Master Dex

I actually had an HD raw (used an .ass file for subs) so I guess missed it (will go back to see it), but it looked like a real sky. Still that doesn't mean Alto wasn't born planet-side, and it makes sense for him.

Eh, semantics. As far as it being a Japanese show indeed, but in a real situation with a United Nations space military they are going to go with a rank structure that has been tried and tested. Although the rank structure is already similar to that anyway it seems obvious that the set up in US militaries is something that works (while in a UN environment it would come from multiple nations usage but truthfully they are all really the same in the end anyway, it is just how they sound).

Very likely I believe. The flashback still showed him throwing paper airplanes and it didn't look like a dome. Having a love for flying and then moving onto a ship with a 2000 ft sky limit. It is like being a regular beach goer that moves to Alaska, or a city person that moves to a farm.

Actually what is common in Sci-fi when they do space militaries (each story uses its own name for them) is they use navy rank structure for the people commanding the battleships and carriers since those mirror Navy ships of today. Hence you'll see the commander of a ship being called Captain which the highest commissioned Navy rank below Admiral. How fighter squadrons and the such it seems common to use Air Force rank structure because it appears similar to that so then you see Majors and Colonels. SDF Macross seemed to use AF structure more than anything but Global was still a Captain somehow. In Frontier though we see Ozma is a Major and Mikhail is a Lieutenant (either 1st or 2nd, hard to say). So SMS being primarily fighter squadrons uses AF ranks except for Captain Wilder who probably has the same excuse as Global, whatever that may be. NUNS seems to use Navy ranks as Cathy was said in ep. 6 to be a Lt. Junior Grade which is a Navy rank equivalent to 1st Lieutenant in AF ranks. (Note: There seems to be inconsistancies with some peoples ranks in Frontier based on who's subbing it, in one sub Cathy was labeled Lt. Junior Grade but in Shinsen's sub of ep. 6 she is just called a Lieutenant which could mean AF or Navy rank version).

Ok I got a screen of the fold in DYRL mentioned in my above post. It is the fold after Roy's death immediately after the Meltrandi attack the Zentradi and which results in Hikaru and Misa becoming stranded on dead Earth. The fold actually happens as the ship glowing for a few secongs and then is sort of speeds off with a bit of a warp effect and disappears in the distance as this pink glow flashed out from the point where the ship vanished. Fold Gateway? The picture is just of the purple glow at the end of the fold after the ship has disappeared so you can no longer see the ship. Still it has me wondering since it looks so similar.

Indeed, although you have to account for people who are just born on colony ships. Alto I think came from Earth or Eden though (or many another planet colony we don't know about) as the flashbacks don't look under a dome.

Something to think about on that though. In DYRL at one point, I don't know the time index off hand sorry but I could look it up, Breetai's ship does a fold and some point where it seems to glow then stretch out into a line and zoom off before vanishing. However right before the vanishing part there is a pick circular glow that reminds me a lot of the gateway apertures of the folds in Frontier. I'll look up where it is in DYRL and screen cap it, in the meantime though I have to wonder if that was any inspiration for SK on how he made the folds in Frontier (most likely he just picked this method because he decided he wanted the appearance of the space fold to be consistent for once).

On the subject of how Grace could talk to Leon without appearing to physically talk, all cyborg ways that can be done aside I have another option that could explain it. First off I do now believe Grace is Brera's commander, I just wanted to wait for more proof but I was getting convinced after ep. 10. Anyway, this is something from a Star Wars book. In Republic Commando: True Colors the members of Omega Squad have these implants that were put into their jaws somewhere designed for silent communication. They basically work by the commando moving his jaw ever so slightly in a way similar to how it would move if he was actually speaking and those movements are translated into what he is really saying and sent through the com-link like a normal transmission. The purpose of this being so one can contact the other in a situation where they don't want to be heard (if there is someone they are hiding from) or if they are supposed to look inconspicuous while talking on the com-link. Knowing Grace's cyborg nature and love of implants she could just as easily have an implant like this (assuming it isn't something equally as sci-fi like transmitting her thoughts into speech over the com-link). One thing that makes me think she is speaking to Leon there is how she is holding her hand to her temple while she is trying to look like she is asleep or resting. It seems almost identical to how she held her hand to her head in ep. 6 when she received the call about Galaxy being attacked on her implant phone which is in her head.

Like I said like 5 posts ago there was a big debate about that in the original mecha/technology thread and it was settled that the armor pack can fly in atmosphere but it probably can only do Gerwalk because it's wings are completely covered and it has no other lifting surfaces. The reason the super pack probably won't work is that it is too much thrust and speed. It's been said that a VF-25 with Armored pack has the same top speed as a VF-25 with no extra add-ons, but a VF-25 with super pack is much faster than both. The reason for this is the armor pack adds a lot more mass but the big boosters compensate for that, however it only allows it to maintain up to its original speed. You may remember in ep.1 when Ozma couldn't keep up with the red Vajra but Gillium was able to catch up to it easily (only to be later squashed by it, but that is a different matter). The Super pack adds mass but not nearly as much and its boosters give it a lot of extra thrust. It is just too much power for atmospheric flight.

Yeah, it has been apparent for a while the aesthetics of fold travel have been changed as well as the sound. I kind of like this newer form though, makes more sense to me with the idea that comes to mind with the words Space Fold (despite the official explanation in the compendium of it being more like a Space Swap or displacement).

The fold booster for the 25 was the classic fold booster we've seen in Plus and 7. However the VF-27's external fold booster was different and has colors matching Purple-1. It would seem it doesn't have internal boosters after all as it is being equipped with an external or the internals are broken now for whatever reason. Or perhaps they are only for short range jumps (the battle in ep.7 was said to have taken place only 12 light years away and was said to be a short range fold).

Not really, while all the armor and the boosters would create more drag to counteract the lift, the wings are there enough for lift and the extra thrust from the boosters should be more than enough to compensate. The real problem is I think the super pack for the 25 is meant for space use only (hence a lot of extra thrust for more speed) and the boosters would make it too fast for atmospheric flight, such that the drag that is caused would rip the Valkyrie apart at those speeds possibly.

No, the 1/60 DX is the only toy from Bandai. The 1/72s are models from Bandai as well but they are perfect transformation.

Although this isn't the place to talk about the VF-25 from Bandai, I will say quickly that I advocated from the start that we couldn't judge until the final product, I stood by and said I thought it would get better when we had prototype pics of a horrid canopy hinge and a misshapen battroid, those have all gotten better so far and it still isn't done so I think it will turn out just find. Bandai has had a lot of time to get things right and they are well experienced. So I think it will turn out ok. Enough of that though back on topic, but I've given my thoughts on the 1/60 Yamatos so I think there isn't much more for me to say.

Not likely as the preview shows Alto flying in atmosphere with no FAST packs. I bet he dumps them like we've seen them do before they go into an environment (Although I don't know if the Vajra ship was an environment as they were still wearing X-Gear spacesuits).

I see, so it isn't just my iso/rom (whatever it is called for PS1 emulators) that does that, I just figured my file was faulty but there are actual defective games then? I suppose somewhere there must be an iso or rom that isn't defective as well, but I haven't found it.

Much like the Space Shuttle (yes it has more discernible wings, but trust me it is a brick). However I agree, the armored VF-25 probably cannot use fighter mode in atmosphere, but we know if can fly using Gerwalk as there was once a lengthy discussion about whether or not it had the thrust power to fly with all that mass (and yes we all agreed it does and it can just fine). I bet the regular Super Pack could probably be flown in atmosphere in fighter mode, but the indication I get is that since the super pack increases speed it is probably too powerful which is why it is only used in space (much like other FAST packs in Macross, not counting the atmospheric specific ones for the VF-11).

Well it seems to me I was incorrect, I think maybe L.A.I. is fixing up the VF-27. However it makes since kind of if you think about it. In ep.10 Agent G (Grace most likely at this point) gave Leon all the data he/she had on the VF-27 and we know that that person is Brera's superior so unless G withheld some information he/she might have given all of it to Leon. Perhaps besides the information, in exchange for the mysterious purple crystals, Leon has arranged for the 27 to get repairs when necessary.

I also have a copy of VF-X2 that locks up before the ending, it sucks (I assume your talking rom/iso for PSX emulater as I am) do you know any good version to get, I'd like to be able to actually see it end and unlock the stuff you can unlock from beating it. On topic though, that explanation of VF-X2 is pretty accurate. I believe Critical Path was secretly in league with the head UN officer (the one that turned out to be the real bad guy). I think the idea was that Critical Path supplies the missile lock-on jammer they developed and then the UN guy (I'm calling him that) will use this advantage to stage a coup in the UN for some purpose of his own. It is most likely the reason you were fighting Critical Path was plausible deniability on the UN Guy's part but it is possible the real higher ups in the UN wanted them tracked down as well. Anyway it would seem Black Rainbow figured out what was going on and they sort of attempted a preemptive coup since they didn't have evidence I guess and that is why they were originally seen as the bad guys. Like mikeszekely said from there your leader defects to them and if you do so as well you help defeat the corrupt UN Guy, destroy Macross 13 and save the day. Note if you chose not to join your leader then you fight him, you stay with UN Guy and eventually kill your old leader only to learn he was right all along and you are a total dickweed (hence why it is bad ending).

Indeed, when I have the means to get the ones I want, that is the VF-1 and 25, I plan to make sure I'm getting the right ones. I'd like durability but I think the chunky monkeys are a little too chunky. I think those 1/60s from Yamato are looking quite good, and they will be recent so the QC might not be bad. The upshot to not having the money at the time is I can wait and see if they will turn out good so I know for sure. The VF-25 rolled out new prototype pics recently that is proving (as I suspected) that it is looking very good, and is set for a price of 12600 Yen (roughly $115). Although I've never made a habit of paying over $100 for anything in my collection (of stuff), these would be worthwhile investments I believe.

Yeah the VF-25S does look a little strange, but if you think about it, 11 eps in and we have not seen Ozma's VF-25S onscreen even once without a super or armor pack. The closest we got to seeing his valk without any armor is when he dumped his boosters from his super pack in ep. 3, but he still had the rest on. My ultimate plan is to get either the VF-25S or F (haven't decided but I'm leaning to S) and a Super pack when those come out. Despite the fact that the S is so commonly seen with the armor pack, I prefer the look of the super pack a lot more overall. However maybe someday I could get the armor set as well... it's all money issue to me.

Well I've seen the raw now and I thought this was a pretty good episode as far as story and characters are concerned.

Nice call making 1 and 5 the same thing, heheh. Yeah that is the biggest problem for me, money and there isn't much of it. Room to display isn't a problem, I display other models and figures I have, just no Macross... yet. I have no significant other in my life right now (to my dismay, but enough on that), so it isn't a factor for this. I've never been a completist, that can be proven by seeing my Transformers collection. I am a huge TF fan, but I have probably no more that 15 figures total (all from assorted lines). At least for TF, and probably how I will go about Macross is I don't go collecting all or a lot, just what I truly desire and want to have. As such some of the things in my TF collection I knew I needed to have include Movie Optimus Prime, Masterpiece Optimus Prime (I don't have the MP-04 trailer though), and Masterpiece Starscream (I can say I own something Kawamori designed). So after going through that list it seems mostly a combination of lack of money and that I don't feel I need to have a complete set at all. However I know I need to have a few Valkyies someday, like I said a VF-1 and a VF-25 are my goals for now (I might go for a YF-19 someday, and maybe a YF-21... depends). The Valkyies of Macross represent a lot of the best engineering ideas I've seen for a fighter jet platform (I've mentioned before I am an Aerospace Engineering student) so it is hard for me to not want them for just that reason, Macross being such a fantastic series only compliments that.

Maybe it is just me thinking this since I don't own any Valks now, but I can't see why I'd want so many of the same type. What I mean if if I get a VF-1, I'm more likely to get a VF-1S Roy or a VF-1J Max (or VF-1A Max from DYRL) and then I'd be good on the VF-1. I can't imagine why I'd want to spend all the money on so many of them when the difference is head and color for the most part. However.. I can see me wanting to get more than one VF-25 when that comes out because I like the S, F, and G (don't care for the RVF though) so that will be a decision. Maybe it is because I am low budget and know I'd never be able to get more than one for a long while. Either way it is on my list to get a good VF-1 and a VF-25 when that line is released, looks like the Yamato 1/60 VF-1 line is what I'll go with sometime in the future.