u/SP4RK4RT

This is a sci-fi concept based on what I've seen and read about the war in the Black Sea. It's an autonomous or remotely piloted boat that launches unrecoverable air drones. The air drones use hobby-grade solid rocket motors to take-off from their launch rails. The "spoiler" at the aft of the boat is not an aero-device, it's an antenna platform for radio control and electronic countermeasures jamming.

This model does not accurately depict any real-life weapon system of which I am aware.

Both these models depict the robotic ambulatory vehicle/weapon called a "Fuchikoma" from the mind of Masamune Shirow and The Ghost In The Shell universe. The design was inspired by the jumping spiders that Shirow kept as pets.

I made the one on the left in 2009, when I was coming out of my LEGO Dark Ages. I used the LEGO Design byME service to buy the parts to assemble it. That was 17 years ago.

The one on the right is my 2026 fan-art to celebrate the current The Ghost In the Shell TV series.

I spied this too-cool-for-school replica yesterday afternoon on the road in Santa Clarita, California. It's funny, my brain instantly added the scanner sound effect and theme music. Maybe I watched too much TV when I was a kid, but this made me smile.

The order that I acquired them:

1. 1987 Toyota Corolla (never took a picture of it)
2. 1994 Camaro Z-28
3. 2002 Corvette
4. 2006 Xterra
5. 2006 Mini Cooper S
6. 2020 Wrangler
7. 2017 MX-5

All 6-speed manuals, except for the Corolla, which was a 5-speed manual.

Significant others drove VW Golf GTi, Toyota MR2, or BMWs, 3-series, 5-series, Z4, X5, or Mercedes Benz E-class, all automatic, meh.

I'm pretty sure the people at the booth have no idea that 2026 marks the 35th Anniversary of The Rocketeer movie, but I think it's pretty cool that they use a Rocketeer cosplay to promote their services.

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Aliens, the 35th Anniversary of The Rocketeer, and the 10th Anniversary of Rogue One, I brought head-to-toe cosplay for a Colonial Marine, the Rocketeer, and a Rebel Fleet Trooper (egg-shaped helmet in the Gentle Giant bag).

I sighed a little packing everything for the two-hour drive back home. The Con seems to go by faster each year.

Dave Stevens's sis, Jennifer Stevens Bawcum, Jana-Marie Bonar (Rocketeer harness fabricator), Michael Stuart (rocket pack artisan), participated in a panel moderated by Michael Possert Jr. (author of the book, The Rocket Factory) at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. They shared some interesting anecdotes working on The Rocketeer.

I thought the formula for the finish of the movie helmets was interesting and learning that Kent Melton (sculptor of my favorite vintage garage kits) sculpted the helmet. I took it for granted how the helmet was made, but apparently it was a bit of a struggle to get that comic-book look just right and accepted by the studio heads.

There was a handful of Rocketeer-themed cosplayers in attendance, including a Neville Sinclair!

The last time I wore a Colonial Marines cosplay to the San Diego Comic-Con was to meet Syd Mead when he was signing posters promoting Sega Games's Aliens: Colonial Marines. That was fun, I even got a photo with the Alien Queen later.

I felt a fanboy compulsion to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Aliens (1986) at San Diego Comic-Con this year, but I thought I'd try it with a budget Colonial Marine getup I suggested recently. If you're not familiar, boutiques makers like Spat Cave et al offer excellent armor kits (finished/unfinished), but these can get pretty spendy.

The retail store bought armor isn't screen accurate, but it's padded and I'm sure will be more comfortable for all day cosplaying at the SDCC circus.

I ordered this via Jeff Bezos's mail-order website.

A few years back, Moko made some great models of Micky & Minnie. Today, I revised my copies of those builds and modified the lower halves with taller legs, smaller feet, and I gave Minnie some white bloomers.

I like to think there's a Knight Rider K.I.T.T. in the background trailer. Knight Rider is where I learned that "One man can make a difference." I was an impressionable kid.

So there's a Ghost In The Shell animated series broadcasting on TV in Japan and streaming on Amazon Prime. This latest adaption is closer in style and tone to the classic manga by Masamune Shirow.

The future sci-fi story features various cyborgs, one of which is a bare-bones Jameson-type, basically a human brain in a mobile and ambulatory box with rudimentary manipulators. These are often depicted with a whimsical prop to suggest that the character is human, and not a utilitarian brainless robot.

This model is about 1/4 scale. There is a brick-built human brain model inside that is viewable via the opened rear hatch.

It's about 1/4 scale. There is a brick-built human brain model inside that is viewable via the opened rear hatch. I meant for the brain model to be removable, but it's squeezed in there pretty tight and hard to get out (that's what she said).

I was perusing a BrickLink store and spied these eye printed boat studs. I wondered if someone figured out how to make a round eye with them, and came across this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBuTi9vum9o

It's a little tricky to get it all together. You have to jink everything a little bit, rotate the alignment a bit on the parts to get them to snap down all the way. It's a technique that would never be used in an official LEGO set, but we don't play that game, so we don't follow those rules, freedom!

It's built on a LEGO pull-back motor.

These are all built on a genuine LEGO pull-back motor.

While the armor parts aren't screen accurate to Aliens (1986), they're pretty suggestive and already decorated and ready-to-wear. No armor kit to assemble or paint!

For all-day comfort, I'd skip the helmet, wear a military-style cap or simple doo-rag, and omit a weapon. The thing that will really sell this cosplay as an Aliens tribute is the Facehugger. When taking photos, pose the Facehugger like it's attacking you or as if you're trying to prevent it from attacking another person in the picture.

I have that armor in the solid colors, and it is indeed small-sized, but good for cosplaying, if you're not a large or tall person.

These are vinyl statue/figures about 6.5" (16.5cm) tall from Alpha. They're Shirow Masamune's Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost In The Shell and Deunan Knute from Appleseed.

Decades ago, I screwed the feet of these figures onto plastic bases cup tops, ya know, to give them some class LOL. The figure with the white trench coat had a standing problem as the ankles would give and figure would lean over, like Michael Jackson for "Smooth Criminal".

If you ever do find a white-trench coat figure in original packaging, I'd suggest leaving it intact that way. If you try to put it on the shelf, it prolly won't be stable.