Amped

...& the 'new' clone trooper... startin' to look more STORMTROOPER-like, eh?

Lemmee see if I can post some of the better images here...

Actually, as of about 8am EST, most are still there... y ajust have to hit reload a ton... or right click and select 'show image' for EACH pic... I imagine the server is gettin' pinged hard about now. By 10 this morning when most of the U.S. geeks start awakening, it will probably be impossible to log on...

Hot offa superhero hype, there's a TON of Star Wars Episode III pix posted!

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showth...threadid=106581

Check 'em out before they're removed. Takes awhile to load 'em... 56k users be warnded! I'll see if I can save some & repost 'em here...

Make it stop...

http://www.ibiblio.org/jmaynard/TRONcostume

Found this over at the BBC. Bummer for old-school robot fans...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3631529.stm

Fire kills Japanese manga artist

The Japanese creator of the Ironman 28 manga cartoon has died in a fire at his home in Tokyo.

Mitsuteru Yokoyama, 69, who also created Little Witch Sally, was found unconscious in his bed with severe burns and later died in hospital.

Police said the fire was suspected to have been started by a lit cigarette by his bedside.

Ironman 28 was one of the first Japanese cartoons to be exported to the US, where it was known as Gigantor.

Yokoyama was inspired to draw by the late Osamu Tezuka, Japan's best-known manga cartoonist and creator of the Astro Boy series.

Crime crusade

Launched in 1956, Ironman 28 - known as Tetsujin 28 in Japan - was based on the US B-29 bombers that flew over the Kobe port where Yokoyama lived as a boy.

The original comic book characters were transformed into a black-and-white animation in Japan before being picked up by Fred Ladd in the US, who created a colour version and changed the name to Gigantor.

The robot was controlled by a young boy called Jimmy Sparks as they embarked on a crusade against crime.

A new Ironman 28 series was released in Japan in April and DVDs are available around the world.

Nice mods! Saw your original msg on ToyBox & was pleasantly surprised to see you post on it here too!

Gorem is the coolest of the 1/20 scale Zoids, IMHO. Spread the word! Besides, it's better to shell out 50 bucks now, instead the crazzy-ass 200 + the originals were goin' for very recently. Anyone that picks this model/ toy up will NOT be disappointed. It's easy to build & looks F'n cool when completed. I picked up Deathpion some time ago, & it is mighty fine as well! I've had the reissues for awhile, but haven't had a chance to do 'em up like I'd like to. These biggie scale Zoids just beg to be given the extra special paint & modeling treatment.

It'll be fun to see how you finish him up, Drifand!

PS - Are the 1/20 Zoids REALLY Yow's designs or did he just do the cover art?

I think I recall a time when some people on this board thought Alisa was too fat/ugly.

Meh. I dunno, sumthin about Alisa still says 'butta-face' to me. Just personal preference is all. I can't say that her foray into what appears to be softcore is much of a surprise, considering her past cosplay projects.

Nonetheless... bet she's gonna make some cash from all the creepy convention boys that check out her site, tho!

ICK. Yeaahgads... after seeing that slop of a trailer, methinks that Asimov is spinning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken...

Hmmm... I'm sorry every time I see a pic of Angelina, I can't help but think 'fish lips'...

Saaaaay, anyone ever notice the similairty between Peter Jackson and Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds. Granted, PJ is slightly rounder, wears glasses, & has a more pleasant demeanor... however they share a certain hairy unkept 'look.' Just an observation.

Sorry, I still dig the old 'bad' dub... I was bummed the remaster didn't at least have it included for old times sake.

Like folks say... don't read to much into the film. Just like Blade Runner isn't the be-all-&-end-all of sci-fi flix... nor is Akira the best that anime has to offer. Doesn't mean it's any less impressive, tho! Remember: it's all CEL animation!!! No computer cheats! And I still say the billowing smoke in this flick is the best...SMOKE... EVER!!!!!

Like I sez in my profile: I love music of all sorts; both to play (on my guitars) and to listen... my taste ranges from Cerebral to Stoner... Tool, Zep, Monster Magnet, Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, Dead Can Dance...

Will we have a fully autonomous (AI-controlled) combat aircraft in our lifetime (next 50 years or so)? Ehhhhhh... perhaps on a limited basis.

However, I think there's a whole lotta development that's gotta go on before folks start entrusting the welfare of expensive military hardware soley to AI. I think that the increasingly widespread use of pilot-less aircraft is a more realistic near-term possibility. Remote-piloted aircraft will expand beyond their current spy/ recon/ blck ops role into more visible & routine day-to-day uses.

To make a slightly silly analogy, aircraft carriers of the future could resemble seafaring arcades. Actually, with satellite systems, the carrier itself really need only have a minimal human crew to supervise & service the shipboard systems & pilotless/ AI aircraft. The 'pilots' (assuming non-AI control) could be in some secure base deep in a mountainside in Colorado or wherever. Doesn't really matter as long as the pilot signal can get to the aircraft. Gone could be the days of the cocksure fighter jock to be replaced by the deadly accurate future versions of today's top dedicated gamer-geeks. Weird, but entirely possible in a real-time, wireless networked future society.

What's interesting about this sort of development in combat aircraft - aside from removing the human pilot directly out of harm's way in the combat zone - is the change in air combat tactics this could portend.

Instead of the current fairly large complex aircraft, future pilotless/AI aircraft could be smaller & cheaper... & capable of engaging in high-speed/ high-G maneuvers that would otherwise pulp an onboard human pilot.

Researchers are currently studying the bio-mechanics, behavior & habits of swarming insects so that they might successfully apply such principles to AI based robotic airframes. Actually, by removing the human body from the airframe, there is no limit to the design possibilities & configurations we could see. Delicate but deadly insect-like craft, or ornithopters, could literally swarm the skies of future air combat zones! Think of the flying Hunter-Killers from the Terminator movies... but remote piloted by human pilots.

Personally, I don't see technology & future AI replacing human pilots... but I do see them augmenting a human pilots' skills & abilities far beyond the capabilities of todays modern military.

Here's a simple but important tip: WASH all the kits' parts before you do anything!!!

Use warm water & plain ol' dish soap & clean the parts while still on the sprues. An old soft toothbrush is perfect for lightly scrubbing the parts. You want to do this in order to remove all traces of release agent (from the parts molds), dust build-up, & body oil. Let the parts air dry thoroughly. Doing so will insure that all the parts will accept paint well. Once you've cleaned all your parts, you'll need to apply primer (a base coat of paint) to the parts.

There are tons of good modeling books & websites out there... just try a Google search & absorb as much info as possible. It's best to do all your research & planning before you start assembly. Maybe practice some assembly & painting techniques on some other cheapie kits before you tackle this puppy. You don't want to be caught unaware as your paint & glue are drying...

Please don't kill me, but I think The Rock could make a good Conan. Not an Arnie Conan but more like the Conan in R.E. Howard's short stories.

Actually, I gotta agree.

After seeing 'The Rundown', I do believe the Rock is actually a charasmatic ACTOR that is capable of doin' stuff far beyond typical meathead fare. This is no small feat, 'cause for some reason he has always bugged me... 'til now. Maybe it was the wrestling 'eyebrow' thing... whatever.

Anyhow, I think the Rock'd actually make a decent Conan. BUT... now here's where I gotta put on my R.E.H./ Conan dork hat on... they better give 'im BLUE contacts. Everybody's fav Cimmerian had blue eyes... which makes sense 'cause the Cimmerians were basically the forebears of the Irish/ Scots...

Still, I'd love to see Arnie as the older KING Conan someday. If only to hear Mako do the opening voice over of the Nemedian Chronicles: 'Know, O Prince...' Man that's the coolest... B)

FaaaAAAAAK! So much for another Arnie-helmed Conan film anytime soon!!!

Here's some news nuggets of Macross news from Ain't It Cool...

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=16223

'Forget About Love

A post on Anime on DVD's forum relays a convention conversation with AnimEigo about Macross licensing. Repordedly, the rights holders to the Macross: Do You Remember Love will not license the movie to an American company because they do not want to share the revenue with the companies that they would be required to. Likewise the licensing of the Macross 7 series is too tangled with song rights to approach.'

Sounds like we won't be seeing an official U.S. release of DYRL? anytime soon. <_< Anyhoo, here's another blurb about the Tatsunoko ruling...

'Macross Goes to Court

From Natsume Maya ( http://natsumemaya.terminus.net.au/news.htm ) Tokyo High Court rule that production company Tatsunoko Pro held copyright over Super Dimension Fortress Macross , since that company was the one with the responsibility for ensuring the completion of the work. On the other hand, the court distinguished this from copyright in the designs of the characters etc, which was held to reside with planning company Studio Nue.'

Well... if Nintendo releases their new console using a STANDARD format, and if it is backward compatable with the Gamecube it will be a shoe in. People like backward compatability.

Gotta agree with that! Nintendo needs should make their next gen console backward-compatible; I'm sure that feature has helped sales of the PS2. Makes people think their getting more for their money, plus you have the convenience of a single console.

Having said that... I got a GameCube from Electronics Boutique back in July when they where running what I thought was a pretty sweet special: trade in up to 10 old N64 games at $5 apiece (Which was great, cause I unloaded alot of my crappier, worth-less-than-poo N64 games that were just sitting around gathering dust. Sh*t like Blast Corps wasn't worth 5 cents, let alone $5, so I was happy! ) and 150 bucks got ya the GC (one of the nifty Platinum ones, no less!) and it came with a memory card and 2 games - WaveRace (good memories of my ol' 64 dayze) and Zelda. A great deal, IMO & we've been happy with the system ever since. We've gotten a few more games for the system, and've been happy with 'em all.

Lately, tho, my old SNES has been getting the most use. Go figure. My g/f is addicted to Super Mario All Stars... and I still have a soft spot for Metal Warriors.

Firefox tidbits:

The story of Gant's theft of the Firefox is continued in the novel Firefox Down, also by Craig Thomas.

Man, I actually have that book... somewhere! I remember buying it as summer reading on a camping trip some time after the film Firefox came out... musta been some time around junior high. I can't for the life of me remember what happened in that book, tho! I do remember one bit, tho... something about placing a ground beacon/ transmittor high enough off the ground so that a reindeer wouldn't be able to piss on it!

I'm gonna have to dig that book outta my pile and read it again for old time's sake... and to see what the hell happened in it. *rummages through book stacks*

Sweet model, btw! The Firefox doesn't get enuff love from the younger generation... truly one of the cooler fantasy aircraft ever designed!

As for the trilogy and American Graffiti, those are nothing but freshmen triumph.  I call it the Peter Frampton syndrome.  Comes out strong, but Peters out shortly after.

Great analogy! Do you Feeeeeeel!!! *holds lit cigarette lighter aloft*

Joey Lawrence looks just great. I know he'd make it big ever since his first WHOA in Blossom.

*snarfs Coke thru nose*

Actually, when I first saw that pic, for some reason I thought of 70's teen idol Lief Garret... which, I suppose, bodes well for them achieving a pseudo-70s style for the film. At least they got rid of the bad Jedi mullet/ rat tail sh*t from the first coupla films.

Ya know, as much as I hated (as in Damn you Lucas for poopin' on my childhood mythos-kinda seething hated) Episodes 1 & 2... I may actually have to sneak into a theater to see this one (wha??!? You think I'm gonna pay to see this dreck?!?). I'm rather intrigued to see how cheesy it's gonna be. Tarkin looks like a rejected extra zombie movie. Man, this'll suckeroo!!!

My wallet thanks Toynami's tendancy toward delays... hopefully the end product will not totally suck...

ENTERPRISE second season: Meh. <_<

ENTERPRISE blows!!! It is infuriating to me for a number of reasons...

IMO, the cast is really great... however the creative direction & stories they are given to work with are poo.

Also, it kills me to see how everything looks more advanced than the most recent series' hardware, yet ENTERPRISE is supposed to take place before the original series!!! WTF!!! They shoulda gone old school with the design aesthetic of the show... this was their first & most serious grievous mistake, as it complently taints the vibe of the show... as it is it looks completely misplaced on the technology timeline of the Trek universe. Contextually, it feels wrong!!!

I could go on & on... but why bother.

ENTERPRISE is an underachiever with gads of potential and will linger on until Paramount either turfs the dastardly duo of B&B ... or somebody accepts that the seriesis brain dead and merifully pulls the plug.

Wish they could give Nic Meyer a crack at saving the series, if he could wooed to do so... the man that put the movies on track (directed ST II & VI, w/ major writing credits on IV). Just listen to his commentary on The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut and tell me he doesn't understand what makes Trek tick!!!

Basically 'cause it's not a new series... ie - the kits have been out for quite some time now.

The only one that's really hard to find... or at least kinda pricey when you DO find it is the Raidin (sp? Raiden? ..can't remember the exact spelling... ) .

Luckily the Shinden isn't all that different, mainly just different armament & pilot. The Ishatar, which looks more like a tank turret with legs isn't all that uncommon either, really. Just keep an eye on eBay. They seldom go for more than 30 bucks. Yes, sorta price for a kit that originally retailed for about 9 bucks, but such is the fate when yer late to the model kit dinner table!

Anyhow, if ya do drop the cash for 'em, take solice in the fact that they're beautifully detailed kits!!!