Warmaker

Other Star Wars weapons / props (geek knowledge): T-21: Big gun held by orange-pauldroned Stormtrooper at Mos Eisley: British Lewis Machinegun A-280 Rifle: Blaster rifle used by the Rebel infantry at Hoth: Altered German Sturmgewehr-44 Assault Rifles (WWII) Some of the Stormtroopers at Mos Eisley were carrying around as "rifles" what looks to be unaltered (but demilled in all likeliness) German MG-34's out of WWII. They even had Bipods on them still. TK409.com Do-It-Yourself Star Wars Props (Sandtrooper) Has a couple reference stuff if you need.

When I saw the thread title of "Jessica" and "Up for Auction" together, I immediately thought that Jessica Alba herself was up for auction, and dirty thoughts started going through Anyways, Jessica Biel's cool enough! I was aboard the carrier when they were filming Stealth (USS Regan or Constellation... can't remember). Had a chance to meet her. Naturally, on a ship mostly filled with thousands of male Sailors and Marines, she was quite popular "So... I never knew the flightsuits could fit like that!"

Heheh, I actually liked calling the F-16 the "Fighting Falcon." Built a few models of it as a kid, and I recall I started it when I saw my Dad had built one in Israeli Air Force colors and markings.

As well as being suitable for Royal Navy service via the Sea Fury as well. Er... heres a thought - would the name potentially affect a possible Japanese purchase? The name "Lightning" might stir a few memories (though it doesn't seem to have affected the Typhoon, a name which with no apparent sense of irony - or history - was chosen not to be offensive to all the development nations... ) 415947[/snapback] "Typhoon" was a name used for an RAF Fighter during WWII. It was a pretty mean bird. Hawker Typhoon They're carrying on a tradition, which is cool. Though I'm waiting to see the British bring up a new aircraft worthy to carry the name "Spitfire." Or maybe the Americans with "Mustang?" That had a nice ring to it also. It's also, AFAIK, the only "pony" name the US military has used for a combat aircraft.

I'll probably snag one up. I was such a fan of the game back then.

Boeing has McDonnel Douglas now, so they had more options for choosing a "traditional" line of names for the F-22. Pretty big deal, IMO, since Boeing has a history of airliners and bombers than fighters. Eagle, Phantom, and yes, even Hornet. Choosing a bird of prey name was most fitting since the F-22 is essentially going to be a one-service fighter. I highly doubt the USAF would like an insect-like name since it would allude to the Naval services (Hornet). But Raptor? I thought it was too cheesey. I do know that it is another name for birds of prey such as an Eagle or Falcon, but it's too vague. Also, alot of people today associate it with Jurassic Park Anything but Raptor. Eagle II would be acceptable, to continue the glorious history of that platform's name. Even a variation of a Hawk name, like the old Warhawk and Skyhawk (McDonnel Douglas products).

Imagine how fun maintenance will be once the aircraft is 15-20 or more years old

I remember seeing a pic of that CH-53 years ago. It was one of our squadrons at Afghanistan, during the early phases of OEF.

"Low Fat" and "Less BS" may be what the JSF program really needs. It's expected to do too many things for too many people (services AND nationalities) and it's trying to tout the "Joint" and "Strike" titles for appeal for our gov't. From what I understood, the desired harrier capabilities really held back the program. It reminds me of a comedy called "The Pentagon Wars," which itself was a parody of the M2 Bradley's development. "Let's make a new tank. It should have missile capabilities. It should also be able to carry troops, too!" Lt. Colonel James Burton: "You know what's really ironic? General Omar Bradley was a brilliant tactician, and a great leader. No ego, just did the job. And he always looked out for the morale and safety of his men. And then they go and put his name on THIS thing. Talk about a kick in the ass."

Nice photo links, David. You usually don't see that many carriers in one area at sea. Well, not unless s**t hits the fan

I'd pay to watch the event!

LEGO CVN He even had the aircraft, too!

I got 2 RAH Stormtroopers. I need an RAH Darth Vader for these to guard

I got to meet and shake hands with Pres.GW Bush on one of his many trips to MCAS Miramar back in 2003. Another famous (but regional) person I met was Roger Craig of 1980's 49er fame. Ran into him back in 1991 or 1992. In our town, there was a big Open Martial Arts Tournament. Roger Craig's daughter was in the tournament from what he said. I know that in those years, it was a different time for him from the 49er days, but he definitely still had the NFL physique. My friend's dad rushed home to get a Roger Craig Football Card so that he could autograph it for his son. The guy was real cool. Other famous persons I ran into was waaaayy back in the day. Back in the late 80's... 1987, IIRC. My uncle took us to a baseball game at the Oakland Coloseum. It was my first time at a pro-ballgame and loved the experience. The cool thing was that it was when Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire were being known as the "Bash Brothers." Both Canseco and McGwire were still quite early in their careers, and IIRC, McGwire was a rookie. After the game, Canseco was an absolute a** with fans. Mark McGwire on the other hand was very great with the fans. Stayed late to sign tons of autographs and for photo ops. I know McGwire has recent problems lately, but the only thing that keeps me from tossing him into the cesspool of other big baseball stars was that he was ALWAYS good with the fans at Oakland. Even when he had his health problems in his last years with Oakland, I still was a big fan of the guy. The last thing I have isn't "meeting" someone famous, but only by association. My birthday is February 6. I found out when I was a kind in the 80s that it was the same as President Reagan Back in the 80s, that was d*mn cool!

Pics at Danny Choo I don't follow the Burst Angel show, but I just stumbled across this relatively new figure. I thought it was cool in a weird way... a Cowgirl image with a Barrett .50 Cal Rifle Anyways, I've gone hunting for one

Sleaze, sophisticated... Whatever. I'd do the 1st one.

Firefox!

Stuff that I always wanted as a kid, but never could get due to family budget problems. * G.I. Joe Skystriker... it's a blatant ripoff of an F-14. It's huge, has swing wings, retractable gears. Which is why I wanted it so bad. I didn't care for the weird Astronaut looking pilot, I would have thrown him out. * As a kid, I watched and actually loved Robotech, namely for the Macross Saga. My friend who still lived in San Francisco was telling me about a version of Macross. Namely the intense fighting between Millia & Max... from what I learned many years later to be DYRL?. He saw it while visiting Japantown in San Francisco. I didn't see DYRL? until 2001 or 2002. * G.I. Joe Stormshadow... because back in the 80's, Ninjas were like, totally cool and s**t. * Transformers Soundwave... next to Thundercracker, he was my next favorite one in the show. Not sure why. * Star Wars X-Wing... Come on! An X-Wing for goodness' sakes! * Star Wars AT-AT... I wanted the AT-AT toy more than the X-Wing. When I saw Empire Strikes Back as a kid, I thought the AT-AT was the nicest thing since sliced bread. It's always been in my mind somewhere. Only many years later, when Master Replicas produces their Studio Scale AT-AT for a huge amount of money, that I get one. * My friend had a nice, die cast, transformable Macross Valkyrie. I can't recall the maker but it was all official and not one of the many knock-offs back then in the 80's. It wasn't a Bandai 1/55, since it was just over half it's size. It was also one of the Brown VF-1A's. I used to be so jealous of my best friend for having it I still recall that the pilot name on the side of the canopy was "LT. WARMAKER K." That's where I get my forum name from. * One of those big, Legioss toys. 'Nuff said!

If they made a 1/18 F-14 Tomcat... I'll have to clear a room for it

I think it was somewhere waaaaaaaaaaayyy earlier in this thread that someone mentioned the Japanese have had a new interest in the F-22. I looked around and and found a few articles on the subject. Here: Defense Industry Daily And here: Military.com I thought it weird and unusual, since I thought the USAF would keep this thing closely guarded. But the more you think about it, if anyone outside the US ever gets the F-22, it's going to be Japan. + Close ties to the US. + Japan is quite well off economically and spends a good amount on her defense. + The JASDF has several aircraft in their inventory with US origins: The F-15, F-4, and F-2 (variant of the F-16). + Japan has quite a bit of airspace and ocean to patrol. North Korea and China are fairly closeby neighbors. + The USAF has cut down on the numbers of F-22's it can purchase. That means higher individual aircraft costs. If Japan decides to buy some, it may lower the overall costs a bit. Last thing... since when have the F-16's been called "Vipers?" As as kid when reading about the F-16 and getting model kits of this jet, it was always called "Fighting Falcon" or just "Falcon." Personally, I always preferred the "Fighting Falcon" name. It goes along with its counterpart, the "Eagle."

Not really trying to defend the funny-cigarette-smoking club of military planners, but... Is there really a need for the A-10 any more? The A-10 is a close-support aircraft that hangs dozens of ordnance under its wings. In a Warsaw Pact era, when it is expected that a massive armour thrust would be the main attacking force -- divisional level armour, perhaps? -- such stopping power is absolutely necessary. You need to break up that armour wedge as early as possible. But nowadays, it's really rare to see armour in that concentration, as far as I am aware of. You still get armour, but perhaps in regimental or lower strength. And given the other multirole aircraft currently available, do we still need something as, well, excessive as an A-10? Can we make do with smaller aircraft carrying less ordnance? After all, it's pointless to go to war if the war would bankrupt you even if you win... Just to note -- I like the uncompromising brutality of the A-10. Nothing like pointing a 30mm gatling at someone to get the point across. But it might be a tad excessive... 399732[/snapback] IMO, prearing your military to not be able to deal with the worst scenarios, especially if you're a big international player, is asking for trouble. There are still groups out there with healthy stocks of armor. Maybe not as much as the classical Cold War / Warsaw Pact threat, but they're still there. Also, the A-10 isn't exactly excessive. The F-35 JSF is IMO, "excessive" since it tries to be too many things and compromises alot. The JSF is also going to be excessively expensive since orders have gone down. The A-10 is a proven airframe using proven technology. It's shown that it can take a helluva beating and get it's pilot home. That's not excessive. That's just right. IMO, it's a waste to have an aircraft with short legs / range / loiter capability and only able to drop one bomb or fire 1 missile to support the ground forces. It may be fine for dealing with paramilitaries, but not fine if you will deal with a bonafide military force.

Are these taken at was once called Carswell AFB. my dad was stationed there once. 399530[/snapback] Now it's called NAS Forth Worth JRB. I still call it Carswell AFB. 399543[/snapback] I was stationed there in 1998-1999 with the Reserve Marine KC-130 squadron there. Pretty mellow, relaxing place back then, especially since I was just finished with an Overseas Duty Station.

I'm of the mindset that the JSF has to meet too many demands and compromises. The whole "1 aircraft for every air service" isn't impressing me. Even the F-4 couldn't do everything, and that served the USAF, USN, and USMC.

What about the ones with the skulls on the vertical rudders? I forgot the squadron number for them but I know that the F-14A's and F-14B's have this design. Man I would love to see an F-14D Super Tomcat 21 with the skulls on it but since the Tomcat 21 program was cancelled due to it being highly unaffordable, I'll never be able to see it like that. What a shame 398611[/snapback] The original Tomcat Jolly Rogers squadron is VF-84 VF-84 When VF-84 was decomissioned, VF-103 soon took over as the Jolly Rogers. VF-103 VF-103 then was converted to the Super Hornet F/A-18F. I won't show a link to that, since it looks blasphemous.

Actually, if you read some of his descriptions, the guy's married.