VFTF1

Looking at pictures of SOC Black Ox (from the two pack with Tetsujin 28) - it seesm to me that Black Ox looks just like Cyclonus; except that he's just colored black. The head is the same, and the general body build is almost identical. As for Prime - it's mainly the chest with the truck windows - Getter 1 also had "truck windows" - although...he was never a truck Pete

Well - it's way before my time too, and I'm not a fan of the show -never seen it. Don't have a clue about it. But I LOVE super robots like this one. Like 505 noted - Old Skoool I saw, I fell in love, I wanted badly for over a year and finally... it is mine Can't wait to play around with him some more Also - I'm now more interested in learning about Yamato's other offerings in GN-U lHagane Chogokin. The thing is seriously better than Bandai's earlier works (like Getter Robo) and the diorama is just first class. Yamato should really include such things with the Macross figures too. Or sell them seperately... Pete

Well - at least you HAVE a SOC Gunbuster Although - yeah...I HATE broken toys. I don't have any - but man - when they do break it breaks your heart. This is one area where ebay might actually be useful - maybe you can find an even MORE broken Gunbuster toy with the panel you need? Pete

Well - looks like I'm going to go back to watching the original MS Gundam series where I left off. I thought - yeah - this is fun - but with all these other Gundam shows out there, I really wanna check out some other stuff. First I accidentally checked out Igloo 0079. 1 Episode was enough. Yeah yeah, your grandfather yaddee yaddee ya...the ocean...ble ble ble...and ooo...look, Zeon are people too...yawn. Oh - and I don't like CG people. CG Mecha - fine. CG people - still a long way to go. Prefer anime girls. So...then I went and saw part 1 of the SEED movie... was not impressed - by the story. The animation was great; the Mecha were very impressive and the pacing was really good. But the story...hm. Problem 1: Everybody knows one another. It would be like episode 1 of MS Gundam when Amuro manages to destroy those two Zakus actually going something like this: AMURA: Gotta...use this Gundam that my dad was working on or I'm dead... ZAKU 1: I'll take out the Federation Mobile Suit - huh? - it moved? Who's - AMURO! IS THAT YOU!? AMURO: John? My best friend from pre-school!? Is that you!? ZAKU 2: Darn it John - what are you waiting for?! Take out that Mobile Suit. AMURO: That voice? CHRIS?! My swimming teacher from middle school?! ZAKU 1: Amuro! you monster! You're with the Federation! RRAAARRG! (attacks) AMURO: JOOOOHNN! (instincitvely fires and blows him up) ZAKU 2: Amuro! How could you just kill another human being! Didn't I teach you that the reason I became a life guard at the pool was to protect all life! But now I'm gonna kill you! YAAARG! AMURO: Chris! Nooo! (boom. Kills him too). GIRL (appearing nowhere): I'm Princess Lea, daughter of the Senator From Alderan and the King of the Universe. Is that you Amuro? AMURO: Cindy? Cindy from my Sunday School? You were a Princess and daughter of the King of the Universe? CHAR WANNABE: I am Francois Le Crock of Le Shitmongerrie! Sacre Blue! Your rotting corpse shall rest on the ground for years and be eaten by worms! AMURO: Francois Le Crock of Le Shitmognerrie! I don't believe it's you... ---- And on and on and on and on and - gives me a damned head ache. Heck - in Macross Frontier, I was a bit annoyed at how "conveniently" Ranka/Alto/Sheryl all meshed together - but at least Kawamori spent three episodes telling the story of how they met, and at least there were some rather plausible reasons for it. Same for DYRL? - Hikaru, Minmey and Misa all crossed paths by chance in the chaos of war. Fine. It wasn't "Oh - it's you. How ya been?" .... The ONE things I liked about SEED was that one girl with the pink hair who Strike Gundam decided to take back to Char Wannabe's ship and to the pilot of the red dude Gundam who was gonna marry her. Why did I like her? Because she retro-actively reminded me of Nia from Toppa Tengenn Gurren Lagann. But - yeah - no ... I don't feel like watching the rest of this movie. No choice but to go back to Tomino's MS Gundam. It's hard to LOVE Tomino's work because it's just warwarwarwarwar - but at least it's thoughtful and has some interesting, moving themes to it. Not to mention a sense of adventure that isn't artificial. Pete

Really? I used to go to a great Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Warsaw where they had wonderful Katsudon, but I stopped going after a row with an evil waitress who gave me lots of lip (and not the good kind!). Now I'm eagerly in search of a good Japanese restaurant. Lots of Sushi bars - but can't find anywhere with Katsudon Um..and..err...Macross II is...really...great! Pete

Redwolf speaks truth on all fronts. Pete

AND EVEN WORSE - SHE WAS BORN NAKED I'LL BET! Pete

So - question here: Which Transformers do you think were based off of/resemble earlier Super Robots from Japan? I don't know the precise time-line for when Diaclone came out, but off the top of my head - here are some resemblences: Optimus Prime ------- Getter 1 Cyclonus -------------- Black Ox Any others? Pete

None so far But he is the MAN! The airport is about three times the size [ok - 2 times...2 and a bit...] of Ivanov SV-51 !! I think it'll work PERFECTLY with my VF-1 Valkyrie - although - maybe not... since technically Groxier X also comes with a regular old fashion proppeller plane and it's puny compared to him... er... but... anyways... I plan on putting a bit of a "photo gallery" together of him. He is an under-looked treasure. He is fully poseable - insanely poseable - MUCH better than my Soul of Chogokin figures. Yamato strikes again And it's just wonderful. Pete

But the whole reason we don't have a backstory on Bassara is because he is trying to be an idol. Idols are like Gods - they don't have "back stories" - they aren't like all the "little people" and they don't need to explain themselves to anyone - they give you a simple choice: worship them or frown. Giving Basara a backstory would have made him more human, sure. But it would also detract from his artistic appearence. I think fans don't like him AS A PERSON. And no wonder - he's no exactly amicable. I mean - he's so determined that no matter what the setting is, he's only focused on perfecting his music, and he has absolutely no regard to the feelings or desires of people around him - because he thinks his "mission" is so important, so urgent that everything else is petty. He makes people feel like loosers because while there is war and pain in the galaxy, people still have the gaul to have their own personal lives and think that their "problems" actually matter. Bassara is like a cold shower and a slap in the face. Fans can respect his virtue, but the guy would NOT be easy to like. I understand the sentiment you're expressing, but I would point out a couple of things: 1) Comparing Basara and Kaifun is unfair to Basara. Kaifun never went out into the battle field, risking his life, trying to convert people through non-violent means towards pacifism. Bassara did. 2) Bassara DOES acknowledge the importance of protecting lives during a battle - he just is super-logical about it and realizes that ALL lives need to be protected, not just those of "his side" - and his goal is to save everybody from war. 3) Yes, he is aggressive and unsympathetic - but his "aggression" is not really something that comes from him - it is the burning reaction that arises in the hearts of people who can't be as great as he is and who don't have the courage to stand by their convinctions and really risk their lives to protect others. Bassara makes other people jealous and envious and they get angry - and there is a tense vibe in the air - and thus the aggression. As to "unsympathetic" - like I wrote prior - this is because he is a walking reminder to all of us that the mundane "problems" we put up with in our peaceful, free society are trivial and people are dying and suffering NOW and only he is doing something to stop the war. 4) Bassara does make the distinction between peace and fithing when there's no choice. That's why he instinctively launches a missile at the Protodevilin when they don't warm to his music. Then, the next day, he decides to take the missiles out of his Valkyrie in spite of Rey's advise. Why? Because he knows that if he's going to succeed, he can't have this "pragmatic" approach of "well I'll try my best to sing a song that's more powerful than missiles - but just in case I'll splatter my opponent's brains" - no - Bassara HAS TO sing a song that's more powerful then missiles. And to do that - he has to give up the self-evident instincts of self-preservation and the entire moral rational of self-defense. Notice that he never forces anybody ELSE to give up their right to self-defense. He is not so concieted as to sit around enjoying his fairly wealthy life and spit upon soldiers who protect that wealthy life. If anything - quite the opposite - he goes into the front line WITH the soldiers and does everything he can to PROTECT THEM. But they are so blinded by the passions of war and the hard hatred for the enemy that develops when people start to die - not to mention by the morality and feelings of self-preservation - that they don't understand that Basara is doing it for them - not against them. Pete

For people who plan on buying alot - we need a "How Many Do You Have Now?" Thread I have 5 wooo! 4 of them have perfect shoulders. 1 of them has a minor hairline crack that was epoxied and hasn't given me any trouble. Next up: VF-1S Hikaru! When are 1D, VT and Cf VF-1 coming out? Those are the ones I really want Pete

Although personally - when people post large amounts of pics - like those promo pics for the VF-1s - I prefer the small thumbnails. I don't want to wait to load 10 pictures - even if their size is reduced My personal opinion of course Pete

Katsuden - based on your words - I just might see Macross II - however, I need to ask you, since I've seen you around the forum a few times and always wondered: Are you edible? Are you THE Katsuden? The wonderful Japanese dish that I thought was spelled "Katsudon" ? It's one of my favorite Japanese meals Pete

Well - got my Hikarus 1J. Opened one - it's fine And it's sooo lovely and pearly white Pictures in the strike a pose thread as he has some fun with Minmey These things are ADORABLE. Yamato is so cool Pete

Well they don't call Hikaru Mr. Lingerie for nothing Pete

Me niether Although I'm surprised that there wasn't ANY Groxier X thread at all on the board Does anybody else have him - or am I all by myself? Pete

Not only does it have a plane mode - it comes with an entire Airport Diorama! I still have to build it - but it's really awesome! Yamato did an outstanding job with this thing. Pete

My step-daughter, who is 11, has stuff in her collection that is far more "lolicon" - it's a trend in children's comics these days - particularly for little girls. My girlfriend (step-daughter's mom) thinks my obsession with cute women is good because a side-effect is that I buy her lots of clothes so she can look as cute as my anime dolls. Also, when we go shopping together, she is happy that I actually have good taste and can help her pick stuff that she looks good in. This is much funner than "here honey - take the credit card and have a nice day shopping." There are designer and fashion magazines all over their apartment which the girls read. Theres tons of lingerie everywhere. My girlfriend likes raunchy erotic movies. Her step daughter just got her ears pierced and, as can be expected at her age, she envies her mom and older girls and wants to be "gornw up" too so that she can go out with guys and go to parties etc etc etc. All of this is normal and to some how suggest that with the addition of 1:8 Ranka to my collection, my girlfriend will decide to quit her job and pimp out her daughter, who will suddenly develop the urge to run naked in the streets while snorting cocaine (or some other "bad effect") is just not logical:) Although it is funny Pete

ROTFL !!! Just underscores the above Sorry Taks - don't be mad at me. But your efforts at humor are funnybecause they are futile We still all love you though And the thread is great fun Pete

I will accept notes of Thank You, Flowers, Candy and General Praise now. Your Welcome Pete

Groxier X of course Isn't it obvious from his hulking prominence in that picture? The SDF-1 has been in my collection for about half a year now Nobody loves Goxier X? Pete

No, you dirty dirty minds! Not pornogrophy - better! I am now the proud owner of this lovely baby: The box is GINORMOUS! The packaging is layered! The diorama airport is awwwwwwweeeesssoooommmmeeeee and something like this should come with every high-end figure of this sort! The die-cast metal content is fantastic! The little parts are moulded in something far supperior to the goopy goo that Bandai uses! The poseability is out of this world! The paint job is flawless! The figure is HUUUUGGGEEE AND WEIGHS A TON! The accessories are beaautiful! This rivals Soul of Chogokin easily! DREAM COME TRUE! Pete

I think he just did Don't hate on me guys - but so far the funniest thing in the last page of this thread have been Agent One's complaints Pete

That Kakizake CF/TV 1A is great. That's the one I want. The green DYRL? one never appealed to me. Pete

Ah - the mid-nineties. The one time in my youth that I STILL haven't revisisted. Must go to Switzerland soon and relive that beautiful time... Er - anyways - yeah - Macross 7 - good show. Bassara is annoying but I honestly think you have to just accept that this is the way the character was written. He is not written to be liked - he is written to be stubborn and laughed at and PERSIST for 49 episodes in his "insanity" and WIN. If Basara was "likeable" then the show would not have had the same impact. Aww... that's a cute thought They need to make a nice statue of the VF-1A in Zendradi coat and Mylene in that disguise next to it "Father and Daughter" or something like that Anyways - she always reminded me of Michael Jackson when she looked like that Enjoy the show. I have personally gotten somewhat distanced from it - and I agree with the comment that 49 episodes is way to long. They really should have made a Movie compilation and just hit on the main themes (of which there were like...er...two? One really.) and it would have been better. Still - it's an adventure and the music is great Pete