M'Kyuun

I like it, too. Rather reminiscent of the YF-23 "Grey Ghost", which of course influenced the YF-21's design as well as the aircraft competition subplot in Macross Plus.

BBTS is charging $350, plus $4 S&H. Amazon may be charging $20 less for the valk, but what's their shipping cost like? I'm thinking BBTS is looking pretty fair, as most of the other e-tailers are likely to be in the same ballpark, especially once shipping is tacked on. The only negative thing about BBTS is that they seem to take longer than other stores to get their stock. I'm curious to see what the US Gundam store will price it. If it's in the $300+ range as well, it's a notable contrast to the DX YF-19, arguably the more popular of the M+ valks, which has a current PO price of $250. All things considered, however, it's a bit surreal after years of midnight madness to score a Macross valk to see these toys now available, sometimes for weeks, on American stores' inventories. Dream come true.

Likewise; at least I know I've got a copy w/out fuss. I was going to try Ami-Ami, but my new puppy chose PO time to have to go out and in the few minutes I was outside w/ him, it sold out. BBTS has $4 flat rate shipping, so although I'm being gouged on price, I won't be double-gouged on S&H. Ami-Ami has a disclaimer saying S&H may be very high, and it's possible I'd end up paying as much or more after paying their shipping rate. Too, the PO on BBTS has been up for hours, so it was a much more leisurely stress-free option, even if my wallet is smarting a little. The pain is ameliorated a little by the certainty that I have one POed without having to desperately look for another site that may sell out in seconds. The availability of Macross toys in US stores is the one positive from Big West's deal with the devil.

So Ami-Ami have the DX YF-21 listed on their site, but POs won't go live until 11 Jan at 1100 Japan time (I'm assuming Tokyo time specifically). That comes out to 6PM tomorrow for me. Since we're no longer limited to Japan-only stores, I'm hoping we'll all have a fairer chance of scoring a copy without all the previous midnight madness shenanigans. Since Macross is still not widely known outside of the Robotech context here in the States, I'd like to think that the POs will stay open a bit longer for this in domestic stores should we fail in getting a Japanese PO. The degree of markup is my concern at that point. They kinda have us by the bollocks when it comes to Macross releases. 😒 Then again, S&H from China and Japan can get expensive, so nothing really gained nor lost either way.

You're correct; I was mistaken. But my feelings towards 'delimiter' mode remain the same. 😉 Meh! I like my YF-21 limited!😁

Regarding high-speed mode, macht nix to me; I will never put my copy in that config. I never did it for my Yammie, either. Yeah, it happened in the anime, but it's really an outlier mode that never really meant much to me; mine will stay in battroid, as I've waited a long time to have a YF-21 with a proportional b-mode, and I'm digging how this fig looks.

So, about what time is the madness going to happen? I'm going to try to score a copy from one of the Tamashii links (Amazon, BBTS, Entertainment Earth). I'm hoping the markup won't be financially crushing, but this is a Macross release so....

I'm guessing there were probably financial factors as well for keeping the book to a certain length, as he likely had a budget to observe. My hope is that this one will sell well prompting a second volume to finish off the rest of the Space themes, including 2024's return of Sci-fi Space sets across a multitude of major themes. The Spyrius robot is indeed cool. I wish they'd done bots as minifigs from the beginning, as the brick-built robots, while they had their charms, were generally quite limited in their articulation. While the minifig is rather anachronistic and limited itself, it's still superior to the alternatives and just fits better IMHO.

1978 and on is my Classic Space; I was there for all of it, and I still remember looking longingly at the little folded brochures featuring sets from across Town, Space, Castle, and later, Pirates as a kid. Space, of course, was my favorite theme, but I also liked some Town stuff, mostly construction. Castle was cool, but I never had any as a kid, and with limited funds and limited choices for birthday and Christmas gifts, Space was almost always my choice of LEGO sets. I got a few nice Technic and Model Team sets in there, too, though. I, too, hope Tim Johnson continues this book as a series, breaking them down by eras. To answer your question, "Why stop at '92?", according to the author, it was the last year of only classic smiley faced figs, and as an aside, Jens Knudsen moved to a different department in '93. Tim Johnson said in an interview that deciding at what point the cutoff would be was a tough decision, so the last themes with all smiley faces seemed a good point. I'm with you, though; when Blacktron arrived with those cool mysterious black visors, I was over the moon for them. As helmets and visor colors changed from theme to theme, I was totally on board for all of it. More than that, though, I was blown away by the UFO Zotaxian minifigs with their extremely complex and detailed printing (especially for the time) and those fantastic alien looking helmets. They remain some of my all-time favorite minifig designs to this day. LEGO minifigures SP042 UFO Zotaxian Alien - Blue Officer (Commander X) | Brickset As to how well the book covers the various themes, it does a set-by-set photo with a very brief expose' from 78-92 highlighting major features of each set. It also touches on concepts that never made it to production, sets that were in the final production stages that, for whatever reason, were never released, interviews with a number of designers and other LEGO employees with insights generally regarding Mr. Knudsen's personality and such. Mr. Johnson also employed some license, creating a small action narrative for each set just for additional flavor. I'd have preferred more info on the sets themselves, but I'm sure there are fans who enjoy that sort of thing. In some instances, in crafting his narratives, he used info from advertisements and other production materials, so not everything is entirely made up by Tim- there's a kernel of legit history here and there. And because Mr. Johnson is a connoisseur of LEGO parts, he dutifully highlights various parts that were developed or introduced in Space themes from '78-'92. As FOL who has always been excited by the addition of new parts in the inventory, it's a welcome addition to the book that I personally enjoy and hope he continues should there be another volume to follow. I hope so. I think all these sets have merit, some great backstories, and each represents an entry point into LEGO Space themes for one generation or another. I think those stories need to be told and all of those themes and sets need to be celebrated in like fashion.

Lucky you! I've been to two Walmarts and neither has any 2024 stuff out yet, although the one down the road from me looks like they're getting ready to do a reset in the LEGO aisle, so I'm guessing they'll have them stocked by week's end. My wife's going to get me the two large sets and I'll likely get the rest, minus possibly one for birthday fodder. I was hoping my Wally would have at least that polybag, but no. What they did have, however, was a Technic polybag of a Mars rover, complete with working suspension. Pretty neat little model, I must say. My wife also got me a newly released coffee table book called LEGO Space 1978-1992 by Tim Johnson, founder of newelementary.com, a blog focused on LEGO parts. There are some interesting interviews with various designers concerning the development of early Classic Space themes, mostly centered on Jens Nygaard Knudsen, creator of nearly all the 1978 sets as well as the inventor of the minifig and general overseer of LEGO Space for years. Alas, no direct interviews were conducted with Mr. Knudsen, as he sadly passed in 2020 from ALS, and judging from what others have said about his boundless imagination and creativity, it's a huge loss to fans like me who were craving a deep dive into the creation of all these wonderful space sets that have had a lasting lifetime influence. It seems incomprehensible that more interviews weren't conducted with him while he was still with us, as his influence was dominant in the 70s-90s, and continues to this day, as many of the parts he designed are still in use, and sets like 10497 harken back to the original line of Space sets that released in '78 introducing the world to a bunch of nifty blue and grey spaceships and minifig astronauts to interact with and build stories around. However, I am thankful that a number of designers from the 70's and onward who worked with Jens and knew him personally have shared some of their memories in the book. IMHO, those anecdotes and memories only whet the appetite for a more profound conversation with Jens himself, but in his absence, his legacy speaks volumes.

That's your prerogative, and in so doing, I wish you every success and it turns out well. Absolutely. Unfortunately, we, meaning me, don't all have skills with painting or decaling, so factory applied paint and tampo are extremely welcomed, especially on a high-end toy that costs several hundred bucks.

Right? I'll bet it even said a 'Buckbeak-like creature' in the script and the SFX folks were like F-it, we're not even gonna try to come up with something different. So blatant. The spider girl was done really well, though, and it's lamentable that more wasn't done with her- imagine how much more interesting she would have been as an allied fighter than Doona Bae's two-dimensional cyborg Jedi with a witch's hat.

While the Unicron Trilogy isn't to my taste, as they continue to plow through the various characters, my guess is they'll eventually give this guy the upscaled fig he deserves. Honestly, he's not a half bad sci-fi jetformer, certainly better than many we've gotten over the decades. I'd be curious to see how a voyager or leader scaled fig turned out. Got a few deluxe figs from Pulse yesterday, including Animated Bee, and man is it a shame they didn't allow for the front halves of his car to swivel 180 degrees to become his toes instead of his heels. Would've been a great improvement to an already good update. The size differential between this fig and his original deluxe figure just makes you realize how much less plastic they're working with at almost three times the price from those 2008 toys.

While Bandai may go a bit overboard with their tampo, IMHO it's a far cry better than the absolute minimum tampo that Yamato/Arcadia does. Their YF-19 V3 original release didn't even have intake markings, which is an essential marking on the majority of valks. I think it came w/ decals to supply them, but so many markings that should have been tampoed as a matter of course weren't. So complain and remove them if you will, but I'll take mine with its full complement of tampoed markings, thanks. I think it makes it more visually appealing. Even my wife thought Bandai's DX YF-21 looked good, and she couldn't care less about my Macross toys.

Looking forward to picking up all these new space sets. Space is back and I'm elated.

Certainly so. FYI, the real-world inspiration for those paddles was likely Rockwell's MBB X-31, a cool plane in its own right.

Regarding Rebel Moon Part Deux, more of the same. The highly trained military fighter teaching a peaceful village how to fight in an expedited time frame to combat a superior military force trope is so overused. Sometimes it's done well, but I don't get that sense here, as everything seems rushed in these films. I get that it's the nature of film to often rush things b/c the production team is dealing with a very finite period in which to tell their story; however, given how rushed and shallow the first film was, I don't think there'll be much improvement on the second go. That said, I'll watch it, but not with the same expectation I had for the first. I like the flying mech carriers and the mechs themselves; definitely vibes of the LAATs carrying the AT-TEs into battle in Attack of the Clones, one of only a few things I liked in that film. The LEGO set was pretty cool. Finally got to see Lamb, a 2021 movie starring Noomi Rapace that looked weird and intriguing from trailers I saw in the theater. AFAIK, it never showed locally, and I've been waiting for it to show up on ShowTime or HBO during the holidays when we get it for free, but I've never seen it playing. However, Prime, to which I'm subscribed, finally got it and I was pretty excited to see it. Indeed, it was weird, a bit of a slow burn film, but well-acted considering the odd circumstances at the center of the film. It may not be for everyone, but I dug it.

These days, the smaller Hi-Metal toys, often with swappable parts, are going for what the DX toys went for just a few years ago. Inflation sucks, but that's our reality. Plus, with so few Macross toys being made period, companies can charge what they want, especially for higher end toys and fans are going to pay it for lack of alternatives and scarcity. I'd much prefer to pay Bandai's old $160-80ish for a DX toy, but as Sanity says, that boat has sailed. All we can hope for is a favorable exchange rate when the PO goes live.

LOL, pretty apt description. I was excited for this, but I found it a bit too boilerplate, derivative, and hokey. The scene where the dude has to tame Buckbeak just seemed downright pilfered. While I thought Sofia Boutella did a good job in her role, little development was given to the other fighters she's gathering to fight the Galactic Emp...erm, the Motherworld. The whole film is replete with cliche, overdone slow motion, and tropes we've seen again and again. No new ground is trodden here....

C'est la vie for a niche franchise. Regardless, the wait has been long and this toy, at least by some (me), is greatly anticipated, so I'm in for a PO. I just hope it turns out to be a solid toy with good tolerances and lots of ratchet joints where they make the most sense. Likewise die-cast- use it where it makes sense for strength and durability and not just for the sake of having more die-cast for heft and perceived quality.

Quite the shmup collection. I was never much of a gamer until '99, primarily sci-fi FPSs, and I never played shoot em ups, so a lot of these ships are familiar to me from sites like Pinterest or from MOCs I've seen. Looks like you're a big fan of R-Type- those elongated bubble canopies are a cool hallmark of those designs. Your Endymion looks good, and swooshy to boot. Congrats on finishing it.....until the next mod. 😄

As it happens, I didn't end up going to Wally today, so I don't know if they put the 2024 sets out yet or not, but my inclination based on experience says no. I'll be surprised if much of the '24 stuff is even on shelves on the first, as they still have a fair bit of '23 stock to get rid of. But, of course, there's always that hope. Fortunately, my Wally is one of several in the city, along with at least three Targets, a mom & pop store that sells both new and used LEGO, and, after many, many years of wishing, our own LEGO Store downtown. Unfortunately, I have little room, and I'm expecting to get a few sets for Christmas, including the Arctic ship set, so I can wait a bit before picking up the new City Space sets, although I eventually intend to get all except maybe the 4+ Spaceship and Asteroid Discovery. Def down for that beautiful Creator giraffe, too. 😍

Cheers @Test_Pilot_2. Too kind! Good luck with parts and tension; the gods of ABS know the time I've spent doing swaptronics with parts trying to find that 'just right" tightness. It's a labor of love in the truest sense, but worth it when you find that perfect match. Looking forward to the revised cabinet arrangement, and given its command pod origin, I think GERWALK is the definitive mode for this particular valk. I'm not particularly a fan of GERWALK, but the Variable Glaug and the VB-6 Konig Monster are exceptions due to where they started out. And, yeah, bring on the next MOC. 😉

Oh man, I hope my Wally has them, too, as I'll be heading over there later today. I'm after the majority of those Space sets. Want them all, but especially the M_Tron guy, the Ice Planet guy (that penguin is just too funny), the Blactron 2 guy, and the regular astronaut w/ flight pack. More than ever, I vehemently wish LEGO would reconsider their crappy blind boxes, as getting a full set of these guys, along with a few select multiples, is going to be challenging. I may have to buy a complete box of them just to be sure.

Kudos to @Test_Pilot_2 for courageously plowing into this project. It has been my hope since I originally posted my model here back in 2020 that other MWers would attempt their own versions, and it pleases me greatly to see that desire come to fruition so brilliantly. I'm both honored and humbled that he committed to it so wholeheartedly, and I hope it will inspire others to do so as well. Thanks @Test_Pilot_2for sharing your work, for your kind words here, and for all the behind-the-scenes conversations. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and share our love of sci-fi and LEGO. Cheers for diving in on my crazy design; may it be a fun and unique addition to your collection.