pengbuzz

Time for a necropost: Gerwalk can't be all that bad. I mean after all, Aerosmith did a song all ablout it- "Gerwalk This Way" *runs and hides*

I havethe original MP Megs (MP-05 Iif memory serves); I'm STILL trying to redesign it! lol When I bought it though, it truly ticked me off seeing how it was "chicken legs" vs MP Prime 01. Not to mention I've had to repair the arms and other parts several times.

Right; there comes a point where the "niceness" of an item has to justify its' cost. And I think some of us out here not only have a hard time with that, but there's also really no viable alternative that I know of (unless I missed something, which happens occasionally). But that leads me to this: That is true, depending upon one's finances, tastes and whatnot. I just maintain that it doesn't make them any less a fan in the fandom. Admittedly though: I think if I won the lottery, I'd be tempted to buy a ton of valks and maybe a few battle fortresses to boot!

How many of those cars come off the assembly line with a busted axle or broken crankshaft? If these are "performance vehicles", and their components are that delicate, how can they withstand "performing" in the areas that they are supposedly designed for? Engines, suspension, steering and the like are not exactly places to be using materials that will fail when they are doing their jobs. As for aircraft, that's true if you're speaking about the F-35 But as for other "precision items", while they may "break easier", they should not break when used per the directions and with proper care; after all, "quality" also extends to the materials and a "reasonable use" of the item. Just transforming a valk or moving the arm or wing should not cause structural failure. And I think that's one point here: the items in question (for their price) should not be having these issues. That's not precision; but rather shoddy materials. And this on items that are already at a premium? Seriously? Unless of course, it's Russia or Japan making nuclear reactors. In that case, just looking at them can cause all sorts of issues...

O.o Holy Frijoles!!!That is just.... looking for words to describe this incredible beast...

Good question...

*pengbuzz drools at VF-1*

Darth Vader: "As you wish..."

The Thrawn books need to become canon; they were IMO some of the best Star Wars writing I've ever read.

I would think that using a dremel tool to drill the broken post out and replace it with a similar-size steel pin would be the thing to do. It would depend upon the hardness of the metal though...

Too bad they couldn't do gift sets of the blue and gold teams from the 90's.

Yeah; I found out the hard way that petroleum-based stuff (like thinners, jelly, et al) can spell doom for styrene.

Speaking of Star Wars, I finished reworking the stand I had for a snaptitie pre-painted X-Wing model I got at a thrift store. In addition to stripping the paint, making modifications and repainting the thing, I custom-built a stand for it: Now I just have to figure out how to get THE BLOODY DATE STAMP OFF THE CAMERA!!!

It is "unaffordable" when that 300 dollars has to go to either groceries or medications; some of us don't have the luxury of that kind of "disposable income". As for cameras and watches, the Easyshare digicam I have works fine, as does the 10 dollar watch I got several years ago. Not everything has to cost a mint to work or be appreciated, and I do think there's a kind of conceit where brand and cost take precedent over function. As to the OP: I believe I understand where you're coming from on this: it would seem that the hobby has become so expensive that just trying to get something of a decent quality and representation in the series is becoming more "out of reach", while quality control seems to be an issue. This is largely why I resorted to buying a secondhand model from 30 years ago at a thrift store: the kind of money to be spent on a collectible cannot be justified in many households. (My replies from here on out are in general to replies on this board) That said, for someone to say ""if you want it, you'll find a way" comes across as a bit shallow and out of touch. So does the comment "then you must not like Macross then", as those things denote a sense of elitism and really in of themselves "give the bird" to folks who do like the various series but are already struggling with finances. An example is that I love Star Trek, but I am not able to put out 150 dollars or more for the 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise. Does that mean that I "must not like Star Trek"? No, and that's an unfair characterization of anyone who has an interest in a particular genre or topic. I was never able to buy the Moebius TOS Galactica, but instead reworked the Monogram version from the 80's. That doesn't make me any less of a fan of TOS BSG; it simply meant that I found a way to make masking tape, glue and plastic work to create the replica I wanted. Yes, the replicas now are indeed far more complex than their predecessors; that said, for those prices, the quality of the plastic and the manufacturing needs to come up. And if that is going to cost more money, then what exactly are we paying for in the first place? A complex replica that falls apart when stress is placed on a part? That's akin to building an advanced nuclear submarine, then using tinfoil for the hull and installing screen doors "as a safety measure". C'mon, what do you really think? If the replica is supposed to be that "high-end", then do what you're charging the money for and get it right to start with. A wing joint should not be busting apart just because it was moved as it was designed (this is Macross, not Iran trying to design a fighter for crying out loud!!). And if the quality is not going to be that great, then why the high price? It's not just complexity that is being paid for here: if I want complexity, I can simply write HTML or CSS on a piece of paper for free. There: instant complexity and it didn't cost me a dime. Onto another point (I know these are out of order, but unless the "Composition Police" pull me over, to blazes with it!!!), I think in the later series, some of the music and it's place has become a bit exaggerated and a bit inane. Sure, I liked DYRL, M@2,M+ and M7, and I liked much of the music. But an integral part of the story has always been the struggle, whether between cultures or between fighters. M+ had several one-on-one battles (in and out of mech) between two former friends over an incident in the past, and M2 was Ingues trying to turn Earth into a smear with his fleet. So I think Macross for all of us has different elements that we appreciate. But nowhere do I see the "Robotech Vs. Macross" debate coming in. I tend to think that accusation is often used (and overly so) when a difference of opinion is expressed on what the original show was about. So, with all of that stated (putting on my asbestos suit now and strapping on multiple layers of reactive/ ablative armor for the potential incoming combos of verbal Itano Circii, Beam Cannons, overtechnology super-dimension-energy cannon and possible Minmei Attack salvos. ): I sympathize with you greatly, Slaginpit. I understand the frustration you surely feel, and the anger at having something you treasure break on you. I also understand the frustration of trying to follow the series and seeing it move in a direction that was not what got you interested in Macross in the first place. I think a kind of fatigue can set in from all of that, and I wish I had better answers and a potential solution for you.

Well, the "pre-crash" ship is complete. Not much more I could do with it, and just debating on what price to sell it for. I would like to one day do a storm attacker of either the SDFM or DYRL version, if the opportunity presents itself.

I seriously need a pepsi, a 1/60 VF-1s and a 1/3000 Macross. Guess which one is the most likely to happen?

I read that quick and thought it said "Anti-IDIOT missiles"! ROFL!!! Meantime, I resumed work on my scratchbuilt Regult 1/72 scale (I hope!):

When HG is involved in something, it's going to be messed up, not to mention expensive as all get-out. Going to pass on this.

I think from the stern looks better, JMO. BTW: that ship just rocks!

"LOOKIT MAH PECS, PRIME!!!!"

Essentially it's own "Stand Alone Complex". I think a considerable issue here is that they are not getting the way that the world of GITS works and why. Every universe, bizarre as it may be, has something of a rhyme and reason to it, even if it doesn't make much sense to most folks. Things work a certain way, things exist the way they do for a reason, and characters are who they are and do what they do for reasons and events that shaped them (and continue to do so for some time to come). The movie makers tend to ignore this in many instances and force their own "story" on it that allows for explosions, "bullet time" scenes and whatnot and discard the sensibilities of the series to the wind. While I understand that some concessions do need to be made for the sake of the movie and the audience, too many or ones made in critical areas of the story will ruin what brought the idea to the table to begin with. Anime is not the same kind of "beast" that Hollywood is used to, and movies made of the series/ OVA's we love need to be handed in a much different way than your "average blockbuster". As for "borrowing scenes"; while that can help connect the movie, it's kind of like taking parts off a VF-1S to deck out another valkyrie: unless you know what the parts do and why, it's just taking what looks good and slapping it onto a very different "airframe" as so to speak. They scenes may look good and provide action and story, but without the underlying reasoning (as mentioned before) that operates their universe, it's just parts removed from a frame and pasted en-masse onto another frame of a different structure and reason. ...and if none of this makes sense, then it's the Pepsi throwback I drank tonight.

Thanks! Doing a bunch of these as a series; if there's anything folks would like to see, let me know.

Sounds mostly like just about every joint on my VF-1 Strike valk. The thing is: depending upon the age of the kit, the quality and the formula used in the polystyrene for the parts and whether or not the kit was stored in relatively stable conditions (mine had a few parts break due to them being discolored by sunlight (UV). There's a lot of factors that can cause a part to give out, and it's usually at the worst time for it and the worst place on the model for it to happen. But another issue can be the design of the part: some pieces don't have a lot of plastic to them to begin with. In those areas, they would probably be better served by replacing them with ABS (which Bandai still managed to screw up on their new version VF-1 series), rather than risk styrene's weaknesses. I've seen load/weight-bearing parts on kits look like someone took a power drill to the insides for whatever reason, while others you can understand why they were made that way. Regardless, as you had to do Big s: replace, modify, rebuild and continue. Then we get a soda and some chips and complain on the boards about it!

Try devcon plastic welder. I use it for all my work and it usually works. it's a two-part epoxy-like adhesive, but far stronger and not nearly as brittle.