sketchley

True, but France isn't the only European country that speaks French. There's Monaco, Switzerland, and Belgium, to name but a few... nevertheless, good point on the relationship between France and Japan in the entertainment industries.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20060804a3.html

I thought Global was Eastern European, and Claudia was the most likeliest contender for French (last name = Laselle.) Crap... checked the Compendium - Bruno is born in Eastern Europe but of Italian decent, and Claudia is American. Though... max is European. http://macross.anime.net//characters/index.html

Funny... "Wings of Honneamise" is also a great movie. Sure, it doesn't get much replay (mind you, my collection is on the other side of the Pacific Ocean... ) I think these films are more for the connoisseur, than for anime fans in general. For example, I found the Oshii movie "Innocence" to be like a noire film, punctuated with extreme violence (or was the lack of violence in general, and the suddeness and violence of it, what really made it seem more violent? Hmmm... I think that there is a message in it...) Anyhow, these films are works of art. To each their own. Let's keep the negativity on them to a minimum. We're all fans of something, right. Back to the topic - what really gets my clock spinning with Patlabor 2 is how life imitated it: the Aum subway gas attack... scary!

Gah! Sounds too much like Ultraman/Kamen Rider/any of the other plethora of rubber-monster-of-the-week shows already being produced. If any Macross sequel is to be produced, it MUST have what makes Macross what it is: anti-war story, love triangle, and music. (In a sense, VFs are really only window dressing to the core Macross values, and aren't really needed... )

Going by the Compendium (and my copy of Macross Perfect Memory* backs this up, though I don't know what the Macross Gold Book has to say about it) the name of the ship is: ç ²è‰¦ Aka: Gun Destroyer. http://macross.anime.net//mecha/zentradi/s...oyer/index.html *Technically speaking, the Macross Perfect Memory book calls it a 'Medium Sized Gun Destroyer'. Medium being the size of the ship - I guess by Zentraedi standards - and gun would probably be better translated as cannon; as the wife says.

"2001 A Space Oddessy" is a great movie - especially the open ended ending as well as the accurate, though (being honest,) boring representation of real space travel. "2010 The Year We Make Contact" is not a good sequel. On it's own, 2010 is a great film, just not a great follow-up to the Stanley Kubric masterpiece. Nevertheless, I didn't really notice the similarities with Macross Plus until now... thanks for pointing them out!

Ghost in the Shell OSTs - for all of them (the two movies, and the two TV series!) The Appleseed 3D CG anime movie's soundtrack was also pretty kick-butt. Recently I've been having an "Otaku no Video" revival. The OST of that is fun, in a weird way. I guess it kind of helps if one has an understanding of Japanese and Japanese anime history when listening to it...

I do agree that the percentage of Macross fans amongst English speaking anime fans is greater than that of Japanese speaking anime fans. However, as Azrael started to point out - if Macross is truly that profitable in English speaking countries, we would see more joint productions like the Manga Video - Production IG work in the "Ghost in the Shell" movie.

If I remember correclty (heh...) it's the same as the one that they used in the next episode - a Zentraedi Gunship.

The problem with that trailer is that it shows nothing about a game. It looks like a preview to the 2nd movie. Mind you... depending on the platform that it is released on... we could be looking at movie quality graphics... nevertheless, it looks good. A nice combination of elements from the 2nd, and 4th manga books.

It does take a few hits, and damage (mostly bullet holes, and some parts of the edges ripped out) during the VF/Destroid/Armoured VF battle over and around it in the 3rd episode. Otherwise... yeah... OTEC metallurgy and other armour upgrade techniques.

I have always been under the impression that Max is the better pilot. In his first sortie, he downs an impressive number of kills. Roy, on the other hand, doesn't appear to rack up as many kills in as short a period of time. Mind you, as squadron leader, Roy probably has to spend a lot of time looking after those under his command and keeping track of the big picture... so I guess we have to give him piloting points for that - not being killed while he is doing the management tasks.

And here are the images. Had time to search for them. Note: I didn't do the translations and the images are 'as is.' The Studio Nue line-art backs up the 4 panel LIDAR, and 55 mm gun attachment. I haven't found supporting line-art for the missile launcher head - though that doesn't mean that one doesn't exist.

I'm not sure IF the alternate Phalanx head types were created during SWI (except for the hack-job one in that one episode.) Nevertheless, the other heads are definitely available after the end of SWI. I'm of the opinion that once the war was over, and things begain to stabilize themselves for humanity*, designers went over the war footage, and started tweaking it. *I'm deliberately being vague here. It could've happened right away (as in when the Factory Satellite was retrieved) or a few months or even years later.)

I'm not saying that it can't hold more. I'm just saying that Studio Nue released resources state that it holds 22x2. Obviously from the animation, they can cram in more small missiles in between the larger ones. Now... some interesting things about the Phalanx are the different heads that it has. I don't have time to sort through my image files, but believe you me, there are at least three alternate Phalanx heads. One is a gun pod, one is a missile launcher, and one is a differently arrange searchlight type head. If you count the 'battle damaged and repaired' ones that showed up in the 'Force of Arms' episode, than there is a 4th alternate head as well...

Interesting... that's exactly why movies are good (in general,) and especially recently, why I want to see movies. Also, isn't that the formulae that the ST series are based off of? After all, action (aka special effects) costs money. Actors standing in front of a camera doing their thing costs much, much less (most of the time.)

It looks really, really sweet. Good luck figuring out the CG modelling program - and best of luck getting a working skin that has the same matte colouring as the above image. Though... the left-most engine block (on the picture above*) is missing some of the cowling around the engine thruster... *The one on the right side, when looking at the model from the rear.

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...