VFTF1

That dude in the Exia suit is awesome. People like that should rule the world. The cosplay is insanely well made. Bow. Pete

At the very beginning - if you turn on Director's commentary, Bay talks about it towards the beginning, when they're in Ospray if I recall correctly. If I'm wrong - just put it down to too many mind altering drugs but I could have sworn I heard him say it. Pete

It is utterly amazing that the 1/48 battroid looks so...CHUNKY...now in my eyes...when compared to the v.2 Dag...I honestly thought it was a Bandai 1/55 at first glance - seriously As for the Ozma custom - I'm happy to see that that's what it looks like unpainted and with just stickers and panel lining. I will have mine soooooon and will also be a happy camper Pete

If it's any consolation - the 4chan link doesn't work anymore. Anyways - Gubs knows my opinion/suggestion, so I'll just limit myself here to singing Journey: Don't Stop Belieeeeeevvvviiiiiinnn'!!! HOLD ON TO THE FEELIN' yeaah! Don't Stop Believiiiiinnnnn'........... Pete Big Journey Fan

If only you'd be around to post this yesterday, I wouldn't have eight little holes in my left leg. I thought maybe the second time around it wouldn't puncture the skin - but sure enough! Dag. Who would have thought... A litt, yes But - I will repeat what I wrote somewhere earlier: it is ironic that I - an adult collector - find myself loving the Animated line aimed at itsy-bitsy little kids, while the "realistic" movie line is something I'd like to run away from...fast I dunno - I'll admit they seem to have done a decent job on the Leader Prime - particularly when you consider that he (hopefully) does combine with Jetfire.... Or... maybe they'll sell a stand alone Robot Prime and Robot Jetfire that combine but don't turn into a truck and a plane individually? Pete

I'm calm Gobots are better than the 2007 movie line Pete

About Mudflap and Skids - I can't remember which is which - but one of them not only has a face that looks like the cat chewed on the figure's head but his legs also suck because - notice how the car doors just loooooooooooom off of them? Utter trash kibble wise. Poseable legs that bend at the knees but can't be posed or bent because of mega-kibble. I dunno. I just expected like...the greatest Transformers toys in history for the Movie line - but it continues to dissapoint. Pete

Oh - I wouldn't be too hard on fanboys I think they're entertaining. I mean - look - lemme put it this way: people are just being theatrical. People really get into it and develop an emotional bond to the franchise. Is it irrational? Yes - but so is most everything involving art and culture. As long as they're not doing physical harm to Lucas they not only have the right to express their zainy fanboy opinions - but it's even remotely amusing to watch them do it - and sometimes somewhere in there there is a kernel of truth, enlightenment and amusement. OF COURSE no body "expects" Michael Bay or George Lucas to listen to you just because you paid eleven bucks to see his movie. Michael Bay would reply "yeah? 11 bucks eh? Well I had to source 11 million just to make the scene where Sam falls off his bike in front of Burger King." That's not the point. The point is whining Whining and bitching - which is exactly what fanboys should be doing. Besides - I think that creative artists just have to accept that success also means developing a legion of slightly overweight people who live with their moms and think their greatest success at work was convincing their boss that it's ok for them to wear their Darth Vader helment in the dish room who will follow your work, comment on it and cry because things didn't happen the way they imagined it. And why oh why did no body at Paramount take the time to read MY fanfic which showed how the relationship between Lea and Chewy should have looked? Yeah yeah - it's pathetic and silly and retarded and nobody likes people with a sense of entitlemen - but again - it's amusing and theatrical and it's lively I'm not all that bothered by it. I just think it's not as big a novelty as this film pretends to make it out to be. Pete

Yawn. This is not very creative... It's like... hey... I'm working on this movie that's going to be a democratic internet documentary where people will talk about how they feel raped by Yamato for totally messing up their beloved valkyrie, and other people will, like, you know, talk smack about Bandai for turtle bendy laser Ozma. And like, it'll totally be not the same as reading a topic at Macrossworld, but instead it'll be totally amazing. Pete

So - pat yourselves on the back Macrossworld? This thread was re-opened due to BBTS apparently announcing it won't be selling Macross items produced by Yamato anymore due to HG twisting their arm, or offering them some sweet deal or something... Well.... They've had preorders up for 1/48 VF armor for a while... But now I note that they are in fact selling the new v.2 1/60. They've got a Hikaru 1A and they have seperate 1/60 v.2 armor. Granted - this isn't a huge sellection - but it's there nonetheless. What gives? Pete

For the same reason that they aren't selling Yamato Macross valkyrie anymore...but have pre-orders up for Yamato Macross valkyrie 1/48 VF-1 Armor. It's a bit messy over there me thinks. Pete EDIT: Oh - and they are also selling the v.2 1/60 line it seems Well - good for them:)

Good point David. I mean - I got to thinking about some of the Chogokin I have from Yamato or Bandai who are not perfect transformation; who are partsformers - like Getter Robo and Groxier X and my upcoming Dangaurd Ace...I'm sure there are plenty such examples to go around.... But - a) these things were super robots designed 30 years ago, b) their alt modes are "fantasy" and c) we've seen SHE take on a number of such super robots making Perfect Transformation getter robo and the like with various results... Hasbro had a clean slate. I remember Aron Archer once saying - about a year ago - that Hasbro was not generally doing gestalts because they are really hard to design. I remember thinking "huh? What? What's that supposed to mean. I mean - abstracting from the gazillion gestalts in G1 - Predaking being an OUTSTANDING example (albeit the design was, I believe, not originally Hasbro's) - Hasbro have designed some fine gestalts - Tripredicus and the Maximal gestalt are two VERY GOOD examples. Car Robots also featured two WONDERFUL Gestalts - The train one was really great, and the Construction machines one was very good too. The trains individual robot modes were kind of lanky, but the combined mode was really a sight to behold. One of the best TFs around. Conversely - the Build Team had great individual modes - a tad weaker combined mode - but good nonetheless. Energon did indeed have ugly and stupid gestalts - what with the copycat limbs and no real hands... But... I think there must have been some kind of internal revolution in Hasbro's offices - perhaps also in Takara (which did after all merge with Tomy). I think that the old design team must have left, gone on to greater things - whatever - and it seems almost as if Hasbro outsourced the Movie toy designs to some people in a third rate bootleg factory - the DESIGNS - not the construction - but the designs. I mean -when freaking non-transformable kiddie Power Devastator looks better than the 100 dollar "super toy of 2009" - you know there's trouble. Clearly there is still talent working at Hasbro. Animated - both the show, the design and the toys are A+ stuff. A tad on the floppy/cheap feeling plastic side compared to past lines - but still top notch. VERY good poseability and in many way revolutionary poseability - "dynamic cartoonish" poseability I'd say - with knees being able often to move side to side and joints in places you would not normally expect them. But the movie line - this is some kind of joke. I mean - could this also be the result of holywood designers creating the projects for these? I remember Michael Bay in the DVD edition of the movie where he talks about how the design team was working on Prime and some Japanese guy started screaming "this is an insult to the Japanese people!" and Bay was like "fine - you do Prime" -- and he did... Now I suddenly think: dag - maybe they really did have a bunch of holywood designers with no feel or sense of G1 doing these and ONE Japanese dude who knew what was happening and at least saved Optimus Prime from looking like a train wreck (and Optimus Prime is the only TF in the movie franchise who actually looks like his G1 counterpart for the most part and has a GOOD TOY)... I dunno... I just...I can't understand why they are dropping the ball like this. There must be something causing them to FAIL on the movie line... what could it be? I'm almost getting the feeling that they're being like: "well - we know the movie is going to sell LOTS of toys. So let's just produce whatever without thinking about it and get it out there and sell it" - I guess that's ok, if it helps finance Animated, Henkei and similar projects in the future... still - it's a bit of a shame... Pete

Yeah. I guess I wasn't being clear (as usual)> What I meant was that while it CAN stand on its' own - it has a tendency to fall down if you cause a minor earthquake when you walk past your shelves - which I do Other Yamato products, due to their design - withstand such minor earthquakes better. The SV-51 and 21 don't. Thus, rather than risk them going splat, I prefer to have them on a stand... And the poor 19 in the background forgot to open his landing gears Silly Dyson! Pete

Ok - THIS one is Roger Moore. For sure. Roger Moore with panel lining! Pete

Why are those pictures so blurry? Thanks by the way to SDF-ONE for the advice Pete

Yeah, but I was born yesterday. Pete (who really WAS born on 14 Feb.... )

Just put the 21 on its' stand. There's no point fretting over how badly it balances and risking it keeling over off the shelf, taking half your collection with it. It's like the SV-51 - the thing wasn't really designed with a toy in mind - and I think this is why Yamato just went ahead and included stands for the SV-51 and the 21: these things would be "no fun" without the stands - literally. Pete

With the way these toys are looking, I hope the cliffhanger features Unicron hovering over Earth. I'd definitely go to the theatre to see TF3 just so I can enjoy watching Unicron EAT this f$cked up franchise! Pete

Wait. I just realized this. DEVASTATOR'S COMPONENTS DON'T TRANSFORM INTO ROBOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The "Devastator set" for a hundred bucks features VECHICLES THAT DON'T HAVE INDIVIDUAL ROBOT MODES!!!!! If you want individual robot modes for them - you get them as seperate vechicles who turn into robots BUT THEY DON'T MERGE INTO DEVASTATOR! I'm shocked. That is LAME. Pete

Heh Just had a look at "Mega Power Bots Devastator" - THAT'S what the movie version should look like. Although it's still a step DOWN. How is it "mor realistic" when Transformers gestalts have no freakin' hands? Or even claws? Or anything... It's just a bunch of random limbs put together. You'd THINK that these handless aliens - having spent some time on Earth - would have figured out by now that what makes humans the dominant lifeform - other than brains - are their five-fingers hands! Pete

What's with Michael Bay and monkeys? First Starscream gets turned into Tarzan's playmate... now Devastator too? What --- do they have a drunk Optimus Primal designing these things? Pete (mainly referring to pics from Toyfair)

Instead of complaining about movie toys, which I never liked and never expected to like... I'm going to praise Hasbro for a few things: 1. Animated Ratbat. I love him. I want him. Ratbat is one of my all time favorite characters. This is a GREAT GREAT treat. And I like the colors on Animated Soundwave w/Ratbat more than the initial one. WIN. 2. Animated Arcee: FINALLY!! FINALLY AN ARCEE TOY THAT LOOKS LIKE G1 ARCEE!! FINALLY!!! SWEEET LORD ALMIGHTY IN ONLY TOOK YOU 25 YEARS!!! OOOHHH FINALLY!!!!!!!! FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUULLLYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank Hasbro. She looks great. It's not that hard is it? When I recall to mind all of the Black Arachnia repaints, and that ugly squeemish Energon motorcycle...and think about the upcoming movie atrocity... I AM THANKFUL THAT IN ALL OF THAT MESS SOMEONE FINALLY MADE ARCEE G1 LIKE SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE! I am truly amazed at Animated. By far the best Transformers line since G1 and BW. Pete

Hmm... yeah - you're right. It's probably the Monster since there were actual prototype pictures of that floating around, and it certainly qualifies as "big" and transformable Pete

A Yamato SDF-1??? Well - I guess I'll keep my WAVE movie version and hope that Yamato gives us a big TV color version Bring her on Yamato! Pete

Well - I personally would be interested in going back to Earth and exploring what is going on there. Frankly, we've gotten two entire series dedicated to colonization fleets - and the "fleet goes through space/meets aliens" format is going to start wearing thin. On the other hand, beyond Macross Plus, which is very limited in its' focus and length, we haven't seen what's going on on Earth. A story about Earth would be interesting. No aliens (beyond Zendradi) and more mundane plots (like Macross plus). Some mystery/noir elements... And something about unfulfilled love and dreams... I dunno... hard to fathom really. Very hard to fathom... Either that or go all out - have the Protoculture finally show up and meet a colony fleet. Pete