Mr March

Uh, because suspending belief is actually part of enjoying fiction. And when people really enjoy fiction, they tend to imagine possibilities in their own minds and want to share them with other fans. Where Kawamori ends and the imagination of the audience begins is really the most enjoyable part of watching/interpreting the fiction.

Vostok 7 Actually, the VF-4 Lightning III is fairly simple as a transforming design. In fact, the VF-4 transformation is barely anymore complex than the VF-1 Valkyrie. Don't let the final form fool you. Just because the VF-4 battroid isn't streamlined or compact that doesn't mean the transformation process is complex or cumbersome. While making the color code guides for the valkyries, I also went through and counted what I have come to call the number of articulated mechanisms required to transform and came up with the following: VF-1 Valkyrie (the number of articulated mechanisms required to transform = 24) Backpack (1) Vertical Stabilizers (2) Legs (6) Arms (6) Fuselage – Slide (1) Fuselage – Dorsal hatch for head (1) Fuselage – fold over (2) Fuselage – heat shield (1) Wings (2) Head (2) VF-4 Lightning III (the number of articulated mechanisms required to transform = 26) Head (1) Nose (4) Canards (2) Arms (2) Legs (6) Fuselage (7) Wings (2) Stabilizers (2) As for the VF-4 head, you'll notice that most of the head unit itself is positioned ahead of, and below, the visible "cone" that rests upon the dorsal fuselage. The top VF-4 schematic also shows that the "cone" section itself is not nearly as small as it appears on the VF-4 beauty art. Two very important facts to keep in mind. TheLoneWolf It's not exactly official Macross fact, but more a reality of animation. Television series have historically required simpler figures and characters in order to make animating them faster and easier. A 49 episode series like Macross 7 would require the animators to produce far more animation on tighter deadlines as opposed to a film or 4-part OVA. As a result, one simply makes the objects that need to be animated simpler; an object with fewer lines/details means it's faster and easier to animate. NightmareEX Yes, I'm still waiting for the chance to obtain some high resolution scans of the VF-0D line art before adding it to the Macross Mecha Manual.

*eagerly awaits more scans*

Oh, that. That's nothing. There's lines (seams) missing all over the place on most of the valkyrie drawings. And even the best of the valkyries make use of some limited amount of "anime magic" to transform, though one could argue it's simply Kawamori exaggerating/misrepresenting his own designs to make an individual drawing appear visually dramatic. Missing seams are really noticeable on the Macross 7 mecha, which were simplified to make the animation process faster and more efficient.

I believe the OP was asking for an in-universe answer.

I'm perplexed. With Blu-Ray you're supposed to get more definition and better colors, especially more defined blacks. Contrast/color wise, the pictures on the left look better to me than the pictures on the right. Perhaps it's because both sets of pictures have been reduced down to the same resolution in comparisons posted above (which I suppose totally defeats the purpose of a standard-definition-to-high-definition comparison).

Not necessarily. Isamu almost died and was hospitalized after the City course fight with Guld, but his YF-19 Prototype was repaired. The earlier test pilots could easily have been injured or perished in similar ways while the YF-19 prototype No.2 could have survived. Especially since we're talking about OverTechnology craft which can sustain far more of a beating than conventional military craft of our modern age.

Tobi54 I agree. I think the Ranka picture is a good comparison. The Blu-Ray on the left looks more defined with deeper colors, while the right standard definition looks pale and fuzzy, almost like someone turned on a light

Want to see, want to see Any sample clips or adverts on YouTube or some such?

Oh. My apologies. Well, perhaps it's time for a new monitor or pair of spectacles? When's your birthday?

I think we're safe quoting the engines (see post by TheLoneWolf below) and I appreciate the help from where ever it comes. At least on the ram jet engines and rocket engines, sketchley appears to be correct. The other information, I'm kinda forced to accept cautiously as oreillyrel has said because I can't confirm any of it. A lot of us fans have been bothered by a lack of official information on the VF-4 engines for a long time. It's been clear for years that there are two engines on top of the VF-4 that were never accounted for in official information. But with the digital photos of that line art, it's clear the VF-4 actually has six engines (the two fuselage engines are a complete surprise to me). I'm praying the Macross Chronicle offers some description of all the engines (or at the very LEAST, acknowledges they exist). With that, I'm at the mercy of the Compendium. I link to all their articles every time I utilize some of their information, so we'd have to know what Egan uses. From what I can tell, most of the stuff seems to be from official Macross publications. I can confirm that a lot of the information is taken from Macross Perfect Memory, Gold Book, MK Design works, SK Designs Works, TIAS M+ and the Macross Chronicle, but that's all I can say. The rest is anyone's guess. I think you're right about the photos. They do have Kawamori's signature and it looks like his writing, so I think we're safe with the engines. I'm not really sure I understand. Do you have any way of pointing out what it is your mean by posting a picture?

The difference is not the animation, it's the quality of the image. The Blu-Ray Disc versions are clearly deeper in color with a much sharper image. The animation itself hasn't changed, only the presentation. And it looks really impressive! Thanks kresphy!

That's an interesting fact I didn't know. Makes sense too. In the case of Macross, the mass availability of cheap OverTechnology probably made producing lots of prototypes a reality again. At least in the short term. The Super Nova AVF competition seemed to produce only two prototypes of each variable fighter.

I think they most likely were destroyed along with nearly everything else in the final Zentradi assault.

Posted for azrael. Here you are:

Very nicely done. An interesting history of the whole thing.

Point being, the more people we have working on translations, the better. It acts as checks and balances against just this sort of thing. As for the position of the Macross Mecha Manual, I kinda have to stick to what is readily available in published materials and what happens in the anime productions. Less is more in the case of official Macross fact. Other websites will have their own mandates. But since we're on the subject, where would the details taken from the line art in the 1/72 Musasiya VF-4 model kit stand as far as official vs. unofficial? These are the digital photos I have on my website in the VF-4 Profile (bottom of the page under line art)

You mean the error? That's okay, false accusations notwithstanding; I didn't take it personally anyway. Is the new picture on the MW main page a 1/72 VF-25? It looks really purty

LOL! As long as the Compendium was correct, that was the whole point Anyway, I'm curious where the class designation Northampton originated. Since confirmation in the new series, it's canon, but it's been around for years before Macross Frontier came along (like at steelfalcon). Like the Enemy Battle Suit statistics; they were reprinted in the Macross Plus DVD Remastered booklet, but the statistics had been floating around since the mid 90's. But where did they come from originally? Oh, the mysteries of Macross

I say again, when the Macross Compendium designates a "ship class" for a given type of ship, it will say "Class" in the description. Anything that is simply "named" is not a "class". Example: Einstein (without a class designation, same as Bolognese) West Point class (while the ship name is Beginhill) My website specifically refers to the ships as a Stealth Frigates Bolognese (again, "name" not "class"), with the notation "possibly Northampton Class" AND a notation about the class designation in the description. The "Class" field also states "unknown". You have to read carefully.

That's okay, it looks good.

How bizarre, how bizarre

That looks very promising! I can't wait to see more. The Macross Compendium doesn't state the class of the stealth frigate, only the name. Just like many of the Macross 7 fleet ships, only "West Point" is designated specifically as a "class" of ship on the Compendium, all the others are only names of the ships. I believe Northampton is correct. That class name has been around for over a decade and Macross Frontier confirmed it. We just don't know the original source of the name "Northampton", but the name came from some official source because it's been thrown around the fandom circles for years.

LOL! That was comedy gold

LOL! The last thing MW needs is more moderation, but at least your heart is in the right place. Well, how about us mean old men (love ya Mal!) try a good hearty welcome and some helpful tips. If you're new to Macross, the Macross Compendium is an absolute must-bookmark-website. It is officially endorsed by Big West, the Macross owners, and is THE English authority on all things Macross. Can't recommend it enough. I don't know if you've yet to visit the Macross Mecha Manual but you should; I own the place It's an unofficial fan site, but I'm mighty proud of it and I'm sure you'll find something worth looking at over there. If you find us all a little too scary, or just want to join a quality website about mecha, ChrisG's excellent Mecha and Animation Headquarters is another fine site with plenty of good stuff on Macross, including extensive reviews of the entire Macross franchise as well as a comprehensive mecha profile section on Macross mecha. ChrisG also posts here from time to time. Have fun and enjoy!