VFTF1

I have six or seven v.2 VF-1s and all of them are in great shape. One Roy has a slight crease in his shoulder but nothing a litle epoxy and careful handling couldn't fix. Don't hold out. It's much easier to get these guys spaced out over time than to wait until the last minute and then face the daunting task of getting all at once Pete

Borat Voice: What eeez ....HHHHorn dug? Pete

Revoltech Rei Ayanami looks fantastic - of course Pete

I thought the Supervision Ship incident was perfectly cogent and logical. It makes sense that they'd stumble on something like that, and it also makes sense that Britai would fetch Misa to show it to her, and that ultimately after some deliberation they'd conclude that they need to focus on their primary mission rather than risk further confrontation - makes sense. It's really no more of a "tease" than the WTF-1 in Frontier As for Milia throwing the baby - that WAS a great shot. In fact, that whole domestic scene was interesting because Hikaru seemed to be really freaked by family life; and by the baby in particular. All of the nudging done to induce Hikaru towards Misa, and he still doesn't really get it...or does he? That's something I wonder - we've got a good explanation for Minmei's "he's my friend" line provided a few posts up by Dreamweaver, and we've analyzed Minmei's psyche a bit to understand her. Same with Misa... But what about Hikaru? I mean - come on - how dumb can he be? It's like episode 1 zillion of the series when he Misa decides to apologize to hium, but he comes over and chews her out and the bridge bunnies are like "Lt. Ichijo is dense." "Lt. Ichijo doesn't realize Cpt. Hayese loves him." And as much as I hate explaining away events by way of "'cause he's stoooopid" - I fail to come up with a better reason. Alto at least was stubborn, self-absorbed, problematic, aloof, elitist (in an artsy-fartsy kind of way), re-active (lots of what he does is just him running away/rebelling against his dad) --- but he wasn't dumb. I mean - he did notice that Ranka liked and later loved him and he cared a lot for her. He also did start developing feelings for Sheryl as soon as Sheryl stopped being a biatch to him (aka episode 3 onward)... But Hikaru - goodness. He's dense. The ONLY time I saw him take the initiative was when he peeked in on Minmai showering. I used to think that the problem was that Minmei confused him too much and short-circuited his impulses. He didn't know whether he was coming or going... and Misa - well... when she grabbed his hand after the Shao Pai Lon attack and asked him to stay and walk with her a while - how much more explicit did she need to be? And she did say she prefered kissing him to Kakizake I dunno... I don't understand Hikaru's behavior much. Pete

That's amazing - I grew up in Cambridge and saw nothing. And I was up at 6:30 in the morning for Transformers which got pushed into that time slot for a while ... Does that mean I just should have gotten up half an hour earlier!? Jesus - if I'd only known Hah hah! But then - I don't even remember any commercials I guess I was isolated and out of touch Pete Edit - oh - and the "when" part - from 1983 to 1990.... but I do remember loving the Palladium books and getting them all... I also remember reading the Jack McKiney Novel "Zendradi Rebellion" and enjoying it. But no cartoons...

To be honest - on this subject of the popularity of Robotech.... I think it's something like - oh... zero.... in the US. First of all - on the East Coast; where I grew up - in never even aired on TV. I only heard of it through the Palladium roll playing games. So already there's a huge swath of the Country that didn't even see it. I know the west coast got it - and look at how many folks here at MW are from California or thereabouts. I swear - I spent half my life in the USA and never ever ever did I ever ever hear anybody mention Robotech outside of that Palladium role playing game. By contrast, everyone knew - at least - what Transformers were, as well as GI Joe. Heck - people even had rudimentary knowledge of what anime was (though I'll admit that I never hung with anime fans as such and was the only otaku I knew in the States)... Of course - this could just mean I was isolated and out of touch - but you'd think I'd have heard...I dunno...SOMETHING about Robotech before?... Pete

I suppose they could toss one in there since Alto technically does use Michael's sniper rifle in the final episode IIRC. Pete

I did say I am going to buy him next along with Ideon, no ? You guys don't have to convince me As for using two hands - yeah - besides...the complaint is kind of stupid since I don't realy "woosh" my stuff around anyways As for Xabungle - does anyone have SOC Xabungle? What do people think? Pics? I was considering him as well... Regarding the Getter Robos - I have the original GX-06 and am well happy with it. I prefer it over Shin Getter. The only Getters I prefer as well as original Getter is Getter Dragon, Poseidon and...er...the third one. SOOOOO want a Getter Poseidon Pete

I just got a really evil idea. I think I'm gonna take the armor plating off of my Unicorn Gundam and replace it with... Titanium Coating Armor Plating I don't feel like building the whole thing up from scratch... Maybe I'll have one titanium armored and sometime later I can build the new internal frame to have that hanging around too... Pete

Nice pic Promethues Thanks Pete

With all due respect to good remakes - a sequal to EVA would be good. Pete

But do get the 19 now. I don't think the frowning on the 19 is fair at all. It has as many faults as any other valk. I think just enough time has passed and Yamato have gone through enough versions of the VF-1 that people are thinking "boy - the 19 would somehow be super duper better if designed today." Maybe - but I really doubt it would be radically different from what we got. Yamato made these things to look good together- the 19, the 21 and the 11B. The fact that they came out so many years apart is another matter altogether - I really think they were designed to be together. 19 needs some love Pete

Your welcome Just to be clear - I think Yamato could have given its' Quid Rau more poseability, more stability, more features, and a poseable Milia who could take her jacket off to reveal sexy lingerie underneath. The Regults can easily be made to be in scale with the VF-1s - it's just the long legs - and those can be "folded" so the box doesn't have to be huge. Take it out and unfold the legs and you're good to go. The Zentran inside should come with a Minmey Ninio. Pete

My beef with Irongear is only that apparently you can't lift him up in his groundbase mode and make him fly around while saying "woosh" - but I guess you're not supposed to since it is...well...a ground vehicle But - yeah - both of them or next on my list Pete

Only if there is a poseable Zentran soldier in 1:60 scale included. If it's going to be as craptastic as the 1/60 Quid Rau - then I'd rather they not waste their resources on it. Pete

Well - living in Eastern Europe, I have come across some movies that I never knew existed that are very very wierd when viewed from an American perspective. Anything by Polish director Stanislaw Bareja - he directed comedies under communism; and they're great because all he did was show everyday life under communism - which was so ridiculously absurd that it was funny - but he got away with it precisely because he didn't do anything except just show everyday life. So - during communism his movies were considered banal - kind of like making a movie about an American who gets up, drinks coffee, drives to work, comes home and goes to sleep on teusday. The thing is - because "everyday life" was so ridiculous - just showing it was criticism and comedy enough - you didn't have to add anything. Some of these movies are less esoteric than others. Don't start from "Dark Haired Stranger Visits in the Evening" unless you have lots of mind altering drugs on hand because you'll fall asleep and be very very very confused (showed it to a friend from the States who visited and he totally got lost). However - you can try "No Roses Without Fire" or "This Phone Call Is Being Recorded" - those should be comprehensible... well... maybe "comprehensible" is the wrong word but... er.... they aren't TOO confusing... If you're the kind of person who likes figuring out why you go to the butcher's meat shop and ask for some spare parts to fix your engine and the butcher opens a meat freezer and pulls out engine parts.... .... As to more modern films - also Eastern European - I've seen some good Chech movies lately - one of them was called 'Happiness' and other than having the feeling that the lead character really REALLY needed to take a bath, it was a good movie. There's also Bottles for Return (as in taking empty bottles back to the super market and getting some money for them) which was a very enjoyable movie... Hmm...what else? In terms of non-European stuff... my girlfriend keeps showing me movies full of violent sex, murder, seduction, lust and adultery. Of the top of my head, it's hard for me to remember the titles because there have been so many of them. There was one with Jeremy Irons where he played a Minister in the British Government who had an affair with his son's fiance. Another one was about a wife who has an affair with a young bookish kind of guy and then her husband murders him in a fit of rage and they have to cover it up. There was also some Spanish movie about a writer who goes on vacation and has sex with a random girl in a river and knocks her up, comes home and gets seduced by another girl in a bar, ends up living with her, and then the random girl comes back and is like "hey this is your daughter" and then gets him to move in with them and seduces him as well but while they're having sex the dog does something violent (can't remember - I think I stopped watching at that point)... There was also a movie with Robert Redford, Bruce Willis's ex-wife ---Demi Moore (that's it!) and the guy who played Larry Flint... They need money for their dream house and the economy is bad so they go to Vegas and win some money, then Robert Redford offers to pay some huge sum of money to sleep with the guy's wife if he agrees and they talk it over and agree but this leads to their marriage falling apart and Robert Redford trying to prove that everyone is for sale. Hmm... there was also this old French movie set in France - but then we're back to European movies... with some classy girl and her young lover who doesn't fit in to her high class society because he's not rich. So, when he has a public argument with her - everyone stares him down and makes him feel bad because he has no standing of his own without her - or something like that. There was also this movie about a college professor who sleeps with his female students only after exams are over and he starts an affair with one of them but they break up and she gets cancer. Finally - there's that new Woody Allen movie - Barcelona - which is really good. Is that foriegn? Pete

Got some new SOCS. I have to assemble my EVAs - and I've got a summer flu or something and feel down in the dumps so anything requiring my careful attention is not gonna get it for a while (good thing Char's Zaku II gone finished before I got my current illness)... But - I did manage to swing a play with Combattler V. I LOVE his head. It's far more expressive than Voltes V; lots more retro. His transformation alright; though it's obvious these two are related... I am happy he can achieve land vehicle mode unlike Voltes V who for some reason can't ... (got the old Voltes V). Limited leg articulation - but then again he IS from 1999 so.... Next on the SOC must have - er...adjust - the next OLD SOC must have (since Tekkam Blade/Pegassus are definitely on the "new SOC list") .... I need to get around to getting Ideon. Then Irongear (for all his faults) Pete

There is a simple solution to all of this and a good rule of thumb in terms of age/wisdom - this rule is a timeless truth: People who are younger than me are just juvenile inexperienced young whiper snappers who need to be quiet and respect every word of mine. People my age are generally wise and cool. People older than me are old are ol' foggies who are out of touch and not with it and conventional conformists who are incapable of independent thought. See? Easy Pete EDIT: This rule of thumb does not apply to women. Younger women, older women and women my age are all great. Especially if they're hot.

Read the review. Sounds like your expectations were overblown - that or the novelty of the special effects live-action CGI robots has worn off and this time around you focused on the plot. Doesn't sound any more crazy, silly, stupid, zanny or forced than the first one. I'm not gonna see it until mid-July anyways. Pete

Yes - it is. Depending on his sensitivity, he might cry or get scared or he'll love it all and want to see it over and over but in general it's probably more "suitable" than Macross in terms of the generic definition of what is and isn't suitable for kids... unless Bay added a BDSM scene I know nothing about In the words of Megatron: TOOORRROOOPPPPRRRRRRMMMMFFFFFGGGRRRRRXOPL !!! (I think that's what he says in the trailer...) Pete

Well, I finally got my hands on Me Bond, Grames Bond!... I was very surprised by what has to be called the most liquid transformation I've ever encountered. It makes perfect sense for a beast-former though - since you want to get maximum poseability out of the beast mode - and anything with a tale has got to be squiggly-wiggly anyways. As such - this guy has no only standard poseability - but the entire main body is wiggly. Not wiggly as in "loose" but a very sustained, controled wiggly which really allows you to bend and stretch to give the dino mode some dynamism and not make it look like a stiff machine. Which is exactly what we got in the cartoon Grimlock - who was very agile in dino mode and not at all "stiff" Now excuse me while I tune out of Transformers, go back to sleep and hopefully get woken up by the NEXT Masterpiece Pete

I will have to go back and check which exact episode - but afterwards, when Misa doesn't yell at him - Hikaru says to himself "oh I expected her to bite my head off for that one" (if that quote rings any bells?) - but I will check. I'm sure it happened though... Point well made and taken. Gubbaba: The greatest Epioc Poet of the XXth century lives in Australia. PM sent. Pete

Will post pics soon as I get a proper stand or figure out how to put Alto in gerwalk on the stands I have. It's not just detaching the hips though - the little underneath section that swings down also gives him leverage. But - yeah - pics upcoming soon... Comparing Bandai to Yamato is pointless - because they make different thigns mostly; and those which they make that are the "same" are so blatantly obviously different in favor of Yamato that no one will contest it. Bandai's chunky VFs might have some nostalgic value, but clearly Yamato wins hands down in terms of their VFs - whether 1/48 or v.2 1/60 or even v.1 for that matter... There is no point, IMO, trying to decide "between" the YF-21 and the Bandai DX. Well - if it's a matter of "I can only get one now" I'd say get the YF-21 - it's way more worth the money. That's not the say the 25F is bad - it's not - but it's the "first try" so there's naturally some stuff that could improve - while the 1/60 YF-21 has been done a couple of times and the new version is a real gem due to long experience... But in general - get them all. Pete

So. Here's my verdict: Gerwalk: I was most surprised by this mode. Everyone complained that Gerwalk mode was unposeable and that the legs just mainly swung straight forward - the end. And when that turned out to be true on my 1/72, I figured it HAD to be true for the DX. Well - it's not!! Did NOBODY notice how insanely wonderfully poseable the Gerwalk is?! Has nobody actually recognized how to get him into anime accurate poses?! Do you guys not see that by unlocking the "hips" you gain the swivel motion needed to really put some cool poses on this Gerwalk? And the feet/ankles are on swivel joints too - so you can easily pose this thing in dynamic gerwalk poses just fine. THE PROBLEM however is that he WON'T stand in these poses. The feet should have been on ratchet joints - they aren't - ergo he keeps bending forward when you put him in a dynamic pose in Gerwalk mode. But that's not a tragic flaw. Yamato's SV-51s don't exactly pose well in Gerwalk or Battroid without...a STAND. The same with the DX - just get that Gerwalk on a stand and you can put him in truly killer poses. Gerwalk is awesome - blows everything out of the water. FIGHTER: I was satisfied when I took the fighter out of the (so tiny!) box. It felt kind of "chunky" - but no more so than my Yamato 1/60 YF-19 which is also kind of chunky. Both the YF-19 and the VF-25 share very very hard fighter designs to pull off right - Bandai did just fine with this. The gunpod on a peg is kind of annoying - but in fighter mode it's not so pronounced as in Gerwalk and doesn't therefore bother me. I was pleasantly surprised by the wheels - particularly the front wheels. They are not as stubby and devoid of detail as I was led to believe. They are not Yamato quality for sure - but they are rugged and just fine. Fighter mode is a bit naked - what with no missiles, no super pack - nothing really but that gunpod... oh well... guess it's like the YF-19 in that respect.... BATTROID: This was the BIGGEST surprise. Has NOBODY noticed just how MISTRANSFORMED this thing is in all of the Bandai promo material - including the blasted instructions. NO WONDER it looks so bulky and "fat" - Bandai COMPLETELY screwed up the transformation. In the pictures, it appears as if Alto's chest is followed immediately by the waste/legs - this is SO NOT TRUE! If you transform him correctly - there is a main body/"stomach" portion between the chest and the waste that gives the VF-25F battroid a sense of being lengthened and therefore makes him totally not chubby. This also means you don't need that transforming swing bar that the 1/72 employs. I am pleasantly surprised. I think he looks great next to my Yamato 1/60s. The upper body is well detailed - head and neck especially. The multiple hands are a bit of a pain in the butt - but then again SOC also uses this method ... heck - Yamato uses this method as well in a sense by giving us numerous cartoon/movie hands... so I'm not utterly displeased - although it would have been nice to have some hands with poseable fingers... But can't I use Gundam hands for that? Maybe... I'll see... Anyways - all he needs is a stand to show off his badass poses Particularly Gerwalk. Pete

Thanks for quoting the exact text. I guess I must have just remembered it a bit different because the way Cathy says it, the facial expressions and the general mood made me think she was being ironic; not all too serious... As for Minmei needing a friend and not a lover - dag... Minmei is HARD to crack. At least Sheryl is up front - as she says to Alto in "Star Date" - her boobs are just part of her marketing strategy. She pretty much likes Alto because he doesn't care about her as a marketable good... With Minmei, however, I never could tell. I mean - when asked during Miss Macross if she has a boyfriend, she repeats the "I have friends" line - and she does it with a cute coyness... when the soldiers tease her about possibly being romantically involved with Hikaru, she feigns anger and embarrasment - although ultimately is composed and changes the subject to placing an order for the soldiers... Er - I guess I'm just saying it seems to me that Minmei knows what she's doing insofar as manipulating other people's emotions. HOWEVER She does NOT have any idea about her own emotions and does not know how to control them. I dunno - she's hard to understand. Pete