Graham

Games on the 48k Sinclair ZX Spectrum were the best. I spent many a happy hour in the early-to-mid 80s playing Ant Attack, Manic Minor, Jet Set Willy, Combat Lynx, Elite, Tranz Am, Saber Wolf etc. Ah, I miss the sound of casette tapes loading. At that time IMO, the UK really lead the world in games design. Graham

Kurt, Amazing job as usual. When I visited Yamato's Tokyo HQ in April, they had a 1/2000 SDF-1 there that had been painted up especially for Kawamori-san. I've gotta say your paint job is far superior to the one that I saw. In fact, I've just remembered I took a few photos of the one Yamato painted for Kawamori-san, so I've attached them for comparison. Graham

Heh,I bet I can guess who the customer is. Graham

Will probably go to see this, just for shits and giggles. Graham

Thundercats was one of a few 80s cartoons that I could never get into, the others being Transformers & GI Joe. Graham

I've had my Ulysses 31 DVD box set for 2 or 3 years now. UK version IIRC. Graham

Vaguely recall hearing the character's name, i.e. I know its a minor DC charcter, but have absolutely no idea what it's about, beyond being cowboy-ish? Sorry, no interest. My taste in Cowboy movies runs to anything with Clint Eastwood in, or The Wild Bunch. Graham

Thanks David. Very clear explanation. Graham

This is not a translation. It is the theory that was postulated here on MW.Graham

Something else just popped into my mind. The FAST packs shown mounted on the VF-19A in the opening movie of the 1997 Playstation game Macross Digital Mission VF-X, where also not covered in the VF-19 Master Files Book. Pity, I would have liked to see information on those as well. They seemed to look fairly close to VF-1 style back FAST backs, but with upper and lower thrust vectoring paddles. For those not familiar with the movie, just look up 'Macross Digital Mission VF-X' on Youtube. Graham

There are a few issues here as I see it, that need resolving: 1) Are the Master Files books to be considered canonical or not? Initial indications would seem to suggest not, given that parts of the VF-1 book were taken from the MAT Sky Angles book, which is essentially fan-fiction. However, if Kawamori is listed as supervisor on the VF-1 and VF-19 Master Files, does that now legitimize them? When I met with Tenjin in April, together with Save & Renato, I asked Tenjin why he had not contributed any art to these books and I seem to recall he mentioned something about them not being 'official'. I should have thought to ask the question earlier that day in our visit to the Big West Office. 2) Is retconned VF-19S engine stat in Macross Chronicle a typo or not? My gut feeling is yes, it is, but rather than come clean, admit their mistake and print a corrected page, the writers, for whatever reason decided to come up with this rather nonsensical explanation to justify the revised engine ratings. 3) From which source did the compendium obtain the orginal VF-19F/S engine thrust ratings? Graham

I have a fairly extensive collection of Macross books and related publications, so I'll start checking through them and see if I can find the source of the original thrust figures for the VF-19F/S. I seem to recall that one source might be the instruction sheet for the Bandai 1/100 scale VF-19F/S plamodel. Another non-book source may be the box of the Bandai 1/65 scale VF-19S toy. I can't check until I get home tonight. Graham

Here's a quick scan of page 80, showing the long and short type VF-19F wing, so those who don't yet have the book know what we are talking about. Graham

Thanks David. So basically a VF-19F, especially with the longer type 'atmospheric' wings shown on page 80, is likely not going to be giving anything up in the way of atmospheric performance to the VF-19A, especially as the VF-19F has far greater thrust (VF-19F = 78,500kg x 2 vs. VF-19A = 66,200kg x 2)and the VF-19F has the added advantage of the thust vernier ankle rings. In fact, it would seem to me that the VF-19F may even be the superior overall machine. Wondering if the book mentions anthing about the VF-19F being an overall replacement for the VF-19A, or is it still the same old VF-19A is for planet use, VF-19F is for space use. Graham

Well, spotted Sketchley! I hadn't noticed that VF-19F was shown with both a short and a long wing. Graham

My question is more how do the VF-19F/S's wings and lack of canards affect performance in atmsphere compared to the fuly swept wings of the YF-19/VF-19A/Kai(E)/? Graham

I've always thought that the lack of canards (which are pretty small anyway), would not adversely impact the VF-19/F/S's atmospheric manoeuvring performance by much, given that the size and shape of the other manoeuvring surfaces (flaps, rudders etc) are comparable to those on the swept-wing 19 variants. The only thing I'm not sure about is how the shape of the 19F/S's wing would effect manoeuvring ability, drag etc at different speeds. Perhaps David could offer some insight on this? The vernier ankle ring on the E/F/S/P should defintely offer an advantage over only the two verniers per lower-leg on the A/B/C/D. Graham

Yes, back in the late 90's when we first started discussing this point, the lineart for the VF-19F/S did show the triple bank of verniers instead of canards, whereas most of the art for the VF-19Kai lacked the triple verniers and only had canards, hence the thinking at the time, that the verniers on the F/S where in lieu of canards and that the VF-19F/S was a space optimised version. This is still only a fan-theory though and I'm hoping the Master Files book would shed some definitive light on whether or not the F/S was Space Optimised and what is the exact reason/benefit of the redigned wings? Of course, the fly in this ointment was always the YF-19/VF-19AS, which had both canards and the triple vernier bank immediaetly behind the canards, making it potentially more of a dual-role (space/atmosphere) VF. Interestingly, the art in the new Master Files book shows the VF-19E on page 79 with the triple verniers and Basara's, Sound Force VF-19E(Kai) on page 125 as usual without the verniers. Also, note that the VF-19C (pages 119 & 122) seem to lack the triple verniers, as do some of the specilalized variations (although the line art is a bit inconsistent on the triple vernier cluster thoughout the book. Graham

In Macross Plus, the YF-19, is shown reloading twice (IIRC), using spare gunpod magazines stored in the shield, so that would give a total carried ammuntion capacity of 450rds. And yeah, I wish the book had gone into some detail about exaactly how the spare magazines are stored. Grahm

Yeah, that's always been the conventionally accepted wisdom (which I don't 100% buy into), but I'd like to know if the book offers any new insight on this matter. Graham

No mention seems to be made of the prototype arm weapon shown in Macross Plus. Graham

I love the pics of the VF-19A with ventral and dorsal Fold Boosters and FAST Packs. Grahm

The the ankle vernier ring on the 19 F/S/P/Kai can provide manoeuvring thrust at any point nearly 360 degrees around the circumference of the ankle (depending on mode), making it superior to the YF-19/VF-19A, which only circle-bar type verniers per leg. Graham

Had a dream last night, that the next book in the series was the VF-17. Although, given that they seem to be focusing on main hero mecha, I'm sure it will be the VF-25. Graham

Very interested to hear if the book offers any explanation for the reason for the change from the forward swept wing of the A/B/C/D/E type to the F/S style wing? Up until the E-type, the forward swept wing was standard, so what drove the change to the F/S style wing? Must be some perceived avantage? I've actually got to the stage where I think the VF-19F/S looks far nicer than the other types. Graham