Major Focker

1/700 ARMD, Prometheus, Daedalus, Asuka, Uraga, Guantanamo with their respective 1/700 valk complement 1/144 valks 1/144 strategic bomber from M+ 1/72 GBP i'd go for a 1/72 monster too, but also a VB-6 shuttle, maybe in 144 and dammit, gerwalk of any valk in any scale!

love the pose on that new sheryl, but the face seems a little too angelic. reminds me of the yamato 1/10 minmay. i can't put a finger to it, but it's probably the eyes. sheryl is naughtier, haughtier and hotter. i don't get that from the face sculpt. i actually liked the face on the bandai sheryl prototype, but it didn't translate into the production version which ended up with a blank stare. i'm probably just blabbing and will end up getting this anyway, making it my 6th.

there was a subbed 1080p version that came out around the same time. i downloaded it, about 4gb if i recall, but haven't watched it yet to compare with the 720p.

+1 each on Equilibrium and Ultraviolet for some reason that trailer made me think of playstation move

ah, seems they got the dub right the first time. wonder why they had to mess with it for season 2

floppy- check. the worst part is the crotch lock. if not posed right it too easily bends over backwards, particularly with the super packs attached to the wings. without the packs, it's poseable enough but not satisfyingly solid inaccurate- check. chubby battroid. fighter is decent if not for wings canted upwards instead of level, though still doesn't lock together quite well enough defective- the packs fall off if you look at them funny. i would consider that a design defect. the white markings rub off easily. i consider that a production defect perhaps this is a bit unfair to the 27. it's not only good in comparison to the 25, it's that good compared to other valk releases in general. for me at least, it edged ahead of the VF-11 as the most well-made valk

david's right, get the 27. although the 25 is somewhat more acceptable without the fast packs. but if you must get a 25 and you like the tornado version, keep an eye out for the upcoming VF-25G with complete tornado parts.

mama Mio! now i gotta watch it too speaking of K-On, just started on the second season airing on Animax. didn't like them changing Azusa's dub to a screechy, much younger voice. i liked it in the 1st season when she sounded mature despite her appearance/age. is Azusa's original Japanese voice young or mature?

i would've picked this up in a heartbeat had i not already gotten the BR ultimate edition (the one that came with a smaller spinner, something like 5 versions of the film, and came in a faux suitcase). so now i'm really struggling to justify getting this new release, what with the strong yen and all, and BD generally higher priced in Japan. is this a Japan only release or might it find it's way to Amazon US? if it does, hopefully it'll be priced more similarly to the Watchmen release that came with the Owl ship replica (~$100 or so)

i'm starting to understand now why some people like 1/48 for planes. really like the HUD display

sadly no close up shots of the bridge. that was one area of concern in the previous prototype pics where the bridge looked gummy/gashapon-like. overall though, it looks nice, but a bit too clean. hope they would tone down the colors particularly on the ARMDs and the feet. i like that they've made some parts look metallic and how some of the "machinery" peeks through the crevices. the light colored parts though are sorely in need of paint detailing. c'mon yamato, the wave SDF had paint-simulated panels/plating and it was nearly half as small!

i'm wondering more if there is something different with the 25G ie. updates or improvements on the main valk. did they change anything on the alto tornado? also, why would the 25G Tornado be Y2,500 more expensive than the alto tornado? more attachments? i recall the alto tornado had 2 different releases of tornado parts. presumably the 25G will have both sets? maybe i'm hoping for too much. i'm very interested in this release since i don't have a 25G yet (but ironically, already have the Galia Fold set). nearly pulled the trigger on a 25G on ebay a few days ago.

yup, after watching the anime i've backtracked to the first manga and have been following it for a couple of years now. i agree, things seem to be coming to a head in the next issues

loved claymore too. if you do get the bluray, could you let us know if they tweaked anything (eg. like frontier which had some visual upgrades)?

the panny lens i'm considering is f5.6 at 300mm(600mm equivalent) so it shouldn't be an issue. theoretically speaking, the m43 format is stronger on the long tele end because of the 2x crop factor, a boon in this case, but a bane on the short end ie. need to go really wide angle (9mm lenses) for landscapes or very fast (sub f2) for shallow DOF/focus isolation.

it's almost certainly a corrupted download. i've had that happen to me a few times. i've had some luck getting KM Player to at least open the file when VLC and MPC fail, but still it would inevitably hang at some point. unfortunately, you're only recourse really is to redownload. and if you're going to do that, i would suggest trying it from a different source altogether, in case it was the file itself that was broken and not the download process.

many, many thanks keith! this is immensely useful. i had an inkling that i was merely scratching the surface. this proves i was, and barely at that. i also came in expecting a flight sim type whereas i should've been approaching it as a mech game like ZoE (yet another game i'm praying will make it to PS3). while i'm dreaming, i hope the full game will miraculously have english dub, mainly because i want to know what the support characters are shouting at me. speaking of support characters, i didn't notice their VFs doing much. maybe they were clearing out some of the enemies but i couldn't see, heck i don't even know if i've been raining friendly fire on them (maybe that accounts for the shouting). i just shoot anything that moves

thanks keith. that helps a lot! just a few more questions: - block. presumably to minimize damage, but only good against melee attacks? - turn off targeting. you mean to disengage or to turn off auto aim? is auto aim always on and it's really just a shoot and dodge affair? - any incentive/s to use fighter or battroid? thanks again.

just started playing today, and i'm a little lost. ok, so i must be doing something right since i got S for most of the missions except the first when i was still groping around and the last vajra mission where i died because none of my shots seem to be landing. the thing is, i don't know exactly what i'm doing right, so i hope someone would be kind enough to clarify some things for me, or better yet point me to a resource where i can find gameplay instructions. ok, so i declare myself an idiot and here are my questions: - when i get a missile warning i just wiggle the stick and boost randomly. seems to work most of the time, but is there a better way to dodge, perhaps more predictably? how can i tell where the missiles are coming from? can i release chaff or shoot down the missiles? is there a window where i can do something before someone gets a missile lock on me? - holding down circle seems to select multiple targets and locks missiles on them. is there a way to just lock on to one target? how can i tell when i've achieved missile lock? does the orientation of my plane have an effect on the locking? - hitting square sends bullets towards the enemy seemingly in auto-target fashion. sometimes it hits, sometimes not. is there a way to influence % of hits, perhaps by distance or orientation? how do i know if a target is within range of my guns in the first place? and how do i know how much ammo i have left, or missiles for that matter? - how do i use the beam weapons on the ozma and tornado? how are they different? does the 25g have a sniper mode and is it useful? noticed that the 25g doesn't rapid fire so instead i have to hold down square a short while then release to fire. so does holding down square have something to do with charging the shot? or is it about locking for guaranteed hits? - in the vajra mission i noticed a reticle showing up when using guns but i can't seem to control it. initially my shots were auto-targeting as usual but at midpoint of the mission my shots just seem to be going everywhere except at the target. what gives? and how can i use the beam cannon (or whatever it's called)? - R2 seems to rotate my plane, what exactly is it for? how about triangle, the d-pad, and other shoulder buttons (except for R1 which i figured out was for target lock) - fighter mode seems to be useful only for closing distance, and otherwise a difficult mode to use given the gunpod doesn't seem to auto target unless facing the enemy head on. and battroid seems to make you a sitting duck, so i'm almost always in gerwalk. am i missing some advantages of the other modes? - saw on youtube some players pulling out the knife and charging the enemy. how do i do that? is it a special attack and are there others? also noticed the word "grapple" on the mission end summary. what is it? haven't played with the setup screens at all, so i'll probably save that for next barrage of questions. in the meantime really appreciate any guidance. i'm pretty sure i'm missing a lot of the gameplay subtleties. thanks in advance.

sorry, i meant football field, so yeah around 50m. but was just basing that off the venue seatplan. it's a stadium and we got the lower seats a bit to the side of the stage. now that i think about it though, i'll probably be farther than that when i consider the offset of the field to the seats as well as the elevation. so i guess i'll really have to go for 600mm. thanks for the tips. i'll be sure to bring at least a monopod, or a tripod if i can sneak one in.

i'd be happy with just full body shots, though half-body would be great! will 600mm afford me that? sorry, i really have no idea when it comes to telephoto. my longest lens right now is only 84mm equivalent so i really can't imagine how the field of view will look like at 3x or 6x that length. thanks for the advice. i googled a bit more on the panny 100-300 and it seems to have a release date of nov8 on amazon. i wonder how long after that when it becomes available in singapore?

need some advice, particularly from those who shoot sports or events. i'm heading to sydney this december to watch the U2 concert and was hoping to try out telephoto shooting. tacky i know, i should just enjoy the concert, but still i'd like to have some shots as a souvenir. i estimate i will be half a field away, so my question is, at that distance what focal length (in 35mm equivalent) do i need to have full body shots of the performers to nearly fill the frame? i'm using an Olympus PEN (micro 4:3 format with 2x crop factor) and considering either the Olympus 40-150(80-300mm eqv) and the Panasonic 45-200(90-400mm eqv), both are f4-5.6 although the latter is half the price but twice the weight. will either of these lenses suffice? or do i need to go longer? there is the Panasonic 100-300(200-600mm eqv) but not sure if it will be available in singapore by early december. which of the 3 to get? thanks thanks. i also use a tripod and timed shutter release but never get that level of sharpness. guess it boils down to lens resolution. can't wait for a micro4:3 HG lens

thanks eugimon. wizartar, wow those look sharp, both the models and the photos. what do you use?

ironically, my BR arrives the morning after i've succumbed to watching the downloaded version. here's my film strip: was hoping for a sheryl but i think this is also a pretty nice scene. i think they were on the tram just after alto confided his fears and ranka consoled him. as for the movie, i thought it was a mess. i think they tried to cram in too much of the series rather than letting the new stuff really take flight. but more on that in the other thread.

Lensbaby finally came out with version of the Composer on micro fourthirds mount so I immediately got one for my Olympus Pen. It also came with a tilt adaptor for use with Nikon lenses which affords a selective slice of focus. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a Nikon lens, so for now I'm just toying with the glass it came with which gives a circular sweet spot of focus you can move around the frame. It's also a decent portrait lens as it is 80mm f1.6, but more interestingly the shape of the bokeh can be changed with a aperture discs that come with star or heart shaped cutouts, or you can design you own. So I put some Christmas lights against a dark background, dialed down to ISO100 and shot in bursts to catch the lights on the blink, and voila! or rather kira! some Sheryl love: