Graham

I agree there is a big discrepancy in the size of the VF-17 battroid’s lower leg thickness as shown in Kawamori’s line art, versus the relative thinness (sleekness) of the fighter mode. Thicker than practical lower legs is something that Kawamori tended to draw on most of the M7 battroids. His infamous 'thick leg' VF-22 battroid mode lineart from B-Club magazine is one of the worst examples, and completely contradicts his other VF-22 'slim leg' lineart. Hopefully, the VF-171 when we finally see it in Battroid mode will have correctly sized lower legs. Graham

No offence intended, it's just that that particular theory out of all the theories posted so far, about the VF-17 not being able to transition from 2D lineart to 3D CG without significant changes, just struck me as being highly unlikely and I felt I needed to comment on it. Heck as long ago as 1999, Gonzo did a perfectly accurate to lineart CG VF-17D fighter in the VF-X2 opening movie. If it could be done in 1999, it sure as heck can be done today. Please understand where I'm coming from. I've been studying the VF-17 (and other M7 & M+ mecha) intensely since 1994 (13 years now) and collecting every scrap of lineart published in magazines and art books. So any design changes no matter how small are very noticable to me. The changes on the new VF-171* (*Animedia Dec 07 designation) are pretty major, so much so that even from a cursory examination of the new pics, it was obvious to me that this is an all new variant with as much (or perhaps more) physical difference as say between the YF-19 and VF-19Kai. Graham

And here's the scan from the December issue of Animage. Graham

I just picked up the December 2007 issues of Animedia and Animage magazines. Unfortunately, there is only a quarter of a page article on Macross Frontier in both magazines. Below is the scan of the Animedia article. The Animage scan will follow in a few minutes. Of interest is the name given for the new VF-17 is 'VF-171'. Not sure if this is a typo or not. If it is correct, it would be the first Valk with a three digit number designation. Also, looking at the pic of the fighter mode white and purple VF-25 (5th pic down on the left), it looks like the marking on the left wing may not be the UN Spacy Kite. I'm wondering if perhaps Big West are not using the kite, to try to get around the licensing issue and market the series outside of Japan? We can but hope. Graham

Heh, I'm wondering if perhaps the VF-25 is also an older model, used just by the flight school for training students and not actually a frontline fighter. Graham

Possibly on the wing of the VF-25 that is white with purple trim. Graham 10777156tj9.bmp 12452306dx6.bmp

Yes, I'll get the Hikaru VF-1A Revoltech as it's my favorite color scheme of the 3 released. However, it will be my last VF-1 Revoltech. If they do other Macross series, I may buy some if the sculpt is good. Graham

Who? What? When? How? This is a Kaiyodo thead. First I've heard about Kaiyodo making 1/60 Revoltechs?????? Nobody has mentioned anything about a 1/60 Yamato VF-1. They would be stupid to revisit the VF-1, with the market so sturated in the last few years. Graham

Exactly. Graham

I concur (for the moment at least). Graham

Sorry, I just couldn't buy that theory that just beacuse something is animated in CG instead of cell it would change so radically in apperance. Give the animators credit, if they want to animate a VF-17D in CG, it IS going to look like a VF-17D. Graham

Space pirates, poachers (ala D7), non-UN independant planet forces, anti-Un forces, are all possibilities at this stage. Graham

Thanks for the new info Kresphy. Two fleets, now that is interesting. Perhaps the VF-17s belong to the Galaxy fleet and the VF-25s to the Frontier fleet? Graham

It's not 3 barrels, it's 5 barrels. See pic below. Graham

Yamato told me that they have a new TV advertisment that aires at around 3am on Thursday morning and shows the new 1/60 YF-21. Any of our Japan-based members want to see if they can make a copy? Graham

Another difference I spoted on the new VF-17 is lack of the UN Spacy kits on the chestplate. Graham

3 more days until the Revy Hikaru VF-1A is released! Graham

Within Macross the Metal Siren. Ugly, ugly design IMO. VF-2SS and VF-2JA are great though. Outside of Macross, pretty much all Gundam. I also just don't understand the attraction. Graham

It's a couple of years since I last played, but IIRC some of the requirements for unlocking the different color schemes are pretty tough, like getting 'S' grade in every mission. Heck, I was happy just to get the VF-4. I personally didn't care about unlocking all the different VF-1 schemes as it's just the same Valk basically with different colors. Graham

I’ve been studying the new VF-17 pics over the weekend and the changed appearance is definitely not just due to it being in CG as opposed to traditional cell animation, as somebody suggested earlier in the thread. This is obviously a new variant, which for the moment, I am going to call the VF-17-Advanced. So far, I note the following differences between the 2070 era VF-17-Advanced and the M7 era VF-17D/S: - Elongated and widened canopy, with smaller less obtrusive canopy framework and larger clear panels for improved pilot visibility. Longer fighter nose, with a more rounded cross section, as opposed to the more diamond-shaped cross section of the VF-17D/S’s nose. Possible deletion of the twin micro-missile launchers on the shoulders (they are not visible in the screen captures from the preview video). Shorter redesigned barrels on the two cockpit/chest beam guns. Possible slightly different shape wings, especially the trailing edge. Wider rear-of-the-head nacelle. I hope this does not give us ugly ‘fat head’ syndrome in Battroid mode. Definitely two hard points per wing for external ordnance. Possibly up to three per wing. From the somewhat blurry screen shots, the external ordnance appears to be the same as that carried by the VF-25. Graham

Nah, it's too much fun. It'll be interesting later to see who was right and who was wrong as well. Looking forward to lots of "I told you so". Graham

Anybody capture that image of the gunpod being taken apart showing the three barrels? I'm not saying get rid of the gunpod, just make it a rapid fire railgun gunpod. Advantages of higher ammo capacity and increased velocity/penetration. Graham

Call it a gut feeling, but I’m pretty certain that the VF-25 is going to display some new capabilities that we haven’t seen before. Maybe it will be an internal fold booster or miniaturized externally-mounted multi-use fold booster or some improved type of pin-point/omni-directional barrier system or perhaps even a new type of melee weapon (looks like that would be useful against the bugs). At the very least, I’m hoping the new gunpod will be a rail gun. You would think that by the 2070s’ the technology would be advanced enough to move away from traditional chemical propellant for the gunpod ammo. Graham

Not confirmed, but I think there might be an issue with the game license. Not sure if it has been resolved yet though. So there is a possibility of no VF-X2 VF-19A scheme. However, we should be getting some more non-canon schemes. Graham

LOL....you'd be surprised at the number of geography-challenged individuals who DO think Hong Kong is in Japan! Graham