Magnus

Hey guys, last November I caved and bought the Hikaru 1/48VF-1S, my first ever. I guess I lucked out, because it has absolutely zero QC issues with it. Having landed a decent summer job, I recently ordered the super/strike Fast Pack set, because my valk is getting tired of being nekkid all the time. But after reading through some of the threads here, particularly those about the 1/48’s broken backpack hinge, it seems as though the weight of the Fast Packs exacerbates the problem…..soooo, should I be scared of putting my new Fast Packs on my valk once they arrive? Anyone have any handling tips? I really, really don’t want this piece to break, as it seems like an enormous pain in the arse to replace.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/toystan.asp?Queryid=pr015 Good lord, that's a lot of money! I'm not even that impressed with the sculpt. I might pay, at tops, 50-60 dollars for it, but no way in hell would i pay that much! Lord, I guess this should be expected with Toynami. Geez....

It's an entirely different mold than G2 Smokejumper. The size, tooling, it's all different. They share the same transformation, that's all.

There'll be a Japan version? Woo, where'd you hear that? Details details!

Sorry it took so long, exams come first I'm not sure if people have seen this before or not, but the articles states that it will be coming out in Summer of 2004 <_<

There's a new fully coloured pic of the Alpha MPC in the latest Toyfare issue, FYI.

I'm pretty sure it was Hasbro that actually went out and got the go-ahead to use those designs. As for the triple-changer thing......it's not really one. There are three main gimmicks in the Energon line, each is faction specific: The Omnicons/Terrorcons (The Basic sized figures) are all supposed to be able to manipulate Energon into these crystaline weapons for the larger bots. So each basic figure comes with a whole big chunk of translucent plastic (Red for Autobots, Green for Decepticons) The Autobots all have a combining gimmick....basically, you can take any two Autobot toys that are Deluxe sized or larger, and combine them into one giant bot. It generally works that you have one of the figures acting as the legs while the other acts as the arms, but you can also switch them around vice-versa. Every single autobot on its own can transform both into a pair of legs, or a torso (except Optimus Prime, who combines in a Megazord style with his own trailer). The Decepticons have something called "Hyper-Power" (which they get after making a deal with Unicron). Basically, each Decepticon has a feature which deploys a massive amount of weapons, either in robot or vehicle mode. What you're seeing with Mirage is his "Hyper-mode" power: normally he looks like a really cool, sleek speed-boat. With Scorponok, he turns into a sort of jet thing, and Demolisher (the dump truck) gets a gigantic missile silo on his back. Starscream reveals these two massive blasters in jet mode, etc etc. So it's not a third mode per se, more like an "enhanced" mode.

Slightly better looking? http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/pl/page.../dn/default.cfm Try insanely better looking! Especially Mirage!

Hey Jin, check this out: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?TAK08230 Then tell me that doesn't get you interested in Transformers again Yeah, like the others said, the Armada cartoon is a steaming, festering load. I just caught the very last episode of the tv show now, and let me just say the way they treat Unicron......ugh, it's horrible. The english dub is so bad you don't understand what the hell is going on half the time, and the animation is probably on par with one of those old Speed Racer episodes. If you really want to get into Armada, drop by your local comic store and pick up the comic version. It is FAR superior to the tv show, and actually makes the story cool. As for what its about: think Pokemon with Transformers. Basically, the Autobots and the Decepticons spend most of their time hunting around the Earth for these tiny little robots called Minicons. Each minicon can attach to a larger Transformer to give them an energy boost, some turn into swords and shields etc . Eventually, they all join and fight Unicron or something, it kinda derails. But fear not, Transformers: Energon is coming out soon! For the most part, the toys are MUCH improved (just don't look at the Optimus toy ) and the cartoon is going to be in cell-shaded CG, so hopefully it will be better as well. Hope that helps! Also, if you're super into G1, check out the "Alternators" line - this is where Hasbro went out and got permission to use the likenesses of various cars (like the Dodge Viper, Subaru WRX, etc) to create super poseable, amazingly cool, updated G1 characters from.

Hehe, thanks guys! Being the sucker for peer pressure that I am, I think i'm gonna cave....

Ok, so a little while ago I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a 1/48. Looking around, I saw that the Hikaru 1S had just been released.....but wait, the IJ was coming WITH Fastpacks included. Being the impatient guy that I am though, I argued myself into buying the 1S, which arrived a little while ago.....magnificent......no QC problems.....a truly amazing toy. Now, i'm looking at buying the Fast Packs (argh, I guess I should've waited for the 1J after all). Are these things REALLY worth the 70 US i'd pay to get them? I mean, seriously? I'm horrified at how expensive they would be. Any comments on whether I should buy them or not? Worth the price? Any ideas where I can get some at a good price? Help!

Don't listen to the naysayers. Gundam series have just as much characterization in them as anything Macross. In your position, i'd start with Seed. It basically takes the good parts of all the various series that have come before and merges them together. Plus the animation is some of the best around.

I'm not sure about that...... When Wing first came out in Canada, the figures sold unbelievably well. They were literally flying off the shelves. It was the UC figures that ended up being shelf-warmers (even now there are still some old Guncannons floating around). The shows were never aired up here, which is probably part of the reason they shelf-warmed and the line died (the reason they weren't aired was because the UC stuff was deemed too violent for our poor canadian children or somesuch). But with Seed coming out, I have a feeling we'll be seeing that up here this time around (after all, if they could show Wing, they could show Seed) and the line will probably get a major jumpstart again. And i'm sick of this Wing bashing. From what I understand, it was ALL thanks to Gundam WING and the popular reaction to it that convinced Bandai to bring the rest of the UC Gundam series over to begin with, with the crappy results that ensued. They didn't even show all of the 0079 series on CN because the ratings tanked, didn't they? I definetely think the market needs something like Seed, and it will arguably do MUCH better than Zeta ever could over here (I think Seed is far superior personally, and before you yell at me i'll say that i've seen every single gundam series out there, except G-saviour, and I still think Seed is one of the best of them) If Seed does well, (which it most likely will) that will mean more MSIA's being produced, and the increased likelihood we'll see more stuff stateside like double zz, V, F-91 and X, along with MSIA's for them all. So how is this a problem?

Hehe, thanks for the warm reception I figured incorporating some jiggy into my title would be the fastest way to get my q's answered I'm not so nervous about the backpack anymore. This toy is absolutely incredible.

Being a relative newbie to the Macross world, I decided enough's enough. Student loan came in, and I made some purchases. As luck would have it, when I arrived home today I had not only the Perfect Version "Do you remember love" DVD waiting for me (Thanks Valkyrie-Exchange!) but my brand new Hikaru VF-1S 1/48 as well! On the topic of the movie: WOW! The animation was amazing! I can see why everyone likes it so much now. I just wish they'd made the movie from the very beginning of the Macross saga! And on the subject of the 1/48......HOT DAMN! What an INCREDIBLE toy! I'm soooo glad I spent the extra money on this thing instead of an MPC or whatever. It's truly just....guh....like a model, but sturdier. Absolutely no flaws on mine, the air brake isn't even loose! There is one problem though.... ...I'm scared to death to touch the thing! All this talk about the backpack hinge has me frightened to transform it too much. I was thinking about sanding down the "nub" on the backpack which is used to lock it into place. I figure the latch right behind the head would be enough to hold it up, wouldn't it? Any suggestions/comments on this? Still, all in all, i'm very happy to have finally joined the Macross community! These Veritechs are awesome, although I was wondering when the Bionoids were gonna show up in the movie.......wait, something doesn't sound right about that last sentence.....heheheh

Allspark.com all the way! They even have DW artist Don Figueroa as an active member!

Hey, same here! I'm something of a Yammie "Virgin" and I JUST ordered my VF-1S, my first ever Yamato. I'm hoping it'll be amazing and free of any QC stuff (kinda nervous actually....for that much money it had better be!) Cheers

ARGH, don't tell me that! The VF-1S Hikaru is the first Yammie i've ordered. If it has major flaws in it, i'll be soooooper pissed.