trickle with later releases. I am doing my best to persuade Yamato that a smaller diameter pin and/or a material change is needed. I'll keep you posted. Graham

Hmm........not sure I really like the face sculpt or the downward drooping eyes on that new Minmay. Think I'll pass. Graham

Guys, please stay on topic and limit posts to news of, or discussion about the upcoming Macross Quarter toy from Bandai. Graham

Regarding ways to minimise paint wear from handling on high end toys, I usually wash my hands with soap and water before handling my toys to remove any sweat, oil, grease, food etc. I also tend to hold my toys on unpainted areas, as much as practicable. So far this seems to work for me. Of course it doesn't prevent mechanical wear, i.e. where you have parts of the toy rubbing against each other. Graham

I also reported back in early January that the black paint was rubbing off the LERX of my VF-25S, where the back of the hip rubs against it in battroid mode. That is some serious paint wear on your VF-25F though. Graham

Graham

I can understand Bandai's decision to go with PVC on the head lasers on Ozma's VF-25S. If they had made them ABS, and kept them the same size, they would have been increadibly fragile. It seems fragility is something Bandai was seeking to avoid. This toy has been promoted as being rugged and durable. Yes, Bandai could have made them out of thicker, but to make them thick enough to be durable, they would likely be too thick and out of scale with the rest of the head. Graham

Hopefully, it will be packed full of high resolution mecha lineart, and complete mecha stats, but I'm not holding my hopes up. Graham

I got mine from a shop on 2/F, 188 Oriental Center, Wanchai (the shop with an open front, no window that usually has a few Yamato Macross toys). They were selling a complete set of 6 for HK$169 or a partial set of 4, which did not include blue Sheryl or pink Ranka for HK$109 IIRC I got the partial set, which I regret now. I should have got the full set. This was about 1 1/2 weeks ago. They are all sold out now. I also searched all around Mong Kok last weekend, but nowhere had them. Graham

Those V.1s just look so bad now. I'd be too embarrassed to display them alongside my V2s or 1/48. Graham

Usually, but these completely sold out everywhere with days and I wasn't able to get a blue Sheyrl. Graham

That will be a non-transforming battroid mode figure. Graham

I'm looking to buy a blue Sheryl if anybody is selling. PM me the price + airmail shipping cost to HK. I can pay by Paypal. Graham

Never understood the popularity of the TV Max VF-1A, I think it is a really bland looking scheme. But don't worry, Yamato loves you, Yeah! Graham

Back on December 27 when I got both the VF-25F and VF-25S DX toys, I wrote a mini-review , actually more like a series of observations and comments, which I posted in this thread. Go back a few pages to Dec 27-29 and you should find it. Graham

Ah, I've been going over my toys trying to figure out how all the various parts of the Super Pack will attach and I was wondering how the armor would attach to the the hip guns. Now it's clear. Not the best solution, but I can live with it. Graham

Just wondering what happened to the Super Packs for Ozma? I seem to remember that they were initially advertised as going to be available at the same time as Alto's Super Pack, but since then, there has been no word on them at all. Not that I care too much, as Ozma only used Super packs in 1 or perhaps 2 episodes of the series. I'd far prefer that Bandai make the Armored pack for him. Still, it would be nice to have the Ozma Super Packs just to be a completest. Graham

Nope, quite a lot coming soon that was not 1/48. Graham

I had this happen once and it just glued right back on. Perhaps try using a different type of glue? The trick when transforming is not to push on the console, push on the pilot instead. Graham

They just said they've been busy. Oh, and there is a huge amount of V2 1/60 VF-1 variations coming down the pipeline, including quite a few that were never made as 1/48. Graham

OK, just had a long talk with Yamato. Regarding the V2 1/60 VF-1 shoulder joint, they report the material has not been changed. They do say they are paying more attention to QC and have not received any breakage reports in Japan, since the initial run of VF-1S Focker. I know this news will not please some. To be honest, the VF-1A, V-1J and VF-1S Hikaru do generally seem to be holding up well. I think the initial problem was probably due to the factory workings using too much force and/or installing the pins the wrong way round. Graham

Overdrive didn't post it on their website as it is not a regular retail item, but an exclusive from the Tamashii website. You had to email Overdrive to ask about it. Back in November and December a few of us contacted Overdrive to ask if they could help us order the packs. We posted information on the procedure and prices then. That was the time to order. Graham

The shoulders on my V2 VF-1A Hikaru & VF-1J Hikaru are fine. Heck, even my V2 VF-1S Focker production version and preproduction test shot are both fine. The shoulder issue really surprised me when it first cropped up, as I really abused my test shot. I mean I was really rough on it and it hasn't shown a hint of any problems. Still haven't taken my VF-1S Hikaru out of the box yet, despite buying it before Christmas. Graham

This is Macrossworld, get used to it. People will still be bitching about the shoulders 10 years from now! Graham