Chronocidal

Which one is the 89 version, the original movie toy with the fold out handle and suction dart launchers? I always wanted one of those back then, but never got around to getting one. That new design isn't bad, not a terrible upgrade, but I think the "ear" prongs look a bit too spindly.

I kind of feel like you could slap together a competent EXO Squad game as a mod for one of the Mechwarrior titles.

I'm thinking this one is going to be the fighter-mode display permanently. Might even tack the wings in place so they stay put, and never transform it.

I saw it available, but decided I don't need a second copy. One thing to do though is make sure to configure the site to pay in yen. I don't recall how I did it, because my account's been configured that way for years, but it saved me a fair amount on my last few purchases there because of exchange rate shenanigans.

Rare? Maybe. Sought after? I actually kind of doubt that. It's unique.. that doesn't guarantee people will actually want it. Not saying it's not a good product, but it's a non-canon variant from a lesser-known series that no one was ever asking for in the first place.

What, you mean you're not dedicated enough to buy a plane ticket to be able to attend Bandai's event? Clearly you're just not worthy of owning it. Yeah, Bandai can go suck an egg. A part of me misses when Macross was an obscure franchise supported by companies that made products the fans asked for, and produced enough to meet demand.

Getting even better! Itano Circus is in full effect! He just needs to get it to do the CFA-44's multi-target spam. mutters something about "those crazy Belkans.." He's got a few others up as well, showing the various weapons systems working. He managed to mimic the Falken's laser system with the gunpod, firing as individual shots, but opening up to fire the full beam.

I think they've had to outsource their manufacturing and assembly to alternate sites ever since the 31AX releases started. Something is just off about their manufacturing and assembly. All sorts of weird inconsistencies that are incredibly uncharacteristic for Bandai's usual molding quality. My Max YF-29 has a couple of mis-drilled holes, and so does my Mirage 31AX, making various parts rotate incorrectly, or just sit completely out of alignment. I'd like to think this might be solved by some careful warming and warping of the plastic part to get it back in place, but I can't tell how badly misshapen it actually is.

That reminds me.. I need to get back to work designing a new wing hinge for the DX version to match my Arcadia mod. (And seeing if I can disassemble Bandai's abominable engineering without destroying it..) I love them both, but the stupid wing hinge design is the one thing that drags both designs down pretty equally. Bandai's version even ratchets to a point, but it doesn't stop the wings from floating backwards, and it's actually worse than the Arcadia in that regard, since the wings float in the glove, instead of stopping against the leg.

It was, but I think several retailers did pick it up. I got mine at HLJ. What I don't know is what will happen with any cancelled pre-orders from other sites, and whether they will be stuck with stock to clear out after the dust clears.

I don't believe the A and S heads are interchangeable, but the A and J ones seemed to be. I don't recall if it's because the fuselage cut-out for the head is differently shaped, or because of the unique neck design of the S, or possibly a combination of both. It is, however, really easy to swap around a few parts and get nearly complete DYRL Roy 1S (with accurate tail markings, even! ) Just pop the instrument console out of the cockpit, and throw a DYRL figure in the cockpit (either repainted, or an aftermarket/Hasegawa). The only differences will be a few of the tampo prints, like the extra TV-style warning markings, and the black head arrows instead of yellow. If we ever get a DYRL Max 1A, you could technically do the same thing for a Max 1S by swapping out the colored parts. I mixed and matched pieces of broken Yamato 1/60 Max and Roy valks in the past to do the same thing.

Honestly.. I don't want to buy anything from Bandai until they figure out exactly what's going on with their production lines. All of the VF-31AX releases have been stinkers, my Max YF-29 had a few mis-drilled/mis-aligned pins, and the paint alignment on the past couple of HMR releases hasn't been great. I can't shake the feeling that they're dealing with second-rate backup production lines, because these are stupid errors that shouldn't happen. The paint alignment is one thing, but the fouled-up pins and tabs that don't work are right on the bleeding edge of "this product can't transform correctly." I think the only VF-1s I still want to see are the VT-1, and a CF-1A.. and MAYBE M&Ms. But I don't want to shell out for something that's going to be mis-handled, mis-assembled, and require a bunch of fixes out of the box to function correctly.

I thought they were? At least a small amount. I've never wanted anything weathered, because it's just one more thing to screw up while transforming them. Same reason I really hate unnecessary diecast. All I wanted was them to print the rest of the markings.

It's been so long since the original orders, I have to wonder how many people either cancelled it a long time ago, or just completely forgot.

It actually reminds me of the old pseudo-stop-motion style that I think was used in the LEGO Movie? Hard to say, since it varies a lot, but it definitely reminded me of Nightmare Before Christmas/Corpse Bride.