F-ZeroOne

Blast, you beat me to it on the A-9 - I couldn't remember the serial number but I thought that it looked uncannily like a Frogfoot, and I remember reading somewhere that the Frogfoot bore a passing resemblence to the loser of the fly-off that was won by the A-10... Isn't 14 a Buckeye, the ex-US Navy training aircraft?

"Tone and lock" suggests a missile has been targeted on an enemy - some missiles produce a tone in the pilots headphones to indicate successful "lock-on", acquisition, of a target prior to launch of the weapon. "No joy" probably means just that i.e. lack of success. "Bingo fuel" usually indidcates the aircraft is down to a set minimum of fuel reserves to return to base. I don't think its quite the last "possible" fuel state - I think most aircraft are given a final reserve in case of emergency. Edit: just looked at that linked image. Only ones I recognise off the bat are "STDBY" - "Standby" and "CAP" - Combat Air Patrol, typically a defensive patrol flown by carrier aircraft around the carrier or fleet in order to increase the chances of intercepting potential attackers before they get too close.

To bodily go, where no man has gone before... I have to admire the fact that Shatner's willing to do this, despite it being kind of tacky. And in the end, the tacky's actually part of the charm, as Shatner willingly exploits himself for a laugh and charity. Wait, so you're actually suppose to... pass these things? Through there? *looks down* But... the orifice... is not... that big. O_o It's supposed to hurt like hell. And you're only expected to pass the small ones. Larger ones can't get into the pipe, and have to be operated on(especially if they jam befor ethey get to tbhe bladder, as the kidneys are vERY sensitive to pressure). 361854[/snapback] The English diaryist Samuel Pepys survived just such an operation. Back in the 17th Century. By all accounts, yes, it hurt like hell.

Almost certainly, or something very like it. The original YF-16 was a much simplier aircraft than the production F-16; European customers demanded much more capability which changed the specification a fair bit. If the YF-17 had been selected, then its reasonably likely that the same thing would have happened - Northrop even had plans for a F-18L land based version which would probably have been pretty much equivalent to a F-16C - not having been navalised, it was lighter, faster (Mach 2) and was shown in mock-up with Sparrows mounted - on the wing-tips!

US fans, we bring you this gift from the Great and Bountiful Human Empire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4607966.stm I've recently been re-watching the first series on DVD, and with the chance to reflect a bit after the intial excitement of the TV broadcasts, I have to say the series is actually even better than my first impression. There are a few weak spots, and SF fans might quibble about some of the concepts, but this is balanced by the terrific performances, brilliant writing and great lines ("I am fully sonic-ed up!"). The standout episodes to watch for are: Dalek, Fathers Day, and the two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.

"My pretty girl... I've been waiting for you... " huh, David?

Snake? Snake?! SNNAAAAKKKKE!!!

Actually, they're more likely to believe the doll-buying... The costume is based on the classic Gatchaman costume - with a couple of minor differences, presumably for practicality - but its difficult to tell what the face is like from the early images that have been released; my guess is that it will be a fairly generic one rather than totally "anime-accurate". And if its able to achieve some of the one-legged poses shown in the pictures without falling over, then I'll eat Berg Katses lipstick!

I'm normally a mecha junkie, but I've just had to put in a pre-order for an item I couldn't resist - Takara are releasing a Cool Girl Gatchaman Jun figure. I'm looking forward to having to explain to my family why I've bought a doll in a pink mini-skirt...

AWACs = MRCA (Must Refurbish Canberras Again!) The Merlin is a fairly big copter - perhaps a variant? Fighters: theres a guy in South Africa who is still operating some Buccaneers, perhaps we could buy them back... I find it unlikely that the government would be able to seriously consider buying Rafales, especially as far as the general press is concerned they're the same as Typhoons (canard deltas, must be the same right?), and worse, French (no disrespect intended to any French MWers, I'm just looking it the way the UK tabloids would - they tend to treat international affairs like a playground fight at times!). I'm sure BaE would love the chance to offer a Naval variant, and the carrier is way bigger than I was expecting (would be nice if the lead ship could be called Ark Royal, but we already have one of those and I doubt the politically correct lobby would go for Warspite these days... ), but its been a long time since the UK built any carrier aircraft for itself - although there is the Goshawk... Which pretty much leaves American. F/A-18s would be a suitable compromise, I guess, but again, would probably get the government crucified in the press. Calling the Spirit of Sydney Camm, your country needs you! Calling the Spirit of Sydney Camm...

In layman's terms: Stopgap fighter. 354546[/snapback] Yup, like the Spitfire Mk IX Chris 357912[/snapback] At the risk of bleeding into the "Vs. Aircraft" thread... over 5,500 produced. The intent was stopgap, but when you're good...

I'm feeling a bit guilty at the moment - having raved about Turn-A, I've got stalled at the mid-20s; Christmas, work, and, er... Doctor Who. (Turn-A is great, but... Doctor Who...!) I will get back to it shortly, I promise! Gui, you're welcome - if you're a bit puzzled about the "X-Bomber/Star Fleet" reference Black Valkyrie mentioned, you can find out more here: http://www.sfxb.co.uk/ (as you mentioned writing for a French anime site you might know the series by its French alter-ego: "Bomber X"...?)

Wow, very nice images, Dana, thanks for sharing! And I think your male friend in the group shot is Max Jenius...!

Okay, general opinion around a couple of forums is that the Christmas Special was a little weak in the first half but much better in the second (possibly not coincidentally, this is the half which features much more of the new Doctor). David Tennant is so far doing a pretty good job but obviously we'll have to see how he goes on. Theres some clever SF references (pay attention at the back!) and a lovely little joke when the Doctor starts to make a big speech about humanitys place in the Universe and then realises hes actually quoting... ...well, you'll see. Possibly most exicting was the trailer for the second season at the end. If the following words don't excite you, then you're not a Doctor Who fan: Cyberman. K-9. Sarah-Jane Smith!

I love this Gundam design personnally: though I'm usually not fond of 'good guys' MSs and particularly dislike Gundam designs, this one was cool and not overexagerating onto useless details to be noticeable among the crowd. This feature is surprising at first sight but I found it grew on me rather quickly, all the more as the lunarians always call it 'the Mustache' which gives a strong personnality to this machine I've always been a fan of Syd Mead designs since about 15 years now and I'm very glad to see that a western artist had the opportunity to work onto far-east productions. Someone knows if other people from western cultures have already been directly involved into animes? 354622[/snapback] Also, the moustache resembles a crescent Moon... As for Western designers in anime, I can think of one right off the top of my head - theres a UK company called Terratag that produces anime-inspired art-work and t-shirts, and their designer Paul Nicholson did the "Laughing Man" logo for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex! http://www.terratag.com/ Gerry Anderson has both directly and indirectly been a big influence on many anime; his classic 60s shows like Thunderbirds inspiring many (in particular, Hideki Anno), as well as being involved in the recent anime "Firestorm".

"Winging" - could mean one of two things: 1) Pressing the button means your wife is replaced by five moody not-quite-teenagers in tight shorts who pilot giant robots and say "Mission accomplished" a lot or: 2) Has no-one ever heard of whinging...? (i.e. to complain in an annoying way, to keep carrying on, moaning, whining, etc... )

He, he, that's true: I never looked at it in this way, that Wells is also a precursor for mechas aswell Steampunk human mechas would have been cool too: maybe for the next 'remake' 354062[/snapback] I feel I should point out that the bacteria is sort of really the whole point of the book, but still... we can dream, huh?

The really odd thing is I don't remember even owning the game... must be some dim recollection of the arcade version...

Actually I happen to know that there are probably at least a whole, er, ten models or toys available for Turn-A - and at least ninety for SEED/Destiny. Ninety plus one. Ninety plus two. Ninety plus...

Altered Beast?

Mikeszekely - thats perhaps a touch stronger than I would have put it (Ouch! ), but I think it does sum it up quite well. In the short term, Gundam SEED is probably going to be quite healthy for Gundam, but in the long term I think I know which is going to, er, "Turn", out to be more important... I think I read somewhere that even Japanese fans are beginning to re-evaluate the series. Edit: Gui: I can't believe I missed the "tripod" look of the WaDoms; I love the War of the Worlds book and often think of H.G. Wells as being sort of the grandfather of mecha shows (if only he'd realised that giving the humans their own big robot would have been much more marketable than bacteria... )

I've recently had the opportunity to see some Turn-A Gundam. Like a lot of other mecha fans, my main experience with the series up to this point was with the mecha designs, which I'm sure many of you remember were something of a... surprise. (in other words, we all thought Tomino had lost his marbles. Big time). Its therefore been something of a shock to discover that the series is actually really rather good. Everything you expect to be a minus is in fact a big plus - the 1930s setting, for example, and even the much derided mecha designs actually work, once you see them in action. Its got a nice setting, an interesting story and very good character design and personalities. Tomino even displays a lightly humourous touch he hasn't always had (ZZ Gundam, anyone?). Theres also a couple of extremely effective scenes on the effects of war which are almost up there in terms of impact with Gundam 0080. Theres some minuses - Tomino always seems to be in rather a hurry, and doesn't like to explain things too much, and theres a couple of rather big plot coincidences one has to swallow, but overall nothing that completely wrecks anything. Oh, did I mention music by (kneel and worship at her feet, puny mortals!) Yoko Kanno? It goes without saying that Turn-A has very good music. Its interesting to compare Turn-A with the series that followed it - SEED and SEED Destiny. I think one can sum it up by saying that the difference between the shows is the same difference between how Tomino views Gundam and how Bandai views Gundam. SEED is an attractive, well made show thats been commerically pretty successful for Bandai. However, its a little like driving down an expressway - fast, efficent, does exactly what you want, but its also a little souless. Turn-A on the other hand, is the road less travelled - difficult, slower and doesn't always go the way you expect. But the views are by far the more interesting. Turn-A is something I didn't think anyone could make anymore - a non-commercial Gundam. For those of you that have seen it, thoughts? (though please bear in mind I'm only up to about episode 23...!) For those of you that haven't - if you can find a source, give Turn-A a try - you might be in for a pleasant surprise! Edit: PS: I know its a large "A" in the title. I swear it was correct when I typed it!

Just a quick heads up - the UK is rapidly approaching the broadcast date of the "Chritsmas Invasion", the first full-length episode to feature new Doctor David Tennant. Strangely enough, it will be broadcast on Christmas Day... The episode - a "special" before resumption of the full second series - has already received some favourable reviews from press previews, and its also heartening that its being broadcast in what is traditionally a "showpiece" slot for popular BBC TV programmes in the UK. More information - and spoilers - here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/index.shtml Incidentally, it seems that there is also going to be a small homage to the other classic Brit SF serial, Quatermass: http://www.guinevere.org.uk/

Right, just see if we give you the jet engine again now! Bring back Buccaneers! (the tragedy is that there were plans for a "super"-Harrier, supersonic VTOL back in the 60s; although its unknown whether it could have been made to work...

Still being broadcast in the UK - the new series has been running for a few weeks. Pass on in the US, but doesn't the BBC have a channel over that side of the Atlantic?