1/1 LowViz Lurker

Yeah but anyone can do that. Even non-heroic peeps. You could even say the three spies were heroes for sneaking onto the sdf1 and defecting from kamjin and helping all there friends to sample culture. But hero to me is the person who will stand up to the opposition even though odds weigh against them and chances of success is very slim, but stil managing to succeed whilst making it look easy to the rest of people. (ie sporting stars for example that become the model for all the average people) Not to disrespect the robot janitor that swept up the mess on the sdf1 and keeping it clean of the contruction workers or repair crew or anything.. A good example of hero is the 'underdog' Rocky in the rocky movies. The chance of him actually beating the champ are slim but so long as he trains his ass off maybe he can get his 15 mins of fame. Of course given that the champ treats him non-seriously (like the zentradi ignoring the threat of culture at first) chances of the underdog actually winning go up. But he is a hero for beating the odds. So in a way he gives hope to the average people that maybe they could be like thier hero if they idolise him.

haha the aliens have good taste. They probably bred them all that way on purpose and indoctrinate the women that wearing clothes is evil. "Human male pilots go weak at the sight of naked females". Perfect military strategy to distract pilots so they can't concentrate on the piloting by having thier hands on the right control stick.. See? Now that's an alien that can adapt to strategy.

See I still think a mech show can be done if taken seriously. When we saw ripley in the power loader beating up the alien queen in aliens, we were all convinced. It wasn't cheesy, the ships all looked and felt real, and we cared abut the characters. I think James cameron need to make a macross movie. Just combine what he did with titanic, (the love story) and the darker aliens movie (violent gruesome deaths, sense of doom, the slimey-ness of aliens in general) and proper FX (loved the abyss and terminator 2) and voila! Live action version of DYRL. What do you think? Independance day showed you could do the large scale dogfights. Just chuck it in space, using all the latest cg (ie star wars Prequel trilogy but with BSG realism) and you got macross.

Beautiful. I like tv customs. Is someone going to do a robotech Jack Archer custom one day just for laughs?

Banpresto make some cheapo valks from macross but you need to apply some blu tac or glue to stiffen up the joints. I think if you leave these alone they look pretty cool on top of your monitor in various modes. (fighter, Gerwalk and battroid) In fighter mode I have a little wire curled up in a spiral that supports it to make it look like it is flying and I put little blu tac on its feet for battroid mode so it won't fall off. I think these are good if you like small tiny cheap toys with good posability. Plus you get several detachable heads with the valkyrie to make your own customs. The quality ain't so great compared with more expensive stuff but they have a nice sculpt imo. I wished they made these more durable. (better material etc) I would also recommend the mac 7 bootleg vf19 that you see once in a while on ebay. You could always paint them up in more realistic color. They look pretty cool in battroid mode and are not likely to break upon transformation. With the yammie yf19, apart from the nose, I always thought this was annoying for not having the chest lock into place. And finally buy alternators if you can find them at bargain price. They look realistic in car mode and robot mode is surprisingly good. Looks like these are aimed at adult market who care about vehicle realism so check it out. good site on alternator/binaltech news: http://www.binalternators.de/binaltech_english.html

Graham must have learnt to use the jedi mind trick from star wars. There's no other explanation.

Great pics. Love the details on this. Makes me want to watch the ova again. Now I wonder how the boxart will look.

Robotech fans must be pissed. I was imagining some BSG style CG dogfights but with valks instead.

Robotech to the rescue!!! No live action movies please. If they have to, instead do it animated like the animated transformers movie (but with violence) or instead all CG like the final fantasy spirits within movie. I just think it would be more exciting this way when you show battroids, qraus, destroids and giant people fighting. Remember in the later matrix movies how they had that mech? I want to see destroid done up like that. And I want the valks to look and move like the bsg tv series. (not like star wars) It could actually turn out good if they get the right people behind it, but I am not going to hold high expectations. Like the guy above mentioned: so many empty promises. The thing about scienace fiction movies these days is pretty much all of it will try to model itself from star wars and pretty much a lot of what you see in star wars ends up CG anyway. (the environmeents, the aliens, the ships, the worlds etc) So to eliminate the need for overpaid actors, make the whole thing cg with cg people and use some of the old robo VA. Even if it turns out crap, and go straight to video, I have a feeling I will watch it out of curiosity.

Agree! This is one of my fave valks. Even if they made a small version which isn't as detailed I would still get it. It has a nice look to it as the sucessor to vf1 because it looks kind of similar to it but different at the same time.

Kawamori decides to kill them off in the same way hikaru and misa were killed off due to too many fanboys wanting to know about them after mac7. The assasins made it look like an accident. (plane crash) Gubaba of course knew better and overheard a conversation that tipped him off to the plot but unfortunately he was caught in traffic and couldn't warn them in time, so he let max's daughters know of this and they tried to get revenge on the people responsible and publicly expose them. Mylene by this time started going to the gym and working out, taking up martial arts, and training for the day she could get revenge. Her zentradi warrior blood combined with max's sharp instinct became a great combination for the next generation of elite super soldier. Once the people knew of her plan to get revenge they tried to have her killed but she escaped and defects from un spacy to join the rogue side (faction against the corrupt version of ung). Many people who knew of max and milia (thier famous marriage a sign of peace between races) decide to join up on her side causing a split in forces. Space War II begins. Former Anti-un + Rogue faction (un spacy defector unhappy with corrupt ung) + alien natives who survived zentradi attack by living underground... vs....corrupt UNG. (commands the largest forces in the known and explored parts of the universe) Destroids now became used again as every resource is devoted to the war effort and because destroid are cheaper and faster and simpler to make. The events are told in a destroid side story where armies use heavy mecha on the ground again due to shortage of supplies. Old Octos are once again used for thier ability to hide in the water. Basara seeing the two sides fighting tries to sing his usual songs in his vf19 (his band split up and went seperate ways at this point after disagreements) but is shot down by a team of the camoflaged destroids on the ground and dies. (in a dictatorship dissenters like him get in the way of the soldiers who are trying to concentrate on doing thier task) All the fans of basara are locked up in prison for thier protests against the war. (maybe they are gased to death in secret like what the titans did in zeta gundam as a demonstration and to put fear in the people, or just put in concentration camps to work until they are too tired to keep up and are killed) New transformable destroids are designed, taking advantage of the abilities that valks have by being modular, and the cheapness and simplciicty that destroids have. (kind of like the simple transformation you see in zeta gundam's mobile armors - only two modes and slow, but heavier in armor and firepower than valks)

hehe kinda sounds like the "soup nazi" from seinfeld. I think the problem is some people misinterpret whiney fussy people with fanatics who are just passionate about what they like and don't like. (maybe these fanatics come off as a vocal minority that's all, and don't represent all buyers, just that they want the best thing that they can imagine in their minds realised into existence. Haven't you ever had a dream and were let down because you have high expectations?) No, I agree, the fans are not entitled to anything, but they sure as hell can complain if they believe the standard dropped in some way or comment that the hype was not all that justified. I don't neceassrily think it has, in fact the standard went up and yamato keeps outdoing themselves and improving, but others are entitled to disagree - welcome to the internet. It is the sole reason I like to read detailed reviews because I am anal. Man if I read a review of a product and the person was dishonest and did not highlight the small tiny seemingly insignificant nitpicks I'd be more worried than if everything said was nothing but positive points. It would make me a little suspisicous. Almost like those people in those infomercials who can be so persuasive but oh so one-sided.. What does all this have to do with the thread? People had high expectations and hope for something more that's all. For all you know, thier complaints might be valid criticism that might effect sales of the final product if left as is. If you don't like criticism ignore the negative comments. I had the same story when I bought a Gameboy Advance a long time ago. See what happened were all these people were complaining about how crap the screen was because it was so damnd dark and you couldn't see anything in castlevania. The nintendo fanboys chimed in that all those damn whiney SOBs were just trolls who hate nintendo and have no interest in nintendo anyway. (Only coming in with negative comments because they have an axe to grind. Typical response was: If you don't like the damn thing don't buy it. And those people DIDN'T buy it, waiting instead for a better thing to come along) The fact was that the dark screen was a valid criticism that fans of nintendo were trying to mention to other fans as a negative point in thier review of the system. But the problem was the fanboys were trying to silence and censor the reviewers who just wanted to give thier honest opinion about it. Then out came the GBA SP with all the improvements that were a reaction to the suggestions from the critics who had pointed out the bad points in the earlier GBA. Guess who all swarmed to the new and improved version? All those fanboys who 'hate whiners that complain about small nitpicks'. If those fanboys were so content with the original GBA, why did they swarm to the improved version which the honest people had hoped was the version they dreamed for in the first place? Moral of the story: Don't shoot the messenger! People can hope for better if it is a realistic goal that is achievable. Sometimes the people attacking the critic come off as the most hypocritical of them all when they benefit from the suggestions made by the fan with high expection. (whose expectations go higher and higher each time) Now the funny thing is: I still prefer my old GBA to the newer GBASP because it feels better to hold. That does not mean I have no complaints about the still-crappy dark screen of the original. I have every right to complain if it doesn't suit my standards which I know can be met with the existing tech at the time. But I would be smacking myself if I sold this old one to get the upgraded GBASP and realised the control feels worse with the newer one. It's not as simple as: "Buy it, or shut up!" "What can be so difficult?" "Why waste time complaining?" But the flaw with this logic is that you can still like something (enough to want to buy it) AND still have small complaints that prevent it from being perfect. The whine is justified in this instance if you are used to high standards that were met before in the past.

I'm glad they are fixing it. I hate it when stuff snaps. Expensive toys should be unbreakable if possible imo. Love the existing GBP though. Will the GBP recolor itself be the only one with the improvement? Will they reissue newer GBP with improvements in the older colour as well? This is so that I can tell if some ebay seller tries to sell me an older version and I can query if it is a newer, improved release versus the old release. What were these extra details that were talked about earlier?

We need to get graham to tell them to *"make a beta or we won't buy an alpha". *old robotech.com joke about how HG blackmailed its fanbase by threatening to "not make a beta fighter if no one buys an alpha fighter" to fans who were unenthusistic about no news of if the alpha would connect to a future beta toy.

The whole thing was just molded in grey with dark patches. Didn't really look all that attractive to people who are "canon-only-valks" purists. I have a theory that people were so busy spending all thier money on the canon stuff they weren't really interested atthe time because they thought it would always be there for them rather than disapearing. (which is why I think it is good they at least try some new stuff for those who missed out) It will be interesting to see how these sell based on if they are true LE or not. Because often when something is rare, and the ebay price goes up and up and up, that's when opinions about wanting something change. I admit to buying stuff myself in the past that I didn't want simply because I knew it would be hard to find again one day due to initial unpopularity. I think yamato are just playing around and testing the waters with these to see the reaction and to milk the fans for all they are worth. Personally if that means they can continue making more macross stuff, then so be it, more power to them. (so long as they can keep up the quality like with the VF0) I read all the old stories about how people would pay $1000 for chunky munkies and am glad we are not at that level of desperation so I am not going to whine at normal priced stuff if it can't be helped. (I just wish HG and BW would work something out and one day more casual fans had access)

Exactly that is the part that makes logical sense within the rules of the world. But the surfboard bit seems more like a style thing than a practical thing. There is nothing you don't gain by having the floaty device on the mech's body compared to if you use a surfboard. (which is more dangerous than the former) Just remember that like a skateboard you've sometimes got to hold onto the surfboard whilst doing some moves so it won't fly off your feet. Just seems like extra work you know what I mean? The question is: Why have the risk when you don't need to have it, and by having it you also have to work much harder, ...even though it is something that is not even necessary to begin with? Can you dig it? The car mode makes sense because it means less effort required to move along the ground. But the surfboard idea means you are at a disadvantage to a mech that doesn't need one to fly. (ie ray and charles "Qraus") But given it was the first of its kind and they were experimenting, I can swallow that as a good enough explanation. Just seemed a bit reckless when you consider the balance issues shown just trying to get it to walk. In fact they mention it was just following a popular trend at the time. (no real deep thought went into it )

I think it would be good if the natives living on the planets that are being colonised start to fight against UN to defend thier lands. You know how in yamato when the aliens are desperate because thier own planet is about to go? I thought that was a sad story. They should have un spacy play the role of the "aliens" and we see the story from the point of view of the native alien species trying to defend themselves against the humans who want to colonise thier planet and steal the valuable resources off it for mining materials. (ie cue aliens forming a rebel army and stealing valks to make thier own weapon. This becomes the gundam 0083 of macross ) Then what happens is UNG creates the Titans and we see black valkries to symbolise thier corruption into a dictatorship. And then of course we have an AEUG group that is unhappy with the current government, which is a mixture of former anti-un pilots and unspacy pilots who are fighting the new corrupt ung. Of course max/milias daughters are the focus of the show since thier parents were murdered by UNG assasins for thier soft aproach to things and suspected as spies for the macross version of AEUG.

So long as the final product has a low visible skull and crossbones on it. I liked that about the original LV: even the stickers and markings were hard to see. I actually wish the stealth was the one with the 1S head on it. More awareness and quicker response to the visible environment with a wraparound camera. Plus they already did LE stealth 1J with credit card valk.

hehe but the point is: is such a thing even practical? What happens if you lose balance? Why not just have an air type mobile armor that can outmanuever the robot and avoid that risk altogether? Seems kind of silly and unecessary and also dangerous given the sheer mass of those robots. Same with the danger of the nirvash if it were to lose balance. Looks stylish doing tricks in the air, but the military just make it harder for themselves if it means they got to pour money and effort into something that isn't necessary. (logic says to just put the floaty devices on the mech itself and eliminate unecessary risk to the person controlling it) But I guess I am falling into that trap of applying real world logic for a world that is based in fantasy with its own rules. (ie people surfing on invisible particles which don't exist in real life, making comparison an apple and oranges thing)

I think both of them should be. (how limited is the question though) By being non-canon (no appearance in the show) I can't really see people showing as much interest in them unless you are the completist collector. If they were to annouce them as limited I can totally see people flocking to them based on rarity of the first LV.

But the same danger applies to it. If the pilot of the giant robot were to fall or lose balance.. er I don't want to know what he plans to do if such a thing were to happen. Now a valk on a surfboard would make sense. At least valks can transform to save themselves if they would fall.

Yeah but did you feel it was rushed like a lot of people? I thought they needed to explain how the hell Aries got injured. They must have cut lots of stuff out.

If only they made bootlegs of 1/48....*drool*

1) not married 2) not a completist 3) not able to sustain the spending spree unless I cut back on some other luxury. (like savings for a new game console, not buying dvds, not going to see movies with mates, not eating expensive food, generally being a tight ass in other expenses like the George Costanza character from seinfeld etc) I think of this macross collecting as my phase that I am going through which will soon pass and assume I will get sick of it unless I see new valks made into toy form. (I am not a toy collector overall, just interested in macross and only have a casual interest in gundam. I will only buy the best stuff and have no interest in vintage toys) I am happy that there is a line in macross zero toys, there are vf1 everywhere, and that maybe one day we might even see a new line of macross plus (crossing fingers) toys. Then I can die happy. For now my focus is going to valks, a few tf alternators, megazone 23, and maybe (if toynami manages to make them) a line of enemy and destroid macross toys. I love transformable mecha and the toys are great works of toy engineering and a part of my childhood. I'm just a big kid at heart. I believe anything can be affordable if you know how to manage your money well and cut out expenses altogether or at least reduce them. Also shopping around and haggling for a better price can really help. I always ask a shop if they price match and if possible, I try to buy stuff imported over buying locally (due to our crappy treatment here in australia for things like games) if it means I can shave heaps of middleman expenses out of the cost of the item to me.

My opinion on the camo vers has changed. I like it better now that the colours don't look so off and I can see all three modes. The stealth I like because I think the greys help to break it up a little. If it was a pure black, well, then it'd be a clone of the ultra rare credit card valk. Think of existing owners. They'd hate yamato forever for tricking them about the LE title. I wonder if there is the possibility that yamato will release variation of the grey LV vers 1 still? If many people like it so much maybe it is worth releasing one in 1a. (either LE or non LE - but this time find a way not to make the weathering come off on your fingers) I think the stealth needs a grey skull and crossbones on the heatshield to finish it off but the camo should just be a normal stock grunt cannon fodder. It will be interesting to see what ebay sellers will demand in a few years time for these. Maybe the buyers will mistaken them as bootlegs because they don't appear in the show. I still want a TV version of the Skull leader valk. (with slightly greyish tone and fast packs during the end of the war when hikaru piloted roys plane)