David Hingtgen

I've actually been playing Oblivion lately. Could be near the end, or need 50 more hours. Next big game I'm looking forward to is Mass Effect, but I'm not optimistic it'll actually make the project Q1 '07 release. But if Mass Effect shapes up to be as good as I hope, I'll buy a new TV for it. (Yes, I'm still playing my 360 on a 20in CRT)

Not yet! We haven't seen good Starscream pics. (AFAIK, just a bunch of concept etc) Also, Bumblebee goes with my main rant: you still can't tell what they turn into. He's so chopped up, that both robot modes are nigh-identical. The cars are plenty different enough that robot mode SHOULD look different. The body panels etc are chopped into such small bits, with that "transformation technique"---Prime, Jazz, Bumblebee, and probably Starscream could all have nigh-identical robot modes. Just make the "shredded sheetmetal bits" all the same triangles and trapezoids, and sprinkle them around the endoskeleton. Yes, you can at least tell Bumblee is a CAR. But no more than that. Whereas G1 Jazz was clearly a Porsche, Sideswipe could only be a Countach, etc.

From the "realistic" standpoint: That's almost perfectly 36440 Gull Grey. 1970's high-vis F-14 grey. As opposed to 1980's F-15 low-vis grey. It certainly is "fighter jet grey", just wrong service, wrong decade, wrong plane. Might as well have used MiG-29 colors.

Forgot about 1st run Alt Tracks' metallic blue (I even have one). I remember the first time I went into the store and saw the re-release Alt Tracks---I thought it was a different toy or a knockoff. The plastic is THAT different (and worse/cheaper) in appearance. Interestingly, the Thundercrackerish repaint of BM Jetstorm (Sonic Attack Drone?) is pale blue, but metallic pale blue. Looks a lot better than just plain pale blue. But still not nearly as neat as metallic deep blue.

The tech-specs of the seekers are all messed up. Basically--Starscream's techspech has Skywarp's numbers, and vice-versa. Otherwise, why does Skywarp have like 9's for intelligence and rank but low courage, while Starscream is considered very courageous, but dumb and low-ranking? The numbers directly contradict their own characters, but work perfectly if you switch them around. Beast Machines Jetstorm (the first and probably best Vehicon) has plastic very close to G1 Thundercracker. A bit more green (and G1 TC blue does have green in it, though it's very subtle) but very close. It's easy to do---note that most BW and BM plastic is metallic, it's just very subtle. BW Inferno is among the most metallic, Silverbolt and Tigerhawk are notable too. Hasbro has never stopped doing metallic plastic for TF's, it's only "how metallic" that varies over the years. Lots of RiD toys were slightly to moderately metallic. Cybetron seems to be about the most "unmetallic" in years.

Well for sheer quality, it's the best I've seen by far. I was looking hard for any unpainted areas, etc. And the paint is on quite thin, to preserve all the panel line depth. And it's not super-gloss nor super-flat, it's just right--"plasticky".

MP Skywarp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18251255@N00/...57594400481435/ Repaint, or real? Sure looks molded in purple, light gray, and black to me. And most any repaint would probably use silver, not gray I think. First Classics, now MP. Why is TC always last lately? Still, this does not bode well IMHO---it's gray instead of silver. That's anime-accurate. That'd mean TC would be pale grey and pale blue, instead of the awesome metallic sapphire blue and silver G1 toy colors. ::edit:: If only I'd typed less, my post would have gotten in before ghostryder's...

Everyone might want to go check this thread: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=20932 Out of box pics in battroid mode of final version.

You know you can always just buy F-14 Wolfpack decals if you want more markings--several variations, several scales. And the stuff printed by Microscale etc would be of even higher quality than the best "homemade" decals. Scale could be an issue---1/60 VF-0 vs a 1/48 or 1/72 F-14.

Would that be the Rafale's first export sale?

Ok, here's a quick rendition of the VFX-2 scheme. Now, a "real" VFX-2 VF-11 I think would incorporate all the normal VF-11 markings, like the stripes on the legs and ventral fins, which every other VF-11 has, but doesn't seem to be in the VFX version. So if you added black and yellow to the legs and ventral fins, you'd have a very cool VF-11---maybe continue the striping pattern on the rudder. Also, the wingtips are black and yellow, but it's hard to see. Finally---I used my "modified tailfin" version of the VF-11---the "official" sideview just does NOT fit Kawamori's drawings nor the anime', and the tailfin pattern from VFX won't fit at all---the VFX model is also similar to how I drew it.

There's basically only tiny little screen-shot pics of it in VFX2. It's generally Jolly Rogers-ish, but follows US Navy coloring practices even closer than Roy's. I keep thinking 1960's F-8 when I see it. I'll do a (bad) coloring of the VF-11 line art tonight to show it, unless one of our resident artists does it first.

And it's IMHO one of the few valks with the best scheme coming from VFX2.

I've never seen or heard of full-sized FF swords, and don't know of any little ones besides FF7 and FF8. What's Tidus' like in "real life"?

It didn't for the YF-19, and the YF-21's belly armor is larger than the -19's leg armor. (their arm/shoulder armor are about equal) Bigger armor+another gunpod=not going to be included for the same price.

Ack, ok, I was thinking of the 1/60 Roy. (which gives just 1 of each)

....as has been discussed in this thread and the previous one many times.

Same mold, different parts applied. Like many model kits. An F-15A and F-15D share 95% of their parts, but you only get the parts to build one version. There's like, 3 parts different, but you only get one set of those 3 critical, different parts. Want to have the other version? You have to buy the entire other kit, which has those 3 parts different. Betting it's the same with the Ghost. While canards would most certainly fit on the booster version, canards only come with the drone version. Same for the canopy--the parts can be swapped, but a Ghost won't come with both types. No different than FP 1/48's--you can swap parts and they'll fit perfectly, but you won't get a Strike cannon when buying a Max or Milia, nor twin missile launchers with a DYRL Roy.

I wanted one that lit up, but wanted it "right". The fold booster clearly glows GREEN just prior to entering fold space and that in one of the few CGI scenes in M+, going through fold space is a very trippy, colorful experience. As I mentioned earlier, it is VERY easy to get rapidly-changing swirls of colors with LED's, tons of small pens/toys do it for less than 5 bucks. And bright green is even simpler and cheaper. Of course, red LED's do usually cost slightly less than green, so there you go.

There's always the thermoform method. It's basically a sheet of clear plastic that responds to heat better/more uniformly than most. You heat it up over a candle, and when it's soft, you drape it over the original canopy and pull it down. It'll take the shape and set up in a few seconds. Basically vac-forming without the vacuum. Never actually tried it myself, but the stuff is available here: http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=SQ9003

It's assumed though, as that's how the -21 got to Earth.

Don't know/think it'd work. The Ghost slots into/around the VF-0's tailfins, and the VF-0D is completely different in that area.

Hmmn. Wonder if they'd add in the drag chute housing for the orange one. The Super Nova schemes are a lot better than the VFX blue IMHO.

I think I'll wait for a gull/barley grey CF VF-0A...

Makes no sense, but a lot of money. No less sense nor less infuriating to the fans than telling everyone "there's not going to be a Shin VF-0A because Kawamori says this is how Shin's REALLY looked so buy this one" then a few months later releasing one that looks even more like Shin's, with a new Shin-esque pilot...