David Hingtgen

Zentrandude--yup, *possible* (for some) but not practica at all. Nobody'd ever do it other than to see if it was physically possible. You'd have a really messed-up plane that'd fly horribly. Thus you never see it. For the REALLY heavy stuff, it's REALLY inboard only. I.E, fuel tanks. They weigh more than all but the largest of the large bombs. (Jetfuel weighs 6.7lbs per gallon---tanks range from 200 to 600 gallons each for most planes) Balance is very important--the F-15E has to have the best ground crew for loading (IMHO), due to all the combinations possible. They'll end up with VERY weird combinations, like 4 500lb bombs with 2 AMRAAMS and a JDAM and 2 spaces diagonally oppositely empty, with an old Sparrow hulk filled with cement, just so it'll balance left/right and front/rear. (When you've got 12 stub-pylons on the belly, it gets complicated). I looks weird to see bombs and empty space on one side, and missiles and weights on the other!

Re: why not 2 outboard. Nied---for mass/G/symmetry reasons. 3 weapons spread out works, but you can't just "clump" the same amount outboard. Wings get massively weaker at the tips, especially something with a high aspect ratio like the VF-1. It'd take a lot of strengthening to make it work. Aerodynamics: You couldn't just strengthen an F-16's outboard pylon, and put 2 large bombs under the outboard pylon--the plane would be so horrendously off-balance if you dropped them (but not the ones opposite), plus the asymmetric yaw, plus a hard time trying to roll with that much weight at the tips---moment arm of the ailerons---adding a couple of thousand pounds at the tips reduces the effectiveness of the controls. Big weapons go inboard for the same reason wing-mounted engines go well inboard on an airliner---weight/balance/wing-strength/prevention of asymmetry. Or finally---if you're going to try, why not just strengthen the inboard ones instead? A lot more practical. Ah, it's been a while since we've had a good airplane discussion. Now if only more VF's carried weapons externally we'd have a lot more to compare. Internally-leg-mounted's all the rage...

Nied--I said most! Not all. I figured a long line of exceptions would get boring. I do think the F-18E's outboard ones are AMRAAM/HARM only AFAIK. The main reason for the new pylon on the wing was to carry an AMRAAM, to free up the outboard pylon. And the A-10's billion low-loading hardpoints have always seemed pointless--you never see them loaded up, they're usually half-empty, and asymmetrically loaded. A-7: the main exception. Carries more than a Hornet. Harrier: which/when? Be specific, there's a lot of variants, with various wings. Outrigger-gear-mounted-sidewinders don't count! (And it's still small, show me a Harrier with a 1,000lb bomb on a 3rd pylon) Planes with a 3rd, outboard pylon, carrying anything more than medium-sized missiles, aren't very common.

I would guess that people who thought VF-1's had 3 hardpoints because of having 3 RMS-1's didn't know much about how missiles are carried, and just assumed 1 missile per pylon. Most planes only have 2 hardpoints (thus pylons) per wing. If it's got 3, the outboard one is almost certainly AIM-9-only. (Or nowadays, AMRAAM). It's the pylons themselves which carry multiple bombs or missiles. I mean, you always see F-15's carrying 4 Sidewinders, but it's 2 per pylon on just 2 pylons. Boy, could I (and would I love to) get into a discussion about pylons, stub-pylons, multi-ejector racks, launch rails, pallet adapters, and the like. :)

Heavy stuff goes inboard, no exceptions. I've always thought one of the "stupidest" things in all of Macross canon is to have the dual RMS-1's outboard. That's just WRONG for any aircraft. I put them inboard without a second thought. I mean, just go have a look at your "standard" F-16 SEAD mission load-out (one of the most common weapon loadings in the USAF in the 90's)---you have the huge heavy fuel tanks occupying the inboard pylon, the big HARM missile in the middle, the medium AMRAAM missile outboard, and the light Sidewinder on the tip. Now, you will also see the AMRAAM and Sidewinder swap places, because it's been found the AMRAAM is picky about it's line of sight, and likes to be outboard. Since there's less than 100lb difference between the two, it makes little difference. But you'll never see a heavy weapon outboard---they just won't take it. Putting a light weapon inboard is pointless, since the inboard ones are the ONLY ones which can take a heavy weapon. Most planes have every pylon rated differently, even if the pylons are physically identical---it's the wing itself which is the issue. And you have to take into account G-loading for the pylons, as well. An F-15 will NOT be pulling 9G's if there's drop tanks on its wings. (One of the prime factors for F-15 FAST pack design was that it must be able to maintain 9G's with them attached--few fuel tanks can take that stress) Here's an F-16 with a SEAD loadout (not typical SEAD, but illustrates my point better): PS-- SEAD: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses. Basically extended patrol/air combat, with anti-SAM added in.

Avoiding self-fragging/friendly fire is definite concern with these. I mean, you don't want to launch a Sidewinder from .3 miles away--the exploding enemy plane probably WILL take you down too. Same with a nuke--bad idea to have a HUGE explosion, when you can just cripple it. I mean, look how BIG the Zentran ships are. In a fight, there could easily be an entire friendly air wing zipping around it---you do not want to zap everything in a 1-mile radius. You just want a nice big "boom" at the bridge, or the engines, etc. As to why it's so big: 'cuz it looks cool on screen, and we want to be able to identify the STRIKE valks easily on a 19inch TV. People expect nukes to be big. Even if they are much smaller than most bombs in real life. (The most common USAF one is the B61 "Silver Bullet"---looks like a fat sparrow if anything, with no forward fins---not some giant of a weapon) But, the B61 can range from 0.3 to 350 kiltons. RMS-1 is likely the same. The actual material takes up very little space in a weapon, you can use the same weapon to delivery many various payloads.

Well, you are getting into tactical vs strategic nukes here. RMS-1's are decidedly tactical, while AGM-86's (so cool on a B-1) could definitely be considered strategic, if a bit small for that role (but then again, they have to be, to be air-launched). The Genie was anti-aircraft. (Bombers, specifically) No need to be any more powerful than it is. Same as a nuclear torpedo (SUBROC/ASROC)---don't need a 10-mile destruction radius for single small targets. Same with the RMS-1. It's not supposed to nuke cities, it's anti-ship.

Yup, same. But more like, saw it once in the theaters, and once on DVD.

Yeah, but it's still inconsistent. You see Raytheon and Hughes used, not Raitheon or Haghes. So why not Bofors? And Northrop-Grumman is used correctly, for both real and fake planes.

I'm fairly certain it should be made by Bofors, not Beforse. Since Bofors is a major missile manufacturer, and they are listed as making weapons for Macross 0.

1500 isn't fine enough. Start going with 2000, 2500 for starters. That'll make it clear, and glossy enough for most thing. For REALLY crystal-clear, you'll want 4000 to 6000 grit. Also, do not "skip" grits. Use every grit possible. If you're using 1500, and have 4000, don't skip using the 2000. Use many "intermediate" grits between your first and final sanding. Finally, for canopies/polishing, I always sand dry. (The only time I wet-sand is for massive heavy mold-seams, like a 3-foot battleship's keel)

There are special "clear parts" glues. Micro-kystal-kleer (sp?) is one. Also look for watchmaker's cement--for gluing quartz crystals. But diluted white glue is a popular option. PS--don't dare use super glue. Worst thing in the world for clear.

Yeah, but I'm waiting for the Energon repaint now. Hoping he'll get clearanced even further. (Nobody's going to pay 50 bucks for a repaint--well, at least, not many people). (And I'm going to watch the Discovery rocket show sometime this week, I swear)

Compendium says F-14A+Kai, not F-14A+. In real life™ the F-14A+ *is* the F-14B. It is simply a name change. But adding Kai makes it a custom M0 variant of your standard A+. So "A+ Kai" could be an A+, but further upgraded with a D's flush-mounted ECM and dual chin-pod, which would give you what Shin flies. Compendium does list a little of the F-14A/D real-life history, but not nearly comprehensive enough. Especially annoyed with stats---You can't just list "A/D" for every stat, they're all different. Especially weights and range!

Ahh, Heater-Ferris camo. The coolest series of camos ever designed. Though normally they're 3-tone or even 4-tone, not just 2. ::edit:: Is it 3 colors? Or does the light make the wing and nose look different colors?

More of the "ring" (sorry, don't know the name): left engine, left side, below (and part of the left ventral fin):

Same aircraft, same engine, but the left side (and from slightly below--I ruined a pair of pants getting some of these shots): (the "smooth black" areas match up--you'll note that the "segmented ring" forward of the black section is pretty much only visible on the underside---you can't see it on the upper side, even though most kits engrave it a full 360--A's do, B/D's don't)

Italeri--nice kits, totally wrong. I've got their 1/48 "F-14A+". Umm, no. More like, 1970 as-built F-14A... (I just chopped off the ECM bumps, and ended up with that---that's how wrong it is for an A+/B--even has PW engines) Anyways---here's an F-14B's #2 engine, right side.

::tries to think of what to add:: I mean, Nied's right. But I'll just summarize for people: You can make any Tomcat from an F-14A. You can also build them new. Most B's are actually converted A's, but most D's were built as such. But there were B's built as B's, and D's made from A's. (No B to D converserions AFAIK). And Shin's isn't like any of them. F-14B and D are VERY similar structurally. Externally, 99% the same. B and D differences include the dual chin-pod on the D, and the lack of ECM bumps under the wing glove. Most of the differences are the electronics, which of course are mainly in the cockpit. And the D has the new style of ejection seat. NONE of Monogram's kits are 100% a D (nor B) no matter what parts you use, AFAIK. (They release new versions all the time, giving more little details--but still using A-style nibs) Rear fuselage nib fairings are wrong. They are wrong in 99.9% of all F-14B/D kits, even some of Hasegawa's. Yes, they're fairly minor, but since it IS one of the main differences visible between the planes, it's important. Especially since they're part of the engine installation, which is the single most important difference. Re-doing the nibs requires re-molding the fuselage, which is why very few kits are correct--they just want to take an F-14A kit and include a new cockpit and new engines. Well, that's close, but wrong. You need a new, F-14B/D-specific fuselage to do it. (Remolding the A would mean no more A kits, so they won't do that). I can supply any closeups you might want of any F-14B or D features, for I found several of them sitting around at an airshow this summer, and I took plenty of pics.

Because they just do, that's why. It's the government, don't expect any sense at all. Fits in nicely with X being eXperimental, but prefixes and main designators are separate (you could have a YX-19 if you really wanted to)

Wow, that's the most F-14-ish looking VF-1 ever. Neat color, though I could do without the light-colored "legs".

Yeah, we all wanted a shoot-out! "Take that you little gift-giving b*st*rds!"

I've always wanted a 1/400 valk to go with my airliners.

Just a quick note, you'll find F-16D's in combat quite often with a single pilot. It seems -16D's are somewhat more of a pure trainer than an -18D, and if you're using it for combat (as opposed for training) they usually don't have a 2nd guy.

Saw them, very nice. But I wish #2 was *red* and not pink. She almost never wears that outfit in pink, it's only when people play with the brightness turned up too high or something. But she always looks *awesome* in red. (At best, she wears deep magenta/pink, but pale pink is almost non-existant)