David Hingtgen

Any of our photoshop gurus/artists want to try their hand at what that'd look like? (personally I'd be very interested to see the results)

Yes you can. Shin goes from can't walk/GERWALK at all, to an expert, in one ep of ZERO. Yes, he could already fly (and well), but that's only 1/3 of a valk's operations. So Sheryl (she of amazing confidence and skill) could certainly do so in just a few eps. Hikaru also gets pretty good with battroid and GERWALK pretty fast... PS, about Bobby----when a *mod* mentions that he's switching topics in a thread, that's usually a hint.

JSF troubles (of course, again). The F135 doesn't seem to like doing to whole "transitioning from normal to VTOL" thing. Turbine blade failures, etc. The alternative F136 engine seems to do it fine---not surprising, since the F-136 is derived from the uber-awesome F120, which was DESIGNED FROM THE START to have 2 different modes. (The F135 is a modified F119). The F136 however, isn't being funded/accepted---they seem to want to give PW the contract no matter what. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/...vl-testing.html Now, IMHO, PW is even more "preferred" than Boeing is. Boeing vs Airbus? Hah. Look at the track records of PW and GE in US military jet engines: F-14: PW's TF30 sucks and we all know it. The military eventually out of desperation (and a decade late) finally allows GE F110's--and they rock. F-15: F100 sucks, fails all the time. So bad that many F-15's are grounded or delivered sans engines, even though they have TWO engines to rely on. When it becomes available, everyone who can starts ordering F-15's with GE engines (except the US of course). F-16: F100 sucks in the F-16 just as badly as it does in the F-15, but it's even more of a situation since they only have one engine. The GE F110 is commissioned due to desperately needing something else--and it's WAY better. Almost all future USAF F-16's are ordered with GE's, and those with PW's are subsequently restricted to CONUS and ANG use. Front-line F-16's are GE-powered as a rule. F-18: GE ordered from the start. Does great, no problems. Just as good when upgraded for the F-20, Super Hornets and the Gripen. F-22/F-23. PW F119 vs GE F120. F119 is inferior in all aspects, so it's chosen to power the F-22. F-35: Modified F119 (F135) vs modified F120 (F136). Guess which one sucks? Guess which one gets the contract? Yeesh. Favortism for PW, anyone? I mean c'mon---the F119 is nothing more than a souped-up F100. The F120 is a whole new class of engine, new from the ground up and DESIGNED TO OPERATE IN TWO DIFFERENT MODES---and they DIDN'T pick it to be developed to power the VTOL 2-mode version of the F-35? The F120 is a truly brilliant design--it can switch from turbojet to turbofan. It can adjust its own bypass ratio, from "Harrier-style" low-speed max-power ducting everything directly out from the compressor fan, to F-4 style "pure raw afterburning at high speed from the turbine". It's the realization of a concept I saw years ago in a book basically saying "a Concorde replacement will need an engine from the future that can do THIS". And the F120 does it. As does the F136. I wouldn't be surprised if the civillian 797 or A360 have engines like that, while the "ultra-high-tech" F-22/F-35 fall way behind engine-wise. Yes, the F119 family has power---but nothing more. The F120 family is the most important new design since the turbofan was invented--but nobody wants to use/develop it.

Phoenix is long-gone, it was gone before the F-14 was.

Switching topics back to Mikhail---I personally kinda hope he's out of commission for a while, and so Sheryl gets a valk. (hey, we need more colors, and whatever happened to the one that looks like Alto's but has purplish striping we saw in the early promo material?) (yes, the most likely answer is that was just an animation test, but it would be neat to have a valk with purple markings) (the VF-27 doesn't count, it's more like magenta, and pretty close to Nora's) Also, if Sheryl becomes a decent pilot, then that makes a Minmei attack all the more likely/plausible. She'd be kinda like Basara, but not a pacifist...

Basic problem airplane modelers always have---Tamiya simply doesn't make the pale bluish greys that 99% of jets have been painted in for the last 20 years. If you want "low-vis grey" from Tamiya, you'll have to mix it yourself. Sky grey is the lightest and closest they make, but as you've discovered--it's just not "low-vis grey". I'll second the assessment that it's probably painted light ghost grey (36375)----every company BUT Tamiya makes that color, as it's the most common color in the world now for military jets. Not sure on the fast packs, they're definitely darker than 36320, but lack the brownish hue of every grey in the 362xx range I know of. (and they're not dark enough to be in the 361xx range)

And be sure to check 10,000 posts in the PC self-help section of the ME forum to try to get ME running on your PC! It took me DAYS (and hours per day) to finally get my copy going. I hope---no errors the past 5 hours. (and I still don't really know exactly what was wrong, or how re-copying all the files help)

Nothing says they didn't go pick up the boosters after the battle---the Vajra retreated from the area, not the Frontier. We've seen several times now that ejected armor in M:Frontier is "smart" and clumps itself together, waiting to be picked up. (the Super Armor folds itself into a neat "X" configuration---don't think we've seen full armor, but presumably the bigger, more expensive set can do it too)

Gah, I'm so torn between whose to buy. (Once they announce full armor, of course---I am seriously considering never buying one if they don't do full full armor)

Yeah, but I distinctly hear a "B" too, no matter how many times I listen and how much more sense "little" makes.

Yeah---there have been many posts about it, but never a dedicated thread. I'm a huge fan.

More on Octane: 1. There's holes that have no other purpose other than holding the guns, on the sides of the truck cab. I think that may be their intended location, not on the rear of the truck using the fist-holes. 2. Waist-plate. Why is it hinged? I really can't see a reason for this being a separate part, and being hinged. Until I actually got him into robot mode, I thought it was a waist-plate, hinged for articulation, etc--except it's on the wrong side, and he can't turn at the waist 180 to use it. It's actually the small of his back. Abandoned step/feature? 3. I think the "alternate" way of doing the shoulders in bot mode may be the intended way---things work out too well, color/design/detail/joint-wise.

Or, more importantly to Bandai--toy and model sales. If they sell a ZILLION VF-25's, that'll fund season 2.

As the other Wal-Mart had everyone but Octane (I refuse to call him Tankor), I checked my closest Wal-Mart today while grocery shopping. Got Octane! They also had Leader Bulkhead--the first Animated figure they've ever had. They still don't even have wave 1 animated deluxes there. Currently have only seen 2 of Octane's 3 modes. The transformation is quite interesting, but the HUGE gaping hole at the rear with a cargo plane's cockpit halves inside is very detracting for truck mode. Maybe the worst "obvious compromise for a triple-changer" ever. (I personally think Astrotrain's rocket nozzles in loco mode are cool, and it's not a GAPING HOLE) Also, having part of the tank silver, and the rest grey plastic, is "US Leader Prime" cheap/distracting. Yes, I do plan to paint it silver--with a different type of paint than my last silver paint attempt... If someone comes up with a "covers the hole" custom part for the rear, it'd help immensely. I am a huge Octane fan, and I HIGHLY value new/interesting transformations, so I had to buy him. Conversely, that's why I'm not buying Animated Jazz. He may be perfect/awesome--but I've had that "transforming car toy" a hundred times before in slighty different sculpts/colors. ::edit:: Proto-Octane has an all-silver tank, and he's actually WHITE instead of very pale coral. That would have helped. Triple-changers really need to be voyagers. Same issue as Silverbolt and Galvatron--they seem to be picking the wrong guys for the price-points. If Galvatron and Octane were Voyagers, and Silverbolt and probably Powerglide(or Onslaught) were Deluxes, everything would have worked out a lot better.

Bigger missiles often means bigger range, not just bigger warhead. More space=more fuel.

It becomes AWESOME 4 mins in. (It's merely "funny" up until that point). Be sure click on "watch in high quality".

Well, ep 14 shows that the full armor set is incredibly modular and toy-istic. I hope Bandai is able to engineer it that way. (I am pessimistic that we will only ever see standard Super/FAST armor, and not the full armor, despite how much its featured)

They fold OUTwards--that's interesting. Just about every valk that ever had a tailfin fold down, folded it inwards. (VF-1, VF-0, VF-4, -19, -21---any others? VF-9 maybe) PS--found this on another thread--earlier, Alto has the fins folded down with the armor, as seen here: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?act=...st&id=55619 Presumably one way is an animation error, but which way? Maybe Ozma's supposed to have them raised, too, and they're only lowered for taxiing, etc.

Their symbol is a stylized version of the international "radiation hazard" symbol, plus later on the tactical status displays show "warning" plus that symbol around any area where one was detonated---and frankly, no other type of weapon leaves behind a "hazard zone" after its use. IIRC, "reaction" has been used since the original TV series simply because of the bad connotations of the word "nuclear" in Japan, since they are the only ones such weapons have ever actually been used against. Heck, they won't let any nuclear-powered US ship dock there. (though I believe just recently that policy has changed). Reaction missiles and reaction furnaces are just politically-correct ways of saying nukes and nuclear reactors. (plus allowing for a bit of overtechnology/sci-fi, trademarking, etc)

I don't know how anyone could want a *non-armored* VF-25 toy after this ep... Anyways, regarding Quarter and Battle 25----if Battle 25 is attached to Island 1, where does Quarter attach to? (Until people here started discussing it, I didn't think there was a Battle 25, and that the Quarter was in its place as "the main gunship attached to the front of the main colony dome ship")

Yup. You can easily find Region 2. (And the region 2 versions of season 1 and 2 have EVERY ep, FYI) We are really getting screwed here in the US. Season 3 for sale: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/products/29...vd/Product.html

Found tons of new Classics(Universe)---just no Octane/Tankor, the only current one I want. I want the NEXT waves---Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Galvatron. PS---underside of Universe Silverbolt in jet mode: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_4465.jpg I like the B-2 on his gun though, but no way I'm paying that much for a minicon-level transformation. And for all those who thought he wasn't nearly as bad as movie SS undercarriage-wise: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/PascTF/100_4466.jpg

The whole wing swings up, the outer half swings down. So it can do high-speed mode. (and transform). Kind of makes an "M" when viewed from the front. Also known as gull-wings.

The pic above is 1000x better IMHO. Honestly, the NSX is the ONLY Japanese car I've ever really thought looked cool. But the new one--not at all.

It's a half-year or more late at this point---while it came out months ago overseas.