Graham

No, the toy has to lean forward a bit in Battroid mode. Graham

OK, just got my VB-6 at lunch. Big-ass flap top window box measuring 36cm x 37cm x 14.5cm. Box is made of typical flimsy Yamato card stock with damn awful photochop box art, as has been mentioned already. The inner card tray is not plain as some people have said, but is in fact a very pale picture of the sun covered with clouds. Toy comes packed in the box in shuttle mode and is secured to the plastic tray by 3 twist ties. One instruction manual and one sticker sheet are included. There are no other accessories. The main body of the toy is molded in a sort of greenish-brown plastic, with some of the smaller parts such as the hands, rear thrusters, underside of the feet and knee internals being molded in black plastic (actually sort of very dark grey I would say). The only other color plastic used is a sort of pale orange plastic used for part of the shoulders. This toy has very little paint, most of it being molded in the correct color plastic. The only painted parts are the cockpit windows and small retro thrusters on the nose which are painted in silver. The eye piece is painted green. There are some small panels painted black on the legs. The engine intakes on the feet and the front center of the chest block are painted a pale orange. Paint job is generally OK, except on the feet engine intakes, where there are some areas where the paint was applied too thickly. The toy does not have any Tampo printed markings (cheapskates !). All markings, including the UN Spacy Emblems and the Eyes are on the supplied on sticker sheet. Actually, the sticker sheet includes two sets of eyes, one orange and one white. Strangely, the sticker sheet includes 'SDF-1', 'ARMD-1' & 'PROMETHEUS' stickers. This is odd as VF-X2 takes place some 40 years after the events in original Macross . As others have mentioned, the instruction manual does not include any guide showing where to put any of the smaller stickers. However, to be fair to Yamato there is no official information on this from Big West, so it's simply a case of put them wherever you think looks good. The black and white instruction manual is quite confusing. Maybe it would be better if I could read Japanese, but I doubt it. The photos do not do an adequate job of showing what needs to be done IMO and several small but important steps seem to have been skipped. Still, if you have half a brain and some prior experience with transforming toys, you should be able to figure out the transformation. Honestly, when transforming the toy, half the time I found it more helpful to refer to the color photos of the toy in all three modes on the underside of the box flap, rather than puzzling over the crappy instruction manual. Transformation is not terribly difficult once you get the hang of it although it is quite fiddly. This is definitely not a 'transform in 60 seconds' toy, as there are quite a few steps and lots of bits that need twisting, turning, locking together, especially in Battroid mode. However, for myself I found I was able to memorise the transformation sequence to and from each mode after about 3 transformations and no longer need to refer to the instructions. So far the toy seems quite sturdy. The only potential weaknes I've spotted so far are a pair of small cylindrical plastic locking pegs located in the lower middle torso area in Gerwalk mode, which are already showing some stress whitening after only 3 transformations. The toy locks together fairly well in all three modes and stands and balances quite well as long as all the feet and leg parts are correctly positioned. However, it looks like the tabs that secure the Shuttle's wings, may have been assembled backwards as they are shown facing the opposite way in the instruction manual. This does unfortunately mean that the Shuttle's wings (i.e. the Battroid's legs) do not attach that firmly in Shuttle mode. Just remember when transforming to shuttle mode to pull the wings backwards a couple of milimeters so that they lock in place a bit more seurely. There is not a great deal of detail on this toy, but then again Kawamori's line-art doesn't show much detail either. Yamato choose not to go the Hasegawa route and just make up extra panel lines. The toy does have some nice features, such as the black color rifled barrel inserts and the hidden elbow missile launchers though. Dimensions are as follows: - Toy weight = 730 grams. Length in shuttle mode = 31cm. Height in Gerwalk mode = 23cm. Length in Gerwalk mode = 26.5cm. Height in Battroid mode = 44cm. Articulation is nothing to write home about, but I wasn't expecting great articulation form this toy anyway. The arms have pretty decent articulation at the shoulders and elbows. however, the 3-fingered hands have only ony hinge point per finger where they join to the hand. Also, there is no wrist articulation, the hands just being press-fitted onto simple pegs. Leg articulation is pretty poor, but that was obvious from the photos anyway. Although of course the knee can bend forward to go into gerwalk mode via some fairly complicated rearranging of the leg parts, the leg cannot bend backwards like a human leg, so no kneeling poses in battroid mode are possible. Correction, after more experimentation with the complex knee assembly, I can confirm that yes, the knees can bend backwards. Overall a fairly nice toy, but more of a display piece IMO with not a great deal of play value or gimmicks. Graham

Wouldn't call it a mystery peice. Although it's not mentioned in the instruction manual, this missile launcher is shown in the VB-6 line art in one of the VF-X2 game books. The legs still can lock in shuttle mode, you just gotta make sure that when they go on the tab you pull them back about 1-2mm. It's still not a very good lock though and they do fall off the tab quite easily. Yes, it probably would have made more sense and been more secure if the tab was facing backwards. Graham

OK, I've just merged the two Yamato VB-6 Konig Monster threads, as it's pointless having two separate threads on the same subject. Post all comments on the toy in this thread. No starting new Yamato VB-6 threads or they will be locked. Graham

Should be getting mine in about an hour, so will post some comments later today. Graham

On one of the SW documentaries (maybe on the ep 1 DVD), I seem to recall Chiang making a comment that he didn't like the designs of the ships in the original trilogy. If I'm recalling correctly, somebody who doesn't like the classic designs should never have been allowed to work on the prequel trilogy . Graham

Although I've only seen up to ep # 8, so far I'm absolutely loving Destiny, I found SEED to be pretty so-so, but Destiny really hits all the right spots fo me. I'm really enjoying the pacing and they really keep ratcheting up the tension level IMO. Based on what I've seen so far, this is probably going to turn out to be my favorite Gundam TV series, with V-Gundam second. Graham

I used to have this kit as a kid. Very cool. Yes, the UK version had different (and better IMO) bocx art than the US version. No, to the best of my knowledge, the design nevery appeared in anuy of the Gerry Anderson shows and I've seen most of them. Graham

Heh, Chirico still has man boobies .. Graham

I'm so looking forward to seeing this episode. Can't wait to see Sword Impulse take out those ships. Graham

It does look like Katoki's art, but difficult to be sure. Graham

Very nice work and certainly a faster job than Yamato is doing . Maybe you should try making a variable version, even if is not perfect transformation and requires some parts swapping. Probably wouldn't be that hard. Graham

Which Victory Gundam toy? There are several. Graham Any. Something about the Impulse definately screams Victory to me (V1, not V2). I know what you mean. Impulse's shoulders and the mid-line chest part is very Victory-ish IMO. Also of course the seperation into 3 flying units, that can dock mid-flight is similar. Although Okawara didn't bother with being able to combine the core Splendor with just the Chest Flyer or Leg Flyer, unlike how Katoki designed the Victory's Core Fighter to be able to dock with either the Top Fighter or Bottom Fighter. Anyway, I love both the Impulse & Victory Graham

These pics were posted a few months ago . Can't be bothered to dig up the thread though . Quite cool anyway, even though I'm not a fan of Nagano type mecha. Graham

One of the guys I work with saw it over the Christmas holiday. He said it was pretty good, but felt let down by the ending. He said he thought the ending should have had more action. I think I'll wait unitl the DVD release then rent it. The preview I saw showed the fights as being far too over the top with too much CG for my taste. Graham

Yes, the MMM Impulse is not as heavy as the MMM Strike, due to the lower metal content, but it is a much better toy IMO. Far more poseable. I'll weigh them when I get home tonight and post the result later. I love this toy. Definitely buying 2 each of the Sword and Blast Impulse when they come out as well. Graham

Which Victory Gundam toy? There are several. Graham

Now for some comparison shots with the Force Impluse MSiA and the MMM Strike Gundam. Graham

Next with the Beam Saber. Graham

Now for some action poses. Graham

If you like mecha toys and you like the Impulse Gundam design, then you absolutely should buy the MMM GQ Force Impulse Gundam toy from Bandai. This is an amazing toy IMO. Definitely my favorite toy release of 2004. I am extremely happy with this toy and can't stop raving about it. Extremely well finished, with great articulation, especially in the shoulders and feet. Not only are the ankles on ball joints, but the front and rear foot sections also have separate ball joints meaning that the toy can do a flat foot pose even with a very wide leg stance. The toy can also separate into it's 3 componant sections, the 'Chest Flyer'. Leg Flyer' and 'Core Splendor'. While the MMM Impulse's die-cast metal content is lower than the older MMM Strike Gundam (only the Impulse's hip joint/groin, shoulder joints, ankles and feet), the toy still has decent heft and the distribution of the die-cast allows for a good centre of gravity and superior balance. Bandai have improved on all the design flaws of the earlier MMM Strike Gundam. Gone is the removable armor which limits articulation. The front skirt armor on the Impulse is well articulated, meaning that a kneeling pose is a snap. The Impulse has a far firmer shield attachment than the Strike. The Impulses Force pack attaches very firmly. Also gone is the ugly overly long kneck of the Strike as well. The toy comes with 1 x Core Splendor with removeable underwing rocket pods, 1 x beam rifle (handheld or attached to rear skirt), 1 x Force Impulse Flight pack, 2 x beam sabers with removeable hilts, 1 x collapsible shield, 2 x folding knives, 1 x shield bracket (for attaching shield to chest flyer), 18 x screw hole covers, 1 x instruction manual, 1 x spare hard plastic 'V antenna, 6 x hands ( 2 x fists, 2 x gun/saber/knife hands, 2 x open hands) & a a little extra white thing that is supposed to attach to the waist of the Leg Flyer. The 3 component sections of the toy lock together very well, all though it did take me a while to get the hang of it. The only downside to this toy is that the rear skirt armor is slightly loose and does fall off from time-to-time. Also, you have cut the the 18 screw hole covers from their spru and put them on the toy yourself. A word of caution here. Make sure to RTFM. The screw hole covers are not generic. Each one is numbered and matches a specific hole and although they may fit in other holes, they will not be flush and are a devil to remove one pushed in. Here's some quick pics. First of all the box and inner tray with all it's contents. Graham

The MMM GQ Force Impulse Gundam is just out here in Hong Kong. I just picked up one during my lunch break for the price of HK$499 (US$64). Price will probably come down in a week or so. Despite the high price I couldn't resist buying it . I nearly didn't find it, as when I first checked the nearby toy shops during lunch they didn't have it, so I was cursing Bandai for not having the toy out in time for Christmas. Anyway, I went and bought myself some lunch and then just a few minutes before it was time to head back to the office I on a whim decided to go back and check one of the toy shops as they often get new Bandai stock arriving during lunch hours. And lo and behold, there was a big pile of freshly arrived Bandai cartons sitting on the shop floor, which just happened to contain some newly arrived MMM GQ Force Impulse Toys . Anyway, the toy comes in a rectangular window box measuring 33cm wide x 24cm tall x 6.5 cm deep. The window on the front of the box, which displays the robot takes up about a third of the front of the box. Measuring the Gundam through the window, it appears to be about 16.5cm tall. I'd take a photo of the box and post it now, but the only camera I have on me is my cell phone camera and as my antique office PC does not have bluetooth, I have no way to transfer the photos . I'm going to do something which I'm not well noted for, that is be patient . As much as I want to get this toy out of the box and start playing with it immediately, I'm going to wrap it up, put it under my Christmas tree and not open it until Christmas day, as it's my present to myself. So that means no review or pics until later. I'll just say that what I can see of the toy through the window box looks awesome. I can't wait to pose it together with my MMM Aile Strike. Graham

It's OK, I know my pics were crap, but in my defence they were taken in about 5 minutes, late at night, under bad indoor lighting, when I was tired. Graham

Yeah, I was surprised that Lego didn't make it along with Corgi and Dinky diecast toy cars and Micronoughts, which were pretty popular in UK in the 70s. Graham

'Accuracy'...........Stormies, yeah right Graham Didn't Obiwan comment on the accuracy of the shots on the decimated Jawa transport and said Tusken Raiders couldn't have made such accurate shots in Ep 4? IIRC, wasn't Obi Wan referring to the blast points on the Sand Crawler, not the blast points on the Jawas. I mean you don't really have to be very accurate to hit something the size of a Sand Crawler . Graham