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sketchley

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  1. sketchley
    There's no better way to start then to dive right in. That said, some advice: start on something you can afford to lose if you mess up limit your ambitions on your first few kits—for example adding only a few highlights in paint here or there, and the panel lining. Here's an example of what I'm talking about with the #07 SDF/C-108 Macross Elysion Fortress Mode. All I've added are ① red and metallic grey paint on 6 small areas, ② a black wash (basically thinned watercolours) to bring out the panel lines and add a bit of weathering, and ③ stickers that came with the kit. The result is nothing compared to the more skilled people in MW, but I am nonetheless impressed by how much so little adds: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/43375-bandai-macross-δ-mecha-collection-small-scale-plastic-model-kits/page/9/?tab=comments#comment-1317744
  2. sketchley
    Currently, it's a non-story on places like Yahoo News and the Yomiuri Newspaper. Right now, the biggest story is whether or not schools in the Tokyo area will remain closed until May, or reopen in April (about a week from now) as currently slated. The situation in Tokyo is... well, the outbreak is still containable, but it has a very strong possibility of an explosive increase in cases—there's been an increase of another 78 cases in the past 24 hours*. Total 521. About half of that is from the past 4–7 days. * https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/topics/20200129-OYT8T50025/
  3. sketchley
    The craziest shot that they removed was C3P0 removing a "danger! Wampa" warning sign from one of the doors during the Imperial invasion! I think you can see that shot in one of the trailers for the initial release.
  4. sketchley
    I can't speak for the situation outside of Japan, but the website appears to put the main reason on the severe reduction of international flights—which is most likely the main reason why some of us non-Japan based MW members are experiencing delays in getting their packages. I'd also hazard a guess that Japan Posts' storage depots for outbound mail are at, or near capacity. And due to the complexity of keeping staff at all postal outlets up-to-date on which countries are currently accepting/not accepting mail and estimating how long it will take to be delivered, it's just simpler to pause all international deliveries.
  5. sketchley
    Yes! That sums up why it feels so odd to me. I like the idea of a "pinging" satellite. However... the whole satellite thing is odd. This makes much more sense to me. For starters, it's where first contact (not necessarily with living beings) happened with the fall of the SDF. In addition, any buoys moored there to mark the spot would be more or less fixed (though, it might be better to place a plaque on the seafloor, like the plaques for the Titanic).
  6. sketchley
    The problem is that satellites are in orbit. So, unlike a buoy, they'd be constantly moving. Nevermind that satellites are inherently fragile, and any old passing micrometeorite has a good chance of knocking it out of its orbit, or destroying it outright. It wouldn't feel so wrong to me if it were a commemorative plaque on the ruined hull. However, the Macross Cannon made sure there wasn't any of that left. (^_-) I'm basing it on "Commemorative plaque" being the first usable definition my dictionary pops up (the alternative is "stone monument", which doesn't work in the context at all). The more wordy alternative I considered is "satellite with commemorative plaque", but that's not what the Japanese states. "Satellite Monument" doesn't work because it's changing the noun (in Japanese) into an adjective (in English), and can be misread as "a monument for satellites". Based on Weblio*, "Memorial Satellite" is another possibility. However, that changes the emphasis from "commemorating first contact" to "memorializing the victims of first contact". * https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=記念碑
  7. sketchley
    As I've recently mentioned in MW, I'm currently poking around in and translating parts of (the dojinshi group) Taiyou-teikoku's "Ships of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Zentrādi Ships". While most of the stuff is logical or thought provoking extrapolations (E.g. turning the Kirutora Keruēru into the predecessor to MF's Environment Ships), the following highlighted part in the caption for the Picket Ship has me scratching my head: Does a commemorative satellite strike anyone else as odd? (The Japanese original is: 記念碑の人工衛星)
  8. sketchley
    No worries. I couldn't be bothered to look up the correct spelling is all. ... and the pronunciation of Jan is definitely closer to the original Japanese than Jang is (in my brand of English, Jan [no g] has the regular short vowel sound, but Jang changes it into a long vowel sound.) Intriguing. All are possibilities. The only problem, however, with the VF-14 Spiritia Dreaming type is that it was written somewhere (Macross Chronicle?) that it was a local or unit specific modification of the VF-14 Vampire by the Blue Rhino (is that the right name? can't be bothered to look it up) squad that we saw in that M7+ episode. I'm not saying that the hypothesis is wrong—Kawamori-san is known to change his opinions, and publications aren't infallible.
  9. sketchley
    Re: the mystery jet behind Jang at New Edwards: Hmmm... thanks to the hi-res screen grab on Mr March's site, it looks like a modified (or enhanced) VF-4. It's missing a bunch of control surfaces (canards, lower tails, etc), and doesn't have the semi-conformal missiles or beam cannons, but the engine nacelles/arms/shoulder blocks match up, and the inward cant of the vertical stabilizers is spot on. The kicker is the paired upper and lower auxiliary intakes in the inner portion of the wing (between the nose and engine nacelles): we've only seen that on the VF-4. Does this settle it one way or another? No. Just my personal opinion has shifted from "oh, that's the VF-14" to "oh, that's a stealth enhanced VF-4".
  10. sketchley
    I should refine what I stated. I don't mean "bad" as in wicked or evil. I mean it more in the sense of inept (or lack of skill, or awareness, or ability to read the force, or whatever). Of course, as we're talking about Jedi, that ineptness is harder to spot as the bar is set much, much higher than a normal person, as the Jedi are, for all intents and purposes, super heroes. Part of the assertion comes from who trained him, and who he forced others to train (you could also throw in things like how he was defeated, etc., too). Nevertheless, skilled or inept... there's really only one thing that that everyone agrees upon: Liam Neeson is a great actor!
  11. sketchley
    Let's not forget the assertion (among some fans) that Qui-Gon is actually a bad Jedi, but most everyone assumes otherwise because Liam Neeson is such a good actor.
  12. sketchley
    Totally agree. If memory serves, the line she says was, "there was no father". I've always understood that as there was no father figure in his life. The way that the line is delivered is also vague: it could be due to shame from unmentionable things, or that she had a husband, but he died/left/was taken away before or shortly after Anakin's birth.
  13. sketchley
    Wait a sec... don't they fire dummy (no warhead) missiles at those target practice drones, and reuse them many times? And don't they only destroy the target practice drones when a dummy missile hits a critical area that knocks the drone out of control?
  14. sketchley
    That reason for the ability is semi-explained by two things: 1) modularity inherent in the ship 2) the self-repair ability of Zentradi ships (and by extension, Supervision Forces & Protoculture ships) 1) crops up again and again in later series—especially in regards to the Macross ships (for example, the Macross Quarter is described as being 5 separate ships) 2) doors that automatically slam shut are repeatedly shown in SDFM. How did the designers know that the ship would be shot exactly there? It's more likely that there are hydraulics and other actuators that move them to the damaged areas. I must stress that the above is tenuous and not described in detail anywhere, but it is a logical extrapolation from what we are shown in the TV series. Officially, no. Unofficially... there's the dojinshi series "銀河の戦艦” put out by 太陽帝国 (aka FANKY). They've produced 4 books so far. Refer to 023 to 026 here: http://www.cwo.zaq.ne.jp/bface700/hakobutu_n_0.html Here's a brief glimpse of the interior: http://www.cwo.zaq.ne.jp/bface700/14win/gs01.html I've been poking around at translating their content (the stuff in brown text in the following. As well as the "to do list" at their very bottoms): http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiShips/ZentPicket.php http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiShips/StandardBattleship.php http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiShips/MediumGunboat.php http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiShips/LandingShip.php (in blue text at time of writing - indicated with *dojinshi) There are no maps of the city inside any of the Macross ships. You'll have to refer to Palladium Book's "Macross II Deckplans Vol. 3" for those (as those books were written by Dream Pod 9, they're quality [especially the research!] is at a higher level than the norm for Palladium. ).
  15. sketchley
    As my point isn't being conveyed correctly, here's the horse's mouth: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/OTgreatMechanics/GMg2016sprng.php http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/OTgreatMechanics/GMg2016smmr.php
  16. sketchley
    I'm not disagreeing with that. However, he makes these shows for the casual observer, not the die-hard fans. Thus his need to justify the existence of giant transforming planes while establishing the setting of each new series. There's also the possibility that he's so busy with other projects, that he forgets what was established in previous series (E.g.: "Which show did I put that idea into?"), and he's also doing the justification for himself.
  17. sketchley
    If memory serves, the VF-1 Battroid size was chose so humans would be able to meet and interact with the giant-sized Zentradi. So, while being able to fight them was a requirement (a requirement that spawned the Destroids), that wasn't the only requirement of the Battroid. Of course, that's the in-universe justification. As we all know, Kawamori-san feels compelled to justify in the setting why giant (transforming) robots exist. (E.g.: the dancing VF-171 in Delta to explain away why everyone isn't only using UCAV drones...)
  18. sketchley
    Fixed! http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/VF-17/VF17.php (and the VF-17T Kai for good measure: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/VF-17/vf17kai.php ) The green (= official setting) formatting appears to have been a case of copy pasting from the VF-171. ... and speaking of that, I've also back-extrapolating more wing ordinance! (However, it's in the unofficial formatting ). I'd love to argue the point about VFs and hardpoints, but have neither the time or energy. I think the solution I've adopted let's us both be happy (official vs unofficial markup). As far as internal space goes... some quotes from Great Mechanics: As the VF-17 is 25% larger than the VF-11, not to mention having more rectangular lower engine nacelles (compared to the squarish-shaped ones in the VF-11, 19, etc), it ought to have much more space—especially as the landing gear and gun pod are essentially in (or slide through) the shin.
  19. sketchley
    Wait a sec... is that based on the Steel Falcon stats for it? Makes me glad that I tweaked the stats with Official Setting info. Check out the leg internal pallets for your payload versatility needs! http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/VF-17/VF17.php (I'll prolly have to revisit those 'pallets', as they're based off of the ones used in the 19 and 21, and the Internal Weapon Bays in the 17's engine nacelles are substantially... more voluminous. )
  20. sketchley
    That reminded me of the "Wedgie 'em out" webisode. Say what you will about the acting, story, etc. in the prequel series, they got the design methodology down right:
  21. sketchley
    Pengbuzz, you were looking for info on the VF-17's Large Output Beam Gun in that other thread, right? http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics.php#Variable_Fighters > http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/VF-17/VF17.php Note, with my stats: ... or in other words, text in BLACK is more or less made up, BLUE comes from an unrecognized source (mileage varies), and GREEN is canon*. * Based on my translations, the Macross Compendium, and other sources.
  22. sketchley
    I humbly disagree. Ron Howard fundamentally understood what Star Wars is (a 2 hour escape from the summer heat). So, my rewatchable list is: 1. Rogue One 2. Solo 3. TFA (but only IF I remind myself to turn it off when Solo shows up. After that, the physics problems are maddening, and it gradually becomes a boring rehash) As for TLJ and beyond...? Well, I think Rian Johnson can produce intriguing and thought provoking films. However, his work just doesn't have the right tone* for Star Wars. And JJA? We're back to the physics and rehash problems (except for the middle part, when the "new" characters are allowed to go on an adventure of their own, without being concerned with either walking back the changes in TLJ or concluding the trilogy). * By this, I mean a fun, momentary diversion from reality. "Tone" has become a rather loaded term these past few years...
  23. sketchley
    Correction: they're great for not being splattered by infected droplets on your nose and mouth when someone else sneezes, and just about only that.
  24. sketchley
    Disease prevention education... most everyone here wears masks (to not get sick), and then they don't wear them they way they're supposed to be worn to keep from getting sick (e.g. wearing them as chin guards). ... and lets not get started on what my Japanese coworkers are calling "cough etiquette", and how bad some people's cough manners are... (can I refer to those bad mannered ones as super-spreaders? ) Anyhow, a bit more on what's going on regarding closures, etc.: major theme parks (USJ, Tokyo Disneyland/Sea, etc.) closed through to 03/15. theatres (Kabuki, etc.) also closed to 15th public elementary/Jr. & Sr. high schools—it depends where. Osaka Prefecture has closed them all until... well, most are closed until April (some until 03/25, and apparently some for only "3 weeks"!) However, in neighbouring Kyoto City, schools are opening Monday, with no plans to close (as of last night's news) private schools: these aren't subject to PM Abe's "request" to close schools. So, I have some private school students saying their schools are closed, and others saying they aren't (or more specifically: "final exams from Monday"). kindergartens, preschools, and 学童保育 (after school care for elementary school kids)... those are all outside of PM Abe's "request". In fact, they've been asked to stay open! The school closures are not a 'blanket closure'' as some foreign media are reporting (it was along the lines of a "request" to public schools to be decided by individual school districts). It basically amounts to a last minute decision, and there was zero time to prepare for it, it doesn't appear to be very well thought out (while the kids might not be getting sick from their peers at school, what about siblings at kindergarten or working parents bringing the virus home?), and is causing chaos (what are single mothers working on an hourly wage to do... other than not work? Etc.) Crazy. Tekering, I feel for you. My school's parent company has said "business as usual until Sunday", and then they're going to make a decision on whether or not classes are cancelled on Monday (probably when PM Abe decides on whether juku are also going to be closed. Never mind about the private schools, etc. )
  25. sketchley
    It depends on a bunch of factors. Namely: 1) how long the fleet is cruising through space, and 2) how much combat the fleet is experiencing. With 1, every airframe has a lifespan. It's due to things like pressurization cycles and wing stress. For commercial aircraft, that's generally measured in take-off/landing cycles. For modern fighter jets from Western countries, that's measured in hours, and is 4,000 to 6,000 hrs on average. So, the longer the fleet is using the aircraft—even with upgrades to extend their service life—the more likely they're going to change to a new fighter. Among other things, newer aircraft require less maintenance, and due to that, are generally safer to fly. With 2, the demand to adopt a new fighter is greater, as the fleet would be experiencing heavier attrition, and the need to introduce more advanced VFs to give them a tactical edge in combat. Officially, it's the last known enhancement. But as with all things Macross, there's always a possibility. For example the VF-1. We all thought that was taken as far as can be with the VF-1X. Then a decade and a half later (real world years), we got the VF-1X++ Double Plus Valkyrie. Again, we thought it was taken as far as it could go. However, a couple of years after that, we got the VF-1EX... ... and then there's the semi-official publications, like VFMF, which introduced such things as the VF-1P, and VF-1Z! Going back to your question, officially, there's also the VF-4SL, but it's unclear if that was introduced before or after the VF-4G (which made it's appearance at the same time as the VF-1X in Macross Digital Mission VF-X in the late 90's). The VFMF VF-4 book indicates that the VF-4 continued to be developed after the VF-4G. However, as neat as some of the alternative designs and concepts are, I have to discount that book as it also claims that the VF-4G is a) the first transforming VF-4 and b) substantially larger than the preceding VF-4 fuselages (like how the F-18 Super Hornet is bigger than the F-18 Legacy Hornet)—both apparently in contradiction to the official setting!
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