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Chronocidal

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Everything posted by Chronocidal

  1. Chronocidal
    Yeeeeeeeeah. The nacelles can almost be ignored, but that's a giant honking window into nothing. They really need to paint those.
  2. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I don't know if it's something Shapeways has mentioned directly, but I think their standard plastic might be a type of nylon.
  3. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    They should all be milking those designs. I'd absolutely jump all over Hasegawa releases of some of the other more complicated designs.
  4. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Kind of hate that I feel this way, but it seems like the more I see of that design, the less I like it. Just looks.. too similar to really be different, and the differences I'm seeing I don't think are improvements to the original design. Much as I like the idea of more pods, making a new one that just gives the plane a giant stinger tail doesn't feel like an upgrade. I wouldn't mind seeing more pics of just the naked fighter, though. I don't think the packs are doing it any favors.
  5. Chronocidal
    That's the single 1/72 Hasegawa kit I have, and I believe that one actually covers Hikaru, Max and Milia, since the only difference between the decals for the M&Ms are the numbers and names. You won't have the fancy wedding decals, but I'm actually not sure if the Virgin Road VF-1D has a canon number.
  6. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    My general apathy toward the speaker pod aside, this is pretty much why I haven't gotten one. Shapeways prints are not even remotely easy to work with.
  7. Chronocidal
    One of these days, I need to get a good Gripen kit. One of my favorite non-US designs, it -looks- like one of those fantasy designs I built with LEGO bricks or drew on my folders in gradeschool.
  8. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    No slight against Xigfrid and his designs because they are amazing, but the material Shapeways uses is a royal pain in the backside. I'm not going to buy another VF-31 anyhow. If I was that interested in the pod, I'd have a full set of the Shapeways ones already.
  9. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    They were also used by the entire squadron (possibly excluding Chuck) in the similar asteroid field fight early on in the series. I could almost understand if they had sold these right when the movie came out, but trying to sell another round of Hayate VF-31s at this point is just silly, especially when everyone knows the new movie coming has an entirely new valk. They should have just packed this in as a bonus when a new one released, since if they carried over the pod design, you should be able to use it for both. And yes, I say that knowing full well people would pitch a fit about that too. But I think it's still a better option than trying to get people to buy another Hayate 31.
  10. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Here's an idea Bandai. Take that new pack. Make a few more. Use the Master File for inspiration. Throw in a pile of wing-mounted missiles and bombs and pods that people have been asking for for literally years now. Sell it. People would actually be interested in that. This? No one wants another copy of the same blue VF-31 that everyone has three copies of already. Get a clue. Can someone post this in Japanese to somewhere Bandai will see it? They need a boot to the head.
  11. Chronocidal
    The thing I most appreciate about these newer Bandai kits is that they don't actually "snap" together. They slide together. There are no latching mechanisms to hold things, they just press into place and hold with such precise friction that you can assemble and disassemble them more like LEGO bricks than a model. Obviously, too many cycles and the parts will wear and need to be glued, but you can easily test fit everything before disassembling the kit for more easier painting and detailing. I've done this with my collection of Star Wars kits multiple times.
  12. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Wow.. and after all the sensibility they displayed with the GBP-1 armor-only set. That's just ridiculous. Just sell the freakin pack separately you dingbats, people would buy them in groups to add to their existing pile of VF-31s. It's not a hard concept.
  13. Chronocidal
    Was going to say, that thing looks like it belongs in a Mad Max crossover. It's absolutely begging for a trailer covered in gigantic speakers and a Doof Warrior stage.
  14. Chronocidal
    I would recommend finding some sort of a flexible curve tool for drafting, to use as a guiding edge. A ruler can work in some cases, but something like this is really nice for giving a guide across curved surfaces. https://www.amazon.com/Eowpower-Flexible-Engineering-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B01NALRHR6/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=flexible+drawing+edge&qid=1621274223&sr=8-5 Worth picking up a dedicated scribing tool as well, if you don't have one.
  15. Chronocidal
    It depends on which type you bought, I got one of the Robot Hero Airstrikes releases (specifically the MP-3 Greenscream style). It came with a spare head with a different expression.
  16. Chronocidal
    You know.. now I'm actually curious. I have a spare head from my oversized Starscream. Would be funny if it fit the ball joint.
  17. Chronocidal
    Ouch. Yeah, I don't know what drove them to package the face and wings separately, but they really set themselves up for failure with how many parts are scattered around the boxes. Technically I wasn't -missing- the tailhook panel.. what they did was give me two right-side copies of one part. It wasn't visible because it was packed in bot mode, and that piece was embedded in the leg so deep you'd never know it was assembled incorrectly.
  18. Chronocidal
    Been planning to post some more thoughts about this guy, and have to agree, he's a beast to transform, but the effort is worth it. I'm thinking of ordering a second to customize in fact. Unfortunately, Zeta's QC on this one hasn't been great, and I've seen lots of reports of missing pieces. Mine came missing the two larger ball-jointed flaps on the back (really insignificant, and I'm not worried about them) and one of the tailhook panels between the engines (requested a replacement for that one). I also managed to snap off one of the tiny folding fins behind he head somehow, might have been a weak molding. As far as the jet is concerned.. okay, here's where I'm going to go into aircraft nerd mode. First off, the jet used in the movie looks like it should be an F-4D, while this iteration looks much more like an F-4E, due to the under-nose cannon mount. The Mechanical Alliance release of Blitzwing also looks a bit off-model for an F-4D, but attempts to cover it up by painting the entire nose section dark. This one just accepts that it's going to use the E-model's smaller radome, and I think it's better off for it. I don't personally mind the inaccuracy to the movie because I prefer the sleeker nose, but some might not like the compromise. Second, the wing pylons are massively goofy. I did notice something funny though in a review that compared this one to the fancy non-transforming figure. Take a look at the pylons mounted to the back of the legs. Zeta copied that mold exactly.... but didn't realize that the twin pegs sticking up were supposed to go into the wing, not a weapon. Consequently, while generally a passable shape (ignoring the oversized nature and the rear half blocking the gear doors), the pylons are upside down. So, instead of having pegs in place of those dual tabs, and matching holes under the wings, we have tabs under the wings that slip into the weapons rails between the sidewinder rails. For what it's worth, they do nicely mount the sidewinders. This bugged me, so I took matters into my own hands, and started drilling, cutting, and filing. They now mount right side up, but the length of the pylons is a bit much, and impedes the gear doors. I'm debating whether to cut them down a bit, or just try making/printing a more accurate set of pylons myself. I'm also thinking of cutting off the spikes on the leading edge of the wing, since I think they just look silly. The F-4 did have a sensor of some sort on the leading edge (think it was a camera), but only one of them, on one wing. For the sparrows though, it is possible to mount them all on the belly. The front two slot onto those tabs under the intakes nicely as shown above. The rear two kind of have two options. You can either embed the fins in those slots on the underside inboard of the gear (more stable, but depends on fin thickness (which isn't entirely consistent), and sticks down further), or you can try and sort of wedge them onto the rear tabs just ahead of the exhaust nozzles. The rear mount looks better, but those tabs are very oddly angled, and the missiles might just pop off. I was able to get them on pretty firmly. One other thing I noticed is that while they look completely identical, the four wing flaps are actually two separate molds for the left and right side. If they don't line up well, you can try swapping them around. Mine worked best with the small ejector pin marks all facing the top of the wing. Anywho, accurate to the movie or not, I'm just thrilled to see someone actually develop a transforming jet whose robot parts all fit inside of the jet. The odd scaling doesn't really bug me for some reason, it just looks like a cartoony F-4. If I was to make a Macross comparison? I think this is kind of like a Chunky Monkey equivalent of an F-4. It's got the key design features, but slightly beefed up. Though.. nowhere near as simple to transform.
  19. Chronocidal
    Would love to see someone actually demo the transformation.. or even just show the figuter, rather than so many battroid montages.
  20. Chronocidal
    I'm working on a model to print a few, actually, just to extend the existing ones. If I can get a printed mount to work, I might just make new pylons entirely.
  21. Chronocidal
    I'm not going to say that Bandai didn't copy the animation, but they chose to do so in a way that makes no sense in any universe. The missiles all have such stubby pylons that the wing flaps are impeded. I'm not kidding when I say that the HMR missile box pylons are actually physically longer than the 1/48 ones, despite the difference in scale.
  22. Chronocidal
    Yeah, think they're just at proof of concept stage at this point.
  23. Chronocidal
    Given Bandai's reluctance to give control surfaces proper clearance, the Hasegawa missiles are a huge improvement over Bandai's attempt.
  24. Chronocidal
    Yeah, that makes sense, it definitely looks like one of the target drones I've seen before. It's just good sense to base this on an existing platform.
  25. Chronocidal
    That... looks kinda like a nex-gen BOMARC. Actually I think there are more recent drones it's closer to, but that was the one that came to mind first. Maybe I'm thinking of a Firebee?
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