Graham

I'm loving what I've seen of the Yamato 1/60 GBP so far. IMO it looks 100 times better than the old 1/55 version. It's great that Yamato have made it with all the missile hatches opening, even the small ones on the rear of the legs. And yes, I love the big fists too. One thing I can't understand though is the need for the larger shoulders. The shoulder missile launchers could have easily been made to fit on the standard 1/60 shoulders. Graham

Finally got to watch the Ruliweb movie and the game looks great. I love that in fighter mode, they have the feet moviing for thrust vectoring and also that they show the FAST pack veriers and wing-tip roll thrusters working as well. Fantastic! Graham

Any link? Graham

Rewooh, there are only two Japanese companies that make Macross Plus toys. Yamato and Doyusha. Doyusha makes 1/144 scale, mostly die-cast versions of the YF-19 and YF-21. However, they are in fighter mode only and non-transformable. They are also out of production and are getting difficult to find. Yamato makes 1/72 scale transforming toys of the YF-19, YF-21 and VF-11B. these toys are made of ABS plastic with some die-cast parts. The YF-19 has the highest die-cast content, the VF-11B the lowest. Most of the Yamato Macross Plus toys have been out of production for a few years now and so are quite difficult to find. The most recent releases are the YF-21 FAST pack version and the VF-11B FAST pack version released earlier this year. Both are quite good toys with no fragile parts. As others have said, Yamato is doing a resculpt of the YF-19, which should be released next year. Graham

Wow.....that GBP looks really nice. Yes, this is the first time I've seen it myself. The big bubble fists look great, just like the old Arii/Imai box art. Yes, it's 1/60, as can clearly be read on the card. Also, as haterist mentioned, the leg joint below the hip armor is a big giveaway that it is 1/60 not 1/48. I have no idea whether the armor will be released seperately or bundled together with the VF-1J, but if I was a gambling man, I'd bet all my money that it will come bundled. I'm pretty sure the VF-1J can transform. If you read the card, it mentions '3' something, so I'm guessing that it says 'can transform into 3 modes' in Japanese. And for those naysayers among you, do you honestly think that Yamato is so stupid that they won't eventually release a 1/48 GBP? Yes, the purple color helmet is a tie in from the squadron (team?) that fly purple color Valks in the upcoing PS2 game. For pics of these purple Valks go check out the pinned PS2 game thread in the game forum. Graham

Yamato are planning to re-issue the 1/48 VF-1A Hikaru at the end of this month, along with the VF-1S Focker. These two re-issues will feature the improved nosecone attachment and flaps, first introduced on the 1/48 VF-1A Max. I'm not sure what you mean by a 'perfect version'? Graham

Although I haven't heard anything from Yamato yet, my guess is that the 1/48 M&M with FP is probably a done deal. I mean, it makes good financial sense as Yamato already has the tooling for the VF-1J, so they might as well milk the molds more and release other color variations. Personally, I don't think a 1/48 VF-1A CF is likely as firstly the 1/60 CF was not such a hot seller after the initial 'Limited' hype blew over. Secondly, many fans are getting tired of DYRL stlye VF-1A and I doubt Yamato would be willing to invest money to sculpt a TV type VF-1A head. I also think a 1/48 VF-1D is unlikey as it would require resculpting of several parts and color variations are not possible to help recover costs. Even though people are getting a bit tired of the VF-1A, I strongly suspect that we may end up seeing a Kakizaki VF-1A 1/48 from Yamato as they included his stikers in the FP set. Graham

They are rare because they were a limited run item. IIRC, I heard somewhere that the quantity for each style was 5,000pcs. Although I like the normal Macross 7 toys, I personally think the plated ones are fugly. Also, they are only display peices really as they show fingerprints like crazy if handled, so need constant wiping down to look good. Also, if you plan to transform them often, the plating will scratch. I used to own the silver VF-19S, but ended up throwing the fugly thing out B) IMO, the best looking of the bunch was the dark chrome VF-17D, with the gold VF-17S being the ugliest. Here in HK they turn up from time to time in some of the specialty hobby shops and usually sell for about US$200 a set. Graham

"Include Regults" That's what I wanna know a local shop is selling the Mission 2 Set. Only 6 pieces. 4 battaoids. 2 fighters. No regults! I also check in an online auction, 6 pieces; no regults. Whats up with that? Anyone? That's quite normal. A lot of shops here in HK also sold the Regults seperately as the demand for them was much higher than for the other pieces. Graham

Wow, these look great. Hope they are in scale with the mission 2 figs. Graham

Hey, I thought all the Macrossworld Mods were 1/1 scale real people. I didn't realise we had any 1/55 scale Moderators here. Guess I'll have to start calling them Mini-Mods Sorry, saw the topic title and couldn't resist. Graham

There is a distinct difference between something being 'good' and something being 'popular'. Just beacuse the masses like something, does not make it good. The Spice Girls & Britney Spears are two examples that spring to mind. But anyway, I digress, that is a discussion for another time. Graham (not a Harry Potter fan).

Too many release dates? I thought the date for this game had been set as October 23 for quite some time now. Graham

By end of October would be best, if not no later than mid-November. Graham oh graham, i'm refering to the Headline for the tshirt, not deadline though...... Oh...OK, I though you just made a spelling mistake Graham

Half a year ago when I first saw the new TV hands for the 1/48 VF-1J, I suggested to Yamato that they should make a set of non-articulated DYRL type hands. I also reminded them of this during my last meeting about a month and a half ago. However, as far as I know they don't have plans to make any, so I wouldn't hold your breath waitng for them. However, I have been wrong before, so who knows. Graham

By end of October would be best, if not no later than mid-November. Graham

Now that could be an **interesting** movie Graham

Old news. There is a 14 page pinned topic at the top of this forum devoted to this already. Graham

Don't worry, you will see the new YF-19 before the end of next year, although even I don't know exactly when. As for a redesigned YF-21 or VF-11B, anything is possible. Graham

OK, so the next step is that we need to finalise the artwork and wording for the back and the design of the small embroidered logo for the front. For the back, lets stick to 3-4 colors please to keep cost down. And for the small embroidered logo, I think it should only be 1-2 colors only. I'm just thinking of a small logo only and if you start adding too many colors or details it gets messy. While we still have quite a lot of time before January, I'd like to get the designs finalised ASAP. Let's say by the end of October. Graham

You are totally correct. Design and tooling costs are very, very expensive. We are talking hundreds of thousands of US dollars per toy. So there is no way Yamato would make an all new toy like a Thunder Hummer, VF-4 or VB-6, just to release it in a limited quantity. It just doesn't make sense as they would loose too much money. So be realistic guys, a limited edition toy would just be a repaint of an existing toy, perhaps with some minor resculpting, i.e. like the Low Vis pilot. Graham

Proabably a huge radar dish. Either that or it's a giant speaker for blasting out Minmay's songs Graham

Guys, Here's what I need from each of you who are coming: - 1 Your name. 2) Your chest size in inches. Just telling me 'Large Size' is no good as there is a big difference between a HK large and a US large. 3) The number of T-Shirts you would like. 4) The color you would prefer. Note, I will have final decision on the color. 5) The style you would prefer, either 'T' or 'Polo'. Note, I will have final decision. 6) The sleeve length, either long or short. I will have final decision. Please note, I'm only getting one style & color made up. The above info is just to help me make a final decision. Please put your info in the following format. For Example: - Graham / 42" / 2pcs / Black / Polo / Short. Sebastian / 48" / 3pcs / Navy Blue / T / Long. Blackaces / 56" / 10pcs / Red / Polo / Short. At the moment, I'm sort of leaning towards either a black or dark blue, short sleeve Polo shirt, with printed art on the back and a small embroidered logo on the left breast. Oh, except for Sebastian who gets a special sleeveless version Graham

Min, a question. When you played the game did you notice how much damage the gunpod did? I mean was it possible to destroy enemies with just a short burst, or did you have to hose them with hundreds of shots like in VF-X2 before they blew up? Also, a similar question about the missiles. Can you destroy enemies with just a single missile hit, or does it require mass hits with multiple missile volleys like in VF-X2? Also, how was missile lock-on time compared with VF-X2, faster, slower or similar? Graham

I've owned about 4 of these kits, but just snap fit built them. I didn't paint them or anything. You do not need to remove the nosecone. When transforming from battroid to fighter mode, the only parts you need to remove are the hands and the lower torso/hip section. Also, the anding gear does not need to be removed for transformation as it folds inside the legs and nose. Graham