tekering

Well, today was a productive day. 😁

Kitbashing random decals to enhance detail is my favorite part of this process, and the most creatively fulfilling.  I look for shapes and colors that complement the topography of the model, and apply the waterslides wherever it seems appropriate.  Sometimes I find decals that suit the model so well, you'd think they were designed for it!

In this particular case, I'm trying to match the decals I used on the Biopsycher a couple years ago:

However, trying to source more of the Bandai decal sheets I'd used in 2023 has suddenly become prohibitively expensive, as they now command at least TEN times what they'd cost only a couple years ago...!  Frankly, I'd rather just make do with whatever I have left over from those days.

The secondary market is nuts, man.  😒

20 hours ago, wm cheng said:

not getting around to building them till a better company puts out a better kit

...or even a completed F-14, with little assembly required...? 😎

Who doesn't love the Tomcat? 😍

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

they'll undoubtedly roll out a new mold in 5-10 years

Five to ten years?  More like five to ten months...

...and, if we include third-party seekers, a new mold gets rolled out every five to ten weeks. 😅

Damn you, Mog!  I never thought of the Legioss/Tread connection rod that way, but now the sexual innuendo is inescapable. 😳

30 minutes ago, Big s said:

kinda wish they’d go back to old school animation instead of cg

That's not Oshii's style; he's the filmmaker most likely to embrace the latest technological innovations.  I'm sure he'd prefer it was live-action.

14 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

I want to get that KOG over the 7777 in the mix.  ✌️

Definitely looking forward to that!

15 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

That blue is beautiful.

It'll look a little brighter after a couple matte topcoats, but panel-lining and decals have to come first...

17 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

So with resin you need to sand all or most surfaces for primer to stick? Is the surface just too slick otherwise?

It's mostly the mold release agent, which requires a little soap or alcohol to remove... but traditional resin kits (especially Moscato's) sometimes have very smooth surfaces, and a little light sanding makes a world of difference.  Even so, paint tends to pool along the edges if too much is applied, so many thin layers is best.

Loving the Schpertor, Bruce!  You continue to knock 'em out of the park. 👍

Test-fitting painted parts, removing the last of the masking tape... 🫣

Damn. 🤕

I don't think I scrubbed or sanded these resin parts enough before applying the primer.  Three layers of paint peeled off in an instant! 😓

On 1/13/2026 at 10:15 PM, Stemp Fester said:

Anyone know of a good easily searchable visual database for Star Wars figures / vehicles etc?

I think you'll appreciate GalacticFigures.com.

"Converts the pilot (not included) into a recon-type robotic unit..."

...like Canti from FLCL? 🤨

6 hours ago, VALKYRIE ACE PILOT said:

Could anyone confirm this site is legit?

Cults3D is certainly legit, but you're only paying for the digital files there.  You'd still need one of us to print the parts for you.

2 hours ago, lechuck said:

Man that exposed forearm gap just makes the whole thing look so terribly cheap to me...

You won't think it's so terribly cheap once you see the MSRP. 🫣

I hope the JFS is the larger of the two.  It looks sharper.

9 hours ago, sh9000 said:

That non-transformable figure has incorrect forearms and arm placement.

Oh man, I had the left and right arms reversed.  Good catch! 

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

it's not a new mold designed from the start to look like Sunbow Hound

Well, that's even more disconcerting. 🤨

Is this a first for "Studio Series," or have other figures from unrelated product lines simply been re-branded SS86? 😒

4 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

For weaker-willed collectors like myself who absolutely did buy a five pack just for Hound, well, I guess I can sit this one out.

As someone who didn't, and is just now getting a good look at the figure, I have to say it's a major disappointment compared to the rest of the "Studio Series" line.

Remember what Hound looked like in the animation?

Yolopark remembers:

How come SS86 Hound is so... wrong? 🤨

We know it's not because of concessions for transformation, because we have Masterpiece Hound... and even if licensing issues prevent Hasbro from using a distinct Jeep design for the vehicle mode, that's no excuse for these robot mode proportions.

Hell, the G1 toy was more cartoon-accurate! 😒

7 hours ago, jenius said:

Does anyone have a Yamato 1/48 Urban Camo GBP? I'm curious if it came with a regular sticker sheet as well as what appears to be a waterslide decal sheet.

The Urban Camo armor came with two sheets of stickers, but no waterslide decals.

22 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

To me, it looks more like a weird suit of armor or like it's a guy doing cosplay.

That certainly describes the movie design. 😅

Quote

Those the Yolopark figure kits?  After reviewing the G1 Megatron back in the day I bought up a bunch of the RotB AMK kits pretty cheaply on Amazon, but I had a lot going on at the time and wound up not doing anything with them.  I don't think I ever even got Mirage... was he only released as a more expensive AMK Pro kit?

Yeah, that's the gorgeous AMK Pro Mirage, and he's their best work yet...  

They really knocked it out of the Yolopark. 👌

Dammit, JFS, quit wasting talent and resources chasing NECA's shadow.  You don't need Peter Weller's likeness; Murphy's already been done.

Lewis, Clarence, and the gang are an absolute godsend.  Stay in your lane, and give us more unproduced characters!  If you've got MGM's ear, how about some classic James Bond action figures?

Or Spaceballs!

That bubblegum face! 😋

I bought both cat and dog upgrade sets for my Transformers. 😉

16 hours ago, electric indigo said:

And there is a tribute piece in the first Star Wars movie:

50 years obsessed with Star Wars minutiae, and there's still more to learn. 🤯

It's impossible to express the depths of horror AI is capable of generating. 😱

Now, if only we can teach it to recognize aspect ratios... 🙄

6 hours ago, shazam said:

Figures hiding other figures, figures that are too low to be observed, different movie figures mixed together, different themes that overlap with each other

Touché, my friend.  Guilty on all counts. 😅

 Space constraints force me to squeeze displays of wildly different scales and themes right up next to each other.  It's a chaotic mess of pop culture. 🫣

Heck, even when I manage to be consistent in scale and theme, my displays end up defeating each other...

For instance, my Slave Leia (one of the most valuable TVC figures in the collection!) is almost completely obscured by Jabba's sail barge. 🤕

6 hours ago, shazam said:

I don't believe in collecting complete toy lines where you have to acquire lesser desired figures mixed with good ones just to have them all. 

I greatly admire that pragmatism.  I'm so sick-and-tired of buying the same characters over and over again because of slight improvements in sculpt or scale accuracy (or simply to acquire lesser-desired figures bundled together), but I'm a compulsive completist when it comes to Macross, Star Wars, Alien, RoboCop, Gremlins, Star Trek, Transformers... 😓

5 hours ago, shazam said:

Some updated photos within the display cabinets.

You have such unique displays, thematically consistent yet totally irrespective of aesthetics or scale.  Fascinating!

Me, I just can't bring myself to display realistic figures with anime characters, much less figures that aren't perfectly to scale with each other... 😅

I have to say, though, that Phicen body is a very poor match for Slave Leia.  It's the wrong size, the wrong skin tone, and the wrong build for 25 year-old Carrie Fisher. 🤨

On 11/29/2025 at 2:31 PM, MKT said:

Am hunting these down now. Always loved the character designs in Ranma 1/2. 

Here's the other pair:

I managed to acquire all four Luminasta figures for less than $27 USD... including shipping! 😁