Hi PJ:
Ouch! My sides are aching from laughing so much over your post. My publicist must be doing his job if that's the perception people have of me. "Cool as ice" has never been a phrase that has been attached to me at any point during my modeling career. Trust me, I'm a train wreck that just happens to keep wrecking in a productive direction. None of this stuff is easy or even planned; it just sort of happens. I'm stubborn to be sure.
I've been meaning to post a note about your Pit Bull. That's a great look. It has the appearance of compact power and I predict that it will start a new design trend. In fact, I've already started sketching a similar ship with my own touches. I will, of course, take full credit for it as an original "look."
If we only had time to build all the cool stuff we dream up...
One thing I just have to build (probably next) is a Mig 3 that I designed in the early 1990's. It has a wicked look (sort of like the Pit Bull), but it really needs to be built with retracts to achieve the proper effect. The nose shape also cries out for an electric motor so that a big old cylinder head doesn't stick down and ruin the subtle and sleek contours there. With the advent of the E-Flite retracts and Will's new retract timer system that includes a retract sequencing function, this is a cinch. This will be, of course, a "What it should have looked like" semi-scale model, not an AL Rabe "Make it look as real as possible" approach. Of course the retracts also make possible a very slick looking F-105 Thunderchief with drop tanks... Not enough hours left before the finish line...
Every morning I get up and pinch myself just to be sure I'm really awake and that electric power for stunt was not just a dream. This is by far the most exciting development I've ever seen in the hobby. The possibilities are virtually endless. The challenge will be to be first in trying out each new configuration.
Later - Bob Hunt