M'Kyuun
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Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
M'Kyuun replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I hope there's some of that in this movie, as it sells the fact that her body is indeed mechanical despite appearances. And, it looks badass. My concern at this point is how the story will be handled, since GiTS is generally replete with politics, philosophy, and all sorts of manipulations and convolutions of both, against a backdrop of cybercrime. Theses are at the essence of the franchise, and I fear that for the sake of a probable PG-13 rating, this will devolve into just another stripped down action movie with little depth or maturity. In the end, I fear that it will be Ghost in the Shell in name only. I'm curious who's doing the special effects: if ILM, I fear all the think tanks and such will end up looking like Bayformers, since that seems to be their preferred aesthetic for nearly everything mechanical. As such, I hope Weta are involved. -
Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
M'Kyuun replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I agree. Not a flattering shot, and her forelocks don't flow forward. Much ado is made of Scarlett, and while she's a pretty woman, she's not the paragon of beauty that she's made out to be. She benefits from the nose job, though. While I think Scarlett, with the help of stunt doubles, can pull off the physicality, Rinko would have been my first choice for the character. The first time I saw her in Pacific Rim, I thought "Motoko". Now I have a tough time seeing anyone else in the role. But, as others have pointed out, the Major has never been animated as an overtly Asian looking character, at least in the original movie, SAC, or Arise, but rather Caucasian, married to the idea that she is a cyborg and can essentially choose her ethnicity. It's a neat idea, actually, and one that would be interesting to see explored. It wouldn't be the first time Motoko's ghost has occupied a different body. -
I've always been so intent on figuring out the aft section of the plane that, until now, I've never even noticed the completely opaque canopy festooned with sensors. I still can't help but get a YF-21-ish vibe from this thing, at least the forward fuselage / what I believe will be the chest, shoulders, and head. My feeling is that this is an amalgamation of previous valks: YF-21 upper body with VF-9 arms, and VF-17 legs. In response to seti88's query above, it's difficult to figure out what's going on there, aside from our agreement that there's at least one arm there. My thinking is still that the arms lie over and under one another, thus providing attachment points for both upper and lower stabs. However, in the pic, there is a discernible line just forward of the upper stab. That could be a separation line for the arms, or it could just be where two halves of the mold come together. I retain my original hypothesis. Like the VF-17, I think, I certainly hope, that this is going to have a bulky battroid. David H.'s comparison to the Escaflowne is intriguing, at least from the bulky armor view. Having a dragon mode, while apropos to its namesake, would be a bit odd; but, if done right, it'd be a nice new direction for valks beyond the traditional 3-mode. If anyone can figure out such a transformation scheme, though, it's Kawamori. Maybe we're getting our first 4-mode valk.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I agree that MP-10 is an excellent Prime figure; the only imp0rovement I would have liked would be for the rear wheels to rotate 180 degrees into the leg so that his outer leg was smooth, or just get rid of the wheel wells and that crappy blue panel that covers them, and just let the wheels hang out. As he is, his lower legs never look right to me b/c of the wheel well bulges. I can understand the desire for a white MP-10, but honestly, I prefer the way MP Magnus was realized as an all-in-one figure. Personal choice. Referring to Davidwangchoi's post above concerning the TF pop-up book, that's some really impressive papercraft. I have no faculty whatsoever in that particular art, so origami and papercraft models have always impressed me for their ingenuity, detail, and in many cases, functionality. Aside from making a standard pop-up, which requires a bit of thought as to placement and folding mechanisms, the book's creator took it much further, to a very impressive result. Very cool; thanks for posting David. This makes me wonder how cool it'd be if someone made a 3D pop-up book TF where a basic frame was the pop-up subject, and the book covers broke up and formed the armor. -
Bandai Gobots/Machine Robo Series Toy Thread
M'Kyuun replied to David Hingtgen's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
The two that I'm most interested in are Leader-1 and Snoop, followed by Spay-C. I'm hoping HLJ will carry these at lower prices. Actually, it'd be cool if Hasbro made a contract with Bandai to make them available for North American retail. I doubt it, but dreaming is fun. -
I agree, Ignacio. I'm thinking there's a curved linkage, one end attached to a pivot point within the leg, and the other to the top of the visible strut. Upon retraction, the strut likely bends forward and retracts aft into the leg, guided and held by the internal linkage. That's the simplest and most logical way I can see its being done. It also makes sense for the bend near the wheel, which corresponds to the shape of the thigh above the knee. If this is indeed the way it's done, I'd assume the internal linkage will have two locking detentes corresponding to the extended and retracted positions, or at least one for the extended position, with the lower strut also locking in place by some mechanical means. I'll be a huge fan of this setup if that's how it's finally realized on the DX toy. Incidentally, what I've described is a very simplified B-1B Lancer main gear design. The struts themselves do not directly attach to the airframe, but to an intermediate set of linkages which fold during the retraction cycle. It's a neat thing to see, and even neater to feel if you're in the cockpit. I always repressed a small fear of bouncing off the jacks. It's about a 12 foot drop if the nose unseats.
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Well, that would be different, but if it doesn't have a head and the jet's nose is there, then what's really differentiating it from GERWALK, besides leg position? Personally, I hope it has a head and some new configuration in battroid, but anthropomorphic enough to differentiate it from G mode. Judging by the GERWALK shots, I still think the intakes are going to form the chest, similar to the YF-21. And the BFG does look cool. It'd be nice if it could swing to rest above either shoulder. Or, like the -31, that's the new method of carrying the gunpod.
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So true. At least in the animation, the main wheels are attached to angled shock struts and the kneepads are just doors, as a real aircraft would be designed. Hopefully, Bandai will follow through on the animation design for the DX. Not holding my breath, but I can still hope. I'm also a little disappointed that the radome doesn't fold into a nice rectangular box on the 31E. As it is, it resembles my kitchen table with the leaves down. Two more hinges would've made a noticeable difference.
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The shoulders are mounted on either side of a beam, which is connected to the body by a central pivot. The arms of the VF-9, in jet mode, compress to shorten their length, the hands retract, and the arms rotate in-line with each other, wrists touching. The beam/arm assembly is situated longitudinally to be in-line with the forward fuselage. In battroid, the beam rotates 90 deg from its position in fighter. Here's a link to the official lineart; look at transformation details 1,2, and 3: http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossga/vf-9.htm It's one of Kawamori's more complex transformations. Anyway, the comparison we're making is with the beam connection for the arms is similar between the VF-9 and the Sv-262.
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That was my impression.
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In my experience, on most aircraft, doors that don't impede the gear are designed to close on the ground, and feature manual releases, either mechanical, or by virtue of built-in valve bypasses, for maintenance and servicing. On most of the valks,however, the mains only have a single door encompassing the entire gear well area, preventing them from closing when the gear are extended. The VF-0, VF-1, and VF-4 are notable exceptions, off the top of my head. But then, overtech is hardier stuff than stainless steel and aircraft grade aluminum alloys, so they can ostensibly take the punishment. It's actually good practice to have multiple doors, since closing them after extension reduces drag and helps prevent foreign object damage within the well area. FYI from a former maintainer.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
He was three years younger than me; gone way too soon. R.I.P. Wada-san. -
You guys, rewarding poor engineering will only get you more of the same with future releases. It's like giving your dog a treat after he poops on your kitchen floor. The greatest thing that separates valks from Transformers is the amount of realistic detail in their designs. Yamato, and then Arcadia, established a new high standard in this regard, and Bandai was coming along (although why they don't paint their landing gear white is beyond me, esp when they're willing to do excessive tampo. ) So, until now, every valk they've produced, except their unmentionably bad first line of VF-25s, have had realistic gear. That was good progress...and now this. It seems to me a step in the wrong direction, design-wise. Now if that's the way Kawamori actually designed the valk, well then I'll humbly retract my criticism of Bandai. But, this would seem an odd design choice on Kawamori's part, being the acft fanatic he is. I hope it's just the model, and the DX toy has more standard gear. Fingers crossed.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
My memory of the Technobots is fuzzy, so I put Google to task. Looking at the originals, and then at the Takara versions, there's a lot of license being taken with their alts. Afterburner should have had his own mold, as recycled groove just doesn't have that cool Tron cycle look. And, he should be orange as David pointed out. Scattershot looks like a box with a gun barrel tacked on, not very evocative of the G1 toy at all. Out of the five, I think Nosecone is the only one that fairly resembles his G1 counterpart in his vehicle mode; the rest of the team, not so much. This is one time when I feel the G1 toys, at least in their alt modes, were far better than their modern equivalents. I guess mold-milking can only go so far. Changing the subject: Along with Shockwave, I ordered the UW version of RiD Thunderhoof, as Hasbro's version is nearly bereft of paint apps, and the Takara deco looks lovely. I don't watch the show, but the overall design of this guy caught my eye, and the fact that he transforms into a tractor. We don't get much in the way of farm equipment alt modes, so I was intrigued. In hand, he's a nice little figure with a surpisingly interesting transformation. Of the six RiD figs I own, he's by far the most complex. Very poseable. The only real con is that his horns tend to be in the way of articulating the shoulders due to their width. And on my copy, the right front tire doesn't spin as freely as the other three, for some reason that I can't determine. Otherwise, fun Transformer with a unique alt mode. Glad I got him. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Other than far superior feet and hands, Hasbro's looks terrible next to Takara's (wonder why they didn't use the hands and feet, too?) The differences are strikingly blatant, with the eye drawn inexorably to the right. Mighty Shockwave arrived today, and after a cursory transformation and a single sticker application (grrr), he's ready to defend Cybertron. Pros: I love Takara's leg solution; it's a nice bit of simple origami that goes together very well. Most of his joints have ratchets with plenty of detentes, and he holds a pose very well. There's more die-cast than I expected, comprising the feet, the internal structure and pivot for the gun barrel (shrouding the light) and also the linkage between his back and the gun barrel. Cons: the head attachment plate swivel requires that the head itself be used to swing it up into its locking detente. I messed with it for probably 45 minutes before getting it to lock, fearful that I'd snap his head off in the process. That ball joint is not very big, and definitely should have been die-cast too. I really wish they'd found a way to incorporate some kind of push-up linkage to snap it into place. The waist has a 3 point position ratchet to bend him forward, neutral, and aft. The forward position barely holds on mine, and I have to position him leaning forward a bit to get it to stay; otherwise, he just snaps back into neutral. And lastly, Shockwave came batteries not included. MP Grimlock and MP-01 Prime both came with batteries, along with numerous leader and some voyager class figures over the years. I was pretty disappointed when I took off the little panel on his arm, expecting batteries with some sort of insulating material, and it was empty. I guess this is the way of things now, even for supposedly high end toys. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Vlenhoff, sounds like it. Sorry for all your woes with Devy. Hopefully you can get a satisfactory resolution. Technoblue- Count me in for a new MP seeker mold; they redesign everything else, and it could use a redo. -
Just like the Bell X-15. Sexy.
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I'll take your word for it. I know nothing of the Delta characters except the group with the -31s are a band called "Walkure", and the other group are some sort of knights. I'm hoping that Delta will get subbed and streamed somewhere I can watch it (like I did with Frontier), but I won't hold my breath. For me, it's all about the mecha; so as long as info concerning the VF-31 and the Sv-262 continues to be posted, I'm content, even if I never see the anime. I've never seen M7, but I own a VF-17 and a VF-19 Blazer simply b/c I really like both designs. Platypus: Nothing's wrong with the -29's, or any VF-25 variant's landing gear. It's solid and realistic, but like most valks, is positioned far aft of CG due to the gears' being housed within the shins. The VF-31's um..unique gear are better positioned closer to CG, but their construction is dubious, at least on a real aircraft, since there are no support mechanisms in place to absorb the shock of landing, and the panel to which the main wheel is mounted is likely to strike the lower fuselage upon landing. In this way, it would act as a lever, with the fuselage contact point acting as fulcrum; the wheels experience upward force due to the increasing downward forces imparted by the aircraft's mass and acceleration, which stresses the linkage at the forward end of the gear panel. Elongation and eventual sheering of the linkage pin would occur. My observation is hypothetical as this gear design would relate to a real aircraft, where weight, gravity, and extreme acceleration forces would come into play. On a toy or model, only weight and material strength will be concerns, unless the valk makes an unscheduled flight from the hand or shelf with gear extended. On a personal note, it's just a lazy, cheap design on an otherwise realistic looking jet fighter. I would have even preferred it had standard gears mounted on the wings a la the AV-8B Harrier than these inverted kneecaps with shopping cart castors. It sullies an otherwise lovely fighter.
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Scratched paint is certainly a concern, but my greater concern is that the wheel basically sits at the end of a torque arm putting stress on that linkage pivot. I can see those wearing out and elongating if the valk is displayed on its gear for any period of time. Kinda interested now to see if the same design will be applied to the DX, which will be significantly heavier than a model. For the sake of quality and aesthetics, I hope not. Again, I think they should be mounted behind the exterior shin panels and made to angle out slightly using the shin panel as a gear door. It would be a more solid and realistic looking gear with proper shock struts that wouldn't contact other parts of the fuselage when extended. I'm liking the looks of this valk's fighter the more I see it, and I'm generally a battroid guy. The VF-31E has me intrigued- I generally shy away from bright colors, and I don't care for orange, but that looks really sharp, and I like that the radome can be deployed or retracted. It makes tactical sense...do the scan, retract radome for better aerodynamics and fuel economy, and haul ass out of enemy territory. And then land in GERWALK b/c your landing gear are basically afterthoughts.
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I just missed getting to see this bird, my personal Holy Grail of Airplanes, when I visited the AF Museum a couple years ago (one whole section of awesome birds was closed due to budget sequestration, including JFK's Boeing-707, the XB-70, and the YF-23, to name but a few. Damn you, Congress!). The YF-23 is by far my favorite aircraft, and I've always felt we as a country were cheated when they selected the inferior YF-22 as the ATF. I'd so love a high quality transforming version of this plane. Unofficially, the folks who worked on the plane called her Black Widow II, and at one point, I believe she even sported a red hourglass on her belly. However, the Northrop heads neither liked nor approved of the name. Anyway, there were two prototypes, PAV 1 and PAV 2, one dark gray (Black Widow), one light gray (Gray Ghost). So this was likely the light gray acft painted dark gray for display. Looks lovely. Anyway, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the gear design of the VF-31's model is echoed on the DX toy. It's ugly and impractical, but much less complex than making a standard collapsible gear mounted on a proper strut. It certainly cheapens the design, though.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
My reasons for collecting certain toys is about the same, aesthetics over nostalgia in most cases. If a crappy looking figure is made of a character for whom I've a fondness, I'll pass on it. Windblade, if nothing else, has become good conversation fodder. I don't read the comics, so what I know of her, besides her fandom creation, is what I glean from conversations here. I like the design, minus the kabuki head (why would an alien robot have features reflecting those of ancient Japan? Really stupid), and I love Stone's Animated-ish take. I bought the Deluxe figure, which I found disappointing. There's an RiD figure coming, but I hope eventually they'll release one that's directly based on Stone's art....except it better not be MP, when so many of the original G1 cast have yet to be made. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Vlenhoff, y'mean Scrapper, right? Sorry to see the damage ; that's a very poor design when just a single small tab is made to secure a part that requires it to bear the weight of such a large figure. At the very least, they could have made the crossmember with the tab from die-cast. New clear pics of MP Optimus Primal over on TFW2005 http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/04/04/takara-masterpiece-mp-32-optimus-primal-official-stock-photos-312396 Nothing about this says MP to me; he looks like a voyager or leader class Genrations figure. His bot mode looks great, but his ape mode was sacrificed. The two things that really stand out are that the ape head is pretty much held erect and forward facing like a human, so that he looks at the ground in ape mode (very awkward looking), and Primal's white thighs are clearly visible in ape mode from behind. Really wish this had just gone to retail as a $40 leader. -
Having worked on aircraft landing gear, I have to concur with the "tacked-on, toyish" sentiment. I would've preferred they extend from the exterior shins. I hope the DX handles it differently, but I doubt it. The only positive is that it places the gear closer to CG like most real aircraft, and unlike the majority of valks. But yeah, that design looks like what I'd expect on a TF, not a valk. And yeah, that design doesn't bode well for any paint apps in that area, nor for the kneecap/gear door and upper shin where they'll meet and the plastic will rub over time. From various perspectives, not a good design. As for the gunpod/backpack weapon array- I like it. I like the uniqueness of it, and its method of storage. It offers a more practical method, as well as allowing for hands free operation of the gun, which could potentially allow the pilot to focus on tasks requiring the valk's hands while the valk itself can control the weapons for defense. It makes sense esp for B and G modes. Still not digging those too-skinny forearms, but the inclusion of a folding knife is kinda interesting. It would be a huge improvement if the forearms were wider at the elbow and tapered down to the wrist instead of looking like a 2x4 plank with a hand at the end. For all his brilliance and ability to create beautiful designs, choices like this make me wonder what Kawamori is thinking.
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I hope the final version battroids have slightly beefier forearms; as they are, they look disproportionate and mechanically anorexic compared to the rest of the thing. Too bad those exterior under-wing panels don't wrap around the forearm. Beyond that, Kawamori, as usual, made a lovely fighter mode. In all my years of collecting Macross, I have yet to own a single E model valk, and the idea of making that radome origami into a rectangular box intrigues me. I was only planning on getting Delta 02, but I may have to get a VF-31E as well, just because. Just cycled back a few pages and caught the conversation after my post concerning the retro look of the newer valks, and the ensuing conversation about active vs passive stealth. I appreciate the posted pic of the Grumman ATF Concept 9, of which I was unaware. The YF-23 and YF-22 were the only two ATF designs known to me, so thanks Nazareno2012. Looking at the pic, it's obvious that Kawamori used that design for the VF-9 Cutlass. As for the stealth conversation, the VF-25, 27, 29, 30, and 31 all share aesthetic traits of pre-passive stealth aircraft, which would require other means of avoiding or fooling radar. As I mentioned, there were a host of beautiful fighter designs before stealth aspects informed their designs to an extraordinary degree. I hope Delta is, at least in part, set in a more terrestrial setting where the valks will fly in atmosphere. Building a traditional looking atmospheric fighter to fight in space makes little practical sense, unless space traversal is merely a requisite evil to move from one planet or station to another, where its aerodynamic design would be of practical use. Lonestar's Space Winnebago would be a more effectice spacecraft than a jet fighter. At least you'd have a restroom.
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Finally saw this yesterday. It was my wife's birthday, and I took her to see it (admittedly, more for me than her) She liked it, too, so it was all good. Loved Judy and Nick, and the overall positive feel of the movie. The two overarching messages of "respect diversity" and "try, even if the odds are stacked against you" were integrated well enough that kids will get it on the animal level, and adults will, hopefully, get the double entendre. The voice cast did a great job, and I liked the Weaselton character reminiscent of the Frozen character, both voiced by Alan Tudyk. Overall, I thought the dialog throughout was excellent, with a maturity that smaller kids may not get. I really liked how they showed all the various environments as cities, and how the cities themselves were designed to accommodate different sized creatures. I even liked Shakira warbling the theme song "Try Everything". Not as memorable as "Let it go", but still catchy. (usually Shakira's voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me- I get the same repellant reaction) Overall, I think I liked this better than Frozen, which I also like quite a bit. The beautiful visuals, the fun and often funny depictions of animal charcters, the humorous product placements, the mystery plot, even a Godfather send-up, wrapped around a message of "don't discriminate" and "try" just worked for me on many levels. Will definitely be getting this on DVD.