Vic Mancini

It's already been said that Kawamori himself retconned the size of the VF-11 to be bigger. I would actually not mind if he retconned the way the vertical stabilizers were stored in battroid, hell as inaccurate as this would be, I wouldn't care if Yamato just opted to leave out the sliding mechanism, and just folded the vertical stabilizers downwards towards the outside of the the leg.

Whoa, I think you're in the minority there. Folding the fins down onto the outside of the legs would be way too much of a compromise for me. I'd take the small fins over that.

But I agree with you and everyone else that the fins are still way too small. There should be more room in the leg than that...we've got fan-made animations in this thread showing that a properly sized fin could theoretically fit.

Does anyone Know if they are going to do the VF-27 in 1/60th scale??

I think it's a very safe bet that both the VF-171 and VF-27 will be released in 1/60 scale.

Dammit. This kit is starting to make me really like the VF-25. I don't think the gaps even look that bad.

How difficult in general are these kits to come by? Do they sell out fast usually? ...Go pre-order or nothing? I might have to get a Michael version with super parts if they release something like that.

Now I don't know what to do, do I glue everything together and fill up all these seams in an attempt to create a decent plane, or do I live with the gaps and keep on trucking towards a transformable model?

Build one of each, of course.

The hips are by far my main issue with B-mode. The 1/72 got it right.

Even though it wasn't a "dog fight" I loved the action from the first two eps of Frontier. Guilliam pursuing the Vajra into the city ship, ejecting and getting crushed, Alto taking over his VF-25, Ozma rescuing him, Alto's homage to Hikaru/Minmay as he protects her in Gerwalk, Michael covering him as they escape, Ranka almost being lost in the vacuum of space and Alto's daring rescue of her, and then Ozma finally gutting the Vajra with his Battroid's knife... just an incredible scene.

As for Zero, you could pick almost any dogfight. I can't think of any one particular standout. They were all well choreographed and definitely raised the bar.

Guld/Isamu still wins hands down simply for the build-up and execution of it. An entire series leading up to that final showdown and it didn't disappoint one bit.

I think you REALLY need to reach if you want to put a current events allegory into MacF. The "war is bad" message is there, the "people who want war are bad" message is there, the "love is good" message is there, but to assign characters to current day people or organizations is just projection.

I don't think it's that much of a stretch. Come on...am I the only one who thought fold quartz was a symbol for oil? The contemporary perception of the US's motives in the mid east was the first thing that came to mind in episode 23 when Alto, Leon, and Bilrer were having a meeting in the presidential office.

Bilrer: It's finally been found. The location of the Vajra's home planet.

Alto: Why tell me, sir?

Bilrer: Because I expect big things from you. In the fight we have to conduct now, I want you to be able to do your job without any reservations.

Alto: I do not mind fighting. That is what I stayed for. However, there is one thing I would like to ask before that.

<Sinister music swell>

Leon: What is it?

Alto: Is the purpose of this fight to obtain fold quartz?

Bilrer: *Gasps, and admits that the Vajra collect fold quartz throughout the galaxy, suggesting that their home world is the Fort Knox of the valuable substance.*

Leon: *Continues to posture to Alto that the battle with the Vajra is not about quartz, but an honorable fight for survival because the Vajra are trying to wipe humanity out...(which is not 100% accurate.)*

Overall the show was entertaining, but I felt there was no real climax. Everything was kind of perfunctory.

Things I personally thought should have been addressed:

1. Alto is just way too effeminate to take seriously through the series and his character design doesn't change to evoke a maturation of his character (e.g. possibly cutting his hair short at some point) and the school thing could have been leveraged better to the advantage of the story. Possibly having a mood similar to the first Kimagure Orange Road movie, but with a space war and mechs.

I agree.

Or starting the series with short hair which would be consistent with his rebellion from his heritage, and then gradually growing it longer as he inspires Ranka/Sheryl with advice from his Kabuki roots and becomes more accepting of himself. It didn't make much sense for Alto to be so sensitive/hostile about his past and to simultaneously maintain an image that represented it.

2. Brera was worse. I cringed every time I saw his "uniform"

Totally agree. I hated that guy.

5. Kawamori blew an opportunity ( with Frontier and with Zero) to make a Macross which was not only relevant as an anime but to imbue it with a contemporary allegory from current events and social attitudes that reshaped all of our world views. I could have seriously seen the new Battlestar Gallactica as a Macross show( with dffferent ships), for example.

I'm not sure I agree. I felt an allegory to the US campaign in the Middle East towards the end of Frontier.

NUNS = US Military

Vajra = Muslims

Grace and Leon = Manipulative US govt with ulterior motives for going to war with the Vajra.

And then there is the general tree-hugging message in Zero.

I think Kawamori injects his stories with contemporary messages, they just aren't particularly poignant.

7. As a cg artist, and as much as I love cg, you can't get the level of expressivity out of the battroid as you could with traditional 2d hand-drawn animation. I find that 2d makes the transformations seem more fun and you can exaggerate the cooler components of that mech as the director sees fit. ( like of the valk was animated in the Daicon IV opening) I sorely miss those days. and I'm only 29.

I disagree. Which is funny because I'm usually a traditional animation guy. But I love the CG being used for the Valks in Zero and Frontier. I thought the Battroids were particularly expressive, actually. The way their parts sort of bounced and jangled with jerky robotic inertia. The scene where Michael is doing target practice on stray asteroids while Klan is arguing with him came to mind immediately when I read your comment.

And I love seeing CG and cell animation in the same scenes. Like seeing Ozma's massive armored Battroid wrestling with a huge Vajra in the middle of a cell animated scene with cell animated characters in the foreground. I think it creates a nice visual separation between the mechanical and the biological.

Overall the show was entertaining, but I felt there was no real climax. Everything was kind of perfunctory.

Things I personally thought should have been addressed:

1. Alto is just way too effeminate to take seriously through the series and his character design doesn't change to evoke a maturation of his character (e.g. possibly cutting his hair short at some point) and the school thing could have been leveraged better to the advantage of the story. Possibly having a mood similar to the first Kimagure Orange Road movie, but with a space war and mechs.

I agree.

Or starting the series with short hair which would be consistent with his rebellion from his heritage, and then gradually growing it longer as he inspires Ranka/Sheryl with advice from his Kabuki roots and becomes more accepting of himself. It didn't make much sense for Alto to be so sensitive/hostile about his past and to simultaneously maintain an image that represented it.

2. Brera was worse. I cringed every time I saw his "uniform"

Totally agree. I hated that guy.

5. Kawamori blew an opportunity ( with Frontier and with Zero) to make a Macross which was not only relevant as an anime but to imbue it with a contemporary allegory from current events and social attitudes that reshaped all of our world views. I could have seriously seen the new Battlestar Gallactica as a Macross show( with dffferent ships), for example.

I'm not sure I agree. I felt an allegory to the US campaign in the Middle East towards the end of Frontier.

NUNS = US Military

Vajra = Muslims

Grace and Leon = Manipulative US govt with ulterior motives for going to war with the Vajra.

And then there is the general tree-hugging message in Zero.

I think Kawamori injects his stories with contemporary messages, they just aren't particularly poignant.

7. As a cg artist, and as much as I love cg, you can't get the level of expressivity out of the battroid as you could with traditional 2d hand-drawn animation. I find that 2d makes the transformations seem more fun and you can exaggerate the cooler components of that mech as the director sees fit. ( like of the valk was animated in the Daicon IV opening) I sorely miss those days. and I'm only 29.

I disagree. Which is funny because I'm usually a traditional animation guy. But I love the CG being used for the Valks in Zero and Frontier. I thought the Battroids were particularly expressive, actually. The way their parts sort of bounced and jangled with jerky robotic inertia. The scene where Michael is doing target practice on stray asteroids while Klan is arguing with him came to mind immediately when I read your comment.

And I love seeing CG and cell animation in the same scenes. Like seeing Ozma's massive armored Battroid wrestling with a huge Vajra in the middle of a cell animated scene with cell animated characters in the foreground. I think it creates a nice visual separation between the mechanical and the biological.

Here is a look at a chart I'm working on for my website. Enjoy

Looks awesome. How about putting in a few real world fighters to give us a point of reference. Maybe a Tomcat, Raptor and Falcon, for example.

I'd love to see a Battroid chart too. With real world Battroids to give us a point of reference too....Oh, wait.

Maybe some kind of other size references instead, like Yao Ming, a telephone pole, a giraffe, etc...

I was just thinking it would be really cool to see a chart like this for Battroid modes.

Anyone up to the task?

Awesome model. Makes me really want an Ozma or Michael version.

On a side note: Anyone know how the VF-25 generates it's forward thrust while in G-mode?

Oh, and naked girls seems to be an eastern Standard as well, since I guess western guys don't, y'know, dig chicks...or something like that.

I know you're half-joking with this statement, but I'll reply anyway.

As a hetero Westerner I do dig chicks. But there is a time and place for sexuality. Just because I like girls doesn't mean I want to look at massive bouncing tits all the time. For example, I don't want them splashed in between every scene of an anime that I'm trying to take seriously. But my criticism goes beyond that. It's more in regards to the "boy accidentally groping girl" jokes and how everyone is always embarrassed by everything happening around them and all the silly emotional spazz-outs. All that over the top Japanese slap stick, (even if it is the trend in Japan), is just not my cup of tea.

I think I could watch Mac Plus with friends, or the GF, and they'd appreciate it to an extent.

But I can't even imagine watching Frontier with anyone in my life. It would be an very uncomfortable experience.

One could even argue that Frontier is not even on par with Harry Potter in terms of seriousness/maturity. It's really hard for me to imagine the trends in Japan to be that out of sync with the West.

On a side note: Who produced the Stand Alone Complex gigs? Didn't they come from Japan? Both those series were brilliant and the perfect level of maturity and serious tone that my preferences gravitate towards. How was SAC so successful when it mostly defied all the "Japanesie" trends that were apparently forced on Frontier?

But since they need to attract newer generation of fans, there must have something that connect with them. If it was really mature then the target audience would be limited to older fans. Recently I just beginning to watch the original Macross TV and I already can't stand the cliche *arhhhhhhh* (but DYRL is much better for me)

I don't really buy that. I'm not asking for a R-rated tone, (although that would be really cool). But at least something as mature as Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi... which were huge movies for kids back in the day but weren't over the top childish.

Just finished watching the series and loved the Quarter. I probably won't buy any capital ships, but if I did get one I'd want the Quarter. It's the coolest design to me and the hero ship of the series after all.

Just finished Frontier and I have to say I agree with some of the criticism from http://www.colonydrop.com/index.php/2008/1...d-the-en?blog=1

The trademark Japanese silliness and "boy accidentally gropes girl" jokes were way too over the top for me to really enjoy the series. Seeing absolutely everyone in the series fall in love felt redundant too. Luca, Klan, and the bridge bunny's emotions for their desired partners felt contrived. More like physical attraction / crushes than actual love.

I didn't like Brera Sterne much either. It was terribly obvious much earlier than it should've been that he was related to Ranka, (almost as obvious as Ranka's pet being a Vajra baby), and his ultra strong ultra agile cocky cyborg man-boy with emo hair sulking in the shadows playing a lonely melody on a musical instrument schtick has been done.

I did like the action and animation a lot. The battles/dogfights/destruction was some of the best ever in the Macross franchise. I loved the concept of the sniper-valk and the teamwork between Alto and Michael. And I don't mind how Alto didn't choose between Ranka and Sheryl at the end. Actually, I kind of liked that. I thought the series was going to pander to us with an obvious payoff/ending but it did something unexpected instead. I liked the SMS idea and the decisions that had to be made and the ensuing mutiny when it was sold to NUNS.

But overall the tone was just not what I wanted. I would've preferred a more mature tone for the series. Like GITS or even Macross Plus.

Blarg.

Thanks guys.

Small files it is.

Time to watch Frontier...

Downloading the Luna big MKV files.

But I'm having major issues playing them on VLC. The player keeps lagging and locking up.

I installed Media Player Classic and the CCCP codec pack, and it works a lot better but I'm still having major problems making the series unwatchable for me. Any scene that involves panning becomes choppy, and the video and audio won't stay in sync for more than 5 seconds or so. Something isn't working right. Is it just my old-a$$ computer?

AMD (1802 MHz)

Memory: 1024 MB

Microsoft Windows XP

Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 9600/9550/X1050 Series x86/MMX/3DNow!/SSE2

Maybe I need to download the smaller Luna files, but I'd hate to sacrifice video quality for such a beautifully animated series.

Any computer experts have any ideas or suggestions?

The whole leg mechanism of the VF-1 relies on perfect timing. If it's not timed within milliseconds of the exact optimum, it could end in the loss of: A leg, an engine, the landing gear on that side, the entire plane.

I think you could say the same thing about the entire transformation process of every Valk. They all undergo full transformations in split seconds. One arm moving out of place before a chest plate detaches, or a leg moving into position before a wing root unhinges, and the Valk snaps into pieces against it self. I think the micro-second timing of all the transformations leave next to zero margin for error, detaching VF-1 style legs or not.

Still looks brutal to me. The way the legs sit below the height of the shield in F-mode, the gaps, the landing gear, the high hips in B-mode...

It looks like a toy/transformer to me.

Hopefully it will at least be durable.

Mac+ for me. Specifically OVA.

Zero would probably be my second choice.

Anything Mac7 would be last.

And if it's a choice between SDF and DYRL, I'm an SDF guy. DYRL was an interesting interpretation, but I prefer the sequencing of SDF a lot more.

I haven't watched Frontier yet, but I'm very excited to. I watched the first two episodes when they were first subbed. Can't wait for the rest.

OK BOYS!!! Forget the other charts, all are wrong, But this is a new revised chart, Not final, but more complete (I think)

I know about the missing fighters (F-14 and F-18) but relax, i'm very busy right now but they coming!!!!!!

I hope you like this new chart!!!

Enjoy!!

Now we're cookin with gas! Nice work.

Get the X-9 on there!

It's fun to imagine an SV-51 battroid in hand to hand combat with a Zent. The SV-51 battroid was enormous.

The tail is barely protruding out at all, and even if it did on the new Yamato, I'd rather have that, then small tail wings like the original 1/72 version.

I have to agree.

I'll definitely be disappointed if the tail fins turn out to be the size of the CAD we've seen. It might even be a deal breaker for me, as I'm not that obsessive about owning every valk out there.

Yikes.

Good thing for me I wasn't planning on getting a 25, anyway. I'm deeply sorry for everyone who was anticipating this, though. My condolences.

Really makes you appreciate the last few 1/60 Yamatos, huh?