Vifam7

If I use a Gundam marker to panel line an unpainted VF-25 kit, what should I use to wipe off the excess ink? Water? Mr. Thinner? If the latter, should it be diluted? If yes, what ratio?

And do I use tissue, a soft cloth, q-tips, cotton balls? help!

Graham

Depends on which Gundam marker I use.

If I use the one with the soft felt tip, all I need is a q-tip and a bit of water to make the q-tip damp. The paint in the felt tip one is acrylic based so it comes out easy with water.

If I use the one with the hard tip, then I use my thumb, a plastic eraser, Gundam marker eraser pen, or a q-tip slightly damp with Tamiya X-20A thinner depending on how much excess I need to get off. I think the paint in the hard tip one is laquer based so it dries slowly and thus able to be rubbed out.

Looks like the DX is going for a more balanced appearance. Some have complained about the landing gear being too short, I think on the kit it is too long.

Vifam's translation says this the 1st testshot with more refinement to come. Bandai is a bigger company that can afford the refinements, so there is a good chance that what we see here is not indicative of the final toy.

The text says they're still working on the molds so it seems nothing is definite yet. The text also mentions that there are build errors on the test shot model and readers should take note of that.

There's still 3 months to go so there's still time for fixes. To me, the December release date doesn't even seem definite/likely right now.

Those legs should come out and bend a bit further in gerwalk mode according to this guy's build.

Is that what the actual production version will look like, or that still of the prototype? Fighter modes looks ok, i would just leave the landing gear up. Either way, still looks better than Bandai's Macross 7 collection.

Prototype. According to the text, it's photos of the Test Shot #1 with more test shot versions and fine tuning to come. It says that the molds are still being worked on...

The text also mentions some of the diecast areas - ankle area, thigh, shoulder base, upper arms, and other areas requiring strength.

Other info in the text - ball joint used in ankle and crotch area. Crotch-leg-thigh area will be able to spray outwards in gerwalk mode. Landing gears to be made out of metal with rubber tires and able to store inside.

Maybe CCA is another work Tomino wants to re-edit/re-write as he did with Zeta.

And this means what in english?

New releases from Hasegawa.

Basically -

a VF-22S with VF-124 "Moon Shooters" decals (Isn't VF-124, the "Gunfighters"? I guess it's Moonshooters in M7?)

a VF-0C with VMF-203 "Hawks" decals

VF-22S fans should be happy since IIRC the original release was limited edition. I think the VF-0C is something new unless it's a misprint and is actually the VF-0D.

The October issue of Hobby Japan is already out . Was there any new information?

Not sure. Bandai's announcement of the VF100s line takes a lot of excitement out of such an idea. Before, I would've been super excited about GN-U fighter. Now, I'm not sure I'd be interested in a non-scale fighter-only toy.

Now, if Yamato were to release GN-U fighters in a scale - say 1:72 or 1:100, I'd be VERY interested. Such a toy would be (to me) the equivalent of buying a completed Hasgawa model yet having better durability and still having potential for customizing. While it may conflict with Bandai's products, a toy in fighter-mode only does have its advantages over a perfect transformation or parts-swapper toy.

I'd also add that it should come with plenty of option parts (aka. boosters, armor, missiles). Maybe even a decal sheet which adds to the tampo'd markings.

How about a new Macross series in which the Valks are designed by someone other than Kawamori? Or better yet feature several different Valk designs each one by a different mech designer including Kawamori.

Yes, I know that's blasphemy around these parts but I think it'd be interesting to see how different mech designers take on the variable fighter idea within the world of Macross.

I've always enjoyed the different takes done to the "Gundam" - ranging from Katoki's minor touchups on the RX-78 to the radical Zeta (Fujita) and TurnA (Syd Mead) designs.

Has anyone purchased the SPEC L-Gaim? It's already out.

Too bad I can't afford it right now. (I have other priorities to buy right now)

Gamu-toys has a review of it with lots of pics: http://gamu-toys.info/goukin/gouki/spec/spec06/spec06.html

I am new to these forums and newish to Okinawa ( been here a yr..lol)

Okinawa! My father's from Okinawa.

I love Okinawa and it's laid back atmosphere. Not to mention the weather. Lived there for a year back in '96-'97.

Anyway to answer your question. Future Floor Wax is probably impossible to get. Maybe you might find it at a base PX if you can get inside.　The last resort would be to import it via online.

In Japan the standard acrylic clear coat is usually Gunze's Top Coat spray which is easily found at hobby shops.

As for Micosol or Microset, the alternative in Japan is Gunze's Mr. Mark Softner and Mr. Mark Setter.

I hope this helps.

Universe, do NOT listen to this guy.

Vifam7, geez man, do you understand the point of a transforming toy? You were complaining about the Toynami 1/100, and now you want the Bandai version to use different nosecones for different modes?

Obviously I'm confusing everyone's want for PT and my acceptance of parts-forming. Never should've wrote late at night. ^^;

There's only one new information there that was not presented before. The hips move backwards and forwards, as well as move left to right.

One interesting note in there - the writer said it was hard work in getting the double jointed knees and spreading out thighs to move correctly while having appropriate strength on the parts.

The only alternative to a swing bar that I can think of is if they make the legs removable to be pegged into the nose, which at 1/100 scale would probably mean big holes in the side of the nose. I'd rather have a swing bar than holes, and I'd rather have PT than have to remove the legs and put them back on, but to each their own. I just don't believe that every toy in the 1/100 scale will need to be a parts-swapper in order to retain the integrity of alt mode.

It could also be like the old 1/72 Imai/Bandai kits in which you swap the entire forward fuselage. In other words you get 2 versions of the forward fuselage - one for fighter/gerwalk mode and one for battroid mode. This could conveniently solve the want for a long nose in fighter mode and a short nose in battloid mode. Not to mention doing away with big holes and ugly swing bars.

From what I can read, it's a re-tooling of the SOC GX-31. Basically it just adds the tank-mode gimmick which is just a nod of head to the original Godaikin. A few new weapons are added as well. Probably not worth it for those who already have the prior GX-31 unless you must have tank mode capability.

Yeah I can agree now. It is a bit off, but not nearly as badly as it showed before.

It's a Bandai, and it's transformable, of course it's not gonna be absolutely perfect.

But I really need to know if you guys think I need to pre-order or not.

You guys are the experts. I've never pre-ordered models or toys before!

I wouldn't worry about pre-ordering. It may be in short supply in the first few weeks of its release but once the rush is over, you should have no trouble getting it. There has been no suggestion that this is going to be some kind of limited release so no worries.

I'd much rather have a toy be perfect transformation and have some ugly bits than imperfect transformation ANY day. Non PT toys inevitably fall apart, pieces pop off and get lost, and usually they're not visually all that much better. Even in larger scale non-PT toys like the Yamato 1/60 V1 just suck. Yes, the Toynami 1/100 could look and function better in many respects but it's still a nice compromise in all three modes and gets the job done (the swing bars are TEENY in comparison to older toys although they do need a lock). As far as I'm concerned, if they're going to charge $39.99 for these then there better be a LOT of engineering going into them and that better mean they're perfect transformation. I don't think a Lego version of transformation should run nearly this expensive. If it's $39.99 and twice as nice as the Toynami 1/100 I'm going to LOVE this line.

Well I think we're blowing things a bit out of proportion if we think these 1/100s are going to be Lego-like.

And okay, maybe I was overstating things a bit with the Toynami toy.

But I respectfully disagree that it MUST be PT. I certainly wouldn't mind it being PT. But if push comes to shove, if PT means I have to compromise on sculpt (esp. in fighter mode) - no thanks. I'd rather compromise PT than sculpt.

There's absolutely no excuse for them to NOT make the VF-1 with perfect transformation. They've already done 1/100 with PT years ago. And if Toynami can do a decent PT 1/100 toy, then anyone can do it and do it better - especially Bandai.

Yeah, except Toynami's "perfect transformation" toy is crap. Crappy sculpt, crappy build quality, crappy durability, and gaps galore.

The ancient 1/100 Takas were PT but again the sculpts were ugly.

Both the Toynami and Taka have those ugly hip/leg joint things near the intakes that mar the looks in fighter mode. I hate those things.

About the Aoshima version... it's a model kit. It says "injection kit", which to my knowledge can only mean plastic build-it-yourself.

Now, I'm not sure if it means gluing, sanding, painting, and all that wonderful stuff or simply snapping the parts all together.

For that price, it should come together without any work on my part.

(Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 @ Aug 31 2008, 11:02 PM) *

From the translation vifam7 gave us, the prototype was PT, but it the hinges were too fragile.

Seriously? I didn't know that. All the more reason to demand PT valks, if they already had it working! And they don't even need separate hinges on the fins; they could be built-in like the Yamato tail fins.

Um, I don't think I wrote anything like that. Did I?

If I did, what article did I translate?

ummm... I don't think you can reserve judgement... I mean someone posted a picture and all we can do is judge. Now you can tell me to STFU and it's up to me to listen but I don't think anyone can "reserve judgement". That's like for a more or less for criminal trials where I have no idea what happened in the crime scene. But here... it's a pic. Honestly, if it turns out better in the final stages, then I get to post... "OMG, that's a lot better than in the proto stages!" but here and now those pics look nothing like the cartoon, models, other toys, line art and what else have you.

I did include the word "some".

I think it is important to reserve "some" judgment because too often folks tend to add baseless claims (such as Bandai only being able to create chunky toys).

Are we all forgetting that Shoji Kawamori himself is supervising the sculpts on these toys?

I think it's important to reserve some judgment as to why the toy looks the way it does.

SWEET lineup! now where`s my danged AV-49 Silver Axe? and just to play a bit of devil's advocate here...we know Toynami`s releasing the reissued 1/55`s in the US right?what if for this deal to have happened they turned over their VF-1 molds? valkyrie AND weaponry?I mean, it`d save Bandai/Tamashii a LOT of R&D costs and give them a viable basis to expand the series on while cutting riskfactors for Toynami`s QC on them.and while I KNOW a lot of people don`t like Toynami's VF-1 offerings at all...I think the 1/100's are pretty decent little valks for a small price.

Count me as one who was disappointed with Toynami's offering. Bandai can do a much MUCH better job IMHO. Bandai's product quality image would take a serious hit if it were to take Toynami's product. I'd like to think Bandai is smarter than that.

Considering the price, it should be near SuperHCM quality.

The GA article lists what will be the swapping parts.

1. the head

2. the shoulder-joint area

3. the crotch area block

4. the rear fins

(Not too bad IMHO)

The general transformation system itself (the folding areas and whatnot) is unchanged.