Mr March

My thanks JBO. It was actually pretty sad. Assuming no one was using fold drives, it must have taken the Mar Return Fleet a long time to get back to Earth. Then they finally make it and are destroyed by ANti-UN forces in one of their own starships.

No Batou, what you originally said is that the UN Spacy pilots lacked any space flight experience...a total fabrication. You suggested this lack of space flight experience would affect their combat performance...obivously not true based upon the fact that losses in space were never stated at any time to be greater than losses on Earth. UN Spacy pilots certainly had experience flying in space. I'm not talking about what you claim to have written, only what you did write. This point, as originally stated, has been proved false. Next point, the VF-1 Valkyrie is not vastly technolgically superior. The Valkyrie and the Regult are very similar in performance and technological sophistication. They had similar manuvering capabilities, they used the same power sources, they were closely matched in velocity and acceleration, blah, blah, blah. The Valkyrie simply enjoys many elements of practical design and versatility over the Regult, resulting in several advantages. In no way does this result in a gap that's "vastly technolocially superior". That cannot be said even of the VF-11 to a Regult. Next point, the UN Spacy had a larger presence in space as far as military vehicles than all the Valkyries on board the Macross. A single ARMD had 78 MANNED Lancer Fighters, flown by pilots who knew how to fly in space...a direct rebutal of your original statement. There were also an unknown number of MANNED CF Valkyries stationed aboard the ARMDs who would know how to fly in space as well. Each ARMD also had 270 unmanned Ghost fighters and other space craft. That's 156 manned fighters (yes, pilots capable of flying in space), 540 Ghost fighters, and two capital ships just in orbit. There was the large-scale Apollo base under construction on the moon. There was the large-scale (again note the words LARGE and SCALE) manufacturing station at L-5 in lunar orbit. The permanent Mars base was built. Construction of the Oberth space destroyers at L-5 and construction of the SDF-2 at Apollo. Test detonation of reaction warheads on the lunar surface. Test flights of the VF-X1 in space. The Tsiolkovsky incident (yes, actual SPACE COMBAT). Not much of a military in space? There was more military activity going on in space than the whole of South Ataria island. Finally, there are many points you raise that were never in dispute. The Zentradi pilots being more capable in space than an atmosphere, hence irrelevant to my rebuttal. The choice to recruit pilots in space used by myself as a successful rebuttal, hence irrelevant to further debate. Et cetera. If you have anything more to the original point without sidetracking the discussion, then please present them.

Any possibility of that blue YF-19 wallpaper to make an appearance in 1280x1024 resolution?

I'm very eager to see this film. I loved the scenes on the special edition DVD. I think the film aged very well. The special effects for the alien suit was way ahead of its time. There are plenty of animatronics and aliens even on the latest episodes of Stargate or Star Trek that don't look nearly as good as the Alien.

Babylon 5 is not dead, nor even close. Just because product isn't on television doesn't mean a franchise is dead. Star Wars had one of the largest followings for well over 15 years before another film was made....over 8 years from the release of ROTJ before a novel or comic book saw store shelves. Every time a Babylon 5 DVD season is released it stays on Amazon's top 100 list for over a month in the upper ranks. Babylon 5 ran it's full five year run and finished. It was never written out. JMS had the telepath crisis and the fall of centauri prime planned for 5th season every since the commencement of the series first season. The only thing re-written was the EA civil war for season 4 as opposed to 4-5 crossover. And Babylon 5 was written as 5 years...total. No more, no less. And I said the audience was begging for more...not fans. Fans cry for material whether it's good, poor, or sucks space dust. Trek's continuation of crap product for decades is proof positive of fan appetite for any garbage with their favorite label. Sit down a non-fan to watch Phantom Menace or Voyager and they'll most likely murder you before 10 minutes are up. Babylon 5 didn't appeal to a mainstream television audience. And it shouldn't, because most television veiwers would rather watch Temptation Island or Days of Our Lives. The fact that Babylon 5 broke every convention of television production and managed to stay on the air and complete an entire 5 year story is nothing short of a miracle. I'm not defending Babylon 5 as an extremely popular show or a prime time success. However, you can downplay it's longevity in a instant gratification industry all you want and you won't make its "ghost" go away. If people want to constantly point out why Babylon 5 worked despite everything against it, they have every right to do so.

Batou I'm not really sure now what it is you're trying to suggest. Originally you suggested the UN SPacy pilots were complete newbies without any sort of space flight ability at all. Now you seem to be suggesting the Valkyrie pilots may have had some space experience but they were totally inadequate against the ability of the Zentradi pilots in space. Either way, both explanations make no sense. The degree of superiority in the Valkyrie fighter is not significant enough to allow totally inexperienced pilots to defeat the Zentradi warriors in Regult mecha. My analysis shows tactical advantages of the Valkyrie over the Regult and several combat conventions favour the Valkyrie over that of the Regult. It does not show superiority to the degree of total battlefield domination. Nor does the anime show the UN Spacy Valkyrie forces being totally wiped out in either space or atmosphere by the Zentradi Regult forces. In fact, it was only once stated that the Zentradi were noticably better in space than planet bound, but nothing that would suggest the Valkyrie forces were outmatched in any way. The UN Spacy was operating manned Lancer II space fighters and Valkyries all stationed in space. It's ludicrous to suggest these craft had no pilots or those pilots operating them had little to no experience in space. ANY kind of military operations in space would require the UN Spacy to have qualified personnel piloting shuttles, operating space-operable construction equipment, patrolling UN SPacy supply lanes, escourting UN Spacy military assets...the list goes on. You simply cannot run an air force without pilots capable of flying planes. THe UN Spacy cannot run a space force without pilots capable of flying in space. The only thing one could argue is a lack of space combat experience, but certainly not any total abscence of it. Historical records of Space War One don't mention specific battles of Valkyries fighting this and Valkyries fighting that...but they did. Arguing semantics isn't enough to overraide the facts of operating a military in space. On the final point, the newer pilots like Kakizaki, Max, and Hikaru were trained during war time. When war breaks out of course there isn't the luxury of training pilots for years and years. Use some common sense. However, even during the war it was clearly shown in the series that Hikaru was given training in space...while piloting a Valkyrie.

It'd be nice for once to see one of these companies finally get their asses successfully sued for copyright infringement. So much theft of geniunely innovative ideas in literature and film are raped by the big corporate entities always looking to fill their market with the next best thing. It seems the new rule of creating product in the entertainment industry is to take any creative idea from any source you can and repackage it as your own with a marketable sticker.

In many ways, this legal action is the ultimate example of the degradation of consumer choice in what used to be the free market. Rather than take all these years to adapt to the changing demands of the consumer, these companies are choosing to force consumers to buy their outdated product. It's really quite sad and doesn't say a lot for innovation.

This is the last piece of the original Macross story I've yet to see. I'd love to watch it. I'm sure I'd enjoy it.

at least in the beginning, and then i would think attrition would start to take its toll, but i would think some would have to be held back as instructors. lets face it, when the war begins, how many trained Space pilots bought it in those Brown valks? and how many were assigned to places other than the Macross and South Ataria? I beleive there are typically always more pilots in the military than there are actual military vehicles to fly. Flight rotation, enlisted/reserve requirements and other considerations require more pilots and trained flight personnel than vehicles.

According to my copy of Bishop's MMW, the M2 Bradley has a total of six ports, each equipped with a periscope. However, there are numerous armored vehicles that make use of them.

Not all science fiction shows get cancelled. Babylon 5 ran it's entire five year arc on television and completed the story. Babylon 5 also did something Trek never could...it ended with the audience begging for more

All kinds of real world military vehicles use extendable sights, perescopes, and other telescopic devices, as do many infrantry units for covert scouting and close quarters combat. It's not a gimmick, but a very intelligent tool in battle.

I'm sure the Zentradi mecha did not have limitless fuel capacity.

This is very true. The Reaction warheads were used very liberally by the UN Spacy in the final stages of the war. However, I must point out that aside from the ARMD counterstrike in the first episode and the final battle in episode 27, the majority of Regult vs. Valkyrie battles were fought without reaction weaponry. Again, I'm discussing primarily the vast majority of conflicts fought in SW1, not the few strategic conflicts.

I find the idea that the UN Spacy pilots were totally new to space travel in Valkyries impossible. The UN Spacy had established a permanent military presence within the Sol system for years before Space War One (there was Apollo Base on Luna and the Base on Mars). It would be absolutely essential for pilots to be trained space farers to travel between planets and conduct patrol, reconniasance, or combat sorties in a vacuum. There were also conflicts in space between the UN Spacy and Anti-UN forces (the battle between the Anti-UN hijacked destroyer Tsiolkovsky and the UN Spacy destroyer Goddard). Obviously, space tests for the VF-X1 fighter and the VF-1 mass production fighters would be necessary. All the ARMD Carriers conducted missions using Lancer II fighters, all manned by pilots capable of flying in space. We also saw CF Valkyries inside the orbiting ARMDs which would require pilots to be trained in space flight. I'm certain all the Valkyrie pilots in SW1 had plenty of flight time in space before the outbreak of war with the Zentradi.

The Zentradi order to capture the SDF-1 makes little sense for the ineffectiveness of the Regults against the Valkyries in deep space. A good majority of attacks upon UN SPacy forces took place outside of anti-mecha weapon range for the Macross. In these instances, it was to the advantage of the Zentradi mecha forces to wipe out the Valkyrie fighter squadrons, thereby ensuring easy capture of the Macross. The Macross was the only capture priority for the majority of SW1, not the Valkyries.

Vrlitwhai's forces (the Adaclos Fleet) numbered only 1,200 capital ships and the accompaning mecha. Against the 4,790,122 capital ships of the Bodol Main Fleet, the UN Spacy and it's allies were outnumbered by 4,000 to 1. They survived because of the Grand Cannon, the Macross destroying Bodolzaa's flagship, and the culture shock upon the Zentradi soldiers due to Minmay's music broadcast. But I digress, Lightning 06 is correct in that I was talking primarily about the majority of Space War One, fought from episode one through to episode 26.

I think the SV-51 represents a much more functional approach to mecha design in the Macross universe. Surely the analogies you've made to the changing face of mecha design and production budget allowing more detail make sense. However, I think the mindset of those people working on Macross Zero was to create designs with a little more realism and practicality than had been done in previous shows. Yes, Macross must remain a mecha anime and the story must maintain the fantasy elements that make it a science fiction show. However I think it's clear the SV-51 is a prime example of mecha design meeting the demands of reality...to a small extent. I also think the SV-51 was meant to establish difference in human creation from one society to the next. Of course this being film, there is a need for the creator of Macross Zero to give the audience a very vivid visual cue that says "Okay audience, this big, ugly red guy with the flapping wings is our bad guy. This silver, more elegant robot is our good guy." Yet in designing the two mecha of Macross Zero so differently, it also tells us that these are not just humans fighting each other; this is a war about idealism and how two different societies and two different ways of thinking affect our world. I find myself very much enjoying some of the more mechanical designs of the Macross mecha and not so much the streamlined, smooth robots we've come to expect from most of the Macross franchise. The SV-51 looks much ore like a robot than the VF-1. Sometimes I find the animation makes the robots of Macross appear too humanoid. The SV-51 battroid mode really promotes an inhuman interpretation, while still being roughly humanoid. It looks like a mechanical creation, not necessarily designed to look human just for the sake of appearances. I'd love to see a detailed lineart or animation for the SV-51 transformation. It appears similar to the YF-19, but I'm still kinda confused how it works

Well, it's a lazy Sunday at home and I'm playing around with the new FAST Packs for my 1/48 Valkyrie by beloved Yamato. Being a Macross fan, I can't help but think about some aspects of Macross while enjoying my most recent purchase and perhaps re-examine some of my long held skepticisms about one of my favorite science fiction stories. So here are some thoughts to ponder... One of the things that always irked me slighty about Macross was the success of the UN Spacy against the Zentradi in Space War One. The first episode saw nearly the entire UN Spacy fleet destroyed by the Zentradi, leaving only the Macross, its crew, and what mecha it had to fight dozens of Zentradi warships and hundreds of Zentradi mecha for the majority of the show. Granted, the SDF-Macross was the most powerful warship in SW1 (Space War One); and it's a given that the ship possessed one of the most potent anti-capital ship and anti-mecha defense strategies of that first space war (mostly thanks to the Super-Dimension-Energy cannons and the nearly 600 destroids stationed aboard). And I know there were well over one hundred GF-3000E Ghost fighters which got little recognition for all their combat missions against the Zentradi. Now I'll give you all that...but it always seemed just a little bit of a stretch that the Valkyries would enjoy as much success as they did against the Zentradi mecha forces. There were after all only a little over 200 Valkyries stationed on board the Macross which were required to contend with hundreds and even on occassion, thousands of Regult Battle Pods. Indeed I admit there were lots more Valkyries, Ghosts, and Destroids on Earth, but for the longest time it was just the Macross versus the Zentradi war machine. However, I think after looking at the disparity between the capabilities of the UN Spacy VF-1 Valkyrie and the Zentradi Regult Battle Pod, I can see why the Valkyries kicked so much butt. There are a number of practical conventions the Valkyire excels at for which the Regult has little with which to answer. The Regults were much larger targets than the Valkyries. The Valkyrie is 3.84 meters in height in Fighter mode while the Regult is nearly 8 meters in height with it's legs swept back for space flight. It was far easier for a Valkyrie to shoot down a big, round target like the Battle Pod than it was for the Battle Pod to shoot a small, flat profile target like the Valkyire in fighter mode. The forward profile of the Valkyrie was roughly one-third the size of the forward profile of a Regult. Basic combat statistics will tell you that given all other factors as equal, the Valkyrie is much more likely to shoot down a Regult first. The standard Valkyrie possessed more weapons and more weapons diversity than the standard loadout for a Regult. A lowly VF-1A had one 55mm GU-11 Gunpod, one Anti-Aircraft laser cannon, and a bare minimum of twelve AMM-1 missiles. By way of comparison, the Regult had two Electron Beam guns and two Anti-Aircraft laser guns (it also featured two anti-personnel cannons; weapons which were useless against a Valkyrie). The Regult possessed no weapons of any kind for a long range role, relying totally upon direct fire, line-of-sight weaponry. In contrast, the Valkyrie possessed both direct fire, line-of-sight combat capability while also employing long range, tactical missiles. While the standard Regult had to close to visual range in order to initiate combat contact, the Valkyrie could engage Regults far outside visual range with its multi-purpose missiles. The opening sequence to the film Macross DYRL? brilliantly displayed this combat dynamic. The Valkyries defensive armor and solid construction appeared to make them much more durable than a Regult. Even one shot from a GU-11 Gunpod was enough to blast a hole through a Regult battle pod. In many cases, Valkyries that weren't outright destroyed by a Regult weapon were observed surviving glancing shots, near explosions, and direct hits from Regult weapons. Valkyries could also sustain significant damage to their structure and continue operation. Valkyries suffered damage to central sections as a result of weapons fire and even lost large sections like their arms, yet still the VF-1 could maintain flight and even transform. The Regult was shown to be rendered inoperable by almost any kind of attack. In point of fact, some Valkyrie pilots in SW1 were able to disable Regults with just one well-placed shot from the VF-1 Anti-Aircraft laser. The Valkyries enjoyed many more missile options than Regults and much more battlefield operational diversity. Both missile carrier versions of the Regult feature close-combat missiles only, again denying the Regult any long range combat option. The biggest compliment of missiles a Regult carries is twenty four missiles, exactly double the missile compliment of a standard VF-1. The Regult had no further versatility on the battlefield. The Valkyrie enjoyed numerous options for combined arms. The Valkyrie's wing hardpoints could feature the standard compliment of AMM-1 multipurpose missiles (12 missiles total), or Mk-82 bombs (12 bombs total), or UMM-1 Micro Missile Clusters (60 missiles total). Then the Valkyrie could also increase speed and range in space through the use of the FAST Pack system, which incidentally could add another fourty missiles to the Valkyries payload or the option of the double-action beam cannon with the Strike configuration. Finally, the Valkyrie could also be outfitted with disposable GBP-1 Armor system, adding increased range, armor, and fifty-six GH-32 missiles. No doubt many are quick to point out that the Valkyries didn't have to contend with only Regults in Space War One. The Zentradi had Gnerl Fighter pods, Nousjadeul Ger power armor, the occasional Glaug Officer Pod, and even the Queadluun Rau Female Power Armor in the later stages of the war. However, the majority of the Zentradi mecha forces were made up of Regult Battle pods. With the exception of the Queadluun Rau, all the Zentradi mecha suffer from most of the traditional disadvantages of the Regult while failing to benefit from most advantages enjoyed by the Valkyrie. Compared to the Valkyries, most Zentradi mecha are larger targets, the mecha have fewer weapons, less weapons diversity, little long range weaponry, and are much less durable. Even the Gnerl fighter pod (the Zentradi equivalent of the VF-1 in fighter mode) featured but a single gun and only twelve missiles. The Queadluun Rau appears to be the only Zentradi mecha with as many weapons and as much durability as a Valkyrie. It has shown itself to be more than a match for any Valkyrie in long or short range combat, it has the speed and manuverability to match the Valkyrie, and its durability has enabled it to survive long range hits from a Valkyrie's GU-11 Gunpod. Given the superior capabilities of the Valkyrie and the number of combat advantages it features over the Zentradi Regult, I think it's clear why the UN Spacy was able to hold its own against the Zentradi mecha forces. Even away from the Macross and the potent Destroid forces, the Valkyries outmatched the majority of Zentradi mecha. Often times the Valkyries could eliminate sizeable forces of Zentradi mecha even before short range combat was initiated.

I've been mulling with the idea of creating a small connection strut to hold the arms/gunpod section in Super Fighter mode for my VF-1S. I don't have the problem with my VF-1A, but the VF-1S has an almost imperceptible weaker knee construction than my VF-1A. Making the strut shouldn't be that hard; there's plenty of anchor points one could use. I'm just trying to think of what I could use and what would work.

Actually, given commercials and everything, it's more like "wrap everything up in 45 minutes crap..." Actually, I beleive most shows on television are now down to 40 minutes of actual air time.

I also just got my FAST Packs for the 1/48 Scale Yamato Valkyrie yesterday. They look fantastic! My god, I can't praise them enough. THey add so much to the Valkyrie, especially in fighter mode. They do indeed add a lot of size to the 1/48. The look of a GPB-1 Armor set for the 1/48 Yammie now has me a little scared I've run into the fighter mode leg problem as well. Though I only have this problem with my VF-1S yammie, not the VF-1A. I think it has something to do with the knee joints on the legs. They appear to give horizontally a little more on my VF-1S than my VF-1A. I also hold my valkyire by the legs in fighter so it's no big deal. I have encountered the drop down problem you spoke of, but it's easy to solve with a little positioning for display. Can't really comment on the other points, so hopefully some other fellas can help you out. I'm enjoying the FAST Packs and am very happy with the purchase so far.

Shhh! That's a whole other can of worms! Hehehe

I'd have to disagree. I think their mastery of genetics is close to absolute. The mere fact that they were able to genetically guide numerous planets evolutionary trends indicates so. More than anything, I don't they wanted a perfect soldier. Who will police the police if the Zentraidi are superior? So instead of making them perfect and giving them the most powerful weapons, the PC made them normal from stock PC genes. They gave them second rate, mass produced weaponry. But they gave them unlimited numbers. Cannon fodder in the purest sense. As for the training, I think that again has to do with the class a Zentraedi belongs in. I think that some members are capable of more "battle creativity" then others. Namely commanders and aces were given better education programming to elevated them from the common fodder. vinnie I'd still disagree with the Protoculture's knowledge of genetics. Guiding a race through evolution to a particular form is a pretty low-tech and arduous process. It's not exactly changing all that much. Like controlling x and y chromosomes in developing organisms. And who knows how many failures there were before the PC was able to master the evolution of humans. The Zentradi themselves stand as a testament to the level of genetic science the Protoculture possessed. Given the Zentradi ability in battle, I think the PC's success (or lack thereof) speaks for itself. Now, there can be little arguement that creation of giant humans capable of surviving the weight of their own mass and being cloned to create near limitless numbers is no small feat of biology. It's just obvious that the Zentradi are far from the absoloute apex of genetic accomplishment. Let's face it, a super soldier could be done a lot better than this. I'm not sure how the PC chose to educate or indoctrinate their own soldiers. It's hard to say if a selective education and curbing of creativity/independance/adaptation is exactly what the PC hand in mind. I suppose thats a point that could go either way.