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Chronocidal

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  1. Chronocidal
    Oh there is an entire pile of improvements I would bring over from the kit, given the option. The wings always just stuck with me as the worst, because of how sloppy they are with the draken mounts. The whole thing is just another case of Bandai's brain halves not speaking to each other.
  2. Chronocidal
    That really is the dancing elephant in the room.. when was the last time Arcadia sold a VF-1 that wasn't a DYRL VF-1S? The last ones I got from them were the PF M&Ms and VE-1, which all happened over five years ago now. Can they just not even justify producing anything but those two specific VF-1S versions now? I might even bite at a PF version of either if they did them. They've done the PF YF-19, VF-0D and VF-4A in the interim, but those are where they started raising the "premium" in their PF releases to include weathering and panel lining, and I was just crossing my fingers they'd get around to the VT-1. I'm absolutely not expecting the ThreeZero releases to ever even attempt most of the schemes Yamato did back in the day though. Considering the Robotech branding, I'd be very surprised for them to even dip into the DYRL designs at all, which knocks strike packs off of the menu.
  3. Chronocidal
    I'm not going to hold out hope that they made any improvements, but they'd do well to examine the 1/72 kit for how to simplify and improve the entire transformation. It's really bizarre that the plastic kit feels like it locks together more solidly than the DX version. Specifically the wings.. The DX relies entirely on the tabs in the outer wing portions to lock into the legs, which is why they needed the clear brackets for the drone boosters. In comparison, the snap kit's entire wing armature clicks into place against the leg, making the whole thing lock together like a brick.
  4. Chronocidal
    I can't blame them for going back to the popular/simple releases to drum up business, but it feels like they're just stuck in limbo, unable to innovate due to some combination of competition and costs rising to make new molds out of reach.
  5. Chronocidal
    I'm right there with you, but considering how many re-issues we've seen of the YF-19 since it released, I'm really thinking they just can't financially justify making the YF-21 in 1/48. I'll remain hopeful, especially considering the anniversary year, but I'm just not really expecting anything this far along.
  6. Chronocidal
    I've actually been spoiled by some of the more detailed versions, since Hasegawa's are indented, and the HMR releases use those as notches to secure the hips. I'd forgotten the Yamato one was just painted on with no molding.
  7. Chronocidal
    Since metallics usually require a dark basecoat, I wonder if they're coating the whole thing with a black filler primer to level out the texturing, and then buffing the topcoat. I'd be really surprised if the thing moves as well as the normal releases though, that much paint is going to wreak havoc with the tolerances.
  8. Chronocidal
    I'm going to have to get my airbrush out and actually learn to use it, I've had it for years at this point. Looking beautiful! Always loved those bright oranges on aircraft.
  9. Chronocidal
    Ah, I wasn't aware the rest of those adapters existed. The only ones this set had were the standard ones that would come with the VF-1s.
  10. Chronocidal
    I do not own one of the original Yamato launch arms to compare it to, but this one is definitely weighted down with metal in the base, a solid metal mounting arm, and it's very sturdy. The ratchets are a little tough to move, and sound a bit harsh, but they're not going anywhere easily, so it's not what I'd call a bad thing. It also comes with all of the adapters, so you're good for any mode of display, including the removable nose escape pod (which one of the reviews I watched commented on, since they had to look up what it was). This thing doesn't skimp on accessories at all, the basic release comes with everything you'd find in a late-issue Yamato strike VF-1 bundle (minus the strike cannon), including the side covers, battroid ejection seat mount, and neck filler pieces. The transparent red fast pack covers are a pre-order bonus, while the launch arm stand is only included in the deluxe edition, for about $25 more, which feels like a bargain compared with what those stands sold for originally. Price-wise? It's almost exactly what I paid for an original release Yamato VF-1S strike bundle in 2008, so long as you ignore the currency shenanigans over the past fifteen years. I saw it had gone to sold out a day ago on ShowZ... and then went back up for pre-order last night. I might have just put in a pre-order for a third copy. If they're doing multiple production runs, I'll be interested to compare, and see if any of the little first run issues are fixed. As much as I liked the metallic paint on the KC 1/72 version, I'm really glad I went with this. The packaging is perfect, and the quality is extremely good for a KO, at half the price of the KC God of Flame.
  11. Chronocidal
    If it exists on the PC, I'm certain there probably are ways to do it, but they won't be official. I don't know if you'd be able to spoof the game into downloading the Japanese content with a VPN or not, but if the game has a big enough audience, I'm sure someone somewhere will find a way to patch in the missing content.
  12. Chronocidal
    Hah.. not even wrong. Some of the best tools I have were just bundles of manicure supplies I found cheaply on Amazon. Emery boards, buffers, and I'm starting to love sanding sponges. You do have to be careful not to deform things since they're soft, but boy do they make paint stripping and polishing a breeze.
  13. Chronocidal
    That thing needs more than an adapter, everything internal needs to be re-engineered into a mechanism that can support wings that heavy, and then have the actual wings replaced with material that doesn't bend like soggy leather over time. The problems with the design are numerous, but the biggest are that the wing mounts get sloppier with every re-pop of the mold, the actual wing material is not sufficient to support itself, and the mechanism just isn't strong enough to hold the wings open to begin with, because the lever putting pressure on the spring just bends instead. It really needs metal components. The nose cone looking like a failed nose-job is just the crap icing on the mud pie. I've had half a mind to 3D print replacement components to rebuild it, but in the end I stopped and just decided to print the whole thing. It's not worth trying to salvage the few good parts. I guess I'm probably being too harsh, since this is still pretty much the best large-scale X-Wing toy produced. It's just gone through many iterations over time that have degraded the quality. And I really miss the sharp chiseled nosecone that the original FX version came with.
  14. Chronocidal
    For me, the restored Manga subtitles, and optional audio fixes for the OVA were enough to convince me. The first edition blu-ray set wasn't bad, but it was missing a few things that felt weird for them to leave out.
  15. Chronocidal
    Ugh. That ancient X-Wing mold desperately needs a redesign and refurbish. It gets more and more saggy and disappointing with every re-run.
  16. Chronocidal

    Hi-Metal R

    Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    Only Bandai knows what they'll release, and when. You'd probably have better chances predicting lottery numbers than their release strategy.
  17. Chronocidal
    This one crosses the threads a bit, just like the product itself. It pretty much counts as both.
  18. Chronocidal
    The black vinyl is probably a pretty solid option for the leg packs. Looks good! I think the only real solution for some of these changes is going to be repainting the parts. The skull came off of the heatshield really easily at least, but it's not painted. While I know it's "officially" correct, I still can't stomach the autobot logo on the nosecone though, that has always bugged me. I'm going to be putting it on the heatshield instead, most likely. Depending on the assembly process, and whether I can match the red paint, I might also start over with blank fuselage parts and wings to get rid of the kites. The tails I probably would as well, if I could get the backpack apart, but it's probably less work to just strip the existing ones and repaint the outer tail surfaces. The mish-mash of tampo markings makes me wonder if the tampo process is a fairly closed loop, and they weren't able to alter which markings were printed, only what colors they were done with. It looks like this is mostly based off of a standard DYRL Hikaru VF-1S scheme with the red and black mostly swapped, but they did make a few custom additions (the pilot name, and red patches on the upper legs), and the nose section is missing the stripe. Maybe they were working with a selection of printing options from other valks already being produced? I don't know if any KOs were ever made that only had the kite on the nose though. I was able to wiggle the nosecone tip off of one of mine, and judging by the paint pattern on the inside, the red parts were sprayed while still on the sprues.
  19. Chronocidal
    Small note, I just realized the timing of this. They dropped this almost smack dab on the 40th anniversary of Jetfire's original release.
  20. Chronocidal
    Bandai has been getting -better-, but they still don't seem interested in making "aircraft." They just don't get the differences, and that they should be using real-world references for details, instead of making them up (or deciding they know better than over 100 years of aviation technology development).
  21. Chronocidal
    I mean.. no one's going to accuse the writers of Delta of trying to make too much sense.
  22. Chronocidal
    So I'm annoyed at myself.. I shoved the transparent covers for the fast packs back in the box so quickly that I forgot they existed... and those would have been the perfect parts to repaint for alternate markings. Might still be easier just painting the black stripes than having to match the shade of red at least, but I'm also glad to have a backup in case something goes wrong.
  23. Chronocidal
    I actually did look up the original packaging to compare, and they very specifically removed ONLY the Autobot logos from the original box design. I'm amused that that's somehow the line they couldn't cross to skirt copyright laws. I'm also slightly irritated at myself. I didn't even think about the fact that this thing comes with spare fast pack covers that I could just paint completely from scratch, rather than having to strip and mask off the black section on the UN SPACY ones. Still might be easier than matching the shade of red though, so we'll see.
  24. Chronocidal
    Nothing fancy so far, just happy I stripped them without damaging the red paint on the rest of the parts, since they are coated overall. I did try brushing both an enamel and an acrylic coat to see how smooth it would come out, but neither wound up looking good, so I re-stripped, and will just spray them (once I remember how to airbrush ). I will say I miss the smell of enamels though. I was thrilled to see my ancient Model Master black was still good, and while it didn't coat without showing the strokes, it still went on smoother than most acrylics I know.
  25. Chronocidal
    So, if you ship things via FedEx, they do this on purpose. FedEx offers different tiers of shipping, with different delivery priorities and speeds. So, if you pay for the cheapest version, they're under absolutely no obligation to deliver something before the expected date, regardless of where that package is coming from. When I ordered the monitors I have on my current computer, they were shipped from a warehouse about a two hour drive from my house. They arrived at my local FedEx office the day after I ordered them. I then watched the tracking information tell me that the trucks were driving my monitors around town for two days without delivering them. I called them on this. They told me they were "not due for delivery." I had a lot of choice words for them about the entire situation,, and then drove to the local office, and just picked them up to end the stupidity. Anyhow.. Back to Jetfire-related things. So, I had one amusing success. A quick gundam eraser application took off the UN SPACY label from one of my leg packs without really touching the undercoat. Awesome. Tried that on the second one.. and the paint came off in the reverse order. The black stripped out from around the lettering. In the end, I stripped off the entire stripe, and now have that one prepped to spray. I don't know if I'll try and strip the black off of the second one, or just spray over it, but I'm betting it'll have to be stripped down to get a good coat sprayed. We'll see how it goes.
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