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F-ZeroOne

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  1. F-ZeroOne
    Hah! Just for context, for those who may be unaware, the original Western release of the "Ghost in the Shell" manga was edited, in at least one scene, for... stuff. Don't try and look it up at work! (also, my apologies if you've heard the "Intron Depot" story before, I'm reaching the "Grandpa Simpson" stage of my personal geekdom). "Fashion" is an interesting one because it can apply to mechanical things as much as clothes etc. You can see it with 80s mecha designs, where the somewhat slimmer early to mid 80s mecha designs kinda give way to the "muscle car" mecha designs of things like "Gundam ZZ". And as has been said, some things are almost eternal; the original AV-98 Ingram from "Patlabor" still mostly holds up today and probably still will twenty years from now. After all, in the future... who knows? On the subject of BGCs "Linna", having recently rewatched the series (again!) one thing I was surprised by is despite all Priss grabbing all the attention, its actually Linna who probably kicks the most ars... posterior!
  2. F-ZeroOne
    Yeah, I've got the impression ever since being revealed these are clearly aimed at kids. While Lego has increasingly earned a reputation for being aimed at adults, its not the only demographic they serve and flashy lights and sounds appeal to children, even though part of me is a little sad they'll be less inclined to provide their own whooshy sounds. Another thing thats been pointed out about the chargers is that I understand one is included with each set so over time theres potential for households to be stuck with a lot of these very specific use items.
  3. F-ZeroOne
    Yeah, I always loved the background engineering in "Appleseed", its where I first encountered the term "Arcology". Funny story, I bought "Intron Depot" because I loved his mechanical work and being a rather young and naive person at the time didn't realise that the volume contained certain unedited scenes from the "Ghost in the Shell" manga. I was waiting for a train with a friend and opened the book up to browse the contents, and I swear when I got a certain page I heard my friends eyes pop out their head... (along with mine!). 😅
  4. F-ZeroOne
    Another ghost from the British toybox, Matchboxs "Adventure 2000" line of die-cast future vehicles: https://mikepigottsdiecasttoysandmodels.wordpress.com/2022/02/08/adventure-2000-by-matchbox/ The "Raider Command" vehicle actually made it into the pages of "2000AD" when it was used as the basis for Judge Dredds main ride in the classic saga "The Cursed Earth" (not the first time that particular storyline would dance on the edge of copyright/trademark hell either!).
  5. F-ZeroOne
    I think you had this in the US, a design that haunted the "Toys & Games" pages of British mail-order catalogues for what seemed like years, the Milton Bradley "Starbird Avenger" (and its evil cousin, the "Starbird Intruder"): https://flashbak.com/fastest-ship-galaxy-remembering-milton-bradleys-star-bird-1978-58502/ I always used to stare longingly at it but somehow it never made my "want" lists as a child. Also, speaking of a "Space Raider", something I've been thinking about for a while and this thread seems a fitting thread to mention it, there was a line of UK snack foods called "Space Raiders" (still is, actually, not to be confused with a MacDonalds promotion from the late 70s); the original release featured art on the packets by no less a "2000AD" illuminary as Brett Ewins ("Judge Dredd", "Bad Company"). The reason I mention it is at one time they did an offer where if you sent in so many packets plus postage they would send you a little spaceship toy. I had hours of fun with that cheap little thing (I did at one time actually find out who made them but have since forgotten); I also recall some little toys a saw in a shop in a holiday camp once (yes, a lot of my childhood holidays were spent in these, for want of a better word, institutions) that had little "Zoids"-like pilots in but weren't related to them in any way (they weren't "R.A.T.S" or "Starriors" either, these were way smaller and sold in a box assortment). The reason I bring these up is that these sorts of cheap, throwaway and probably often bootlegged toys (or picture books, comics, etc) weren't famous, little information generally exists about them online and possibly are only recalled in the memories of those who actually encountered them but nevertheless could have an effect on the imagination at least equal to the much better known big names that get the coverage today. Edit: the "holiday camp" toys I mention above, I may be misremembering them having "Zoids" pilots; I think it was actually "Zoids" like small guns and external weapons/fittings.
  6. F-ZeroOne
    I mean, look at all those Skystrikers on the deck! 😅
  7. F-ZeroOne
    I'm guessing someone didn't get the "USS Flagg" like they asked for one Christmas and thought "Right, when I'm all grown up I'll show that stoopid Santy Claus!"... 😁
  8. F-ZeroOne
    Chris Foss! I've been trying to remember that name ever since the topic of SF cover artists came up!
  9. F-ZeroOne
    I had the original release of the "Rogue Trooper" videogame; it was actually pretty good fun. By no means top tier but for what it was, much better than one would expect. It had a suitably "chunky" look to the hardware. Its not the first "Rogue Trooper" game - one was actually released for various 8-bit home computers, along with a "Nemesis the Warlock" game and (I think ) a couple of "Strontium Dog" titles. Peter Elsons work I know, though until now I didn't know his name - I loved the "Stainless Steel Rat" books (and they also had a "2000AD" adaptation; its basically the "Kevin Bacon" of British pop culture... 😅) Chris Moore and Jim Burns, again, not overly familiar names but I've almost certainly seen their work. Comics were a big part of British popular culture up to the mid-80s; war comics were still popular here long after they'd faded in the US, and it arguably took "Star Wars" to finally dethrone them. In a way I could say, comics wise, I experienced American comics in a kind of reverse process; when I grew up in the early 80s US comics were relatively rare and when the stories made it over it was often as a back-up strip in another Marvel-associated title (like "Star Wars". To save money; these imports were often re-printed in black and white rather than colour; one story that stands out in my memory is Tony Stark somehow being locked in his armour and Ant-Man having to go in to solve the issue whilst being attacked by the Iron Man suits internal defences). Sometimes Marvel and DC stories would be published in compilations (rather like how "Judge Dredd" comics were released in the US); actual US editions I usually acquired packaged in bundles at "holiday camps" or on holidays to the Spanish islands. One time I acquired a stash of "Archie" comics at an event in a nearby city, which introduced me to a whole different style of US comic; arguably more "realistic" than superheroes and even native publications like "The Beano" (which while usually set in the "real" world were full of what is usually described as "wacky hi-jinks"). And to this day I still don't recognise this "Dennis the Menace" version you claim to have on your side of the pond... 😅 Please note I grew up in a semi-rural part of the UK so don't take my youthful SF media experiences as necessarily reflective of the whole country. Anyway. Before I derail things any further, to my shame it has taken me this long to realise I have somehow, in a discussion of "General Sci-fi Designs Across Various Media", failed to mention the Granddaddy of British SF - Herbert George Wells. Granted, he didn't directly illustrate the iconic Martian tripod, but his descriptions have certainly proved a big inspiration to many over the decades. And as a further dive into obscure British SF media, theres the rather over-ambitious BBC production (adapted from a book series) "The Tripods" from back in the day...
  10. F-ZeroOne
    Another memory bank kicked into stuttering life: when "2000AD" launched, the lead strip wasn't a certain Lawman of the Future, but a reimagined "Dan Dare". Originally drawn by Massimo Belardinelli and later by a certain Dave Gibbons (whatever happened to him?) the strip featured a "mothership" for Dan called a "Space Fortress" (I'm fairly sure, but can't confirm, the name was inspired by the B-17) and a smaller gunship-like craft I forget the name of (possibly, and suitably enough, "Eagle"?) both of which featured technical cutaways in the comic and which were great examples of late 70s style "realistic" spaceships. Speaking of Dave Gibbons, also in "2000AD" was "Rogue Trooper" which over its life featured some amazing "future war" vehicles depicted by various artists including Cam Kennedy and Collin Wilson. An animated movie, directed by Doug Jones, is coming "soon". I'll also mention "Starblazer", which will require a bit of explaining - a long-running fixture of British newsagents (convenience stores) were "Commando" comics, little booklet-size comics usually depicting war stories which has been going for a long time (I think it still is!); for a while it had a SF counterpart, "Starblazer". Some of the covers for "Starblazer" featured amazing late 70s/early 80s SF art, some drawn by the much overlooked Ian Kennedy. And finally there was a series of books that haunted second-hand bookshops for years under the "Terran Trade Authority" banner, being essentially a showcase for various SF themed work by various artists with accompanying fluff text written by Stewart Cowley.
  11. F-ZeroOne
    Hi, to the best of my knowledge the film called “MegaForce”and the toyline called “MegaForce” are completely unrelated. Presumably a trademark lapsed at some point, or given the state of toy licensing at the time, the toy producers were completely unaware. Lego Space and Robotix are good shouts! I always got the impression “Zoids” was more popular in the UK than the US. We got a pretty good comic book (I think it merged with “Spider-Man” in the UK eventually; it may just have ran as a back up strip there and I’m misremembering) with art by Steve Yeowell (possibly best known for his work at “2000AD” with “Zenith”) and I think one of the “big” comics writers also did scripts for it, I want to say Grant Morrison? The UK comic book continuity was more or less separate from the Japanese background material. When I first started travelling to Japan, I used to see “Zoids” kits all the time (the original Tony releases, not the later even more detailed toys and model kits), really wish I’d picked up a few. I’ve frequented a few local toy fairs recently and they seem to be fairly scarce as “classic” toys go, I’ve only seen one out of half a dozen shows I’ve been to.
  12. F-ZeroOne
    ZOIDS! Piloted mecha dinosaurs! How have we not mentioned "Zoids" yet?!
  13. F-ZeroOne
    Couple toylines spring to mind here when it comes to SF designs, but not the ones everyone probably knows - "StarCom" and "MegaForce". I never had any of them but they stand out as having a relatively "realistic" (by I guess "Action Forc - ", excuse me, I mean "G.I. Joe" standards of "realistic") aesthetic for the time. Early "Britains Space" also arguably had a more "grounded", "2001" style look compared to the likes of say "Star Wars" or "Micronauts" - if you ignore the yellow/orange paint of the original "hero" vehicles (Britains normally made military, farm and construction vehicle toys so I wonder if they used what they had in stock... ). And while I'm getting lyrical about old, obscure British toylines - "Action Man Space Ranger"!
  14. F-ZeroOne
    Talk of British SF in general, and a documentary about a certain comic I rewatched over Christmas, reminded me of a couple designs. "2000AD" - The Galaxys Greatest Comic - is perhaps oddly despite being a SF anthology work not overly well known for its iconic designs but there are a few that spring to mind. Judge Dredds Lawmaster motorcycle, for example (which has existed in various guides over the years). Theres also the Blitzspear from "Nemesis the Warlock", an early example at least for me of a biological/technological hybrid and finally and perhaps the least known but very much from the "industrial everyday work thing" of spaceship construction, the "Speedo Ghost" from "Ace Trucking Co".
  15. F-ZeroOne
    And while we're on the subject of British TV SF - "Doctor Who" (I recently learned that the space station model used for the opening of "The Trial of a Time Lord" incorporated parts from "Macross" model kits!), "Blakes 7" (one of the reasons British TV SF had a bit of a reputation for slightly ropey effects is that "Blakes 7" replaced a police drama series in the schedule, and was given the same FX budget!) and even "Red Dwarf", which had some fantastic model work for a supposed "comedy" series.
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