lechuck

Go, go, go Bandai!!! Show those Yamato fools what a correctly engineered, good looking, articulated and securely locking battroid mode is all about.

Really liking these latest pics of the VF-1. The legs look very refined. Do you guys think the legs are double jointed? The knee cap seems to be sitting on it's own, which is sort of like the knee assembly of the MG Gundam MK.II Ver.2 I'm kind of indifferent to the whole fuselage thing. This goes into the same drawer like the radome thing on the 1/48s, meaning it's a useless gimmick to me. In fact I'd prefer a pair of SIDE COVERS than this gimmick. Besides, do we get the extra fuselage with the valk or is a minimum of two valks required to pull this of?

Nice pics everybody. Graham's review is OK, but it could have given more details on the Battroid mode. Judging by the pics I'd say Fighter = godly Gerwalk = OK Battroid = bad/ugly It's the legs, they just don't do it for me. In fact I would have to revert one of my previous posts, where I said the legs were too curvy. Now I think they are too straight. Battroid mode of the YF-21 should always give that "Yo, my mama was a Q'Rau" feeling. Sadly I'm not getting that impression. It's kind of annoying that Yamato emphasizes one mode over the other, but hopefully they will correct that with the new ver.2 1/60 VF-1s and maybe the VF-11.

Judging by that pic, I suppose this can be considered as the successor of CvS2. If the game engine is as solid or even better than CvS2, then this will wonder into my collection. Man I think I have to start saving up for next gen console...

Looks like Bandai did a "Think Tank" on the Guntank. Or should I say "It's alive!!!" http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=x1aubQHRCsQ As for the Gundam Ver.2... well I think the inner frame should be good but the outer shell is a bit too retro for me. Those "sponge feet" are an abomination to the eyes actually. 50/50 on this MG.

I want my VF-1S Hikaru. And still no damn bloody evidence of side covers!!! Come on Yamato don't disappoint me now...

Aside from personal preferences, what everybody has said basically sums it up. But here is my take with a more structured view on the whole thing. Please feel free to add/correct/criticize to what has been written. The Shows: First things first: Separate between Universal Century (UC) and alternate universes (AU). What belongs where? UC - Mobile Suit Gundam - Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team - Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in a Pocket - Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory - Mobile Suit Z Gundam - Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ - Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack - Mobile Suit Gundam F91 - Mobile Suit V Gundam The above list is basically in chronological order. The meat of UC basically consists of Gundam -> Zeta -> CCA. If you decide to watch only the core tree shows, then I would suggest you use the the tree Zeta Gundam movies for the middle part, as the ending of movie #3 gives you a better flow into CCA. My personal favourite is CCA. A very cool Amuro piloting the Nu-Gundam in a grand scale finale - what more can one ask for... Now on to the AU stuff... AU - After War Gundam X - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz - Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Turn A Gundam - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 STARGAZER - Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Non of the AU shows interconnect to each other, but obviously the ones with the same preceding title belong together in their respective universe. The Manga/Novels: There is probably plenty to pick, but due to the language barrier and my geographical location this part of Gundam remains inaccessible to me. Her are a few titles to satisfy your curiosity - Ecole du Ciel A side story beginning before Zeta Gundam. Done by Mikimoto. - Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Takes place in UC 0096, tree years after CCA - Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash A story by Tomino, set 12 years after CCA. Story about Hathaway Noa, Bright Noa's son. - Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam Another Tomino story, that is set in UC 0133 (between F91 and Victory) The Toys/Figures: Essentially there are tree lines that can be followed.I can't really comment on these things, because I don't have any. I'll try an re-iterate what has been said about these things on the web - (Extended) Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA/EMSiA) Your typical figure done with that gummy plastic. The extended variations have more articulation/features/accessories then their normal counterparts. - Gundam Fix Figuration Figures that are more look then play. Parts tend to fall off or the paint app is shoddy. - HCM Pro These are basically 1/200 scaled down and pre-built versions of Master Grade models. Very good quality (build/articulation/paint) for most if not all current figures, but at 1/200 they are kind of small. The Models: Ahh... the most fun aspect of Gundam. Some of the stuff below I already wrote in the Gundam plamo thread: HG/HGUC = High Grade - 1/144 scale - considered as the "el cheapo" versions of models - not so detailed - no inner frame (= endo-skeleton of the Gundam) - limited articulation - plenty of models to choose from MG = Master Grade - 1/100 scale - has inner frame - good amount of detail - plenty of articulation for a model - good amount of different models to choose from PG = Perfect Grade - 1/60 scale - considered as the be-all and end-all of Gundam modeling - inner frame - plenty of detail - plenty of articulation - includes electric wiring for lights (e.g. eyes of the Gundam) - not so many models to choose from - expensive HG, MG and PG model kits are pre-coloured and are snap-fit, so theoretically no paint and glue is required. There is also the non graded stuff, that is typically released while the Gundam show is still running. They come in different scales and the proportions of the models are a bit lacking at times. I started off with a PG, but primary focus now are the MGs. I think they offer the best value for money. OK, that was a long post. But I hope this helps you out a bit.

@Dante74 Aside from the addressing limitation with 32-Bit Systems, Windows XP/Vista only gives you a max of 2GB address range for every process (User Mode Virtual Address Range) the other 2GB is reserved for the Windows kernel and device drivers. But it gets worse, because your application also has to share that address space with system progs/DLLs (think .NET Framework). But you can sort of bypass this limitation by adding special start parameters for Windows. In XP (SP2) add the following parameter in your boot.ini file: /3GB In Vista you have to edit your BCD. Run BCDEDIT /Set IncreaseUserVA 3072 in a command prompt (as admin). This allows individual 32-Bit processes to use up to 3GB of memory and reduces the reserved kernel space to 1GB. You can then try and push the memory usage of CS3/Photoshop to 2.5-3GB (somewhere in Preferences I think). BUT WARNING!!! Doing this might cause some bad side effects, like Windows not loading any graphic drivers or not even starting up at all! In this case you might want to tweak the User-VA. In XP use the additional switch (boot.ini) /UserVA for e.g. /UserVA=2900 for a 2.9GB/1.1GB split. In Vista use the previous command e.g. IncreaseUserVA 2900. As usual, try this at your own risk. I garantee nothing and take no responsibility for any damages/losses that might occur.

Fighter mode this, fighter mode that... seriously I'm kind of tired of people wanting fighter mode to be uber perfect. The last thing I want Yamato to tweak is fighter mode. For once I want to hold a Yamato valk that a) looks great (no compromises) in battroid mode b) good articulation c) is not a floppy mess d) has proper locks in the right/necessary places Don't get me wrong I don't want my fighter mode to look like a Borg Cube either, but currently there are enough alternatives out there to have your perfect fighter mode. What we need are some better looking/functioning/locking/PT battroid modes. After saying that, the only thing I see missing from those latest pics are some side covers. Which by the looks of it Yamato will not make/add with the valk at the moment

Judging by the latest scan I would say the battroid mode is going to be a compromise for fighter mode again - typical Yamato. Legs are too thin, too curvy, and the feet or should I say stumps don't look good either. And sum that up with with the rest of the body and it makes for top tier ugliness! Good thing I'm not so much of a YF-21 lover, otherwise I would be mighty irritated by this. No wonder we've seen more shots of fighter and so little of the battroid mode.

Looking OK, I'll reserve final judgment until I see a factory produced version. The YF-19 actually has better knee articulation than its bigger brethren and notice no canard wings on the toy. Oh and shouldn't the gullet part under the nose cone be painted differently?

Um... err... yeah, but compared to my basket full of apples and oranges the Hasegawas totally loose out...

Would anybody be kind enough to name an online shop (not ebay) that has YF-19 with fold booster and fast packs in stock and for sale. I'm looking for the set, not as separate items. I couldn't find any. I can't believe the ugly SV-51 gets more love from Yamato then the fan favourite "Excalivur"

Just finished Code Geass. This anime had me sitting on the edge of my couch especially those last couple of eps. with it's twists and cliffhanger. Can't wait for season 2, although I'll probably collect and watch in bigger sessions. I don't think I can stand watching this only on a weekly basis. The Z-01 Lancelot is very cool looking peace of mecha. Will have to look into a plastic representation of this. I see that you peeps also had the WTF! reaction with Nina doing the naughty thing. What exactly do the producers want to tell us with scenes like these??? As for Viletta's boobs, can't see what the problem is, it wasn't shocking to me. My verdict so far... well let me put it this way Cornelia: "I Cornelia vi Britannia order you to buy the DVDs and any ascociated mecha merchandise!" Lechuck: "YES YOUR HIGHNESS!"

Hey ruskiiVFaussie, sorry for the late reply. Here are some pics of the Sota and High Dream Ryus side by side. The Sota Ryu is the new 2nd version by the way and HD figure runs under the Capcom vs. SNK moniker. As you problably can see the face on the HD Ryu is kind of iffy. On the other hand Sota's hip ball joints tend slightly spoil the flow of the overall figure. As for articulation they both have roughly the same amount. Leg-wise I'd say the Sota one is ahead whereas the HD is better in the arm department.

Those new pics have made me so excited, can't wait till summer. Oh and one more thing SIDE-OOOOHHHHH COVERS YAMATO-SAN!!!!

Thanks for the info. MAHQ says the the Dragonar is 17.6 meters tall so this scales to roughly 1/125. Rats fits in with nothing scale-wise. Hmm... pick it up or wait and see if this shows up in Bandai's R3 line at a bigger scale...

All my wants and wishes seem to be coming true lately. First the new 1/60 VF-1 and now Revoltech Street Fighters. Guess which character I'll be getting first. After the High Dream and Sota version this will be my third. Now if only my dream of some nice ladies knocking on my door would fulfill itself...

First pic of the new/old Enterprise My feelings on this movie are kind of mixed. On the one hand as a Star Trek fan I'm happy this franchise is continuing with this movie on the other hand I'm not really interested in re-visiting Kirk, Spock and Co. We should be going forward with Trek not constantly doing prequels of some kind. And I seriously doubt I can tickle "WOW" out of myself when the classic bulbous Enterprise of the 60's does it's flybys in the movie.

Anybody know if there are any differences between the PAL and US version of Final Fantasy XII (I know I'm late for the party) And does the PAL version have a 50/60hz switch or was sqenix lazy again. Reason I'm asking is because one one of the family members are in the US at the moment, they could bring back a copy.

Alright you Newtypes, care to share the name of the fansub group that did all of V Gundam. Numerous times I have downloaded this show and every time the releases from various groups come to a grinding halt after first two or three episodes. Earth's gravity is pulling me down... must... watch... V Gundam...

I find this horrible, sticking Sci-Fi characters in a fantasy universe. And what's with Lucas stooping so low. I thought he was a lot more anal in what way his Star Wars stuff is used? If it's sales they are after they could stuck Musha Gundam in there, it's BANDAI NAMCO afterall. Sales would be tenfold and they wouldn't even have to worry about how the game does in other territories. Man, the mix is so bad. That's like watching an episode of Star Trek with Picard on the bridge, the Enterprise stuck in a hopeless situation surrounded by a fleet of Romulan Bird of Preys, then suddenly the camera focuses on the rearward turbo lift and out walks McGyver with his swiss pocketknife. Builds something out of Geordie's Visor, Data's head and Riker's communicator to help Picard and spares a couple of secs to tells Worf he hates Bath'leths. Yeah that's how bad this mix is. I mean there are so many other more fitting characters and franchises they could of used... Senko no Basara, Warcraft, heck even Sol and Ky from Guilty Gear could of done the trick. But the best fitting would of been Samurai Showdown which then also serves as tribute.

Got a Unicorn, but haven't got around to building it jet. You should check out this thread over at hobby fanatics (further down the bottom). There also seem to be another mod (HJ), although I must admit that I'm absolutely clueless at the moment as to what exactly has to be done for any of the mods.

I was aware that the soundtracks I mentioned were from Miss Kanno. I was trying to give some insight to the type music one is to expect from Turn A, after all Yoko Kanno has also done Cowboy Bebop and that's a very different score. Some random thoughts and comments after letting the show sink in: - For a '99 anime made for TV the animation is exceptionally high and consistent throughout the 50 episodes. - Like I said I don't like the mecha at all. What's interesting though is that Turn A seems to give a good sense scaling between mecha and other vehicles or houses. I mean in UC you got your comparisons too, but it never seemed to be so striking as in Turn A. - Also I liked how they used the Gundam for all sorts of tasks. Like playing bridge, helping with transport of stuff and so on. I wish there was more anime that portrayed the (main) mecha and it's pilot in these type of situations, you know show the mecha solve problems in an innovative way. - The goofy looking and doofus acting of some of the "enemy" characters (e.g. Corin, the hippie group, Sweaton) that were introduced during the course of the show was somewhat to my disliking. - Overall I think Turn A Gundam is somewhere in top 5 of my internal Gundam rankings, but the epic CCA still takes the crown.

Finally got around to finishing Turn A Gundam. And I must say this anime has a great story and a very nice ending. The only big disagreement I have would be how they treated Sochie. While watching I was actually hoping for a twist in character relations and routing for her, but it was not to happen. Man Sochie's ending is so sad... Also this Anime has a magnificent score. It sort of combines the best of Escaflowne and Macross Plus. If you like those soundtracks then this is a must have. My only critique would be the the horrible mecha designs, they are all ugly. Zero points from me.