October 31, 2013

Watching Thunderbirds box art by Komatsuzaki

I enjoyed retro box art illustrated by Shigeru Komatsuzaki (1915-2001) at Thunderbirds Expo 2013 this summer.

Komatsuzaki was known in Japan as a "giant in sci-fi illustrations" whose career arc began during the early-postwar years, its artistic and commercial pinnacle coinciding with Japan's rise as an economic superpower.

He got his start illustrating novels serialized in newspapers and later moved on to paintings used in children's magazines and other media. Among the principal motifs of his works were warrior tales, aircraft and warships, as well as superheroes, robots and other futuristic designs -- all of which helped fire the imaginations of both children and adults alike, inspiring generations of Japanese with dreams of a better future.



























UFO Interceptor

October 26, 2013

1/750 Cardassian Galor Class Ship

  • Class: Galor
  • Overall Length: approx. 370 meters
  • Episode: "The Wounded" (TNG)
  • Base Model Kit: Cardassian Galor Class Ship (1997 AMT/ERTL #8324)
  • Background: The ship was designed by Rick Sternback and built by Ed Miarecki.













October 7, 2013

[REPORT]
Thunderbirds Expo 2013 at Tokyo

On a very hot day this summer, I visited National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan) at Tokyo, because Thunderbird Expo 2013 was held from July 10 to September 23 there.

I enjoyed a number of things. The world's first 3D "Thunderbirds" movie, the next generation Cinema 4K system, several display models of the super mechanics and puppets, and the model kit box art by Shigeru Komatsuzaki.

When will the International Rescue come to Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant? Alas, Prime Minister of Japan continues to turn away from the reality.

Tracy Island


 
Thunderbird 1


 
Thunderbird 2
There are four types of the studio model.

Early type

Mid-type A

Mid-type B

Late type
 
Thunderbird 3


Thunderbird 4



Thunderbird 5


 
The base island created by Toshiba



 
FAB 1


 
The Mole















 
Toshiba exhibited the Cinema 4K system.
It upconverts Blu-ray video to 4K video. The quality is much clearer than full HD.