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David Hingtgen

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  1. David Hingtgen
    I'm pretty much the same way---most every combiner team has a weak member, and you put up with them for the whole. (and it seems likely that Motormaster will be the best one, and the most G1-ish) Whereas IMHO, Uranos has about 3-4 weak members, with the most important one being the worst overall, and the least-G1.
  2. David Hingtgen
    I have Breakdown pre-ordered, as I feel he is the best of the limbs (most G1-ish in bot and alt modes) and has always been my fave Stunticon and a childhood favorite toy. I'd want him on his individual merits regardless. Now, buying 3 other not-as-good limbs will all depend on just how good Motormaster is. (really, the more I look at it, the more I like Dragstrip---my ONLY issues with that mold are the colors, and they're fairly minor--his transformation is more complex than the others if you take a close look---the rear of the car does a whole lot more than simply flip 180 to make the legs) Currently, I think the ranking of the limbs is: Breakdown>Dragstrip>Wildrider>Deadend. Deadend just sucks, he has absolutely no relation to his G1 self besides color. And frankly, you should be able to identify a "new take/Classics" TF in black and white. Even if you couldn't tell Skywarp from Thundercracker without color, you would still know "it's a seeker" based on some body details/face etc. (any jet with a cockpit chest and vents on the sides of the head is obviously a seeker---bonus point if it has intake-shoulders) But FP Deadend? Take away the colors, and you have NO idea who it is. Heck, we only knew who the grey prototype of it was via process of elimination. And he has no feet. (and sadly, the re-color digibash of FP Wildrider as Deadend, looked a whole lot more like Deadend than FP's Deadend does) And Menasor has always, always been my fave combiner team.
  3. David Hingtgen
    A zoom climb's purpose is to exceed what you can actually "fly" at---you're running on pure inertia/momentum at the top of the climb---the wings would have stopped providing sufficient lift long ago, but still contribute enough, along with the engine thrust, the "sustain the climb" for a little while. You then run of out momentum, and just kinda nose over and fall down---eventually you'll come down enough for everything to start working again, and actually have a CONTROLLED descent for the remainder. It's not THAT far off from firing a bullet into the air---it may not be able to actually FLY to that altitude via wings/lift, but you can get it up pretty high with enough speed given to it at the start... The fact that you're not really "flying" at the peak is why official altitude records set by this method are not the absolute height reached---but the height at which the plane was still flying and in control. The SR-71 certainly holds all the records for sustained level flight, altitude-wise, even if an F-15 has beaten it by many thousands of feet in a zoom climb. Did a quick check and the Streak Eagle hit 103,000 at the top of its climb. Who knows what an F-22 could do. (though I doubt it got anywhere near that, as this was just a standard F-22, and not a stripped-down specially-prepped plane like the Streak Eagle)
  4. David Hingtgen
    It was an embedded pic--or an attempt at one. I think it was a dynamic img or something, and its url was a zillion characters long.
  5. David Hingtgen
    A *stealth* faceplate obviously. PS---it obviously also has such advanced FBW it doesn't need rudder pedals.
  6. David Hingtgen
    Update--apparently the USAF did allow for a Streak Eagle-style zoom climb, and it went well beyond the F-22's official 60,000ft ceiling. So the Air Force has a heart and they really got it up there.
  7. David Hingtgen
    And Elmendorf remains my fave F-22 wing: http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-f22-pilot-flies-young-boys-letter-after-his-request-to-get-it-close-to-heaven-20130128,0,6792287.story F-22 pilot flies boy's letter to his late father 'close to heaven' ANCHORAGE, Alaska— A Joint Base Richardson-Elmendorf pilot carried out a very special mission on Thursday, after hearing about a unique request from a 9 year-old boy who had lost his father. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. His son MacAidan, who goes by "Mac", was five years old at the time. Every year on January 24th, his father's birthday, MacAidan and his mother celebrate by doing something special like baking cupcakes or throwing a party. But this year, MacAidan, now nine years old, decided to celebrate differently. He recently wrote a letter to his father that included ten very important questions. "Dear Dad," it read. "I have some questions. What is it like in a tank? What is like to be a scout? How old are you now? How old were you when you died? What is your favorite food? What is your favorite animal? What is your favorite hobby? What is your favorite activity? What is it like in heaven? Have you seen what I have accomplished? From, your son." But Mac wasn't finished. He said that he wanted to try and get the letter as close to heaven as he could. His mother, Amanda Marr, put a post on her Facebook page describing Mac's request, and it caught the attention of Helping American Veterans Experience Alaska, or HAVE Alaska, an organization that decided to help make Mac's wish happen. On Thursday, MacAiden met reserve F-22 pilot Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin. He said he handed over his note, hand-written on red construction paper. Red was his father's favorite color. "I said 'I hope he gets as high as he possibly can,'" said Mac. The flight happened on January 24th- his father's birthday. "I wanted to write a letter because I wanted to know more about my dad and to show that I didn't forget him and to show that I also love him," said Mac. Mac plans to write a letter to his father every year and says he is still coming up with delivery ideas for next January.
  8. David Hingtgen
    While Drag Strip is quite far off from G1, it's still pretty clearly him (silver engine for abs), and has a quite involved transformation with a close look---more complex than the other 4 put together I think. Colors are off, though----where's the dark magenta? He did NOT have "Decepticon purple" accents. But Deadend---clearly the worst of the bunch. Simplest transformation with big chunks hanging off everywhere---I really would expect a hinge to flip or fold the doors down from one of the higher-end 3P companies, so they're not sticking straight up past the shoulders like most minicon cars do. And hood for a chest? That's iconically NOT how Stunticons are. Autobots have hood-chests, Stunticons do not. Plus his cube-feet. They couldn't have made ANY of the cuts for that section at an angle, to make some sort of foot-esque trapezoid? It looks like he's got cement shoes. Still, the 2nd two limbs seem much less G1 than the first two---they are homages to neither the toy nor animation, asides from general color and Drag Strip's alt-mode. Reminds me of Uranos---Silverbolt is completely off from the original, when the first 2 bots we saw were very G1. I really hope they release Dead End last, and can make a few tweaks by then. (but I suspect what we see is what we'll get--I know they can't re-do the chest transformation, but just a bit of changes could make a big difference to his shoulder-kibble and feet)
  9. David Hingtgen
    I'm guessing/hoping that they're actually amortizing Motormaster's cost across the other four and can thus have a sub-$100 leader. And as I keep mentioning--if the feet are made from Motormaster's grill and bumper, how do you expect them to come with the legs? (Exactly how it works is speculation but that is how Figueroa drew it)
  10. David Hingtgen
    BBTS's is the best in the business---just email them the pics, and ask what they want to do. They may just mail you a new Lazerbeak. But don't worry, they WILL make sure you end up with an intact Lazerbeak somehow. (generally, it's how BBTS's business strategy is--they are rarely the cheapest place, and often the most expensive--but when dealing with expensive Japanese imports etc, they WILL take care of you if something breaks---opening up sealed rare figures for parts if need be isn't unheard of---the consistently higher prices basically subsidizes the replacement policy, and ensures many repeat customers from people who have had something break)
  11. David Hingtgen
    The Titanium G1 Magnus really got it right, IMHO. It's exactly what I'd want from a masterpiece. (one of the few figures I kept from my great TF sell-off earlier this year--I think it's the only UM I have now))
  12. David Hingtgen
    Odds are good. Though I really want a UM that's designed to be UM from scratch, and not incorporate a $100 white Optimus that only "holds up the head". A UM with a cab-only cab, could make for an amazing vehicle mode. Frankly--screw the "unarmored" mode. Give us an armored Magnus LIKE HE APPEARED IN EVERY EPISODE EVER, made from a car carrier that is designed solely to "be Magnus wholly" and not have to "wrap around" an existing Prime figure's parts. Think had awesome that'd be, without the "compromises" need to include a pointless white Optimus inside. (and how much cheaper it'd be, with a non-transforming but very realistic cab) (well, a cab that only barely transforms)
  13. David Hingtgen
    Depending on how graphically they depict it, I always thought the bood would "lubricate" the motion and muffle the sound (since he does "re-open the wound" every time he extends or retracts them) Sometimes they seem to indicate he almost has "sheathes" for them in his hands that they neatly retract into (like cat claws or something)---other times it's much more gory, in that they simply force themselves out.
  14. David Hingtgen
    Unconfirmed but from a reputable dealer: Pre-orders open Feb 1. Ships mid-Feb.
  15. David Hingtgen
    While Weirdwolf is in the "first/main headmaster as a kid" category for me, I still just cannot accept the weird "paws with a thumb coming from underneath the forearm" hands. And as mentioned, the engineering is the main draw of these figures--but Quad-U seems a bit simpler than the others---certainly less than Code, and I think Robin too. I think I'll pass and hope/wait for the Horrorcon/Triplechangers--I would *love* a new Snapdragon or Apeface.
  16. David Hingtgen
    Not going to get a Flanker into a tank. That's among the worst alt-modes to pick. Some planes just do not work for certain transformations---TFC apparently thought an SR-71 would make for a good gestalt torso... Really, a big part of why Blitzwing "works" is the MiG-25 alt-mode. Updating to a MiG-31 would be easy.
  17. David Hingtgen
    Not interested in FoC triple-changers. 1, they weren't in the game (or they had such quick cameos I missed them) and 2, it's a big cheat to use cybertronian designs for triple-changes, especially aerial ones---ANYTHING can fly on cybertron, even tanks and cargo ships. Give me an Astrotrain that's a steam locomotive and a space shuttle, nothing less/else...
  18. David Hingtgen
    I can afford more 3rd party TF's since Bandai refuses to take my money for -25's and -29's...
  19. David Hingtgen
    Yup--they basically made a common fan-mod "at the factory". (I came VERY close to modding my own TC, but never did) IIRC, even making the "sliding joint" move as much as possible, the stabilators still contact the ground (even if you do trim down the tailbooms a bit to give them clearance).
  20. David Hingtgen
    I think they actually bought his designs or something. They are exact copies of the "Wheeljack's Lab" customs, down to the small details and IIRC he did mention something about it. Of course, since igear directly copied the official MP seeker mold (they truly are KO's) I'm sure they'd have no qualms about copying a guy's customs, either...
  21. David Hingtgen
    Plus their weapons really suck (one is a ball-point pen with a new tip), and the conversion is frankly ugly/inaccurate---too much re-use of existing parts. Using an F-15's tailfins as Dirge's canards just doesn't look right, especially since they left on the mass balancers. Really, you'll find the original tailfins all over the place---Ramjet's fins, Dirge's canards, and I think even as the end-plates on Thrust. When those iconic bits should be done correctly from scratch, not compromised to use existing F-15 parts just to save a few minutes. (grab an F-16 or F-18 model kit for much better-looking parts--or really, an A-10 could help Thrust)
  22. David Hingtgen
    Because they can't get Kawamori to "tweak" the design?
  23. David Hingtgen
    Japan often seems to get licenses most other countries can't. Not sure why, but if a hundred companies request the same license for use in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and Japan----sometimes they'll grant it only for use in Japan.
  24. David Hingtgen
    I'm betting Has-Tak will do Acid Storm, the other rainmakers, and then invent some new red seeker, before we see Skywarp and G1-toy-colored Thundercracker on the new mold...
  25. David Hingtgen
    Acidstorm? Wow. If Thundercracker shelf-warmed...
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