Penguin

To inject a useless grammatical non sequitur, the "or not" that people often use with "whether" is actually redundant, since "whether" already implies "yes or no". Hope this doesn't dampen your hopes. Here's hoping it's a "yes". I look fervently forward to hordes of VF-22s.

The instructions call for 50% white + 50% radome in Gunze acrylics, which is what I used for my first one. The second time, I used the same Tamiya acrylics David mentions, but I went for all flat with 80% XF-1 white with 20% XF-59 Desert Yellow. Guess I wanted a deeper colour than WM.

Had to select "other" since I use acrylics from Gunze (thanks to a generous back supply), Tamiya, Pollyscale/Testors, Vallejo, and Life Colour (generally in that order). Whatever gets the job done.

Much as I love Patlabor, I'm giving this one a miss. Kinda like the repetition of the VF-1, I've gotten tired of Ingram after Ingram. I'm lovin' CM's whole series of in-scale labors.

Fine Molds is giving us some more Star Wars lovin' with one of my favourite designs. Fine Molds 1/48 Snow Speerder at HLJ

Much as I love Macross, I've gotta say "My Neighbour Totoro" takes first prize as best anime ever. I've seen it captivate 4 year olds to 40 year olds. In my opinion, its charm, character, and heart easily rank it as a "timeless classic" as someone else already mentioned. I even think Disney did a more than serviceable dub for those who don't take to subs.

I was just thinking yesterday, "I hope there'll be a 3rd 1/200 VF set announced soon!" This looks totally sweet.

DVD and Blu-Ray both came out last Tuesday.

The first (and so far only) paint guide I found for the mass production VF-1A was with the Hasegawa VF-1 battroid model kit. In it, it specifies the following, all based on Gunze Sangyo colours: 1. Tan for the body: 40% wood brown + 60% gloss white 2. Dark brown for feet/thrusters, intake covers, joints, etc.: 50% mahogany + 10% flat white + 40% burnt iron 3. White areas of body: White FS17875 They specified gloss white for the tan since the Gunze wood brown is also gloss. If you find a flat wood brown instead, use flat white. If you check out this link they've got scans of the instructions for the battroid model, including the table that matches the paint numbers to their names and the painting guides.

Well, I was at the sneak preview last night. Very well-made movie, very faithful; I love the graphic novel, so seeing live action was great fun. I gotta say, though, taking it just as a movie, I think being so faithful hurts it since the pacing just isn't well suited to a 2 1/2 hour movie. When you read the graphic novel, the final chapter brings all the threads together and you get an internal "wow" moment. There are revelations, tense moments, and all in all it's a great story. I found the movie unfolds more like someone checking off a list of the scenes they had to get in, without any thought to building expectation, tension, or climax. There are little bits dropped out here and there, of course, but nothing that hurts the plot though. The characters suffer a little. Much as I'd hate to make Alan Moore any more smug, I kinda agree with him when he said that he felt "Watchman" wasn't suited to film since it was created to specifically showcase the strengths and differences in the comic medium compared to purely written or visual media.

The decals are for the two non-trainer ones... SVF-124 ("Moon Shot!") and SVMF-45 (the one with the blue lines and "BD" on the tail fins). Since the model is just for the VF-17D/S, it doesn't have the longer cockpit for the VF-17T, so you'd be looking at a more involved custom for the VF-17T. Downside to the decal set is that it only has enough of those custom decals to do the fighter mode, so you can't make matching battroids unless you buy two. Don't get me wrong... I think the Sound Force valks are great (Ray and Veffidas' VF-17T lacks a bit of style, though). They're part and parcel of Macross 7's charm, and the delta wings on the Mylene's VF are slick. I still think it's a freakish pink abomination... but I love it anyway.

Actually, Wave came out with decal sets for the 1/144 kits. I don't remember where I found mine, but I've been hoarding them away, waiting for a re-release. Wave Decal Set #1 Wave Decal Set #2 The neat thing is that the first set even has decals for some of the VF-17 units that are in the Macross Plus: This Is Animation book. I always found the VF-19 to be kinda blocky in fighter mode, which is what turned me off it. You're right though, it is perfect transformation. Stays together pretty well, too, for a model kit. Very similar to Bandai's 1/65th Macross 7 VF-19 toy (what a surprise... ).

Off-topic for the toy thread, but here you go...

In case anyone's interested, Hobbylink Japan's got Bandai's whole line of Macross 7 model kits (minus the silver coated ones) back in stock, including the 1/100 variable VF-19F/S and the 1/144 VF-17S and VF-11C. Never cared much for the variable kits, but I always loved those little 1/144th kits. 1/100 variable VF-19 Kai Fire Valkyrie 1/100 variable VF-19F/S Excalibur Emerald Force 1/144 VF-19 Kai Fire Valkyrie 1/144 VF-11C Thunderbolt 1/144 VF-17S Nightmare 1/144 VF-11 MAXL Kai Mylene freakish pink abomination Valkyrie

My own modest collection. Nothin' particularly rare.

Well, here's my collection. Not as large as Totoro's for sure, but I like it.

If you use a really soft lead (6B or softer), that shiny look tends to disappear, but it's hard to keep it sharp enough to fit in the panel lines and it smudges easily while you're working, leaving lots of cleanup after the fact. Works great if you shave it and apply with a brush for other weathering purposes, though (soot, etc.).

Hallelujah! I'll add my vote to that.

... and the original Battletech Rifleman had a large laser and AC/5 on each arm, anyway. I gotta say, I'm lovin' this line. Though lack of a Spartan or Monster would disappoint the collector in me greatly, my overall Macross-fannishness is just adoring these new destroids.

Too bad it's an event exclusive...

Y'know, I actually liked Billy Zane in "Sniper", but that was about it. I'm curious who in their right mind (maybe that's the issue) thinks there's an audience for olde purple tights. As far as North America's concerned, at least, he makes "The Spirit" seem mainstream. You could just use the concept as a springboard for a decent story, leaving out the elements that likely wouldn't fly (i.e. purple tights, except maybe as flashback to previous generations). I guess there's a chance for that, but I won't be holding my breath.

As a fan of the original, I found the remake... not unenjoyable. It's one of those films I got into while watching (as I tend to suspend my critical thought in order to get into a film), but find all sorts of faults with when I think about it afterwards. I think it was an interesting take on the idea, but flawed in execution. There are brief mentions of interesting ideas (like planets with as much life as Earth being too precious to allow humans to waste it), but they don't make enough of them. Things sorta stumble along, without working up any real energy or climactic moments. Then it pretty much ends without a clear indication about what just happened. While some reviewers had good things to say about Jaden Smith, I found his character to be an obnoxious brat for most of the film. Reeves was his usual stoic self. I have to admit to kinda liking Keanu in deadpan comic moments, but in this film it's all too serious. Jennifer Connelly was alright. I got the sense she was trying to do something with the material given, but there wasn't a lot to work with. Then again I might just be biased... I've had a thing for her since "Labyrinth". If you want to compare it to the original... it lacks the warmth that Michael Rennie brought to it (with Keanu in the lead... shock!). In the original, Klaatu's a character who you see try to get a deeper sense of humanity despite getting shot by a zealous soldier early on, and finding there something he sees valuable if only humanity will grow up. They try to do a similar arc with Keanu, but neither the script nor the star pull it off. James Hong makes a brief appearance that hints to more character than Keanu can muster in the rest of the film. I found myself wishing the film had been about him instead.

As an ardent Battlefront II fan, I got both packs when they were first released. IMHO, the clone troopers pack is definitely worth it. The droid pack, not so much. The figures have little to no articulation and most can't hold their accessories.

I'd have to say the Hot Toys for sheer impressiveness (granted... I've been collecting all the Hot Toys 1/6 Aliens stuff via Sideshow). I found the lighting on it to be really striking, down to the flourescent bars on the cage that lights up Ripley's face. They obviously aren't flourescent, but they got the quality of light damn near perfect when it lights up the Ripley figure. That being said, there are two things that I consider downsides: 1. The more serious issue is attaching the hydraulic hoses. The pegs that hold them are kinda fragile, and can be easily broken due to the tight fit of the connectors when attaching them all or when removing them to put it away, especially if you try to work them on by turning slightly (which simply twists them off very efficiently). If you've mastered a gentle but firm grip, you can manipulate them fairly well. Otherise, I recommend widening the holes on the hose connectors slightly if the test fit shows significant tightness. Or, you can go my way... I'm going to replace them all with brass next time I bring it out for display (as my firm but not-so-gentle grip has already snapped a few). 2. On the minor annoyance side, the little motor that turns the amber warning light really makes a lot of noise... kinda ruins the illusion a little.

Has anyone else found the decals/stickers for Alto's red/black markings a little lacking? I first tried the decals (always my preference), but I found they don't fit the part shape really well and I couldn't get them to line up cleanly either, even after detaching the lower half to get a fine join between the pieces. Then, after inadvertently destroying two of the decals (just call me butterfingers), I tried the stickers and found the fit even worse. So I've resorted to masking off and painting the details by hand... which is kinda what I wanted to do in the first place. Hmmm... maybe I'm just subconsciously fulfilling that original thought.