M'Kyuun

When it came to flying, the whole show was full of inconsistencies. While the adult fans of cartoons and anime is well recognized today, back in the 80's it wasn't, and so the writers didn't give two shits about science, consistency , or any established rule or characteristic from a previous episode, b/c I guess they didn't think kids would remember stuff from one week to the next. They wrote what they needed to make the ep work, and damn the pesky laws of physics and whatever came before. "Can you transform?" "I..I don't think so; I think my linkage is busted." Great stuff. I ate this poo up as a kid, though. Still brings a smile. The Power Snore Combiners just don't appeal. Nothing worse than gaudily colored, way-oversized weapons, even if those weapons transform too. The main toys don't look bad, however, at least Huffer retains an iota of his original self. Actuall, I'd love a nice Universe Scout-class homage to Huffer. Agree too, on nasty colors used to denote connection points and such if they clash with an otherwise decent paint job.

I held out on the VF-25 too, b/c of its many problems. I got a VF-27, and I have no regrets...pretty nice toy, the crotch not locking out into anime correct position being its only major flaw. I got the 1/72 VF-25 model, and it suffices for now, to present an accurate representation of the VF-25 until Bandai goes back to the drawing board, or Yamato gets the license. Shame the VF-171 has gone completely ignored. It wasn't the hero mech, but still pretty neat in its own right. looking forward to see the final results/ review of Bandai's DX Konig Monster.

Your logic is impeccable, sir. I'm with you, large robots are cool in and of themselves; however a non-transforming transformer is a contradiction and pointless. Thrust is a must! I'm liking about half the The WOC designs, basically those that look like real vehicles. Much like Animated , Megs makes me ask, wtf is it? BumbleBee, the seekers, the unnamed decepticon jet in the lower left corner, Air Raid, plus most of the car mode bots look good. I know these are supposed to be their alien forms, but usually alien alt forms just look like ass when they're not tied in some way visually to a real vehicle. More to the point, the reason they transform is for disguise, so why would they need to transform on Cybertron if there are no human sized robots to drive them around and no generic vehicles with which to blend? It's a fantastic concept for a toy or game, and made perfect sense the way it was presented in the original series, although they didn't really use the diguise motive very well. But a bunch of robots on a robot planet turning into vehicles their own size would be like humans turning into hairless human-sized monkeys...sure it'd be cool, but not much of a disguise...we'd all stand out to each other. We'd just be great tree climbers with a jones for bananas and ant fishing.

Tampo's fine for me, as I don't handle my toys all that often...I find a pose I like, and leave it until I get tired of it, or just want to transform it. The size is fine by me as well..2cm is not a deal breaker. My concern is whether it will have better engineered linkages and joints allowing for both poseability and solidarity. Yamato's is pretty floppy, esp in the knee area, and hip poseability is almost nil. the Monster is not that complex in its transformation, and a seasoned company like Bandai should be able to create solid ratcheting joints for a toy this size, esp in the Chogokin line. I know I'll catch hell, but I'd actually like to see what Takara-Tomy would do with the design, esp after the work they've done for the movie franchise. After creating a toy as complex as MP Prime and ROTF Leader Prime, I think the VB6 would present little challenge to those folks.

The side toes don't look like they can angle back, so the monster has to stand on it's exhaust flaps. At least Yamato got that right. Hope the actual toy can balance better in both G and B modes. No special version for me, either. I hope the legs lock together better than they appear by this pic. I'm assuming the thing was hastily transformed for the benefit of snapping off some quick pics. I hope that's all, b/c thus far, it looks to be a step up from Yamato's in nearly all respects.

Hit Girl made me think a plausible live-action Gunslinger Girl could be made with girls of the appropriate ages. Of all the characters, she definitely stole the show. I also didn't mind seeing the bad guy give her a beat down...he's the bad guy for a reason, and given that she single-handedly killed off all his henchmen, administering the righteous hand of slap that mini-bitch down was called for, if you're a bad guy, that is. I have to agree that the tv ads are a little misleading, mostly in respect to McLovin. While I get what the director was going for with KickAss's character, it seemed a bit unfulfilling to see him get owned continuously without improvement (ending notwithstanding), while the scenes with Big daddy and Hit Girl doing their thing were , on the whole, pretty damned cool. Not much of a Nick Cage fan, but i loved the stilted way he deliverd his lines when he suited up. Thought the movie was pretty good all around. I'm not over-analytical. It does a good job of showing the reality of being a hero-wanna-be, while also giving you a couple movie heros with all their less plausible abilities. Overall, pretty enjoyable.

I like the show, and the way it pokes fun at a littl bit of everything. The racist comments and commentary are applied to both black and white...if anything, I see them poke more fun at black stereotypes than white. It's a comedy satire and I take it as such. Half the problem in America is that people have very thin skin these days, and are easily offended. There are far worse real things going on in the world to get upset about than a cartoon intended to make fun of American racial stereotypes. Moreover, if it offends, it's your right to change the channel. God bless America and our awesome Constitution.

Follow this link, and scroll down a bit. http://ngeekhiong.blogspot.com/2010/02/spe...hogokin-vf.html

Possible. I hadn't given it that much thought, but you may be right. Either that or Scottish kids were in short supply for the casting call. I thought it a bit odd to hear Scottish Vikings, although they did conquer a fair bit of the British Islands. Historically retroactive influence going on there.

Saw it today...besides the accent differences, everything else was really good...wish there were more animated movies like this. Nice little geek nods, and the night fury dragon was a great character, as mentioned. I can relate to the main character, as I'm the only male in my family who doesn't hunt and fish. I'd rather look at stuff on the internet, build something with LEGO, fidget with one of my hundreds of transforming toys and figures, or immerse myself in sci-fi/fantasy of one medium or another.

The cell animated version looks excellent, better to me than the CG. It captures the fierceness I remember as a kid. The level of violence is what got me hooked on the show way back when I was about 4 or 5...loved that people would actually die. That, and every week there was a new giant robot insect for the G-Force to battle. C'mon, who doesn't love giant robot insect battle machines with weapons and gimmicks galore? There was also the occasional tragic love story thrown in for good measure. The live action vid looks a bit silly to me...there are just some things that don't translate well to live-action. I liked the updated Astro-Boy by Imagi...it wasn't a bad movie, although I think some of the writing could have been polished more. For any movie like this, Brad Bird should be involved, even if he's only an editor. I liked the overall look of the movie though, and I thought the dude who voiced Astro did a good job. Shame that Imagi are shutting down. Not a good time in history for live action anime translations: first live-action Evangelion, and now Gatchaman.

Like many others here, my introduction to Macross was through Robotech. I'm glad and thankful to Mr. Macek for recognizing that Japanese animation had value back in the 80's and that he worked to bring that to the US, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his treatment of the material. Beyond that, it seems that he truly loved and championed sci-fi; and so, we've lost another pioneer. Thanks, Carl. May you truly rest in peace.

Scroll up and check my post #83...those are some of the issues with battroid. Additionally, the shuttle mode is pretty wide, esp the shoulder parts (not streamlined at all...they stick out like Prince Charles' ears). And of course, there's the infamous gap between the wings and fuselage in shuttle mode. In gerwalk, it droops a bit, and requires a bit of patience to get the kneecap panels to sit in the indents in the feet to give it some support. The legs contain a lot of linkage, both fore and aft, and no ratcheting, so it has a tendency to be floppy when the legs are unlocked. While I like my Yammie, if I didn't own one, I'd be more willing to hold out for Bandai's..it's better looking in shuttle mode, the head stowage and placement looks to be much better, and it has panel lining and lots of tampo, based on the pics. The Yamato monster is very plain, with sparse paint apps, and very little panel lining. I'm hoping that Bandai will correct all the wrongs inherent in the Yamato toy. At the time, though, it was a bold choice for Yamato to make the thing, and it was fairly impressive, but a number of years have passed, and Bandai should have had ample time to study its strengths and flaws and produce a better Monster in their DX line. I look forward to seeing more development pics/reviews, and most likely I will add a DX Monster to my collection. Hope this helps.

True. When I happened upon it for the first time in my Designworks book many years ago, I was wow-ed. I knew of thee monster, of course, but seeing that converted into a full 3-mode variable mech was sure impressive, and the shuttle mode just seemed appropriate and fitting for such a massive machine. Mr. Kawamori, IMHO, has an excellent imagination, and equally impressive design skills.

Besides actually liking how the VB-6 looks, I think what you said is also a large part of the appeal. I'm glad Bandai is taking a stab at creating this. I had hoped Yamato, back when they were making M-Zero toys, would have also tried making an Octos, as well, just to make something non-valkyrie, but still transformable. Besides, the Octos was a pretty cool design.

Broke out my Yammie VB-6 yesterday for the first time in over a year. Bandai's is looking much better. The head placement on the Yamato version sits too far behind the shoulders, it barely locks together in battroid, the battroid is "scrunched", the legs have nearly no articulation at the hips and their attachment is contrary to the lineart (the joints should attach directly to the flaps that fold down on either side of the nose in battroid). And, of course, the arms are pretty floppy, and the legs nearly the same when not locked together. Gerwalk sags a fair bit. Despite these and sundry other flaws, I still like it, though. I guess it has 1/55 appeal..it's not very accurate, but it's the only toy of its kind for the time being, and it's close enough to the source to be more than recognizable. And I'm generally just a fan of transformable toys, and Macross designs, of course. EXO's propped up Yamato looks pretty good. I love the battroid mode of the VB-6, and that pic make the Yammie version look much better than the actual toy's battroid as designed. Looking at the pics of Bandai's shuttle compared to Yamato, the gaps between the legs and the arms is far reduced on Bandai's ...the whole shuttle looks much sleeker. The gaps on the Yamato are huge.

The VF-27 looks good in all 3 modes; however, the thighs are a bit thick, and movement is a little restricted in part by the chunkiness, but also b/c of the canards (really crappy design to put those canards where they'll most likely contact the upper legs in battroid). The slightly too-high placement of the thighs and the lack of a locking mechanism to keep the crotch angled out, as seen in the anime/lineart, are really the only detractors. After handling my YF-21 and Yf-19 for the first time in prob a year, I have to say I enjoy fiddling with my VF-27 much more. It is a very solid toy, holds poses far better, and just looks great. Love to see the metal showing through the ankle guards. And, unlike my Yammies, the gear are pretty easy to extend and retract without resorting to toothpicks and tweezers (no paint means no scratches, either). Absolutely no regrets buying this thing. I need to break out my SV-51 and put it next to the VF-27. It's prob my favorite Yamato valk, along w/ the VF-0. I'd like to get Grace's VF-27, but I'm getting my backyard done, so there's a significant deferrence of funds happening, and sacrifices must be made (plus, I promised the wife, who generally doesn't care what I buy, as far as toys go, so I owe her)

Bandai's attempt already wins for a sleeker design, which is closer not only to the Frontier look, but also the original lineart. I never realised just how bulky the Yamato Monster looked in shuttle mode until I saw these pics. Big difference. Nitpicks: - The body, to me, looks a bit too fat, and so diminishes the slightly lankier look of the lineart. - Also, in keeping with DX tradition, the hip joint looks like it's mounted lower on the leg than it should be, so that the top of the leg will hinder any chance of getting an "A" stance out of the battroid. I like the Monster's battroid mode best out of the 3, and I hope there is a lot of ratcheting goodness in Bandai's version. Pros: - Sleeker shuttle mode - Tampo FTW I hope they find a way to give the legs more functionality and poseability. Aside from the over-extending kneecaps, the rest of the leg doesn't seem that complex. The new movie Prime toy is overall more complex than this, and it manages an excellent transformation, aesthetics, and poseability, not to mention it has to look like a real vehicle. I would expect the same from Bandai, who have the expertise and resources, to solve the problems so inherent on Yamato's toy. Hope Bandai takes their time, examines the failures of the Yamato version, and designs a superior toy.

Seconded. Comparing gears between Yamatos and Bandai, I know the gears are far easier to extend on my VF-27 than on pretty much any of my Yamato valks. The gears aren't painted on my VF-27, so the tradeoff is less accuracy, but far easier to get the f'n things out of their wells. Passed on the VF-11C, but kinda sucks that the legs pop off. Never was an issue with my VF-11B, which, IMHO, is a damned near perfect toy.

If you do score one, be careful when bending the knees...I was transforming mine for thee firsttime, bent the knee (my angle was just slightly off, I guess) and the leg snapped off in my hand. The post to which the knee joint is attached is not very thick, and the knee ratchet is pretty tight for its being attached to so narrow a piece of plastic. I ended up drilling a hole and sticking a piece of wire in there to hold the two halves together. I nearly cried when it happened, as I literally only had it out of the box for about 10 minutes. Hope I'm the only one this has happened to. Is MP Grimlock a Walmart exclusive? I personally didn't care about all the Takara extras...just the fig himself. I don't acknowledge much of anything from the original show beyond season 1 and the movie. Too much silliness in season 2 and beyond...Seaspray, cosmic rust, drunk on energon, ...I thought it all was dumb at 13. My views haven't changed.

Too bad he didn't have the Yf-21 to duke it out with...would have been even better, and looked cooler than fighting a stick figure. Pretty unique and entertaining. "Join us!"

I have both Mindwipe and Skystalker and still haven't tried any combos yet. I love Skystalker, and prefer to keep him alone so i can play. Mindwipe is a pretty decent fig as well, although his legs look a little wonky to me, maybe too short, I dunno. It's not b/c they're goat legs, either. Overall, he's a pretty good rendition of the F-117, albeit with some artistic license thrown in. Best of all, no underplane robot syndrome...nice and flat on the bottom. hasbro, takara, why can't all your aircraft figs be like this? I like Dirge as well..interesting transformation, and he's a decent Harrier wannabe. His cockpit arm is kinda crappy, but I still like him. Managed to find TFA Arcee and Cybertron Ratchet. Love em both, but Arcee is near and dear. Waited a long time for a G1-esque Arcee with a car mode, and IMHO, they dun good. I got Scattershot, too. I like the fig...neat transformation and great poseability. The guns on his arms suck b/c they cannot really be positioned out of the way for free hands very well. So I have him double gunning and he looks pretty good. Some of the scout class figs are surprisingly good, sometimes better than the Deluxes. And speaking of double-gunning, ROTF Brawn is a pretty nice fig in his own right, though he's nearly a shell former, but he comes out of his vehicle mode with pistols in hands, and can assume some cool poses. I love his head...menacing for an Autobot.

Got my Brera custom VF-27 today, and I have to say, it's a damned fine toy. Getting the battroid's chest into position took some fidgeting, but I got it finally. (I generally never open the instructions on any of my valks, and this one is no exception. Transformation is pretty simple overall) I have to question the logic, however, of placing a set of vanes on the aircraft in such a position that they will lie directly behind the upper thigh in battroid. On a toy, or on a "real" machine, where the legs would be in motion and potentially move back and snap them off, it seems to me that the vane placement is a bit of a design flaw. Then again, I think the hips are supposed to jut out further from the fuselage than they do on the DX, and the 1/72 may have better clearance. Still, I wish both vanes could hinge back parallel to the acft fuselage to give more clearance for those big hips. Quality wise, everything, except the oft mentioned wrists, are pretty tight, and allow for some very excellent poseability. There is so much glorious tampo on this thing (decals be damned, this is how printing should be on collector grade toys). The white paint apps, on mine at least, look like they could have stood a second coat of paint, as the red shows through a little. Overall, I'm glad I got it, and really no glaring faults, beyond the hips are slightly too high. It's a concession, and I can live with it. As others have mentioned, it's pretty sturdy, and I love, love, love seeing the metal bits in the ankles and arm joints. The gear could stand to be white, but at this point, I'm just glad they look like proper gear, and extend from their wells with relative ease. Recommended!

I've been on the fence for a long time, but I finally ordered a VF-27 through HLJ.

As much as I like the Vf-27, I'm on the fence about getting a DX. The hip placement still bugs me a bit, and the crotch piece in every pic I've seen never seems to angle out as in the art. To me it's noticeable enough to degrade the overall look of the valk, along with the too-high hipline. I like skinny bots, and the VF-25, and 27 by extension, has a pretty excellent aesthetic. If anything, the legs look too much like robot legs and feet in fighter mode, IMHO. That minor nitpick aside, I think it looks great in fighter, esp with the improved landing gear, and the backs of the legs look like they sit more properly, i.e. higher, than the Vf-25. So I'm curious, does the crotch angle out more? I think it'd add a bit to the look, hips notwithstanding. It'd be cool if someone did a mod to the DX's crotch to allow the legs to move down about 1/4 inch or so. I'd like to see the difference it'd make. edit: Just saw the b-mode pics of Brera's DX VF-27 with the crotch angled out a few posts back. Looks good. Not crazy about pink, but Grace's green machine looks promising.