1/1 LowViz Lurker

I do think the hip lasers are kinda funny.. YF21's arm laser is what makes zentradi mecha in robot mode have more attitude. Most of the time the pilot probably even forgets they are even there. hiplaser conjure up image of gundam mecha which have weapons on all sorts of awkward postion on the body which imo looks cheesy. (ie swords on the feet, guns in the mouth of the face, chest cannons with no space to store the ammo etc) What they should have done is made it so that the hip lasers can detach like bits or drones in space. Ah that would be fun.

Ah I didn't know that. If the 1S doesn't allow you to see more than I guess the main advantage is just more lasers. (less overheating and faster firing rate?) The reason I got that idea is from games like tekki where the earlier mechs have crappier monitors and perpheral vision. (this is done on purpose) And the later ones give you more luxury and convenience. (seeing more at any one time so you don't have to pan the camera across the landscape so much) Close combat is always a possibility or even preffered. It might be the goal of a desperate zentradi soldier (who is a mere number in billions) to first blind the pilot by going for the head turret and crushing it with claws or something. So taking stupid risks might be worth it if the pilot is a big threat. Well the mouth opening up from a 'covering' might be like saying: I'm going to sing now so you better watch out. Like pointing a gun to a hostage to say, harm this guy and I will shoot!

It might be that the different heads need more space and are generally higher quality. For example the head turret of the VF1S seems to have a wraparound visor while the J has widescreen and A has close to 4:3. If it were up to me I would equip as many vfs with 1S heads (like the VF1-B) for increased viewing area. A 1a probably has crappier resolution too. The 1S has a round shape to it meaning it might be stronger and more robust (round shapes distribute damage more evenly across the surface) as well as aerodynamic. On top of having more headlasers, there may be a psycological reason to make shape like "the human face" so as to say to the aliens: you are not fighting a robotic version of yourself, it is almostl ike we are equal to you in every way. A face might be more intimidating than a machine with a tv camera. Even the Qrau has a kind of 'mask'. And the powered armor that guy uses in macross II has a menacing looking appearance. By having something that is distinct to your way of life, culture, and identity and something you can be proud of, it gives people more incentive to want to fight more effectively when they become inspired by the well known hero figure who is like the elite status symbol to the lesser-skilled guys. (ie char's kill ratio in gundam and the nickname 'red comet'. An ace can afford to show off because no one other than an equally skilled person can beat them) The aces seen in macross I liken to aces like the red baron. Yeah it was flashy color but think of the technology as being new and only a few people knowing how to fully use them. (shin was a great fighter pilot in macross zero but he just wasn't using his potential and thinking about fighting in a VF at full potential which allowed him to be shot down so easily for not believing in new ways of doing things) So an ace that stands out and can kick ass in a complex machine is like a morale boost to the others. For every kill recorded it gives the human population a hero to be proud of. Now I liken the complexitiy of piloting a multi form mecha to the manual dexterity needed to pilot those old WWI planes and to get a hit. (maybe there is far more danger in space combat and far more to remember in battroid mode than just traditional technology?) Max's ability to have such good spatial awareness and dodge and shoot with such accuracy could be the equivalent of the skill needed to manually aim and line up your guns with limited technology like the WWI pilots where is was all about your skill not just the computer. (ie making him an 'ace of aces' allowed to fight in his own style and create and pioneer his own theories on effective combat strategies with a 3 form mecha) As for yf21 and making it a dedicated fighter: the ghost wasn't able to outsmart guld in battroid mode (battroid mode and gerwalk mode as seen in macross zero allows all kinds of tricks - one of them being that in battroid mode you can use the cover of the environment to make it hard for the ghost to get an effective angle to shoot from and being generally more armored in battroid mode) but only beat him in speed. The fighter mode was merely used as a kamikaze last resort AFTER the limiter was taken off and because the ghost was unmanned (and could reach those speeds) not because the ghost was somehow better than a pilot in skill or that fighter mode must be the best for all combat situations. eg: Like the use of manipulator arms to aim the gunpods from the ground from a hidden position and use the element of surprise. (note shin's humiliation by roy as roy preaches about thinking about all modes of combat in macross zero? And how shin can only beat nora when thinking about all three modes?) Or say in a situation like in DYRL when the zentradi actually managed to come inside the ship and attack with thier powered armor. I think a fighter would have less chance of survival because it is such a cramped space. You would be able to hide behind cover in battroid and shoot from a protected position without the penalties to your firing angle. (fighter has the gunpod in a fixed forward-firing position meaning no defence against micromissile swarm or able to spread your shots across a wide arc easily)

They probably have all kinds of hair mods in the future. It could be that max is wearing a wig similar to roy in SDF:macross. (roy's hair in macross zero being the real hair while his tv series version has the wig for attracting the girls.) In an anime if you are unpopular you eventually have to die. So all the main characters have to be appealing to the audience if they wish to live. (unless there is a purpose for a character to be there)

The three songs that I get stuck in my head after hearing them and start singing long after they are over are: -mak-u-rosu -gundamu (the 70s sounding opening song) -Am-u-rooooooo (at the credits screen of msg) I think it comes down to people just being used to things of their generation. So old stuff won't be watched by young people because the tastes and trends have changed from generation to generation. It may have nothing to do with quality. The art in msg isn't as clean as modern shows. Really thick lines in some places, chunky looking robots designs with goofy looking bodies etc Overall it is a quality show, but so to are new ones. (with new ones that may try harder to appeal to newer generations of fans with different tastes to fans of previous generations)

As you can see the arms look skinny compared to the VF1. If the 1/48 had girl arms, the vf0 is even girlier. 1/60 vf1 arms look cooler imo.

Yeah give us a Macross destroid and a Qrau! looks like they have some nice picso f the vf0 on that site too. http://www.moeyo.com/2006/04/post_135.html

That's exactly who I was going to say. Even though he started out as a comedian doing impersonations I can't forget his performance as chopper in the chopper movie. He can be funny and scary at the same time. That's what I would want a live action snake to be. You need a bit of comedy for the audience (no brainer action movie) but the right level of seriousness too. Snake is a killer who other killers admire for his skill so they need a dark tone that might translate better as a violent cg movie more than a live action one where they will probably go PG route to get the most money. I mean will we see a scene of snake snapping someone's neck in a theatre that will turn people off? The main villain should also be very menacing and scary. At least like the character in Cape fear who just doesn't die, and only gets angrier and creepier each time. But will hollywood screw it up and just hope they can cash in on a popular name? Disregarding the tone and feel of the games and hope the dvd sales will still make it profitible despite criticisms?

or an actual laser (like those tiny laser pointers you can buy) shoot from inside the head laser..

After reading graham's review and seeing a side on pic it looks ok. But for the "two of the same arm" claims there was a pic of this. It's not that I don't believe, but would like to see it. Some things like loose joints you wouldn't be able to see in a pic, but it is good to have that info. The negative review that was posted earlier of the vf0s sounded pretty scary.

Here is a detailed image of the inside of the feet (captured from the OVA): This is the kind of attention to detail I wish they put into the vf1 feet. Instead of having the thing split apart, which makes it look fake, they managed to leave it whole.

Just finished reading the review. Looks like another quality effort by yamato. *thumbs up* I think it might be a good idea to include a pic with the yamato vf1 for comparison. Maybe even chuck in a 1/60 vf1 or Qrau just for fun. (lots of people will think 1/60 is tiny but stand it next to a Qrau and it will instantly show the size. Looks like the gunpod is fine and has the same clearance from the ground as the vf1. Bring on the 1A! (or release non-canon LE VF0S with completed panel lines and LV-style weathering smudges )

a pic of the feet but you can't see anything. In the OVA the old mechanic has pretty much buried himself inside the thing.

Everytime I hear the in-game music I think of the movie "the rock".

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/kojima/ any substance to this? If true I would rather a cg movie rather than a live action one. Who would you cast as actors to play the roles?

Wouldn't it be nice if someone in japan could give us a tour of all the toy shops and upload the video of what they have on youtube or something?

Well if it got shot in the arm it just seems like it is exposing weak parts of the mecha when it should be covering them up incase the damage harms crucual parts that make it cease to function. Like how the VF11 has this exposed portion on the back and sides of its shoulders whereas the vf1 covers all that up. I suppose it's not really that big a deal but I'm just commenting on the look, not taking into account realistic design choices. I guess I just like my mecha to have robust shells around them like the Qrau because it makes them look strong and that they could also take a beating if they crashed or had to fight up close. It's the same reason I like the DYRL delicate robotic hands because they actually look mechanical, but sometimes I like having the fat hands because they look more 'powerful' just like how you see them on the boxart for model kits - It's got this attitude: "you don't want to get punched by me!"

I bet you they eventually do make another star wars trilogy of movies in the future even though they say they wouldn't. It's a licence to print money. Of course I'll be there buying the lego star wars toys and playing the games of them and still watching the movies despite it all. But it does kind of suck that the new and improved version has replaced the old version for fans who liked the older version and can't get a dvd of the damn thing. So this is good news no matter how you look at it. If it makes him even more rich than is deserved, because of his ability to milk the fan, then so be it. As long as it means the option is now there so they can stop whining. No different from people who had issues with HG changing the sound FX in the robotech remastered dvds when a majority of people preffered those old sounds for nostalgia reasons. I was one of the whiners that complained they should have just left the original sounds as is. It's a little thing to people watching it today who don't care, but a big thing for those want to bring back memories of the old days and retain the feel of what it was like back then.

Much apreciated. When I think about, this happens with the vf1 sometimes. But it is more to do with the gunpod sagging down. A side by side comparison with vf1 would be good.

Really? Looks like the beefier gunpod has its drawback after all. Do the tires of the landing gear at least touch the ground? ( I don't mind a bit of scrapping) it would be good if they cheated a bit and made the landing gear high enough so there's at least 1-2mm of space enough to be able to roll it on the ground a bit. (maybe have like a spring like mechanism you have in those fountain pens?) Ah well too late for that now. Looks like it will be best displayed in fighter mode flying with stand, or in battroid mode.

I actually like the head turret and long laser barrels myself. But not so sure about the skinny arms. They do look cool and mechanical, but I wish that was the stuff that you see underneath the armor rather than on the outside. This is why I think the VF11 kinda looks girlish. Skinny arms that look like they would easily get ripped off by a zentradi. (ie like what britai did in SDF:M to the chest plate of the vf1)

Don't get your hopes up too high. There are like 3 in the world. The chances are pretty slim someone here owns it.

Yeah if you get any stress marks (probably harder to see on a white toy) like with the VB6, let us know. I want to be extra extra delicate with this. I hope yamato makes tiny improvement with the GBP in future too. I guess the fragility is a small price to pay for PT versions of things. On a bandai toy, with chunky munky proportions the pitot tube would probably be kid friendly and tough. But I want good details. (ie tiny micromissiles that come out, articulated fingers, no gaps and no "missing chunks" like on the 1/65 vf19 fire valk etc)

See here's my theory: Japan is getting older. More toys are being aimed at adults with more money. Macross is an old series which adults can remember. VF1 is so milkable due to so many variants of the vf1 as the mass produced mecha. Therefore I can assume macross is a nice franchise for yamato because it is relatively easy to release all the characters' mecha from the series because they all look the same save for the head. I'm not complaining, because I am a fan of it and it is more realistic to have a standard mecha with variants over many different designs like in gundam. But you have to admit this would be a 'cash cow' compared to say a series where there is only like 1 unique mech for each new character and in order to do a masterpiece high grade toy for adult fans for each new character, it meant they had to work out how to make a new toy built from the ground up for each of the characters rather than use a standard and repaint it. The same kinda thing happens with game engines. You make a set of tools, then release a bunch of games using this engine. Saving costs, and effort and time. (no need to reinvent the wheel for each new game. So producing variants costs less in time, because they are not built from the ground up.) Because macross has one standard mecha, and many variants based off that standard, they have a whole host of different 'characters'/variants they can release with minimum effort. (not like the transformers or gundam where each mecha/robot has to be redone to be accurate to all the unique characters in the show. I doubt yamato would be able to release every character as easily as they do with SDF:macross/DYRL.) As much as I want obscure VF like the VF4 I doubt it would be done because it wouldn't be as "milkable" as the vf1 was. VF1 is a good 'cash cow' in the sense that everyone has seen it, (recognisable like transformer's optimus prime) it sticks to a standard, and every character in the show pilots it. (rather than a seperate one for each character)

If anyone sees a price reduction on those expensive Bubble gum crisis figures let me know. I had put this low on my shopping list because of yamato's vf0. I think that is what they should have aimed for in the pilot figure for the qrau: massive amount of posability while retaining a nice anime accurate look. Even if they had to sell it seperately I would be happy to get it. Yamato should release a glaug with openable cockpit. And another company releases a 1/60 posable figure of kamjin with armor on and swapable heads.