mikeszekely
-
Posts
12709 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Everything posted by mikeszekely
-
My gunpla came. I haven't touched the G-Self or Wing Zero, but I opened Psyco Gundam to look at the runners and the manual. Bandai seems to have made some odd choices here. Like, they have stickers for a lot of the yellow markings, but all the red marks need painted. Likewise, there's the usual sticker for the eyes, but none for the cameras behind the v-fin or on the back of the head, and those ones are trickier because I don't have a metallic pink paint. Also, the kit has a ton of runners, but the hip joints are on the same runner as the upper thigh armor. I don't know why they didn't put the hip joints on the runners with the leg frame, because they should be the same off-white as the frame, not the purple of the thigh armor. Oh well, I slapped a coat of spray paint on the hip parts. I can't build now since I'm heading to Wheeling to catch a Nailers game anyway.
-
Take it with an extra large grain of salt, but I heard a rumor pointing at fall...
-
It's just a gold Sharpie. It's good for the joints, but it's more metallic and less shiny than the eye stickers, so I wouldn't recommend it for the eyes. Also, it rubs off fairly easily, but it can be easily reapplied. You can try clear coating it, but the Tamiya clear coat I had mostly disolved it. I'm sure you can find them at Amazon, but unless you have Prime and really don't feel like going to a store, I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that they're available almost everywhere that has a pen aisle... Walmart, Target, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, even most drug stores. They're conveniently sold in a pack of three "Sharpie Metallics," with one gold, one silver, and one copper per pack.
-
I liked Tron: Legacy. It was a visual treat. But the best thing about Tron: Legacy is that it spawned the excellent Tron: Uprising. Man, I hope Tron 3 gets Disney to make another awesome Tron cartoon.
-
With the RG kits, it's kind of like they're giving you options... but you don't really need them. Basically, it's telling you that you can use put on sticker 74 (the black part), then put 7 and 8 (the gold ones) on over/in the eye holes. Or, you can just put 4 (the black with gold eyes already on it) on instead. Maybe a more advanced gunplar will have a good reason to use 74, 7, and 8, but I can't think of one. Maybe someone who wants to paint the black and just use the gold stickers, or vice versa? My advice? Just put #4 on and call it a day.
-
Yeah, I've pretty much stopped using those stickers in favor of a copper or gold metallic Sharpie. I also used the silver one on Destiny's wings after all the stickers fell peeled off. Aside from the joints and Destiny's wings, though, the only stickers that I still have trouble with are the red/red and gray stickers that go on beam saber hilts. I seriously don't think any have remained in place except the Mk-II, which uses a boxier hilt. Oh, I had some trouble with some of the stickers on the front of the RG Zaku's feet, until I figured out to just cut the sticker along the fold. Once I did that, no problems.
-
Yeah, Amazon is still my go-to web store for gunpla. Even if it's not sold by Amazon directly, the marketplace is so competitive there that price + shipping is lower than just about everywhere else, even if you pick a seller that uses Amazon for fulfillment to get the Prime shipping. I only ordered from Gundam Planet because I wanted to lock the G3 down, in case it winds up like Zeta 3, and it won't turn up on Amazon until after it's released. Judging by the RG Casval Gundam, though, the price plus shipping at Amazon would be around the price before shipping at GP. EDIT: I got an order in this morning for an RG Wing Zero and an HG Psyco Gundam. Both and the G-Self should be here by Friday. Between those three kits and the preorder on the G3, I think I'm going to put the Vrabe on the back burner for a bit. In fact, I'm going to need a third Detolf sooner or later. I might see if my buddy and his truck want to do the Ikea run when the weather's a little nicer. There's a HobbyTown there, and I can look to see if they have the Vrabe at that time.
-
Have you ordered from either of them? The price difference after shipping is around $17, which is definitely enough to make me think twice, but having never ordered from either I did a little poking around. The consensus seemed to be that Gundam Planet is more expensive, but the service is top notch. As for GG Infinite, I've heard complaints about price (although $48 shipped actually seems pretty cheap to me), a lack of response to customer inquiries, late shipping, shipping wrong quantities, shipping orders for multiple items and forgetting some of the items, etc. I don't know if they're isolated incidents or what, but throw in the fact that Gundam Planet doesn't just sell the models, they have all kinds of useful information on their site versus GG Infinite, which looks like it was designed in the late '90s, and I'm just not feeling confident enough about GG Infinite. That extra $17 is buying me peace of mind.
-
I know nothing about painting. As far as the nubs go, the accepted best practice is, I believe, to leave a bit of the nub when using nippers to cut the part off of the runner, then to use a hobby knife to cut the nub off, then use a very fine-grit sandpaper or file to sand off any remaining mark. Me personally, I use the nippers to cut as close to the part as I can, then hobby knife off the remainder, then say, "screw it, good enough". EDIT: I preordered RG Gundam G3 from Gundam Planet. It seems like it's quite a bit cheaper at GG Infinite, but I dunno, I guess I like the presentation better at Gundam Planet? HLJ and Gundam Store and More don't seem to have preorders available.
-
If I went to a local hobby store and they had it, I'd buy it. But I'd have to find a local hobby store that sells gunpla, of which there aren't any. Maybe if my buddy wants to make the hour drive to the IKEA again... As for the the G-Self, I haven't watched G-Reco yet, so I don't know much about the G-Self. From what I've seen, it's like Strike or Impulse, with different packs, and I know that the HG model came with the atmospheric pack. I've seen a space pack sold separately (for almost as much as the actual G-Self kit!), and I've seen artwork for a ton of other packs. Is Bandai planning on selling the G-Self with the perfect pack? Or will the perfect pack be sold separately? I haven't seen kits for anything but the G-Self with atmospheric pack and the space back option parts. I'm actually thinking I'm in the mood for something a little different... I might get the HG Psyco Gundam. Is there anywhere to get decals for it, though?
-
Not much luck finding RG Zero on Amazon (disclaimer: I'm looking for either sold by Amazon, or fulfilled by Amazon). I ordered an HG G-Self, though.
-
The computer and electronics super geek thread
mikeszekely replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Well, it depends on what you mean by bland, and it depends on what you mean by cool-looking. It also doesn't really help that I don't give a rat's behind about noise, so noise isn't something I pay much attention to (my current case is an NZXT Phantom, and it's got fans out the yin-yang, so I don't think it's for you). There's a site, if you didn't already know, that's all about building quiet PCs. It's called Silent PC Review, and their case recommendations are here. I noticed the Antec P183 is on their list... I don't know if it speaks to your sensibilities, and it's definitely not a case for LEDs, but I had the P182 on my last PC, and I really enjoyed it. There's also this Silverstone Raven case, that has some pretty angles, but again, not sure about LEDs. -
The computer and electronics super geek thread
mikeszekely replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Ok... two other things we can try to wring a little more performance out of the hardware you have. First, on the folder(s) with the tons of files that are slow to open, right-click on it, Properties, and then Customize. Change the "Optimize this folder for:" to "Documents." Second option comes with the caveat that it may cause some legacy programs to be unable to find files with longer file names, but you can disable 8.3 file names. Open a command prompt as an administrator then type: fsutil.exe behavior set disable8dot3 1 Hit enter and you should be good, no reboot required. -
The computer and electronics super geek thread
mikeszekely replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Ok, it's most likely the CPU, since I think I had that exact same CPU... two computers ago. It's a Wolfsdale Core 2 Duo, right? You'd also likely get a bump with a SATA III compatible motherboard and hard drive. Not exactly sure what you mean by breakthrough... Intel's still on the whole Core i thing, but they're on something like the 4th generation. And Intel works on a tick-tock cycle where they alternate major revisions and refinements, so even if you accept that two versions of Core i are just minor bumps, that's still two major upgrades. In any case, I don't think it's time for an upgrade on your desktop, I think it's time for a new desktop. In the mean time, though, you could try disabling indexing (either right-click the C: drive, select properties, and on the general tab make sure "allow files on this drive to be indexed..." at the bottom isn't checked, or open a run box, type services.msc, find "Windows Search" and set the startup type to "disabled.") -
The computer and electronics super geek thread
mikeszekely replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
When it comes to gaming, I've never been satisfied with any laptop I've owned, including two that were specifically designed for gaming. When it comes to non-gaming tasks, I haven't been picky enough to care. I will say I've been using a Surface Pro 3, and I've been generally digging it. Are you still planning on keeping your desktop? I have a 3TB storage drive in my desktop, and I set that entire drive to be shared, so as long as the desktop is on (and it almost always is) the Surface can get at them. As for speeding up your desktop, it could be a little of just about all the reasons you suggested. What specs does it have? -
I thought that was kind of the idea. When I do panel lining, I run the Gundam Marker along the line, then I use a q-tip to wipe off the excess. It cleans the surface, but the ink from the marker gets down in the crevices where the q-tip can't wipe it.
-
I've been using just a Gundam marker, and it's been mostly good, but there are spots where it seems like after applying the whole thing wipes off. I never even thought to use a pencil. How do you keep the pencil from coming off?
-
Hey David, what pen are you using for your panel lining?
-
I'm not sold on the bird thing. I haven't watched Try yet, either. I'm only interested because the Hi-Nu is one of my favorite UC mobile suits, and the Vrabe looks like a neat take on it.
-
RG Wing Zero and HGBF Hi-Nu V-Rabe.
-
Maybe I should look into getting a GM II. Especially since the kits that I want seem to be in short supply from Amazon.
-
Oh, they're done and in the detolf. One's lounging in front of a GM Sniper II, the other is aiming at the Gundam Mk II's butt.
-
I'm jealous. I got nothing right now. A few unexpected expenses this month are cutting into my spending money, too. I might try to order myself a Hi-Nu V-rabe and an RG Wing Zero soon, though, and hopefully I can still get an order in for then RG G3.
-
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
mikeszekely replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Huh. I guess Tracks looked kind of tall and skinny, since some guys were commenting on it, but I really didn't notice it in gray. In color, though, it's like watching a widescreen movie stretched to fit an old tube TV. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
mikeszekely replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Haven't handled on myself, but David Willis has a review at Shortpacked. He has it looking a lot better than Hasbro's shots, and he says it's got a lot of good, ratcheting joints.I'm on the fence. I have Hegemon, which scales better with the CHUGs and has a better g1 look (if being sort of mediocre overall), but I might pick him up. Definitely passing on Armada Megs, though.