Sildani

I just got this today. There's obviously a wealth on information in here that's beyond my grasp, but what I can decipher is pure gold. There's even a section that explains how and why the front landing gear was switched from rearward-retraction to forward-retraction! And, as you might expect, vast info and color plates for various squadrons and units, including a complete scheme for the 25VJ Vajra Aggressor. There's pages devoted to stencil and markings placement as well, for FAST packs as well as the basic airframe. Wish I were a far better modeler than I am, there's a couple schemes I'd love to have on my 25A.

Hope no one minds a couple more pics. Fresh snowfall lends itself to some "action" shots outdoors. Resale value? Never heard of it... Arctic world patrol in 2063. Pilot Officer Marcus "Zuniac" Shipman performing perimeter patrol on foot. Gerwalk was selected for its lower profile, instant "go-anywhere" ability, and because of the gentle sway it imparts to the cockpit section while walking. Mechaninac: no, probably not my last! I'd like to pick up a green Lucifer, but its cost seems to be excessive. Was it only ever available as a Tamashii direct order? And was only made as a Renewal like the 25A?

Hope no one minds a couple more pics. Fresh snowfall lends itself to some "action" shots outdoors. Resale value? Never heard of it... Arctic world patrol in 2063. Pilot Officer Marcus "Zuniac" Shipman performing perimeter patrol on foot. Gerwalk was selected for its lower profile, instant "go-anywhere" ability, and because of the gentle sway it imparts to the cockpit section while walking. Mechaninac: no, probably not my last! I'd like to pick up a green Lucifer, but its cost seems to be excessive. Was it only ever available as a Tamashii direct order? And was only made as a Renewal like the 25A?

Just got my first Macross Frontier toy: a 25A. Man, the amount of articulation and hinges on this thing beggars belief. Had you told me when I was 9 and into G1 Transformers that this sort of thing was possible, I'd have been saving all my money THEN, to pay for this stuff NOW. I got mine from eBay from a US seller, $178 complete. Dunno if that was a deal or not. Mine has some poor white paint application on the lower legs, is this common to this version or was I unlucky? Also have its Super parts on order from NY, should turn this into a nifty thing!

Because it's the truth? Those re-dos of Thrust and company look terrible in airplane mode. The wings are too small, the fuselage is very boxy and unaerodynamic, and I'm willing to bet their undersides have a good amount of robot pieces/parts peeking out. Look at a Yamato/Arcadia Valkyrie, or a Bandai Renewal Messiah, and you'll see the difference. Wings are proportional, the fuselage has had a tremendous effort made to be streamlined, and the robot parts are, as much as possible, folded away or hidden. That's because the goals of the designs are different. Valkyrie toys are generally designed to look best in fighter mode and to match lineart as closely as possible, to the possible detriment of durability, ease of transformation, and cost. TF's are designed to look best in robot mode, are designed to be a bit more durable, and are cheaper, probably in no small part due to fewer parts that need to be made and screwed together on the assembly line, and wider distribution. The markets for TF's and Valks overlap, I'd say, but they are by no means congruent.

Yes, I can see that now. Too shallow. Nuts. Still, with magnets and a willingness to go beyond "stock"... Were any Macross weapons kits for this scale made?

I might as well ask here: did anyone (Bandai or a 3rd party) ever make any underwing stores for this? I'm receiving my first ever Messiah today (25A) and was wondering if those holes underwing are ever used. If not, what might be a decent alternative? Thanks!

As of, well, now, NY still has it up for pre-order.

Having just finished the anime, I'll say this: I don't get it. I'm getting the models for their designs, in spite of the anime, which although beautifully done was nigh-incomprehensible. So much left unexplained, and so much uncertainty. Not quite my cup of tea.

If anyone cares, a September release is slated for the Maves... HLJ has 'em on pre-order. Linkage: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist?rel=nav&GenreCode=Sci&MacroType=ComMod&Scale=100 I've ordered the manned version. Been waiting years for this! Forgive me for asking, but I've no idea what a "Flip Knife" is as regards Yukikaze. I've only seen the first two Operations (I intend to see the rest) and haven't read the novels - I didn't even know they were translated into English! I just like the airplane designs that much.

I'm very happy to hear about your marriage, congratulations! I'd also like to join the others here in saying "thanks!" for your exacting decal work - I look at my ZG-1 Enigma Valkyrie and I'm always impressed with the "Hornisse" icon you worked so hard on. Thanks also for the custom Craftworld emblem you designed and made for me - they've really made my Warhammer 40K Eldar army stand out, and I've not thanked you properly for that until now. All that being said, I'm glad your priorities are perfectly in order. The wife, and real life, must come first. I've been married a little over a year, and my own PhD will loom large in a very few years (as my wife wants me to collaborate with her). I empathize. Wow, I've rambled on enough. Best of luck, man. And thanks.

Hey, is it just me, or does it look like it'll have removable intake covers? The Battroid mode has them, but in the fighter mode head-on view, you can see the turbine faces through the intakes.

Do you know about when Diamond will release it?

BTW, the pic is from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft is currently in the restoration hangar waiting to be worked on - I saw it there in April. Don't know when the pic was taken, but nothing's changed.

I had 3 VF-11B's... one after the other. My first one, The shield was too long, so in fighter mode it would not attach to the transformed arms and sit flush with the rest of the fighter's upper surface. The second one transformed perfectly... but the assemblers had given it two left canards. So one was properly dihedral, the second had anhedral. The third was perfect... until the right hip snapped. My point is, what if that clip was installed backwards on accident, and is a one-off problem, like with my second 11's canards? I will wait for more reviews. I waited for a 1/48 until MW reviews said that the VF-1J was practically free of defects. Then I jumped, happily. Don't lose hope, people. The Monster might be all right, yet.

Wow. The Koenig is excellent. And, all the wars about scale and canon-ness aside, I have this to say: Thank you, Yamato. This thing isn't everyone's cup of tea, and yet Yamato's taking the plunge to produce a very expensive, very detailed toy. Honestly, I wonder why they chose this over, say, the VF-4.... it seems the Koenig doesn't have near the fan base the Lightning does. And yet, they're expending the huge amounts of cash to make the steel molds for this thing. I honestly don't care much about the scale. If it's too big, I'll never afford it or have a place to display it. So 1/100 sounds about right. Perhaps I don't look at my Macross collection the same... I admire Kawamori more for his engineering genius than anything else. I buy Macross toys mostly to show that off. And to let my imagination wander... So, thanks, Yamato. You're taking a risk to bring a relatively obscure piece of Kawamori's designs to "life". Now. I'll take a VF-5000B with FAST packs, please.

It means "You and who else?!" translated figuratively. Pilot's a cocky bastiche...

My grandfather was a liason between the Air Force and North American during the design stages of the Valkyrie. It was his responsibility to tell NA what the AF wanted, and then to tell the AF what NA could accomplish. If any of you have questions about the aircraft that can't be answered with normal research, ask, and I'll see what he can tell me. A couple more reasons the XB-70 was cancelled: SAM (surface-to-air) missile tech advanced extremely quickly, so that cruising at Mach 3 at 70,000 feet wasn't sufficient defense. The titanium honeycomb skin construction was invented for the aircraft. It could only be produced in small pieces, and was hideously fragile and expensive. It was unsuitable for mass-production of large monocoque panels, so both XB-70s were hand-built of thousands of these small honeycomb panels. What's worse, after every flight, a few invariably were missing. The Valkyrie was just a hair ahead of its time, technologically, and obsolete strategically. Anyhow, great stuff, Nanashi!

Hmmm.... VF-1J Super: $170 (came with DYRL DVD) Enigma custom paint job: $300 1/48 Decal set with some customization: $45 Having the end-all, be-all VF-1 for the rest of my life: utterly priceless. Other stuff: Kenjutsu gi, hakama, and bokken: $170 Paul Chen Musashi Katana, for same: $527 Warhammer 40K, various Eldar (space elf) models: $900 TAG Heuer 2000 watch: $420, from eBay. Wanted one for years. Ouch. Time to slow down. But the nifty thing is, I'll get use out of all of it for years. So, no regrets.

Good to know. Thanks! And, yes, the 5000B is the version I'd like done. With FAST packs. In for a penny...

If I recall correctly, the 5000 is from a video game... perhaps VF-X-2. In my opinion, the Star Mirage is one of the most elegant Kawamori designs, and we'll probably never see a Yamato toy of it. Thus, a resin kit such as this is the only way I'll ever grab one, and that's why I voted for it.

While you're doing that, nudge 'em for a 1/48 YF-21. Please?

I myself am grateful for the info Graham provides and Quad provided. They enable me to make the best purchasing decisions possible with my limited money. That's why I saved like a fiend and got the 1/48 Super VF-1J. It has all the updated parts, all the fixes, and good QA, along with the Super armor. Most bang for the buck. Now that I know (kinda) that the 1/48 Macross Plus VF's aren't in the current pipeline(the valks I originally got into Yamato over), I can use the money I was saving for them and put it into a "Night Screamers" custom scheme for the 1J. This'll only be my second Yamato, first being the original VF-11B, which fell apart (damn hip..) Was turned off to Yamato after that, then I found this site, learned about the 1/48s, learned about the A model's problems, then learned about the fixes. All thanks to Graham's updates and reviews, none of which he has to do for us. I am appreciative. So, I figure if he has a bit of info that he can't tell us, but wants to tease us with, he's more than earned that right. Just makes me keep my eyes peeled.

I don't think it will fit into any display case. You could use it for the base of a glass-top coffee table, though.

I have, and they made me hunger for more info. I'm trying to decide between the Roses and Enigma Squadron for a custom 1/48 VF-1J Super, but there doesn't seen to be much out there for the Roses, besides those scans. Isn't there a complete paint scheme anywhere for the Blue Roses?