Graham

Nice, K frames always have the best triggers of any Smiths IMO. I've always wanted to try my hand at PPC, but never had the chance. Graham

Top pic. One of my favorite outdoor ranges in HK, the Disciplined Service Shooting Association outdoor range at 'Kau To Shan', now sadly closed. Lots of steel 'Pepper Popper' targets to knock down. Bottom Pic Me back in 1992 during my basic training with the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (the Volunteers) RHKR(V). issue weapon was the 7.62mm FN FAL (L1A1 SLR). Can't believe how young I look in that photo! Graham

Hong Kong was under British rule at that time, so then it wasn't technically part of China then. But yes, there was more shooting then as we were able to rent some of the outdoor ranges from the British Army. Even now, civilian gun ownership is allowed, but is fairly tightly controlled. We do have several gun clubs in HK, catering to different shooting sports, but they are all very expensive to join. Graham

And lastly, me with my Remington 870 12ga which I combat customised myself. Graham

And me again with my 6" S&W 629 .44 magnum. Go ahead, make my day.....LOL Graham

Hee Hee. Time for some photos. Here's me with my S&W model 745 .45ACP pistol, back in the mid-1990s,when I was heavily into IPSC shooting. And yes, the beard and pony tail are long gone now. Graham

Actually, I'm not saying that the FAST packs could hold extra clips of ammo for the Gu-11 gunpod as it does not use clips, but rather an extension of the ammo belt. In the GU-11, the 200 rouns of ammo are stored wraped around the barrels in a helical (spiral?). It would be fairly easy just to rig an extended feed mechanism in the form of a powered feed chute or belt, which just keeps feeding extra rounds from the FAST pack directly into the gunpod. Basically auto loading extra ammo into the gunpod. The VE-1 was basically for Electroinc Intelligence gathering, not ECM. Most modern warplanes carry somesort of ECM pod. Graham

We all know that the arm mounted FAST packs on the VF-1 each hold 3 micro-missiles. However, those 3 micro-missiles cant fill the entire internal volume of the arm FAST packs, so I've been wondering recently what the remainder of the internal space is used for? The Macross Compendium is not much help as it has only the following to say about the arm FAST packs on the vF-1: - six micro-missiles in two NP-AR-01 micro-missile launcher pods (mounted rearwardly under center ventral section in Fighter mode or on lower arm sections in GERWALK and Battroid mode). If we treat the cut-away picture from the DYRL Gold Book poster as correct (see pic below), then some of the internal volume is obviously used for exhaust ducting to vent the exhaust gasses when the micro-missiles are fired, but that still leaves some free internal space. My theory is that the extra space inside the arm FAST packs is used for one or more of the following options: - 1) ECM gear. 2) Chaff and Flare launchers. 3) Extra 55mm ammunition for the GU-11 gunpod. This makes sense to me as the GU-11 is mounted directly on the arm FAST packs in fighter mode anyway, so it would not be difficult to link extra ammunition stored in the FAST packs to the GU-11's external feed port. The Gu-11 certainly needs extra ammo as a normal load stored in the gunpods internal helical magazine is only 200 rounds! Any other theories? Graham Picture fromMacross Mecha Designs.

dunno... just saw it on another forum I frequent. Nice isn't it? Vostok 7 Should be available for civilian sale. The CX4 Storm is a semi-auto carbine, constructed mostly of polymer and chambered in 9mm and .40 which uses magazines from the Beretta 92/96 series pistols. Handled it at the SHOT show, quite nice. Graham

Nah, it's basically Glock just wanted to have a cartridge with their own name on it. I mean S&W have the .40S&W and Sig have the .357Sig. Here's data on the .45 Glock round: - Bullet diameter = .43" Case diameter = .47" Cartride overall length w/FMJ bullet = 1.10" Two loadings were mentioned at the 2003 SHOT Show: - 185gr FMJ at 1,100fps and 200gr FMJ at 984fps. Actually, ballistics ain't too bad, but you are limited to a maximum bullet weight of of 200gr, it's impossible to fit heavier bullets in that short stubby case. Graham

What I've heard is that Glock was having either reliability or durability problems with the G37 and have had to redesign it. Basically, the G37 I handled at this year's SHOT Show had a frame and slide of identical size to the G17. However, according to the latest news it has been changed so that it now using a G21 size slide, but still retaining the G17 size frame. Personally, I don't see the point in the G37. Why go for a downloaded (wimp) .45 round with only 10rds, when you can have the G21 with full power .45ACP rounds and a 13rd mag. I know some people find the G21 too big for their hand, but I never had that problem. I'm only an average to small size guy, but I find the G21 fits my hand even better than the G17 and shoots softer as well (nearly zero perceived recoil and barely any muzzle rise). Graham

Miami Vice ran for five seasons. In the first two seasons, Don Johnson's character Sonny Crocket carried a chrome plated Bren Ten 10mm pistol. In seasons 3 and 4 he switched to a stainless steel S&W 645 .45ACP pistol. In season 5 he carried a S&W 4506 stainless steel .45ACP pistol. His back-up gun carried in an ankle holster was a Detonics Combat Master .45ACP, which is a cut down compact 1911 type pistol. Graham

Yup, what he says about the DE .50AE is all true. Company I used to work for used to be the HK agent for Magnum Research, so I have a fair bit of experience with their guns. Desert Eagles are basically only for actors to look good in movies. In any real world application, they are just to cumbersome and unreliable. Graham

Still think it's really bad that those mecha defending Zion don't have any armor around the cockpit to protect the pilot. While armour might not offer much protection against Sentinel attack at least it is better than no armor at all. At the momet, if a Sentinel get's into close quarters, one strike with a tenticle and the pilot is dead. At least with some armor protection it would buy the pilot some time to kill the Sentinel before it peeled open the armor and killed the pilot. Graham

H&K G36 is a very reliable rifle, but the trigger pull leaves a great deal to be desired . Also, the optical sights on the version which has the dual stacked sights are pretty piss poor IMO. Tiny field of viw, plus to use the upper red dot sight, you have to break your cheak weld. Graham

Hmm...haven't really thought ahead to Christmas yet. As my birthday is coming up soon and most of the stuff I want is coming out in October or November (PS2 Macross Game, 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru, 1/48 VF-1J Hikaru), and I'll end up getting them long before Christmas, so that leaves nothing left on my wish list. Graham

Has it actually been confirmed that the game features a versus mode? We've been talking about it, but I don't recall seeing anything official yet. Graham

Used to be heavily into IPSC shooting (stock guns, not race gun crap), but had to stop due to financial reasons. Used to own the following firearms: 1) Glock 17 9mm. 2) Glock 21 .45ACP. 3) S&W 745 .45ACP. 4) Combat customised Remington 870 12 ga. shotgun. 5) S&W 629 6.5" .44Mag. Used to work in a gunshop/shooting range for 5 years, so had a chance to shoot a lot of firearms. My favorite guns 1) S&W 5" .45ACP pistols, i.e. models 645, 745, 4506 & 945. So reliable and point well for me. 2) Full size Glocks, especially the 21 and 17. Mine never jammed in over 10,000rds. 3) S&W N frame revolvers with 4", 5" or 6" barrels in .357mag, .45ACP and .44 magnum. 4) 7.62 FN FAL, what I used during my service. 5) 7.62mm G3 rifle. 6) Sig 550 & 552 rifles. Not a fan of the 5.56mm round generally, but these things are pure class. Quality through and through. The best 5.56 assault rifles ever. 7) Browning Hi-Power MK.III. John Browings only good pistol. Benelli M1 and M3 Super 90 shotguns. My least favourite firearms 1) Beretta 92 series. Fits my hand poorly and is too bulky for a 9mm. 2) All 1911 style pistols. I've tried em all, all brands stock and custom even from America's top gunsmiths and they are all jam-o-matics due to the poor feed angle, fragile components and lousy internal extractor and magazine design (especially the hi-cap frame designs). I've seen more failures to feed with 1911 type pistols than all other types/brands of pistols put together. I would never ever trust my life to one. 3) M16A2. Far too heavy and has the worst designed most uncomfortable grip ever designed. Plus reliablity in adverse conditions is not too great. The earlier lighter M16A1 was much better IMO. 4) H&K USPs. The compact is ugly. the full size version is oversize. I shoot with a high thumb (thumb on top of safety) and when shooting from cocked & locked I've sen too many people draw and press the safety down too far and go into decock, thus slowing down the first shot. Embarassing in a match, could be fatal in a self defence situation. 5) H&K MK.23. That gun is a joke. Designed by committee, so oversize. Never gets used by all accounts. Graham

Heh, I used to have the full set, even some doubles (don't ask me why). But thankfully I came to my senses and threw the fugly things out a couple of years ago. They are absolutely terrible sculpts. However, the bundled character figs were quite good IIRC and I think I may have kept them somewhere in one of my many junk drawers. Graham

Getting back on topic, the VF-1 is shown with thrust vectoring during gameplay in the upcoming PS2 Macross game. Graham

I'm confused. I thought the FAST packs were the conformal fuel tanks on the legs. Is there something we haven't seen yet? On all of the other VFs, the FAST packs only work in space (or at least a vacuum), and the VF-0 can't do that. Nope, the conformal fuel tanks referred to here are the two lumps on the chest plate, NOT the leg FAST packs. Graham

Actually, that's not true. IIRC, in epsiode # 1, Roy's VF-0s and maybe also the VF-0A cannon fodders were shown with 12 x AIM-200A AMRAAM 2 missiles mounted on the wings. Also, in episode # 2, when Shin is assigned guard duty on the island, you can see his VF-0D in Gerwalk mode with underwing ordnance. Graham

I bought it when it was first released months ago, but could never really get into it. IMO, there's no really outstanding tracks that really grab you. Personally, I think the Macross Plus OST 1 is far superior to the Macross Zero OST 1. Graham

I think it had it's theatrical release here in HK in 89, or possibly 88. I remember going to see it at the cinema 4 times. Great experience. And no, nothing was cut. Graham

Wow, everything shown so far looks great. The only thing that worries me is the low number of stages (8!). Hopefully, each stage will actually be divided into several sub-stages/missions. I'm still hoping for a versus mode, a survival mode and a player controlable mission generator. Graham