Retracting Head Ter Ter

Btw, what's the name of their aerobatic team?

Pretty boring name IMHO. Its called the 'Ba Yi' (August the 1st) Aerobatics Team.

Hey, we get to have a say in how to run the PLAAF (OK ok, just their J-10 demonstration team).

http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/nz/j10tuzhuang/index.shtml

None of em look particularly appealing, although the 2nd one has a Macross Plus tinge to it and the 3rd and 4th remind of some Yamato Macross nth Anniversary 1/48 repaint.

I feel the only way a Regult Yamato toy would ever sale massive qauntities, is if the original series was remade giving the Regult fresh coverage to younger generations.

With that said, I would pay $100 for Regult toy from Yamato, even without the figure. VF-1's need them.

They should just make a Glaug. At least that will sell to the Classic Battletech fans as well.

I think he was actually a trap as he was the humans only way home, which is why they rigged his ship to explode. Really there was no reason to keep him alive other than to use him as bait.

I don't think the ship was originally rigged to explode, rather, any of the preds with their wrist-comm could order it to self-destruct or program the destination.

Frankly, as someone with some little military experience, I cringed at how these 'Special Ops/Heavy Hitters' did some stuff in the movie. Bunching up together when contact was expected, shooting from the hip (I mean, besides the chick sniper and yakuza with the peashooter, notice how none of them AIMED with their weapon sights during the 'dog' attack? The SMG's, AA12, AK etc were all below chest level), walking out in the open (the rock pool part esp.) etc etc. OK ok its a movie...

BTW, did the Gatling (I cant see, was it a GSh or an XM/M?) and the AA12 do any damage at all in the entire show? I know the pistol rounds were bouncing off the Pred's shield/armour and the Sniper Rifle (what model was it anyway?) could hurt them. I suppose the Pred's shield/armour can resist up to about assault rifle rounds then?

Sorry for the nooby question.

So are ALL the TV style Hikaru VF-1Js with FAST pack the _fixed_ versions?

The HLJ price is tempting. I am just scared (it says 2008 release) that its the earlier buggy version.

Thanks!

I don't give 2 rubbles about the PAK-FA's performance characteristics and whether it's superior to the Raptor, flying saucer, or the VF-171... the only thing that matters is when are we going to see a 1:72 model of this ?

Meh... I am lazy to build and paint. I'd take a 1:72 Dragon Wings/Corgi/whatzitname diecast please.

BTW, is this the Italeri kit?

Love it! There is not enough YF/F-23 love in toys and models.

Hey guys, I am in Tokyo for one whole month!

Staying at Roppongi Hills!

Any fellow Macross-geeks around?

When is this coming out? I want!

Brotherhood of the Wolf - A bit unusual for a Kung-Fu movie but it makes my top 'Fighting Movies' list.

I just watched 'Story of Ricky' on Youtube!

What a blast!

Nice article on what it's like to fly the Blackbird. A lot of it is stories that have been told before but it's still a decent read.

Hmmm, "The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2 limit.". Thats 2250mph. Isn't that about Mach 3.2?

Sounds interesting.

Even if they quoted it at half the price (with all else the same), I'll think a snowball has a better chance in hell.

Thanks for the pics Joseph. I originally thought you meant that the nozzles were tested on a T-50 but I never saw those Su-27 pics either.

As Phyrox said, I can't imagine why they would have weight issues with such a tiny and space efficient and smart looking and well balanced set-up!

The russian testing of rectangle engine result in less IR firm but more weight and less maniobrability.

The F-35 also has circular engine.

They did? Pics? Lineart? Link? Please?

Could that be one of the contributing factors to why the F-35 doesn't get much love?

Anyone else here think the T-50 would look sooo much better if only it had F-22 or YF-23 style exhausts? Those round nozzles just stick out sorely and don't gel well with the design.

So they actually want to replace the A-10 with the F-35 in the 2020s? Can't picture the Lightning going low and slow to support troops on the ground. Atleast not in situations where it has to linger over a potentially hot AA area.

I guess thats what the UCAVs are for.

I do.

I'd second that.

I think today's USAF would overwhelm the PLAAF even harder than the 8th and 9th kicked the GAF in the final few months. (ok actually this is a lousy analogy because they still had the occasional 262 who could circle out of harms way and a few Krupinski/Hartmann's in 109s). But basically, the USAF is way capable of the PLAAF's arse in the forseeable future.

And its not just in the fighter hardware. All the supporting hardware and doctrine is still miles and miles ahead.

It wasn't until 1943 that a crash program involving direct flyoffs against a captured Zero resulted in the F-6F Hellcat, which outmatched the Zero in all factors and at last turned the tide in our favor.

Similarly, the Soviets, with the help of the British labor government that sold them the rights to the Rolls-Royce Nene engine

Not sure if I should smack my head or laugh at this guy!

It looks like it never even touched the deck so the hook never slipped off so much as it never caught in the first place. I imagine if it had caught you be looking at a bunch of blown tires, likely a collapsed landing gear and maybe even enough structural damage to the plane to make it a write off.

How about the pilot's spine?

Thanks for the links. Just waiting to get some extra cash first. Have to feed my Macross and Mospeada addiction first.

That price is a bit silly. I can get you one for half that asking price.

Heh, I so want a Koto Iron Kong too.

My first Zoid was the EZ-015 Iron Kong and after completing it, I really wanted articulation so that I could pose it. The design of the IK is one of the all time mecha greats IMHO.

But I will wait for the IK Mk2 or PK. Never liked the 6 shot missile launcher. Energy weapons damnagit!!!

The rarest YF-23/F-23 pictures are those showing its cockpit display layout.

This Tony Chung guy seems to have a few. How'd he manage to get into the cockpit of PAV 1?

And that right there is one of the big reasons the F-23 lost to the F-22: What happens when the bottom AMRAAM in the stack fails to fire? Answer: You lost half your missiles kid, but hey your plane is real pretty! Don't even get me started on those "geometrically possible" loadouts, apparently we're supposed to believe bombs will just drop through the AMRAAMs as though they turned on a no-clipping cheat (though I guess that answers what happens if you get a hung missile, the pilot just punches idspispopd into the weapons MFD).

But it looks SO PRETTY!!!!

There's also the fact that the sheer size of the A380 means you were probably a lot further away from the engines then you are used to, that can make a big difference. One of the quietest flights I was ever on was when I was able to snag a last minute upgrade to business class on a 717. I ended up in the very front row, the only way I could have been further from the engines would be to sit in the cockpit. It was near dead silent.

I considered that but for the A380 flight, I was in an Economy seat right next to the wing. For the other B777 flights I normally take, I was in Business. I suppose, even in Economy, the A380 is so big that I am further away from the jets even compared to a cockpit in a B777.

I would also suppose the fuselage/cabin walls on the big bird are thicker too...