David Hingtgen

Long story short, and this is actually for a model train, but basically: I have a resin conversion part, and like many thin-walled right-angle parts, it's not perfectly square in every dimension. And based on the shape, I think it'd be easier to try to build up the sides than to heat and twist it into shape. (I don't even think it COULD be twisted into shape--I think the mold itself isn't square to start with, and there's a sheer lack of material in the piece making one end narrower--the piece would have to STRETCH to be square) It is basically a hollow cube in shape, but from the front, it looks like this: I just need to "fill out" the tapered sides by a millimeter or so to get a full "cube" out of it. Any suggestions for a type of putty/epoxy etc that would do well for this? It'd only be 1mm thick or so, but it'd be over probably a 1x2cm area on each side. Should I try to scuff up the sides a bit for adhesion? I've also considered gluing on some thin sheet styrene to help build up the sides (don't really want to rely entirely on putty). But I am concerned about cracking---the part will have to be handled quite a bit, even after painting. There will definitely be some flexing it'll have to deal with. (I've filled enough gaps in my life, but actually "building up" something is pretty unknown to me)

Yeah, but the potential profit is even higher, but they have nothing left to sell.

No Circuit City anywhere around here---and I could use some MS points, I'm out after my last theme purchase.

I'd rather they have some more Titanium G1 Magnus for sale... PS--is Hasbro sold out of movie toys at the distribution level? My local Wal-Mart is down to FOUR movie toys. And all the local stores have had very low stock for weeks. Hasbro's just shooting themselves in the foot at this point----any kid who's wanted SS/Prime/Megs/Barricade/BB/Ironhide for the past 2 weeks hasn't been able to get one. By the time stuff is restocked at this point, the kids will be on to the next movie. I have one of only 3 or 4 Ironhide's I've ever seen, he's definitely the rarest of all IMHO. (And that's my only movie toy)

F-18 bombs A-4 in midair: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8aLRNQrfIXc

I've used that calculator before, but I am exceptionally good at picking out individual "pixels", and as I said---an LCD's "brightness variation based on viewing angle" is also very noticeable to me. Technically I'm right in the range for 26-32in at 4-5ft. But that doesn't necessarily mean I'll like how they look.

I was debating moving it, but I forgot that Graham's so anti-TF and would have wanted it moved immediately.

Plastic looks like plastic, but paint looks like paint. And metal objects in the real world are covered in paint. (Basic fact of modeling---in real life you can't tell if part of a car or plane is made of metal, carbon fiber, plastic, fiberglass or whatever just by looking at the painted surface--once it's covered in paint it's all the same) Thus, no matter what it is--painting it well will make it look like the real thing. And this is a good example of that. Also the guy clearly either knows tanks, or looked at a lot of references--he has many small painted details that you couldn't simply guess at. But the question is---will all that paint survive more than one transformation? (The main argument for leaving things in their raw plastic)

Wasn't me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qog_bjg1lQU Well it's all in Japanese so I can't really tell you what's going on. Part of a game show? Still, interesting to see 1/1500? scale molds being carved out by a laser.

OMG. If that Lenneth sculpture wasn't probably going to be like 300 bucks, I would so buy it. Actually, I wish somebody would just make a good Lenneth figure, without a $250 base attached...

Gaijin--thanks much for the info. The two highest-rated decently-priced 32's seem to be the Sharp LC-32D50U, and Samsung LN-T3253H currently. I'll check out the Panasonics, too. (I'm looking to spend up to about a grand, perferably more like 800----I plan to make use of a BestBuy 12% off coupon and get some certificates back via their reward zone program---they're really the only electronics store in the area). Those two TV's should have a price drop anyways in 6 months, plus it'll be the holiday season. And that's all assuming I have a grand to spend in 6 months! Of course, there will probably be new TV's by then. A big problem with looking/shopping for TV's at BestBuy though is incredibly inconsistent stocking of TV brands. 1 month, they'll have the whole Sharp line, and no Samsung. Next month, half Sony, half Toshiba. The next---very little name brand, all cheap stuff. There are many times when I'll go look at BB, find nothing---then head to Sears and find lots of good sets! But Sears has the exact same problem--entire brands come and go, they seem to get random shipments from random companies. PS---my bedroom TV is purely for gaming and movies. It's not even hooked up to cable. So SD picture quality is of no concern. To make a final decision on size, I think I'm just going to have to do what I did when I got the last TV---make a 1:1 cardboard mock-up and see how big it really is, sitting where I plan to put it.

Photo of the day, and good for getting a sense of scale:

The new Starscream is clearly based off of the S-37. And Kawamori likes to joke that the S-37 was based off of the YF-19.

The YF-21 has tiny little mini-heatshields that cover each "window" in the canopy individually in battroid mode. Though I seriously doubt we'll see THAT at 1/60 scale!

Reading around the AC6 forums (not going to do that again, people are already posting blatant spoilers with no warning at all--and NOBODY in the US has played it so it's a spoiler to everybody) I'm going to go try some new things soon. Also--it seems that we will be able to customize the plane's paint. Wonder if it's just an in-game editor, or can we use photoshop and make BMPs and download them to the game? Because while I have no skills for that, I can sure advise the people who can with regards to accuracy, patterns, colors, etc. Anyone here able to recolor planes? VF-101 red-tail F-14B here I come...

With the 21,000lb MOAB being not enough apparently, the B-2 is going to be getting the 30,000lb MOP bomb: http://www.gizmag.com/go/7669/ 30,000lbs. That's like dropping an F-16 on them.

The drawing of Octane clearly has him transform into an A-10 Warthog. The photo? to the right looks more like an A400M if anything, not a C-130. (but it's not an A400M) So what DOES he turn into? Thanks much for the pics.

I can tell just from the thumbnail Starscream's an S-37. ::click:: Yup. Kind of an SD S-37, but definitely inspired by the S-37. ::edit:: With an Sv-51's v.stabs.... PS--can someone give me a direct link, or just post a pic, of Classics Octane? I just can't find anything online. Same request for Sideswipe. PPS--sigh, I was hoping we'd actually get some new molds for the movie, not just repaints. I want a bigger, better Barricade, SS, and Blackout. And repainting Blackout as a Dauphin is just sad. Might as well repaint SS blue and white and say it's Air Force One. (They did use a Dauphin right? I really wasn't looking at the helis during the movie)

I guess we just have to disagree on what a transformation step "detail" is vs that step "overall". Basically, I say that where a piece starts out/what it is made from of the fighter mode is the "overall", but whether it moves above or below/rotates another piece is the 'detail'. Example: Arms. Both the YF-19 and VF-1 store the arms in the middle of the rear fuselage, between the legs, holding the gunpod. As do the VF-0 and VF-11. "Overall" the arms are the same piece/area in all those valks, and they all swing forward from a point near the head where they attach to the mid-fuselage/chest plate. Some go above the wings, some below. But that last sentence is a minor detail of the transformation that doesn't affect the fact that they all have the arms transform in the same way, starting at the same place, forming the same part of the plane. The YF-21's arms are the sides of the fuselage, and are attached to the intakes. That's a huge difference--merely going above or below the wings in the process doesn't make it like or unlike a minor valk. Just like the Sv-51's 180-degree-turning lower legs (a detail) doesn't change the fact that it still has a VF-0/1/11/19 style of overall leg transformation---the intakes are the hips, the legs are the engine nacelles, and the feet are the nozzles. But I still don't see how a YF-19's legs are any different from a VF-1 or VF-11's. From fighter mode, you pull them straight down and spread the nozzles. I still see the YF-21 as being the most unique valk, transformation-wise, by far. The sheer fact that it can fly without its limbs proves that I think. Take off a YF-19's limbs, and see what you get in fighter mode.

The -19 transforms by lowering the legs, the feet are the engine nozzles, it swings the wings back, swings the arms forward from between the legs, pops its head up, and folds the mid-section of the plane forward over the nose to make the chest. It's pretty close to the VF-1 overall. The details are different, but it's similar. The VF-11 is too. Basically, the YF-21 is a fighter plane shell, over a Q-Rau hiding inside. It's a total shellformer in Transformers notation. Of all Transformers toys that are beyond the "robot under the car/plane" transformation, there's two basic types: A. Limbs/body make up the alt mode parts, just rearranged B. "Shellformer" where the robot is basically whole but encapsulated inside the alt mode. Every valk except the VF-1 is the former, while the YF-21 is the latter.

Basic screen size question: My viewing distance is 4 feet. (I've measured, it's exactly 48 inches from eyeball to screen in my normal sitting spot). Is 32in too big for a 16:9? Quality/options for TV's at 32in seem much greater than 26in. I have a 20in 4:3 now. (This is the bedroom TV, with the 360 and future PS3, not the living room TV) If needed, I could probably move the TV back 8-10 inches, maybe 12, to get a 5ft viewing distance. 30in has pretty much gone away, that was perfect. 26 seems just a LITTLE too small. But 32 is a pretty big jump, especially when it's only 4 feet (or 5) away. Note: I truly abhor the "brightness difference" visible from top to bottom of most LCD's. TV's always talk about viewing angle, but that's left/right. Most TV's now are pretty good about left/right, but can be quite poor in vertical changes, even not moving your head. If I just stand there, I can tell just from looking from the top to the middle to the bottom, that the brightness isn't even. This is really obvious at BestBuy, when they switch to a logo screen---it's all blue, with the yellow tag in the middle. And the top and bottom of the screen are always a darker blue than the middle. Is part of that because at BB you can only ever really see a 60in screen from 3 feet away, or do all LCD's have vertical brightness "consistency" issues? (And thus, I'd want as small of a screen as possible, as far away as possible, to reduce the viewing angle as much as possible) (I also see it in little 14in PC monitors, but those are cheap Dells, also fairly close to your face) Or in other words----what's the best way to reduce the "apparent change in brightness" from the top to the bottom of the screen of an LCD screen? Factored into "what size TV should I buy"? (Because an affordably-priced 26-32in adaptive-LED-backlighting TV's like I really want may be 2+ years away--I won't wait *that* long--I want an HDTV within a year, preferably within 6 months---Xmas would be nice) 6 months from now, the first adaptive LED-backlighting TV's should be in stores, and we'll see how much they are, and if anyone's going to start doing them in sub-46in sizes, etc. I'll either decide to wait if what I want is coming soon/is affordable, or go get a CCFL-lit one then.

Can the -22 remove the gunpods from the belly armor, or are they permanently integrated? I haven't seen M7 in so long I can't remember if Max ever fires in battroid mode or anything.

The -21's battroid mode rocks because it's DIFFERENT. The feet and legs aren't the engines and rear fuselage! The arms don't hold a shield in fighter mode, nor have the gunpod clamped between them! The -19's a bit different, but it's still just a VF-1 with a Z-fold chest in its basic transformation. Even the Sv-51 doesn't have the uniqueness that the -21 does. (And it's a Q-Rau, so that makes Milia's red -22 the coolest one of the entire -21/22 family)

Just buy a PS3---it upconverts all normal DVD's quite nicely, it seems.