Chronocidal

There were posts about it a long time ago, but the best way seems to be to remove the cockpit pod, and pull it up between your fingers. The cockpit pod can slip under it in the deployed position I think.

I really haven't paid much attention to them since the F-14 retired. I think having the leading edge extension interrupt the stripe on the nose just doesn't look good though. I also miss the original skull. Maybe harder to paint, but I've never actually heard any reason it was changed.

You know what.. That's really not a bad idea. I wish Yamato had done that to begin with, just included 4 sets of tampo'd plastic circles to stick into the packs, and let you skip the stickers entirely. Now I'm wondering if you could actually modify a set of fast packs, cut out those circles, and make them swappable pieces. I honestly have never used any stickers on any valk, I just don't like the look, and don't like them eventually peeling. My fast packs are all bare because of this though. If I did use the stickers though, I'd most likely use the black skull marking on all of them, since it'll match any DYRL valk.

Thanks for the heads up, got a preorder in. Man, BBTS is going to get a chunk of change from me over the next month. Got both the YF-29 and VF-171 ordered with them.

I've hit the point where I just want the VE-1 to be a completionist, but I would enjoy getting one anyway, if only for the fun of mixing and matching fast pack pieces (assuming you even can). But eh, I do like the DYRL CF version. Let's see if anything else comes out around July that I can bundle with it. I wouldn't be surprised if they release another run of the strike packs, given the DYRL re-releases.

I told myself I was done, but if they do bring back the VE-1, and maybe the VIrgin Road, I'll probably have to get both. I don't think M&M nostalgia is nearly as strong in Japan as it is here sadly. I think I will be grabbing a DYRL CF though, since I only bought one TV version to begin with. I just hope I can get one more set of packs for it.

To shield the valk's... oh. Yeah, I imagine it's just an armor plate to cover the hip mechanisms, but the piece bandai included looks like a completely unfinished piece, straight out of the mold. I can't see myself ever using it, it just looks hideous. Not that my VF-25s ever leave fighter anyway, but still.

I had heard something about that, though what caught my eye in the 3DS trailers was that the interface/font/etc looked like a return to AC4 in style.. And then the F-22 started doing button activated barrel rolls, and I lost any interest I had.

I don't know if I'd risk it, unless it's nowhere near any paint. Depending on the type of glue it is, you might do more damage to the plastic than the glue already has.

That.. was interesting. Should've used the right music for the DYRL scene at the end, but that's pretty impressive choreography of the missiles and aircraft. A lot of those scenes looked familiar. I'm just surprised you can even model something that complex in that type of thing. Edit: Also.. LOL. That second one was hilarious. Alto's expression was just priceless. Plus, BATTLE HATSUNE!

Mhm, I've got a couple dozen of those. Sadly, they're entirely the wrong shape to be of any use for hips or shoulders. I've used them for knees, and they work decently, but the odd shape is really limiting. What I really need is something that uses that exact pivot design, but with the studs attached to the faces of the disks, allowing you to make a simple rotating joint. I could still use something like that for knees as well, but the built-in lever arms really restrict where you can use those.

Don't make me consider that, or I might have to ship them all off to be "re-educated." I did give them a good home, you know.

Not yet, I've skipped a lot of videos due to my work computer not liking to play them. I'll check it out.

You know, probably a silly question.. but how easily can you transform it with the parts on? I tried yesterday, and was mostly annoyed that pieces kept falling off. I found it was just easier to take them off to transform it, then put them back on.

Actually, not even close. They're great for smaller scales, but if you start getting anything bigger than a 1/60 valk, and they won't support anything. Especially the ball joints, since those have about the same staying power as a Bandai DX ball joint. Legos are just heavy. The problem is, Lego doesn't make any joints with any sort of tension in the form that I need them... specifically, they don't make any strong turn-table style joints.. the kind of thing you could mount hips or shoulders to.

Too bad this didn't happen when the dollar was higher, or we'd be getting them for about $45.

Grr... they just had to release a DYRL CF now, didn't they? Considering I never leave my valks in anything but fighter, the option parts don't really interest me that much, but getting a CF in in off-white with a DYRL head is tempting. Call me when they re-release the VE-1 though. I'm up to 17 VF-1s, and I'm trying to draw the line at an even 20, so I've got 3 spots left, and one is going to an Elintseeker. The other two... who knows? But a DYRL CF would be nice, and I might try for a Virgin Road.. you know.. as long as I'm going bonkers and being a completionist about it.

I hope they just come to their senses before releasing a new one. Or at least release HD updates of the old games. I really would love to play Ace Combat 3 one of these days, especially if they bother to port the story this time.

You know.. I don't get it. Is Bandai getting paid under the table to create a shortage of these things? It makes no freaking sense. Maybe they're just upset that the re-released chunkies got overshadowed by Yamato, and are determined to make themselves into some kind of legend like the original Takatokus? I don't see how that would EVER benefit them though, because they're not making anything off the crazy prices the hoarders quote when they sell these to collectors.

Why not 1/60? Then it'd be in scale. Actually, a 1/60 bridge bust with a clear stand mount to have the VF-4 flying alongside would be rather awesome. Just so it includes a Captain Hayase figure saluting out the window.

Good point, it's not just the diecast that messes it up. I'm just tired of losing paint. I do think though that if they molded the intakes out of plastic, it'd be much easier for them to mold tabs/slots into the intakes to make them stay on. The one word that comes to mind with those intakes is "imprecise." The casting just is not anywhere as crisp as the plastic, and I think that's part of what hurts the way the armor attaches.

I think it's just very random which ones do and don't like to stay attached. There are small tabs on the corners of the pieces that should clip around the intakes, and sort of hold them on.. but as I ranted about in another thread, Bandai's stupid obsession with making random pieces diecast metal really hurts the way these can attach. The tabs are very small, and are meant to clip around the edges of the intake. That all would be fine, except the edges of the intake aren't exactly sharp, and the clips will slip off without much pressure. It's just the nature of how diecast parts are made, they're not going to have very sharp edges. People have resorted to a few types of materials to hold them on, but I wonder... Given how Shapeways seems to keep solving problems with Valks, I'm tempted to see if I could make a custom set of intake cover replacements that would just glue into the backs of the hip armor, and give the armor a decent mounting point. You'd just have to remove the intake covers, and snap the hip armor in where they go. Between that connection and the existing clips, that might be enough to keep them on better.

Absolutely, I just can't seem to get there at the moment.. could be my work computer not letting me for some stupid reason. Our network loves to block random things. I can look later when I get home, just wondering which is actually correct.

Cross-linked pic from the 1/72 Wave Phalanx thread, since I'm not sure this pic appeared in this quality here before... and I've got a question for anyone who might know. This one clearly shows a more refined version of the arm section, along with a detailed tail and conformal missile mount, but I'm wondering.. what exactly are those missiles supposed to look like? Most pictures I've seen seem to show the missile with a standard back-end exhaust, and the four panels on the tail end look like pop out fins. But in this case, it looks like the missile is entirely streamlined, and the four darker panels look like they might be separate directional nozzles. Anyone have detail drawings of those missiles that indicate one or the other as correct? Or maybe they're just two types of missiles it can mount? I honestly never really thought about it before now, but if the VF-4 was meant more for space than atmosphere, the multi-exhaust design does makes more sense.

Nice to see the UK realizing what a bad idea the C model JSF would be... I mean.. do they even own any carriers that could launch it?