David Hingtgen

Magnus is only my second Titanium. I tried the "thigh swap" but I think I'm going to swap it back. It does give him knees, but messes up truck mode I think. (He can bend his knees slightly as he comes, the swap trick gives about 45 degrees) Still trying to figure out if something got dropped during development. The chestplate flips up, but can't quite stay up all the way due to the head and closeness of the tractor. If there was another hinge, or something was 2mm further away it'd all be great. I plan to very soon paint a lot of silver accents for truck mode. Dropkick just rocks, best toy I've had in a while. How many deluxes have 16-step instructions? Automorph causes doors not to stay fully locked in truck mode, and right shoulder won't stay in place in robot mode. Clear nail polish to the rescue! (Hopefully). Warning: be careful of the hinges for the sides of the truck bed. My right one REALLY didn't want to bend as shown in the instructions,(2nd-to-last step or so) to the point that I thought the instructions were wrong. It popped off, and while it snapped back on, I've got a heck of a stress mark now, quite visible in all modes.

Cool Decepticons get all the chicks.

Today was a good day. Got Titanium G1 Magnus at Target, and Dropkick at Wal-Mart.

It won't really matter, toy-wise. Toynami will get the license, and thus the quality will be crap.

I would have gladly waited (if it was an option) to get MY 360 back, instead of someone else's refurbed unit. Another option I'd like to see is to voluntarily send in 360's for upgrades. After I beat Bioshock, there's nothing I really need to play until AC6/MassEffect. I could be without it easily for a few weeks---I'd like to send it in and get the new heatsink, and a newer, quieter DVD drive. And HDMI while I'm at it. I would GLADLY pay whatever outrageous price MS would charge for it (so long as it's less than a new core system)--I just want it done. But I can't even undo a screw on the case without voiding the warranty.

If the dub is good---dub's fine. Otherwise, subs. Cowboy Bebop is probably the best example. Love the dub, have only seen the dub. (Asides from the movie, which I watched both ways)

I know United had pretty much pound-by-pound and day-by-day penalties for the 777, I'd expect no less for people who bought 787's. (luckily the 777 was neither late nor heavy)

Horizontal, but mine didn't have a RROD/overheat/general failure. I still blame one of the dashboard updates (since it started that very day).

They did upgrade. They just need to do it again. Anyways----a further upgrade is certainly possible and has been studied many times, but nothing ever comes of it. Money I'd guess is the main reason. Until the engines literally fall apart, I think they don't see a need to replace them. Note that any retrofit will most likely be four engines. PW2037's would be a good choice, that's very similar to what's on the C-17. Or go up to 2040's. If they really wanted to keep 8 engines, they could probably use JT8D-217's----plenty of older MD-80's to get them from. JT8D-17R from 727's would be an even better fit (literally and power-wise) but really wouldn't be worth it, age/fuel-wise. But I don't even know if there's enough of those to go around---pretty rare option on the 727, and no other plane AFAIK used that version. You'd need 4 MD-80's worth of engines for each B-52. Buying 4 larger, new engines would be easier (and more fuel-efficient and powerful), but cost a lot more. ::edit:: Hmmn. PW's page doesn't say the JT8D-200 is out of production, but I thought it was. No plane's being built that uses them AFAIK, nor has been since 1999.

Eh---the lack of fasteners has been known for months, even years. It was an expected delay. The plane/design itself seems to have few problems. Completely different than an A380 "the parts just don't fit together" clusterf*ck. (As I mod, I could swear, but I censor myself) On an unrelated note. 757 got problems? Sacrifice a goat to fix it! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday. Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem. The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said. "The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights," said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been. It is common in Nepal to sacrifice animals like goats and buffaloes to appease different Hindu deities. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

1/5 radio control B-29, said to be the largest r/c plane in the world. (And amazingly, it didn't crash on its maiden flight) http://www.break.com/index/worlds-largest-...-air-plane.html

Tons of G1 Jazz and Starscream at Target, an entire endcap. I don't think anyone with a Target will have a problem finding them once they get them in. I like the G1 Jazz colors a lot, but I still just don't think the mold itself is worth buying. G1 SS is very nice, but I'm waiting for Thundercracker.

It seems that Australia's Super Hornet pilots will be trained for carrier ops, for possible future joint operations on US carriers. Hmmmmmn.

Why Takara even tries for "realistic" I don't know. Strike Eagles aren't green. There are no black F-15's. There's one or two special scheme ones with a lot of blue, but they're nothing like TC, since they're half white and yellow.

Attachments are thumbnailed, linked pics are full-size (if they're not too big).

Seconding that. Anyone seen Takatoys lately? All his images were linked direct from his account at mac.com and it's closed---no modification images, and no pics of his sticker sheets to order either.

Read over at ARC that the latest version of MicroSol has no vinegar smell. Anyone bought a bottle recently? (even if I did, my hobby shop probably has year-old stock) That'd be welcome, as the place smells like vinegar all night after a good decaling session.

That still means thousands and thousands sitting at BestBuy, Target, and Wal-Mart distribution centers, to go out to the individual stores when they run out.

I believe it should be basically hovering, the F-22 does something similar.

"Rear wing" would be a stabilator.

Darn, Bioshock rented out again--I must have mis-guessed when to try to get it. Anyways, a spoiler-free answer is requested: IIRC, one of the big things is along the lines of "do you take all the Eve and kill the sisters for it, or do you take the least amount and let them live"---something about a big payout at the end if you do the latter. Is it worth it? As I plan to rent it and go through quickly, but still see as much as possible--is it just some super-ability (and is it worth it) or is it something big that changes the whole ending or something? Because most games where there's a choice, being evil/destructive is faster and easier.

::considering closing resurrected thread due to stupidity::

It works fine on one engine, the X-31 can do everything a Super Flanker can, and more, including the Herbst turn, Hook, and Mongoose. NASA has videos you can watch of it: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Movie/X-31/index.html Specifically, the Mongoose with a ground reference--watch and be amazed: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Movie/X-3...EM-0036-06.html (it's called the Mongoose as it's said to be the counter to the Cobra) Still, I don't know of any plane that really has YF-21-looking paddles. They're usually short and square, not long and triangular like the YF-21 or SV-51. The F-22 actually has the closest to that, shape-wise, but they're simply 2D, 2-piece ones.

I love the silver chrome, but the red and blue is tacky IMHO. The G1 scheme is a big plus though.

A quick check shows that many of the markings Yamato provides are very "Russian" if not specifically "Sukhoi" in appearance---I have found several that closely/exactly match Su-27 markings. Still haven't found any equivalent of "no step" however for sure--maybe Russian planes are just so inherently strong there's no restrictions. I've got great walkaround pics of a Ukranian Flanker, and even the flaps and stabs have NOTHING on them for warnings. Tons around the nose though. ::checks more:: Ok, I don't have pics of it, but some camo/marking/decal diagrams pretty clearly show that an "X" is the equivalent of the "no step". So use sticker #8. Though it seems they usually use red X's, not white. Of course, being a black plane, red doesn't show up well. Quick fact: for low-vis schemes, if the plane is black, the markings are red. Also, they like to outline the no-step area in hash-marks, with an X in the middle. Or, (on flaps and stab edges), you see something like this: ===X Here's a drawing of the latest Russian Su-27 camo, shows some markings. I'm kind of surprised they use the exact same "crane hook attachment here" marking as the US. Also, here's a photo showing some nose markings. Note the radiation warning on the nosecone--exact same as Yamato's sticker #1. PS---ALL lettering is Cyrillic. And there's a ton when you get up close.