David Hingtgen

About that "2-packs as single cards"----would that include, say, Copperhead any time soon? Or will there be like a year delay, and we'll start seeing Ripper singly?

HISS driver is a very good figure IMHO. Simple, minimal accessories, but the best torso-joint of all. (looks a bit weird twisted to the side due to the chest plate, but the range of motion is the most natural and useful I've found). Going to repaint the black part of the mask though---none in the stores has the black paint in quite the right spot--either the "mouth" or visor have too much or too little paint. Is it that hard for the factory workers to follow the indentations? ::edit:: Except the one at JoeBattleLines, they got a "perfect" one--http://joebattlelines.com/reviews/toys/25thanniversary/cobrahissdriver.htm HISS driver's awesomeness means I might buy a black HISS just to get Rip-It. Unless someone's army-building HISS tanks and doesn't need all those Rip-Its. (I really only need one HISS, and I like the blue more than the black, so I'm already all set, HISS-wise) PS---going to paint the silver rims on the Lackey Viper's goggles, too.

I mean compressed, as in compressed so much there's a notable quality loss. Like a 99% vs 60% JPG.

I just pre-ordered Japanese shiny chrome movie Prime from LaF toys. Thundercracker is still too expensive--"only half of Botcon" is still too much for $9.99 toy. Not getting TC funds my chrome...

A LOT of cable HD isn't HD, it's simply "upscaled". And even if it really is filmed in HD---most companies squeeze a zillion channels into just a bit of bandwidth, causing lots of image/compression problems. All just depends. Unless you're using a Blu-Ray player or a PS3 or a 360, you're probably not getting full, pure, uncompressed HD. Unless you're lucky.

Strato-Viper is my most-wanted viper. A. They look cool. B. They pilot the coolest vehicle of all. C. There are multiple canon female Strato-vipers. For the cost of "1.5" molds they could make 2 characters. Or an AWESOME two-pack---1 male, 1 female. Especially since the Night Raven toy was built for 2---you always had to buy another separate Strato-viper to "fill up" the cockpit if you owned a Night Raven.

Wal-Mart is trying to delay the introduction of HD or something. Or at least, confuddle the masses even more so than they already are. Last week, I saw they had gotten in a bunch of "2009-ready" digital ATSC tuner-equipped, 20in CRT's. Yup. Cheap, old-school TV's, with built-in digital tuners. "With 480i!!!!" on the box... They're also flat-screens. Well, as flat-screen as CRT's get, which we all know means there's a flat pane of a glass up front, with a normally-curved CRT screen about an inch back behind that... Also, the picture itself just sucks. I doubt it can even do 480i, the sheer number of phosphors is about the lowest I've seen in many years on a CRT that size. Now, this week---same thing, but also in 13in! With built-in DVD player. Sigh. For everyone who will only be dragged into HD/digital kicking and screaming, Wal-Mart's got TV's for you. If you want a SD, digital flat-screen---they've got it. I doubt they even have S-video connections, much less component. But you can imagine how many people are going to think they're watching HD, now that they've got a "digital flat-screen" TV, and they'll brag how they only paid a hundred bucks for it...

Seconded. I'd pay a decent amount for a Classics TC.

Could come with the trailer full of toys---awesome accessory if you already have an AWE Striker. (Though I passed on the one at Target)

Are the sets going to be sold "everywhere" or semi-exclusive, or what? A big part of the reason I "hunt" is so I can pick out ones with the best paint jobs (since they vary a lot).

"Cobra CLAWS is coming to town"---not a mini-series, but a special. And probably the main "Covergirl" ep. She'd make a great "pack-in-exclusive".

Finally found wave 7 (well, most of it). Got HISS driver and Lackey Viper. Passed on Wild Bill. Note: HISS driver masks have WIDELY varying paint. None are perfect. Either the black is off (not enough/too high) on the "mouth" leaving too much red, or there's way too much silver from the visor spilling onto the "face". Just pick which one looks overall best.

Yeah, amazing how of all the shades of grey F-15's have been painted, they have yet to get ANY of them on a MP. MP-03 is green, and "G1" color is way too pale. (Now, an actual G1 SS is pretty close and probably the most realistically colored F-15 TF of all if you ignore the red and blue-----but they didn't make the MP version that color of grey) 36118, 36375, 36320, 36251, and 36176 are all "shades of grey used on many F-15's for years". And they are all much darker than the "G1" MP toy, and none have any green. (36375 is ever so slightly bluish, and 36320 is ever so slightly purple)

Am I the only one who thinks the head (especially the face) looks a bit weird? I've thought that from the very first pics.

So 200 people in the world will have them at that rate. That's worse than Botcon TC I think...

Make Robocop a chick. Get the mecha-valk-girl fans to watch.

I wouldn't be so annoyed with the constant CC's if ONE WOULD HAVE A CHROME MASK. Destro got his chrome, why not CC?

IMHO, if you buy just one game for it, then the PS3 will have paid for itself as a "gaming-capable" Blu-Ray player. I plan to make it my main DVD player too, based on its upscaling capabilities. My "long-term" set-up will have my 360 as my main gaming machine, while the PS3 will mainly be a DVD and Blu-Ray player, plus the occasional exclusive game. (like MGS4 and FF XIII)

Yeah---I think that TC will be only SLIGHTLY cheaper and easier to get than a Botcon one. Sigh. If I could "just order them" I'd buy both the SW and TC, despite already having a Target SW. (The lavender is just so much more correct on the JP version). PS---I am so getting shiny chrome JP Movie Prime: http://transformers.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cgi-...80521010409.jpg (link is wonky--sometimes works, sometimes doesn't--try reloading, right-clicking, etc)

Problem is, all customer service support sucks AFAIK, though Samsung's seems even lower than average from what I've read. I don't know of anyone who's had an issue with a TV of any brand that was quickly and easily fixed. Basic scenario is "wait a few months for them to try to fix it a dozen times, then wait a few more for them to replace it".

I've had my TV for just over a week now, comments: 1. Despite how much I complained about them over the past few months, to the point of almost buying a Sony because of it----I never ever notice the glossy black bezel at all while watching. Gets linty in an instant, but I never notice reflections etc. 2. My TV seems flawless. No dead/stuck pixels. No clouds, flashlights, etc. Part of the reason I bought the TV I did is due to it seeming to have the lowest "issue" rate of any LCD TV ever. 3. The more I watch, the more I notice. My only HD source is my 360, and I've still only played Mass Effect on it---but I see new stuff in textures almost every time. It's not merely "this texture is slightly more detailed", it's "I always thought this was just an untextured plain yellow polygon, but now I see it's 3-dimensional ribbed fabric with a distinct pattern". 4. 32in at 4ft viewing distance is SLIGHTLY too close at times, I've had it around 4.5ft for most of the last week. Going to move it back up to around 4ft soon just to make sure, as I'm more used to such a large screen now. (The first day, it seemed gigantic). 5. Speakers much better than I thought, despite being hidden/downwards-facing. Of course, my last TV's were 3W... 5.5. Matte (or semi-matte) screens rock IMHO. I could "see myself" far too often reflected in my CRT screen when the lighting was right. The duller screen "breaks up" reflections, making it much harder to notice any reflected images since they're indistinct. Light itself spreads over a bit wider area, but it's a small price to pay---a larger generalized "glow" of light is FAR less annoying than the clear outline of my bedroom door (or me) appearing on screen. 6. General comment: A CRT's ability to "make" black is over-rated. Every CRT I've seen when OFF isn't black, they're dark grey. And they don't get any darker when turned on. POTC 3 in the theaters, the 30 sec pure black scene? Theater screen's grey, not black. Happened with Iron Man, too. Even a professional movie theater screen can't show pure black, so don't try to compare to (or strive for) PURE black. Off, my LCD's screen is distinctly "blacker" than any CRT I know of. On, in normal lighting, you can just barely tell it got brighter. Now, in pure darkness you can certainly tell my TV showing an "all black" screen is brighter/greyer than a CRT. But it's not a ton, and a big point of LCD's is their raw "power" allows them to be comfortably viewed in normal lighting. Theaters and CRT's are often watched "in the dark" because that's the only way to get the whites etc bright enough. But an LCD even at minimum power can still burn your eyeballs out with whiteness. I almost never watch "in the dark" now---there's no need, I can see everything fine in daylight due to how the LCD behaves overall. The "apparent" blackness of the screen in dark scenes/areas is 99% as black as the bezel, and in that measurement far exceeds my CRT in the same condition. Contrast ratio can (partly) compensate for black level--the brighter the whites, the darker the blacks appear. In summary: watching movies on my LCD, the letterboxing strips above and below are much more apparently black (compared to the bezel, etc) than with my old CRT. Yes, an LCD doesn't do that well in "light emission levels" compared to a CRT in the "totally dark room showing a pure black screen" test. But what's the point of that, when even a movie theater doesn't do that great in that condition? Showing an actual movie in normal lighting (a much more useful test IMHO) makes the LCD look superior to my eye.

550 series TV?

A HUD does not need a separate combiner glass, it is easily projected directly on the canopy. The difference is, without a combiner glass, you need a special type of glass for the canopy. F-14A's (and most F-14B's) (and my car) project their HUD directly onto the windscreen. F-14D, and F-15/16/18/20/22 etc have the more common combiner glass style of HUD. I'd guess the reason for a combiner glass is that it's much easier to make a small flat plate of the right type of glass, than an entire windscreen.

I asked because that's only the second time I've seen swords like that, but the function is so similar I imagined there must be a real design. Or maybe they just copied hers: http://sakasagami.deviantart.com/art/Shiki...pirits-60415070 (fan-art, but shows her swords better than anything official I could find)

Semi-related question: What's the term for a sword with a "ring" in the middle, like in the first pic?