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Why is there no love from Yamato when it comes to the VF-1S tv version. I was going through my 1/48 and 1/60 (versions 1 and 2) Valk's and noticed that all VF-1S versions are DYRL movie versions. Why is there not 1 tv version? I guess the no paint version kind of counts but seriously........why is this?

Apparently someone was listening...

http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00195

http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00196

edit: apologies. didn't see similar was posted to the middle of this thread.

Never noticed that this scene shows it without the top 'eye' guns . . .

moving/removing the machine guns seems like the simplest change to get rid of the "eyes."

In fact, I think FASA won it's suit against Playmates because they owned the licensing for Macross... model kits... before Harmony Gold got anything from Tats, but then dropped the designs because they figured it was too much of a hassle to maintain licensed designs (especially when they really only owned the model kits?).

there were actually several different lawsuits filed and FASA lost on the Macross licensing issue. i posted as much as i knew about it all a while back: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...mp;#entry637450

it's a big mess and i don't believe that there were any true winners. Playmates stopped production of at least one E-frame and FASA dropped all out-of-house artwork. not all of the artwork dropped was a part of the lawsuits. some was properly licensed. they dropped it in order to protect themselves from future lawsuits. the companies involved beat each other sensless with their respective attorneys. it ended with an out of court settlement, the details of which we will never know.

Do these work like dream?

they work very well for my needs. i use the Fiskars flush cutters for soft metal (miniatures) and sometimes plastics. they cannot cut hard metals though, that's where the diagonal cutters come into play. i ruined my first pair of flush cutters trying to cut a piece of piano wire.

http://brianscache.com/builds/tools.html

Scroll down a bit to Sprue and Wire Cutters. I found both at my local Walmart. The Fiskars (orange handle) cut flush on one side and are ideal (IMO) for cutting parts from a sprue. The PM (black handle) are regular diagonal/wire cutters. I don't remember the exact price but I don't believe I spent more than $10 each.

Anyway I saw that Overdrive has the OD green Defender up for Pre-order now.

early bird special is up at HLJ also... http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00144

http://www.fightingpirannhagraphics.com

House Marik: Regulan Hussars (old)

the image is modified somewhat. when some of the old BattleTech artists were drawing Warhammers, they copied the Macross markings as well. i don't expect those decals to be large enough but the sample image may be what you need to make your own.

Check in your shoe tracks, or between your toes.

very close. it actually made it into my shoe and somehow i couldn't feel it when i was walking around. found it an hour later when i was desperate enough to actually search there.

almost had an ugly accident with it earlier too. i was holding it by the legs and closing a missile door when the back torso popped off. that might have sucked if i was over a hard floor. i wish there was a better lock to hold it together.

got mine today and i'm liking it so far. it came with a pilot, technician, and an escape artist though. i was putting it back into the box and one tech fell out onto the floor. i've looked for half an hour now and i still can't find it. it's not messy in here... that sucker took a good bounce and i didn't see which way it went.

Preorder is UP! Just ordered mine.

http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT09026

thanks! no wonder i didn't see that when i looked this morning... it's in the 'completed models' category instead of 'action figures' or 'toys' like the others.

my opinion changed after seeing those close-ups. if the weathered version is any more expensive than the standard, i'll just airbrush gray splotches along the edges of the standard on my own. it looks good enough but that style of weathering just isn't worth anything more to me. burns, gouges, and chipped paint would.

how many of each type do you think you will need? (sorry if i missed it in a previous post.)

wow, i didn't think it possible but those photos actually made me think twice about my current pre-order. i may just have to re-work my budget for the winter. i'm not familiar with how Yamato works, is the release of a weathered version an indication that they are seeing significant interest in the destroids? or is it just their standard procedure?

Are they really recasts of the Dark Horse minis?

doesn't appear so. as MechTech said above, the details are different. the upper torsos of the Dark Horse minis are split so they can be fit over/around the lower torso piece to allow for torso articulation.

Graham said it will.

he said it was likely, but i will tend to agree with him. doesn't much matter to me either way, mine is eventually getting a BattleTech paint scheme.

I am only going to by the first one of the series. They are too dam similar and knowing Yamato will charge an arm and leg plus a head for it for a piece of plastic that doesnt even transform. Heck I would prefer them from Revoltech

wasn't that the general idea of the destroids? common parts to cut development/production time? the legs and lower torso of the Tomahawk, Defender, and Phalanx should be (nearly) identical. it's the upper torso that is very different.

Yeah, I got that much... guess I'll wait because it doesn't really make sense how it hooks up to the Destroid.

found this link in a post from a couple months back. looks like they're interchangeable. http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/iam-cybergundam/article?mid=9393

What are those things on the side of the Defender, are the shoulders interchangable? Doesn't look the same as the ones that are on now.

enlarged ammo bins

i'll try to post a picture of the MadCat clone when i get home.

as promised...

... and have seen the court transcripts ...

i used the wrong terminology there. they are court documents (judgements), not transcripts. i also made a mistake in my initial post. the court did rule in favor of Harmony Gold on the Macross designs issue. you can read through the documents at your leisure and come to your own conclusions if you wish:

FASA sues Playmates, 1 of 3 [1994 DEC]: http://alex.kaempen.org/fasa_v._playmates.html

FASA sues Playmates, 2 of 3 [1995 JUN]: http://alex.kaempen.org/fasa_v._playmates2.html

FASA sues Playmates, 3 of 3 [1996 JAN]: http://alex.kaempen.org/fasa_v._Playmates3.html

You will find the list of disputed toys in #3 above. I believe the picture I have scanned from the Playmates toy catalog mentioned in that document.

HG sues FASA, Nail in the "Unseen" coffin: http://alex.kaempen.org/harmony_gold_v._fasa.html

Whoops! You weren't supposed to get those documents: http://alex.kaempen.org/harmony_gold_v._fasa2.html

Gee looks as if you know more about this than the people involved

Get a copy the Phoenix Upgrades Record Sheets and you'll get an account of the whole story from the people who were ACTUALLY involved in the whole saga.

Does the RS:PPU version mention the FASA employee who took BattleTech designs to Harmony Gold/Playmates in order to obtain a deal to market toy plastic 'Mechs? Does it mention said employee signed legal waivers he had no authority to sign? Does it mention how Harmony Gold/Playmates accidentally forwarded copies company documents to FASA and the legal battle over them?

I have RS:PPU and have read the account printed there. It is an interesting account but it was not written by the people involved in the lawsuit saga. I don't know more than the people involved, nor do the current BattleTech developers and writers. To my knowledge, none of those people involved in the lawsuit are involved in BattleTech anymore... haven't been for quite some time. However, I am willing and able to provide much more public information than the current powers that be. I have been following this issue for over 10 years and have seen the court transcripts as well as the original rec.games.mecha announcements from the FASA heads at the time of said lawsuit. I use those facts for the basis of my telling, not the newly sanitized overview in RS:PPU. Take my account for what you will. I am confident that the information I have provided is more accurate than the RS:PPU version. (Would any company admit to a legal mistake or oversight in an official product? That would be suicide.)

Er, what designs would those be?

i'll try to post a picture of the MadCat clone when i get home. i'd have to pour through the court documents to get the names of the others, and i don't have time for that.

Don't forget the Locust from the Crusher Joe kits.

it's a little small but it'll work in a pinch.

Are you a Battletech fan and are you going to buy the Tomahawk because it?

yes.

Does anyone remember where the Black Widow symbol went on the mech?

i believe hers was mainly a red hourglass on the abdomen. the rest of the company had the Black Widow symbol on various locations.

FASA did not lift the concept as you incorrectly put it, Jordan Weisman licensed the designs from the various companies in Japan who owned them.

not correct. FASA received a license from TCI (Twentieth Century Imports) to sell the various small scale Macross, Dougram, and Crusher Joe kits as BattleTech kits. this is similar to how Revell marketed larger kits from various series as Robotech Defenders. whether or not that was a proper license for how much they integrated the designs will never be determined--see below.

It was only when Playmates US started making their toys based on those designs and it all slipped down into the hands of the grubby ambulance chasing lawyers and the rediculous US copyright system that things got messy.

BTW FASA won the court action but due to being shafted by some dodgy rulings decided to pull the designs as they didn't want to go through any more court cases.

the real problem actually came from the Japanese side of the Pacific. up until a few years ago the issue of which Japanese company owns the Macross licencse was never cleared up. heck, it still may not be, i haven't checked into it lately. several companies were selling licences and all claimed to be the rightful owners.

there were several court actions filed by both FASA and Harmony Gold/Playmates over various issues related to using Macross and BattleTech-original 'Mech designs. to my knowledge the court never decided the issue--both parties agreed to an out of court settlement in order to end the financial drain the lawsuits had become. (one court document showed Harmony Gold requesting that FASA pay their $5 million+ in legal fees. the judge said no. you can bet FASA spent nearly the same amount though.) since it is a private settlement we will never know all of the details. all we do know is that FASA dropped all out-of-house designs and now WizKids has continued that policy. Harmony Gold/Playmates also ceased production of a set of disputed designs--those greatly (and not-so-greatly) resembling original BattleTech designs, including the Mad Cat.