jardann

I'd be interested in this. I think a 1/72 conversion kit for Hasegawa woudl be best.

Personally, I think those are pretty disappointing. I'd suggest you splurge a little and get him a 1/55 Bandai reissue or a 1/60 Yamato valk. The 1/60 will be especially better and if you keepyour eyes open they can still be found for a decent price. If he's 13, he should be able to take good enough care of a yamato. (unless he's overly destructive )

I've been a huge Star Wars fan since I was five (in 1977), but I never owned a lightsaber. When I was a kid I got nearly all of the toys.(still have all of the original figures except yak-face) but never happened to get a lightsaber. Now my son has two both hasbro. One Darth Maul and one Qui-gon. I've seen the really nice ones in Best Buy stores, but $120 for them just seems too much and then I would truly be a super geek. (my wife would never let me live it down) One time a friend and I went to a comic shop to try and play that Star Wars CCG. (I got my ass handed to me by a 10 year old kid) I still don't understand those card games But the saddest part was during a break, some teenage and older guys were dressed up as Jedi and playing with their lightsabers I couldn't stand it and my buddy and I just left after that. Geekdom has it's place, but I just couldn't take that.

That looks sweet! It also doesn't look too much bigger than the old Imai kit. You'll probably be able to pose them together with the older kit in the back and the size difference shouldn't be that noticeable. The quality difference will probably show though. Great work Cap!

Ahhh! My wallet breathes a sigh of relief! I'm really excited about this kit, but I don't mind waiting.

Ahhh, The old debate. Transforming = toy non-transforming = model I would have to say that the bandai 1/72 transforming models are pretty good for the price. They can still be found pretty readily and for a fair price. I think they look much better than say 1/55 chunky monkey toys. The Yamato toys (1/60 and 1/48) have finally surpassed the old models, but they cost more. If you have some modelling experience (glue together models that is), you can put together a pretty nice representation with the 1/72 variable models. My first bit of advice would be to use minimal paint and glue around the moving/sliding parts. Stick with that and you should be OK.

That is looking really cool! What kind of putty are you using?

Oh yeah, Forgot to touch on the packaging. The packaging is really great. The leatherette cover material is nice and I like the way the inner tray easily slides out of the bookcover. Feels pretty sturdy too. But..... Why? I really would have preferred a slightly lower price than the fancypants box. I mean, I'm going to want to display the toy not the box. And here's where they realy peeved me. Even the inside of the box is nice, but the bag that holds the instructions and stickers was taped to the inside. Try as I might, being as careful as I could, I still ripped the interior of the box when I was removing the tape . Who was the idiot that decided to put tape on the printed paper lining instead of the plastic insert tray instead? That IMHO was just stupid. Well, rant over Now my next question. How are the stickers? Should I put them on or is anasazi or takatoys putting out improvements?

OK, Got my two MPC Alpha's in the mail yesterday. One Rook (red) and one Lancer (green) I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. The heft of the toys is great. I think they feel pretty solid when I hold them, especially in fighter mode. Battloid model is good too. Armor diver not so much, but that seems to be the norm with any of these transforming toys. Even the Yamatos loose some sturdiness in Guardian mode. The transformation seems pretty good. Although I had a h*## of a time getting the right wing to pull out on both of them. On the Rook toy I had to do a little prying with a screwdriver to get the wing to come out. (talk about scary!! ) That is just something you shouldn't have to do on a $60 toy. I think these look great in fighter mode and near great in battloid mode. Armo diver isn't my favorite mode, but it looks accurate to me. (a valkyrie is really the only type I've ever liked in guardian mode) So I'm pleased and I would say that if you like the Alphas/Legioss and you find one of these around $60 or less, go for it. A few negatives: Some of the joints feel fragile. Definitely more fragile than a 1/48 Yamato. A few of the pieces don't hold real well. (the cover to the motorcycle storage area, the missle covers and the tabs where the arms lock back to the shoulder portion in fighter mode) The knee guards especially look like they could be easily damaged. And one more thing that most people have already mentioned. The landing gear. I actually think the gear is OK. Its just the wheels that are the problem. IMO the wheels are too small and too plain. If they made the wheels just slightly larger they would look much better and we woudn't have the belly dragging syndrome that everyone complains about. Well, thanks to everyone that gave their educated opinions on this. And hopefully my $.02 will help the next person. Now I'll just be on the lookout for one more 1/48 valkyrie at a good price. Yeah right!

You will be.

Well guys, I had just decided on one more 1/48 valk and the prices on EBay took another jump! So not being at all patient I then saw some decent deals on some MP Alphas and I have ordered one Lancer and one Rook. I'll let you guys know my impression when they arrive. Thanks again for the help!

I have used some of the GW "inks". They work just fine. They seem like just thinned out paint though. i don't know if they formulate them any different, but they work just like thinned paint. You can easily get the same effect by thinning your own regular strength paint. I guess they are a convenience item.

That panel lining/weathering looks very good to me. I'm sure a lot of people would say you could even put a little more weathering on there. I usually like some light weathering better than heavy. It looks like you have gotten a really nice finish on the base coat, especially using a brush with artist acrylics. Keep up the good work and welcome back to model building! Please post more pics as you go. We all enjoy seeing each other's work!

Take your time Mike. I'm sure we could all wait a little longer for a better product. We've waited a long time already. And besides, my wallet can use a breather!

I'll be interested in two probably. Especially now that I know my wallet will have a little time to catch up.

Hey Cap, Downpayment sent!

This is something I've been wanting to try for a long time. Although it would be my first attempt at sculpting and so there's no way I would think about selling the results until it is finished and everyone could see the quality. One other small problem would be finding the time to do it. Wife, kids, hobbies and one full-time and one part-time job seem to take up most of my time.

Meh... These stores both pretty much suck in my area. Although the EB near where I work has a pretty cute and nice girl behind the counter. It's a good place to kill a few minutes on a break. If I ever go into these stores I just look for a really good bargain. For the most part their prices (either chain) are no cheaper than other sources and their trade in policies kill me. Anyone who trades in a game system with five games in order to get $20-$30 off of another game system with no more games is just a moron in my opinion. I can't believe that people let themselves get screwed like that. I'd rather hold onto an old game if someone's only going to give me $5 trade in on something I paid $40 for. And that they're going to turn around and sell for $30. I realize this is just my opinion and there is something nice about a store that specializes in video games if that is what you are into. Seeing as these chains are near clones anyway I don't think that there will be a big impact on consumers. I do feel for anyone who may lose their job though. That is never fun even if it's just a part time gig.

Sounds great. I actually have some money ready for this, so I should be able to get a downpayment in whenever you post the payment thread. Now.... What could the special feature be? Let the agony of speculation begin!

Hey Dat: That is an awesome looking CG model! Great work there.

I remember the Silpheed game. It was one of my favorites. The cutscenes were amazing for the time. That website really has some great models. That guy is very good.

Capn' it looks great! I guess you have earned my money!

Nice job on this! What exactly do you mean Wwhen you say you reduced the height? I'm guessing you thinned out the thickness of the legs underneath so that it looks more sleek? I really like the F-15 wings. The model looks great. Thanks for sharing the pics!

Uhhh! This thing is looking awesome!

Wow! Thanks for all the advice guys. I didn't get to check back here yesterday and I'm surprised at all the responses. So what I'm getting is this. 1. The later Alphas have better QC (still have some odd problems) 2. The 1/48 valks are still better and getting harder to find. Well, I think I'm gonna grab another valk for now because I would like to have one to eventually customize and I know if they get any more expensive there's no way I'll be spending that much for something to customize. After that, I'll keep my eyes open for some Alphas at a nice price. Maybe I'll try and see if I can find an Alpha in a Gamestop store around here to see if I can get a better look at one before I buy. And then my transformable toy shopping will be at an end! (yeah right! ) Thanks again everyone!