RosarioLuv

Sylvanian Families? "To Collect and Love" (***singing***) lol, I actually have a Sylvanian Families commercial on an old VHS tape I have from the 80's when I used to tap SMURFS as a kid. Has some Gi Joe commercials too, part of a Transformers commercial, and a commercial for that other Hasbro line of toys that featured hologram warriors (I can't remember the name right now)....back then I liked almost any hasbro commercial because they used the Transformer guy's voice (Vince Dicola is it?) and same library of sound effects as Transformers. There's even a Ghostbuster's Ecto 1 Playdoh set commercial too.... Who ya gonna call? "Ghostbusters!"

Took the words right out of my scheming brain. I SO want a 19P. Gimme gimme gimme!

"What happened to Heart?" I just finished watching MASH, the episode where Radar goes home. I wonder if there's anyone else out there like me who was originally turned off whenever the MASH opening came on with the song and the grainy film of the chopper carrying wounded....when I was a kid that show just seemed "old," and whenever I heard it I thought, "yuk, tsk, I guess it's time to go to bed." But somehow MASH has grown on me over this year especially, and I've really come to fall in love with the characters like they were a real family of friends that I knew. There's something to be said about oldschool drama. No CGI graphics, no fanatastic soundtracks or special effects, but true genuine heart and passion on the part of the actors. That's something rare these days, where character development is believable because the cast really does get to know each other through the show. I mean, the missing element in modern movies is heart...person-to-person heart. I miss that. People didn't have to try; they were just natural at it. It was a more humble time, where reality was nitty-gritty what-you-can-hold-in-your-hands-and-see-with-your-eyes real. Modern theatre has become too dependent on gigantism, the spectacular, the unimaginable....things that only come out of dreams, surrounded by so much extraneous "creativity," there's no room for what is real at the center, at the heart of the story, and more importantly, at the heart of each character, each hero. There are no more heroes these days. Just off-the-wall stories saturated with dense settings filled with intricate props....it's just too much of all the amazing extra things and not enough of the simple basics, the truly "human" element. I miss that. Anyway, this episode of MASH wasn't the first to make me shed some tears. I was all busted up when Radar couldn't even have a sendoff party because incoming choppers came and all the MASH folk had to go into surgery. Radar went into the empty mess tent and stuck his finger in the cake frosting and licked it, and even made a face at how horrible it tasted. It wasn't fancy, that's for sure, but it was made with 100% heart. Radar leaving also paralleled his passage from boy to adult. In a way, leaving the MASH unit was like leaving behind his childhood. But in a wierd way it WAS the MASH, or being in the army, rather, that forced him to grow up early and become a man. MASH has always touched on the reality that war is harsh, and war claims our youth (if not their lives). So many young folk who never get to be kids, because they get enlisted, have to fight and kill, or be killed. In a wierd way, Radar's character was unique because he had to endure the youth-robbing stresses of war, but he remained an innocent kid at heart all the way til the end. He was moving on to be the man of his household as his uncle back at home had died, to take care of the farm and his mom, and also to join a sweetheart he had met along the way. The last scene showed Colonel Potter, BJ, and Hawkeye in the "swamp" (BJ and Hawkeye's quarters) after a grueling term in O.R., and they find Radar's teddy bear left on Hawkeye's bed. Hawkeye looks at the bear and says, "Goodbye Radar." Man, I love those guys. The characters, the actors, the passion and compassion of that era. I wish I were part of those days. Born one lifetime too late. Whatever happened to heart? I miss that era of poets and profits. What we gain in technology and the fantastic, I hope doesn't come at the expense of that old school heart in generations to come. I wonder if I'll be able to pass that on to my daughter. I will do what I can, with genuine love.

Also, while we're on the subject, why do the 1/48 M&M's come with YELLOW-tipped big missiles instead of RED ones? The other paint gripe I have is that the little missile clusters were left blank white. grrrr.

Hmm, the 1/48 accessories are cool, but the printed-on (decals?) windows and support struts look kinda cheesy IMO. If we were going that route, I think I rather have a Robotech SDF-1 Playset to use instead. BTW, I've been looking for the early pics of the Yamato 1/48's that had them set up in 1/48 dioramas with flight crew, refueling vehicles, everything painted and decaled to look like UN Spacy standard issue equipment...... Does anyone remember where those pics are? I can't find them.

Here's one: Is it me or are PART of the side leg armours grey in that pic, towards the aft? Yammies have the whole side leg armour complete red I think. I also wonder what the official colours are too, because for some reason I have images in my head of the M&M's having completely "grey" (greyish green or whatever that colour is) side leg armours too.

Wow, that's a really clean looking cast! That BP8 part looks so cool I almost want to buy one, and I don't even need one! Great job. BTW, how come in one pic the cast seems to be missing the "circle-bar-vernier" but the other pic has it. Did it just not show up because of the lighting?

Actually, the q-rau itself to me doesn't look particularly "male" or "female;" looks generic enough that it wouldn't bug me if men or women pilot it. What DOES look funny though is Max dressed up in Meltran Pilot's Suit, which DEFINITELY looks very femme. Gives me that funny feeling I got as a kid whenever I saw Bugs Bunny dress up as a woman.....ooops, sorry, TMI. lol

(Decided to move this post from the other thread here, where it's more relevant.) Yeah, as a ferverent Macross fan, you look at all these other companies that churn out Transformers for TF fans and Gundams for Gundam fans a plenty, and you wonder, "Why doesn't Yamato do the same thing with Valkyries for Macross fans?" It seems like a no-brainer, right? But I do believe the art of making Valkyries is in a different realm than Gundams and TF's completely. I think the reason we all love Valkyries so much is because there IS an element of "Magic" that goes into Valkyries that isn't there in Gundams and TF's: Valks have to look like realistic, almost seamless believable modern-day aircraft, AND have to transform into a believable mech robot that doesn't look just like a jet with arms and legs and head (like most TFs do). Most Gundams don't transform, and the ones that do have a very limited transformation sequence, many of which don't even have true perfect transformation (a part detatches and reattatches somewhere, etc...), not to mention in their transport modes, they still look very modular (as oppossed to a valk that looks 99% like a jet you couldn't even imagine could turn into a robot.). TF's don't even bother with realistic vehicle modes (except for the handful of Binaltechs that do exist) OR well-proportioned bot modes. On top of all that, I'm pretty convinced that Gundam and TF toy sculpts are made FIRST, then the anime SECOND, as in the anime is made to sell existing toys, while Macross toys are made AFTER the anime and lineart are already made, which gives Valk designers an even extra task to pull out of their magic hat: To make something from a 2-dimentional magic anime universe into a solid real 3-D toy that looks good in all 3 modes. So much thought, zeal, time, money, and true understanding of engineering and physics goes into making even one of these, it's no wonder it takes forever for Yamato to come out with even one new sculpt at a time. They're doing such a great job in terms of going where no one's gone before in the toy industry, accomplishing feats and levels of detail and complexity once thought impossible, that we just want more. There is a saying in history: "Revolutions are started by people whose lives are getting better, but not fast enough." And that's where we fall into place as Macross fans. Yamato is doing such a bang-up job, that now we expect more from them, and more and more and more and more, lol. The problem with creating great things is that it is often difficult to maintain such a high level output forever, especially when others expect so much. If you were to chart most people's production levels throughout life on a graph, the line would start as a concave curve, slowly going up and gradually increasing its slope until it hits a near vertical slope somehere in the middle (probably in our 20's) where it then becomes a convex curve that continues up, but starts to diminish in its slope until finally it approaches a mathematical limit (it gets closer and closer to the limit, but never actually touches it, infinitely) where it almost looks like it's a horizontal line. There's bound to be a time where a person (or a company, in this case) has to level off. I think that's what Yamato is doing, at least as far as Macross is concerned (they also have other worlds besides Macross to explore.) Granted, as in the chart, the line never actually reaches its limit, which means, even when you reach close to the top, there is always room for improvement, no matter how late in the game. P.S. Don't you like my nifty chart? Yes, I have too much time on my hands. Lol, one of these days, someone outta write an academic book that delves into a study of the inner psychological, economic, and social aspects of the toy industry and underground "culture" of the toy enthusiast. Maybe I'll call it, "If Toys Could Talk." Oh wait a minute, someone already did a movie on that, called "Toy Story 2." lol

Hmmm, I wouldn't say quality is getting worse (as i declining), but I would say the rate of increase in quality is tapering off. In other words, if you start off with the Mac Plus Valks up to our current valks, you'll see that Yamato started out with a LOT of room for improvement, and well, they've done just that, improved, topping themselves off with the amazing 1/48's. Now how do you top THAT? You can top that, but not by as much as you could with earlier products like Mac Plus valks or even the 1/60 line. I'd say quality is still getting better each time around, but the rate at which it gets better is less inclined. With that said, somehow the VF-0 doesn't fit in there. It looks ugly and it has no perfect transformation. Is this a quality issue? Or just a case of impossible-to-recreate-anime-magic-into-a-real-toy? (Has Kawamori finally designed an anime mech that CANNOT truly be made as a toy?) Either way, the VF-0 remains an anomaly with current Yamato trends. Can I borrow a forklift now so I can pick my jaw up offa da floor?

Lol, thanks. Would you like me to print a hardcopy version and autograph it for you? Hehe. Btw, looking at that chart again, I realized you can roughly apply that same graph to the design lifespan of just one toy, even. I think most modelers out there would even agree this fits with even building up a model: You get your raw materials, make good progress on it early-mid way through it's buildup, and then the closer you get to finishing it, the longer it takes to finish the final touches (like decals and little details.) I think the same goes for creating just one valkyrie toy for consumers. That's why the trend with Yamato products as we've seen goes like this: 1. first we hear about a possible future release of a toy 2. Then several months later we see prototype pics surface 3. Then more prototype pics seem to appear with increased frequency 4. Then we see a surge of painted protopics appear in magazines...the thing looks like it's practically finished 5. Then it there is a HUGE long gap between the almost-finished toy and the time when they actually release it (marking the completion of the design-to-production lifespan; this would be where the chart reaches its peak and levels off.) I read a buildup of a scratchbuilt millenium falcon that echos that theory: "I find there's always one "problem" when you build a model from scratch: When you first start it, it goes real fast. After a couple of days you already have something that looks like an unfinished Millennium Falcon. It's very rough, but since you've been working with big parts, you have an impressive model. Then, as you work along, the parts get smaller and smaller. You put more and more hours into the model but you don't really see as much progress. And weeks later, you still have an unfinished Millennium Falcon model. And months later: an unfinished Millennium Falcon model! " --Tim Ketzer (not me), professional modeler of www.ketzer.com The shape of this 2-dimensional graph can change here and there, as life, like these toys, are actually 3-dimensional, and can embark on new and different planes. In other words, within each 2-dimensional plane an entity can either reach (or near reach) its potential gradually, quickly, or not at all, but it can also change planes and still succeed on different paths. And now I find this simple post about a plastic toy called a "monster" is beginning to jump into a new plane itself along the lines of Stephen Hawkings and Plato, lol. Who woulda thought a plastic toy could inspire this much thought and ponderance of reality and philosophy on my part? LOL@Me. And now I've gone cross-eyed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (ChristopherB, I think with my return I have reclaimed from you my old title of being the most word-endowed (I am long winded) MW member. Thanks for keeping my seat warm whilst I was away. lol. Muahahahahahaha!)

Moved this post to the other thread/Poll about Yamato Toys in General HERE.

I seem to remember reading a translation somewhere of an interview with Kawamori (or one of the studio nue folks) that they wanted to do much more with the movie but had to leave a lot of stuff out. Along with that riff, that's suppossedly where the Saturn DYRL "missing" footage ideas came from, where the Prometheus is destroyed on earth from an orbital attack only seconds after Skull Squadron launches off of it, and then the squadron has to engage enemy units that have invaded the city on a ground attack. None of it happened in the actual movie, but the story add-ins from this game are considered canon. I'm pretty sure that any gaps a fan might wonder about are also gaps that the creators are aware of, but probably had to leave them out because that's showbiz. I dunno how many DVD comentaries I've watched where the director had to cut several scenes he was very much in love with, just because budget or time constraints simply couldn't fit it in the movie. That's why they later release special edition director's cuts, the movie the way the director would have done it in the first place if he didn't have constraints. They did the same thing with the Macross TV Series (left out a bunch of stuff they wanted to put in originially.) Wouldn't it be awesome if instead of coming up with a new prequel or sequel, Studio Nue produced a never-before-seen "director's cut" version of the Series and Movie that had all new footage that filled in the gaps? While I'm rubbing the genie lamp, I might as well add to that wish: wouldn't it be cool if Studio Nue redid the entire TV series animation with newer graphics while they were at it? (but kept the audio tracks the same, just redo the anime). That would be my ULTIMATE MACROSS DREAM come true (besides owning a 1/1 valkyrie), better than any toy I could think of. Sorry for OT. But on the subject of Max's Rau, which is only on screen for barely a few seconds here and there, (at least a little more than the elint), I wish someone would release the Orguss Valk too while they're at it.) I wonder if they'll release generic purple CF Q-Rau's?

Isn't it technically one boy and two shemales? (RT "Quadrono" armour....just Botoro armour repainted in femme scheme) yuck. Cross-Dressing Zentradi

And now I've gone cross-eyed.

Actually, I got that link off the other thread. I just started this new one because the other thread wasn't actually about the magazine, but lotta people were trying to figure out how to find it. So I made this one for general info on how to get the mook, if not at least have a long-winded read to pass the time as "new" subjects at MW are scarce these days. Hopefully someone got a kick out of the fact that I was mistaken for someone who already ordered the mag not once, but twice! and the second person's name was "Max." Ya know, I never found out who the first person's name was, but I wonder if it happened to be "Milia." I would have said my name was Minmei if they had offered me a third magazine! But now I have to wait for it to come in like the rest of us.

It's amazing how much the posing makes a difference; the Green Pic makes me want to pass on it. The Proto Pic makes me want it bad, like a lonely sailor who's been stuck at sea for 48 months without shoreleave wants it bad. lol. TMI

I'm with rnurmin, what is in this mook? The Mag is full of awesome full colour shots of our favourite (and recent) Macross toys...the closest thing to a toy catalogue for serious Macross Toy collectors. Check it out: Figure Ou Macross PIcs

In addition to fighting mostly in gerwalk mode as an artillery support role, I also think the difference between the VB-6 and the original monster besides the transport factor (shuttle mode) is that BOT mode can be used for ASSAULTs and CLEANUP (demolition) operations (ala DEVASTATOR in the TF movie). Usually we see the old monsters used as ground-to-air defense mechs against incoming attacks, but I think the VB-6 is also suitable for offensive attacks and pre-emptive strikes. Can you imagine this huge thing barrelling down out of the sky, transforming to gerwalk to blow a path through any enemy ground defense lines, then transforming to battroid mode to start stepping on buildings and key military facilities (not to mention tiny zentradi, even macronized ones)? Heck, forget gerwalk mode, just drop straight down out of the sky in Battroid mode and stomp the heck out of the bad guys! I can almost hear Megatron in the background saying "Let the slaughter begin!!"

That IS ugly, but for some reason I find myself compelled to go look for it at Walmart today out of morbid curiousity. While it is ugly, if I know me, it's gonna end up in my collection in my tub-o-sorta-macross things including exosquad, robotech, bootlegs, and TF Decepticons/Bots that I pretend are valkyries (like Optimal Optimus, TM Jetstorm, Energon Megs, Wing Zero, etc..)

I was making fun of the pic fo sho, but something's not right. Between the Yamato proto pic and the mag pic, either a lot has changed on the latest sculpt, or they simply did not transform it correctly AT ALL. Cause the Yamato pic looks pretty darn good. I'm hoping that's all it is. I mean, look at the feet...something serioiusly wrong there with that big gap on the green monster from the mag, and the legs. Please tell me it was just transformed wrong. *UNGH* THAT's gotta be one of my NUMBER ONE pet peaves: Promo pics with horrible poses and incorrectly-transformed toys. Man, if I was the sculptor of a beautiful masterpiece, you'd be SURE I'd be there making sure the photographer does justice to my creation, if not heading the photoshoot myself! I bet there are a lot of sculptors out there crying from the bad pics photographers shot of their works.

C'mon, no one wants these in 1/48? Doesn't this pic make you want a complete airshow valk squadron? hehe.

double post for me, but we seem to have 2 threads bout the same thing, lol. I think though, in spite of how akward these particular pics make the moster look in bot mode, whether it looks like that for real or not, I'll pick one up just for the shear size of it, and the fact that it is quite a unique macross mech far different than any run of the mill valk. But from these pics, I have to agree with zeo-mare. Is it me, or does the Monster not look as cool in bot mode as I remember in previous pics? Like the hips should be closer together, and the legs somehow look as if they should be telescoped out (longer) but haven't been transformed correctly (I don't really know how it's s'posed to transform). These pics make bot mode look like a cheesy Transformer for some reason. These pics of the Monster make it look like a supersize version of the Autobot COSMOS......or is it just me? Makes me hungry for some tacos.........

Is it me, or does the Monster not look as cool in bot mode as I remember in previous pics? Like the hips should be closer together, and the legs somehow look as if they should be telescoped out (longer) but haven't been transformed correctly (I don't really know how it's s'posed to transform). These pics make bot mode look like a cheesy Transformer for some reason. These pics of the Monster make it look like a supersize version of the Autobot COSMOS......or is it just me? Makes me hungry for some tacos.........

Doh! Man, I REALLY need to get caught up on these boards! I suck at finding stuff on the search function. Sorry! yet ANOTHER thread you mods can delete. Sheeesh, I had no idea what an undertaking it would be to catch myself up to speed after 2 years. That post was only 10 days old. Sorry mods, somehow I missed it.