Warmaker

Will there be a "Master Blaster" with this movie? Or a "Lord Humongous?"

After trying to find "Letters From Iwo Jima" since the Christmas holidays, I finally got a chance to see it. Overall, the movie was much, much better than "Flags Of Our Fathers." There was this ever present feeling of despair and desperation, especially since you're viewing the battle from the Japanese perspective, in the face of overwhelming strength, material superiority, and very determined American attacks. The fighting depicted is the way it was in the Pacific... essentially no quarter fighting.

2005? Jeez, we're slacking over here!

Cool picture since it's definitely not an everyday thing! The pilot can add to his bragging rights on also having a trap on one of the USN's big, honkin' carriers. Edit to add: He doesn't have his tailhook down on this one though, so it's not a "trap" for this picture, just a touch and go.

Once you dig around a certain subject long enough, an actual thing or fictional work, you tend to appreciate accuracy. When you see something obviously wrong, it just gnaws away at you. Like seeing a good friend, out of blind loyalty to the USMC, put "MARINES" on an F-14A model kit Yes, yes, I know the Corps was interested one time at getting the Tomcats when they were first coming out, but it never got 'em! As for these 1/18 aircraft toys, I'm really appreciating the F4U Corsairs. I'm thinking about getting one.

The best Kawamori VF in my eyes is the VF-1 series. Elegant, powerful, and it doesn't have overcomplicated linework for the sake of it. The best VF-1 model to me: VF-1J The best VF-1J scheme shown in any Macross show to me: Max's blue VF-1J from SDF Macross. Millia's red-1J is a close second, since the red used is a bit dark and not bright and hokey. Besides, a darker red goes well for a warrior! Hikaru's white / red -1J is fine but has become too standardized with released merchandise for my own taste.

You may joke, but some...

Macross Spaghetti Westerns! Macross - A Fistful of Miclones The "Reconstruction Era" after the major orbital battle in SW1 provides alot of potential story also. The UN, along with the rest of Earth, is devastated. At this period is where we see the UN at its weakest in any Macross show. The gov't control is good in some parts, but almost "Old West" in some areas. The military was the cornerstone of UN control and since it was devastated, control, law & order could be problematic in more remote areas. Add into the mix surviving Zentradi, increased criminal / rebel activity, and you have a pretty unique scenario for a Macross show compared to most other Macross productions. You don't see a well established, technically advanced, strong UN / UN Spacy in the Reconstruction Era. Not like in Macross Plus and other productions. You see the UN at its lowest point, trying to climb out of the ashes. SDF Macross touched into this era well enough for its storyline, but I think there's more to be had. It wouldn't be about "showing the next, coolest UN Spacy hardware and save the day" either. We'd see the UN Spacy units make do with what little it had left.

HWR MKII, Nice pictures with the Leopard 2. 1/6 scale? Jeez, that's freaking huge! Still, more space for detailing and such. Plus the obvious "Wow" factor of a completed one. I love modern armor also, with the M1 Abrams being my favorite. But the Leopard 2's, especially from A5 onwards with the additional armor packages to the turret, providing that wedge look. The A6 is even better with the longer L55 gun. I love the "linework" of the Leopard 2's, it just flows very nicely. Then again, the Germans have experience in "Wow" tanks, since 1942!

Macross has so many possibilities for a new story. It can be placed in practically any period, from Zero and all the way into Macross 7. Heck, even a newer era. The thing is that there were alot of things going down at the same time with the events of the main characters, especially the the various series (SDF Macross, 7). You could show more background action and side stories from Macross Zero, but since that era has recently been covered, it may or may not be a good idea. I won't get much into Macross 7's era since I "cut myself off" from that period, but the series is long enough where there surely is a ton of things going on in the background that a show could cover. Macross Plus' timeframe is a good in-between period that isn't really covered as much compared to SW1 and Macross 7's. It'd be nice to see more of the era where we see how things were in this period. From what little we see in M+, there are no huge wars like in SW1, but there are enough skirmishes going around. But the period I'm most familiar and in love with, SDF Macross' timeframe, has alot of potential too. You could follow characters from other UN Spacy units on Earth or even on the SDF itself. Even starting the story right at the arrival of the huge Zentradi fleet 2/3 of the way into the original series, there still is ample story to be told outside of the original characters. We can follow other UN Spacy units and see things, or even the same events / battles, from a new view. Heck, it'd be interesting to see a Destroid unit being depicted, but I'm quite sure this new show will follow VF's mostly. I actually don't mind going back into SDF Macross with a new story, just as long as it doesn't bork the original characters. It'd be interesting to see how the original VF-1's receive a new treatment in animation / artwork, plus the original UN uniforms

I love Brunettes but I'm diggin' the Blonde. The jet's beautiful, too, BTW

Well, you can't forget about "Ze Germans..."

As far as the Marine Corps goes, the A-D Hornets and Harriers will be replaced by the JSF. They still get modifications / upgrades, even though the "successor have been named."

Without a Zentradi arrival and the kicking off of SW1? First off, let me say that I haven't seen Macross Zero. I may miss on some critical details, so correct me if I stray too far off. Now, if the Zentradi don't show up on the SDF's launch day, it doesn't make a difference. The UN was to be vigilant and ready for such a conflict. I did not see anything from the SDF show and Mac + stating that the UN was expecting the Zentradi to arrive at a specific time. From what we see in the first episode of SDF, when they did show up on the day of SDF's launch, it was very unexpected and ill-prepared for... like the UN thought they arrived too early! That's why the UN will not lose support if the Zentradi do not show up as they did in the first episode. The evidence was too strong to disregard the possibility of the incursion of powerful, alien forces. It's not everyday where a gigantic spaceship crashlands on Earth and is historically recorded. The ever looming, possible threat of a powerful alien attack is too strong and the UN will maintain strong support. Again, the evidence alone of powerful, technologically superior opposition is too strong. There will always be Anti-UN sentiment. You don't have light without shadow. But from I see in the SDF Macross series, the UN by far was the dominant power and I don't hear or see any serious contention against UN power, even after the bombardment of Earth. Yes, there were some riots and problems, but you never, ever, hear of strong and organized resistance against the UN. Earth must be prepared for the possibility of a Space War against powerful alien forces, always. That is why the UN will only gain strength. There will be outbreaks of Anti-UN dissent, but as time grows, the UN will be stronger to squash it. It will then continue to be ready for a war that could possibly annihalate mankind. To prevent that, the UN forces will be maintained in a strong state of readiness. Maybe, after many, many years have passed, some complacency will set in. But by then, the UN would have mainted such a long duration of power, that it doesn't matter about destabilization by Anti-UN powers.

I'm guessing it's targetting gear like the Lightning Pod, FLIR, etc.

In all honesty, I can't identify the difference between the various, new European fighters. So I can't tell which looks great over the other. For great looking, active combat aircraft my Top 3 are: 1) F-15 Eagle - Big, powerful, sleek and elegant. I've loved the look of the Eagle since I saw it as a kid. 2) A-10 Warthog - Ugly to alot of people but I loved the look of it when I built a model of one as a kid in the 80's (1/72 MPC kit). Tacking on all the ordnance was fun, too 3) F-16 Fighting Falcon - When my Mom and I finally arrived in the USA to reunite with my Dad, I recall he had a 1/72 scale Israeli F-16 on a table. I loved the look of the jet ever since. The Israeli paint scheme and insignia gave it an extra, unique look. Noteworthy: The Russian Su-27 and its various derivatives. Looks great in the same ways as an F-15. Past No.1: The F-14 Tomcat, especially with the colorful paint schemes from the 70's-80's. My favorite squadron markings were from VF-84 / VF-103 Jolly Rogers and the one with the Japanese-style Bursting Sun on the vertical stabs. But these birds are gone now from US service.

I work on F/A-18 A thru D models, and the Dept.of the Navy sometimes calls them "Legacy Hornets." So I call the Super versions "Super Bugs!"

In the squadrons I've been in, the US Navy & Marine Ordnancemen refer to them as the usual 'ol AMRAAM.

Yep. A powerful, modern Navy allows world wide projection of power. China's strength of the army and air force is good. But the Navy is the biggest detriment and what limits them to a regional power. I understand China is trying to remedy the Naval deficiency, but right now they're gearing the fixes to even give themselves a chance of getting into Taiwan.

I thought the thing looked similar to a WWII B-29, then I dug up the history of the Tu-4 on the 'net

Apparently there's enough people who like to inflict pain on themselves!

The SSD, or for us "Star Wars Geeks," the Executor-Class, has always been something highly desired by Star Wars fans to be made in some sort of model kit. It amazes me that Lucasfilm has yet to even release an official model kit of the ship. Even during the 80s they didn't do any... but then again, the MPC/ERTL Star Wars kits back then were notorious for bad fits, large gaps, and inaccuracy I recall as a kid having a big MPC/ERTL Scout Trooper + Speederbike. The pose, size, and display stand were just fine. The Speederbike wasn't much of a problem. But the Scout Trooper had huge gaps and bad fitting.

Just at 1k. It wasn't cheap, but unless Lucasfilm licenses out some official, large scale, accurate Star Destroyer models, then modellers who can scratchbuild are your only course of action if you really want a big, accurate ISD. I have no relationship now, so I have alot of time and money I can make a decent model, but I don't have the skill to do what that guy did.

24" ISD The link above is the page set up by the maker. It was to give me images of the final stages as well as posting it up on a modeling forum he frequents. Like I said, I'm quite happy with the work but it wasn't cheap.

It's very surprising to even think this would happen from aircrew "forgetting" to lower the landing gear. On the F/A-18A-D Hornets, there's a system that warns the pilot if the landing gear are not lowered and the altitude, AOA, etc. all seem to indicate a landing approach. Even the 40+ year old Navy / Marine KC-130F/R/T models have this system. I'd even be more surprised if the ultra-expensive aircraft like a B-1 (which itself isn't young) does not have a similar system. Unless there was a big problem that prevented the lowering of the landing gear for this B-1, then the problem is the idiot(s) behind the stick.