Nekko Basara

I hear that!

I don't feel it's realistic to have Fumina go all bug-eyed with steam coming out of her ears every time a female so much as speaks to Sekai. It makes sense for her to be friends with Sekai, but there is no basis for her to view him as a love interest; he's younger than her, clearly less intelligent, and, as you point out, he doesn't even seem aware of her (or anyone) in a romantic sense.

The writers already have Gyanko in the show as a vehicle for their tired anime hyper-jealousy gags. They should leave those jokes to her, and let Fumina stick to being awesome. Because she is an awesome, carefully written character with a wide appeal... when she isn't acting like an overused trope.

Good stuff! It's do much fun to get them half-built with the frame showing, isn't it?

I'm all about Fumina saving the day, especially if it gets the annoying Boys From Brazil out of the story. But this love triangle (quadrangle?) they keep trying to inject into the story has to go. It's just making Fumina look idiotic, and really weakening her character.

If the Air Force really doesn't want the Hog anymore, maybe the Army will buy them up.

Unless there have been some big changes, the Army is prohibited from operating fixed-wing aircraft in an offensive capacity. That is strictly the Air Force's turf.

If I recall, it was wrangling over whether the Air Force could provide the CAS capability the Army demanded that led to the A-10 in the first place. The Army wanted support that could loiter for long periods, respond quickly to needs on the ground, and could provide fire right down in the dirt, close to the troops. The Air Force traditionally favors a fast get-in, get-out approach that doesn't allow for such close target identification and cooperation.

Oh, standalone Cubs would be awesome. You could recreate the closing animation without having to get a bunch of spare Mamas!

As far as the regular kit goes, it is possibly the dullest-colored Gunpla ever. Two shades of off-white only? I wonder if the scheme was picked to support the massive levels of Beargguy customization going on.

Hey, Drakens can be anywhere, as fans of the Nicholas Cage masterpiece, "Firebirds," know all too well.

What I found most amusing was, it literally has nothing to do with Gundam or gunpla, except that it says Char's on the side, and has a silver Zeon emblem on the bike.

I dunno. It has a mono-eye, at least. That's better than the 3A Zaku.

My second attempt at the RG zeta is going much better! I'm really only completing a limb a day as I'm spending more time cleaning the undergating and panel lining it the best I can.

it took me all sunday night just to white line all the dark parts but not to thrilled with the turn out. looks a bit to chalkie.

I'm even thinking I won't even apply stickers unless they're paint related like yellows and reds.

RG Zeta was a beast for me; felt like as much work as building two RGs. Not that I didn't love it, it's just so complex. I can't believe Mike S did it as his first RG!

Can't wait to see more pictures!

Shout out to AKB0048, too! It's got idols and mecha, too, but you'd have to dive pretty deep into fanfic territory to find a love triangle...

Even though I don't have anything to add about them, I just want to tell you that I appreciate all of the May'n updates. Thank you!

That reminds me of another question about the landing gear doors:

On the VF-1, the larger portion of the landing gear bay doors (both nose and main) are shaped such that they can be closed with the gear deployed. On real aircraft with this feature, the doors are typically closed for aerodynamic reasons, but at least some representations of the VF-1 (such as the original SDFM opening) show these doors open with the gear deployed. Is there an "official" answer on what position the doors should be in when the gear are deployed?

Yeah, likewise the recent transformable Bandai kit has a reflective decal for that spot. I can't imagine what that would represent if not the light.

You are lucky I can't find a Youtube clip of Gigil singing...

I'm a little jealous that everyone but me got Gunpla for Christmas...

Hey, I didn't say I got any Gunpla for Christmas, I just said I built some!

...but, yeah, I got some. An SD Banshee and - through an odd mixup - two Beargguy F sets. My plan is to build one straight and save the other for a custom project.

I love seeing all this holiday Gunpla'ing! Great info on the PG Unicorn as well - keep it coming, please.

For myself, I've been so busy finishing projects that I haven't taken much time to photograph them. But, I just finished some shots of my latest RG, and I'll get a gallery up soon.

I may be alone in this opinion, but after building most of the line (only Destiny, Strike Freedom, and Wing EW left), I think Justice is the brightest star!

what's the most demoralizing thing? (for future reference).

"This'll be great for my ROBOTECH fanfic!"

I began work on my RG RX-178...I mean I've had it since October and it's just been sitting there by my bed since I picked it up I should build it.

I HATE the fabric pipping, it annoys the crap out of me that I gotta cut that crap like I did with the previous MG. Actually, I don't even remember if the 2.0 had that same feature or they did away with it using rubber tubing like the Gera Doga and I think the Sazabi Ka. Can't remember....

But still I had kind of a hard fit for one of the areas making up the knee....it just wouldn't snap in right and the fabric was fraying from moving the joint around.

Is it just me or does this thing have more stickers than usual on a RG? there's a couple hundred I think....

In my experience, the fabric + wire piping is the only part of that kit that might be called troublesome. What worked for me to prevent fraying was to brush the ends with a little superglue as soon as I cut them. Clear nail polish would probably work just as well. The way they are tucked in, it shouldn't even be an issue, but it gave me peace of mind.

The rest of the build is totally straightforward, and the resulting MS is so solid for a RG. You can look back in the thread for more gushing about it.

Mmmm, I want to drink water out of Brera's neck-hole!

Can't sleep - I'm waiting to ambush Santa!

Honestly, from the photos and videos I've seen, I like the look with the LEDs on in Unicorn mode the best. The way all the edges of the panels leak light perfectly captures the second in the animation before they start opening up. I hadn't noticed the purple color in some areas until you mentioned it, though.

I dunno, I'm just... urgh. Part of me feels like if you're gonna build the kit, it'd be crazy to skip the LEDs. But I simply cannot believe that Bandai couldn't manage a better stand-connection system than pulling out and undoing two separate wiring connectors.

Happy Merry Christmas, Macross World!

Just when I was making peace with the idea that the PG Unicorn had to be on its base for the lights to function, I get this nasty pair of revelations. Hikuro says it basically can't pose on the base, and - if I saw correctly in the build videos - it is actually wired to base with same sort of couplings used throughout the wiring process. Meaning that disconnecting it requires messing with those. I was at the very least expecting Bandai to use a system of spring contacts in the stand, so that you could connect/disconnect the light system simply by slipping the MS on/off the stand (similar to what cordless phones and other rechargeable devices have been using since the 90s).

I'm still amazed by the Unicorn PG, but my enthusiasm for the LED system is nearly gone.

Double points for picking a Destroid in Xmas colors!

Syd's review of the RG Wing Gundam EW is up.

Really dig the wings on this version. I feel like for the first time they look like legitimate mechanical structures, rather than just being "this Gundam has angel wings because that's cool."

You're kidding, right?

Sorry, it's the internet and sarcasm is tough to read!