Blaine23

I haven't been on the board in a looooooooooong time. And it's funny because, I came back specifically to see if anyone had a kid recommendations for SDF Macross. My kid LOVED the new Voltron on Netflix and so I wanted to see how she liked Macross and figure out where to buy/stream an English dub. She's a cool kid, but subs are probably asking too much of her attention span at this point in life. Anyway, glad to see the community is still awesome and I'm sure this entire experiment will end up with me dusting off of my 1:48 Yamato collection again.

Yes. With whiny fans.

Except QC. As usual.

Reminded me of Ralphie kicking Scott Farkus's ass in A Christmas Story. Complete with crying.

Cool! As much as I love all the new stuff, the 1/55 is an enduring classic. And an immediate nostalgia rush for anybody that grew up with this, the best toy I could get my hands on in the 80's. That being said, I'd be interested in the VF-1J if it has a heatshiled (replaceable canopy style, like the rest of 2002 releases) and after that, I'm really only interested in what the didn't get around to producing in 2002. Elintseeker Super Ostrich VF-1S Strike GBP Armor Of course they'll start with the two most popular valks. Let's just hope they decide to give the fans what they've wanted forever this time.

Well... it is an American toy magazine, with fairly close ties to most American toy companies, so not making the list primarily imports is understandable. I would expect a similar list made in a Japanese magazine to similarly ignore most American releases. Of course, they'd be correct. I think the list is inherently flawed from the beginning, considering that most of these toys aren't technically action figures. It would be better broken up into categories that make some sort of sense. I mean, how do you compare a Yamato to a Hulk figure?

Like anything else at this stage of development, this has every chance to be good and even more chances to be godawful. Fact is, I could see the writing on the wall after the Transformers opening weekend numbers. I think this will actually make it into production, it being Warner Bros property. All one can really do is hope that someone in the production is smart enough to tap Kawamori to handle the mecha design. If they just turn it over to some Hollywood effects team, you'll end up with generic transforming planes with somewhat familiar paint schemes. If it turns out to be horrendous... who cares? It's Robotech. Seriously, just watch the old "Robotech Movie"... how much more could this suck? Real Macross will still be there on my DVD shelf and it'll always rock.

Amen. Personally, I've "had it" with Toynami ever since the Vol. 1 MPC that was supposed to be 2/3 die-cast metal. Of course, Toynami didn't tell anyone it wasn't 2/3 die-cast until one week before the toy came out. And then the toy itself was not only 99.5% plastic, but really poorly made plastic at that. Fool me once... uh, we won't get fooled again!

1/48 Elint and Ostrich I will never for the life of me understand Yamato's reluctance to make 2-seater 1/48 Vf-1 models

1/48 VF-1S with GBP armor The toy I dreamed about pretty much since the mid-80's. Who knew such a beauty would even exist?

Enjoyed it then, enjoy it now. If you took Shyamalan's name off of the film, people would probably be kinder to it. But the guy has a pretty polarizing effect on movie fans. And his goofy behavior (the way he talks about himself, his work, that wacky book) makes it not worth the effort to stick up for his films, most of the time.

Well, I lurked until May 02. And I've pretty much only lurked occasionally in the last year or so. So really it's more like 4 years active duty, 2 years inactive. But it's still my longest commitment to date. Next to the old lady, of course.

I feel very sad for fans of Wheeled Warriors simply because that cartoon sucked.

Hey Kensei - We have the same birthday... except I'm exactly 10 years older than you. Enjoy the day. As for myself, I'm married, not a completist, and I only buy what I really like and have the extra cash to pick up. I usually get the extra dough from side jobs or weekend work.

I can't tell you how much I love my DVR. It rocks.

I think you've got it a bit wrong. Anyone who's used the internet or developed web for years views things like stealing stuff on the internet as unavoidable. And I've also lived abroad, I just didn't develop a bias against Western culture while I did. As an artist myself, I think anybody putting their stuff on the internet shouldn't be too surprised that it often ends up getting reused. At least for the most part on the internet, this isn't for profit. However, if I wanted to bash the East, I could certainly mention millions of dollars in bootleg DVDs sold for profit without paying royalties. This happens in the West too, but it's far worse in HK. Theft of intellectual property is a universal issue, not an East/West one.

Yeah. Only Westerners steal and post crap on the internet that is legally owned by someone else. I wonder what that huge bootleg movie business in the East is doing there. It's the internet, man. People very rarely give credit where it's due when it's downloadable - it doesn't matter what hemisphere they live on.

Hmmm... I'll read the reviews, if it doesn't fall apart when you look at it (which Banprestos invariably do), then I'd pick one up for my desk at work. For $25, it could be a fun thing to tinker with while on the phone. Personally, I'd love a whole of affordable, low-price, small scale toys - if Toynami can build them so they aren't crappy. It'd be a nice niche for them.

Didn't care much for the Low-Viz the first time around. It's either got to be canon to the story or look so cool that I just don't care (like the Stampede). Here's hoping the Stealth looks cooler than the LV. Otherwise it'll just be another repaint collectible I don't have to spend tons of money on.

True. But that's kinda like saying that if the only woman on Earth was Roseanne Barr then men would be fighting to bang Roseanne Barr. Take away any decent competition and "any port in a storm will do." Still doesn't make Roseanne Barr any more bangable. The truth is Toynami had a sub-par product out of the gate. Macross fans had the choice of Yamato 1/60s, Bandai 1/55 reissues and Toynami. Toynami finished dead last in that race. It also didn't help Toynami when they lied about the amount of die-cast that would be in the toy (they promised the toy would be 33% die-cast) until after they were released. Thus screwing over a ton of pre-ordering customers. If buying on the cheap is the only thing that matters, then heavily discounted Toynami versions and $15 dollar Taiwan knockoffs are available. Enjoy 'em.

My 25th Anniversary Wishlist: From Bandai: 1/55 SuperOstrich Reissue 1/55 Strike Valkyrie Reissue 1/55 Elintseeker Reissue 1/55 GBP Reissue and then an all new 1/55 VF-1D From Yamato: 1/48 SuperOstrich 1/48 Elintseeker 1/48 VF-1D From Big West: An new OVA set after Macross Plus but before Macross 7. That would be awesome.

I missed the previous announcement and saw it on his site last week. Kevin's easily the best, most active Macross dealer/fan and he's always been fantastic to all the buyers on the board. A great dude, period.

Ew. Well, I do suppose that might justify the price somewhat... if you could... uh, "love" them in the way AgentONE loves doorknobs. Seriously, though, the whole thing's basic economics. The show's old, it's not all that popular except to fans of our generation, and they're high quality/low quantity items. That pretty much ensures that the price will be high. Throw in the fact that they must be shipped from Japan and the tiny detail that Yamato and the retailer need to make some kind of profit and there you go. Yamato toys cost what they cost. I myself had to sell a few in a pinch when I needed some money fast. The great thing is that the higher priced items usually either hold their initial value or actually go up in value a year or so after release. Can't say the same thing about your car or your clothes... so what's the better buy?

That's just gorgeous. I wish Yamato had made one.

Damn! That is awesome. Great pics and review, Hayao. Now I really can't wait to get mine.