Ghadrack

Looking amazing! You are closing in on the finish line with this massive project, How's it feel? Will you be building one or more yourself?

I'ts showing my age, but about ten years ago when I was going to Anime Weekend Atlanta regularly they showed a video of music by Peter Gabriel, the song was Rythm of the Heat and the video was composited off clips from Princess Mononoke, it was one of the best AMV's I have seen to date. i couldn't find a good copy to link because of the BMG block on youtube, anyhow if you haven't seen it, it's a classic, but it's great.

Oops, installment payment incoming tonight when I get home from work, sorry I missed the note the other day.

I finished Dance with Dragons a couple weeks ago, my friends and I didn't think it was weak, but it is a "middle book" as a stand alone story it wouldn' tmake any sense but its not a stand alone story and it has set up a number of events and characters that obviously are going to play a huge role in the finale of the series. Plenty of signficant events happen in the book and it was basically playing catch up with a bunh of characters storylines that were cut from the last one due to length. I still have high hopes for the series ending very strong.

Here's a list of the things that I think were crucial to the storyline that happened in Dance with Dragons

And there were several more seemngly minor events that you know as a GRRM reader are likley to end up being critical to the storyline. Anyhow, all that to say that everyone wasn't disappointed with the last book, or that last two for that matter.

I'm missing 13 panhead 2.0 x 6.0mm

2 flathead 2.0 X4.0mm

1 of the "Bubble top" 1.8 X 6.0 mm screws.

and I ended up with 9 extra various screws of the other types that I plan to scavenge to fill gaps where I can.

I searched the big hardware stores like Lowe's and Home depot and they didn't have anything if use, then I went to the little ace hardware store down the street and they have a magnificant selection of screws, and in fact a Metric Mini Machine Screw assortment, I'll be going back with my list, hey didn't have 4mm length screws but I can probably cut down the 6mm screws if necesary.

Anyhow, if there is an Ace Hardware near you, they might be worth a try and get you closer to a complete set wihtout having to mail order and pay shipping and handling.

Exactly my thoughts too. One of my other hobbies is RC helicopters, and I have a feeling that I can probably scrounge some of the screws from my RC spares. For anything I can't find easily locally, there's always McMaster-Carr supply co. It just would have been nice if the hardware had all been present out of the box - my post was more a cautionary note than a major gripe

Thank you for doing it too. I am about 50 kits behind and digging deeeper every month so probably would have just shelved it for a while without giving it a second thought.

Ooh, that's cool!

Mine arrived today, this is a pretty awesome package for a modeller. I can see someone with no interest in putting things together being put off by it, but that extra sense of satisfaction I get from building kits and displaying them over putting a toy on the shelf is immense so I'm a happy camper!

Got my shipping confirmation from HLJ this morning Wheeeee!

There actually were a lot more of us there than I expected. I'm in between computers right now posting from a ten year old POS that I can't upload pics on yet but I got a few for when my new comp arrives.

From Macrossworld I met up with Mslz22, Valkyrie, Neptunesurvey, Thor, and Tundrayeti and several other guys from the RPF. We didn't really have a "get together" just chatted in the dealers room around a couple of their tables and saw a couple panels and checked out the model contest room but it was pretty cool to put faces with names and see the stuff those guys are doing. Thor and Tundrayeti's 3D stuff is pretty amazing to see in person. I'm not going to blab but I heard a couple ideas that a few of them have for future projects that sound pretty amazing so hopefully there will be a few announcements for other neat kits over the coming year.

Good time. I really enjoy Wonderfest it is such a laid back, easy going convention it's just a nice coupe days to relax and see some cool stuff.

I'll be there. I'll wear my Skull Squadron shirt probably Saturday morning around the dealers room.

Awesome! Might be able to make good use of the old "Early Bird" pass again this year

It comes with the entire SDF-1 in kit form?

What a steal compared to the completed version.

It's only a steal if you have the skills to do a good job constructing, painting, decaling it and can make it look at least as good as the toy is and discount the time and effort necessary to do so. I think it's a reasonable discount given the amount of work it will take to assemble.

I waited too long to pick up the toy version like a dummy and it seems to have either sold out or had it's price jacked up everywhere. I hope I can catch a second bite at the apple here. hopefully we get a little advanced warning on the release date, a kit version sounds just perfect to me.

~Edit~ Maybe I spoke too soon, I just checked HLJ and they are getting a restock in July so hopefully they announce a release date for this so i can make a decision on whihc verson to get before they sell out again.

My expectations were pretty much on target for the movie. I wish that they hadn't hyped it so much and blown nearly every action sequence in the commercials, because I think if I would have been surprised by a few of the enemies I would have had an even better time watching the movie.

I didn't hate it, but I also wouldn't go getting a tattoo of the title across my chest or anything either. It was a fun distraction for a couple hours.

I caught this last night with a buddy. While not as bad as Cloverfield, the shaky cam action in this was lame and made the movie less watchable. This trend needs to GO, it covers up sloppy fight choreography and lazy photography, it does not, ever, improve a movie.

I laughed out loud a few times at inappropriate moments in the movie due some seriously cheesy lines.

That being said, it was exactly what I expected in a mindless - humans versus technologically advanced alien invasion movie. I had some laughs, a few startles and some fun watching people shooting stuff (although the cruddy filming almost always made it hard to figure out who was shooting what and what was getting hit.) I wouldn'trecommend it unless someone was just looking for a shoot em up on the big screen, but for that it fit the bill.

I am prone to take most of the stuff we are hearing as not being fact, but some of the reports this afternoon sound pretty alarming. I continue to hope that it is exageration and that they wil begin to gain ground in containing this potential catastrophy.

This is a very good point, as fire engines are being used to pump sea water at the plant. Of the initial 8, half were disabled by one of the explosions. Of course, the question remains: will there be enough fuel to operate the pumps (fire engines, water trucks, etc.) until either the heating problem is resolved, or until the main or backup systems are restored.

I am under the impression that since the vast majority of the country suffered very little damage that the government should not have any problem delivering fuel and replacement fire/water trucks indefinitely if they need to, the entire countries resources weren't evaporated afterall. I think what's scary is that things are out of control and it seems like they are having to devise methods "on the fly" to try to solve these problems, and when you are dealing with unforeseen and completely unpredictable scenarios no one can be certain of how the situation will unfold.

You know how when there is a brushfire in California, we know how fire acts and the effects that the wind has on it and even though it can be a catastrophy and there is a measure of uncertainty about how far and fast things will go, we kinda know what to expect. With this, no one seems to know what may happen and it's leading to all this crazy speculation being broadcast around the world at lightning speed. People in California are panicking and buying up iodine pills as though thousands of miles away they are at risk of high level exposure. We'll probably see more deaths due to children geting thyroid poisoning from Iodine overdoses than we will radiation exposure victims.

Anyhow, this isn't about us. I hope our memebers, their families and friends are all safe and that the officials can come up with a solution to control the plant so that you may have some peace and rest easy for a while and the recovery can truly begin. I also hope that the people who are staying behind to fight to control the power plant are successful and survive their mission.

I think you're misinformed, Millionstar. The Japanese government has been lending TONS of money to the US and doing a huge part in keeping America going. Besides, from what I've seen, the Japanese often are very generous, so to say they "culturally do not give to charity" is simply wrong.

Also, it's not like people are putting money in envelopes and sending it to "Japan", most of us are talking about donating to organizations that specialize in rapid response first aide and emergency supplies and shelter to desparate people in dire situations. Just because a country happens to have a higher per capita income doesn't mean that the geeral population have access to private helicopters to fly them away from natural disasters, there are currently tens and hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens whose homes, workplaces and even families have been demolished by this unfolding disaster. Setting up shelters, organizing people, delivering supplies like food and water takes a coordinated effort and organizations like the Red Cross are skilled at doing just that and have plans to do so, so they aren't forced to make it up as they go like an unprepared city government may have to in case of a critical emergency.

And on the other point, which I think is an unfair generalization about the nature of the people, I found the people very helpful and hospitable in my trip to Japan. Even if they hadn't been, for me, the old Golden Rule applies, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You are of course welcome to do as you see fit and dislike anyone you choose, but aside from the good feeling that most people get from helping someone in time of need, and other personal benefits people reap from true altruism, you never know when you may find yourself in need.

And back to the disaster...

I am disappointed that it seems like we are getting so much misinformation about the real threat from the reactors at Fukushima. You can pull up any four or five news sites right now in the US and get drastically different stories about the level of danger. I am assuming it is because either no one really knows what is happening or the news is very bad. Obviously the government in Japan doesn't want to start a panic, but I wish instead of the sensationalism we are getting from the knuckleheads at CNN and the big broadcast stations they would show us the reports being given on Japanese TV/Radio with a straight translation, no commentator nonsense.

I'm still hopeful and sending my best wishes to everyone affected in Japan and I too am thankful for the heroes who may right now be sacrificing their lives at the plants to help contain the damage to the reactors.

The company I work for is setting up a matching donations program today to double contributions employees make to several emergency organizations like the Red Cross and doctors without borders and some others for employees who wish to contribute. I know they do it for the PR but I am glad they do it because it helps increase our small individual contributions.

I hate the feeling of helplessness watching all this stuff on TV and not being able to do anything other than send money. I guess it's part of the double edged sword of the information age, but seeing these live reports and having had the priviledge of travelling to Japan makes it seem so close, I wish I could go after work and on the weekends and volunteer to help somehow.

My best wishes are with everyone, their families and friends affected. I hope that aide in the form of food, water and shelter can be provided for all of the survivors quickly. I can see from the news reports that the sense of community and order has already greatly benefited the Japanese people, I hope that they are spared the desperation of starvation/dehydration during the rescue efforts.

Since a great deal of the tsunami damage appears to have been done in coastal areas, has the country's internal infrastructure been spared earthquake damage enough to allow for transport trucks to bring in supplies and bring out survivors?

Watching the news and hearing all of the constant aftershock and tsunami warnings, I wonder if there are plans to start transporting survivors inland to shelters away from the coast to allow them some measure of peace from the recurring Tsunami sirens? Then again, the scale of this is so big, I guess that would be asking for the impossible, moving hundreds of thousands of displaced people even a few miles may be a monumental task.

This just sucks

Package received here as well, safe and sound! 2 down, 4 to go!~

I've got a 1/48 Yamato Low Vis 1 that isn't doing anything for me these days I'd let go of for $250.00 Complete, box is in good shape, no stickers applied, transformed one time, kept in a cool shaded area. I can post pics if you are interested.

That came out great and your photography is spectacular, crisp clean pictures that really show all the detail work you did. Great job all around, thanks as alwasy for sharing!

I'm too lazy to resize the pic at the moment, but here are some of the parts on my cutting mat next to a soda can for scale

Obscenely cool model parts~!

I popped the box open last night and started to do a litle minor clean up stuff, and did some test fitting per the Captain's recommendation. I' snapped a few pictures that I'll try to get uploaded tonight if noone beats me to it. The gun next to a soda can is pretty funny. This thing is going to be monsterous.