mechaninac

7 hours ago, Thom said:

Maybe, McStabme, because that's probably what's going to happen.

Soooo.... Wielder's Bane? 

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Man, I don't need figures considering the scale, but I would love to see anyone tackle B5 ships in literally any format.   Probably far too huge to be marketable, but a 1/18 Starfury would be insane to see.

I keep hoping Master Replicas will announce a ship collection from that, there are just so many designs to pull from that series.

 

SA-23E Starfury Aurora, SA-32A Starfury Thunderbolt, Narn Frazi Heavy Fighter, Minbari Nial Fighter... all would be nearly impossible to pass up, but a more manageable 1/32-1/35 would be preferable.

From the B5 Tech Manual (even 1/35 would be huge):

SA-23E - L 9.56m x W17.87m = 53.11cm x 99.28cm at 1/18, 27.31cm x 51.05cm at 1/35  --  20.91" x 39.09" / 10.75" x 20.10"

SA-32A - L 15.54m x W18.70 (airfoils deployed) = 86.33cm x 1.04m at 1/18, 44.40cm x 53.43cm at 1/35 -- 33.99" x 40.95" / 17.48" x 21.04"

Frazi - L 15.80m x W (not given) = 87.78cm x (?) at 1/18, 45.14cm x (?) at 1/35 -- 34.56" x (?) / 17.77" x (?)

Nial - L 22.00m x W (not given) = 1.22m x (?) at 1/18, 62.86cm x (?) at 1/35 -- 48.03" x (?) / 24.75" x (?)

25 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

... Also a Cylon Raider.

At 1/18-3.75" scale?...   ... THAT WOULD BE HUGE!..  I wouldn't know where to put such a monster and it would cost a lot, but I want one... 

3 hours ago, tekering said:

 

As opposed to the 1978 technique of reusing the same six model shots in every single episode? 😛

The original series was just so compromised by technical limitations, budget cutbacks, broadcast standards and practices, and television executive oversight, it's a miracle that it lasted as long as it did... until it became so unwatchable ABC canned it for good in 1980.  Ironically, NBC made the same mistake that same year, retooling Buck Rogers in the 25th Century for its second season, with results almost as disastrous. 🫣

NuBSG, on the other hand, was so successful it not only completed its entire five-season epic, it spun off several TV movies, a prequel series, and a web series... and regardless of whether it satisfied your personal expectations, you certainly can't deny the universal acclaim it's received.

So say we all!

 

Methinks you read too much into what I stated.  I made zero claims regarding SFX/CGI quality or any statement as to which series was superior.  All I commented on was the overuse, not the overall use, of the shaky cam and rapid zooming employed by Zoic Studios, in response to @Thom; their work was outstanding but those techniques did become VERY gimmicky and would've benefitted greatly from more judicious use, in my opinion; that's all.

Given the primitive state of SFX/miniature compositing at the time and all the other constraints and network shenanigans you mentioned, it is a downright miracle they were able to create and deliver what they did, when they, on time for a broadcast schedule that was far more demanding in number of episodes and release schedules than what has become the modern norm, and you can't really fault them for the heavy reuse of canned SFX footage... it was, after all, the budget-conscious SOP (from before the original Star Trek to roughly midway through Voyager) up until CGI became cost effective.  To this day, I still think it was a missed opportunity on Zoic's and RDM's part not to include the Turbo Boost effect (it was visceral and visually striking) in their Vipers' bag of tricks; that the original miniature artists did it, and how they accomplished it, deserves high praise.

1 hour ago, Thom said:

For the most part, the visuals were great, but I hate shaky cam! Or the sudden, rapid zoom-in, as if I have telescopic vision. In comparison, that's not so bad, but just hold the dang camera steady!

It would have been infinitely better if they had used the shaky cam and quick zoom-ins sparingly to emphasize very specific sequences in only a few episodes per season, to sell the dynamism and intense chaotic nature of certain engagements of high significance, instead of turning the techniques into overused gimmicks.  

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Will any of you try to defend Galactica 1980? 😝

It did have 1 memorable episode worthy of consideration as a true classic:  The Return of Starbuck.

24 minutes ago, F18LEGIOSS2 said:

I would like to learn and master SolidWorks within five weeks. Do you have any tips or recommended learning resources to help me achieve this? I intend to use it for designing fishing lures and my beloved Legioss

Start with YouTube.  There is an incredible variety of overviews, introductions for beginners and tutorials... and the best part is that it is all free.

Another iconic classic sci-fi design that is more than worth a mention, and has appeared in several media and iterations since its debut is Forbidden Planet's most memorable supporting actor, and coolest automaton to ever come out of Hollywood, the unique and unequalled Robby the Robot.

Honorable mention to the classic B9 from Lost in Space

All the hardware in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The designs are distilled perfection for "realistic" near future (now, laughably optimistic given that the story depicts fictional events 1/4 century in our past) technology, some of which has become reality while others remain in the realm of attainable fantasy.  They are all so iconic that they inspired miniature work and film making for decades to come until the (unfortunate?) advent of CGI.

Still too much moolah for what it is.  Personally waiting until it hits the $115-120ish range before pulling the trigger on this.  If it never happens, I'll just make do with my Yamato 1/60... fomo has always taken a very distant spot compared to roi in my book.

28 minutes ago, Roy Focker said:

I'm sorry but all this is just AI slop.

It makes for some pretty screen grabs and looks good in short clips, but it is just slop. There are cuts every few second because the technology isn't there for a longer takes. Resulting in bad edit. Actors look and sound the part, but performances are robotic. These hacks are capitalizing off of fan nostalgia more than Disney is. Using AI to give fans what they wanted to see back in 1990 with the original actors. It is nice to see a young Luke Skywalker again but that's the only good these things going for them.

Remember when fan films were actually real films.

 

The quality isn't there, yet; however, consider just how much the technology has improved in such a short period of time and extrapolate how much better they will become in 2, 5, 10 years.  This IS the democratization of entertainment production, where fans with modest resources, technical know-how and authentic passion for the material will supplant any of the intentional slop that studios, regardless of the amount of money they throw at a project, decide to plop on the troughs of their ever-dwindling audiences... Disney, et al, are in trouble due to their own arrogance and disdain for the IPs they manage and the legacy fans thereof.

Besides, good intentions and passion aside, the vast majority of real fan films have always been very low quality and cringe beyond description, which make the rare good ones shine like precious jewels.

11 minutes ago, Thom said:

Sounds like everyone behind the scenes need to go back to school.

That's where they "learned" to write and produce such dreck...

8 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

Would be funny if bandai kneejerked to the backlash and sales numbers and decided to make changes, but only on the 17D, because its too late to mess with the 17S. So the two look vastly different lol 🤡

Bandai's goal is to amortize as much of the VF-171 tooling as possible, which is why their VF-17 looks lanky instead of beefy as it should, so I absolutely doubt they will make any changes at all to address any of the criticisms levied on their rendition, be it for the upcoming S variant or a future D version; although, it would be funny if they did.

Just consider Bandai's contemporary interpretation as a design reimagining/retcon instead of an honest attempt -- like their original chunky or Yamato's -- at a faithful representation.

Hobby Search https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11282596

50 minutes ago, TangledThorns said:

Watched the original TRON on D+ last night and for the first time it felt dated and kinda lost my nostalgia for it too. I think ARES is to blame for that loss of nostalgia.  

What modern Disney does to all IPs under its umbrella has that effect on all the OG stuff.  I, for one, find it extremely hard (more like impossible) to watch the original and prequal Star Wars trilogies precisely because of the extreme bad taste the sequel travesty has left in its wake; same goes for Marvel... not even the good stuff predating the Rat is any fun to watch anymore.  It's a real shame that in their arrogance they broke the chain of good will, wonder and nostalgia that built those franchises into the juggernauts they once were.

4 hours ago, treatment said:

As of this posting,  it seems this DX Fire Valk is being heavily discounted to even lower than 22k-yen by 3rd-party sellers at amzn.jp, but only if you are a jp resident:

 

As such and as of this posting time, amz-jp is selling it for 26.644y plus shipping-fees:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0F62BC2MB

 

here's the breakdown if I wanted to import it...

Around US$257 at current exchange-rate shipped.  

I'm still not pulling the trigger on this DX Kai even at that shipped pricing, tho...

 

 

 

If it were a Blazer VF-19S/F, then a strong maybe, but a Kai... hard pass.

TRON - ARES... it's Tronin' time.

ARES is also an anagram for a much more appropriate word descriptor where this movie is concerned.

2 hours ago, enphily said:

another teaser

Know what?...  I don't hate it but I don't like it enough to buy one.

The Rotten Rat getting its filthy mittens on Anime, more than likely to bestow its now-infamous brand of "tender loving care" upon it like they did with Star Wars and Marvel and Willow and Indiana Jones and many more, fills me with dread for this most-Japanese art form and story telling.

By no means is this immediate distrust uniquely relegated to Disney; every American studio has had a terrible track record on this front, be it animation or live action:  For every Alita or One Piece, there are dozens of examples of complete (on many levels) failures.

5 minutes ago, TangledThorns said:

But why?

Some easy money... lord knows, most new movies aren't cutting it in paying the bills.

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

Avatar: Cold Hard Cash.

Given Current Hollywood, that is pretty much the only franchise/IP that is making good on that goal... 

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Battlestar Galactica.

 

I haven't been into anything of this sort, other than the rare automotive diecast, in years but this has my undivided interest, so much so that I can taste it. 🤤

The one thing that gives me pause is the sticker price on that glorious Viper...

8 hours ago, m0n5t3r said:

HMR Reactive Armor is the only thing left I want from MacZero... Maybe an Ivanov too. 

Octos and Cheyenne would be very nice too...

Major pipedream; we all know those will NEVER happen; heck, we're still waiting for the Tomahawk and Phalanx from OG Macross to see the light of day.  

I'd call it a cash grab if, given the gag in the original, that wasn't the entire self-aware point...