Pat S

NECA

hmm.. I might pick one up. Thanks 4 da link.

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Wow this topic is political!

I never knew that the foam was changed for environmental concerns. It's funny how the media doesn't dig this stuff up, and raise any questions. I say put some safe foam on the thing, and seal it up or whatever. Keep the missions going until there is a replacement, but the replacement program needs priority and a budget allocation.

X-33 was cancelled supposedely due to the composite fuel tank not being up to the task.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-33

You know, for all people's moaning about how crappy the Shuttle is, and a lot of talk I hear about how we should scrap manned space missions altogether, I don't see any shortage of people lining up for the tiny chance of making it as an astronaut.  I wish I'd done better in school so I'd have a shot at it (of course thanks to Rutan maybe I do!!).  Let's not forget that even though the shuttles are due to be permanently grounded in 2010, they were intended to have a 100-mission lifespan.  When we do kill the program it'll be like having a classic car that's 25 years old and only has a couple thousand miles on it. 

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I don't say scrap NASA, just the Shuttle. We can come up with something better, it's been 30 years since it was designed. NASA would have no problem going with a new program if it had a decent budget, but taxpayers might flip out. You never see the price of war being touted on the media, but everytime NASA gets 5 minutes on TV, the budget is rolling along the bottom of the screen.

Also, I believe the Shuttle was supposed to fly 100 missions or 10 years whichever comes first.

Is it at all possible to actually insulate the fuel tank from the inside instead of the outside?

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Yes, but that will add a lot of weight which will limit the types of missions the shuttle could perform.

Could build a new one, as we did after Challenger.

Hell, the Endeavour's the best one we have, precisely BECAUSE it's newer.

Could also refit Enterprise and make it spaceworthy, though I gather that'd be as expensive as building a new one.

Not that I really think either is a good option.

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Making a new Shuttle will not fix the problem of ice laden foam from damaging the tiles on the shuttle.

How about a carbon fiber shield for the underside and wings of the orbiter. Anything that falls off the tank will hit the carbon shield. Then when seperating from the tank, the carbon shield can be jetisoned. Just a thought.

Seriously nice work! I didn't think that kit could look that good

I loved this anime (get the uncut version if you can), and have read the Manga up to Chapter 204 or so. Very adult in nature if you're into that. Quite a ride for the main character, Kei.

Action, violence, aliens, psychic powers, sex, GANTZ RULES!

Good idea really. The ice has to come from somewhere, sealing the tank before filling it may at least help.

From Widipedia entry on the Shuttles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle

For STS-1 and STS-2 the external tank was painted white to protect the insulation that covers much of the tank, but improvements and testing showed that it was not required. This saved considerable weight, and thereby increases the payload the Orbiter can carry into orbit.

500 lbs according to this link...

http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/ask/a11022.html

Well here is a link to the page of the BGC figures on the Atelier Sai website.

http://www.atsai.co.jp/arthobby/page038.html

I had my wife read translate the Japanese for me, and she told me that the Priss and Linna came out the 28th. If I manage to get one while we're in Japan, I'll do a review or something when I get back.

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Wow those look good, even the character heads and faces look nice!

Just joking, not mine. I've seen these unpainted resin kits on ebay for like $1000. Assembly and painting would probably take a weekend at the most. That's what I'd do if I really wanted a full T-800.

Mine just does this all day...

The new video has some making of footage, and a much clearer video of the trailer. Looks fantastic. It would appear that they didn't kidify the story to make it "hip".

New pics of the beta. You can see the connection piece on the bottom.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...opic=15466&st=0

Psst, that would never happen anyway. HG & Tatsunoku don't own the design rights to Macross Valkyries, no matter how bad they would want to, they could never animate them in their new series.

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I did not know that, good info.

The Beta's cockpit doesn't form the head, it folds down to become the front chest section, that covers the Fighter mode center gun. The head just pops up from it's bay behind the cockpit.

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Gotcha. Hopefully they incorporate that then. I was always confused by that transformation. The head and the cockpit both have yellow eye/lenses then. Weird. If it does have a cockpit, then it will really look weird in Soldier mode with the cockpit up and the head showing.

The head doesn't appear to be able to come forward to create the cockpit in fighter mode.

Still I have to say it looks badass!

Having it be a sequal to Mospeada really limits the potential for cool combat. VF-1's fighting along side Alphas/Betas, and Hovertank/Cyclones fighting a ground war. Oh well, at least it's ressurecting my favorite 20 year old show.

I ordered the limited edition APC and Dropship from HLJ, it was ready to ship on July 5th if I remember right. I still haven't received it. Looks great though, can't wait!

Hello, if possible, I'd like 3 instead of one.

Officially my favorite toy ever. Beautiful. I only hope the connection mechanism works well, and in more than just fighter mode.

I learned to not have an all white background from these pictures. It dulls everything else out. Maybe my camera has a setting to fix this, but I don't know what it is. Instead of stupid symbols on the camera, they should say what they mean. Jeez!

There are a lot of young people who would never watch the original Dawn of the Dead because it's so old and outdated (the effects and music especially). At least a remake can get people interested in this type of genre again. I'd rather see a thousand Zombie remakes than a single Dukes of Hazzard one.

Heheh

He's carrying guns he can't fire. CLAW HANDS, NO TRIGGER FINGERS!

Anyways, the Shadow has been my favorite so far. The Loz Viz stickers really set it off well. And it's a Low Viz scheme that has a basis in the show unlike the Yamato Low Viz.

I like how the Scope on the gun can be raised or lowered, and is the same paint as the main sensor eye. The only thing I don't like is the gun is missing a part on one side. I think it's because they didn't have much room to work with, plus that peg hole for the gun is off to one side as well.