Valkyrie Driver

So after talking to my dad, and finding out exactly how static stability is determined, the VF-4 would be much more statically stable than the VF-1. The center of gravity is much closer to the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing. The VF-4 would definitely excel at high speed interdiction missions. Are there inboard hard points? I know that such hard points would be useable in fighter mode only based on how the ship transforms.

So, I just recently dipped my toe into the Hi Metal R pool with the VF-4. I love it. Now I want more. But first has to be the DX YF-19.

So, I created a monster. My friend group is now totally obsessed with Gunpla. So far we’re all staying with the 1/144 scale. I’m the only one who has painted a kit (which was a real pain) or assembled a real grade. I do feel that I need to ask, what is the best way to paint a kit? Can I paint an HG kit after its been assembled? I have an Airbrush so that’s not a problem, but should I have primed it on the sprue first?

I suppose that’s fair enough. It’s as good an explanation as any. Seems kinda like an F15 vs F16 kinda thing then.

I don’t know if this has been asked and answered, but does anyone know why the VF-4’s atmospheric flight characteristics are stated to be worse than the VF-1 or VF-5000? The design actually seems to be fairly sound aerodynamically. It has a lifting body and a decent amount of wing surface for control surfaces.

All of a sudden I get a text update saying that my package will arrive this Thursday. Which is thrilling and disappointing all at the same time. Thrilling because it’ll be here soon, but disappointing because I turn around and leave for a Bolt Action tournament as soon as I get home that day...

After a couple of years I have come back, and I bought a Hi-Metal R VF-4 from Mandarake. It’s taking a while for the shipment to get underway.

Interesting. There's also the fact that the German I'm used to is at least 30 years old (American University), and the Dutch I'm used to is over 60 years out of date (My Grandfather) and Frisian sounds more like Pre-Chaucer Old English (Which my dad often recites than it does Dutch or German. Granted, languages evolve quickly, and muddle in border regions. Perhaps I exaggerated my point, but essentially all of them are still distinct languages, and One can tell (given familiarity with a language) one from another. I can tell the difference between Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, and German, but only enough to say that it's not Dutch or German. I can however tell Frisian apart from all of them. That's interesting, because Minnesotans and Wisconsinites (Both states were heavily settled by German and Scandinavian Immigrants) have a tendency to "chew" their words, it can make them difficult to understand at times. Though, I suppose, being from the American South I'm one to talk... @DWN013, You've got a good point, and a reasonable explanation. I honestly can't think of a reason not to use the wing hardpoints, so I just chalk it up to animation errors, or oversight. Though pylons on those hardpoints might interfere with transformation mechanisms (Based off of my observation of the toy).

German, Swedish, Dutch, Frisian, Norwegian, and Middle English are all Germanic languages, but sound nothing alike despite sharing a common root. I get what you're saying, and I think you're probably correct. I was throwing out the possibility.

Or we are meant to infer that German is a direct descendant of the Protoculture language. Panzer is typically refers to tanks. Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck, Panzergrenadiers... all relate to tanks in some way, the first 2 being anti-tank weapons, and the third being mechanized heavy infantry.

I think your transliteration is off. The katakana for shi and tsu look very similar, and can be confused. Just using google translate for Percival, I got パーシバル (Pāshibaru). Also I don't know of any possible kana glide for tsi, so I don't even know how you came up with that. Also, could you name your source? I'm not trying to doubt you, I just want to know where you found it. I would imagine that it has something to do with Durandal (orig. durendal) being a sword associated with Charlemagne and one of his Paladins, Roland. History refresher, Charlemagne was the First Holy Roman Emperor, a state which is typically thought of in conjunction with the Catholic Church, and thus as a bastion of Christianity. That, and in Christian theology, God is usually the direct counterpoint to Lucifer, though sometimes it is the Archangel Michael. Since no one uses the name Lucifer, it's fine. Naming an aircraft Michael seems weird, since Aircraft are typically named after things that evoke a visual (Eagle, Tomcat, Typhoon, Hayabusa, Schwalbe, etc...).

I really like that craft. I wish that we had more information on it. It looks kinda like a cross between a VF-4 and a VF-2SS. Only a little though. It doesn't look like it transforms, though if you didn't know anything about macross, you wouldn't know that the fighters transform.

Well, here's the rub. I wouldn't do that. First, he should keep that old Jetfire as is, because it's worth more that way. and if you'd like to do something Macross, see if you can get your hands on a bandai HMR Valk. He'll have more fun with that than he will with the old Chunky Monkey Jetfire. They can be had, and for not a ton, you might have to do some digging, but I found a Messer VF-1 on mandarake for 6,000 yen. Also, from a toy collectors perspective, the Jetfire toy is different enough from the VF-1 toy that it'll kinda be a disappointment. I did find a Hikaru VF-1J 1/55 on Mandarake for 12,000 yen, if that helps. Long story short, I don't know of anyone that makes stickers or decals that will turn that jetfire into a VF-1, and I wouldn't recommend doing it anyway.

Agreed. I enjoyed Arpeggio of Blue Steel as well. At least it didn't do boat girls the same way as Kantai Collection...

Except that concept could easily be done using real Special Mission Units (1st SFOD-D, NSW DEVGRU, 24th STS, SAS, KSK, and others) as a template. They don't follow military grooming standards, they don't wear uniforms, they operate independently, and they use non-standard gear, but are still technically military. They only adhere to grooming standards when they have to wear their uniforms, which is infrequent. Done and Done. I'm not going to say it was a nice twist, but it was different. I've never been enamored with PMC's. Also, if you knew anything about most military institutions in the developed world, You are only expected to follow legal orders. Even the greenest private is expected to question an order that seems wrong, especially when it runs counter to the core principles of the government they serve. Lessons from WWII taught us that. Aside from that, off duty (which is where we see most of the character development anyway) soldiers are allowed a great deal of individuality. Which is exactly a thing I despise about PMC's and mercenaries in general. No loyalty except to their next paycheck. Soldiers get paid, sure, they are professionals after all, but their ultimate loyalty is to the people they serve, not the ones writing their paycheck. Actually, Colony fleets are quite populous. Macross 7 had a city ship that was roughly 5km long, and maybe 75% of that wide. That's a lot of area, and that doesn't include the other residential areas in the fleet. Island one of the Frontier fleet was roughly 3 times the size of City 7. You can fit a lot of people in there. It's also shown that each fleet has more than enough military resources to defend itself. So why do you really need a PMC? Well, the only real reason to use a PMC, is that they are cheaper, and more expendable. Cheaper in that, you don't have to pay for their housing, meals, healthcare, dental, education benefits, life insurance, just their salary. Because you don't have any real equity in them, you can throw them away more readily. There are a few reasons why PMC's are not elite and never will be. Reason 1) Benefits. The military offers benefits that PMC's will never be able to, like the ones I mentioned earlier. 2) Funeral costs, elite operators will want to go where their skills are used, and they'll likely die. PMC's won't pay out for the funeral. 3) The paycheck isn't as much as you think. Sure it's way more than base pay, but when you factor in all the benefits that you don't pay for in the military, the paycheck comes out about the same or less. Most operators that go contract, don't tend to stay there long after they realize that what they're being paid isn't worth the risk. The ones who stick with contract work are the ones who can't get hired anywhere else. PMC's will hire dishonorable discharges, a condition which will prevent you from holding any sort of meaningful job. PMC's are dregs, no matter how much fiction tries to make them look good. I'll cite Seto's earlier example of MITHRIL from Full Metal Panic!, even there they had hired some folks that were less than desirable. Folks whose only allegiance was to whomever paid them enough. Sorry, but you will never convince me that PMC's are good for anything other than deniable operations. I wouldn't even trust them with security. If there was any authenticity or realism to be had in such a show, the PMC's would get spanked in the first 3 episodes. Furthermore, when it comes to elite military operators, there is no ego. SOF guys don't brag about who and what they are, they don't care if you know, in most cases they don't want you to know. If people know about their job, they haven't been doing it right. A SeAL will tell you he's a diver, a SF guy (or Green Beret if you will) will tell you he's an instructor, A Ranger will tell you that he's a Ranger, but you won't know if he's in the Regiment or just has his short tab, until you see his uniform. A PJ will tell you he's a medic, CCT's and JTAC's will tell you that they're just ATC guys. They don't think they're special, even if those of us who aren't think they are. Ego wouldn't enter into the equation for them. Fighter pilots, for all of their groundside bravado, are consummate professionals when they get up in the sky. They don't believe they have to prove that they're better than you, they know it. I should know, I grew up with one as a father. In competition, these sort of Alpha personalities know that ego will get you killed. But this is entertainment, so egos make for drama. Though I would find it utterly hilarious to watch a PMC, that thinks it's hot stuff, to go up against a bunch of humble elite military guys, and see the PMC get their crap pushed in. I'd even love to see a more competitive love triangle, between one of the PMC guys and one of the NUNS guys, both pursuing the singer. Then watch the NUNS guy get the girl, because PMC's suck and are stupid. Bonus points if the NUNS guy has a badass Robin Olds1 style moustache... 1 In case you don't know who Robin Olds was, he was a Vietnam Era USAF F4 Pilot. He was an ace, and also was married to a movie star, Ella Raines. A Man's man if ever there was one... More about him here.

So everyone keeps telling me. I'm content, and I'll keep replaying missions. Anyway, Ghost Recon Wildlands (for all of it's glaring faults) currently has me distracted with the new bonus mission they've added. It's actually good, unlike the garbage PvP they introduced.

Indeed. I wouldn't use this comic for toilet paper... Even in the desperate need of the same after Taco Tuesday at the chow hall...

Haynes is pretty well known in the US. I Have a Haynes manual for the 97-06 wrangler ( I had a '98). Good stuff. Did not know that they were branching out from automobile repair manuals though. They still produce those car manuals though, I've seen books out for newer vehicles as well. I guess it would be cool to have a Haynes manual covering the M-24 Chaffee and the Panzer 4... You didn't happen to see the tail codes did you?

It would be even more impressive if the writers of Delta had intended it to be that way. To be fair, the Word Contractor gets thrown around a lot, both in terms of PMC's and in terms of Federal Agencies. Most real PMC's are little better trained and equipped than most third world countries. Most of the Elite operators employed by PMC's (if there are any) are on the training staff and will never go in country on missions. As for SMS, well, the reality was not lost on me, but the main group of heroes did kinda go rogue, steal company property and embark on a mission to discover the truth. So while SMS was corrupt, the heroes were not. We have to remember that membership in a group does not imply complicity. That sounds about right. Agreed. Is that just a toy thing, or is that actually a stated design difference? I thought both designs made use of a bay for their gunpods.

I'm really hoping for something as well balanced and well done as Frontier this time around. There was something simple and elegant about the mecha in Frontier, as well as good characters, with tons of development, and characters we really cared about. I just hope that the era of PMC's is over in this new series. SMS was fine, but Xaos was morally bankrupt and incompetent. I mean, I get that Japan has a strong anti-militarism bent, but I don't understand how a PMC (mercenaries for all intents and purposes) is supposed to be better than a military. Mercenaries fight for money, whereas a military is supposed to uphold the principles of the people it serves. Anyway enough of that... As for a VF-22 toy from bandai, I'd absolutely love that. It would be a good investment for them too, especially since the only things that change between the YF-21 and VF-22 are the canopy and head sculpt.

YetiStand is a brilliant option. I have 3 of my valks on a wall mount. The Alpha stand is only $45 and it's a pretty substantial base from what I hear, and can tell. I only have the wall mount so I can on;y speak for that, bit it's doing a heck of a job.

Death Stranding (AKA, Norman Reedus and the Funky Fetus) looks interesting if nothing else. I'm currently playing the last real Metal Gear Solid Game that will ever be released (MGSV:TPP). I'm having a hard time playing through the rest of chapter 2, since I know I'll lose Quiet, and then I'll have to do 7 replays of mission 11 to get her back (a labor of love to be sure). Chapter 2 also seems like it's half-assed so I barely even care.

Perhaps it's because I don't keep my toys in direct sunlight, but None of my White Valks are showing any signs of yellowing (knock on wood).

I used a wire to apply some CA glue to the inside of the cracks and pressed them back together as well as applying some glue to the surface, front and back. I also have trained myself to grasp the intake when I want to rotate the hip to prevent further cracking. My hope is that when Bandai actually releases their YF-19. they have replaced the intake pieces with diecast metal, so that problem is no longer an issue.

It might be that I'm just so used to seeing these images, but what exactly are you saying is wonky about the art? I mean, aside from the fact that some of the animation is chunky due to being hand drawn mid 90's anime.