F-ZeroOne

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/11/02/brain.dish/index.html Thanks to MegaTokyos Dom for the link.

Shin, I think Skull Leader has already answered your questions! Theres no doubt that if you want a brick of a toy the 1/55s feel much more solid and have much greater heft to them. The HCMs compensate with increased mobility, better (if not entirely accurate) detail and neat features like rubber landing gear and "proper" missile slots. I'm also a bit annoyed because I had the opportunity to buy the HCM "cannon fodder" VF-1A, and didn't, which is a shame, as I think its got a lovely colour scheme as a HCM. I've never handled a MPC, so I couldn't tell you how it compares, though its obvious in pictures just how much Toynami based the MPC on the original HCM design - and personally speaking, I think the HCM has better proportions; the MPC looks a bit too "stretched" into the larger scale.

The new Dalek - same as the old one! I wouldn't take those photos as being completely representive. Rumours of leaked storylines indicate that there could be one episode with a "classic" Dalek, and new Daleks appearing later on in the series, but I stress this is rumour, nothing definite yet. If that is the new Dalek, its interesting that they've kept the "sink plunger" arm, always a source of mirth among the public...! Edit: Forgot to mention: Daleks are "owned" by the estate of Terry Nation; its possible they didn't allow the BBC to make any radical changes, hence the "classic" alien pepperpot Overlords of the Galaxy shape...!

And now some fun! Hikaru: "C'mon, babe. You and me, we could show the Galaxy the power of love!. Who needs Minmay, anyway? <hic>!" Milia: "<blush> But what about...?" Max: "AHEM!"

Now my favourite, Battroid. Posed so as to show the increased leg mobility. Note the heat shield!:

Side. Note arm gunpod mount:

The rarely seen Gerwalk mode. Not the HCMs strongest mode, really. Front:

Fighter mode, side. Note the tailhooks. I'm also not entirely sure if I've transformed this correctly, the gaps at the side seem rather large and the tail has a rather tilted posistion:

Okay, I should have known better to make a statement like "I'll wait until the lights better" in England in winter... Anyway, as requested by Shin, heres some pics of perhaps the most underrated of Macross Valkyrie toys - the 1/72 HCM...! Fighter mode, top:

Eek...! Okay, Shin, hold that "Stomp" button for a bit - probably not this evening, but I'll see what I can do tomorrow when the lights better.

Actually, theres a couple of other scales for VF-1s: 1/100 and the 1/72 HCM Valkyries, the latter of which is about to get some sorely needed attention from me here. They've got a reputation for fragility, but I think that may be more because they feel like they're going to snap in half, not that they actually will! Okay, so they're not hefty metal like the 1/55s, or ultra-detailed like 1/60s and 1/48s. But... ...they have a pilot figure. A mountable gunpod. Missiles. Tail hooks (something not even on the 1/48!). A heatshield. Real rubber tyres (not on the 1/60s...!). Working trigger fingers (also not on the 1/60s!). Improved arm and leg movement over the 1/55s. They do have their issues - they're largely plastic, and feel it. The sculpt is only a modified version of the 1/55, and the tail fins stick up too much in Battroid mode (although I feel this is a bit exaggerated in reporting and not overly noticable when you actually have a 1/72 on display). Fighter mode has gaps all over. But... of all my Valkyries, I think the 1/72 has the best-looking Battroid mode, as a toy goes. Its not as accurate or as detailed, but its "feels" better. To me, anyway. The rest of you are probably ready to adminster the Monster stomp on me now... (the remaining problem with 1/72s is because Bandai never re-released them, making them look their best by fitting all the little covers and things means wrecking their value, if you care about that kind of thing... )

As I understand it, theres going to be a Christmas special followed by the TV series in Spring. However, I'm unclear as to whether the Christmas special is for this year or next (2005), and whether the special will be the pilot for the TV series.

One joke doing the rounds at the moment is that Christopher Eccleston looks like a Doctor who has the words "Time" & "Lord" tattooed on his butt! As for that epsidoe picture - can't remember the name, but I seem to recall the Daleks having some terrible nerve gas that really mucked people up...

Nice! Thanks for the link, from someone else who has recently got into FSS...

Has everyone having trouble installed Shockwave?

You're welcome. And it does remind of the scene in M+ where Guld is tracking missile trails in the YF-21...

http://www.ertdfgcvb.ch/p1/fly_2.html Arrow keys to move, requires Shockwave. "Higher. Faster... "

Probably not as much as I was by the 120mm Rifled Challenger gun - over 5000 metres? Wow! You can't armour a tank everywhere, at least not if you want it to move. Most of the information I've seen regarding knocked-out tanks in Iraq looks like side or rear hits, where the armour isn't so thick.

Yup, cuz most infantry in modern warfare use SINGING as a weapon. Er... sorry to intrude, but pyschological warfare involving loud rock music has been used as a tactic for flushing people out of boltholes in a couple of recent conflicts. And, though it doesn't really count as singing - or, some would claim, music - bagpipes famously followed at least one British division ashore to Normandy, a tactic that, despite numerous attempts, has yet to be banned by the Geneva Convention...

Ouch... Well, a CO is responsible for those under him... Back on topic: I'm quite interested in the BAE Hawk, I've found some info about it (generally good, some bad), but I'm more interested in the Canadian versions of it, which I think goes under the designation CT-155. Info on Canadian planes can be tricky to find... And FYI, I'm building the Airfix 1:48th Hawk 100 as the Canadian version. Surprisingly good fit, but the cockpit was lacking rudder pedals... One comment I heard about the Hawk was that when it was in competition with the Alpha Jet for a US Navy order, the Navy refused to hold a fly-off on the grounds that it would be "No contest"... The Hawk is, of course, the mount of the RAFs Red Arrows display team. I had a real surprise a couple months ago. We had driven to our local airport to see off some family friends, when we realised we had an escort - the Red Arrows, all coming in for landing! Not only that, but while we were waiting for the flight, we were sat in the cafe having a coffee, when I turned round to see the whole Red Arrows team sat at the table opposite, drinking tea...!

"Justice-san"?! Oh, I like that. I like that a lot... (Justin is my "real" name). Funnily enough, JCat is not far off - I'm told that my first name has roots that mean "one who is just" while my surname has roots in "pilgrim". So... "Justice-san! Pilgrim of JUSTICE! Coming to DVD this fall!"

Well... I saw a bit of Ace wo Nerae! the other day. I think IGN only got it half wrong... (Gunbuster being Ace wo Nerare! with giant robots, solar-system crushing battles, black hole bombs, and of course, Gainax bounce... )

So I bought the PC version of Final Fantasy VII [1]. And I played it, and got quite a way through, but didn't get to the end. Then I did the same thing a few months later, but searched around more for some of the secrets. Then I sold it. Then I bought it back off the guy I sold it to. And I started to play it again. But I got a bit fed up with the rather lacklustre PC conversion, and trying to play it on my PC gamepad. So I went and bought the PSOne version. And started to play it again. But I've stopped for a bit. Because I'm playing Final Fantasy Tactics... ...help me... [1] Yes, yes, I know - I have since played several other console RPGs, including the wonderful FFVI and the superb Chrono Trigger. But VII was the first game of that type I ever played, and it made quite an impression. Like being hit with Knights of the Round. Twice...

Got him. At long last, I've got him... Had it not been for "Moe" and her friends at the Pina Fore Cafe http://pinafore.jp/ You may have converted me. It was a close shave for the head of the CGC. Once you get mecha in your soul, its far, far too late, Mappy... (for observers - Mappy and me have different tastes in anime; hes for cat-girls and other devestating amounts of cute, whereas I'm for Peace and Justice as expressed by giant robots... )

One of the common criticisms of the Ah! My Goddess OAVS is that, because of their compressed length, Belldandys personality is reduced to that of a doormat. A very attractive, very pleasant doormat, but a doormat nonetheless. I suspect fans are hoping that a TV series will give Belldandy a bit more room for character development ("Would you like two sugars instead of one in your tea, dear?" )