Uxi

Maybe being an actual US Marine colored my perceptions... but these guys were ridiculous in their (lack of) discipline, from the few episodes I saw. Not quite as bad as Aliens (shudder), though. Particularly the clone guy seemed really... insolent and maverick instead of a team player.

Hmm... I just skimmed... and haven't clicked the links... but is this the whole series? I always thought it was like boku discs (and thus bucks, from my browsing of the bootlegs on ebay and such). I loved Battle of the Planets as a kid...but I want to start at the beginning and get the whole (original Japanese) original treatment and story (supposedly more mature) and all that...

Oh yeah, FWIW, Jedi IS possible for a casual player, it will just take awhile. Right now, I have no ambition on that... supposedly a future publish is gonna switch the system yet again (supposedly to a Master-Apprentice relationship) and quest-based rather than grind based, but that remains to be seen... Right now I'm content to finish up piloting (almost to Rebel Ace). The space game is easily as good as the X-Wing games, though not as versatile in the missions, there are many more playable craft and you get your choice of factions (semi-independent of the ground game). A bunch of guys from my work switched from Galaxies to City of Heroes (which I didn't skip to) and are now all on WoW. I did the trial of WoW, but thought it was too cartoony. I also didn't like the mechanics much. Galaxies has the best "player economy" (indeed not much option to be a pure non-combat "civilian" in any other game like there is with Galaxies), and the best combat system IMO. The missions are far better in WoW and some of the detail and content is superior. Galaxies tends to get stuck in a rut that WoW avoids...

At first, I was irked by the CU. I liked the mechanics (better than before, in fact) but felt the conversion shafted existing players (at least myself). And I hate level-based games... Being a casual player (usually only have time for a couple hours on the weekends), I hate the "grind" but you can get xp very very fast in a good group so I'm back to using my wonderful T21 rifle and got the nifty looking new Rebel Assault Armor to boot. Here's a pic with my droid and new ride...

Did Qui-Gon discover it? Or did he RE-discover it? In either case, he never claims to "invent" the ability (indeed the novelization indicates he explicitly studied the works of others). Besides, who's to say Qui-Gon's spirit wasn't whispering to Anakin as he died? Or that being the "Chosen One" wouldn't let him (re)discover the ability as Qui-Gon apparently did? The OT old man doesn't even have hair under the mask. And since the "ghost" doesn't exist anymore except as a reflection of Hayden, this is a non-issue.

SAAB was silly having pilots do that grunt work. Not that folks couldn't be trained to do both... just seems like a waste of time and resources to have pilots pulling that double duty. Of course, SAAB also completely screwed up the discipline aspect of the "Marines" on the show. One thing that always irked me was the haircuts. No way would that clone guy be able to get away with that kind of bushy mop on his head. As far as "the derailing." Marines tend to be more disciplined, better trained, in better shape, and more highly motivated than equivalent Army doggies (just compare the lengths and intensity of training for comparative MOS).

I picked up my Shadow last night from Frank & Sons for $70. Not bad at all. I also have the green one (two in fact), as well, and think these things are pretty good toys. They kinda suck to transform due to all the collapsing areas (the chest is the hardest to get right IMO, followed closely by getting the tops of the legs into the pegs). The winglet /canards on the cockpit sides seem dangerous to me, too (though not as much as the 1/48 backpack hinge). As far as the Shadow, seems sturdy and I like the hands/claws. I transformed it a couple times last night after getting home. The Destabilizer gun thingy seems too low in fighter mode but the peg goes in nicely. Everything is nice and tight. At first I didn't think stickers would be right and then I saw the colors and am pretty sure I'm gonna do it now. Toynami sure beats Yamato in the sticker category, though they don't touch that guy on here who does the customs (if only his were pre-cut, i'd have loads of them). Now bring on the Beta/Tread!

I think they're pretty good. Sad part is that they (well Bandai) got fighter mode down better than Yamato IMO.

Who cares what Kawamori thinks? The Macross II mecha would make incredible toys. I know I'd want at least two Metal Sirens and I'd probably be willing to pay 1/48 prices for a well articulated, accessorized 1/60 scale... That and a Phalanx-II would be highest on my list, followed by VF-2SS and Marduk / new Zentran & Meltran Mecha.

By itself, no? By selling his soul? The ironic nature of which is what dooms his family. Moreover, Anakin just wasn't just any man, he was a Jedi. There is no middle ground, they're either good or bad. He chose bad and became his families doom rather than salvation. That he was never supposed to have a family to begin with, and he knew that and did it anyway was the underlying roots of the problem. A1 would make a good Sith. The ends justify the means... The Jedi view would be that their means justify the end. As Anakin's tortured fate was justified by the wickedness he chose to embrace.

Yeah... that's why I always thought it would have been better for Obi-Wan to let himself fall down the shaft from Maul, who would realize the gig is up and that the Jedi Counciil is coming and split. Would have been a good homage to The Empire Strikes Back, too. Then Maul would have been largely in the shadows in Attack of the Clones or it would have been 2 on 2 in the hangar (Anakin vs Dooku and Obi-Wan versus Maul). Then Maul would take the Grevious role in Revenge of the Sith.

No, that's not true. Anakin wanted to defy the natural order of things and keep the people he loved from passing out of his life, but that's just not possible. All of us must ultimately face the fact of our mortality and those we love and Anakin refused to do this. Anakin made a pact with the devil and sold his soul in the vain hope that Sidious' deceitful delusion of being stronger than death was real and that he wasn't just being manipulated by the true evil. In doing so, Anakin's good nature was twisted into evil. And that's what the prequels were all about and why Lucas picked Anakin to be a little boy in Episode I: he wanted to show how a good selfless child with good intentions is twisted into a whiny and wreckless apprentice and on the eve of being the galaxy's greatest hero is perverted into it's greatest villain. He's corrupted by power he should have never been trained to use. It was Vader who becamed the Emperor's thug, killing and sowing destruction while the Emperor himself played the coy hermit. The correct Nazi model for Vader is not Rommel or the head of Auchwitz, but rather more along the lines of someone utterly despicable and wicked like Heinrich Himmler.

Duel of the Fates > Luke vs Vader RotJ > Obi-Wan vs Anakin > Yoda vs Sidious > Obi-Wan vs Maul > Mace vs Sidious > *

As the saying goes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and this is how it is with Anakin. Anakin means to do good and tries for many years but ultimately he succumbs to selfishness desire to keep those he loves alive. Forever. It's always been about him and not his loved ones at all. His lust for power to defy the natual order corrupts himself, especially once he decides to forgo his Jedi restraint . His twisted ideas that the Jedi are the evil ones are founded only in Sidious' morally relativistic deceit and erroneous justification of the actions caused by his own wicked selfishness. Anakin BECAME evil, mostly over the course of Ep 3, though the seeds were sown in Attack of the Clones and foretold in the Phantom Menace. Rainbot, Yoda didn't understand what was happening with Qui-Gon and immortality until Revenge of the Sith, indeed not until after his confrontation with Darth Sidious. Oh and Knight26, Midichlorians have NEVER been explained as causation of the Force, only as correlation. It's merely a fancy psuedo-biological way to say "the Force is strong in my family..."

Hmm... is this gonna part of the next RT series?

I'm gonna probably pass on this one, actually. Too out of proportion to me and I'm just not THAT big of a fan (and I cringe at the thought of trying to get the missiles in if they're like the 1/48 FAST packs). The 1/60 GBP I have suits me just fine.

Heh, doesn't matter if it's limited or not. Just like the Low Viz I'll get mine when it comes and probably follow with a second before it's too late.

Heh, I remember getting my Low Viz from HLJ for probably 130... and maybe 30 more for the fast packs? Ah the days before the dollar started falling. Don't worry it'll come back around, it always does.

Awesome. Anyone else might have something to fear from Mod reprisal from that post.

But yeah, boiling water. There are sites for customizing SW figs in which "boil and pop" is one of the FAQ procedures.

F/A-22. Cool. Best production fighter evAr. Drone things: Look neat. Are these going to be intended for air to air. Airshow disaster bit: Ok to keep the tape until the guy brought up military service. Uncouth to brag about it. Worthless to mention military service in this context unless one has a combat action ribbon to back it up.

off the top of my head: 1) TIE Defender. Thing exudes the coolness of the TIE fighter but the firepower and ability to to match anything the Rebels have. 2) Original B5 Starfury. Cool "realistic" YPR 3-axis movement. 3) new Jedi Starfighter (Eta 2 Arctis something or the other). At first I liked the sleek lines of the Attack of the Clones one better, but this one has grown on me. 4) Colonial Vipers from the original Battlestar Galactica. Yeah they were kinda an X-wing rip off, but that booster was pretty cool. 5) Vorlon 'red baron' from an Episode of B5. Chews up shadows and flies right through them. Literally.

Oh and as far as the sequel trilogy, I think it'd be about Luke trying to save his son from the dark side. Lucas has no doubt tossed back and forth on whether he'd actually do it (as that linked site shows out - the folks on USENET compiled something even more comprehensive than that IIRC). I have no doubt there's a rough outline of the story that would be fleshed out and detailed (along with a corresponding EU) should they ever be given the green light. And even if Lucas doesn't pull a Kubrick and make films until he's 90 (I could easily see him taking 10-15 years off, raising his grandchildren, and then deciding he wants to do the sequel trilogy), his kids would probably pull a Christopher Tolkien after he's dead and dig up his notes. Just like with Tolkien, for the EU haters versus EU fans, too many would argue over early draft ideas that can't be reconciled with what the author himself would have eventually decided on.

One thing to think about is that Stover had a lot MORE in the novelization, but the Revenge of the Sith novelization is supposedly one that Lucas himself edited for content personally. I think the scene as filmed and released got that point across, though far more subtley between the finished Gunship scene and where Obi-Wan tells Anakin about his assignment. Anakin's moment of decision is a third in the Jedi Council chambers and a second-third when he chops off Mace's hand, and the rest when he affirms that decision and pledges himself to Sidious' training. These decisions are echoed later on with Luke. As far as Obi-Wan leaving Anakin on the lava bank... He had tried to reason with him but was denied, with spite, even after Anakin was helpless. The difference between a Jedi and a Sith is that a Jedi cherishes life and will not take the life of his defeated enemy, like Anakin did with Dooku/Tyranus. Nor would Luke do with Anakin/Vader.

Tolkien and Lucas DID similar things and assimilated existing mythologies into the synthesis of their own works. Tolkien used his passion for linguistics to flavor the cultures of his work while Lucas used his passion for filmaking. There the similarities end, both with each other and with the inspired works. These works are unique, though, and not derivative of the earlier bodies.