tekering

Hasegawa's got you covered. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.XHasegawa+48+crew.TRS0&_nkw=Hasegawa+48+crew&_sacat=0

It certainly would, and I'm glad you bring up the subject. It's a rather contentious issue among anime fans, toy collectors and modelers alike. Do you want your characters and mecha look as realistic as possible? Or do you strive for absolute anime-accuracy? On the one extreme, colors, textures, and even proportions are altered to achieve a more real-world aesthetic: Arcadia's starting to lean heavily in this direction, particularly with their upcoming "Premium Finish" VF-0D. At the other extreme, solid colors and cel-shaded line work is used to achieve a flat, hand-drawn style: TakaraTomy is attempting something similar (after years of gravitating in this general direction). Both approaches have their merits, and both have their detractors... and we all have personal preferences that lie somewhere between these two extremes. With these Macross builds I'm attempting, there are two goals I wish to achieve: 1. I intend to display the finished models among my varied collection of Macross toys, and I want the aesthetic to blend in with the dominant Bandai/Arcadia look. That means colors and proportions that closely mimic the animation models, but with more surface detailing and nomenclature than is depicted onscreen. Light weathering for a suggestion of heightened reality, light panel-lining to suggest the detail of the line-art, but nothing prominent enough to clash with my expensive toys. 2. I intend to win this contest, by finishing all the kits I've committed to and demonstrating all the skills I have as I do it! Knowing my work will be judged by those with greater experience than I have -- especially when it comes to resin kits -- I want to show how much effort I'm putting into this, and a clean, consistent finish takes a lot of work with garage kits. Many modelers use "weathering" as a way of disguising their mistakes, and I don't want to give the impression that I'm cutting any corners. However, I do want to suggest greater detail than could be depicted in the animation (and highlight the sculpting work modelers like John Moscato have put into these kits), and one way of doing that is with selective weathering. Take the cockpit cover, for example: What is depicted as a single unbroken piece in the animation is provided as a single unbroken piece in the "Z Alien Interceptor" kit, but with sculpted panel lines and rivets suggesting several smaller pieces combined. By masking each section along the panel lines and painting them individually (adding slightly more shading in some areas, and slightly less in others), one piece now looks like several smaller, more detailed panels. It's more realistic than what appears in the show -- suggesting a more idealized depiction of the craft -- but the shape and color still matches what we see onscreen. That's the level of weathering I have in mind.

That's a slightly more accurate statement. And yes, Walter "Heisenberg" White (SPOILERS!) died at the end, so don't expect him to appear again... except in flashbacks, maybe.

You are wrong. Breaking Bad never glorified drugs.

Ambiguous pronouns, omitted subjects, and passive tense make it impossible to be 100% sure of anything in Japanese. "The idea came up in conversation with Mr. Kawamori."

This Gnerl kit is full of interior detailing -- the missile launch mechanism, cockpit flight controls, HUD monitor, and of course the pilot -- and the interior must be completed before the exterior can be done. First order of business, therefore, is the pilot figure. Mine, unfortunately, had a big gap missing from the right side of the torso armor: The smooth round interior cavity is indicative of a large pocket of air, that must've gotten trapped in the mold when the resin was poured. I used a mix of Tamiya modeling putty and CA glue to fill the hole, then sanded it flush with the armor: I then diluted the putty with lacquer paint thinner, and brushed on a couple thin coats to help blend the surfaces together. After a few more stages of sanding and puttying, with successively thinner layers of putty and finer-grit sandpaper, the surface is finally smooth enough to spray a couple coats of primer. Without any specific reference as to what a Gnerl pilot's uniform looks like (much less what color it should be), Moscato's figure is sculpted to match the generic soldiers and guards seen in Zentradi hangar bays... ...which seems to be an appropriate choice, since the Gnerls are treated as expendable cannon fodder. Incidentally, this sequence is the only time Gnerl landing gear is visible in Macross. When Zentradi soldiers have their helmet visors down, their faces appear green. I painted my pilot figure to match. Note the color gradation evident in the pink of the armor, achieved by airbrushing a darker color along the edges, and a lighter color in the center... The flight suit was dry brushed slate grey over a blue base, to suggest a more flexible surface texture than the armor. A black wash helps bring out the fabric underneath. The eyes and eyebrows were applied with a very fine-tipped marker. I wanted to photograph the pilot figure properly so you could see the work that went into him (most of which won't be clearly visible once he's mounted in the cockpit).

You assume correct. FAST packs are never seen used in atmospheric flight, as they're just not aerodynamically sound.

The picture is for illustrative purposes only. Do not attempt to use as a toothbrush.

The Scopedogs seem to be missing their parachute packs... ...but I see Prime has his. Oh, that doesn't disappoint me at all. Like Japanese G1, they're best forgotten.

Looking a little prematurely gray there, "Dad..." I realize it's only 30 seconds of clips, but the lack of content from Animated or Prime is disappointing.

I think Yamato's still deserve a place of honor among Bandai's DX Valkyries.

Most of this has been decoded for us on YakFace.com.

Yeah, FansToys figures hew much closer to the animation models, whereas X-Transbots Stunticons are much more G1 toy homages. They're both extremely nostalgic!

Yeah, the PLAMAX kits are bigger, come with Super/Strike parts, and cost a fraction of the price.

I'm sure they have their reasons for using international couriers, but that's absurdly expensive. Japan Post has much more reasonable rates for overseas packages. Well, if there's any interest, I'd be happy to take my kit down to the post office and get accurate shipping quotes. I can get further kits shipped to me here free of charge from Amazon.jp (there's still retail stock available), so you'd only have to cover the retail cost plus overseas shipping via surface mail, airmail, SAL, or EMS.

I don't see how that's possible, given the ending of the series. Any fan of The Dark Crystal knows that the Garthim exterminated all the Gelfling, so depicting their creation by skekTek pretty much wraps up the backstory to the film. Would you expect another ten episodes would be made, just to dramatize the Gelfling purge? The Dark Crystal: Age of Extinction?

No, this one comes in a shipper, too.

Looks like the first 1500 were the mistake, and the next 1500 were the apology.

Now THAT's what I call a premium finish!

Yes! Achievement unlocked! I've been wanting -- nay, needing this rare bird ever since I became aware of its existence: It's proven difficult to find (at least, at a decent price), but my collection wouldn't be complete without it!

A little smaller, actually... The dimensions are different, correct. Fighter: 68 x 55 x 37cm Gerwalk: 72 x 58 x 44cm

National holidays don't mean much here, unless you're a civil servant. I received postal deliveries this morning; a courier brought my Amazon package this afternoon; I even had university classes to teach today.

Are you paying attention, Tatsunoko? Do you see the potential, Mr. Aramaki? 'Cause we sure as hell do. The music was a little jarring, especially since the character was speaking Japanese... But we must remember, Robotech isn't a dirty word in Spanish.

I'm so glad Bandai stuck with the VF-1J grey for Max's 1A... So much nicer than Yamato's shock-white.