David Hingtgen

Meteor has an entire new line devoted to vintage aircraft nose-art decals: Go here http://www.meteorprod.com/cgi-bin/meteorsearch.pl?newsearch and search for "pyn" and you'll get them all. They are fairly expensive though.

Can't tell if they're going for "realism" like the first TMNT movie, or just "the current cartoon in semi-realistic CGI". Hardest TMNT catch-phrase/word to spell: "Gnarly".

I'd take an F-14 if it actually was any particular type of F-14. Their F-18 is an "Early-late Block 10/26 F-18A/C/A+". If they'd simply made say, an F-18C, it'd be nice. But it's a mish-mash of parts, as if they referenced photos of any and all Hornets, not modeling any particular type. Plus it has too many nose gear doors. How do you mess THAT up? 3 is not 4, a two-year old can tell you that. Same for the F-16. It's pretty close to a Block 25. But not quite--and that's really off since they tend to release them as Block 40/50. If they'd actually made a Block 40 or 50, it'd be great since they're nigh-identical and would work very well for what they paint them as. So if they made an F-14, I'd expect it to be a Block 70/Block 150 F-14A/D mish-mash of parts. When you get to 1:18 scale, little things become quite obvious. I mean, most of these things are easily visible in 1/72 scale...

Actually, airliner engines are far more reliable than fighter engines. They have to be. Basically: 300 passengers on 14 hour flights, hundreds if not thousands of those flights around the world, 24/7. Versus say a few F-14's on patrol, with 2 people each, as needed, on 2 to 4 hour CAPs (and that's stretching it). Far more lives are at stake with the airliner's engines. And you can't eject from an airliner. A PW2040 and a F119 have the same power, but the fighter's engine runs far faster and hotter, because it has to get the same power in like 1/10 the size and weight. You trade reliability and maintenance ease for the ability to get the same power in a much smaller package. It always comes down to space and weight on a plane.

If we go for the "maximum similarity with the F-14" like we usually do with the VF-1 and VF-0, I would say the VF-0's nose pitot is for alpha, not airspeed. Or it could very well be for multiple things, like the F-16's.

Wonder how long until we get the VF-0D? I much prefer the D, S reminds me too much of a VF-1, especially in Roy's colors.

Forgot to post: While the board was down, the Quad City Airshow was going on, and I of course went. Main attractions were the Thunderbirds (5 planes, not 6 due to illness---some formations simply have a "gap", some asymmetric, some modified) and a Super Hornet demo. Despite having the T-Birds, USAF sent almost nothing for static displays. 2 A-10's. We had more than that last year, when there were no USAF demos at all. Missed getting the Shornets shockwave cone, 1/2 second too late. Other notables included P-38 on static and flying (Porky II) and I ate lunch sitting under an A-10's h.stab. Photos are the best my digi-camera can do at that distance. It's old, and like 2 megapixel.

Go here for a detailed breakdown of most every prop in Eps 1, and 4-6: http://www.partsofsw.com Han ANH blaster: http://www.partsofsw.com/dl44sw.htm

Arrgh! I typed it twice to get it right, and still screwed up. Yes I meant 11, not 111. 111 is my fave squadron, how awesome would their rising sun logo look on a Shornet tail... (with a shark mouth) Anyways---while 143 has a cool logo and name, I get the impression they're not well-liked, and if you have a look, they lose a lot more planes than most squadrons. I get the impression CVW-7 is supposed to be 11 and 143, but 103 is replacing 11 temporarily. 11+103 would be double F's. Don't know where 103 will go after that. I know 105 is supposed to go from 18C's to 18E's relatively soon, maybe 103 and 105 will pair up.

Strangely, there's not much to report on what happened while the board was down. Things possibly of interest: Jolly Rogers paired with Pukin' Dogs for a "temporary" Air Wing 7 while VF-11 converts to VFA-111, tailcode changed to AG, modex from 1xx to 2xx, will deploy on Eisenhower. High-vis planes changed from 100 and 103 to 200 and 201.

While the board was down, I got mini AOTC Obi-Wan, and mini Ep 4 weathered Obi-Wan. And I paid only double-digits for Ep 4, which is a really good price based on Ebay...

If anyone wants to see a current-version Vader FX saber opened up: http://www.fx-sabers.com/vader_ESB_tutorial.html

I didn't literally mean it'd probably break it, but the F-18 sure is wobbly on it. Far too wobbly for my tastes. An F-15 would be worse. That stand was originally for 1/400 airliners. 1/72 warbirds are like 5x heavier. The stand was slightly changed for the warbirds, but it's still far too small/weak than it should be. DW F-14's: (VF-103, VF-2) Back ends still messed up, F-14B looks like a D. 2-tone camo instead of 3-tone. Maybe someday they'll make one half-assed accurate, but not now.

Going OT: I got a Dragon diecast F-15C today. Will take photos later, let me know what you want to see. Comments: This is the latest version, 1FW/Langley, with ground crew figures, AIM-7's, and drop tanks. It has stuff for every pylon---4 AIM-7's, 2 AIM-120's, 2 AIM-9's, 2 drop tanks. AIM-7's are permanently mounted. You could remove them, but it'd mess up the paint. All missiles are "live" (yellow stripe) as opposed to most DW planes which have dummy missiles (blue stripe). Pylons on wings are AIM-9 pylons, but I think they look kind of like "AMRAAM-ized Sidewinder rails". Compared to earlier DW planes like the F-16 and F-18, the gear wells and gear doors are made of white plastic, rather than "grey plastic with a THICK coat of white paint" like Corgi uses and DW used to use. Makes for much better fit. The plastic used is a lot like the stuff used on certain parts of 1/60 Yamatos, that POM stuff or whatever. All the gear doors fit nicely and easily, as did 2 of the 3 gear struts. Right main strut didn't fit for reasons unknown--the gear well and struts between left and right were perfect mirror images, but the right one just didn't want to fit. Trimmed some of the plastic out of the gear well (more than I thought I'd need do) and it settled in. Oh, gear struts are gloss-white painted metal. Wheels are correct for an F-15C. This release has the USAF-style ECM antenna on the correct fin, as well as no turkey feathers on the nozzles. Weight balance/etc on the other fin still projects behind the trailing edge, but I actually plan to just file off that 2mm. (Everything on the plane except the pylons and canopy is metal from what I can tell, even the h.stabs). The fairing that covers the tailhook is present, but no door over it. Correct for F-15C's up until about 1990-1992. Based on markings etc, I believe this release depicts the plane immediately after Desert Storm, or even during it. Canopy/cockpit: like a Corgi F-4, there is a one-piece "closed" canopy, and a multi-piece "open" canopy. Neither really fit better than any other DW canopy, maybe a little better. But it does eliminate any gap between the windscreen and main canopy when closed. They include the prop-rod for the canopy when it's open, and is actually what you should use to support the canopy, as the actuator rod needs work on both ends to fit, and doesn't look right anyways. I have it there, but it doesn't really do anything--the canopy is supported by the prop-rod right behind the seat. Also, the whole bay and all rods/actuators are black. Should be gloss white. If you close the canopy, it makes things easier, and also hides the bay. (The canopy decking is black and that is correct) HUD not as nice as other models. It includes a stand, the same used by all the others, so you wouldn't dare actually use it for fear of collapse. I would like to put it up in flight, the gear doors fit much better than any other Dragon plane. Paint: same as any other DW, though they greys seem more "cool" than other DW's, despite the fact that it should match. Will do a side-by-side comparison later. Camoflage pattern on upper part of the sides of the intakes is missing, but it's done right everywhere else. Airbrake: like most any F-15 kit you've ever seen. Strut is black though, I'll repaint it grey pretty soon. Fits closed a bit better than the F-18, but I'd still recommend posing it open. Overall, I do think the newest DW F-15C's are the most accurate of their 1/72 diecast planes. Asides from the one gear strut and the canopy actuator, the various parts fit a lot better and easier than any of the others. Sorta plug: A place I buy diecast planes from is having a going-out of business sale, and I got this from there. Everything's cheap, including Dragon warbirds: http://www.diecastrunway.com/index.php?military_id=32 PS---more so than any other Dragon warbird, this one is obviously a copy of the Hasegawa kit. PPS---almost full intake trunking. Outboard wall and top and bottom are fairly complete (certainly NOT seamless though) but the inboard wall ends abruptly, and you can see into the center fuselage if you look at the right angle. But it's actually much better than the Hasegawa kit, especially at the end where the fan is.

From what I've been able to see/read about the latest FX sabers: 6 segments for power on/off. 2 LED boards wired together (thus the dark spot in the middle where they meet), 64 LEDs total.

New camo for demo Flankers. Similar to a previous one, but all black/white/grey camo looks cool. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/860660/L (my new desktop wallpaper) Ok, so what's a Su-27SKM? (Paris airshow is going on this week)

If I find the pic again, I'll post it. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. Basically, it is a perfect tube, as much as Anakin or Vader. It does not narrow at all, beyond a few mm here and there. ::edit:: Found it, Australian site. Can't be 100% sure this is it, but sure does look like people expected it to, based on how the ROTJ Luke was changed.

That'd be great, thanks. I'd prefer ones as close to a schematic/3-view as possible, that really show the design/layout.

For those wanting an Obi-Wan ROTS FX saber: The pic a few posts up is NOT it. The real FX version has been seen, and much like the ROTJ Luke, the neck is WAY thicker. The thinnest part of the neck is about 99% as wide as the rest of the hilt. Looks fugly IMHO. Looked for pic again, can't find it. Just, don't go pre-ordering it without seeing it.

I don't think I've seen those photos before. I'm referring to an actual drawing. Thanks, though.

I'm 99% sure I saw a drawing (pretty close to a 'design works sketch') of the land-based aircraft carrier with treads that was a boss in the UN Squadron/Area 88 game. I think the drawing was of the land carrier as it appeared in the Area 88 manga, or it may have just been a very similar concept in some other manga, etc. Anyways, I spent over an hour going through posts with MW's search function and haven't come across it. Anyone know what I'm talking about, have the pic, link to the thread, etc?

That's an Ep V. How to tell: 1. Only needs 3 batteries. 2. Despite being a tiny pic, it does show that it's the ESB version hilt, not ANH. (if you know what to look for)

Links to many neat high-quality pics: (There are larger versions of all of these, just click on "large" when it comes up) B-1B cone: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=252881 C-5C (yes, C) over clouds: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=593404 Thunderbirds mirror image flying: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=568705 F-15A cool sun-lens-flare effect: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=325932 Blackbird climbing: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=225202 Super Hornet cone: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=696104 Really cool Tomcat "cloud" (not quite a cone) http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=800623 BIG Tomcat cloud: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=696234 Blue Angels in precise formation, even for them: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=314742 Super Hornet cone forming up: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=601980 Don't even know what to call it, Super Hornet: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=697027 Blue Angels smoke in formation: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=315190 F-14, F-18, S-3, C-2, E-2, A-6 formation: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/607723/M More Blue Angels in tight formation: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=337385 Closest Blue Angel pass ever: http://images.airliners.net/open.file?id=633803

Surely our resident missile expert has installed countermeasures on his craft?

Note the rainbow.