Graham

Ah, I somehow missed the earlier post regarding the Compendium's FAQ regarding changes. However, it could be argued (not that I'm going to), that the FAQ entry only refers to changes in the Chronology, not the other sections of the Compendium, so the figures could be read two different ways 1) a revised figure and an out of date figure in brackets as per the FAQ, or 2) A seperate figure for space thust and atmospheric thrust, which to be honest is always how I read it. I have a very old hard-copy print out of the Compendium at home, will have to go back and dig it out tonight. Graham

OK, so going back to Macross Compendium, which states that: - What if (and bear with me here please), the VF-19F's FF-2500F engines were designed to be balanced for all environments, so that they have the same maximum thrust in both space and atmosphere. Hence why the Compendium lists only one figure (72,500 kg) for the VF-19F. This presumes that the cooling issues with the YF-19's engines in atmosphere were overcome at some stage with the more advanced engines. So, what if in theory, the VF-19S's FF-2550J engines were on purpose designed or tuned or whatever, to actually be more efficient in Atmosphere, but this comes at the expense of the being less efficient in space? This could explain the two quoted figures from the Compendium for the VF-19S. So 78,950kg is the VF-19's max thrust is atmosphere, while 68,500kg is the VF-19's max thrust in space. This would indeed give the VF-19S a better rate of climb in atmosphere than the VF-19F, but would put it at a performance disadvantage in space compared to the VF-19F. Now, I'm not saying I agree with the above theory, but it does offer an explanation as to why the Compendium only gives one thrust figure for the VF-19F, but provides both space and atmospheric thrust figures for the VF-19S. It would also support the Macross Chronicles claim that the VF-19S has a higher top speed and rate of climb in atmosphere compared to the VF-19F. Why a fighter which is supposedly optimised for space use (still not sure I buy that though), would require better performing engines in atmosphere at the expense of less performance in space is anybody's guess? Perhaps the engines where tuned that way on Docker's personal preference? Food for thought. Graham

My personal theory regarding the VF-19P’s lower thrust is that it is supplied with de-tuned, or lower performing (if you like) engines. There may well be export regulations/sales of arms regulations in place (similar to today’s ITAR), prohibiting anybody except from UN Spacy military, from purchasing the highest thrust engines. So tier 2, or tier 3 allies or friendly states/planets may only be able to buy slightly downgraded versions of the latest military hardware. This makes sense from the standpoint that if a conflict arose at a future point in time, between UN Spacy and their former ally, then UN Spacy would still have the superior hardware. This would be analogous to the situation today with the F-35 JSF sales to US allies, in that there are still discussions whether allies are going to get full stealth capability and be allowed to maintain it themselves or be supplied with a downgraded stealth capability and/or only the US is allowed to maintain/repair stealth capability. Graham

Attached is a scan of the VF-19S stats from the 1995 1/100 scale Bandai VF-19S plastic model kit. Graham

Sorry guys, will get round to send out the remaining replacement hinges soon, promise! The last few months have just been one thing after another - I had overseas business trips, then work got really was hectic, then my house got flooded due to a burst water pipe, then my wife, son and I all got a bad case of flu. Hopefully things are all improving now. Just been a little burned out with everything that's been going on, so no mood and time time do the hinges. Graham

Macross music of course! Usually the instumental stuff from M+ or MF. Graham

Looks like the VF-19F with the longer wings has about the same wingspan as a VF-19A, so roll rate should be about the same as a VF-19A, right? Am I the only one that thinks the Assault-Calibur is a bit hokey. The only difference is those two little retractable beam guns under the nose, correct? Forgot to dig out the VF-19S/F plamodel instructions last night to check if they have the engine thrust figures, as I didn't get home until late. Will do so tonight. Also, want to compare the wingspan of my Bandai 1/250 scale VF-19 toys, as I seem to recall the VF-19F/S wingspan is not much different from the YF-19/VF-19Kai/P. Although I may be remembering wrongly. Graham

Games on the 48k Sinclair ZX Spectrum were the best. I spent many a happy hour in the early-to-mid 80s playing Ant Attack, Manic Minor, Jet Set Willy, Combat Lynx, Elite, Tranz Am, Saber Wolf etc. Ah, I miss the sound of casette tapes loading. At that time IMO, the UK really lead the world in games design. Graham

Kurt, Amazing job as usual. When I visited Yamato's Tokyo HQ in April, they had a 1/2000 SDF-1 there that had been painted up especially for Kawamori-san. I've gotta say your paint job is far superior to the one that I saw. In fact, I've just remembered I took a few photos of the one Yamato painted for Kawamori-san, so I've attached them for comparison. Graham

Heh,I bet I can guess who the customer is. Graham

Will probably go to see this, just for shits and giggles. Graham

Thundercats was one of a few 80s cartoons that I could never get into, the others being Transformers & GI Joe. Graham

I've had my Ulysses 31 DVD box set for 2 or 3 years now. UK version IIRC. Graham

Vaguely recall hearing the character's name, i.e. I know its a minor DC charcter, but have absolutely no idea what it's about, beyond being cowboy-ish? Sorry, no interest. My taste in Cowboy movies runs to anything with Clint Eastwood in, or The Wild Bunch. Graham

Thanks David. Very clear explanation. Graham

This is not a translation. It is the theory that was postulated here on MW.Graham

Something else just popped into my mind. The FAST packs shown mounted on the VF-19A in the opening movie of the 1997 Playstation game Macross Digital Mission VF-X, where also not covered in the VF-19 Master Files Book. Pity, I would have liked to see information on those as well. They seemed to look fairly close to VF-1 style back FAST backs, but with upper and lower thrust vectoring paddles. For those not familiar with the movie, just look up 'Macross Digital Mission VF-X' on Youtube. Graham

There are a few issues here as I see it, that need resolving: 1) Are the Master Files books to be considered canonical or not? Initial indications would seem to suggest not, given that parts of the VF-1 book were taken from the MAT Sky Angles book, which is essentially fan-fiction. However, if Kawamori is listed as supervisor on the VF-1 and VF-19 Master Files, does that now legitimize them? When I met with Tenjin in April, together with Save & Renato, I asked Tenjin why he had not contributed any art to these books and I seem to recall he mentioned something about them not being 'official'. I should have thought to ask the question earlier that day in our visit to the Big West Office. 2) Is retconned VF-19S engine stat in Macross Chronicle a typo or not? My gut feeling is yes, it is, but rather than come clean, admit their mistake and print a corrected page, the writers, for whatever reason decided to come up with this rather nonsensical explanation to justify the revised engine ratings. 3) From which source did the compendium obtain the orginal VF-19F/S engine thrust ratings? Graham

I have a fairly extensive collection of Macross books and related publications, so I'll start checking through them and see if I can find the source of the original thrust figures for the VF-19F/S. I seem to recall that one source might be the instruction sheet for the Bandai 1/100 scale VF-19F/S plamodel. Another non-book source may be the box of the Bandai 1/65 scale VF-19S toy. I can't check until I get home tonight. Graham

Here's a quick scan of page 80, showing the long and short type VF-19F wing, so those who don't yet have the book know what we are talking about. Graham

Thanks David. So basically a VF-19F, especially with the longer type 'atmospheric' wings shown on page 80, is likely not going to be giving anything up in the way of atmospheric performance to the VF-19A, especially as the VF-19F has far greater thrust (VF-19F = 78,500kg x 2 vs. VF-19A = 66,200kg x 2)and the VF-19F has the added advantage of the thust vernier ankle rings. In fact, it would seem to me that the VF-19F may even be the superior overall machine. Wondering if the book mentions anthing about the VF-19F being an overall replacement for the VF-19A, or is it still the same old VF-19A is for planet use, VF-19F is for space use. Graham

Well, spotted Sketchley! I hadn't noticed that VF-19F was shown with both a short and a long wing. Graham

My question is more how do the VF-19F/S's wings and lack of canards affect performance in atmsphere compared to the fuly swept wings of the YF-19/VF-19A/Kai(E)/? Graham

I've always thought that the lack of canards (which are pretty small anyway), would not adversely impact the VF-19/F/S's atmospheric manoeuvring performance by much, given that the size and shape of the other manoeuvring surfaces (flaps, rudders etc) are comparable to those on the swept-wing 19 variants. The only thing I'm not sure about is how the shape of the 19F/S's wing would effect manoeuvring ability, drag etc at different speeds. Perhaps David could offer some insight on this? The vernier ankle ring on the E/F/S/P should defintely offer an advantage over only the two verniers per lower-leg on the A/B/C/D. Graham

Yes, back in the late 90's when we first started discussing this point, the lineart for the VF-19F/S did show the triple bank of verniers instead of canards, whereas most of the art for the VF-19Kai lacked the triple verniers and only had canards, hence the thinking at the time, that the verniers on the F/S where in lieu of canards and that the VF-19F/S was a space optimised version. This is still only a fan-theory though and I'm hoping the Master Files book would shed some definitive light on whether or not the F/S was Space Optimised and what is the exact reason/benefit of the redigned wings? Of course, the fly in this ointment was always the YF-19/VF-19AS, which had both canards and the triple vernier bank immediaetly behind the canards, making it potentially more of a dual-role (space/atmosphere) VF. Interestingly, the art in the new Master Files book shows the VF-19E on page 79 with the triple verniers and Basara's, Sound Force VF-19E(Kai) on page 125 as usual without the verniers. Also, note that the VF-19C (pages 119 & 122) seem to lack the triple verniers, as do some of the specilalized variations (although the line art is a bit inconsistent on the triple vernier cluster thoughout the book. Graham