David Hingtgen

1. I'm a Trekkie. But we are the most cursed, gamewise, of all creation. ::edit:: OMG! It's got modified Excelsiors and late-version Ambassadors! ::end fanboyism:: I also see they modified the Nebula class so that they actually have decent impulse engines. (Why they weren't designed the same as a Galaxy there I'll never know, there's plenty of room for all 3--and they could easily have gotten by with just the main one) 2. I would buy a 360 for KOTOR 3 alone. 3. Super Mario World. Greatest system-seller ever. THAT sold the SNES. Pack-ins=better sales. I remember to this day the first time I saw Mario World--JC Penney catalog department. I *needed* that game. And it delivered. I didn't need an *SNES*, I needed that GAME. 4. If the Revolution had Super Mario 1, 2, 3, and 4 as a pack-in, it'd sell zillions. I'd buy one. If not, Zelda Twilight Princess. (Based on current rumors)

At that angle, my first "aviation enthusiast's" thought is "I don't think it could fly". Both the leading and trailing edge taper in at the root. It's got to have the strangest wing-loading ever.

Is painter's choice matte, semi, or gloss? (A good gloss white is also on my list, as I like airliners even more than military jets---but airliners are typically the bane of model painting--gloss white and pristine polished metal with long, straight decal stripes that'll show the slightest mis-alignment)

Quck edit: I actually heard the 2008 Grand Prix was being canned, to bring back the Bonneville. Wouldn't surprise me for GM to do something that stupid--kill the best-selling Pontiac to bring back the one that was cut due to poor sales. (Hey, maybe the sunroof option package really is hitting GP sales really hard--not that GM would ever figure out why--are all their executives like 5'4?) Anyways, living in a place with bad weather doesn't help much--people are still stupid. About 2 days ago it started snowing. Just a little flurry, nothing at all. I WAS going to go to the mall, but only got to the first intersection before I noticed things "weren't right" and my car's external temp gauge was clicking down. It was in fact 29 degrees. THE worst possible temperature. Not 28, not 30. 29. That means snow melts on hitting concrete but rapidly refreezes into ice. Spotted 2 cars crunched together at the intersection. Then I spotted a 2-block long back-up on the next curve (had already decided to go home after 90 secs of driving) and then noticed cars off the street on the other side of the same road! I had came to a complete stop to make a u-turn but still totally slid sideways when starting the actual turn, about the worst I've ever encountered in my life (and I had slowly accelerated to about 4mph, and I just got my new "highly-rated for snow" Traction T/A tires put on, and had full traction control engaged) (worst slide ever was at the mall, I actually hit the curb--to this day I still see people slide right into the curb at that spot, it's the slickest spot in town) The news later reported 30 accidents within the first 45 minutes. People like me quickly realized it was SLICK out when we first got on the roads and carefully, slowly drove home. The other idiots of the town drove like they would any other day, and ended up in ditches. How the roads LOOK and how they ARE rarely coincide. They can look fine and be godawful (like that day), or they can look horrible but not be that bad. Fine line between ice, slush, and snow, and mixed layers of all. All look different, all behave different. PS--the absolute worst, period, is someone in a pickup in snow. I swear, they get on a hill, and floor it, and fishtail widly, sometimes practically doing a 180 from the stoplight, and wonder why they can't go. Sign of an utter moron is usually to spin your tires widly, trying to go in snow. (There are a few rare situations where this is the only way to go, but it is rare and I've yet to see it done here---every spinning tire acceleration here is a result of having no clue whatsoever how to drive in snow/slush/ice) It's to the point that in winter, I absolutely will not pull up next to a pickup at a stoplight. Period. I'll hang back 15 feet and have people honk at me--I've come an inch away from being sideswiped way too many times. Only pickups, only in winter. So many of their drivers just CAN'T figure out how to get going without having the back end swing out 5 feet. Plenty of people have figured it out (my parents for example) but I can't risk the other 80% of the population who are more likely to crunch my door than to actually go STRAIGHT from a stoplight in the snow.

If not for the snow (yes, that's my all-purpose car excuse) my next car would be a GTO, period. Both the Grand Prix and GTO have very nice interiors.

Hey, it's interesting and relevant. (And something I didn't know)

This is possibly not only the coolest Shornet "vapor" shot ever, it's the best shot so far of the new-style Shornet ECS outlets: http://www.alert5.com/gallery/Pensacola-2/gmc0244 (even bigger version if you click on it) Plenty of shots for wallpaper: http://www.alert5.com/gallery/Pensacola-2

Because I think we all appreciate cool Tomcat pics: VF-31's the only squadron I know that paints the CAG and CO planes completely differently.

I think they'd have to charge an extra 50 bucks for the paint applications alone to give you a fractal-camo VF.

I model in my bedroom, but modeling smells seem to get worse/affect me more every year---#1 reason I switched to acrylic paint. (That and cleanup). I'm going to try Tamiya's light-curing putty, and will hopefully find a better glue someday. (Non-toxic glue smells worse than any other glue IMHO, it's like super-hyper-orange-gasoline or something) Want to try Tamiya Extra-Thin cement for its welding properties, but "sampling" it in the store made me think twice--pretty intense fumes.

Simple all-over 36118. F-15E, B-52, B-1B, YF-23. When new they look sinister. When not pristine they look pretty neat. You don't see weathered Strike Eagles that often but here it is. PS--Nied--despite everybody referencing it, "TPS 1" is not at all the F-14's TPS. And MATS has the right pattern but the wrong colors. Here's my corrected version of the MATS one. 99% of F-14's don't have the patch by the intake lip though. And the area just outboard of the tailfins usually isn't painted 36320 but 35237. PPS--the ultimate digital camo is the new fractal pattern. Nigh-invisible. Just gotta paint the missiles too...

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, I have a lot of things to try when the weather warms up. Which leads to the next big impediment: No basement or room to do modeling. It's almost all done in my bedroom, except spray-painting/airbrushing which is done outside. I can only paint for a few months of the year. It'll likely be years before I have a place with a dedicated spray booth or something, but I can't just "not model" until then. (Fall/Winter is mainly researching/purchasing, and gluing together assemblies and puttying them when possible, so they're ready for painting when the weather allows)

I burnish with my nail and sometimes toothpicks--are the specialized burnishers noticeably better? I do believe better airbrushing will help with buildup---but what about small parts that are brush-painted, that still need masking? Missles and the like. wm_cheng----not sure if this was covered in the YF-21 build or not, but how do you mask canopies? Hasegawa ones especially give me a tough time. I am currently in a big "learning" stage---I am just starting to get into airbrushing and trying to make a really seamless model. (I mastered decaling at an early age IMHO, but I actually find applying over gloss actually messes me up---I think it's because my "gloss" coats tend to be so orange-peel they're bumpier than dull flat paint--once I can airbrush a smooth clear gloss my decaling should be IPMS-winning) One impediment I have is "I want to build a neat model I have that I have awesome decals for, but don't want to experiment/risk messing it up---but I can't learn if I never try". I really should just buy a cheap $9 F-15 at Wal-Mart and just BUILD the thing. I try to experiment a little on each model, but I think I really just need to "waste" a half-dozen kits to try things and build up skill. Still, I think ADHESION may be my #1 problem (all other things are far naught if something 5 layers down flakes off taking everything above with it---even thorough soaking in dish-soap and water, and using Tamiya often makes it peel off in sheets. Just can't explain---part of the reason I've been primering EVERYTHING lately---most acrylic paint seems to adhere to enamel very well, as well as enamel does to plastic---but it does add a step, and a layer of thickness over details. (Thus my search for the perfect primer---I can do ok if I have a primer underneath, but the primer often has problems too, since it pretty much must be a spray-can for cost/time reasons) And I can't primer EVERYTHING. (I think--anyone ever sprayed an entire kit still on the sprue to primer it?) My USS Iowa model is currently stopped due to: 1. Paint build-up along camoflage colors. (I needed many heavy coats to make the hull opaque---don't know why, maybe the primer was the exact opposite color---pale blue-grey paint over pale warm-grey primer---the brown of the primer just REALLY seemed to show through) The main camoflage is painted nicely (just a few tiny leaks of paint) but you can easily feel the build-up along where it was masked---will sanding them down preserve the razor-crisp color division? Alternatively I am considering sanding them down heavily and switching to the feathered-sprayed version of the camoflage--but I'd need to greatly improve my airbrush skills for that. (I currently have like 3 hours experience airbrushing, if that) There's a lot of parts that need to be re-done enough that I should just strip them. (main guns, funnels, upper superstructure) 2. Flaking/chipping along waterline. Quite a bit of it chipped off along the tape edge---it seems a lot of the paint build-up along the edge of the tape really liked to stay with the paint, and took paint from the surrounding areas with it. PS--final question---does Pactra thin masking tape (usually sold with the r/c car stuff) really suck? I liked it when I was younger, but it seems to leak more than ANYTHING nowadays. Have pretty much abandoned it, last use was USS Iowa bits. (I found new stuff at HLJ--seems 99% to be Tamiya tape pre-cut into itty bitty 0.4mm widths--well worth the money if it works) PPS---I will finish my USS Iowa someday. Even if it takes a decade--it's one of those "you want one so bad you'd strip it down and repaint it twice just to make sure its right". Then I have to learn how to apply photoetched railings--1/350 demands it.

Zoid? Which one? I don't customize them, but am fond of them.

Yup yup. Started with the McDonnellDouglas airliners, but they soon realized--"hey, we can rename ALL the planes whose manufacturers we bought out".

Boeing claims (and flat out phrases as such on their website--they talk about how the BOEING DC-3 was so important and the legendary BOEING F-4 Phantom) any and all aircraft from all manufacturers they acquired. The Wright Flyer is about the only thing they can't claim nowadays. At least Airbus doesn't claim the Concorde nor Bf109, even though they "own" the designs just as much as Boeing owns the F-15, etc.

I'll vote that I suffer from both AMS and PMS. I just wish there weren't so many seams to fill. I can never, ever understand how someone can build a 1/72 kit in a few days. I can spend a few days on the seams in the main fuselage alone, then all the other parts, then gluing, painting, etc. They just seem able to fill/sand/putty 10x faster. (And get better results--I'm always doing 3 more sessions to get that last little section/crack that appeared) I've only just barely started to airbrush, but even poor airbrushing looks much better than my best hand-brushing, so I am encouraged there. But my #1 thing is still painting--specifically masking. I can mask the exact same parts the exact same way, and half the time it's perfect, and half the time they "leak" so bad it's like I didn't mask at all. (Though I suspect airbrushing will help---atomized 2-seconds-from drying paint doesn't creep under tape nearly so much as flowing-straight-from-a-brush paint) If I could mask, and be confident that it'd actually STOP the paint, I'd build a lot more. But as it is, I ruin/stop a lot of models due to paint getting where it shouldn't. And my perfection demands razor-sharp lines for paint colors. Secondary effect: getting an opaque coat usually leads to paint build-up along the tape, even when airbrushing. Suggestions? (Primarily how to prevent it, not how to fix it after the fact--but I need both) Summary: I can sand/fill/putty fine, it just takes time. But with painting--I can spend a LOT of time and be very careful, yet still have it come out horribly with big build-up along the tape edges, and big areas where it leaked underneath. Combined with tape pulling up the paint! There's a reason my last 4 planes have been one color...

Reports on the merger are few and far between, try google news. It's why I phrased it as "there's been news". Above a rumor, but not much, seeing as how it's not widely reported in aviation news. PS---Boeing is king of renaming. Boeing DC-3, Boeing P-51, Boeing F-4, Boeing B-1B, Boeing Space Shuttle, Boeing XB-70 Valkyrie, Boeing MD-11, and worst of all, the Boeing 717.

I've read good things about the Citadel spray primers, but the price is insane. Have yet to try then.

My first act as mini-mod: To pin this thread. Edit: Unless of course the board's not letting me, despite it being on the list of things I'm allowed to do at the bottom of the page... How am I supposed to mod if I can't pin/unpin topics?

Very impressive and all---now why can't they do a YF-19 like this?!?! Also--I still plan to hold out for a VF-0D. The standard VF-0 is still too close to a VF-1 for me. Side note since it's come up so often: Pitot is pronounced "pee-toe". It's French. Not "pit-ot".

Flo-Quil? Yup. The standard for model railroaders, and also what was used to paint the original Star Trek Enterprise. (Kirk's ship has BN green accents, SP scarlet stripes, and UP yellow markings IIRC) Anyways--it dries FAST, and it is MATTE. It is the dullest, flattest paint you'll ever see. Quite opaque. Has its own unique thinner known as Dio-Sol. I like PollyScale myself for model trains---Testor's new MM acrylic is based on it (they bought PollyScale) but PollyScale is still superior. PollyScale is easily the best brush-painting acrylic IMHO. Haven't ever airbrushed it. (I buy all my trains pre-painted, but I extensively accurize them so I need to match railraod colors) Awesome color range--I see SO many plane/ship modelers search everywhere for certain colors that Tamiya or Testor's doesn't make, while totally ignoring the massive color selection of model railroad paints. Trains have been painted every color, and there's a zillion extra green/brown/grey shades for scenery and weathering. Though PollyScale (like MM acrylic) does have a higher than average "bad bottle" rate where you open it up and you just know something's wrong with it--it like gets a "skin" on top. (Always open the bottle in the store and check)

Next video: Much better footage of the MiG-29OVT. http://www.flightlevel350.com/download.php?id=5327 On a related note there's been news that MiG, Sukhoi, Ilyushin, Yakolev, and Tupolev are to merge. It's been approved by the govt, Putin needs to sign.

I'm tempted to mod at this point, but I'm still waiting for some sort of guidelines or even "training" at this point from either Graham or the full mods. I'm hesitant to act on any thread with newly-granted mini-mod status.

The WW2 designs are from the "super dark and gritty" one. On which some pages you had no idea what was going on. "Blackness--and a red dot!" The other comic series had TF's that turned into GI Joe/Cobra vehicles and was set in modern times. (TF vs GI Joe and GI Joe vs TF's---I can never remember which is which)