Valkyrie Driver

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

For what it's worth, it doesn't seem to have stopped the New UN Forces from using the VF-4 in atmosphere enough to justify at least two atmosphere-specific variants... the VF-4D and VF-4S, both used by the Navy.

So after talking to my dad, and finding out exactly how static stability is determined, the VF-4 would be much more statically stable than the VF-1. The center of gravity is much closer to the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing. 
 

The VF-4 would definitely excel at high speed interdiction missions. 
 

Are there inboard hard points? I know that such hard points would be useable in fighter mode only based on how the ship transforms.

So, I just recently dipped my toe into the Hi Metal R pool with the VF-4. 
 

I love it. Now I want more. But first has to be the DX YF-19. 

So, I created a monster. My friend group is now totally obsessed with Gunpla.

So far we’re all staying with the 1/144 scale. I’m the only one who has painted a kit (which was a real pain) or assembled a real grade. 

I do feel that I need to ask, what is the best way to paint a kit? Can I paint an HG kit after its been assembled? I have an Airbrush so that’s not a problem, but should I have primed it on the sprue first?
 

3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Macross Chronicle's Mechanic Sheet for the VF-4A Lightning III doesn't specify.

Mind you, it doesn't actually say the VF-4's atmospheric flight characteristics are necessarily worse than the VF-1's.  Just that it's not better than the VF-1 in that respect.

The nuance I get from it, and connected remarks about the VF-5000, is that the VF-4's largely space-focused aerodynamic design resulted in a fighter with high stability in atmospheric flight.  Since fighters derive a fair amount of their maneuverability from being unstable-by-design, its greater stability made it less agile than the less stable VF-1 and VF-5000.  It's very good at high altitudes and it'll blow the VF-1 into the weeds in terms of acceleration and straight-line speed, but it won't turn as tightly as the VF-1 or VF-5000 can.  Some of what I've read about the VF-4's atmospheric-duty variants (mainly the VF-4D) was that because of those aerodynamic shortcomings as a fighter it was sidelined from air superiority roles into an interceptor and surface attacker role instead.

I suppose that’s fair enough. It’s as good an explanation as any. Seems kinda like an F15 vs F16 kinda thing then.

I don’t know if this has been asked and answered, but does anyone know why the VF-4’s atmospheric flight characteristics are stated to be worse than the VF-1 or VF-5000?

 The design actually seems to be fairly sound aerodynamically. It has a lifting body and a decent amount of wing surface for control surfaces.

10 hours ago, sqidd said:

My Mandy orders have been taking between three days and three weeks. All EMS.

All of a sudden I get a text update saying that my package will arrive this Thursday. Which is thrilling and disappointing all at the same time. 
 

Thrilling because it’ll be here soon, but disappointing because I turn around and leave for a Bolt Action tournament as soon as I get home that day...

After a couple of years I have come back, and I bought a Hi-Metal R VF-4 from Mandarake. It’s taking a while for the shipment to get underway.

On 5/4/2018 at 9:19 AM, Lorindor said:

Not quite true. As a Swede, I understand about 80-90% of spoken Norwegian. They basically just use a bit more old-fashioned inflections and use a higher pitch when they talk. And the Swedish spoken in southern Sweden is very close to Danish. I understand less of other Germanic languages though (except German, which I've studied a bit). I agree that German and Dutch have their distinct sounds, but the Nordic Germanic languages are actually very muddled. 

Interesting. There's also the fact that the German I'm used to is at least 30 years old (American University), and the Dutch I'm used to is over 60 years out of date (My Grandfather) and Frisian sounds more like Pre-Chaucer Old English (Which my dad often recites than it does Dutch or German. Granted, languages evolve quickly, and muddle in border regions. Perhaps I exaggerated my point, but essentially all of them are still distinct languages, and One can tell (given familiarity with a language) one from another. I can tell the difference between Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, and German, but only enough to say that it's not Dutch or German. I can however tell Frisian apart from all of them.  

On 5/4/2018 at 2:27 PM, Lorindor said:

Well, it's commonly said in Sweden that the Danes need to spit out the porridge so one can understand what they say. (Why porridge? No idea.)

That's interesting, because Minnesotans and Wisconsinites (Both states were heavily settled by German and Scandinavian Immigrants) have a tendency to "chew" their words, it can make them difficult to understand at times. Though, I suppose, being from the American South I'm one to talk...

@DWN013, You've got a good point, and a reasonable explanation. I honestly can't think of a reason not to use the wing hardpoints, so I just chalk it up to animation errors, or oversight. Though pylons on those hardpoints might interfere with transformation mechanisms (Based off of my observation of the toy).

On 4/4/2018 at 10:22 AM, Seto Kaiba said:

Given that Zentradi is arguably a dialect of the Protoculture language, it seems unlikely... the two languages don't sound anything like.  I wonder if it's the influence of the personnel who ended up possessed by the Protodeviln... Ivano Gunther and Cpt. Autolmauer, both of whom have German-sounding names.

German, Swedish, Dutch, Frisian, Norwegian, and Middle English are all Germanic languages, but sound nothing alike despite sharing a common root. I get what you're saying, and I think you're probably correct. I was throwing out the possibility.

10 hours ago, SMS007 said:

Are we to assume that the Megaroad-13 / Varauta colony included many humans of German descent?

Or we are meant to infer that German is a direct descendant of the Protoculture language. 

Panzer is typically refers to tanks. Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck, Panzergrenadiers... all relate to tanks in some way, the first 2 being anti-tank weapons, and the third being mechanized heavy infantry. 

1 hour ago, SMS007 said:

Relatedly, why is YF-29B Perceval rendered in Japanese as パーツィバル / Pātsibaru? Where does that pronunciation come from?

I think your transliteration is off. The katakana for shi and tsu look very similar, and can be confused. Just using google translate for Percival, I got パーシバル (Pāshibaru). Also I don't know of any possible kana glide for tsi, so I don't even know how you came up with that.

Also, could you name your source? I'm not trying to doubt you, I just want to know where you found it.

1 hour ago, SMS007 said:

What's the real-world naming intent behind the YF-29 Durandal? For a fighter that basically supplanted the VF-25 Messiah as the designated rival to the VF-27 Lucifer, I don't see how "Durandal" is supposed to thematically oppose "Lucifer".

I would imagine that it has something to do with Durandal (orig. durendal) being a sword associated with Charlemagne and one of his Paladins, Roland. History refresher, Charlemagne was the First Holy Roman Emperor, a state which is typically thought of in conjunction with the Catholic Church, and thus as a bastion of Christianity. That, and in Christian theology, God is usually the direct counterpoint to Lucifer, though sometimes it is the Archangel Michael. Since no one uses the name Lucifer, it's fine. Naming an aircraft Michael seems weird, since Aircraft are typically named after things that evoke a visual (Eagle, Tomcat, Typhoon, Hayabusa, Schwalbe, etc...). 

I really like that craft. I wish that we had more information on it. It looks kinda like a cross between a VF-4 and a VF-2SS. Only a little though. It doesn't look like it transforms, though if you didn't know anything about macross, you wouldn't know that the fighters transform. 

Well, here's the rub. I wouldn't do that. First, he should keep that old Jetfire as is, because it's worth more that way. and if you'd like to do something Macross, see if you can get your hands on a bandai HMR Valk. He'll have more fun with that than he will with the old Chunky Monkey Jetfire. They can be had, and for not a ton, you might have to do some digging, but I found a Messer VF-1 on mandarake for 6,000 yen. 

Also, from a toy collectors perspective, the Jetfire toy is different enough from the VF-1 toy that it'll kinda be a disappointment. I did find a Hikaru VF-1J 1/55 on Mandarake for 12,000 yen, if that helps. 

Long story short, I don't know of anyone that makes stickers or decals that will turn that jetfire into a VF-1, and I wouldn't recommend doing it anyway.

Agreed. I enjoyed Arpeggio of Blue Steel as well. At least it didn't do boat girls the same way as Kantai Collection...

2 hours ago, RealJayDee said:

In my honest opinion the idea of having elite contractors is always very merchandable. Its cool to be rogue, to be independent, to rebel, and shoot then ask questions. Also independent military contractors are not subject to military regulations, so it makes sense that every member had its own custom scheme.

Except that concept could easily be done using real Special Mission Units (1st SFOD-D, NSW DEVGRU, 24th STS, SAS, KSK, and others) as a template. They don't follow military grooming standards, they don't wear uniforms, they operate independently, and they use non-standard gear, but are still technically military. They only adhere to grooming standards when they have to wear their uniforms, which is infrequent. Done and Done. 

2 hours ago, RealJayDee said:

The Frontier PMC main heroes were a nice twist from previous Macross entrances. I guess it allowed the characters to have a deeper identity on the field, vs being a soldier where obeyng commands is to be expected no matter what. 

I'm not going to say it was a nice twist, but it was different. I've never been enamored with PMC's. Also, if you knew anything about most military institutions in the developed world, You are only expected to follow legal orders. Even the greenest private is expected to question an order that seems wrong, especially when it runs counter to the core principles of the government they serve. Lessons from WWII taught us that. Aside from that, off duty (which is where we see most of the character development anyway) soldiers are allowed a great deal of individuality. 

2 hours ago, RealJayDee said:

I also enjoyed that they made very clear that the SMS would stand only for the highest bidder... so they getting the big guns before the NUNS made sense.

Which is exactly a thing I despise about PMC's and mercenaries in general. No loyalty except to their next paycheck. Soldiers get paid, sure, they are professionals after all, but their ultimate loyalty is to the people they serve, not the ones writing their paycheck. 

2 hours ago, RealJayDee said:

That gets me into asking how PMC would be a hit in the Macross universe?

Mi only answer is that human colonies have a small population, and are very scarce on military resources. Its a civil colony focused on discovering new planets, not invading or subduing. With the last, military overpower is not a priority, so their numbers are short, and any extra "help" is welcome. Enter the PMC who can easily move from one system to another as they are required, and who are cheaper to hire, than maintain a whole fix war fleet. That would be my only quick explanation for the need and succes for space mercenaries.

Actually, Colony fleets are quite populous. Macross 7 had a city ship that was roughly 5km long, and maybe 75% of that wide. That's a lot of area, and that doesn't include the other residential areas in the fleet. Island one of the Frontier fleet was roughly 3 times the size of City 7.  You can fit a lot of people in there. It's also shown that each fleet has more than enough military resources to defend itself. So why do you really need a PMC? Well, the only real reason to use a PMC, is that they are cheaper, and more expendable. Cheaper in that, you don't have to pay for their housing, meals, healthcare, dental, education benefits, life insurance, just their salary. Because you don't have any real equity in them, you can throw them away more readily.

There are a few reasons why PMC's are not elite and never will be. Reason 1) Benefits. The military offers benefits that PMC's will never be able to, like the ones I mentioned earlier. 2) Funeral costs, elite operators will want to go where their skills are used, and they'll likely die. PMC's won't pay out for the funeral. 3) The paycheck isn't as much as you think. Sure it's way more than base pay, but when you factor in all the benefits that you don't pay for in the military, the paycheck comes out about the same or less. Most operators that go contract, don't tend to stay there long after they realize that what they're being paid isn't worth the risk. The ones who stick with contract work are the ones who can't get hired anywhere else. PMC's will hire dishonorable discharges, a condition which will prevent you from holding any sort of meaningful job. PMC's are dregs, no matter how much fiction tries to make them look good. 

I'll cite Seto's earlier example of MITHRIL from Full Metal Panic!, even there they had hired some folks that were less than desirable. Folks whose only allegiance was to whomever paid them enough. Sorry, but you will never convince me that PMC's are good for anything other than deniable operations. I wouldn't even trust them with security. 

2 hours ago, RealJayDee said:

How about a story where an elite PMC squad must compete vs an elite NUNS squad? a battle of skill, egos, tons of valk action and a singer here and there...

If there was any authenticity or realism to be had in such a show, the PMC's would get spanked in the first 3 episodes. Furthermore, when it comes to elite military operators, there is no ego. SOF guys don't brag about who and what they are, they don't care if you know, in most cases they don't want you to know. If people know about their job, they haven't been doing it right. A SeAL will tell you he's a diver, a SF guy (or Green Beret if you will) will tell you he's an instructor, A Ranger will tell you that he's a Ranger, but you won't know if he's in the Regiment or just has his short tab, until you see his uniform. A PJ will tell you he's a medic, CCT's and JTAC's will tell you that they're just ATC guys. They don't think they're special, even if those of us who aren't think they are. Ego wouldn't enter into the equation for them. Fighter pilots, for all of their groundside bravado, are consummate professionals when they get up in the sky. They don't believe they have to prove that they're better than you, they know it. I should know, I grew up with one as a father. In competition, these sort of Alpha personalities know that ego will get you killed. 

But this is entertainment, so egos make for drama. Though I would find it utterly hilarious to watch a PMC, that thinks it's hot stuff, to go up against a bunch of humble elite military guys, and see the PMC get their crap pushed in. 

I'd even love to see a more competitive love triangle, between one of the PMC guys and one of the NUNS guys, both pursuing the singer. Then watch the NUNS guy get the girl, because PMC's suck and are stupid. Bonus points if the NUNS guy has a badass Robin Olds¹ style moustache... 

¹ In case you don't know who Robin Olds was, he was a Vietnam Era USAF F4 Pilot. He was an ace, and also was married to a movie star, Ella Raines. A Man's man if ever there was one... More about him here.

6 hours ago, dizman said:

I may love MGSV but I'll easily admit that Chapter 2 is half-assed. For all intents and purposes you already beat the game and its main story line in chapter 1, chapter 2 is kind of a cool down period before the real ending is dropped on you.

So everyone keeps telling me. I'm content, and I'll keep replaying missions. Anyway, Ghost Recon Wildlands (for all of it's glaring faults) currently has me distracted with the new bonus mission they've added. It's actually good, unlike the garbage PvP they introduced. 

18 hours ago, TehPW said:

OMG, sir Seto. That was... magical...

Indeed. I wouldn't use this comic for toilet paper... Even in the desperate need of the same after Taco Tuesday at the chow hall...

6 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

If you're in the UK and looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for the aviation-minded in your life, I noticed the other day that Haynes [1] have two new manuals out - one for the X-15, and the other for the F-117 Nighthawk (!).

[1] Not sure how well known this brand is in the US - basically, they became famous for publishing books on how to take a car apart and then put it back together again, with a volume seemingly covering every British-available car in existence. As cars have relied more and more on sealed black boxes recently, they've branched out to cover a wide variety of subjects from tanks, aircraft and even the U.S.S. Enterprise... (Star Fleet incarnation). Please note that the publishers take no responsibility if by following their guidelines, you take your personal F-117 to bits and then find yourself with a FLIR leftover after reassembly...

Haynes is pretty well known in the US. I Have a Haynes manual for the 97-06 wrangler ( I had a '98). Good stuff. Did not know that they were branching out from automobile repair manuals though. They still produce those car manuals though, I've seen books out for newer vehicles as well. I guess it would be cool to have a Haynes manual covering the M-24 Chaffee and the Panzer 4...

On 12/17/2017 at 12:52 PM, Smiley424 said:

Some crappy pics I took of the KC-46 that came to Guam last week.  They came out to do some humidity testing and flew circles in our airspace for a couple hours (no phallus patterns that I could tell).  One picture shows a Hainan Airlines B737-800 parked next to the KC-46.  We see alot of ferry flights come through Guam.  Almost weekly new B737-800s are making their way across the ocean from Seattle to China.

You didn't happen to see the tail codes did you?

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

It must be admitted that, had they not been the Designated Heroes and thus equipped better than the actual military, Xaos would have represented a significant step towards realism in terms of how the Macross franchise (and anime in general) depicts PMCs.

It would be even more impressive if the writers of Delta had intended it to be that way. 

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Too often, fictional PMCs are depicted as being The Elite, with the very best troops, the very latest hardware, a bottomless bank account to pay for it all, and a permanent encampment on the moral high ground.  A lot of authors toy with ways to justify it, but they're all usually dancing around the fundamental reality of the polar opposite: PMCs typically being staffed by the very worst who were gently shown the door by the Army over discipline problems, equipped with secondhand hardware, running on a razor-thin margin, and administrated with a level of cretinous ineptitude not normally found outside of Captain Planet villains.  Usually authors try to justify it by sacrificing one of those traits on the altar of character flaws, with varying results.  Like Full Metal Panic!'s MITHRIL having ultimately proven to be a NATO-funded black ops unit pretending to be a PMC for the sake of their own plausible deniability.  Macross Frontier fans kind of missed the fact that despite SMS being the designated heros, their company is every bit as shifty and corrupt as Macross Galaxy was, having manipulated the entire fleet government into a conflict with the Vajra in the name of securing fold quartz to gain a monopoly on interstellar shipping, and even collaborated with a coup d'etat.

To be fair, the Word Contractor gets thrown around a lot, both in terms of PMC's and in terms of Federal Agencies. Most real PMC's are little better trained and equipped than most third world countries. Most of the Elite operators employed by PMC's (if there are any) are on the training staff and will never go in country on missions. As for SMS, well, the reality was not lost on me, but the main group of heroes did kinda go rogue, steal company property and embark on a mission to discover the truth. So while SMS was corrupt, the heroes were not. We have to remember that membership in a group does not imply complicity. 

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Xaos was the closest we've yet seen to a realistically incompetent PMC... a pack of swaggering idiots who are nowhere near as hard as they think they are, being a pack of washouts from what amounts to the national guard of a rural state, utterly convinced they're the heroes in their own action movie while getting their butts handed to them by even the most inexperienced professional soldiers.

That sounds about right.

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

It'd be nice to leave this nonsense behind.  If we need elite-ness in our soldier-characters, let's just use the special forces.  They at least have legitimate reason to be elite and better equipped, and a format already exists in Macross for them to be semi-autonomous.

Agreed. 

4 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Aside those is the underbelly leg covers which in turn into the side skirt armor. The YF-21 have a slot and groove for its gunpod where VF-22 haven't.  

Is that just a toy thing, or is that actually a stated design difference? I thought both designs made use of a bay for their gunpods.

I'm really hoping for something as well balanced and well done as Frontier this time around. There was something simple and elegant about the mecha in Frontier,  as well as good characters, with tons of development, and characters we really cared about. I just hope that the era of PMC's is over in this new series. SMS was fine, but Xaos was morally bankrupt and incompetent. I mean, I get that Japan has a strong anti-militarism bent, but I don't understand how a PMC (mercenaries for all intents and purposes) is supposed to be better than a military. Mercenaries fight for money, whereas a military is supposed to uphold the principles of the people it serves. Anyway enough of that...

As for a VF-22 toy from bandai, I'd absolutely love that. It would be a good investment for them too, especially since the only things that change between the YF-21 and VF-22 are the canopy and head sculpt. 

YetiStand is a brilliant option. I have 3 of my valks on a wall mount. The Alpha stand is only $45 and it's a pretty substantial base from what I hear, and can tell. I only have the wall mount so I can on;y speak for that, bit it's doing a heck of a job. 

On 12/8/2017 at 12:25 AM, AN/ALQ128 said:

So, the newest Death Stranding trailer just released, and I still don't have a single clue what its about. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely excited to find out though.

 

Death Stranding (AKA, Norman Reedus and the Funky Fetus) looks interesting if nothing else. I'm currently playing the last real Metal Gear Solid Game that will ever be released (MGSV:TPP). I'm having a hard time playing through the rest of chapter 2, since I know I'll lose Quiet, and then I'll have to do 7 replays of mission 11 to get her back (a labor of love to be sure). Chapter 2 also seems like it's half-assed so I barely even care. 

Perhaps it's because I don't keep my toys in direct sunlight, but None of my White Valks are showing any signs of yellowing (knock on wood). 

On 12/13/2017 at 1:19 PM, RealJayDee said:

Oooh be careful with those cracks. Mine broke exactly at the right intake because of the stress at that particular point. It is strange bandai chose soft plastic for a piece that is that thin and is key to keep the leg attached. I was able to fix it but it was very tricky because in fighter the tolerances are zero. If not aligned properly leg, wing, lower and upper intake will never fit. Carefully Apply a thin  layer of super glue so carcks dont get bigger.

I used a wire to apply some CA glue to the inside of the cracks and pressed them back together as well as applying some glue to the surface, front and back. I also have trained myself to grasp the intake when I want to rotate the hip to prevent further cracking.

My hope is that when Bandai actually releases their YF-19. they have replaced the intake pieces with diecast metal, so that problem is no longer an issue. 

On 12/11/2017 at 9:31 AM, KyunKyunMylene said:

New to this thread but I've always wondered what's with the wonky art choices on some of the art. Sure it's somewhat the same from SDF but it wasn't so noticeable like this

 or 

It might be that I'm just so used to seeing these images, but what exactly are you saying is wonky about the art? I mean, aside from the fact that some of the animation is chunky due to being hand drawn mid 90's anime.