1/1 LowViz Lurker

I always thought the Qrau was a little pricey but has a great sculpt. Since it is a non-transforming mecha maybe people just feel that after seeing the 1/48 vf1 they were spoilt by its complexty and could not justify paying high amount for it? Essentially it is really pretty simple design compared to the VF, so maybe it took much less effort to make? (it's a giants mecha with lots of big pieces as opposed to a normal human one with fine details) I hope that the poor sales don't discourage yamato from making more chunky giant powered armor mecha because I would like to see a regult with openable cockpit or a maybe even a glaug. Just makes sure to put the same effort into the 1/60 as they have with the 1/60 vf0 and 1/48 vf1. (tight limbs, ratcheted joints, gimmicks like the GBP micromissiles.) Thanks for that. I was meaning to get these just as we were on the topic. I love you miria.

They should call it Robocross, Macrotech, or Robomech instead of macross, to avoid any licensing mess when brought over to other countries. This way when yamato makes the toys HG can't block them and we don't have to import and eat the huge shipping costs. They can then strategically say that any events that happened in these universes never happened (like the way robotech: sentinels is no longer canon) so that if it does poorly there will be no risk in destroying the main macross universe. (the way macross 7 did for fans of the older tv series) Kawamori can then reveal in an interview that the events did happen but it was all a movie similar to how DYRL was just a movie and not real. The events and mecha themselves were just computer models designed by un spacy for use in a holographic training sim and this information was fed into the brains of the audiences using technology from the BCS/BDI system from the yf21. In the future instead of letting people play arcade games that let you win money using traditional joysticks and peddles, (see SDF:Macross) you instead connect wires into a jack inside your neck and you pilot the virtual VF using your thoughts in the sim. The twist is that the control systems in these sims can be used to remotely control a real VF and allow the person to pilot without being inside one. Certain people can use VF the way newtype can use bits or funnels in gundam. The really good ones can control groups of VF to fight in certain formations to get an edge over the Ghost X9 drones which can outmanuever manned VFs due to the nature of not being sensitive to a human body's limits. But all that is not revealed until like at the end of the series. Of course when millard mentions that "pilots are necessary" in macross plus, he could not have foreseen that unmanned drones could still technically be piloted by pilots but without as much risk of the pilot getting killed in battle. Drones will soon go out of favour, people will eventually prefer to have thier entire brains implanted inside machines (like ghost in the shell) where they live, and humans get closer and closer to becoming "living machines" like the AFOS in macross Zero which showed intelligence. (a ghost in the shell, or soul inside a machine) When all thier minds are networked together to share information (like the internet) they can instantaneously have information about where the enemies are, how many enemies there are, what the enemies look like, etc and making quick decisions instantaneously for quicker reaction speed as if the group were "one mind" and the "whole" were just a single entity. (all people with a stand alone complex will have been imprisoned by this time in the future where individual thought is illegal)

In the future I can see it now: I look at the multiple formation Aquarion toy (I would have so wanted to buy this if I had the money) and then I look at the toynami non-tf beta and I think:"maybe it is best they stick to superposable stuff" If toynami were to make SP 1/100 destroids, regult, glaug and pod fighters that would be good. Transformable stuff, I don't trust. I think they should have went with yamato/toycom to do proper robotech NG perfect transforming masterpieces. I would pay large sums of money to see it happen and HG would be forgiven. Seeing as they are selling the yamato garland, wouldn't it be cool if they got yammy to do all the transforming mecha, and just leave toynami to do the non transforming stuff? A masterpiece collection demands MP quality and masterpiece in terms of value to the collector. (that is the price goes up and up in time so the collector can actually feel proud that the item they own grows in value rather than goes down) I love the mecha in GCM and if HG can get my an upscaled PT alpha with 1/48 vf1 level detail and durability I will really pee my pants.

I don't mind the wait myself. Too many other series to watch at once anyway.

Kawamori should still do the mecha design. I like stuff like the variable monster and stuff. Maybe what needs to be done is this: you have side story series handled by one team, and the main stuff by another team. This way all the people who liked macross plus and SDF:Macross get thier realism, and the people who like the pop music and fantasy and religious symbolism in thier show get that. It would be the equavalent to having an 8th MS team (emphasis on normal pilots and cannon fodders with limits) for macross, while the story of 'newtypes' for macross (like basara) is carried on in the main series for the kiddies where the heroes never die. If you think about it, this is kinda what happened with macross plus anyway. In plus we get the YF 19, YF21, VF11B, actual realistic dogfights, and then in macross 7 we got the pop music playing every episode and even ripping stuff from macross II, (like some of the music - which to me is a good thing) and the VF19, VF22, and VF11 with GBP. (plus other stuff like vf17) ...but even though those two were different, (one a sidestory the other a main story featuring main characters from the original tv series) they both helped expand the universe and add something. What I want: a sidestory with more destroid action. Show me some variable destroids like the VB6, (monster only gets short appearance in Zero) show us some characters grounded in reality with limits to thier skill, and all new characters. Doesn't anyone get inspired by what they saw in macross plus when the vf11 guts that zentradi with the bayonet? That more of what I like. But give it DYRL-style quality and feel. (violence, more serious tone, death, with a greater "sense of danger") If they can give us a new sidestory to get excited about, maybe bring in some new mecha designers, and a fresh new set of characters with thier own personalities, it would be a good excuse to see more mecha within macross universe that normally have the spotlight taken from them by valks piloted by aces all the time. (I always felt sad for the vf11 CF in macross 7. Almost as useless as the destroid)

It is the ultra rare ALL black VF1 that nobody here owns and there is like only 3 in the whole world. In years to come it will probably be worth $1000000000 or some ridiculous number. Maybe we should nickname it the "Titan's Elite" valk instead of credit card valk? If anyone here has one: post some pics. I would like to see it next to a stealth valk. edit: note the jolly rogers on the tailfin? After humans moved into space and the new age of exploration began, all kinds of pirates began to appear in space to raid merchant ships of thier goods using these vf1. Custom designs started to appear but one of the most famous pirates of all time used a black valk calling himself raven. Yeah I made that up but it sounds cool.

If it has, (doesn't look like anyone wants to say) I would probably end up selling mine to get the new version. (I'm aiming for the best I can get) What would be good is if they made a whole new release of vf1 (include all the hand types, give us extra GBP chest piece parts) but this time they tampo printed all the details on rather than giving us any stickers. I think that would be a good trade off for people who just want canon releases, and can't be bothered putting all the little 'no step' decals on the thing only to one day realise they will peel over time and will have to get more of the damn things. (I honestly do not enjoy this part of the toy - take me ages to cut those little stickers and line them up perfectly) Come on yamato, aim for gold! Bandai managed to put more printed stuff on thier macross 7 reissues so that is what I want to see. Then when the upscaled macross plus toys come out and everything is perfect and the world is at peace, no more having to bother people on the forum for sticker guides to the macross plus mecha.

Well I can only speak for myself and in my experience it has been hit or miss with yamato. Although I got a loose head turret with my VF1S Roy, (wiggles around in fighter mode, but ok in battroid mode) my cannon fodder is perfect and there is nothing wrong. So it just might be the exception for the few that got grouped together in a bad batch. Common sense says: As long as people make a noise about it, they will eventually listen and improve. But if you suffer in silence, they are more likely to just ignore any probs and continue leaving things as they are. I don't want it to be a situation like with the macross plus toys where stuff breaks and if you want the fixed version you got to buy it again, having paid for two of the same thing. The ideal is to try to get everything right perfect on the first time. The reason I am waiting has more to do with me wanting to know if certain things are fragile and what to look for when transforming something as I don't want to break anything. (similar to the warnings we got with the VB6 and GBP) more than because I expect a reissue and am patient person. This is why I end up reading the review first for as much info as possible and then basing my choice on that. If there is some tiny improvement that makes it worth "upgrading" I am most likely to sell my old one for cheap to get the improved one than to keep the original. It just seems wierd that they would make such sloppy mistakes, given the past. So I still hope thing get better and it is just a case of them rushing the thing to market. (it happens)

But the Qrau is such a kick ass machine in the tv series and movie. The way milia strafe dodges those shots in the movie and zips around in the tv series with godlike speed may have had something to do with it. It's the ultimate villian to the good guy's hero. And don't forget some of the classic scenes: -micromissiles swarm of death (it is a flashy move to pull off) -pin point barrier punch in the face (with a wrist-laser-to-face combo) and hull of the ship -only aces use these so they are like 'rare' -max fights milia in it so its appearance in the movie make it seem like a superhero mech becaue of the way it moves around so quickly and gracefully. I'm sure if the regult or glaug were introduced late in the tv series as a kick ass high performance mecha this would have been popular. But its gangly legs make it look like it is much more suitable as a CF fighting on the ground.

BTW the heatshield doesn't fold into the chest! Yamato you lazy sh1T!!1 *joking*

For those that did, I want to see pics of the things missing and/or broken like with GBP. Actually what would be good is if the person selling checks all this for us customers beforehand and traps it early for 'shipping cost' reasons. (ie that is if you don't want the risk of getting one without a heatshield, you don't have to send anything back and waste more time. I don't want to be the one who has to test stuff) I just think that if something is broken and damaged in some way and was sent in that condition, it takes effort to send stuff back. It's different if buying from a shop close by, because returning stuff isn't such a hassle. I'm not a MIB person so for me it is no problem if the box was opened if it can garuantee the item hasn't got any parts missing before being sent.

As I say my memories = jumbled mess. HG need a robotech compendium if they don't want thier fans to go crazy. I do know though that the stealth fighters in NG were specifically created by humans to kind of 'block the waves' so the invid could not detect the use of protoculture and thus locate the position of a human. Normal alpha fighter = no stealth because of the way the invid can sense PC. That I definately remember as part of the series. And I remember the robotech masters were freaking out because they were low on PC reserves or something so they came to take from us. The strange thing is that I sometimes get confused because in macross zero don't they mention they have a special PC type radar to help them detect PC ruins? Haha. Now I am totally mixing things up by getting confused between PC in macross and PC in robo.

Oh yeah there was a protoculture thingy inside the ship but nobody knew it at the time. Only by the time of southern cross did they think to look for whatever it was that made the SDF1 so special. Robotechnology is so mysterious! So many aliens need our PC to live. Can anyone tell me what PC actually is in robotech? Is it like anima spiritua but for machines known as robotechnology? What a huge mess. When I was a little kid I assumed robots used this magic energy source (transmitted wirelessly) from the flowers. Aliens had antennae sensitive to this energy and whenever you had it, they could kind of "smell it" like a cockroach to food and would come to take it for themselves. Has it changed since then?

Well I usually end up going to a games site for news and post about games in forums. (ie both for info and to discuss/debate with others on topics of interest) I have a bunch of sites I visit eurogamer (reviews) next gen (I like thier articles) elderscolls forums (chat) if not that I am playing some game online or watching some dvd. Is there a macross newsgroup?

I'll remember that next time MW goes down. I used to go to robotech.com before. But it feels like you are being watched every letter of the post you submit. Did you know they sell the yamato garland there?? I think that is really strange. HG is funding Shadow Chronicles on the sales of yamato toys. Aren't you all angry or someting?

Are those other sites any good? I don't frequent them often. Too lazy to register accounts. I hate how you are forced to register everywhere you go on the internet.

Fair enough. I think that the inclusion of action is enough for me to say that. I guess like the terminator it depends on how you saw or interpret the movie. Terminator could be seen as pure action, but I think the first felt like horror because of the way sarah was being hunted down by a crazed stalker/serial killer who we only confirm is just a robot till the end. Lots of suspense and thrilling action scenes, and very little sci-fi apart from some flashbacks. (since everything is taking place in the present and we don't get to see the future) But as far as I'm concerned if you were to exchange the Terminator with chucky from child's play it wouldn't change that the characters are running away from a 'monster' just to survive. (ie like in predator) The way I interpret is this: if the bad guy is like the "star" of the franchise (like freddy from nightmare on elm street or pinhead from hellraiser) as much as the victims it preys on, then it could easily be interpreted that the monsters/aliens/shark/dinosaur/giant spider etc and the fear we get from them, makes it horror for most people. ie we go to see them for the express purpose of being scared or to poo our pants a bit like how people go on a scary ride. Like john carpenter's "The Thing", you could interpret the movie as science fiction or horror or a hybrid. But "the thing" and aliens, are so much darker in tone to something pure action like Independance day or a ghost busters. In ID4 no real horror is seen. The tone is lighter. The good guys whup the bad guys butts, and you are not sickened by what you see (ie people's body mutilated or skinned, or have thier spinal cord ripped from thier corpse) or frightened in the same way you are in aliens. (which also has some action by nature of the inclusion of weapons - the scariness is still very much there and like in many horror all the characters are like the cannon fodder to be killed/eaten/mutilated/die in painful ways by the "star", which in this case is the monster or alien or popular raptor/shark or demonic being who relishes in seeing you suffering) Macross DVDs are great, eh?

Zor made the ship in the novels I think. And it was like his masterpiece or something. Kinda like a 'alus' but for robotech.

Well done! When is a custom VB6 going to be done?

What would be really funny is if all the sdf could be combined into one big robot. Like the way they tried to dock the ARMD in SDF:M before it got destroyed, they could link up with other ships and together they form an even more powerful ship. The SDF1 could for example act as an arm-mounted gun or a shield (when the barrier is turned on)

True there was action in it but the humans were victims and the aliens were the 'hunters' for a majority of the time. (like the dinos in jurrassic park) Sort of like how arnie did his thing at the start of predator but was easily outmatched when face to face. It was still horror because of the way the predator could rip a body with its bare hands and take your skull as a trophy or skin the victim alive. Aliens had that level of horror that it would be more accurate to call it science-fiction/horror/war sci fi: for the futuristic setting horror: because of all the deaths (people being ripped in half by the queen, cocooned, acid melting thier face, etc) war: its really war movie set in space If it was an action movie, they would not present a scary atmoshpere with creepy music and theme. It would be ripley kicking peoples asses like that guy in Pitch Black, with hip music playing in the background, attitude, (ie think of the evil dead movies which duke 3d rips off) and lots of violence for violence sake because this is the entertaining part. (ie a fight scene in punisher vs a gruesome death in aliens) And yes lots of fancy finishing moves just to be commerical and be cool for the comicbook people. No where do you see ripley kicking the queen's butt in a way that suggests she fighting for justice, more like she is fighting to survive or protect something and get away from the damn thing because she is scared shitless of it and has no choices. I still think aliens is horror, and could easily be compared to something like hellraiser in terms of "shitting my pants" factor. Constrast this to say lethal weapon 1 where Riggs offers to have a one-on-one fight with the bad guy just to prove whos got bigger balls. Totally different tone..Ripley showed courage sure, but most of the violence was commited by the alien because they are the "monster" in the movie. Just because the humans came in with weapons doesn't necessarily mean the movie is not horror. I think the added use of the marines actually made the movie even scarier because it gives them an excuse to show how intelligent the beasts are and how they can still be a big threat even when humans come with weapons. Examples: say you are being surrounded by five of these things and they are all swarming you at once, and you have to reload? If even one of those things gets close range, you are farted because of the acid blood. It is still very scary and with limited ammo, there is lots of tension. It's not like you can use all the weapons at close range anyway. (grenades for example) At some point, even jaws had the main character use a gun to protect himself and kill the shark. But you wouldn't exactly say you were laughing or cheering through the movie pumping your arm in the air for the majority of the time. (more like freaked out)

The PD did something like that in macross 7.

Yeah but that was only because the zentradi kept shooting and shooting and shooting to deliberately cause an overload. Of course sharon apple being an AI doesn't care about human life anyway so there isn't much of a problem. Just have it automatically turn off after a time and let the ship armor eat some damage by reducing it back to a pin point barrier which she controls.

Wasn't the special thing about it the ability to use a full barrier? Or was that a mistake found out by accident? I thought that was cool. Too bad they haven't miniturised the tech so that a valk has one too instead of just a pin point barrier. You could make a valk a cannonball by having it surrounded by a full barrier, and the valk would kamikaze attack the enemy by crashing into the hull of the ship and creating a big hole. (sort of like a mini deadalus attack) Now add a fold booster to get to the enemy by teleporting there, and this could be a deadly tactic. A good tactic future zentradi rogues could use is to fold inside an SDF1 full barrier, and then turn on thier full barriers while crashing into the SDF to make hundred of holes. If sharon apple wanted to, she could have folded the SDF1 to a safe place, think up a plan to get the rogue zentradi on her side for a mass invasion of earth, and later crashed the whole sdf1 onto the planet while the full barrier protected her and the rogues inside as she burrowed into the earth to get to all the grand cannons. Then after running out of energy and having hacked into all the defenses like the sattelite guns and drones: Turn off the full barrier and then let all the zentradi enter the grand cannon through the massive holes she made to destroy earth's last defences from the inside. (Its like a deadalus attack but with the whole body of the ship)

My change would be to make the orguss valk part of macross canon. And have Blade in macross II have his own powered armor that is superior to anything made by un spacy. He would be like what the girls in BubbleGum crisis were: having far more mobile and agile suits that are years ahead of what the military uses but keep this powered armor secret. He would of course choose to fight using melee weapons but occasionally get out his shoulder mounted beam attack to do a super move which is about equal in power to a shot from the SDF1. Of course because of the destructive power of this attack the UNG would see this man as a threat and try to take the suit for themselves so they can mass produce thier own.