Talos

I don't have my copy of the book out with me right now, so I can't answer the question about the mockup cover, but the XYF-19-1 is a VF-11 modified to test the YF-19's forward-swept wing and some of the avionics.

Was there a VF-11 Master File book out that I missed? I thought I got all of them?! Is it still available? When did it come out?

No, I think he just made a typo and meant "VF-19 Master File". The only ones out are vol 1 and 2 (Space Wing) of VF-1, VF-19, and VF-25. 4 in total.

Remko, there are some people who are translating the books. Sketchley has the most, which you can find in the link in his sig. The only ones beyond that I know for sure are myself and Seto Kaiba, but we don't have much posted, unlike Sketchley (who is doing a good job with these books).

http://www.macrossroleplay.org/forums/index.php?topic=2746.msg42308#msg42308 This is the link he posted a few posts up with his work on the VF-25 Master File book.

Makes me wonder if Gilliam's VF-25 was an entirely different model, rigged for different animation types. Technically they're the same plane, but Gilliam's never had to go into battroid mode at all, so it could have been a dedicated model to use in gerwalk mode scenes, and possibly rigged to break up / smoke / burn. Now I'm tempted to go look and see if the head was unpainted any time Alto went into gerwalk.

It probably is a goof, but not painting the head stripes does remove one rather difficult step from the process of painting the kit.

Just checked on the GERWALK and Gilliam's VF-25F in the second episode definitely lacks the head stripes. It's very visible when Ozma shows up and checks out Alto shooting at the Vajra from above. In episode 12, after they land on Gallia IV, you can see the head stripes on Alto's plane in GERWALK.

Likewise, the head stripes are missing from Gilliam's Super VF-25F in episode 1 too. I'm inclined to think it's not a goof, since it extends over at least three models now (the CG models for his plane in fighter, GERWALK, and fighter with super packs).

Do you have scans of those?

I have the actual book. At this time I believe the consensus on the boards is not to provide scans from a publication that is currently in print, especially a recent release.

Plus, I wish Bandai would figure out how popular custom schemes can be, and make a few this time... though... unless they get past their obsession with pasting idiotic stickers of characters on aircraft, forget it. I wish they could understand that Macross has a decently large portion of the fanbase who are only really interested in the aircraft, and give them some realistic military styled schemes instead of these stupid character art billboard ones. Given they've got a VF-25 Master File coming out, I hope they have the sense to collaborate with the publishers and come up with some decent custom schemes like they did in the VF-19 book.

VF-25 Master File has been out for a few weeks now. It has some schemes in the back, though not was many as in previous books. There are several of the more showy schemes, but also several military-type ones, including a Compass Ghost Grey VF-25A like an F-15, and even one in colors inspired by the VF-11Bs in Macross Plus. The other neat one in there is a VF-25S in Emerald Force colors, replacing Docker's VF-19S. In the text there were many more planes like that, including an SMS YF-29 in an overall grey scheme and plenty of grey VF-25s.

And now back to your regularly-scheduled programming.

I'm looking forward to seeing how these new DXs turn out and maybe getting a Michel or something that I didn't get the first time around.

Thanks for your suggestions, those VF-11 marks I just use them as test, you are right the F-14's from the 70's use bright markings.

I really like your VF-103 schemas

I think a low-vis VF-4 with those tail markings would be neat to see, especially something like one of those TPS schemes I linked to. Alternatively, go with '70s Tomcat tail markings, though you might have to go with 1/100 scale ones or get creative because of the shape of the VF-4's tail.

Thanks, I think the SVF-103 VF-4s came out well. I wanted to do something different then Skull Squadron (which I did with the canon Flashback 2012 markings), so I went real-world VF-103 with it. I did one inspired by VF-84's pre-Jolly Rogers days (when they were called Vagabonds) too. http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Talos5/VF-4%20Lightning%20III%20Colored/FB2012Skulls.png

HI!

What you think about these schema? I want the 70’s Tomcat paint style, the scorpion’s where taken from the VF-11B decals, just as a test

Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

I'm not sure that that scheme and those tail markings to together, to be honest. The '70s-style Tomcats had very bright and colorful markings that covered the entire tail, the ones the VF-11B came with are low-vis markings and would fit late-80s/90s/2000s Tomcats much better then the high-vis schemes.

As an example, here are some VF-4s I did a while ago, in this case SVF-103 Jolly Rogers. I have it in high-vis markings on the CAG bird and two different low-vis schemes for the squadron CO and line birds.

http://talos56.deviantart.com/gallery/7626781?offset=0#/d23kzn9

I think that either an overall-grey scheme like the VF-4s above, a variant of the tactical paint scheme F-14s had starting in the 1980s, or something like this would be best.

Does anyone have any idea what the red thing sticking out of the bag is?

That's the back of the head of her mongoose thing. You see him on the cover of the first volume too.

Ah, the prototype!

I'm taking a bit of some time to correct mistakes in previous renders, using some new references at hand. In addition, I'm trying to create a standardized template PSD that allows for a greater number of combinations and extended customization, while keeping some common elements intact.

I finished most of the drawing needed for the production version a couple hours ago, but I want to get some gunpods done before I post it.

Finally pretty much finished the YF-24-2 Evolution line art. This is based on the Master File one, with additional detailing, some cleanup, cockpit interior, etc added. I'm going to be using it as a base for my production VF-24A Evolution, as well as the rest of that family. There's some minor details that are missing, but I'll get around to adding those later.

Yeah...sorry about that.

It's been a number of factors, but I think the biggest one was the March 11 earthquake, which really demolished my powers of concentration for a while. There have also been a number of other issues, both personal and within the project itself. I'd like to finish it just to finish it, but it ain't gonna be soon.

Good to hear the project is still around, though. I know I'm looking forward to it, I've gotten every episode your group has released so far (plus the OSTs and such).

Thanks, bro. That'll come in handy.

No problem, glad I could help. If you have any specific questions to ask, that's a good thread to do it in.

Can someone point me to a site (or sites) where there's discussion/information about the current legal status of the entire Macross franchise, as well as the troubled history about the legal quagmire which, to this day, does not allow Frontier to be released? It's because some misguided souls thought MacF could be released in the Philippines, and I want to correct that naive assumption.

This thread in Macross World's own Anime and Scifi section might be a good place to start.

Very nice designs guys. Just a noob question. I don't know much about squadron names but I was reading up on the US Navy and I understand now that the V in "VF" refers to fixed wing aircraft (as opposed to helicopters) and the F stands for fighter squadrons. So where does the "S" in the "SVF" come from for the UN Spacy squadrons? My first though is it refers to space but is that right?

Also, what the heck is the VF-10 Super Cutlass?

You're right, it is space.

As for the VF-10 Super Cutlass, that's a name I gave the VF-X-10 design Kawamori before he designed the VF-9 Cutlass for an RPG. In the RP world it's supposed to be a larger follow-on to the VF-9 in a similar vein as the F-18E/F Super Hornet. I keep forgetting I should probably remove it.

not exactly a Macross question but I'm getting pretty desperate about this: Does any of you know when the last two SDF Macross remastered episodes are subbed? The guy running the subbers page "Yot-chan" posted previous batch in February!!! Afterwards there has been no news.

I was wondering if someone here would know more about it because they had a link to this page in there.

I think Gubaba here is working with that project (if you're talking about the Galaxy Network one), so I'm sure he'd be able to answer that fully. With fansubs people tend to get busy, delays, etc. I'm sure they will come out in time. I'm looking forward to those episodes coming out too, I've been enjoying his work with them.

im sorry, Navy SEAL VF-25? really? wtf? please be reminded to THINK about your ideas. SEALs? really? o.O *mumbles* they are -already- epic quality without the over the top ideas...

I think they look fine. Considering the use and abilities of battroids, there's always the argument that could be made there in favor of it.

It's just a joke. Like Kawamori's little bird valks. Remember?

Definitely is.

Reminds me a little too-much of the Monster's configuration to be anything but a joke anyway.

No, sir, it's not done by request -- I did the tweaking myself (and by experience I do desktop publishing work for more than a decade, which means I have to deal with DTP software like Photoshop, CorelDraw, Publisher, etc.). I learned the tricks of shading and coloring from that PSD file (with the layers on), which came from VF-11C_side_template.rar (and thus served as a tutorial template), and from there produced my own profiles.

So I owe hellohikaru big-time for providing the necessary learning materials. Furthermore, the lineart inspired me to go see the Macross saga again, and to explore more; I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the work of others in this thread.

I can't wait to see what you have coming up next.

As for myself, I recently got back to work on the YF-24 and have almost finished it. Most of what I need to do is some of the finicky, small details. It's an updated version of the Master File line art redrawn for profiling and scaling purposes, plus so I can tweak it with things like different heads, two-seater cockpit, ELINT equipment, weapons, etc. So far I cleaned it up, added some details, tweaked some of the shapes, and did a cockpit interior for it. This preview is in pretty small scale. The finished one will be about twice as large.

Is it just me, or is it awesome to see the NUNS logo on old school mecha?

You should see VF-25 Master File then. There's a picture in that book of a VF-1X, VF-11, VF-17, VF-19A, VF-22S, VF-171, and VF-25 in formation, all with NUNS crests on them.

As for the new pictures. Those are some interesting things. The VF-19C/MG21 in particular. That Angel Birds VF-19 they show has the VF-1 scheme instead of the Master File one seen in the VF-19 Master File book.

Looks good, S.A. Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

The gunpods show up in Chronicles #22, if I remember correctly.

If you have VF-25 Master File, that has FAST pack line art and I know I've seen Armor pack line art floating around somewhere.

I see. I'll be careful after this one; will have to study the heads in closer detail.

Making profiles, I realized, is just as intricate as assembling a model, yet a joy to behold once done with the finished product.

OBTW, the problem with the rather tricky sniper rifle is finding its exact placement and measurement; with only a few pics that showed the Dragunov in different angles (I can't seem to find the proper lineart for it), I had to check to see how long the rifle was, how much higher it needs to be recessed upward, onto the belly hardpoint in order to allow clearance for the landing gear, and so on.

There actually is a profile shot of it in an issue of Macross Chronicle dealing with gunpods. I sourced a drawing in that for the gunpod for my VF-11B (not C). But yeah, after that it's just test-fitting until you have something that looks right.

EDIT: The fix looks good. Great job on his VF-25G. Now I have to get back to work on my YF-24.

Not a problem. VF design nitpicks are a hobby of mine.

But yeah, each of the four Skull Shotai VF-25s has a different head. The cannon fodder khaki ones we see in the background mostly are VF-25A's and have a similar head to Michel's plane.

Nice job on Michel's plane. One part I should mention is he flies a VF-25G (as you marked), which has a one-gun head roughly similar in appearance to the VF-1A's, which you can see here.

Keep up the interesting profiling!

Thanks! I'll try to add a little more oomph on the upper part. Gonna be on my to-do list.

I found this little website useful for adding extra details such as warning and informative labels on the fuselage:

http://www.rc-network.de/magazin/artikel_04/art_04-0040/art_04-0040-01.html

OBTW, before I did the Messiah, I learned a few lessons from the VF-11C PSD template and recreated the paint scheme for the Philippine Air Force P-51 Mustang known as the "Shark of Zambales":

Ah, yes, I saw that VF-11C on your blog. Nice work on it too.

I haven't done any profiling in awhile, these days I've been mostly doing the line art and letting others do the profiling, but I did draw a bunch of the warning decals and such, since I have access to the NATO and USAF/USN manuals covering the markings. They're easy to draw.

I look forward to seeing more from you!

This is what I've been working on today, slowly doing a YF-24 based on the Master File version.

Hi guys, this is my first post here, after Frontier revived my interest in the saga. To start off, thanks to some of the pointers provided by this thread, this is my attempt at making a decent render of a VF-25 Messiah (for now, still WIP because of some shadow issues to deal with), a "what-if" scenario in which Sheryl joins the SMS:

-snip-

Actually, I made the line-art first in Coreldraw 12 before saving it as a Photoshop PSD with layers intact. After much of putting in the colors and the details, the PSD file ballooned to 7mb. Took me a day to make this.

Tomorrow, I'll have to study the artbooks in order to recreate the Messiahs' schemes for the boys.

That looks a lot better then my first profile post here. It was an awful, awful VF-4.

Anyway, the shading looks pretty good, but I would put some more on the upper edge of the plane to define the shape a little better. One of these days I'll move to another program but for now I still draw my line art in MS Publisher 2003 and then do the coloring and shading in GIMP and Photoshop.

This reminds me that I need to finish my VF-25 line art (YF-24 and YF-29 too).

Great work on your profile, s.a!