Graham

Actually, that's only true of the VF-1's GU-11 gunpod and maybe a few others. The gunpods of the VF-11, YF/VF-19, VF-17 and possibly others can be reloaded in the field with spare magazines carried on the VF. The Macross Compendium also mentions that the VF-0 can carry spare gunpod magazines in the leg FAST packs. Graham

Ah, I didn't realise it's supposed to be a VF-1B. I'll change the title next time I do an update. Graham

Damn, that's expensive. I remember when the first set came out, the whole box + secret figure was about HK$850. Graham

Translucent neon weapons.....Noooooooooooo! Graham

Personally, I have little interest in a pre-SDF story about the Supervision army, for the simple reason that it would not feature any VFs and IMO Macross is not Macross without VFs. Get rid of the singing and love triangle and I'd still consider it Macross, but lose the VFs and I'm outta here. I'd still like to see more of VFs fighting the bugs from Macross M3. I'm a sucka for mecha vs bugs Graham

I'll be happy to be the designated Macrossworld Transformer kicker. Just send me your Transformers and I'll make sure they get a good kicking. I'll even break out my steel toecap boots for the occasion Oh, that's not what you meant? Graham

That's true, we already know from the opening fight in DYRL that the VF-1's radar is capable of tracking and locking onto multiple targets. Graham

It`s not that bad, why ? does he look like Shin Kazama from AREA-88 the new series ? No, I just don't think it really looks like Focker. There's only a vague resemblance IMO Graham

Now that's nice. I like how they've got the DYRL style holographic HUD on the canopy, just like in the anime. I wonder if ithat cockpit is to scale with the 1/48 VF-1? Graham

I'd love to see a new Guyver OVA or even better a TV series. It's been too long with no new Guyver anime. Graham

Gotta say I don't like the sculpt of Focker's face. Graham

Silly rabbit Graham

Completely agree with everything you've said. One only has to look at CNN to see how many US soldiers you see running around Iraq with two katanas strappped to their back. The answer, exactly none. Of course there maybe some hardcore Gundam fans in the JSDF, so you never know Graham

So if we stick with just the VF-1, not including other VFs, here's the maximum single salvo missile strength possible (assuming 4 x UMM-7 pods carried on all but the GBP). Note, this is not the total number of missiles carried, just the maximum theoretical largest single missile salvo possible using my formula (which I admit may be incorrect ) VF-1 Super = 32 missiles. VF-1 Strike = 28 missiles. VF-1 w/GPB-1S = 64 missiles+ grenades. VF-1 w/VF-X FPs = 80 missiles. Not that I think it's really a good idea to use up all you missiles in so few salvos. A bit of overkill really. Probably smaller salvos of 4-6 micro-missiles per target are much less wasteful Graham

So if fitted with the clamshell type opening back and leg FAST packs from the VF-X game as shown by Nanashi and also carrying 4 x UMM-7 pods on the wings and regular arm FAST packs, the VF-1 with a total of 122 missiles could theoretically unload it's entire missile load in three salvos as follows: - 1st salvo = a whopping 80 missiles! (all 16 missiles from both back FPs + all 40 missiles from both leg FPs + 4 missiles from the arm FPs + 20 missiles from the 4 UMM-7 pods) 2nd salvo = 22 missiles (the remaining 2 missiles from the arm FPs + 20 more missiles from the UMM-7 pods) 3rd salvo = 20 missiles (the final 20 missiles from the 4 x UMM-7 pods). By comparison a VF-1 fitted with the GBP-1S armour could single salvo a maximum of 64 missiles + grenades in the first salvo. The second salvo would be 8, the third salvo 8 and then empty. Breakdown as follows: - 1st Salvo: All 22 missiles in the shoulders + all 10 missiles in the chest +all 16 missiles in the side leg launchers + all 8 missiles in the rear legs + 6 missiles from the forearms (3 left & 3 right) + 2 x hand grenades (assuming one thrown with each hand = total 64. 2nd Salvo = The second set of 6 missiles from the left and right forearms (remember each forearm stores 9 missiles) + 2 more hand grenades thrown with the left and right hand. 3rd Salvo = The third and final set of 6 missiles from the left and right forearms ) + the final 2 hand greanades thrown with the left and right hand. EMPTY. Graham

I think pretty much every current US jet fitted with the M61A1 20mm Vulcan cannon (F-16, F-15, F-18, F-22 etc), recycles the spent cases back into the ammo drum. The A-10 with the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon also does the same as I think does the Marines AV-8B Harrier with its 25mm rotary cannon. However, I'm not sure about whether modern Eastern or Western European Jets such as the Flanker, Mig-29, Rafale, Gripen, Tornado, Typhoon etc recycle their cases or eject them overboard. I'm also not sure about the older Korean war era jets such as the F-86. Graham

Sephiroth, I'm really curious, what is that runway type material your Low Vis is sitting on? Did you make it yourself or buy it? If you bought it, can you let me know where? I'd love to get some to use in my Macross toy reviews. Graham

OK guys thanks. Ill give it a try soon. Graham

I've been considering buying the Guyver III figure for the last few days. The articulation looks cool. However, for a 6" high (approx) action figure, it's damn expensive. The Japaense retail price is ¥5,040. Here in HK, it's selling between HK$340 to HK$420 depending on where you shop. I'm a big Guyver fan, but that's a little more than I'm prepared to pay for a non-Macross plastic action figure. Graham

I was thinking of checking out the Gungrave anime, but a friend who is usually quite reliable told me that it was dripping with teen angst. Is this true? Those who know me know there's nothing I hate more than overly-angsty anime characters Graham

Even the 1/55 reissues cannot really be considered perfect transformation due to the need to swap out the heatshield/canopy during transformation (except for the VF-1J Hikaru, which doesn't come with a heatshield). Graham

Ah, but if you pretend your Valk is in space, you don't have to remove the covers as they are supposed to stay closed when the Valk is in space Graham

AFAIK, the number of shots the strike cannon holds has never been officially specified. IIRC, the Macross PS2 game gives you 30 shots from the strike cannon. I forget what the PC game 'Macross VO' gives for the strike cannon, but anyway game figures should be taken with a grain of salt. The Yamato 1/48 FAST Pack toy holds 20 micro-missile per missile nacelle. So assuming the toy is accurate, that means a Super Valk, with two missile nacelles fitted to the back FAST packs holds 40 micro-missiles. And of course, there are another six slightly larger micro-missiles in the arm FAST Packs (3-per arm pack). If you add four UMM-7 micro-missile pods to the wings, you get another 60 micro-missiles (15 missiles per pod), for a grand total of 106 micro-missiles maximum for a fully loaded Super Valkyrie! As for the amount of missiles that can be fired in a single salvo. I believe this has never been officially specified either. I presume a Valk pilot can select between a minimum and maximum amount to be fired per salvo. Going with the fully-loaded Super Valk example mentioned above, I would imagine maximum single-salvo amounts for a Super Valk carrying 4 x UMM7 pods would be: - 1st salvo = 32 micro-missiles. 2nd salvo = 30 micro-misiles. 3rd Salvo = 28 micro-missiles. 4th salvo = 8 micro missiles. 5th salvo = 8 micro-missiles. EMPTY In the first salvo, the Super Valk would fire 4 missiles from each of the back FPs (there are 4 ports per FP) for 8 missiles, 5 missiles per UMM-7 for 20 missiles and the front 2 missiles from both arm FPs for 4 missiles. The second salvo would be nearly the same as the first, except that there is now only 1 missile remaining in each arm FP. The third salvo would see the final 20 missiles firing from the UMM-7s and 8 more from the back FPs, the arm FPs being already emptied during the second salvo. The fourth and fifth maximum fire salvos would see only the back FPs launching 8 missile each salvo as the UMM-7s were emptied already during the third salvo. Of course, the above assumption may be incorrect as during fighter mode, the micro-missiles in the arm FPs and the rearmost 5 micro-missiles in each UMM-7 pod actually point backwards, so these may be specifically for rear defence only. Graham

Only just got my Miria VF-1J yesterday. Haven't had time to examine it properly yet, but during the five minutes I spent unpacking the toy last night and transforming it to Battroid mode, I did notice that the white stripe on the head is a bit sloppy and the white paint goes over the line. Graham

It's not released yet. Next month I think. And it can also hold the 1/60 and 1/72 Yamato Valks, not just the 1/48. Graham