Mog

Since the painting's done, here's a comparison shot with the original in fighter mode: Now for the bad news: When I transformed her into fighter, this sucker chipped more than Greg Norman on a Sunday. The worst culprits look to be the elbows, the shoulder pads, the bloody removeable knee pieces, and probably the upper thigh. Basically, parts that rub up against each other inside the underbelly were the worst hit. I also had a little bit of a chip on one of the moving intake parts (the one that caves in for the shoulder swing). Luckily though, most of the stuff that's really showing/exposed in fighter mode appears to be holding (except for the pivot joint underneath and behind the cockpit). Looks I'll be touching this sucker up after most transformations.

My own personal spin on the box cover pic :

Yes, that's what BMF stands for. Of course, if used as "That Millenium Falcon is one BMF!!," the abbreviation would stand for something else. Yeah, I saw the whole set-up at both Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. Didn't buy any of the figures though. Was tempted to buy the CW Grevious, but it looked like he had limited articulation. Snow Bunny Padme looked solid and well-articulated, but wouldn't have any place to put her in my collection. Sandstorm Luke? I already customized my own version of a DSII Luke, so there wasn't too much incentive for me to buy this latest version of the Jedi Luke. Honestly, at this point, there's only one figure (or set of figures) that I'd really buy from this year's SW figure releases. Going back to the BMF though, I saw one at TRU and the box for that sucker was HUGE!!!!!!!!! Seeing the sheer size of that thing put a big ol' grin on my face.

I'd like to think that Bale cribbed some notes from Kevin Conroy, the voice actor for Batman in the animated series. But yeah, Bale is solid in differentiating between Bat's and Playboy Bruce's personas. Still wish his Batman voice had more of that smooth lowness that Conroy delivers.......Bale's Batman voice is bit too gruff at times. Yes, LowViz, I noticed it was a bit long. But I really didn't mind. Made me walk out of the theater very satisfied and "full."

Sorry for the delays in responding. Been crazy these past few days (and it'll probably continue). I haven't put her into full fighter mode just yet. But I did post a pic of the bird in "limit break" mode in this gallery (Linky). Other than lacking the tailfins, legs and bellyplates, you can get a pretty good idea of how the Blackjack should look in fighter mode. Some spots have definitely chipped here and there. The elbows chipped, the underside connecting joint for the nose cone/cockpit section chipped, the left sliding portion of the leg (under the "pant cuff") chipped, and some of the parts behind the intakes that make up the back/shoulders are also chipping. I've added some extra helpings of touch-up paint to the spots, so we'll see how they hold up when I'm transforming her later this weekend. I might be done with the major painting. But I still need to sticker this puppy up properly and do up the FP's too. (I still have a surprise or two up my sleeve. ) So if anyone out there is still making custom stickers............HELP!!!

^^I don't know about you. But I'm usually seeing only Buzzers and the older comic packs at most places around me. The Joe items are definitely selling. But if Hasbro is worried about the risks involved with larger scale vehicles, they could always sell the bigger items as exclusives. It just bums me when I look at the Rattler and Conquest and think "toy." I'd rather those two be just a tad closer to scale with the figures.

Yes, I'll agree that LA has its share of problems (including idiot drivers that can't drive worth of sh*t when it rains). Also, the area's not as fast-paced as say a place like NYC, and most of the people that live here are aren't exactly know for being warm, friendly, or inviting. But as the movie Swingers so rightly puts it, the weather here is generally pretty damn good. Yes, it can get hot. Yes, it can get a bit nippy and cold. But compared to other parts of the country, the So. Cal weather is pretty damn consistent and good. There's something to be said about seeing a full sun all year round. Also, the variety of ethnic food around here is definitely up there. Maybe not the absolute best, but LA's definitely in the top five/top ten minimum.

Glad to see they're releasing Airborne and the Eels. But I'm in the same boat as Vermillion21: I just can't find these suckers anywhere near me. It's cool to see them re-release the old vehicles and stuff, but part of me wishes they would bust out newer, more in-scale vehicles. I'm mean, c'mon, Hasbro. You're releasing two big-ass vehicles for Star Wars this year (one of them being the BMF ). Is a large scale Skystriker or Night Raven really so out of the question? They would be a hells-to-the-bells yeah for many of us re-juveniles/collectors.

Okay, so I'm a little late in the game to give my reactions. Watched it last weekend, and absolutely loved it. For some strange reason, I feel quite satisfied with the movie and ain't clamouring for another sequel just yet. I think they could have easily tried to fit the Two-Face stuff into a third movie (maybe even throw in the grand face-off finale between Bats and the Joker in there too). But I'm glad they packed everything into this one film. Heath did a great job. His Joker had just the right mix of charismatic silliness and pyschotic menace to him. One minute, he acts like someone you could have a wickedly good time with. And the very next second, he scares the utter jeebies out of you! Definitely a good, multi-layered, and appropriate portrayal of the Joker. Also, the disappearing pencil and Bat's interrogation of Maroney were f'ng awesome!! ("This isn't high enough to kill me"......<release>) Great movie and great performances all around. See Hollywood; this is how you make an entertaining action movie that's richly complex and thought-provoking too!

I take it Toynami's display didn't list an ETA on when the Beta would be released?

As always, thanks for the glorious pics, Swoosh!! Got any lunch boxes you could add to this pic?

No, THIS is bad-ass! (Sorry about the paint chips )

^^You and me both!! Second Barrage was just wicked goodness! Now, you're telling me there's gonna be a third season! ...........

^^Still in process. I've added a few more pics in my Blackjack gallery (click linky here). It's currently just in "limit break" mode at the moment. I'll probably reattach the arms, legs, gunpods, and intake covers sometime this weekend. I'm sad to report that there has been some paint chipping here and there, mostly on the fuselage and intake assembly portions. This is probably because I wanted to reassemble everything and didn't wait long enough after spray-painting to let things dry properly. That and the touch-up paint didn't hold up all that well. But the chipping is not too obvious or glaring just yet. Also, after two full transfomations back and forth, it looks like the backpack paint is holding up pretty well. Even though I still need some other stickers printed (especially for the tailfins and fast packs), I applied some leftover Spacy kite stickers I found lying around. A few tips for folks crazy enough to attempt this: * When reassembling the top part of the intakes (the part that has yellow and blue, not the intake/turbine itself), be mindful of the screw that you're using. You should use the thinnest screw you have for that section. I stupidly used one of the thicker screws and wound up sorta stripping the screw hole. * Pay attention to which grey shoulder swing piece you're reattching to the body. After disassembling the whole upper arm portion again (thinking I somehow screwed up reassembling arm and shoulder section), I realized all I had to do was switch the grey shoulder swing pieces between the left side and right side of the body. In other words, I attached the left grey shoulder swing piece on the right side, instead of the left!

"Alright.............we'll call it a draw!!"

^^The problem is that I have a custom design for the squad markings. ...And I've gotta put an image of Mog (the FF6 character) somewhere on the cockpit fuselage too. But I'll have to mull over the decals........I'm just not very good with applying those blasted things.

Yup, I PM'ed him before I posted my requests in the threads. He said that he might make some stickers once he gets the -21 in hand. But he stated that he didn't make custom individual stickers (pilot names, numbers, etc.). It's a bummer about the custom/individualized stickers, but I understand and am cool with it.