David Hingtgen

Also, glowy boosters are canon, and clearly evident in Macross Plus. Whereas I don't ever recall a bright pinpoint in the middle of a VF-1J's visor.

Just the kit and the DX's description AFAIK. But we can assume that it'll "become more and more official" as more and more merchandise etc is portrayed this way---with Grace having a finned one and being remarked as "special" compared to other green Betas. I keep expecting that the 2nd Frontier movie will either show "finless" ones alongside hers, or really screw with us and give her a teal or blue or purple one or something. Think about it like the original RX-78 Gundam---it has become "so much more" than just what was seen in the original animation. Mainly due to ever-more-detailed retconned merchandise.

Yup. Vehicle mode is 2x as big as it should be, and for what? It's kind of ironic--now we have vehicle-mode kibble! Ultra Magnus was almost as bad---if that gun was smaller, or just plain absent--it would have made a much better car carrier. Instead, it's a truck hauling a cube 3x as big as itself. I want trailers, not cubes! PS--G1 Rodimus sucked, and we all know it. Heck, most of us realized that when we were like 7 years old, and we had pretty low standards then. (I know I owned a lot of G1 figures that I now realize were pretty bad---yet I never wanted Rodimus based on how sucky he looked in the catalogs). Copying/homaging the G1 toy is NOT a good thing.

Yeah well, you're not supposed to level up to an ultimate weapon and take out the optional post-game uber-monsters BEFORE you win. I bet the final boss is pretty easy after that much grinding...

Or you could just watch the 2D version like I did, and not worry about all that. (though I'll admit I realize that this may be the ONLY movie that I'd consider better for having used 3D--just guessing) Maybe I'll see it again, in 3D to compare.

Not the weight ratios again! Yeesh, there's still no agreement for modern real-life planes... (as wikipedia lists the F-15 and F-22 at exactly the same)

This is frankly getting OT.

Yup. I discussed pounds vs pounds-force vs kilograms vs kilonewtons with Graham a while ago, with regards to how valk engine thrust is reported. Darn gravity, always screwing up our valk calculations! (I didn't feel like pointing out the lack of "N" in the VF-19 specs, as that's not really part of the discussion) As for Mach--since no plane can achieve full speed at sea level, and Mach 1 is pretty constant from 35,000 to 80,000ft (where most planes achieve max speed), everyone just uses that. 660mph.

Just checked the Osprey book, here's a summary: VF-96 F-4B, Showtime 602, flown by Murphy and Fegan. 4 F-4's were sent out from Ranger, but due to catapult issues etc they weren't all together. 3 *Chinese* MiG-17's spotted. F-4's mainly had to fight on their own. Only 3 F-4's came back, Showtime 602 didn't. None of the 3 F-4's that came back got a hit (missiles *really* sucked that early in the war), but they did hear 602 report "out of missiles, RTB" and they saw a MiG-17 explode and go down. Had to be 602 that got him. Soon thereafter, radar controllers spotted a blip show up behind 602 as it was heading home, and 602 was never heard from again. For many years this was never reported, because they were Chinese MiG-17's, not Vietnamese.

I wouldn't accept any other explanation other than a simple typo. 78950 vs 68950. PS---top speed in a plane isn't necessarily a function of engine power. Many are limited by heat. IIRC that's actually explained as part of the VF-27's profile, in that it can divert PPB energy to "the forward shields" as a temporary measure to protect against extreme heat, and thus go much faster than the VF-25. Yes, it requires the VF-27's extra thrust to do so, but without heat protection the structure wouldn't be able to take it regardless of how much power you had. The F-111, F-15, and SR-71 are all limited by heat, rather than the power of their engines. (the MiG-25 is pretty much limited by fuel consumption--it can suck its tanks dry while still accelerating)

Dyeing a toy: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/tutorials-ho...dye-figure.html (I really wish TFW2005 would stop re-arranging their customizing section every 6 months---it always screws up the links and I have to manually go all through the boards to find them again) Now, vinyl dye is different. Often used for modding PC parts. http://www.modthebox.com/vinyldye.shtml

I was going to start a thread yesterday after I realized there's been zilch about it here--you beat me to it. REALLY good movie. Dreamworks's best I think. It hasn't gotten NEAR the hype/advertising it deserves. It and Iron Man 2 will probably be the big movies of the year that should be seen IMHO. PS---you forgot to mention the soundtrack. (yeah, it's more Celtic than Scandinavian, but it still rocks) PPS--to everyone--it's probably the most mature, not-kiddy movie Dreamworks has ever made. It's rated PG. (but that won't stop people from bringing screaming 3-year-olds though)

Oh, you're *that* Ginrai? (it's a decently common name among the whole robot-TF-mecha community) (that, or you post at a LOT of places)

That I don't know.

That's where the first stage turbine is. Basically "don't stand next to the red line". (if an engine has problems, that's the most likely place to toss a blade through the nacelle--and through you) Many airliners (especially 737s) have a similar line, indicating the "zone of how far back an engine can still suck you in, even if you're BEHIND the intake lip". PS---F-14s never lost the stripe, it just changed color. (and it's in a different spot for the B/D versions as they have different engines)

Just making sure everyone's aware of this site: http://reocities.com/futuristgroup/vauto.html#jetfire Detailed analysis of some Jetfire variations.

The Ent-E was designed for saucer separation (at least, John Eaves drew it up and planned it out and everything, and the physical model had the seams and everything--and the saucer was a separate molding--dunno if they actually made the big physical model able to separate after it was finished though). However, the infamous "CGI tweaks" for Nemesis eliminated that possibility---the saucer got some flares/fairings that "blended" the neck into the saucer, and thus ret-conned-out the separation feature. Or---the physical Ent-E can, the CG one can't. ::edit:: Here it is: http://www.starshipdatalink.net/art/images/dee-7.jpg (cut-n-paste, no hotlinking)

Not just commercial flights. Multiple Finnish Hornets have glass in their engines now from a morning training flight, while Mildenhall, Lakenheath, Spangdahlem, and Rammstein are closed. (I still don't get why ANYONE even THINKS about flying near an ash cloud in this day and age when the exact location of the cloud is reported--everyone who tries regrets it later---it could cost millions to repair those Hornets if it's bad, and replacing 747 windshields aren't cheap--STAY AWAY FROM VOLCANOES)

I got into Macross because of Jetfire. I'd never seen Robotech until Cartoon Network aired it.

Yup. And they'll never learn some of the higher-end things. It's really only worth it if you've utterly maxed out their "main" roles and simply want some more stats. Really not worth it at all for abilities.

The neck flap is extremely hard to pull out of the head in all releases.

Dang it, my opinions on FansProject Explorer have been proven wrong, more or less. It's ultra-realistic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Sciences_X-34 (and seriously, I should have known, as I am a shuttle fan and try to keep up with most projects of that nature) I am both humbled and embarrassed. (doesn't make it any less ugly though!) ::edit:: Ok, now I'm just flat-out ashamed. The Orbital L-1011 captive-carried the thing. I *really* should have known about it.

Actually, it's an F-14 in everything but the nosecone, and probably the tips of the stabilators.

Yes, it needs "102" to be correct for Grace's as seen on-screen, as well as to match Bandai's own 1/72 kit version. (The kit has 102 for Grace's, and 302 for one with the finless head) I fear it may be numberless though since every pic so far hasn't had any numbers on it, to allow for "customizing" of a "CF" version (even though that'd be wrong for the head it has). As for why this and not a CF VF-25? I'd say: A. There's already a TON of VF-25 paint variants. They need to change the mold, not the paint. People are already VF-25'd-out, money-wise and collection-wise. B. Recognition factor--we don't know any character who flew a CF -25, but Grace is pretty well-known. C. It's the only possible repaint for the -27. Gotta amortize the mold somehow---and a lot of people don't like the pinkish one. "Military green" is much more acceptable to a lot of people.

Yeah, that's one of the 4 or so pieces of Grace fan-art ever. I do like it quite a bit though.