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Nekko Basara

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  1. Nekko Basara
    Just from my own experience, the moisture trap attached directly under my airbrush used to collect loads of water when I was using a compressor without a trap, but once I changed to a different compressor with an attached trap, this practically stopped. While in theory the air cooling as it passes through the hose can precipitate moisture, in practice I haven't seen enough to matter; I still use the secondary trap because I have it, but I never see fluid in it. This is in New England summertime weather, so reasonably humid. Humid enough that airbrushing with no trap at all turns to spitting and cursing in minutes.
  2. Nekko Basara
    I can't even tell when I'm being sarcastic anymore. The idea of an AKB0048 crossover started as a big joke to me, but now I kinda want it. Or at least the "idol group" concept. I'm just bummed that the new series is set too soon after Frontier for any of the main characters to be children of the Frontier cast. Unless it goes all "War in the Pocket," anyway. Even with all of the different opinions on these boards, I doubt there are many folks wishing for grade-school protagonists.
  3. Nekko Basara
    That's a really cool trio, Mike! I think your experiments with detail painting look great. I'd say it's normal to be your own harshest critic, because you know everything in the build that didn't turn out how you wanted - but from the picture, all I see is three cool mobile suits. I will make one suggestion on the photo, though: get those legs moving! The suits are doing cool stuff above the waist, but below the waist they're just standing up straight. Legs that sexy deserve to do some posing, too!
  4. Nekko Basara
    I actually love the stark contrast of full-on black panel lines on a white Gundam, but I think it's purely a matter of aesthetic preference. It's certainly a less "realistic" look than gray, but I dig the more animated feel where giant robots are concerned. I might feel differently if I were weathering my models and going for more of a real-world look. At any rate, I'd suggest picking up both gray and black to get started (those things last for ages by the way). You'll at least want the black for pieces that are medium colors like red and blue. I'd suggest leaving dark colors (black, dark gray, dark blue) unlined to start out; these can look very striking when lined in white or a light gray, but you'll need to use a panel wash or paint for that - the gray marker is too thin and dark.
  5. Nekko Basara
    If you want an easy start that will (I feel) significantly improve the look of your model, I'd suggest just grabbing a gundam marker and panel lining your next build. It's really easy to do, and anything you aren't happy with its completely reversible. Gundam kits are generally made with easy panel lining in mind.
  6. Nekko Basara
    I'll take a crack at some of these, but I should say that I have only done fully-painted builds on historical subjects; all my gunpla are relaxing, straight builds with only detail painting at most. 1. If you aren't painting, do your panel lines first, because the marking ink or paint can run under or around any decals and stickers and make a big mess; on bare plastic it is easily cleaned off. In a "full" build, paint first, then clearcoat, then add decals, then clearcoat again, then do panel lines and weathering, then topcoat. 2. On bare plastic, I generally like Gundam panel-line markers best. While a lot of folks remove the excess with alcohol, I actually prefer to let it dry and remove it with a toothpick that is softer than the plastic. This wouldn't work on paint or a clearcoat, because the surface is too soft. In those cases, or for spots with a ton of surface detail (like the back of a Gundam's shield), I use the Tamiya washes. I've also mixed my own using ink, oil paints, or enamel paints, with varying degrees of succes. 3. If you have painted or added decals, I would add a gloss clearcoat before panel lining (and use a wash or ink). This will let the wash flow smoothly, and protect your previous work; you can just wipe off any lining you are unhappy with. I think Future floor polish is as good as or better than other clearcoat "paint" I have used. 4. Only if you want your decals to look painted-on. If you want them to silver and look like fakey decals, then go ahead and skip these ;-) 5. I'm not a pro with paint stripping, but most washes and some non-acrylic paints (including Gundam markers) can be removed with plain alcohol. Future can be removed with Windex. Acrylic paints can be removed with a specific acrylic paint remover, but it will lightly damage bare plastic.
  7. Nekko Basara
    Finally, a place for country music in a Macross series!
  8. Nekko Basara
    I also heard that the rudder pedals, which were cast pieces, still included the Boeing logo. Of course, when you think about it, it would actually have taken more work to modify a mold taken from the original piece in order to remove the logo than to simply leave it intact, so maybe that's not just a case of slavish replication.
  9. Nekko Basara
    Hikuro - that is a lovely beast. Nice work! It's a shame if it can't move much, but it looks great just hulking around SchizophrenicMC - I guess I'm just not seeing the moment you mentioned. I know exactly the tab you're talking about. It's a bad system, and it will be a shame if it performs as poorly on the PG as it does on the MG. It sounded like kanedestes might have been saying this was improved on the FA version, though. I don't know - mine is the "HD Color," and the slightest front-back moment will dislodge that tab in Destroy mode.
  10. Nekko Basara
    I agree that the knee looked just as fussy as the MG, but you're seeing better than I am if you can tell that the torso lock is the same mechanism. I watched the part where he stretched the torso several times, and I couldn't tell what mechanism was used to lock it (although he points at both sides of the waist afterwards - if the lock is there, that's a totally new system). Another thing I noticed on re-watch was that the presenter didn't seem to pull the front of the feet down to a new angle when he extended the heels. I'm not clear if that step is gone, or if the presenter just missed it (or maybe I missed it as the feet went briefly off camera). Folks have probably seen this already, but there is also a video showing the change to "Unchained" mode. If there was any question whether this mode was part of the Unicorn design from the start, note how previously mysterious panel lines in the chest, shoulder, and upper arms suddenly come into play: http://youtu.be/PdIhV0fsIhE
  11. Nekko Basara
    Great choice! Happy birthday, Sheryl!
  12. Nekko Basara
    It's Macross II Two! Somebody put Adrian's wallet in his mouth so he doesn't swallow his tongue!
  13. Nekko Basara
    Holy moley. If someone had told me that video was of an oversized KO of the MG Unicorn, I would have believed them. The only difference in the transformation that I spotted was the cheek plates staying attached (and no hip widening, but the reviewer might have just forgotten that step). It even had some annoyances of the MG, such as: - Needing a tool to get the shoulder "lights" out. - Front skirt armor pieces popping off. - Knee extensions that don't want to lock. I won't say I'm disappointed, exactly. I like the MG version a lot, and there's no point re-inventing the wheel. Its transformation scheme could be just fine if the engineering were tightened up in a few spots. But it is troubling to see the PG appearing to behave exactly like its little brother in some of those problem areas.
  14. Nekko Basara
    Hey, apologies if this was obvious to everyone else, buy I just realized that the PG Unicorn's LED system will only work on its stand. Comparing the hobby show pics with the blog posts of the LED set, it looks like the box for the batteries goes into the center of the base, and you can see the controls on the front. It must run wires up the stand arm and have some kind of connector in the backpack. So, no stand = no batteries = no light. Now I'm curious how dynamic a pose it can manage on that stand without messing up the connection.
  15. Nekko Basara
    While I also dislike the Winning Gundam, I can't come up with a better way of showing that Fumina is sacrificing personal ambition for the sake of the team, and is essentially the force that enables Yuu and Sekai to unlock their potential and succeed. In other words, while it sucks as a character MS, I get what the show runners are doing with it and why it is necessary. Having said that, I'd also love to see them replace it once the point has been made. Fumina deserves another badass ride like the Powered GM Cardigan.
  16. Nekko Basara
    Argh, FAQs - my only weakness! What you characterize as "last mile" might also be called "distribution." Amazon is doing everything except importing the product and setting the price. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that HG might take legitimate issue with that.
  17. Nekko Basara
    My apologies! If this is a common issue for you, may I suggest one of these? My wife uses one and has been very happy with it.
  18. Nekko Basara
    Yeah, that's what I was talking about. That's an importer, but the fulfillment via Amazon - with Prime available - means that they must have inventory stateside, presumably in Amazon's warehouse system (I don't claim to understand the details of Amazon fulfillment). It's not the same as Amazon actually being the seller, but it seems like a step in that direction. Either it's not a big enough step to bother HG, or HG hasn't noticed (unlikely, because there are loads of these sellers), or HG isn't dumb enough to tangle with Amazon.
  19. Nekko Basara
    It's been interesting reading folks' different experiences with the waterslides, because I have never tried using them on bare plastic. My experience with them is in military models, applying them on a layer of Future or gloss paint and then covering them with more Future or a similar topcoat. I wasn't sure they'd settle or stick properly on plastic, but it sounds like some folks have had good luck with that. And others, not so much. My guess for anyone who finds that they just fall off is that maybe you are soaking them too long or too vigorously, and the adhesive is dissipating in the water? But for the folks who aren't having that issue, do you find you can actually handle the model with uncoated decals normally? Or do they basically just stick well enough to survive until you can topcoat it?
  20. Nekko Basara
    Do you mean the nationality or the personal grooming practice? Because the latter may be a bit too explicit for the usual demographic.
  21. Nekko Basara
    Snoopy is great and all, but I was really hoping this was going to be about those twins who sing to wake up Mothra.
  22. Nekko Basara
    I didn't post my impressions of the Z'Gok because, frankly, I would have just been repeating what you said! I will add, though, that I was disappointed upon opening the box and seeing how few sprues and stickers it contained; "Why even make this design as an RG?" I thought. But throughout the build process, my opinion steadily improved. Not only is it a very unique build, but it has a solidity and playability that is really unusual for the line. Only the Mk. II compares to the Z'Gok in how you can just pick it up and mess with it; all of the joints feel great, and hardly any parts want to fall off. The design may look out of place with my RGs, but it is definitely not a trumped-up HG in engineering. Bottom line - anybody who is waiting for a blue one should grab the Char version. The kit is so good and so inexpensive that you won't mind getting a second one if the grunt version ever comes out.
  23. Nekko Basara
    Are you and Keith married now? I know what knife fights mean in Macross!
  24. Nekko Basara
    Gotta buy five Wing Zero RG kits, then. Maybe do them up as a Super Sentai team ;-)
  25. Nekko Basara
    I thought that the Gundam Wing EW Real Grades were effectively confirmed. They showed us that "Project Meteor" graphic with the new frame at the center and the five clear silhouettes around it. But, as Hikuro said, that doesn't mean they will release all those kits back to back. You're gotta figure they want to get more use from the Exia RG frame than just a few web exclusives.
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