doodler7

Somebody please show some pics of 1/12 or 1/18 Scopedogs !

Hey thanks Dampiel. I remember that fighter.

Odr78 and Fly4victory very nice collections indeed! Too bad Hasegawa will not release a 1/48 version of Shin's F-14 with the Macross decals. I've been going all around trying to find a Hasegawa 1/48 F-14 VF-103 Jolly Rogers, Last Flight? I guess it's all sold out....but I've been deciding for a while whether to settle for a Franklin Mint die-cast F-14. Finished and painted 1/48 F-14 on ebay are selling up to $180...pretty crazy! But anyhow, I thought it'd be nice to have a lineage of figures/kits next to each other bearing the "Skull" Squadron insignia or Jolly Rogers from the WWII F-4U, the F-4, F-14, VF-0S, and VF-1S. Has there been another fighter after Roy's VF-1S bearing the Skull insignia?

Hmmm...do you guys think one will be better holding off from purchasing this release of Megs...and waiting six or eight months down the road in hopes that Takara releases a second version with the extended barrel and shoulder stock?

here's one just for the heck of it.

Hah hah, Dafunguy! Thanks for watching. That vid's for you, Kicker773! I'm planning to do more of 'em for all the other figures I have not opened!

I finally got to opening 1/60 YF-19 after sitting on the drafting table for a couple of weeks. And after reading what you guys have talked about so far...I'll probably leave mine too in "plane" mode for a while. Before hitting the sack last Saturday, I figured to release some steam and relax a bit. This was taken with a Canon S2 with a 256 MB SD card...so I'm limited 5 min per shot. My fiancée saw a peek of what I was doing, and she's finally convinced that I'm true, bonified nerd...she called me a dork, LOL. This shot is one of three, I don't think I'll cover transformation process: http://www.teamvariance.com/downloads/test/3393.html I'll probably look over the plane closer this weekend...it's still sitting on the drafting table covered by a shirt so as to avoid sunlight.

1/60 for me...it'll go great with the latest release of the 0, 0A and YF-19...and go along good with perfect grade gundams! unfortunately, companies do not manufacture 1/60 accessories...people, missles and etc.

Work sucks and freelance work is stressing me out these two months, and I've been too busy to open the box. My YF-19 is till in its USPS box for a week sitting on my drafting table. I'm gonna read more of this thread tonight...then I'll take a video of my opening the box and take some photos. I've never had any problems with any of the 1/48s and 1/60s...so I'm crossing my fingers.

damn these things look great in the color "gray"...is this the tooling and refining stage of the actual product, or computer generated? i dunno, i think the gray really works well in pushing out shadows...but they'll probably look silly once colors are applied.

I'm curious how often you guys take your 1/48s out of the boxes, and how often you guys transform the figures. You can't do it too often and you cannot handle them like hasbros transformers. Personally I like to display one valkyrie for every two to three weeks to get to appreciate each one of them. The only breakage I've experienced was with the back BP8 on my first 1/48 VF-1S Roy...while transforming from battroid to gerwalk with fastpacks on the back. So far I think the 1/48s are pretty durable. I'm planning to get 1/12 Votoms...so we'll see how well those are made...and a 1/60 valkyrie to go along with the new 1/60 fighters. You just gotta handle them with care.

Oh man, can't wait to see mine. TMPanime shipped last Wednesday, and just found out that my order arrived at work yesterday. Our shipping/receiving didn't mention a word....so damn, I'll have to wait till next Tuesday to get it at the office. It took me 8 months before transforming my VF-0S...I'm sure I'll marvel the YF-19 for a long time also before transforming it.

My favorite Macross Toy...I'd give away if necessary...and I probably would not want to die for it either...but I treasure the sparks it provides my imagination, childhood memories, and inspiration these days. I'd say the Yamato 1/48 VF-1J Hikaru...with fast pack as valkyrie/gerwalk...and gbp armor as a battroid. I discovered Robotech first before Macross...sadly enough, but that's what you get to limited television...the VF-1J was the icon that does the struts and reaches out on every end of each episode's introduction. It was also the very first valkyrie that I encountered at a toy store, 1/55 scale (I think it was a Korean Knock-off...because it looked all gray at the time...1984/85?) Fresh yoh!

LurkerX, nice collection man. What do you do for a living? I ask because I may be in the wrong industry. Nice setup too.

Nice.

Hi Everyone, How about tighter joints on the ankle/booster leg connection so that the valkyrie doesn't wobble when the table or bookshelf shakes...but I'm sure this note has been brought up already. More importantly, the boxe size and quality are what I'm more concerned about. For the amount that's being charged for these figures, I'm not asking for Yamato to lower the price, but upgrade the box a little bit for future products. I take pride in owning these 1/48 and 1/60 scales, and I would definitely feel a lot more satisfied if the boxes are more compact, solid and sleek! I'd like to see the box size minimized by at least an inch or more in all sides. I'm too lazy to take measurements. How about box measurements similar to a Takara MP-01 Convoy? Secondly, with minimizing the size, hopefully the cost will go towards better quality box materials? Personally, corrugated boxes with matt printing in the outside...stamp foiling on specific lines and logos and spot lamination. Keep the box background to solid colors; from dark gray, dark blue, dark reds to matte black. Again, sorry to bring it up, but the Takara MP-04 is the best looking box in the outside that I've gotten a hold of from all the toys that I've purchased. I don't know the look of the inside of the box because I've yet to crack it open. But the box feels solid. There also something about the better feel of a matte surface versus the glossy/flooded varnish on the current yamato boxes. On a matte finish, there's a roughness and "edginess" that somehow say "elite" or "upscale." Glossy print with flood varnish represents club flyers, mass mailers and flimsy magazines. Lastly, Yamato can try to better the graphic design on the boxes. The VF-0 series and YF-19 boxes are actually pretty good in terms of layout and color usage. They're a lot better than any of the 1/48 valkyries. The first 1/48 GBP armor box with the slightly textured background look the best in my opinion. My request or recommendation; please don't try to print images on every side/flap of the box with unappealing graphics of the figure. And if Yamato's designers are to do so, don't ruin the photo of the figure by masking or placing it under photoshop textures. I know that sometimes there's last minute requests on box artwork gets the best of the designer and marketing...but get a head start. I don't know, maybe it's just me, getting old...but the only other packaging goodness that I can think of that may be suitable for the 1/48 & 1/60 scales are the Apple boxes...from the flat screens, the tower boxes to iPods. What do you guys think? Hey Kensei and Graham, didn't we not have a box art contest before? I know some of us don't work for free, but I'm sure there's plenty of Illustrator and Designer MW members who can show their skillz; show some box samples and artwork. I'd most likely to do it, and I'd think about the service as a returned investment...great box, wonderful figure, and definitely a collectible.

What's the chance of having a Gundam story battle it out with an alien life form...make it to the big screen or at least tv series?

I first Macross toy I saw was a 1/55 VF-1J when I was seven years old. I voted for VF-1. It's da plane stands out the most as Macross...and has most accessories. It's solid. I don't like the scrawny biceps on the VF-0 and YF-19...maybe if they're 1/48 scale, I'd have a different opinion.

Alright, sounds good. Thanks Retracting Head Ter Ter. I have only been looking on eBay. I am writing from Southern California, U.S. Ebay shows the 1/18 for an average of $160 USD (19,000 yen). 1/12s are available for $90 USD (10,700 yen) I'll wait for a little bit...and maybe invest first on the whole series for $60 before making a purchase. Thanks again!

Hey gang! I've seen the Votoms 1/12 action figures at the Comic Con and was impressed of the size and details; each figure is a lot of plastic for the buck. For a month now I've been checking out this topic and ebay...there's a seller on ebay "eToyer" who sells them at a reasonable price. And just this passed week I've just discovered the 1/18 scale with the microman figure. The 1/18 is really expensive, but very detailed with the figure. The 1/12 has great possibilities for customizing and addition of other accessories...and a little cheaper. Which do you guys recommend as a better buy?

Oh my gosh, this is sooo fun! Come on, show them pics LordKungFu!

Hmmm...I don't feel guilty about the collection...but I do feel like I'm cheating with my fiancee because she doesn't buy much except for paint/brushes/canvas for her hobby. But you know what? I never got a chance on those 1/55 back in the 80s...so here my chance. I agree with Jenius and I am practicing what's preached with the exception of one extra VF-1S v1 for spare parts. Oh yeah, by the way, newer houses in So Cal now average around $480K +...so LordKungFu...you got a long way to go.

Wow, $200K for Yamato Toys! Holy Crap! You are one crazy person. Do you own part of Yamato? We just bought a house. It's cool, a nice start...now I can't buy that much Yamato 1/48 scales...heh...our wedding is next. So what's a "troll?" And who's Agent One? Is he the one with that avator of a British Model Chick?

Some of us members are probably in the early and mid 20s...so while you're thinking about completing the 1/48 collection...don't forget to throw some money on an IRA...that $2,000 can grow up to $45,000 by the time you're sixty five...and that's just one year's worth of investment!...guaranteed and untouched by IRS till you start using it later on. But uh yeah...since I've bought my stuff from various online stores, Kevin's, TMPs and HLJ etc...including shipping 1/48 = $3029 close estimate Sheeesh!

Hey Lonewolf, If I were you, I'd just get both to avoid the headaches or any remorse. Then you'll feel like a king! Unfortunately like you said, some of us like yourself and myself, are limited in resources. If you'll be collecting pennies for the purchase, then buy the 0A with the Ghost...you get both with one purchase, a neat box to save space, and future purchase. Don't be pushed around my a mere stripe of paint or naming convention of what's proper or not. You can always repaint the figure. I'm actually waiting for the pre-order for the Ghost/0A combo....and maybe get the 1st issue of the 0A later, hee hee hee. Mortgage sucks! Good luck, mang!