Chronocidal
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Everything posted by Chronocidal
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It actually wouldn't surprise me if they just ignored the different cockpit, and I don't think it would even really bother me. The clunky way the canopy has to interact with the anti-glare panel on the upper nose always makes it a pain to open anyway. I really do hope they include some missiles this time in place of the boosters though. Though, knowing Bandai, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they leave out the fast packs entirely this time, and release a set with added missiles later on (though I don't expect they'll try anything nearly as extensive as Arcadia.. we'll probably be lucky to get one missile per hardpoint). Might be hoping too much, but I'm also hoping they re-design the leg packs to actually mount in the correct position so they attach to the wing gloves this time. The half-done attachment on the Advance just looks lazy.
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I'd love if they managed to wire up the actual aircraft lights as well, but I'm not expecting them to even try that. I remember someone attempting to do that to one of the 1/60 unassembled kits once, and the amount of complex wiring to get power to the tips of the wings and tails was a bit excessive. I'm sure it'd work fine in this scale, but I don't know if I'd want to transform something that potentially fragile.
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If they can get the color right, I'd be all for it, but the blue they used on the Hi-Metal VF-19S was atrocious. I'd be interested to see a more slim fighter-focused version of the VF-19s though. Now if only Bandai was a fan of doing low-vis schemes.. (and if they could fix that bulgy gullet panel, I'd be incredibly happy)
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Evolution Toy - VF-2SS Valkyrie I 《MACROSS II ~LOVERS AGAIN~
Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys
I do remember someone mentioning that they're still working on the methods used to hold the entire thing together, so I don't think this is actually as finished as people think it is. -
I'm all about the fighter mode on any valk, but I think I personally enjoy things like the VF-4, YF-21, and this Drakenvalk more than usual because they look so different, and yet still transform. And the less they look like they should transform, the better. The other modes may look a bit clunky, but that doesn't water them down for me, because they still fit inside a slick aircraft frame. Maybe it's just because I enjoy the mental image of these valks standing around a group of kibble-tastic aircraft Transformers, and going "Neener neener neener!" All of these designs just provide proof that, yes, you CAN design transforming aircraft that don't require a giant box of limbs and bulk hanging underneath. Also, as far as sensory cockpit inputs go.... Maybe it's time we had a Macross version of G-Gundam? But only if we can get the same voice actors, and the same composers for the soundtrack. I would watch the crap out of that. (And then we discover the VF-31 team goes by playing card callsigns, and the universe implodes on itself in a puff of Seikan Hikou Slam Jam...)
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Wow, that was probably the most relaxed AmiAmi order I've seen in years... guess demand isn't that high? The 20% discount convinced me though. Haven't felt the need for a huge SDF-1, so having a little one on a stand should be nice. It'll be out of scale, I think, but at this size it'll fit nicely alongside some of my Star Trek kits.
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You know what baffles me a bit about the Fire Valk.. I know people got after Arcadia for not having much tampo on the YF-19.. but stamping markings all over the Fire Valk seems just as wrong, if not more so. What kinda cracks me up is that they went the lengths to actually print the red intake markings over red plastic.. or whatever it was made of. I kind of hope they don't put all those markings on the final release.. and I hope they really re-shape that leading edge, because it looks insanely huge and out of proportion with the rest of the valk. As far as the new YF-19 goes, I'll probably grab one if I can. Should be cheaper than the Advance in any case, and it'll be nice to have one without all the SMS markings slapped everywhere. Kind of hope they keep the mounts for the boosters though, I wouldn't mind putting them on a YF-19.
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Have to agree there, this is just looking so much more interesting than the 31. Not that I don't like it overall, but the 31 just looks nowhere near as clean in fighter mode, and even if this thing turns out to have a hideous battroid, I'll probably buy a few just because it's a freakin transforming Draken.
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I think it feels weird to me thinking about the Hi-Metals as a "cheaper" alternative. For the current market, that's entirely true, but anyone who farmed the bargain bins a few years ago probably acquired the Yamato versions for very close to the same prices, if not for less. Can't speak for the armored 1J since I only bought a set of armor parts fairly recently, but I remember getting several VF-1s for between $60 and $80, and even super/strike packs going for about $20 at one point. Makes me wonder how much an Arcadia release of super/strike parts (or a VF-1 strike bundle) would run now.
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I can see that working somewhat like having a few of those super-posable valks standing between a few larger scale ones in fighter mode, and on their landing gear. Not a bad idea really, use the smaller ones for the fancy poses, so they're less likely to fall over. With the newer Arcadia VF-1 releases going for quite a bit more, and prices on the secondary market climbing, the Hi-Metals are looking like a better option now, but even with the favorable exchange rate, I still have a hard time paying nearly as much for a 1/100 Roy Strike VF-1S as I did for the same valk in 1/60 a few years ago. Really, I kind of feel like Bandai aren't competing with Arcadia, they're competing with all the dirt-cheap Yamato valks people bought years ago, and still remember the prices of. It might be a while before the 1/100s can stand on their own without the baggage of that flooded market.
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I really don't intend to buy an entire set of 1/100 stuff, but eh, having a single Roy 1S sounds like a nice piece to have to pose with a Regult or Glaug (or as a nice gateway drug ) I've just got far too much invested in 1/60 stuff to collect the 1/100s too. Kind of relieved they're a web exclusive, just for being able to order one so easily.
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STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
Chronocidal replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
It is a little needle-nosed, but I don't mind the design with the wings shut. Gotta love Bandai for making kits with glass-less canopy frames though, they look so much better than the typical clear plastic canopies. -
Thanks for that freeze-frame, I thought I'd seen the weapons pod split down the middle. That just looks sooo much better than the single sideways box.
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All I can say is that the back of that Sv-262 has a bunch of flaps that remind me of the VB-6 quite a bit. Would be interesting if the wings actually become the legs, and those big nozzle halves we see flip around to become the heels. The 262 is looking a lot more finished than the VF-31 though.
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I don't know what those prices were like, but it looks like that pile is really a gold mine... definitely see a super ostrich and a max super/strike bundle, as well as at least one armor pack for the bandai vf-25s.
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He's talking about the YF though, not the Fire Valk. The Fire Valk, I think is going to just be physical proof of how little the YF-19 and VF-19 actually share in terms of design. Yamato/Arcadia did a good bit of work to get both out of molds that share as much as they do, but I don't know if Bandai will even bother to make those changes. It'll be a nice looking fighter I know (and I would LOVE to own a Bandai VF-19S/F/P) but I'm not expecting much out of the battroid modes.
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Maybe, but I'm going to say now that I don't think Bandai's battroids will come anywhere near Yamato/Arcadia's in looking like the animation. I really wouldn't mind having more YF-21s, but given how skinny Bandai made their "YF-19" already, I'm not sure anyone who wants a chunky YF-21 is going to be happy with what Bandai comes up with. I do think the Bandai VF-19 has an edge in fighter mode just from how skinny it is, but they took a few liberties with the design that I don't think work as well as the Arcadia's overall look in all modes. I also wonder if they'll even bother to make any changes to the VF-19 Advance to make it into a true Macross Plus YF-19. The easy thing is the markings, but implementing the correct canopy will take a significant rework of the nose, and they made some large changes to the backplate. On the other hand, maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll delete that ugly bulge in the plate under the neck.
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Glad to see that the legs look absolutely nothing like the 1/72 model. Those knee joints were just terrible. Also, looks like this size is actually large enough to fully conceal the thigh hinge inside the intake, which is nice. Hopefully they can even do moving intake covers. Looks pretty good, possibly even a shadow of side covers under the chest. I'm reserving any judgment until we see it in fighter mode though. All those fancy features mean nothing if they can't pull that off at least as well as the 1/60ths. Have to agree about the lights though, I really don't care much about those, unless they go the distance and throw in actual landing and formation lights, and I pale at the thought of how complex that would be, and much the price would climb to if they did that.
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Macross Δ (Delta) - announcement thread
Chronocidal replied to renegadeleader1's topic in Movies and TV Series
Judging solely by the pilot uniform shown in that cockpit closeup, I'm pretty sure that red-haired Zentraedi looking character is going to be a pilot in one of the VF-31s. Doesn't look like the same character or colors, but the shoulder pads look similar. I did just have a hilarious thought though... What if these idol singer characters don't even actually exist? What if the entire premise of the show is that a bunch of vocaloid AIs like Sharon Apple wind up getting uploaded into a bunch of valks, and have to be taught to actually fight in combat? Calling it now... the weapons pods are actually deployable mecha hairstyles. -
Well, remember that 1/48 VF-25 that got teased years ago? Yeah, no one else really seems to either. To be fair though, a 1/35 VF-1 is still pretty small compared to a Gundam. It's only going to about 18 inches long in fighter, which is perfectly manageable for an aircraft model.
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Ugh.. well, the Fire Valk looks like a chop-job at best, slapped together from bits of plastic and the VF-19 Advance mold. Least they got the canards right. Seriously, my biggest problem with the Yamato VF-19 mold was that I always thought the leading edge extension went too far forward, and that one looks exactly the same, if not worse, since you can tell how far back the intakes are. They really need to decrease the sweep angle of that section, and push the leading edge back under the canards. In any case, I don't see any possible way they're going to pull a decently proportioned Fire Valk battroid out of that mold. Maybe they don't really care, but it's going to look horribly awkward next to the Yamato/Arcadia when that one went to such great lengths to look like the animation.
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Maybe in that big of a scale, the backpack joint will actually be made beefy enough to fully support the packs on its own? The 1/48 got close, but after the reports of the backpack hinge breaking, I never trusted it fully (though I know it wasn't the actual cause of the breakage).
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Funny question, what were the hip guns on the VF-25? I know the ones on the VF-19 were supposed to be lasers, but it's getting hard to tell the difference in this universe. And even if the arm cannons are projectile weapons, I still bet they'll have a gunpod of some sort to carry around. Otherwise, you can't have those cool sakurahime poses!
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This is a pretty valid concern. Now, 1/35 isn't too huge for this to be a big problem I think, because this will really only wind up as big as one of the larger Gundam toys. The transformation will probably be the hardest part, but it should be easily doable with enough ratchets. I made a working VF-1 in Lego at about 1/30th, and that was just on the bleeding edge of being too heavy to be stable, but by nature, Lego bricks are bulky, and heavier than a manufactured plastic toy. The part that concerns me? It's Bandai, making a large scale aircraft. It's taken them years to even get to where they can make passable looking landing gear for valks. People who like the VF-1 for the aircraft mode are probably going to be expecting detail at least on par with the 1/48 Hasegawa kits, and I don't think Bandai even has a clue how to accomplish that yet. People are going to be expecting all the trimmings that go with a high quality aircraft, like boarding ladders, cockpit instruments, correctly retracting landing gear even. I'm not sure Bandai can even wrap their head around such things yet, when they can't even be bothered to color the instrument panels of a 1/60 valk, or even paint the landing gear something other than bare metal.
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If they go the extra mile and rework the VF-19 Advance to have the correct canards and canopy? I might bite. I'm just a sucker for that airframe, even in McDonalds form. I'm not sure what Bandai hopes to accomplish though... are they just trying to adapt Macross as a second cash cow to supplement their domination of Gundam? With all the improvements they keep making, they still don't seem interested in making aircraft, so much as mecha that coincidentally transform into flying machines. I'm being incredibly picky I know, but when are they going to actually start painting their landing gear white? Yamato did that from the start, and Bandai not doing that just winds up making it look like they really don't care, despite all the other effort they put in. I can't help feel like they actually cling to certain inaccuracies as if they're a trademark.