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David Hingtgen

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Everything posted by David Hingtgen

  1. David Hingtgen
    Yeah, I've been considering MS-01. It's definitely the best overall alt-mode I think, of the 'recent' MP Primes. But still doesn't quite do it for me. And still has an inferior cab to MP-10. I think (like most MP NotSidewipes) they used the official MP, and not the real thing, as their vehicle mode reference. "A copy of a copy of a copy" syndrome, when it comes to alt-mode accuracy. (plus, like a lot of them--the stripe is way too broad. That also annoyed me in the BB movie) (This is most true with any MP Seeker though---holy hell do they copy the MP's inaccuracies to a T, definitely not referencing a real F-15 for some details)
  2. David Hingtgen
    Same. For me, I think it really comes down to the alt-mode windows. MP-10's are like half as tall as any recent figure's---and that's correct for well, pretty much any cabover. Having these super-tall, "square" front windows, may make robot mode more toon-accurate---but you end up with a Pixar-style, "cutesy big-eyed" look to the "face" of the truck, which just ruins it. Seriously, this looks like a "whimpering puppy", to me, with the size/shape/angle of the front windows and their frames. ::edit:: And what's up with the square headlights? MP-10's are just like the G1's, and just like the appropriate-year real thing. Ovals.
  3. David Hingtgen
    Siege OS's elevated track is nice, but like most versions besides G1, it is missing the core (to me) element----the track is meant for the little tank to run along. The tanks are always grossly oversized, and don't fit the track at all. If I ever get another OS, it'll be this one: Sure, it has unquestionably the worst "gantry", but the track actually is track, and the tank actually runs along it. It's a working model railroad. Tankroad.
  4. David Hingtgen
    I'll agree with that.
  5. David Hingtgen
    And it's not like it's some super-subtle thing you have to freeze-frame to catch, it's super-obvious if you just "watch the movie": Painting them blue, on the biggest most expensive piece of SSD merchandise that's been released in the past couple years, means you weren't even looking at the original source material for what you were trying to copy. But even worse, is having it pointed out like a year ago when the first hand-finished sample was unveiled, and then NOT fixing it for production. I'm pretty sure even just emailing the factory a googled Chinese translation of "paint engines red, not blue" would have sufficed.
  6. David Hingtgen
    Obviously Cybertronians use the same tech as Starfleet---"direct hit to lower aft cargo bay!" ::sparks fly from conn on bridge::
  7. David Hingtgen
    I just watched his XL Excelsior, and XL Ent-D reviews, and noted these issues that weren't commented on (which shows a lack of basic research into the ships by Eaglemoss) 1. The Excelsior is missing the "trench" where the neck and saucer meet. There's a "gap" there, but nothing like the huge carved-out area of the real thing: (couldn't find a handy pic of the real thing that shows it clearly) 2. The Excelsior has the extended Ent-B style of fins on the rear of the nacelles. (no, they didn't royally screw up and add the upper ones, but the ones on the side/rear corner, should be shorter for the original Excelsior class---they shouldn't extend beyond the edge of the nacelle--this is quite evident in the review video when he shows the booklet, that has a nice top-down view of the "real" (CG?) Excelsior---you can see the fins on that one are a good bit shorter (and correct). 3. Ent D---shuttlebays 2 and 3 look to be the same size, or only SLIGHTLY different. The stbd one (#3) should be like twice as big:
  8. David Hingtgen
    Somehow, it's MORE futuristic looking now, than back then. Did we regress with the F-35/Su-57/J-20?
  9. David Hingtgen
    Did you read the rest of my post? It's basically saying "why that one's not an option, unless I can be convinced otherwise". In short---I won't put up with its myriad of other little issues (and increased cost), just for my preferred overall coloring. (which, coming from me, is saying a lot)
  10. David Hingtgen
    I basically asked this over at TFW2005, but will happily solicit input here: Long story short---I want a "toy-esque" Megatron. Silver, with red inner legs. MP-36 isn't that at all. MP-36+ is actually TOO toy-accurate, and $$$$. The only silvery KO's are THF, and MagTen. MagTen seems to have among the lowest quality of the KO's, has pre-printed insignia (of a style I don't like), and the face is like, "cream" colored. It's got as many pluses as minuses. THF, seems to be one of the higher-quality KO's, I can choose my preferred insignia style, and it has a properly grey gace. And is currently less than $60 shipped, a good chunk less than the MagTen. But---it's only "kinda silvery" and not SILVER. And has minimal red. I'm leaning towards THF, and painting the inner legs myself, but am concerned about paint scraping during transforming, etc. Do the lower legs just peg together left/right? Do they come apart easily? That's my main concern---having to insert a fingernail etc into the seams, and scraping off the paint near the edges while trying to "pry the lower legs apart, while in gun mode". A concern of mine is "being nice and straight in alt-mode". The IF one seems to be the best at that, it's dead-straight when pegged together, but is currently the rarest/priciest of the KO's, and appears to be utterly dead-flat grey, even duller than the actual Takara. So that's a deal-killer. So, is THF the "second-straightest" one? (droopy barrels are so common on this mold, and just kills how it looks)
  11. David Hingtgen
    Railroad version is best, but not done nearly as often as the others. (also, I seem to be the only one who likes the "end of the first movie" look, with the giant lightning rod)
  12. David Hingtgen
    What all are the options for a silver/metallic MP-36? THF, MagTen----any others? Is MagTen the only one with toy-esque red leg panels? If the THF is half the price of MagTen, I can live with the more boring leg color. Anyone know of a good pros/cons of THF vs MagTen?
  13. David Hingtgen
    Dang, if it really transforms "almost kibble-free" like that, that's amazing. I can't help but suspect there's "half a planet" of panels hanging just off-screen... Bonus points if they actually release it in orange, not yellow...
  14. David Hingtgen
    Thing is, most companies have gone beyond "pants-formers". They're now "overalls" or even "wrestling singlet". They're neck-to-knees half the time. Very similar to G1 Magnus---the "torso" bot, really just holds up the head, and nothing more. Just fold it into a box, attach the head, then hide it away inside the 'real' robot body. They're no longer "adding a waist-section to improve proportions/articulation", they're pretty much starting with a ginormous armless/footless action master, then selling 5 more bots to "fill in the gaps".
  15. David Hingtgen
    Super Hornet isn't stealthy, but it as least has some modicum of RCS-reducing measures. Tomcat is a flashing red light, radar-wise... Increasing the complexity of the flaps strikes me as the most odd thing of all. The trend is towards SIMPLER flaps, to save weight, due to more advanced computational modeling now able to get the performance of a double or triple-slotted flap, out of a single or double. Multi-piece flaps are complicated and heavy. Though, this may literally be a difference of "what they proposed back then" vs "what they'd likely do NOW". 737NG, 747-8, A321XLR---all have simpler, lighter, fewer-piece/slot flaps than the original design, and equal or better landing performance.
  16. David Hingtgen
    Which Prime is that? So few have silver thighs nowadays. (I detest white/pale grey ones). Looks MP-10ish but no insignia?
  17. David Hingtgen
    "But my phone has an HDR spot to tap, all ya need!"
  18. David Hingtgen
    Messer still at HLJ---wow, 2 hours. Can't last long at "limit of 20" though. https://hlj.com/dx-chogokin-movie-ver-vf-31f-siegfried-messer-ihlefeld-hayate-immelmann-use-bans55013
  19. David Hingtgen
    Bigger, LIGHT-UP ring. THAT would sell zillions. "Insert planetary debris/escape ships with only one chance into maw, to light up rings". ::edit:: Seriously, there's no animated GIF of Unicron's ring light-up sequence on the entire net? That's like, the finale of his introduction. An unstated but clear "explanation" that he eats planets for sustenance/energy, not merely malice.
  20. David Hingtgen
    You know, eliminating the voice-box, would have reduced the mass, making their job easier... Though for me, the sheer fact that we have TWO different window-fronts now, for a super-subtle difference, shows just how ridiculously toon-accurate they're going, not matter what the cost-benefit ratio is. "10x more complicated, with added hinges and seams all over the alt-mode now, for 1% more robot accuracy". There's no 'balance' sought between designing the modes/looks whatsoever. "Robot-mode-accuracy, no matter the cost". I thought the "standard" MP idea of having two different front grilles was a bit much (always makes the transformation way more difficult than it should be, and is an easily-scraped piece), but you can barely even tell the window difference. And "the chest windows" are THE most iconic part of Prime's look. His truck windows SHOULD be his chest windows, with zero transformation for that area. It's almost unfathomable that they're not. (Heck, young me didn't like that aspect back with G1 Powermaster Prime, felt like a rip-off).
  21. David Hingtgen
    I'm not "new", but I honestly have never even risen to the rank of "amatuer photographer"---that would require knowledge/skills I don't have. If I have a lot of time, and a still subject, I can fiddle with the basic camera settings with a faint idea of what I'm doing, but more often than not it's just "guess and check" vs "actually knowing what f-stop and exposure time to use" If you want actual DSRL advice, I can't really help. If you want "better than a phone, but doesn't cost a grand"----that's my area. Most of these fall under the "bridge" or "super-zoom" category---and those categories often overlap. IMHO, I think battery capacity/type is under-rated in importance. So many cameras will die SO fast at an airshow. Optical image stabilization? Uses the battery. Focusing while zoomed? Uses battery. Hot sun? Drains battery faster. With many "proprietary" batteries only rated for a couple hundred shots under ideal conditions, you can measure their life in MINUTES at an airshow, when you're using constant zoom/focus/stabilizing under a blazing sun. Thus, I always look for a camera that uses basic AA batteries, vs having to buy a whole bunch of $$$$ proprietary spares to be able to actually have a "full day of shooting". Load the best rechargeables in the camera, keep the second-best rechargeables in the bag, and can buy a set of Duracells or raid the TV remote(s) in an emergency. I did once find a camera that actually did have an airshow mode---but had enough things I didn't like about it, I passed. Pretty sure it was at Best Buy a couple years ago, so can't be very 'exotic' or long out of production. Very few cameras have airshow (or equivalent) modes---which is basically telling the camera "yes, I do in fact want to take a shot of that small, dark, blurry thing, not the big obvious bright thing". Let's see----optical zoom is everything, digital zoom is worthless and even to be avoided (many cameras allow you to completely disable it). *Optical* image stabilization is way better than any other method. (but drains battery fast, but utterly needed for planes, or anything else that is far, or fast-moving---and jets to be both) The further you zoom, the harder it is to track/keep steady, even with stabilization. So "buy more zoom than you need, all you can afford"---because a camera that maxes at 25x zoom, will be struggling to still have a "decent" image at it's max capability of 25x. But a camera that maxes at 50x, designed to maintain a decent image up to 50x---will thus "have it easy" at 25x, and give a good result at 25x. Megapixels ARE over-rated. Very. "Sensor size" is really what matters. Think of it this way (and this is pretty close to how it works)----20 megapixels on a 2-inch sensor, or 20 megapixels crammed onto a 1-inch sensor. Which will be clearer, with no compression artifacts, banding, chromatic abberation, or just plain bad pixels? You really want "the fewest megapixels per inch". The REALLY high-end cameras, are not some "50-megapixel pixel-beast" of a camera. They often have LOWER megapixel counts than "lesser cameras". What they do have, is larger sensors. So that their pixels "aren't crowded", and thus they give amazing quality and clarity for the megapixels they DO have. High megapixel counts-----It's kind of like taking old footage, and uploading it to Youtube as 4K. Well, it's not really 4k footage/quality, no matter what Youtube says the resolution of the video is. The raw quality as recorded simply isn't there, now matter how high a resolution you're making it. "720p, recorded at 720p" is going to be way better than "old 8mm, uploaded at 4k". So, an 8-megapixel picture, taken by a camera with a full 1-inch-plus sensor, is going to look WAY better than a "20-megapixel camera" that has like a 1/2inch sensor. Sensor-size, is of course, rarely listed in a way that is easy to compare. "Everyday" cameras, will say something like "1/2.3" That has zero to do with the physical size of the sensor. But they do "go in order". 1, 1/1.2, 2/3, 1/2.3, etc. (no, can't have logical stuff like 5/8in or 3/4in or even 4/7in, it's 1/1.2in and 1/2.3in, so you've gotta do some mental math when comparing) And just to mess with people, they have both 4/3 and 1.5 when going past 1. Anyways, bigger sensor=way better. But you'll literally need a chart to compare most sizes---best to use one of the many "camera comparison sites" to just have it tell you which sensor is bigger.
  22. David Hingtgen
    Really, I don't think I need to watch the video. I can see all I need to from the box art---what a ridiculous-looking truck mode. It's the opposite of what MP's used to be. I want a friggin' Freightliner FL86 that turns into Prime, period. Cartoon-accuracy be damned, the toon truck has no air cleaners and no horns---that makes it not even really a semi IMHO. (and the ever-flattening fuel tanks have bugged me since MP-1----I don't think I've seen proper fuel tanks SINCE the original G1) Yet they continue to keep putting wipers on, as if THAT was an uber-important detail for the overall look, when so many far larger issues need to be addressed...
  23. David Hingtgen
    Well, I think mine is an '06----guess no matter how well you take care of them, digicams just won't go past a dozen years. (and it's kinda pointless IMHO paying $$$$ for most brand-new ones---nearly every one for sale now in the bridge/superzoom category, are 2014/2015 models still being produced---thus why I bought "slightly used" for 1/2 the price on ebay)
  24. David Hingtgen
    Not liking the coloring/weathering of the latest pics. Some areas are flat-out purple, and I see pale aqua in spots (main gear doors etc). That kind of weathering pretty much gets a "WTF?" from me. Sun and salt exposure never turned a plane grape-and-mint, AFAIK. Way too much to spend on "it may look decent in the end". The actual mass-production product may look very different--could look awesome, could look even worse. Ironically, all those Mandarake listings above, use the original pre-release pics of the first release, which looked great---only we all know how they switched to a Max-esque royal blue in the end. Really, if I could just get a 0D painted like they originally showed (non-premium, non-weathered, simply "slate grey-blue and pale grey"), I'd be happy. Instead, Arcadia keeps trying their darndest to do "odd coloring that is sorta but not quite how it looked". Yeesh, Hasegawa got it spot-on the first try. Sigh, guess I'll wait another decade and hope some day someone makes a good-looking 0D that transforms... ::edit:: Looking at the pics again, I think the basic thing is "they weathered the s*** out of it, but the base colors are still cobalt blue and white". And no amount of weathering is going to change those to slate blue and ghost grey.... ::edit 2:: Where's this one? That one looked spot-on to the CGI: It's far more grey than what they're showing now.
  25. David Hingtgen
    My camera started dying this summer (don't know why, I mean, a digital camera shouldn't really "age" much), and I literally bought a new (well, new-ER) one off ebay yesterday to replace it, as it will NOT make it much longer---this is the best pic I got this season I think: This is totally raw from the camera, asides from re-sizing. (would have a lot more pics from the last 2 shows, but--camera kept dying early on)
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