F-ZeroOne

Based on that description - standard European practice then? Edit: oh, sorry, ignore that, just read the bit about BAE and the Typhoon. Thats what I get for going for a cheap laugh!

I don't know, but as a guess intakes for electronic systems or similar. The Russians also put chaff/flare launchers on the early MiG-29s in that position...

Not 100% sure but I think its from the Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla films, the most recent ones - it was used (in pairs or threes, I think) to transport MechaGodzilla around. Which also meant that each craft had a pretty impressive thrust/weight ratio seeing as the biological Godzilla tips the scales at about the 55,000 tonne mark...

I don't mind fake planes, as long as they don't make up the majority of the designs - one of my favourites was the one with variable geometry rudders... What I do like is lots of choice, which is where I felt AC6 fell a little flat. I want my TigerShark, dammit!

Prepare to go "You can't end it like that!" for a few months next year: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/29/doctor-who-cliffhanger-series-split (short version, next series will be... er... two series, split in the middle). One of those will also have the Neil Gaiman scripted episode, which just going by the bits hes having to leave out could just be quite special.

Thank you! Possibly the funniest thing about this OAV, from a UK perspective, is that the goal of the race - "Bangor" - is an actual place in the UK. It also used to be home to Anime Projects, who released AnimEigo titles in the UK [1], including this very title; I've long wondered if it was coincidence or not... [1] Back when the only subtitled anime available in the UK was Bubblegum Crisis on VHS. For about £30. An episode. Thank Tezuka that those days of pricing are long go - Bandai want how much for Gundam Unicorn discs...?!

Because then Kaoru Shintani would sue.

Yep, and the F-22 isn't bad either. Seriously, though, is there a reason why the F-22s contrails seem to be so much more noticeable?

Good luck with your endeavours! As you note in your review, Evangelion fans might well be interested in Ideon. Like most Tomino-directed shows, it has its flaws, but it perhaps took the best part of 15 years before anyone else tried to approach similar themes, proving once again that Tomino is sometimes so far ahead of the pack everyone else thinks they're first and forgets who is really leading the race...

The televised BBC Prom is to be shown next month, time and date unknown at the moment. Also, fans of Who may wish to keep an eye out for "Sherlock", the BBCs modern take on the classic character (as in, actually set in the present day). Its written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, who both have some minor connection with Doctor Who and its difficult to escape the impression whilst watching that one is viewing a lead actor who either very nearly was or may well be the next resident of the TARDIS... Its also a pretty good show.

<HEADSLAP!> Thanks for reminding me about Rightstuf, I should have thought about them right off the bat. I've ordered happily from them in the past, and recently bought a region-free Blu-Ray player for exactly this kind of thing...

I'm kind of sitting here with my mouth hanging open. Amazing, really, amazing. The only thing is that I hope it will be a bit easier to get hold of than Gundam Unicorn seems to be in the UK at the moment...

Just to balance the books a bit, there have been a couple of occasions where I've had positive "communication" experiences (excluding those with friends or contacts of friends). One time me and my brother were looking for a particular fashion shop [1] in Harajuku and the quest was getting to the point where it was looking likely we would be taking separate flights back home... Out of the blue, this voice says, "Excuse me, can I help you?" and this complete stranger, a young Japanese man, spends the next 15 minutes helping us find the shop we were looking for. Turned out that he had studied in England for a bit. We never did get a chance to thank him properly. On another occasion, I was on my way to Yokosuka to look at the warship Mikasa, and didn't realise that I had to change trains on the way. An elderly Japanese man on the same train told me what was happening with no prompting from me and in no less than a Texan accent! Turned out he had lived in Texas back in the 60s. [1] I admire Nigo, the founder of "A Bathing Ape", who is a Star Wars fan and therefore One Of Us. In the unlikely event I ever meet him, though, I will kick him very hard in the lower regions for only putting directions to the shops in the shops [2]. [2] Things are a bit easier now; the brand was a bit less well known and there was much less internet information available at the time.

As RFT has mentioned, my understanding from other forums is that its new for Farnborough.

There is to be another Doctor Who Prom [1] this weekend, Saturday 24th & 25th July at the Royal Albert Hall, once again featuring music from the show plus a few classical pieces. Its being broadcast on one of the BBCs satellite radio channels and the event will be filmed for future broadcast at a later date. [1] Just to avoid any cross-cultural confusion, "The Proms" is an annual British showcase of (mostly) classical music, so banish any thoughts of Daleks in badly-chosen tuxedos mooching in the locker room because they couldn't get a date with the leader of the Skaro cheer-leading squad [2]... [2] "Give me an E! Give me a X! Give me a T! Give me a... "

"What are your primary objectives, Taranis?" "To kick the arse of Her Majesty's enemies and drink tea. And I am all out of tea."

The BBC are currently running a series called "How To Build A... " - last week, they covered the Astute nuclear attack submarine; this week they covered Rolls-Royce and its line of commercial jet engines. Might be interesting for those who like the non-military side of things (I know I'd forgotten just how much jet engines are hand assembled!). Its currently broadcast on BBC2 at 21:00GMT, just after Top Gear...

Bandai did make a toy of the Model-97. It was a "Cloth Gear" item; essentially a metal frame which you snap the plastic armour parts onto. I have one; not a brilliant toy (the plastic armour greatly restricts the movement of the inner frame, making you wonder why they bothered making it poseable in the first place) but the "police blue" colour scheme does make it stand out. You're mostly right though; to the best of my knowledge theres very few, if any, other representations of the Model-97 in toy form.

For the record: yes, "completing" Gundam for a normal human is possibly, by now, verging on the impossible. Wait a few years until everyone is NewType and you might stand a chance... One thing to bear in mind with a lot of the early Gundams (pretty much everything pre-1990) is that the series quality is tied fairly strongly to the narrative quirks and techniques of Gundams creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino. He has a rather restless style - it often seems that he just cannot bear to have his characters sit still, and character development tends to take place in the gaps between the fighting - and its also worth bearing in mind that when these series were made, the way people watched them was different. It can fairly be claimed that many Tomino series have episodes which are mostly fight scenes. Back then, however, people didn't watch these series in 12-episode marathons, they ran home from school [1] and sat down to watch a once-a-week treat. I know at about the age of the typical anime-watching fan back then, I'd be bored if there wasn't Zaku-on-Gundam action that week! Tomino also suffered from depression throughout his career and his mood could affect the series he was working on; happily he appears to have reached an equilibrium now. My personal preference is for the Universal Century based Gundams; I've seen several of the alternate shows and enjoyed them (mostly!) but they do tend to lack the sense of "history" of the UC-era. A few summarised thoughts: The original series: a classic, though its disco-era stylings can look rather odd now. Can seem rather slow-going at first until around episode 30 onwards, and then you can almost hear Tomino switching gears to a higher plane. The movies are good for a capsule understanding of how everything started. Zeta Gundam: goes on a bit too long, and arguably the story runs out of steam well before the end, but essentially "fixed" the "style" of the Gundam universe for many years to come. Gundam ZZ: oops. This is what happens when Tomino takes a few too many of the happy pills. The first twenty odd episodes are painful - Tomino can do comedy, and quite well if Xabungle is anything to go by, but Gundam is perhaps not the place for it generally - but after that the series improves considerably. Unfortunately many seem to give up by that point... Chars Counterattack: its a gorgeous anime production of the kind they Just Don't Make Anymore <TM> but impossible to escape the feeling that someone hasn't quite filled in all the story elements for you. Gundam 0083: it looks fantastic, the designs are excellent, the music is great, the production values are high, but the characters are cut-out from cardboard and pasted onto a story from a colouring book. Worth watching - its almost impossible not to like it - but a bit hollow on the inside. Gundam 0080: despite a rather glaring plot hole, one of the most effective Gundam stories of all; an excellent, self contained tale of the tragedy of war. Ending guaranteed to make even grown men shed manly tears. Gundam Victory: I found this very depressing - it has probably the highest character death rate of any Tomino Gundam - but many disagree and it does have plenty going for it, including an immensely likeable junior lead character and some great music. Turn-A Gundam: I have to declare I am biased here. I think that Turn-A is one of the most fantastic anime I've ever seen; Tomino made this after Victory as a "cure" for one of his bouts of depression, and despite probably the most bizarre Gundam setting yet (a retro-styled alternate Earth) it really, really, works. Virtually every element that you think would be a disaster is instead a triumph. It can't entirely escape Tominos narrative jumpiness and the series lacks a clear villain, but overall Tomino showed how you truly reinvent a franchise. Gundam SEED and Destiny: I thoroughly enjoyed watching these series - I felt Destiny was superior overall - but having seen them after watching Turn-A they do feel just a little bit hollow. Of course, everyone has different opinions; these are just mine! [1] Gundam has always had a reputation for attracting a somewhat "older" audience, so my analogy might entirely hold water, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at.

Penultimate episode of this series just finished. Bloody... er... heck. Incidentally, US viewers may wish to consider the following (which my Mum had to point out! Mild spoiler from this weeks episode, but based on information already broadcast in previous episodes):

Quite a few people seem to have enjoyed that one; I particularly liked what they did with the TARDIS... :)Shades of Urusei Yatsura for me, as well! Apparently it was filmed later on and some people have got the impression that Matt Smith was more settled into the character by that point.

US Manga Corps released a DVD collection a couple of years back; it had the original Project A-Ko, plus all the OAVs (including "VS") and various extras like a short film about the making of the music. All the anime was subtitled. I don't know how easy it is to get hold of these days.

Its the anime that has everything. I've watched it many, many times over the years and almost always spot something new each time. If you have the re-issued DVD with the directors commentary, its interesting to note how he remarks that he'd never be allowed to get away with some of the "homages" he did when he made it.

One of the stranger places I've ever been to in Japan, the small town of Sakai-Minato; its the home of Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro, and not a place to go if you're easily given the willies! There is Japanese vending machine coffee, and then there is THE BOSS. Accept no substitutes! Japanese formal gardens always give the impression that no detail was left to chance; I'm almost prepared to believe that this brush was left unattended on purpose!

I'd like to visit the Gundam cafe, it looks pretty well done actually. Meanwhile on that theme, back when Bandai had a Bandai museum (possibly they still do, but last I heard it had been moved some way from Tokyo, and the original wasn't exactly close to start with!):