Chronocidal

Ok, now that is rather awesome and creative. I might need to go grab a few of those. I usually display my valks in a similar pose, but without the support stand. I just stand them on a shelf, and balance them by playing with how far I open the feet. VF-1s will stand fine on their own, even with fast packs, but things like the YF-19 and VF-11 need something to lean against. Then there's the oddballs like the YF-21/VF-22 and SV-51, which don't like to stand on their engines in fighter mode. These little stands would save a ton of space compared with the massive chunky stands they came with. My concern is, how hard is it to balance the YF-19/VF-11, or maybe a VF-25/VF-27 on these? I think everything else has nice open toes to catch those hooks, but those particular valks have big solid pointed toes that seem like they might make catching a good foothold (hah) on these stands a bit tricky.

Considering the manufacturing tolerance and plastic stressing issues the DX line seems to have in general, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the reason the joints loosen over time is because the plastic is stretching, or even splitting in ways we don't see. I mean, look at what tends to happen to the backplate on armored VF-25s. When you have evidence of engineering problems that .. well, stupid, I have no trouble believing the joints are loosening because the parts weren't made the right size in the first place. Sure you can make a joint really tight if you make the metal ball larger than the socket it's going to be put into, but over time, one of those pieces is going to have to change shape to relieve stress, and it isn't going to be the metal. Fortunately for me, joints aren't a problem if you just leave the thing in fighter mode the whole time, which I do anyway (except for the VF-25 actually..flawed as it may be appearance-wise, I find the problems with battroid much more tolerable than the ones with fighter mode ). I still think the wing engines look a bit ridiculous, but the fighter itself looks good enough that I want one (if only to show my monetary support for a new VF-25 based on the way the YF-29 looks).

Holy cow. I remember those fruit snacks. And.. I'm pretty sure I remember one of the boxes having a cut-out Tomcat you could make from the box. It was just a top plan view with a dividing segment in the middle that you folded into a ventral fin to throw it by, paper airplane style.. but I remember that thing flying pretty well (with a few modifications). I do wish those special schemes would actually show up at China Lake sometime so I could see them though. I'm not sure they're painted on actual VX-5/9 aircraft, but I'd hope they'd use actual squadron aircraft for this. I'm still waiting to see some nice 60's-70's high vis though, that era had a ton of memorable schemes.

Was mentioned quickly in passing in one of the topics about the DX YF-29, I'd have to skim those to see where it was. I don't remember if it was officially mentioned, but given how successful the first run of 1/72 variable kits was, I have a really hard time believing they wouldn't do it. The way I'm thinking, the 1/100 kits are more for the niche market of aircraft purists and detail modelers who just want a fun little aircraft model to detail without the hassle of all the extra parts and assembly/painting complications (not to mention making a quick buck capitalizing on the movie while they work on the DX and potential 1/72 kits, which will take longer to design). The 1/72 kits are targeted more to their cash cow gunpla market, and I can't imagine they'd abandon that to focus on the aircraft kits. Edit: Here we go, apparently the source is a Figure Oh article, and mentions a few interesting potential developments on the model side of Bandai. http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=34295&view=findpost&p=900035

Definitely looks awesome, but I have to agree he fell victim to "random glowy bits" syndrome. He painted in a lot of details that probably have no business lighting up. While some of them might be windows, I doubt there is any reason for a good number of those details to glow (especially the red circular areas.. I have no idea what those are, but I don't think they glow in the movie.. though, please feel free to correct me there)

Ah, good memories.. well, tiny ones at least. Right now, it's just reminding me of the road race skit in an early episode of Robot Chicken, where I'm pretty sure they used a few M.A.S.K. toys. Though, I still blame this show for instilling me with a childhood belief that all cars with gull-wing doors can fly. Back to the Future didn't help either. Always irritated me that Switchblade was flown by a bad guy though. Never understood why the bad guys seem to get all the best planes, or at least more airpower in general. GI Joe at least had a good blend I think. And even if Cobra did have more planes overall, the Skystriker was all they needed.

Wait, what?? I am now completely and utterly confused. In fact, you might actually want to spoiler tag that particular pic, because now my curiosity is going into overdrive.

Actually, think I heard that a 1/72 transforming kit has already been confirmed for a bit later this year. The 1/100 fighter kits are just a quick marketing gimmick that also happens to match something I've wanted for a long time. The variable kits are beautiful works of engineering, but I've been aching for some simple fighters I could just slap together and paint up in all sorts of schemes, without worrying about how complicated the variable ones are to actually paint. I'm going to grab a few VF-25s as well. I've got my share of the variable kits already, but I want some dedicated fighter kits. It's such a waste to build the 1/72 in fighter mode only. Now I can have my full SMS Skull Squad in 1/72, and still have some fun painting custom schemes like an M&M set, CF, classic Jolly Roger, etc. And.. shoot.. they're about $12 right now on sale on HLJ too. Makes buying a bunch of them at once VERY tempting, considering the shipping is also about that much. I might have to grab a couple now, and just figure out some way to cram them in my car when I move back to california this summer.

Thank you for that, I nearly snorted coffee across my work computer. That would be absolutely epic. I'm going to have to draw that now too.. Darth Churuya! As for the vision...

Ok, this is where the fun speculation begins. Theory 1: Asahina is Kyon and Haruhi's daughter, hence the "don't get too close to me" bit. Theory 2: Haruhi is Kyon and Asahina's daughter. This makes even less sense, but would be a hilarious turn. Theory 3: Haruhi is Kyon an Nagato's daughter. Even crazier, even less sense, but then we'd have some idea of where her powers might've come from... though in that case.. the paradoxes caused by get even more mind bending than I even want to consider. Either way we'd have the potential for a "No.. I am you father!" line from Kyon, which might cause the universe to implode in a roiling massive ball of facepalms.

Ok, that custom did it... I'm buying a dozen. It just looks so clean in actual military colors. Plus, I might buy four (or possibly six) of the blue Sheryl version.. I have no intention of using those ridiculous decals (not on the model at least), but I'm really really tempted to make either a VF-29 Diamond Force group, or even a full Blue Angels set. And I LOVE the fact that this thing comes with a stand. Bout time they started doing that.

I'd have a hard time believing anyone could mistake a Tornado for a Tomcat due to their different shapes, but I suppose it's possible. What wouldn't surprise me at all though is if they were actually delivering an F-14 for permanent display at Miramar. With the destruction of so many of them due to fears of spare part leakage, they're going to be a precious commodity on the aviation museum circuit. And as for the touch-n-go bit.. believe me, if I was the pilot on what was going to be the final flight for that aircraft, I'd be stretching that flight for as long as I possibly could. Even from a practical standpoint, if they're going to display the plane, they'll run the engines after landing until the tanks run dry anyway, so might as well get as much milage out of her as you can before she's parked on a pedestal somewhere. I really wish they'd get one for display out at China Lake. While VX-9 mostly operates Hornets now, with the VX-4/VX-5 merger in the 90's they also picked up the legacy behind Vandy-1, and did have about a dozen F-14s there until they were retired. VX-4 did primarily operate out of Point Mugu I guess, but with all the Phoenix missile work that went on at China Lake, I'm surprised they don't have an F-14 on display anywhere yet.

Actually, this is one thing they have never addressed directly. Yes, there was the original 3-years-ago Kyon in that timeline, simultaneously. But we have never heard what was going on for him at that time. Many people are very curious to see what exactly Kyon himself was up to on that night when the world changed. Suffice to say.. I'm really really curious about that too. But anyway, no there wouldn't be two Kyons when he woke up from the three year sleep, because he woke up shortly after he was taken back in time to begin with. Despite all the crazy time shenanigans in the series, one thing they are very careful about is the small details, and I've had many an hour spent just tracing all the individual stable time loops that occur throughout the story. It's a fun ride that would really be more accurately described as a time pretzel, or even a sweater.. yes, there are enough time lines and loops you could probably knit one out of them.

I would say that if you want one, you'd best grab it soon, and just deal with the shoulders if needed. While many here love the two-seaters, the fact that people still receive ones of these with broken shoulders means it may not have ever received any new production runs, and what's on sale could still be stock from before the fixes came. Despite being unique and very iconic, I don't think it's one of the popular sellers. Now, if you get one, and it has the shoulder fixes, that'd be good news for fans of it, since it means they did reissue them. If, on the other hand, you get one that does have broken shoulders, you can take solace in the fact that you have the one you wanted before the prices start to imitate the Takatoku 1/55. And even if the VT-1 disappears from the market entirely, you likely have a steady source of spare tan shoulders from the VF-1D, which is so iconic I doubt it will fade from favor any time soon. Plus, we never saw the VT-1 really use its arms in the first place (I think.. unless it used them quickly in the rescue scene). I'm pretty sure my shoulders have been cracked since day one, but I don't think I've ever taken it past half gerwalk mode.

Hearing this, I couldn't help thinking of the scene with Sheryl singing in that bunker near the end of Frontier. Diamond Crevasse has always gotten to me already, but thinking of that scene in the current context is probably going to change how I watch that episode permanently.

No, it really isn't red, more of a burgundy. Well, actually, that most recent one DOES look very deep red. Most of the previous pictures have had a hint of blue to them, giving it a slight purplish hue. Really, it's not pink at all, but it might be purple. Whereas pink really is lightish red, adding any blue to it gives you maroon and burgundy shades that this resembles, like a dark red wine.

I wouldn't bet that pic is anything like it'll be in actual production, looks more like a test shot of the sprue, and a resin mock-up of the kit. For one, I've never seen a Bandai kit look as sloppy and badly fitting as those pics of the painted fighter. That and the sprue doesn't look anything like a final product, unless they decided it's better to cast canopies in solid grey plastic. But looking at the parts breakdown on that sprue, it looks like it's divided up pretty much by the standard color divisions used on the SMS VF-25 schemes. Besides, the YF-29 kit has already been seen to be broken down by colors for assembly, and done so rather intricately to achieve some white stripes across the shield, so I see no reason they'd be molding this kit in a single color.

I wasn't referring to the joints at all actually, just the lack of thought that went into the way the thing fits (or rather doesn't fit) together. The way the arms and legs fit is just bad in fighter mode (they forgot there is a cutout in the thigh for the shoulders to sit properly), and it throws the whole thing off. The whole thing fits and looks better if you just remove the arms. The fast/armored packs are another deal entirely, and actually put several joints under direct stress when they're attached properly. It's why the armored VF-25 tends to develop cracks in the backplate just from sitting on a stand; the pieces are under constant stress just sitting still. You are right that people like to use big bridges and stuff for examples, but this thing is a great case study in how improper tolerances during design can make small complex mechanisms fail. Anyway.. good to see it up for preorder, but it sounds like I'll be waiting a while for sales and discounts. Everything drops eventually if you're patient enough.

Indeed, which I guess is my point... regardless of sales, the DX VF-25 was just a lousy piece of engineering (coming from a pure engineering perspective, I can imagine it's the kind of design that professors go to for a "Don't do this" example in engineering and industrial design classes). People buy lousy products all the time, it's nothing new, especially since Bandai had all the licenses anyway and was the only source. I'm just amazed that a company with as much money and mecha-related experience as Bandai managed to release something so utterly sub-par compared to the rest of the already established market. It happens yes, and I would assume this is why the VF-27 was designed by a new team entirely. But I remember the discussions about the design all through it's development process, and the thought that got continually voiced was "It's going to get better, right?" It never did, and I half think that the only reason it didn't was because everyone thought they weren't serious. It just amazes me how little they seemed to care about the design. I guess now that the show is a hit, and the movies are huge properties for them, they can afford to dump some more effort into their designs. If they do manage to release a new and improved DX VF-25, and it fixes all of the major problems with the original, I'll be happy to shovel out the cash for the whole set, because I really like the designs.

Someone made a comment on a site I forget at the moment, but they basically summed it up like this: In the past the academy has shown a distinct preference for movies involving British royalty, health/developmental disorders, and WWII. The King's Speech was like a triple whammy. Soo... yeah. For them, Inception was like a pack of Star Wars cosplayers putting on a completely and utterly epic skit at a Star Trek convention. It may be incredibly awesome, but not at all what they want to see. And I pretty much think the only reason they finally gave Return of the King best picture was because of the outcry that they snubbed the series the previous two years. I'll be anxious to see what kind of treatment they give The Hobbit.

I find it kind of funny that Bandai needed the fans to tell them that the VF-25 was crappy compared to the VF-27. But still it's good news. I can't believe it's taken them this many tries to come up with a good VF-25 given their prior experience, but if they come up with a decent looking new VF-25, I'd probably buy all of the versions this time, since I passed on most of the first version. If they do wind up making a new VF-25, they had better not re-use any of the original DX pieces. That thing was designed sloppily from the get-go, and needs to be redone entirely. Well, I suppose if they REALLY need to use some old parts.. the tails weren't too bad, and the hands were decent enough. The thing that worries me most of all is that they actually pay attention to how the thing is supposed to fit together next time. The design of the legs and the quarter-assed method they used to realign them for fast pack use was a load of utter crap. And if they can't manage to make the wings not curl, they need to give up and sell the license to Yamato. On the other hand, I'm glad to see they're also making a 1/72 transforming kit of the YF-29 so I can have one or two to match with my other kits. I do hope they continue the 1/100 fighter mode kits too though. It's nice to have the option of a kit that's not made of a gajillion pieces and takes forever to build and paint.

I think they actually are supposed to do that as well, but there's no reason they'd be in that position on the ground in the first place, unless they were under maintenance. We did see the VF-0 close off the vents, then pivot the individual slats to let air into the engine in battroid mode in Mac Zero, but that was to get air to the regular turbine engines used in the VF-0. They might still move like that on the VF-1 to control airflow in various configurations though.

Yes, that site is bugged, recommend you take the link down fast.

Ok, when I say "same legs" I'm actually referring to it in a sort of backwards way, and I technically am referring to the toy, but it could apply to the aircraft in-story as well. What I really mean is that yes, the legs of the YF-29 toy<i>look</i> as if they were taken directly from a VF-25 (aside from the new outer panels/packs). By that, I mean they share the same marking patterns, overall shape, and some finer details (the small black panel under the knee cover, certain panels). In fact though, it's also clear thay are <i>not</i> the same legs from the toy, since they include a lower leg swivel, and earlier pictures seem to indicate opening intakes, and better detail in the feet. The DX YF-29's legs are clearly improved over the DX VF-25. Where I'm coming from here is from the idea that they are similar enough that the legs on the YF-29 could be used to upgrade the ones on the VF-25. Swap a few smaller parts around, change up the paint, and the YF-29's legs could be used on a <i>new</i> VF-25 somewhere down the line. If I wind up getting one or more of these things, I might be tempted to kitbash the better legs and nose of the YF-29 onto a DX VF-25. The connections will likely be very different, but having legs that will pull of a proper gerwalk pose and a nose that doesn't look like it was mounted upside down would really improve the older DX.

Yep, I don't see any reason this couldn't be the start of a VF-25 v.2. Legs look pretty much identical, except now they have twisty knees (yaaayyyy), arms look the same, etc... I just hope they learned from all the structural issues the first DX had, and linked together the two halves of the backpack hinge somehow. And I would like to know if some of those fast-pack looking pieces are just add-on packs, or actual permanent additions I may have to get one just to see how quality has improved. Even while the design looks slightly ridiculous with the extra engines, I think the overall aesthetic is just much more pleasing than the first DX VF-25 due to the nose shape. Heck, I might buy one just to kitbash a better VF-25 using the new legs and nose section. Hard to tell for sure, but it looks like the backs of the legs are still the same as the VF-25's, and they're just overlapped by the new pod structures near the tails.