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drifand

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  1. drifand
    LOL. Next thing you'll claim retconning never happens for fictional mecha :-D VF-11B physical size, anyone???
  2. drifand
    Could be Megumi decided to go the hard route... not wanting to be pigeon-holed as an anime songstress by going her own way. Contrast with May'n whose management(?) is shrewder and worked in Kanno + LION while slipping in a few other musical styles to hook us Frontier fans. I did enjoy Megumi's music but not so much her new 'visual persona' with the donuts... THAT was lame album art.
  3. drifand
    Hi Ravenhawk, Sorry about that, meant to quote VF5 up there. There have been various comparisons on the web regarding the actual/practical scale of Yamato's 1/15 bikes... basically, the baseline for 1/18 scale would be your typical GI-Joe or Microman figure. Compared to those, the CM's Ride Armors are most definitely 1/18 as claimed. For The Garlands and Motoslaves however, the truth is, to create a mechanically true model/toy, Yamato had to fiddle with the proportions in relation to the human figures. For Garland, the Shogo figure is almost 100-percent physical match for 1/18 counterparts. As for Motoslave, sure the girls are 'petit'... but I call it the way I perceive it: they're 1/18 on my shelf, regardless of what the box claims.
  4. drifand
    Suit yourself, it's a free world.
  5. drifand
    Even better: they're practically the SAME SCALE despite the 1/15 claims. I really enjoy the fact these can now exist in a same-sized world.
  6. drifand
    OK, here's my complete CM's Ride Armor line-up mixing it up with other 'like-scale' figures... From left: Priss' Motoslave, Army Garland and Fuke's Bartley. In the background are the old school 1/24 Votoms and 1/24 Dorvack Nove powered suits. Next is Ley's ride with Mint in tow, 1/24 WHAM Yellow-Tachi with the Major perched on top, and two of Kaiyodo's 1/20 Powered Suits (white version is under repair... snapped hip joint.) Rounding up are Stick, Shinobu-the-video-voyeur and Yellow. Shogo attempts a wheelie in the Proto Garland while the Strike Dog and Chirico's ride take up the rear end along with 1/12 Spiral Zone Monoseed and Kaneda's Bike. That's all folks. :-)
  7. drifand
    Here's where the metallic version Motoslave fits in my 'large scale' toy shelf: Fits right in with the 1/18 CM's ride armors... I chose to display the Motoslave in 'hatch-open' mode - basically the upper chest clips onto the head via the magnetic-joint, while the lower chest is a kludge by rotating the gray clip-on arms back to bike mode and slipping them behind the hardsuit's arms. Can't do anything about the lazy knee design though. :-P One more shot... though I was so preoccupied with balancing the figure I didn't notice the hardsuit's leg was dangling off the foot-stand:
  8. drifand
    Terribly sorry to hear of your problems with the Proto G... I shouldn't have been so enthusiastic in recommending it. :-/ I hope you manage to get it replaced.
  9. drifand
    I think the DX is basically impossible to take apart without damaging it further... the screw caps are all glued down. Sucks, yes. For loose shoulder ball joint, I suggest a tiny drop of Selleys Quick Fix Supa- Glue Non-Drip Gel at the exposed joint. This version of Supa-Glue does not dry instantly; the gel gives you a few seconds (5+) of leeway during which you can 'work the joint around' to spread the hardening fluid. I did it for my badly abused Alto and the joint is back to 'normal'. Anyway, here are a few quick snaps of my reshuffled Macross shelf. I decided I cared most about the original series/toys, AND the latest offerings from Frontier. M+ valks are represented solely by the Doyusha diecast series (too bad there's no VF-11 in the line-up). Bandai's M7 chunkies have been kept as well. The middle shelf is now dedicated to CM's excellent Patlabor series and a few interlopers from L-Gaim. Regarding DX Ozma's 'neck problems'... this is the result of using the 'tilt-up' neck plate trick: Looks pretty OK to me. No mods required, just some frustrating moves with the neither-here-nor-there chest plate positioning. One more... Looking forward to the rest of the Bandai DX Frontier gang.
  10. drifand
    And I say 'good for you'. I guess my customer relationship with Yamato is still NOT the worst anyone's seen around here (BOB, you still around?). However, I have most definitely sworn off their Macross releases. No point investing any love in one of a series only to get played out when a bad release later spoils the fun. That's why I haven't bothered with the 'perfect' Destroids. Time will tell, and I reserve the right to change my mind with hindsight. OK, I only break my Yamato resolution when something is so compelling in the mechanical design that I'd take a chance, and only AFTER the first run. Case in point: 1. Proto Garland... none of the BS breakage problems that plagued the original (and most desirable) version. Ask Graham how he feels about the snap-off diecast arms on the first release. 1A. Army Garland, took a risk after the good experience with Proto and got bitten by Yamato's QC. Loose joints all over + broken-in-the-box parts. Huh. 2. Moto-slave... as a completed model/toy of one of the most iconic 80s' mecha shows, what fan wouldn't want to own one (at the right price)? But you're right: the original was a bit too plasticky for its own good, and pretty floppy from all the reports. I waited for a 'ver. 2' but each re-paint was basically the same serving of 'take it or leave it'. The came the limited metallics... better reports on joint tightness etc. Took a risk and, yes, I would recommend the metallic version. I believe the additional coating of paint helps a bit with the joints and does a whole lot more for presentation. It's a street bike, it deserves to be metallic!
  11. drifand
    Yeah... even with all the bits I hate about the DX, it's still way more fun than any Yamato valk I've had the 'pleasure' to own. With Chinese New Year just a day away, I've been busy cleaning out all my shelves and packing stuff away to make space for more deserving toys. So, the only yammie left on my Macross shelf is the Konig Monster! All the extra space means I can fit in Michel and Luca's jets in the coming months :-) In fact, with the beating I've given to DX Alto I'm surprised it's still stable and fully poseable. Chances are I'll buy a second DX Alto when I have the chance... but waiting to see if local dealers managed to stock up on the Super Pack first.
  12. drifand
    Oh, yeah... got me. Better retcon that into "Yamato-made Macross toys" :-) Matter of fact: I just swept clean my shelves and packed off almost every single Yamato-made Macross toy back into their boxes and deep-sixed them into storage. Only Yammie left is Konig Monster. I feel clean now..
  13. drifand
    OK, the metallic Motoslave is a BEAUTY. Don't let it be said that I hate Yamato for the wrong reasons... it's almost never about the presentation. The completed motoslave mode looks fantastic next to my gaggle of CM's ridearmors. I can only hope more of these metallic versions get released eventually... I'd like to have at least one more color in bike mode for display. HOWEVER... the transformation, yikes! I was prepared for the 'parts-former' blues but it's really the intricate number of twists and turns on so many joints that got to me. It really looks like I'll never be able to get it back to bike mode without the manual. The closest thing I've experienced to this level of frustration is probably MP Megatron... If only key parts of the toy were made of diecast, I'd be a lot less apprehensive. Hello Beagle? Looking for more interesting projects? :-)
  14. drifand
    We'll see... I'm repacking my shelves for Chinese New Year, hope to clear some space for my 'large scale' mecha. Priss would look great next to the CM's Bartley. :-)
  15. drifand
    Thanks, great review! I think this one will truly only be for diehard fans. In Singapore, the toy costs nearly $400 in local currency. Not too many folks have that much love in these times. I'm pretty satisfied with the CM's full line-up, warts and all.
  16. drifand
    Stopped by a toy shop during lunch and found the limited metallic red Priss for about 80 USD. Figured it would be the only decently presentable Motoslave, so I said my Yamato-QC prayers and plonked down the cash for it. Hope it's as nice as the paint job looks! :-)
  17. drifand
    My copy of May'n Street is waiting for another CD to be released before it ships to me. Meanwhile, the 'internet' has provided some nice previews. Not too fond of May'n Space, but WHY? could be a sleeper hit if it was a single. Very nice power ballad. LION was... missing something. Would have liked it better if the arrangement was a bit more rocking-out. Original LION duet remains the definitive Frontier song for me.
  18. drifand
    Just got my DX Ozma yesterday afternoon. After my 'adventures' in modding Alto's ride, I wasn't too keen to do the same for Ozma. Surprisingly, the toy feels much 'nicer' in the hands compared to the Alto. I mean the parts are almost exactly the same, but I think the gray molded plastic just seems more solid compared to the bright whites. And strangely enough, the 'no neck' didn't bother me at all... you just have to tilt the chest plate forward enough to give some clearance, then make use of the waist joint to put the battroid into a more aggressive forward-leaning pose. Sure, the wimpy head lasers suck, but I can probably figure out a fix the next time I hit a hobby parts store. Foot mod? Thigh mod? Like I said, really don't feel like doing those for Ozma... "Gerwalk just takes up too much space anyway!" :-D
  19. drifand
    Doesn't affect 80% of the collectors here... Yamato don't do TOYS. :-P
  20. drifand
    Mmm, DX Ozma is arriving in Singapore this weekend...
  21. drifand
    That's nice. I would go for one of these if it included a non-helmeted head for the fig. And one of his hands SHOULD be molded to hold a lighted ciggie. :-)
  22. drifand
    I think 2.0 did benefit from re-recording all the Japanese VAs (they did, right?). To my ears, Batou and Motoko sounded much more natural in their dialogue... probably because the actors weren't overawed by the techno-existentialist babble anymore. I especially liked Batou's natural frustrated response to Aramaki's "What's wrong with her (Motoko)" after they discussed diving into the runaway Puppet Master.
  23. drifand
    The color shift didn't bother me at all - can understand Oshii wanting to reclaim his 'cyber turf' and all that. But... I really disliked the use of CGI human models right from the get-go. Motoko's movement lacked fluidity... and it had nothing to do with 'emulating a limited-joint love doll' as in Innocence. The 3D animators should've gotten some tips from Pixar... the diving sequence which was so ethereal in the original now looks slap dash. Wasted effort... maybe Oshii will lucas it some more and produce a ver. 2.5. :-P
  24. drifand
    Hi Graham, Yes the destroids look good, but I am emotionally wasted as a Macross fan with Yamato's years of QC lottery. Besides, the old Exosquad DXs aren't that shabby. Plenty of other stuff out there to keep me happy :-)
  25. drifand
    So yeah: Calling on all other DX owners - SHARE YOUR TIPS for improving this very sturdy but imperfect toy. I'm seriously looking at modding the fists next. Since the arms cannot be separated due to the glued-down screw caps, it looks like I'll have to cut off the ball joint, drill a hole and epoxy/glue in place a replacement joint. But of course, first I will TEST the replacement joints. ;-)
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