Mr March

Unless some have a preference for large scale figures, I'm not sure what the issue is here. It describes the figure as 13cm, which will make it as large as the big Revoltechs like the Macross Reguld and the Evangelions. Plus it already appears to have detail that surpasses some Master Grades. Apart from the price (which is a legitimate concern, since we know it's going to be unreasonable coming from Wave), I can't really see a problem.

WOW. Now I have to see this film again. Congratulations on your work. It helped make for a interesting film. Well done.

Possibly. The VF-1D is the same basic design as the other VF-1 craft and is a trainer (which would likely include Super and Armor training). But since we always must be wary of using common sense over adherence to the letter of an as yet unidentified canon law, we cannot say for certain that a VF-1D can be equipped with a GBP. As for the toys, I've seen pictures of a GBP equipped VF-1D Yammie, but that doesn't mean anything official

Found it. It even has a video review that flips through the book page by page http://parkablogs.com/content/book-review-%E5%A4%A9%E7%A5%9E%E8%8B%B1%E8%B2%B4works-art-of-hidetaka-tenjin Hope that helps.

It's a good review. I like the review format and the brevity. Hits the points that are important and moves on. I'll have to read more.

Maiden Japan Ah thank you. I wasn't aware of those figures. They might have been off the radar, like most things FSS The quality probably would have turned me off anyway. I prefer really good fine detail, at least considering the price point of the product in question. the white drew carey Well, since FSS is the closest mecha design has ever come to high art, perhaps you could sell her on the figure as an "investment" As for the price, we're gonna get gouged on this one. It's a Wave product, which means it'll be horribly overpriced. But for FSS, I'll take the plunge. charger69 Do I dare to dream?

It's a necessity. The M3 took a lot of work to build. It would be shame were the site to be outdated in five years Thank you very much. It always makes me very happy to hear how much the site is beloved by the fans, sexual favors notwithstanding To avoid reviewing the Macross 7 series, I was quite thorough documenting the appearances of vehicles throughout the series. According to my notes nothing as such has appeared in the anime. There are smaller scale vehicle carrying craft from the M7 era in the M7 series and the Macross Chronicle, but I've not seen any large military transports or other craft that would fit your descriptions. There was a passenger helicopter that appeared in M7, but that's about it. Sorry I couldn't help, but best of luck with your game.

Found out yesterday that Wave is producing a line of Five Star Stories action figures. The first one is the SR4 Last Junchoon ODK. While it's uncertain what other figures from FSS are planned, Wave mentions that this Junchoon is the first in a new line of figures. Hobby Wave Next Stage Project Gotta say I'm stoked for this one. I am lamenting the inevitable overpriced final product, by I can't recall anyone prior producing action figures of the Five Star Stories. So I'll make at least one exception and hope they eventually release the Knight of Gold. I'll attach a picture of the colored line art below.

I've already used those images, which are still quite small. To give you an example of the size of the line art I need, that VF-0A Angel on that page is about the smallest size I've ever worked with to build a colored picture (and it's about 2,000 pixels wide). The reason I work in such larger sizes is complicated, but the short of it is I need the art to retain it's anti-aliasing when scanned/cleaned (which can only really work in high resolution) and to ensure the Macross Mecha Manual will be able to feature the same high quality artwork as monitor resolutions increase in the decades to come. At any rate, thanks again for the consideration.

There was someone online who provided a detailed breakdown on this book and it doesn't have much Macross as others have said. If I can find the link, I'll post it, but it basically had small digital photos of everything in the book. It's not bad, but not much to get excited about.

Saw “The A-Team” on Friday. It’s definitely big, dumb and disposable entertainment, but it does work well in that regard. It was worth the ride and I had genuine fun watching it. However, the plot is preposterous and most of the film makes no sense. Much like last year’s Star Trek, the spectacle, characterizations and humor are what the audience is meant to get out of this one. But there is little to gain out of repeat viewing beyond satiating a need for action adventure and the dramatization falls flat upon any closer inspection. I thought the casting for the A-Team was great. Everyone played their parts to perfection and had a fun time doing it. I particularly enjoyed Sharlto Copley’s role as Murdock and got a big laugh when the filmmakers managed to inject a small scene as an excuse for Copley's native South African accent. Bradley Cooper was also a delight to watch in action, clearly channeling a lot of his “The Hangover” performance to make the Face character all that more charming. Neeson was a great anchor for the rest of the team and slipped into his role without a hitch. I also found the villains sufficiently entertaining, especially Patrick Wilson as one of the many Lynches in employ of the CIA. And how could anyone not love that cameo by Mad Men's John Hamm as the next Lynch in line The action was fun, over the top and meant simply to show case the boys having fun. Thinking about any of the sequences for more than 5 minutes will definitely hurt the film, but the sequences worked as dumb fun. I wouldn’t recommend to film for anyone not in the right mood. If I wasn’t wanting for an action packed flick with a lot of laughs, Joe Carnahan’s newest probably would have come across as vapid as any such film. But for better or worse, I had a good time at this one.

Nice picture. So close now to the end. I'll almost miss the intermittent Chronicle orders

TheLoneWolf Yeah, not sure the status of that line art. I have a much better high resolution version of that picture if anyone wants it, but again, I don't think it's proportions are meant to be accurate (especially since it's supposed to be a cross-sectional). frothymug I've not seen any information on the attack satellites in Macross Plus. It probably exists, but is likely in a less comprehensive book/model/pamphlet somewhere. So far the Macross Chronicle hasn't had any pictures, though there may be some untranslated information on them. charger69 I appreciate the help, but what I really need is high resolution pictures of the line art. As always, I work in very larger formats (typically individual scanned art pieces are 3,000 pixels or larger) so I need source pictures that big to include on the M3 (which I then scale down for posting online). I probably won't be adding the CGI models of Macross Zero for a while, at least until the Macross Chronicle has long since passed out of publication.

Wow, what a thread. Just gonna post some final thoughts as an FYI to anyone that cares. There’s been some interesting points made by all, but I’m not sure I agree with any one opinion about the Master Files. I will say this: ultimately, I don’t think we fans have much choice regarding the status of ANY Macross publication. I know the topic of a Macross “canon policy” has come up before on MW and there’s never been an answer. Without one, we’re kinda forced to accept and rationalize. Of course, that doesn’t mean should cease due diligence. I think fellas like azrael, Graham and Seta Kaiba are definitely on the right track harboring a healthy skepticism of the Master Files (especially the VF-1 book, given it’s use of Sky Angels material). However, I very much subscribe to the idea of the fan as “end user” only. We’re here to facilitate or conduct damage control and our mandate can’t really go beyond that. I believe we can’t ignore trivia in the Master File that doesn’t contradict anything previously published (perhaps, even if it does!). Unless word comes down from Egan Loo or an authority at Big West (is Tenjin an authority?), we fans are probably stuck with the Master Files. Yes, these books might cause us frustration, but again it’s only our place to rationalize, not to prioritize. Some may disagree with me, but my own website will follow a policy of UNIFIED CANON. All published materials will be considered worth inclusion. Contradictory trivia will follow the lead of the Macross Compendium, posting both trivia sources to note differences. For those rare but highly visible PROBABLE publication errors (unconfirmed) such as the VF-19F/S engines I’ll build dedicated documentation pages so everyone can be happy with a fact trail. Again, there may be disagreements, but I feel Macross fansites should serve fans, not confuse them. IMO, the practice of some wherewithal is an expected responsibility. Ah, thanks Vic. I actually never noticed the magic wings on the YF-19 high speed mode until examining them just now. The hinge within the wing root is a good idea. Actually, that hinge makes the Battroid transformation better too, since the wings seem to retract into the wing roots. Thanks for posting the pics.

Yeah, Fred and Ginger was a great sequence. It also provided foreshadowing of what was to come. It's kinda odd, but I ended up really feeling for Dren after all was said and done. Don't want to get into spoilers but I felt the film did a good job of showing her perspective.

Great custom. Feel free to modify the pictures on my site if you're interested in building more customs.

Ah, interesting colors. Nice work.

Went to see the film “Splice” this week and was rather impressed and at the same time repulsed by the movie. The story is about two geneticists Clive and Elsa played by Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong) and Sarah Polley (My Life Without Me, Dawn of the Dead). The two have been splicing animal DNA to create new organisms and with their success they dare to illegally create a meta-human named Dren (played by Delphine Chanéac). First thing one should know about this film is it’s deceptive marketing. Trailer fraud is presenting this film as a monster/action movie when it’s not. “Splice” has far more in common with David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake “The Fly” than it does with the much deplored “Species”. Second thing one should know is the film can be incredibly disturbing. Since it’s not the horror film it’s made out to be in the trailers, most of the upsetting sequences are far more personal and psychological. It’s difficult to describe what is so shocking without spoiling a large amount of the film. Say what one will about the deceptive marketing, at least the trailer doesn’t spoil the film itself. The performances in “Splice” are solid and the script is original. The effects are really good, especially for the character of Dren. The movie is a slow burn that builds a lot of tension toward the one action sequence at the end. Most of the movie is spent exploring the triumphs and follies of the two lead characters. It the choices made by these two brilliant but naïve scientists that ends up impacting their creation more than the science itself. I’m not really sure I can recommend this movie but its worth mentioning simply because it’s so different than anything else out there right now. I suspect many would be startled and possibly repulsed by some of the issues explored in the film. But if you’re in the mood for some dark and disturbing science fiction and you’re a fan of films like Cronenberg’s “The Fly”, then “Splice” is worth checking out.

Is it okay if we cease doubting every piece of official trivia in the Macross Compendium prior to 2008? Because if this endlessly repeated "suggestion of doubt" is supposedly debunking the last 25 years of published Macross trivia, There Will Be Facepalms. Seriously, we all KNOW most fans source the Macross Compendium. We're also all well aware Egan Loo didn't provide a book title, page number, ISBN and favorite beer ALL in triplicate to match every translated Macross fact of the last 15 years. If someone wants to do that (if sourcing old publications would be accepted by critics and not simply dismissed out of turn anyway), then I wish the best. Otherwise, I'll assume MW still permits us to quote the definitive work of Egan Loo (with Azrael too) as a dependable source. Besides, the Macross Chronicle CONFIRMS both original VF-19F/S thrust ratings (simply swapped) as well as 99% of all previously published Macross trivia. That means the Chronicle is SOURCING and CONFIRMING that very same original trivia regardless of which long-since-out-of-print book was used. Excellent question. Depends upon whether we're Tom Cruise fans and card carrying members of the Church of the Chronicle. After all, if it's in the Chronicle, it MUST be gospel, right? What is different about it?

Astounding work, Kurt. This looks like quite a labor. Good pictures too. The guns are resting too low in Attack mode, but the model is so damn impressive, it's hard to dwell on it. I love the detail. Looking at it on that table, the model must be just huge!

Just some miscellaneous errata about the current discussions... - the YF-19 does NOT use the common "circle-bar type" verniers at the back/bottom of the engines/legs; if one looks closely those six verniers (2 outside/1 inside per engine/leg) are not the standard arresting-hook style found on many other valkyries. They have no cross bar and appear to be larger, more dedicated thrusters. - the Variable Fighter Master File VF-19 Excalibur unfortunately repeats the now infamous VF-19F/S engine errors found within Macross Chronicle issues #27 and #41. We had a thread about that and I even created a dedicated page on my website to document the nature of that error. So the VF-19F does NOT have 78,500 kg of thrust, but 72,500 kg of thrust per engine.

Would have liked a caliber (at last), but I have to admit these other statistics on the GU-15 gun pod are far more interesting. Is that a muzzle velocity of 4,000 m/s? Yahoo!

Well I suspect in English it means Thor is possibly going to be cheesy crap. However, the conspiracy theorists have long suspected my deep ties as a secret Hollywood studio stooge, in which case it translates to something far, FAR more dastardly Like the live action costume being an unholy merging most foul of official comic book designs found via Google, such as these... As for the rest, Adam West "KAPOWING" in a blue leotard once sold. Now American Psycho in black kevlar is what sells Batman. Your process is just like that of your hated studios, using a formula which clearly doesn't apply uniformly. Simple.

As always, some wonderful work. Looks great!

Isn't this costume almost a complete lift of the current comics? Google images show a lot of similar costumes in the official comic art, so technically the leaked picture IS the character. But to be honest, given Hollywood's history, the powers that be at a movie studio have every right to fear the production of cheesy crap