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sketchley

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  1. sketchley
    Before Macross Zero was released, the VF-1 was never described as having stealth technology. However, Macross Zero attributed a (how shall I put it?) less advanced form of active stealth into the first generation Valkyries. Thus, the VF-1 was "retconned"* with active stealth. * I don't like this term, as with all things Macross, unless something is specifically stated, it is a possibility. Perhaps "it was clarified" would be better? See the following link (green text) for specific details of the pre-AVF version of Active Stealth: http://monkeybacon.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/Avionics/Countermeasures.php#activestealth
  2. sketchley
    It doesn't help that Kawamori-san himself has said something along the lines of: if I tell the story as a TV series, it looks like this, if I tell it as a movie, it looks like that. All of them are dramatizations of *real* historical events. The implication being that the reality is something different from what we've been told. Compare it to the "Saving Private Ryan" movie and the real D-Day invasion. The condensed form of the movie is what "DYRL" essentially is. (By extension, the TV series is also a condensed form...)
  3. sketchley
    Those bombers were designed around one thing - the sequence where she drops the switch and falls to go get it. Makes one wonder why they couldn't have just made the fuselage bigger, and incorporated the bomb bay inside the fuselage? Before I go any further nitpicking, it's as good a time as any to remind myself: the battle scenes in SW are based around WWII stuff (footage, tactics, etc.).
  4. sketchley
    All my stats, and a few made by others, can be found here: http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/index.php
  5. sketchley
    The other thing with words borrowed into Japanese, is to keep in mind the error that they were borrowed in (thus added to the dictionary, and the spelling 'set in stone'). In brief (take it with a grain of salt): After WWII: words mainly from English After Meiji restoration: words mainly from German From around the Azuchi-momoyama (warring states) era: words mainly from Dutch. Intertwined through that, you have specific words borrowed from a variety of languages. For example: English mainly borrows from Germanic or Romance languages, but the word "taboo" comes from the Polynesian languages (specifically Tongan and Fijian).
  6. sketchley
    Alright... just spent the past 45 min to 1 hour debugging my site... just to learn that the host doesn't allow "Sharon Apple Incident" (I think it's more like "Apple Incident"). So, dear readers, please inform me if any translations are still unavailable, and don't mind the "Sharon Apple Insident" misspelling...
  7. sketchley
    Passive stealthiness is just one aspect to consider. There's also: - protection (from micrometeorites, random bullets, etc.) in the Super Parts in space - better flight performance (stuff mounted under the wings has significant drag, among other things) in atmosphere The kicker is that Kawamori-san even designed a stealthy underwing weapon pod for the VF-11 during the design phase for the VF-11 (Shoji Kawamori Macross Design Works Pg 076). The idea ending up being reused in the VF-0 (though that begs the question of what inspired him? For example: the F-18 International Roadmap has a centerline-mounted Enclosed Weapon Pod.)
  8. sketchley
    It's not part of the official setting, but if memory serves on my scanlation, it was created for recon purposes on planets with Vajra, because the Vajra detect the thermonuclear reaction engines, but not whatever is powering the propellers. When push comes to shove, those extra "Super" parts can be purged, and the VF-25 performs as normal.
  9. sketchley
    I understand that, and that's not what I'm critiquing: only the acting and the pacing (the temp track is also lacklustre, but...)
  10. sketchley
    Agreed that they had plenty of opportunities. I can appreciate why they cut the scene, though: it massively slows down the pace of the movie, right when it's gearing up toward its conclusion. Also, the acting is a little flat. Yes, Gwendoline Christie has only an eye to emote with on screen, but she doesn't have a look of desperation... and John Boyega is... ... well, it's easier to just say that the version that ended up in the movie fits better overall into the pacing of the movie, and the emoting - as little of it as there is - works better. As for the physics and reality of it... the end of the movie sums up who this movie is for (everyone talking nonchalantly on the Millennium Falcon like they're at a party, despite just barely making it out alive AND losing most of their comrades, and the kid using his Force abilities on the broom). ... so yeah, if you want realism in your Sci Fi, I recommend "Interstellar". Actually, that would be interesting. I can almost see someone echoing Austin Power's "Why won't you die?" scene!
  11. sketchley
    Personally, I think the reason why he created Active Stealth was a way to get around the bland shapes that stealthiness entails, and create dynamic looking fighters/Battroids. As someone who designs his own transforming fighter jets, I can personally attest to the difficulty of trying to create a flat underside of an aircraft, but also having ankle and knee guards in Battroid - you know, the stuff that makes them look dynamic. Let's also be thankful that Kawamori-san never went down the road of shardism (like the live action Transformer movies). Here's a batch of them (and I'm only posting this to give you an idea of what a tilt-rotor/helicopter might look like): https://studiootaking.deviantart.com/art/CFs-Generation-2B-Master-File-Chronicle-708803627
  12. sketchley
    Maybe he just got too busy/overwhelmed? Or he rubber stamped the stuff that he didn't care much about to be able to focus on the stuff that he does care about? Without knowing the full circumstances, it's hard to get into the mindset. It could just be: "Mr. Kawamori, the (vocal) fans in our target demographic like this." "OK, give them more of it".
  13. sketchley
    Thanks for the shoutout. Truth be told, I've been using a homebrew (housemods, whatever) version of the rules for about two decades now (has it been that long? ). Anyhow, I'm basing it in the Palladium system from a combination of that being the main one that everyone appears to be using, and the devil you know. That said (and this isn't directed at anyone in particular), I'm surprised at the anger coming from the backers. All I can say to potential investors (for future projects): do your research. If I've known about Palladium Book's (the company, not any individual per se) inability to meet deadlines and inability to keep all marketing promises in the early '90's, how can it be a surprise in the late 2010's?
  14. sketchley
    We have to keep in mind the context of when the show was "Americanized". It was what? 30+ years ago? Well before things like cultural appropriation entered the zeitgeist. Given that, I think your statement is misleading, as it implies a lot of negative things about his personal character. My impression of him -rightly or wrongly- is that he was a businessman, and making those changes was a business decision to maximize sales (just like combining 3 different series into one, for syndication purposes). I'm not saying what he did is right, just that we have to keep context in mind when looking back on the past - especially the further back we go.
  15. sketchley
    I'm in the middle of watching Frasier, so this is especially... heartbreaking. He was and is an inspiration.
  16. sketchley
    That practice of making things new for the sake of making new things is... well, different from the rule of cool (you could say it's the antithesis...). I agree with Dynaman - the offset cockpit also gives a different (better?) perspective when docking to load cargo through the maw. As far as the Falcon being a cargo ship goes - I've only really considered the Falcon to be like a sports car (hot rod might be better?). So, if a cigar boat can be used to transport contraband (erm... cargo), so too can the Falcon.
  17. sketchley
    Erm... I think you misread his post. The offset cockpit is the 'rule of cool'. That other design (the so-called 'mash-up') looks uncool, so it was rejected by the original artist.
  18. sketchley

    SDF-1 PaperCraft

    sketchley replied to fenrir72's topic in Toys

    You can't transform it once built. During the building process, you choose which version you want to display it in. I've kind of 'cheated', as I scanned the pages after cutting them out, and printed them on 135 kg manga paper, so I can make both versions. :wink:
  19. sketchley

    SDF-1 PaperCraft

    sketchley replied to fenrir72's topic in Toys

    I'm still in the process of building this. I think I stopped from the frustration of packing tissues into all the large spaces, and gluing the large parts (funny how it's not the small ones, eh).
  20. sketchley
    Correction: VF-X2 He's Timothy Daldanton (romanized as "Timoshie Daldanton" in one of the books). He's the leader of the Black Rainbow terrorist group, and pilots the Pheios Valkyrie (just peaking into view behind him in the picture). More info: http://monkeybacon.mywebcommunity.org/MCRglossary/Glossary15a.php#reverse
  21. sketchley
    Not just TLJ, but all SW movies... E.g.: when I asked my adult students about SW at the English school I teach at in Japan about a decade ago, they only remember "the cute little boy" in SW1. On the same token, when I asked about Macross, they invariably said "Minmei/Mari Ijima"!
  22. sketchley
    In short, yes. Mind you, there are some improvements in the VF-22 (e.g. improved stealthiness by carrying the gun pods internally in dorsally mounted weapon pallets). So, it's not exactly a downgraded version.
  23. sketchley
    As Seto said... there's A LOT! Glossary that I use in translations (far, far from complete, but contains disambiguation - as different translators have used different words for the same thing over the years): http://monkeybacon.mywebcommunity.org/Glossary.php TOC for the aforementioned Macross Chronicle glossary (some explanations translated, all terms in English; NO disambiguation): http://monkeybacon.mywebcommunity.org/MCRglossary/MCRglossary.php Enjoy your 'lite' reading!
  24. sketchley
    The only thing that I'd like to add to Seto's reply to your question is: In universe, GERWALK is considered to be akin to an attack helicopter. So, if you consider Valkyries to be like the Macross version of civilian helicopters, it helps get over the "why are high powered jet fighters being sold to..." disbelief. Anyhow, in the spirit of civilian used Valkyries, I came up with a variant myself - a logging VF: https://studiootaking.deviantart.com/art/VT-1CS-Silviculture-Valkyrie-603579148
  25. sketchley
    Let's also not forget that she comes from a desert planet, where water is for, like, drinking.
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