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sketchley

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  1. sketchley
    I decided to (finally) get around to scanning the 8th image of Elysium today: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Locations/OutsideBorders/Elysium.php#Elysium ... it's not much to look at, but I'm sure the MW members who don't have the Mook(s) in question will appreciate being able to view the full set of pre-production image boards for Macross Digital Mission VF-X—not to mention see how different the envisioned game and what was released are!
  2. sketchley
    Thanks for providing the statement, and I'm honoured that you think so. You got the translation right. It is odd that VFMF doesn't expand on what the earlier versions are (unless if they're copying from another source/writing based on Kawamori-san's requests). I wonder if any of the other books mention anything about the 1st and 2nd generation engines...? (nothing comes to my mind. However, I don't believe I've ever attempted to translate one of the thermonuclear turbine engine sections so far... ) On the other hand, we all know that those VFs carry the 3rd generation Active Stealth. So, there's always the possibility of a brain fart in the writer...
  3. sketchley
    Nah, Rise of Skywalker is correct. Last Jedi tried to tell a coherent story (whether it succeeded or not is a debate for other venues). RoS was... well, saying that they succeeded in making a movie that not only walked back the changes made in TLJ (instead of building on them), and then cramming 3 film's worth of content into 1 movie is... putting it politely. Back on topic: while I don't mind Discovery, it's highly forgettable, and not something that I want to rewatch anytime soon. The best part of it was the characters, the worst part is the plot, which—among other things—didn't slow down to focus on anything else, such as the characters! Due to that (and the hyper-kinetic pacing and editing of the action scenes where it is impossible to figure out what's going on), I'm not bothering with Picard or The Lower Decks. On the other hand, I am currently (re)watching Voyager. While that show leaves a lot to be desired, it is more memorable than Disco, while giving the plot (and characters!) time to breathe.
  4. sketchley
    If you're referring to the section I think you are, I initially thought that too. On closer inspection, it's about the side-of-the-chest thrusters (how they're stowed in Fighter, how they form in Battroid, etc.) Nevertheless, the next page on the electromagnetic locks looks interesting, but the real good stuff is the breakdown of where they use energy conversion armour, and what materials (alloys, etc) are used in what parts of the fuselage (and that's not once, but twice! The Streak-revisited and another later in the book).
  5. sketchley
    The model of the ES-11D they used shouldn't have been pictured like that in the atmosphere! It has the Integrated Space Propeller and Propellant Tanks on the wing engines! Nevertheless, I like that the book goes into a bit more depth on the QF-3000. It's just too bad that they don't have any picts of it with its FAST Packs.
  6. sketchley
    What's the original statement in Japanese?
  7. sketchley
    What about the one in the QF-3000E? My impression is that it is an earlier model than the one found in the VF-1. (If I was being generous, I'd say the ones in the VF-1 are the "finessed" versions.) Thus making the VF-1~VF-17 the second generation. The other possibility is the "burst" engines that appeared in Macross the Ride—they're kind of a step between the earlier versions and the Stage II that appeared in the VF-24 and it's descendants.
  8. sketchley
    Thank you for looking into it. Maybe it was a panicky corporate officer after all? That, or one branch of the company went all guns-blazing to complete the project, and it was only after the fact that the senior staff found out about it after it was flagged by the German Peace Society. And as European sensitivities are rather complex, I can see it prompting the corporate response. So, ultimately, from what we can gather, licensing fees were the root cause of the sets cancellation, but not in the way I initially interpreted. It was merely the fact that Lego was paying money to an arms manufacturer (which, when phrased like that, sounds rather distressing... ).
  9. sketchley
    Looking real good. The time and effort you've spent on the interior makes me wondering if I should crack mine open and add a few highlights to the interior too... (I just panel lined/weathered my "Christmas ornament" ) However, when building mine, that long straight joint from to bottom between the pieces that you've labelled 0 and 5 (or 10 and 15) doesn't sit flush on mine. I just snap-fit mine together, and I *may* not have correctly assembled the interior. However, it's something to be aware of (you may need to use glue to get a flush surface). As it's only visible from the rear, I display the Death Star II as it appeared in the movie—so no one's the wiser.
  10. sketchley
    The books I order are all sent via Japan Post (that's domestic order→domestic mailing address). If they do the same with international orders, maybe the 'unknown reason' are the problems international mail is experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
  11. sketchley
    That's the official statement. The problem with it, though, is that the set was already in production and being released (sold) to the public. If it was against their company policy, why did it reach the stage where the set was being produced and members of the public were purchasing it before it was cancelled? So, that leaves us with 2 possibilities: the aforementioned gear problems, or problems with the licensing (or both). It makes sense to provide a smokescreen (the official statement) for both those issues, but if it was a gear problem (a manufacturing/materials problem), wouldn't that warrant a delay while they sorted things out, not an outright cancellation? The gear problem is doubly odd, as it begs the question: why wasn't it sorted during prototyping and test production? Regarding mention of licensing fees: is this something the company would want to publicly admit? At the very least, it makes sense to conceal it to maintain an amicable relationship for possible future business.
  12. sketchley
    That's pretty impressive, especially as the Avro Arrow was completed in 1957!
  13. sketchley
    Keep in mind that Lego cancelled a recent aircraft set (that had already started to see a limited release!) because of licensing fees. Blame the lawyers and companies wanting to protect their corporate image (as licensing fees inevitably includes questions about how such things are going to be used/depicted in-game).
  14. sketchley
    As the great Roger Ebert said in his review of The Mummy (1999): So, my question is: is Bill & Ted 3 like "the Mummy (1999)"? (Or as Ebert said: good trash?)
  15. sketchley
    Yes, somewhere in my translations site (multiple places, in fact): http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/
  16. sketchley
    Presuming that the poll is about when it's in Battroid only... the head lasers are described in the Official Setting as weapons for rear anti-air defence (not just the VF-1, mind you). However, in Fighter form, due to their forward/downward firing arc, they have also made the VF-1 be described as an attacker/ground attack specialized VF in some Official Setting materials...
  17. sketchley
    For a change of pace, I've also been updating/revising the pages in my RPG stats site. I've been focusing on the Locations (that appear in Macross/RPG games) , and this week I tackled Planet Elysium (from Macross Digital Mission VF-X). I've recently acquired the Macross Digital Mission VF-X Official Program, and it is a wealth of additional information not found in Macross Digital Mission VF-X Flight Manual. While I'd like to dive into translating other parts of the book*, I've focused on Planet Elysium. Scroll down to the "Image Gallery" section for the translation of the rather informative description of the Elysium environs: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Locations/OutsideBorders/Elysium.php Frustratingly, there is a discrepancy between the two books: Macross Digital Mission VF-X Flight Manual states that there are no moons around Elysium, but Macross Digital Mission VF-X Official Program states that there are "two satellites in the 1,000 km diameter class". For the stats summary, I've gone with 2 moons, as it's rather hard for a planet to be stable long enough to become Earth-like (let alone have the right conditions for life to start!) without something like a moon. * it has a wealth of info on not just Elysium, but the characters, as well as the mecha introduced in the game—such as the Pheyos Valkyrie, Rigādo Kai, Gurāji Kai, and Jināru Fighter Pod Kai.
  18. sketchley
    I'll take that and raise it with no Hideki Kakinuma designs, no Gall Force.
  19. sketchley
    Thank you for posting this. As someone interested in military aviation in general—not to mention being a fellow "Canuckistanian" who has moved to the land of the rising sun—it's very informative. ... and further highlights just how romanticized things are in Macross. However, I suspect that things in Macross are influenced as much—if not more so—by the procedures in the JASDF than they are by those in the USAF.
  20. sketchley
    I think your way is better. Just remember something that Adam Savage once said: what looks right, doesn't always photograph right (or something along those lines—it was in reference to finding a "gold" foil to cover an Apollo moon lander with). So, the decals that worked in the lighting and angles used in the films may be unsatisfactory in real life. Your way also adds gives additional texture to the surface.
  21. sketchley
    Complete: Macross Chronicle Glossary #24A and #25A: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/MCRglossary/MCRglossary.php The only *newly translated* content is character related—so not much in the way of heretofore unrevealed info. Nevertheless, some nice summaries, and I guess you could say one or two had an interesting perspective on events.
  22. sketchley
    There was also a flying transforming "Police Machine" in Macross 7: It was also able to operate in outer space by switching the propeller engines for rocket motors.
  23. sketchley
    Another Canadian here, eh! From Victoria, lived in Vancouver for a couple of years (near where they filmed Stargate), before moving to Japan. Simply put, they were given their "ride off into the sunset". Of course, it doesn't help that it happened in print form. Here's (a translation of) the circumstances leading up to their disappearance: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/OTother/MinmeiLastMessage.php The other reason people aren't so concerned is that fleets, like the one the Megaroad-01 was part of, sometimes go missing. The reasons why are varied, from attacks by one of the millions of Zentrādi Fleets still out in the galaxy, disappearing in something called a Fold Fault (like a space-time dislocation in a Space Fold), or succumbing to other natural phenomenon. In some cases, it can take years to get to a fleet's last known location (the Macross Frontier Fleet was "10 years Fold travel time from Earth" in the MF TV series). Not to mention that space is really vast. Which is why you have some characters, for example Richard Bilra in MF, still hoping to find Minmei, some 40 or 50 years after her disappearance.
  24. sketchley
    More Destroids that appeared in Macross? I forget which game this beast came from, but it's an official post-First Interstellar War Destroid penned by Kazutaka Miyatake—the Destroid designer—himself: Then there's also the ADR-04-Mk XV S-Defender from Macross the Ride: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/Defender/S-Defender.php (better pictures in the link)
  25. sketchley
    Nice picture! I would err on the side of it being tuned up. Reasons being: the VF-11D Kai has "lightly" tuned up engines (among other things)—why not carry those over to this one? the later produced (and more common?) VF-11C is somewhat detuned compared to the earlier VF-11B. Therefore, if we take the VF-11C as the base model, then even just by reverting to the VF-11B specs, it would be a "tune up", no? what the other guys said about it being to train test pilots at New Edwards. Maybe the pilots are used to the "stock" VF-11(B or C). It would make a heck of a lot of sense to gently push them outside of their familiarity envelope with a tuned VF-11 to show them just what they're getting themselves into (without going overboard with a risk-your-life-every-flight VF-19A!) Heck, it might even be part of the training program for the pilots to be involved in the tuning process. I'm sure there's an equivalent training program going on for ground crew... why not have both working on the same fighter? Pilot feedback to the ground crew and engineers is an important part of the test pilot job, after all.
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