David Hingtgen

The wolf Decepticon headmaster was Weirdwolf (I had him, one of my faves). Here's the instructions: http://www.tfracetrack.com/instructions/g1...n/weirdwolf.jpg

I generally really want my TF's to have 2 arms/hands. Even if poorly shaped/molded---G1 Brawl is OK by my standards. (heck, all the Combaticons, and most other G1 combiners are like that). But Cybetron TC has "top half of a Flanker" for an arm. And because of a GIMMICK. Nothing I hate more than when some stupid "action firing" gimmick ruins an entire limb. Headmasters and Targetmasters were about the only good gimmicks, as they didn't affect the transformation or sculpt at all.

Same problem as most every jet TF besides the seekers: It's about 5 times as thick as it should be from the side. It's a giant cube with wings and a nose stuck on. That is not a plane. Chop off the bottom half, THEN it'll look like a plane. He's not one big better (and IMHO a whole lot worse) than the Aerialbots. Wings/nose/tail with a folded-up box-shaped robot that's 3x bigger than the rest of the alt mode hanging underneath. Looks good from above, horrible from the sides. Energon Starscream was decent, among the best jet TF's in a while. While the kibble was large, it wasn't very "thick" and much of it could be the plane's fuselage, due to the F-22 design. And BM jetstorm--while it didn't really have a "jet" shape much, (just a bunch of fins) it didn't have 3/4 of the robot mode hanging below.

Hoped/rumored/desired, etc. McKellan (AFAIK) has said he'd like to do it. It's mainly a rights/licensing issue I think.

A related note is that the rumored Magneto movie is to be done that way--for all of it. Hey, why not? They've already got experience on working with McKellan's face. They could also do the same for "The Hobbit" for a slightly younger Gandalf.

Anyone who didn't notice is IMHO blind. I was like "TNG first season Picard!" the second the movie started, and I knew they'd spent a lot of money.

Generally agree, but note ST 4 (which I consider an environmental film starring Shatner--not a Trek movie) and Nemesis. Very light, and very dark, but did about the best and worst, respectively.

Still awaiting wake vortex tests on the A380. As I like airliners more than any other type of plane, I spend more time at those boards than anywhere else. And I'm VERY familiar with DC-9's (most pilots and ramp workers can't tell the -32 and -33 apart, but I can). I'm especially proud of my 707/720 knowledge. (trust me, 707's are among the most variation-filled-yet-the-changes-are-undocumented planes out there, and most books and drawings are just plain wrong, as are most people) One version of my 707 guide (old and incomplete by my current standards) is here: http://airlinercafe.com/page.php?id=72

Hey, the MD-80's full, official, legal name is still the DC-9-80. (unless it's an MD-88, then it's an MD-88--but the MD-87 is the DC-9-87) Either way, the 747Adv is by far the biggest change Boeing has ever done when calling a new version "Advanced" News of the day: Venezuela's getting Super Flankers. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/06/...s.ap/index.html

That's more than enough to make it "Advanced". The 727-200 and 727-200Adv are so similar it is UTTERLY impossible to tell them apart visually. The difference? Higher MTOW for more fuel. That's about it. Airliners often change internally far more than externally. Th 747 will be by far the most "Advanced" plane that Boeing has ever used that term for. And hey, the A350 is nothing more than an A330 with a new wing and engines, and it gets a whole new name, not just A330Adv. And really technically, the A310 is an A300 with new wings and tail. And so is the A330 and A340! The entire A300/310/330/340 line is one single nose and fuselage (in different lengths), with 2.5 wing designs and 3 tail designs. Airbus hasn't had a 100% new design asides from the 320 and 380. Boeing's no different. The 757 was the 727-300 for a long time, and until 2 weeks before the contract was signed, was nothing more than a 727 with a new wing and engines. Had a 727's nose and tail. 727 and 737 originally shared 60% of their parts. And very few people realize the front end of the 767 and 777 are identical, and that the 777 tail is little more than a scaled-up 767 tail. ::rant over::

An even bigger problem is that in addition to the delay, the NEXT YEAR of deliveries will only be for 9 planes. 9 planes. For the 5 airlines that were expecting deliveries in 06/07. 2 planes does not a fleet make. (The original service date was this month FYI, but the end of this year was the "delayed" date--now it's been delayed again, and slowed down for next year) Here's to hoping someone orders some Advanced 747's... (they look 100x better, if nothing else)

Trials and Tribbleations spent great amounts of time and money to look like the 60's. In a Mirror Darkly did the opposite--tried to make it look like TOS was filmed with a modern budget--and did it very well. Also the Defiant FOUGHT.

I have found few things more "mysterious" than trucks when it comes to specs. It's easier to find out the specs of stealth fighters, than basic info on most semis. Go to Peterbilt.com and try to find even the basic wheelbase and weight options of a 379... It's amazing. If there's one thing that there's no info about on the 'net, it's semis. Has always annoyed me, as there's almost no way to get any info on a truck you saw, or a truck you know about.

Truckers go for looks, then spend lots of money on mods to make them more fuel efficient. You can make a more rounded (a bit) semi without looking bad. T2000's the best of the aerodynamic conventionals, Pete 377 looks nice while being slightly rounder than a 379 (377 matches the T600 IMHO). 386 is nice too. Changing the T2000's headlights to square ones would make the whole front end look a lot better.

I really want to see that ep of Enterprise with the Defiant (I heard about it a few months ago) but the local stations seem to show stuff in a random order, so I have no idea if it's been on lately, or won't be on for another 3 years. Plus Trek seasons on DVD are expensive. I've seen a few screen shots---they even completely recreated the TOS bridge and uniforms, only "updated" and made of high-quality stuff---and it works amazingly well. Imagine movie-style computer screens in TOS colors and format. I think even the most purist of pure TOS fans thought it looked good and wasn't at all "sacrilege" to change the bridge displays.

Ouch, my bad, it is an Argosy. The most Isuzu/Volvo-looking American-made semi ever... God that's fugly. Freightliner has made some nice trucks (FLD 120) but that's not one of them. The Columbia's even worse though, IMHO. Honestly I just kind of "ignore" the existence of the more rounded Freightliners and forget they exist. (I am a Peterbilt 379 fan---I like big and square, traditional semis)

Future over the decals? That's the way most people do it AFAIK. Future, then decal, then Future again, then dull coat (if desired).

From the many pics of that truck from last year, it's an Isuzu IIRC. Little more than a large furniture delivery truck. Basically, it's half as big as it should be. And very, very rounded. I don't even think it's in the same class. (literally, trucks are grouped by class, mainly according to size/weight---Prime was a class 8, the biggest there is) Edit: I do think that is a pic from 2005, the tarp and surroundings look identical. Just google "Optimus Prime comic con" and you'll find tons of pics and info. Here you go, pictures from July of 2005: http://www.galactichunter.com/absoluteig/g...3&box=&shownew=

I still say that is nothing more than a "promo" truck for the movie, same one they used last year. At least, I sure HOPE it remains nothing more than a promo truck. Yeesh---make the main character the worst vehicle...

Possible. Problem is I don't know anyone else with one besides my brother. (DS's everywhere---it has to be the most popular system in the state now) Might just have to drive up and visit him to hear his 360... And still have to determine volume vs pitch. The underlying 'leafblower high-pitched whine' was far worse than the actual "spinning/buzzing" the drive made. All drives make a "spinning" sound, but only the 360 had a high-pitched whine to go along with that.

Yet another to chime in on how good DS9 gets. Beats TNG IMHO. (and I'm a huge TNG fan) Plus DS9's final seasons maintained both a "Dominion War arc" as well as stand-alone eps. Few series can do both simultaneously, and pull it off well. (VOY was IMHO one big blundering/pondering quasi-arc)

I still haven't bought a replacement 360. Anyone seen anywhere that had a way/mod to lessen drive noise? All the cooling and new fans in the world won't affect the drive. (I was fine with the fan noise--it was pretty loud, but it wasn't an innately mind-piercing screech type of noise) Any reports of MS going to a 3rd style of drive? (Hitachi in the first ones, currently uses Samsung). Also, still looking for a nice display stand/entertainment center. I want something with glass doors and preferably a very open back or of a material easy to cut. But that's quite hard to find here, especially for anything smaller than something designed for a 50in screen. (actually my living room one is almost perfect in design, but too big by far)

That's not "movie" Prime---that's the same truck they used at the San Diego Comic Con (or whatever) for special appearances etc. They just added a new tarp promoting the movie. (or maybe it's the same tarp, who knows) And it's a really really bad choice to use as their "promo" Prime--even people very unfamiliar with trucks can tell it's not at all what Prime was. Even with the tarp. It's not even the same CATEGORY of truck. Yes, it's a truck. And it's red. But it's only slightly closer to prime than a large pickup is. It'd be like making Starscream a Lear jet. Yes, it's a jet, but it's not even a fighter. Though with a movie budget, they should certainly be able to pick up a Peterbilt 362. Out of production, but only recently--plenty of used ones to buy, modify to all look identical, and paint red. Here you go, the closest modern truck to Prime:

Title: "Gripen The first fourth generation fighter" ISBN: 91-972803-8-0 Be sure to get the English version. (unless you know Swedish)

http://www.saab.se/node4466.asp But it doesn't seem to work any more---keeps kicking me to the US SAAB page.