David Hingtgen

Surely our resident missile expert has installed countermeasures on his craft?

Note the rainbow.

.45 Mini NON-BATTLE-DAMAGED Darth Maul saber now up for order! http://masterreplicas.com/customer/starwar...il.php?pid=8479 As I mentioned before in the thread, the only way to get it is to join the Master Replicas Collectors Society. It's 60 bucks. However, if you order just about any other saber prop of any type this year, it'll pay for itself. The "not cut in half" Maul saber is worth probably 45 or 50 bucks by itself, and joining gets you several coupons for future saber orders. From the site: $100 credit toward the purchase of a Studio Scale Replica o Two $50 credits toward a Limited Edition Replica or Helmet (sorry, not redeemable on Elite Editions) o One $30 credit toward a Force FX Lightsaber o Two $10 credits toward a .45 Scaled Replica

That would be a LANTIRN targeting pod. Some F-14 releases have it, but it's much easier to find a Hasegawa weapons set #7. It has many "modern" F-14 parts, like the LANTIRN pod, BOL-style Sidwinder rails, and JDAM's. Basically, if you want to use laser-guided bombs on an F-14, you need a LANTIRN pod. Don't need one for JDAM's. If you have the pod installed, put a Phoenix in the same spot on the other pylon, to balance out the weight. http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGX72-12 If you're buying a weapons set, I would also recommend set #6, for it has the bombracks for Phoenix pallets, and modern bombs---essential to almost any 2000+ F-14. http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGX72-11 (It is much easier to make an accurate modern F-14 weapon/pod load in 1/72 than 1/48 due to the 1/72 weapons sets having most all of the recent F-14 bits available) PS---basic modern US missiles---AMRAAM's, Sparrows, Sidewinders, Harpoons. And nicer than what comes in any other kit: http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGX72-9

Why wait for a kit? Just buy aftermarket decals. They're more accurate and thinner and better quality anyways. You're like, 2 weeks too late for low-vis VF-103 F-14B's, just sold out. (As I recently discovered--there were plenty, then gone all of a sudden--I wanted to build the one I saw in 2003) And F-18F? Again, wait for aftermarket. You know Hase will release one as soon as they can, in the early scheme. But I'm sure either VF decals or Twobobs decals will have much better, more accurate ones. And probably in the cooler, revised markings. ::edit:: Oh hey, there's more VF-103 decals coming out. Just wait for these, should only be a few weeks: http://www.twobobs.net/72-040.jpg Also, the ultimate Jolly Rogers decal set, VF-84 and VF-103, dual 1/48 and 1/72 scale mega-sheet: http://www.vf-decals.com/images/decals/48_72_103.jpg Most importantly, has the ultra-cool Black & White scheme.

Murph is either flying Raptors, or transitioning to the Raptor. That, or he knows way more that he should about Raptors for an Eagle pilot.

Anakin AOTC FX is universally said to have many problems. Basically, it is a generation older than even the other "old" sabers, has electrical problems, "wonky" sound effects, usually loose blades, etc.

Pukin Dogs got their CAG Super Hornet. Paint scheme works much better than I expected, even with the tailcodes "shoved in" off the rudders. http://www.alert5.com/gallery/VFA-143Punki...NavalAirStation Yes, this is an E model, 143 is one of the very few F-14 squadrons to get E's. Finally---those are the darkest dark blue markings ever. (But the Pukin Dog itself is black)

A point I'd like to bring up: Most people think Kiera Knightley's role is much smaller in Ep 1 than it was. She's not some random background handmaiden, she's THE decoy. As in, if you ever see the Queen talking to a Handmaiden---Natalie's the handmaiden and Kiera's the Queen. There was never any CG or bluescreen etc for those scenes. There are quite a few "white-faced queen" outfits that Natalie never wore--it's Kiera for every scene. If there's only "Padme the Handmaiden" or only "Queen Amidala" on screen, then it's Natalie. But if there's any interaction, or a "highly visible handmaiden onscreen near the queen", then it's Kiera in white makeup with Natalie standing near by. Basically--when in white makeup, they're utterly impossible to tell apart. And the voices were "modified" in post to sound more 'regal', so they sound alike too.

IIRC, in the book they specified that they engineered the dinos to be incredibly dependent upon a certain food supplement, and that if they didn't get it, they'd die in hours. If one gets loose, just close all the feed bins, since "random" goats/people etc it'd eat wouldn't have that supplement. (A certain amino acid IIRC). Not an "immediate" solution, but effective against any size dino.

The green one will be Yoda's. ( Because everyone constantly asks for Qui-Gon, yet MR says they haven't even really considered it---and Yoda's would be the wrong size for most anyone to use) Qui-Gon FX: most asked for, yet currently least likely to be made If you've ever wondered why there's so much Yoda stuff from MR, it's because the founder is the original designer of the Yoda saber, and has more references on it than even Lucasfilm. So every version that could possibly be made, is.

Aircraftresourcecenter.com is THE place for planes. It is at its core a site dedicated to building model airplane kits, but the boards are as good as you'll find. I learn more from knowledgable kit reviews than magazines... Aircraft Resource Center (ARC): http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/ (recent domain change) ARC Forums: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/index.php

Which is why I go to the boards I do. We've even got an F-22 pilot there.

1/72 A-10? Try the new Revell *Germany* (not Revell-Monogram) kit, or the new Italeri kit. There is no good modern/current A-10 BTW, even getting one up to Desert Storm specs takes work, Iraqi Freedom takes a lot of work. They get more lumps and bumps added on in a year then most planes get in a decade.

With even a slight overcast, grey planes become impossible to see at even 1 mile distant. Go to an airshow to see the effect yourself. Each plane's camoflage scheme is carefully designed to try to minimize any "distinct" aspect---usually the intake and tail shapes--it's a lot harder to see a "blob" in the sky than an obviously airplane-shaped shape. Thus you'll tend to see more obvious demarcations around an F-15's intake edges and v.stabs, while an F-16 has a stripe on the v.stabs dorsal extension. 2 goals: 1. "Blob" the outline, making it harder to see, period. 2. Make it harder to tell what type of plane it is, even if you do spot it. Now, for overall dark grey schemes like the B-2, F-15E, and YF-21 #1: At high altitudes, this is the best color. Trust me, I've seen in on TV etc---a dark grey B-2 will blend in perfectly due to light refraction, etc. And of couse, this is one of the best colors for night. Final quick summary: planes are grey to hide in grey skies. Most of the time warplanes don't fly in crisp clear blue skies.

Must be a popular mattress, it's mine too! Anyways, here's one of my faves---one of the few with open missile bay doors.

VF-101 will basically attempt to get one of VF-32's F-14B's to do a demo at Oceana. VF-101 will be effectively disestablished and airplane-less by then, but the pilots should still be qualified and VF-32 will be about the only squadron scheduled to still be in existence, not at sea.

Bump, because there's been multiple airshow questions lately. Also, it's become known that the East Coast Super Hornet team has been using the Jolly Roger's commander's plane for demos, so if you want to see black/yellow/skulls, they're the ones to watch. http://www.schultzairshows.com/f18she2005.htm

There's always my airshow thread: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=14541

Thanks, many of us at the airliner forums have gone over most every airport there is with that.

YF-23 modeling? The one at the top of the page is the best. There is no "good" good, just a few decent ones. There's also a 1/48 resin one, but I need to get a lot better before I plunk down $200+ for it. YF-23 sites? Best one's long gone, I downloaded most of it. Try this for a walkaround: http://aircraftstories.free.fr/mono/yf23/w...und/page_01.htm And this one: http://www.hornets80.net/gallery/gallery7.htm A DVD recently came out, new interviews and never-before-seen footage. I got it, worth every penny to me. "Web of Secrecy, YF-23 Black Widow II Declassified" History Channel recently had something about the 22 vs 23, really nice shot of the 23's unique "one contrail only" feature. (Every other plane will have a contrail from each wingtip in a tight turn--YF-23's tend to only have it on one wing) Finally, my "surprised it isn't classified pic" of the day:

Man, 2-seaters are harder to tell apart, since they all have the larger fin, not just later ones. I don't think I can tell F-104B's from F-104D's.

Not to hijack the thread, but I often post my little composite pic when people ask about the -23 (my fave plane, and the coolest-looking plane ever).

That particular Mustang is a P-51C. One of only 2 C's that can still fly. (And there's very very few C's, period). It is the most recently restored Mustang I know of---2003 was its "maiden" flight I think. I saw it in Summer of that year. A P-51C is a P-51B built in Dallas. No phyiscal differences from the B AFAIK, not a single rivet. Plenty of similar pics exist, USAF does it all the time at airshows. Called "Heritage Flights". Check Airliners.net for pics. Navy does a similar thing, "Legacy Flights". These are some of my faves, often are my wallpaper: F-15/P-38, directly below: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/543600/L F-15/P-51/P-38: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/409045/L F-14/F-18/F4U: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/522318/L

The Iowa class was designed to be the counter to the Yamato. Yamato was believed to mount 16inch guns, and be 45-50,000tons. Thus the Iowas are about that. One guy said the Yamato was MUCH larger, and had 18inch guns. US Navy said "no way, we'd notice if there was a factory making 18 inch guns, and the Japanese can't build ships that large". The lone dissenter was proven right many years later of course. Kind of like how in the 1930's, it was believed Japan's most advanced planes were biplanes, despite reports from the Flying Tigers in China that the Zero etc existed, and was more than a match for a P-40. Finally--6 Iowas were laid down, only 4 finished. BB65 Illinois, BB66 Kentucky. Kentucky was at least 2/3 finished before scrapping (maybe even 3/4, I can't remember), its engines were removed to power 2 AOE-1 class ships. (And each having only half the power of an Iowa-class, they are by far the fastest refuellers in the fleet)