Chronocidal

Thanks, fair enough, I guess it's just always been that way. Never going to not rub me the wrong way, but at least that's one less thing to blame directly on Bandai.

So... you say "visual balance." I do not think that means what you think it means. How "balanced" does this look to you? Also, just FYI... the letters are bold. Bold Arial font, to be precise. Like.. this is literally my reaction. You're missing my point. I'm just curious if they meant to swap the word order from the original. Flight Test Center. Not Test Flight Center. I'm thinking it's just a bad translation, but I don't know if that's an artifact of the original Plus, something from Hasegawa, or something Bandai did all on their own.

I wouldn't mind the lettering so much either, if it wasn't insanely ugly for all the reasons mentioned above. It's misaligned, overlaps the black so half the letters disappear, and it doesn't even match the position of the letters on the opposite wing. It's like they looked at the design, and asked, "How can we make this as offensive as possible for anyone with any amount of OCD?" The word I want to apply to how Bandai approaches tampo printing is rapidly approaching a very NSFW term. They could have just done exactly what Hasegawa did, and it all would have looked beautiful.. but noooooo.... they had to get creative, and put their own spin on it, moving around everything in some sort of mad stenciling party that rearranges all the original canon markings, and adds new ones that are misplaced, misspelled, and hideous. On that note.. minor question.. is it actually New Edwards Test Flight Center in Plus? Because the original Edwards is the Air Force Flight Test Center.

I'm not convinced that the heels can't be pushed in further actually. After messing with the Advance version, I was able to get the feet to seat lower, in a spot where I think the heels would blend better. Even if not, fortunately, if the design of the foot internals hasn't changed since the Advance, the heel caps should be a single piece that can be removed and replaced by a custom part. I plan on tackling a Shapeways replacement as soon as I get mine. The ugly tampo is another issue entirely, and part of the reason I ordered three of these. At least one is going to be scraped clean of all that crap, and will have the wing stripes re-painted. I'm also going to thin out the black panel down the spine, and maybe even remove the UN SPACY on the legs, because it's printed so low. Depending on how the sizes work out, I might replace some of the tampo with markings from the 1/72 Hasegawa kit. As much as people blasted Arcadia's release for not having enough tampo printing, I'll take that any day over having to remove all of Bandai's overblown tampo splatter.

To be entirely fair, ruining the Borg in new and (un)creative ways seems to be a rite of passage for every new trek series. As mentioned before, I know The Return was a giant Shatner self-insert fanwank, but I always kind of enjoyed the irony of the thought that they originated with V-GER.

Makes sense to me, they don't want to cannibalize the release of their big ticket item by selling a slightly smaller and cheaper item of the same type. Bandai haven't been in this situation with Macross before, since they had always been releasing different valks than Yamato/Arcadia, or in a different scale. Competition with the Yamato 1/60 VF-1s was almost certainly a big part of why the original HM line failed.

The fact that Bandai panel lined the decals on these kits makes me want to scream. The only way to conceivably decorate these kits in a decent fashion is to mask off and paint all of the markings by hand.

Honestly, I just want a Strangereal version of the Cold War, where SAC went fully active, and all those experimental aircraft that got cancelled when ICBMs were funded went into full active service. B-58s, fully active A-5 bomber wings, and all the fun stuff most people have only seen concept art of. You want a super-fighter equivalent for that era? Give me a B-70 escort mission, flying a wing of F-108 Rapiers. They aren't as well known, but some of the Century Series even had concept designs in progress for upgrades that never happened, things like the F-103 and F-107, or the proposed Doppler radar and canard upgrade to the F-106.

DYRL will always be a high mark I think, but what's funny to me about it is that, outside of the tunes taken from SDFM and the main theme, I think it really only had a single soundtrack theme throughout the entire movie. It was remixed and re-orchestrated to fit every scene it was used in, and gave a consistent feel to the movie in a strange but very memorable way. Maybe that was just me though. To me, Plus stands out specifically because it is so different, so serious, and works on such a small scale compared with the rest of the franchise. It's absolutely part of a larger universe, but it boils the story down to where the focus is entirely on the main three (four?) characters, and you get a more complete picture of them, compared with stories involving a ton of people whose entire characterization depends on visual appearance, and a few expository statements. It's the more subtle characterization that makes the characters stand out, and makes them more interesting. But then again, I'm biased because Plus was my first exposure to the franchise, the designs are my favorites of the franchise, and I love the soundtrack to death. The music is an odd thing though.. it's absolutely fitting to the visuals, and it's really effective at setting the mood, but it's also strange and unconventional in ways that make you wonder what you're listening to, and even question why you're listening to it... but that's kind of Yoko Kanno in a nutshell, I think. If anything, the Delta movie felt a lot more effective at characterization to me specifically because it was so much shorter, and there wasn't time to hit the viewer over the head with all the exposition they used to pad out the series. Funny random side-thought, that only now occurred to me: Who wants to bet the illegal neural network chip that ran Sharon's AI involved components made of fold quartz? I don't know if that has been mentioned officially, or discussed elsewhere, but it would probably fit the situation.

Without having the time to actually watch this at the moment, I'll say I'm vaguely intrigued by that poster. Are they thinking of doing some kind of R&D-focused historical series about ship's design and production? Edit: Scratch that, didn't realize it was all still speculation. An interesting idea, but probably not likely to happen.

Taking a step back can be helpful, and those Bandai kits are a joy to assemble, they should be a nice stress-free breather*. I've picked up two or three of each of the 1/72 ships now, and I haven't even progressed past the assembly phase, because they're just enjoyable to put together and take apart over and over. *Except for the Y-Wing that is.. that kit has enough tiny parts to make you go blind, and there are certain parts better assembled with tweezers. I really wish they'd gone full 1/48 for the whole line.

This is going to be fun to see in person, the whole thing looks like it has to unfold and collapse under the fighter. I'm thinking only the smaller panel on the inside of the arm (the section with the slot embedded inside the black stripe) will stay permanently attached, leaving the smaller two panels to collapse and fold under the right arm, while the big gun winds up underneath the opposite arm.

You're not wrong though, there are complicated aerodynamic effects that occur at certain speeds that can be disastrous. Aircraft definitely have "do not exceed" thresholds for airspeed, and they're generally the kind of thing that either result in the plane being retired due to airframe fatigue if exceeded, or end in the aircraft disintegrating in midair, as they literally shake themselves apart. If you want to dig into the science of it, look up the term "aeroelasticity." It has to do with natural vibrational frequencies in materials, and how at certain airspeeds, resonant frequencies can literally cause materials to vibrate and flex in ways that will be completely destructive to the airframe. Anyway, no, the Ace Combat games never get that detailed. In fact, I don't actually even know of any hardcore sims that go that far in their simulation. You might get warnings of aircraft overstress and eventual structural failure (including the aircraft breaking up), but the mathematics involved in those sorts of structural calculations require dedicated simulation software all their own to determine. At best, sims usually just take the published aircraft operating limits, maybe add a fudge factor, and then make the plane explode when you go to far. In my (perhaps skewed/biased) opinion, the Ace Combat series basically merges the classic WWI-WWII (maybe Korea/Vietnam) fundamentals of air combat with modern aircraft, and a very simplified approximation of modern technology. You have full control over the aircraft in terms of maneuvers, without any of the fluff of managing engines and sensors, and all the combat takes place roughly within visual range, which is something that you pretty much never see in the modern era. Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles are all the rage nowadays, and things only got so close back in Vietnam due to things like rules of engagement requiring visual ID of targets, and early generation missiles being fairly unreliable. All of that rolls up into a nice package deal of fast-paced, close-in dogfights with cannon and (very) short range missiles, and everyone's favorite modern combat aircraft. That being said.. I'd love for a historical flashback AC that tackled a bunch of the designs from the Cold War. Start players off in stuff like the F-86, F-90, F9F, F-11F, then move up through the F-100 series (SO happy to see the F-104 in this one!), add in the A-4, A-6, A-7, F-4, F-8. Throw in a few classic MiGs and Sukois, some old Mirages, Tornados, and EE Lightnings, and cap things off with the F-14/15/16/18 and MiG-25/29 as the top tier. There are so many fun aircraft from that era that we only get little snippets of in popular media. It's like everyone tends to forget everything between the P-51 and the F-14.

Interesting where that slot is located, since that will put some limits on both where the pack can be stored during fighter mode, and whether the hands will be able to fold in and out. I have to assume that's not the only attachment point, since that's where the dual cannon sits, and it will have to fold out of the way to let that side of the arm fit inside the opening on the inside of the lower leg.

The arm cannon is a fun little extra, but I'm more interested in the stacks of wing hardpoints I can use on all my other Bandai valks. Judging by that last layout picture, it looks like the missiles have slots in them, which would imply the pylons are separate pieces. If that's the case, I might make some modified pylons for more varied loadouts.

Converting files, maybe... building CAD/CAM designs for molds to reproduce parts that were designed to be 3D-printed could quite another thing. You can make a lot of complex shapes in a single piece with a 3D printer, but they might need to be broken down into entirely different assemblies before you could successfully make injection molds for them. Ideally, you could build the 3D printed parts with this in mind, but it also depends on how fancy of an injection molding process would be required. The complex multi-directional molds that Bandai uses on its kits can make some incredibly detailed parts, but I don't know how many injection molding factories can do that kind of work.

Really, it's worth clearcoating the entire 262 upon opening. The gold just flakes off once you start transforming it.

I've actually pulled one of mine out to mess with the past day, and it's going easier than I remember.. which probably means I'm doing something wrong. I do find it easier to transform if I just ignore gerwalk though, and go straight between fighter and battroid. I took a look at that arm swingbar, and after flipping it around the wrong way on purpose, I can't actually find a way to get it stuck. I'm wondering if skex's just happened to snap down tightly against the backplate, and needs to be popped up and away from it?

So, I can't quite claim to even have a horse in the race here, since I don't collect or build resin kits... but in the case that I ever came into possession of one? The first thing I would want to do? Build a digital replica of the kit to preserve the design in some format. I think once things like this reach a certain age, they pass from the realm of a collectible, and more into something that should be preserved for reference. I know things of this nature get touchy, due to all the situations involving recasting. But at the same time, I think there comes a point where a particular resin kit may be so rare that it's more beneficial for the modeling community as a whole to never touch the original kit, and either keep it preserved as a reference for what came before, or use it as the starting point for a newly designed kit. I think for a lot of us, even if we did build the kit, and appreciate it on display for many years, that's no guarantee that anyone it is passed down to would be able to appreciate it the same way. When that happens, the kit might end up any number of ways, everything from being sold off to a collector, to being passed on to a five-year-old to play with. There kind of is no in-between... if you want to enjoy your kit, then you should build it, and if you want to preserve it, you should keep it in a sealed box that will protect it, and maybe sell it to a collector someday. I'd say it's like buying two of a comic book or toy to keep one in mint condition, but when things get this rare, that's not always an option. The only alternative where you can have your cake and eat it too is if you take the time to make yourself a copy of the design, through whatever methods you have available. Whether that means hand-carving a new master, recasting the original, or digitally measuring, scanning, and re-engineering the kit to be 3D-printed, it's ultimately up to you whether you keep the design to yourself, or share it. I think under very specific circumstances, there are times when recasting should be seen as a viable way to preserve a rare kit design so that it doesn't disappear entirely. That being said... technology is crazy today, and models and toys are both getting better by the minute With so many companies cranking out better and better products so quickly, I feel like those old rare kits are becoming less and less desirable to build, and lend themselves better to remaining as unbuilt collectibles. They were good for their time, but many have been surpassed by models that are easier to build, more detailed, and much cheaper to acquire. Personally, I'd much rather have a toy than a transforming resin model, because I'm a fidgety maniac with all things mechanical, and I'd rather have something that will hold up to repeated transformations.

I did, but I'm honestly not sure their manufacturing processes would produce something usable. The part I designed is a solid bracket that replaces the metal swing bar in the Arcadia wing, and I had it laser cut out of 2 mm stainless steel sheet. It has to be manufactured to the precision necessary to fit and rotate smoothly around the same pegs that the original swing bar used, and have enough strength to support the wing. Which direction do you want to tighten the joint in? I remember one peg being exposed on the back edge of the intake/underside of the thigh, but that only shifts the wings in a flapping motion. I'd assume you want to tighten the other direction, that lets the wing gloves swing back to front in battroid, and I don't remember seeing any exposed parts to that pivot.

Have you tried rotating the little clip lock back and forth, to see if it's caught on the frame? It looks like the lighter blue piece is wedged between the walls of the back frame. I don't want you to stress the frame, but I wonder if attempting to lift the edge with the light blue clip over the walls of the backplate might get it loose.

I do hope they realize they've painted up a VF-1J in the S markings for the prototype there. Also hope the gunpod isn't permanently mounted, really prefer the option to have a completely clean aircraft. Otherwise looks good, and I might grab one or two, but I really don't need more VF-1s in any scale at this point.

I'll check on that, and see if I can't get the plastic versions available, if I can't get the metal ones going. Worst case, I can always upload the pattern, and you could cut the parts out of plastic sheet. It's not an easy pattern to cut, but my first couple of copies were handmade, and held up better than I expected. The plastic loops are just hard to shape, and seem like they'd be fairly fragile. I could even just mail you one of my spare sets, honestly, but I would like to get them available again. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled drool-fest.

You just reminded me about the replacement brackets I made on Sculpteo, but it looks like the metal ones aren't available for some reason. I might have to see about fixing that, or see if they have another material that'll work.

So I just realized how different the canard shape is from the early version. Is that to fit better into place in battroid mode? Also, you know the next step, right? Retractable landing gear!