Graham

Another good thing about Robbie Williams is he's got the raised eyebrow thing down perfectly and in a tux he really does look like a young Connery. Graham

I think Eyesonme is talking about a review of the Alpha. I understand That you're not getting yours soon, but perhaps somebody here can post a review as soon as he gets the toy. As eriku said: this'll be a loooong week As I have to order mine from the US, I'll probably be one of the last people here to get it, considering that shipping from the US to HK takes at least a week, often longer. Graham

Yep, finally lost all interest in Gundam anime, toys and models a year or so ago. Both SEED and the current SD Gundam anime finally killed off what little remaining respect I had for the franchise and it's creators. The various Gundam animes and MS designs have for the most part just become too repetative for my liking. I have a small amount of residual interest left in Gundam Sentinel, but that's it. I used to buy lots of Gundam models in the period from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s This was a time when there were hardly any mecha toys being made, so if you wanted mecha, it was a choice of Gundam models or nothing. We are so lucky that we are in the middle of a toy renaissance and there is just so much choice now. This really is the golden age of toys as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, getting back on topic, the last Gundam model I bought was the MG S-Gundam, which really disappointed me as one of the ankle joints snapped on only the third transformation. Since then, I have not bought a Gundam model. There are enough Macross toys being made now to keep my wallet empty and satisfy my mecha cravings and to be honest I'd say that less than 1% of Gundam MS designs appeal to me enough to make me consider wanting a toy or model of them. Graham (burnt out, tired, sickened and disappointed with what Gundam has become)

Dude, What are you talking about?? The role was tailor made for Bana Hmmmm...that pic has made me loose what little residual respect I had left for Bana . Though he was ok in Chopper. Liked him in Blackhawk Down. Thought he sucked in Hulk (as did the entire movie). I rate that movie the same as Battlefield Earth and Gundam G-savior, the only movies that have sent both my wife and I to sleep simultaneously even when we were not tired. Haven't seen Troy yet, so no comment. Graham

Someone's out of touch with Bandai realities :-P Bandai makes unassembled toys. It's only a natural extension that these so-called models be made in ABS. Most of a Gundam's inner frame is ABS now. The styrene is reserved for armor pieces and things that don't rub against plastic. Does anyone recall the first Gundam model to have any form of ABS construction in it as we know it today? I can only remember as far back as the MG Alex and its shoulder joints. Heh, I stopped buying Gundam models a few years ago. Graham

The perfect person to play Bond IMO would be British pop singer Robbie Williams. He looks just like a young Sean Connery and he's indicated that he's interested in the role. Unfortunately, he's not really well known in the US, despite being hugely popular in UK. I'd also like to see Bond movies go back to their roots and have the stories set during the cold war. Graham

That would be ABS plastic. I thought plastic models kits, including Bandai models were made out of styrene plastic, which is generally much more fragile than the ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic used in toys. Graham

Eh.......what? Graham

OK, I think we have pretty much exhausted this discussion about Macross 3D VFX as people are now discussing another show with bleh.........transforming lions Thread closed. Graham

Personally, I far prefer the sculpt, proportions, details and articulation of the 1/48 over the 1/60. I definitely think the 1/48 in superior in fighter mode as I think it has a much nice shaped nose and canopy, better looking landing gear and the foot thrusters don't stick out as far as on the 1/60, which is my major complaint with the 1/60 fighter mode. I also think that the 1/48 FPs look far better than the 1/60 FPs, which are just too small (the missile launcher part). Also think that 1/48 Gerwalk holds a much cooler looking spread leg pose than the 1/60. Battroid mode is probably the worst of the 1/48s modes as far as proportioning is concerned, but even on a bad day, it's superior articulation wins out over the 1/60 for me. And my main gripe about the 1/60s is these days, I just can't stand looking at Yamato's crappy painted diecast legs. As others have suggested, Yamato really should go begging to Bandai for lessons on how to do painted diecast correctly Graham

Unfortunately, all indications are that the 1/55 reissues did not sell very well at all and Bandai has no plans to continue with the line Graham

Heh, 'Tofu' is the nickname of one of the Yamato staffers in Japan. Graham

Godzilla can I add this to the MW Custom Toy Gallery? If yes, it would really help me out if you could make a 100 pixel wide thumbthail of each of the 20 pics. Graham

I think that something most people forget is how little diecast the 1/55 actually has. There's not really that much diecast to scratch or chip. Basically only the inner lower leg halves are painted diecast and they don't really rub against anything. The only other diecast parts are the swing bars, shoulder hinges and landing gear, which are plated, not painted. I agree completely, that Yamato has really not got the hang of doing painted diecast parts very well compared to most other Japanese toy companies. Graham

That's great, I'm sure your son will appreciate them when he gets older, well maybe not the Banprestos Yeah, I've also got a bunch of 1/55, 1/60, 1/65 (M7), 1/72 (M+) and 1/48 all waiting for my son if he wants them. I think many fathers on this forum are the same way Graham

Thanks. It's my way of hopefully passing my love of Macross and mecha toys onto the next generation. After thinking about it for a while, I'd probably wait until my kid is about 7 years old, before giving him any cool Japanese toys. That was the age I was first exposed to Japanese mecha toys and I remember being able to apprecate them at that age. Graham

Bandai, Aoshima (Miracle House) and Max Factory all make awesome diecast toys, but to be honest they are so pretty that I'm often afraid to handle them too much for fear of paint chipping. I hate paint chipping on diecast toys, it really makes them look awful IMO. On the other hand, with a plastic toy you don't have this concern. I love my SOC Combattler V, but it hardly comes out of the box beacuse I don't want to chip it any more than it is. Graham

I'd also love Bandai to release a chunky monkey VF-0. I'd be all over that and probably buy half a dozen of each varient. Man, I love the Macross Zero designs. Hah......and who said I dont love toys Graham

LOL...that's actually a pretty good idea. Unfortunately, my present house doesn't have ceiling fans I remember my parents first house in HK in the mid-70s had ceiling fans and my elder sister and me had great fun putting toys on the fan blades, then turing on the fan and watching them fly accross the room Don't think my wife would agree to hanging toys from the ceiling though . Also, I'd probably be worried about the string breaking and the toys falling on baby. A 1/55 falling on to the head of a 7 week old baby from a height of 8 or 9 feet would probably not be good for babies health. Graham

Modelling is all well and good if you have the skill, time and patience to master it, which I don't unfortunately . For me, model kits could never replace my love of toys for the simple reason that they are just too damn fragile. Yes a well built model will almost always look better than any toy, but unfortunately they just don't stand up to anything but the most gentle of handling. I occasionally pay to have models built (beacuse I can't paint worth a damn), but only if it's of a design I really like of which there is no toy yet. I love my three painted Hasegawa Macross models (SV-51, VF-0S & VF-22S), but I'd much prefer toys of them, as I can't enjoying handling or playing with the models as I'm in constant fear of breaking them. Actually, I don't think anybody here is saying that those who love diecast are irrational. All I'm doing is stating my reasons why I personally don't like diecast in a transforming toy. I'd definitely agree with you that the 1/48 is more durable than most people give it credit for, but I'd have to disagree that describing it as a model is more relevant than calling it a toy. In my opinion, the 1/48 is most definitely a toy as it can be played with, handled and transformed fairly roughly with little fear of breakage. The main reason my 1/55s are in storage is that I simply have no space to display them. Houses in HK are small and I only have space for 1 display cabinet. If I had a bigger house, my 1/55s would probably still be on display. As it is I prefer to display the nicer looking (IMO) Yamato Macross Plus toys, Yamato 1/60 VF-1 toys and the Yamato 1/48 VF-1 toys, which completely fill up my display cabinet. As for saving the 1/55s for my son, why is that destoying them? I don't plan to give them to him until he is old enough to appreciate them. Plus I have my own collection of 1/55 toys as well. He's not getting all of them you know I hope, I will never grow out of toy collecting. And just because a piece does not have any diecast doesn't mean it is not a toy. Personally I prefer toys that are durable and can be handled without fear of breakage. However, I do want my toys to look as accurate as possible to the source material, given the limitations of the sculptors and toolmakers skills. And with the current state of toymaking technology, it is possible for toy companies to make toys which are durable, playable and yet asthetically pleasing either with or without diecast as Yamato and other toymakers have shown us. It's just my personal experience that diecast does not always equal durability or playabilty. I hope nobody will defend me, there's certainly no need to, as I don't feel I'm being attacked. I don't know why you get the impression I don't love toys? I'm still an avid toy collector, and love toys, but for both financial reasons and space limitations, my toy collecting these days is limited to Macross. Graham

As others have mentioned, Glock offers an extended slide release, which is much easier to use, yet still low-profile enough for both concealed or uniform carry. I shot my G21 in IPSC for several years and never had any difficulty using the standard slide release and I only have medium size hands. Anyway, some clarification is on order. Glock doesn't actually refer to it as a 'Slide Release'. It's actually a 'Slide Stop Lever'. Glocks philosophy is that it is for locking back, i.e. stopping the slide only and the correct way to release the slide is to use your weak hand to pull back and release the slide. Of course, there will be times when your weak hand is being used for something else and you will need to use your thumb to trip the slide. You say "There's no hammer, and no decocker" like that's a bad thing? The stiker fired 'safe action trigger system', with it's consistant shot-to-shot trigger pull doesn't require either a hammer or decocker. Gaston Glock designed his pistols to be as snag-free as possible, without any extraneous levers, switches, gadgets, gee-gaws, bells and whistles on the exterior surface to provide for a smooth draw, thus minimising the chance of the pistol getting cought up in clothing during the draw. While HK make good quality firearms, if I had to choose between a USP 45 and a Glock 21, I'd take the G21 any day. I've fired the USP and didn't like the mushy trigger, the 1 rd lower capacity and the larger percieved size (not sure if actual size is bigger or not). Mostly I'd choose the G21 beacuse of it's lower bore axis. For me it has the least muzzle flip of any 45 I've ever shot. I personally find the G21 to be the softest shooting 45 ever, with minimal felt recoil and almost no muzzle flip. On the other hand the USP has a very high bore axis and I found shooting it, my shot-to-shot times, were much slower. Anyway, firearms preference is a highly individual thing and we are lucky enough that there are still enough manufacturers that make something for everybody to like. Graham

Yeah, more of my extremely limited shelf space taken up, which is not good Graham

Let's see it hold that sword above it's head without any support Graham

Actually, I've always been very vocal supporter on Macrossworld of less die-cast metal parts is better on a transforming toy. I'd be quite happy if all future Yamato Macross toys were all ABS and POM plastic, with only the bare minimim metal part where absolutely necessary for strength. In fact if a toy is designed right, metal parts (apart from screws) aren't necessary. A good example of this is the Bandai 1/65 scale VF-17D/S toy. This toy has zero metal parts (except for screws and 1 or 2 pins), but is one of the sturdiest Macross toys ever made. I don't mind die-cast metal parts on a non-transforming toy, but on a transforming toy, you inevitably get paint chipping and increased wear and often premature loosening of joints. Also, I've found that when a toy includes both die-cast metal and ABS plastic parts, it is often difficult for the manufacturer to get an exact color match between the painted metal and the plastic parts a good example of this is Yamato's YF-19 toy. Graham

NOooooooooooo! Good in Blackhawk Down, Terrible in Hulk. Not suitable for Bond at all. Graham