sidearmsalpha

Hey, thanks for the link! For some reason, I can't see any pics or avatar in Takatoys' posts with my browser. Are these pics linked to Takatoys' site which might be down?

I didn't realize the neck cover had been modified. How was this done? Is there another thread somewhere where this is discussed?

Picked up the 2nd set a few days ago. These are pretty cool in Battroid mode, especially when used with the display stands for some cool poses. Wish Toynami had sold these with different heads like the Banprestos. I'm sure they would have sold even more. I know I might have bought a couple more sets to see a VF-1A and VF-1S TV Max and a VF-1A and VF-1S Miria. The lack of an inner cockpit and pilot totally sucks, so I don't think I'll display these in Fighter mode at all, maybe Gerwalk from time to time, which does look cool because of the great articulation in the legs. I can't believe they couldn't just make a simple cockpit and figure to go with these. The missiles stay on really well, even better than the Yamatos it seems. Really hoping they do sell the armor sets for these. I wonder what Valks will make up set 3 if they make them? Anyway, I took some pics. Sorry for the crappy lighting.

Has anyone heard of these or even have one? If so, are they really as good as the Bandai versions? http://cgi.ebay.com/Matsushiro-MACROSS-Jet...1QQcmdZViewItem

I received a VF-0A a few days ago and removed the shoulder covers, and so far, no stress marks or breaks. I have a VF-0S that I picked up when they came out and only transformed it to Gerwalk mode before putting it back in the box. Today, I pulled it out of the box since then and transformed it to Battroid. I noticed one stress mark on the left shoulder after removing the cover. I loosened the screws on both shoulders as Graham suggested, so I hope it doesn't get worse. Needless to say, I'm not messing around with these much. Has anyone noticed if the cracks/stress marks get worse from just having them on display?

One of our local channels ran a story this morning about campers at the Santana Row Best Buy in San Jose getting egged by drive-byers talking trash about how the XBox360 is better. Hilarious!

In that pic, the Toynami looks too big to be 1/100. I don't see how more than one pilot in that scale would fit in the Konig. On the Konig, are those panels on that flap that goes over the head supposed to be windows?

After having picked up a SDCC VF-1S Hikaru, I have to say these are pretty cool for the most part, especially in Battroid. Likes: Joints are tight so it helds together very well, they are put together and painted well (well, what paint there is), nice detail (like how they added the detail on the inside of the hatch that opens up behind the head in Battroid and the thrusters in the feet), very poseable -- the most articulated Valkyrie at or near this scale to date. Like the new style shoulder joints which allow the shoulder covers to rotate inward and backward slightly. The box is cool, too, with the velcroed half that opens up. The stand is a definite plus, too. Dislikes: Needs more accessories (antenna for Gerwalk, gunstrap, pilot figure), no cockpit (what the hell was the point of making a clear canopy then?!), lack of locking pieces to keep it together in fighter mode (especially, the backpack which flops down if you turn it upside down in fighter mode), back of knee joint is incomplete, back of neck piece doesn't rest on anything in Battroid, feet don't descend into the leg in fighter mode a la the 1/48's (I'm sure this could have been easily designed even at this scale like they did with the knee caps), box could have used more artwork like maybe a battle scene with the other Valkyries along with a summary of the Macross story on the back. QC Word of Warning!!! The use of glue instead of screws on some of the mated parts can be a pain if something isn't assembled right at the factory (see below). I don't know if anyone else had this problem, but the one I picked up on eBay, had a problem with one of the leg hatches for the landing gear -- the one on the left leg was placed upside down! What sucks is that the leg halves are glued together -- no screws! I had to pry open the bay where the cover sits with a couple of small screwdrivers to pop the hatch out of the holes on either side of the inside of the leg. I was able to get it out and back in the right way, but trying to get it back in using the same method was harder, and I also ran the risk of stressing or warping the leg halves if I kept at it too many times. I still like these enough to want to purchase the rest, but I'll hunt around to see if I can get them at no more than $15 each, since I think $20-$25 is too much. I do hope they put out enemy mecha and a VE-1 and VT-1.

Is it just me or do the figures seem to be of a larger scale than the Cylones in these model kits and even the Gakken toy? It's almost as if the Cyclone parts shrink down quite a bit to form the armor around the rider during the transformation in the anime. The transformation seems to use ALOT of "anime magic" to make the Cyclone armor look compact in the ride-armor mode, but it expands to look larger in bike mode to accomodate two riders. The armored boots the riders wear also seem to expand quite a bit in girth to support the rider with the armor on, but shrink down when the riders are riding the bike, so their legs can straddle the sides of the bike. Anyone who has seen the large scale transforming Gakken Cyclone toy/models knows how silly the rider looks on the bike because the bike just seems too small and his boots are too big. I can't see how a fully-proportional transforming toy/model of the Cyclone could be made without alot of parts swapping.

I like the extra articulation they added on these Road Force figures at the feet. I just don't get why they didn't do this for figures that came out after these. I hope the newer ones coming out soon will have this added articulation.

Actually, I just saw Jenius's review. Thanks, by the way. Here's one of his pics. Can the arms be adjusted so that the front part of the gunpod can be raised higher or is this the best you can get?

Anyone have a side profile of any of these in fighter mode? How low does the gunpod hang in fighter mode with the landing gears on?

So, the animation studio has dropped it then? How many episodes were made? Was the series ended, or did they drop it in mid-production?

Does anyone have a link to news about another Capcom Collection for PS2 (and maybe XBox?), which seems to be the case according to what I'm hearing from some of you? If so, does anyone know what games will be on it? I loved the first collection and plan on getting the Remixed Collection for PSP. I have seen an announcement for another Capcom Collection for PSP to be released in the Fall, but I'd rather play these on a PS2 or XBox. Also, this Sega Collection looks promising, but the lack of the Streets of Rage games sucks. Hopefully, we'll get all 3 (uncensored, too!) in another collection with some of their better shooters. I'd really like to see them do a collection of Mega Drive games that were awesome yet never released in the US.

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I actually like the raised skulls on the heatshield. It just looks cool to me. It looks more menacing I guess when projected out like that. With regards to the stands, I'm sure there are alot more people having issues, but they just haven't spoke up or don't use these forums. It just doesn't look like it was designed well. I think it's great when figures come with such an accessory (hell, all figures should, or they should offer one separately if the figures are larger, such as the Yamato Macross stand, so you don't have to worry about them falling over easily), but it should also be made to last awhile. I think I'm going to test the waters later for myself by buying one of these 1/100's cheaply online or checking one out personally at any local comic shops that might have them. The stand was a big draw for me because alot of figures don't come with something that I feel is necessary for displaying, but if it can't support the weight of these figures. I'll definitely pass.

So, what does this mean?! Has the anime been cancelled for good?!?!

How well does the stand hold up when the figure is in Battroid mode? Wondering if Toynami even designed the stands to accomodate these figures with the armor parts on. How lame. It's as if the stand was just an afterthought. How difficult would it have been to design a simple clamp that works with all 3 modes or one for each mode that attaches to the figure and design the arm of the stand with a simple ratcheting or pivoting joint that can be locked into position with a small screw. When I first heard about these coming with stands, I was impressed, but now that I see how crappy it functions, I'm disappointed.

I'd really like to see Toynami just do non-transforming all-plastic static or somewhat poseable Legioss/Tread figures in a smaller scale along the lines of Kenner's Star Wars Action Fleet vehicles with display stands: A 2-pack with a Legioss/Tread in Armo-Soldier modes, a 3-pack with non-joined and joined Legioss/Tread in fighter modes, and another 2-pack with joined Legioss/Tread with one having the Legioss in Soldier mode and another having the Legioss in Armo-Diver mode (these modes were possible when combined with the Tread, right?). They could be the size of the larger K&M Macross figures or a little bigger. The joined figures could be molded together or glued together, so there's no need to worry about a link up and made of light plastic and come with a display stand to hold the combined figures. It's wishful thinking, but I hope it's a possibility if the 1/100 line takes off, or the Shadow Chronicles movie is received well.

I can't rank what I've heard so far as the best since I haven't been exposed to as much anime as alot of you guys have. Here's what I do like: Macross -- "Ai Oboeteimasu Ka" (Do You Remember Love) -- beautful song! Macross Plus -- I have Vol. 1 & 2 and Sharon Apple the Cream Puff. Love Information High, Voices (especially the English and cello versions -- yes, I know, these aren't on any of the above CD's), Macross National Anthem, Fly Up In The Air~Tension (incredible!), and After, In The Dark (freakin' incredible, my fave M+ song!). Macross Zero -- downloaded it, but can't remember the name; that song that Sara sings in the forest when Shin finds her nekkid. Bubblegum Crisis Vocal Collection Vol 1 -- Konya Wa Hurricane (of course), Mr. Dandy, and pretty much all the songs by the Priss voice actress. Zoids New Century Soundtrack -- I don't know the names of any of the songs since they are all written in Japanese, but the theme song is cool, the song that is used when the Liger Zero prepares for battle, and a few other ones. GITS: SAC Vol. 2 -- the first 2 songs are especially incredible! Space Cruiser Yamato -- theme song (simply awesome!) and several others. Ikki Tousen and Tenjho Tenge -- the opening songs are catchy; can't get them outta my head! Robotech -- Look Up! The Sky Is Falling -- ok, ok! I know it's not Mospeada, but it's still a very cool song. I also love video game music/bgm/soundtracks, too! I'm currently listening to these soundtracks: Radiant Silvergun (legendary Saturn shooter, and godly bgm!!!) 19XX (Capcom arcade shooter), Darius Gaiden (Taito arcade shooter, Zuntata rules!), and Gunstar Heroes (Treasure's Sega Genesis action platformer). My all-time fave game bgm's (which I would love to get soundtracks for) are: Thunderforce IV, Ninja Warriors Again, Super Shinobi aka Revenge of Shinobi, Super Shinobi 2 aka Shinobi III, and too many others to list. By the way, if you haven't heard it, check out the opening song to Dead or Alive 2 for the DC or PS2. It's called Exciter by Bomb Factory! Awesome hard rock song! You can download it here: http://www.deathcom.net/ Anyway, from what I like above, can anyone recommend any anime/game music that you think I should check out?

I Frankensteined 3 Alphas I had with issues. What a pain in the ass. One blue Alpha's foot broke, a Shadow Alpha's knee wouldn't bend, and another blue Alpha had a lopsided knee because it was missing an internal part. I used the bad Shadow to swap out parts to fix the other blue ones. I reassembled the Shadow with the bad parts and sent it back to Toynami to get a replacement Shadow, which thankfully, didn't have any major issues. Hell, I even kept the gun from the one I sent back, and got another gun with the replacement. I stored away unopened green and red Alphas without opening them, so now I have to find them to see what major QC issues I may find. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I should have checked them out right away. I, too, got suckered into buying more Alpha's in anticipation of the Beta.

Hey Datterboy, I loved your SD customs. I hope you really don't give up on the hobby altogether unless you really are tired of Macross in general and it's time to move on to more important things. It's too bad we never hooked up considering we live so close. I don't ever see myself completely stopping collecting toys, especially Macross toys, unless Yamato goes belly up. Still, as much as I love this stuff and other toys I collect, I have to wonder if I'm ever going to be able to display everything I have or plan to get. It sucks cuz there's always newer and better stuff coming out, and I don't want to miss out, but I'm gonna have to draw the line at some point soon. The price tag on these toys doesn't help either since my fiancee can't understand how I can spend so much on one toy even if I try to justify to her how awesome they are. These VF-1 toys should be getting cheaper. Could it be that Yamato's production costs have gone up with plastics getting more expensive with oil going up?

This might as well go straight to DVD. What's the point?! I doubt they're going to do anything that pushes what they already do on the show. That's why the Beavis and Butthead movie sucked. They didn't take advantage of the opportunity of putting it up on the big screen to really cut loose. So far, only the South Park movie did. They could never have done that on Comedy Central at that time. Of course, you can catch the movie uncensored after hours now on CC, but it's been years later. I'll check this out when it comes to tv someday or borrow someone's DVD version.

I think Willem Dafoe would have made a great Joker. I know he was being considered back when they were casting the first Batman movie. He's got the facial features. His version of the Green Goblin wasn't bad. He's proven he can play a decent psychopath.

I'm almost totally clueless about UV light. Does this mean if your toys are on display, even indirect sunlight can cause them to yellow? Also, what about light from a light bulb?

Yeah, that's the typical reaction I get from the gf. It's getting old. Time to hit the cons and find me a new babe who's into anime and collecting, even if it's Hello Kitty or something like that.