Mr March

Well, the big 50. It's been a long road. It's nice the Chronicle has emphasized the same mecha that I emphasized on my own website (for the most part) and hasn't expanded coverage of any obscure vehicles that really didn't warrant it. Makes building material for my site a lot easier and lets me know I'm on the same page as the official franchise builders of Macross. There does seem to be lots of "Extra" sheets coming out in these later issues. Guess the MC wasn't planned all that meticulously or maybe the extra sheets were planned as "overflow" all along (perhaps to entice fans to get those last few issues "packed with goodies"). At any rate, I can't think of anything the Macross Chronicle has missed that I was hoping they'd cover. They've gone through most of the major stuff, even going so far as to color several vehicles I wouldn't touch for lack of reference AND provide statistics for a lot of mecha I never suspected would get any love (VF-9, VF-14, etc). Overall, I'd call the series a big win in my books.

I have the same bad habit, but it leads to some good results in the long run. As it has in your case as well, fine work!

This looks like a great book. It's also nice to know that unlike the VF-1 book, this VF-19 book appears to be all new material. I hope its good.

Nice work. I love the F-22 Raptor.

Impressive work. Its amazing how you got the flight suit to look so realistic.

"When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks." All just speculation of course, but I think the actual factory satellites would remain federally owned properties, probably run by crown corporations. Companies like General Galaxy, Shinsei Industries and the like would no doubt acquire lease agreements with the owning crown corps to use portions of a factory satellite for mass production. Of course, it's likely tens of thousands of companies are vying for the same chance from EVERY sector of the economy. It'd probably be a rather complex array of contract arrangements, with the usual politics thrown in to further complicate the matter. What would be interesting would be the location of those factory satellites. Where are they stationed? Official trivia states "some" factory satellites have fold drives, meaning not all of them do. With the UN Spacy/NUNS holding multiple factory satellites, one has to suspect some of those seizures involved immobile satellites. There could be a few locations far away from the UNS/NUNS sphere of influence that are functioning as satellite economies for Earth Of course, it's possible they could affix fold drives to immobile satellites, but who knows?

New (old) skin looks great. Well done.

The only board I post at that has a Robotech connection besides Macross World is the Megaverse forums for the RPG games of Palladium. The RT community there doesn't have anything to do with that person, AFAIK. I'd also like to say that with the exception of one or two rare individuals with similar issues, the vast majority of Robotech fans at the Megaverse board have been very nice and easy to get along with.

To Funkenstein and any other interested parties... While there is very little information about muzzle velocity in Macross, there are SOME FEW officially published figures. However, keep in mind that although we may know a gun's muzzle velocity, the destructive potential of a given round is also greatly affected by the WEIGHT of the round, the MATERIAL from which the round is built and the DESIGN of the round. The official muzzle velocity figures published are: The 78 mm high-speed automatic cannons for the MBR-04-Mk X Destroid Defender have an officially published muzzle velocity of 3,300 meters per second The GPU-9 35mm gun pod for the VF-0 Phoenix has a muzzle velocity of 1,100 meters per second SSL-9B Dragunov Anti-Armor Sniper Rifle for the VF-25G Messiah has an initial muzzle velocity 6,200 m/s which increases to 7,490 m/s when fired in space Also, here is a copy of my entry about Muzzle Velocity from the Macrosspedia:

I don't mean to be a geek (*chortle*), but as an occupational hazard of running a mecha website I feel the self-humiliating urge to note for posterity that the VF-11 Thunderbolt gun pod is a 30mm weapon, not 35mm As for to-be-left unnamed pod-casting non-fans and their lack of imagination about Macross technology, I think it's safe to say technology improves over time. Because that's what any sane, rational, and well-adjusted person would assume when discussing a non-linear advancement of projectile calibers, were said person not hung up on fan-bashing

That's not bad. The helmet is nicely styled and not particularly garish.

I resemble that remark! Preview attached of the material for the next update...

Sounds good. I'll keep watch on this thread for your final version of the transformation sequence art. Glad you like my new Nousjadeul-Ger. Should be about a dozen profiles in the next update featuring this style of improved shading. Was original just a color correction, but I took the opportunity to improve the scans and colors as a way to differentiate my stuff from the Macross Chronicle work.

I like that 2D vector work of the VF-1 transformation. I'd love to use it for the site once it's finished, if I may (with full credit given). The original image I have of that particular drawing is poor quality, so I'd love to replace it especially with something fan-made, which is what my site is all about Sadly I can't really color it now. My plate is full. Attached is a little piece of the kind of stuff I'm busy with for the next update.

Just got back from Iron Man 2 and had another good time at the movies. This sequel wasn't nearly as tight as the first film, but it was almost as enjoyable. I found the acting in the sequel was great all around, the action was tense and exciting and the humor was genuinely funny. The action was definitely a lot more satisfying in this film than the first, owing to a lot more interesting and comparable villains for Iron Man to face. The middle of the film tended to drag but the performances really carried a lot of weight for the film. Sam Rockwell was perfect as the impotent and yet dangerous conniving contemporary to Stark, Rourke was sufficiently menacing as Vanko, Cheadle was very convincing as brooding and conflicted Rhody and Gwenyth Paltrow was yet again a great plucky and sarcastic foil for Downey. Speaking of which, Downey owns this role yet again in the sequel, balancing humor, wit and vulnerability in sumptuous portions. I also have to say I was surprised by Scarlett Johansen's performance and character arc as well. At first she seemed disposable eye candy, but the role became much more and grew into a worthwhile addition to the film by time the finale came along. And what a finale, delivering on all levels including the personal story between characters. As criticism of the film I would say the nods to the larger marvel universe were too numerous and too intrusive. At times the film was nearly derailed by exposition and setup for other marvel films yet to come. I'm sure this kind of stuff could have been saved for the Avengers film itself. Unless Marvel expects everyone to watch all the individual hero films as back story and hit the ground running the Avengers film. These interludes were also a big part of why the film felt disjointed and slow in the mid point. Other than that, a few times the melodrama went a little too far and the score only exacerbated the problem. It felt like they were trying too hard to go bigger and more dramatic when the film would have been just fine without the excess. I'd give Iron Man 2 a 7 out of 10. Not the best sequel I've ever seen but definitely above my admittedly low expectations after ruminating on the trailers for months.

The Glaug is perhaps slightly too small, but it's very, very close to accurate. SDF Macross Size Chart They look great together. Remember, the VF-1 Battroid has to be large enough that the two mecha can tear the arm off each other through collision, like in the original episode of SDF Macross

Death Dealer/Dark Wolf will be missed.

I doubt Grace would have the means to destroy the Zentradi, even with the mighty Vajra under her thumb. Sure there'd be plenty of early victories and perhaps even impressive strides, but against an enemy as numerous as the Zentradi, the Vajra don't stand a chance. The odds of the Zentradi locating the Vajra homeworld and/or Macross Galaxy Mainland are far, far greater than the thousands of years it would take Grace and her dominion to attempt the elimination of the billions of ships at the Zentradi's command. Hell, I wouldn't give Grace's regime even a few decades before she was overthrown, but that's a whole other issue

I love that name. Comedy gold. You should do it.

Looks like that was an error on my part or an early translation mix up. There's still a lot of information about Frontier that remains from the first days of the series, so the section is a little rough and incomplete. It will improve with time and the help of folks like yourself. Btw, if you have any questions or corrections for the Macross Mecha Manual, you can contact me directly via e-mail, via PM or by posting in the Macross Mecha Manual topic. I've made the correction and uploaded a new page. Make sure to refresh your browser when revisiting. Thanks again.

The humor was pretty damn good. I got a few hearty laughs from the film as well as a few chuckles through my teeth at some cringe-worthy gags

Now this is irony The best arrest ever, starring Spider-man, Jedi and the Flash Giving cosplay a good name

Finally got a chance to see Kick-Ass and it was definitely a good time at the movies. What I found most interesting about Kick-Ass was the setup that provided for an initially plausible masked vigilante and unlike many past films, the protagonist actually remains true to his limited crime fighting abilities for the entire story. Kick-Ass is more often a victim through his preposterous crime fighting antics rather than affecting any real impact on crime. Surprisingly, the film actually touched upon legitimate issues about society, violence and the will to act. In one late night brawl in front of a coffee shop, three thugs attempt to assault a lone victim, questioning what is wrong with Kick-Ass for risking his life to defend some "punk" he hardly knows. Kick-Ass defiantly responds; "Three thugs beat on one person while those people just stand watching and you ask what's wrong with me?" A simple parable perhaps, but the film succeeds at provoking the audience to at least consider the question. The film also struck an interesting balance between being a parody of the super hero and embracing the super hero conventions. It plays much like a traditional super hero/coming of age tale from start to finish, but how it gets there is far more interesting and dramatic. Speaking of drama, the films earns a lot of legitimacy for exploring some really harrowing territory. The actions of the characters have logical consequences and are explored to the fullest, leading to some rather dire results. While the movie is undeniably a fantasy with plenty of over-the-top action common to its comic book roots it gains full points for doing so with at least some intelligence and social awareness. Of course, I can't help but comment about my own reaction regarding the "controversy" of the film's violence and the 11-year old character of Hit Girl. To sum it up the moral panic raised by some critics: overblown. I can't really figure out where the outrage came from, if it's even legitimate and not another media scare. Personally, I'm chalking it up to some generational thing or more righteous indignation from a public that is already unhealthily obsessed with abusing their children as scapegoats. I can't help but wonder if this issue would have even been raised at all were Hit Girl a boy. The only answer seems to be that sexism is apparently alive and doing rather well. Mores the pity. Among the crowd at MW I can say this; anyone who has seen Cowboy Bebop has witnessed far more disturbing graphic violence involving a child than what appears in Kick-Ass. At any rate, a solid flick worth seeing. 4 out of 5 in my book.

HAHAHAHAA! Gotta give you points for that one

That does a lot to explain the incredible industrial capacity the UN Spacy attained in such a short period of time after Space War I.