pengbuzz
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On 2/10/2024 at 10:22 PM, Seto Kaiba said:
To be honest, that's more or less how I'd describe Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
My feeling on Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn was that its story was a jumbled excuse plot that was mostly built on fanservice. The main conflict between Banagher and Full Frontal was a repeat-by-proxy of Amuro and Char's final conflict in Char's Counterattack, and everything leading up to it was a meandering and largely unnecessary sightseeing tour that'd be unnecessary if anyone in the story had a functioning brain (Laplace's box is "hidden" in plain sight on Laplace station FFS) and was liberally infested with MSV designs that did not have official gunpla yet. The whole affair felt like it was written by the marketing department, even if I knew in advance it was adapted from a light novel.
I have to admit, I do see where you're coming from on Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative though. It's Unicorn again, but worse in every way and they're not even putting in the effort to pretend otherwise. It's REALLY blatant on the Neo Zeon side thanks to...
... Zoltan being a washout from the program that created Full Frontal, piloting ANOTHER Sinanju and with access to another Neo Zeong.
It just takes the worst aspect of Unicorn and makes that the whole plot. Namely, psycoframes are just straight-up magic. The Axis Shock was one thing, since that was supposedly the collective will of humanity acting on the psycoframe. Unicorn and Narrative have just made Newtypes into wizards. It's not surprising the ending has Mineva saying that it's her life's work to put the genie back in the bottle because these developments don't fit with any of the works set after UC 100. Banagher's cameo is also completely unnecessary. This movie really doesn't contribute anything meaningful or interesting to the story of Gundam Unicorn or to Gundam's Universal Century as a whole. More than anything, where Unicorn felt to me like a toy commercial... Narrative feels like a fanfic.
Starting to wish they'd get away from newtypes... too much potential for what's happening here ("wizards").
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2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:
Ended up fielding a bunch of different questions about the subject of VF generations last night on Discord and Facebook, so I figured I'd update this listing of mine with the latest information since I haven't touched it since December 2021. 😅
For the sake of convenience, the following rant will be color-coded!
VFs that officially exist and have appeared in a Macross official setting work
VFs that officially exist and have NOT appeared in a Macross official setting work.
VFs that exist solely in non-official works like Variable Fighter Master File
VFs whose placement is speculative.Last Edited: 11 Feb 2024 - Added VB-4, VB-5, revised Sv-154 Svard placement, added unmanned Neo Glaug, revised naming convention for Neo Glaug bis, revised Generation 5.5 and Generation 6 entirely.
Generation 0 - "Prototype Generation"
This generation is purely speculative and exists mainly to segregate designs that do not fully comply with the design qualifications for the First Generation Variable Fighter (e.g. thermonuclear reaction turbine engines) and were built principally for evaluation purposes rather than mass produced for actual combat service.- YVF-X-0
- VF-0 Phoenix (YVF-X-0B)
- VF-0-NF
- Sv-50
- Sv-51
- Sv-51Σ (Unmanned Sv-51)
Generation 0.5 - "Upgraded Prototype Generation"
This generation contains designs that exist only in Variable Fighter Master File. These VF designs are upgrades of the 0th Generation prototypes that were upgraded with technology from 1st Generation VFs or otherwise modernized to make them viable for long-duration operation.- VF-0+ Phoenix Plus
- Sv-51Ω (Repurposed incomplete Sv-52 with conventional engines)
Generation 1 - "First Generation"
The defining traits of this generation are the adoption of Overtechnology, including thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, laser weaponry, energy converting armor, etc. in a production variable fighter.- Sv-52
- VF-1 Valkyrie
- VF-X-2
Generation 1.5 - "Upgraded First Generation"
First Generation designs upgraded with Second Generation hardware drawn from the VF-4.- Sv-51 Replica (Macross 30)
- VF-0 Phoenix Replica (Macross 30)
- VF-1 Valkyrie Plus (Blocks 6 and later, incl. VF-1X)
- VF-1P Freyja Valkyrie
- VF-1X++ Valkyrie Double Plus
- VF-1C Civilian Valkyrie
- VF-1EX Valkyrie EX
- VF-3000S Crusader
- VF-3000B Bomber Valkyrie
Generation 2 - "Specialization for Emigrant Fleets"
The hallmarks of the Second Generation designs include the adoption of Zentradi overtechnology, refinements for regime-optimized performance in either atmosphere or space, "lessons learned" from the First Space War, and optionally the adoption of particle beam weaponry. Most were intended for use by emigrant fleets, with low cost, simplified manufacturing, and parts-sharing.- VF-X-3
- VF-4 Lightning III
- VF-3000S Crusader
- VF-3000B Bomber Valkyrie
- VF-5000 Star Mirage
- VF-5
- VF-6
- VF-7
- VF-9 Cutlass
- VF-X-10
- V-BR-2
- VA-X-3
- VB-4
- VB-5
Generation 2.5 - "Upgraded Second Generation"
Second Generation VFs that were modernized to keep them in service alongside Third Generation VFs.- VF-4G Lightning III
- VF-5000G Star Mirage
- VF-9E Cutlass
Generation 3 - "Project Nova and Diversification"
The Third Generation VFs are defined chiefly by the Project Nova design contest that decided the generation's main variable fighter as a true all-purpose successor to the VF-1 Valkyrie, but also by the continuing diversification of variable craft design into dedicated Attacker and Bomber roles.- VF-11 Thunderbolt
- VF-14 Vampire
- VF-15
- VF-17[A-C] Nightmare
- VA-14
- VAB-2
- VA-3 Invader
- VBP-1/VA-110 Variable Glaug
- VB-6 König Monster
Generation 3.5 - "Upgraded Third Generation"
Third Generation VFs that've been modernized or upgraded with technology drawn from Fourth Generation VFs to keep them viable or evaluate technologies meant for Fourth Generation implementation.- VF-11MAXL Thunderbolt
- VF-11C Thunderbolt Interceptor
- VF-16
- VF-17[D-T] Nightmare
- XVF-19 (a modified VF-11)
- Fz-109 Elgersoln
- Az-130 Panzersoln
- FBz-99 Zaubergern
Generation 4 - "Project Super Nova: the Advanced Variable Fighter"
The Fourth Generation's distinctive design traits are among the best known in Macross. The adoption of the next-gen ARIEL airframe control AI, thermonuclear reaction burst turbine engines, fighter-scale pinpoint barrier systems, and native compatibility for fold boosters. This generation was largely defined by Project Super Nova, the ultimately futile contest between the YF-19 and YF-21 at Eden's New Edwards Test Flight Center. The insurmountable technological and performance complications of the two designs led to a third design, the VF-171, becoming this generation's main variable fighter.- VF-19 Excalibur
- YF-21
- VF-22 Sturmvogel II
- VF-22 Sturmvogel II (SMS Type)
- VF/B-22 Jagdvogel II
- VF-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II)
- VB-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II)
- RVF-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II)
- Sv-154 Svard
- Feios Valkyrie
- Fz-109G Elgersoln Gustav
- Neo Glaug (Macross Plus Game Edition unmanned version)
- VBP-1/VA-110 Neo Glaug bis (Macross R/Macross F novel version)
Generation 4.5 - "Upgraded Fourth Generation"
The Generation 4.5 designs are few, and consist mostly of VF designs that were either upgraded to evaluate tech for eventual adoption by Generation 5 designs, or ones that were upgraded in extremis to make them more effective in combat against the Vajra.- VF-19ACTIVE Nothung
- VF-19EF Caliburn
- RVF-19EF Caliburn
- VF-19EF/A Excalibur ADVANCE
- VF-22HG Schwalbe Zwei
- VF-22 Sturmvogel II "Manfred"
- VF-22 Sturmvogel II "Ushio Todo Custom"
- VF-171 Nightmare Plus (Block III and IIIF)
- VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX
- VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX Thrones Custom (Macross E version)
- RVF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX
- Queadluun Alma
Generation 5 - "Project Evolution and Decentralized Development"
The Fifth Generation of Variable Fighters started development as a response to the disastrous first contact with the insectoid alien race known as the Vajra. Existing VF designs proved utterly inadequate to rival the performance of Vajra drones, and new programs were launched to develop countermeasures for the high-g forces and other major problems with the newly finalized Fourth Generation. The design hallmarks of Fifth Generation Variable Fighters include the adoption of Inertia Store Converter technology to insulate the cockpit against high g-forces, Stage II thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, contactless Linear Actuator technology for transformation, the ARIEL II airframe control AI, Extender Gear (EX-Gear) user interfaces, Advanced Energy Conversion Armor (ASWAG), and heavy quantum beam weaponry.- YF-24
- YF-24 Evolution
- VF-24
- YF-25 Prophecy
- VF-25 Messiah
- YF-26
- YF-27 Shahar
- VF-27 Lucifer
- YF-28
- VF-31 Kairos
- Queadluun Alma
Generation 5.5 - "Upgraded Fifth Generation"
The precise criteria for the Sixth Generation of Variable Fighters are still somewhat unclear in the absence of a true production Sixth Generation Variable Fighter. Materials from Macross Delta and its movie Absolute Live!!!!!! have offered some clues as to the defining features of the Sixth Generation that reframe several Macross Frontier-era designs as experimental or prototype Sixth Gen VF designs and offered some additional clarity for the intermediate Generation 5.5 designs. The foundational feature of the Sixth Generation is fold wave resonance technologies based on fold quartz which are used to boost the performance of systems that use fold waves natively (e.g. thermonuclear reactors, dimensional beam weapons) and to supplement a Variable Fighter's energy supply by extracting energy directly from higher-dimension space. Fifth Generation designs retrofitted with these technologies or scaled-down versions of these technologies are tentatively (or officially) now classified as Generation 5.5 designs.- VF-31 Siegfried (Xaos Valkyrie Works custom)
- VF-31AX Kairos Plus
- Sv-262 Draken III
- Sv-300
- Sv-301
- Sv-302
- Sv-303 Vivasvat
Generation 6 - "Fold Waves for All"
Until recently, there was no concrete information about the Sixth Generation of Variable Fighters other than its hypothetical existence based on one design being officially classified as a 5.5th Gen custom variable fighter. Materials published for the movie Absolute Live!!!!!! have offered more clarity on the matter and reassigned several Frontier-era VF designs that were previously treated as Fifth Generation "super prototypes" as Sixth Generation experimental or prototype Variable Fighters. Their key design feature is the adoption of fold quartz-based fold wave resonance technology that operates synergistically with systems that use fold waves natively like thermonuclear reactors, inertia store converters, dimensional beam weapons and the like to improve performance to a level beyond what is achievable with fold carbon or without fold wave resonance effects. Other new technologies suggested to be a part of the Sixth Generation requirements are the adoption of layered energy conversion armor as a material for the VF's structural frame, Ghost "parasite aircraft" wingmen, and next generation energy conversion armor, active stealth, and communication technology that uses fold waves in place of electromagnetic waves and allows the entire aircraft skin to function as a composite sensor.- YF-28
- YF-29 Durandal
- YF-29B Perceval
- YF-29C (Earth NUNS trial production version)
- YF-30 Chronos
- YF-30B Chronos (NUNS Version)
- VF-31AX Kairos Plus
- VF-31X (Experimental 6th Generation VF)
- Sv-303 Vivasvat
Thanks for posting this Seto!! Saving a copy for my personal files...
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2 hours ago, azrael said:
I wonder:
SpoilerIf after the Fall of Reach, they'll go right into the Combat Evolved storyline, or try to stretch things out a bit?
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1 hour ago, azrael said:
Dial it down please. Name calling and insults usually ends any kind of debating.
My apologies. Dialed down, and previous snarkiness removed (as far as I know) from my previous post.
To try to move this into a more positive light: @Seto Kaiba: would there be a situation/ situations where destroids would be more useful in combat than a Valkyrie? An example I can think of is perhaps Southern Cross or maybe Mospeada, where it looks like much of the fighting was ground based (admit it's been a while since I've seen either series, so this is by very shaky recollection). Or would those be poor venues for that?
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On my workbench now:
Keeping a promise to some lost friends; first up is the F-14A Tomcat (VF-1 Wolfpack September 1974, CV(A)N-65 U.S.S. Enterprise). The next two will be the F-14A (Top Gun, Maverick/Goose's plane, 1986), then the F-14D (VF-213 Black Lions, 2005). These represent the birth, zenith and end of the F-14's career over a span of 31+ years.
Cockpit's pretty much done; just need to clean up around the frame. once that's done, masking and initial priming commences.
Stay tuned...
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On 2/4/2024 at 1:25 PM, Seto Kaiba said:
I don't recall if I asked this one before... but now that it's on the brink of production, this thought keeps nagging at me.
You guys probably remember this reveal from about a year ago of the MY24 Dodge Charger Daytona SRT BEV. It's the first of a whole new platform (and series of platforms) from the post-merger FCA and Groupe PSA. One of the most divisive features among the design team was, well, this...
In a bid to appeal to more traditional muscle car enthusiasts, the electric Dodge Charger's going to have a simulated engine sound.
I know there's definitely a lot of resistance ot the idea of EVs as potential muscle cars, even if 900hp is within reach for the higher-end systems like the Banshee variant. Would the simulated engine noise and potentially simulated automatic/manual shift behavior make an electric muscle car more appealing?
(NGL, I'm personally in the camp that thinks the simulated engine noise is a bit silly...)
Why pay for that feature? Just plug in an electric vacuum to the car and duct tape it to the rear bumper. You'd get about the same effect.
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7 minutes ago, azrael said:
I don't think people understand how productions work. Any productions. Any chance you can reuse an asset to save money is one you don't pass it up. And back in the days of hand-drawn & colored cels, you definitely do not pass up the opportunity to do so unless you want your animators to turn their pencils in fookin' weapons. It's why we get an occasional clip-show episode. It's why your favorite sci-fi show reuses VFX shots. It cost money to do new every time.
Not to mention time; animators, especially those in Asia, are often very overworked (I've heard of them sleeping on the studio floors during projects). Anything that can save them time and effort is a bonus.
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On 2/4/2024 at 2:37 AM, Seto Kaiba said:
If they do this right, it could be the first real definitive artbook that Macross II has ever had. 😁
So much of the art was scattered in random magazine articles in Animage, Newtype, and B-Club. The print quality of the Bandai Entertainment Bible books always left a bit to be desired, and This is Animation Special 5 kind of crammed a lot of the minor designs into a page or two at the very end.
Even if they don't get the more obscure stuff, I've still got a good feeling about this one.
A little undecided on this one, since funds are scarce for me. At the same time, I loved the setting and mecha for MII (albeit I don't read Japanese very well).
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11 minutes ago, F-ZeroOne said:
Its definitely worth it - its arguably Tominos masterpiece (I am a tiny bit biased, as its my favourite "Gundam" series). You do have to put up with Tominos trademark quirks (the guy just cannot bear to have his characters sit still) and one of the story elements relies on a huge coincidence, but if you treat it like a pulp Sci-Fi series where unlikely things happen all the time, you should be fine. Did I mention Yoko Kanno did the music? 😄
Regards other mecha: low end, the AV-98 Ingram. A design so good it still looks like something that could be made ten years from now.
Middle ground: The Big Dai-X from "X-Bomber/Star Fleet". Purely for childhood nostalgia reasons. Perfect for punching cyborg villains through the face! Send a message out across the skyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....
High end: The ID-E-OOOOOOOOON! Now, exactly how powerful the Ideon is is a matter for debate; in the show itself you probably don't want to be standing on any planet it happens to be near, but depending on who you believe it may just be the most powerful mecha ever...
Ideon = tragic and brutal mass slayings via infinite power, conveniently contained in one mech.
Seriously.... it sliced a planet in half:
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16 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:
That's not exactly a typical reaction in sci-fi. Your usual sci-fi viewer will generally assume some kind of sci-fi shenanigans are in play when something like that happens... and/or that they're only seeing a portion of what's going on when you're dealing with a spaceship the size of a small town.
(It helps that, in Macross, the process of rebuilding the city took a solid month not a few days.)
That's not really unique to younger viewers... that's a pretty normal viewer's reaction to sci-fi. The genre comes with the implicit understanding that implausible shenanigans will in fact ensue in the name of entertainment, and audiences generally roll with that unless the story is so badly executed that moon logic is required to join up the dots.
This is actually a great example. Everyone sitting down to watch a superhero move takes it as read from the outset that implausible things can and will happen because superhero stories are inherently about implausible things. Whether the hero's power comes from literal magic, super-advanced technology, or just being a space alien that can do things the garden variety human can't, the audience takes it in stride because that's an underlying expectation of the genre as a whole.
Warner Bros and DC's Superman movies don't struggle because people can't or won't suspend disbelief for Superman doing Superman things. That's more a fundamental issue of Superman being the quintessential boring invincible hero and consequently an unrelatable flat character.
Indeed... and that's part of what makes them relatable to the audience.
Macross was made for an older teenage audience, so the main cast is three teenagers who are simultaneously grappling with transitioning from youthful innocence to the world of adult responsibility and with hapless, fumbling, teenage romance. We might look at it and say "wow, they're making unhealthy life choices" but... well... teenagers do that. I'm sure most of us have done at some point. Of course, they're also running on Japan's cultural standards from forty years ago which may seem odd or unhealthy to an audience that was not raised with those cultural standards. It's a product of the time and place where it was made, and almost anyone going to watch is going to understand that fact and likely not be that put off by anything that goes on in the series. Especially if they're familiar with anime in general and understand the basic premise that Japan's cultural standards are not the same as American, or British, or wherever we may happen to be from.
(Now if you want to see an anime where a character is ACTUALLY simping for their love interest, I can name a few... but it's terribly undignified and I can't honestly recommend any of them as enjoyable.)
Now that I understand... though it is at least justified by the official materials that explain what was going on during the timeskip. Their relationship seems like it was in a holding pattern because it basically was while they were assigned to different places. Hikaru spent a good chunk of that time up on the moon flying patrols of near-Earth space.
Never felt off to me, but then I've had the foreknowledge that she probably started looking after his place while he was away on assignment as a favor.
(It's also an old cliche in a lot of Japanese romance stories... a real popular schtick in love triangles and harem titles where one participant is the childhood friend/girl next door.)
That's... not atypical relationship behavior for the unmarried at any age. The regrettable attempt to reconnect with the ex is a proudly undignified tradition that predates the written word and knows no boundaries of gender, nationality, creed, or anything else.
Not to mention that all of this is happening during what is pretty much the end of the world as we know it. That's going to make people a bit more clouded in their relationships I would think.
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41 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:
To be fair, it's not that there was absolutely no place for Destroids in the postwar New UN Forces.
What ultimately killed the Destroid as a military concept was cost. The realities of space war stripped the Destroids of their main operating role and their remaining niche of anti-aircraft defense was largely eroded by more cost-effective alternatives like beam CIWS turrets and fixed anti-aircraft missile batteries. Macross Frontier's Cheyenne II operates in an incredibly specific niche as an air defense platform specifically meant to operate inside an emigrant ship so massive that the possibility of fighting enemy aircraft inside of the ship exists.
As seen in Macross R, at least one emigrant government (Macross Galaxy) has tried to modernize the Series 04 destroids as of 2058. The problem is that, for all the expensive tech advancements incorporated into designs like the Super Defender, they don't seem to have achieved significantly better performance than the conventional alternatives.
There are, as previously noted, cases where more specialized or exotic Destroid-like mobile weapons did give Valkyries a run for their money in specific circumstances that catered directly to their strengths in the 2050s... but that performance was highly situational.
In the Cheyenne's defense, it was an earlier and less advanced Series 03 model using much less overtechnology than the Series 04 models that were considered the UN Forces first viable Destroid platform. It was built for war against other Humans more than against something like the Zentradi, and like the VF-0 it did pretty well for what was basically a developmental model being thrown into combat service on short notice.
(Also, let's dial it back a wee bit... the aim is polite discourse.)
In hindsight, it's funny how what they described as a potential upgrade for the Tomahawk and Defender is basically the Tomahawk II and Defender EX from Macross II.
My apologies. Sometimes kind of hard for me to tell when my online tone is off; no disrespect intended. Dial turned down to 2.3.
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On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:
In a lot of respects the OG Destroids amounted to Studio Nue, being Studio Nue where like they had done on SBY II they produced a lot more design work than the Production Staff could realistically use.
Most productions has more design work than the production staff can use. Just look at McQuarrie's work for Star Wars or Probert and Sternbach's work for Star Trek.
On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:In a lot of respect the rest fill in from there. Contrary to the usual stereotype SDF:M doesn't portray these platforms as lacking, but it does pretty clearly have issues with integrating them.
You can't really integrate something into a military that has no place for them to integrate into.
On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:If we don't overly focus on the period where the Bubble Economy and related meant Studio Nue's efforts with the Macross didn't really have a budget [read Macross 7]:
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They're acknowledged as a thing in Macross Plus [1994-95], despite that being a short OVA with a big focus on a Pair of Prototype VFs.
- Mind in turn 1994 is around when Evangelion is creating a splash in part because people are beginning to realize what will come to be called The Lost Decade isn't a short term problem.
- The Macross Zero OVA [2002-2004] makes a point to do significant design work to create the Cheyenne, a reworked prototype Monster, and VF-0 Armored Valkyrie.
- Macross Frontier [2008] then sees them finally get that kind of budget for a TV series where they decide to effectively iterate the Cheyenne/Monster/VF combo.
Macross Zero & Frontier in turn found a balance where the depicted Destroids were purposeful, with their inclusion not being burdensome to Production. So that's arguably what we're looking at having happened, and that approaching being easier in that regard where SDF:M never quite managed to make it work is why we're liable to see them stick with that.
1) As Seto mentioned: in M+, they're used as targets.
2) Evangelion plays by a different set of rules, where the "Angels" are committing themselves largely to land-based attacks, designed to inflict harm upon humanity. Evangelion is not Macross.
3) Again mentioned by Seto: this is before SW1, when the Unity Government is still thinking the coming conflict will be a land war.
4) The Cheyenne turned out to be about as effective as one would expect in a situation where much of the attacks were aerial. As for the Koenig: it's a big slow valkyrie.
On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:Mind in turn that Studio Nue has had a not exactly minor hand in Armored Core Mecha design.
In Armored Core, the piloting is very much ground based with "flight" time in the air being limited to how long the AC can last before its' boosters overheat and it enters "cooldown mode".
On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:I would argue Sensible Upgrading the Type-04 line and the Type-07 line is relatively straightforward based on precedence to the VF-11 era, but represent hardware that would be more trouble than their worth for Show Production.
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Tomahawk
- Basic Generational Tech upgrade evolutions, ala newer computers, actuators, etc.
- Mount Gatlings alongside the PPGs like the Cheyenne II
- Rewire the modular shoulder mounts to be able to also handle a pair of head laser analogues.
- Structure the associated group to have a mix of laser and missile packs on the shoulder mounts to help with doing the equivalent of VFs & Battlepods gunning at incoming missiles.
The obvious problem with this is you're adding a lot of stuff for Show Production to account for in scene planning versus the Cheyenne II, and you wouldn't really get much of an opportunity to use it productively beyond what you get with depicting Cheyenne IIs.
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Defender
- Basic Generational Tech upgrade evolutions, ala newer computers, actuators, etc.
- Setup a version that's basically the classic config with the extra hard-points of the official upgrade top/bottom on each arm.
- Longer range version with the OG quad cannons, and something along the lines of AAM-1 triples per hardpoint.
- Shorter range version with the Rotaries, and Micro-pods as officially depicted.
Again in Show Production terms this would tend to cause needless scene planning complications versus just using Cheyenne IIs.
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Spartan
- Basic Generational Tech upgrade evolutions, ala newer computers, actuators, etc.
- VF-11 style gun pod with integrated bayonet and field swappable magazines.
- VF-11 style Ballistic Shield, albeit a bit larger with spare mags mounted on the backside as with the VF-11
In those scenarios, the destroid is still a sitting target on the ground for space-based forces .
Destroids are, by default, playing in a 2 1/2 D playign field, limited by the fact that while they can shoot up, they cannot move up. Their opponents however are moving and fighting in 3D, and have those benefits to assist them. And if they really want to be sadistic (and have the time), they can simply run the pilot out of ammo. Sooner or later, gunpods run out of ammo but a Valkyrie can still maneuver and fly. But with Destroids: once their ammo is used up, they are slow and plodding with limited hand to hand ability.
Also: eventually, armor, shields and structures taking a heavy beating will fail. Even overtechnology materials has its' limits, especially when pounded on by multiple beams of energy weapons and salvos of high-explosive warheads. "Newer computers, actuators, tech upgrades, etc." can only do so much in a combat environment where the enemy is airborne, has a space navy with starship-grade weaponry, and the forces they're fighting are largely landlocked.
On 2/6/2024 at 8:53 PM, Jebe457 said:The Type-04 as of SW1 could beat the VF-1 in a foot race at 180kph vs. 160 kph, and both the Type-04 and Type-07s already integrated Jump Jet systems. So a SW1 era VF only has a mobility advantage of the 1/10th of price Destroid if it's in one of the other modes.
Which is exactly what any trained Valkyrie pilot worth their salt is going to stay in for the fight as long as they have to maneuver. As for the "jump jets": the operative word here is "jump", not flight. At best, that will get them into the air for about 15-30 seconds, maybe a minute at most. Meantime, the standard Regult can stay airborne much longer than that.
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They're acknowledged as a thing in Macross Plus [1994-95], despite that being a short OVA with a big focus on a Pair of Prototype VFs.
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On 1/18/2024 at 8:52 AM, USMCBebop said:
Thanks guys!
This is what I had:
Same kit, different boxing. The Revell offering just changed the instructions, but everything else was the same.
Yes, the transforming offerings were kind of flimsy or delicate and needed to be handled with care.
And be careful; Revel's version of the instructions has an error when it comes to the polycap for the hips inside the Battloid nose/ cockpit section:
Imai/ Bandai (in red circle; shows polycap in the correct position):
Revell (in red circle; note it shows the nub on the polycap turned to one side, which will cause the nose to separate and break) :
(Note: instructions are for Axoid, but they are the same for all of Revell's Vf-1 Valkyrie 1/72 transforming kits)
As for the delicacy of the transforms, a few things:
1) as much as possible, scrape paint/ do not paint where the "sliders" for the arms meet the body. Otherwise they will stick and can cause breakage.
2) if possible, the "slide" parts that allow for the chest section to slide down should have their posts reinforced/ replace with brass wire.
3) replace the plastic hinge for the "backpack" with one made from steel or aluminum wire bent and filed to shape. the plastic one simply will not hold up.
4) heavy brass rod (hobby lobby or hobby supply store) can be used to replace the styrene nubs that serve as the hip joints in battroid mode (cockpit/ nose )
5) scrape the paint from the slot in the two noses where they connect with the main body; otherwise, they can stick and possibly break if you try to separate them.
I've done this with mine and it's still standing up! Still transformable as well!
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2 hours ago, Shawn said:
Stupid question-is it just a camera/photographic illusion or are the lower landing gears doors different on the VF-1J?
Some look rectangular (L) whilst others round (R)...at least in the crappy photos
32 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:It appears so.
There so many slight changes from the TT to Bandai to Hasbro mold. For instance some TT backplates will not align correctly as a replacement for Bandai Jetfire. The dimensions are not exactly the same man’s refuse to nest properly. Same for many parts throughout.
I've run into that when conducting repairs on mine (G1 Jetfire). Also, the super armors can be different, with one set not fitting another and even causing breakage if you're not careful.
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Revisited this.
Stay tuned.
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4 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:
's definitely a mixed bag, opinion-wise... but I feel like several of these are unduly harsh "hot takes" or simple failures to acknowledge context.
TBH, I probably also wouldn't use Super Dimension Fortress Macross to introduce someone to the franchise unless it was something they'd shown a direct interest in. It's showing its age.
That said, I think a lot of what you're complaining about is pretty trivial stuff that even casual anime viewers wouldn't really bat an eye at given the age of the series.
This is a borderline nonsensical criticism though, IMO.
Macross was written for a high school-aged audience. I guess that would make it "young adult" fiction if we were desperate to categorize it.
That said, Macross is science fiction... almost anyone watching it is not expecting gritty realism from it. The genre pretty much demands a modicum of suspension of disbelief to facilitate the more fanciful or scientifically-unrealistic aspects of the narrative. Especially given that it's robot anime. That in and of itself demands strained realism.
No, he's not.
Hikaru Ichijo is a relatively normal 16 year old boy who spends the early parts of the series nursing a crush on the pretty girl (Minmay) he met and got close to during a few days they spent alone together. He and Minmay spend a good chunk of the early series giving each other mixed signals like the awkward teenagers they are before their jobs start to make things difficult for them and rivals emerge in the form of Misa and Kaifun. Pretty typical stuff for a Japanese teenage romance story, y'know? He's not desperate for her attention or putting her on a pedestal... he's just as indecisive and awkward as she is, that's where the tension comes from.
She isn't either, to be frank.
Misa's also a relatively normal awkward teenager. She's got some emotional baggage the other characters don't because she's the daughter of a prominent family and therefore tries to maintain the family reputation and because her first love died tragically in an infamous massacre during the Unification Wars. She's indecisive and inexperienced in love because, hey, she's spent the last couple years throwing herself into her work to avoid unpacking the love life-adjacent trauma. (This is also a Japanese series, so some of that passivity is simply cultural differences.)
Robotech made the characters several years older than they were in the original story, and I feel like that often skews people's expectations of the characters in Macross.
Kaifun is such a useful hate-sink, though... and he does serve a useful purpose in that he gives a voice to the civilian population who are, by that point, pretty stressed out after a good few months in space being shot at. He makes the other characters question their role in the war. That's especially important for Misa's development, considering that she's used her duty to hide from her feelings, her repressed emotional trauma, and so on. He's a one-two punch that reminds her of her trauma and makes her question the duty she's used to hide from it.
You're 100% meant to hate his guts, but he serves an important purpose in Macross's anti-war narrative.
This has some decent perspective, though.
A lot - and I mean a LOT - of the hate for Minmay comes from Robotech. Its rewritten dialogue and the fact that her voice actress was a pretty awful singer didn't endear her to the audience, and changes and cuts made to simplify the story removed some of her character development and made her seem selfish, bratty, and stupid. All in all, she's a victim of the budget and of the effort to de-emphasize the romance aspect of Macross in favor of playing up the space war side of things. Never mind the subsequent flanderization she'd suffered at the hands of the Sentinels materials... which frankly could be called "character assassination" with a straight face IMO.
Macross's Minmay is a pretty typical teenage girl with big dreams of being a famous idol singer like her aunt. Her portrayal's a lot more positive and nuanced. She's shown to be quite the proficient singer and songwriter, having already landed an audition at a major label at the age of just 15. She maintains a sense of humor even under pressure, and can joke at her own expense. She weathers a near-death experience in wartime and goes on to nevertheless chase and attain her dream and discover the less glamorous sides of being an idol. She's as romantically indecisive as you'd expect from a teenager and she sends Hikaru a lot of mixed messages as a result, but in the end she's still a good person who legitimately cares about Hikaru and is doing her best in trying times even when the burden of morale is unceremoniously dumped on her shoulders.
Agreed: I think a lot of the characterization in Macross got murdered by Carl Macek on the behest of HG, in order to "americanize" the series and make it palatable for this side of the Pacific.
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Given how thin the parts appear in the first pic, I would say they aren't missiles (not enough room to contain them). In the third pic, they could be some kind of communications/ projection array or something, seeing as they have no barrels on them.
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6 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:
To be honest, I'm still not seeing it... the angle the line art is drawn at makes them look chunkier than they are because you're getting the front and the left side and the design itself is awfully busy, but the proportions look pretty close to what's in the animation IMO.
The line art definitely doesn't make them look impressive, but then again the pose can be the difference between a mediocre shot and a great one.
(Is farting clouds of theatrical glitter just a thing all Gundams do now?)
Yes; Taco Bell Gundam began that trend.
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35 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:
It's not a leak if it's official promotional material being run in a magazine...
But also... it's Gundam SEED. Much like how the entire cast share maybe 3-4 faces and body types, the Mobile Suits all look the ****ing same because 80% of them are the same Gundam with different paintjobs and slightly different accessories.
Looking at 'em, I feel like these are just the same designs we saw on the official website last year.
May as well call it GUNDAM: The Xerox Wars.
PLAMAX 1/72 VF-1 Valkyrie
in Model kits
Posted
It's often made me wonder if in-anime. the parts themselves transform as well (sort of like the Michael Bay transformers)? Nose, arms and legs reconfigure and become shorter and thicker in Battroid mode, while turning longer and more slender in fighter mode?
Just a thought.