I'll second that!
I'll also up the pot and say that someone will get one with two right shoulders/part x and someone is going to batty about some part broken before the 2nd transformation!
I kinda predict that one day, either the USAF or even China with their XXJ-12 or later model will go back to the YF-23's design characteristics/philosophy.
I will be popping champagne if the PLAAF unveils the XXJ-12 and it turns out to be a YF-23 clone! (I actually made a model of it. Slapped on PLAAF decals on a 23 toy)
The YF-23's blended fuselage and 'double diamond and tail design' is one of those rare aircraft designs that comes once in a long long time.
Stuff like the Su-27, F-18, Berkut, even the F-22 etc etc, are all refinements and evolutions from existing designs. The YF-23 to me is one big leap.
Side rant :
I am quite sick of FSW designs in games and animes. Everytime they want to design some fancy new fighter plane, they seem to whip out the FSW (which is basically some variant of the X-29's wing style) cookie cutter. I'd respect the game or anime designer who can come up with something from a totally new direction like the YF-23.
I got 2 of the Italeri kits. I agree its the best one. The Tamiya one looks out-of-shape.
Wish the ruddervators had a firmer attachment though. Damn thing tends to fall off when I zoom the thing round the house and bump em slightly.
The stuff today is a lot more aerodynamic. But more unstable. Sleek is important. Sleek was imoprtant back in WW2 and is more important today. Thats why you see blended forms and internal weapons carriage on the latest USAF designs.
Unstable is not the same as un-aerodynamic!
I think he meant in-the-context-of-TRO 3025 original only. C'mon, most of the TRO3025 designs sucked sooooo bad! Either thin as hell armour, or they risked ammo blowups with Alpha strikes, or weak arsed firepower or not enough ammo!
Look at the Rifleman! Even the mighty Atlas had problems.
Fair enough BUT if one has not seen the YF-23 then one should not be commenting that the X-02 isn't based on the 23!
And there are those who still don't see the errors of their ways even after photo evidence is presented.
Hey, be fair! Aside from an identical nose section, canopy, engine nacelles, ruddervators, fuselage shape, exhaust ducts,wing root and overall form, the rest of the plane is different!