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F-ZeroOne

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  1. F-ZeroOne
    Cheaper, possibly. Allowed by environmental regulations? Doubtful.
  2. F-ZeroOne
    New Who, new assistant, new producer, and now new logo! I like this one a lot, though I'm not so keen on the Tardis-ised version: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/a...c-riav6mghhfSTg
  3. F-ZeroOne
    I presume Retracting Head means for ballast purposes.
  4. F-ZeroOne
    If the next episode is the one I think it is, then it might just be the single best individual episode of anything Tominos ever done. So, possibly then. Also, I have seen recap episodes done well - Patlabor on TVs actually manages to be one of the funniest episodes of the entire series - but the trouble always is never knowing whether theres going to be something worthwhile during it or whether you should just skip to the end...
  5. F-ZeroOne
    Nope. You can actually fit all the Turn-A merchandise ever released onto about two pages of A4 with room to spare - I have a Turn-A art book that actually does that! - though possibly now you could start a third page. Compare this with Gundam SEED, which when I last counted had over a hundred model kits available. In fact, I would be interested to know if this has ever been the result of some sort of fan hate, Bandai vendetta or something else. I know what my reaction to Turn-A was when I first saw the designs, and I have a little idea what other Western fans thought when they saw the images, but I've also assumed rather than known what the Japanese fan reaction was... There were some model kits of the Sumo and Flat released, I seem to recall. I've always felt that the animators had trouble with Syd Meads designs. I recently received the Turn-X Robot Spirits toy; I've never really liked the design but I have the Turn-A ordered and its got to fight something, right? But those feelings instantly changed when I actually got it; its actually a very nice piece of work and very "Halo", especially the weapons rack on the back.
  6. F-ZeroOne
    Theres no "Water Margin" anime (or rather, not one that I'm aware of) but a 70s live action adaptation was popular in the UK in the early 80s, along with "Monkey"...
  7. F-ZeroOne
    Tomino has always been one for rather restless narratives. MSG is actually a little bit of an exception...! Its almost like the guy can't bear not to have something happen... ("Dammit, Amuro, stop standing around moping! Don't you know theres a war on!" ). The Diana/Kiel thing does rely on a pretty huge coincidence (I can actually think of some explanations but they're right up there with Heisenberg Reality Compensators... ) but you tend to accept because... Turn-A is Indiana Jones with giant robots. If Indy can hide in a Nazi submarine for days without being detected, then I can also accept that two girls see pretty similar reflections in their mirrors.
  8. F-ZeroOne
    I suspect I'm going to get yelled out as well, but support for the ether, or aether, was pretty much destroyed by Einsteins theories, which appeared before the 1930s. However, "Doc" Smith could either have been using it for narrative effect (as Hideki Anno does in Gunbuster) or simply didn't know what he was talking about... Many early experiments with rockets were taking place in the 30s, the Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky had theorised on many aspects of space travel before that (although at the time he was writing he would probably have remained largely unknown outside Russia) and the British Interplanetary Society had published designs for multi-stage rockets and a lunar lander, as well as space suits. However, the BIS was somewhat concerned about the costs of space exploration; why it might cost as much as a million pounds...!
  9. F-ZeroOne
    303 Squadron. They had the benefit of prior experience plus an understandable ruthlessness when it came to fighting the Luftwaffe. Though it was actually a Czech pilot who got the highest individual kills during the Battle...
  10. F-ZeroOne
    I stand corrected. Sorry, a book I read recently gave me the impression that the Canadian specific squadrons came later...
  11. F-ZeroOne
    There was a time when the word "Elite" was spelt properly: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8261272.stm Elite was, and is, one of the best and most important video games of all time. In just 32K of code - of which 10K was taken up by the screen and other computer operations - David Braben and Ian Bell created the first open universe game, where - within the limits of the game engine - your path through the game was up to you. Its space combat system has been a major influence on many of the space combat games that followed it. And it also had one of the best instruction manuals ever, too; chock full of details that weren't actually important - or even in - the game but which helped create a living Universe in the players imagination where the graphics couldn't. Right on, Commander!
  12. F-ZeroOne
    The Eagle Squadrons were actually formed after the Battle, but there were several US pilots who volunteered to join the RAF and fought in it before the Eagle Squadrons were set up. Canadians - what I was trying to get across is that I can't name any names from 1940 off the top of my head; if I did some research I probably would find Canadian pilots who participated in the battle (and they wouldn't have to have been flying Hurricanes or Spitfires, either; Bomber Command had a role to play during that summer as well... ) I also can't say with absolute certainty, but the impression I've always had is that country-specific squadrons generally formed a little bit later than 1940, after the "panic" had died down a bit. Theres no doubt all the so-called "British" forces were truly multi-national, including Poles, South Africans, Czechs, Free French, New Zealanders, Australians, - heck, I think there was even an Austrian prince in the RAF at one point!
  13. F-ZeroOne
    Well, Canadians made a huge contribution to the British war effort. I can't say off the top of my head if any participated in the Battle directly, but we definitely owe them our thanks. Eh?
  14. F-ZeroOne
    Clearly we have been watching different Turn-As. I was swooning over Harry Ord. Oh, nuts, I just said that out loud again didn't I?!
  15. F-ZeroOne
    Tomino first earned that title working on the series that preceded Gundam, Zambot 3. That is a really schizophrenic show, on the one hand you have typical bright 70s giant robot fun, and on the other ten year olds getting killed by spine implanted bombs. Its almost as if his staff were working on the show most the week and Tomino was sneaking in at weekends to insert mayhem. Theres some evidence to suggest that Tomino, who famously suffers from depression, had "mood swings" throughout his career. Ideon, Zeta Gundam, Dunbine and V-Gundam are really his "genocide" shows. Xabungle, ZZ Gundam, L-Gaim (up to the point I've watched it) are his "happy pills" shows. Turn-A is the point where he reaches a balance (its also, by the way, perfectly enjoyable as a science-fiction adventure in its own right and prior Gundam knowledge isn't really required. Go watch!).
  16. F-ZeroOne
    The Gundam opening was penned by Yohiyuki Tomino, who has in his time provided the lyrics to some very catchy mecha show openings (Overman King Gainer and Aura Battler Dubine among them).
  17. F-ZeroOne
    Is that a remote or a tri-corder?!
  18. F-ZeroOne
    Concept-X-6-1-2. Otherwise known as Turn-X Gundam. I've never been overly keen on the design, right up until this figure arrived. One of the slight problems with Turn-A the series is that I suspect even the animators had trouble with some of the design concepts; in this scale, in the plastic, the Turn-X is suddenly a favourite. What really gets me is how "Halo" like it is, particularly the weapons rack at the back.
  19. F-ZeroOne
    Planetes is basically Patlabor on TV in Space. That basically means you should see it as soon as humanely possible. It should be okay for a 10 year old, theres no naughty bits that I can recall but possibly some swearing. It also deals with some quite grown-up themes about human mortality which might be a bit heavy going for a youngster.
  20. F-ZeroOne
    You can dial down the sensitivity of the controls in "Realistic" under options. This makes a big difference to the "Stalling every time I think about the stick" problem.
  21. F-ZeroOne
    No, in Europe we much prefer cricket bats, the elegant weapon of a more civilised age... or was that light sabres? I totally get where you're coming from - I was introduced to Hammer Horror films at quite a young age and first watched "Aliens" when I was several years under the British Board of Film Certification rating, but its always wise to be a little careful, people always have different levels of what they find acceptable.
  22. F-ZeroOne
    You don't mention how old your son is; some of the series listed will be unsuitable for younger children and possibly also for younger teens as well. Turn-A Gundam is currently not available through legal sources in the West (as also some of the shows also listed above won't be), but if you can find a source its well worth tracking down. "Gundam" carries a lot of connotations for a lot of people, and the genius of Turn-A is that avoids most of them whilst also being absolutely true to the name. Other personal picks: Gundam 8th MS Team, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket: have the advantage of being essentially encapsulated stories that can be enjoyed by themselves without needing too much foreknowledge of Gundam continuity (though it helps with 0083 to understand just what lead bad guy Gato is so annoyed about). Gundam SEED: essentially a 21st Century re-run of the original Gundam series for a modern audience, Gundam SEED is a little like a brilliantly packaged Easter egg: extremely pretty to look at and nice to eat, but as soon as its finished you'll still feel a bit empty. Its good for giving new audiences a flavour of Gundam without being weighed down by 30 years of back story, but as a great many will be the first to tell you - its the New Coke of Gundam. Martian Successor Nadesico: best enjoyed after you've put yourself through Evangelion, Nadesico is sort of not quite the "Meet The Spartans" to Evangelions "300". Its much better than that analogy would imply, though. Full Metal Panic! Mecha pilots are well known for being unable to handle normal everyday situations, so when one is put into a normal everyday Japanese high school on a body guard assignment, hi-jinks ensue. Armoured Trooper VOTOMs: a mecha show for grown-ups, VOTOMs somewhat dated animation is much offset by the magnetic attraction of lead character Chirico Cuvie, the Hardest Mecha Pilot of All Time. Essentially the Vietnam film of 80s mecha shows. The Vision of Escaflowne: Mecha and science fiction have often intertwined; mecha and fantasy is a less obvious mix that works astoundingly well in this well regarded series from many of the same creators of Macross Plus. Also features noses from the "ski down 'em" school of character design. Patlabor on TV: another one for the grown-ups, Patlabor is best short-hand described as Hill Street Blues in Japan with Giant Robots. Relies less on the flash-bang-pyrotechnics and more on clever, quiet wit, excellent writing and one of the best conceived cast of characters ever.
  23. F-ZeroOne
    I wasn't old enough to remember much about it, but we bought a relative a Kodak disc camera once. Anyone remember those? (the frames were stored on a disc instead of a film roll; to this day I'm still not entirely sure what the point was... ).
  24. F-ZeroOne
    Ah, found a cure on-line to the "goes into spin if you even so much as breathe at the stick" problem - turn the sensitivity of the aerilons and elevators right down. You'll find "realistic" much less of an exercise in masochism that way. Another undocumented feature in realistic mode is that it appears you can stop your engine by applying too much emergency power for too long. This is realistic, it just would have been nice to have been told...!
  25. F-ZeroOne
    Yes, cigarettes are "fags" in the UK; its also a slightly out-of-date term for a junior who does dogsbody work for a senior, usually in a school environment. This is why visitors to the UK should make very clear what they are asking for.
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