Penguin

He probably means VAB-6. http://www.anime.net/macross/mecha/index.html Actually, the poachers are using illegally re-armed versions of the VA-3C Invader. There is no VAB-6 or VBA-6 in the continuity (yet). There is only the VB-6 König ("King") Monster.

What, you couldn't look it up from my previous post? Okay, here's everything: Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada latitude 51.0488 51° 2' 55" longitude -114.081 -114° 4' 51"

Here's my coordinates according to the site Angel's Fury PMed me about. latitude 51.0488 51° 2' 55" longitude -114.081 -114° 4' 51"

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Latitude/Longitude: 51.7 degrees N / 114.13 degrees W

As I understand escape velocity, it is the initial speed an object needs in order to completely escape Earth's (or any other body's) gravity, without the need for any additional force. For the Earth, this is about 25,000 mph. Since a VF-1's top speed is Mach 3.87 at 30 km and up, this isn't quite enough. However, as I stated above, the key to escape velocity is "without the need for any additional force." If you can maintain a constant thrust greater than 1 g (i.e. the force of gravity), you will eventually leave Earth's gravity without ever having to reach escape velocity. To accomplish this, you need engines that can operate both inside and outside the atmosphere. Alternatively, escape velocity could be much smaller when you start from a higher altitudes. So, it is possible that a VF-1 could catapult itself free of gravity if it started high enough - it all depends on how much the pull from gravity has diminished at that altitude. However, without the aforementioned air/space engines, you would be adrift. So, I guess it all boils down to: Can a VF-1's engines switch from atmosphere-capable to space-capable "on the fly" (pun intended)? Or, as Nightbat wrote, was the Macross actually still within the stratosphere at the time? Edit: And, as I complete the above "thesis", Skull Leader beats me to the punch with a simple answer. Thanks!

I searched the old threads but I couldn't find this discussed anywhere. I'd always taken it as a given that VF-1s can't reach orbit on their own. In episode 3, Roy (with Hikaru and Minmay) seems to be able to reach the Macross in orbit without a problem. Was this a goof, or can VF-1s reach orbit on their own after all? (Maybe just low orbit, and the atmospheric boosters are required to reach a higher orbit, like in episode 30... I'm just guessin' here...)

Of course, the fact that the designer of the VO mecha, Hajime Katoki, also does tons of Gundam designs has nothing to do with it...

My favourite in "Marz" has got to be the Apharmds, especially the model with the assault rifle and machete. Nothin' like choppin' up the competition with that machete. The HII heavy-armoured Temjin is also a lot of fun. That sucker has more armour than a Raiden, with tons more mobility.

Killjoy. "If you haven't seen it before, then it's new to you!"

Where would the VF-19 and VF-22 carry these missiles? In the leg bays?

Just a heads up for anyone else who, like me, is a fan of Hajime Katoki's mecha designs for the game "Virtual On". Hasegawa has announced a 1/100 scale model for the Temjin 747-J from "Virtual On: Marz". It's up for pre-order at Hobbylink Japan.

I couldn't agree more. Silhouette is my top choice for sci-fi gaming. I've done stuff for Aliens, Star Wars, Gundam, and Macross using its system and it always adapts great. 'Course, it doesn't hurt that the DP9 gang are obviously anime fans (Heavy Gear = Votoms, Jovian Chronicles = Gundam, more or less). I have to admit to a weakness for the D20 system when it comes to D&D. I've been playing D&D for 20 years, and it wouldn't feel the same without all them dice. I can't stand the D20 Star Wars game. I much preferred the West End Games version.

Well Posse, if you're addressing me, the Silhouette Core Rules I'm using are available from Dream Pod 9. This is the rules system DP9 uses for all of its products (Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles, Gear Kreig, etc.), and the one I used for my Macross game. As for my Macross game resources, I've never put them up on my website yet. I've been concentrating more on playing with them than displaying them. If enough people were interested, I'd probably put them up. The site is here at my RPG Asylum. All you can find there so far are my Silhouette rules for ALIENS. As for the Mekton Zeta rules Zetaplus uses, they are a product of R. Talsorian Games. I don't know whether he has a website for his Macross resources yet.

Check the last line in that post you quoted... I'm one time zone east and waaay north of Sacremento.

We're talkin' about dice-rollin', paper-shufflin', pencil-pushin', gather-'round-the-table-and-pass-the-pizza, hail-Dungeons-and-Dragons-as-the-great-grandfather-to-us-all, old-school role-playing games.

Hmmm... Mekton Zeta... nah. I've already put too much work into the Silhouette stuff. Redoing all the mecha stats in another game system would not be a lot of fun (as I'm sure you can relate to). That being said, if you do decide to go WebRPG, let me know!

I created a complete Macross RPG for Dream Pod 9's Silhouette RPG system... at least as complete as it can be when I'm always tweaking things, adding new stuff, and so on. Now that the new Silhouette Core rules are out, I'm in the middle of a fairly significant overhaul. I'm currently running through a campaign with some friends, circa 2045 on a colony planet of my own devising. It's been lots of fun since I've started them out in a UN Marine squadron with VA-3Ms. They love the firepower, but man can they whine when their Air Force buddies fly rings around them in VF-5000s during war games. One of these days I'm going to get around to putting up all these resources on my little website... Zetaplus, obviously you're experienced with the Mekton Zeta system. Do you find that the mechanics are fast and easy to get into? I looked into it when designing my own RPG, but ultimately opted for Silhouette 'cause I'd already used it for my ALIENS RPG and had found it really fast to play and simple to get people into. Plus, it's always nice to support the home team now and again (Dream Pod 9 is Canadian like me, although they're east coast and I'm in the west).

Put me down for one.

At this point, as much as I love it, I'm sick to death of the VF-1. At this point, the only things I'd be interested in collecting are non-VF-1 items. If Yamato extends the line past the TV series and DYRL, I'd be in like the proverbial dirty shirt.

Put me down for one of each!

Like Druna Skass, I first saw Macross through Robotech (although I wasn't quite a little kid at the time - I was 14 in 1984). Even in its Robotech form, Macross was a serious leap up from the "commercials-masquerading-as-cartoons" that filled the adventure cartoon market at the time. A real story, characters with some depth, actual "war-is-bad" death (as opposed to the "10,000 laser blasts and no injuries / a parachute for every downed plane" war of the "G.I. Joe" cartoon). That hooked me on Robotech until Manga released "Macross Plus" in the early 90's. From that point on, I was hooked on Macross. I imagine a lot of Macross fans got their start watching Robotech. If wasn't for Harmony Gold's business practices, I think a lot more people would have kinder memories of Robotech as their introduction to the wider world of anime.

Thanks for the heads-up on Airfix, David. I had pretty much planned on a Hasegawa kit unless someone suggested something better - I've never had a bad experience with a Hasegawa kit so far (knock on wood).

I'm just finishing up on my UN Spacy F-14, using Hasegawa's "Atlantic Fleet Squadrons" F-14A rather than the less accurately tooled kit that comes with Hasegawa's Macross Zero F-14. I was wondering if anyone knows of any F-15 and MiG-29 kits in the same scale and of similar quality to the aforementioned F-14 (lots of detail, insanely small parts, possibly with photo-etched accessories, etc.). I was cruising squadron.com and saw a couple of high-detail models from Airfix in England. Does anyone have any comments on the quality of Airfix' products? Thanks!

Geez, where to start. Basically, everything Yoko Kanno's done, followed by all Mylene's tracks from the various Macross 7 works. But, if I had to rate my absolute, top 5 favourites: Santi-U ~ Torch Song (from the Macross Plus "Fan's Only" soundtrack) Wanna Be An Angel (same source as above) Love It (from "Let's Fire!") An Angel's Paints (from DYRL Soundtrack) Pulse (from Macross Plus volume 2)

First, I'd just search this forum and the general models forum for "weathering" and "washes". These forums contains tons of information from very experienced modellers. I've learned lots without ever having to post a question. Second, there are so many techniques out there, I find it's best to search the Web, focussing on the type of weathering I want to simulate (general wear, grease, battle damage, fire damage, etc., etc.). I've yet to find a single, comprehensive tutorial anywhere, and you'd be amazed at the inventive ways people have devised for adding wear and tear to model kits.