ewilen

Thanks for the replies. I realized after posting that there are some better pictures already available in the models section of the front page of MW. I guess I'll keep my eyes open for a bargain on them. BTW, any opinions on the 1/100 Kamujin armored space suit (IMAI)?

1/60 for affordability and for fitting in my space. Definitely not 1/72. It's part of the Hikaru story, so it belongs in the same scale as the VF-1's.

I'm thinking of picking up a set. Any opinions on these model kits? Does anyone have pictures of the finished models (or in progress)? Thanks in advance!

Wow, you guys (and my scanner) have better eyes than I do. I definitely think that if you buy six Monsters and five Tomahawks, Yamato should throw in a free Daedalus bow. Edited to add: That way you could live in it, since you've probably been evicted for nonpayment of rent.

Ah, okay, thanks for clearing that up, folks.

The answer is...three! Maybe Yamato should offer to throw in a free Daedalus bow/ramp if you buy all the destroids in the picture.

I disagree that a man-portable antitank weapon would be more effective vs. a battroid Valkyrie than against a tank--basically due to the overtechnology armoring of a Valk. Something about energy being used to strengthen the Valk's structure. This has been discussed in relation to the VF-0, but evidence can be seen in SDF Macross in the way that Valks are able to smash through buildings (and Zentradi view screens) without taking significant damage. Now, why couldn't the same armor be used on a tank? Maybe it was a size issue (to accommodate the powerplant and related gadgetry); thus the destroid. But apparently destroids were later phased out because of the Valk's greater flexibility.

I forget, how was Mars base lost? In Robotech they say it was the Zentradi. But in SDF: Macross, I believe the base was destroyed by anti-UN forces, or at least (many of) the personnel were attacked by the anti-UN on their way to Earth. If so, that would be another case of space combat before SW1.

After starting with various other Valks, including a 1/48 VF-1A, I finally got a 1/60 Hikaru Super 1J. (Thanks, Eric.) And I like it a lot. At first I had trouble with the legs falling off and the backpack refusing to stay up, but then I realized what I was doing wrong and now it's quite stable in battroid and gerwalk modes. I think it looks great and I'm looking forward to getting whatever 1/60 destroids and Zentradi mecha Yamato release (other than the Monster, which is just too big and expensive). I only have a few nitpicks with the 1/60 design. In decreasing order of importance: 1. The landing gear have trouble holding up the weight of the plane, especially with all the Super armor. (Maybe I'm doing something wrong?) 2. Related to this, I really don't need all the diecast. I think the toy might be more stable, not to mention less expensive, if the legs were made of ABS with just enough metal parts (or ballast) to anchor it in battroid and gerwalk. Also, paint is more likely to chip on diecast. 3. The Gerwalk antenna doesn't fit when the FAST pack boosters are attached. (Or is this correct based on the animation/lineart?) 4. Due to the design of the legs, they can't be swivelled when the FAST packs are attached, so the Gerwalk A-stance isn't quite as good as without FP's. The Super battroid is also less posable for the same reason. This can't be a problem with the 1/48's due to their more correct leg design. 5. It would be nice if the hands were retractable like the 1/55 Bandais or articulated like the 1/48 Yamatos, but since the 1/60 hands look nice (in spite of a missing digit here or there), I don't particularly mind. And I have one non-nitpick: I don't care at all that the legs have to be removed. Edit: Actually, I just realized that the hands do retract, as long as you don't use the optional second pair of hands. Edit 2: Found another thing to complain about: the lack of motion in the shoulder joints (without unhinging the chestplate, at which point everything starts to come apart.) Edit 3: But there's a partial fix here. (Is this by our drifand?)

Hm. I'll have to take notes when I watch the DVD's. I remember one scene early in the series (probably episode 2) where you get to see things from the perspective of a Regult pilot in the midst of battle. (He bites it after a Valk in Gerwalk dodges around a city block and catches him off-guard.) We might also get some clues from scenes with Quamzin in his Glaug and Millia in her Q-Rau.

Yes, I think I saw that as well when I was going over the pictures last night. Maybe he made a pit stop in between? Related point--I don't think I ever saw a partially-expended UUM-7 pod. But since each pod holds 15 missiles, I guess it might not be visible from the front until the 11th was fired.

My Yamato 1/60 VF-1J Hikaru's landing gear won't support its weight (at least with the Super armor). They tend to fold back into the plane. Any hints or fixes?

From looking at Macross Perfect Memory (which covers the series), This is Animation: DYRL, and the DYRL film comics, I get the impression that Valkyries use the RMS-1 reaction missiles (nukes) in both the movie and the series, but they only use the AMM-1 (medium sized) missiles in the series, and conversely the UUM-7 micro-missile pods only appear in DYRL. Is that right?

Apparently the battloid mode is useful in space combat (probably allows faster targetting with the gunpod) and as UN Spacy mentioned, it's extremely useful in situations with lots of cover, like city engagements. A Valkyrie can essentially operate as air superiority, tactical bomber, and infantry. The existing renegade Zentradi threat is another reasonable explanation. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the rationale in-story. I don't agree that advanced technology would be used for its own sake. Consider the USN, which is phasing out (or will soon) the F-14--an incredible interceptor capable of knocking down multiple targets simultaneously at long range--and replacing it with the Super Hornet, which is less capable in the interceptor role (and maybe others). The reason: money and the lack of the massive Soviet bomber swarms which the F-14 was supposed to protect our fleets against.

Well, the BIN on this one is funny: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=36568 Not to mention the title and description contain lies (intentional or not). Edit: in case the BIN goes away, it's set at $175.

A Glaug, maybe, but I'd have trouble reaching the levers. Even if I was macronized, I don't think I'd win with a standard-issue Regult.

I agree that if I were the Zentradi commander (or commander of a Regult assault force) and my objective was to capture the SDF-1, I'd first try to wipe out/attrite the Valkyries and other defending craft. However, I'm not sure that's what we see in the animation. Or at least, as you write, the Regults appear to be ill-equipped both for long-range space combat and for dogfighting; they seem more suited to boarding operations and land assault. The Zentradi should have assigned Gnerls or powered armor (N-Ger or Q-Rau) as escorts, but I don't think we saw them.

He neglected to add CHOGOKIN POPY TRANSFORMERS JETFIRE. I'm not sure this is a put-on. I think some sellers do a little research and then copy each other's use of keywords without really understanding what the heck they're talking about. When I first started looking for Macross stuff on eBay they had me thinking that CHOGOKIN POPY was a Japanese term meaning "action figure" or something like that.

Hm. I think a lot of this has been covered alt.fan.macross. Here's the thread. Egan Loo's comments (starting with article #16) and followups are particularly enlightening. To the extent that Egan Loo represents the "official" continuity (based on his reading of liner notes and conversations with Kawamori), it seems that there was no "factional" split between Male and Female Zentradi during the Protoculture Civil War.

It's only obvious that the Laplamiz fleet was joined with the Bodolza fleet to fight the Protodeviln if you already accept that the two fleets were on different sides of the Protoculture Civil War. I'm still not sure I understand what the basis is for believing that. I can't find any pictures of the Chlore fleet's ships from Fleet of the Strongest Women (though I did come across a picture of Chlore's Q-Rau). Are they shown in the animation? Do they follow the design style of the Meltrandi in DYRL?

Well, once the omni-directional barrier comes on line, it's not clear what it would take to destroy the Macross. When the barrier overloads, does it go down for a time? That would provide an opening, I suppose. (Note: only shown in TV series; IIRC not even the pinpoint barrier is shown in DYRL.) Back to a direct comparison of the aircraft/pods, just as the Valk pilots would have had to adapt to space combat, the Valks probably enjoyed an advantage when fighting inside the atmosphere since they were streamlined, had wings for lift, and used control surfaces instead of depending entirely on thrusters and vectoring the main engines for maneuvering. The only Zentradi fighter with any of these characteristics was the Gnerl. Finally, as awesome as the Q-Rau may be, its swarms of missiles are only for close combat. In deep space, or even at range in an atmosphere, it would suffer from the same lack of punching distance as the other Zentradi mecha.

When things settle down, I'd like to suggest that a permanent link to the archives be put either on the main page or somewhere on the new forum page.

Mr. March makes numerous good points. Some other possible tactical advantages enjoyed by the Valkyries have also been mentioned in the Zentradi genetics thread. In particular, the Zentradi often were under orders which limited their options in battle. I.e., the Regults were supposed to be trying to capture the SDF-1, not tangle with enemy fighters, so it was a turkey shoot for the Valkyries.

Yes, I just took a look at episode 27 (Robotech version, my Animeigo DVD's from overstock.com aren't due yet) and I could tell there was a greyish (I guess it was a purplish) ship. I couldn't tell exactly what type of ship she had, but based on the style it seemed to be the same as other Zentradi ships. In Macross Perfect Memory, there's no "special" Laplamiz/female ship type shown in the "Mechanic" lineart section (specifically pages 176-182, which cover the Zentradi star ships) One might argue that the DYRL designs supersede the TV ones even though the TV continuity is official, but that doesn't appear to be the position taken by the Compendium. Edited to add: Speaking of the Compendium, this item from the Chronology is interesting: (Link here.)

Is the gun pod clearance only an issue with the FAST packs attached? If so, I wouldn't worry about it (in terms of verisimilitude) since FAST packs are only for space, and since DYRL we've established that Valks don't "take off" using their landing gear in space. I doubt they land on their gear either (though I don't think it's ever shown--maybe in one of the games or later anime). So as long as there's enough clearance to wheel the Valk on the hangar deck, it should be okay. On the other hand, if the clearance issue is w/o FAST packs, it'd be a concern since during landing in an atmosphere the shock absorbers would probably allow the gunpod to hit the ground. (My 1/48 is in its box right now so I can't check easily.)