Chronocidal

True, though I kinda see this as making up for the fact that Max has always had more planes to begin with. I've bought every M&M valk pair so far (no Q-Raus though), but I have a TV and DYRL Max 1A, so he's ahead by 2 right now. If they ever do a VF-11 pair, I'll get those too. I would have bought every one of Max's valks too, but I've never felt the need to buy more than one of a particular paintscheme, and they didn't release a fast pack bundle of Max's 1S, so I got his 1A instead. I really do want a Millia VF-17 though, and I can always pair her up with my Max VF-22 if I have to. I mean, come on, it's a bright red stealth fighter. I can't pass that up.

I saw the Ostrich again on sale a while back at HLJ, but I don't think it was a second production run, since people reported they still had the splodey shoulders. I don't think they were ever actually limited release, but the Ostrich and Elintseeker never seemed like big sellers (the Ostrich less so due to how much screentime it got). Lots of people here love them for their unique looks, but they just might not be very popular with anything but die-hard fans. I think a good portion of the people here are fans of Macross due to their interest in the aircraft, so of course we're going to like all the variants. In Japan though, the show probably appeals to a broader audience, and while there will be aircraft fanatics in there, many people will buy the more recognizable valks just because they like the cool transforming robots. Neither the Elint nor the Ostrich were shown as bots, so they don't appeal to as wide a fanbase. They just aren't as recognizable. As for the M&Ms, I'm actually pretty surprised those haven't been re-issued, but I do wonder if it's partly due to their limited usage in the original show as well. I mean, looking back on the 1/48 releases, it seemed like no one could ever get rid of those two, either due to not being popular, or having known defects. I always remember seeing the M&M 1/48 sets still in stock long after the rest of the 1/48 line had all but disappeared. Besides that though, I wonder if stand-alone releases without the fast packs would sell better. The high price of the 1/48 packs might have turned people off to them the same way. As cool as it is to have color matched packs for them, it might not be a good selling point in the long run.

I don't think the outer feet were ever metal to begin with, but I don't have my VF-25's around to check. From what I remember, they were plastic shells with metal interiors.

True, but those were also double sided somehow Though, I don't remember seeing the guns ever fire forward in fighter mode, so they may have been just the rear end of the gun protruding for some reason. I do remember thinking those were mounted so far back it might be dangerous to fire them forward in fighter. We did see the other ends of those guns used like Q-Rau guns in battroid though. Anywho, apologies for distracting the topic with sound force stuff so much. I really don't think they'll bother with the VF-17T, though I personally like the longer nose on that one. I plan on getting at least one of these, probably two, but I really can't decide which ones I'd want. Ideally, I'd get a Millia S and Gamlin D model, but I don't know if I want to wait to see if they make the red one before getting an S.

Well I'm thinking more along the lines of how the F-16XL program worked. It was a prototype that never went into production, but still was used by NASA for research. Arguably what they have now is a customized version due to the modifications they made. I guess the question is what the "Kai" extension entails. For the Fire Valk and VF-17T, all it was was a face change and speakers. Kawamori may always say otherwise, but it doesn't make sense to me to rebuild so much of an existing plane just to add those changes. But then again, we are talking about a program run by Dr. Chiba, so all bets are off.

For me, the saving grace with the VT-1 is that I don't see any reason to transform it past half gerwalk. But yeah, that one seemed to get a bad batch of shoulders all around. Actually, I'm not sure that one ever made it through more than one production run. I got mine shortly after it came out, but it was already discounted, similar to the VE-1. While I love those designs, and know a lot of people here do too, I get the impression they never sold very well compared with the more iconic VF-1s.

(grr post ninja'd ) I guess that's kind of my point in a roundabout way. If they do the VF-17T, it's already an investment to make that. The only reason I can see them making that version first is because the adaptation from VF-17D/S to VF-17T would be (arguably) easier than making a brand new MAXL. Doing it that way is more risky to begin with, because they'd be dumping money on the least popular of the group. I have a hard time believing they would do that unless they're committed to making the whole group. I guess the bottom line is that they have to be aware that Mylene's valk would sell better, so it would likely come out first anyway. But if they go ahead with the VF-17T out of convenience, it might be a good indicator that they plan on doing a MAXL later. It's crazy speculation sure, and depends entirely on the thought that they would use the T as a teaser for the complete Sound Force. It's much more likely they'd just drop the VF-17T entirely, and only do a MAXL, but it's just as possible they'll never do either. And yep, I guess I realized that he meant the normal MAXL, but didn't say anything about it. I don't think the differences between those have ever been officially stated/shown. I tend to think that aside from the face/speakers though, the standard MAXL would have been closer to Mylene's than the normal VF-11. It might use a standard shaped nose section/cockpit, but comparing it to the differences between the Fire Valk and VF-19, I don't see why they would customize more than the face/speakers for the sound force version, just like they did for both Basara's and Ray/Veffidas' valks. This does assume there was even a "standard" MAXL to begin with though. Speaking of which.. I think I know what I want to do with one of my new Hasegawa kits now.

Well, it is different enough to need a new chest design, since the VF-17T's cockpit is so different. My main point though is that if they actually do bother to make the T, I can't see any reason why they would do it, unless they intend to complete Sound Force, and make a MAXL. Otherwise making the VF-17T would be like releasing a set of new Star Trek TOS figures, and making Kirk and McCoy, but not Spock. The Fire Valk can be a stand alone (and was for quite a while in the show), but once you make a Ray/Veffidas VF-17T, you better follow through with Mylene's as well. And yes, the MAXL is crazily different from the VF-11. They really don't share any components at all (though I think the non-Sound Force version had a nearly normal VF-11 nose section), and the transformation has to be modified quite a bit. I don't think it's by any means impossible, but it'll be an undertaking similar in magnitude to the change between the YF-19 and the Fire Valk.

I do like the visor and chin on that one, but I could do without the five-head. Definitely want to see them do both versions, but I don't know which one I'd like better honestly. Plus, I'm holding out a stupid hope they'll make the VF-17T, just because I want to see a MAXL, even if it is really unlikely.

See, this is one thing that's bugged me to no end.. I have never been able to get my shoulder pads up that high. If I could have gotten them to do that, fixing the upper shoulder joints would have been easy, but it was a royal pain, because I couldn't get the shoulders to raise high enough that I could get to the screw easily, and I was constantly having to push them up to even see the screw to try and tighten it. I also did try smearing some superglue into the shoulder rotation joint, but in a possibly related issue, it's too close to the tan shoulder mount to get anything on the shaft. Or maybe I just need thinner glue to drip in there. I would say though, as a warning.. don't over-tighten that shoulder screw. Those shoulders are not very well constructed at all, and turning that screw too far could cause the threaded peg on the opposite half to just shear off, forcing you to glue the whole thing together so it will even stay attached. I dunno. I might dig mine out later to look at again, but I think in my mind I've pretty much written off that YF-19 as a failure and given up on fixing it, in hope that a new one gets made. The only reason I have it is because it felt wrong to have the YF-21 and VF-11 without it, but it's of such different quality, it's almost painful to set them all next to each other. I know a lot of people love their YF-19s, and it does look good from certain angles, but I just can't understand many of the design choices that went into that thing.

What screws can you even tighten on the arms of the YF-19? Mine won't even support their own weight they're so limp, but none of the relevant screws are even accessible, and the couple that are barely reachable are the ones that the upper arms broke around, and I had to basically fuse the entire upper arm with super glue to fix it.

LOL. Last pic is win.

Well, if you consider the fact that the P's shoulders should be identical to the F/S models' (unless of course, it uses the same speaker shoulders as the Fire Valk, which, in that drawing, it actually looks like it does), it makes perfect sense to make the fins removeable, both for financial reasons, and making fans happy. Make a single mold that can do any shoulders not used by the Fire Valk, and give it a missing section on the top that can house a variety of attachments. Then you make a set of blank panels for the S/F to use, and a set of fins for the P, both of which slide or snap into the shoulders, and just include a set of blanks for the P as an extra. The kicker for this is that if you make the attachment point beefy enough, the spot those fins are located is also exactly where the fast packs attach. So, there's already a perfectly good reason to add a removable panel to the shoulders, or at the very least, leave slots to add extra attachments. The removable panel is a little more complex, but it would look better. All they have to do is make a set of fast packs that attach in the same spot, and rotate upwards for battroid. Note... I really could care less about those fast packs, they're pretty darn fugly. But if the potential to integrate their function into the shoulders gets me removable fins on the P, I say bravo!

Oh, before it's forgotten. Graham, don't let them forget that the S/F/etc models have aux intakes built into the LERX. I don't see them on that P image, but they're definitely there on the others. Irked me a little that the Hi-Metal left those off. Granted.. adding that would require one more new piece for those versions, but as long as they're making molds for the new head and wings and such, I hope they can find room for new LERX pieces. As for the P.. I actually don't know if I'd ever seen one in color before, and I love it. I'd definitely pick one up, especially if the little shoulder fins are removable since I think they just break up the clean form of the plane. I love having the ventral fins back too, they just look like they belong. I still want to see the white with black stripes one from the master file most of all though, especially if they make one with the mid-sized wing. The wing isn't likely I know, but I can't imagine it'd be too hard to scratch-build one from spare model parts.

Good to see they're concentrating on the gear and gunpod then. While the missile bay would be nice, considering how often we even saw it in the anime, I'd rather see a good design for the full gunpod, and nice landing gear. Now, the fun one is how to implement the beam adapter. It'll probably be easier to fit than the whole gunpod, but if they go with the ejection door seen in the show, it might be tricky getting it out. And if you make it loose enough to just slide out the door, it might rattle around inside the compartment. I know the whole "spring loaded launcher" gimmick seems kind of silly, especially if it's powerful enough to launch the piece across the room. But what about a more subtle type of mechanism like in a ball-point pen? As in, press the beam adapter into it's space, and it locks down, with just a few millimeters popping out, just enough to form a button. Press the tip in, and it releases, pushing the tip out just enough to grab hold of, and pull out the rest of the way. Sure, you could try and launch it out on purpose by letting it slip past your finger, but it wouldn't involve some trigger button protruding from the leg, or any kind of hook/release/etc built into the beam adapter.

True, though the feet do need to extend at least a little to properly unfold, and let it stand without dragging the ankle cuffs. Given a fat enough leg, I don't think the missile bays would be too hard to do, but I wonder how fat the leg can get before the plane starts looking bad. The thing I have trouble picturing is how the gunpod can pass clear through the leg without interfering with the landing gear. If my memory is right, and the gunpod pops out on the outer panel of the lower leg, then there has to be a massive internal space for that thing, because the barrel protrudes from the inner side panel of the leg. I'll have to look for some more details on that later actually. I'm really curious how that gunpod folds up too, since it's not really clear in those earlier shots. I do hope they include the fold out side grip though, holding it like that just looks awesome. I think it can possibly work, but those landing gear are going to need to be really slim to let a gunpod that big fit into the legs. I don't know what type of gear is canon on this thing, but something similar to the way the SV-51's gear are built just might work.

The big problem I can see is just from the sheer amount of stuff that's supposed to be in the legs. 1. The gunpod itself, which in the recent screenshots is longer than the leg itself 2. The landing gear 3. The missile bays 4. The actual joints and such to make the leg even work to begin with Even ignoring the fact that there's supposed to be a full sized engine in those legs, I don't see how they can cram that much in there. On another subject though, how does the gunpod get removed from the leg to begin with? I don't remember how the compartment opens, or how that huge gunpod folds up to fit in there. The entire inside of the leg seems like it will be taken up by the missile bay and gear, and I seem to remember the gunpod ejecting from the outside of that leg. But considering the outside of the leg becomes the top in fighter mode, and the gunpod barrel protrudes from the bottom.. I'm going to have to puzzle this out later I think. The spot for the beam adapter doesn't seem too fancy compared with the other leg, and I can actually imagine some sort of spring-loaded or sliding mechanism working there, just to help minimize the space it takes up.

There may be a nice fix for those of us who want a dull version. While it would be difficult to paint over a transforming toy and keep the paint, a flat clearcoat may work extremely well here. I mean, sure, it'll rub off a little, but if you're not changing the color, you'll have to try really hard to see it. I suppose you could also break the thing down and give all the main surfaces a light sandpapering, but that's a lot more work. Personally the gloss doesn't bother me so much, since it is a showbird. For the later models, I'll be able to live with it, because this thing is just so beautiful. And, as bad as it might be to say, I hope this thing pans out the same way as the YF-21/VF-22 did.. very expensive first release, but the later repaints became fodder for huge discounts. If that happens, I'll probably buy half a dozen of the F/S/P/Whatever else they make. I admit I am a little sad about the ball-jointed feet though, especially since that's my favorite method of displaying valks. I pull the feet out, and balance them on them in fighter mode, standing up. If those feet loosen up over time, I won't be able to keep them like that.

"Hey, they aren't dusty, that's my weathering method!" I should have used that on my parents years ago.

Holy crap.. they're like a 1/48 valk for the 1/60 pilots to play with. I'm not really one for the bigger ships, but I might have to grab one of these for this price. Would be a fun challenge to build and paint it.

You know, I've been looking for a good excuse to learn guitar. This might just qualify.

Given the Transformers bits we've seen before, I can easily see a bit involving Jetfire. They recruit him after crashing in America.. then a bunch of Japanese Aliens attack Earth, and try to take him back. They find out that these aliens are weak to bad music, and have Rebecca Black ride Jetfire into battle against them singing "Friday," making their heads explode. In the end, Jetfire gets abducted and locked in a crate in the basement of a mysterious organization known only as "Pax Aurum," and replaced by an SR-71. The real kicker would be if they used a repainted Yammie for the figure itself. Whether anyone but fans would get the humor in that is up for grabs, but I doubt they'd directly address the Macross/Robotech fiasco. On the other hand, I can also see them parody the copyright issues directly without even using any recognizable characters. All they have to do is have the military decide to start producing a bunch of combat mechs, then suddenly have the contractor producing them completely pull and redesign their most effective designs because they get sued for stealing the designs from Apple. Then Apple gets sued for stealing the designs from Sony.

Good to know then. I keep forgetting about those little masterpieces. I'm trying to remember exactly what the merged parts in the anime were, but I think it had something to do with the way the wing mechanism was set up, and where the lower legs fit. Could be the CG model was just built a little sloppy though. Actually, now that I look again, a thin profile might be possible. For some reason I kept thinking that the upper aux intakes next to the cockpit became part of the chest in battroid, meaning the lower intakes were too small to make up the hip joint. But both intakes are one big piece that makes up the hip, meaning there's more room under the chest plate for the leg than I first thought.

The one aspect that really concerns me with the VF-17 is getting the side profile sleek. All the side views I've ever seen have the upper legs impossibly slim. In fact, I think the VF-171 actually beefed up the nose significantly in order to make the leg structure a little more plausible. That's of course ignoring that the VF-171 is (after looking closer at screenshots) apparently not a physically possible model. As cool and plausible as it looks, I think there's a lot of pieces of that plane that are physically taking up the same space in fighter mode. I hope I'm wrong about that, but it would help to explain why we haven't seen Bandai even try to make one yet.

I'm sure it comes from the fact that the hips aren't ball jointed; they actually have a double pivot. The hinge to push the legs outward would have to be directly through the intake area. Guess I'm a little sad at not having that feature, but then again, I never take the intake covers off any of my valks anyway. Always bugs me how the intakes aren't deep enough, so I just hide them to begin with.