BlueMax

What a coincidence. Up til 6 months ago, I worked for my local cable company as well, and similarly, loads of disgruntled customers grumbled about how much they are paying, especially for English soccer (Barclay's English Premier League), similarly, we did not have a choice for exactly the same reasons mentioned. In this case, all the money went to the owners o the clubs and the insane paychecks of the players.... hundreds of thousands of pounds each week! With the fans footing the bill and we at the cable company getting all the blame for the high prices! but back to the topic Pretty much my sentiments.... I consider myself very fortunate: an above average income earner and with no financial obligations... . I was pretty much OK with the VF-1 pricings.. found them reasonable, but with the newer ones, especially with the bulk of canon VF-1s done pretty soon, that means all non-VF-1s will bear the price tag of 18800 yen or thereabouts, seeing their pricing scheme now. Effectively a higher price tier. As I've said, I remain committed to buy Yamato's macross products and will continue to do so as long as they maintain their quality and I can maintain my economic status, but these are just my own sentiments although... others might give up along the way if not already because of the price.... What i am afraid is that Yamato is pricing themselves out of the market. Alot of macross fans and casual fans buy only selectively or just a few representative pieces because they know these are expensive and they have obligations that take priority over toys.. and rightly so of course. But with the new price tier, even these fans might be put off by the price of each unit and buy even lesser or not at all! I agree with Pete's (and some others) argument about the Paradox of Waiting for Bargains. Low perceived demand-> low production commitment-> higher cost per unit-> higher price per unit. However, that is only 1 side of the story. The reason why people why people only buy during clearances is because clearance prices tell consumers how much prices can be lower (up to 60% or even 70% off?!) and as a result they are not willing to pay the much higher asking price again. Can't blame them really. I myself feel tempted to do that sometimes.... especially the valks i spend so much money on goes into the bargain bin just a few months later.... On a seperate and maybe positive note, I believe Yamato is the beneficiary of some form of ambush marketing lately! Besides the "gate guardian" VF-1A in Hikaru's colors, the recent Pachinko game and its ads on prime time TV should have generated quite abit of awareness for the SDF: M and especially for the VF-1J in particular. This should only bode well for Yamato... all the publicity for nothing!

CAUTION: LONG RANT AHEAD. If you are alright with how much you are paying for your valks, you probably do not need to read this thread. To be sure, I love Yamato valks and I am very thankful to Yamato we are getting them but...I am very concerned about upcoming valk prices: Maybe some of you have already realised this long time ago, maybe I was in denial, but the full realization only hit me recently, especially with the announced prices for the VF-11C (no change, and the VF-11B was noted for being very pricey) and M&M VF-22Ss. I was hoping against hope that the prices for these babies will be slightly lower, since we know from basic economics and conventional wisdom that the average and marginal cost for producing each additional unit can only get lower, but maybe the prices have already taken into account this. But then again, the YF-21 (and possibly the Vf-11B) was produced when Yamato probably have not secured the license for the Macross (Dynamite) 7 valks. True, the YF-21 was 3000 yen more expensive than the VF-22Ss, but the difference can be attributed more to the lack of a stand for the VF-22Ss rather anything else. Add insult to injury: The Yen has been appreciating against most currencies and shows no signs of abating anytime soon... means we are suffering a double whammy.... No... wait, if we take Bandai's DX line into the picture, the folks at Bandai seemed to have taken cues from Yamato: the prices are on par, if not higher than Yamato valks. Add the super export-unfriendly web exclusives, makes for a triple or even quadruple whammy for valk lovers who wants valks from each series. Fast forward to next year, where we will probably be getting some or all valks from the VF poll that Graham had made, how much will we have to pay for each valk? This is even when some of the valks, like the VF-19s, can be milked for a few variants (VF-19 Kai, F, S, P: Normal, P: Whale blood edition). I know that they can't be milked as much as the vF-1, but I seriously suspect that all these non-VF-1 valks will be priced at 18800yen or higher, and this is something I can't really justify in the long run for each purchase. Each of this is almost like 10% of my net income! Sure, I DON'T HAVE to buy everything that is released, but I know that some day I will be going after "the ones that got away". They might be cheaper or more expensive to get later, but mostly more expensive and way more troublesome to find, should anyone of them become rare. While I welcome wholeheartedly the new valks, I sincerely hope that the prices can come down. While I know this may be a long shot, I sincerely wish that Graham can give some feedback to Yamato regarding the prices. Like I said, this is just a rant. I will still buy whatever valk that Yamato comes out with, as long as the quality is good and I can afford it.

Not too happy about the ostrich neck? Well.... fighter mode! Anyway, most of my V2 valks are/ will be in fighter mode.

removing arm armors? SLIGHTLY pull the connecting tabs at the side of the arms outwards?

When I visit Macrossworld EVERYDAY and spend a gazillion dollars on valks.....

Ah... I think I know... its the filler for the nose portion in fighter mode, where the legs attach in battroid mode.

I believe the the long awaited VE-1 is finally..... *drum roll* released! LINK

Basically, the "pilot" has no command skill. You as a player can only use the "supporting" character's command skill. I've actually used Max from SDF:M era as my pilot for the leet character stats and Mac 7 era Max as support for his time stopping skills... works like a charm! . Still pretty ok for normal missions, but playing chronicle missions means you can't use any of them... but that is made up by the fact that you can use all tune points earned for the particular mech on chronicle missions unlike MAF. Oh, and congratulation on "S"ing the AFOS!

Booooo! You are bad! Bad!!! Yes, I would love to have it.... at a lower price point though, since it doesn't have any accessories (IIRC), and not even landing gear.

For me although I don't have the time as well, but it is more of "lack of skill" really.... so most likely I will commission someone to build the whole thing for me... saves time, I can have a good end product, just for some money

Wow, scheme looks really fresh! I must say the paint application looks very natural. did you have to take it apart before paint application?

Attempt the enemy missions after you have gotten the era unlimiter. I'm sure things will be a lot easier that way.

the regular missions do seem easier to get a good grade, but the boss missions are more tricky to beat and have good grades due to the bosses generally having a cheap attack, not to mention an insane amount of HP, and the camera angle making it hard to avoid the attacks, especially true for the AFOS

or you might have same characters selected. mission will not start this way.

Hey G-man, recalling your question about the VF-11C armoured edition, yes, it is available after clearing one of the missions in Mac 7 as an upgrade for the 11c. But I must say the specs are nothing to shout about.

I'm pretty sure the wings will. Even the older model kits could, and I'm pretty sure Hase's earlier 1/72 kits coult, so, no reason why this one can't. And yeah, we'll leave the 1D to Hase. Cap'n, bring on more Macross goodness!

Not forgetting the 1D as well, unless the Capt'n re-issues his 1/48 conversion kits

I have somewhat similar sentiments. I am waaaay more excited over SDF:M and DYRL? stuff over the other newer series. I like Mac Plus, Mac Frontier and Macross 7(just slightly) over most of the other non-macross anime that I have watched, but nothing can excite me like the original Macross series and the VF-1 can. Sim[ilarly, I'm a sucker for all things VF-1. I have bought LOADS of VF-1s (in 1/60 V1, 1/48 and 1/60 V2) and still not sick of them, but I have only 1 each (if i buy them) of the other mecha from the later series. in fact, I was willing to wait a long time to get them and bought them at a good discount later on! lol~! I should dod that for the VF-1s as well, but I just can't. I need to get them as soon as they are released!

My package from HLJ just arrived! More display stands for me! only thing is..... i don't have display space... sheesh... Anyway, EMS tracking shows that it started shipping on the 6th and it arrived on the 8th! I was kinda worried that it would get delayed becasue of the typhoon that just hit Japan yesterday.

From braddock76 of Gamespot forums: "Can now confirm 2 working passwords to unlock addition Extra missions. SPATA and TUSRJ For those not sure how to enter the passwords, select the 3rd Option from the top of the menu when you press the Start button. That opens settings where you can scroll across to the Auto save/ password input." I have tried it myself. It works.

Hey, don't despair. The G-Man has said that the Phalanx is still coming just 2 days ago.

I agree... it is really waaaaay below MSRP

it is indeed pretty difficult, compared to the rest of the Mac Zero campaign. I found this worked for me (lifted portions from Gamefaqs since it was similar to my own experience): I used the VF-0A as I hadn't unlocked VF-0S yet. Equip the Booster pack (I prefer TypeB cause of the shot based SP, Type A seems to me melee based), and then when the stage starts, Press d-pad up + L button to lock on to the main AFOS target (head portion) and fly to the back of the AFOS That way you can avoid the energy beam attack. Then spam your missles and gunpod/lasers in battroid mode/ Gerwalk (I prefer gerwalk as it doesn't fall into the water, obscuring your vision). Occasionally ordering your partner to use his/her SP to eat away at the boss's shield, and then use your own SP attack. The AFOS will attempt to teleport sometimes. just wait for it to reappear without pressing anything and the lock should still be there at the main target. The missiles from AFOS are not a real problem, can be easily avoided ( just keep moving fast) Now, the real pickle is when the the AFOS is more or less on 1/3 of its health bar left. It will make an extremely cheap move: it suddenly turns around to face you whereever you are, and start its SP attack, which might very well deplete your health bar fully. What I have done is to fly sideways on full burst. This might be a little tricky to do as the stupid camera angles makes directional control really hard to grasp in this case). but will practise and some luck, you can do it. I have read that blocking (R button) will help greatly, but I have not tried that yet, so if you are really caught in that situation, maybe you can try this if you are unable to avoid the blast. With the VF-0A, I cleared with a C grade, but I subsequently got an A grade (hoping to get a S grade) using the VF-0S unlocked after clearing the mission. So most importantly, just clear the mission first, and with the VF-0S, you can ace it later on. Hope this helps. Edit: got an S grade just now

Waiting for 3 flexistands (3 lengths), macross plus trio of GNU-DOUs, and 4 yamato mighty block 1s from the recent HLJ free shipping deal. Just shipped Tuesday... not sure if it can rach by this Friday...... I sure am hoping....

But ultimately, Hikaru only piloted the Vf-1 and the VF-4....