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WTF bandai??? From the looks of the clip, it's not even that it's loose. The hip clip can't even reach its locking position so it just springs back... It basically doesn't even transform. Now I'm worried about mine, but I haven't got in stock notice yet. Classic YYK delays I guess, so I get to wait around and see if there's anything to do about it.

@derex3592 Wow, that came out so nice. I really like the light panel lines. I have been curious about when to go light and this is a great example and works. What is that other aircraft in the photos? Also can’t wait to see that Moscato!

We've had this discussion before--our experiences in that realm clearly vary--and I'm inclined to cede the point about the mid-2000s. The PMC you want are the ones that makes the least noise. If they're in business and you don't hear about them, they're doing a good job. I would also point out that, in the Macross universe, there is a driving need for these massively well-armed PMCs as there are still huge fleets of Zentraedi still out there, doing their thing. These PMCs may have been hired by a backwater colony or otherwise not on the NUNS' radars--they could be the only thing holding the line until NUNS (or whomever) comes riding over the hill to save the day. The real world is both far too boring and far more frightening. I prefer my nightmares to come from the remnants of a galaxy wide war that wipe out 99% or humanity. So yeah, why not this?

Any Blassty lovers left? I just finished the great PLAMAX kit.

The amount of power private corporations wield in the Macross universe is frankly terrifying. SMS has a fleet of Macross class warships that it fielded in the final movie that wasn't acting on behest of the government, but just protecting it's own assets (granted, the needs of the government kinda overlapped, but that was largely incidental). Even as cash strapped as Xaos is in Delta, they still have at least three Elysion class ships. That would have been more than enough to take over the Brisninger Cluster by force (at least for a little while) if they so chose. What happens when the Macross equivalent of Amazon or Google decides they don't like the competition in some out of the way outpost? I'm sure the NUNS can mount an adequate response, but they still have to A) know about the incident, and B) be able to mobilize to its location by which time the damage is done. And if a few of these incidents pop up together, I think it wouldn't be long before NUNS is overwhelmed and a shooting war between corporate entities for commercial/territorial dominance is off and running. Whether Macross's creators think favorably or unfavorably about PMC's, the world they've imagined has let that genie out of the bottle and given it steroids, where it ends is scary to think about.

Academy F-15 E Strike Eagle 🦅 completed. Great kit. No fit issues. Highly recommended. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it came out. First time I tried a light color wash on a dark plane to pop out all the great surface details. I overdid the blend coat a bit right at the end and I shouldn't have put the bomb ordinance on until after the blend coat. I also should have masked off my engines so the flat coat didn't matte them down quite so much, but I am particularly proud of how good the canopy sealing and masking turned out! No overspray got inside and lines are tight! At this point it's time to STOP new kit construction and focus on kits that were started but never completed over the last few years due to life happening. The next project will be one familiar to long time readers here... It's time to finally finish off.. John Moscato's 1:72 Cat's Eye 🐈 👁️! This kit has lanquished faaaaar to long in the closet after several bad painting mishaps years ago. Time to get back to a little actual Macross modeling! 😁 Stay tuned!

Awesome work. That must be one of the most comprehensively modified 1/55s in existence! I'm particularly impressed by the completely novel hip joint nesting in what looks like a slide-open nose blister, and the integrated intake covers and toe extension, but that's hardly even scratching the surface. Good show man.

Quote: "Overview of Today’s Hot Toys Announcements from their Secret Base FB Page. (Sam, Bank Robber Joker, RoboCop and Big Chap have yet to be officially announced on their page as of making this post)

I decided to rework the main engines. These just don't look right: Since 99% of the time all that's visible in the show are the elongated rectangles, they needed to be a lot more prominent... Once the thrusters themselves are painted a flat black, I think it'll look a lot more anime-accurate.

Looking great! I love how you tackled that canopy issue. If you'd like, I can send you a spare gunpod. Lemme know.

That's a unique and eye-catching color scheme, and your paint work is flawless... ...but somehow the canopy frame just looks wrong in green. 🤔

I love the aluminium gun barrels in the GU-11. 😍

Staggering attention to detail.

As much as I liked the newer version, this is the one I’ve always wanted as an action figure saw this teaser at taghobby

Looks like you somehow got a lot of articulation in that beefy bot

My hypothetical Millia Armored Valk kit is finally complete. This is the old legacy Imai kit in 1:100 scale, modified with aftermarket hands from Kotobukiya and polycap joints from Wave. More pictures are in the photoset for this build on my Tumblr feed: https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/789657424092184576/imai-1100-armored-valkyrie-vf-1j-plastic-model

I honestly cannot recall the creators of Macross Frontier commenting on why they chose to make the protagonists private military contractors. I checked a variety of artbooks with staff interviews and came up dry as to the inspiration for the choice. @sketchley might know more. Now, if I were inclined to guess as to what the inspiration might be... my suspicion would run more towards similar organizations in popular fiction around the time development first began on Macross Frontier. The one that jumps to mind is MITHRIL from Shoji Gatoh's Full Metal Panic!. The second season of the anime (Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid) aired in Summer 2005, and the original light novel was just kicking off its final climactic story arc. MITHRIL is, of course, a super-elite mercenary organization that recruits the best soldiers of fortune from around the world for its mission to prevent World War III by acting as an NGO superpower that field tests the latest and greatest robotic weapons for the NATO powers while wiping out terrorists, dictatorial regimes, and other forces aiming to destabilize the world (like their predecessor organization AMALGAM). The two organizations are quite similar in principle. though Macross Frontier's SMS is a bit more cynical given that it's run as a business (rather than being a NATO proxy force set up with implausible deniability in mind), tying into the show's theme of runaway growth of corporate power and influence. I'm inclined to suspect that there is probably no specific real world inspiration for SMS. Public perception of PMCs has always been rather unfavorable. They're not something that'd generally be considered "heroic". Particularly in the mid-2000s, when public awareness of PMCs was focused mainly on scandals, controversies, and criminal activities tied to PMC troops in the middle east.

Comparing articulation.

I'm inching closer to the finish line. The oil weathering is taking me much longer than I expected, but I really like how it's all coming together. Each layer brings a new dimension. I've also got the shading and detailing done on the pilot.

Thanks Bolt!

Thanks! I’m going to finish priming in black and the build up with Mr. Color 1 white until it’s fairly light then I have a Mr. Color gundam violet that is very close for the top. I’m thinking I’ll feather it instead of a hard edge, kind of like the F-15.

It’s just a one piece model, I don’t know why they extend - maybe it retracts for landing and hook deployment? I thought it looked alright so I went with it!