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That's good stuff. One thing that I've found, though, which hasn't been mentioned, is that the "soft X-Rays" from the detonation can heat the outer skin of a target, causing it to explode away and produce an internal shock wave. This effect is mentioned here and here. Even in the context of an article which is quite skeptical about the utility of small-yield nukes in space, the first source states, A 250-meter radius "kill zone" is nothing to sneeze at! It would certainly be useful against Regults (as in the opening battle of DYRL). For use against capital ships, whose armor might protect them against such effects, I'd imagine the missile would be programmed to explode at or near physical contact. This would be reasonable given the relative size and lack of maneuverability of a large ship. (Best of all would be an "armor piercing" nuclear warhead that would burrow into or penetrate the target before exploding, but the closest thing in Macross is when they used the entire ship to plow into Bodolza's fortress in the TV show.)

You can see what David's talking about re: panel lines here.

Pretty much what I thought. Much the same would apply to regular explosives, wouldn't it? Or for that matter, I'm guessing that even in an atmosphere, most of what (proximity or time fuse) flak does isn't from the shock of the explosion itself, but from the shrapnel made by the shell casing being shredded and shot out in all directions. One idea I just came across in a Usenet search was to have the nuke send out a cloud of high-velocity tungsten BB's (preferably focused in the direction of the bad guys). Or an alternative would be to use it to make an X-ray laser. (The X-ray laser idea was proposed and tested as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, but it didn't get very far. I believe it's also the technology used in nuclear missiles in the Traveller RPG.)

Vic--I don't see the hollow wings in those pics. Is this a different version from what David is talking about, or an optical illusion? Or did you fill the wings?

You may be forgetting the landing on Mars. On the other hand, the gravity there is considerably weaker, so landing would be easier. Also (this may be sort of a newb question) doesn't it seem that the Macross actually lands on Titan sometime during the opening battle of DYRL? I think that when Hikaru and Minmei start floating is when it takes off from the surface. I wouldn't see much point in landing on a planet that didn't have oceans, if the idea is to colonize the planet. But we don't know for sure that the extra thing is a naval vessel anyway.

This thread is already off-topic for MW, and I realize we're bound to skirt political issues when talking about real-life military procurement decisions. But let's please show a little restraint or it's likely the thread will be locked.

I think there's an image of it on one of the imacross servers. (Checks.) Yup, it is. On imacross4, /Downloads/macross miscellaneous/pictures/dyrl_poster.jpg. See the pinned imacross thread for info on getting in. It's slow, but it provides an invaluable service.

Apparently you've never heard of the "Buddy Jesus?" I think you're onto something. Maybe we could commission one of our talented fan-artists to make a superdeformed VF in this pose.

1/100 "robotic jet" bootleg, bought in San Francisco Chinatown in 1986. Somebody stole it while I was moving my stuff in college not long after. Bought some model kits at yard sales, but didn't get another Valk toy until last year. http://mospeada.free.fr/images_toys/macros..._ROBOTICJET.jpg

There's more to it than that, but not much. The little "arrows" on the head of the VF-1S are a different color in the movie as opposed to the series. In the movie, they match the character's other trim; in the series, they're black.

Thats Kawamori? I thought it was one of the Zentraedi spies (name escapes me at the moment). You're probably thinking of Rolli/Lolli (aka Rico in RT). I've wondered if he was modelled on Kawamori. Do the other two resemble anyone else on the original Macross staff? And if so, does the supposed fact that "Warera loli konda" means "We are pedophiles" have any additional (hopefully joking) significance?

I haven't really looked at the cost side, but I think the only conclusion that can be drawn is that we simply don't consider fleet defense to be much of a priority any more compared to tactical bombing. I understand that the Super Hornet is supposed to improve on the Hornet in respect to range and payload. Range gives the carrier a longer reach inland where necessary, greater distance from land-based anti-ship missiles otherwise, and greater loiter time for aircaft assigned to on-call close air support. Now, you may come back and say the Bombcat could do the job just as well as a Super Hornet, at a lower startup cost. If so, I'm out of ideas--we'll have to ask Dick Cheney. Or you could say that we should have waited for the JSF instead of building the Super Hornet--in which case, we'll need to ask William Cohen

Nice find, Aegis. Yes, I thought it was Kawamori as soon as I saw the picture. Are you going to post links to all the pics you found today?

I understand your sentiment, but basically that particular issue keeps getting raised again and again. In a nutshell: (a) Hikaru and Misa didn't necessarily die, they just lost contact with Earth, and (b) it's clear that Kawamori decided to have this happen so that he could focus on entirely new stories in the Macross universe instead of simply extending a storyline through sequel after sequel. Let Hikaru, Misa (and Minmay) ride off into the sunset, they've gone through enough already.

If you're thinking about buying it, it's probably not absurd enough to be in this topic. If for no other reason than by posting it, you're alerting other potential bidders!

Good job. As far as the design, the twin tail and canard aft of cockpit are similar to the VF-4, but other elements remind me of the YF-21/VF-22 (wing shape and downward drooping tips). One big difference from the VF-4 is the engine placement.

Does it even come with little planes? On the assumption that it doesn't, you probably have the Matchbox version. Again, I think the Matchbox SDF-1 was manufactured by Bandai (they got a hold of the mold along with the other Matsushiro/Takatoku stuff) but marketed only in the US, by Matchbox. Take at look at this page and note the manufacturer info. Also note this reference to the "Bandai/Matchbox" SDF-1 (on a page with a rather-pricey Takatoku). And look here and you'll find the phrase "SDF-1 transformable (fabriqué par Bandai, mais vendu par Matchbox)", "transformable SDF-1 (made by Bandai, but sold by Matchbox)". [Edit: removed image from original post--it's not what I thought it was]

I don't have an answer to your question, but I can see what you're talking about. Also, if you look at the 3/4 rear view on the page (click here to see it directly), you can see an ARMD-like structure on the far side of the engines, but strangely, not on the near side. Edit: actually, there is one on the near side, but it blends in with the rest of the ship due to coloring and perspective. Look for the "finger" projections along the trailing edge. But in that picture, the "quasi-ARMD" doesn't appear to have helicopter landing rings or any kind of runway/runway markings. I'm pretty sure the top picture on that page is from FB2012; the lineart is probably from the FB2012 book. Not sure where the rear view picture is from, but I'll bet someone here does.

are u refering to the ep in which max was in the zentradi warship and the blue plane just miraculously change to orange for a few secs?? animation err i reckon? No, it's the episode "Virgin Road" (episode 25, RT name is "Wedding Bells"). Max and Millia fly a two-seater in Max's VF-1J blue color scheme. There has been a little controversy on MW as to whether the plane in question is a 1D or a 1J with the 1D cockpit attached, but nearly everyone believes it was a 1D. I don't recall the color change you're referring to, but I do remember an animation error in the scene where Hikaru, Max, and Kakizaki are fighting Britai. At first it looks like Kakizaki in his brown/white battroid is choking Britai from behind with his gunpod, but a second later the battroid turns into Max's blue/white 1A.

Saw part of the beginning before deciding to just record it and watch it later without commercials. From what I saw, I have one question. I had thought that Whiskey's reasoning was the standard one: F-14 was developed for fleet defense against Soviet bombers. But the show says it was designed to deal with a threat from "cruise missiles". I would think maybe they're talking about long-range air-launched missiles--i.e., F-14 is supposed to knock down bombers carrying anti-ship missiles before they can launch. But the show explicitly talks about shooting down the cruise missiles. Is this a mistake, or what? Edit: carrier-->carrying

That may be the same as the "bootleg" I referred to. Somebody posted about winning one back on the old forums. Now that everything's pretty much out in the open, here's the web page I was referring to: http://www.opusgames.com/toys/robotoys.htm...tml#MacrossToys Here's what it says about the toy. Note the box details.

Do tell.

The Takatoku logo looks like this: < T.T > except that the <> actually forms a diamond. I'm not sure, but I think there's no such thing as Bandai SDF-1. But the Matchbox SDF-1 may have a Bandai marking on it. I.e., manufactured by Bandai for Matchbox, but never sold by Bandai. Confusing, huh? Also, there's at least one bootleg SDF-1 that is very close to the Takatoku in design and good quality. In fact, I'm pretty sure the picture you've shown is the bootleg. How do I know? I just found the same picture on the net, and based on the accompanying description of the box, it's the bootleg. I won't go into any more detail in public, because I don't want to mess up your deal. But I am PMing with info, because based on where I found the picture, it doesn't seem to be in the Netherlands. Be careful. Edit: board is messing with my efforts to show the TT logo.

Aha (2)! I found the US name for the small battling tanks I had seen in the UK. They're sold here under the brand name "Micro-Xtreme". Depending on where you find them, they seem to be available in Panther, Tiger, or Sherman, each in desert beige, green camo, or grey camo. (Like the Digi-Q's, they're sort of cutified but recognizable versions of the real thing.) They have one drawback: all the descriptions say you can only fight three tanks at a time. On the other hand, the tanks can be set in such a way that "knocking out" a tank lets you take it over. Don't ask me how it works, but it's a nice twist especially for a three-way fight.

Even in Zero G, putting weight farther out from the center of mass will affect a craft's ability to turn. If a Valkyrie could apply its main thrust in any direction without turning, this wouldn't be an issue. But a Valk has only limited ability to vector its main thrust through the main engines and FAST pack, and when vectoring, the thrust isn't necessarily being directed against the center of mass. This means that for anything other than small adjustments, the Valk will maneuver by turning (using vernier thrusters and/or vectored main engines/FAST packs), then applying its main thrust. Conclusion: weight distribution matters.