VFTF1

I remain in the minority of one and still say that it looks just fine, and I don't see it as being hugely different from the anime and I think we will all be very pleasantly surprised. Either that or it'll turn out that it transformers like Bassara's old VF-19 fron Bandai, and you have to remove the legs and put stickers on the face or something Pete

Dag. I sold my MP-01 like four years ago and have regreted it ever since As for that Roller - he looks like he's crawled out of Michael Bay's brain - only this time someone actually bothered to do a decent toy of him rather than the crud Hasbro serves out for the movie line Pete

VFTF1, amateur know-it-all who tends to babble on about business and economics as if he runs a Bank, will now proceed to babble on about plastic and toy production, as if he has a clue about that either: They shouldn't and won't use metal because then they'd need to redesign the entire fighter. Notie how, during the transformation, the entire shoulder hinge lifts up over a little bulbby "hill" - if it were metal, it would totally shard that hill. The material is made there so that you can lift and rest it back over that "bump" - metal wouldn't work for that. Besides - my V.2 Roy with no hinge problems has... no hinge problems - and is doing fine as are the 1/48s - so... just getting the bugs out (as usual) Yamato is... Pete

Thank you Mirya for the info. RON's work does indeed look utterly lovely, but sadly I am on a budget and can't go outside of the budget - not even for relatively cheap dioramas ... But maybe I can try to scratch build something myself... And paint it...hmm... must do something nice that's for sure... Pete

Ah - that's probably why I didn't make the connection I'm an SDFM TV person with very sketchy memories of DYRL Thanks, Pete

I want a "Ranka Gaurd Alto" - they could include the decal stickers from the Subaru Ranka set - those things would look WICKED COOL on a VF-1 - probably a VF-25 as well:) Pete

Agreed. I am hoping that this problem will be limited to a portion of the first run of the VF-1S and that's all. Pete

You got me hooked just by writing "Sunset Beach" - I love that tune But what does it have to do witht he VT-1? Pete

I'm looking to get another Roy - but without the Ghost pack - should I prefer the ghost pack? I already have a ghost with my Shin and I'm not too terribly keen on the Ghost parts - they're not as fun as the VF-1 super and strike parts. I guess I did get a bung one Pete

I think we need to take a deep breath and dirrect our ANALysis towards the question of WHEN THE #$%#q!$ are these finally gonna come out?!?!? Pete

Miriya - FANTASTIC pics! Please tell me: a) Where did you get the mecha diorama? I need those kinds of things so bad! b) Are those the Kotobukiya Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagenn models? The Kitty Katen and the others? Are they cool ? c) It is shocking how even those old V.1 VF-1s in 1/60 STILL look great over time! I still have my VE-1 and although side by side next to the v.2 VF-1 it looks bad; alone it still looks good. Pete

Welcome to Macrossworld. I am sure everyone here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=27475 will be delighted to answer that questions. This is the Macross toy forum Pete

(speaks in squeeky nerdish voice) : After the Macross successfully returns to Earth and rests in the Pacific Ocean, Max is made Squad leader and remarks to Hikaru that he might not be ready for command, to which Hikaru responds that the UN has sent new pilots who are "even less experienced then we are." This implies that a large number of pilots were killed during the battles that the Macross fought on its' way back from Pluto which would make sense sine huge numbers of Valkyries and destroids were destroyed throughout the previous episodes in various battles. (adjusts large nerdy glasses) Pete

Err - but we're going way off topic. Thanks for the link and info Edwin and... um --- I really like my WAVE Movie Color SDF-1 and recommend it to everybody who's on the fence about it. It does cost a lot for such a small piece - but we don't exactly have lots of Macrosses to pick from and this one is very nice. Stable in both modes, comes with a stand and will look very beautiful with CMS Minmey I'm sure Pete

Hmm... Their Ranka looks fat Pete

I had the same dilema about the price - but I bought it a few months ago and yeah - it was expensive - but I an guarantee you guys that I have long since forgotten about the money I dropped for this thing and remembered only love So get it while you can... What Banpresto Sheryl??? Me wants! Where? Pete

Yep Pete

I don't think anybody has a problem with your post DND - everyone has a right to their opinion and nothing inflamatory in what you said. Of course we will never know what the real cost of production is for Yamato - we don't know all the factors. We don't even know what is meant by "cost of production" - is this a per unit cost factoring in the CAD design/mold design/factory production/cost of materials/labor? Or is it ONLY the cost of actually producing one unit in the factory - which would mean that actually the process is even more expensive? But it's reasonable to acertain the following: IF: a) Demand for high end Macross products was huge b) Yamato's profit margin was HUGE c) It was possible to make these things cheaper and sell them cheaper Then other companies woul be falling over one another to do it. There would be bidding wars for the license for Macross items. I am sure that there was a bidding war between Yamato and Bandai for Macross Frontier. Why did Bandai suddenly get interested in Macross after not really caring about it for so long? Probably because they saw how much Yamato was selling for and figured they could produce at lower ost and get a cut of the profits and that the franhise might have a lucrative future if Yamato was still there and growing despite its' very risky endeavor. None of us know for sure - but I think that these opinions of mine and be logially deducted from the facts that are known and that the margin of error is slim. But of course everyone has a right to their own opinions - even to the opinion that Yamato is "too greedy" if that's what you believe. Pete

Sure- I would have to. I'm now going to spend this year buying up all of the Zero, Plus, and DYRL stuff that I already have just because I want doubles. But you and me are Macross fans who generally collect this stuff. Most toy companies and retailers rely on people just wanting to buy some popular toys for their kids. Yamato's Macross line, even if the QC was 100% perfect, would not qualify for that beause: a) it is "too expensive" for "normal people" anyways b) Due to the precision it does not qualify as a toy by law in the majority of Western countries (it has parts which are "too sharp" and "too small" to qualify as a toy) c) Macross is not popularized outside of Japan except via the internet - this is a fact - and as powerful as the internet is, it's going to probably take at least our generation dying off until the internet has surpassed television and the printed press (I believe this will eventually happen) - until that time, large corporations, broadcasting boards and the likes will retain massive marketing power for their chosen brands (Pokemon, Transformers and other streamlined mainstream brands rather than the unconventional and risky anime brands) And unfortunately - if Macross fans were going to fill that gap, people like you and me would have to probably buy roughly - this is my guess - 500 Macross Valkyrie a month to make a difference. But we are more than likely going to buy 5 to 10 Valkyrie per year - and that will be a significant amount for an individual. There are too few of us. Yamato has still been able to capitalize on this small market by giving it what it desires and is willing to shell out for: high quality high precision goods based on the best anime stories around. In order for Yamato, or any other company to excell factors outside of their grasp have to work - Macross has to go global, it has to happen legally, and retailers have to have official distributors to work with in order for prices to go down for the customers. Untill all of this happens - things won't change. It could be worse. Pete

Low Viz brings up an interesting problem - Here's how I see it: The real question from Yamato's point of view is this: How will the volume of sales change if QC is 100% airtight and there are no flaws in ANY of their Macross valkyrie any more? Judging by the polls taken at Macrossworld, roughly 30% of all Yamato products have QC flaws at SOME stage (usually first editions prior to tweeks). That is a STAGGERING percentage that would usually sink a company. So why doesn't it sink Yamato, and what doesn't Yamato work triple-plus-good-hard to fix the problem and make QC flaws more normal (like 0.00000009% as they would say in NGE )... Answer: (or at least my presumption/suspicion): Beause the volume of sales would NOT go up even if the QC and other problems were perfecty taken care of, but the additional cost for Yamato in perfecting the QC WOULD go up. This is because I surmise that demand for Yamato's products is VERY LIMITED. These are not selling like hotcakes nor are they produced in truly mind boggling quantities. It is a tight market where the demand curve is inelastic - this situation is bad for everyone in some sense. Bad for us as consumers because the prices are higher than they would be if more economics of sale were involved, but also bad because QC and other problems largely persist partially due to the sad fact that more people would NOT buy Yamato products en mass if they were fixed. This is not to say Yamato is not trying to fix the problem - but rather that fixing the problem will not yield them staggeringly better results, and it probably costs a lot to do. Such is the fate of niche markets - and again, with all due respect to Macross (which I love), let's be serious here - this is a total major niche market except maybe in Japan - that really limits what can be done. Pete

All good points - although with the Macross zero fights - it is still battroids vs. battroids rather than battroids vs. flesh-and-blood opponents who aren't controling an external body via levers or even something like BCS and BDI... I hate to use the "more advanced animation techniques" argument - but obviously the fights in Zero are going to be more impressive than the fights in SDFM TV - this not withstanding; there were no organic opponents to engage the Battroid mechas in Zero, while during Space War I there were plenty. Remember too that Kamjin manags to - if I'm not getting something wrong in my memory - rip apart a Destroid's armor with his armored hands (armored not in some Zendradi Meh, but just in the Zendradi battle body armor). As for the kicking and punching - I suppose I would call upon the ever knowledgable Mr. Mach here: What exactly is the armor on Valkyrie made of? Is it possible for a Valkyrie to get into a fist fight and then revert to fighter mode and fly away? Insofar as the Gerwalk and Battroids can fly independent of aerodynamics on the basis of verticle thrust, the fighters - I presume - annot do this. So if a hand to hand combat round sufficiently damages the components of a Valk that are used in fighter mode...will the fighter then not have flight capabilities? Or should I stop thinking of the modes being so independent of one another? Help. Pete

Yes - it does. My bad VF-OA's foot came off as I tried to transform the thruster into a foot. Then, the arm came off when I raised it in battroid mode. So pray you got a good one I had to buy four before I got a good one Pete Edit: And by "good one" I mean one that is floppy and feels like it will fall apart in a minute but thankfully doesn't and an stand and move without breaking.

If I recall correctly, there were those 15cm (something like that) die-cast metal kits... I think Graham and Shawn even have pitures up in the toys section of Maross World. I never looked at them closely, though - so I wouldn't know if they're super detailed or not... Pete

Lots of things to clear up: This is flawed argumentation IMO. There is no such thing as "underpaying" a worker in the market (barring the imposition of laws which protect Unionized workers and force down the wages of non-unionized ones or the introduction of various controls over the price of labor). When prices are freely established, then If the worker is working for below his market price, he will find employment elsewhere for more. If no one else wants to offer the worker more because his skills are not worth more at the time, or because there is a high supply of labor and lower demand for it, then he won't make more. The consumer doesn't need to care about the business they buy from. The person who sold you your breakfast doesn't need to love you. People who run grocery stores don't need to do it out of a desire to feed the world's poor and starving. It's enough that people act in their rational self interest and exchange values as they see them. Obviously despite all of the concerns about Yamato and its' product and QC, there are enough people happy with it to keep the business afloat. ALSO - very important for a business - there are enough people GRUMBLING and COMPLAINING to indicate that IF Yamato had better QC and better pricing, then they would have MORE customers. So - yes - even threads full of complaints are good for a business - if people are taking the time to chew you out, then it means they care about what you do and would like to support you IF you do it better. Actually - this does happen, although not for the reasons one might think. Right now, Hasbro is havign a Christmas thing where they match your donation to toys for tots with merchandise from them - FOR FREE. This is very nice for poor children and a wonderful gesture - and it is also in the interest of Hasbro in a shrinking economy where a recession is pushing down consumer spending, leaving them with large quantities of shelf-warming, unsold goods. What better way to free up shelf space for their distributors than to push some of those goods for free as holiday gifts for Children? Better than letting them sit there taking up space. The holiday freebie is also good marketing and good PR for the company. So see - sometimes it's in the interest of Businesses to give stuff away for free even. Ever been to the super market deli and seen girls asking you to please try this cheese? Or please sample this meat? Or please have one of thse cookies or cakes or whatever? They are giving food out for free - but the reason is that they hope you like it enough to buy some or at least to remember the brand in the future when you go shopping OR at the very least to appreciate the particular store for giving you some goodies to eat when you shop there. So - free services are often a staple of business and it is in their interest to do it. I would be more inclined to agree with this statement than with the accusation that they are greedy. However, I honestly wonder whether it is a matter of doing their homework and understanding customers or whether they know full well that we are pissed every time a shoulder cracks, a missile pod won't stay on its' wing etc but they just don't have the means yet to guarantee their products' quality at a satisfactory level? Certainly if we compare what they're doing now to ten years ago - they have gotten better in terms of quality and precision. Hopefully they will continue to do so. Pete

Here's my take on what has been said (and we have to try and look at what is going on, rather than at how it is animated): 1. Zero: Two battroid (Shin/Roy) fighting eachother does not prove that the Battroid itself is very durable; only that two variable robots who can just barely achieve agility in battroid mode are evenly matched and capable of tossing eachother around. Besides - remember that the scene where Roy tossed Shin to the ground is pretty straight forward and Shin's loss is as much a factor of his inabilities as a battroid pilot as it is of the VF-OS's "awesome hand to hand power." The point here is this: VF-OS battroid was fighting another battroid - ergo it didn't have that much of a challenge: if it were fighting a flesh and blood Zendradi then it would have a big challenge. Gubaba is right that a flesh and blood organism will ALWAYS have the advantage over a guy pressing a bunch of pedals and flipping switches madly. At least until we get to Macross Frontier... 2. Macross Frontier: In Macross Frontier we suddenly see battroids going up against organisms and apparently doing a very good job at hand to hand despite the pedals and switches part. But then - consider what the Vajra is: it's not really built for hand to hand combat. In fact - look at its' hands - they are like T-Rex hands. They're just there. The whole thing is actually built, much like the Quid Rau - for long range melees. Clearly if you matches a full sized Zendradi (say Breetai) against a Vajra - I am fairly certain that the Zendradi would win - at least in terms of pure wrestling. Cracking the Vajra's armor would, of course, be impossible without the proper weapons (which weapons would have to be upgraded every five minutes to compensate for the Vajra's evolving armor). But the point is - the human form is very adept at hand to hand combat, and that is actually part of the reason why the Battroid is humanoid in terms of anatomy. I mean - if they were looking for a good hand to hand combat model - what were they going to do? Make the battroid looke like a koala bear? The only other forms good for hand to hand are technically things like tigers, lions, cougars - fast predators - but it would be extremely difficult to make a battroid with such a form - and what are you going to do for teeth? I think the basic idea was to have a perfectly adaptable mass production military unit that could go anywhere and do anything - fly, fire a machine gun, engage in trench warfare, air warfare, submarine and space warfare. Obviously the Valkyrie does all this, and it doesn't do any one of them perfectly, but as a group - Valkyries are effective. Pete