motley

something appears to have happened in the overall battletech sphere, as its not just Smith and Tinker/Pihrana using the anime unseen mechs in the new mechwarrior. Catalyst games, who publishes the 'classic' pen and paper game has returned the unseen mechs ripped straight from anime back to the pen and paper game. so either someone made a deal with Big West, or with Harmony Gold, or they just decided that harmony gold isn't strong enough to put up a fight. FASA presumably saw the infamous 'letter' back in '95, so its likely Catalyst and Smith & Tinker know what legal ground they're standing on. they also seem to have a much firmer financial footing than FASA did in '95, and harmony gold would seem to be floundering.

getting a bit late to put my 2 cents in, but i'm thinking that the reason Brera shot the gun was not to hinder their escape, but to protect the big purple crystal that was right above where luca was tentacled up. Brera looks definitely NUNS, but clearly there is a group in NUNS that's more interested in data than people. everyone's least favorite mophead would be in this category. this ties into the instructions Lt Glass was given about the importance of getting information too.

dammit i have the stress marks under the cockpit too, both sides, but one moreso than the other. i hadn't noticed until i saw this thread. i received mine on 12/18/06, only transformed it 2 or 3 times (fighter mode is just too sexy).

well, the bount arc is officially over. episode 110 starts the Arrancar arc. the bount arc started out really poorly, especially with its pacing, but towards the end it got a lot better. ultimately though, it feels a lot like a re-hashing of the previous two arcs, with no new information about any of the characters (with the exception of seeing Matsumoto's zanpakuto in action).

i've watched up to episode 8 so far, and i'm really enjoying it. its a bit melodramatic, but this is anime after all. i really like the twist of the uber mecha being exclusively on the bad guy's side, even if its pilot is a good friend of the hero. i realize the the black knights are going to get an uber mech of their own soon, but it's much less the traditional hero styled robot than lancelot. i'm not sure why the opening theme is so popular on youtube though, i find it pretty annoying. i like the ending theme though, reminds me of the opening to noir (the only thing really worth remembering about noir), i think its done by the same group.

i have updated only minorly since the last version of this thread 1/48 1 - Max VF-1J super 1 - Hikaru VF-1J 1 - VF-1A 1 - Strike armor set 1 - GBP armor set 1/60 1 - VF-1S strike 1 - VF-1A mp version 1 - VF-1A TRU version 1 - VF-1J Miria super 1 - VF-1A Max 1 - VF-1D 1/72 1 - VF-11 FP 1 - VF-21 FP

and bad imitation at that. Kawamori's gerwalks are the only ones that ever look remotely 'right' and even the froating head doesn't always get it quite as perfect as the VF-1. Gerwalk is my favorite mode, fighter and battloid are both nice, but there's just something about the gerwalk mode, the aggressive looking combination of fighter and robot really works for me.

well as much as i love the banprestos, they really are shitty. if these have any quality to them, it will be worth it to pick up a couple, though i wish they'd opted for the tv versions, i'd kill for a tv max VF-1A, the DYRL version have been done to death by yamato and bandai (who seem to have no interest in the anything from SDF macross other than the -1Js, so toynami would have an immediate leg up in the market, plus the tv versions are the only ones that the robotechies will tend to recognize anyways)

hmm, Humphrey Bogart (57%) Elvis Costello (47%) and under 'all' Cate Blanchett (48%) it must be the nose

get it. the emia zaku is great. the joints are mostly the same as the v2 zaku, with a handful of tweaks and redesigns that make a huge difference. plus the sculpt is one of the best zaku sculpts i've ever seen. it shares no parts with the 2nd version and even features a moving monoeye, thats geared, you don't have to open the head to move the monoeye (in fact you can't open it, its glued pretty good), there's a lever on the back of the head under the cables. its not just a a peg with a painted dot, when you move the lever to the left (as viewed from the front of the head) the monoeye moves to the left, move the lever to the right, the eye goes right, as opposed to a peg where moving it to the left or right would move the eye to the opposite side. this is my favorite part about the whole toy.

not tremendously surprised, sulu always was the prettiest. exhibit A

here

i'm in. what happened to the old mapping project?

it is a vf-1, and the squadron's been identified at some point, though i for get which one. try digging through the archives a bit.

!! this is the part that really sparks my interest. wonder how they're going to make that work. can't wait to see the D-type

I sort of agree. If I lived in Montana I'd want one... Maybe even like near Lake Tahoe. But the surburban ones are a joke. why? i live in montana, and nobody needs one of those. 90% of the people who own trucks here don't NEED them.

well, its all based off the original toy. the original G1 ultra magnus was a car carrier trailer with a white version of prime to pull it. the trailor converted into armor that the prime toy fit into. the original diaclone version of ultra magnus was a powered up version of convoy (prime). so its less the toy being based off the comic, than the comic reflecting the original toy and being re-referenced in this new toy.

oh, stupid me. they have it listed as the Z gundam. i've been using the search feature for zeta. grumble. oh well. i got the hyaku shiki a couple weeks ago, and i'm pretty fond of it. its currently in full armor kai configuration, which i found a lot more appealing that i thought i would.

does anybody know why i absolutely cannot find the GFF zeta at any of my usual online retailers? its been out for two or three weeks, but HLJ never put up a pre-order, and still don't have it available, nor have i found it anywhere else i've looked.

too bad he's just parroting Nagano's designs, the Shiki is the inspiration for the knight of gold. but it does look good. and damn them for doing the Zeta, now i'm going to have to blow more money. i just hope its more stable than the Zeta plus's.

Rohby's actually stopped doing the re-casts, too much degredation in the molds. but you should be able to get a full set from some of the members here. check the for-sale section and maybe post a thread in the wanted section. i got several offers when i was looking for a re-cast. i'm not sure about individual parts though.

there is a segment of vintage toy collectors who claim to dislike transformers based on the storyline, they state a preference for robots with drivers, and feel the sentient robot part of transformers is distasteful for one reason or another. but basically they're just trying to be elitist, and diaclones are more elite than transformers due to their rarity and pure japanese flavor.

I was feeling the same way, but it looks like it is getting better with Grimlock and Windcharger. The way I see it there are three major transformation types that have been shown. Each has a couple of variations... Type 1: Hood For A Chest Variation 1: Silverstreak, Smokescreen & Meister Variation 2: Hound (the feet, front tires and seats are different than above) Type 2: Set the Car on its Nose Variation 1: Sideswipe, Deadend & Windcharger(?) Variation 2: Tracks (the doors and rear end are different than above) Type 3: Set the Car on its Tail Variation 1: Grimlock I would like to see a truck like a Dodge Ram or a Jeep SUV. i think its a little bit more simple but you've got the right idea. i'd put it like this. Type 1: Hood For A Chest Variation 1: Silverstreak, Smokescreen & Meister Variation 1.5: Grimlock (legs are different, but upper body is the same) Variation 2: Hound (the legs/feet, arms, front tires, torso, and seats are different than above) Type 2: Set the Car on its Nose Variation 1: Sideswipe and Deadend Variation 2: Tracks (Ravage?) (the legs, shoulders, doors, and torso different than above) Variation 2.5: Windcharger (transformation is a mixture of elements from variants 1 and 2) grimlocks upper torso is pretty much the same as smokescreen and the others, but the legs are new. hound is totally different from smokescreen and the others, despite a very similar end result. windcharger seems to have sideswipe's legs and tracks' upper body, but without the G1 corvette torso bits, and a couple elements from sideswipe.

i suspect the key elelment here is ADV's anime channel. ADV has a lot of content for thier channel, but to make the channel feasible in the long run, they need to work with other distributers. this is probably a deal to allow ADV access to the other companies libraries, and addtional publicity and tv air time for the other companies. there may also be some agreements about the companies assisting each other in licensing new anime, with an explict aside that ADV will be able to show in on their cable channel, this may even be the primary reason. and i wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it does also entail a few new shows created with the US market in mind and funded by these three companies.

my F-91 arrived in the mail today, its a pretty nice addition to the line. as usual though its a mixed bag. the paint on mine is decent, a couple of oversprays, but nothing major. the panel lining, however, is pretty sloppy, the worst i've seen in the line so far. some pieces also look like they're discolored from wiping off excess ink from the panel lines. for the most part its fine, just a couple of specific problems. as usual, the barrel warpage on the big cannon, only this time its double. the main barrel is warped to the left, as its a seperate piece glued on, i'm assuming that it just wasn't assembled perfectly straight. but then the secondary barrel underneath the main one warps to the right, this is more problematic, as its a short barrel, and the warpage is pretty extreme, this is worse, as this barrel is part of the main body of the gun. i do like the metal pins, several of the previous figures would really have benefitted from these. i'm also happy to see ABS plastic in use instead of all virtually PVC. the ABS in the shoulder joints is nothing new, its been used there on most of the toys where the arms needed to be removed, but its also used in the VSBRs, for the internal sliding parts specifically. this is a big deal, as in the past the figures have used painted PVC for all the transforming parts, and the PVC they use has always just been too soft to be durable in transformations, not to mention that the paint frequently wants to stick. all in all i'm pretty satisfied with this one.