Vifam7

3 hours ago, Shadow said:

Okay. Now I'm curious. What were the pros/cons of the GE/RR engine over the 135? I don't imagine the difference was as stark as it was between the P&W F119 and the GE F120 were.

My guesses -

Pros:

- Should there be any problems with the P&W engine, the whole F-35 fleet doesn't have to be grounded

- Jobs for GE and RR <- esp. important for UK?

- Some air forces may be more familiar with how GE does engines and have better relationship

- Competition could mean each manufacturer strives to be the best in product, price, and service

Cons:

- Additional cost to develop a second engine

- Additional cost in making the F-35 be able to use both engines

- Additional cost to train technicians for the second engine

- Additional logistics train needed to support the second engine

- Lower production volume for each engine could mean higher costs for both

3 hours ago, kalvasflam said:

Does anyone expect the LM guy to say anything bad about about their primary breadwinner? 

Seriously, I wonder if they could somehow get that engine into the F-16  C block 50s; it seems to have significantly more thrust.  Although the -Cs might not have stealth, it carries just as much weapons if not more.  And probably costs less.  But it does make me wonder if structurally the F-16s can accommodate such an engine.  

A total side note, I wonder how much it would cost to rip out the avionics and upgrade it to modern standards.   To be more precise, take something like an F-15 airframe, but stuff in the electronics of the F-35, compensated of course of the right frameworks.  I'm not sure what the difference would be between the F-15E and the F-15X in terms of the avionics, computers, and other capabilities.  Then how much of a difference there would be between the -35 and the 15X.  Anyone know?

Well if the cost of the F-15SE Silent Eagle is any idea...

The F-15SE Silent Eagle was projected at $100 million per unit (compared to $85 million per unit for the F-35 currently).

1 hour ago, Knight26 said:

See that's where my concept works great.  You issue an RFP for the various platforms with the stipulation that they all use the same core hardware: Engines, Avionics, Radars (with a larger or smaller antennae array) etc...  Now you have a fighting force that can use all the same weapons, and support hardware for the expensive bits.  Carrier for instance only need to carry one kind of engine onboard, plus or minus afterburners, and there is no question of weapons cross-compatibility.  The Air Force actually used this same argument back in the late 70s for the F-15, F-16, B-1 force.  They all used the same engines, radars based on the same core architecture, and Link 16 for connectivity, but they were all built by different contractors.

The hardware is easy to cross-compat. The software is much more difficult (maybe impossible) to cross compat. However, the biggest hurdle and cost multiplier is politics and budgets.

7 hours ago, kalvasflam said:

The truth of course is that even with the bloviating by our idiotic leaders, the US military is still far ahead of the nearest competitor.  There will be rude surprises, but the strategic situation overall still hasn't turned enough for the nearest peer to be directly competitive.  It may change in another two decades, but for now, the weakness isn't in its body, rather in its heart and mind.  

Agreed.

5 minutes ago, tekering said:

What are you guys talking about?  

How would a Kits Concept Veritech toy possibly be preferable to an Arcadia or Bandai Valkyrie?

As far as I can tell, the unique 1:72 scale is the only appeal this toy has to offer.  

And that's a huge appeal to me.  Though that said, I'm more excited for Calibre Wings' 1/72 scale VF-1.

1 hour ago, kalvasflam said:

What you said about the F-35 with AMRAAM Ds might be true.  And yes it's newer technology, but realistically, it tells you how far US naval aviation has regressed.  Those capabilities were already available in the mid to late 80s, and more.  (by which I mean, the capability to hit aerial targets 100 miles out, to strike targets with lots of ordinance from more than just a few hundred miles away, to have significantly ranged ASW platform from carriers)

That in 30 years, the USN has not advanced beyond those capabilities, and have in fact retarded their long range strike as well as their anti submarine capabilities from the carriers tells you just how dire things are.  I suppose you can blame good parts of this on the Clinton drawdown, which was follow by budget being diverted to the wars in the middle east., and the wasteful expenditures in the Pentagon.  If they had just incrementally advanced the capabilities of the aircrafts from the 80s, the US Navy would have been in much better shape over all. 

But isn't that exactly what they did? They simply kept upgrading the 80's vintage Legacy Hornets and purchased new build suped up Hornets.

It's also understandable why the USN's capability stagnated. When the Cold War ended, the big bad main threat was gone. As part of the peace dividend many systems were retired or simply not purchased and military spending went downhill. It's only now that some of gaps are being felt due to fears of the rapidly expanding Chinese military.

31 minutes ago, Shadow said:

The Navy is in an even worse spot with no ASW platform now that the S-3 is gone, and no long-range fleet defender with increasingly more capable adversary aircraft as well as anti-ship missiles that the Super Hornet and F-35 could face in the not distant future.

The F-35 with its stealth and AESA radar combined with AEGIS is far better than anything the Navy had before. The AIM-120D AMRAAM with its 100mile range will finally fill the gap left by the retirement of the AIM-54 Phoenix

The gap left by the retirement of the S-3 is a much bigger issue IMHO.

5 hours ago, kalvasflam said:

You mean like transform?   I agree.

It is sad, that they retired the F-14.  I think part of that had to do with the demise of Grumman and it being folded into Northrop.   And let's face it, Northrop Grumman hasn't built much in the way of combat aircraft as of late.  Sure, there is the B-21 coming up, the only thing we can hope for is that there won't be the same B-2 cost overruns which ended production at 21 units.

Perhaps if Grumman had come up with a clean sheet design instead of a tweaked up Tomcat, they might have had a chance of beating MDD's Super Hornet proposal and stayed longer in the fighter jet business.

Btw, on a separate note, did anyone see the news about an Israeli F-15 losing it's canopy at 30,000 feet and the pilot bringing it down safely?

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25780029/canopy-flies-off-f-15-landing/

18 hours ago, JetJockey said:

 

I clicked on this topic by accident. Now I might have something else to get. When I saw that image I thought isn't that Keith Courage in Alpha Zones? I started researching and sure enough it is. But the mech isn't the same color. Do you know if there is a good release with the version from the game?

I found this one from Bandai in a quick search that looks the closest so far.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ROBOT-SPIRITS-Side-Mashin-Hero-Wataru-RYUJINMARU-Ver-2-Action-Figure-BANDAI/163368758174?epid=1461965732&amp;hash=item2609896b9e:g:NRUAAOSwcJ1a-7z3:rk:3:pf:0

The robot Kuma has is from the anime Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru.  The PC Engine game based on the anime was ported over to the US TurboGrafx system, renamed Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, and given a different background story.

The robot spirits figure in your link is the robot that the hero starts off with - called Ryuujinmaru.  Kuma's figure is the powered up version called Ryuuohmaru

12 hours ago, Sildani said:

Ok... how about Gundam Panel line markers?

If you're using Gundam panel-line marker, I would recommend using the one marked GM21 - a felt-tipped water based paint panel-line marker.

An alternative to Flory wash is Vallejo wash which is also water-based.  Vallejo might be easier to acquire as it's available on Amazon.

27 minutes ago, kalvasflam said:

But from what I remember, the F-15X is not ever happening, didn't the USAF already reject this concept?

You might be thinking of the F-15SE Silent Eagle concept.  As for the F-15X, it was recently reported that the Pentagon might request to buy 12 of them in the 2020 budget.

https://about.bgov.com/blog/pentagon-billion-new-boeing-fighters/

Finished watching SSSS Gridman last night. I'm not much of a tokusatsu fan (and I'm sure I missed a ton of references to the original Gridman), but i thought the series was pretty darn good.  The ending was a bit fuzzy but the overall ride was good.  I also liked that the series had a nice balance of fun, seriousness, and emotion.

Also loved the chara designs of Akane and Rikka

3 hours ago, raptormesh said:

Picked up a CW 1/72 F-14B JR along with a couple of 1/100s. Will crack the Turkey open once the DCS module goes live!

Where did you get those 1/100 Air Fighters Collection models? 

Tochiro above answered it.

On 12/10/2018 at 3:17 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

What I was getting at was more that the OVA's Gundam-esque story direction resulted in Gundam designers doing Gundam-esque designs, rather than vice versa.

("Going full Gundam" being mostly a reference to II sticking very close to the original's formula... though they did have a fair few Gundam references in there both overt and reasonably well-concealed.)

How about if the next Macross series went the  Gundam Build Fighters route? - a show that blatently says "we just want to sell Valkyrie toys".

Somehow I lost the canopy piece to my 1/72 Hasegawa VF-1 kit.  If anyone has one that they can spare, please PM me. I'll pay the shipping cost.

Thanks.

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

This line was one of my favorites! I absolutely loved it (for fighter mode). They were SO dead on in proportions and the details are just stunning for the size. No paint, tiny bit of glue and they built up fast. I REALLY wanted all the Delta Valks to be made so I could have all 5 in fighter mode as who can afford or be bothered to jack with Bandai for the DX line? Sadly  we only got 3, the Drakken and the 31A.

 I agree that the Frontier Valks would have sold better, I know I would have snapped them up quick!

I loved Tomytec's Gimix llne.  Both the Macross kits and real-life aircraft kits were simply stunning. I could tell that a lot of thought went into these kits and nothing seemed half-a$$ed.   It's just a shame that the kits didn't sell. Yeah, they were on the expensive side, but I felt the kits were well worth the cost. 

That said, I think Tomytec might have wasted resources on the battroid and gerwalk modes. When it comes to Macross models, fighter mode is where it's at. From what I can tell, it seems like many of the left overs are battroid kits or those expensive two-in-one battroid/fighter combo kits.

13 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Did this line die? I was really liking the size and possibilities for this line. The scale was just right and the details are amazing.

Yes, it died. Supposedly, the Macross models completely bombed.

On 11/27/2018 at 2:55 PM, F-ZeroOne said:

Reportedly Japan is going to work on converting the Izumo-class "destroyers" to be F-35B capable, and possibly buy up to a hundred F-35As and Bs (in addition to the 42 already ordered):

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Japan-to-order-100-more-F-35-fighters-from-US

And this what the carrier destroyer might look like once converted for F-35B use.

Kinda reminds me of RN's former Invincible-class carriers.

I've never used a HOTAS flight stick. How does one control the rudder on those things?

2 minutes ago, Sildani said:

It’s funny, but the aircraft that seems to best meet those requirements is the Su-35. 

No, it would still be the F-15. The latest variants of the F-15 come with the APG-82 AESA radar which is far superior to the Su-35's Irbis-E PESA radar. Plus the recent F-15X concept promises a bear loadout of up to 22 missiles.  F-15s are far more reliable too.  And that's before we get into the whole compatibility issue with the Sukhoi plane.

10 minutes ago, Nightbat said:

Gentlemen if I may ask:

If I were in the market for a Supermarine Spitfire (Mk Ia/IIa/V) in one of a larger scale (1/32, 1/48, 1/24, ...1/1? )

Are there any, and if yes, what are the better models out there? (No kits, I've been sucking at modeling ever since working with clay in Kindergarten )

Probably the easiest to get right now would be the Hobby Master Spitfire in 1/48 scale.  You can check out the entire lineup here : http://hobbymastercollector.com/1-48Spitfire.html

Some of them are long OOP.  However, a new Mk.V Spitfire is due to be released in January. You can pre-order it here: https://www.flyingmule.com/products/HM-HA7850

or here: http://www.aikensairplanes.com/spitfire-mk-v-raf-no-303-polish-sqn-en951-jan-zumbach-raf/

Hobby Master diecast models are generally pretty good for the price.

Other alternative is the old Franklin Mint Armour models (also in 1/48 scale). Don't know the quality of those models though.

19 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

That gives me an idea---let's have a B-52 movie...

There actually was one. Back when the B-52s were brand new!

Starring Natalie Wood and Karl Malden

5 hours ago, sh9000 said:

I’m not sure of the brand but it is die cast and in 1/100 scale.

The mold is utilized by various different brands so it can be hard to say exactly what name it falls under. But, the first of these 1/100 models came under the Amercom brand name.

I think it's the most popular in terms of desiredness by Macross fans. Most can be confident that the VF-1 will be the very first release or eventual release in any Macross toy line. But the VF-4 is one of those Valks where it's iffy whether a manufacturer will do it. Plus, for Macross fans, it probably ranks up there as one of Kawamori's finest designs.