IAD

I agree, if they're going to do it, put the disk right in the center of the intake, and make it as large as possible. As far as strenghtening, though, that shouldn't be enough of a reason to require all that space. There's even that area where the LEX extends down into the intake, which could provide a good-sized 'block' in which to mount a metal pivot. Oh well, really, a fairly minor issue, when it comes right down to it. I usually have the intake covers on my YF-19 anyway, so what difference does it make? (The SV does have intake covers, right?) ~Luke

I dunno, adding material in front would make the nose/fuselage look shorter. And the long, Sukhoi-style nose is 59.175% of what makes the SV an SV. I guess a better question is, what's actually behind those fan faces? If you look at the GERWALK photos, you can see the hinge is actually a little ways back. If the leg 'extension' (the black part that's exposed when you fold the hinge down) were attached to the intake component, as it is on the YF-19, then there should be some free space in there. What's it being used for? ~Luke

Slightly OT, but does anyone have a 3-view (or even just some line-art) of the VC33? ~Luke

I didn't mean to bash it at all. In my opinion, it is a much better than the YF-19, in terms of fighter mode line-art accuracy. (i.e. not 'blob-ifying' fighter mode.) ~Luke

Well, overall, it's quite good, however, if you really want to get nitpicky: Though hard to verify in the new photos, based on those original photos we saw, the wings and fuselage/nose are probably a bit small/short. (But this is understandable, considering how it transforms.) The wing roots/fillets (shoulders) are definitely too thick, in turn making the 30mm cannon mounts too thick, but again, there's not much you could do, the shoulders have to contain a lot of joints for the arms and what-not. Also, the 'ramps' that fair the front of the nacelles are a bit 'brutal'... Oh well. Two things that really hit me though: First, there are two 'fins' missing, on the bottom. They're supposed to go on either side of the forward lift fan exhausts. Maybe they interfered with transformation? Second, the nacelles and intake boxes (legs) are really a bit on the hefty side... It does "improve" the battroid mode, of course, but I always thought the SV looked like an anorexic pope anyhow, so adding 'beef' to the legs really is sort of counterproductive. It also makes the fan face look even smaller. Again though, these are nitpicks. Overall, it definitely captures the look of the SV-51. ~Luke

Looks very good. I think if they just gave up on molding the fan-face onto the ducting plug, it would actually look better, though. Somehow putting that little round fan there just draws attention to an understandable compromise they had to make. Maybe just a shot of flat-black paint, to de-emphasize the blocked intakes? ~Luke

So, when do we get the full report? ~Luke

Well, still waiting on the motors. This is more than a little disappointing. ~Luke

Ok, I've got a question: Why is the gunpod so different, compared to the Hasegawa design? This one actually has a pistol-grip, while the Hase. seems rather... Well, ungripable. Which one is line-art accurate? <Edit> Or is the grip foldable, and Hasegawa just made it a bit wide? </Edit> ~Luke

I now have all the gear in hand, except for the motors, which are backordered. Hopefully that will resolve itself shortly. (I'm going to contact the vendor tomorrow, to get an idea of how long things are expected to take.) ~Luke

That was definitely a motivating factor. ~Luke

Of course, nobody has mentioned the active stealth systems that both the VF-0 and the SV-51 had, which don't show up again until M+... (Not that they really seemed to do much, everybody always found everybody in the end, in M0.) ~Luke

Just received (and modified) the first components, specifically, the ducted fan units. To fit in the SV, the intake lips needed to be removed. Previously, this had been a tricky process, involving side-cutters and an X-acto knife. Not this time. I made a little adapter, chucked the duct in a drill, and had the lip cut off in no time flat. The next box should be getting here on Monday, and that will enable me to boot up the SV, and get some numbers off the propusion system. (Current, thrust, etc.) Once all that's optimized, it's test-flight time! ~Luke

Funny you should say that, I am actually in the process of designing/building a 3D digitizer and a 6' x 4' CNC gantry router... (Don't know yet if the precision will be high enough, but there's only one way to find out, I suppose.) ~Luke

I see. Very interesting. Thanks! ~Luke

I say, I was wondering... How does the production of garage kits (if that's the phrase I want) work out, what with the copyright laws and what-not in place? Is it done under the 'fan works clause' that most anime companies seem to unofficially abide by? Does it have to do with production run size, or... Is it just these things are off the radar altogether? ~Luke

I should hope you do! ~Luke

Maybe somebody with access to a CNC mill and a bunch of aluminum should go into business, and make some high-end aftermarket upgrade components for the SV. At least then the first-run people would have some recourse, if/when things break, besides screaming at Yamato. Not to mention an aluminum-upgraded SV would look really neat! ~Luke

Well, I guess this is where I chime in: Couple things: First, the YF-19 is DEFINTELY flightworthy. Parasitic drag, yes, but the great thing on a model is you can often get absurd thrust/weight ratios. Granted, it won't be an efficient model, but it will fly. Second: However, the first comment only applies to the aircraft in fighter mode! While never one to wantonly discourage crazy plans, a flying, transforming YF-19 is pretty close to cold fusion, on a scale of impossibility. Aside from any consideration of how to automate the transformation process, there is no practical control system on the -19, which would be effective in any sort of hover mode. (GERWALK, or otherwise.) Furthermore, as has been pointed out, the weight of the actuators required to transform such an aircraft would be quite high, especially since the geometries of many of the joints give little in the way of mechanical advantage. The stresses an aircraft (model or otherwise) experiences in flight can be fairly extreme, and even things as [seemingly] simple as variable-geometry wings (F-14/VF-0/VF-1) can be extremely difficult to get to function on a flying model. I don't mean to sound like a spoilsport here, but when it comes down to it, the realities of physics pretty much dictate that transforming aircraft have to remain in the realms of animation, at least for the (extremely long) foreseeable future. ~Luke

Ok. You've got PMs. Everything's on it's way. I did change a pair of components; because I was able to get the transmitter at a much lower price than expected, I upgraded the ESCs to lighter, higher-quality units. In the end, the total equipment cost was still lower than the estimate I gave you in that e-mail. ~Luke

Well, that took a bit more work than anticipated, but I've got the radio in hand. More gear coming shortly. ~Luke

Can you PM me your e-mail address? I've got the files ready to go. ~Luke

Good good. I've got the transmitter on order, and I'll start getting the other stuff moving. ~Luke

Ok, I should have some scans for you tomorrow afternoon. ~Luke

First flight: Third flight: ~Luke