Mog

Actually, the trim is silver instead of gold. (Don't worry; I'm sure the lighting was just playing tricks with the color.) I'm finishing up the photoshoot with the bird (All three modes, BTW). I'll post a thread either later tonight or tomorrow.

"Which is it gonna be, son? The left one or the right one?"

After 3+ months, she's finally done. All the painting and stickering is finally finished*.........Blackjack!! I'm working on doing a full-up photoshoot of the bird. But in the meantime, I've posted a couple of new battroid pics in the gallery link above. Enjoy! * (does not include the occasional paint-chip touch-up ).

Nothing. Haven't seen the latest TRU 3-packs either. Checked a couple of TRU's and Wally's Worlds today (Kinda passed on checking out the local Targets). Anyone in So. Cal. ever see a Black-Headed Destro comic pack out in the wild? Every single one I see is always the gold-headed one.

I've got an issue with that first paragraph above. Do you pay rent? Do you pay a mortgage? Do you pay bills, such as phone, cell, cable, water, heating, or electric? Do you pay for gasoline or public transportation? Do you go to the grocery store or market to purchase food? Regardless of how crappy the economy may be, you can't not spend some chunk of your money and have it circulate back into the economy. And just because people don't spend doesn't mean that money is just being hoarded somewhere. Realistically, the funds are probably in a bank or some other investment, earning the wise saver some interest or return. As for the funds themselves, the bank or the investment are probably using that money as a loan to a homeowner or to help a business turn a profit. In other words, just because you don't spend doesn't mean the money isn't eventually going back into the economy. Getting back on topic, how much do most folks here spend on toys in a year? (A monthly number probably varies too much because toy releases are sporadic on a month-to-month basis.) Without asking for percentages or anything, is that toy fund amount a huge chunk of your annual take-home pay?

For that price, that thing better be able to raise its arms and pop out its guns! If it did that, I could think of some dastardly things to do to unwanted trick-or-treaters......or annoying house-guests.

I don't think we'll get cheaper toys until the cost of oil drops down to something a bit more reasonable. All those transportation costs for getting the goods here--whether they be by plane, boat, or truck--adds up in the end. (It kinda sucks the fun out of the hunt too when you come up empty-handed and used up your own precious gas in the process.) Yeah, with this B.S. recession upon us, I might think twice about purchasing some high-ticket toys (that Beta bastard in my avatar being the exception). And don't even get this accountant started about this whole economic situation and bailout......Stupid investment firms crying about having to mark their crappy mortgage derivatives to fair market value.........FRAK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't see you crying when that same fair market value was generating profits upon profits for you a few years ago!! (Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) Getting back to toys, the good thing is that I've never been a completist, and I've become pretty selective these past few years about the toys I buy. These are two traits that aren't necessarily bad things to adopt during these rought times. When you add in the fact that most information about upcoming toys is fairly easy to find here on the Internet and that most toy companies wind up being a bit late with their releases anyways, you can plan earlier enough (and save some money) to make those select few toy purchases a little easier on your wallet.

Unfortunately, I'm a stubborn ass about decals. Never could place them all that well back in the day. And I still stink at applying them now. Oh well, it's been fun experimenting with these stickers (in a glutton-for-pain kinda way ). I applied the pilot name stickers and they looked solid as hell. Unfortunately, my grubby, sweaty fingers mucked up the lettering. I've further refined my so-called "technique." So, now the designs are a little better protected, and I don't have to handle the -21 with kid gloves that much. Unfortunately, the stickers now have a little bit of a glossy sheen to 'em now. Oh well, I can live with it. Deceptively simple, yet nicely understated. I like it!

I think if Luca had to do it all over again, he'd name 'em: * Nanase LB * Nanase RB * Nanase C And instead of the Judah System, he'd refer to releasing the Ghosts as "Unhooking the Straps." I know...

Picked up the Imperial Knights comic pack yesterday. Cool little pair of buggers. Hate to say it, but these were the only SW figures I've been itching to buy this whole year. No doubt it's been an awesome year for vehicle fans. But the action figure side of things has been a little lacking at times. It still amazes me that Hasbro takes FOREVER to release the figures that most fans are often clamoring for (such as DSII Luke and Bastila).

Zero Booster, Guldkill, and Vajra Fodder => For their most memorable appearances in Macross. OR Earth, Wind & Fire.

Being the idiot perfectionist that I am, I actually took this one off (I didn't cut the top edge properly). I'm just printing these off of my regular old inkjet. They don't look too bad on top of grey or relatively light colored spots. But trying to put these stickers on the black parts hasn't been working out too well. It's definitely been a learning experience trying to get these right. First, I tried to print out some light-grey stickers, but it was ridiculously hard to see 'em on the Blackjack. Then, I tried a sneaky method to white-back some of the lighter stickers (using those little white-out/correction tape mechanical rolling thingies). But trying to remove the excess white background was messy and didn't leave stickers looking all that nice. Just a few hours ago, I tried an even sneakier method. This one involved using the correction tape method above and printing the light-colored stickers with a black background. I'm letting them dry right now. If it works out, I'll post some pics.