David Hingtgen

Was that in the very final eps? I don't recall seeing this class in the water, though it's been a while.

Macross follows US aircraft designations pretty darn closely, only exception being of course the use of "V" to mean variable, instead of VTOL. (And since variable fighters tend to be VTOL, it's still correct, sort of) "F" is an inherently loose term for aircraft. If you can't quite figure out what it's supposed to do, use an F. Or if you just want to lie, use F. "A" however, pretty much means "not air superiority, and not heavy/strategic bombing". Thus A-6, A-7, A-10, etc. They all bomb, but they aren't heavy bombers like the B-52, B-2, etc. Holds true for both valks and real planes.

Nanashi---is that an "official" waterline placement? Looks rather low. Wow, everything in Macross is huge---that's a LOT of ship and planes for an *Escort* Carrier.

Well, I always figured the F-5 could have paralleled the F-16's development, had we bought any. (Yes, I know we bought *some*, but not enough for anyone to care) Heck, they both started out as pure short-range Sidwinder-only light fighters. But add in some fancy radar, add Sparrow and/or AMRAAM, and you've got yourself a nice, agile fighter. They did for the F-16, but the F-5 never got that chance. Then there's the F-20---but why buy the F-20 when the F-16's already got all those improvements by then, and can bomb, too. And while Sea Harriers have a good air-to-air record, a big chunk of that is because of who and what they fought, not wonderfulness of the plane. Though I did list the upgraded FRSMk2 in my list, for with the new radar (among the best in the world now), and AMRAAM's, it's got quite the long-range punch.

Ah, that actually makes sense. The engine itself is in the lower leg, but there's an auxiliary air pump (which looks way too much like a whole 'nother engine, though it could function as a pre-compressor) that sucks in air, and sends it down the articulated intake to the engine. And actually, with a system like that, no valk would have need for variable intake ramps, since the pump/pre-compressor could take care of all airflow requirements... Of course, a disadvantage would likely be high inlet temps, which is often THE limitation on an engine's power. (But since we know valks are made of nigh-magical stuff, they can probably take 10,000 degrees....)

Yup, gotta wonder about OTHER scales. 1/60, 1/72, etc. Whatever the YF-19 is, is what I'll standardize on. No 1/48 M+? Then no 1/48 M&M (nor Roy) for me. I have some 200 model planes---I try to standardize on scales.

I didn't list the F-16 because it's well acknowledged as a$$-kicking, and practically unbeatable at "knife-range" as it's called. F-111---amazing attack plane. When they really needed something taken out in Desert Storm, they called for 111's, not 15E's. Size matters, for a bomber. (And F-111's are just as fast as an F-15 at altitude, and even faster at low altitude) A-6, A-7----they rock, or they wouldn't have been in service so long. And most people love to point out that in Desert Storm, they could carry more stuff, further, than the Hornet. Oh well, maybe the Super DUPER KF/A_B-18M Hornet II will finally beat them for range/payload.....

I'll go along with F-5 and F-8, and toss in the F-14 as well. (F-14's don't bleed off very much speed in a turn, a little-known but big advantage--there's no point pulling 9G's if you're down to 150kts once you come out of it, with no energy left) Add in the Sea Harrier FRS.Mk2--with the new radar and AMRAAM's, it's pretty darn good at long-range, equal to the Hornet-C I'd say. And of course, let's have over-rated fighters of course: I'll start with the MiG-25 and F/A-18E.

Anyone got a good cutaway? Because I think it's fairly well established that it's only the intake's guide vanes you see, not the 1st stage fan, in the intake. (Though they are about the most fan-like vanes I've ever seen) (And I can't think of any engine with a *significant* gap between the vanes and the engine itself)

And they screwed that up by naming the new attack subs Virginia class, about a day after the Virginia class (the other one) were decommissioned. Plus the Seawolf-class USS Connecticut. There should be some sort of 20+ year rule before reusing a name for a class. I mean, what if the next class of ships after the Nimitz is decommissioned was called Nimitz too? Gotta create a gap between classes. Feel free to reuse names all the time, just don't make 2 classes in a row. I mean, they could have just swapped some around, so the Virginia was 2nd, instead of the class leader. Then it wouldn't ever confuse/need clarification. It's not like the previous Virginia class is some old hulk no-one ever talks about, they're just one class back from our current front-line cruisers and served in Desert Storm.

Dat Pinche Haro (or Druna Skass, whoever's account you're using)---- Battleships were named for states, cruisers for cities. And Chicago had 2 ships in WW2 alone, like 4 this century. Detroit---only 2 I can think of. And all were cruisers, as the naming procedure goes. There were no "bad-a$$" states really left to use. New York was already in use, as was Texas and California. Now, the unbuilt biggest battleships were to be Montana class. But the rest of the class were to be New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, and Louisiana. Not the largest, most awe-inspiring states. Or in other words--it's pretty darn random. Nowadays it's pure politics (once congressmen found out how easy it was to re-name a ship, we started getting LOTS of sucky names, and out-of sequence ones--especially the new Virginia class, which everyone agrees should have been any of the other 49 states due to the OTHER Virginia still existing and recently being a front-line very famous class of ships)

F-111 rocks at what it wasn't designed to do. (Much like the F-15E) And don't forget, the F-14 was based (sorta) on the F-111. Same idea, same requirement, just executed differently. It's like the YF-16 vs YF-17, and A-9 vs A-10, and YF-22 vs YF-23. Basically, the F-14 is the F-111 done right. A large, heavy, high-speed long-range swing-wing interceptor with bad TF30 engines. It's not coincidence Grumman's listed as an F-111 designer and pretty much used the F-111B as a testbed for the F-14's design. Finally--the F-111 can easily outrun an F-14. It might not be able to turn worth $hit, but it can go sure go fast.

Just a note---Hasbro shortened the mufflers, too, not just the stacks. (As in, the thicker, bottom part--that's the muffler). The bottom of the muffler doesn't go as low as the Takara version. Neither has as large a muffler as a real Freightliner FL86, but the Takara one is closer, and the stacks are sufficiently tall for a good chunk of trailers. (Not tall enough for Prime though---based on what he hauls, Prime should have the tallest stacks you can buy, short of custom-order extra-extra-tall) I really wish the muffler's grill/guard would have been a separate piece, would have looked nice. And maybe have exhaust pipes connect to them...

I'll say it again--depends how you spell it. Die-cast: adjective, describes a process. Diecast: noun, means zinc alloy.

I've yet to hear of anyone removing his mask since the very first time it happened. There's the one guy who did, and we all looked at the pic. And nobody's done it since AFAIK. I think nobody wants to risk ruining it, since it sure doesn't seem to want to come off.

Just a note: the black gun DOES exist, there's now pics of them in US boxes. Wait for the next production run if you want the black gun. (Stacks are still short of course)

Gotta say I agree 100% with Hurin. Plus a little note: It can depend on how you spell it. If you separate the words: "Die-Cast" or "Die Cast" it usually means the process. But it it's one word, it means "zinc alloy". (Except in Britain, where it tends to mean high-lead pewter--which Americans call white metal, unless it has a low lead content whereupon we call it pewter and British call it Britannia metal---hah! ). But used as a compound word it means metal, regardless of where you're from. Just FYI, the specific alloy used for toys and models is known as zamac, for it is a Zinc Aluminum Metal Alloy Casting. 95% zinc, 4% aluminum, 1% copper, 1% misc.

::Ack, wrong style::

It'd be helpful if you told us what model kit you have, what you're trying to do with it, and how you plan to paint/ink it, if at all. I'm presuming you've got a kit molded in white plastic at this point. (Which REALLY should be painted---white plastic is usually pretty darn transparent, if you put anything dark anywhere, it'll show through to the other side)

Yup. Still haven't found a good way to do it. (As in, a way which doesn't stress/bend some parts so much I fear they'll snap or deform) You either have to really bend the blueish elbow peices, or make the forearms really scrape against each other and stress the shoulders. Neither way is very good.

Graham--you must get the OVA. It's totally different. I don't like the series much either. But the OVA is like the greatest story ever, IMHO. Beats EVA, Esca, Bebop, and even my beloved Xenogears. Beats any book I've read, too. (And beats all Macross, including Plus). And it beats all of the above music-wise too, even though I have multiple copies of some of those soundtracks so I can hear it in my car, at home, and on my PC. PS--make sure it's the 4-part OVA, and not the movie based on the TV series.

Umm, why? If you're not going to paint it, why prime it? And I've never known anyone to put clear over primer.

Alternator Smokescreen's blue plastic is exactly like G1 Tracks. Color, gloss, etc.

GreenGuy--thanks, but I've been there before, and have more useful pics than they do All the good stuff is in expensive books, like always. PS to everybody: the all-time coolest Navy pic ever is this overhead photo of the Iowa doing a full-broadside: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/...dod/8505379.jpg Nothing like a 500ft-long visible concussion wave...

Mo had wavy patterns---32/22D. This is 32A/1B. Also--yup, I've removed the 40mm quad mount on the #2 turret, and have built the new tub for the 3 20mm's. Need to finish the rest of the turret before I install the 20mm stuff. Missouri's shakedown scheme: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/...4000/k04576.jpg And here's Iowa: (yes, the edges are feathered---that's January, I'm doing the Spring repaint, with sharp edges---there's no good photos online I can link to of that variation--though I have a few in books, including one of the very few full-color pics of the Iowa in that camo)