Hiriyu

You know what sucks? I tried to take up the Drifand Challenge with my MH Rey, and failed most heinously. Un-modded, mine would just about do it, but the swing bars weren't quite tight enough to hold the wheels up... everything else worked out great. So inspired, I started modifying, and this ate up the better part of my Sunday evening. I did find out a few interesting things though: 1) 3/16" rubber electrical shrinkwrap works great on all of the MH ball pivots and leg joints to provide them with a little bit more friction/resistance. 2) The plastic that the MH pivots are made from, while plenty durable, don't like even gentle heating, and deform readily 3) The waist-to-pelvis balljoint is too weak to stand up to the additional friction provided by building up or shimming to increase its tightness. Broke the bugger. 4) A piece of 1/8" brass rod, epoxied in place, makes for a much better torso connector than the factory ball joint did. I'm still plugging away on mine, and want to make some more mods to some of the joints, but so far so good. The leg joints and swingbars are now really stout, and I think that replacing the torso pivots will result in a far more posable and balanceable toy. I'll update when finished.

Although I studied all of my mechanical interests using the old methods, I still have a lot of respect for what the more modern technologies can produce. It's pretty funny - when I speak to younger tuner guys, they tend to be in awe of the mastery of purely mechanical systems, while I am equally in awe of what all of the electronic and electromechanical stuff can do. I still resist learning some of the newer tech, because there is only so much that my thimble-sized brain can retain

Ah, the (good?) ol N20. I had suspected that that was the reason for the extra plumbing, but I'm not fully versed with a ll of the new-fangled stuff - I'm far more comfortable with a pair of DCOEs

Cool. I think that you'll like it. I missed out on the original release, but jumped on the preorder bandwagon for the "movie color" version, and am glad that I did. It's a really nice display piece

I think that the TRU 1A (which is indeed, ToysRUs") was the only exclusive in the original 1/60 line. The only reissue in the original 1/60 line was the Hikaru 1J, repackaged with the GBP, which included some of the later "super" changes, such as the different arms and collapsing handle on the gun.

Big Mo'fricken blower? Glad your friend wasn't hurt.

Most definitely. IMHO, the 1/8 Gakken still rules supreme, but here's hoping to something better in the Beagle.

Not destroids, but...

As usual, you're right (though in pure design terms, I quite like the Citroen C6's too - Imagine what a C6 coupe would look like). Alfa does not, and has not ever wanted for having some of the most amazingly beautiful body designs ever produced. The Brera looks like a modernized SZ. They have really run with their Zagato and Bertone influences, to great effect. That 1750 GTV pic is just lovely.

Laughing out fricking loud That's the way we roll. In other news, the new Alfa which A7 posted looks quite nice. Alfa builds some really fantastic engines. It would be nice if they made their long-rumored, long-awaited, and much-anticipated return to the US market. Even if it were a sideline sold strictly at existing Ferrari dealers.

Thanks as always, jenius.

It was actually a tough poll choice for me. I ended up voting DYRL. Although the R-word show in its original run was my first exposure to the actual animation, beforehand, it was my exposure to imported models and toys, prior to ever seeing any Macross animation on TV, which drew me in. Even after seeing the show in its (*ahem*) abridged US format, I knew that there was something more to it, as evidenced by the unique variants and artwork used in the production of the various models and toys, which I would pore over at my local model and toy shops. These gave the franchise a kind of mystique to me, and from there, I was hooked. From about '86 or so until about 2002, it fell completely off my radar. Then, one day, I happened across a Macross listing on Ebay, totally at random. Looking at all of the various products on offer, I was amazed at the breadth of stuff that had gone on in my absence. That eventually led me to some fansites, in search of more information, and ultimately I landed here.

And now you can: :lol:

LOL. You guys read my mind. Manimal rawks Edit - How about "VectorMan" ? Edit - Ooops, meant Automan, which has already been mentioned. Must have remembered the car, and blocked out all the rest.

Another couple-few to add to the pile: Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon is a really fun read, centering around cryptology and information technology over the last 60 years, from WWII to the very near future, with an enigmatic story woven around three generations of several families. There's too much involved to get into here, but it's well worth a look. I'd also recommend David Brin's Uplift series (and in fact, anything by Brin). Really cool far-future stories having to do with the expansion of man into an already-crowded galaxy. Greg Bear is also definitely worth a read, though I find some of earlier stuff (ie; Blood Music) kind of tedious. The first two books in the Eon series (Eon and Eternity) are great though - truly epic tales of both near and far-future exploration and human expansion. Anything by Larry Niven is great, though in my mind he tends toward the lighter side of hard sci-fi. Neutron Star, a collection of short stories, is a great place to start. Speaking of Mark Twain ^^, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is really a great book, and borders on sci-fi for the time it was written.

Arthurius, You.Rock. Thanks If none of the regs here at MW want to do them, I'm sure that Delta at reprolabels.com would do them. I've got some of the repros that they made for the Gakken 1/8, and the quality is very nice. I think that your scan as it is will be more than adequate, as they will just trace them and make a new vector drawing.

I honestly wouldn't take the rumored price of 60,000 Yen with anything more than a largish grain of salt. The chicken little mentality wears thin.

I agree completely. Didn't Arthur C. Clarke teach you guys anything?

Thanks Master Cheng, please keep us advised of your results

So, the question begs, is this a one-off for your personal enrichement, or are there plans for distribution? Inquiring minds want to know.

The MH units are MUCH better in Armor Mode than in Bike Mode, IMHO. Transform it, dude The Beagle, as I've said before, looks fantastic. Regardless of the expense, I'll pay to be the first on the block with it.

The music from Mospeada is highly underrated. One of my favorites is Clap!! Clap!! Clap!!, well, because, you have to listen to it

Looks like more of an homage than a ripoff, but whatever.

WOW! Thanks baronv, great information. Much appreciated!

Say what you want about Hyundais (and I'll probably agree), but check out this demonstration that they staged. Pretty cool actually. http://www.flixxy.com/hyundai-driving-skills.htm