David Hingtgen

I was wondering when that pic'd show up here. I'll make a prediction: We might have the greatest "toy vs TV" appearance discrepancy since G1. Because there's no way THAT Prime can transform into ANYTHING with those proportions. Alternately: That's not a robot. That's a superhero in red and blue, with a mask.

Wow, this might be the most corporate BS-speak-filled article ever: (an "interview" about 360 failures) http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/06/a...0_failures.html

Really? Any way to tell without opening it up? I just got a refurbished one back, wonder if it'll do better heat-wise.

Found Leader Megs today. If you pick one up, try out the automorphing before you buy---they varied widely in how well they worked. Focus on the two chest armor plates that move horizontally---half of the ones I tried were very uneven or one side didn't really move at all.

West Coast team is raffling them, or selling outright for 40 bucks. East Coast team is selling for 3 bucks, or two for 5 bucks--or so I hear. Maybe East Coast is selling casing only, with no shell/penetrator. But 37 bucks for a fake shell is a lot. A real dummy penetrator+casing might be worth that, but not a replica. Did you win the raffle, or simply pay? Or did they change how they're offering them since I saw them 2 weeks ago?

F-5? Was it the Sundowners like I just posted? If not, was it dark and medium grey? Probably a 90th TFS T-38.

The 787 is selling so well, the current rumor is that UAL may buy A350's simply to get them earlier--the wait list for a 787 now is years.

What I really want is to be able to do Nora vs Shin's VF-0D.

Typhoon vs Rafale? The Gripen's better than either IMHO.

Well, the high show and low show aren't all that different IMHO, mainly just the finale. High vs low impacts the single-ship demos more---I got the "low" Super Hornet a few weeks ago and it was half of what the high show is, and all the cool moves were omitted.

Re: the grill----too many cars (including US ones) don't seem to account for that fact that the vast majority of states require front plates, and the whole look is ruined by having to mount a plate bracket in the middle of the grill/drilling into the bumper. There aren't many cars that seem to have had a front end designed to look good with a front plate installed (aka, has a ready-made spot for a front plate that doesn't require adding a big bracket, or covering up any vent/grill/intake up front). The 97-03 Grand Prix comes to mind. That Audi is fine with Euro-style "skinny" plate between the upper and lower grill sections, but put a US plate on, held by a big plastic bracket--it'll really look bad.

Way too cute (especially the voice) for me to take her seriously as a Terminator though.

Finally found a pic of the restored YF-23 #2:

Ack, I'm doing really poorly today. Meant Bremerton, not Bangor. (Too many "B" places in Washington state for US subs)

Never mind, I posted that before getting a good look, I saw the location was Seattle, but didn't notice all the other drydocked subs there--which means it's more properly Bangor.

::edit:: Just noticed the other subs nearby. Is the big one next to it the Long Beach? I think it's been sitting there with the superstructure gone for years.

I'd like to think that engine technology which is millions of years more advanced than our own, doesn't spew smoke like a coal-fired locomotive... Also, spewing smoke would be a dead giveaway of the whole "disguise" aspect, since F-15's don't smoke. If SS wants to smoke, he should have picked an F-4 or B-52----people'd expect it to smoke.

I was at Target 2 days ago, and they had all the prequel comics put into a single book. Note that it didn't look at all like your typical TPB---it was in the children's books section with the other TF movie books, and could easily be dismissed as a coloring/sticker book at first glance. If you want the prequel comics, that is probably the easiest and cheapest way to get them.

Not toned down, REMOVED. It's got "leaks" from non-existent openings. I have never seen ANY dirt on an F-15, ever. Just doesn't happen. And even the filthies F-4 or F-8 in the world never got 1% as much dirt. Except the F-4's tailcone, that got filthy. But that's because F-4 engines smoke, a lot. Directly onto that area. Not the friggin speedbrake and canopy hinge.

Leader Prime repaint: Night Watch Optimus. http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Movie-L...963&sr=1-40 Likely black, but I would so love a very dark blue---then it'd be just like my dad's 379.

When he lost his metal and just had bone claws, it was quite obvious and gruesome. Sometimes they'd show shredded skin dangling from the claws. (Again for Rogue, too) Anyways, back to TFs. Saw a Ratchet for the first time today, and the Prime beach towel. (I actually want to buy the washcloths but haven't found them yet)

OT, but yes, Wolverine ripped open his own flesh every time he extended his claws. And it healed the moment they retracted. Until he got the nifty metal "sheaths" or whatever. They expounded on this a bit when Magneto ripped out his adamantium, and he had to go back to doing it the old way. Same thing happens whenever Rogue uses his power, as she only gets the claws and healing, not the adamantium.

It's an intensely bright scarlet-red. The kind of red that is so eye-catching you normally only ever see it on toy water guns and the like intended to be sold to very young children as cheap impulse-purchases, and knock-offs. Giving it a "low-quality" vibe. And the sheer translucence of that color when used in plastic, gives it another low-quality vibe. No, it's not see-through, but it's definitely not as nice-looking as utterly opaque red. Plus the fact that the paint on the cab windows IS see-through, and looks bad/cheap. A $45 USD toy should not have the paint applied so thinly that you can see the underlying plastic. PS--you know I know military colors well. I said flourescent red and I meant fluorescent red. "Fluorescent red, FS 29815". The color used on C-130's etc for rescue markings. It's a VERY bright and orangey red, so scarlet/orangey it's classified as an "other" color in the FS system, not a true red. DVD MP Prime and Leader Movie Prime are Fluorescent red. Most really bright reds are orange reds---sports cars are a good example of this. (Except Porsche, they have the bluest of the bright reds) PS---Ironhide has fluorescent pink-orange turn signals.

Just FYI, it's now Andy and Lana Wachowski, not Andy and Larry. (You'll find lots of references to "Linda" but it seems s/he prefers Lana now) And those wheels suck, they're about +4 from what they should be. I also think the car should be "smoother" overall---IMHO the Mach 5 shouldn't have a single ridge, edge, or angle. Pure curves.

Ironhide is amazingly "black". Everything's black, black, and more black. I don't really like the character or design, I bought him PURELY for transformation complexity. Anyways--the automorph works very well and everything stays in place. The problem is getting it BACK. Folding the feet back up alone with just strip gears. Best method I found is to move the side leg panel back into place as far as you can, then grab the feet and side panel all together and move them. I plan to paint the stacks silver. He has transparent blue foglights, FYI. And in a note of stupidity--his headlights are also transparent blue. But covered in silver paint on the outside. What's the point of molding clear parts separately, then covering them in opaque paint? Methinks the factory mis-interpreted the painting instructions.