Chronocidal

Coming from playing Bridge Commander way back when, the ship designs and lack of variety were kind of what turned me away from STO in the first place. Really, the only place I've ever really seen a ST game shine is once it's opened up to the modding community. Given this is an MMO, I don't see that happening any time this millenium. If the game ever starts opening up to fan-contributed content, I'll probably be all over it. I frequented the Bridge Commander modding community for a good few years, and was able to make a few contributions, but the sheer amount of fan-made material is what made that game, as well as ones that came before it (Klingon Academy, the Starfleet Command series) so fun. Bridge Commander had a lackluster single player campaign, and very simple multiplayer at the start, but once the fans got a hold of the SDK, the content exploded to include mods and patches that went above and beyond the original game's scope. We're talking saucer separation, beaming commandos into enemy ships to capture them, custom made bridges and interfaces, and more ship variations and weapon types than you can count. The material is out there.. I just wish more developers had the passion to pursue game development to half the extent the fans do. Granted it's not always financially feasible, but for something like an MMO, with a relatively continuous cash flow and maintenance requirement, I'd think there could be tons of opportunity to add more content.

Mostly I just used a set of small hand files I bought for modeling a long while back, the kind that has assorted shapes for different jobs. I don't know if I would recommend something like a dremel though.. unless you go very slowly, you may just sand clear through the plastic. I'm really not sure it's a huge problem in the long run. What this does do is give a little breathing room so the antennas are not forced against the tails so much, and it lets the boosters sit more level, since you don't have the tail pushing up on the front of the left booster as much. Before I did this, I always noticed the tip of the left booster was angled up compared with the right one, and it doesn't happen any more. Before anyone starts worrying, this isn't worth panicking over. These things have been out for a long while now, and it hasn't actually caused any serious problems for anyone yet, outside of a little scratched tail paint. Mostly, doing this is just to help protect that paint a little more, and make the boosters finally sit level. The tails still touch the antennas, since all this does is lessen how far the tails are forced down. What I've done to help is file down the smaller of the two antennas a little. Since the bigger antenna is still there, it kind of helps keep the tail from hitting the smaller one. So, instead of scratching paint in the middle of the tail, you might scratch it at the edge. For M&M valks, the back edge is unpainted, so this works well. I guess personally, I prefer a small scratch on the edge than a worn spot in the middle of the tail. As for why this happens... really, yes, the tails should fold flatter, but even if they did, it wouldn't fix this. The boosters are mounted too low on the backpack. The only reason this is a problem at all is that the booster is pressing down on the tip of the right tail in the folded position. Because it's the tail you fold first, it's underneath the other one, and pressing on the bottom tail has a nasty leverage effect, forcing the other tail even further, and right against those antennas. Remember, without the left booster attached, the tails don't even touch the antennas. The tails are just fine as they are, and they fold plenty for clearance. The boosters are just mounted too low for the left one to clear the tail like it should. To permanently fix this, you would need to add material to the booster mount to raise the boosters, and then completely relocate the existing tabs on the boosters that attach to the backpack. I know some people here are perfectly capable of that too, it would just involve removing the old tabs, drilling a hole, and making a new tab that's lower.

Which attachment point are you talking about in the first part above? If it's the rear joint that you disengage for gerwalk (the one where the fast pack or leg snaps underneath the wing), I've always had a tried and true method for doing that without just pulling. Basically, I pull the wings out, and press the tip of a thumb into the small crevice between the fastpack or leg with my fingernail against the leg, and press down gently with my other fingers near the foot. The finger acts like a wedge to disengage the big tab, and it generally pushes the leg down without much trouble at all.

Right now, I've got a small strip of scotch tape covering the spots those antennas hit, and that's working okay it seems. I actually considered just clipping them off before. My biggest concern for this kind of mod is that someone will wind up cutting clear through the bottom of the booster. It might still hold together okay though, and I guess it wouldn't be visible anyway with the tail there.

Well, I think my engineering background has a lot to do with it, but it's definitely a compulsive tick I have. I try to avoid putting anything under stress it isn't meant to take. Like, I won't set a valk on it's belly without landing gear or something to keep it from resting on the leg fins, that sort of thing. Heck, I avoid a lot of common "special" ways Lego bricks can be attached, just because they can break from the stress over time, and I've had it happen. I'd assume the tails can take it, given how many people have reported theirs snapped in half... if it was more prevalent, I'm sure there'd be at least a dozen threads about it by now. I would like to hear from people who leave their valks displayed with the packs for extended periods though. I know paint scratches can be a problem, but I've never heard anyone say whether the tails will warp over time.

Please note this might go better in the Modification/Customization area, but I wanted to run it by the widest audience (to make sure I'm not just nuts for thinking this is a problem). From the day I got my first V2 VF-1 (a strike Roy) something has really worried me about the fast packs. Anyway, I'll let this picture summarize. Those curvy lines are highlighting the tails. When I first saw how the fast packs force the tails to bend, I was a bit scared. I don't know if it was an intentional feature of the design, or if Yamato just didn't think it would be a problem. Due to the fact no one has reported any tails snapped in half, I'm assuming it's probably the latter. Either way though, I've never felt comfortable leaving the packs on for display. On top of that, this bending is the reason that the antennas on the backplate have a tendency to make nasty scratches in the tail markings. I even noticed that the force from bending the tails that way pops the front of the left booster up, knocking the missile packs out of line. The problem is really only the left booster. Remove it, the problem goes away, the tails stop bending and sit flat, and there's even space between the tail and antennas. This problem got me to thinking, and I remembered that my old 1/48 Hikaru's fast packs had what looked like a mold flaw that I never really paid much attention to. After looking a little closer at the packs when mounted, I realized that gouge was on purpose, to keep from forcing the tail down like on the 1/60. Since the backpack folded so tightly on the 1/48, it was pretty necessary. Well, suffice to say, the 1/60 packs obviously don't have that cutout. Or, didn't yet. I grabbed my files, and went to work. The cut away area had to be quite a bit larger on the 1/60 pack, since they seem to sit a bit lower on the backpack. I essentially filed a straight edge, cutting across one of the beveled edges of the underside of the booster. Given the option, I would have liked to make the cut even deeper, but I started to get concerned I might file clear through the plastic, since I don't know how thick it actually is at that point (lots of structure inside that panel). The end result is quite a bit easier on the tails, and even leaves a tiny sliver of room above the smaller antenna. I get the feeling I'm being slightly paranoid here, but so far I'm liking what this does. The left booster stays on better now too, and stays level with the right one. The tails still bend some, but I don't know if I could make that cutout any bigger without ripping right into the bottom of the booster, and I really don't want to do that. I might modify the rest of my packs to match this one, but I doubt I'll do any more unless I can pick up a spare half dozen sets or so to experiment on.

Sometimes they take days to update you when it's shipped too.. I once had an order arrive before they told me if left. Yay for faster than light delivery!

Yeah, kinda glad I didn't feel the urge to get one of these now. That mix of greens just isn't right, not to mention the flat pilot. Brera never needed stickers, so I have no idea what they changed. Maybe they included stickers to replace the paint when it falls off?

Yeesh, that looks crazy.. now I wish they'd add those standard hardpoints to all the planes so we could put missiles on them like that without the clips (and having to shell out for Bandai's exclusive nonsense). Btw, one quick question about the new forum design.. is there a way to restrict the way attachments display to a certain maximum resolution? I really like the new gallery system, and how it lets you click between images, but it also bypasses the normal zoom in/out features of the browser, and won't let you fit the image to your screen. You can still open the pictures in a new tab or window, so it's not really essential, and it's usually not a problem. Just, occasionally someone's really big picture will explode out the side of the message board, and leave the entire screen taken up by something like a wing, or sometimes a single screw.

Very true, I forget that too often. I guess what puzzles me is that the only other time I've gotten FedEx from HLJ, it was during another free shipping sale. It probably has something to do with EMS being 20% off at the moment, but since it was free shipping I didn't look at the rates when I ordered. Either way, it's almost here, and then my V2 1/60 collection will be complete!

Only problem with that is midi's will usually contain every instrumental part for the song, many of which would sound odd on a piano. Doesn't always work that way, but most midis of the song I've heard are of the sung version at the end of DYRL. What you really want is a version like what is played after that, or elsewhere in the movie. I know there are interludes done on piano, and from what I remember of them, they would probably sound very good at a wedding, but I don't know those segments contain the entire song. I'll have to check the complete soundtrack to see. On the other hand, there are multiple versions of Ai Oboete Imasu ka out there. In fact, I'm not sure, but I think the "Bless the Little Queen" track from Frontier is primarily in piano, and might make for a good start. There's also the version in the pilot episode's end credits, not to mention the Mylene version, and probably a few others. Edit: Looking through Amazon Japan, it looks like this book might have what you're looking for. It'll need someone who can read Japanese to be sure, but the web translator I ran it through did mark "love you have remembered or" with an asterisk, indicating "* Publication music is arranged in the one for piano solo." I don't know which style the song might be arranged in though (I would assume the "Queen" version). Macross F Sheet Music If that doesn't work, you might try looking up some of Yoko Kanno's own books. She has done a sheet music book or two with MacF material, and from what I read her books tend to be her own arrangements, not dumbed down in any way for consumers.

See, that just annoys me. I know I clicked the FedEx option, and they still went with EMS... maybe it got mixed up since they charged me for shipping, then removed it again. Oh well, this is actually the first time they shipped EMS directly to LA instead of San Francisco, so it might get here a bit quicker now that it's in the country.

Btw, as whimpy as Shin may have been at first, remember, he did manage to evade a swarm of micro missiles in a 30 year old fighter design. That has to count for something. As for any further debate, I give you these two words: supersonic culbit. Or, whatever you can call that crazy maneuver he pulled on Nora in the final episode. It started as a cobra... then turned into a thrust-vectored, high-alpha, flippity vertical pinwheel of death.

Seconded, thirded, and however many more times it takes to convince them. Although, they did come out with 3 planes from each side in Zero, so it would unbalance things a bit if they do just a VF-0D. In other words, they need to make another SV-51 version to keep the balance. I vote Dobber's splinter version.

Oy, those dingbats.. I specifically requested FedEx for that order I made from HLJ, and now I finally get the shipping notice.. by EMS. *facepalm* No wonder it's been taking so long. Guess I can't complain about it being free, but the last order I got from them by FedEx reached me in two days flat. This one's already hitting a week.

Bleh.. what I want to know is why my free shipping order is taking so long. It was ordered in the middle of last week, and they still haven't sent it out.

True, he even put go-faster stripes on his and Milia's VF-22s! No wonder they were the only ones who could dodge all those Protodeviln space tentacles.

Actually, I don't think I would worry about that tab on the 21/22. In fact, I considered filing those tabs down on my YF-21, because they got in the way.. they're just too big to let the belly plates rotate easily to unfold the legs. With all the pressure on those when trying to pull the belly plates out, I'm not surprised they would get stressed, but I don't think they're absolutely necesary for anything. The plates attach in several other places, and they're held in pretty firmly.

Lol.. well, planes do get dirty, even in space. Mainly I mean I like the details seen in other series better, but I admit colors are a factor. I mean... Yes, it looks fancy. But why on earth would a real aircraft have gold chrome intake covers? Or barring chrome , even yellow? Every other valk in every other series has some shade of gray for those intake covers. They looked mechanical. Even being solid blue, Max's VF-1J still had the usual markings, intake warnings, ejection seat symbols, formation lights... and details that looked like something on an aircraft. Bright gold plated panels are just not a feature you see very often on military aircraft. Anyway, yeah, I'm just picky Been scarred by too much gold chrome plating in that other robot show.

Have to agree there. The only reason I picked up a Fire Valk was because it was on sale, and I was already grabbing a fairly large order, so the small box wouldn't add much to the shipping cost. When I look at my V2 1/60 VF-1s and realize that I got most of them for around $70 before shipping (I almost always wait for sales, I think the only V2 VF-1s I bought at full price were my M&Ms), I have a hard time paying the same for something so small. That being said, if I see this on sale, and/or it's convenient to add it to a larger order, I probably will grab one. Have to admit, I've never been a fan of the stylings of the various valks in M7. M7 is the only Macross I know of where the aircraft really didn't look or behave like aircraft. For a perfect example, compare scenes of the YF-21 in Macross Plus to scenes of the VF-22 in M7. It's the same difference between the VF-17 and VF-171. The little details that add realism, markings, panel lines, etc.. I don't remember a single M7 valk having intake warnings or ejection seat/pod markings printed on them. Those little things make a big difference Now, if I could get a VF-19 styled like the ones in the new Master File book, I'd be all over a full squadron of them. But the cartoony super-robot styling of M7 is so prevalent, you just don't get the same feeling of realism from the aircraft as you do in other Macross series.

If the plastic didn't completely shatter, you could potentially fix him by gluing the hinge and making new pins.

Gah, I knew this would happen. I caught myself thinking earlier, "Watch, they'll have a Yamato sale as soon as the free shipping runs out." In hindsight though, good thing I got the Hikaru+ then.. it's already backordered. Actually... considering it's only 20% off.. or about $25.. the free shipping might have been a bit of a better deal, since I also got a TV CF-1A, and that one's not on sale. In fact, I think most of the discounts on VF-1s are about the same as free shipping. The good discounts are valks that are more expensive to begin with, like the VF-0 and VF-22s, especially Gamlin's. That deal on the Super Hikaru 1J isn't bad either, I'd jump on that if I didn't already have one. I'd kind of like to get that VF-0S... but I've gone back into savings mode, so I shouldn't buy any more stuff until my job is completely secure. I took exception for the free shipping, but I need to not be spending any more for a while.

I got that same "specially processed" message too, dunno what it meant. The trick was my original invoice did include shipping, which just got refunded a day or so after processing.

Same here, got the billing agreement set up long ago, it's basically a one-click buy for me now. By the way, panic mode off, no rage necessary. I did get the email mentioning free shipping as well, but the initial Paypal charge included shipping anyway. This morning HLJ sent me a refund for the shipping, so everything is back to how it should be. I actually wondered if this might happen, and fortunately held off on sending them a rant. What surprised me initially though, even ordering at 3pm their time, I got a notice that the order wouldn't be entered until the next morning. I imagine that had something to do with the mixup, since the order apparently wasn't processed until after the sale ended. This just makes me wonder what their working hours are though, 3pm seems a bit early to me (granted different country; I work 8-5 most days).

I just checked HLJ yesterday, and they seem to be all in stock again, although I don't think any are discounted at the moment.