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mikeszekely

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  1. mikeszekely
    Surely you're not referring to the people who are pointing out, correctly, that the GQuuuuuuX is less Gundam and more Hot Garbage?
  2. mikeszekely
    Every time they do a new Gundam TV series I think it's the mechanical designs can't get any worse, and every time they prove me wrong. Aerial was worse than Barbatos, and this thing is new levels of bad.
  3. mikeszekely
    I'm right there with you, but flipped around.
  4. mikeszekely
    I'm not either, but it's better than the mechanical designs. Woof. I gave SEED crap at the time for rehashing a lot of the One Year War but worse, but twenty years of crap* have made me a lot more forgiving of it and 00. *TV series, anyway, Unicorn and Thunderbolt were pretty good, and Hathaway's Flash was a good start.
  5. mikeszekely
    The thing with Batocera is that it's an entire operating system with the emulators baked in. It takes some work to setup, but once you have the PC you installed it on basically becomes a console, with gorgeous menus separated by console, with box art for games, all navigable with a controller. It supports a ton of controllers so, with adapters, you can use the original ones, but I'm content with using one of 8bitdo's.
  6. mikeszekely
    Yeah, probably something like that. Or shipping, since the VF-11 was coming up about $33 and the Super VF-11 was coming up $28 with $5 shipping. To be totally clear, I wasn't doing an in-depth search for them, I just typed "Hasegawa Macross" into Amazon and looked over what came up. Both were being sold by third party sellers, and the VF-11 was shipped by Amazon while the Super is shipped by the seller. Anyway, thanks for the help. To you too, @VF-1A Grunt. Yeah, I can see on Hobby Search links you put up that the Super has the same sprues as the regular with instructions on what parts not to use for Super mode. Seems like it's better to buy the Super and just build it without the super parts, and just keep them around it case I want to change it up later.
  7. mikeszekely
    Sorry to necro this thread, but until Bandai makes an HMR VF-11 I was thinking about grabbing a Hasegawa 1/72 VF-11B fighter kit. I'm seeing two different versions, one that's just the fighter and one with the super packs. The one without the super packs is a little more expensive... is there something in the details of the non-super version that makes it a better fighter if I prefer to display my Valks without FAST packs?
  8. mikeszekely

    Hi-Metal R

    mikeszekely replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    Aisha had a VF-19E, but like the A it was basically still the YF-19... but pink. Macross The Ride gave us the VF-19EF, which in turn was the basis for Isamu's VF-19EF/A in one of the Macross Frontier movies, but they too looked like the YF-19. Heck, aside from new boosters and some SMS markings the VF-19EF/A was even painted the same as Isamu's YF-19. It's too bad. I love Macross 7, honestly, and I don't mind the existence of customized one-offs, but I prefer military hardware without faces. And as much as I dig the YF-19/VF-19A and the VF-19F/S, I can't help but think that a variant that combines the sleeker body of the F/S with the longer wings and canards of the Fire Valkyrie/P, a more traditional head, and maybe a nice Skull Squadron deco would be my idea VF-19. I haven't committed to buying the HMR Fire Valk, but if Bandai does retools I'd buy either a YF-19/VF-19A (VF-X2 colors, maybe), and either a VF-19F or S. I'd maybe even go for a VF-19P if it's the mostly-white original colors and not the red-goo one. It'll be a darn shame if Bandai quits on the HMR line before I get a VF-11 and VF-17, too.
  9. mikeszekely

    Hi-Metal R

    mikeszekely replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    I know the 19A and a few other variants are basically the YF-19. Then the 19F/S have the smoother lines of the Fire Valk, but without the canards and with stubbier wings. Were there any variants (besides the P) that have the refined shape of the F/S but the longer wings and canards of the Fire Valk?
  10. mikeszekely
    Well, the fall Steam sale has finally begun. Not the hugest deals for me, but I'm picking up Space Marine II and Silent Hill 2 at 20% off, plus Metaphor: ReFantasio, Visions of Mana, and Star Wars Outlaws at 25% off.
  11. mikeszekely
    That's a darn fine looking Peg. Maybe I should get one...
  12. mikeszekely
    Also easier to do since you can plug in an external monitor and power without a dongle.😉 Partly since COVID, partly since my daughter's getting older and more involved with activities and it's just harder to make time for it, but I don't really travel that much anymore, so I'm not super concerned with having a good laptop or whether I'd prefer it or an Ally when I travel (but I'm not lugging a laptop, even a small one like my currently Zephyrus G14, to a dance class). But I definitely don't want/need it to replace my desktop for gaming. I've gotten to a point where I actually prefer not to couch game on the living room TV- I prefer the solitude of gaming after everyone else goes to bed on a 32:9 OLED, and I still prefer a mouse and keyboard for a lot of games anyway. I'm not sure if everything I think is happening will happen entirely in 2025, but yeah, it's going to get a lot better with better chipsets, better upscaling, and better Windows support. But I think my priority for 2025 is a better desktop with at least an RTX 5070.
  13. mikeszekely
    I gave it some thought, and with my other planned 2025 PC upgrades even if a super affordable, way better Z2 Ally 2 comes out I can't see myself buying in until next Black Friday at the earliest. While none of the Ally X's features are probably enough to sell me on their own (though that battery upgrade is huge), combined they add up to make the Ally X a lot more convenient for me... as huge as the battery is, not needing an extra dongle to use a charger and XR glasses at the same time is also a big plus for me. More and faster RAM and improved buttons, sticks, and ergonomics is icing on the cake, plus I realized that the screen might actually be an upgrade for me, since I got the original original Ally and apparently it's only rated for 400 nits vs 500 on later models and the X. I've heard the speakers on the X are better, too. Using my OG Ally as a dedicated retro gaming platform, a platform I was going to invest in sooner or later anyway, and cashing in some credit card points for a gift card also helps justify/offset the $700 price tag. I'm biting the bullet.
  14. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I don't mind turning stuff down to low settings, or even using 720p, but if I'm going to turn the settings down all the way I'd at least like to hit 60fps. I think if had confirmation of a release date, specs, and a price I'd be more inclined to wait. If I buy the X I was thinking I might replace Windows with Batocera. I'd been thinking about building a Batocera box; I'd already built one on a Beelink mini PC for a buddy, and re-using the Ally instead of buying a similar mini PC helps justify the cost. No, the majority of my use is while my kid's at dance. In addition to Monday, she has another two 45 minute days. Sometimes I take her to piano classes, too, but usually my wife handles that one. Other than that, in the summer I'll take her to visit her grandparents. Sometimes when she gets involved in an activity like baking cookies or something that doesn't really involve me I'll bust it out. On super rare occasions I might use it to play on the couch if I have free time during the day, but that's rare. The bulk of my gaming is after she goes to bed on my much more powerful desktop. I was thinking that $700 is the Black Friday deal. EDIT: Thinking about what @Test_Pilot_2 was saying about the non-proprietary egpu connection... that's actually another good point. I was already thinking about replacing my desktop sometime next year, after the RTX 5000 series hits, since my 9th-gen i7 is getting a bit old. A basic enclosure and PSU would allow me to re-use my RTX 4070 and make a Switch-style "dock" if I want to play on my living room TV...🤔
  15. mikeszekely
    I'm thinking about buying an ROG Ally X during the Black Friday sale. A part of me thinks it's hard to justify, since I have the regular Z1 Extreme Ally and the X uses the same chip and the same screen. But there's some real nice quality-of-life improvements... extra RAM leaves enough for the system and the GPU, plus the RAM is faster, you can use full-sized NVME drives, two USB-C ports means I can use my Virture XRs while it's charging without an adapter, and double the battery means I might get through my daughter's two-hour Monday dance classes without needing a battery bank or an outlet.
  16. mikeszekely
    If your buddy wanted the games because he just wanted to play them, he's probably ok. In my (limited) experience sometimes repros flat out refuse to boot, are loaded with some sort or romhack, but most of the time there was no real software difference than a legit cart. If he wanted them as a collector, though, yeah, they're basically worthless. As for EZ-Flash, I don't remember which one I used, but I had one way back in the day. It was good for most games, but it didn't have the motion sensor for games like WarioWare Twisted or the light sensor for the Boktai games. I think it might have had issues with the clock for some Pokemon games, but I'm getting old and don't recall. I think maybe newer carts have more features. The game selection screen was pretty basic, and it didn't offer any extra features like cheats or save states. As long as the games you want to play work and your main goal is playing on the original hardware it should be fine. FWIW, a similar device like the R4i DS Gold was the way to go for original DS games, but for the 3DS you're better off getting a big SD card, installing custom firmware, then downloading the games you want through the Homebrew store.
  17. mikeszekely
    Yeah, the G9 OLED. I love it, it's the same height as my old monitor but the way it curves into my peripheral vision is so much more immersive, especially in racing games. Turns out to be better than I though for productivity, too... I finally get all those dual monitor people.
  18. mikeszekely
    I installed STALKER 2 but I haven't started it yet. I'll be playing at 5120 x 1440, which is a bit fewer pixels than your typical 4K setup. I think my RTX 4070 should be up to the task, but my i7-9700K is getting a bit long in the tooth. I'm planning on replacing my PC, but I'm waiting until the RTX 5070 is a reality.
  19. mikeszekely
    In general, yes. Maybe not quite as good as GB3, but far better than New Gundam Breaker. The story was decent, if a tad short, and the selection of gunpla kits is pretty solid. I think my biggest complaint with it is the way you can upgrade parts. On the one hand, it lets you keep using your favorite gunpla, but on the other hand once you have your favorite gunpla it makes getting new parts less interesting because you're only going to wind up using them as upgrade fodder. I've heard others complain that it can get a bit repetitive, but as a Musou fan I think I'll never get tired of hacking my way through swarms of mooks. That said, I played on PC, where I could run it on my desktop maxed out at 1440p at over 100fps, and could still stay at or above 60fps at 1080p medium on an ROG Ally. I'd be concerned about performance on Switch, which is capped at 30fps, but if you're ok with that and the Switch is your only option then go for it.
  20. mikeszekely
    Generally speaking I prefer injection molded upgrades to 3D printed ones. However, there's just not as many injection-molded kits out there... Perfect Effect seems to have vanished, Nonnef was affected by the hurricanes, and DNA's output has been both slow and an infuriating crapshoot swinging wildly between kits that are absolute must-have upgrades and kits that create as many problems as they solve (and often don't even solve the main issue I had with a figure). So on a whim I decided to to pick up a few 3D printed kits after all. My single biggest complaint with the Orion Pax figure that came in the SDCC Fractured Friendship pack is that they took the gun that came with Gamer Edition Prime and stuck a block in the gap to give it a 5mm peg. It just looks awkward. In search of something better, I found this set from BDT Studio. It's a pair of comic-accurate rifles and a pair of adapters. The sculpt of the rifles themselves is pretty good, and BDT painted them a nice gunmetal color. You have look pretty closely under bright lights (like I'm doing for pictures) to notice the print lines. However, I absolutely loathe BDT's penchant for 3D-printing their weapons with holes that they affix a plastic tube into instead of printing the handle. Despite my misgivings, the handles certainly seem secure, and they fit snugly in Pax's hands. However, they don't really have any bot mode storage. As for alt mode, that's where the adapters come in. The idea is that you're supposed to remove his arm guns then plug the adapter into the port that the arm guns were in so that you have a new port facing outward and a peg pointing backward. The peg plugs into the back of the rifle, and the arm guns plug into the new ports. Now, I think this would look terrible even if it did work, so I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it doesn't even actually work. The new ports are way too big for the arm guns to plug into; they just fall right back out. It seems like an over-engineered solution anyway, when something like a slot molded into the rifle itself that fit over the tabs on the back of the truck would have been a lot easier and better. At around $16 these guns aren't exactly cheap and I hate the alt mode storage. But they're the only comic-accurate rifles for Pax I can find, so I guess my recommendation comes down to how badly you want to replace his stock gun and how much it matters to you that the replacements are accurate. TFSafari, where I buy my kits from, offers discounts based on how many upgrade kits you buy in an order, so I decided to toss in these Shockwave Lab smokestacks for SS86 Optimus Prime. As you can see, they're pretty similar to the stock smokestacks; maybe the paint is a little shinier. They don't even look 3D printed. Some assembly is required. You'll need to remove these two screws from the back of Prime's shoulders. The front of the shoulder and the joint will stay attached to the torso, while the back of the shoulder, the smokestack, and the entire arm will come off. Once the arm is off, swapping the stacks is as easy as sliding the original one out of the groove and slipping the new one into place. Given how similar they are, you might be asking what's the need for a kit like this? Well, for one, the new stacks fix one of my few complaints about SS86 Prime, in that they're much more snug than the stock ones. You're far less likely to bump them out of place when you rotate them. But the other difference is that the tips are actually holes, which makes for a slightly more realistic look. I can't say that this kit is necessary, especially for $11, when you could just use floor polish or something to tighten up the stacks Prime already had. But the quality here is pretty good, should you decide that this is the way you want to go. As long as we're talking about Shockwave Lab smokestacks, there's also this kit, but for Legacy Deluxe-class Prime, that comes with smokestacks and a few fillers. Unlike the SS86 ones, this time there's a much more noticeable difference. The stock stacks only had the holes one one side of the exhaust shields, and they're very shallow. Plus, they're bare gray plastic. The Shockwave Lab stacks have deeper, more visible holes and are painted silver like the ones for SS86 Prime. And, once again, they have the hole in the top of the exhaust pipe. Installation is super easy (barely an inconvenience), since Legacy Prime's smokestacks are simply pegged into his shoulders. All you have to do is pull them out and plug the new ones in, and they're a nice fit. As for the fillers, the red ones go in his back and are meant to cover the gaps and pins in the butterfly transformation joint. They're kind of a pain to get in, because if they're not sitting right they'll actually block his arms from transforming. Once they're in, though, they'll stay in with no issues. The silver pieces fill in the gabs in his thighs. They're painted silver, which doesn't make them a perfect match for the bare gray plastic his thighs are molded out of, but installation was simple enough. I guess the thing is, neither his back nor his thigh gaps really bothered me. I'd have preferred they fill in the gaps around the 5mm ports on the bottoms of his feet, since they face up in truck mode. Alas, that's something you don't get a filler for. Despite being a bit underwhelmed by the filler parts, of the three kits this is the one I actually do recommend outright. At $11 it's the same price as the SS86 smokestacks, but the filler, underwhelming though it may be, at least adds to the value. Plus, unlike the SS86 stacks, the ones for Legacy Prime are more obviously an upgrade.
  21. mikeszekely

    Hi-Metal R

    mikeszekely replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    If they did a non-kai VF-19 (A, F, or S) I'd be on it like a fly on poop, but I'm not a fan of the Fire Valk.
  22. mikeszekely
    It's got more Sunbow-ish lines, but unlike Tesla and Spindrift there's nothing about it that makes me feel a need to upgrade.
  23. mikeszekely
    Just going to elaborate on this. When you fold in the panel on top of the hood so his head can pass through, this slot on the panel needs to plug onto this thick tab inside the chest behind the electronics. Out of the box, it's very tough, to the point I thought it was misaligned. And you can see on my copy that forcing it a couple of times has worn off some plastic. But you need it to be on all the way, so the panel is flush with the chest. If there's any gap the bottom of the panel won't line up right with his waist. If it is on all the way, the hinges in the shoulders should kind of "thoop" into place, and the panel should slide down into place.
  24. mikeszekely
    I mean, it's a class or two down from Earthrise, so it's gonna be a downgrade from just about everything before it. But we have a Core-class Optimus, and it does look better than that.
  25. mikeszekely
    Studio Series Gamer Edition Deluxe-class Gamer Devastation Optimus Prime It's... not great. Deluxe-class doesn't really go all that far anymore, eh? Not sure how many people are even going to want this, what with the excellent new Commander-class toy (or even one of the many Earthrise variants still floating around) doing the same thing but much better, but I understand that this is considered an A-Level product, which essentially boils down to Hasbro wanting a cheap version of the brand's most popular character on shelves for a long, long time. Of course, despite my negative first impressions I'm a big enough sucker to buy and review it when it comes out anyway, so... I guess I'll let you know.
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