F-ZeroOne

I'd agree that there is a Western perception that anime is a 24-7 thing in Japan; however, I'm not so sure that labelling it as being totally "looked down upon" applies to every anime. For example, Doraemon, and Hayao Miyazaki movies are massive events. These, of course, are probably the exceptions that prove the rule, though...

I think if you go to the source you'll find the Eagles were mission-loaded F-15E's. I.e., not a remarkable result. Had it been F-15C's things might well have been very different. A little checking does seem to back-up that they were -15Es. The article I saw about this did say the details have become a little exaggerated. Still, you could at least let us "line-shoot" a bit - we need the good news! Mind you, even if they were -15Cs the result may have been the same - a couple of Jaguars - yes, Jaguars! - supposedly "shot" down a couple of F-15s once...

The story doing the rounds is that a couple of F-15s jumped a couple of Typhoons on an exercise. One fast counter move later, and the F-15s suddenly found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being chased all round the sky on full 'burner by two very annoyed RAF pilots... Sigh. Still, it was ever thus for the British armed forces. I think theres a rule somewhere that we can't actually go into combat without all sorts of equipment hassles and shortages because otherwise it just wouldn't be, well, cricket...

1 x 1/60 Yamato VF-1A 1 x 1/48 Yamato VF-1S 1 x 1/55 Takatoku VF-1J Milia type 1 x 1/55 Bandai re-issue VF-1J Max type 1 x 1/72 Bandai HCM VF-1J Hikaru. This was a fun purchase. You have to imagine that its Tokyo, tipping it down, and in a small vintage toy shop the staff are not expecting much in the way of sales that afternoon. Then out of the rain, in walks some gaijin, partly soaked, and manages to communicate a desire to buy a not inexpensive vintage Valkyrie toy. I'm convinced they must have woken up the next morning and thought they imagined it all...

"Wild Weasel" is a term applied to aircraft used in the defence surpression role (i.e. attacking AA sites). These are typically modified examples of existing aircraft. Not sure about the F-106, but the F-105 was used for this role, as was the F-4 Phantom II, and I believe a variant of the F-16 now serves the same purpose. I'm also not sure if its a coincidence or tradition but both the F-105 and F-4 Wild Weasels were "G" models, and were modified for the role.

Indeed they did - the "P" in "P-38", "P-39", "P-40" etc, stands for "Pursuit" - i.e., Fighter. As far as I can tell, though, the US Navy always used "F". As far as I can tell from memory, we Brits have never had a unified number-scheme for aircraft, preferring a definite "name" followed by a Mark. No. To take the example I'm most fond of, a certain elliptical-winged fighter from W.W.II started as the manufacturers number Model 300, somehow escaped being named "Shrew" by its otherwise brilliant designer, had various Marks from I through XIX (and later; these dropped the Roman numerals and were known as 22s, 24s, tec), and became known to history as the Spitfire. [1] [1] "Just the sort of bloody silly name they would give it." - Reginald J. Mitchell...

You just had to go and say that, didn't you? Sorry... One can only hope that the new ownership will improve their UK advertising. I've seen their two most recent adverts, and they're shocking - the AD Police one was so effective in getting my attention that I didn't notice it for two days - and the only thing on the opposite page was an article on the Garfield movie! Manga sometimes seems to be the only UK anime company that hasn't woken up and smelt the burning of the old ways yet...!

Whisper it quietly... will they aim for the top...?

I've said it once and I'll say it again: Evangelion is a mecha show, people!!! "Ascending to a higher existence" has been a big part of SF for years; for examples, theres Greg Bears "Blood Music", Arthur C. Clarkes "Childhoods End", Alfred Besters "Tiger, Tiger!" (aka "The Stars My Destination")... what does seem odd about it is that it seems to be an attempt to rationalize a series that seems to want to be mystical and mysterious with a SF explanation...!

Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker Hunters, Hawker-Siddeley Harriers, Blackburn Buccaneers, English Electric Lightnings and Canberras, BAC TSR-2... ...it seems its only when other countries get involved we have problems...

Better start refurbishing Fairey Swordfish again...

I've got the recent Godzilla X MechaGodzilla movie; its surprisingly good. Computer efefcts are used in perhaps the best way possible - to enhance the traditional methods also employed. Granted, its still men in suits stomping on a model Tokyo, but its impressive men in suits... The story is, needless to say, a bit of an afterthought, but somehow I don't think too many people watch Godzilla films because they're expecting War & Peace! I'm really looking forward to the DVD release of Godzilla X MechaGodzilla X Mothra and this new movie - if only someone like ADV would pick up the Western rights so we could have a proper subtitled version for once... ...and I very much doubt we've seen the last of the Big G, though the comment about it being the last "men in suits" movie suggests they may be looking at going all-CGI in future, which would be a shame to my mind...

Graham, I've just remembered - the EE Lightning used overwing drop tanks. Great aircraft, extremely fast, but also very, very, very thristy...

Oh and the 12 gun Hurricane Mk 2b. Pity they're 30 cal though... But yah, the FW-190 had an option of carrying 2 double 20 mm pods (4 20 mm pods). Some of those planes can shred things to pieces. Can't believe I forgot this one: Bristol Beaufighter. 4 20mm cannon, 6 .303 machine guns, and even one pointing out the back. As someone once said, absolutely the last aeroplane on Earth you'd want to see lining up a strafing run on you...

Best. Anime. Opening. Sequence. EVER! "Konya wa hurricane... "

Something I'd like to ask: What recording process, exactly, do you use when English actors go to Hollywood and then get cast in big budget productions? No offence, but whatever it is, it doesn't work properly... An interesting take on the problem is a recent review I read on Anime Jump, where the reviewer actually preferred a Spanish anime dub track...

One guess would be is that, for very obvious reasons, the Japanese regard nuclear weapons as the Ultimate Evil, and anyone associated with them is going to get what they deserve - in a lot of anime, users of such weapons often have unpleasant fates.

Number of my favourites already mentioned, but here are some others: 1) X-Bomber/Star Fleet: most of the space battles in this are pretty cool, but theres one where the heroes are having to fend off an attack by enemy fighters while protecting the female lead who is flying a kind of space scooter. Remarkably well done considering the shows chosen format. 2) Gunbuster when Gunbuster fights the alien fleet (not the final episode). Different yet a wonderful homage to old mecha shows. 3) The Death Star run. I've seen it dozens of times - we all have - but it still works. 4) Project A-Ko = humans vs alien dreadnaught. An amazing scene for a parody; according to the director, animated by someone with an axe to grind on DYRL! 5) Any of the battles in Peter F. Hamilitons Nights Dawn trilogy; enlivened by dialogue like "We'll have to jettison that hull plate, its got a half-life longer than some geological eras now!" and proper British swearing... 6) Any battle in 8-bit classic Elite. No-one - no-one - has ever been able to better it.

Jog my memory please, sounds familiar "Visionaries, Knights of the Magical Light!" Ahem. My favourite toyline? Takaras X-Bomber line. They only made something like five toys, but I would have given my soul as a kid to have owned any one of them... ...now I own two, and still have my soul...

I always feel guilty about not liking spiders because they do a lot of unsung good work in the ecological community. Snakes I can respect, even if I don't really want one sliding across the room, but spiders... One of the sites I looked at about brown recluse spiders mentions that is you get bitten by one, you should try and collect the spider. Oh, sure. Tell you what, you do that, I'll be outside with the flamethrower... Still, even spiders aren't the scariest things on Earth. I read in New Scientist the other day that they've just discovered a type of jelly-fish-like creature off Australia [1] that may just be the most human-lethal thing on the planet... (and no, its not the box jellyfish - its more dangerous than even that!) [1] What is it with that place and dangerous animals, anyway?

Closer examination - plus a more careful readthrough of the text that follows the picture - states that the image does indeed show two spiders/wind scorpions/unleashed beasties from Hell. Must make for some interesting radio chatter, though? "HQ, this is Charlie-Alpha-Whiskey Nine - request fire support, ASAP!" "Charlie-Alpha-Whiskey-Nine, this is HQ. Have you encountered strong enemy resistance?" "No, man - we're up against the giant killer desert spiders from Hell! Send in the A-10s, all of them!"

Possibly the wrong thing to ask given all the aviation nuts around here... Off the top of my head: P-51D Mustang, F-86 Sabre: six .50 calibre machine guns. P-47 Thunderbolt: eight .50 calibre machine guns. Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I, II, Hawker Hurricane Mk. I: eight .303 calibre machine guns. North American B-25 Mitchell, depending on configuration: up to eight .50 calibre machine guns, plus occasionally more in side pods and two more if turret locked to fire forward. One can also argue that multi-barrel guns like the M-61 Vulcan could be classed as multiple guns. It is unusual for an aircraft to have more than one gun larger than 20 or 30 mm calibre though - though the Macross Compendium only lists them as "large bore cannon"...

IIRC, "X-Com" was changed from "UFO: Enemy Unknown" due to copyright reasons - whether Gerry Andersons UFO was responsible I don't know, but it was definitely an inspiration, as were other Anderson productions - the Stingray missile in the first game was named for one of Andersons early shows, and UFO the TV series also had Interceptors... The best part of X-Com for me was the damagable scenery. I used to keep using the autocannon long after it was obselete - why? Incendiary rounds. I loved setting fire to barns and wheatfields and setting up ambushes so when the little aliens ran out of the flames on fire I could pick them off... By the way, X-Com was the ultimate evolution in a series of similar games by the same creative minds. Those of you interested in emulation may want to check out Laser Squad and Rebelstar - Laser Squad in particular has many elements that later went into X-Com, including grenades, collateral damage, and opportunity fire - but in only 48K!

Thanks for the comments, though I am aware of the issues - I just couldn't resist...! The Il-2 is something of an exception to a rule; if the web-link I posted is correct, then about a fifth of the airplanes empty weight was armour (another source I have puts it at about 10% of the structure), and there are a number of accounts of German pilots expending all their ammuntion and not being able to bring one down. On the other hand, Il-2s suffered a good deal of rear-gunner casualties as that posistion was added later and not nearly so well protected - in fact, I believe the joke went that the gunner was the pilot armour...!

Its very hard to show what desert pink looks like, as most people who see it only see a blur streaking past at zero feet, in front of the smoke column that used to be whatever they were defending... Nice colours, though!