thirty

This color of dark maroon photographs as a lighter almost pinkish color. Definitely a trick of the picture taking process. In person, the color is much darker. Sorry I don't have the original to compare to.

Yes, the clip on the Gunpod itself is suffiencient for holding the Gun in place. The external clip is added to sheath the gun handle to make for a super solid connection, but the Gun clip is stable as is. I will try the articulated hands out tonight when I get home, but they should work.

Never had a chance. Got to click the "Add to Cart" button though. What fun.

Most shops in Akihabara, Tokyo sold out of this kit in 1 to 2 days. I saw a major chain restock tonight, and it was flying off the pallete. The kit is HUGE, and heavy.

Yes, I saw the 1/72 clear version a few days ago in Akihabara, Japan. Just checked today, its still there.

Wizartar has a very nice transformation video : There is an additional step to the transformation, you can pop the waist out of a very stiff connection from the cockpit and get a little bit of waist swivel going on. This is good for popping the cod piece forward like it is shown in the show. You have the Luca RVF-25, so be mindful of the sensor wing attached to the left arm of the battroid mode. There are three "tips" at the end of this sensor array, they can break if you force the wing tip against something "immobile". I just pull the wing arm out, and extend the wing so it is away from the main body during transformation so that it doesn't get in the way (and broken) while I am moving the various other parts around. If the Radome is a pain during the transformation just remove it and put it back on when you get to the desired mode.

I hope you are not referring to my post about the Qrea hips that was dripping with sarcasm. Ahhhh internet, how you mangle communication and intent so. I get a chuckle everytime I see someone here complain about the V25 DX's hip placement. Let's consider how much weight that tiny swingbar would have to support, especially with Super pacs or worse yet Armor pacs on-board. The model kits have a hard time standing up with Super pacs on... And the DX's don't. Kinda important design issue.

Ozma's shoulders are the same color as the bottom of his wing. But Ozma's wing bottom is also painted. Unlike Micheal and Alto's customs.

Tonight, I saw this clear kit at a "second hand" shop in Akihabara, Japan. They were asking 4800 yen for it. I didn't have my camera on me at the time. Don't know if that indicates a online store release, or if somehow someone got an early one.

Do you mean the shoulder part with the five "dots" on it? The diecast part?

What I can't understand is why the Bandai 1/72 model kits are so bad. I have built plenty of HG Gundam kits, and with a tiny bit of paint, you can make them look very good. I have seen a fair bit of completed frontier kits on window display at hobby shops here in Tokyo, but with a few exceptions they don't look so great. The decals (stickers and water transfers look crap). Sure they incorporated a swing bar for the hip placement, but it is unsightly as well. There is no pre-mixed paint set to go with the macross kits like there is for almost every Gundam kit. I am surprised to see this coming from Bandai. There are pros on this board, and I have seen pics of beautiful finished kits. But your above average modeller is going to have a rough go at it, which is usually not the case with HG gundam kits.

I have the four DX valks, and after four transforms so far, I see no paint chipping. Where does i usually happen? After reading all of the paint/tampo horror stories here I was prepared to be let down, but so far, I don't see any wear. Perhaps I am being too careful when I am transforming them?

I just bought this RVF-25 used in Tokyo. Its an amazing piece. Super tight joints, tight waist connector. Yeah, the plastic color difference is more noticable, but its not an issue at all with the armor on. Love the Radome, love the head. The only Grrrr is that the ghost will be exclusive. I will have to track that down when I come back here in the fall.

Now the 1/72 line is having hip design issues? That does not match the lineart at all. Geez, get it right Bandai !

It looks like you might be pushing the legs back to far and naturally disconnecting the peg. If you position the hips too far back this will happen. Is this a first or second release Alto? I don't have this issue with the re-release Alto.