Chas

Maybe a little closer to SDF Macross? (in theme anyway)

Oh, yeah . . . um sorry 'bout that But what's so wrong about a Japanese show (anyone remember that wretched term Japanimation? - Yeuch!) about resurecting the naval incarnation of the Japanese spirit and having it save the entire planet - I mean the Americans do that ALL THE TIME! Oh, wait . . . did I just equate the Japanese with Americans? . . . HOOH BOY I just keep digging myself deeper don't I

Well yeah but I mean let's call a spade a spade here, we are not talking about ". . . a WWII battleship . . ." It is THE YAMATO for crying out loud, the veritable incarnation of the Japanese spirit no? Nationalism is a very powerfull thing. Perhaps it was simply a case of a decent enough production at the right time in the right place.

Tounge firmly planted in cheek! (guess I should have mentioned that in my previous post) Interesting, never really thought about that since I came to Yamato through Starblazers. How then do you explain the success the film(s?) had then. was it simply from the groundswell created by the then small but dedicated fan base who took on promoting and advertising the production? Anyway I wholeheartedly agree with your trepidation about this latest 'Venture' (pun intended) in the franchise. Bu tat the very least it should mean some great new visuals and hopefully some great new (reasonably priced) model kits [i need a praying emoticon damn it!]

Yeah the effects they could do no problem. The writing shouldn't be too much of a problem either (although some care would have to be taken as far as abridging the story). I think the most difficult element to pull off will be the characterizations of the cast of characters and their relationships (the drama if you will). I mean as good as it was (and still is IMHO) Yamato was still aimed at a (I'll be diplomatic here) youthfull audience and so, a fair bit of its characters, thier motivations and its plot points were at various times rather simplistic, formulaic, and 2 dimensional. Oh, wait a minute, that sounds just like most Hollywood films we get nowadays -- I take it back no reservations about the live action movie at all, It'll probably be great!

For small batches you could pick yourself up a good quality digital kitchen scale that goes up in increments of 1gram for under $50.00. (cover it with plastic wrap before you pour though - makes clean up a snap.

Does anyone have a copy of the fold out poster from TIA #11? It was one of Minmay sitting in a blue &whit striped (simapan?) nightshirt with both arms raised over her head. I used to own this but over the years it has disappeared. Haven't seen the image in years and would like to, I miss it.

Well that explains why 'Prototyping' is still an expensive service: to produce good quality prototypes still involves a lot of 'hand working' and skill (as in skilled trades people) ergo $$$$

That was exactly what I thought when I read ABS is notoriously hard to 'work' and because all of the various methods of automated 3 dimensional constuction (that I'm aware of) build items in a series of layers, the end products will always have 'steps' where a new layer was begun. These machines do not produce a 'finished' model. Usually what comes out at the end of this process is 'hand-worked' to a smooth finished 'pattern' from which a mould is made, and then casts are produced. At least that's how we used to do it in ther shop that I worked at back in '03-'04. We used SLA and SLS to produce the patterns.

The feasability of this kind of thing is becoming more and more possible I agree, but there are a number of things to take into consideration here. First of all what kind of Stero-Lithography are you thinking of? SLA? SLS? 3DP? something else? each method uses different materials which each have their limits - i.e. cost (SLA resin last time i checked was still extremely expensive), britleness, resolution (amount of detail), etc. So exactly what is possible in terms of the finished product will depend on the method of production. To make transforming toys one would have to do a lot of work in the design of the joints and the parts breakdown. Chances are good that for each joint one would need multiple parts to be fabricated and then these will have to 'cleaned up' (build lines sanded down by hand) & then test-fit together to ensure that they work. Once all of that is done the masters will have to be molded and then cast. Now if you're talking about transformable toys you need to consider what materials are going to be used, some how I don't think polyurethane is the best choice given the material stresses involved in transforming toys. Don't get me wrong I still think this is a good idea I just think it best to start off with small steps. I'd leave the talk of large scale transforming mecha off the table for now.

G-man - T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U.! THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!!!!!!! For a long time Macross fan this is a dream come true! To finally be able to read this book and get all of this FABulous background info. I was actually tearing up, from joy and disbelief, as I was reading this. (Truly no hyperblee. Not unlike Minmay in class when she found out that everyone had nominated her for the Miss Macross Contest.) I must say that I agree with your take on this book as expanding the characters rather than changing them. I also agree with those who are of the opinion that with Ranka K awamori was finally able to realize the compltete Minmay. It is as if he had picked up the pieces of Minmay that were left on the script-editting-room floor all those years ago and used them to fill in Ranka's character. In many ways I feel that Frontier is Kawamori's retelling of the SDFM story. Reinterpreted? - undoubtedly, derrivitive? - not in the least. Along with Ranka being another (closer) cut at the Minmay character. I also think that the Vajra were another (closer) cut to what Kawamori thought the Zentradi should have been. more a force of nature than an evil empire. Also the sense of them (the Zents) being manipulated by other forces (outside & beyond there control including their biological nature) was also present in the original but again revisited and hightened with the Vajra. Admitedly a large part of Why I think frontier is Kawamori retelling SDFM is because it is his last chance to 'get it right'. Anywho, that's my two cents. I just need to say once again how much I appreciate all the effort and work that you have put into this. From one fan to another - ありがとうございました

Is it possible to get this through any means other than a torrent?

Now this is something worth getting excited about! Given Hase's track record there is no doubt in my mind that I'll be more than satisfied with this series. Can't wait to make my first Gerwalk custom when the Battroid kits get released! It's so nice to hear the news of an upcomming release and not have any reservations about the finished product. I feel like I used to feel as a kid in the last few weeks before Christmas. WOOOOHOOOOO!

Just saw this and thought some folks here might be interested. LINK They have a bunch of other macross / macross F stuff as well i.e. Sheryl/Ranka mouse pads with soft 3-d breast wrist pads. Enjoy!

Getting deeper and deeper into - dare I say it - Alternative Japanese Pop. From listening to Aural Vampire I've discovered Supercar and have purchased everything I could find by them. They are, or were (disbanded in 2005) the Japanese equivalent of Radiohead. If you like Radiohead you should deff. check out their album Highvision. Here are a couple of links to some youtube vids from their Last Live:

Well what do you know about that a little more than 4 feet across. Seems to me that there are a few other projects being done around that size ( and bigger) right now. It will take some time (and $$) to aquire the 10 Regult kits that I'll need, but I can use that time to work out the details and come up with a plan for exactly wha, and how I'm going to do this. (And practice up on some of the skills I'lll need to pull it off. )

I think I'm gonna start to collec Regult kits. It's a shame that they're so rare now. How awesome would it be if Hasegawa were to release a 1:72nd kit to go with their battroids and fighters. That would be a dream come true for me. Just picture this dio with 1:72nd Hase. kits - YUMMY!

O.K. I remember seeing pics of a dio form like way back in the day '82, '83, '84 ish. It was a city battle seen with three battriods and a whole heap load of battle pods. I think the photos were all black and white, the battroids were all in a roadway at one end of the dio and there was some kind of debris creating a barrier across the roadway which the battlepods had to get over to reach them. I'm pretty sure they kits were like 1:100 imai/arii I thought I'd seen it somewhere on the main site (magazine or book section) but no luck there. I've checked all of my model ref links and can't locate any images of the build. Anyone remeber the dio I'm talking about? Got pics? Links? Did I dream it? Nevermind Turns out they were more recent than I thought Aprill 2003 Hobby apan to be exact. LINK Oh yeah and it looks like they are trading figs. (Bandai HG second mission

Well I 've never used a thermometer so I couldn't say how hot the can is when I spray, but as I've said I usually boil some water, pour it into a container, and then place the paint can in it for about 3-5 min. Usually I end up having to use a glove or a rag for a bit when I first tale the can out 'cus it's quite hot.

Are you warming the can up int hot water before you spray? That usually helps atomize the paint.

Thanks Max. So you don't polish the wet coat before you spray the clear coat? Hmmm. . . maybe I can save myself some work in the future. This might not be the direction that David is going 'cus he is doing an aircraft kit, but for anyone who wants a high gloss finish I think it is a great help. Oh, and SchizophrenicMC, that's two posts with absolutely no contribution to the thread. You may not have encountered me before but you can be sure that when I do post I make damned sure my post contributes to the conversation. Perhaps you would have less run ins with the Mods if you did the same. 'nuff said. EDIT = TYPO and rephrasing.

Well there is a much greater chance for drips to form with the long slow strokes that is for sure, and your personal expeience seems to bare that out. If you notice there is no "mist coat" in the Tamiya vid. and the can is held much further away. In the "short burst" technique the "mist coat" gives bite for the "wet coat" and helps to keep it from running and by holding the can only 2-3 inches from the surface the paint stays quite wet so any overspray is absorbed into the "wet coat". That is the only way I can explain it. What I do know is the "short burst" technique works for me. I'd suggest trying it out on some scrap styrene and see what happens.

Well here's a good video demonstration of the technique that I use. It's courtesy of the floks over at PLAMO Gloss Spray Tutorial Hope that it helps. Maybe your mist coat is too Heavy? P.S. Ialso place the can in a coffe cup full of just boiled water for a few minutes before I use it. Warming it up helps it atomize. EDIT= typos

Why one coat? Usually for a glossy finish I would do a mist coat of the entire area first. This provides good bite for the next application. After that has set, usually about 15-20 min, I then apply the heavier "wet" coat. For this second coat I hold the can about 2-3 inches away from the surface of the model and spray in quick short passes while constantly turning the model.

Duhh! That's why you use a GOOD PRIMER! Can you not read? if you spray it on a model with no primer it will most likely melt the styrene. But if you prime the model first there's nothing to worry about. Was this point not clear in my last post? I swear talk about a uselss post. Must you unthinkingly vomitt your opinion everywhere? Try reading the posts in the thread then thinking about what has been written before you decide to "contribute" (and I use that term ironically) whatever comes into you haed. Automotive scale modelers have been using the stuff for years! GOD!