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technoblue

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  1. technoblue
    I big THANK YOU, to MacrossJunkie for pointing me in the simpit direction six pages back or so. I ended up looking at both the R3volution and the VolairSim cockpit, but decided on the Ozone with a few upgrades. It took some time to gather funds for my new desk, and I sold a few of my figures once I had an inkling of the final total. I'm rocking just one widescreen monitor for now. My Ozone cockpit includes: The articulating Keyboard upgrade The flightstick/throttle upgrade My own little headphone hanger A USB hub to help with wiring and connections Here are a couple of smartphone photos: I still have some wires and speakers to clean up, so my presentation is not as clean as I would like it to be. Also, you can see the acrylic desktop still in its paper/bubble-wrap packaging. I'm trying to decide on the best way to mount it. Unlike the R3volution tabletops, the Ozone tabletop does not come pre-drilled. It's more of a DIY endeavor. My HOTAS is an oldie but goodie: The Thrustmaster Cougar modified with hall-effect sensors throughout and re-engineered with third-party gimbals. I'm so stoked to be able to fly with this kit again, and do so in comfort! The first game I tried was the Freespace Port mod for Freespace 2. Awesome. Here's the HOTAS, naked :
  2. technoblue
    HeeHee. Hasbro gets to keep the ridiculous box award for YotH MP-10. TT's box for UM has slightly smaller dimensions than TT's box for MP-10 Convoy. Not bad for people who like to keep the boxes. It saves on storage space.
  3. technoblue
    I wouldn't go that far. A well written story or film can show both sides of "the human condition" without resorting to tricks or gimmicks. ST:TMP was sappy not because of Commander Decker's sacrifice at the end or the mutual attraction between him and Ilia, but because the connection/bond between those two characters was tenuous. I think if the movie was made today, then there would have been more effort to make their relationship substantial and add weight to the deus ex machina ending. I do agree that bad characterizations can ruin any story. But protagonists do not have to be lawful good and the corresponding antagonists do not have to be chaotic evil. Those simple structures are not always necessary. I do think all characters should be researched well, solid and true to his or her (sometimes its) motives, whatever they may be.
  4. technoblue
    ^ I agree with Chronocidal on Star Trek: TMP. I consider it the outlier of the odd-numbered films, because it had a decent premise that fit in well with the television series. ST: TMP was also the first telling of a first contact scenario, and it was done with what I still consider above par writing for Trek. Yeah, it had a lot of padding for the big screen, but I liked the premise of having a Voyager spacecraft complete its original mission "accidentally" and in doing so create the necessary conflict for the film. The ending was sappy, but that is also very much TOS Star Trek. One scene that has stayed with me, though, is the scene of the transporter accident. I heard that was added in to remove extra actors when Paramount decided not to use TMP as a tie in for a new series.
  5. technoblue
    The post man just delivered Magnus and the Arcadia to my door, and I couldn't resist peeking at Magnus. Here are a couple of my own first impressions: UM is the heaviest transforming robot that I own. The weight of this figure is impressive. Daniel looks...alright in person. Yes, his proportions could be a smidge better, but certain photos were giving me a false impression. I'll gladly eat crow for going along with the snarky crowd and making fun of him. I still wish TT's UM included one or two extra faces. The one he's wearing in the box is fantastic. The screaming one is okay in person, but I would have appreciated a third choice at the minimum. I look forward to seeing the third-party add-ons for this guy. That's it for now.
  6. technoblue
    New Trek could be better. That's not hater talk. That's constructive criticism. TOS had its cringe-worthy moments too, so I'm not looking at this through rose-colored glasses. As long as I'm dreaming up what-if scenarios, another cool one would have included a whole season with the cast from TOS's pilot episode before adding Shatner on as Captain Kirk. Growing up, I appreciated Star Trek and Star Wars for what each show added to genre fiction. Mommar and sketchley are right. Star Trek was a unique product of its time, like the Twilight Zone, using its fiction to examine current issues and events. Space was the setting, but it easily could have been set anywhere when you think about the original show. It was less an exercise in escapism and more an exercise in reflection. If one were to compare its lessons to anime, the early Leiji Matsumoto series come to mind.
  7. technoblue
    Bape KO is lookin' good there. I wonder if the KO accessories (gun and energon axe) are of better quality too? If so, it'll be even harder to distinguish between the legitimate release and the KO for Convoy/Prime. That price kept me away from Skywarp. I think I'm done with the MP-11 mold. I keep wondering if we will see any new Decepticons for 2015. A new mold along those lines would be a nice surprise.
  8. technoblue
    Someone in the TFW thread I linked to was claiming that the Asia release of MP-10EVA was cut short as well. I'm not sure by mow much, but the Japanese release was set to 1,000 pieces from the beginning. If this news is more than a rumor, then that could also be affecting stock as well. Better communication to the customer would be nice.
  9. technoblue
    I'll take your word for it on the Meyer interviews. But I'll have to agree to disagree about the reboot. As I wrote, New Trek's reboot had promise, but the second movie wasted the opportunities the first one gave to the audience. It will be a tough act for New Trek III to clean up after Into Darkness, IMO. I wouldn't be as critical of New Trek if the Enterprise had a different crew, and a few adjustments to the story to fit that aspect. Hm..., thinking about it, that would have been a pretty cool interpretation. What if old Spock's timey-wimey shenanigans with the Romulans led not only to the incident on Vulcan, but also a completely new Enterprise crew?
  10. technoblue
    For what it's worth, Jenius, you are not the only one left hanging. My actionrobo.com order is still in limbo, and it was a pre-paid order that I made in July. I've sent them a couple e-mails asking about it, but they are ignoring them... Edit: I only know of a handful of places that actually got stock on the advertised release date too: BBTS, RobotKingdom, The Chosen Prime, Kapow Toys, or direct from the TakaraTomy Mall. All confirmed in the last few pages of the MP-10 EVA thread at tfw2005: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/983089-evangelion-store-optimus-prime-eva-01-redeco.html#post11055545
  11. technoblue
    No. The issue isn't that Star Trek needed a reboot. The issue is that Paramount continues to let the franchise run aground. I often wonder if the show was singularly understood by Roddenberry himself. After TOS, with TNG and DS9, I thought that others were starting to get how versatile Star Trek's universe could be. Of the reboots, I enjoy the first New Trek as a popcorn film. The special effects are incredible, and Kirk and McCoy are set up decently enough for the altered timeline, but I thought that the rest of the cast was uninspired. New Spock's crisis, for instance, wasn't given enough attention for me as a viewer to connect with it. And as much as I appreciate Nimoy as an actor, I thought old Spock's presence was more of a hindrance to the reboots development than a benefit. It diminishes new Spock's characterization and the audience's intelligence to have information fed from an all-knowing character like old Spock. Something that could have made new Spock's development more realistic and Into Darkness more interesting would have been if Spock had taken the place of Cumberbatch's character and went rogue, blaming Star Fleet for what happened to Vulcan in the first film. It would have been a nod to the one or two old series episodes where Spock was the alien antagonist and it would also give us another glimpse of Spock's human half. And who knows? They may have still been able to toss Kahn in. But all that would have required better writing. Unfortunately, any potential that Into Darkness had with continuing the parallel time line idea was wasted. The end result of that film was worse than any Star Trek fan fiction that comes to my mind. There are independent Star Trek movies and series in development now that have more creativity, heart, and direction than Abrams second attempt. For me, New Trek II is one of a few blemishes coming out of Abram's Bad Robot productions.
  12. technoblue
    So photogenic these two. Ultra Magnus with Star Saber (@TFYUKI on Twitter):
  13. technoblue
    Like these? http://www.amazon.com/Cabinet-Door-Bumper-Sheet-Brown/dp/B00FDX7840 I have a few of the flightpose stands that I set aside because I noticed the "polishing" effect of the clear silicone caps on painted surfaces. It would be nice to put them back into service with better pads.
  14. technoblue
    When Starsha cautioned the Yamato crew against weaponizing Iscandar technology, I saw that as foreshadowing. It could be that I was reading into things because of my experience with the original series, but it would also be a neat twist if Starsha's words had meaning beyond the Terran/Garmillas conflict. I don't think the changes would affect the story too much. SBY 2199 is already a parallel plot when compared to the original. Having the planet Garmillas survive is an interesting change. However, with the government, economy, and defense force weak due to rebellion and the Earth/Yamato business there remains a void for a stronger enemy to take advantage.
  15. technoblue
    Cool. Thank you for the recommendations, guys!
  16. technoblue
    No problem. I agree about the hue. It's something I notice too out of the corner of my eye under certain lighting conditions. A better comparison photo would be to use the 1J Valkyries: both Yamato TV White, and Arcadia TV white (along with a piece of paper or a white card as a control for the comparison). It'll be awesome if the 1J improves on the 1S in this regard.
  17. technoblue
    I have to agree with DH. It was a clever bit of silly fun. Well done, eriku. I paid for my copy of Magnus at HLJ after visiting with friends and relatives today. I'm sending him by EMS with the GX-67 Arcadia that I picked up during the November sale. I'm excited to finally see both of these in person.
  18. technoblue
    I'm not an expert, but color cast in photography is a known issue that usually can be resolved in post processing. Sometimes it's as easy as setting the correct white balance. Other times neutralizing a color tint is more involved. Here is my infamous Yamato VF-1S vs Arcadia VF-1S comparison pic: I took the above photo before I started post processing my digital images. Notice that my smartphone (an iphone 4 at the time) shows a visible red color cast. It's almost as if the lighting is too hot. I was scratching my head for the longest time over this. Was it user error? Was the paint reflecting something in the light that I was using? Anyway, a lot of these questions are off topic and better left to a photography discussion... Here is the same image with adjustments to neutralize the color red: This subtle change makes the image cooler and the color cast less obvious. If I worked more with the levels I could probably neutralize the red/pink cast so that it is only visible to the most eagle-eyed forum members. In any event, the adjusted picture is giving a better indication of what I was seeing behind the lens. When comparing Yamato's TV white to Arcadia's white, I cannot discern a difference. For the 1J, I would be very surprised if there are issues with the paint.
  19. technoblue
    Nice review. That guy really likes his Bebop. My set arrived from Amazon last week and I've been waiting to take an HD trip down nostalgia lane after Christmas. I have a blu-ray backlog now since Bubblegum Crisis also arrived. Also, has anyone here seen Wolf Children or Short Peace? Are these worthwhile blind buys?
  20. technoblue
    Intended. All credit goes to the TFW2005 forums for Spaniel. I picked it up while lurking their Ultra Magnus threads.
  21. technoblue
    Sneaky. Trying to pull the grey-goggle peeps back in like that.
  22. technoblue
    That works too. My exosuit Spaniel is waiting for TT to release Masterpiece Arcee.
  23. technoblue
    Wow. That was a fantastic review of Ultra Magnus. And I see now that Daniel got Carly's hips.
  24. technoblue
    ^Same on both counts. And I can see a benefit if Arcadia sticks with SDFM TV releases too. I ended up finding the Yamato missile-effect GBP for a good price, so I'm good and will continue to sit this one out.
  25. technoblue
    ^Nice. The Anniversary 1J is a nice fit to the GBP armor.
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