Wicked Ace

I always enjoy seeing the creativity of members in these types of threads. Contributing is fun, too.

My exposure to Gundam anime thus far has been from beginning through "Phase 13" of Seed. It is not bad, but I hope it gets better. I picked up an MG "Strike Freedom Gundam" at lunch today; I guess this shows up at some point in Seed.

505thAirborne, I really like the Ferris scheme -19.

I am not the only one waiting for the 1/60 scale YF-21 to arrive.

I think the models Morpheus posted pics of look nice. If you have a pic of the "freedom" you built, I'd like to see it. Thanks.

Everyone is not already doing this?

I don't know about "no modeling skills," but my comment was in regard to the possibility these kits on display required no paint/prep or even glue -- a fact the skilled modeler in question left out.

Now I see why these things are so expensive, at least at my local hobby shops. I recall seeing a display case in a comic/game store which had many impressive looking Gundam models. I asked the fat guy at the register who built them, and he said he did all of them himself -- now, I am not so impressed. I have the impression that it does not take much skill or time to make these kits look good; am I right? If so, I may go get one at lunch, tomorrow. edit: I've had these kits for years and never built them. These require glue and paint/prep. At this point in my life, I have even less time to put into model kits.

Again, please excuse my Gundam ignorance, but I just learned that some of these (Master Grade?) model kits are pre-colored and snap-together. For those who have built these, do they look good without paint/prep? More specifically, are these showcase worthy without filling in seam lines with putty and airbrushing?

"450 wheel horsepower" = "600 engine horsepower."

Ah. I was confused for no apparent reason.

Most people will never have to map out a fuel/timing curve; (luckily) this is especially true for cars like yours and mine. Tuning software like LS1 Edit, CMR, and SCT for example have built in (often automatically updated from the internet) approximation maps that are tweaked by the person doing the tuning. As far as tuning carbs, I learned something today. The instruction manual specifies taking the carb off the manifold before changing the jets. I thought to myself, "this seems stupid." Next thing you know, "tink, tink, tink. . . roll . . . uh-oh."

I recall reading a Japanese import oriented car magazine story on the (muscle) cars appearing in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. I laughed out loud when I read the description of a 4-bbl carb as a "controlled fuel leak." I recall in the 1990s when many of the American performance enthusiasts were converting their EFI cars to carbs due to the decreased cost of getting better breathing; at the time, to get an EFI car's induction system opened up, a low restriction air filter, larger mass airflow sensor, larger inlet tube, larger throttle body (and sometimes throttle body spacer), and better flowing intake manifold cost way more than a bigger CFM carb and intake plenum setup. The money saved could be put toward better cylinder head(s) and cam(s). How times change. . .

Tuning carbs is a dying art. I think the new stuff is a lot easier; it's all plug-and-play nowadays.

Thanks for your reply -- I'm glad nobody was hurt. I really like how the blower looks like it could have been factory-equipped. My setup is a lot more conspicuous. It may be difficult to see in the first picture, but this car actually has two power adders -- a little treat from the dentist's office.

Scream Man, thanks for making this thread. I have seen many Gundam models since childhood but never knew anything about them. I have just begun watching Gundam Seed, on loan from a friend. As a newbie, this series is quite daunting.

Over the years I've read criticisms about the Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1 Valkyries having skinny arms, the most recent of which have been stated in the current 1/60 scale VF-1 threads. There is a solution for those who do not want to buy the new 1/60 scale version just to get a VF-1 with bigger arms. I've got my 1/48 scale Valkyries on a strict exercise plan -- 12 oz. curls. Since I am the supportive type, I have adopted the same exercise plan for myself.

Please excuse my ignorance, but if "TRU" means "ToysRUs," then what else was an exclusive besides the brown/tan "cannon fodder" release?

There are many who share your opinion on the seam line.

Nice work, ghengis. Sometimes it's the little details that make the big difference.

Someone famous once said, "It's all relative." That being stated, I'll quote the above while wondering what all the price complaints are about. "Worth it" is certainly a subjective judgment call, but I don't feel gouged by the asking price for this particular Super/Strike VF-1 offering. At least a couple of Macross World members I have good rapport with will want to throw rocks at me for this statement, but I am glad (perhaps even grateful) not to have speculation threads about the end-of-the-line for Macross toys production as we've had in the past. Will I pay any price for Macross toys that I like? The answer is certainly no.

On the subject of crashes, my friend was fortunate not to be hurt after he was involved in a serious wreck last night. Without going into details, my friend was not at fault and was obeying all traffic laws; I feel the need to mention this due to the type of vehicle and assumptions made when such vehicles are involved in accidents. I took this picture about 24 hours ago at a local car show. Gearheads will see why this one is special.

I found this pic saved on my computer. It belongs to a friend of a friend.

LOL! Greatness.