F-ZeroOne

If you ask me, what killed BattleTech was that blasted cartoon - though it did provide the one line that made it truly memorable: "If you say 'information is ammuntion' one more time, I'm going to put this axe somewhere uncomfortable!" Uh, anyway... I think the 'Mech you're referring to is the Phoeinx Hawk - although I did not have the majority of BattleTech products, I don't recall ever coming across a transformable Dougram/Shadow Hawk ( when I first started playing BattleTech, I didn't have any of the Tech manuals and tried to build the Macross - or as I knew them then, Robotech - mecha with what I thought were the correct weapons. I couldn't work out why I couldn't have a Warhammer/Tomahawk with twin PPCs and twin LRM15s. I later found out that FASA couldn't do it, either...! ) I liked the Shadow Hawk. It could do a bit of everything... One thing I do have a slight grudge against BT is that BattleTech has led to the adoption of the word "Mech" to describe a piloted robot. I much prefer "mecha" - I've described the difference before as being between a walking tank and a dynamic, rocket-boosted, robot ninja... Another of the BT oddities are the Clan "second-line" Mechs that appeared in the 3050 manual. These were of Japanese origin, and I was once told the story behind their design, but I've forgotten exactly what it was. The images that appeared here don't seem to match up with those designs, so I wonder if they were specially commisioned or are in the full set of Japanese BT images...

The Miyazaki-style similarities is due to the fact that Nadia was originally going to be a Miyazaki project, that was passed on for some reason. Gainax have always liked to hint at their anime fan roots; Macross would seem to be a favourite ( Hideki Anno had a small part in the making of Macross TV, and further homages can be seen in Gainaxs own Otaku no Video ).

My Valkyries are generally tied up with my recollections of my trips to Japan. I got the original 1/60 VF-1A from the Gamers store in Akihabara, just one part of a mind-blowing total experience. My 1/48, I was able to get on the day of release, at a lovely shop opposite Akihabara station, from a female sales clerk with a marvellous sing-song voice, after spending most the day at a Wonder Fest. I'll be remembering them for things like that long after the rubber has seeped completely from its knee-joints... B) Whats even better is the FAST Packs will now give me the Valkyrie I've always wanted, from the first early days of discovery of that "R"-series, to the gradual dawning of understanding...