David Hingtgen

Don't even think about blue lights on a semi on the road. You will NOT get away with it no matter how lucky you are. Unlike cars, trucks are subject to *frequent* inspections---every day if you need to weigh at the scales. It's easy to have illegal stuff on a car---just remove it the day before the annual inspection. But good luck trying to get around daily/weekly inspections...

Replica Prime running qualities: Based on the "before" pics it looks like it was basically junkyard-quality. And most semis that old are on their 2nd engine, or at least a MAJOR engine overhaul. And the 1980's one in the movies would probably be the same way. But overall---they'd run pretty much the same. Engine tech was pretty stagnant from 80's to mid-90's AFAIK. Horsepower increase of course, a bit better fuel economy---but nothing major. And for sheer idling/running smoothness, suspension, transmission----nothing changed at all AFAIK. PS--if I was to do something like that, I would have waited until the movie was out, or even better, the DVD. Why go through all that work and money and just GUESS at the paint scheme details, when you could just wait a bit? Plus the zillion of great reference pics from the Botcon appearance etc. Overall the blue is too pale, and there's not enough orange. And it needs the toolboxes, which should certainly fit if the steps are removed.

It's just to scare Boeing into lowering their prices. Seriously: 1. C-5's carry tanks etc and can air-drop. A380's could never do that without redesigning half the plane from scratch. And we don't even need to discuss rough/short field capabilities. They'd sacrifice just about every capability the C-5 and C-141 have. Of course, they just decided the "too old, too big, too loud, too slow" Chinook is to be replaced with more less-old Chinooks, which are just as big, loud, and slow and almost as old---but cost just as much as new, quieter, faster, more agile choppers. 2. Air Force One, while technically a 747-200, has many features/systems of the -400, notably the engines. There are few planes more reliable or efficient. They are also among the last -200's built, and were the last -200's delivered, and have fewer hours and cycles than planes 1/3 their age. They'll last forever, and are as economic as a 747-400 built last year. Saying Air Force One is old is kinda like saying an F-15K isn't a modern fighter. Sheer aerodynamics-wise, it's not. But I'd rather have one of those than an original-config F-18A since everything else is top of the line.

Definitely Chun-Li whenever possible, she just rocks. Ken a lot of the time, for Shoto-scrubbing. He's overpowered/cheap in EVERY version, and I abuse it. 3rd---never consistent. I like Vega/Balrog, Athena, Kyo, Shiki, Hibiki, Andy Bogard, Mai. (I really like a lot of the Darkstalkers cast, but they're never in the Vs games besides Morrigan--who I can use but not often--give me Rikuo, Q.Bee, Anakaris, Huitzil) I really want Billy Kane in a vs game...

I really would like to see a "Sv-51 fixes" thread we could sticky for a while. But I too don't want to go back through the past couple dozen pages of posts to find them.

Gamestop doesn't have the MassEffect pre-order bonus yet, and there's no mention of it with the Limited Edition version of the game. (Which is not available in stores period according to the website) However, BestBuy has it sitting right there in the games section. Just pick it up and take it to the register. I don't plan to make good on my pre-order and will just eat the 5 bucks and order the Limited Edition version from Gamestop.com (They are guaranteeing DELIVERY on the release date for MassEffect if you pre-order and use overnight shipping) Well, at least for the regular edition. I expect it'll happen with the LE as well, even if the site doesn't mention it yet. The pre-order bonus is worth 5 bucks to me, so I don't mind, especially getting it a MONTH earlier than from Gamestop. Gamer pics, themes, etc on the disc.

Just take a good look at the nose from the side before you order though. That mold is very snub/blunt-nosed.

No faceplates at my Gamestop, pre-ordered though so I can at least pick it out when they do arrive.

And hey---the Japanese version is the "real, true" version for most games, especially first-party Nintendo ones. Anyone got a pic of a Zelda 3 SFC cart?

I'm going out tomorrow to look for both the faceplate and Mass Effect goodies. If there's no faceplates until it ships, then I'll preorder there so I can pick mine out. F-15E is a given, but the pic is so tiny I can't tell any of them. I mean, an F-14 faceplate would be awesome, and I'd hate to miss out, especially when they're free. (Hopefully they'll be of decent enough printing quality to actually look good and use)

Oooooooh. As I've mentioned before, Movie Prime is just a typical Peterbilt with a LOT of custom/aftermarket parts. You can go to any large truck stop and get half the stuff you need. Very close, though I notice the aft toolboxes are missing--surprising, those are actually a standard modern 379 part and any dealership should be able to get them easily, if they don't already have them in stock. The grill is a replacement but a stock part------2003-2005 or so I think--about the closest you can get with getting it custom-made like the movie one. (2006+ is even closer, but won't work with older cooling systems) Doubt you could drive it more than 30 secs with the running lights on without getting stopped, and any DOT inspection would be an instant fail. Curious about the front fenders---they look identical to Prime's, but I thought those were utterly custom for the movie. Maybe it's an aftermarket part I've never seen before.

Most modern planes have just a single gun on one side. F-14: port F-15: starboard F-16: port F-18: centered (freak) F-22: starboard As for planes with 1 or 2 depending on variant---the Tornado comes to mind. The Tornado ADV has one (port I think), the Tornado IDS has two.

Hey, the Academy Legacy bug has a flaps half-way option. (Which seriously, is how I'm going to build it)

Don't know---pre-order bonuses often arrive early. You could probably go get it now if they have them.

I always use airport codes, as the forums I go to most are airline-dedicated---we even have "local airport" under our avatars. (CID) And "Houston" for example isn't specific enough---but IAH and HOU are.

I posted there many times. It was THE place to talk about the *Toycom* YF-19. Aberfoyle Spring Water! And the many names of "The Cat".

Tamiya spray cans are the best spray cans out there. If that doesn't work for you, nothing else will be better/easier. As for airbrushes---MW's own wm cheng uses a basic single-action Badger 200. I think airbrushing is pure skill and experience---personally I've never seen a "really good" person use a fancy double-action Iwata or anything. They use 20-year-old stuff, and the results are from sheer practice.

Gamestop is giving away faceplates for pre-ordering. There's 4 different ones, but pics are too small to see. I'll check it out soon---I'd rather get the faceplate I want and the game a bit later by getting it in person at a local store, then Gamestop's infamous "random pick" of stuff. PS---Seems Gamestop and BB are both offering a disc of goodies for pre-ordering Mass Effect. Going to check that out too---might just pre-order with the minimum amount to get the disc, then order it online to get it immediately upon release.

We were off-topic 24 hours ago, but I let it slide. Political discussion ends NOW. (personally I'm ticked at SFO not letting the Iowa come after all the money that was poured into the project--including moving it there--but that'll be the last comment here on the matter)

Well I hooked up my SNES and I was wrong. I even beat Mario World to make sure it didn't show up at the end. Man, I would have sworn in court that it said SMB4 on it somewhere. Anyways---if nothing else it allows me to show how well I take care of my systems. Launch day SNES: (yes, that is the original plastic bag it was wrapped in---for many systems I even have the original twist-ties)

Tidal Wave was cool------because he was a combiner, not because he was a ship(s). My only real request for the next movie: ZOOM OUT. Especially during transformations. Let me see the whole robot at least once, and the whole transformation at least once. The "best" transformations only showed Prime, Jazz, and Bonecrusher's rear bumpers while transforming.

Nope. Only RROD is covered for 3 years. All other problems have a 1 year warranty.

Not only are there few chapters--they're poorly placed. Also one scene: "computer hacker at his momma's house" and "Barricade going after Sam". Gah! I hit "chapter skip" when we got to the comedy-relief scene, and it went straight to the car chase. Yeesh. Barricade's my fave character in the movie, but I have to slowly manually fast-forward past the stupid stuff to make sure I don't skip his stuff. ....waiting for the Blu-Ray uber-edition in 18 months or so hopefully.

I'm going to have to hook up my SNES and go prove myself wrong then. Will post results tomorrow! (I readily admit when I'm wrong) (Man, I hate it when I remember stuff that isn't there)

I haven't bought a Gundam in years, but if that Unicorn Gundam actually does transform like it looks to, *and* has LED's I am so buying it. Clear parts like that are worthless if they don't actually light up----pink chrome or your basic "transparent paint over silver paint" would have looked better in that case. LED's are so common in MG/PG, and with the new itty-bitty semiconductor ones being cheaper and more popular than just a few years ago, it could have tons of them everywhere. (of course, wiring is still an issue--maybe it'll have wires throughout the skeleton, like a nervous system) Still---if it lit up, wouldn't they have shown that by now?