drifand

Interesting! Could it be you recieved a 2nd run of this very popular toy? The windows on mine are not exactly 'blue' but a frosted clear plastic so that you can't easily see the folded-up parts inside. Are yours 'crystal clear'? Also, does your box still have the misprinted "MORE THAN MEETS TEH EYE"?

Q: Have you had the opportunity to handle and check out the 1/48 for yourself? It matters! Q: Do you really like the overall proportions of the 1/48 better than the other versions available out there? Q: Can you live with the potential pitfalls of certain parts going loose or cracking on a $120+ toy? A: Yes/Yes/Yes? Go for it! :-) It was Yes/No/No for me, so I decided to forego the whole shebang. The 1/60s still look the best to me, especially the VF-1Js.

I hope your friend "Occasional Fan" doesn't come here and blast us for staking the vote in Convoy/Prime's favor! Speak for yourself, dude. I don't even know who you're talking about. No need to assume fans from any one BBS are all like-minded. After all, I'm a Macross fan and I don't dig Yamato's stuff as much as most folks here do. Some TBDX folks may speak out loudly about their dislike for TFs, but I for one am pleased Convoy got the win.

Takara MP-1 Masterpiece Convoy wins by a landslide... All hail the new King!!! :-) Read all about it on the Rumbles...

If it were the VF-1J instead, I'd say go for the 1/60 and forget about the awkward proportions of the 1/48. But when it comes to the VF-1S, the choice is a bit tougher because te 1/60's head sculpt is miles behind the 1/48's, even with the thoughtless seam line. If your absolute favorite is indeed the VF-1S, then I'd suggest saving up for the 1/48. Then be prepared to used a little sandpaper and elbow grease to tackle the seam if you're 'lucky' enough to get a specimen that wasn't put together A-OK. For the record, I still think the 1/60s still look better in battroid mode compared to the phat-chested 1/48s with their scrawny arms. 1/48s look best in fighter or gerwalk modes, especially with the FAST Packs attached, but the nonsensical airbrake and featureless radar are best kept hidden away.

It's certainly true that different folks see things differently. For me, the VF-1S head seam tells me Yamato didn't think it worthwhile to mold it in a more intelligent manner for presentation befitting the nicest 1S headscupt ever. And while the fighter mode for the 1/48 is definitely the best around, the peculiar proportions of the battroid do nothing for me, as I prefer the robot to the plane. On the whole, the 1/60s, despite their own problems, still retain better all-round proportions. The addition of 1/60 battle armor and destroids will make them even more 'complete' to me.

A fellow TBDXer 'Mr Spacy' has posted a pretty good translation of an interview with Kobayashi about the Binaltech series and the MP Convoy. The dedication of the Takara team is the stuff of toy dreams... and strengthens my belief that there are still Japanese toy makers who really care about their craft. http://www.toyboxex.com/phorum/read.php?f=...f=3&i=178&t=178

After the first 2 FM4 wallpapers for "Britney Spears" and "Logan", we finally get some MECHA!Looks like a new Wanzer Zenith... and something called BlizzaiaL, which looks like the offspring of a Qubeley and a tank! :-)

Yamato is like that - their Macross stuff always has the potential to be best of class, but the actual product always leaves something to be desired. Look at the effort (and materials) Takara put into the MP-1 Convoy! All that for less than a 1/48 that required at least one round of 'improvements'... and you still can't be sure everything's A-OK out of the box for 200+ SGD. Don't shoot me for being a Yamato-cynic; give me a problem-free Macross toy that's worth the price and I'd love them more like I used to. :-P

I am SO crossing my fingers that the leg joints will be good enough to allow some interesting poses. Please don't let this be another YF-21 woozy... :-P

Can't help wondering why Yamato didn't plan far enough ahead when drafting the 1/60 series. Everytime I lay eyes on those slip-on shoulder packs, they just look like clumsy after-thoughts for a design that didn't cater for the GBP-1 in the first place... :-/ Still, it's nice to see it being offered separately. I'll have to see if the real goods are worth the asking price.

Well, it won't be easy getting hold of the FM3 figures now as they were made 3 years ago (Y2K)! Kotobukiya still has some pix of the line-up here. For FM3, here's what I have from the first line-up, original Japanese names first, US-release versions in brackets: 01 - Wanzer Zenith Rev (aka 'Zenislev') 02 - Wanzer Type 107 Kyojun (aka 'Kyojun Mark 107') 03 - Wanzer Meredin M1 (aka 'Meledyne') 04 - Wanzer Dolague M2C (aka 'Drake') 05 - Wanzer Grilezex (aka 'Grezex') 06 - I.N. Corps Specific Wanzer (aka. 'Shunwang' - a 4-legged enemy walker!) 07 - Wanzer Reika Type 1 (aka 'Lenghe Type 1') Of this lot, almost all were well-balanced and equipped with great looking swappable weapons and backpacks. The only slightly disappointing ones were the Meredin (a bit stiff in the legs) and the 4-legged Shunwang. I had high hopes for the crab-design, but the actual toy was rather limited in how it could be posed... not very interesting after all. After that, Koto re-released the lot in 2 alternate colors (dark blue and army green), the gimmick being that you could swap parts as before, but the common color would produce a nicer looking custom Wanzer. By that time I was pretty sated and didn't feel like collecting the whole series again, so I only bought a select few of the blue variants. They originally retailed for 2980yen in Japan. If you're lucky, you might be able to find left-over Diamond-imports at some comic dealers... The AC2 toys were less satisfying and seemed to be made from softer PVC materials (which I hate), so I won't talk anymore about those.

I own a couple of the 'high end' AC2 figures. While the Kawamori designs are excellent eye candy, as toys they have some issues. Mostly I found them to be almost useless for dynamic posing - the legs don't have much freedom of movement about the hips, and the arms are too floppy to handle the oversized rifles properly. The shoulder attachments (boosters?) too often get in the way of other backpack-mounted weapons. I was quite keen on the half tank figure as well, but after the disappointing experience with the others, I decided to skip it. The best one of the lot is probably the blood-red AC2 Another Age ZIO MATRIX 02... beefy design and well balanced. The 'hero' mech EMERAUDE ECL-01 is probably the weakest of the lot (certainly has the lousiest leg joints). Overall, Kotobukiya did a better job with the toys from Front Mission 3. Those were a lot more fun to play with. But that's just me :-P

The mod is nice and all, but this is one toy that I feel the all-plastic Alternators would offer better play value over the Binaltech version. From car mode to robot mode, just TRY not scrapping any paint off the sides of the hood... mine's already chipped in 3~4 places. The irony is, the red plastics match the painted metal really well - and the metal parts don't seem to offer any better presentation in car or robot mode. So save your money and have more fun (or less stress, if you prefer) with the Hasbro version... :-P

What da ya mean winning over the SOC Dancougar, maybe even the 1/48 line? It's winning over the the 1/48 Yamato already! It seems to me no one here dares to say it. I mean come on, even by just looking at the OP pictures, it's so friggin' obvious! And although it's not being really nice to the toy makers to compare toys of different shows, they are still, of the same category. I'm quite a fair judge on quality and ingenuity of products that are almost similar, plus, I own both the 1/48 Yammie and SOC Dancougar so I know what I'm saying. The 2003 ToyboxDX's TOTY should have gone to the SOC Dan, but too bad, Prime just arrived in time and whooped his ass. Guys, it doesn't really matter which toy wins TOTY this year - I'm just so HAPPY to be able to own a toy as well thought-out and made as the MP-1!!! SOC Dan is still a worthy contender but IMO, its price and the (ahem!) loose neck - both pull it down a notch compared to the satisfaction from playing with the MP-1. I also enjoyed the BT-01 Smokescreen a lot, but it can't beat the Big Dan or MP-1 when it comes to sheer SIZE and PRESENCE. The Metal Material Strike Gundam? Nicely done and I'd pick it over the also excellent KS Shiki, but it's just another Gundam. The SOC EVAs are nifty, but didn't really work for me mostly because of the glitzy paint-jobs. SOC Getter Dragon is also nice and simple... maybe too simple! That's how I feel about the candidates, happy voting! :-)

I like the MP-01 Convoy so much, I'm gonna give it my vote as Toy of the Year over the SOC Dancouga. This is one sweetly engineered toy! I especially like the effort put into the gimmicks for the various pistons and flaps. Can't really describe the feeling but when I pressed the foot into the ankle well and saw the array of gray flaps on the shin flip open, it was instant mecha-joy!

From that side profile, Deunan is starting to resemble DOA's Kasumi, curves and all...

Alien QUADrilogy... isn't it a bit too early? Aliens vs Predator will out before too long and then we'll see a 11+ disc QUINTology set... Mmmm. What do you call a SIX-film series, eh?

Let me think about it... NO. :-P

Actually the Movie didn't do much for me... I actually hated the opening sequence. What the heck was all that about? All the imagery seemed to be from NY in present time, complete with the Flatiron building :-P The parts in the ethnic street seemed to have pulled the slowest bits of Blade Runner and stretched it even longer. The bit of Faye-service was tantalising though :-) Otherwise, the series is still the best way I'd like to enjoy Cowboy Bebop. I did find the "Ballad of Fallen Angels" a bit too derivative of John Woo's style (Church+Birds+Confrontation), but I absolutely loved the theme of comradeship and betrayal in "Jupiter Jazz 1 & 2".

For humor, go for Ep 17 MUSHROOM SAMBA!!! It's Ed+Ein and lots of psychedelic fun. :-)

Wait, wait, wait.... Kill Bill has: Detaching Limbs, Flying Bodies and a demure Japanese schoolgirl who transforms into a psycho killing machine! :-) Enjoyed the flick but it's not a classic YET. And that attack on Drew is uncalled for, daishi3500.

A friend managed to sneak in some airsoft guns by hiding the disassembled parts with his chunky photography equipment in several big cases!!! :-P

http://www.dentrinity.com/shop/release.htm Pics of Deunan's GONG et al from Appleseed can be found here (but alas, no stock). Yahoo Japan has plenty though, but you'll need a friend there to bid for you or maybe a third-party bidding service.

Gasaraki!!! Excellent 'real world' mecha fights in urban settings, never mind that plot-wise it's mostly a clone of Evangelion.