Mr March

Yeah, it's been posted before. But it's still brilliant #18 - Law of Hemoglobin Capacity The human body contains over 12 gallons of blood, sometimes more, under high pressure. Hahahaha.

One of the reasons I've criticized the Oscars for many years. L.A. Confidential was a great film and certainly deserved more than Titanic.

Damn, now I'm going to have to give the Academy a grudging respect again after years of bad mouthing A big cheer for Rings. It feels good to be a sci-fi, fantasy, and anime fan these days. All my hobbies that have been looked down upon by so many are now getting the respect and recognition they deserve. And I'm glad Jackson got the best picture and best director awards, so now the best the detractors can do is play the academic and try to descontruct the film's success. I'm not happy about Best Actor going to Sean Penn. Though I suppose it wouldn't be an Academy Award show if it didn't piss me off in at least one of the major categories I really feel both Depp and Murray were robbed. It really was a contest between those two. Putting aside my distaste for Mystic River, I do think Penn's performance was very good, but Depp and Murray simply stole the show. Sure was nice to see a Canadian film win at the Oscars. Best foreign film is better than nothing. Makes me feel hopeful for my film career.

I like the VF-0 sculpt over all. The design appears very similar to the CG models and it looks quite imposing in battroid mode. Onward with some constructive criticism, I really don't like Yamato returning to the ugly 1/60-style hip construction. It just looks horrible...always has, always will. I'm hoping they'll drop that particular design and create something better. That's about the only feature in this 1/100 scale VF-0 that I have a problem with.

I heard plenty of poor news about this particular toy. However, I'm very pleased to hear the straight dope from Graham. I'm much more at ease with this item and may even be inclined to purchase one myself. Thank you very much for the detailed analysis of Yamato's latest creation.

I recal his work on Warlands. I read a bit of the series, mostly loaners from my friend who collected the series until it ran into trouble. The artwork was a nice blend of traditional japanese manga with detailing, layouts, and computer coloring of western comics. Very impressive. His work on Transformers really gives life to the franchise in my opinion. I'll often just read through a few issues on the stands simply to slobber over the great looking artwork. Pat Lee manages to evoke a lot of drama from robotic characters just with his style. I was blown away the first time I saw the books.

I don't hate Transformers, but I'm not a fan. Years ago when I was a kid I liked the comic books (never the show) and I collected the toys. The comic books had some great dramatic moments and I liked the general progression of the Autobot/Decepticon wars. It was fun stuff at the time. The cartoons were just plain irritating. Endlessly recycled plots featuring endless battles that never went anywhere. As for the designs, I never really felt many of them were all that thrilling. Comparing them to something like Macross, I don't think I've seen any transformer designs that come close to being a great work like the Valkyrie. Thing about the VF-1 is it's aesthetic completeness and symmetry. Like the classic science fiction designs such as the X-Wing, the Star Destroyer, the Enterprise, the Starfury, the Gundam, et cetera, the Valkyrie acheives a measure noteriety due to the succesful merging of so many elements into a timeless design. Most of the transformers are built around the necessity for transformation and lack the fluid design of something like the VF-1, which looks beautiful in all modes. I will say however that those new Transformer comics that have been out the last few years are incredible visually. Not the designs mind you, but the artwork is brilliant. One of the best innovations in drawn/computer graphic artwork I've seen in a comic for many years. Kudos to the artists.

Interesting pictures. Is that black and white shot showing a couple of capital starships?

Damn, where are the dead center front views of the YF-19 in Battroid mode? UN SPacy has the back, but I want the front.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures, but here's some help from eggs.com John Knoll, ILM visual effects supervisor, worked on the effects for Star Trek First Contact and the Star Wars special editions. He slipped the newly made digital model of the Millenium Falcon into the Borg/Starfleet space battle. This was reported in several Star Trek fan magazines and can be seen if you have a DVD player with zoom and slow motion features. The ship is quite small and is flying typically above and behind the Borg cube in several shots of the battle. If you can zoom and slow motion your DVD image, you can make out the shape of Han Solo's ship.

I love the idea. I would really like to see such a page on Macross World.

Yeah, but it's reasonable to assume that the guys at ILM discussed the inclusion of the Falcon with Lucas first. I'm sure that all involved at both camps were aware of the situation and gave their full blessings, hence a lawsuit was never an issue. I doubt it, but I can honestly say I don't know the circumstances. Why Lucas would have any input in the work of a 3D modeller working on a Star Trek film is a little bit suspect.

Not true. In Star Trek First Contact, ILM included the CGI model of the Millenium Falcon during the Borg battle at the begining. It's small and you can't see it well unless you have a superbit version of the film playing on a computer monitor, but it's there. ILM was working on the Special Editions of the Star Wars film at the time and included the Falcon as a joke. No lawsuits followed Oh, so you mean it wasn't on the "leaked" cover layout? Gee, something you can only see with superbit and an electron microscope... wow, it's a surprise no lawsuits were thrown around.. Also... as for the excuse - Misdirected anger. I'm not a Robotech fan thank you very much. As for the rest, you can see the Falcon on a regular release DVD viewed on a good TV, you just can't see it "well" (note my use of the word). The point is, no lawyers were involved.

I'm not defending rampant fanboy rage, but of all the fictional franchises I can recall (including Gundam, Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, blah, blah, blah), the Macross fan community is one of the few that actually has something legitimate to complain about. We still complain about the trivialities like other fan communities (the weak films, why this or that sucked, etc), but the legal mess is something worth debate. I'm not saying it's right or Tommy Yune was wrong to play his joke, but think about it. Ask a question like "Oh Anime...is that the cartoon porn stuff?" to a hardcore fan and most people know full well the type of reaction it will evoke. If that kind of stuff pops Yune's cork, I guess it's his perogative. I just hope he doesn't expect to be taken seriously next time he feels patronized.

So Macross 7 sucks, not that there's anything wrong with that

Whether the VF-22 is superior in all benchmarks is by no means certain. General consensus would be that as the generations go by, the newest variable fighters would invariably outperform past variable fighters, but to want extent? The VF-22 may fly faster, but what about its combat abilities? Manuverability? Range? Cost effectiveness? Maintenance? Reliability? Good questions that would need good answers.

Not true. In Star Trek First Contact, ILM included the CGI model of the Millenium Falcon during the Borg battle at the begining. It's small and you can't see it well unless you have a superbit version of the film playing on a computer monitor, but it's there. ILM was working on the Special Editions of the Star Wars film at the time and included the Falcon as a joke. No lawsuits followed

Who says that the engines, gravity generators, and all other mechanical elements of the Macross take up more space per ton than conventional technology? Further, where is it said the "majority of the Macross consists of machinery and overtechnology?" Looking at the anime series, the Macross is clearly streamlined and vacant. Huge sections of ship's interior are vast, open chambers. The ceilings are soaring, the docking bays are immense, and city sized sections of the ship are all open. The Macross is built like a can from what we see in the anime. And that's just fine. Overtechnology is clearly a marvel of miniturization...just look at the Valkyries. The Valkyries contain all the internal components of a top of the line fighter and all the components of a top of the line mecha...in a chasis no larger than conventional fighters and weighing no more than comparable military equipment! Even more amazing, Valkyries contain everything necessary to travel in space for extended periods of time and later models even feature internal hardpoints! So you see, Overtechnology is in fact smaller and less cumbersome than convetional tech. Were a Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier built with OT, it would probably fit twice as many people.

*blood curdling scream* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

You'll no doubt start contravesy with this post, but hopefully you won't get flamed. Most likley this topic will just get locked, but it may run civil enough to discuss the subject. I've only seen the first two episodes of Macross 7 and the complete OVA Dynamite seven, so I'm not really an expert by any stretch. I agree the series is lacking and certainly has failed to grab my attention, unlike all the other Macross series and films. I can only sympathize and say you're not the only one to feel disappointed. But remember, even the best of franchises all have their black sheep (fifth season Babylon 5, Star Trek Voyager, Star Wars Episode One, et cetera).

A Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier carries a ship's Company of 3,200 and an air crew of 2,480, for a total of 5,680 personnel. The Nimitz is only 332.85 meters in length. That should give you a good idea potentially how many people could be aboard a ship like the Macross. It's also important to keep in mind the dimensions of a vessel and not just the length. Remember, we're talking volume here, not just standing room. The Macross is far wider and much deeper than a ship like the Nimitz, not to mention almost four times longer. It would easily have more than enough space to hold tens of thousands of people.

It's a nice enough picture and the front page of MW was long overdue for a change. Good job Shawn and Graham!

I'm not seeing the thrill either

No words can describe this and that's a good thing. It's a fine job and I'm very impressed. The number of 1/48 customs keeps growing and I think it's fantastic.

I'll be buying the theatrical release as well as the Extended set, just like I did for the other two films. As a long time fan of film and a Tolkien fan, I love the two versions. The theatrical releases for their ability to tell a grand story in a limited format and the extended editions for packing in as much of Tolkien's work as possible. Also, it's often my job (don't ask me how) to introduce new friends to films they would not ordinarily see. Happens to me all the time. I wouldn't dare drop the extended editions on someone whose never seen the Lord of the Rings. The theatrical releases alone can be a challenge for some.