Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) So I've been working on a small project in my spare time for the last two months and finally decided there was just enough material ready to share with everyone else. The project is a website about the mecha of Macross and the name is the Macross Mecha Manual. I posted some small samples here on MW some time ago of what was initially just to be submissions to the Macross section of the MAHQ. But once I started working on the profiles, I kinda thought that I might as well just do my own website. Fellow MW member briscojr84 has been kind enough to host my site on his existing website and is currently operating it for me (many thanks!). Currently, only two sections of my new website feature profiles: the SDF Macross section and the Macross DYRL? section. There is only a small amount of mecha available right now, but eventually I want to have all the mecha from SDFM, DYRL?, Mac+, and Mac Zero done in the same M3-styled profile. Here's a link to the intro and main menu page: Macross Mecha Manual Good ahead and take a look at the site and feel free to provide any comments you may have. There's not much, but I'm sure it will be worth your time to see what is available so far. Thanks for visiting! *EDIT* Website address has changed as of February 2008 Edited February 14, 2008 by Mr March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurin Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Okey doke. . . since it gets so little traffic, we won't immediately move this to the "homesites" category here. But, don't be surprised when it eventually finds its way there! Congrats on the new site! Those color schemes are perfect. They just ooze "original Macross!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 My thanks Hurin. I didn't want people to miss out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Very nice. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurin Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Again, I love the lineart, and you've colored them perfectly. But here's a quick (constructive, I hope!) note: It would seem to make more sense (at least to me) to have the "brown/cannon fodder" Super VF-1A as the main Super VF-1A entry and then move the Hikaru-colored Super VF-1A into a "Hikaru" category alongside the Max and Kakizaki entry. Hikaru's VF-1A as the main Super VF-1A entry doesn't jive as well with the VF-1A (non-super) entry for the TV series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 I had considered that and it's a good idea. My concern was that unlike the standard VF-1A Cannon Fodder seen in the TV show, the "Super" VF-1A Cannon Fodder is barely seen at all in the DYRL? film. I think most fans think Hikaru's red when they think of the VF-1A Super. But I think I will take your advice and switch them. You're right that it does make nice symmetry with the standard VF-1A entry. Thanks Hurin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azrael Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I'm seeing "?" in weird spots... http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/SDF%20Macros...1d-valkyrie.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/SDF%20Macros...1j-valkyrie.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/SDF%20Macros...1s-fastpack.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/Macross%20DY...er-valkyrie.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/Macross%20DY...t-1-ostrich.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/Macross%20DY...1a-fastpack.htm http://www.un-spacy-qmtdb.com/Macross%20DY...f-1s-strike.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 Yes, for some reason quotation marks, apostrophes, and the odd unique character are not formatting properly when the pages are uploaded. It's being worked on. Glad you liked the site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiriyu Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I'm seeing the same as azrael notes above ^^ Not a big deal though. One thing I'm curious about: the VF-1J "Armored Valkyrie" entry has the same descriptive text in both the TV and DYRL sections... though in DYRL, Hikaru was piloting his 1A while the GBP is on screen. Should there be a more general text accompanying the DYRL entry? Aside from those minor quibbles, absolutely excellent work! I can see that I'm likely going to be spending way too much time there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 I'm seeing the same as azrael notes above ^^ Not a big deal though. One thing I'm curious about: the VF-1J "Armored Valkyrie" entry has the same descriptive text in both the TV and DYRL sections... though in DYRL, Hikaru was piloting his 1A while the GBP is on screen. Should there be a more general text accompanying the DYRL entry? Aside from those minor quibbles, absolutely excellent work! I can see that I'm likely going to be spending way too much time there I suppose you have a point. For now, any of the standard mecha like the Reguld or GBP that appeared in DYRL was just a copy of the SDF Macross profile. I suppose it might be prudent just to display the alternate color scheme, but perhaps truncate the entry by just featuring a link to the main GBP-1S entry in the SDF Macross section. That would work better for both the GBP and the Reguld. Thanks for visiting and providing feedback. It's good that everyone is so interested. I'm reaching the target audience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scream Man Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Im sure ive stumbled across the site before..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowlightman Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Awesome site, horrible domain name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegunny Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Very nice. Thanks for the effort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briscojr84 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Awesome site, horrible domain name. The domain name is for the UN Spacy Quartermaster's Tactical Database, I didn't think anybody would want to type the entire name out so I had it abbreviated to QMTDB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) Im sure ive stumbled across the site before..... The format of the Macross Mecha Manual is an amalgamation of Burke Rukes old "Mecha Domain" website that went down some years back and the format briscojr84 has used for his "QuaterMasters Tactical Database." website. So it may seem a little familiar to some visitors, but the work is all new. Thanks for visiting! Edited January 9, 2007 by Mr March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 Awesome site, horrible domain name. As briscojr84 has pointed out, his domain name has existed for a while, so my website is being hosted on his domain. Eventually, the plan is to use proper domain and subdomain names, but for right now, this should work. I'm glad you liked the site. Make sure to visit again. Very nice. Thanks for the effort All this positive feedback is great. It's good to see so many MW fans enjoying the site. It's basically made for all of you. The effort was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante74 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Great site and equally great coloring work in the line art! I found a 'blank page' under the Quiltra-Quelamitz Class Medium-Scale Gunboat link of the SDFM section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 Great site and equally great coloring work in the line art! I found a 'blank page' under the Quiltra-Quelamitz Class Medium-Scale Gunboat link of the SDFM section. Hmmm, that's no good. There's a complete profile for that ship. I'll see if I can fix it. I'm glad you're enjoying the coloring. It was quite a bit of work, but the results are worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 You're off to a terrific start! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_foul_fowl Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Great work! I like the layout, and nice work with the art too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 On the armor... It might make more sense to have the GBP and FAST packs broken off as seperate entries, since they can technically go on any of the VF-1s(maybe not GBP + 1D, but otherwise...). If you want to keep it to animated occurences... you're missing the Super 1J in SDF. Max and Millia flew them at several points. I like the site, though. I'd never noticed the "wedding bands" on the M&M 1J legs before you called it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister_e Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 If the red stripes on Max's valk leg indicates link with Miria, what does the red stripe on Hikaru's valk mean? Hmmm? Was Hikaru hittin' that behind Max's back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpacyAce2012 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Very nice work on the site. I'm eager to see the Macross Mecha Manual continue to grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) Keep the praise coming penguin and fowl. I can always hear more On the armor... It might make more sense to have the GBP and FAST packs broken off as seperate entries, since they can technically go on any of the VF-1s(maybe not GBP + 1D, but otherwise...). If you want to keep it to animated occurences... you're missing the Super 1J in SDF. Max and Millia flew them at several points. I like the site, though. I'd never noticed the "wedding bands" on the M&M 1J legs before you called it out. If you're talking about a Super "D" or an Armored "S", yes those configurations can exist. However, I don't beleive it's implied anywhere on the M3 that only the "S" can be fitted with FAST Packs or only the "J" can be armored. In fact, each VF-1 Valkyrie profile states specifically in the Design Features section that they can be fitted with both a GBP-1S system or FAST Packs. If you're talking about making seperate profiles using different valkyries, that's possible but prohibitive. I'd like to limit most of the work on the M3 to just coloring line art, since there's so many mecha yet to do. For the most part, I do very little modification to the drawing when possible. Creating an Armored VF-1D would require drawing a new head, which is quite a lot of work and IMO, not really worth it. Speaking of what's been animated, I'm also limited by what source material I can obtain. In order to get the quality you see on the M3 site, I need high resolution scans of line art (at least 600 dpi or higher) in a lossless format like .tiff or .png files. And some of the books feature pictures that are just too small to utilize or they lack any altogether. Yes, the Max and Milia Super Valkyries do appear in Episode 27, but I lack line art in the formats described above for either. So sadly, they will not appear. I don't want to turn away any ideas, but for the immediate future, I'm considering the VF-1 complete. So much work had to go into just that single mecha, it took up time that could have been used building the other mecha profiles yet to be done. The next updates will concentrate on building those other mecha profiles and the successive valkyries waiting for time in the spotlight. I'm sure you'll agree most fans of the new site are no doubt eager to see the VF-4, the VF-11 and the YF-19/21 in such large, colored pictures Thanks for the suggestions and keep reading. I'm glad you found the trivia for the Max/Milia profiles insightful. Please feel free to submit any trivia that you think might make a good addition to a profile. It's open to change. Edited January 10, 2007 by Mr March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) If the red stripes on Max's valk leg indicates link with Miria, what does the red stripe on Hikaru's valk mean? Hmmm? Was Hikaru hittin' that behind Max's back? Actually, the red on Hikaru's VF-1J was originally a link to Kamjin and his red-highlighted Glaug, but the producers soon realized that an alien same-sex love triangle between Hikaru, Kamjin and Exedol was something most fans in 1982 weren't ready for...even anime fans. "Not that there's anything wrong with that" Edited January 10, 2007 by Mr March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Keep the praise coming penguin and fowl. I can always hear more If you're talking about a Super "D" or an Armored "S", yes those configurations can exist. However, I don't beleive it's implied anywhere on the M3 that only the "S" can be fitted with FAST Packs or only the "J" can be armored. In fact, each VF-1 Valkyrie profile states specifically in the Design Features section that they can be fitted with both a GBP-1S system or FAST Packs. The only one I wasn't sure about was the Armored D, due to the unique cockpit. Could interfere with the GBP if it protrudes too far into the chest. I thought the fact that "super" was a sub-entry under the VF-1S and "armored" was a subentry under 1J implied they only came in those flavors. If you're talking about making seperate profiles using different valkyries, that's possible but prohibitive. I'd like to limit most of the work on the M3 to just coloring line art, since there's so many mecha yet to do. For the most part, I do very little modification to the drawing when possible. Creating an Armored VF-1D would require drawing a new head, which is quite a lot of work and IMO, not really worth it. I was actually just thinking the addition of other animated variants, mainly. I only initially noticed it because I REALLY like the 1J, and Super 1J isn't there. From there it was just thoughts pinballing off each other. Speaking of what's been animated, I'm also limited by what source material I can obtain. In order to get the quality you see on the M3 site, I need high resolution scans of line art (at least 600 dpi or higher) in a lossless format like .tiff or .png files. And some of the books feature pictures that are just too small to utilize or they lack any altogether. Yes, the Max and Milia Super Valkyries do appear in Episode 27, but I lack line art in the formats described above for either. So sadly, they will not appear. That makes sense. Disappointing, but logical. I don't want to turn away any ideas, but for the immediate future, I'm considering the VF-1 complete. So much work had to go into just that single mecha, it took up time that could have been used building the other mecha profiles yet to be done. The next updates will concentrate on building those other mecha profiles and the successive valkyries waiting for time in the spotlight. I'm sure you'll agree most fans of the new site are no doubt eager to see the VF-4, the VF-11 and the YF-19/21 in such large, colored pictures Also logical. Especially given the variety present in the VF-1. It's quite a nice effort. I'm looking forward to the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myk Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 That's great work! I hope you're proud of it, as I just spent a coupla' hours checking that out. I can't wait until your site gets the rest of the Macross chapters filled in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 I thought the fact that "super" was a sub-entry under the VF-1S and "armored" was a subentry under 1J implied they only came in those flavors. I was actually just thinking the addition of other animated variants, mainly. I only initially noticed it because I REALLY like the 1J, and Super 1J isn't there. If you think about it a bit, including a letter for the valkyrie-in-picture is a necessary detail. Consider the alternative: the profiles are labelled VF-1 "Armored" or VF-1 "Super", only to show pictures of a VF-1J and a VF-1S respectively. Then some other visitor sends me a message saying "You know, you should really label your VF-1 Armored entry with a J designation, since that is what you have pictured." So it's really splitting hairs If someone else with a high resolution scanner capable of 600 dpi has access to VF-1J Super line art in Battroid, GERWALK, and Fighter modes, I'd gladly receive a .tiff file from them to use for an update to the M3 at a later time. So far, there's just the resources of two people to choose from, myself and briscojr84. But nothing is stopping others with the resources from offering hi-res .tiff files of art we may not have. Like most Macross fans, we don't have it all, we just make due with what we got. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even sure if VF-1J Super battroid and fighter line art exist. I've got the GERWALK from the Macross Perfect Memory book, but it's terribly small in everything I own from MPM, to the Gold Book, to Kawamori Design Works, I've never seen a Super J battroid or fighter. But who knows what the future may hold. Macross reference in the english-speaking fandom is rare, so they may well exist in some obscure book that someone here has Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 That's great work! I hope you're proud of it, as I just spent a coupla' hours checking that out. I can't wait until your site gets the rest of the Macross chapters filled in... I must say it's the excited, positive response I am proud of the most. I do have pride in the work and I really enjoy a completed profile as much as the next fan, but reading the enthusiastic appreciation of the fans is really making this so worth while. I'm looking forward to future updates and working on mecha..any mecha...other than the VF-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myk Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Maybe someone next door over at the 'Nexus has those things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr March Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 Oh help can come from anywhere. The M3 is an equal opportunity charity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 If you think about it a bit, including a letter for the valkyrie-in-picture is a necessary detail. Consider the alternative: the profiles are labelled VF-1 "Armored" or VF-1 "Super", only to show pictures of a VF-1J and a VF-1S respectively. Then some other visitor sends me a message saying "You know, you should really label your VF-1 Armored entry with a J designation, since that is what you have pictured." So it's really splitting hairs Heh. Good point. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even sure if VF-1J Super battroid and fighter line art exist. I've got the GERWALK from the Macross Perfect Memory book, but it's terribly small in everything I own from MPM, to the Gold Book, to Kawamori Design Works, I've never seen a Super J battroid or fighter. But who knows what the future may hold. Macross reference in the english-speaking fandom is rare, so they may well exist in some obscure book that someone here has :'( Kawamori doesn't love the 1J. I'd be tempted to kludge some up if I had any sort of image editing talent. But I don't, so I won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oihan Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) As others have said, nice work! I'm liking the site...and ironically enough...reading all the profiles and such for the mecha has me wanting to watch some Macross right now. I'll have to wait till next week unfortunately to do some watching. I dunno if you want to explain what GERWALK and FAST stand for in your profiles or not.... I guess that'd depend on your targeted audience. Other than that, awesome work. I'm looking forward to seeing more (even some Macross II!!! ). Edited January 10, 2007 by Oihan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Yes! I love it... more Macross sites for me to peruse! You should PM Egan to look it over. I'm sure he'll geek out over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensei Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) Awesome site, comprehensive that others, and also very well structured. Easy to Navigate, top marks. If there is something that I would have liked, it is more spacing in the general and technical data section. Edited January 10, 2007 by kensei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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