David Hingtgen

I don't ever recall watching Robotech in the 80's. My intro to Macross (in any form) was Macross Plus AFAIK. Anyways, Transformers was THE show. Better than GI Joe, He-Man, Voltron, MASK, C.O.P.S. and Thundercats.

The YF-23 is so cool nobody else deserves it. It's the anti-JSF. "US only, Air Force only" Though the YF-23 would make a great carrier plane IMHO. It's already got HUGE wings, so low approach speed. And it already has F-18 main gear on a wide track.

LOL, Joint Strife Fiasco. I still say we should kill it. Kill it now, and use the money for F-22's. Want an F-16A/early C replacement? F-16E. F-18A/C replacement? Duh. Harrier replacmeent? That's the only thing that really "requires" the JSF. But for a VSTOL alone we'd be much better off with simply a joint US/UK new VSTOL program. JUST for the USMC and RAF/RN.

Because it's what fuels our toy obsession in our 20's and 30's---we want back what they got rid of. Or the new, improved versions thereof. If we had all our old toys, we wouldn't want new valks as much.

Don't know. Aircraft manufacturers didn't start demanding licenses until years after car makers did. And there is (sometimes) kind of a grandfather clause----G1 seeker reissues didn't need a license AFAIK because they were identical to the previous ones from 1984, and MDC hadn't sought licenses back then (licensing was almost nonexistent then). It'll be interesting to see what shows up on MP SS's box.

I've heard of WD-40 being used, but in my experience WD-40 leaves sticky gunk behind that just collects more dirt than before.

Oooh, I've got a good one. So good my Mom STILL feels guilty after all these years. My fave TF (and toy) was Thundercracker. And Mom knew it. By 1987 the original seekers were almost impossible to find, but Thundercracker was still available via robot points. I had gone through several Thundercrackers over the years due to sheer wear (never broke them, but they could only be played with so many times before they wore out and got dirty). My last Thundercracker had been acquired via the robot points offer, but it needed replacing too. Mom knew I wanted a new Thundercracker more than even an entire combiner team or TF city. However, that offer had expired, and Thundercracker was no longer available. But knowing how much I liked Thundercracker, Mom called Hasbro directly, and after being switched around a lot, got through to someone to basically order the last Thundercracker in Hasbro's entire warehouse inventory. And so a nice new Thundercracker was my birthday present. Last one in the world. (Or at least, the US) No full-color box, just a plain brown cardboard, and I think no styrofoam. But it was complete and brand-new. A few days later, I had refused to clean my room, and so Mom "ransomed" my new Thundercracker. She had intended to "gently" throw it in the trash right in front of me if I kept refusing to clean up, and fish it out later----being right on top, it'd be fine. However, several pieces fell/broke off when she threw it in the garbage bag after I still refused to clean up, and we never found them. She had ruined my brand-new Thundercracker that she had worked so hard to get for me for my birthday. Losing the nose gear alone pretty much ruins a G1 seeker's jet mode, but breaking off a missile and a tailfin too? She still remembers (not that I let her forget) that she's the one that willfully ruined my favorite toy of all childhood, that she herself had tried so hard to get for me as a birthday present. All because of a really stupid idea of how to get me to clean up my room.

I've been wanting to clean my engine/engine bay for a while, but every single discussion/thread/FAQ on it always comes down to 2 things: 1. Simple Green is corrosive, so don't use it despite everyone/everywhere saying you should. 2. Orange/citrus ones are ALSO bad, and corrode or crystallize, so don't use them either despite everyone/everyone saying use it instead of Simple Green. It keeps coming down to "lesser of two evils" to choose what to use. Anyone have any comments or experiences in cleaning engines? A few requirements: 1. No pressure washing. I won't dare risk it. 2. Are there any orange/citrus cleaners that DON'T have the "background" smell of Goo-Gone/mineral spirits/varnish/lacquer/gasoline? They almost all smell like orange-scented Goo-Gone to me, not just "orange". And to me mineral spirit/goo-gone smell is very obvious and incredibly lingering, and couldn't stand for my car to smell like that. 3. Have seen a few people say use foaming tire cleaner. Anyone tried that?

Megaforce---I loved that line, and just a few days ago was trying to remember what it was called... Anyways--actually, since I was quite specific in what toys I did and didn't want, I rarely got stuff I didn't want, and usually got the stuff I did. Even back then I knew to pass up on several little toys in order to get a single larger one. One G1 seeker or headmaster is worth a BUNCH of TF minibots. I honestly can't really think of anything I didn't get that was important. Well, there was G1 Hot Rod. But that was due to availability. It was to the point that my parents actually gave me the money for him (and I was like 7) to buy him if I EVER found him. Never did. Nor could any grandparents, aunts, etc. I never, ever found a G1 Hot Rod for sale and never got him soley for that reason. Strangely I never remember asking for Omega Supreme, yet I got it for my birthday. As opposed to Trypticon, which I begged for about 6 months straight and got for Christmas. Equal price/size, yet very different "want" levels. Still, LEGOs were the hardest to get. They're just plain expensive. (Actually, I think they're cheaper now than they used to be, accounting for inflation--still expensive though, but not so outrageous as they were). Even back in 1989 the big pirate ships retailed for $110. Of course, the 2 largest LEGO ships are still among the best sets ever, and frankly the best pirate ship toys ever. Now if they only made the 16-wide hulls in black, I could make the Black Pearl... (yes, I have saved ONE set from childhood--the Black Seas Barracuda, set 6285, best LEGO ship ever) Ironically, that is one of the few sets ever re-released... http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6285 Black Seas Barracuda, 1989 http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6286 Skull's Eye Schooner, 1993

US planes don't count UK names. Fury II in the US, Fury III or IV in the UK, depending if SEA Fury counts as well

Maybe, maybe not. May be functional, may not. May have ammo, may not.

2 weeks to US DS Lite release, bumping thread, and a comment/question: Has anyone here actually seen/held a Navy DS Lite? I've read a LOT of comments lately about how it's more glossy than the others, and REALLY shows fingerprints and smudges, to the point that it looks pretty bad most of the time. And I hate fingerprints... I might go with white for that reason alone--better to dislike the color and have it look good, than to like the color but think it looks dirty 24/7. And of course Europe gets BLACK...

Again: You get planes by killing Ace squadrons that use it. Very few exceptions. Did you fight Schnee Squadron, who use F-14's? Probably not, since you didn't get their plane. Who you fight is determined by whether you are currently a Soldier, Knight, or Mercenary in that mission.

Thus it should be the Fury II.

Except, it's not. If you don't look at the belly, it's an F-15, 100%, far more than Boeing would require a license for. It's not CLOSE to an F-15, it's better than a lot of early "detailed replicas". Heck, it's closer than most wood or resin F-15 models you can buy for $300. It's got a lot of things right that brand-new-for-2006 diecast F-15 models screw up. Adding fake cannons doesn't make it "not" an F-15. (poor grammar, but for emphasis)

No no no. MP SS is 1,000x more realistic than MP Prime. SS is an F-15, so specific I can tell you what year/model/nation it is. Prime is "a cabover semi of no particular nation, decade, or manufacturer". And just plain fake-looking and disproportionate. The VF-1 is a more realistic plane than MP Prime is a realistic truck.

However, real F-15's have one-piece dorsal opening speedbrakes, radomes that hinge to starboard, and frameless forward canopies. To make all those moving "gimmicks" 100% real-life accurate, and then go and totally "fake" the engines strikes me as very strange, especially considering how well Kawamori must know the F-15.

The hell? F-15's can't move their nozzles. And those aren't the nozzles of the one F-15 that can. Sorry Kawamori, but don't incorporate parts from other planes. No different than putting a Super Hornet's LEX on a baby Hornet.

The one I dodged is presumably alive--unless it happens to be the one she hit! (It was only a few miles away, but it's been 6 months). Ironically neither of these incidents had blood, but the time I totally didn't hit a deer did. If a large vehicle hits a deer at high speed, the deer basically vaporizes into a "deer cloud"---basically a blood/flesh mist in the air like a fog. The pickup ahead of me vaporized the deer, and I drove through the "deer cloud". Didn't quite realize what had happened until I saw the blood mist particles condense into drops and and running down the windshield--I decided not to use the wipers, didn't want to spread that across the glass. Even after going to the car wash as soon as I could, I still found bits of deer meat all around the front half--itty bitty stringy bits of flesh--nasty stuff to peel off. I replaced the air filter soon thereafter, as I figured at least some of the blood mist had to have been sucked up. Did I mention I hate deer?

Yeah, but my insurance didn't cover me DODGING a deer yet getting 1,000 rock chips from the gravel I encountered doing so. I just bought some stuff today to start getting ready to fix it. Sigh. (I sure wasn't going to try to start a month-long process of waxing, sanding, polishing and painting during winter or the rainy months) PS---anyone know if there's anything that can be done for rock chips in the clear coat of a polished aluminum wheel short of flat-out refinishing it professionally? I can't seem to find anything. My current plan (based on a quick talk with the body shop) is to use cleaner wax and remove as many scratches as I can, just so I can SEE what's a clearcoat scratch and what got down to the color coat and what got down to the primer. (I already primered the spots that got down to the bare metal--easy to spot the glint) Then primering/painting/clearcoating as needed. Then a full-on detailing to see how the car looks.

Latest news is that Blair personally brought up the "UK having full rights/access to JSF stealth technology" issue and Bush gave the go-ahead. Now to see if it actually happens. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Australia make the same request.

"Schokoladen Braun". German Panzer Chocolate Brown, an excellent color for all sorts of things.

It's been a few months since I last mentioned how much I hate deer. They are without a doubt the dumbest creatures on the entire planet. I'm quite certain that the only reason they are not extinct due to their own stupidity and suicidal tendencies, is the fact that they breed like rabbits. I. HATE. DEER. We'll know more about the damage once we manage to get the hood open--the latch is wedged under the radiator upper mount. From looking through the big gaps, the air intake seems ok as are the diagonal braces---but I can see some of the air temp/coolant level sensors etc are disconnected. Seems to run fine so far though, amazingly. Air dam's totally messed up, and I suspect the entire front fascia is about 2 inches higher than it was. Plus the obvious radiator and headlight issues. PS--this is not my car, but a family member's---she wanted me to look at it. Still, it's yet another Pontiac I'm very familiar with (and have driven many times) hit by a suicidal deer in Iowa. I was planning on cleaning the engine bay for her next week, ironically.

My method for setting up head on attacks is simple: Turn the other way. If he breaks left, break right. If he goes high, go low. So long as you always go in the opposite direction, after 180 degrees of turning (assuming he continues the turn) you'll always end up head-on. To gain a few seconds/separation, accelerate during the first half of the turn, and brake during the latter half. I've still used the F-15C for most of times I've won. For the first forms, just keep a close eye on him---his mini-nukes leave a pretty distinctive trail, and he of course pulls off to avoid his own blast radius---watch for him to launch them, then go after him---he's very easy to hit the moment before they explode. Also keep watching after each "stage"--the radar won't lock on, and he's invincible for a few secs, but he'll be very vulnerable the moment the next "stage" starts---if you've kept on his tail all the while, you can unload the moment you're allowed.

I didn't even catch that---I knew something was pretty off about the canopy, but couldn't pin it down. (I did notice the extra frame near the rear, but I think that's more to make robot mode look like the cartoon model)