David Hingtgen

The problem is, the upper part of the heatshield would be right behind the cockpit--which is where the whole forward fuselage pivots 180 to transform. If the heatshield is stored behind the cockpit like the VF-1----it's in the way to transform.

Basically--yup. Military landing gear is white, period. (except for the very few planes that have titanium landing gear). Stealth bomber? Bright white gear. Stealth fighter? Bright white gear. Special ops night-mission pure black C-130? Bright white gear. It's a safety thing---bright white makes cracks and leaks show up really easy for visual inspection. Always wondered why civil airliners don't do the same. (Painted silver if Airbus, pale grey for all others) I was always a bit annoyed that a 1/48 Milia, while having white gear, has red main gear bays.

There's little bump-stop just like the 1/48. But I don't know if you can "go past it"---I've never tried, nor with the 1/48. Overall the backpack is much more solid than the 1/48, with thicker hinges and the like. (kind of the opposite of the shoulders).

Just attached FAST packs for the first time. Heard a big "snap" when doing the boosters, and totally freaked out--it was the head/back flap pulling out from the recessed position. Apparently it's NOT recessed when the boosters are installed, making the whole thing pointless----it's not needed in any mode/configuration it seems. Backpack no longer supports anything other than itself, and the hook is under stress even without boosters. It seems the only reason that flap can still be recessed is because the 1/48 did. Same for the hook. I'm just glad the flap let go from its position, rather than the backpack's hook snapping or something. There's no mention anywhere of battroid mode having that part in different positions based on whether the boosters are installed. FAST pack tip: For the armor on the back of the legs, work with the upper tab first. Seems counter-intuitive based on the "hook" of the lower tab, but lower tab first just doesn't work.

LAFtoys should be getting restock of the YF-21 this week.

Just transformed mine for the first time, went VERY slowly and carefully, here's my tips: Page 6, step 4, section 2. The outlined hinge is often stiff. Get that loose before folding the backpack---I would avoid trying to fold the backpack to unstick that hinge---BP8 situation. Page 6 step 6. Look at the shape of the tab. Move the legs INWARD as you pull them down. This should help a lot, both with difficulty and breakage prevention. Page 8, step 11 and 12. The infamous shoulders. My suggestion which I think will GREATLY reduce stress on the parts: skip ahead and detach the legs/swingbar fully. With the intakes/hips out of the way you can then grab BOTH sides of the shoulders, and EVENLY *lift* them over the tab/stop. If you do it how the instructions say, you have to lift just one side of the shoulders--the side that is NOT encountering the tab---you have to lift that side WAY up, to try to get the other side to come up to get over the tab---that can't be good for it---you're lifting one side WAY high, and trying to force the other side over the tab via a twisting force in doing so. Or, if you're swinging/pressing instead of lifting, you're just pressing the shoulders until they bend and "jump" over the tab due to the amount of force they're receiving---also not good. By doing it my way, you can directly lift that "other" side over the tab, placing far less force, and evenly-applied force, on both sides of the shoulder. Yes, this means you are doing a few unnecessary steps if you plan to stop at GERWALK, but well worth it. (and if you're going to GERWALK from battroid, there's no extra steps, it's just out of order) Page 9, step 13. Super-stiff. Works exactly like the YF-19. Just grab the leg and pull until it comes. Wiggling doesn't help. I'm going to try loosening a leg screw or two---even 1/4 turn makes a big difference with the -19. Page 12, step 1/2/3. Their suggested method's pretty good. I would add that you do not want to free the legs ONLY by bending them inwards. Bend them inwards to free the inner tab, then pull/wiggle the intakes down directly to disconnect the forward tab---do not rely soley on the lower legs to make the intakes let go. Also, you'll probably find one side lets go easier---once that intake's free, disconnect that side's hip bar as well---it'll help leverage/wiggle the other side. Page 14, step 7. Another "important" tip I have. Pushing down the cockpit is NOT the method. It is the goal. You can press and pull the nose down all day, and just end up with a lot of bending or even breaking. There is no lock/tab at all in the nose/cockpit/intake area there. But you'd think so based on the instructions. The actual lock for the whole front section is at the chest-plate/back-plate seam. Right behind the yellow chest stripes. THAT is where the tabs holding the nose together are. What you need to do is to grab the chest plate near the circle-bar verniers, and LIFT UP. Look at step 8---directly below the outlined heat shield, you can see a tab. That's it. The slot it goes into is down and to the right of the tab, at the very bottom of the pic. Pulling down on the nose is NOT going to free that tab without high odds of breaking it--and some people have, I think. Lifting up the chestplate where that tab is is FAR better and easier. Page 16, step 14. Opposite of the legs---don't push or pull--wiggle! Page 18, step 20. VERY tight "clasp", unlike the 1/48. "Just do it". It won't break. Well, so far at least. Swingbar---watch the video. Also--Yamato's website showing how to get it out--that's pretty much the same angle as getting it in. Getting the bar into the square notch is more important than getting the hip bars into their holes to start the process, and should be the first thing you get lined up. It really does "go all together" and should be done in one motion--you can't do this part, then that part, then close the door. It's all or nothing. Everything will "snap into place" all together. And do NOT try to close the door to force the parts together--will not work. The bars will actually automatically close the door (more or less) when they get into position. "Wiggling the bar down to get the hips in" seems to work decently, especially if you lock the swingbar into the backpack first to help hold it in place.

I'll just chime and say that most people are ranking Gamlin and Mylene too low. Gamlin's good, period. So good they gave him a VF-22S, and *very* few people get one of those. Also, Physica's WAY too low on most people's lists IMHO. He gets automatic "hard core" points for jumping into an armored VF-11 half-naked from a hospital bed and single-handedly saving Battle 7 by taking out a Varauta battleship... I'd put him above Docker.

Well, the VF-11's design inherently has no gaps where there's markings, and almost no panel lines. Yamato's last VF-11 way-back-when had every marking tampo-printed, I can't imagine there'd be fewer this time. (it also inherently has very few markings to start with) ::edit:: Whoops, just checked pics against my memory---the kite on the nose wasn't printed. But the entire front half of a VF-11 is "static" and doesn't have any parts/panels open to transform, so they certainly should be able to print it on this time---though there is a "bend" in the area due to the canard. Hmmmn.

My opinions have switched since the beginning--I didn't like Sheryl at all, but now I'm rooting for her. Ranka's gone from cute to clueless.

Ouch, that's as bad as the 1/48's got.

2 hours, I swear. Note: everywhere says 98 mins. Gotta be wrong. I checked my watch when I got to the theater, when the movie started, and when I walked out of the lobby. Right around 2 hours. I expected it to be just over an hour and a half like they say--but it ran longer. ::edit:: Ah---found a place that says it's 121 minutes. And that fits perfectly.

"Officially" my car's between the R/T and SRT8 (depending on what mag you trust--or the manufacturer), but damn hard to launch decently (FWD sucks like that)----I doubt I'd ever actually get a 5.7 out of mine. (5.9 is probably the most common number used for mine, 5.7 is claimed by GM and C&D) I'm just kinda wondering why the Mustang GT does so well compared to mine---first link I came across said 5.1 for it. My car has nearly identical HP and torque, larger engine overall (very broad torque curve), and only slightly higher weight. Transmission----does the GT have one heck of a first gear? Sheer physics of being RWD?

Congrats---Nora's doesn't seem to be that popular, despite how awesome and problem-free it is. It's overall the best valk I own. It always photographs more "pink" than it is--it's really much more of a wine color IMHO.

Part of it is, I think, the fact that the skull itself is very asymmetrical in design.

ghostryder---mine's exactly like yours I think (to the point that camera/angle distortion is the biggest thing I notice). Left perfect (or darn close to it), right just a tiny bit off. IMHO, the people reporting "both straight" are just less critical than I am, and have them like mine, Graham, swoosh, and yours. I notice that the one in the instruction manual's like that too. I'm betting 90%+ are just like these, with only a few rare "off" ones.

Really old news, but still cool. SW has always had the coolest capital ships in all of sci-fi IMHO.

I was noticing---the upcoming TV Hikaru VF-1J doesn't have a modex number printed on the ventral fin. Now, no Yamato DYRL valk does, because they're tiny, and they already have large modex numbers on the nose and wings. But Hikaru's TV 1J *only* (canonically AFAIK) has its modex numbers on the ventral fins---so without them being printed on the ventral fins, that means he has none at all. And that sucks IMHO. *Every* valk should have its modex number printed on it SOMEWHERE. I understand that a few of the tiny ones aren't printed on Skull squadron ones, etc----but when a valk *only* has them on the ventral fins, and they're large, they should be printed. This will also affect Max and Milia---they also have their numbers ONLY on the ventral fins, not the nose or wings. We need to convince Yamato that the TV 1J's need their numbers printed on their ventral fins---or we will be getting a lot of 1J's that have no numbers printed on them at all. What valk each number has is an important fact, based on how often it comes up in MW discussions. For TV 1J's, Hikaru is 101, Max is 202, and Milia is 303. But those 3 valks only have them printed on the ventral fins, unlike nearly every other VF-1 which has them on the nose and wings. If Yamato isn't printing them on the ventral fins, then we're missing some MAJOR markings of the TV 1J. I mean, what's the point of all the little danger/intake markings on the new 1/60, when the large and distinctive modex numbers aren't being printed? Forget the little red triangle under the canopy, I want a big "303" on my Milia!

Kyp--I think yours matches mine---lining up the fin edges to your pic, mine then has a vertical skull---but that's because the valk itself isn't quite level at that point, but slightly nose-down. Try this---fold the fins over each other. Then see how the skulls look. (I have an incredibly critical eye for things like this, so I'm curious and picky, about both mine and other's, for comparison)

Hey, would people with "perfectly straight" skulls post pics? I just opened mine up, and it seems the same as Graham/Swoosh's--slightly tilted on the right fin only. Also---has anybody pointed out that the gunpod is printed the same as the Revoltech, so that one side is right side up for each mode? (which also makes one side upside down for each mode). No missing parts so far, but haven't transformed it.

Honestly I like the grey suit thing more than most of her outfits.

Gah, I just looked up the "new" Y-wing. It's hideous. They totally ruined one of the neatest ships in the saga. http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/news/...080403_2_bg.jpg The "conjectural" fully-armored Y-wing looked so much better: http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/c/...inal_Y-wing.jpg It made a lot more sense, too. I don't know of any car/ship/plane that has a structural frame totally unrelated to its exterior--but the Clone Wars Y-wing does.

There was a Thrawn clone? (I've read like 5 SW books ever, with the Heir to the Empire set making up most of that)

Gaaaaaawwwwwdddd, even as "stupid TSA stories" go, this one's bad: <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Nine American Eagle airplanes were grounded Tuesday after a TSA inspector, conducting an overnight security check, used sensitive instrument probes to climb onto the parked aircraft at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, aviation sources tell ABCNews.com. At least forty regional commuter flights were delayed throughout the day, according to American Airlines. "We think it's an unfortunate situation," American airlines spokesperson Mary Frances told ABCNews.com. The TSA agent, as part of spot inspection of aircraft security, climbed onto the parked aircraft using control sensors mounted on the fuselage as handholds, according to a TSA official in Chicago, Elio Montenegro. "Our inspector was following routine procedure for securing the aircraft that were on the tarmac," Montenegro told ABCNews.com. The TSA agent was attempting to determine if someone could break into a parked aircraft, according to Montenegro. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< This is why people who couldn't get a job at MickeyD's and don't know the SLIGHTEST thing about aviation, shouldn't be allowed to mess with multi-million-dollar aircraft. And I'm betting replacement pitot probes etc for the SAAB 340 aren't that easy to come by nowadays.

8.1 is pathetic. My first car could do better. Sigh--I don't know if I'll be able to afford gas for a 2011/2012 or so Challenger R/T. Might have to keep my current car longer than I'd hoped.

I think that was the ONE time something like that happened, and it was believable because it explained how that species was (basically) like Vulcans, but to an even more extreme step--purely logical, with pure order. Everything nice and patterned with straight lines and right angles. So an attack comprised of purely "random" patterns and curves probably would be darn-near uncounterable by them. It's not like he plotted an entire war based on some little manuever that humans aren't good at countering based on his study of Matisse. Frankly, there'd be a zillion ways to learn that "whatever species it was" was basically incapable of comprehending "random 3D curves" or whatever---and you can bet every commander in the fleet was probably aware of that and used it to their advantage whenever possible. Thrawn just liked to show off via art...