David Hingtgen

Are people commenting on the photos themselves? Because I didn't take them, I meant I merely have them on my hard drive. Just wondering. There are better ones, but they are HUGE and MW's attachments are slightly wonky again.

The crotch can't look right in fighter mode without ruining battroid mode----it'd sit like a half-inch forward of the pelvis if it was curved to match the fighter mode belly. Now, I think the hinge itself could have been done better (read:smaller) but the overall shape--not much you can do without anime magic. It's very convex in one mode, very concave in the other. So it's averaged out in real-life 3D: flat. That gives "decent" in each mode. Part of it is because of the curvature caused by the gullet---a "skinny" neck would be flatter and they'd be more similar in each mode. It's clear that piece was given priority for battroid mode--since it's very visible in that mode, but about the most hidden of all areas in fighter mode--you'll only ever see it from directly below. Though I do plan to see what could be done when I get mine---but I suspect a good fighter mode shape for that piece may make a very bad battroid. Oh, one last thing: it's also the connector for the stand--check the pics in the first post. Maybe a non-connector-compatible piece could look better. (Owning no stands, it's not a concern for me to connect to it)

Best HUD out now for a car is the new Vette's. PS--polarized sunglasses kill a HUD's image (as well as LCD). Basically, the image on a HUD and the angle that sunglasses polarize at are the same. It's been known for years, but there's never been a change. Tilting either 45 degrees makes everything ok, but no manufacturer seems willing to change anything. Lenscrafters said they had tried a sunglass lens 90 degrees "off" (which works perfectly with a HUD) but said it didn't work well as a sunglass then----but I don't really believe that because I can tilt my sunglasses 90 degrees and there's no difference at all. Talking to yet another guy, the polarization seems to be set the way it is due to the inherent widescreen view humans have, plus that fact that so much glare comes from horizontal surfaces (water, snow, concrete) rather than vertical. That could be true, so then why not change how HUD's are projected? They tend to be typically square anyways, there's no preference for vertical vs horizontal. I turn my HUD up to max when wearing my polarized sunglasses, even then I can barely see it--I hate having to actually use my speedometer. Of course, the simple and most obvious solution would simply be to let us turn the HUD's brightness WAY up, that'd solve any visibility problem with any sort of sunglasses, and probably is the cheapest solution.

I fully plan for my first Wii experience to be playing Super Mario World with my SNES-style gamepad hooked up through the Wii's GC controller port.

VFA-102's own site is down, and there's surprisingly few (and none good) at the Navy's site. Here's a few I have.

The gaps on the sides of the intakes? It's partly because it's a resin prototype, but mostly mis-transformed. Check all the other pics---most of the time they fit nice and tight, but a few times (like that) they're really off. The plastic one will likely "click" together better, and we won't mistransform it. You rarely see a "correct" transformation in official photos.

e_jacob--no, that's a painted resin prototype, the same one from 2 weeks ago, just more pics from that photoshoot. Those pics could be months old, only just now being released. The pics on the first page of the thread are actually the most recent version of the mold, and closer to the final product.

See, I want the "just took on the fleet" look----and as I commented earlier, you never see "dirty" red planes--they're all shiny clean demos. And I get the impression Milia's plane was probably never shiny to start with---I think it should be red, but flat red. VFA-102's CAG plane is currently about half red, but they painted it glossy to start with---quite rare. It's stayed that way for a while, it might actually get a chance to weather decently. I might have to wait until that plane gets older, for a reference to weather my Milia! However, it's the 50th Ann. scheme, so they might only leave it painted like that for a year.

Hmmmmn. Those are clearly official Yamato pics, yet they're not up at Yamato's site (that I can find in a quick check). Also, that's the same painted resin prototype we've seen before, not the plastic one we got pics of a week ago.

I think aftermarket HUDs for cars do exist, but the only retrofit I've actually seen is "adding it to a car for which it was an option, but that particular one didn't have it"----the wiring etc was already there, just needed a HUD to plug in basically. (And I could go on one heck of a rant about GM and their stupidity in changing HUD availability) I seriously doubt you could put an aircraft HUD in a car, not only would everything from voltage to data signals be incompatible, but they probably cost more than the average car, and wouldn't work---aircraft HUDs sit about 6 inches from your face. (Car makers seem to totally miss the point of a HUD--they try to make them small and unobtrusive, down low out of your direct line of sight--which is the exact OPPOSITE of the reason they exist) The few airliners with HUDs tend to have ones that fold down from cockpit celing, no idea how they work. Could just be the normal method upside down, but I don't know if there's room like that. It's been 10 years and no one's figured out yet how the Grand Prix's HUD works, data-wise. "Somehow" it gets a signal to display speed etc, but every attempt to get the HUD to work with aftermarket parts/data/signal has failed. Basically---if a HUD that's designed for a specific car can't be figured out to have it generate the correct numbers and info from said car, I can't image how hard it'd be to integrate one into a car it's not designed for.

While searching for Wonder Festival YF-19 pics etc I came across these. I don't think anywhere else has mentioned them. Based on how many there are, I bet they plan to do all of them. Mod Bonus: There were originally going to be more than just the 16. Here's two of the ones cut from the final game.

Do we ever see the 0D with booster? Would it even fit?

And 30 secs ago I read that it wasn't going to be... Every place I check gets a roundabout "probably" answer. Sigh.

To me, using black preshading on a red always looks more like coal dust/tar than simply dirt/weathering. Almost purplish at times. Example is this: http://www.hkml.net/Discuz/attachment.php?...p;checkid=5789f Now this one looks a lot closer to what I want: http://www.hkml.net/Discuz/viewthread.php?...556&fpage=2 Looks a lot more like a wash to me, and far more subtle. The panel lines are distinct, but you really can't tell any "color" of them. Black ahead of the flaps, but that's mainly because it's so deeply engraved there.

If you're buying it to use the weapons on a Hornet, that's about the best option IMHO. You DON'T want me to review this for accuracy.

I have the same question: I want to give my 1/48 Milia a wash, but have no idea what color to use. Red planes are almost non-existent, and the few that are tend to be spotless. I was thinking anything from light grey to rust-brown to deep red. I might even just go with dry-brushing silver to show paint wear. I actually want to go for a "war weary" Milia. Taken good care of, but seeing so much action it can't be flawless, with a few panels replaced. (My goal is to weather it so it looks "real"--being pure red is inherently toyistic) I asked over at ARC, and most said use burnt umber. Here's one of the few weathered red models I've found: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal4...tin/gal3536.htm I never did ask him how he did his.

::fiddles with RGB pallette:: Yeah, 70/30 looks like it's around the blue/purple border.

Just got back from checking the news. Hmmn, white only. I really hate white systems ever since I got my GBA. (DC's and 360's aren't white, they're pale grey---though the 360 is so pale it might as well BE white--I plan to get a skin for it though). Old games are cheap enough, but I'd still like a "discount bulk" compiliation pack. And they've only announced first-party games. You know "Castlevania 1-3" would sell a zillion copies if Konami makes it available. And it'd be like a 4-sec download. Question: for the the sports games using the wiimote etc---how much room do you need? I mean, if I want to play wii tennis or something--will I need like a 6-foot radius clear around me, or can I play sitting in my chair and just using wrist movements? If you need 1:1 scale space for wii bowling, that won't work.

The issue isn't ownership/cost, it's convenience. I already own half the old-school games I want for the Wii--it's just that I don't have room to hook up another half-dozen systems to play them. Goes along with my PS2--I wouldn't play nearly as many old PSX games if the PS2 couldn't play them. I have my PS2 on top of my DVD player (thank you Slim) just to have enough room to keep 3 systems. If they ever make a DECENT Virtual On for PS2 etc, I could put my DC away forever. Oh, and re-release Soul Calibur 1 on something. That one still has the best stages and music of the series by far.

That scheme always looks blue-er on my TV. (And I spend a LOT of time calibrating colors)--but screen shots always appear purplish. Of course, that color is almost the exact shade people never agree on---half say it's blue, half say it's purple.

And even if they don't, most of us are used to 4-disc games from the PSX era, and there's several multi-disc PS2 games. Most people don't mind swapping discs when it's only once or twice during an entire play-through.

A big part of the reason my PS2 has so many hours, is because it plays all my PS1 games. Despite what some MS execs may believe, I play a LOT of my old games. Their argument seems to be "who would play NFL 2K1 when NFL 2K6 is out?" Of course. Nobody. But there are other games besides sports games that aren't simply "yearly updates" to the same game. And my library is 99% those "other" games. There's no "new version" of Jet Set Radio Future. Or Panzer Dragoon Orta. They could easily NEVER have a sequel, and be the last of their franchise. And just because there's a new version, doesn't mean it's better. See KoToR. Yet I can play Xenogears, CV:SOTN and FF Tactics forever, and will be playing them on my PS3, since it's backwards compatible. There's many PSX games that I have only ever played on my PS2, due to PSX games continuing to come out. Valk Profile was possibly my last "PSX" game as I know I played FF9 and Chrono Cross on PS2. And I'm sure there will be PS2 games I buy new and play for the first time on a PS3. Not so with the 360.

You want a one or two seater F-15, but only single-seat F-18's? Ok. Purple is unknown on military craft AFAIK, I've always looked but never found it, even on demos. It's not really the national color of anybody, and doesn't camoflage against anything. White and black generally aren't for camouflage together, one or the other, usually as belly colors. You might want to try basing off of WW2 ship disruptive camo, or WW1 dazzle camo, as they're based on high-contrast. Basically--you've asked for the 3 colors that are never found on military planes together. I really don't think I could help much. Might be best to just totally design the scheme yourself.

Nintendo has been surprisingly quiet on what old games will be available, and how. Will they sell all the old Mario games one by one? Or as a big multi-pack? Or will they restrict them to keep sales of the GBA versions up? Personally, I would LOVE to just go into a store and buy a Wii disc with a bunch of old NES/SNES games on it. Better than downloading IMHO. Instant gratification, and no messy "linking console serials with right to play downloaded games" like the 360. If you own the disc, you own the game. And I need Bonk's Adventure too, one of the few "mascot" games I never really played. I have like 20 minutes on it on a Turbo Duo.

Try here: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/head_up_displays.htm Holographic ones are generally wide-screen ones, like the F-15E's. I believe my car's is partially reflective.