Nekko Basara

Second one is the Hokum-B (KA-52).

Oh, haha - it hadn't even occurred to me that the size of the tuna was the part that needed explaining! Yeah, they get seriously huge.

When the SDF-1 folded too close to the surface of the earth, it took Macross Island and a portion of the surrounding ocean with it. I always assumed the tuna came from there. Why wasn't it stuck in the ice? Uh... it jumped.

Although, as I think about it now, it's more plausible that Macross Island had fishing boats and a fish market where a whole tuna could have simply been lying around.

There were a couple of air-to-air guns kills, plus a few gun attempts, during the Falklands conflict though its worth bearing in mind that in a number of ways it was a rather atypical conflict to start with (though aren't they all?) - its often overlooked the great ranges the Argentinean pilots were having to fly to reach the combat area and their general lack of air-to-air refuelling (as well as eventually running out of drop tanks) which tended to dictate their tactics to a great extent. If the Argentineans had had even SAR missiles and more time over the target area, they could conceivably have done much better in air-to-air combat.

Can you point me to info on the air-air gun kills in the Falklands? I'm not saying it didn't happen, I just didn't come across that in the quick look I made.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only *US* air-air gun kills (non-strafing) since Vietnam were a pair of Iraqi helicopters downed by A-10s in the Gulf War.

Having said that, I think I'm responsible for turning the conversation from a discussion of dogfighting to a discussion of gunfighting specifically. Plenty of maneuver combat takes place using only missiles, and nobody is proposing fielding a gun-less fighter as far as I know; the F-35 will have stealthy gunpods available for the variants that lack an internal gun.

I'm pretty sure it's Henry Bad*ss-Muthaf*cka Global.

At least, that's what it says on his wallet.

I wanted to add in that Ranshe Mei's research into the Vajira "language" seems to have inspired Ranka's name:

"Ranka" is actually a word in the true version of the Aimo song.

Makes sense, that was the research she was working on while preg, and what she sang to her all the time as a toddler.

(Guessing from the song translation I would say Ranka means "hope"?? Just a guess tho.)

Oh, neat! While there is a cynical part of me that wants to question anyone's ability to accurately subtitle Yoko Kanno nonsense-language, I am going to ignore it and say that is super cool. Thank you for sharing!

You go home. Seriously, when was the last time a modern jet fighter (which would rarely be engaging anything without at least one similarly-armed wingman) had to tackle more than four air targets in one sortie? Even an F-35 carries that many missiles.

That Trans-Am Exia is gonna be so sweet!

I finished the normal version a couple of weeks ago and just took some photos of it. Here it is displaying how it can retrieve its beam sabers, since I recall there was some question about that:

To me, the joy of this kit is in the details. Where some RGs use great panel lines or clever color separation to make "plain" areas look interesting, the Exia simply offsets those regions with two cool construction gimmicks - the translucent green GN reservoirs and the reflective blue GN cables. Either gimmick would have been enough to liven up a dull Gundam, but both together are just amazing. Only the loose GN cables form the arms disappoint me, because they have no reflective backing (the cabling in the head also lacks this, but I found that I could fudge that with spare sticker from the GN drive).

Overall, I find that I don't like the look and shape of the Exia as a Gundam, but as a general fighting robot design it looks cool as heck.

The rest of my gallery is here if anyone is interested.

That's what they said before Vietnam.

Yep, and that's the last time it was wrong. There have been plenty of air engagements since the early 70s, and - when modern generation fighters have been involved - missiles have ruled them. Even three decades ago, British Sea Harriers didn't need their gunpods to make an 18-to-0 air kill ratio (counting only their Mirage/Dagger and Skyhawk opponents).

The days of 6-out-of-7 missile failure rates are long past, and nobody is going to insist on visually confirming air targets in a war scenario anymore.

Sort of like a 'Mary Ann' to Sally's 'Ginger'.

Fair enough - I always preferred Mary Ann.

I'm a Miho Miho man, myself.

In addition to the Bearguy, I recall Reiji made a Beginning Gundam from Gundam Builders Beginning when Sei's dad was was teaching him and Aila to make Gunpla at the mall. So I think it'd make more sense if Bearguy III was a modified Bearguy than another bear-themed Acguy mod.

That's a good call on the Beginning Gundam (and, man, do I love that episode), but here's the thing about China modifying the GPB-04B: the parts of that kit that differ from a basic HGUC Acguy are mainly the head and the backpack. Beargguy III uses a different head (it's bigger) and uses a bow instead of the schoolgirl pack. So, it basically has no more in common with the original Beargguy than it does with a standard Acguy.

Well... we know her surname changed, at the very least, when Ozma adopted her. Ranka seems to be her genuine given name, if the series is anything to go by. Her mother was Ranshe Mei, so that's probably Ranka's true surname there.

I totally forgot that the Maaya Sakamoto character had a name. I guess that's that, then - thanks!

Thanks! This is setting up a hilariously "meta" chain of events:

The original MSG introduces the Acguy, leading to the corresponding kits.

GBBG is created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of MSG in the real world, and in the show Rina and friends modify an Acguy into GPB-04B Beargguy.

A kit is created of the original Beargguy.

Building on the concept of GBBG, GBF is created, set in the near future of our world, where all Gundam shows and kits exist.

China modifies a GPB-04B Beargguy into KUMA-03 Beargguy III.

In the real world and... I guess, in the universe of GBF(?), a kit is created of Beargguy III.

Our mysterious female character creates a mini-Beargguy III and pairs it with the full-sized kit, to create the Beargguy F team.

In the real world, a kit of Beargguy F is created!

Obviously, Sei and China are expecting.

Or, more realistically, some other female gunpla enthusiast in universe made a big and small Beargguy because they thought it'd be cute.

I can't read the card displayed with the model, but the picture doesn't look like China or the new female protagonist. Nevertheless, I like to imagine that Beargguy F is a representation of China and Sei's relationship; her kind and supporting, him juvenile and clueless!

That reminds me of a question (that maybe belongs in the Build Fighters thread): is Beargguy San supposed to be a modification of the original Bearrguy kit from Gundam Builders Beginning, or is it supposed to be an Acgguy mod that just subtextually references the earlier animation?

Wait a sec... what if the Jenius girls are the real Macross Seven?

Hmmm, not sure what this means in the context of Build Fighters Try, but a "Family" version of the Beargguy is on the way:

http://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2014/09/hgbf-1144-beargguy-f-family-on-display.html

Statistically speaking, her family name is probably Jenius. Seems that half the females in the universe carry that surname post-war.

Haha, good point! But I'll counter that her chances of having green hair, coming from that family line, don't look very good!

It occurred to me recently that I don't know what Ranka's "real" name is. She presumably uses the Lee surname because of her relationship with Ozma, but wasn't born with it (barring a crazy coincidence). Her given name might not even be Ranka; if she was found as a deeply traumatized, amnesiac five-year-old, she might not have been able to provide her name, and I'm unclear what records of her background were retrievable.

Is that right? And, if so, is her birth name known?

The thing that makes or breaks the PG Unicorn will be the color/opaqueness of the red pieces. I love the color of them on my RD Destroy Mode Unicorn but I hate the translucent parts on the MG. They look to washed out in color especially with no silver background. For the PG I hope that the red parts are covered on one side with silver parts with the led sitting on the edge of the piece so it lights the whole panel without a intense spot for the light on it.

I can't think of a way that the PG could have silver-backed translucent red pieces and still have a working LED feature. Unless perhaps the silver stickers are an alternative to using the optional LED kit?

Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by the translucent parts on the MG. In sunlight or (I presume) blacklight, they have a really noticeable UV glow. They don't look as bright installed in the kit as the bare sprues did, but I'm pretty happy with them. I expected there to be a jarring contrast between the MG with its translucent parts, the Armor Girls Unicorn which (mostly) uses metalllic red paint, and the SD Unicorn which has a mix of translucent parts and parts I painted metallic red. To my eyes, they all actually look fine together.

I'm confused right from the start with Mr. Sprey, because it sounds like he's saying that the high-low fighter procurement concept was a sham that created two unsuitable aircraft, when the results of that philosophy were the F-15 and the F-16, the latter of which he is partially responsible for. In different ways, those are two of the most successful fighters of the past half century - the former as more of a "true fighter" than his baby, the F-16.

And what is he getting at with the idea that incorporating too many roles ruined the F-15? Wasn't the motto of that program "Not one pound for air-to-ground?" It was only later in its life that the F-15 showed it's capability as a ground-attack aircraft, and most of that was through a purpose-built variant, the Strike Eagle. Whereas the F-16 has been more of a multi-role craft for most of it's service life, and without any (production) specialized variants needed for the job.

I just don't get where he is coming from. With so many of his arguments stuck in the 70s, you'd think he'd at least know his history better.

floppy knee armor, snap off crotch plate, and snap off upper shoulder armor. I miss anything else?

If you're listing the faults of the MG, I'd add weak ankle joints, armor bits that constantly pop off the sides of the feet and forearms, and "locking" mechanisms on the pelvis and waist extensions that come loose if you look at them funny.

But, ye gods, I still love that thing.

How about this for the mysterious 3rd mode...
BIG HEAD MODE!

I was going to object that the Ez8 was a one-off field mod and thus shouldn't have variants... and then I remembered that the basis of any Build Fighter suit is a KIT. So, hey, that's cool!

It's not unheard of for a new aircraft to be utilized (and risked) in a conflict where its capabilities are not strictly necessary or ideal. Recall that the first use of the F-117 in anger was against Panama, where air defenses were negligible and other, more conventional systems could have performed the same precision strike.

This type of deployment can provide valuable "first blood" combat experience. More cynically, it can generate good press and serve to answer critics that say an expensive and specialized new aircraft is unsuited to the conflicts of the day.