Chronocidal

I enjoyed the first Frontier movie plenty when I finally watched it, and the pacing didn't bother me, but I personally thought the ending didn't really didn't make any sense at all (whether that's due to pacing is up for grabs though). Not that it seemed rushed exactly, but I think the series did a much better job coming up with a justification for the singing. The movie pretty much defaulted to "I'm going to sing during battle whether it makes any sense or not!" It was cool and all, it just required me to turn off more of my brain than I'm used to in order to enjoy it. If they integrate it better in the second movie, and make the strategy make a bit more sense, I'll be happy. I'll probably enjoy it regardless because I love the music, but the ending of movie #1 really made me just wonder what they were thinking.

One of these days I need to make a fully rigged VF-1. I've never gotten around to it because I've always been absorbed in other projects, but I would love to tackle the design entirely from a realistic perspective.. ie, making everything fit, and look realistic (even if we don't have the technology to do it). I started making an X-Wing with a similar method, and the results are actually really good. It's fun throwing in all those little details you know should be there for things to work in real life.

Ok, now the big question: Will it come with actual squadrons, or just Joe themed markings? I want me some Jolly Rogers dangit! Plus.. why does the Starscream version still have the two seat cockpit?

These usually get put in the Fan Works section, and I know I've done my share of builds over the years. Just found this particular site on a random search, not in english, but the pics speak for themselves. http://macrossrobote...ules-t2501.html This made my jaw drop. There are more shots of it on the site I linked, and yes, it transforms. I'll see if I can dig up my old VF-1 pics. I started out with a massiv 1/18 scale one, but that wound up being a bit... well... HEAVY. It wouldn't hold up under its own weight (not to mention I ran out of parts ). I eventually rebuilt it to about 1/32 scale, with much better results. Edit: Bleh, I just went and made a new MOC page for it. Been meaning to for a few months now, bout time I posted the pictures there. http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/261224

Been fiddling around with the game Vindictus recently, sort of a mashup of dynasty warriors with an mmo, built on the source engine. Mostly it's just eye candy hack and slash (plenty of fanservice items/outfits etc) but for April 1st they randomly had GlaDOS and the Companion Cube drop in and recruit you as a test subject (to collect some metal ore from somewhere, really just a hunt/fetch quest), then the heavy from TF2 showed up with a similar quest for an easily found item. The actual quest content was negligible, but the dialogue from both GlaDOS and the Heavy were absolutely hilarious. They flat out lampshaded the game's style (GlaDOS pointed out that there were far too many pointy objects and not enough clothing to protect from injury, while they Heavy just stated he would stand around and watch all the pretty girls running around in very little clothing while you found the items he needed), but they even made fun of the way the game works in general, poking fun at the token system they use in game. It was basically a string of in-jokes, but it's nice to see the people running the game have a good sense of humor about it. The quest rewards are pretty much joke items in the game, but having a knight in full plate armor running around beating things up with a crowbar is pretty awesome (even a magic crowbar staff for the mage characters). The head crab and City 17 Police gasmask helmets are pretty amusing too.

Ok, now that is rather awesome and creative. I might need to go grab a few of those. I usually display my valks in a similar pose, but without the support stand. I just stand them on a shelf, and balance them by playing with how far I open the feet. VF-1s will stand fine on their own, even with fast packs, but things like the YF-19 and VF-11 need something to lean against. Then there's the oddballs like the YF-21/VF-22 and SV-51, which don't like to stand on their engines in fighter mode. These little stands would save a ton of space compared with the massive chunky stands they came with. My concern is, how hard is it to balance the YF-19/VF-11, or maybe a VF-25/VF-27 on these? I think everything else has nice open toes to catch those hooks, but those particular valks have big solid pointed toes that seem like they might make catching a good foothold (hah) on these stands a bit tricky.

Considering the manufacturing tolerance and plastic stressing issues the DX line seems to have in general, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the reason the joints loosen over time is because the plastic is stretching, or even splitting in ways we don't see. I mean, look at what tends to happen to the backplate on armored VF-25s. When you have evidence of engineering problems that .. well, stupid, I have no trouble believing the joints are loosening because the parts weren't made the right size in the first place. Sure you can make a joint really tight if you make the metal ball larger than the socket it's going to be put into, but over time, one of those pieces is going to have to change shape to relieve stress, and it isn't going to be the metal. Fortunately for me, joints aren't a problem if you just leave the thing in fighter mode the whole time, which I do anyway (except for the VF-25 actually..flawed as it may be appearance-wise, I find the problems with battroid much more tolerable than the ones with fighter mode ). I still think the wing engines look a bit ridiculous, but the fighter itself looks good enough that I want one (if only to show my monetary support for a new VF-25 based on the way the YF-29 looks).

Holy cow. I remember those fruit snacks. And.. I'm pretty sure I remember one of the boxes having a cut-out Tomcat you could make from the box. It was just a top plan view with a dividing segment in the middle that you folded into a ventral fin to throw it by, paper airplane style.. but I remember that thing flying pretty well (with a few modifications). I do wish those special schemes would actually show up at China Lake sometime so I could see them though. I'm not sure they're painted on actual VX-5/9 aircraft, but I'd hope they'd use actual squadron aircraft for this. I'm still waiting to see some nice 60's-70's high vis though, that era had a ton of memorable schemes.

Was mentioned quickly in passing in one of the topics about the DX YF-29, I'd have to skim those to see where it was. I don't remember if it was officially mentioned, but given how successful the first run of 1/72 variable kits was, I have a really hard time believing they wouldn't do it. The way I'm thinking, the 1/100 kits are more for the niche market of aircraft purists and detail modelers who just want a fun little aircraft model to detail without the hassle of all the extra parts and assembly/painting complications (not to mention making a quick buck capitalizing on the movie while they work on the DX and potential 1/72 kits, which will take longer to design). The 1/72 kits are targeted more to their cash cow gunpla market, and I can't imagine they'd abandon that to focus on the aircraft kits. Edit: Here we go, apparently the source is a Figure Oh article, and mentions a few interesting potential developments on the model side of Bandai. http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=34295&view=findpost&p=900035

Definitely looks awesome, but I have to agree he fell victim to "random glowy bits" syndrome. He painted in a lot of details that probably have no business lighting up. While some of them might be windows, I doubt there is any reason for a good number of those details to glow (especially the red circular areas.. I have no idea what those are, but I don't think they glow in the movie.. though, please feel free to correct me there)

Ah, good memories.. well, tiny ones at least. Right now, it's just reminding me of the road race skit in an early episode of Robot Chicken, where I'm pretty sure they used a few M.A.S.K. toys. Though, I still blame this show for instilling me with a childhood belief that all cars with gull-wing doors can fly. Back to the Future didn't help either. Always irritated me that Switchblade was flown by a bad guy though. Never understood why the bad guys seem to get all the best planes, or at least more airpower in general. GI Joe at least had a good blend I think. And even if Cobra did have more planes overall, the Skystriker was all they needed.

Wait, what?? I am now completely and utterly confused. In fact, you might actually want to spoiler tag that particular pic, because now my curiosity is going into overdrive.

Actually, think I heard that a 1/72 transforming kit has already been confirmed for a bit later this year. The 1/100 fighter kits are just a quick marketing gimmick that also happens to match something I've wanted for a long time. The variable kits are beautiful works of engineering, but I've been aching for some simple fighters I could just slap together and paint up in all sorts of schemes, without worrying about how complicated the variable ones are to actually paint. I'm going to grab a few VF-25s as well. I've got my share of the variable kits already, but I want some dedicated fighter kits. It's such a waste to build the 1/72 in fighter mode only. Now I can have my full SMS Skull Squad in 1/72, and still have some fun painting custom schemes like an M&M set, CF, classic Jolly Roger, etc. And.. shoot.. they're about $12 right now on sale on HLJ too. Makes buying a bunch of them at once VERY tempting, considering the shipping is also about that much. I might have to grab a couple now, and just figure out some way to cram them in my car when I move back to california this summer.

Thank you for that, I nearly snorted coffee across my work computer. That would be absolutely epic. I'm going to have to draw that now too.. Darth Churuya! As for the vision...

Ok, this is where the fun speculation begins. Theory 1: Asahina is Kyon and Haruhi's daughter, hence the "don't get too close to me" bit. Theory 2: Haruhi is Kyon and Asahina's daughter. This makes even less sense, but would be a hilarious turn. Theory 3: Haruhi is Kyon an Nagato's daughter. Even crazier, even less sense, but then we'd have some idea of where her powers might've come from... though in that case.. the paradoxes caused by get even more mind bending than I even want to consider. Either way we'd have the potential for a "No.. I am you father!" line from Kyon, which might cause the universe to implode in a roiling massive ball of facepalms.

Ok, that custom did it... I'm buying a dozen. It just looks so clean in actual military colors. Plus, I might buy four (or possibly six) of the blue Sheryl version.. I have no intention of using those ridiculous decals (not on the model at least), but I'm really really tempted to make either a VF-29 Diamond Force group, or even a full Blue Angels set. And I LOVE the fact that this thing comes with a stand. Bout time they started doing that.

I'd have a hard time believing anyone could mistake a Tornado for a Tomcat due to their different shapes, but I suppose it's possible. What wouldn't surprise me at all though is if they were actually delivering an F-14 for permanent display at Miramar. With the destruction of so many of them due to fears of spare part leakage, they're going to be a precious commodity on the aviation museum circuit. And as for the touch-n-go bit.. believe me, if I was the pilot on what was going to be the final flight for that aircraft, I'd be stretching that flight for as long as I possibly could. Even from a practical standpoint, if they're going to display the plane, they'll run the engines after landing until the tanks run dry anyway, so might as well get as much milage out of her as you can before she's parked on a pedestal somewhere. I really wish they'd get one for display out at China Lake. While VX-9 mostly operates Hornets now, with the VX-4/VX-5 merger in the 90's they also picked up the legacy behind Vandy-1, and did have about a dozen F-14s there until they were retired. VX-4 did primarily operate out of Point Mugu I guess, but with all the Phoenix missile work that went on at China Lake, I'm surprised they don't have an F-14 on display anywhere yet.

Actually, this is one thing they have never addressed directly. Yes, there was the original 3-years-ago Kyon in that timeline, simultaneously. But we have never heard what was going on for him at that time. Many people are very curious to see what exactly Kyon himself was up to on that night when the world changed. Suffice to say.. I'm really really curious about that too. But anyway, no there wouldn't be two Kyons when he woke up from the three year sleep, because he woke up shortly after he was taken back in time to begin with. Despite all the crazy time shenanigans in the series, one thing they are very careful about is the small details, and I've had many an hour spent just tracing all the individual stable time loops that occur throughout the story. It's a fun ride that would really be more accurately described as a time pretzel, or even a sweater.. yes, there are enough time lines and loops you could probably knit one out of them.

I would say that if you want one, you'd best grab it soon, and just deal with the shoulders if needed. While many here love the two-seaters, the fact that people still receive ones of these with broken shoulders means it may not have ever received any new production runs, and what's on sale could still be stock from before the fixes came. Despite being unique and very iconic, I don't think it's one of the popular sellers. Now, if you get one, and it has the shoulder fixes, that'd be good news for fans of it, since it means they did reissue them. If, on the other hand, you get one that does have broken shoulders, you can take solace in the fact that you have the one you wanted before the prices start to imitate the Takatoku 1/55. And even if the VT-1 disappears from the market entirely, you likely have a steady source of spare tan shoulders from the VF-1D, which is so iconic I doubt it will fade from favor any time soon. Plus, we never saw the VT-1 really use its arms in the first place (I think.. unless it used them quickly in the rescue scene). I'm pretty sure my shoulders have been cracked since day one, but I don't think I've ever taken it past half gerwalk mode.

Hearing this, I couldn't help thinking of the scene with Sheryl singing in that bunker near the end of Frontier. Diamond Crevasse has always gotten to me already, but thinking of that scene in the current context is probably going to change how I watch that episode permanently.

No, it really isn't red, more of a burgundy. Well, actually, that most recent one DOES look very deep red. Most of the previous pictures have had a hint of blue to them, giving it a slight purplish hue. Really, it's not pink at all, but it might be purple. Whereas pink really is lightish red, adding any blue to it gives you maroon and burgundy shades that this resembles, like a dark red wine.

I wouldn't bet that pic is anything like it'll be in actual production, looks more like a test shot of the sprue, and a resin mock-up of the kit. For one, I've never seen a Bandai kit look as sloppy and badly fitting as those pics of the painted fighter. That and the sprue doesn't look anything like a final product, unless they decided it's better to cast canopies in solid grey plastic. But looking at the parts breakdown on that sprue, it looks like it's divided up pretty much by the standard color divisions used on the SMS VF-25 schemes. Besides, the YF-29 kit has already been seen to be broken down by colors for assembly, and done so rather intricately to achieve some white stripes across the shield, so I see no reason they'd be molding this kit in a single color.

I wasn't referring to the joints at all actually, just the lack of thought that went into the way the thing fits (or rather doesn't fit) together. The way the arms and legs fit is just bad in fighter mode (they forgot there is a cutout in the thigh for the shoulders to sit properly), and it throws the whole thing off. The whole thing fits and looks better if you just remove the arms. The fast/armored packs are another deal entirely, and actually put several joints under direct stress when they're attached properly. It's why the armored VF-25 tends to develop cracks in the backplate just from sitting on a stand; the pieces are under constant stress just sitting still. You are right that people like to use big bridges and stuff for examples, but this thing is a great case study in how improper tolerances during design can make small complex mechanisms fail. Anyway.. good to see it up for preorder, but it sounds like I'll be waiting a while for sales and discounts. Everything drops eventually if you're patient enough.

Indeed, which I guess is my point... regardless of sales, the DX VF-25 was just a lousy piece of engineering (coming from a pure engineering perspective, I can imagine it's the kind of design that professors go to for a "Don't do this" example in engineering and industrial design classes). People buy lousy products all the time, it's nothing new, especially since Bandai had all the licenses anyway and was the only source. I'm just amazed that a company with as much money and mecha-related experience as Bandai managed to release something so utterly sub-par compared to the rest of the already established market. It happens yes, and I would assume this is why the VF-27 was designed by a new team entirely. But I remember the discussions about the design all through it's development process, and the thought that got continually voiced was "It's going to get better, right?" It never did, and I half think that the only reason it didn't was because everyone thought they weren't serious. It just amazes me how little they seemed to care about the design. I guess now that the show is a hit, and the movies are huge properties for them, they can afford to dump some more effort into their designs. If they do manage to release a new and improved DX VF-25, and it fixes all of the major problems with the original, I'll be happy to shovel out the cash for the whole set, because I really like the designs.

Someone made a comment on a site I forget at the moment, but they basically summed it up like this: In the past the academy has shown a distinct preference for movies involving British royalty, health/developmental disorders, and WWII. The King's Speech was like a triple whammy. Soo... yeah. For them, Inception was like a pack of Star Wars cosplayers putting on a completely and utterly epic skit at a Star Trek convention. It may be incredibly awesome, but not at all what they want to see. And I pretty much think the only reason they finally gave Return of the King best picture was because of the outcry that they snubbed the series the previous two years. I'll be anxious to see what kind of treatment they give The Hobbit.