drifand

While I rather disliked the metallic colors released to date, the silvery chrome finish of the upcoming EVA-04 has really got me drooling. THAT may be the only SOC EVA I'd consider buying at the moment.

Well, technically, the MOSPEADA ride armor doesn't have arms - those are supplied by the rider! :-) How about the snail-form Hover Cargo from Zoids? or one of those creepy-crawly types? Do the 'claws' on the big-ass GP03D Dendrobium count as 'hands'? The Rescue Sentai Gogo-Five had a bunch of mecha that combined into an armless 'Beetle Mars' mode. From older times, Gaiking had his Daikumaryu 'Space Dragon' - only 2 legs/claws. Space Shefriff Gavan also dad his big-ass dragon ship... Overall, i'd say it's easier to find hero mechs without legs! ;-)

Sounds like you've got a semi-legit deal there. Some POPY toys were indeed produced in Singapore back in the 80's, before the company was bought over by Bandai. Your set could have been repackaged for export sales to clear inventories... Some clear photos of those parts numbers would be useful to convince serious bargain hunters :-)

What IS interesting is that this looks to be either a knock-off or unlicensed version of the large Gatcha Spartan by POPY. That's because the box art is rather off-beat and does not have the Bandai or POPY logo in sight. Strangely enough, the inner cover says 'DX POPYNICA SERIES' or something like that at the top-left corner... if you can actually locate a POPY imprint on any of the vehicles, that would make it more legit. From what I recall, an MIB specimen of the original toy could fetch around US$300 and up...

- The ball joints for the shoulders are plastic on plastic, and look just like the same material on the breakage-prone NMM Turn-A. - The 'full-kneeling' pose requires some very careful jiggling of the torso block - force the issue and you may find yourself holding a broken toy. More likely scenario: You can't achieve the pose. If your toy is problem free, congrats! I had to modify the torso block on mine. Definitely not one of my favorite chogokin toys. The KS Zaku fared much better.

The Kado Senshi was OK, but the joints did seem a bit more fragile than I would have liked. Perhaps a better 'toy' would be the 'Gundam the Origin' PVC/ABS figure. It's 1/144 scale, largely based on the Kado Senshi and even has better joints and detailing in some places. The face sculpt is also similar to the AE Gundam - like a blend of old-school Ohkawara with Katoki'd slickness. Downside of course is the material... PVC is bad news in the tropics. I'd definitely prefer more ABS than PVC... the AE Gundam seems 'just right' for me. Edited for HLJ link.

Try the homepage of Toybox DX! Tim Brisko has a really nice shot of the AE Gundam... :-)

You want cheese, just check out the first episode where Jun is introduced at the swimming pool. Gainax couldn't have done better!

Hey, hey! Nice to see the ol' grapevine at work. :-) If anyone manages to complete the model, make sure you post some pix!

Not a Valk, but definitely involving SFX... Some TOMY Zoids at 'play' I did back in 2002 for TBDX :-) And some Kaiyodo Powered Suits... perhaps rushing to the aid of 'Spirit' on Mars. A couple more of my favorites... Full Armor Gundam in the park... AV-98 Ingram guarding a bank EVA-01 in the city EVA-03 rampaging in Chinatown

Mostly true, maybe except for: 1. Knee caps - spring gets detached from soldered anchor. 2. Foot joints - worn out by friction 3. Hip joints - plastic 'clacker' gets brittle over the years and breaks easily. As for the MPC, it looks good enough for a toy but like most folks I feel the price is too high. Unfortunately, without other competitors making a comparable Legioss toy, bargains will be harder to come by...

It's a "MORIBITO No. 2" from some comic called "Jinki". It's a PVC action figure with 'monoshaft' joints by KAIYODO. As always, nicely sculpted and detailed, but potentially very fragile.

Looking good! Can't wait to see it completed. :-)

This 'scale problem' reminds me of the fan-concerns when Gundam F91 was released. Before F91, Gundam MS were on average 18 to 21m tall. But in F91, the mechs were only about 15m or so. The HG-level 1/100 kits were smaller than previous series of course, but fans could still have the privilege of owning same-scale representations of their favorite MS. And Bandai also released a 1/60 DX semi-toy F91 with internal skeleton etc for those who really liked the design/series. The difference with M0 is that Kawamori designed the VF-0 larger than the VF-1, and Yamato chose keep to the previous 'physical size' by downing the scale. Oh well, some will like it no matter what but I really feel the loss of opportunity for same-scale continuity in a series that opened the world of Real Robots to me.

The real question is: Has any TF fan actually customized the tires on his actual ride to reflect that, PLUS an Autobot emblem on the hood? :-)

I may not like the 1/48 as much some of you guys here, but I know a work of love when I see one! That's a smashing job on the 1A, Jung. Congrats!!! :-)

Never did get to watch the series, but I seriously dig the otherworldly toy designs much more than those from Macross. :-)

Joe: Memememe meme memememememe mememememe Kid: ..... (stunned silence) Joe: Memememememe mememememememe!

This will probably rank as the most gorgeously illustrated and badly-told "Cycle of Life" story ever told in 11 chapters...

OK. So i finally bought GITS2 MMI issues 10 and 11. Sat down for a thorough read... and was pretty disappointed when I reached the last page. So WHAT is the point of MMI, you ask? Here's the plot: Motoko has changed. She percieves reality differently. She has some adventures which lead her to some of her former selves. They decide to merge again. Motoko has changed. She percieves things differently... The end. Anyone think different?

There will be fans who only prefer to own the newest and greatest toys. There are also those who value the nostalgia of the original Takatokus for what they represented - the coolest realistic transforming robot toy made over 20 years ago when Macross first aired. Personally, I treasure my 1/55 VF-1J with GBP-1S above all other Macross toys I own. And until Yamato decides to make an SDF-1, the 1/3000 Taka or Bandai version is still a worthy acquisition.

Heck, Gundam became 'uncool' for SOME folks when it became soooo successful in the US. Apollo, just forget that jerk... Peace!

Here's another vote for the all-plastic Sideswipe over the diecast Lambor. My bro picked up BT-02 a couple of weeks ago and already it's chipped severely around the edges of the hood and both doors. Stupid construction! There's practically no way to avoid chipping the hood in either mode, whereas Smokescreen got away with scrapes in places you might not notice at all. Bottom line for BT-02: too much metal-on-metal contact. Get the Alternator and you'd be a happier owner. The glossy red plastics look just as good as the BT's paint job! Make the mod for the trunk/chestplate and it looks even better!

Aw come on, Dave... Can you imagine if this was all real? Only a real trucker driving past Prime on the highway would mutter to himself, "Say... sumthin' ain't right with that cab's tanks!"

Other than the painted details, it's also packed in fighter mode in a clear molder plastic tray. The original was packed in battroid mode in styrofoam. Original MSRP was a bit stiff considering how unimpressive the engineering is today, with almost zero diecast. Still, the fighter mode is pretty sleek compared to Yamato's YF-19...