Chronocidal

Judging by the fact that there's no cutout for the gun in that big honking mount, I'd say no, which really makes no sense, considering the included stands did.. now people have to pay extra for a stand that doesn't even do what the freebie version did. Do the separate portions of Bandai's development team even talk to each other?

Sheesh.. that's a monstrosity. Meh. I don't trust their ability to make stands for these. My VF-25G keeps slipping backwards off the stand in fighter mode, because the stupid attachment plate design they used for the forward support won't stay in the mount. I know they wanted to make it versatile, but it's not sturdy at all. At least this time they supported the fighter from the rear, instead of just a plate the legs sit on. I really just don't like the giant bulky mounts on Bandai's stands.. they're so visible they kill any sense of the thing being in flight, rather than sitting on a launch rail or something. I really wish they could come up with something smaller, that clips around some sturdy part of the plane, and holds it in place (more like the SV-51 and YF-21 stands). Of course, then you'd have the stand scratching off paint wherever it attached.

This is very interesting... apparently, Bandai is not so scared to go to 1/48 scale after all. 1/48 MEGA SIZE MODEL Gundam Maybe they were too scared to test the 1/48 waters without having the cash cow name to fall back on? Either way, I hope this sells well enough to convince them that 1/48 is worth pursuing, ESPECIALLY for Macross. I'd love to see them make an entire Mega Size line eventually. Though.. whether they'll remain (even some remote notion of) affordable is yet to be seen. Correction.. if this is the standard they mean to produce this line in, I'm not sure what it means... this looks to be even more playable than the standard Gundam kits (extremely simplified assembly, snap fit, who knows what type of internal structure, if there even is one), and probably no where near Perfect Grade quality. But if it means I could get a 1/48 VF-25 for around $80, I'll gladly accept the simplifications.

Holy... cow... Umm... I'm about 30 seconds in.. and I'm about to spew soda all over my monitor from pure stupid giggling WTF-ness. I feel like I'm watching Macross fighters re-enacting a cross between a Benny Hill chase sequence, and a montage of the Three Stooges. This seriously needs a fan dub with judicious use of "Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk".... or better yet.. someone needs to draw in all the cartoon sound effect bubbles like old-school Batman! Edit: Gotta hand it to them.. nothing says menacing like a bunch of mechs chanting "Dahh.. Dahh.. Dahh..." And after seeing this.. I actually want a sub of it, so I'd be able to tell if what I think happened actually did just happen.. and everyone stopped fighting because some dj started blasting pop-music through the comm system. The comments are epic though. "2:15: Mikhail is alive?! Mikhail is alive!!" Edit 2: After seeing the whole episode... it felt like what would happen if Strongbad did a Macross tribute.

Wow, I didn't expect it to have nearly the correct proportions.. the head looks a bit big, and the nose is obviously long, but that doesn't look bad (considering how badly it fits together ) Mostly, I'm amazed the arms look long enough, since they look rather short in the fighter mode pics I've seen. I didn't buy the full Vermillion group, but I do have two on the way to tinker with.. Probably will build one of each type, but I don't know if I want them both flying, or one on the gear... and while one will be Hikaru's 1J, I have no idea what I want the second to be.

Hrmm.. If I get any more of the VF-25 DX's it'll be an armored Ozma, and it'll be a while from now. I might get the kit eventually, but I dunno if I want to have to do that much work to get one.

Nice.. might be my chance to FINALLY get a 1/48 Roy Been waiting about 5 years to get one now. I don't need any more YF-21/VF-22s, but I do want to get a VF-0S finally. And... while I dunno if I should, I might try my luck on another YF-19... just in the hopes of getting one with better shoulders and such.

This is gonna be an epic week or so wait.. In two separate orders... Max VF-22S VF-11C TV 1/60 VF-1 Super Pack 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1 x2 VF-25F kit VF-25S kit VF-25 Super Pack Add-on kit SMS Action Base x4 Black Action Base (for Brera) And I think I'm done for a good couple months... or at least until the VF-0S gets reissued without splodey shoulders.

Thanks for the update, paypal incoming. If you ever need some kind of shoulder surgery, maybe we can all chip in and properly repay you

That gave me a good chuckle at work today, thank you. Got my Miria 22 from AmiAmi yesterday, and checked it over... nothing missing, only slight problem is a slightly weak wing hinge, but I can tighten that up easily. What amazes me though... This one fits together MUCH better than my YF-21. I broke off one of the rear belly plate tabs trying to get mine to fit together, and they've always looked slightly curved from the stress of hooking them under the engine boxes. This one though.. the plates are perfect. Flush, smooth, no gap, and they're actually slightly sloppy in that position, meaning there's no stress on them at all. I did notice one difference... my YF-21 has engines that seem canted upwards, as if the tops of the nacelles are leaning toward the center of the plane. This seems like it puts stress on the belly plates, since it raises the outer edge of the nozzle blocks. Miria's nacelles are much more level, and I think it helped the belly plates fit MUCH better.

oooh... I wonder how well those VF-1 Wolfpack stickers that come with the VF-0A would fit this... Well, just ordered mine from AmiAmi, I'll have to see when it gets here.

*sigh* Time to add them up again, I've been splurging. Yamato- Total: 16 1/48: Super Hikaru 1J 1/60: V.2 Roy, Strike Hikaru 1A, Hikaru 1J, M&M 1Js, Max TV 1A, VF-1D trainer, and VT-1, YF-19, YF-21, VF-11, Miria VF-22S, VF-0A, SV-51 CF and Nora Bandai- Total: 4 1/100: Hi-Metal Fire Valk 1/60: DX Michael, Movie Alto, and Brera Plan for this month is a VF-11C, and Max VF-22S, but that might be put on hold for more Frontier model kits.

Unless you mean the wings are curled up (stupid molding flaw they have no excuse for by now), yep, the shoulders are too wide to fit in the space between the thighs. It's easy to fix technically.. you just have to unscrew the arms and take them off. Then the wings sit perfectly level.

Actually.. I figured I'd take a chance on the Fire Valk since it was on sale, and I'm pleasantly surprised. It's kind of disappointing size-wise, but the ingenuity Bandai put into making this work is nice. I think any problems seen with a bulging back, or gaps in the wing root are from mistransformation, because I don't see that at all. It's not perfect, but I very much prefer the shape of this one to the 1/60 YF-19. Even with the gullet it has, the nose is angled down to where the plane looks much better than the Yamato version. It's not perfect I know.. the legs are spaced a bit too far apart in fighter, and the shoulders pop up far too much (actually.. really, the red shoulder pivots are just too small, but in this size you need that space for the mechanism). Plus the hand wonkyness, and no gunpod or landing gear. What I really am hoping though is that Yamato will adapt some of the ideas put into this one, and make their own version a vast improvement over the YF-19. Between the two designs, I think all the ideas are there to produce an absolutely beautiful 1/60 Fire Valk, and I'll eagerly await to see what Yamato can come up with for that.

Well, the later the release the better probably... and given the sale on HLJ recently, the movie version Alto is probably the easiest to get right now. I haven't noticed any serious issues with mine.. though it's only a couple weeks old. It does come with the super packs and painted stand, so that's a nice addition, if you don't mind the blue-ish tint of the plane and armor. The sale price at HLJ put the movie version at around the same as a V.2 Yamato 1/60 with strike packs, so it's not a bad deal.. that's the main reason I got that one. Besides, it's nice not having to hunt down the stupid exclusive packs for Alto. And honestly, I don't think the movie version has sold as well as others, so it might be easier to find that than a stand-alone Alto or Ozma. Btw, just checked... sale is still on, it's in stock, and it's actually only 12,000 yen, so cheaper than a V.2 Strike VF-1. Plus several of the 1/72 kits are discounted, so you could grab them at the same time if you wanted (I bought four of the little suckers. )

Ok, this is starting to get irritating.. I don't know why this happens, but it's the second time now. So, I follow the tracking info on my package from the USPS website.. it says "Out for delivery or available for pickup" all day today. I figure "Great, I can leave work a few minutes early, and get to the post office before it closes to pick it up." WRONG. I don't understand it one bit. I get there.. they can't find it. All the trucks have reported back in, so the package has to be on the premises, but they can't find a package sent to my address. I tell them, "It's gotta be a huge box covered in Japanese characters, you can't miss it." No dice. I head home, and sure enough, the "Missed Delivery" slip is in my box, telling me I have a package to pick up. The kicker to all this, and the part I REALLY don't understand... it says the package will be available for pickup tomorrow. WHY? It's obviously in town, you obviously had it on the truck, and I was right there, probably within 100 feet of the package when I was at the front counter asking them to look for it. Why can't you give it to me?? Is there some arbitrary rule going on where they punish you for not being at home during business hours? I don't understand it. I plan on asking about this tomorrow... I wouldn't be so irked if they'd just tell me that I can't get it till tomorrow, so I wouldn't waste the time leaving early from work and making the trip across town just to have them tell me they don't have it, when they obviously do.

Crap. Now I'll have to hope the sale on the Max VF-22 and VF-11C holds out until my paycheck this weekend.

Funny, I know everyone seems to be getting stuff from AmiAmi really fast, but my VF-27 seems to be taking it's time. Order was confirmed on the 23rd, payment sent on the 24th, and shipped on the 25, which sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, it got held up in customs in San Fran for a solid day for some reason (all my other orders have cleared in a matter of hours). Could be due to the giant box to hold the VF-27 poster, but oh well. It got into customs the afternoon of the 26th, and didn't leave until afternoon on the 27th. My last order was in and out of customs in an hour or two on a friday, and made it to my door by saturday afternoon. So, I'll probably wind up with a note in my mailbox tomorrow, and get it either tomorrow afternoon, or tuesday after work. I guess I'm not worried about the timing so much as I am about the delay in customs this time.. I have this fear I'm going to find that everything in the box has been worked over by customs. Granted it's a big box (VF-27+poster, VF-22 Miria, and Hi-Metal Fire Valk) but I can't imagine it being much bigger than my last order from HLJ.. they sent me a crazy 3'x1.5'x1' monstrosity of a box (I could almost fit myself in it), but that didn't get held up at all. Either the customs folks just got lazy, and didn't process it due to the weekend being so close, or this is going to be the one box to rule them all.

Grrr.. either that giant box for the poster is causing a hassle, or the customs folks in San Fran are on holiday. It arrived yesterday afternoon, but I probably won't get it till next week some time now.

Don't talk to me about nightmares.. last night I dreamed I got my Miria 22 in the mail.. and it was a knockoff, bootlegged Chinese bastardization, using half Max and half Miria parts, painted up in Thunderbirds markings, with incorrect figures of Max and Miria jammed into the one cockpit, and landing gear stolen off of a masterpiece Starscream. Oh, and both kneecaps were missing, of course. Well...I guess maybe that doesn't qualify as a nightmare, because it was flipping hilarious when I woke up... or maybe I was laughing at the portion of my dream where I watched a pug wrestling with a midget alligator... They better make another run of these, I might buy a couple (being all white-ish, they're prime stock for customs). I put this one (and a Max 22) off til next month, since I already bought a boatload of Frontier stuff this month.

I'm curious, how is the leg/foot articulation on this? I know the thighs have their swivel finally, but do the feet pivot enough to let you get a really wide pose, and still stand up? And are the thigh swivels tight enough to do it? I'm really looking forward to this one, the fighter mode is beautiful. I'm just really glad Amiami has that half off shipping deal going.. before the discount, this box was going to cost upwards of $80 to ship. Payment is sent, now lets see if I get it before the end of the week. Maybe not likely, but if they're as fast as everyone is saying, it might happen.

*Sigh* Well, I broke my "one order a month" rule after seeing Amiami's deals. Got the Brera, Miria VF-22, and Hi-Metal VF-19 all for 25% off, with 50% off ems shipping (I hope). Could have gotten Max's 22 as well, but I'll save that for next month, and get it with a VF-11C. Hopefully the sale holds out till then, even if the shipping discount doesn't. It's really sad though, they have the Nora SV-51 for 50% off there too... out of stock though. Now I just wonder how they'll package it... I didn't specifically request the poster, but it might make things complicated if they include it. I already got a ginormous box from HLJ (4 vf-25 kits and alto DX), and combining the VF-27 with a VF-22 might make for interesting box proportions...

I know I'll probably have to get one eventually since I really prefer this sculpt to the model kit (the VF-27 kit's intakes look huge). Are the major colored markings (just stripes and such, not the tiny surface details) engraved like on the 25? Would make repainting everything easier if it does wind up flaking off. As it is, the paint chip Graham showed just looked very much like they tried painting something that needed primer first. Didn't even leave residue, it just chipped off, as if it was never there (technically a plus if you plan on redoing it, since it simplifies removal). That mold release agent must be killing the applications. Oddly though.. the worst one I've seen so far was from a marking over a painted surface, not bare plastic. The markings printed on the rear gear doors to my Michael may as well have been printed in rubber ink the way they peeled off from finger contact.

Honestly, for a company like Bandai, I can't believe this is even an issue. Scratching during transformation I can understand, but for something that was designed to be "playable" and "durable"... I don't get it. The markings all over these "toys" are clearly neither.

Heh.. best tip I know? Scrape off all the lousy markings they did, and repaint them yourself using something that won't peel off from friction with the air. I'm actually seriously considering doing just that if the paint damage gets bad enough on my VF-25s (they're not damaged much at all yet, but only time will tell if my fingers start rubbing paint off). I'm not going to use the stickers on the 1/72 models, so I have spare markings for lettering and such, and almost all the major stripes/markings are actually engraved in the plastic (except the wing stripes, and the markings behind the head on Alto), so it would be simple to mask them off and spray them on with enamels, or heck, even hand paint them. The VF-27 wouldn't be so easy to do that with due to all the little markings, but I'm sure the major ones could be painted.