Noyhauser

Uhh I can't say I know of any place that sells that high end blades like that. You'd have to go to a high end art store... I can ask my sister in-law about that. Air brushes are a difficult one. My personal opinion is to get one off of Craigslist. If you know what you're looking for you can get them for about half off the regular price used. I got my revolution CR for 60 dollars. For all my modelling supplies in Vancouver there really are two options. Burnaby hobbies south of Royal Oak Station is one... they have great staff. The biggest, and probably the best is Imperial Hobbies in Richmond. They basically have everything you ever will need in terms of supplies. There is also a specialty shop in Richmond called Jhobby that only sells japanese model kits. Its worth a look but they have no supplies.

No worries, it happens to everybody... this week I had a pretty piss poor outing with a model I've been working on for three months... that was a real screw up. What you did here looks far better, regardless.

Is there any such thing as a Rebel vehicle that is too heavily weathered? It looks pretty good from my view... did you try using a wash at all? That might help some of the details pop a bit more.

I saw this on ARC... very nice.

Eh, The F-111 was inferior to the F-14 because the Navy changed the goalposts to make it that way. It actually had a greater payload (and carryback weight), longer legs and a more forgiving design. The broad arrangement of the F-14's engines was a dangerous design choice because of the unreliability of the TF-30 engine. However the F-14 was more maneuverable, had a gun and had some superior flight characteristics compared to the F-111. The F-111 would be a poor dog-fighter but a very good fleet defence fighter... The 14 was a decent fighter but a just a good fleet defence fighter. If you're talking about adding a bombing role, then its arguable that the F-111B might have been a better choice... but thats an argument for another day. Okay, see we can work with that here... I'm sure David and Knight can give very good explanations of physical effects of various design choices, while I can give the military/political rationale for various project specifications (as can they too). I've also got quite a bit on the F-35 if you're interested in that project.

I wanted to post this earlier but the forum wasn't loading for me. Truth be told there is actually alot more out there on the A-12 (The SR-71's predecessor) than the F-14. Most of if is very high quality primary source documentation and primary source interviews. The main reason why is because the CIA did a massive information dump in the last few years (Including a trove of documents), and the Udvar Hazy centre held with a series of former engineers you can find on youtube. On top of that you can find Clarence Johnson's book fairly cheap. The A-12 to me is probably the pinnacle of US aerospace engineering, not just for its actual capabilities but how its designers actually worked and produced it. As you'll see in that video, one of the engineers lamented that it took them two years and 100 engineers to put together the A-12; it took Rockwell 5000 engineers and almost three times that time to build the B-1. Well the question is one of cost. Yeah we could all put together a pretty slick design (Bring back the flying dorito!) but the reality is that cost is of paramount importance. One of the reasons why Variable geometry has basically died is the prohibitive costs of these systems both in production and maintenance. The other is a refinement of air combat principles since the Vietnam war. The F-14 was really a pre-Vietnam design; heavy with so-so maneuverability, it was designed to be a fleet defender carrying a number of large stand-off missiles. Most designs post 1970, were built with particular attributes... top end speed was less important (the JSF only asked for Mach 1.6, which was the top usable speed outlined by the lightweight fighter proponents in the 1970s.) The other issue is that you have to understand why the F-14 was the Navy's attempt to get out of the F-111 program... that lead to a lot of critical design decisions at Grumman. Honestly, I'd probably move away from the F-14... yeah it was a great design back in the day but was actually not nearly as good as was portrayed in popular media. David pointed out some of its flaws. The only reason why you'd keep it around was for its large payload and good range... however if that was the case you might as well push for the F-111B, because that had better payload and better range. And as David pointed out, the F-14 was utterly horrendous in its O&M department. Basically it was eating up huge amounts of the Navy's budget. Any redesign would need a completely new avionics architecture, and thats probably going to be the bulk of your development costs right there without even considering the feasibility of FSW or anything like that (Which Knight posted about) The F/A-18E/F on the other hand is extremely modifiable; it has a dozen development spirals, completed, ongoing or planned. Its O&M was designed to be extremely affordable as well. That means more of them can be put into the air to carry out operations. What was the paper's actual question?

What's the paper for may I ask? like what's the class focus? I think you'll find a wide range of perspectives on here if you ask.

As my French aerospace engineer friend says: At least it doesn't look like its got a vacuum stuck on the bottom of it (a dig at the Eurofighter).

Fanboy much? It might not be your cup of tea, but its hard to deny that the King's Speech was extremely well done and deserved most of the accolades it received. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Inception and thought it was a great film. But King's Speech was truly a great piece of film-making, it had the same attention to detail as Inception but with better acting and polish. Saving Private Ryan didn't win because of the Thin Red Line. Basically it was another great war film (arguably better in many ways) that split the vote with Private Ryan and left the Shakespeare to win. And Artsie rarely win either... one look at the last few winners makes that evident: Lord of the Rings, No Country for Old Men, The Departed and the Hurt Locker. I doubt No Country and the Departed could be considered "non-violent" or man-hating.

Oops that was a slip of the tongue: I meant Imai, as I noted in my last post. I completely agree with you that they are pretty good compared to their contemporaries, however I think in the case of the OP I think its a distinction that might be lost. If his baseline for comparison is the Revoltechs and HGUC, then these kits aren't really that great for constant posing and can be somewhat of a challenge to build. What I'm trying to suggest are items that would suit his interests. I too like the spartan (which was what he was looking at), I built one ages ago. I think the best modification would be to change the ankles because they are the most "stiff" part of the entire model... the feet don't sit flush with the ground and ruin what is a pretty articulate kit.

They are a great learner kits as Vifam said, and they would be prime candidates for modification with new joints. The models can be quite stiff in appearance... the first order of business would be to give them proper ankles. However they are not in scale with your gundam figures (Bandai does not release in 1/72 Gundams.) I'm a bit of a scale nazi for my stuff... so my macross kits are either in 1/144 (to match with Gundam stuff) or 1/72 (to match my airplane collection.) The difference in sizes in a certain scale (like 1/144) is nice because it gives a sense of why VFs are so nimble. You should look at the macross main page, and go through the listings for IMAI models if you're still interested in Bandai's 1/72 Macross releases. Most (but not all) of them were originally Imai tools: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models/imai/imai_orig.htm Actually, the VF-17 kit is fairly good for posability, but at a cost. The knees have exposed poly joints, which can look a bit ugly from some angles. There isn't really a way to modify it easily to make it more posable. The thigh and shin segments fit in a way that would dissuade using a ball joint to get any lateral flexibility. Its not revoltech but its pretty good.

I'm sure you'll find that among the community, we can give you reviews on most kits. The three destroids are repops of older Arii kits. They don't build up easily... and their posability and proportions aren't the best (think like the original gundam models, maybe a bit better.) Probably the best options out of all of these are the Bandai 1/144 kits. Alot of people really like them and they will be in scale with your High Grade gundams. Another option might be Wave's new series of 1/100 Battroids: I haven't built them but I given their usual quality they should be good. http://www.hlj.com/product/WAVMC-56

Mine haven't on two models that I built with them... and I used the same process as you. I did however ask him not to put a protective coating over the decals as he did with everybody else. I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

I'd also stay away from the 1/100 models. the VF-19 has horrible proportions and the VF2SS is pretty meh. While they don't transform the 1/144 VF-17 actually looks really nice built up with a bit of care. It is also in the same scale as HG, which is pretty cool if you ask me (even though they are a little smaller). I've got them as well as a VF-19 and VF-11 (using tect resin mod kits) beside some HGUC stuff.

I think its very worth it overall... the issues are fairly minor to be honest. If you can get it under 35, then go for it.

Thanks Jardann... There will be more aircraft with that scheme coming up. Actually you can have it in VTOL mode, with the lift fans open and the engine extended downwards, but is one glaring omission as I think someone here alerted me to. They didn't mold open the auxillary inlet doors on the spine. They are right behind the main lift fan: (Image Courtesy of flightglobal.com) Anyway, I didn't feel like gouging out the doors so I just left it in flight mode. ITs a great little model with some issues which make you scratch your head. Probably one of the most detailed bomb bays I've ever seen.... filled with detailess bombs and right beside wheel bays devoid of ANY detail whatsoever. Its got great detail all over though. IF they release a A or C version I'll buy one immediately.

That's pretty cool. I love the alba create stuff.... do you have any photos of them? Nicely done. Did you paint it? What sort of finish did you put on it? I've got quite a few things finished. First a Fujimi F-35B in Marine Markings. A 1/72 ROG Hawker Hunter And a 1/72 DB-8

Its an interesting two episodes. The first exposes the growing political decay within the FPA... fear replaces debate and becomes a tool for advancement. The Military seems to be one of the last bastions of integrity, but its being led astray by the machinations of people like Trunhilt. Its also impressive how Yang knows how to play the political game too to protect Jessica Edwards, but choses not to... however he gives up a lot to do that. The second episode on Reinhard and Kiercheis focuses more on their relationship and beginnings... maybe a little too sepia coloured for my liking.

Are you paint brushing them? Because they aren't really formulated for that sort of application... I used to try that and it never worked well.

I agree Marzan... this actually cleared up a couple of things in the main series that seemed glossed over at the time. So what are we watching next boss?

Before you go all judgmental, maybe a bit of context is required. #1 I don't have a problem with Gundams, I build them from time to time too and there are some pretty awesome customizations. Really my comment referred back to a conversation myself, Schizophrenic and others participated in a few years ago on Bandai's 1/72 scale offering vs "classic" models. I was posting in jest, poking fun at another individual. Edit: I've looked through the threads and Schitzophrenic wasn't as much as a participant as I thought, so if offense was taken, I apologize. #2 Future isn't the be all and end all, and I wouldn't really ever say that. To be honest I kinda feel its the best of a lot of bad options, (if you have other ideas please share them.) If you notice, I didn't tell the original poster not to use the testors product, but to be careful of the issues I've encountered.

Going on thick is a virtue. It provides a great base for decals if you put a small amount down. even better it covers up decal film, giving them a "painted on" look. Finally its UV resistant and will never yellow itself. After that you can put a flat coat (I like the Floquil Flat), or mix tamiya flat base with future. This is the effect you can get. Matt Swan has a great run down on it... Its widely used by modelers. Then again if you're just building gundams...

Well the best product for sealing decals is Future, but if you need to go the Testors/Modelmaster route, look for the Floquil brand stuff. Same company but better formulation (apparently.) I've used the Testors/MM (their Acryl range), and the best piece of advice I can give is to use the product sparingly. If you're using an airbrush, go for light coats and not that much. If you put too much down it will crack like how mud cracks as it dries and then you have a real problem on your hands. It takes careful sanding and much headache... which I had with this Venom kit (though I didn't list it.) My suggestion, go with future or be very, very careful.

Well I've never actually seen Overture to a New War, so this is a bit of a treat. It provides a lot more shading of the relationship between Lap, Edwards and Wenli. I think it actually makes Lap's death more serious for Yang, showing him the cost of his inaction. He can no longer ignore the events around him and reluctantly seeks to achieve his own destiny. Lap is portrayed to be a far more direct figure, even going to the point of insubordination... however his death was a little less dramatic. On the Empire side, the movie definitely makes more of Fahrenheit, which provides more of a context for his later appearances. One of the things I've realized watching this is that I think Yang is intended to represent a Taoist way of thinking. He carries out his orders, even ones he doesn't like, but does so in a way that reflects his personal desires... without being overt about it. He often takes the movements of his enemies and with a brilliant, but understated, response, he turns it against them. He's the master leader you don't know has done anything because he's so good at it.

I'm curious to know how he inflated these numbers.