Valkyrie Driver

I'd question the safety for the pilot of the SV-51, due to the inherent weakness in the winds from the Z-fold hinges, and the high wing loading. the VF-0 has a low wing loading which makes it more maneuverable, not to mention the fact that the VF-0 has a blended wing, with leading edge root extensions. It seems more aerodynamic than the SV-51 and seems more solid and robust.

Gotta say, I'm running out of things to defend my choice of the VF-17. Compact, Internal weapons, passive stealth, Maneuverable (large wing area), and heavily armed. It seems to be the quintessential VF out of the universe. It seemed like the first to combine all of those features. The in universe chronology places the VF-17's first production rollout before the project supernova.

the Vajra were mysterious, but so were the Varauta from M7, until we figured out who they were. The problem I think people have when trying to relate to the vajra is that it's not a species of individuals, so there is no individual intellect. Each individual vajra is portrayed as a lower life form, and as such we relate to them as such, wanting to realate to individuals is natural for us, because we can perceive no other way for intelligent life to be. Watch this you tube video to kinda see a different take on it,

I get where your coming from on that, but it's very hard for the human brain to handle that data load. Also, that's what missiles are for. But it would be cool to see max in a VF-22 doing the akimbo gunpod kick-a** thing...

not always. Admittedly, two guns is cool. But when you can fire 3600 rounds a minute, or 60 rounds a second, who needs two guns?

I also interpreted it that way. The VF-0 may not have been a true prototype of the VF-1 (as they are distinct airframes) but it would be accurate to call it a proof-of-concept demonstrator.

cool, I'll try to get some plans up soon.

I'm wanting to do some modifications to my Yamato 1/60 VF-11C, and I need some help, advice, tips, tricks, voodoo, whatever. I'm gonna list the projects I want to undertake: 1. Custom Gunpod with anti armor bayonet (similar to the VF-11B) 2. Underwing hardpoints and custom missiles, or hardpoints for VF-0/1 ordinance 3. Protect Aromor two of these sound ambitious to me, the first not so much. any advice on materials, methods, or anything would be awesome...

The soviets had good minds and sound doctrine, however, during most of the 20th century the average soviet citizen was still not that far off from the peasants that their forebears were. Someone mentioned literacy rates earlier in the thread, but literacy doesn't mean intelligence, you can teach anyone with half a brain to read. Spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and abstract thought must be developed in an environment conducive to creative thought. Let's face it, communism does not foster competition and creativity. While the US may not have a great image abroad, many countries cite the ignorance and arrogance of our general population, Our military and business worlds are full of the cream of our society. We have many smart and talented individuals in charge of our country, maybe some of them have no business being in the positions they are, but that is not my place to say. I have witnessed some of the ignorance and arrogance of some common Americans, and I've seen people in the military who aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but, those military individuals are mental and moral giants compared to the idiots I've seen outside it. Not to say that the civilian sector doesn't contribute as much as the military to the social good. I'm just saying that the US Military has always had very high standards compared to the civilian sector, which would have devastated out military had it not been for compulsory military service, and comparable wages. (I get paid each month about what the average unskilled laborer gets for a full time job, excluding pay allowances.)

I can say that the US Military invests a lot in ensuring the effectiveness of the individual Soldier/Airman/Marine/Sailor. Since WW2 the effectiveness of each individual has increased steadily, and as such the effectiveness of the whole has increased as well. Another thing, Soviet tactics have, for the most part, been "Massed" tactics. Human waves (i.e. the Siege of Stalingrad) where massed fire from massed troops was key to overwhelming the enemy. The US has always put great emphasis on individual marksmanship. During the revolution, one man with a rifle could decide the outcome of the battle. During WW1 German troops were astounded by the accuracy and lethality of US Marine rifle fire during several battles. The US Air Force has no requirement to be qualified (25/50 rounds must hit the target to qualify), unless one's job requires it. The USAF maintains the lowest standard for marksmanship. In my Basic flight qualifying was held as a matter of pride, out of 50 individuals we had 4 non qualified, and 5 experts (42/50), and 5 barely qualified. Everyone else missed expert by 10 points or less. Excellent marksmanship is a point of pride for most US Service members. I cannot speak about the soviets view, I can only speculate from their battle tactics. Also, judging by the weapons used for the last 60 years the US has had a weapon that fits the training and battle doctrine of accurate individual fire. The M16 is accurate and effective. The downside is the maintenance that is required to keep the weapon functional, this is mitigated by the discipline and training US service members receive.

Why does everyone here want to see a VF-4 toy?

I like my aliens done star trek/Star wars style. Sure it can be a bit unimaginative to have a universe full of mostly humanoid aliens but they're relate-able. Besides, in star trek and Macross there has been presented the idea that all species share a common galactic ancestor. (I may be misinterpreting this for Macross, but Star Trek TNG has an episode that blatantly states it.) The Humorous example cited by Dynaman about nobody wanting to kiss a bug, I think is pretty darn close to the mark. In almost every anime I have ever seen, love is a common theme. It makes for very good sub-plots and plot devices. I think the Vajra would have been better shown with a symbiotic relationship to a humanoid race or something along those lines to give us something to better relate to. (Heh, maybe Kawamori-san should poll the MacrossWorld forums for ideas for his next series...) The collective consciousness was a neat concept to explore though.

cool guys, I appreciate it.

Another Question: I've seen some cool customs on the net, but there is something that strikes me as odd. The Macross seems to loosely mirror modern military doctrine, so in some series, why do we not see things like EW aircraft (EA-6B, EA-18G). To my recollection it was only done once in the VE-1. I saw a custom VF-1 here: VE-1AEW ALVIR SVQ-1 "Platypus" from the "Valkyries in Action". Has Kawamori-san done anything like this in cannon? Also I was wondering about SW-XA1 Schneeblume and SW-XAII Schneegans from the VF Experiment any info on what happened to these designs? EDIT: The links all go to the same page, sorry. EDIT: Fixed links

That bugged me about the VF-11 and the VF-25. Both seemingly lack any missile armaments (excepting FAST packs) for the majority of their respective series. I don't understand why, I mean I understand that it would be painstaking to animate missiles in every shot, even though M7 used a lot of stock footage. Even the VF-1 had missiles, though for the most part it lacked FAST packs for most of the show. I also read on Macross Mecha Manual that the internal leg bays for the VF-11C feature in the operation stargazer segment, were never intended to be part of the design but were based on a prototype that kawamori-san did. I would like clarification please. Also, Macross FAST packs are based in reality. The F-15C/D/E has them, it stands for Fuel And Sensor Tactical Packs. On the F-15C/D/E they consist of conformal fuel tanks along the intakes. Initially they were intended to function as sensor mounts, but this was never realized and the term was phased out of use. So on the VF's (excluding the VE-1 as it is an EW aircraft and specially equipped) do the fast packs integrate sensors or is it just a fuel upgrade and additional weapons pallets?

I am currently re-watching Frontier, and I gotta say that I'm digging it more this time around. definitely has a faster pace than M7, actually it seems like it was paced more like plus than anything, which i like because it holds my attention better. The VF-25 is very cool, and is almost back neat the top of my list of favorite mecha. VF-11C still beats it. A second look at Alto, kind shows him as not being so much angsty as I had remembered, but more disinterested and aloof. Still the bishonen thing creeps me out a bit (not just macross, but the trope in general), but it makes for fun comedy. I can't really rat them in order of favorites I would rather recommend an order in which it should be watched, i.e. chronologically. I enjoy all of Macross, in the same way I enjoy all of star trek, it's the complete story that fascinates me, rather than the individual collections of events (i.e. series). Frontier definately has some kick ass mecha though, Macross Quarter, favorite capital ship in the franchise, and the VF-25/VF-27, tied for third favorite mech. (Which isn't saying anything really, My list goes, it's VF-11B/C, VF-17D/S, and everything else.)

I guess, I've been reading bad info. I'd like to discontinue this particular line of discussion as, I appear to be wrong and will need to do more research on the subject. As for the VF-171, the comparison to the F-15 silent eagle is accurate. It seems to be a revamped and updated design, with some noticeable changes to the aerospace frame. It would be comparable to a modern produced f-86 saber with updated avionics, weapons and engines.

If you look at the soviet russia example, Soviet military technology had always been at least 10 years behind the US. Now I'll agree that the 1980's soviet military had improved training, but western militaries had higher standards for their personnel. The average US trooper was more intelligent than his Soviet Counterpart. (Russia has closed this gap easily with the collapse of communism.) Granted this is a generalization, but the comparison is still good. The Military-industrial complex doesn't necessarily mean that the gear will be better, or more advanced. Again russia makes a good example, Their fighters during the cold war were designed to be simple to manufacture and operate. Ease of maintenance and their rugged and robust design contribute to their ability. Though recently they've started to incorporate fly by wire tech so they can use relaxed static stability for making more maneuverable fighters.

Most of the subbed anime that's out there is pretty good, I've come across some that I could have done better with a japanese-english dictionary. No titles come to mind as I tried very hard to forget them, but it happens, sometimes you can get badly translated subs. Also there are things such as idioms and colloquialisms that don't cross the culture boundary, so sometimes meaning gets lost in translation. That's all I was getting with the statement I made. I have had pretty good luck with Macross ( I think, I don't speak but minimal japanese, and even then it's been two years so I've lost a bit.) Also Dubs work well for me because I generally only have time to watch the shows when I'm eating, and eating and reading is hard to do for me, especially when I'm chowing down so as not to be late...

I love my yamatos, perfect transformation and no part-swapping, makes me happy. Big though, and hard to pack, but hey, such is the price of the hobby. I'm not gonna buy one of these anytime soon, maybe never. I have too many VF-1 toys, and I certainly don't need another Fokker VF-1S, I have two with strike parts already. A sturdy VF-19 or VF-17 I'd go for though, even with part-swapping.

Ok ok, I get it. I guess the teenage pilots thing was not as evident, or they appeared more mature than the average teenager. That may have a lot to do with the fact that most of the teenagers I knew growing up were middle American farmboys. Maybe teenagers are more mature outside the states, certainly they are when they join the military. Still, I was just sort of confronted with the angsty "bishonen" trope more openly in frontier. I dunno, maybe I need to watch frontier again, to get a better impression on it. If nothing less I'll get the cool mecha porn, and... klan klan was hot... I guess I just like supporting characters better, cuz I'm never in the limelight...

I think I get where you're going, the military industrial complex and the political machine merge into a pre-bolshevick type oligarchy? That would make sense, and the comparison to Soviet Russia being their military's general lack of quality training compared to westernized schools of war?

I Agree that culture is a huge theme in Macross, and it is especially what I loved about SDF Macross and Macross 7. Macross 7 took a while to spool up and get moving, whereas SDF Macross took no time at all, I watched SDF and was riveted, I was bored and sick when I watched 7 so it was a choice between that and sleep, (of which I'd already had 12 hours). 7 had a decent story but the song energy thing was weird. My favorite character in 7 aside from Max, would have been Gamlin. I like characters I can Identify with, which I couldn't do with Basara. I couldn't even Identify with Hikaru, just because of the attitude the character displays. However, the rebellious yet dependable main character gets me to keep going along. All the Macross productions thus far have the rebel as the main character, which can be refreshing from time to time.

still a giant humanoid robots look better with a rifle.

I guess I gotta watch it again