eriku

Paid and awaiting shipping now. I don't think there has ever been another time when I paid such a high price with such low expectations.

:edit:

Shipped! 

No payment request from HLJ yet.  Harrumph!

I'm guessing there are removable covers on the intakes - four little black semicircles to keep track of.  

Anyway, I'm hoping for the best and prepared for the worst.  Might have to take the day off work when it gets here to cope with the mixture of joy/sadness.  

Big thanks to VF-Zer0S for his DX 31 Messer. Thanks man!

PMd!

Now that's a stunning and gorgeous deco for the VF-1.

Here's hoping everyone hates it and passes on it so I can have a nice five minute window in which to place my preorder. 

I'm enjoying the fact that I'm getting my wish granted a mere 13 years after throwing the penny into the well. :3

Awesome ending to what I found to be a truly enjoyable series. I have a few questions still but they don't really spoil anything for me. Definitely want a movie.

I mentioned the paint being tacky, I think it may have been from the wash they did for the panel lines or maybe something with the clear coat? (I'm not a paint guy). Anyway, I wiped the whole thing down with a warm damp towel and that tackiness is now gone.

One thing I really like about this is the size (bigger than a Joke Machine). Fingers crossed for a Legioss in the same size and style.

Thanks for the quick overview and insight on the figure, eriku!

There's certainly a lack of modern SD valkerie figures... especially those with features like LED lighting! I'm hoping Bandai considers doing a few SD figures again soon. I too really liked their SDi VF-25.

After spending a little more time with it I'm liking it more. The old one was such a let down that it's hard to shake the ghost of that old disappointment. It's also hard to look at something honestly when there is that long-standing resentment and distrust of Harmony Gold. But in the end I have a soft spot for SD Macros's toys which allows me to love things like the SDi VF25 even though that thing doesn't hold together well in battroid.

So yeah, I actually would recommend this to anyone who likes SD Macross toys. Make sure it's this newest version though because I definitely would not recommend the FansMakeToys release.

The new Harmony Gold sanctioned release is indeed improved. The joints are all tight on mine, it holds together better overall and it looks nice for the most part. The paint seems a bit amateurish and sloppy and even slightly tacky. The pegs holding the torso together are very tight and already have stress marks.

Overall it's better but still has a kind of unrefined slight garage kit funk to it that inspires a small amount of buyers remorse.

I haven't really been following the threads here at MW for this series, just quietly watching the episodes. Reading through his thread was kind of a shock, I wasn't expecting to see so much negativity. I guess I must have really poor taste because I've been enjoying the series immensely right up through the most recent episode. It's the most enjoyable I've found a Macross series since the very first. I guess I'm dimming with age because I really like the slower pacing and the easy to follow plot.

Anyway, just wanted to chime in as someone who doesn't really have any complaints with the show. I'll see myself out.

That looks wonderful to me. All I'm asking is that it locks together tightly in every mode and doesn't feel fragile.

Put everything you've got into this, Evolution!

Love love love love love how it takes some inspiration from the old DX Voltron toy. My love of Voltron has just as much to do with the old toys as it does the show, and to my eyes this SOC is a perfect balance between those two things.

I'm so happy this is getting a reissue. By the time I was ready to get one the first time around they were all gone.

#GiveElsaAGirlfriend: Some Frozen Fans Want Elsa to Be A Lesbian

I fully support this. Gay children could use more role-models in popular media and having a Disney princess validate your existence is a pretty big thing. I get why people are opposed to it, they’re not close to the issue so it’s easy to be confused and misinformed. I grew up in a small town around people who had never seen or known any homosexual people so I get it – I was of that mind myself as a kid. It’s all I knew. I didn’t really understand homosexuality until college when I *gasp* made some friends that were gay. My closest friend, someone I grew up with, came out and that fact didn’t change anything about our relationship whatsoever.

People that aren’t close to anyone that is gay have a hard time understanding that it’s not a perversion nor is it a sexual fetish (although there are same-sex fetishes that non-gay people can have, but that’s beside the point). They think a kid seeing a gay couple is endangering that kid. Some actually, honestly think that it could ‘turn’ the kid gay. Some just don’t want to have to answer any questions about gender preference that such a cartoon might provoke. None of those are reasons it shouldn’t happen. Kids can’t be ‘turned’ gay any more than an adult. Parents SHOULD be ready and willing to answer gender preference questions at any time – and as a parent I am ready because it’s my job as a parent to inform and educate my child.

Basically, if Elsa was shown in a relationship with a female in the next movie it would generate far more positive results than negative. A lot of kids might find a reason to feel better about themselves and their feelings. Some kids will say ‘eww’ but I doubt it will spoil their enjoyment of the movie any more than any heterosexual kiss would. Some parents will band together and boycott the film, boycott Disney and work themselves into a hateful lather doing so – but even that is a positive result because the controversy it would generate would have the opposite effect of what they’re going for and actually draw more attention to the movie, more viewers, more sales for Disney.

It’s a risk for sure, but really not that big of one these days when our society has become more accepting and tolerant (even though it doesn’t seem that way at times). Hopefully Disney looks at it that way because they project themselves as a family-based company, and what could be a stronger message of family than reaching out their arms to make their family more inclusive?

I got mine over the weekend and really like it a lot. I am usually fiercely opposed to partsforming, but there are rare instances where I can forgive it for various reasons. This one I can forgive because the partsforming is so quick and simple and only leaves behind one piece between modes. I've streamlined it even further by not bothering with the little panels that peg into the shoulders. They lend a better aesthetic but on a toy this size it's such a small difference to me that I don't even notice their absence.

Build quality and overall finish is great. The tiny joints in the arms look like they have detents to help keep them in position (although they are too small to make any ratchet clicky noises).

Naturally I would prefer something bigger with a perfect transformation, but I feel satisfied with what I have here. As a nice little SDF-1 to keep on the desk and switch between modes it's pretty much perfect.

I'll buy an Olson if someone wants to trade me their regular version for it!

No takers?

I didn't think so.

Yeah. They'll use cheaper plastic and crumbling rubbery parts to keep the quality consistent. But don't worry prices will be the same or more. Hey that's why you agree to distribution right?

That's pretty much what I expect. It's like they saw a poor toy and thought, "Hey, that's almost as bad as our regular in-house stuff. With minimal effort and expense we should be able to bring it down to par."

The listing is on the Robotech facebook page. Some of the comments are interesting.

Ah, there it is. Interesting...I wonder if any changes will be made and what the price will be.

Or if it will even really happen at all.

HG doesn't have anything on their Facebook page and I don't see this toy on Toynami's facebook page.

Can't wait for mine to get here. In all my decades of buying Macross toys this will be my first TV SDF-1.

I'm glad it seems to have turned out really well.

Apetimus is the first MP original mold I'll pass on since Megatron.

I like the show but I only like it enough to have a Robotmasters Apetimus.

Decided to get the Faerie Squadron release, curious if it will have any changes/improvements.

I don't expect any but you never know.

Ya know, guys?

Some of us don't buy nor care about 3P stuff, so we don't have any idea what the fugazi you're talking about when you mention comparisons to 3P stuff.

However, most of us have Macross products from most, if not all, the players.

So for better comparisons, can you guys at least answer the following regarding ET's plastic quality of the 1/60 Sylvie:

-- How eactly is the plastic quality (esp. sturdiness)?

• Is it the same or comparable or not to the soft 1/100 Bandai kit quality? .......................................................................BETTER
• Is it the same or comparable or not to the 1/100 Bandai HM and/or HM-R? ..................................................................COMPARABLE
• is it the same or comparable or not to the rather brittle Yamato 1/60 SV-51 (Ivanoff/Nora) or VF-0A or VF-11b?...BETTER, but not as nice of a finish
• is it the same or comparable or not to the infamous Yamato 1/72 VF-11b?....................................................................COMPARABLE to BETTER

Don't have to compare against the Yamato VF-1 (v1 and v2), but do so if you want to further elaborate.

As I said the other day, I don't think the plastic is poor quality at all. It seems just as strong as what Bandai and Arcadia typically use. However I think the less refined finish of the plastic, the sharp edges in some areas and the thin-ness of some areas can create the perception that it's not as good, or 'cheap'.

::EDIT::

Had some more thoughts - by finish I mean the surface texture of course, like the lush polish on the Yamato VF-19s and Bandai DX toys, the satiny matte feel of most Yamato/Arcadia VFs. And that surface texture can go a long way because it's not just a visual thing but also a touch thing.

In general terms of durability, strength, etc - I think the plastic on the VF-2SS feels pretty robust and I'm certainly never worried that it's going to crack or break when I'm handling it.

If you're not going to handle this at all then you wont care if the plastic is strong or weak, you want that nice finish so the thing can look pretty in your display.