Phyrox

I don't get it, he knows how to spell kinesiology, but not canon? How seriously can I take him, honestly? He seemed to only be reviewing it in relation to the previous shows, so it's no wonder it came up short. Even with dubbing and editing, Macross and Mospeada are damn good shows with great characters...

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=228

So...the verdict is "good but not great." No surprises there. I wish they hadn't felt it neccesary to bring in new characters who were in some way related to old favorites. I may be in the minority on this, but such tricks always make a multi-tiered story seem much more provincial and less epic in scope. I understand the desire to please fanboys though...but it always seems a bit cheap (like putting chewbaca in the prequals, that kinda stuff).

I read somewhere that the DC-10 firefighter was tested and went nowhere... But I wouldn't be concerned about the 747's ability to fly slow enough and drop accurately as I would about its ability to fly into and out of tight spaces easily. How rapidly can it change its direction of flight? Most of the firefighting AC I've seen in action are forced to dive into canyons/valleys and pull out rapidly after the drop. I wouldn't want to try that in a 747...at least I don't think I would. Even just its size would limit its uses. I guess it could serve a small niche, like the Mars do I guess. I wouldn't want to be doing it in 50 year old warbirds either, so some good replacement is certainly necessary. You can only fly old Neptunes, Orions, Catalinas, Invaders and Trackers for so long.

Because it isn't Macross...I imagine.

Again, airliners aren't my forte so I am not very familiar with the 747s performance envelope. That said, I imagine it would make a very, very poor firefighter. Too bad about the Beriev. I have a soft spot for the flying boat genus and like to see them succeed when possible. Maybe this won't effect Portugal's ultimate decision though... and I don't get this joke: It doesn't seem to have much to do with the story. Plane hits tree while getting water -> damages engine -> dumps fuel and water to prepare for emergency landing -> lands safely. edit for spelling

am i the only one that link doesn't work for?

Well, I'm no airliner nut, and just did a cursory overview of some stuff on the net. I WANT to find something wrong with the concept...but I guess it'll work. If it were up to me I would REALLY want something with better ditching/water-landing characteristics, but I guess the Navy is willing to trade crew safety for devolopment costs. Or maybe it'll get jetisonable nacelles? Interesting idea though.

I haven't paid attention to modern military procurement/policy in years, so I wasn't aware that the idea of having the new Hornet take over fixed-wing ASW was not gonna happen. If it isn't, and the fleet only has ship-borne rotary-wing and P-3s for ASW...I think it is a mistake. Although I doubt the U.S. Navy will be in real need of serious ASW capability in the immediate, or even near future, I have always thought that if the ballon goes up again in a major conventional war submarines will be key for both sides. Especially as several 2nd and 3rd tier navies have taken pages from the Soviet playbook concerning the appropriate way to deal with carrier groups (minus the nuclear aspect of course). John Keegan might not be the best naval historian, but I think he was right...the submarine is the future of naval warfare, whether we realize it now or not. The more the U.S. can counter submarine threats to its major surface units, the better.

No. I mean the gear. Legs and wheels, not just streamlined fairing (which the one in the photo I attached doesn't even have). I have read that a few 87s had jetisonable main gear (precaution designed into naval version that found its way into production models somehow), but I've also read that D and G models didn't have this ability. The one in the photo I've seen might have had very coincidental battle damage maybe...? That's why I want to see the picture again, or another like it. edit: reread post and realised it unintentionally sounded a bit snippy. fixed (i hope)

I am really glad I am not a transfan...that box is embarrasing. And, after seeing the photoshopped MP SS in "anime" colors, I'm glad they aren't doing that. I forgot how garish he looked. If they are gonna take a seeker and tweek the design so it "looks better," why wouldn't you want them to tweek the color as well? Maybe it's the Macross fan that takes color to mean everything, but SS was a grey F-15 that turned into a giant robot. This is a SUPA cool grey F-15 that turns into a SUPA cool giant robot. I read the complaints, but I honestly don't understand them outside of "fanatical fanboy ravings" and I know from experiance on this board that Mr. Hingtgen is usually level headed, so I'm a bit confused. Soon as I have the money, I'm pickin' this guy up. oh, and: excellent point

speaking of photos... Does anyone have a link or scan of a photo of a Ju-87 w/o gear? I know there is one in the Schiffer book on Rudel, but mine is in another state at the moment. edit: the one i have seen is much like this one. Ju-87 at low alt., and taken from a similar angle...except of course it has no main gear.

Well, I'm no veteran, but I've done my reading and seen some video clips... It would be hard to exaggerate the effects a .50cal round has on the human body. The bodies aren't going to explode like they were hit by a cannon round, but it would be disturbing enough that I wouldn't think a movie could "overdo" it.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but it almost looks like a super-deformed Alpha. I don't know if it's the shape of the nose, or the proportions of the back-end...but something. hmm, well looking at these comparisions, your's seems to be pretty similar to the MPC in rear proportions...so that isn't it. Maybe it's the seemingly exageratted ovoid-ness of the nose section that gives me the impression. I'm still not sure, maybe the entire nose/forward fuselage section is too large?

I'll take that bet.

I'm not really a huge fan of anime, so I can't add much. I will say that besides the obvious favs, I'd add Gall Force as mentioned above. I love it for the mechanical designs, and for what it could have been. The basic outline of the story (at least for part one) is pretty interesting, but the movies don't deliver like they should. It almost feels like they had an entire series planned, and had to cut it down to three OVA movies, but had already animated two or three filler episodes so they used a lot of that. Not a bad series, but one that actually works better in outline than finished form...at least to me. Gall Force is one of the very few titles in any medium that I think would really reward any "remake" efforts. It has all the right elements, it just didn't gel right (but I still dig it of course). In fact, although I have no evidence to suggest it, I would almost bet money that Gall Force was originally envisioned as a longer project.

Nope, not me.

Well, compared to just about every transformer ever...he is pretty "uber realistic." The alternators are the only thing I can think of where someone who didn't know better might be fooled into not knowing it was a robot. I don't understand some people here, but that Starscream is hands down the best looking transformer I've ever seen. If we had stuff like this when I was young, I would have died of a stroke.

I'm in a different state from my alphas now, but I know that those pegs go into the gap between the lower leg and knee area in fighter mode. They are supposed to fill the gap so things aren't too loose. I don't think they do the job very well, and they are more trouble than they are worth...but they are not part of a Beta connection.

I honestly don't care about either series... but what is "faultered?"

I would imagine because those betas are crazy expensive, and no one who owns or has bought one wants to disassemble (and possibly ruin) one to make resin casts. Plus it is ugly as hell. Not many resin model makers would bother with it. It looks like the cheap plastic toy that it was.

I may be in the minority, but I just want an in-scale transformable BETA. I don't care if it connects or not. In fact, the design compromises that would have to be made for a connection...I'd rather not see. I never liked the Alpha-beta connected anyhow. I like the Alpha, I like the Beta. I don't really care for them together. And the things they would have to do to the cockpit and forward area of the beta to make it connect would be...well, just not worth it.

Damn, that is hawt. I haven't bought a transformer since...uh, well maybe ever. My last transformer was probably a gift in the late '80s. I wasn't even excited about Starscream, but seeing a decent photo of him all painted up...I am actually tempted. He looks damn good.

I don't really care one way or the other with this toy, but I WILL say that his lower-leg and feet on the old version would have been deal breakers for me. They look horrible. Like an actual G1 transformer. The new version has feet and lower legs that don't hurt my eyes to look at. So I say... UPGRADE Also, looking at the aft fuselage underside in fighter mode, the new one is vastly cleaned up and improved.

Wow.