SMac

I pre-ordered AC5 and Halo2 and GTA-SA all at the local GameStop because you can, and then you don't have to pay both tax and shipping. Picked up the DVD today. They never said anything about the patches, but I don't really care about the bonus items anyway. Had I not wanted the FlightStick, I would have just ordered for $35 from Outpost.

The heel/toe thing is killing me. I'm much happier with fighter mode now that I've transformed it back myself compared to when it was shipped. I like that I now realize the toes and heels swival (for when back in diver or soilder), but I cannot get both heels to push into the center all the way without one or the other making the leg push away from the body. Also, I cannot get the legs back into that "upper" hip position which the manual says they should be in for fighter mode. And it seems that would be the wrong position anyway. Anyone else thing the manual is backwards in this regard? And if not, how do you get the legs to shift back up into that upper position? Thanks, Scott

Ah, so I guess that's the new blue for the intakes (your serial is 3000+). Yeah, kind of hard to tell from the lighting, but looks more pale (gray-?) blue than the bright whatever it is blue on mine. I still don't get why they're not a gray. But it's been forever since I've seen the show. Scott

I don't know why opening the radar (whatever it is) hatch for diver mode from fighter mode is such a problem. Well, if you follow the manual, I guess I can see. If you just extend the midsection first, then the door can open and close with all the floppiness it was designed with. The other odd thing I realized is you can't reclose the midsection in diver mode unless you spread the legs a little. The legs do have very little posibility it seems. There's no twist point in the legs other than the hips? I have one arm that won't extend completely (ie, lock into extended position). Seems like I'd have to break it to pull enough to lock it in. The hands are pretty strong on mine. At least with all the pulling and wrestling with them to get that gun in there. I really don't like that the left wing doesn't snap into the nose and stay there in armo mode. I just leave the wings straight right now. Also, the right sholder doesn't sit into the indent on the wing to hold it in place. Hope those arm missles never get fired, not positioned like that. And one of the doors basically comes half off as I open it, until I shove the end back into place. Who designed that rear landing gear? Wheels at an angle to the direction of motion? Not to mention poor rubber, so small as to not get the cycle bay off the ground. Glad I had a box of toothpicks laying around as well. I don't consider the unit fragile per se, but I don't see the joints not getting real loose over time. Anyway. I'm happy to have one. I don't think I'll be buying the others. I'll save that money instead for a beta, should it come. Thanks, Scott

I'd take a pic of my first issue VF-1S so you can compare, but it's boxed up for moving at the moment. I had never seen the curved headrest before. Looking at that pic, I think it would be hard to get them confused. The first issue isn't curved anything like that. Thanks, Scott

As the latest three transformable IMAI kits on eBay just went in the $40-$50 range, and considering the labor to build the thing along with all the customization necessary to really pull the kit off anything like Jung's masterpiece, I'm happy with $80 shipped and built. Plus I asked Jung about the playability. And he said basically "models are models, toys are toys". And I don't buy things to just have them sit around. I still don't get the rounded baby blue air intakes. I do like the squared off gray ones on the IMAI. Wonder what Jung charges for repaints. If Toynomi has decided their Robotech lines will be 1/55, then so be it. Means a small Alpha, but still a good sized VF-1 and Beta. Just make the best darn 1/55 you can. Glad to see this is an innovative product maybe worthy of Masterpiece, unlike the VF-1, which was just another recast, and hardly worthy of being called anything other than "just another kids toy". The FAST packs were a different story, and maybe hinting the direction we see more of now with the Alpha. I like the idea of a double-barrel alpha. No chance Toynami will just run a couple extra hundred guns and deliver them for $5 a pop or something? Thanks, Scott

Maybe I'm dense or maybe I just couldn't find the post in this 50 page thread, but is it thought that it will be better to have one of the first 3000 or later 12000? I would assume the first, for the hardcore MSRP payers, not to mention "hey, don't buy the first 3000, the later ones will be better" isn't exactly the way to move product. Maybe a hand painting to machine painting move, so the first 3000 should have high QC? Or is it actually a change in what is being painted? If just a tone change, I probably wouldn't even notice a problem unless I saw the two together (and even then, I couldn't say which was more right). Any thoughts as to whether they will do the same with the first 3000 of the other models? Or was this a one time kind of change, for example to be more correct or more economical? Questions. Not sure they can be answered. Coming to mind as the thought of also getting a red and green seems more likely now. Well, I'm in the q with Kevin, so guess I'll get what I get, and from the looks of the pics, it's going to be nice. Much nicer for the $ than my MPC VF-1S. Thanks, Scott

A guy asked a specific question, and you lock the thread saying to take it up in the 44-page pinned thread which seems to have moved on to the upcoming Alphas? Maybe, just maybe, if there were separate threads for the MPC Alphas and MPC VF-1's (don't remember if they were called Valkyries in Robotech), I might agree. Still, the guy's question is a new, apparently not yet answered elsewhere to his satisfaction question, and therefore should be a new thread. A big rediculous in my opinion. And shouldn't the "Toys" forum be more correctly labeled "Macross Toys", since apparently the Robotech "toys", nor any other anime toys, are allowed in there? Thanks, Scott

See if these help you out: http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/robotech/ And no critiquing the photographer. If you want my VF-1S, you can it and the packs for $40+ship. I plan on selling it as it's uninspiring now that I have a 1/48 VF-1S, and I'm moving, so I'm looking at those two large "books" and thinking better to ship them away than pack them up. I do like the red and black nozzles on the MPC packs much better than the all silver oversized nozzles on the 1/48 packs, but I don't have a 1/48 for the packs. Thanks, Scott

Pictures. When in doubt, show pictures. Then again, I just shipped away my TV 1/48, so can't take pictures of that, so if that's what you're having problems with, then I don't have any specifically relevant material. I think we all know the leg post involved (in red): http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/valkyrie/leg_post2.JPG But there seems to be some confusion about where it goes, with and without armor. The hole for without is in red; the hole for with is in green. http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/valkyrie/arm_holes2.JPG Then again, I often end up doing this when with armor, just resting the post in the indentation: http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/valkyrie/common.jpg Of course, if you get the arm packs on the wrong arms, you're going to have problems. On the flip side of the arm packs you find the posts for joining the arms in blue, the post for joining the arm packs in yellow, the normal mounting point for the gun in green, and the mounting point for the gun on the arm packs in red. Notice the gun post is in the middle of the "space" for the gun handle. I had the same problem with the TV arm packs as the rest; the post is not properly centered. http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/valkyrie/arm_gun2.JPG And for gerwalk mode, the arms stick out just fine if you use the apparently endless ingenuity built into the 1/48 by Yamato (it totally amazes me how they designed this thing). You simply take the arms as a unit and push them more forward (towards the head) then you normally would. Note, you kind of have to hold the back end of the arms up some or the sholder hinges won't have the right angle to move: http://mcintosh.home.mindspring.com/valkyrie/arms_free.jpg I didn't put the pics into the thread due to the size (they're all 150-250KB). Thanks, Scott