David Hingtgen

The way it cuts off, I always got the impression we're just getting a 2min "teaser" of the full thing. (Not that I expect 30 mins--more like 5 or 10)

Part of the problem with the -19, is that the finish varies from part to part. Some are VERY pebbly, some like fine sandpaper, some "very smooth but not glossy smooth". Sanding has a very polishing effect on the plastic. I have currently glued the blocks in like Winterdyne suggested, and added plastic pins. I did a test and the metal pin held in with CA came out way too easily. I figure using plastic pins in plastic blocks will actually have a better bond. Going to let things dry for a day, then will glue halves together tomorrow. Plus additional applications of Plastruct Weld to the blocks tonight to try to REALLY get the blocks to stick to the legs---that'll be the weak point I think. I'm also trying to encase the blocks in superglue as backup.

So is basically "rotating legs 90 degrees" the big secret to unlocking the hip bars?

Camaro wheel options: Rant: How come there's NO variation in OEM wheels any more? I swear, every single wheel the past couple years from every manufacturer has been the exact same "5 thin spokes highly polished" option. I'm really getting sick of it. (to the point that I vow my next car will not have 5 spoke wheels). I *know* 3, 6, 7, and 8 spoked are perfectly viable and decently popular, or even the "angled" 5-spokes (which I like a lot) etc. Just something other than the basic simple "5-spoke star-pattern". (4-spokes look weird to me and you don't see them that often AFAIK) We need more "discs with holes" (non-steel) options---I do like most Lamborghini wheels. (I don't think I've ever seen a Ferrari wheel that caught my eye--very generic 5-spokes for such distinctive cars)

Thanks much for the info/tips. PS---I use paint on the tips to mark where to drill, too.

Javabean---here's a better pic of the Defender:

Yamato put up the new Hikaru 1A on their site: http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.php?gid=1201 And a non-FP version: http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.php?gid=1205

This pic new? ::edit:: Found another. ::edit again:: The CAD lineart?

A small test inside the leg shows that Plastruct Weld definitely is a solvent to it--it got soft in seconds. I just wonder about gap-filling abilities, etc, as it's one of those "evaporates instantly" glues.

Here's pics of the halves, "almost together" and fully together. It actually holds together quite stiffly by itself--it's when all the other parts come into play and transforming it that it splits open, right where the pin is (just to the left of center in the 2nd pic) (There's a glued plastic peg there from the factory to hold that spot closed---but if you ever open up the leg, that's destroyed)

The BAT's claw is articulated, BTW. Don't think I've seen it mentioned anywhere.

Yeesh, I walked past pegs full of him this afternoon.

Bought BAT and Hawk. I never did like Snow Serpents (cool name though) and especially don't like the "abominable snowman" look of the new ones. Way too much long, straggly fur...

I'm currently pinning, that'll be superglued into the hole (as nothing really holds metal at all). Planning to try Plastruct Weld for the rest. If that doesn't work, probably an epoxy.

Graham's review says mostly ABS. The only POM is the canards, and possibly the "pale grey" parts. Thing is, there's many types of ABS (just like there's many types of styrene). All react differently to different glues. Plastruct Weld is supposed to work with ABS well, but it's very thin and has no gap-filling ability. I have read raw acetone is good for ABS welding, but will not work on many variants of ABS that have anything else mixed in with them--and I have no spare YF-19 parts to experiment with really.

Sigh, my YF-19 leg popped apart at the seam again. You know the place---just ahead of where the tailfin slides---there's a glued peg there that is guaranteed to break if you ever open up the leg. And that means its almost impossible to get it to close up nicely again. Superglue is too brittle, doesn't work at all. Large quantities of standard model cement/glue allowed to dry for a week----works for a little while (up until tonight). And standard model glue clearly doesn't affect YF-19 plastic much--it doesn't "melt" it at all. Is a YF-19 (tan parts) ABS? Will Plastruct glue work on it better? Is there a special ABS glue? (maybe for plumbers?) Perhaps epoxy? What the heck does Yamato use? I'm going to the hobby store tomorrow, so I'm open to suggestions---I want something that will REALLY hold the leg halves together. (part of the problem is the sliding fin--as it goes forward, it tries to split the halves apart---can't make it looser---then the fin won't hold in place--it's a fine balance between too loose and too tight---I tested it a dozen times while and after drying, but just tonight when I transformed it, I noticed it was open again) I'm going to use a pin this time to try to help replace the peg, but there's so much stress on that seam--I bet the pin will pull out, rather than hold the leg halves together.

Target restock---they still have just the 4 Scarlett comic packs, but lots of new (and almost new) figs. BAT/Hawk wave, 2-4 of each fig. 2 or so of each from the previous 2 waves. VAMP. All the Hawks had very "curved" cards (not that I care much, but it makes it hard to store the file cards when they're not flat) Also, figs are $7.99 now, yeesh. I usually only buy about 2 per wave, but it still adds up. I see the DVD packs all over now, mainly at Wal-Marts.

I just found Powerglide and a horde of wave 3 dlx's. Gah, I want Onslaught...

Actually I don't like Pachy at all--I was just showing off my dino spelling with that one. My main faves are Allosaurus fragilis (yup, I'm species-specific with that one) and Stegosaurus. Also like Kentrosaurus, though how the spikes are arranged are still up for debate--I like the "original" way I grew up seeing in books of course. Stegosaurus is why I have Snarl (G2), and the Gordos zoid, and the new Lego stego. Thus, we need a new Stego dinobot!

WTF? Next person to multi-quote images gets temp-banned. This page is like 40 screens long...

Found these:

I'd blame the player, not the CPU. I have a top-end (well, it was 4 months ago when it was new) CPU and GPU, and it can't play Frontier without jumping and stuttering all the time--with VLC. But media player classic---absolutely perfect. PS--as I've mentioned a lot before, a jet engine without air simply won't work. It's NOT related to combustion. Jets make thrust by moving AIR, not simply by burning fuel. It's often said that "letting go of a blown-up but untied balloon" is the simplest jet engine---and it is. Is there any combustion in a balloon? No. But there is a lot of air coming out the back. No air=no reaction=no thrust. When the balloon's out of air, it's out of thrust. Same for a jet engine. Nuclear jet engines have been built, that effectively need no fuel--but they still derive all their thrust from sucking in and expelling air. If you need an "air-free" engine, you need a rocket, as you simply can't have a fluid-free jet. (Doesn't have to be air--water works great too, thus the water-jet----but you've GOT to have something to push out the back end, and in very large amounts----so big that you're pretty much limited to using the sky or the ocean as your fluid source) (I'm guessing this will turn into one of MW's many "how valk engines work" threads soon)

Or with so many--half a bone or a tooth. We need more dinobots---and more "classic" dinos. I've noticed a trend in Japan (both Zoids and TFs)---they LOVE to make things about "the big new dino" whenever possible. Seismosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Ultrasaurus, Charcarodontosaurus, etc. Magmatron is the best example for a TF. And then 2 years later they find out it's not "really" a new species half the time and the size estimate was 30% off. People should wait before making "all this stuff" about new dinos. Just stick with the basics until you've got at least half a skeleton to go on---the original Dinobots (and anything known prior to WWI) are still what people really know and want, species-wise. PS---yes, I typed out Charcarodontosaurus all by myself. I can also do Pachycephalosaurus, Parasauralophus, Deinonychus, and Therizinosaurus. I tend to like the more obscure stuff---I was a Velociraptor fan in the 80's, then a certain movie came out and EVERYONE jumped on the bandwagon... (so I switched back to Deinonychus) PPS--Magmatron is an AWESOME toy IMHO, one of my all-time faves. Well worth getting if you don't have one.

VF-25's about 1/3 longer in fighter mode, compared to a VF-1. Go here for any and all Macross mecha stats: http://www.new-un-spacy.com/m3.html If it's not listed there, it's not listed anywhere.

Currently, I have half Kei, a bit under half GG, and a few gattai/shinsen. I don't torrent so I'm mainly at the mercy of whatever's uploaded to the non-torrent sites. Which is usually "whoever's first". PS--VLC really does suck it seems. Media Player/CCCP does much better.