Mr March

I'm really trying hard to like the Yamato GN-U figures, but I'm less impressed with each new picture while in contrast I get more excited every time photos appear of Kaiyodo's latest. The GN-U figures look like they have poor articulation, they have these huge canyons (that some would call seams) right down the center of every forward facing appendage and they have a truly uninspired sculpt with strange ideas of proportion. Dare I say "big hands! big hands!" Personally, I love that "anime" feel of the Kaiyodo Revoltech sculpts. They aren't the proportionally accurate CG models of the VF-25 or VF-171 Valkyries; instead they are the Kawamori line art version of the Valkyries, fat legs/small wings and all. If one were to take a cel from the SDF Macross anime of Hikaru's battle against the Quel-Quallie, it would look like the stylized VF-1J Revoltech. The articulation on the Revoltech figures is a dream and they can almost mimic any pose from the anime (but not quite). The detail is high for such small figures and no matter how much I pose them, the joints stay tight and firm. For me, the only downside of any Revoltech I've purchased is the few awkward, exposed ball joints. If there was an alternative product that gave the articulation, detail and tight joints of the Revoltech without the eye sore of the ball joint, I'd drop Kaiyodo in a heartbeat. And quite frankly, if I'm buying a non-transforming toy of a Valkyrie, it had better have something going for it. It had best have at least noteworthy articulation (read: better than incremental) above and beyond the best transformable out there. Or fully articulated hands or have a glowing eye piece; something! The last thing I want is a non-transformable action figure version of a Valkyrie that lacks enough lateral ankle articulation to handle the classic "A" stance. I truly hope I'm wrong and that all the problems I see with the GN-U figures are corrected for the production versions. If someone posts a glowing review of the GN-U figures that tells me... "Mr March, all your fears about the GN-U figures are unjustified. The production version of the GN-U figures are an absolute win, the articulation - while no revoltech - is high, the seams are hardly noticeable, the detail is comparable and the sculpt is unstylized, but sharp and appealing. These GN-U figures are strong competitors for your action figure dollar" ...then I will be thrilled to purchase them. As it stands right now, these Yamato figures only virtue is a lack of eye sore shoulder joints. But if that's all they have, that's not nearly enough to beat Kaiyodo. I'll stick to purchasing the 1/60 scale Yamato toys and satisfy my action figure needs with Revoltechs.

Roger The colored artwork I made is from the original Japanese line art from the Macross II animation materials book. I don't own any Palladium books and I'm not Jewish. Warmaker There are some few official statistics for the VF-2SS. The MAHQ lists them. I was hoping there was some more. I've lightened the blue a little and created a fourth version. I agree that it sure does seem to have a blue tint of some kind, but it is very slight. Kurisama I was trying to mimic the style of the show itself, which uses very hard shadows, both in the animation and in most of the colored line art online. I wouldn't worry about losing details; I can always post lighter variants in the for fans only section of my website. Like the VF-17 or other dark colored Valkyries, I'm more concerned about getting as close as possible to the VF-2SS canon color scheme. I've made a fourth version and used the red stripe. Perhaps this latest one is more accurate? Take a look and see what you think. Isamu test pilot Yeah, I'm trying to determine that. It's a bit tricky.

I figured I'd start a thread about the VF-2SS Valkyrie from Macross II. I'm attempting to sneak in some Macross II profiles for the M3 before Macross Frontier gets underway in April. I'm very unfamiliar with Macross II. Unlike all the other Macross shows, I've only ever seen Macross II once and it was many years ago. Needless to say I didn't care for it, but I'm building a VF-2SS profile now so I'll need a bit of help. First off, I need to know if I got the colors correct. All the pictures online are very deceiving about the VF-2SS and some seem to give the fighter a blue tint. SO I've created a small comparison picture that I'd like fans to review and comment. EDIT Removed original pictures and inserted the most up to date color set Aside from the color, I'd like some information about the VF-2SS. There is next to nothing as far as statistics or official write ups, so the any official information you can provide would be appreciated. hellohikaru and Jedi Knight made a poster that contained some information, can they (or anyone else) confirm if these statistics are canon? Basically, I'm looking for facts and trivia I can build into a "Macross Mecha Manual-like" profile. What did the VF-2SS do? What are its capabilities? What is more advanced than previous generation Valkyries? If You've read the profiles on the M3, try to think about the kind of information that would fit into such a profile for the VF-2SS. Any help is appreciated.

Yeah, I posted a quick and dirty comparison in another thread, but it's worth a repeat Cool beans

Great pictures! Damn, these babies look amazing. The FAST Packs for the YF-19 should look olive or grey with a hint of green. From the pictures, the leg FAST packs look beige like the YF-19 itself and the shoulder tanks look white. But these are just display pieces and I'm certain Revoltech will correct the colors for mass production. All their other Macross toys have used correct colors, so these should be fine. Damn, that Reguld looks perfect. I am sooooo getting one of these

Bandai. Hmmm. I'm not sure what to make of all this. Not much of a collector, so I don't know if this is good news or bad news. Hopefully, Bandai will make some transformables.

Hahaha, I just noticed the silly pin-point barrier disk on the YF-19's hand Kinda silly, but I don't care. I really like how they put the wings for the YF-19 and YF-21 on joints for a full range of motion. Very sexah!

*stands in shock for a moment* Wow, they actually put the Reguld in scale. VERY impressive! I'll be buying one of these. And YF-19 and YF-21 Revoltechs! YAH-F'ING-HOO! Articulation baby, THAT'S what I want! At last, a YF-19 action figure that can do the flying kick

Brilliant work as always. The YF-19 looks really good with the White and Yellow scheme.

Updated the VF-25 Full Armor entry with the new pictures from the Macross Frontier website. morpheus I'd probably need to make a new profile for that. Do you have any screen shots of this red VF-17D?

I noticed they also changed all the pictures for the VF-25 Full Armor.

That is truly an awful mecha design! For once, a mecha that actually deserves the title FLYING BRICK As for the comparison to the VB-6, I will say the this condor thing makes the Konig look like the VF-25! At least the Konig can get away with the "Shuttle" designation because it actually looks like a shuttle. Perhaps if they call this condor a flying bunker it would help

Welcome to Macross World TCracker. Let your addiction begin

If Kaiyodo does as good a job on the YF-19/YF-21 and Reguld as they did on the VF-1J Super, these releases will be a major win. As for the so called failings of the Revoltech line, I'll just say the burden is on Yamato's GN-U line to prove it's a product with superior articulation, with joints that don't loosen over time and with a superior sculpt.

Wow, great work Steve.

Oh yeah, I notice that one. But given how much everyone here lays into me every time I even mention rap, I never even bothered to post it.

Well, the was fast Definitely disappointed. I suppose there is the rare chance that I might like it, relocation and all. Someone already made the Infernal Affairs/The Departed comparison, which worked beautifully (though I will forever like the original better). But that took Scorsese to pull off, one of films greatest talents. This film is working from the gutter now and it's gotta pull off a miracle at this point.

My expectations are very high. Akira is a masterpiece and modern classic. Anyone trying to top it better know what they are doing or else they haven't got a chance. The casting should be particularly telling.

Welcome to Macross World ackem. I think you just made a lot of friends

I sure hope that's a joke.

As if commercials weren't already bad enough...ugh!

I already have these scans from Briscojr84. But thanks for the submission anyway.

Huh?

Almost ever since I was an anime fan I saw/heard/read hints of Macross. During the dark days of anime fandom in the 80s my friends and I would often pick up bits and pieces of Macross and other animes like Gundam through the anime fandom. Someone with a VHS of taped shows from Japan would play it and we'd see Macross commercials or I'd buy an import magazine with advertisements for DYRL or Flashback 2012 (the titles of which I was completely unaware) and by amazed at all this "Robotech" stuff that never came out here in North America. Strong images I can still remember to this day were the impressive DYRL uniforms, all the strange Zentradi organics and Milia's red Q-Rau. These were probably the first hints that Robotech wasn't what it appeared. In my early 20s I had the opportunity to watch Robotech again. This would be the first time I'd seen the show in many years and obviously my first exposure as an adult. At the time I was just starting to get into film in a big way and learning all about the nuances of script, pacing, narrative, editing and so forth. I remember still enjoying Robotech, but I was definitely turned off by something. I watched it a few more times, but was really disturbed by the editing and especially bothered by the jarring dialog, which at times seemed to come out of nowhere. I decided not to buy it and instead just kept copies of the show on a few VHS tapes. Eventually I taped over them (with X-Files, as I recall). Very shortly afterward, I discovered Macross Plus released from Manga Ent. To paraphrase Churchill, that was the end of the beginning. From there I sought out all kinds of Macross merchandise, obtaining import CD soundtracks, more VHS tapes (which eventually became DVDs), books and toys. At some time in the late 90's I got a hold of the internet and went even more Macross crazy. The rest is history. I haven't touched anything Robotech in over a decade.

You sarcastic bastard. That is comedy gold