F-ZeroOne

Its just possible one day I will find an anime production somewhere that Hideki Anno hasn't touched in some way...

https://www.zimmerit.moe/hideaki-anno-gundam-chars-counterattack/

Okay, to be more accurate, all of "Doctor Who" currently available - I'm not sure if that includes the ice lolly [1] comic books and the like from back in the day... 😉

[1] Those of you on the other side of the pond - popsicles.

So the whole of "Doctor Who" coming to BBCs iPlayer... except the first four episodes (commonly known as "An Unearthly Child"), due to a licencing issue with theson of these episodes writer, who - and I think this all I can safely say here - seems to have a bit of an axe to grind with the BBC. Linked article has more details:

https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-an-unearthly-child-streaming-stef-coburn-1850933733

Its a slightly similar curve to the original "Star Trek" - long seen as a bit dated, cheesy, and with a fan-base consisting entirely of nerdy geeks (or was it geeky nerds?). But the geeky nerds (or was it nerdy geeks?) that grew up watching the shows are now the people making the shows, and they have the benefit of fifty-odd years of advancements in TV production to call on. And both shows were always more than their tin foil spaceships and styrofoam boulders anyway (or in "Doctor Who"s case, real boulders in a quarry somewhere).  

I'm not an expert on the history of "Who", but IIRC part of it comes from some of the episodes having been lost for a long time before being rediscovered. I think it was one of those where over the years when parts of it were missing, it gained a reputation as a legendary lost classic.

To be fair, given broadcast standards at the time of showing, the block and tackle may not have stood out as much. A bit like how in the Hartnell era, one of the TARDIS walls is very obviously a canvas screen.

In retrospect, he probably set the template for all the superhero team-ups that came later, the ones where every member has a quip ready to hand for any situation. I didn't get to read a lot of his runs due to spotty US comic availability here at the time, but I very much enjoyed the "Justice Leagues" I was able to get,

From 1st November, in the UK at least (presumably on Disney + in other territories?), all [1] of "Doctor Who" - classic, modern, "Torchwood", "Sarah Jane" etc - will be available on BBC iPlayer. Now you too can discover if "The Tomb of the Cybermen" is the greatest achievement in the whole of human history! 😉

[1] Well, most of it - I'm not sure about the Richard E. Grant web episodes or "The Curse of Fatal Death"...

Big s, thanks for the reply about Gundam Markers. There are actually correct shapes moulded into the fists so presumably it's just a case of colouring in.

Just a thought I had - regards the detailing, would one of these Gundam Markers I hear so much about be an alternative to the stickers for detailing, say, the arrows on the fists? 

I think I used to use a (normal) nail file every now and then, but TBH I was always about getting the kit built rather than prettying it up (this was in the days before things like "Robot Damashii" and the kits were the closest you could get to a "true" representation of an on-screen mecha). Thanks for the tip about the glass files!

Speculation, but could the name “Blue Jet” possibly be a holdover from some early form of the character at the design stage where it was blue?

Thanks, glad you liked the review! I did remember while building this kit that back when I used to build some Gundam kits some years ago I would use a file occasionally, but then I also had more time in those far-off days of yore... 🙂Might be something I keep in mind next time I try a similar kit.

I've just checked the model again and those panel gaps are actually rather less noticeable in real life than in the above image!

So I finally got to build the Big Dai-X today. I am in no way, shape or form an expert modeller and neither am I particularly worried about seam lines, sprue marks etc. It took me about four hours, which is about the same time as the "Entry Grade" Nu-Gundam took me, even though that seemed the simpler build.  One noticeable difference is that the "points" that hold the parts onto the sprues are thicker than Bandai seems to use and more likely to leave marks on the pieces.

On the other hand, most of the kit is molded in colour, with most of the white striping printed on (as well as the eyes), the exceptions being a couple of white arrows on thee shoulders and some absolutely tiny stickers for detailing on the fists, feet and back. I opted to leave  most of the small stickers off as I knew with my skill level, only tragedy would result. 🙂

Instructions are almost entirely in Japanese but mostly straightforward to follow; just be careful assembling the arms as theres some steps I found a little confusing and I actually missed applying one of the shoulder stickers until it was almost too late. Theres no internal frame like some "Gundam" kits as such. The kit can also separate to form the various craft that make up Big Dai-X with some part swapping, and theres a few extra parts in the kit for display stands for this.

In times of size, it sits roughly between the Sentinel toy (slightly larger) and the Takatoku DX version (slightly smaller).

Overall, a pretty good kit for any skill level, not quite up there with Bandai but a massive relief that much of the most important detailed is printed. Until someone gets round to doing a chogokin or something, Star Fleet legions should be more than happy with this!

Couple images to finish off, including a group shot of some - but not all - of my Big Dai-X posse! (and I just noticed those forearms need to be fitted together better! 😄)

Its not an entirely new problem. One of the reasons one of the Rebel pilots on the original Death Star run has a slightly sleepy expression is because he was constantly looking down at the sheet of paper his lines were written on... 🙂

 I have to say, I've been really enjoying the later episodes of this. Its just a bit of a shame is that its hard to recommend to people who aren't already somewhat invested in the lore, but I guess that comes with the territory somewhat in this case.

 "I don't want to go!"

"We know, David, we can't bloody stop you coming back!" 

Has something to do with the fact that a certain Russell T. Davies is back as showrunner... 😀

Theres a new trailer out for the three specials coming in November. Theres quite a few, um, happenings that could be considered spoilers so if you'd rather wait...

Update on Big Dai-X stickers - there's actually two arrow stickers for each shoulder, and the others are for detailing on the fists and back.The yellow ones aren't for the eyes as I thought but details on the feet.

My Moderoid "Big Dai-X" arrived yesterday. I've only had time to open the box and look inside, and its going to be a while before I get a chance to build it, but here are some quick impressions:

The box art is gorgeous, proper old school mecha art. I'd love it as a print or poster.

Much to my relief, the white stripes on the limbs and a number of other coloured details are printed on. I initially thought there were no stickers at all, until i found a small sticker sheet lurking at the back of the manual. The stickers are tiny, and as (without having looked in the manual yet) they seem to be for detailing only, I may well leave them off except for the ones coloured yellow, which I presume are for the eyes (I can't recall yellow anywhere else on Big Dai-X in the show).

Looking at the size of the parts on the sprues, I'm guessing size-wise this is going to come in very roughly around the size of the old Takatoku DX toy and the Sentinel toy that was released a few years back.

In terms of construction difficulty, its looking like it'll be somewhere between the "First Grade" RX-93 Nu-Gundam I picked up a few months ago and the "High Grade" kits I used to build... (checks passing of time)... over fifteen years ago (!).

I also have to say Droid the Doctor is doing a great job in that role. 😃

They should make him a flametrooper so that he can send a message to the others.

And yeah, little bit of an Amos fan too...

What more can be said? Her portrayal of the character is the one that every subsequent version had to follow. Rest in peace.

There was a horrible incident in the UK a few years back where a Hawker Hunter crashed onto a road lined with traffic and people "unofficially" watching a nearby airshow. The pilot somehow survived  and was put on trial, though he claimed to have no recollection of the crash. That tragedy led to quite a bit of tightening up of airshow regulations here.

Reminds me that a long time ago, at a local air display, I actually saw an ejection from a Red Arrow jet (the RAF display team). Pilot landed in the sea and as far as I'm aware was fine. It doesn't surprise me that someone might think its part of the display, there was some confusion for a bit at the event I saw.

The local area where I live has had some odd aviation visitors over the years - we used to be on a local Route One if the Cold War ever got hot, so we used to have quite a lot of RAF and USAAF traffic passing through, and still the odd exotic now - a local airfield services A400Ms, I got a glimpse of an Osprey at extreme distance when your current President was visiting a little while back, AH-64s eyeing up the nearest cul-de-sac as a potential T-72 hidey-hole, A-10s buzzing my school, but by far the most memorable was seeing an actual, honest-to-Goose F-14 fly past at another local air display; to put it in perspective it would be like having a F-22 turn up at your childhood lemonade stand...! 😄

Also a few months back I also heard, but didn't see, something tear a hole through the sky - as did some of my work colleagues, one of whom put it down to a F-111 (!). I had to point out why that was a little unlikely (actual culprits were a pair of F-15Es).