ChristopherB

Blaine23 To summarize, you're first question for me is, "If someone misinterpreted my signature as being political, then why would they want to PM me first, as opposed to starting a thread." I think the answer to that question is self evident. If you had made the incorrect assumption first of all, that a signature is political, when in fact it isn't, why would you want to create an entire thread over a misinterpretation? The easiest way to clear up an assumption is by going straight to the source, because the only person who could possibly clarify and correct your misinterpretation, is the source of the confusion. Not other MW members, and not a moderator. To summarize, you're second question for me is, "Assuming that Christopher's signature is political, why would I want to contact him, after all, I assume that he will just argue with me." As stated above, "How would know if it's political unless you ASK me???" Second of all, since I've never argued with you or anyone else via PM, how in the hell do you know that I would argue with you about this? Did you ever consider that a longstanding member such as myself, with no past history of being a trouble maker, might actually be able to carry on an intelligent converstion via PM? In your second post, you feel as though you have the authority to speak for everyone here at MW. Somehow, you must have either polled every member or become clairvoyent, because you make the following completely unsubstantiated statement, and it's hard to respect someone that pulls crap like this out of their arse: "I don't see the NRA as being a one party group. I can't imagine that it would potentially offend half the members here, unlike ChrisB's sig." Do you have any other enlightened wisdom for us? This thread was started by someone with a political axe to grind, who used my signature as a pretense to pretend as though he was asking a question for the benefit of all MW. Otherwise, I would have been contacted, a moderator would have been PM'ed, or a generic non-specific question posed. Some people politely claimed that things they posted were not directed at the culprit of this thread, and I respect their wishes not to "flame anyone," but let me summarize some key phrases: "www.dont-be-a-girlieman.com" "Grow a spine and lighten up." "I'm telling on you business." "That is what makes a man." "You should always address things at the lowest level." This thread was never motivated by an altruistic desire to benefit Macross World. WDC doesn't like SBVT, and his preconceived notions are clearly stated in his posts, regardless of how much tries to act as though he only referenced them as a convenient example: "I know they are about as much of a joke as Bush or Kerry." "to what is obviously a political group with one single goal, which is the election/re-election of Bush at all costs." Yes, I have a right to be pissed off, so don't presume that I have no reason to be. I'm intelligent enough to understand how someone like WDC could take my signature the wrong way. Hopefully we can end this thread. In the future, let's please do the following, and perhaps we can prevent situations like this: 1.) If you have a question about someone's signature, and they haven't previously been an a-hole to you, PM them for clarification. MW member to MW member. 2.) If you have a generic policy question not covered by the rules, PM your favorite moderator. Don't single a specific member out, unless they refuse to answer your PM or haven't sufficiently explained themself when you politely inquired. 3.) If you disagree with the moderator, PM an administrator. 4.) If you want MW member feedback start a poll or a thread. If you want moderator feedback and/or member feedback, use this forum. 5.) Don't use this forum or any other to single someone out based upon an assumption, under the pretense that you just want to clarify policy. Otherwise, a generic PM or post would have sufficed. (Edited: Because it was too long, I felt the need to, and did so prior to any replies. )

Right on Chad, don't pull any punches my friend! If it isn't a model/resin kit, and if it isn't 1/72 scale, then who gives a damn. Seriously though, 1/100 scale is cool as far as the IHP VB-6, and the 1/48 Club M Recasts, but that's it.

Yeah, the thread is moot now I suppose, because I did the easy thing, and probably the right thing by just changing my signature. As long as I've been here, no one needs to preach to me about the "way" MW should operate, but this is not a vacuum. For now on, the starter of this thread should try something simple, and that's the PM. If he had a problem he should have contacted me like a man, and said something. I did the right thing on my own and although I did not agree and changed my signature. It takes a lot of courage and fortitude to acknowledge that you might have accidentally offended someone with an innocent signature, and then voluntarily change it. In my honest to God opinion, if someone had a problem they should have PM'ed me. You're nothing buy a whiny little girly man who started a thread and wasted a lot of time that could have been easily addressed by short simple and courteous message, but no, you had to start a crusade. You should always address things at the lowest level, and man to man, but that's kinda hard when you're not one, isn't it? Anyway, if you're intention was to find out the answer to a generic question, "Are references to non-profit veterans groups with politcal stigmas allowed?" All you had to was PM a moderator. But once again, you had an axe to grind and wanted to make a point. I don't hold grudges, but I hope you'll make an effort in the future to contact the person personally that you want to "bitch" about, try to resolve it like fellow MW fans, and if that fails contact a Moderator via PM. If you have a generic policy question, just pose the question in a non-specific manner, and get your answer. So, I guess that means I'll be using the leave I've saved up to travel out to where the "White Drew Carey" lives, because....I'M CALLING YOU OUT!!! Seriously though, it pisses me off, because there was no need to start this stupid thread, when no one even bothered to have the decency to contact me first. Only p*ssies do sh*t like that in my opinion.

JsARCLIGHT, Not sure if you saw it, but I mentioned the same in my post. Perhaps I added it while you were still typing. Here it is: "I do now recognize that during this politically heightened atmosphere, that the aforementioned individuals have unfortunately taken offense with my innocuous and modest reference." Sincerely, Christopher

It's a masterpiece in progess, my apologies.

It's definitely not meant to be political, so let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill. Although I did not anticipate such a response from such a small group of non-supportive people, I do now recognize that during this politically heightened atmosphere, that the aforementioned individuals have unfortunately taken offense with my innocuous and modest reference. Please read on as I attempt to assuage the fragile egos of the miniscule group who interpreted something completely foreign to the motive of the creator. (Sarcasm aside, the number of those making an issue does not dimish their inherent validity. ) I'm a military veteran and proud of that, and one of my family members served on a swift boat in Vietnam. He's a member of Swift Boat Veterans, which has no political affiliation whatsoever. Not that it matters, but he doesn't support GB. I cannot control what you personally associate with the group, but for me it is nothing more than a non-profit veterans' organization, anything beyond that is purely conjecture and speculation. Argument one way or the other will constitute political debate, which is not allowed. Last time I checked, there is nothing wrong with being pro-veteran. While I'm at it, I also support www.DAV.org (Disabled American Veterans), which I'm a member of. They are also a non-profit group, with a legislative section, but they also have no political association. Let's not forget the American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the Veterans' of Foreign Wars. By the way, I do not have a "link" in my thread. I have a combination of letters, which spell something. Try clicking on it, and you won't get anywhere. You would have to copy and paste it into your browser. Let's not argue, but I work for the VA and help hundreds of disabled WWII veterans every year. Just because some movie coined the term, "Band of Brothers" does not mean that WWII veterans associate it with themselves, and immediately become offended by it's use. They are dying by the thousands, and were called the Greatest Generation for a reason. Unless you polled a bunch of WWII veterans, you shouldn't assume that they are offended by something, which I personally know they aren't. A completely innocent reference to a veteran's group has resulted in a waste of a lot of time and energy in my humble opinion. There is a lot more important things to worry about and discuss. People should not assume and make an ass out of themselves. I appreciate the fact that in our society nowadays, there is unfortunately the propensity to offend anyone, just by saying just about anything, no matter how hard you try to be politically correct. In light of the fact that some overly sensitive individuals might miscontrue my signature due to their own preconceived bias, I have changed my signature voluntarily. I'm all about community as validated by my longstanding membership here without any problems or one single comment by a moderator. I fear that one day our society will become that which was foretold by George Orwell.

Of course I'm kidding, I'm the king of sarcasm. Seriously though, I'm really selective about who I date, and that's probably why I spend so much time here at MW. I refuse to date any chick that doesn't have green hair and fly a red and white valkyrie.

I enjoy your build-ups, keep it coming!

Definitely sweet! I love the VF-19 Elintseeker. I'm not into Asian chicks, but I wouldn't mind doing something similar, and use a WWII era pin-up girl instead. Yeah, what's up with Hasegawa neglecting the VF-11, and GBP-1 armor?

That's right, Gollum! I would be in heaven if we get a YF-19FP that's as good as the LOTR trilogy.

Hey Patrick, Referring to yourself in the third person now? Apparently, grammatical skills are not a prerequisite to be a moderator. Just kidding with you, and I agree with you regarding the landing gear. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either, but then again, I'm not giving up hope. Sincerely, Christopher

The VF-1J GBP is amazing! But what's even more amazing, is the fact that the armor can be removed. It seems like most GBP models/conversions integrate the armor in with the battroid underneath for the sake of simplicity.

Thank you for the update, and I'm glad that you were able to find a quicker, easier, and less expensive approach.

Thank you very much for the information. Now if I could only find someone that I can bribe to keep an eye on Yahoo Japan for me.

Thank you for posting the pictures! You did a wonderful job, and I can only imagine how much work the project must have been.

I found what looks to be the home page for the modeling club: Modeling Website Here is the link to the VF-1 Riders. Their Gerwalk VT-1 is shown along with the upgrade parts, and the other valkyries are familiar as well. VF-1 Riders Now if I could only find someone that can translate and find the ordering information.

Update: I contacted HLJ and was able to order (15) sets of the VF-1D photo-etched parts. Don't ask me why I ordered (15), because I don't plan to build (15) Super/Strike valkyries. Maybe (10) different versions, but not (15). I honestly never expected that they would even be able to fulfill my order, because I didn't think Hasegawa would have extra limited edition PE parts just lying around. Plus selling one without the other means something gets shortchanged, but... HLJ was able to come through, and ended up charging me almost the same price for the separate PE set. I never expected to pay more than $5 a piece, based upon the total price of the VF-1D, as compared to other kits that don't include any PE parts. So, if you want to build a completely hooked up Super/Strike, and would like a set of sealed VF-1D PE parts, send me a PM. I'm not looking for money, but perhaps a trade or something.

Sweet! I'm truly sorry that Rob had to deal with the hassle/financial loss from the initial artist, but things seem to have conspired to bring us something even better I'm sure.

Rob, Sweet! Thank you very much, your eyes must be better than mine, plus I completely spaced regarding the VF-1D head. Any other corrections? Maybe I should contact the guy that took the picture and see if he can elucidate. Do you think that the metal parts in the bag are landing gear? The card says YF-19, so I can't imagine what else they could be. The other thing that has me guessing is the 1/100 item, and what looks to be 1/350 scale. There's several 1/100 kits, but I can recall anything in 1/350, unless I'm reading it wrong. Grayson72, No, I don't have the canopy masks for the standard Hasegawa VF-1, or VF-1D, nor have I ever seen or heard of them until now. I would love to have one of each to add to the collection. I would be happy to trade a mint set of sealed VF-1D photo-etched parts. If you recall, the VF-1D PE set has the extra parts for the missile pods. Do you have a link or a picture? Christopher

AlphaHX, Thank you very much! The close up shot of Max does indeed show that his booster matches his valkyrie, as does Hikaru's Skull One, and of course the same logic will apply to Miria. The distance shots switch Max back to a plain white booster, but that's to be expected given the established precedence of inconsistent animation, especially where "Anime Friend" is involved. That's not to say that they necessarily were responsible for this episode. Given the conclusion that time is taken in some instances to apply special paint jobs to specific boosters, I would think that they would recover them for future use. The boosters are essentially big fuel tanks with (4) booster nozzles on the end, and as such are very similar to the (2) white long cylindrical boosters used in conjunction with the space shuttle. Even though my dad spent (35) years with NASA, I can't recall if they are recovered, or are jetisoned so high up that they burn up upon re-entry, or become space garbage. Sincerely, Christopher PS: Gundamhead, thank you for the PM and link.

Brad, Looking good so far. Just be careful how much modeling putty you use, because as I'm sure you know, the more you use, the more you have to sand, and the greater the risk for losing panel lines/detail. Re-etching is no fun, I learned that lesson the hard way with my first resin kit. Anyway, good luck, and it's cool to compare the Yamato to the Club M. Sincerely, Christopher

Grayson72 is correct in that the "new" Super/Strike combo. kit includes the green decals for Hayao. Not only that, but the boxart is pretty cool. It was discussed previously, but the original Strike kit included everything needed to make a VF-1S or VF-1A Strike or Super Valkyrie with the yellow, red or blue decals. The original Super kit included everything needed to make a VF-1A or VF-1J Super Valkyrie, with the red, blue, or green decals. The new Super/Strike kit includes all of the above, except for the VF-1J head if I remember correctly. So, if you plan to build a Max or Millia VF-1J Super valkyrie, don't buy the new kit.

Gundamhead, Thanks for the info. I wanted to try and keep everything as cannon as possible, and so I'll have to check out the few screen shots that have been posted. I've been planning this since Rob first mentioned the possibility of the valkyrie boosters, so it's cool that everything is coming together. I can only imagine how cool an Enigma or Blue Roses valkyrie and booster would be.

That's what I get for trying not to be too verbose. I should have clarified and said that I am using (2) 1/72 Hasegawa Strike Valkyries, because the legs are in the correct position, but I will omit the armor. I plan to use the leftover armor to build a VF-1D Strike, and a "Virgin Road" VF-1D Strike. I think that each 1/72 Booster kit will include the parts to angle the legs, so I will use those parts with my (2) VF-1D's. Hopefully I covered all the bases this time, and with some luck, everything should work out.

Dammit, I demand a recount! I think we have a problem with hanging chads. Oh well, congratulations to the winners! I call dibs on anyone willing to sell their prize. I suppose we are all winners, because our raffle money will go towards the purchase of an awesome 1/72 Valkyrie Booster, but I'm still sad. It's a good thing I anticipated not winning and pre-paid for my (2) boosters. Hopefully no one will steal my thunder, but I've already started on (2) Hasegawa 1/72 Strike Valkyries, which will be done in the Max and Millia scheme, and the boosters will be painted to match. All we need now are the lauch vehicles.