dialNforNinja

Where does the AZ-130 line art, what there is, appear? I was looking through Macross Design Works again in connection with this family of mecha and it's not there. It jumped out at me again, though, that the blue jet ID'd as the Air Cavalry Chronicles FZ-109A is obviously the ME-175 from the facing page... on p153 the 109A is shown in B&W with a plane that actually matches its shape, and very close to the first rough one in the 109's pages. I'm not sure what the plane under the 175's heading is, it doesn't

That's what happens when I get bored with an AZ-130A screenshot. If you're not familiar with them, they're the mook villain unit from ep30 on of Macross 7, though gerwalk only appears for a couple of seconds far away in ep37. They're usually purple, and the limbs more bulky due to anime magic. Look at the thread for it in this forum for comparison pictures.

Beautiful, Mooch! I do wish you'd provide uncolored versions of your cleaned line art too, because you've certainly got a dab hand at it. As for the nominal thread topic, having finished 7, and the Encores, FotSWW, and PLUS, there is no other shot of the AZ-130A gerwalk, not even reused stock footage of the same one. Dissappointing, but not a surprise given that I knew it was a raree going in.

The RL F-22 has it... Iiked the YF-23 Black Widow II better, so it's another name I avoid. I've already used Sickle, Discus, & Plumbata for mecha names, and considered Shamshire for the sound but ultimately eliminated curvy weapons for my angular plane. I suppose I could combine two of them, like Naue Xyphos, but ... eh. Really, I was more looking help deciding between candidates than a ton of suggestions - I do appreciate them but I was havering already over three or four!

I didn't notice until just now, but judging by the screen shot it looks like the 130 leaves its shoulders facing forard in GERWALK rather than opened out to the sides. It's tiny, but the parts the upper arms connect to in that are clearly long, not wide.

The 109's have just as much exaggeration of the arms, lower legs, and shoulders... and the double size gunpod as well. That thing is supposed to fit in a hatch on the side of the lower leg... and why don't any of them ever draw both at once for some double fisted mayhem? At least Giggles the boss among enemy pilots... I like the 109's a lot, but the earwings on the F are kind of goofy, like big bat ears. I'd want an F with the A head and the cockpit pod refitted for EXGear control - my Skullfokker130 too. Oh, I forgot - Mr. Mooch, if you like, feel free to use the GERWALK cap, as pathetic as it is, or the de-magic'ed battroid for your MMM site.

Well, Protodeviln are like devils, possessed the bodies of people from the Macross 5 fleet, and mind controlled a bunch more - they say so right in the dialogue. I imagine that's enough to make the Pope very angry indeed. WRT previous poster's complaint about the long squid-head - I expect it's full of a heavy duty radar set and other sensors, possibly fuel tankage for the nearby vernier thrusters as well though I'd expect those to be supplied from somewhere more central to avoid changing the balance of the plane as it's depleted. None of these things admit to folding down flat on the sides of the head... you could split it like TF:G1 Cyclonus, maybe, but I don't think it would really improve things much overall and it might get in the way of the shoulder lasers when the head is turned.

Try this on for size.

Oh, and hero colors plz OK thx bai

Firstly, I have that rarest of things, the AZ-130 GERWALK screen shot - shown for all of a second and a half at long idstance in ep37, but there, and I haven't rewatched 39 and P*L*U*S yet to see if there's more. Second.... Here's the AZ-130 with the head, lower legs, arms, gun, and most of all shoulders de-anime magic'ed to the rough size and shapes they should have with a purely physical transformation. Compare to the original screen shot... now doesn't mine look a lot less over-the-top goofy? Could still stand to shorten the shoulder lasers a tad I think, but they're more forgiveable since they don't hurt anything being longer than the official F-mode line art, and run off the screen in the original shot. I couldn't do anything for the chest being magically deepened, but it's not too bad in this shot, and transforms a bit in that direction to expose the big secondary sensor stripe in the chest. I'm not sure what that's supposed to do for it since the earlier FZ models have the same kind of spiritia displays as are shown in its instrument panels, but maybe it's got better range, or just the ability to read powerful sources without burning out like a Dragonball Scouter on Goku. And... even if it's not the AZ-130, how do you like my new avatar, of THE ULTIMATE WEAPON!? It's an FZ-109A with a rock! It is in fact Gigile's post-defection stolen 109, and he's deciding whether to bash the VF-19Kai to scrap with that rock or dig it out, while Basara uis still unconcious under the rest of them... so at that moment, it was actually the most threatening weapon in the show. Though his suicide attack in ep38 is a suspiciously lower-animation-budget version of what the Dimension Eater bomb did to Gaulia-4 in Macross Frontier...

A couple hours' investigation of other pokeysticks has led to the possibility of Katar, Assegai, or Partizan (the latter having been suggested by Bluemage elseforum) as similarly shaped bladed weapons with a more distinctive name than 'bronze age dagger' or 'Medean Type B.' Naue II aka Griffzungenschwert has some appeal - an 800 year service lifetime for the design would certainly bode well for its marketability! Xyphos really does have a cool sound to it too, though I REALLY dislike gundams.

Thanks, I couldn't believe no one had previously used it, esp. given the 'Dial ___ For (murder method)' book series, but vanity searching it still only turns up me... Anyway, this leaves Diamondback in the lead, currently, as the only other suggestion to be seconded.

Xiphos leaps out at me, too. I think we may have a winner, pending a Google check for existing properties or unfortunate slang uses... Hm, as a prize, pick out a color scheme and I'll make an attempt at cleaning up that hairy 3/4 view and dressing it up in it. No guarantees, but it shouldn't be too hard to ink a blued version like I drew the FAST parts on. Edit - Ugh, it's already the name for a recent (worse, supposedly-transforming, in typically halfassed fashion) Gundam. Disqualified!

Obviously - the bottom view is not in the least proportionate, it's barely even coherent, but it's got enough visual cues to keep me from forgetting how the furshlugginer thing is suppoed to work, and hence probably for other people to figure that out, so you get it. Don't you feel special now? In addition to the visible super parts in that image, there'd be a big bay with a crapton of missiles on that leg/fairing panel, and some armor over the front of the legs as well. The inner bottom quartrer of each nacelle is left bare by the wing thruster/missile pack, to let the main gear door pop open and the wheels extend, but it's doubtful there'd be a lot of clearance for the thruster bells back there so it's propably a case for landing in GERWALK or launch via one of those docking clamp arms. Or, or course, if you're in zero gee, just puff all the underside verniers and VTOL it.

Erm... why Albion? Isn't that just forn for 'white?' (As in, that language they speak in fornparts ) ETA: Fixed the 3/4 view, also did a super-rough underside after concluding it would need fairing panels like the YF-21 (these fold flat to the outside of the leg, though, rather than dangling off it like hip-wings - that's for the barrier sword scabbard to do!) to keep the arms from gribbling up the radar profile and airflow, and a scribble of some super parts. Highly derivataive super parts, at that, but perhaps I'll be more creative when I eventually do a 3d model.

Dyson just in time to sortie with SMS when Sheryl hires them. A Raven acting as fold tender to a wing of Skates from the colony defense force and the VHAC founder's wing in the #1-4 delivered Type 16 then follow to collect their wayward pilot and get caught up in the fun since VHAC is used to enemies requiring SES equipment to deal with. Animal experiment stage precursors of the full up Evil series, not possessed but with similar barriers and so on. Utterly non-canonical but good enough for rpg'ing.

Thanks - in general service they'd be a sensible dark grey or camo green, but these are the "showpiece" models - the Drachenjaeger with its wildly unaerodynamic Sustained Unsupported Operations loadout actually has a bit of story to it, where one of the Varauta Hostile Animal Control aces has family aboard Galaxy, and when they come under attack pulls the showpiece tech demo Coralsnake armor out of storage and fits it to her avacado and taupe duty valk, loads for soloing Protodeviln, and heads out like

Thanks - I'm afraid I kind of half-assed the 'shop to fix the too short rear end when I look at it more - they're a dozen pixels or more too high, making the legs and far arm shield all warped to one side. D'oh. I'll have to fix that when I get back to a real machine instead of my potato. Thanks though, I'm pretty happy with it in general myself!

A little more info - the fusilage section between the cockpit & hips can hold one of several internal modules: a fold drive unit, two ultraheavy MDE or Reflex missiles or large numbers of smaller missiles, photo and signal interception recon equipment, a heavy duty SES system, or simply extra fuel and cargo space. As a colonial design, the plans also include the option of a lower cost aluminum skin rather than low observable materials, which raises the radar profile but still to far less than a VF-25

(Elseforum suiggestions: Diamondback, Skylancer) Pilots should love how survivable this thing is - you can blow all the arms and legs and head off, and still fly, fight, and even land normally in F, since the main gear are located in the secondary nacelles. If that fails, you can eject the nose pod (including out of the chest of B mode) and fly home in that, or if all else fails you still have the EXGear-style slave-controls powered armor if you have to bail the old fashioned way. That's three different ways to survive major damage to your airframe, after stealth, dodging and armor already failed.

With my computer still down for the count, what do I do? Get my P&P on! These are scans of preliminary pencil sketches (hence the poor quality) for mm latest brainstorm, the Motodyne Type 26. However, I'm still lacking a common name for it - current ideas are on the larger image, with tpo contenders starred. Splinter wpould be an engrish pun on its speed, Kaross on deliberate adherence to NeoverseOmega's ode to the VF-4 and its "I have defeated a plane in personal combat and skinned it, now I wear it as a pelt" design aesthetic, and Kestrel just because it's a carnivorous bird that sounds cool. I'm open to other suggestions, but since the Skate I've tried to use S, K, SK, and/or or SH names in honor of The Master (Skate, Skorpion, Kite, Kyrie, some less successful designs.) Transformation is not really anything like the canon variable devices, though there's a bit of VF-4 and VF-11 in the torso, and the secondary engines/wings fold over like the SW-XA II or VF-2SS. Exact arrangement of the upper arms/legs and hence underside is waiting on making a 3d model, but of the visible panels on the back, starting from the tail, the two on either side of the main engines/lower legs (and yes, all engines have a stealth trench - I've got a way to turn those into robot feet that should be awesome) are lower arm shield parts (and may be narrowed in the final version) while the jagged little panels forward of them are what the secondary engines hinge to and end up mostly vertical inside the back. The wide panel across the front is the main shoulder area and will be tipped forward at a low angle, with the cockpit mostly horizontal under it. The center part is the flat form of a transforming head. The two sort of triangular side pieces connecting to the nose are the VF-11 influenced part, and the nosecone folds down like the VF-4 to keep from being a huge uniboob ala VF-19. As with the Skate (the white/blue/gold 3d model I posted a link to in the gallery not long ago) the entire "snake head" cockpit/nose can detatch as an escape pod with limited thruster ability for orbital transfer or powered flight/independent atmospheric reentry as a lifting body, though it's dependent on attitude thrusters rather than canards for steering because I couldn't fit them into this transformation. Those butterfly-vectored thrust verniers would probably be the death of any pretence to stealth in reality, but I reject that reality, this is MECHA! Rule of Cool prevails over mere pedestrian physics! Anyway, pretties. The three quarter view is nicer, but has some innacuracies in angle and proportion compared to the top-down version, thoguh that also some some bits already planned for change - like I said these are just preliminary sketches. The whole thing, while sleek, will be quite bulky through the body; it's a cross between an lifting body and blended wing design. I'm actually more concerned about what I'm going to do with all the volume than how to fit all the parts inside it for once I should be able to fit the trademark Barrier Sword at least in for integrated carriage, maybe a gunpod or two as well, and a VF-27 style mega-gun can mount to one or both of the visible forearm panels, swinging around like the VF-171EX's when it transforms. Full Variable Armor is also in the works, of course. (3/4 sketch fixed, see below)

Far and away, the FZ-109A. I'll take mine in pearlized white with scavenged F-type shoulder lasers, please. VF-4 next, then VF-9 'cause it's just so funky, SV-51y NR for same, VF-0D 'cause its got the charm of the VF-1 with 21st century design, and... hmm, tossup between Neo Glaug and VB-6 for sixth slot. Yeah, I likes me the oddball rides, call me wierd if you must. YF/VF-19 gets honorable mention, when it appeared it blew the other three then-fully-animated designs away, but there's better since. Edit 2012-09-07: After de-magicing the AZ-130 (shown in this thread http://www.macrosswo...showtopic=37419 ) , I've decided I actually like it as much as the 109A... the arrowhead nose on the earlier model is cooler looking, but the 130 makes up for it in sheer nastiness index, and its tall shoulder lasers are in a more visually interesting configuration than the 109F's, while replaing the short awkward looking 2/3 barrel laser and plasma cannon (that never get shown being used) on the 109 types' chest with dual, lower profile three-lens laser clusters (erroneously shown launching missiles in the only shot of them being used I've yet found... or MAYBE it can bend and wiggle those laser cluster beams like the main guns on Varauta ships, or like the HA-5 fullarmor varient of my Skate 3d design does, based on recovered Varauta/Supervision Army tech... the 130 has a similar buly chest to how the Harlequin "Beamhell" armor ended up, too...) http://imageshack.us...orelefttopx.png

The forearm bits look a bit angular compared to the rest, and I thinkg the shoulders should be bulkier, but it's looking good so far.

Oh, and these aren't two models of head on the Skate, it just transforms between them. The Raven's head has only one form, but unfolds into a long, thin strip.

The arms fold out flat into those long hexagons on the underside, with the hands inside the central body on either side of the bomb bay. It all physically works enough to build a toy, though with interpenetration rather than hollowing out most shapes. Thanks for the comments! All the way Next is a long path, but there's a four piece super sentai combiner there based on the Four Gods of the Chinese zodiac, with an unfilled space for the Golden Emperor to be an alternate face. I'm quite proud of it also.