F-ZeroOne

I believe Max pulls out a gun that looks remarkably like that out of his cockpit when they abandon his valkyrie during their escape from the Zentraedi. H The RawbaTek RPG lists it as, I think, a RDF laser pistol (or possibly rifle).

I attended a UK convention once shortly after Ebichu was making the fansub rounds, and you could actually tell by peoples expressions whether or not they had seen it...

Another nice touch - Rose isn't scared. At first. Just like some of the younger audience, who really might not know why they should be scared...

Its the other rotary mean machine from the 80s - the one with the mini-gun and a co-pilot named after a best-selling British brand of chocolately orange mini-cakes. Presumably, the BBC needed some footage of an aggressive looking helicopter and felt that the Armys Apaches were a bit over-familiar...

Okay, I don't think I'm going to give anything away by revealing that the Daleks returned for the latest episode - the title kind of gives it away. I have good news, and I have news that some people may well find bad. Good - Daleks got a brand new bag, and its not just to do with stairs. This is Dalek Plus, and its learnt a thing or two. Lets just say you're not going to able to run up behind it and stick a bag over its head anymore. And its even found a use for the sink plunger... Possibly Bad - without giving anything away, I think this episode is going to split people down the middle. Those that already don't like the series are probably only going to be further convinced, while those who haven't made their minds up may well go that road as well. However, if one takes a little time to think about things, then the general thrust of the storyline does fit with established Who (and a number of other SF story themes). And theres one line in particular, an exchange between the Doctor and the Dalek, which really does make you pause and think. Overall, though, a very good episode with a number of surprises. And rumour has it, we may still have not seen the last of the genocidal pepper-pots just yet... Oh, yes - next week - Simon Pegg...! PS: 80s super-vehicle show fans - keep your eyes peeled. You might just spot a familar rotary friend...

Nah, IMO best British comedy TV series would be Faulty Towers, followed closely by Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister. Graham You forgot Dads Army, Graham - the true origin of the phrase "Don't Panic!" ("Don't tell him your name, Pike!")

You're welcome, although I'll stress again I'm not an expert, just interested. I know what you mean about keeping up with news from Japan - I probably know nearly as much about Japanese baseball as I do about English football [1]...! Thats thanks to the excellent books on the subject by Robert Whiting (You Gotta Have Wa! and The Meaning of Ichiro); it says something about how good those books are because I actually have very little interest in baseball - and football - as sports...! Its fun to occassionally see names I recognise crop up on Japanese news... [1] Also known as soccer. The principle difference is that in soccer, actual foot-to-ball contact is required for the majority of the game...

I don't live in Japan, but I work for a railway company in the UK, a country whose rail network is often compared in a demeaning sense to other countries in the press (sometimes, fairly, sometimes not) - it does tend to make you slightly more interested in other countries networks, if only out of a sense of self-defence... On top of this, I'm an anime fan and am interested in Japan generally, so I keep a closer eye on the news from there. Accidents on the famous shinkansen are practically unknown; only one has ever been derailed and that was the result of an earthquake, and resulted in only minor injuries. There have been one or two eyebrow raising incidents, but in general the shinkansen are probably as safe as it is possible to be considering the speeds at which they operate. For the more "ordinary" trains, serious accidents are rare, but not totally unknown. I can only recall one fatal incident in the past five years or so, when the part of the side of a Tokyo city service was somehow ripped off. There have also been one or two fatal incidents involving people working on or near the railway. The biggest hazard in Japan, at least going by keeping an eye on the news over the past few years, would appear to be road or people crossings ("level" crossings in the UK), and people or objects being struck by trains at them. Remember all those anime scenes at crossing gates? A little while ago, there was a serious and fatal incident in the UK involving a possibly sucidal car driver who appeared to have deliberately stopped his car on a level crossing. Shortly afterwards, I found a graph that listed types of this incident in various countries, and Japan had a much higher incident rate than just about any other country listed on that graph; anyone who has visited a Japanese city probably won't be surprised to hear that. A newspaper report I saw this morning indicates that Japanese railway staff might be under rather high pressure to deliver services on time, with targets set that UK train operating companies would probably say are virtually impossible to meet without some serious investment (as Japan has done). I rather suspect that, as in most cases, this incident will be the result of a number of errors. Some more news information on the Osaka crash can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4480965.stm The very worst rail related incident in Japan, though, would have to be the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Also, it should be pointed out, that rail travel is in general safer than road travel...

My personal preference would be for lighter - towards a whiter tone, though I realise that may well end up looking un-coloured! (I realise that Guld is that clour in the anime) I'm no artist, though - its strictly a personal preference, and I wouldn't dream of criticising such wonderful art!

Stickered, but I'm reaally bad at it - I shake too much. What I need is a little trained sticker-applying monkey in the basement...

That was in the manga too. Only Motoko wound up a man() instead of a little girl. I think it was the manga I was thinking of, now that you mention it - too many GiTs versions, thats the trouble!

My bad - for some reason I had "Dragon" in my head. Funny how you think you know things...

I bought the Intron Depot art book and was flicking through it while waiting for a train. A friend of mine was lookijng over my shoulder. I didn't know at the time that Intron Depot has the original, uncensored scene in it. I found out when I heard the sound of eyeballs getting VERY big, VERY quickly... I might be wrong on this - its not entirely clear from the manga - but that scene may have been taking place virtually, in which case the Major may have been, er, "trying" things out... However, theres further evidence from the SAC TV series (although that is a different timeline) that she is. On the other hand, considering that, at least going by the movies, its possible to transplant a cyborg brain to another body, sexuality may just not be a hang-up in the GiTs universe anymore...!

Next Saturday, BBC One, UK, 19:00, GMT. They're back. Clue: "Whats the nearest town?" "Salt Lake City." "Population?" "1 million." "All dead!" And rumour has it, stairs are not going to be a problem this time... And a few thoughts regards the new series, now that I've seen more than the pilot: I'm enjoying it. Quite a bit. I think I may have said before, that if you think about any of the storylines too much, they tend to fall apart, but you don't really notice while you're watching. One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is the pace of this series; it tends to carry you along before you have a chance to settle. In that respect, its like a ride, and like a ride, its pretty good fun while it lasts...

I'm not completely sure, but I think this is the F-15 that was part of the "Dragon" flight (in the dub, anyway) that chased the phantom radar contact in Patlabor 2.

That YF-19/YF-21 one - very nice. Though if I could be allowed just one personal opinion, is there a different skin tone that could be used for the Zentraedi girl? She looks a tad sickly at the moment...! (I think its a childhood thing - school sick rooms in the UK are often painted a similar colour, so it always puts me in mind of illness!)

You know, sometimes I feel the RAF should hang signs out saying "Won't anyone buy our lovely aircraft?"...

Dammit! I wanted to do that one! (The Last Starfighter)

And, of course, the VF-1 is actually named after the XB-70. It wasn't just a freakish coincidence(of which I've seen stranger). Theres a scene in Zeta Gundam where a XB-70 is strafed and blown up. I'd like to know if that was Tomino, or at least the proudction team, having a dig at Macross...

Lets not forget the contribution of a little lady with a thing for straw bonnets - lets hear it for the... KANNO! The pop tracks are, of course, superb - Voices, the dirty chat of Idol Talk, and it will be a long time before I see anything that matches the excitement of Information High (when matched to the re-entry scene), but I also really like Fly Up To The Air - Tension, possibly the ultimate sonic realisation of the joy of flight...

Actually, at the time Robotech the RPG was being put together I don't think Mekton would have done either - I have the Mekton II book and its quite basic. You might have been able to produce a specific Macross system based on the rules, but the actual Mekton Techbook didn't - as far as I'm aware - get published until sometime after the first Robotech RPG, and the Mekton Zeta and Zeta Plus didn't arrive until even later. You'd very probably have needed the Techbook at the very least to take a good stab at Valkyries using Mekton.

The HCM is possibly the most interesting of all my Macross toys. One thing thats a little annoying about it is that it has all these little caps and things to cover up the screw holes, but if you want to use them you have to take them off sprues - same with the missiles, which leads to a dilemma - play with the bits or keep the parts in prime condition? It has a number of nice details - real rubber tyres, nicely done hands, and twin tailhooks - something not even on the Yamato 1/48...! The fighter mode is okay (there seems to be too large a gap between the engine/leg parts and the body) and the gerwalk mode is more of a "because it has to", but I feel it looks best in Battroid mode, despite the high tailfin. Its got a bit more poseability to it than a 1/55, mainly in the arms and legs, but this is balanced against the fact that it doesn't feel as solid. I suspect the HCMs reputation for fragility is a touch exaggerated, but theres no doubt its plastic on plastic joints don't make for an overly comfortable feel when transforming it. One thing that is quite clear is how much the Toynami Veritechs were based on it...

Thanks again, Laserstorm, though I wished I'd moved Max in a bit closer - looks like hes missing an arm! Also, I'm afraid this isn't my actual display now (they were just resting there while I set things up) - my cabinet is a bit small, so at present they all look rather cluttered together where they are now. Must try fiddling with it a bit more... Edit: oh, yeah, I was applying the stickers this morning and tried the six reaction missiles. Didn't look right at all - back to the micro missiles on the inboard pylons!

Laserstorm: I had the micro-missile packs going spare from the VF-1A, and I like varied loads. However, I may try it just with the reaction warheads just to see how it looks - but I do prefer the mixed loadout ("We can fry yer battle pods, yer officer pods, and yer battle-cruisers. Just don' ask us 'bout no chicks called Milia!" ) Shin: yes, that was probably me who posted those HCM pics a while back. I do sometimes wish I'd picked the Cannon Fodder variant, though - theres a lot of white in my collection...!

I usually only turn it very slightly to help the 1/60s stability in Battroid mode. It does help, but it does make for a rather unslightly twist in the leg if done fully. Edit: oh, wow. 501 posts!