Hurin

Problem here is that I wasn't quoting him. Though I just googled him and now realize who he is ("rotten tomatoes" and "ain't it cool news", apparently). I have visited those sites before. Can't say I was overly impressed. But, not only did I not quote the "raping" phrase that he apparently made famous, but the different phrase which I used eytemology can easily be explained. It isn't a big stretch of the imagination to come up with "Lucas needs to stop f'ing with my childhood." For my friends and I, Star Wars was our childhood. Since I was three years old in 1977, the mainstay of my toys and playtime consisted of Star Wars. So, when the new stuff started coming out. . . and some of it started to fundamentally alter our childhood recollections (all along, we weren't apparently wishing to be spiritual Jedi using the mystical "force". . . we were really just wishing we had a high concentration of parasites in our blood! --This according to George Lucas who apparently decided to retroactively take all the spirituality out of the force because (I'm guessing) it doesn't jive with his political beliefs nowadays). . . From there it wasn't tough to start thinking: "Dude, this crap is fundamentally altering my most cherished childhood memories." And, of course, from there, we started saying this to each other long distance over the phone (as adults!) every time we heard about some new f'ed up thing that Lucas was doing not only in the new movies, but retroactively to the old ones! I know, you can say: "Grow up dude. It doesn't change a thing. You can still have your memories." But can you honestly say that if Kawamori brought back Hikaru and Minmay, and Misa. . . and suddenly announced that Minmay and Misa both dumped Hikaru to be with each other. . . that wouldn't color your view on the original series? Wait a minute. . . that might actually be cool. . . nevermind. . . H

These are all good points. And, to be honest. . . I may just have to watch the movie again with all these points in mind. My only quibble would be: Please note that this is almost like saying: "The least uncomfortable of conatgious skin diseases." Short Round suffers from Ewok-syndrome with me. I loved them as a kid. But, as an adult, I can't stand them. Speaking of Ewoks. The novelization of Return of the Jedi is incredible. It makes the ewoks palletable to adult tastes while delving much more deeply into the pysche of Vader. A must-read for those who can't stomach Jedi on film. One thing about me guys: I'm a purist in almost all things entertainment-wise. I think the Simpsons has sucked in recent years when compared to its golden age. I think the last several seasons of Cheers was terrible. I prefer Star Trek in its original form. . . are you sensing a pattern here? So, that may be my "issue."

Sorry about that. In hindsight that was pretty unclassy of me. I figured anyone following he discussion would come over here, so there would be no harm done. But, well, I suppose I should have just said: "Let's go over here" and left it at that to be fair. Sorry! H

Should painters come back and alter their paintings 20 years after they have been publicly displayed? Should novelists rewrite the endings to their novels 20 years after they were published? How about if Tolkien rewrites LotR so that Gollum is pushed into the fire by Frodo? Just to settle some moral hangup that Tolkien developed twenty years after first putting the story down on paper. Lucas owns his films. Obviously, he can do whatever he wants with them. Have I been asking for some type of law to stop him? No. I'm merely expressing my dismay that someone who has so obviously lost his touch has decided to go back and make his older films (which were good) more like his newer films (which are terrible, IMHO). As for the money he generates being a sign of his brilliance. Professional Wrestling makes a lot of money too. 'Nuff said. As for Empire being the least profitable. That may be the case (I'm unsure). But it is definitely the most critically acclaimed. H

Uh, except we're debating the merits of a few films. . . hardly the same level of importance. I'm not demanding that you stop watching Temple of Doom or Last Crusade (too lazy to italicize). I have no idea who "Harry Knowles" is. Nor have I used the phrase "raped my childhood," though I have heard others say it. For the record, I and my friends have been using the phrase: "Lucas needs to stop f'ing with my childhood" ever since the Special Edtions came out. And we were grumbling even when the Zahn novels were released. This would be a better point if I hadn't already said this in my post: "Thankfully, unlike the Star Wars Trilogy, Lucas didn't go into the movie itself and digitally change the title. If only he had given the original Star Wars trilogy the same type of respect." Furthermore, I was pissed about the title change when I saw the 1998 VHS release as well. . . they released it alongside all the Young Indy crap. Uh, if they change the title on the website, the packaging, and everything else but the actual print of the film. . . wouldn't you consider that a change in the movie's title? Well, thanks for stopping by and gracing this thread with your presence. Especially with all my issues and all. . . H P.S. Nobody is making you read this thread or respond. I realize the post is long and is a bit harsh in places (it was posted originally to my own website which has a different audience). . . but it doesn't even really look like you read it entirely before just deciding that I have "issues", that I've been brainwashed by "Harry Knowles", and that none of this is worth any of your precious time. But, thanks for coming by to tell us that.

I've figured it out what's so annoying (to me) about each thread that takes place whenever something new from Yamato is announced. It isn't so much the whining. . . it's how so many people want to "play the victim." Now, when most people think to themselves: "Gee, it really would only take a few stickers and a 1S head to make this 1A Hikaru a 1S". . . I would hope most of us start thinking about way to buy, trade, or otherwise create a 1S head. Indeed, some of us might even get around to asking Yamato to send us one. But, when we're told that they won't sell the heads seperately. . . we have to ask why. The answer, obviously, is that Yamato will make a lot more money selling you a complete Hikaru 1S later. Or, if you can't wait, they're betting the collectors will be willing to buy a Roy 1S in the meantime and use that head. Either way. . . it is the difference between Yamato making $50-100 on a complete valk. . . or $2 on a freakin' head part. As a freakin' business. . . which one makes the most sense?!? As the CEO of Yamato, if you decide to start selling the heads seperately. . . you should be fired. Case closed. But. . . that's not where it ends. All that matters to most people is what they want. The laws of economics and common sense be damned! "But, Yamato, don't you see, I really want a 1S head. Why do you have to be so mean! Your'e just greedy!" I'll say it again. Greed is why we have these valks in the first place. Instead of playing the victim and constantly whining about how unfair the world is. . . how about counting your blessings for once. Sheesh. . . H

Yeah. . . why didn't they just release one valkyrie. And then release a "head set" that would allow us to choose which valkyrie we want. Oh, wait, that would mean that Yamato would sell far fewer valks. Which means they wouldn't make as much money. Ah hell, they should do it anyway! Right? Because, after all, they aren't motivated by making money. They are making these toys out of the kindness of their hearts! Where do you think Yamato is located? Communist China? Cuba? Dude, they're making these to sell them to us. For the life of me, I cannot understand why people feel entitled to certain Yamato products. Then, when Yamato does what their market research and plans dictate that they do. . . people actually feel like somehow they've been cheated, wronged, or robbed. Get over yourselves. Yamato is in this to make a buck. It isn't greed. It's just the nature of a free market. And, even if you want to call it greed. . . the free market and "greed" are the reasons you have any Macross products (or even Anime) at all! So, my advice: Buy the Valkyries you want, say "thank you Yamato", and go about your business. H

U.N. Spacy is definitely supposed to be right-side up in fighter mode. Which, of course, makes it upside down in fighter mode. The only alternative, of course, is to do it differently on each side. Whenever you see it right-side up in battroid, I'm assuming someone is taking artistic license because, like you, they just don't like to see it upside down. Since it never appears on any guns in the actual anime however (that I'm aware), I don't think we can say with absolute certainty. Unless, of course, designworks or something like that spells it out. H

I wrote this on my website. However, it also came up in this thread over in the Macross TV/Movies forum. So, I thought I would move it here and say my piece before that thread gets completely Indy-ified. (Some formatting did not transfer from my website (italics, links) -------------------------------- I just wandered over to Costco and picked up my Indiana Jones DVD Box Set. Now, let's be clear, I only bought it for one movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark. The other two are steaming piles of. . . something bad. And, by the way, the title of the movie is: Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is not "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." Once again, George Lucas (and Spielberg?) have decided: "Ah hell, we really should have put the character's name in the title. Where did I put that eraser?" Thankfully, unlike the Star Wars Trilogy, Lucas didn't go into the movie itself and digitally change the title. If only he had given the original Star Wars trilogy the same type of respect. Among the many tendencies that George Lucas and his ilk have, his penchant for retroactively changing things is the most annoying. But what is even worse is that he flat-out lies, claiming that the changes he makes are being done only because they fall in line with his "original vision" or intentions. He was just held back by technology, or a low budget, you see. Wait, I think I feel that long delayed George Lucas rant coming on. . . My girlfriend was kind enough to sit through the Star Wars trilogy over the last month or so (small chunks, it goes down easier!). While we were watching it, I was constantly torn between which version we should watch: The "Special Edition" or the original. Most of the time, we opted for the Special Edition. While we were watching the opening to Return of the Jedi, Lucas was giving an interview and said something like: "I had always wanted to put a song and dance number into the Jabba's Palace scene. I thought it would be funny because that would be so out of place in a Star Wars movie. But, because of technological limitations, we couldn't do that." This (paraphrased) quote sums up everything that has gone wrong with George Lucas movies ever since The Empire Strikes Back. Okay, first, Mr. Genius, if a certain type of scene is admittedly "out of place" in your movie. . . maybe you shouldn't f'ing put it in there!!!. This is so sand-poundingly obvious that it almost hurts me to point it out. If you don't take the formula that led to success in your prior two movies seriously. . . how do you expect your audience to appreciate the movie as part of the trilogy? Second, you are still limited by technology. Because what you added into those movies, in almost every case, looks like ass. When my very non-picky (she'd have to be to go out with me!) girlfriend looks at the CG characters in the Special Edition and says: "That looks terrible". . . you know you're in trouble. Third, stop f'ing pretending that all the crap you added to the Special Edition movies was supposed to be there in the first place. . . but you just ran out of time, money, or faced insurmountable technical hurdles. It is so blatantly obvious that you are lying in almost every case that people really should wonder about what is going on in that brain of yours. Do you actually expect us to believe that you "couldn't get the angle right" to have Greedo fire first? Well, with all the technology at your disposal now, you sure as hell didn't get the angle right in the Special Edition! It looks like that blaster fires out its side. . . which of course, probably surprised Greedo. . . which also may explain how he f'ing missed Han from two feet away! Face it buddy, you created a dark, anti-hero character in Han Solo. Then, you had a child and suddenly blew rainbow-colored smoke up your own ass and decided to "kid-ify" all your movies. . . retroactively. And this brings us back around to Indiana Jones. Another character that suffered the fate of being under the creative control of George Lucas after he decided to start making movies "for the children." Indiana Jones starts out as a very dark, shady character. He literally emerges from the shadows in the first movie. He's gritty, cynical, threatening, and mysterious. Throughout Raiders, we're not so sure what to make of him. In fact, the script goes out of its way to point out that Indy isn't so different from his antagonists (Belloq: "We are not so different, you and I. . ."). We see Indy kill almost indiscriminantly. We see him shoot a man armed only with a sword from a distance of about twenty feet. We see him nearly commit suicide in grief while trying to take his arch-nemesis with him. This is an "anti-hero." But, what happens in the later films? Well, following the theory that there is a "breaking point" in Lucas produced/directed movies, here's how it breaks down: Star Wars: A New Hope Raiders of the Lost Ark Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back ----------------------- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Return of the Jedi Howard the Duck Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Willow Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Star Wars: Attack of the Clones As you can see, every movie past the dashed line either has kids as major characters, prat-falls and sight-gags, teddy-bears. . . er, I mean, ewoks, or just plain suck (Willow). But, what is worse, he even went back to the movies above the dashed line and added those factors to the movies that didn't suck! So now, of course, they retroactively suck. So, back to the Indiana Jones films. We see Indiana Jones go from being a dark, brooding, loner. . . to being saddled with a kid side-kick in Temple of Doom. There, we also see him drop his cynicism as he learns to accept the mystical powers of a glowing rock. Which, by the way, is hard to reconcile with his skepticism in Raiders of the Lost Ark (Temple of Doomis a prequel). Ah, but we wouldn't want to let a little thing like continuity of charcter get in the way of the emergence of a kindler, gentler Indiana Jones. I could go on about Temple of Doom. But the absolute perfect example of how much George Lucas sucks is provided by the crap-fest: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. So, remember how Indiana Jones is mysterious? Well, in the first ten minutes of Last Crusade, we learn where Indy gets his hat, his whip, the scar on his chin, his fear of snakes, and his motivation for becoming and archeaologist. So much for mystery. We then spend the next two hours watching Indiana play straight man for the returning cast members from the first film. . . and Sean Connery. The odd part, however, is that every character that returns has apparently undergone a total frontal lobotomy. Marcus Brodey, the rather intelligent, paternal figure from the first film is now portrayed as a bumbling buffoon who likes to quip puns when he's not falling down in the middle of a fire-fight with Nazis. Sallah doesn't fair much better. And, of course, let's not forget that we get to watch our dark brooding anti-hero form the first movie turn into a boy scout as he constantly seeks the approval of his dad, annoyingly portrayed by Sean Connery. Throw in some poorly done special effects, some lame prat-falls, sight-gags, and you have the perfect movie to totally ruin what was possibly going to be a great trilogy. Last Crusade had a chance to redeem the Indiana Jones character after Temple of Doom. But sadly, as with all Lucas films since Empire, it went the other way. By the way, if you still think Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones film, then you're either ten, or you haven't compared Raiders to Crusade since you were ten. Or, you just like bad movies. George Lucas hasn't made a decent movie in almost two decades. Yet people still revere him as a great filmaker. The man had a wonderful imagination. Unfortunately, as he aged, he lost his touch. . . and now finds himself surrounded by yes-men who don't have the nerve to tell him that all the CG garbage he is adding to his movies looks likes ass and that he should probably concentrate a little more on. . . oh, I don't know, developing a story that doesn't suck and perhaps getting a better performance out of his actors than what could be extracted from a soggy piece of cardboard. I have never actually confirmed this, but I have always assumed he had a kid, and that his why his movies seemed to be intentionally dumbed down with contrived humor, simplistic characters, and inane plots that would appeal only to children. I have read rumors that during the time between Empire and the Temple of Doom, he not only adopted a child, but his wife left him for another man. Now, if that is true, that is sad. . . and explains quite a bit of what happened to this man's ego, and his need to suddenly tell childrens' stories. Yet, that does not excuse an artist going back and altering his paintings years after they have been displayed in a museum. All of this would indeed be a moot point if we could count on his earlier work to remain untouched and pristine. However, Lucas has made it clear that the "Special Edition" of the Star Wars Trilogy is now considered canon. There will be no release of the original films on DVD without the added garbage and changes. He has, twenty years after he gave his vision to us, come back and swept it away, leaving us with something different and far less endearing. This, together with the damage he continues to do to his own franchise with each new Star Wars film has been enough to make me give up on Star Wars altogether. I actually sold off the toy collection I had cherished since before I can remember. I now doubt I'll even see the new Star Wars movie in the theaters when it is released. And, of course, should there be a fourth Indiana Jones movie, you can bet that it will suck. . . and suck hard. I've said it before and I'll say it again: George Lucas needs to stop f'ing with my childhood. He's not the same filmaker he used to be. Indeed, he's not half the filmaker he used to be. I've read that it irks him that people think that he shouldn't be able to alter his own work. Well, I don't think we would mind so much if he still had any talent. And, even then, we'd all let it slide if he wasn't simultaneously forcibly removing our beloved movies from the cultural landscap and replacing them with his warped view of what he always "intended" us to see.

Compare that to: -The plane flying through the tunnel and the pilot just non-chalantly looks over at the "Indy boys" while his certain death approaches. -Indy firing a pistol at one Nazi, and the bullet passing through four or five of them. . . and they all fall away in an almost choreographed fashion, and then Indy looks at the pistol, and smirks. -Marcus Brody in the tank taking time out to say lame-!#@$ crap like: "Henry! The pen is mightier than the sword!" Don't even get me started on how they gave Brody a total frontal lobotomy (along with everybody else from the 1st film) in order to have some clowns to dance around Indy as the straight man. -The man with the stamp in the library. -Hitler signing the journal. -"X" Marks the Spot. I could go on. . . and that's just Last Crusade. Come on man. . . totally different classes of humor there. One type of humor is believable. . . The humor fits into the story. The other type is contrived. . . the story serves as the vehicle by which the humor is delivered. In other words: The story has a few humorous moments vs the humorous moments being the main aspects of the story. I never said Raiders didn't have humorous moments. In fact, I like the humor in Raiders. It isn't corny and it isn't over-the-top. Last Crusade is a prat-fall-fest from beginning to end. I have started a new thread over in the Science Fiction area. If we're gonna debate it, let's debate it there and spare all these nice people any further off-topic stuff (which I admittedly started). H

I'm not sure, but I don't think unscrewing the head from a Hikaru 1A and screwing it back on a Roy 1S body counts as a "custom." If you look at that pic, it doesn't even look like the arrow on the head has been repainted. I think he just did this briefly to goof off. Then again, the panel lines are sweet! H

I think I'm going to remove the heatshield from my original Roy 1S and leave it in fighter mode. Then I can use its heatshield to replace the red one. It'll be sweet! I know red is canon. But ever since my first real valk (the Bandai 1S Strike when I was a kid), black has always seemed more "right" to me. H

Sweet Merciful Crap! A Masterpiece! The battroid mode looks awfully clean though considering the beaten up appearance of the FAST Packs. But that is a minor, minor quibble with an absolute work of art! H

Sigh. . . Some of you need to get this through your head. . . Some of us don't model. Some of us don't paint. Some of us wanted a Hikaru 1S. Yamato has made it available to those of us who want one. The only way this would be a rip is: 1. They broke into your home and deposited one, and then forcibly removed the $120 from your wallet. 2. There is any evidence that this 1S has taken the place of a more desirable valk. Considering neither of those are true (it hardly costs Yamato anything to put the Roy head on the 1A body), we need to stop acting like somehow Yamato is freakin' wronging us somehow. I think this warrants some yelling: JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YAMATO SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT OR THAT YAMATO IS BEING "UNIMAGINATIVE" OR DUMB. H

Last comment I will make about Indy movies in this thread. . . I think my point is being made by the fact that those who love the latter two movies point out funny lines from it. The first movie wasn't about being funny. It was about a dark anti-hero character. There was some light humor, but it never felt contrived. The two movies after that lightened Indy up excessively and introduced kid characters, formulaic situations, and gratuitous attempts at comedy. . . to the point where the third movie was practically a comedy with some action thrown in as an excuse for more comedy. You can say that the latter two were decent movies, but they are not in the same class as Raiders. They're totally different types/styles of movie making. Most people only remember these movies from when they were a kid. But comparing them as an adult, the differences are jarring. But, let's not debate this here. If you want to debate it, take it over to my site where I write about this: here. Comments are possible at the bottom. I'd still like to see the actual quote where the black hole is mentioned. H

I can't help you.

First. . . is it confirmed that he actually used the phrase "black hole?" If that is the case. . . sorry guys. . . Hikaru is dead along with everyone else on the Megaroad. Aside from some wishful thinking and fanciful science fiction writing, going into a black hole = death well before you reach the event horizon. Hehe, and as we all know, Macross isn't science fiction. It's historical! Ironically, I just passed within about two feet of Stephen Hawking about an hour ago. He's visiting where I work. I've always heard that the Megaroad folded to the center of the galaxy and all contact was lost. Now, there is a super black hole in the center of the galaxy. But did they actually go in? As for why Kawamori did it that way. . . I LOVE IT! It beats the hell out of lame-ass sequels that suck all the poignance, finality, and meaning out of the original series. The "book closing" ending isn't half as effective if there is story after story about Hikaru and all the characters afterwards. Look at Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark was perfect. Then the next two movies fundamentally altered/ruined that character. Imagine more Tolkien books about Frodo. Look at how cheapened the magic of the original Star Wars is now that there have been a billion books/novels and two (soon three) new movies. I love the Kawamori route. Leave it vague. . . and let it stand. H

That may be the most confusing post I've ever seen here. . . and the lack of an image is of course the final touch.

Yes. It is still coming out. It should have the improvements that came "stock" with the Max and Low-vis. 1. flaps less delicate. 2. Skulls on tail not crooked (we would hope!) 3. elbows flex 90 degrees. 4. nose cone less apt to fall off. 5. Hopefully the canopy will stay open by itself. Not to be rude, but this has been asked and answered a billion times. Use the search function. H

I really wish people would give their poll questions more thought. . . or at least, the verbage after the yes/no. What if I want to vote "no", but *not* because I think the low-vis is ugly. H

I've taken the nose/cockpit area apart. It was pretty basic. Just pay attention as you take it apart, and take notes if you need to do so. It's always nice to have a "together" one to compare with as well when you get a little confused putting it back together. I'd say go for it. If the rest of it is as easy as the nose/fuselage, it should be pretty easy. Just be careful not to strip the screws or their "sockets." H

For the record, WM Cheng posted some stuff about whether he'd be willing to work on others' valks and pricing in his earlier thread where he showed off this VF-1S prior to adding the FAST Packs. Keep in mind that the pricing above is talking about a valk without FAST Packs. I hope WM Cheng doesn't mind me posting this here. But, then again, it's there in that thread for everyone to see. Please don't construe this as any promise on WM Cheng's part. He may very well have changed his mind! H

Once again I'm truly astounded. . . and I had just lost my verve for drafting you to do my Roy 1S! Now I'm all excited again and will have to start scrounging up cash! One question though. . . will you be touching up and/or detailing the feet? They still look untouched by any of your methods. Best Regards. . . master! H

Didn't mean to sound snide. Actually I wouldn't expect your average Joe to see that review all the way down at the bottom. Any sighing is actually more directed at the community as a whole. . . this topic has been open for almost two weeks and nobody posted a link to the review. I don't mean to sound like I feel unappreciated. Really, I don't care that much. . . I had fun doing the review and taking/posting the pictures. It's more just frustration at how useless the Review area of this forum is when so few people even seem to know about it or visit it with any regularity. The only way you can direct attention to a review is to post about in the Toys section. . . which sorta defeats the whole purpose of keeping them seperate! Anyways, hope that clears it up. Didn't mean to sound that snotty. H

Sigh. . . makes me wonder why I ever bothered to review them. . . H