J.T. Silversmith

That is a really tricky question, with the Animated toy sizes there are two separate "scales" or groups that are the most common. I call them "Autobot scale" and "Decepticon scale". Leader class Bulkhead, Voyager Optimus Prime, Deluxe Ratchet and Prowl and Jazz, Deluxe Lockdown and Activators Bumblebee are in "Autobot scale" and all look good together in Robot mode. To look right in Vehicle mode you should an Activator or Legends class prowl. In what I call "Decepticon scale" you can use Leader Megatron, (a non existent Leader class Lugnut) Voyager Starscream, Voyager Blitzwing, Deluxe Blackarachnia, Deluxe two pack Prime, Deluxe Cybretron mode Prime, Voyager Lugnut, Voyager Grimlock, Deluxe Sentinel Prime, Deluxe Snarl and Swoop, Activator Ratchet and Prowl, and Legends Bumblebee. I am not sure what group Soundwave fits in better, I would have to guess he is in the "Decepticon scale" group but until I go back and watch the episode to check I don't want to say. I think Ultra Magnus is "Autobot scale", but I am not sure until I see more pictures of him with other toys in robot mode. Then there are a few that are too big or too small for either, Deluxe two pack Megatron is way to dinky to be much good, Voyager Megatron and Lugnut probably go well together. Deluxe Bumblebee is way to big for his own good, though he might look good next to activators or legends class Prowl in Vehicle mode. You can get way more characters at the right size with the "Decepticon scale" ones, if you don't mind a bunch of Activators Autobots. In general all the decepticons are huge, Blackarachnia and Lockdown being the smallest, and they are about the same size as Optimus Prime the second largest Autobot.

I went back and looked, and Brera saving Ranka isn't the first time we've seen a jet with arms done, in episode 13 Michael just beats him to it! Michael is in jet mode, trying to hitch a ride on the Vajra ship, and the left leg drops a bit, and the left arm reaches out to grab the ship. It looks like the leg even tucks back into place after the arm is out. What I really thought was interesting was that the right leg and arm never move, only the left ones. Though the next time we see him, when Sheryl tries to fly away in episode 14 the plane is in full gerwalk. When Brera does it you see the legs fold foreword to stop, it pauses for a moment in gerwalk, then transform back to battroid. So it could simply be in gerwalk mode, with the legs back. I guess it is like only transforming the legs when you go to gerwalk and leaving the arms tucked away. I guess there are two alternate configurations for gerwalk mode, interesting. Also after going back and looking at the stills of the 25 and 27 and unlike most other VFs I don't see any other external difference between Gerwalk and Jet mode other than the position of the arms and legs, so the question of whether it is a jet with arms, or a Gerwalk without legs is like asking if a note is a C sharp or a D flat, when both are describing the same note.

I think what happened if the Megaroad is stuck in the middle of a massive fold fault jumping directly to the middle of the galaxy, and eventually they will reappear, to them it has only been a few weeks, to the rest of the galaxy it has been 50 years. everyone Hicaru, Misa and Minnmei say "We made it" Everyone on the Frontier says "what was that?" and then Grace drops a Dimension Eater on them and they all die. The End!

My Wife and I teach online classes, and one of her students sent this message to her, "Transformers 2 has been filming out at Edwards the past couple weeks. My husband just found out that one of his jets is going to be flying a mission for the movie on Thursday. He got a pic with his cell phone of Optimus Prime at the gate before he went into work the other morning and I had to send it to you." Here is the picture she sent.

This might help with the VF-17 controls discussion Here is a picture from Macross Design works, it looks like some of the text talks about how the controls work, but I have no idea what it really says. I like the look of the thumbwheel on the throttle, I could see that as a transformation lever.

Mr March I am in complete agreement, the Vajra are the Zentradi from SW1, and probably like Vrlitwhai's fleet specifically. Ranka is Minnmay, and I am afraid that the NUNS Government / Leon /Grace are like the Boddole Zer Main Fleet. Despite all the people saying singing will not work on the Vajra, I do believe Ranka will reach them through song. I actually don't see any "aberrations" in their behavior, they are by instinct, ruthless predators. Very "Nature red in tooth and claw", but once Grace and her group stop poking them with sticks, it should be possible to find a non violent solution to the Vajra problem.

Mr March I think you have a very good point there, The Vajra may not be actively trying to attack the humans, just defending themselves. They do however seem to aggressively follow and eradicate anyone they decide is an enemy, even to the point of aggressively attacking a lone pilot in an ExGear, even if the ExGear is unarmed. (Alto in Ep. 1) Sometimes I wonder if the Vajra are more interested in killing the pilots than destroying the VFs they are piloting. (Like Gillliam.) They also seem to like using human ships as nests for their eggs. And then we have two instances where the Vajra capture to people without harming them. What is different about those two people that the Vajra would capture them rather than kill them. Luca had the experimental fold communication device, with it's conspicuous purple stone, and Ranka, who seems to react to the Purple stones as well. It can not be just the purple stones, because the Vajra have always reacted aggressively to Alto, even when he had Sheryl's earring. I think it may be that the Stones must be "active", giving off some type of super dimensional energy. Perhaps that is what is going on with Ranka, for some reason she has some sort of energy signature the Vajra react to. (embedded stone fragment, experimental implant, protoculture blood, whatever.) Lets take the Vajra are an insect hive idea and run with it. Hive insects on Earth use pheromones to communicate with each other, what if the Vajra use super-dimensional energy waves to communicate. It is possible, they do use super-dimensional energy to fold space and to power weapons, so perhaps that is how the central brain controls the other Vajra. When they detect super-dimensional energy they could interpret it as "I'm a Vajra don't attack me" or as simple as "you smell like a Vajra". That could explain why Ranka and Luca were captured for further investigation rather than killed. It could also be possible that Ranka could be in heightened emotional states, be broadcasting her emotions to the Vajra. For example when Alto accidentally grabbed her in the cockpit of the VF-25 in episode two, she screams, and is feeling"GET AWAY FROM ME", and the Vajra hear it and react by retreating. I also believe that she broadcasts her feelings when she sings. To speculate further I think Ranka may be to the Vajra like Basara was to the Protodevlin, or Minmay to the Zentradi. She will be the one who gives them what they truly need. I think Grace and her faction are using the Vajra and Vajra derived technology to start a new war. They are using Brera to prevent anyone else from learning too much about the Vajra and thus challenge the technological advantage that they have. They want to be the next OTEC company, but based on the Vajra. Then they start a war and sell weapons to the various colonies and fleets. I also think Leon is just a pawn, he thinks he has a lot of power, and hopes to align himself with Grace's group, and perhaps gain full control of the government.

Honestly Zinjo, I was just kidding about the MacrossII thing, but it is fun to think about. On a more serious note, It seems that there is some legitimate operational"Niche" a Macross type ship seems to fill, because they built the New Macross Class ships, and now the Macross Quarter class ship. The NUNS government seems to see a need for them now, and the macross was valuable during SWI. So it is not really surprising to me that there was the same need for a Macross type ship in earlier colonization fleets. Additionally with "New Macross Class ships, there does seem to be some implication of an (old) macross class vessel. So it does not really throw me that there were more Megalord type ships.

Who says Kawamori doesn't love Macross II? He just made it possible for it to become official with the teeniest of retcons. The Macross in MacrossII was really the SDF-3 and was the flagship of the second Colonization fleet. They Find a habitable world, Call it "New Earth" and set up home. Unfortunately for them there is a major fold fault between them and Earth, cutting off all communications. After a while they stop thinking about the old earth, and simply refer to their planet as earth, and the SDF-3 simply as the Macross. Then 80 years later an offshoot of the protoculture called the Marduk show up. Now it fits into continuity just fine!

I love trying to compare Mecha like this, though often the hardest thing is trying to figure out concrete points of comparison. As far as Gundam Vs Valkyrie combat, there are lots of things to consider. First off is what model you are talking about. As a baseline let's start with the VF-1 and the RX-78-2 in standard configuration. The Gundam is larger (18 Meters vs 14) and heavier (43.4 metric tons empty vs 13.25). The VF-1 has greater acceleration in space (+7G's vs .93G's) and has a greater power output(650 MW vs 1380 kW). Walking on the ground the Gundam it a teeny bit faster(165 km/h vs 160 km/h), but how often do we see a VF only running? it usually uses thrusters to skate around and may be faster in reality. Armor is much harder to compare because they are both fictional materials. (Lunar Titanium alloy vs Hyper-carbon SWAG armor) I've got to say the Gundam has tons more armor than a VF. In the original cartoon, you see 105 MM Zaku machine gun rounds bounce off the armor easily. Armament also goes to the Gundam, The beam rifle is supposed to do the kind of damage a battleship does, though it only has 16 shots. The VF-1's head lasers have unlimited ammo but can't match that kind of firepower. the Gundam's two 60 MM headvulcans are larger caliber than the VF-1's gunpod. The VF has missiles, but due to Minovisky particle radiation, they probably would not be able to target the Gundam at long range. They may work at short range, but it will be easier for the Gundam to dodge or shoot down. The Gundam is a heavy hitter, one hit with any weapon would annihilate a VF, but with the VF more than seven times as agile in space, will it ever be able to hit it? The VF can Fly circles around the Gundam, but the gunpod is ineffective, and the missiles are unreliable. Its only effective weapons are the head lasers, and I really don't know how well they can really do. So who wins? I'm going to cop out and say the one with the better pilot. If the VF is packing UUM-7 micro-missile pods, they are much more likely to hit, as they are meant to be used in relatively close quarters, giving an edge to the VF. Unless the Gundam is packing his Bazooka, then it is still a draw. If the VF has a FAST Pack it is definitely the favorite, though it is still close. I think a Strike equipped VF has a major advantage, the RO-X2A high-powered double-action beam cannon is probably now in the same league as the Gundam beam cannon, and it still fast and agile, and has many short range missiles. If the VF has RMS-1 reaction warheads, it's game over. Even though the VF may not get a target lock with the missiles, you would only need to get close. IIRC there is only one Gundam designed to survive a close proximity from a nuke, and this one is not it.

David, the Sharpie brand "Copper" metallic pen is a very close match for the paint on Blackarachnia. It looks really good on mine.

Actually the VF-1 does have arrestor hooks, two of them in fact, one on the inside edge of each engine nacelle. there is a picture of a VF-1 with landing hooks deployed in the Macross Design Works, and in the This is Animation Special Macross Plus. I don't know about the Phoenix though.

It may be easier to get high efficiency pair annihilation reactions by using different types of anti-matter. Theoretically there are anti-matter equivalents to ANY sub atomic particle. For example Anti-electrons are called Positrons, Electrons are negatively charged, and positrons are positively charged, so their charges would pull them together, they annihilate each other, and release energy, In the form of two Gamma Ray Photons. Increasing the Kinetic energy of the system would produce more photons, or if fast enough, other larger anti particles. This process is not necessarily violent, and is what happens in a PET(Positron Emission Tomography) Scan. Positrons are injected into the bloodstream of the brain, and when neurons in the brain "fire" they give off electrons. These electrons react with the positrons, and the gamma rays are picked up by detectors in the scanner, allowing doctors to see what areas of the brain are active WITHOUT injury to the patient who is often couscous through the whole process. I do believe the Positrons remain in the brain until they all react in some way, so you could say it is very efficient reaction. So without knowing what types of particles are reacting, and what form of energy they give off, it is really difficult to speculate about anti matter weapons. Also Gamma ray photons are very energetic particles, enough so that they do not really interact with the human body, it just passes through you, so a massive Gamma ray burst would not make a good weapon against human beings, we are not dense enough or massive enough to absorb any. Though it might be more effective against a Zentradi, and would certainly work against the meter thick hull plating on most battleships.

Fluid Pulse Actuators, I knew that, and figured everyone else was familiar with the term as well, so I didn't say anything about it. So as to exactly what that means, litterally it is pretty simple. Fluid= a liquid or gas. Pulse= a moving wave of pressure. Actuator=a mechanical device for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. A google search turned up a few real world medical devices that use pulse waves moving through tubes to move things. That dosen't really tell us much though, they could still be hydraulic or pneumatic, and actuators could be refering to the actual motors that make transformation possible or it could mean the system that activates the motors. Mechanically those are two very different things. If I had to place any bets though, I would guess it is essentially an O.T.M. advanced form of hudraulics. Most "hydraulics" we think of are hydro pneumatic systems. Like the pistons on a backhoe's arm use a pneumatic pump to put air into the hydraulic resivoir, pushing oil through the lines to the piston, and causing it to move. I suspect a Valk uses pressure waves to move pistons rather than pneumatic pressure, resulting in incredibly high speed high pressure pistons, able to through around tons of mass in a fraction of a second. I also seem to recall somewhere hearing that a Flea jumps by pumping massive amounts of blood into its legs, and the resulting pressure wave forces the legs straight with incredible force, allowing it to jump incredible distances for it's size.

Mr March, I have really enjoyed your website, the one thing missing from the macross compendium is pictures or line-art of the Mecha, a shortcoming your site remedies nicely. I did notice that on the page of the VAB-2 Variable Fighter-Bomber the picture of the Battroid mode is missing. It is obvious you intended it to be there, but I can't see it.

I've been trying to figure out how the controls in the VF-1 work ever since I saw Robotech in the 80's, so I've given this a lot of thought. Obviously the controls in fighter mode are much like other aircraft, though it is certainly "fly by wire". where you tell the plane which way you want to go, and it figures out how to move the control surfaces to do what you want it to. In Gerwalk, I believe the foot pedals adjust the angle of thrust foreword and back. (ie rotate the legs) The left stick controls the throttle and probably the pitch yaw and roll of the plane. Right stick controls weapons, the stick moves your cross hairs, buttons on the stick select what weapon you want, pull trigger to fire. Like the flight controls you tell the computer and it moves the arm or head or whatever to attack the designated target. I do believe there is also a "manual" mode for controlling the arms, the four pressure sensitive buttons on the stick control each finger, moving the stick up,down,left and right moves the hand in that direction. the stick could twist to control wrist rotation, pushing on the palm buttons on the stick could move the hand foreword and back, allowing the pilot to manually pick up and manipulate people or clothing etc. Controls in Battroid are similar, left stick indicates the direction you want to move, the buttons would fire boosters or movement in space. Alternate pushing the left and right foot pedals to move. The faster you push them, the faster you walk or run. Head movement could be slaved to the plots helmet orientation. A sudden hard foot press could automatically kick toward the current target, a sudden hand thrust a punch. Think of a fighting game or first person shooter. You indicate the generals of what you want to do and the computer fills in the blanks. With the Ex-Gear You could perform actions like Alto's Kabuki pose, save the movement data in the gears computer, then you program what button inputs you want to use to execute the gesture when you are in the Valkyrie. or perhaps the Ex-Gear is a learning system that watches your movements, and what the minimum buttons and controls would be, to recreate that movement. Then when you input those controls the Valk knows what you want and does it. Theoretically the Valk could even walk like you do, because it uses your own motion data recorded by the Ex-Gear. Everything is also completely customizable by the user.

Greeting, I have been lurking here for years, but this will be my first post here. With all this cool Macross Frontier stuff, I thought I would finally sign up. As far as the miclone process goes, it would seem to make sense that the extra "mass" would be stored in some way to be used to change you back. I wonder if the recycling system used on the Frontier is based on a similar technology? IIRC both use a fluid imersion to dissolve and reconstitute matter. Seems very similar to me. I also have wondered about how long the whole process takes. From the old cartoon I'd guess it took some time, perhaps as long as several days, though in Frontier, I'd have to guess a couple of hours was about the longest it could take. Still knowing it would take 2 or 3 hours to "change" would probably keep you from "going miclone" except for special circumstances, like a Sheryl Nome concert or a "work party" to celebrate a new recruit passing flight training. As I've been writing i think it would make a lot of sense to link the recycling and micronization/macronization systems together. It would also explain where the extra mass to Macronize a human like Max in DYRL would come from. Just don't think about it too hard... Imagine a human getting macronized to meet their (boy/girl)friends parents for the first time, and suddenly realizing 95% of your body is recycled garbage(or worse). The other thing I've wondered about is what happens to a Zentradi with cybernetics or implants? Perhaps that is why the Bdolza looked so "gloopey" in DYRL, it is biomechanical, or made from organic components ,to still be able to micronize.