Chronocidal

Looks like a good start. Wish I could help you with Max expertise, but I've never really worked with deformable bodies before... I just stick to solid objects (mostly aircraft).

No source for straight music, but I did find this video of "Love Song." Sounds pretty similar to the older recording, but with a darker guitar sound. Love Song

Ooooh...loving the pics... I might have to get a good sized collection of these. Couple of interesting things I'm noticing.. 1. The boosters look like they're really going to be sturdy, clipped under the back of the fuselage like that.. I've always been afraid I'd slip and snap the whole tail pack off trying to attach the boosters on the 1/48, so it's nice to see a more solid mounting point. 2. I'd say TV fast packs are almost a certainty - even though the color and strike cannon are from DYRL, look underneath the arm packs are the angled TV style. 3. Are the vernier thrusters on the boosters adjustable, or is that upper thruster just glued on at a wacky angle? As is, it'd probably blow the upper cover off the booster when it's fired. Despite the little things, it looks really good for an early prototype. Just hope I have money to buy a couple (dozen) when they're out.

The blue scheme you're using did seem to have a lot of extra bits of decals and labels tacked onto it. Personally, I think just the regular insignia would be fine, with maybe just the supernova logo if you can do it. That paint job so pretty, I'd hate to cover it up with a bunch of decals.

Darn it... now you're making me want a super M&M set.

That's mostly it, but there are a few differences. The DYRL arm missile racks are a different shape than the TV ones. I don't have a camera handy, but I'm sure there are pictures showing this somewhere on the board. You also don't get the strike cannon, since it was only in DYRL. That's why I'm hoping they do one more Roy run (assuming that I can afford it then ), so I have an excuse to get a DYRL strike set.

The non-sale price is the same as the super M&M -1Js, so I would bet on it being a super TV Hikaru. The GPB by itself is 12,000 yen.. packaged with a standard Valk at 14,000, and you'd have over 20,000 at a minimum. Did they only do one run of the TV Super Hikaru ? I picked mine up early when it came out, and it's the only 1/48 I ever got.

Lol.. well, I had hoped to do those eventually, but I've got a backlog of work in FS that may last me for years. Dunno when I'll be able to do more sadly.

Navy I think may be too dark, depending on the brand. I don't know if you can buy it like that in cans, or which brands make it, but I know some companies make a specific shade of blue called "Blue Angel Blue," specifically for painting Blue Angels planes. You may not be able to find that exact shade, but you could probably find references on what paints to use to duplicate it. Personally, I think that shade would look beautiful. Either way though, I'd try testing it first on some piece of scrap plastic, or even paper, just to check the shade, and make sure you're happy with it.

Well, if you haven't decided on a color yet, you could always make one not seen before. I always wondered why we only saw #4 and #6. The scheme looks like it's loosely based on the F-18 prototype markings, and I know there was a red one of those, so you could always do that. The different versions of the decals have smaller markings that were different from one another, but the computer versions above are simplified, and I just changed the colors and numbers. Even if you don't get all the small markings, this is going to look awesome.

I've got a few, what formats can you use?

Well, looks like I owe everyone another apology.. I had thought this file was distributed by someone a long time ago, but it apparently never happened. It's taken a really long time, and I can't guarantee this will work in FSX (if I remember correctly from trying it once, only the planes without any reflective textures work.. they turn transparent in FSX. There are ways to fix this by tweaking the textures, but I don't remember how to do it.) I am glad some people still have interest though, and I do hope to finish one for FSX later on (once I graduate I hope to be able to pick up the FS modeling a bit). I really apologize for keeping everyone waiting this long. It's my own fault, I tend to pick up too many projects at once, and things get pushed aside and/or forgotten. Hopefully someone will still get some fun out of this. Included are 3 models (two shiny test models, one with test probe, one without, and a dull material low-vis one), with 7 texture sets (white and tan prototypes, Supernova 4, 5, & 6, a plain bright white one, and a low-vis with some F-18 markings thrown on for fun). I never did learn how to make or add gauges, so the virtual cockpit is just for looks. The 2D cockpit uses the stock stunt plane instrument panel. Enjoy! If anyone has trouble downloading this (which, given the history of distribution this has, is pretty likely to happen), let me know and I'll look for another host. Download YF-19.rar This should be extracted directly into the FS2004 Aircraft folder.

Ok.. time for the pick-apart. Actually, looks really good so far, will have to wait and see what poses are possible. I think the reason for the new backpack clip is the scale. I don't care for the design much, but you have to admit that the one on the 1/48 version was tiny, even for something that big. Wouldn't have worked so well to scale that down I think, and you'd run out of room for it in the body. The intake covers look like they're both molded and painted into the upper surface of the intakes, so nice detail there (much better than the stickers). Personally though, I never have liked the inclusion of the compressor blades as a detail.. looks a little silly with the engine mounted that close to the front of the intake. Only planes I've ever seen that way are the A-10, and assorted airliners. Doesn't work at supersonic speeds. The canopy profile is a little different from the 1/48.. I think it's a little more rounded over the top, and not so square. Still kind of bulbous, but real canopies are like that anyway. I think the only difference with the nose is in battroid, since they mounted the hip joint a little lower than the 1/48. The nose looks the same size, just located higher up in battroid mode. As for the double knees.. I don't want to discount them yet, there's an awful lot of space around those joints. There isn't room for another joint above the visible knee hinge (the piece above the sideways pivot looks solid), but the lower leg could possibly have enough room. I wouldn't count on it, but it may happen. Anyway, I can see a good sized hunk of income going toward a few of these in the near future, since I never did get my 1/48 Roy.

From the one shot posted, it looks like they're sticking more with the motion picture refit style of ship, but with the rounded nacelles.. lettering and saucer panels look very similar, but I can't tell how close the nacelles are to the originals.

Hmmm.. random thought I had rewatching today. Dunno if it's been suggested before, but the situation is almost a love quadrangle or pentangle at the moment (or could develop into one). I almost get this feeling that at some point Sheryl's gonna be the one who sacrifices herself to save a bunch of people (lets face it, if you count both girls at the restaurant, there's a roughly equal number of guys and girls. Something has to give). Probably not early on, and it might even turn out to be a rather meaningless death.. but if Ranka can sing (I think I remember reading that she does somewhere), how else is she going to get the spotlight with Sheryl in the way? So far she's so similar to Minmay, I can't see her not singing... unless their plan is to barrage us with familiar character roles, give us a false sense of security for who lives and dies, then shatter our expectations completely. Also, I'm wondering why the military has such an interest in Sheryl.. yes, singers are valuable, but the overtones from the government regarding her safety feel a little over the top. It occurred to me that the military may be using her as a probe of sorts, sending her around to the different fleets hoping to stir up something, probably looking for the remnants of the Protoculture. When the bugs first appear, the one official does say something like, "They're here already?" It could be a problem with the translation I have, but it's like they're expecting the bugs. I haven't had time to catch up with the whole thread, so these things may have been discussed already. But I do hope they throw a few plot curves at us to keep us guessing. It'd be easy to make a rough copy of the original SDFM plot, except they've got more characters than they need right now. As for Alto, my impression was that he wants to fly a Valk, but doesn't want military ties... probably what drives him to SMS work as a mercenary, but his motivation almost reminds me of Basara, with a love of pure flying rather than music. Probably more like Isamu than Basara, but he seems like he would be perfectly content with a Valk of his own sitting in his back yard.

lol, and here I was expecting this thread to be locked from all the spamming.......in Eugimon's Omega Pants™. Just curious though, with all the fancy custom decal sets made for the Hasegawa YF-19 (Supernova schemes, etc), did anyone make anything similar for the YF-21?

Actually, I was just referring to the idea of making the legs bigger in a later edition. It'd be very simple to make a VF-22 out of the 21.. but making the legs bigger would take a redesign of the internals, and probably the belly plates. So that's not so likely to happen, unless they redesign it later in a bigger scale (luvs my 1/48ths, I does ) . I'm seriously hoping for a VF-22 though, just to get a few different paint schemes. M&M VF-22s would be great. As for the Omega Pants, I could see that happening. Both as a YF-21 mod, and a new clothing line from Dickies. I'd copyright that name fast, or at least add a TM after it.

I think the head looks so different because of the scale.. the guns and their hubs are beefier to make them sturdy in the smaller scale. That's actually one piece I wouldn't mind seeing die-cast, to avoid them snapping off from clumsy fingers.

Hmm.. well getting back to the delimiter mode idea... I don't want to reignite things at all, so I'm going to try to keep this in a completely technical sense. If you want the delimiter mode to work in the first place, you need a detailed underside. But that detail can be a determining factor in how big the legs can be. Pictures will probably help more than anything else here. Here's the detail I was referring to when I mentioned the underside. It's what's underneath those belly panels that counts. From this pic, you can see where the D-Stance has a little extra room to store the legs, near the exhausts, in the empty boxy area. They don't extend the underside of the fuselage interior all the way back, and the interior of the upper engine humps is empty. In delimiter mode, this is just a big open space. Fortunately it's on the underside, but that's also evidence that they decided to sacrifice detail in aircraft mode for a better battroid. The Hasegawa kit extends those vents clear to the rear end (upper left diagram), and then blends into the underside of the exhaust area, so the interior of the fuselage is closed off, as it should be for a non-transforming display model (you don't want to see interior plastic). With some extra work, you could probably even build a delimiter mode version of this kit, just by leaving off the belly plates and arm fairings, and closing the gaps near the tails. Here's the transparent one for comparison. We can't see the underside, but that big blue structural piece under the skin looks like it seals off the forward interior of the engine humps, and the unknown red stuff fills up the back. I don't know how much detail will be in there, or if the vents will be there at all. But it looks like the upper nacelles will be closed off from the outside. Realistically speaking, that is how a real one would look, since there has to be some place for the engines to be stored. But it does limit the space available for the legs. As for them fixing the skinny legs for a VF-22 though, I wouldn't hold your breath. Yamato as of yet doesn't have the license to produce Mac7 stuff, which (I think) has ruled out the 22 thus far, same as the production VF-19 designs, and VF-17. Also, I don't think they'd have any incentive to make that change, even if they did get the license. The changes between the YF-21 and VF-22 are so minimal, it wouldn't make financial sense to redesign the thing from scratch, and have to invest in an entirely new production line. If they make one at all, it'll probably be the same as the YF-21 design, with a replaced cockpit, head, and belly panels. The less they change the design, the higher the profit margin. Anyway, I kind of doubt they'd make the limbs easily removable. That's asking for disaster in QC, with limbs not staying on in poses, especially when holding the extra weight of the fast packs and gunpods. But I don't see any reason why they wouldn't make it so it still looks accurate if you did it yourself. Considering how much it resembles the Hasegawa already, it's wouldn't be much of a stretch to design the underside of the body the same way.

Ughh, personally I wouldn't call that fighter sleek.. maybe slim, but that thing is fugly. Looks like a goose with that neck. Is that neck extension even necessary? I don't even see it in battroid. Engine humps look like they got sat on, to boot. Anyway, I haven't seen the D-Stance underside (under the folding panels that is), so I can't say whether this is the case, but we haven't seen the Yamato underside either. Does the D-Stance have a detailed interior for when the legs fold out (inside vents and all that) or is it a hollow shell underneath? If it's hollow, I would guess that's where they made room for the bigger legs, in which case, the Yamato probably has a fully fleshed out interior (which might be the case, judging by the amount of stuff visible in the interior of the transparent version shown in the recent 1/60 VF-1 ad). That means, there's less room, and they might have sacrificed thicker legs for a detailed underside (and maybe a delimiter mode). Again, I don't know the D-Stance, so it may have the same thing, and still have thicker legs. Really though, I have a dumb question... does it matter? Nothing anyone says here is going to change the way it's been built. Yeah, it might be possible for them to make the legs thicker. It's also possible that Ford could start manufacturing engines with carburetors that get 100 miles per gallon for every car they sell. But they're not going to. So if you want it, you'll have to do it yourself. Or, if you're that upset, just don't buy it, and build your own better version that caters to exactly what you want. You'll be happy, I'll be happy with a sweet looking fighter mode to display, and best of all, we can stop arguing over an issue that we can't change. Yamato picked the current design for a reason. If you want to know why, take it up with them. Sheesh. The amount of calories burnt on this thread could probably have fed a small third world country.

Hmmm.. K, the nose still looks the same to me. But now that I look at them together, I don't think they raised the shoulders. I think they just made the legs thicker a bit... K, did a quick comparison. I traced the major outlines of both the 1/48 and 1/60, and overlayed them. The missiles get in the way for the 1/60, so there are some lines I'm not sure of. But the overall match is surprising. Only big changes appear to be the tails, and the shoulders raising. The different camera angles don't help, but they're still very close. After comparing, I also noticed how different the lower strakes are now.. much more rounded, and mounted higher on the side of the leg, like they should be. Also, the leg circle patches have changed size and location. Red lines are the 1/48, yellow the new 1/60

Actually, I honestly can't tell the difference in the nose without a side-by-side comparison shot. I'll probably see it later and go "ewww" but the lack of the shoulders hanging down makes up for it I think (I didn't even really notice that on the 1/48 until earlier this year when I put it out for display above my desk) The canopy looks slightly better to me though, the framing in the back has a little more curve to it now. Side profile is still a little funny, but bubble canopies on many planes are bulged out on the sides like that. It gives better visibility below the horizon, since you can look around the nose a bit.

Darn.. and all this time I never got my 1/48 Roy 1S Oh well, here's hoping they'll release one more run of that one, just for old time's sake. Otherwise I'll probably just have to be happy with my Hikaru Super-J (unless someone happens to want to dump a near-mint Roy ) I do like the new sculpt though, especially the canopy, and it'll be nice to have a full 1/60 set in the future (when I get money to buy them all ). About what size is a 1/60 VF-1 in fighter mode though? About 9 inches?

I might have to pull out my old CG YF-21 model and paint it for this.... hmmmm.

Oooh.. that blackjack comment just gave me a great idea for a new color scheme...