David Hingtgen

Well duh, it's the coolest-looking plane ever. (Well, the XB-70 might surpass it---The 23 is definitely the best-looking fighter though)

Question: My only CC is the "pale blue" one from the TRU 3-pack with the basic trooper and officer. (It's the best-looking helmeted CC IMHO). However, the helmet is notably miss-shapen----very asymmetrical--the left side "poofs out". Any way to fix it? Will heating it up and re-shaping work? ("normal" bending has no effect). I doubt there's any way to get just a replacement helmet, and all other CC's have a darker blue. (the stripe's painted off-kilter too, but EVERY striped CC helmet I've ever seen has that problem)

This is supposed to be the most recent pic of it, being rolled out, though the EXIF data says 1998. (I'm guessing the camera's date is wrong)

Grey Ryder, did you paint the silver on the goggles, or is it just mine that has ALL black goggles? PS---found a Mass Device crystal CC today. SLIGHTLY darker blue than "normal" masked CC. Same paint scheme otherwise, besides helmet stripe. Also found V1 Snakeyes, with a Wave 7 "build date" stamp.

I need a Rattler and Moray far more than even a Skystriker. (I never liked the Joe planes much, despite having several---Rattler and Night Raven are just 10x cooler---and the Moray is THE best "aquatic" Joe toy period)

I'm still waiting for another Fräulein figure that I actually know the character... C'mon Namco/Bandai, we know you're half-sponsoring the line, where's the Tekken/Soul Calibur ones?

Which is annoying----why keep making fighter mode "solid and more tight" with each release---if they still don't have the top half of the battroid locked at all? All the YF-19 needs is SOMETHING, just one little peg or hinge---and they don't give us that. But they seem to add more tabs and posts to fighter mode---why? The Sv-51 sorta holds together, but that's more due to pressure/tightness than any peg or lock. Dear Yamato: LOCK THE CHEST DOWN IN BATTROID. Forget everything else until you do that.

I thought the YF-23's restoration was done? There were pics a while back of it being "rolled out" and it looked spotless. As for the Phantom---a note at the end says it all (tongue in cheek): "Regarded as a monster in its day, the F-4 is about equivalent in empty and loaded weight to the Super Hornet and Joint Strike Fighter. It has rather less power than those aircraft, but (depending on variant) is about 500 mph faster and has a similar weapon load. Technology has clearly advanced a long way."

Any Storm Shadow is decently rare, but especially his "hooded with grey camo spots" look. As is Snake Eyes packed with his wolf.

They totally skip on how the shoulder transforms though, and show nothing about the gear.

Frameless=defeats the point. Having lensless frames would look much more correct. I will admit, looks better than the early promo pics.

I've put the pics side-by-side, and the only difference I see for Onslaught is the silver on the face, and the "waist lights". Am I missing some big obvious change? As for Silverbolt--I actually like the US one better. Still don't know if I'll get him---he looks like he might have G1 *limb* Aerialbot transformation.

The thing is--if you put dullcote over white paint---then the dullcote stays clear, but the white paint itself yellowed underneath---could you really tell *which* layer yellowed? (often brought up in "what clear coat/white doesn't yellow?" threads)

About that "2-packs as single cards"----would that include, say, Copperhead any time soon? Or will there be like a year delay, and we'll start seeing Ripper singly?

HISS driver is a very good figure IMHO. Simple, minimal accessories, but the best torso-joint of all. (looks a bit weird twisted to the side due to the chest plate, but the range of motion is the most natural and useful I've found). Going to repaint the black part of the mask though---none in the stores has the black paint in quite the right spot--either the "mouth" or visor have too much or too little paint. Is it that hard for the factory workers to follow the indentations? ::edit:: Except the one at JoeBattleLines, they got a "perfect" one--http://joebattlelines.com/reviews/toys/25thanniversary/cobrahissdriver.htm HISS driver's awesomeness means I might buy a black HISS just to get Rip-It. Unless someone's army-building HISS tanks and doesn't need all those Rip-Its. (I really only need one HISS, and I like the blue more than the black, so I'm already all set, HISS-wise) PS---going to paint the silver rims on the Lackey Viper's goggles, too.

I mean compressed, as in compressed so much there's a notable quality loss. Like a 99% vs 60% JPG.

I just pre-ordered Japanese shiny chrome movie Prime from LaF toys. Thundercracker is still too expensive--"only half of Botcon" is still too much for $9.99 toy. Not getting TC funds my chrome...

A LOT of cable HD isn't HD, it's simply "upscaled". And even if it really is filmed in HD---most companies squeeze a zillion channels into just a bit of bandwidth, causing lots of image/compression problems. All just depends. Unless you're using a Blu-Ray player or a PS3 or a 360, you're probably not getting full, pure, uncompressed HD. Unless you're lucky.

Strato-Viper is my most-wanted viper. A. They look cool. B. They pilot the coolest vehicle of all. C. There are multiple canon female Strato-vipers. For the cost of "1.5" molds they could make 2 characters. Or an AWESOME two-pack---1 male, 1 female. Especially since the Night Raven toy was built for 2---you always had to buy another separate Strato-viper to "fill up" the cockpit if you owned a Night Raven.

Wal-Mart is trying to delay the introduction of HD or something. Or at least, confuddle the masses even more so than they already are. Last week, I saw they had gotten in a bunch of "2009-ready" digital ATSC tuner-equipped, 20in CRT's. Yup. Cheap, old-school TV's, with built-in digital tuners. "With 480i!!!!" on the box... They're also flat-screens. Well, as flat-screen as CRT's get, which we all know means there's a flat pane of a glass up front, with a normally-curved CRT screen about an inch back behind that... Also, the picture itself just sucks. I doubt it can even do 480i, the sheer number of phosphors is about the lowest I've seen in many years on a CRT that size. Now, this week---same thing, but also in 13in! With built-in DVD player. Sigh. For everyone who will only be dragged into HD/digital kicking and screaming, Wal-Mart's got TV's for you. If you want a SD, digital flat-screen---they've got it. I doubt they even have S-video connections, much less component. But you can imagine how many people are going to think they're watching HD, now that they've got a "digital flat-screen" TV, and they'll brag how they only paid a hundred bucks for it...

Seconded. I'd pay a decent amount for a Classics TC.

Could come with the trailer full of toys---awesome accessory if you already have an AWE Striker. (Though I passed on the one at Target)

Are the sets going to be sold "everywhere" or semi-exclusive, or what? A big part of the reason I "hunt" is so I can pick out ones with the best paint jobs (since they vary a lot).

"Cobra CLAWS is coming to town"---not a mini-series, but a special. And probably the main "Covergirl" ep. She'd make a great "pack-in-exclusive".

Finally found wave 7 (well, most of it). Got HISS driver and Lackey Viper. Passed on Wild Bill. Note: HISS driver masks have WIDELY varying paint. None are perfect. Either the black is off (not enough/too high) on the "mouth" leaving too much red, or there's way too much silver from the visor spilling onto the "face". Just pick which one looks overall best.