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Macross Master File


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So there is no "official" designation for this specific gunpod?  Does the VF-11C's gunpod, which looks different, also not have an official designation?  Kawamori just plain forgot?  Or does someone else come up with these gunpod names?

A lot of the minor VF designs get the short shrift like that.  The VF-11, Fz-109, Az-130, VA-3, VF-5000, etc. all just have "gunpod", sometimes garnished with a caliber, number of barrels, or both.  They're background designs or have such minor appearances that they didn't get detailed coverage.

IIRC, the VF-11C's gunpod from Macross 7 is supposed to be a later variant of the same gunpod the VF-11B had in Macross Plus that was reworked for reduced cost (and to make it a bit easier to animate).

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Hlj shows it as Backordered. Has this been released?

HLJ's entire first shipment went to fill existing preorders... it literally jumped right from Waiting for Stock to Backordered.

CDJapan seems to have either ordered more copies than HLJ or had fewer preorders (they were one of the last to post a preorder) so they're showing as still having seven copies in stock.

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So there is no "official" designation for this specific gunpod?  Does the VF-11C's gunpod, which looks different, also not have an official designation?  Kawamori just plain forgot?  Or does someone else come up with these gunpod names?

With the earlier series, in general other staff handled the nuts and bolts duties like designing the cockpits and other minor stuff (e.g. Valkyrie hands for DYRL).

When it comes to naming: Kawamori-san is again in charge of the large stuff (Valkyrie numbers and names).  However, this time, the technical specs and names are usually created long after the series has finished.  In the past, this was mostly done by Dr. Chiba (the real person that the M7 character is based off of).

Being a sub-mecha, they (publishers, Dr. Chiba, whomever) never got around to fleshing out the VF-11.  As technical Macross publications have been thin for the past decade or so, it's not surprising that Dr. Chiba hasn't been contracted by a publisher to flesh out much after Macross Zero.

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“Being a sub-mecha, they (publishers, Dr. Chiba, whomever) never got around to fleshing out the VF-11.  As technical Macross publications have been thin for the past decade or so, it's not surprising that Dr. Chiba hasn't been contracted by a publisher to flesh out much after Macross Zero.”

(sorry the quote function isn’t working on my mobile ..)

Im surprised to hear this.  I’m even surprised this is considered a “sub mecha”. No it’s not a hero Valkyrie, but it is (like the VF-1) the back bone of the Earth forces for some time and had a good service life.  AND, the VF-11 is a much loved design in and outside of Japan, I think. 

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Im surprised to hear this.  I’m even surprised this is considered a “sub mecha”. No it’s not a hero Valkyrie, but it is (like the VF-1) the back bone of the Earth forces for some time and had a good service life.  AND, the VF-11 is a much loved design in and outside of Japan, I think. 

Lovely though it is, the VF-11 Thunderbolt was only ever a background mecha in its two televised appearances.  In Macross Plus, it was a background mecha that Isamu flew in the first episode before getting replaced by the YF-19.  In Macross 7, it was a resident cannon fodder unit that mostly existed to get blown up outside of two brief moments of awesome where ace pilots who normally used better fighters used them in a pinch (Kinryu's blaze of glory and Gamlin's one brief outing.)

It's only in the video games and light novels that it got its due.  Macross the Ride gave it lots of love, albeit after its service life in New UN Forces hands had basically ended, and Macross 30 finally made it a proper main character mecha for the resident idol singer no less.

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“In Macross Plus, it was a background mecha that Isamu flew in the first episode before getting replaced by the YF-19. “

Ya but he flew the Sh*t outta that thing!

”In Macross 7, it was a resident cannon fodder unit that mostly existed to get blown up outside of two brief moments of awesome where ace pilots who normally used better fighters used them in a pinch (Kinryu's blaze of glory and Gamlin's one brief outing.)

We love our cannon fodder,  don’t  we!

It's only in the video games and light novels that it got its due.  Macross the Ride gave it lots of love, albeit after its service life in New UN Forces hands had basically ended, and Macross 30 finally made it a proper main character mecha for the resident idol singer no less.

Well , it’s getting some more love again now, and with a few characteristics of the VF-11 not being covered, I’m hoping for more

Edited by Bolt
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Mylene's VF-11 MAXL kai may be the most famous (infamous?) VF-11 variant.....Heroine Valk?

... granted, though it's been modified so much it's almost a VF-11 in name only.

Literally a double-custom, since the VF-11MAXL is itself a built-to-order ace custom valkyrie and Mylene's MAXL Kai is one of those that's been subjected to even more customization using a mix of custom-fabricated parts, parts copied from the VF-19 Kai, and the enigines from the VF-16.

 

 

We love our cannon fodder,  donte we!

Toy collectors certainly do!

 

 

Well , it’s getting some more love again now, and with a few characteristics of the VF-11 not being covered, I’m hoping for more

Likewise.  The VF-11 is a personal favorite of mine, so I'm hoping we get more high-quality coverage.

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You want to talk about some glamour shots of fighter mode.  Whoo!  I hope they  devote more than one book to the 11.  This sucker looks great.  I remember when I was just an idiot Robotech fan still but the random images from Plus and accompanying fan images cropped up in internet searches I always had a deep love for the 11.  Gimme a book with Gerwalk and Battroid, baby!

This is part of the Development of the VF-11 section.  Ever heard of this thing, Seto?  It gives me a modified VF-5000 vibe.

84CF2B00-1AC8-495C-BC9A-1A9311517F67.thumb.jpeg.0fe63c2a9c63806b63485da7dbd2cd52.jpeg

Edited by Mommar
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This is part of the Development of the VF-11 section.  Ever heard of this thing, Seto?  It gives me a modified VF-5000 vibe.

That was a design from Shoji Kawamori's non-Macross concept series "Advanced Valkyrie" from ~85.

Kawamori did a bunch of Macross-esque designs for Bandai as part of this Advanced Valkyrie concept, but Bandai never went to production with it.  The backstory for Advanced Valkyrie eventually became Macross Plus's story, and the designs were given further development as part of Kawamori's Air Cavalry Chronicles concept, which itself split in two with its plot becoming The Vision of Escaflowne and the mechanical designs for the ZaiBach Empire's fighters becoming the Varauta mecha from Macross 7.

That VF-X-11, sometimes identified as VF-T-11, was one of the two rival prototypes under test by an American organization called NOVA that evaluated variable aircraft.  Its rival design, the VF-X-10, would later become Macross's VF-9 Cutlass after the design had been polished some for Air Cavalry Chronicles as a Fanelian fighter.  The VF-3000 is also originally an Advanced Valkyrie concept design.

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This is part of the Development of the VF-11 section.  Ever heard of this thing, Seto?  It gives me a modified VF-5000 vibe.

 

http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/MCRmechanic/MCRmechanic.php#Other

See: Other 09A, and All 01A for what Macross Chronicle had to say on the VF-X-11 (when it was more or less official incorporated into Macross).

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I do like how they’ve done the squadron pages now.  No longer four or five little pictures squished on a single page.  The full page look at the Liveries is highly welcome.

 

The other thing, Max’s livery listed as Mac7 there.  His 11 never appeared in 7, only in one ornthe video games.  Seto will correct me if I’m mistaken.

Edited by Mommar
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I do like the bigger squadron illustrations too....but clearly it was a way to fill up full pages while still delivering a book with "less" overall content....namely devoid of Battroid and Gerwalk eye-candy and the accompanying technical bits...:rolleyes:

The Battroid and Gerwalk lineart is nice and clean though....

large.IMG_0114_1024.JPG.00b108f7675dd325

 

large.IMG_0115_1024.JPG.196492bbd32c72ea

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I do like how they’ve done the squadron pages now.  No longer four or five little pictures squished on a single page.  The full page look at the Liveries is highly welcome.

Possibly inspired by the similar treatment given to the VFs in the This is Animation Macross Plus book.

Frankly, I would vastly prefer these larger layouts be used for future books.

 

 

The other thing, Max’s livery listed as Mac7 there.  His 11 never appeared in 7, only in one ornthe video games.  Seto will correct me if I’m mistaken.

If one wanted to be ruthlessly precise, Milia's didn't either.

Milia's VF-11 was only seen in the home video extra feature Macross 7 Plus "TOP GAMRIN" (sic).  Max was never shown in one as part of the Macross-7 fleet.  The first time he got behind the stick there was in a VF-22S.  IIRC the only time Max's VF-11 shows up is in Macross M3.

 

 

I do like the bigger squadron illustrations too....but clearly it was a way to fill up full pages while still delivering a book with "less" overall content....namely devoid of Battroid and Gerwalk eye-candy and the accompanying technical bits...:rolleyes:

VF-11 technical info is a bit thin on the ground, and I greatly prefer this method of pagecount-filling to the one employed in the VF-4, VF-22, and VF-31 books.

There's a similar tendency towards an abundance of full-page art prints in other recent SoftBank Master File or Master Archive books, like Master File Arm Slave M9 Gernsback and Master Archive Mobile Suit MSV Pilot Log.

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VF-11 technical info is a bit thin on the ground, and I greatly prefer this method of pagecount-filling to the one employed in the VF-4, VF-22, and VF-31 books.

There's a similar tendency towards an abundance of full-page art prints in other recent SoftBank Master File or Master Archive books, like Master File Arm Slave M9 Gernsback and Master Archive Mobile Suit MSV Pilot Log.

I certainly do not blame them for doing what they seem to be doing......we are getting pretty close to the bottom of the barrel and they have to do what it takes to stretch things out given what is left to cover, assuming they wish to release some more VFMF books.  Other than the VF-17, I think everything else will be much more obscure to most casual fans.

Of course, they can always delve into a VF-2SS book or two!  :rolleyes:

And who wouldn't want a Destroid edition? :good:

Edited by jvmacross
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I just placed an order for several books:  VF-0, VF-25, VF-31, VF-11, VF-4, VF-22, VF-19, and VF-1 Squadrons.

Hope your bookshelves are sturdy... that's not a light collection there.

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I do like the bigger squadron illustrations too....but clearly it was a way to fill up full pages while still delivering a book with "less" overall content....namely devoid of Battroid and Gerwalk eye-candy and the accompanying technical bits...:rolleyes:

That's what I thought, too.  While the other style (many side-view drawings) wasn't as much fun for the eye, the accompanying squadron descriptions and mini-histories that further fleshed out the Macross universe was more than welcome!

... and it's odd, too, as the TiAS: Macross Plus has eight of those squadron illustrations & descriptions in 4 pages (2 are side and top, to boot!), while this new VFMF book gives us fourteen in 14 pages... <_<

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Another thing missing from this book are all the wild variants usually created for the other VFMF books.....too bad, those are always fun

Well, maybe if you didn't want to actually read the book... otherwise they just sort of scream "we ran out of material, so here's some fanart our intern did".

 

 

 

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large.IMG_0141_1024.JPG.29f20c36abdf11b8

I guess I have something to look forward to on Monday... figuring out why we have two different tandem cockpit variants now.

Strikes me as a bit redundant, to be honest.  The reason the VF-1 Valkyrie had the VF-1D and then the VT-1 was they needed a model conversion training variant yesterday so they hastily hacked one together while they waited for a proper one to be delivered.  That problem really shouldn't have repeated itself for the VF-11, which had the benefit of Shinsei's experience and factory satellite manufacturing.

 

 

 

A couple of YF-11's.....

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large.IMG_0155_1024.JPG.c5e229d0f166c489

 

They got the numbering wrong, but this looks to be that Macross M3 reference that was all but inevitable... the canard version was supposed to be the -2.

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