Salamander

May I suggest you leave Europe out of this? HG certainly doesn't force Robotech DVDs and toys onto us, and, in fact, the only Macross DVD set released so far (besides M2 and M+) has nicely accurate subs and uses the remastered Japanese animation and soundtrack. AFAIK, it is officially licensed from Harmony Gold/Tatsunoko, but that's about all of their involvement, since it was actually produced by a French company. It only mentions Robotech in the booklet, in a very, very neutral way. It does feature the openings and endings of M7 in the bonusses and some other stuff. Heck, MW is even mentioned in the booklet. This all makes me believe that what may apply to the US with regards to HG does not necessarily apply to Europe.

Sigh. CG model used for animation ≠ 100% possible in real-life. How often does that need to be repeated?

It looks like the same picture that they've been using for quite a while now. IMHO, anyhow.

I read a while back they would be ABS and POM. Just like the HCM-pro, right?

*sigh* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Warrior_Gold_Lightan Also, if you plan to bash, don't go for a character whose robot and alternate modes are both supposed to be blocky. Instead, go with the hypothetical SoC VF-17, which if it existed would be a highly articulated version of the normal toy with lotsa diecast and awful proportions, not to mention that any round surfaces would have been squared off, totally unlike the M7 show version obviously. </sarcasm>

I'm not sure resin would be the right material. I think it would be too brittle and heavy for such a part, unless there's resins that can be somewhat flexible without causing excessive friction during the sliding movement.

Posted this back in september: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?show...87&hl=VF-1A

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You may want to ask that to Hasegawa and Gakken...

That's because it can either show some neck, or some ankles. Ozma's VF-25 is very shy and won't reveal much of its mecha-flesh to strangers.

25,025 As 252,252 would be way too expensive.

So are the girls. Frankly, I am amazed at what some guys seem to find icky. In some parts of the world (eg. most of Europe), a guy could happily do that to his best friend without there being any sexual context. But I won't deny that Alto x Michel seems to be the most popular BL fangirl pairing.

"Ooh! Nissan!" I am more amused by the expression on Alto and Sheryl's face looking up at sharp-dressed Brera. They seem to be somewhat miffed. Also, where are Alto's hands? As for the "Macross Quarter Night of TERROR" I was quite amazed they came up with such a handy sorting system. What with every male participant ending up in Bobby's arms, and all girls going "squeeeeee" ending up at his sides. They even provided barf bags to the guys, while the girls got a handsome photo of their loved one(s) in an interesting position!

Also, the Quarter doesn't have a complicated transformation like Irongear - it's basicly "stretch out the arms and legs, and stand up". One thing I would love is if the Quarter would come with its own assortment of miniature PVC mecha and, perhaps, a small companion ship that you have to assemble - that is one of the best features of the Irongear. Let's say: - 1 Monster Destroid Bomber - 1 Monster Destroid Gerwalk - 1 Monster Destroid Battroid - 8 Destroids - 1 Super Alto fighter - 1 Armored Alto fighter - 1 Armored Ozma fighter - 1 Super Michael fighter - 1 Super Luca fighter - 4 Super Cannon Fodder fighters - 1 VF-27 fighter - 2 VF-27 Cannon Fodder fighters (Galaxy) - 2 Varja - 2 Grace-converted Varja (Galaxy) - 3 Ghost (Galaxy) - 1 Dulfim carrier (Galaxy) That would be AWESOME. Then, for the hypothetical Battle-25, they could add the VF-171 and VF-171EX, more Varja, Destroids, Cannon Fodder Valks, a SDF-Global display base, and cardboard dimension-eater mock-up. Obvious Battle-25 recolor Macross Galaxy would come with a Varja Queen display base and a buttload of Ghost fighters. (Hey, I can dream...)

Well, if it's 20 cm tall in Battroid mode, then it could very well be close to 40 cm long in Carrier mode. You see, the arms are the front of the carrier and the body and legs the back...

Awwww, they'll probably grace us with Tubby the Monster Destroid one day too.

Obviously, the only acceptable VF-25 version is below: (bad photoshop warning) (/bad photoshop warning)

Can this PLEASE be stickied so it shows up at the top of every page? So people stop making the same remark, and getting the same answer on (almost) every single page of this thread. Also, to the trolls: Yes, we understand you think the Bandai VF-25 DX is one ugly sonnovab*tch. No need to repeat it every five posts. Thanks. Perhaps the points of contention should also be stickied. As for the whole 'CG 3D accuracy should make it possible to make a perfect toy'-debate, I have terrible trouble to determine whether people are just trolling or are really that clueless regarding the differences between CG and reality. Lemme sum this up: CG Models: CG does indeed give access to a 3D representation of a subject. However, as long as no realistic internal structures are defined in the model there is no clue how transformation would work... ...disregarding the movements of rendered structures as defined in the rendering and animation program. Internal structures and movement of outer structures may involve morphing (that is, changes of shape that often are impossible in reality) in 3D CG. Movement may involve parts rotating in a way that would be impossible in reality due to physical constraints. Reality: Physical constraints such as flexibility etc. limit what you can do with a material. Costs of production and raw materials limit the number of items you may be able to sell. A CG model with no internal structures may not translate to a perfect real-life model due to movements that are impossible without special internal structures. The three preceding points interact. Now let me give you an analogy: My other hobby is RC model cars. Here we basicly have three different extremes: The toy car - this I won't even consider. It's a toy, cheap, bad design (analogue to a train-station toy). The entry-level 'real' RC car. You build it up yourself, and it might be somewhat improveable. Yet it will always remain clunky, heavy, inaccurate, with not-so-excellent handling (think chunky monkey). The all-out-competition car. Again, you build it up yourself, but this time can improve everything if you wish to do so. It is made from high-grade materials such as carbon fiber and aluminium. Everything is tuneable, it is light, fast, excellent handling, really good quality (think CM's Corporation uber-expensive collector's toy). Now the first car would be ultra-cheap (<$25, otherwise you're getting ripped), and not worth of my consideration. The second would be too limited ($60), but might be a fun toy for non-racing purposes. The third is likely to be really, really expensive ($500-$600), but I'd be buying a really good competition machine. Now anyone with a bit of a clue might be able to guess that the most expensive will be sold in the smallest quantities (no more than a few 100), followed by the entry-level 'real' RC car with quite a bit more sales, and then the cheapie will get most sales (kids). Now I already named CM's. They make rather expensive limited run toys that are often quite excellent quality for limited run toys, and cater to collectors of small all-but-forgotten franchises (so does Yamato in a way, except they're cheaper (but IMHO not better)). Bandai is not CM's or Yamato. They do not cater to those top-of-the-line collectors. They cater to everyone below those people, from kiddies to collectors, but usually only to franchises they can make a lot of money in. Macross Frontier is no different than Code Geass to them. Sure, they see an opportunity to get some more money in by milking the nostalgia (VF100's), but the main line of Macross F. So they are going to cater to the whole audience of Macross F, and not only the hardcore whining adult collectors. Now that calls for toys that are not top-of-the-line. I'm pretty sure that Bandai could design and make a perfect transformation, perfectly accurate, perfectly designed, super-sturdy toy of the VF-25. With parts that would fit like they were mated by the gods themselves. Using the best of the best engineering and materials. It would be stellar. Except that they would perhaps only sell 5 of them. Because such a toy would need to make use of technological feats and materials that would drive the price up to a lot more than 12,000 yen. Eg. SoC Irongear, which doesn't use that much diecast nor that complicated engineering is already 18,000 yen. I think we might be looking at at least as much as 30,000 yen (just over the price of CM's Legioss + Tread (28,000 yen)). That's without the armor by the way. Would you pay that for a VF-25 sans armor? I wouldn't. Nor would a lot of other people. Parents certainly wouldn't. So we get a compromise at a price where Bandai thinks they'll be able to sell as many of them as possible. I'm pretty sure that Kawamori realises it could be better. He'll also realise that pushing the engineering and the price up too much will alienate potential customers. Sure, I also think the landing gear is somewhat ugly and hope it extends. I also hope that people missed some tabs in those pictures, so the fighter mode will hold together better. But I do not burn it into the ground, just because it does not match my absurdly high standards. I'm already happy that we're getting these toys. Most importantly, without Bandai Macross F wouldn't have been there, likely. (Frankly, if I were a Bandai engineer looking at this forum I'd think "screw it, we're ditching the project"...too much negativity kills people's desire to cater to you.) Now I hope people take the time to actually read instead of immediately screaming OMGhedaredtouselogicalthinkinginapproachingthis!

Ask Kawamori. He worked on the thing.

However, the arm armor DOES fit. There's a gap between the armor and the arm, but it does clip into place.

I just hope the price doesn't exceed 20,000 yen... @ nugundamII: Gawds. Dude, it was a JOKE (based on their way of releasing quadrillions of Gundam variants). No reason to call me an 'idiot'.

Of course, knowing Bandai's milking of molds, we'll get the following set of releases: Confirmed: - Alto - Ozma - Super Michel - Super Luca - Exclusive Alto Super parts Suggested further releases (take with a grain of salt): - Super Alto (Super parts with slightly different color scheme than Exclusive Super parts) - Exclusive Ozma Armor parts - Armored Ozma (Armor parts with slightly different color scheme than Exclusive Armor parts) - VF-27 early version - Super Alto Ranka Rescue Mission version (Super parts with slightly different color scheme than earlier Super Alto and Exclusive Super parts; dual-seat cockpit with Ranka figure included) (Toy show exclusive/mail-in with slightly different colors) - Super Michel Klan Klan version (Toy show exclusive) - Super Luca Tripple Ghost version (Mail-in) - VF-27 Galaxy version (mail-in) - VF-171 standard version (mail-in) - VF-171 Luca custom - VF-171 Alto custom (mail-in) - Macross Quarter - Ghost Galaxy version & VF-25 standard version (mail-in) - Battle Frontier (mail-in, just because Bandai hates you) - Battle Galaxy (regular release, just because Bandai hates you) - Alto final goodbye version (battle damaged, includes plastic smoke/flame trail and exclusive stand) - Alto VF-25 Movie ver. - Ozma VF-25 Movie ver. - VF-27 Movie ver. - Macross Quarter Movie ver. - Michel/Luca/Super Alto/Armored Ozma Movie ver. four-pack (uber-expensive mail-in limited prize toy) - Special Final Episode Armored/Super Alto VF-25 w/ Michel sniper rifle & VF-27 Final version Twin-Pack (uber-expensive mail-in limited prize toy) Also add the obligatory black 'stealth' and clear 'crystal' repaints which will only be available through magazine mail-ins and which will cost 3 times the original price. Each will come with better detailed versions of the pilots and a diorama piece allowing you to build a 1/60 scale segment of the Macross Quarter's landing deck. Then 5 years from now Bandai re-releases all of the limiteds with a 25% price drop just to screw with you.

I think all of the heads (except Alto's, obviously) are still resin prototypes (the paint looks bubbly on one of Ozma's head lasers). Could be that there is a neck, but that the heads are still fitting on too loose to be kept in the right position.

You know, about the hips... I don't think there's a viable way to make those CG-accurate on the toy without suffering breakage issues. The part just looks too thin, and I can't see how a hip joint would fit in there and still be sturdy enough to support the weight of the upper body (+ armor). Unless they use carbon-reinforced plastic, in which case you can add $60 or so to the price Also, looking at the Michel/Luca Valk test shots, there's something weird about the upper legs I can't exactly lay my finger on. The upper leg armor looks the same, yet seems to sit higher on Michel's Valk than on Luca's, while Luca's upper legs seem to sit lower than Michel's. Mistransformed? Furthermore, I suspect these might be the same test shots over and over again, possibly coming from the same, non-final mold.

If you're lucky (for a certain definition of 'lucky') they will end up being super-limited store, toy show, or magazine exclusives. They do those. Count on paying twice the price, though (excluding Yahoo Auction Japan jack-ups and middleman costs).