sketchley

Question - who animated what episodes and how close were they to the original line-art and other specifications? I'm guessing that the second image was done by anime friend and is less accurate, with the first image done by Studio Nue. The first image also has 22 of the "real" missiles that the Phalanx carries, with a few (5 to be specific) missiles of some smaller class also crammed in. Personally, I'd go with the compendium unless proved otherwise (as in the number of missiles on the VF-4... but that's another story.) Page 163 of Macross Perfect Memory lists the Phalanx as having 22x2 missiles. I don't think it gets any more official than that. Now, a real question - to me it looks like the missile pods are attached by 3-clips around the outskirt of the missile launcher proper. I have the suspicion that the launcher itself is designed to be easily detatched and replaced; for quick turn-around times when a reload is needed. What are your thoughts on those clip-like things around the missile launcher (mid-point on the 'arm' assembly - best seen in the line-art!)

That's a nice phalanx image. Captain America, I suggest looking through the Macross World model pages (available off of the main page) for more images. There's a load of good artwork available. Also try (you'll need to search for it): http://www.orbital-art.net/unspacy_qmtdb/ http://un-spacy-qmtdb.com/macross_page/macross_index.html and http://www.mahq.net/mecha/macross/sdfmacross/sdr-04-mk12.htm (only one image, sadly)

As I am planing to do this with some WIP models, I've been looking at some of the hobby magazines here in Japan for hints and tips. What I've figured out so far is to wipe the excess ink off right away, before drying occurs. I am guessing (and this is just a guess, with nothing to substantiate it) that a cloth with a bit of heavily diluted paint thinner could be used to remove it. But one would have to be really careful... Are the inks that you are using water based? If they are, a little bit of water and some elbow grease should be enough to get the excess ink off of it.

And that in itself says something.

Studio Nue is as official as one is going to get when it comes to Macross - they are the studio that originated the series after all.

Big question - will the Armour's hip-mounted grenades be removable and will the hands be able to grab them? Al la the MG Zaku.

Isn't it from the comedy (variety?) show "Lincoln"? It looks like the clip is edited too...

The upper one is an original. The lowerone is a copy of an original. For the untrained eye, it's the same. But on closer inspection there are some changes (the shading (specifically engine blocks) being the biggest.) Here's a scan of the original artwork:

Well... as Macross 0 was released for the 20th Anniversary of Macross... there's hope for the 25th Anniversary, 30th Anniversary... it might be few and far between, but there's hope for that.

I forgot to mention this - it is noted in the YF-19 (and applies to the VF-19, YF-21, and VF-22, possibly earlier VFs as well) that atmosphere is used in the cooling process of the engine. The compendium goes so far as to state that maximum thrust for those super-engines is limited when the air intakes are closed. So yes, the VF-0 may have it's underwater activity time limited due to the heat issue (I would presume that the coldness of space is used to cool when the VF-0 is in space, and that the super-engines of the YF-19 et al overheat simple due to heat being produced faster than whatever cooling takes place. I really have no idea what fuel is used in the VF-0. It may be a unique one, as the engines in the VF-0 are special (overtuned, contain OTEC, etc.). We've seen the VF-0 do it (and doesn't the VF-1 do it too?) No matter what, in the atmosphere of Mars, leaving the head down shouldn't be a problem - but the gun pod has got to be moved. Maybe it's a gerwalk only thing? Good points on the increased benefits for the gerwalk and battroid. I guess their use in the episode comes down to lack of real science knowledge in the animators, and the 'cool-factor' of jet mode.

I think any future Macross projects are going to come from Kawamori exclusively - and he appears to be pretty busy these past few years. I'd expect more Macross projects when Kawamori is a) less busy, b) getting the VF bug again*, c) there's some new or big animating technology breakthrough**, and d) market demand. Sadly, I don't think there'll be a big enough market demand for the next few years. We're flooded with Gundam stuff... *By this, I mean his desire to draw, and tell stories about VFs. He mentioned something along these lines in an interview once. ** Macross Plus contained the most expensive OVA made up to that point - and both it and Macross 7 contained dabblings in CGA; which have gone on to become industry standards. Macross Zero is heavily populated with CGA - in a way, the big tech push was to get a fully 3-D CGAed VF in action. IMHO, I think the next leap will be a fully 3-D CGA production - we've already seen Kawamori dabbling in that with the (failed) Macross 3DVFX, and the remake of the original TV series.)

To make better sense of this thread, I’ve gone back and reviewed it, breaking things into the various sub threads that this topic has spawned for ease of understanding. Can a naked un-modded valk fly on Mars? I think this question has pretty much been answered. The first post actually included a good part of the answer: Martian gravity is about 1/3 that of Earth’s = thus the VF-1 weighs 1/3 less. That means there is 2/3’s less weight to lift (or the wings become 3 times more efficient at lift, etc..) The Martian atmosphere is only 1% as dense as Earth’s = I’m not sure of the fluid dynamics, but what I understand is that friction will be substantially reduced. Meaning that at the same thrust levels, the VF-1 will fly faster than on Earth. I’m not sure how it effects lift. Nevertheless, the link to the NASA Mars plane indicates that there is real world science to support the Martian atmosphere being able to provide lift to winged aircraft. Note that the wing-surface area of the NASA plane is large compared to the fuselage (and the VF-1’s is small compared to its fuselage.) The posts on the Blackbird and U-2 support that winged aircraft can fly in such an environment. I read that as meaning the VF-1 has piss-poor maneuverability (without thruster veneers) – as it is either flying too fast to turn sharply, or very slow with sluggish movements. Even in gerwalk and battroid modes, this slow maneuverability problem would be present. Of course, this is offset by the veneer thrusters… (whatever their effectiveness. Please keep in mind that the VF-1 is thrust-vectored – so with a high angle of attack (of the wings, and the overall fuselage, to maximize lift) combined with vectored thrust, the VF-1 could probably fly effectively (though it would be nose-up, and for the large part blind to targets directly ahead – though sensors would compensate for this.) Moving on… Valkyrie engines The VF-0 takes on some of the properties of the VF-1 when it goes underwater. Page 014-015 of “Tenjin Hidetaka’s Valkyries†book has a VF-0B with ‘Space Proving Wing’ stenciled on the engine nacelles. That implies that the VF-0 is space worthy – which means that the engines are designed for use in space. Therefore, an internal oxygen load needs to be carried (the ‘few minutes’ that Shin claimed the VF-0 can operate underwater for.) IMHO, additional oxygen for the engines is carried in FAST packs (or drop tanks) when it is used in space… So, the VF-0 is probably using standard jet fuel mixed with (internally carried) oxygen. And jet engines can actually stall as well, it's called a compressor stall. The blades in a jet turbine are just wings turned sideways and spinning in a circle, and just like normal wings under the right conditions they can stop producing lift cutting off air flow through the engine and shutting it down. I don't see any reason why the same thing couldn't happen to a Valkyrie's thermonuclear turbines. The compressor part of the engine is at the front of the engine. Therefore, it all depends where the reactant fuel is added when the front of the engine is closed (for space use, etc.). If the reactant fuel can only be added inside the ‘hot’ part of the engine, than compressor stall isn’t a problem. (If the stall shows up in atmospheric flight, it’s possible to simply fill the engine with reactant fuel until the compressor starts working properly again.) Gravity The gravity mines did affect all the small fighting mecha – but, as was pointed out, on such a small level, that there was no noticeable effect. There's no gravity in space, thus no need for wing lift. There’s lots of gravity in space. It all depends on the masses, distances, and speeds involved. We are probably being affected by the gravity of all of the different stars in the sky, but as they are so far away, and we are so small, there is little to no effect. The only time it gets to be a problem is when our star passes near another star, and the other star’s gravity knocks objects in the Oort cloud out of their stable orbit and sends them towards the inner Solar system. As there’s no atmosphere in space, wing-lift is impossible to achieve and movement is entirely generated by thrusters. WATER and PRESSURE No matter what, a VF-1 in water will be slower in water than in the air (due to water resistance/friction.) How it moves is the same as elsewhere, but I think the force of the water passing over the flaps on the wings may overcome then (eg: break them) and a VF-1 would have low maneuverability at best. The underwater mission of VF-X2 supports this. The VF-1 also has an operational underwater depth of 100 m. So sooner or later external pressure will overcome it. http://macross.anime.net//mecha/united_nat.../vf1/index.html As the VF-1 is able to go underwater, I don’t think that water getting inside of it is a problem (either watertight hatches or OTEC parts are extremely durable and robust.) As the VF-1 is designed as a space fighter, going into a 0 pressure environment isn’t a problem – until micrometeorites hit and other small holes and cracks appear in the pressurized compartment (the cockpit only?) Though, the pilot is in a pressure suit, so it’s only a problem if the pilot’s suit is penetrated. Of course we never hear about that in Macross (the external armour stops micrometeorites them?) ARMOUR It's pretty obvious from the animation that the Valk is rather lightly armored. I don’t know how much we can go on the animation for ‘reality.’ Let’s face it, the Destroids are heavily armoured, yet they are usually one-hit-instant-death when they are seen in combat; whereas the hero VFs survive multiple hits at closer ranges. Anyhow, I leave this to be explained away by OTEC and anime physics (specifically the hero-defense upgrade.)

Thanks... I'm wondering why it isn't set to 'show all' as default...

I suggest going to the 'mood' or the 'feel' (can't think of the right word here...) of the original images (and not exact copies.) I did something along those lines with the VF-5 design that I whipped up - viewable here - if you notice the position of things move in the different views of the fighter, and the parts of the battroid don't quite match up with the same parts in the fighter mode.

Apologies if this isn't the right place to ask this question for the moderators or someone in the know - When I open this forum to view the topics, it only displays them up to June 24, 2006. I know there are earlier topics, as I have participated in them and can find them through searches. My question is why aren't topics with a last post before June 24, 2006 being displayed?

Erm... please take the picture with a grain of salt. That's what it can be, but what it may not be. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html (scroll down to March.) Of course, weather being weather... prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Probably because they were designed for 2-D animation. I think Masamune Shirow mentioned this in one of his art books - there are so many things that artists can get away with in 2-D, but can't in 3-D. IMHO, I suggest doing something that is more representative of what is seen in the lineart/animation, and not an exact copy (which is probably impossible...) take the VF-0 as precedent: the existing VF-1 doesn't work in 3-D so they redesigned it until it did work.

http://macross.anime.net//production/creat...hoji/index.html Here's another place to wade through: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=ja&q=shoji+kawamori

Some corrections: Monsoon rains basically hit Osaka and Tokyo at around the same time. I was thinking of Seoul - the rains arrive their about a half-month to a month later. The first of the Cicadas came out today (maybe has something to do with their big drink of rain (we're averaging 100 to 150 mm of rain per day. Which is good compared to the places that are getting 300+ mm and are having trouble with landslides and flooding (12 people have died so far from it... serious stuff!) Cicadas are up there on the interesting list. They're the only insects that sweat...

Mandarake is a good place to hit for old stuff. Animate is a good place for the new stuff. To be honest, convenience store (konbini) food sucks rocks. It was cooked prolly 'sometime' last night and has been sitting around since then. The fare from restaurants where you pay at the front via a vending machine is actually pretty good - if you consider it to be the Japanese version of fast-food (aka McDonald's.) Fast-food is, well, fast-food. One thing to keep in mind about Japan is that there are basically two types of restaurants: specialists, and those that don't (which usually have loads of set menus.) You'll want to hit up the specialists if you want a truly gourmet experience (udon/soba, okinomiyaki, fugu, to name but a few.) Be warned that Japan is a place where you can blow your entire life's savings in less than a week (maybe a day or two, if you're really unfruggal.) But with care, you can probably get by with a food budget of 5,000 yen per day. (Maybe, and that's a big maybe, for less than 3,000. Of course, if you cook your own meals and buy only instant noodles...) Anyhow, go get yourself a travel guide book (lonely planet, Eyewitness, etc.) They have loads of useful information that is better presented (and better organized, and carryable in your pocket) than anything any of us can provide. The Lonely Planet one has a good breakdown on the different classes of restaurants, as well as a rough idea of the prices AND some Japanese words for ordering food. highly recommended. As for Cicadas - they haven't come out yet here in Osaka. They generally don't come out en masse until after the monsoon rains (which are here, now, in Osaka - about a halfmonth to a month later in Tokyo.) March will probably be chilly - but it all depends on where you're coming from (If it routinely gets to around -40 (C, F, doesn't matter) where you at, than it'll feel like a sauna. ) So hurry up and get a guide book!

anime physics

The rules are a sick goat, and the guidelines are just that - guidelines. Another way to look at it is that if they locked down everything that went off topic, the community here would be crushed due to the 'off topic gestapo' and everyone would go elsewhere.

I think a closer look should be taken into why some threads are locked, and others are allowed to continue. In the cases that you mentioned, TWDC, the Babes thread was killed because: I interpret that as 1 person talking to himself, when a simple pointer link would suffice, and the ongoing actual conversation of the thread was on an entirely different topic. In other words - it doesn't serve the community. the other threads are 'allowed' to continue, because they appear to be more than one member adding to them, they're relatively on-topic discussions, and the discussions aren't getting out of hand (into the dubious discussion topic zone, nor being hijacked and going off topic.) Does that make sense? (seriously... lack of coffee at the moment... no idea if what I'm blithering on about makes any sense.)

I'll try and answer your questions. My knowledge is a bit limited, so if any of you readers with greater knowledge can correct any errors in the following, it'd be greatly appreciated. 1. Do they both own Macross? Yes and no. Big West owns Macross in general, and the animation of SDF Macross, as well as DYRL. To get SDF Macross finished, and finished on schedule, the related products (character goods, models, toys, etc.) rights were sold to Tatsunoko Studios. 2. Do they have equal rights on Macross? No. 3. What are the histories between the two in the establishment of Macross? See answer to 1 and 4. 4. What are their roles with Macross? I know nothing on Big West. I am of the suspicion that it is a holding company or they purchased Studio Nue - which is the company that Macross originated out of, and continues to create new Macross projects. Tatsunoko Studios is (was?) an animation company that was originally contracted to produce animation for SDF Macross. 5. Does one own Macross T.V. while the other own Macross D.Y.R.L? If so, which owns what? Big West owns both. Tatsunoko Studio owns the right for marketing related goods (models, T-shirts, toys, etc.) for the SDF Macross TV series only. (Though, as the designs are similar, and as Big West wasn't very aggressive in stopping them, Tatsunoko went above and beyond the rights that they had purchased and did some crazy things like sell the rights to the international distribution of the SDF Macross series to some American company - rights which they never had in the first place.) 6. How come Yamato doesn't have their logo on the 1/48? All I see is "Made in China 1982 BigWest." Yamato is a seperate and unrelated company that purchased the (temporary?) rights to produce toys for Macross. They may or may not have recycled the molds produced by another company that may have produced the toys earlier.) The main reason is toy collectors don't want to see the toy covered with company name crap. Though, I suspect their name and logo was plastered on the box that the toy came in.

Yeah... in the first aid courses I took way back when, the 'stop the bleeding' mantra was something that was hammered quite well into our heads. That, and 'don't try and "fix" things, as you'll probably only make them worse. Stabilize, stabilize.' Ah... the memories.