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@wm cheng I guess what every 5th-gen fighter modeler has to realize is that it's much easier to paint & mask the light edges before the main camo than the other way around. I fell into the same pit when I built my J-31 😅

At this rate...pepto bismo

And this one is a fan passion project... Looks damn good to me, but could use a different soundtrack. I think I'm going to be very old by the time Bandai ever gets around completing anything Crossbone.

I'm working on painting this 1:6 Nadia figure that our friend Tekering 3D-printed for me! This is like an older Nadia with a more mature body. Sexy! So far I've done her fleshtone, which is a mix of Tamiya XF-10 Flat Brown, XF-2 Flat White, and X-6 Orange. Tamiya's paints have a rather limited palette and do not include fluorescent orange, so I used regular orange. I only recently learned that there is a Mr. Hobby fluorescent orange color I could have added to the mix, but this looks fine enough as it is. Orange is pretty fluorescent regardless. (FYI: for doing fleshtones, fluorescent orange or pink is pretty essential when mixing your own colors.) I guess this print also had a Blue Water gem for her necklace, but that got overlooked when printing. No matter though; since I've decided this is an older Nadia, there is no Blue Water as it's been spent. In the back is the July issue of Model Graphix magazine. I somehow missed this issue this past summer with its big Macross article and cover, so I bought it online. It came today in the mail.

Very carefully, I would have to imagine! And I would assume: not requiring the complexity of added moving parts from a fighter with a couple of alternate modes, as well as a squishy and delicate organic pilot in a cockpit that required consumables such as breathable oxygen, in addition to radiation shielding and control interfaces/ displays. Yeah, that's what I thought (and good catch: it was 1.28! I hadn't caught that.).

Didn’t post in a while. Got new stuff for future workbenches. Hehe Finally got my hands on a Hasegawa VF-1D that is not sold for a fortune. I was always eyeing that ASF-X, so finally got a nice one And on top, a Plamax Super Valkyrie. Fun fun. I once read: building model kits and purchasing model kits are two different hobbies. I hope to have some more time to actually build stuff. Life is kinda busy at the moment.

Sad news. While I never watched it, or much of anything else zealously with any regularity as a kid, I'd tune into Buck Rogers from time to time. Gil Gerard came across as affable and roguishly heroic, a perfect fit for the role. Of course, my eye was usually on Col. Deering, but the show on the whole was fun and inventive, like so much sci-fi from that era. Thanks for the memories, Captain Rogers! RIP

Yea, I tightened up the joints on the left side on mine. It's fine now aside from the forearm slider that's still a little easy to come undone. I've done about 4 or 5 transformations back and forth. I've also noticed some white paint scraping off to reveal the silver underneath at the edges of some parts like the shoulder swivel where it meets the shoulder pads as well as that hip piece that can be a little fiddly to get into place in fighter and gerwalk.

Some BTS from Plamax on the upcoming GBP-1.

I am looking for a accurate SDF-1 Coffee Mug like posted above, anyone have a lead on one that is affordable?

What a coincidence. My HMR 19P has practically the same issues as yours. But I was able to tighten the thigh swivel with some Kiki's Joint Fix, and also use the same to work on one of the forearm sliders that didn't want to lock in place. After doing those fixes, it's quite solid and enjoyable to handle now.

Yep, could have been more equipment! Added the banners... That the parachute backpack has a top hatch to show the parachute is a cool gimmick! 👍🏻 and Instructions are up for the FATTY....

I've been disgustingly jealous of these stunningly-accurate Combaticons, but the wonky colors on "Space Shuttle" are a deplorable misstep. How did they get everything else so right, only to stumble at the finish line...? 😓

That's an expensive options kit!

Weapons option set & Stand.... Release July 2026 8,800 yen (incl. 10% tax); 8,000 yen (excl. tax) I honestly would have preferred no stand but more weapons but the 3D Logo is a cool gimmick! 🤗

Bandai just released the official information for the Hi-Metal R Scopedog Melkia (Melquiya) version & weapons option set to release in June & July 24,200 yen (incl. 10% tax); 22,000 yen (excl. tax)

I just started the Blurays! Thank you Gil Gerard. Many lifelong happy memories from the 4th grade. RIP.

Oh, I stopped pretty much right after episode 3!😁 The rest was just boring.

https://www.kicksgenerationtoys.com/products/tamashii-nations-hi-metal-r-vf-19p-excalibur-macross-zola-planetary-patrol-diecast-figure?_pos=3&_sid=b00c4a90c&_ss=r $140 here - lowest I've seen in the US so far. Not including shipping, but no tax if you're outside of Washington state. Still, frankly too pricey for my taste for a HMR, although I sucked it up and got the 19P at preorder. I wouldn't be surprised if the price on Amazon drops even more if you're patient.

Wait until you see the “plot twist” coming a mile away from the second batch of stories with Cad Bane.

Ok, last one before we put them all together. MD-07 Space Shuttle, aka Blast Off. I suppose, after four of these guys, we kind of know what to expect, right? Cartoon accuracy, clean design, etc. And don't get me wrong, I do think he's got better proportions, especially in the biceps, pelvis, and on his purple bib. But... he's kind of a bit too light, isn't he? Looking at him on my desk, I don't think he's as bad under normal lighting as he appears in my photos, but he could definitely stand to be a few shades darker across the board. What's weird is when we look at him from behind, if the brown on his back was used for all of his brown parts, that'd be great. Tone down the red in his purples, and darken the gray a bit, and he'd be just about perfect. Like MMC's, he's even got the extra tail on his back. I do have to note that some of the gray on his forearms isn't totally cartoon-accurate, but they turn into parts that are supposed to be gray on his alt mode, same as MMC (which is why they also used gray there). And, while not my preference, they went with the cartoon-accurate purple forehead and gray eyes. Again, this one's between Magic Square and MMC. Zeta and Unique Toys just aren't in the same league. Oh, almost forgot... if you're looking at the wing on the side of his leg in those side profile pics and thinking "that looks a bit unfinished," it's because it is. I didn't realize until after I'd edited my pictures and wrote the first four reviews, but Space Shuttle is missing the filler part on that wing. The other side is fine, and you can see the lines that match the animation. I've sent in a support ticket, but fortunately it doesn't really affect anything. Blast Off comes with his gun, naturally. We've also got the pants, in toy-style blue, and both combiner hands. So... no alternate head with a brown forehead and purple eyes? Bummer. No gun for combined mode? Bummer. And no cartoon-style gray thighs and Blast Off chest? Not a bummer for me, but I know people wanting that cartoon look will be disappointed. I have it on authority, though, that Magic Square will be releasing a separate upgrade kit with new feet, pants, chest plate, ears and tips for the ends of Night Tracer's back guns done in a more cartoon-style and colors. But still no combined mode gun.😒 Articulation is still strong on Space Shuttle. His head is on a ball joint with a swivel, which means downward tilt until his chin touches his chest, slight sideways tilt, and the ability to look almost straight up. His shoulders swivel and move laterally 90 degrees on the correct side of the swivel, with transformation hinges on the other side getting him nearly 180 degrees of total lateral movement. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly over 90 degrees. His hands are the same as everyone but Munitioner, with a wrist swivel, backward wrist bend, ball joints at the base of all digits, and a second pinned knuckle in the middle of each finger/thumb. His waist swivels, and he's got a hinge for a little under 90 degrees of ab crunch (no back bend). He's got the drop down hips, so they can can move 90 degrees backward and laterally and a bit more than that forward. His thighs swivel, and his double-jointed knees bend about 120 degrees. No real foot tilt, but his ankles pivot 90 degrees. Space Shuttle's gun has a tab on the handle that fits into a slot on his palm, which sounds almost exactly like the other members of this set, but there's a difference. The tab on the gun is lower on the handle, and the slot is lower in his palm. Somehow, this seems to make a big difference, as Space Shuttle is the best of the five at holding his gun. Space Shuttle's transformation is kind of like Tornado's, in that the upper body isn't particularly complicated (though a bit wild, how his torso opens up), but his lower legs are the apparently typical Magic Square "explode the leg into a bunch of panels that basically turn it inside out" thing. I think, aside from being a bit light, he compares favorably with Magic Square on proportions and color placement (hard to tell from the control art, or even some episodes, but some other episodes do suggest Blast Off has two shades of brown). The windows on MMC's are more like an actual space shuttle's, but Space Shuttle's window matches the cartoon. I think Space Shuttle also has an edge of Zeta and Unique Toys; Zeta's has the most realistic details but is too fat, and Unique Toys looks like the grafted the front of an orbiter to the back of some other aircraft entirely. There's a little extra gray on the bottom between the nose and wings, but that's the sides of his robot chest, so I guess a call had to be made (correctly, IMHO). There's gray paint on the vertical stabilizer that MMC's was missing. Speaking of MMC, you'll note that Space Shuttle again has four engine bells, two big and two small, vs the five (three big and two small, not counting maneuvering thrusters) on an actual orbiter. A sad blow against realism, but as I mentioned way back when I reviewed MMC's Blast Off, four actually matches the cartoon. No real gimmicks hear like an opening cargo bay or anything. His gun's handle folds in, leaving a little peg that plugs into the top of the orbiter. Amusingly, there's a small landing gear that folds out from the nose, but that's it. He rests on those big chonky faux wheels on his shins... in other words, the fake landing gear on MMC's Blast Off is used as the actual landing gear on Space Shuttle. By this point you could probably guess what I'm gonna say... great-looking robot, lots of articulation, mildly annoying transformation to a good alt mode that happens to trade some realism for more cartoon accuracy. MMC's Blast Off is still good, but if you don't have a set of MP Combaticons (or if you're using Zeta's, like a lot of people seem to) then Space Shuttle is the one to get. In fact, I'll just come out and say that Magic Square made the five best MP Combaticons. But did they make the best Bruticus? Stay tuned...

Amazon USA has this down to $159, which still feels pretty steep. Anybody recently seen a better deal anywhere else?

Watched Underworld today and really liked it. At least until I realized that Ventress and the young Jedi kid were only in it for the first three episodes. Got half way through four before I realized their story was done. That was disappointing.

Finally saw Minus-One the other day, and loved it. I think they could have done better on Godzilla, mainly is mechanical-like stride, but that was pretty much it. Looking forward to what they do in this one!

That's nice and intense paint work @wm cheng. Really smoothed out the kit's faults. Finally got the gear bay painted up, after the clear gloss coat ate the first white coat away. Had that happen a couple of times now, Got out the Alclad gloss to move past it. Now detailing the cockpit and getting it ready to be installed.