raptormesh

IIRC the 4000 was a bid for the fighter contract from KSA, which fell through.

Actually I hope that die-cast will be used only where needed because making the figure a lot heavier will be bad for the joints and swooshing factor.

I picked up Hades (Leozack) a few days ago just to see if I would be interested in the whole set and I'm thinking I'll pass. He just doesn't feel like $100 well spent to me, sure there is some clever engineering in there (the way the Liokaiser head pops on top of Leozack's head is pretty cool) but there are also a few weird things about him that just baffle me.

When you transform him to F-14, the arms fit into these pop out leg panels that don't really do a great job of hiding the arms or even holding them, I feel like the hinges are going to break. Then when you transform him back to robot you realize that his hands are a few millimeters too long to pop back out so with some trial and error you have to hinge the arm flap just right so that the tips of the fingers have enough clearance to slide out. He's also a big brick attached to the upper side of an F-14, I'm not too bummed about that since he's a combiner torso and needs to have some girth but there should have been some better way to do it.

That said it is nice to have an MP esque Leozack since he was my favorite Destron in Victory, I just doubt I'm going to collect the other five. Hmm maybe I'll give Minos a try, I dunno yet.

Yeah there seems to be a quirky way the arms tab onto the legs for Minos as well, but like you said it's nice to have a decent Leozack. Victory is actually the transformers I grew up with, so clearly there is some interest but even if I do get this will probably display them separately.

Based on the experience I've had with them, TFC just doesn't make as good toys as pretty much every other company I have 3P Transformers from. I think Minos looks really cool though, so I might give them another shot with this set. Didn't watch Victory, though, so I'm not in a hurry.

In other news, I got an email from BBTS the Talon and Tigris I preordered back in January are going to be ready in the next 10 days.

I might just get the jets and forget about the combined mode. Perhaps if Victory Leo is on the horizons or if a 3P is attempting Road Caesar.

TFC's Minos. Finally a transformable Rafale that has most of the right curves! Very happy. The quality is higher than I expected, only had a few issues tabbing the hands when transforming to jet mode. The lil batbreast is kinda cute. This is my first ever 3P, mind.

Can't wait for not-Gaihawk so I'll have a transformable MiG-29. I'm still on the fence on collecting the entire set and not-Leozack seems kinda blocky. Anybody else getting these? What are your opinions?

hmm, gotta see it in some other form and not just CG. Not sure what to make of the whole space knight robot thing.

Well, it's immensely better than space fairies.

Dang my dislike for coneheads is pushing me back towards the commander version. Perhaps this could be an excuse to buy two, one of each type for each mode?

Hooo yeah. That's amazing and better than anything from frontier. So so stoked. Probably just get either the commander or CF but only one.

We could definitely use the Raptors, given the expanse of our airspace, though most of the threat is sorta northerly. We had to buy the 35s because we can't fly Rhinos forever.

Same here I'm also waiting for the 262 CF instead of the knights.

This is just a tech demonstrator for testing mainly three things:

1) The vector thrust flight dynamics

2) Indigenous stealth skin and geometry development

3) Their networks and interoperability with ground and naval forces on a stealth platform.

Keeping the gear down for the first test flight is very normal, and no it's not going fast enough to damage them. If it ever goes into production it will look quite different I'd imagine.

Japan's X-2 finally tasted freedom in the skies. Looks really cute too, like how they got their eagles and F-2s out for the party.

Thanks for the reviews mike et. al.. The 3P designers are moving more and more towards the aesthetics that I can bear with.

Hmm, seems like this concept would work well with say armored vehicles in maybe 1/60 or 1/72 scale. I would get on those quite quickly.

Wonder if it's big enough for actuators on the flaps and horizontal stabs.

I've had mine for a year now and still have not transformed it because of how much I love the fighter mode. Maybe I should really do it.

Yes they are pre-painted on sprues.. You can see more about it on the hype train, there is a pic at the bottom ...

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/gimix/lineup/macross_delta/index.html

Thanks. Still do look rather interesting. Perfect for swooshing around.

It's like a huge ball of dough made with cliche and plastic CGI. Every single shot I was like "why do I care?". I think they missed the human element. But then again this is just a trailer trying to show off the flashy bits.

Probably "micro verniers" that you can't see would explain it.

So just confirming that these are prepainted plastic model kits? Are the parts still on sprues?

Bs don't really make a whole lot of sense but they are really attractive, like wasabi ice cream.

looking at that picture again it would appear that the 31 as a whole is on a more nose down angle compared to the others which might be exaggerating the nose droop appearance?? would you agree?

Yeah it does, but I like how the lines are not broken by the canopy. Definitely makes it shine and feels different.

On a related note, does anyone else feel the way I do that the position and shape of the canopy has the biggest effect on how friendly or aggressive a valk looks? For example, I feel like the more forward-set and bulged canopy on the VF-0 makes it look less dangerous than the VF-1, and the VF-19's short nose gives it a downright adorable appearance. The VF-25 and SV-51, by contrast, look like deadly hunters. Anyone else feel that way, and what do you make of the -31?

If anything the 31 droop seems to be more severe than the 25 and it actually reminded me of the VF-2SS. The canopy also looks more modern and sleek, like the latest model of a supercar.

Ah I didn't notice, but I got a translator to see if there are any interesting bits they wrote.

Apparently the grey chevron things on the wings are translated as "Rear Intakes". Interesting, ram scoops?

If you are interested in the nose profiles. Raised the contrast to make the lines a bit more visible.