sketchley

Seconded.

Hasn't anyone heard of rockets? Big engine. Even bigger fuel supply. Wings are only for stability...

Wasn't Ridley Scott himself who said the space jockey on the chair is a suit? But later posters are correct: how much of the dialogue in that scene can be taken at face value and how much is speculation/misdirection?

Long story short: the VF-4G first appeared in Macross Digital Mission VF-X, which is set in 2047. In real world terms: compare it to the F-4 Phantom. It's still being actively flown by some armed forces, but even then, many are used only in support roles.

I think you should try to find yourself a copy of the special edition or ultimate edition which contains the cut scene of Newt's family heading out to the Space Jockey's ship. Trust me, it's more than worth the effort. Plus, where else can you see the Weyland-Yutani tricycle in action?

Dengeki Hobby 2012.02 issue is out, with a large dollop of awesome sauce! MtR is over, but this issue might as well be counted as a new episode, as we get not one, but 2 new scratch build kits! VF-11D Thunder Focus: GERWALK and Battroid modes: Probably the most interesting thing is how the camera pod is held in GERWALK and battroid modes. Though, seeing how "little" scratch building is needed to make the two modes out of the fighter kit is also eyebrow raising (other than the joints, it seems like only the forearms had to be scratch built.) And we also get to see the camera pod folded in half - groovy considering the lineart in the Visual Book. There's a reprint of the Special Interview of Kazutaka Miyatake from the visual book (or is the visual book reprinting the magazine?) Anyhow, noticed something that I didn't notice yesterday: Miyatake-san has drawn an entirely new VF-11D cockpit layout just for the VF-11D Thunder Focus! Take a sec to digest that. There's also a page introducing the VF-19 ACTIVE and SV-52γ battroid modes (so, if one picks up the mag first, that's 4 scratch builds introduced...) + (and you thought the awesome sauce was a small dollop, eh?) the announcement of a Macross the Ride Dengeki Hobby Contest 2012! Here's the contest info: http://hobby.dengeki..._con/index.html (if I'm reading it correctly, entries must be based off of a Hasegawa kit... which explains why half the prizes are Hasegawa kits) Macross the Forefront (it's a really big dollop of awesome sauce) Yamato VF-17S in all it's dark purple/black goodness, along with Super Packs for the VF-25F and VF-25S renewal DX Chougoukin.

This. I wouldn't go so far to say that the Xenomorphs have been done to death, but I do fully agree that distancing anything with the travesty that the Brothers Strause created with their disrespect of the materials is best. This film may very well be the one that wipes the proverbial slate clean, and opens things up for something like the Alien 5 that James Cameron was developing before AvP got the green light. Man oh man, those AvP movies were a big misstep (despite the 1st being passably watchable). Perhaps the most disappointing thing was that they did NOT adapt that original Dark Horse Comics 4-issue series... ... which reminds me of something: what happened to the Space Jockey's ship AFTER "Aliens"? Why didn't anyone go and check up on it? Especially given that it's apparently one week's travel away from Hadley's Hope the big radioactive crater...

Managed to pick the Visual Book Vol. 02 up today. Man oh man... Macross books can be a real pain to find at times... and that's despite living in Japan! Anyhow, new content (beyond having larger sized and a number of larger images of the VF (and Destroids & Power Suits!) and characters: New/Revised title page artwork: episode 8's VF-1X++ vs VBP-1/VA-110 episode 9's VF-22HG vs VF-19ACTIVE (is this the scene where Chelsea loses it?) New "Line-art": VF-0Kai Zeak: fighter mode AND head New Models: VF-19ACTIVE Nothung Battroid mode: groovy looking new head design SV-52γ Oryol Battroid mode: is that the Full Armour VF-11's GU-XS-06 gun pod FTW??? approx. 3 cm tall painted scratch-builds of the 7 main cast members! ... and how they were made. VF-22HG Schwalbe-Zwei High-speed configuration AND High-maneuver mode (aka: legs & arms ditched mode) Data Files: 01: story (character relationships, synopsis of eps 07-12 02: variable mechanism design: VF-25. Lego, 2DCG modelling, hand-drawn details and finished model kit 03: Destroid Series: a plus is we get to see how the ADR-04-Mk-XV Super Defender fits into the genealogy presented in Macross Chronicle. 04: VF supplemental equipment (super pack, armour pack, booster, fold booster, super fold booster, AEGIS pack, etc.) + line art of the Paladin pack's lance and head design roughs 05: Zentraadi mecha (interesting that the DYRL stuff is referred to as "the Propaganda movie's Queadlunn-Rau".) Interviews: 01 the CG works artist. Interesting to see the process of how they take a rough sketch, and transform that into finished artwork using the scratch builds and layers in photoshop. 02: Tommy Otsuka - which is mainly a joke image: "Regult the Ride", complete with a souped up Regult for the Ostrich Class Vanquish races. Special Interview: Kazutaka Miyatake: w/ images of the VF cockpit interiors that he's designed over the years. 03: Kuwa (the modeller behind many of the MtR scratch builds): includes lineart/sketches of the Queadluun-Alma and the GCU-M3Kai Camera Pod folded in half & used on the shoulder. And of course, the "Macross the Ride AFTER" section: introduces the VF-11B Nothung II. 10 page manga of the VF-11D Thunder Focus's crew filming an M25 Vanquish race and interacting with the characters after. ... and the book closes out with a complete list of all the models used, who assembled them, mode, scale, manufacturer, scratch-built/improved upon/painted/etc and which episode they first appeared in. Summary: a good investment. And probably the best feature is that it's not going to break the bank at ￥950.

I can see what eventually becomes the Xenomorph coming out of a cylinder, but not the cylinder itself morphing into a Xenomorph egg (unless if you meant it in the sense of the cylinder's being a stage in the development of a biological weapon, and the Xenomorph egg-face hugger being a later development of the same weapon). Good point. More good points. From what I understand of it, the film takes place before Weyland and Yutani merge. How long before the start of "Alien" that was, is anybody's guess. But if the indication in the trailer is correct that people have to be in a kind of space suit to use the stasis pod, then it's more on the rather lengthy. (Let's also keep in mind that the time span between sequels in the Alien series is rather lengthy itself, Alien3 excepted.) Yesterday, I was looking up some stuff on "Aliens" (a cut scene), and I came across an unfilmed exchange of dialogue in the script: in the inquiry, when they claim that there's no evidence of the Xenomorph in the shuttle, Ripley responds that the evidence has been tampered with...

Holy cr@p! First time I've seen the "Alien" trailer, and it's creeeeepy. It also makes me want to go out and track down a copy of the movie. That article is a good find. Wish that they provided more analysis of the final few frames of the preview. Nevertheless, it got me thinking: what if the number of stone pegs in front of the humanoid head equal to the number of chromosomes (47)?

Pure awesomeness preview! Not only does it elevate the movie into a "can... not... wait...", but it also laden with nostalgia. Is that a Nostromo twin doing an extremely similar reentry? Could the vehicles in that hangar be the twins of those seen on the Sulaco? Doesn't that big, impassive bust scream Giger?

Wow. Hearing those familiar songs, seeing those familiar sights... want... to.. see!

Simple: separate magazines. The dorsal micro-missile launchers are also present on the YF-21, which doesn't have the ventral weapon pallets/micro-missile launchers/internal gun pod storage rack/whathaveyou. It could be a case of art reflecting life. With the real world planes that the YF-19 and YF-21 are based off of, even though what became the F-22 had higher manueverability, the YF-23 apparently had a higher top speed and was stealthier. Scratch the former, and you have a strong reason why the VF-22 is a special forces fighter.

Agreed. Seems like the department involved in the Macross news section and the department dealing with the cover have had a spat of bad communications... ... unless if we take the cover to be a general announcement that we are to expect 30th anniversary stuff throughout all of 2012?

last on the VF-1X+ (in my collection at least. Note: checked the booklets that come w/ both MDM:VF-X & M:VF-X2, and natta on the VF-1X+). Macross VF-X2 Official Visual Guide: http://www.macrossro...g43399#msg43399 Plus some spot translations of the intro (it was most interesting to compare the differences in the English and Japanese text in the book), as well as speed, turning performance and so on. This later one is noteworthy for giving at least an impression of the relative throttle settings between the VFs that appear in the game. I'm fairly certain that lifting bodies and other aerodynamic features that increase lift (thereby allowing for a lower flight speed) are not taken into consideration. Nevertheless, it provides a place to start the conversation on throttle settings.

Great Mechanics.DX 19, 2011 Winter issue, is out. Macross content: "Details to Design", a long-form interview with Ikeda Yukio (credited as Satelite's designer and chief modeller; also credited as doing Macross F's main Valkyrie modelling). Hashimoto Misaburo (credited as Satelite's CGI producer). And Yagishita Hiroshi (credited as Satelite's Chief Director). Mostly text (6 pages!), with a few 1/8 to 1/2 page images thrown in. Images are some of Ikeda-san's rough designs and how they appeared rendered in the movie, including: VF-25S, VF-27, Macross Quarter's head, Koenig Monster, YF-29 (colouring variations, fold quartz & gun pod), Battle Frontier, Vajra warships, & the Vajra Queen + Battle Frontier. Wish it was a bit bigger... ah well.

I don't think that's the best comparison. Mainly because of the generation gap between the VF-11 and VF-19. Perhaps a better one would be: the VF-11 is the F-4 the VF-19 is the F-15. Though, it'd probably make a bit more sense to add: the VF-25 is a cross between the the F-22 & the F-35 (former for the capability jump, later for the still-in-testing and development aspects)

Ah. OK. Hmmm... I was under the impression that it's "VF-19 SMS Isamu Specification". Either way, agreed. NOT the VF-19EF. VF-19EF and VF-19ACTIVE can be seen here: http://hobby.dengeki.com/macross_r/#kitai

This is the main thing to keep in mind (TheLoneWolf beat me to it). As cool as translations of these books into other languages would be, there's only a very small market for them. Even in Japan, the market has changed. With Macross books, it's become increasingly rare to see B&W line art of the VFs, let alone more than a handful of pages dedicated to ALL the mecha that appear in a series!

Wasn't the Cheyenne designed by Junya Ishigaki? Who also returned to do the Cheyenne II in Macross Frontier?

Where does the VF-19ADVANCE name come from? The last I read on the matter (in Japanese sources), is that it is a type of VF-19. Period.

Page? Who said anything about it being just a single page?

I'd put it up there with the appearance of the SDFN-04 Global in the MF TV series: if you're paying attention to the details (shapes of ships, serial numbers on the sides of VF's, things like that), then you'll notice in a big way. If you're just a casual reader with little knowledge of the other Macross series, then the significance of what's shown will be lost, but the moment itself will still be a WTF.

More VF-1X-Plus: Macross VF-X2 Perfect Official Clue File: http://www.macrossroleplay.org/forums/index.php?topic=2837.msg43385#msg43385 ... alas, the information is more geared toward game play, then in-universe stats. Nevertheless, it does add some stuff of interest when it compares the VF-1 to the other VFs. The ability graph also is an interesting dynamic - in comparison to the other VFs.

Current project: finding and translating info on the VF-1X. Macross Digital Mission VF-X Flight Manual: http://www.macrossroleplay.org/forums/index.php?topic=2835.msg43382#msg43382 ... also `corrected the English text at the front of the book, and some other odd translations. Not going to do the other part on the VF-1 in the tail end of the book at this time, as it is basically about the origins of the VF-1, and the standard specification VF-1. Which we've already got oodles of translations of.