Mr March

Well, the VF-11D and VF-11MAXL variants would likely look very similar to the Custom versions, minus Sound Force Packs. I don't think there would be that many more changes. Well, now that I think about it, perhaps the VF-11MAXL would not look as effeminate as the Custom, but the VF-11D should be largely unchanged, since it's just designated as a two-seater version of the Thunderbolt. Actually, I still have some fan made VF-11MAXL pictures on the hard drive. They were made by the talented Grebo Guru. Here's his topic still on MacrossWorld (with working pictures) Grebo Guru's VF-11MAXL . Should give you an idea what the MAXL looks like.

The UN Spacy is most likely the largest military branch because of all the colony fleets, but there are mentions made of different branches. In SDF Macross, we see army units during the annihilation of Earth and in Macross Frontier mention is made of Army forces inside Island 1 (and we see them operating Mobile Guns). The official literature also makes mention of different branches within the UN Forces. You can find many within the "U" section of the Glossary at the Macross Compendium I've also made a couple entries for my Macropedia that lists the various branches and describes the NUAC from Macross Frontier:

Macross to me is like an idealized world, so whatever type of government they have, in my mind it's small. So unlike the horrible oversized governments of today. Perhaps that explains why we've seen so little of them all these years, hahaha I do find it somewhat odd that a President of the New United Nations Government (I'm going to use NUNG) should be permanently situated aboard the Macross 25/Frontier fleet. Unless Island 1 is also the political hub of the Macross civilization, it seems like President Glass would be very disconnected from society at large and the broader NUNG political community. Of course, we are now talking about an "interstellar" civilization. The NUNG has planets, colonies and fleets all throughout the galaxy and Earth has long since been flattened, so there wouldn't really be a particular hub of civilization in the Macross universe. One colony would likely be just as good as another, though Eden and Earth appeared to be more established colony worlds by the 2040s. Perhaps it does make some sense that a government administration would have to be "mobile" in the modern age of Macross, able to travel among the many colonies and fleets in order to be truly representative of such a "dispersed" population. I must say, in a way, I like the idea of the NUNG President permanently residing aboard a massive, mobile colony. It is quite original. Science fiction convention has always placed governments on planets, so it's nice to see Macross breaking away from the mold. The Macross 25/Frontier fleet is also the biggest colony fleet we've ever seen and Island 1 is much more massive than any other City ship. The city of Island 1 may very well be one of the largest settlements in the NUNG, fleet or planet alike. Since Earth was leveled, cities would be constructed to suit instead of being formed by hundreds/thousands of years of human migration. For generations now, so much of the NUNG population has been aboard colonization fleets, perhaps planets are the exception to the rule rather than the norm. If in fact the majority of the NUNG population is indeed mobile aboard fleets then it's not so bizarre to find the hub of the government aboard such a fleet.

VERY nice schematic.

I think we've been over this several times before. The way the reaction engines are described on the compendium, it's specifically stated that some kind of reactant is required to operate. So some type of mass is being expelled out of the engine to provide thrust. But given that Valkyries are very small mass vehicles, they would be extremely efficient. Likely they require very little reactant mass to function. Indeed, the VF-1 weighs 13.25 tons empty and only 5.25 tons extra mass is added in the standard take-off configuration for fuel, weapons and ammo. OverTechnology is wonderful

I'm just bugging ya The translations were much appreciated.

Does this mean that Gubaba will have to make a post that takes longer than 10 seconds to read? Could be a problem...

It's looking more and more like creative license.

Wouldn't be the first Valkyrie without them. The VF-1 had missiles only when mounted under the wings or with FAST Packs and the VF-11 Thunderbolt only had missiles once the Super Parts were equipped.

Shattering only depends upon the structure of the material. I thought that even something as strong a titanium will shatter under sufficient stress. Perhaps the Valkyries do just use high-strength glass or high-impact plastic for the canopy, but the ECA would mean the canopy is a lot tougher. It's either that or a "super material", otherwise Hikaru would have been paste when he dove through that metal bridge and Isamu would have made a nice rug after his canopy-first drag along the canyon floor

True. We've actually had discussions before about the most protected cockpit (was it here on MW? Memory problems ). But overall, I'm not sure it really matters. Valkyries are defended by energy converting armor, so it's not so much the thickness of the armor as it is the material that composes a specific spot on the hull and the amount of power pumped into it. The Battroid shields are just another part of the hull when looking at them, but they could be composed of either a stronger material or have a disproportionate amount of energy fed into them via the ECA system. By the same logic, the cockpits could be the most "heavily armored" sections of a Valkyrie based on either power or material composition and the actual thickness of the hull sections might have nothing to do with it at all.

I don't see any lower leg/rear engine missile launchers. The outer leg panel is clearly without any machinery for a launcher and the interior shows no missile racks and no missiles. Regarding the VF-25 cockpit in Battroid, I think that cutaway diagram is meant to show the dorsal fuselage flush positioned off the canopy. It's probably set out a little so that we can see the cockpit, so we know where it is, hence the reason for the cutaway diagram. Looking at the other page of line art from Hobby Japan magazine, there's a curved recess on the inside section of the dorsal fuselage, corresponding to the place where the cockpit would sit in Battroid mode. Most likely the fuselage sits flush upon the canopy when in Battroid. I'm sure that solid fuselage provides as much protection as any other solid body panel on the VF-25.

Hehehe, sounds like thread lock love at first sight to me

"You actually watch that sick animated porn from Japan? What's wrong with you?" I've tired of trying to change people a long time ago. I usually just don't bother talking about anime with most people. Plus, it's not that great a conversation piece anyway, since I know few other Macross fans

Line art, at long last! Damn, those new VF-25 engines are tiny! Looks like they take up less than a third of the nacelle itself. The Cheyenne II looks fantastic.

I believe so. Given the position of the verniers, there'd be no way to use the main engine thrust, so they'd have to be self-contained thrusters with their own propellant.

The VF-1 did have "Overboost" which basically doubled the 11,500 kg engines to 23,000 kg. If the later Valkyries are also capable of Overboost, that would mean quite a difference. As for Isp, isn't that merely an indication of engine efficiency? The correlations between efficiency ratings via Isp and the actual thrust generated are not the same as I understand it. I remember another member here explained it to me before (was that you JBO?), specifically during a discussion of the Ion Engine as it was presented in many science fiction shows. You can have a very high and efficient change in momentum, but that doesn't necessarily correspond to a high thrust. Especially in fighter craft, you're much more interested in the greatest amount of thrust attainted in the least amount of time. Couldn't one technically calculate the Isp going backwards from what we know? Several of the Valkyries have official numbers for speeds above above 30,000m, like the YF-19 and YF-21. If the YF-19 velocity is 8,100 m/s and the YF-19 weight is known (or a close approximation of it), couldn't one work backwards from there? Or is more information required than what exists for the Valkyries?

There might have been if we saw more of the VF-4. There's some art from the Macross Graffiti book which shows concept drawings of the VF-4 fighter mode with FAST Packs. But that's about it.

Looks very nice!

HAHAHAHAA. Best. Post. Evar

Whoa! Some of the colors actually change. The remastered version changes the "black" sections of the VF-11C Protect Armor to an olive color. And the Chlore Fleet Q-Rau's look more aqua than dark blue. I'm gonna save these pictures and make some corrections

ruskiiVFaussie That's the pose Looking good. Renato Very nice! You got some real frankenstien stuff going on there with that double forearm MangledMess I'm categorizing the various comments from fans as personal prefence. To me, the GNU's look more like the CGI version of what the Valkyries would be. The Revoltechs are like the Kawamori line art, with all the styling and anime magic (like the small main wings folded on the back of the VF-1). I think the CollectionDX review in this thread really hits the point home: the GNU's are old school figures while the Revoltechs are current generation products. The GNU's are designed for fans that worship the 80's, hate "new anime" and are interested only in nostalgia markets. I bet in 10 years when the next major innovation in toys takes place, Revoltechs will look old school

Hear, hear!

I find the Kawamori Valkyries offer plenty to appreciate compared to most mecha. I think the intricacies of the transformations and the way they can be appreciated as both mecha and aircraft makes them quite unique. I think the VF-1 Valkyrie still sits atop my list, as it seems to be a design with which I'm rarely bored and I always come back to the VF-1 finding I still appreciate it time and time again. My top three are: 1- VF-1J Valkyrie (includes Super and Armored variants) 2- YF-19/VF-19A Excalibur only 3- YF-21/VF-22S Sturmvogel II I think the VF-25S Messiah (especially the Full Armor and Super variants) have taken up the next spot. The VF-25 has greatly impressed me and I love the variations they made for the design, like the "G" and "RVF". The transformable Full Armor pack is also a favorite of mine, as I have always loved armored variants of my favorite mecha (like the original Armor Valkyrie and the Full Armor Gundam Alex). I think I can say the VF-25 Messiah has displaced the other runner up Valkyries like the VF-11 Thunderbolt and VF-17 Nightmare.