Mr March

Well, I was talking about what we see (like I said, what has been drawn by Kawamori) rather than trivia about the designations. But you're right, many of the "empty gap" VFs could be almost anything, from cancelled production lines to prototype-only craft. What is written about most of the unseen VFs is so little, it's clear no one bothered with any kind of effort or serious thought about any of the craft. It's likely that if anyone did decide to embellish upon these unseen VFs in some future Macross product (like another reprint of the Chronicle), the writers would likely overwrite/ignore whatever scraps of trivia currently exist

The VF-16 is mentioned in passing in the Macross official trivia for the VF-11 Thunderbolt. Apparently, the VF-16 engines were installed to power the original VF-11MAXL Thunderbolt, the variant VF-11 from which that fugly VF-11MAXL Custom was built (that thing Mylene piloted in Macross 7). I don't believe anything more is ever written about the VF-16. I think plenty of variable fighters exist that we don't see, mostly because Kawamori simply didn't draw them. But you have to figure that's the case since the numbers are all vacant. I mean we go from VF-1 Valkyrie to VF-4 Lightning III...so what about the VF-2 and the VF-3? The other VFs in the empty gaps would be the VF designations VF-5, VF-6, VF-7, VF-8, VF-10, VF-12, VF-13, VF-15, VF-16, VF-18, VF-20 and VF-23. So quite a few

Whether one turns the jingoism to up 11 or downplays it for a foreign audience, this poster is lousy either way. I are is sad

As research for building my website, I tried tracking down all the blink-and-you-miss-them valkyries in the series. I don't recall ever seeing any variants of the VF-1S Valkyrie, at least not any VF-1's that could be identified as an "S" type. If there is one, please post about it here cause I'd like to know about it.

At least on the surface, this could be seen as the first good news about the "Alien" franchise in a very, VERY long time. The problem with the sequels after the first was a complete lack of interest on behalf of the writers and filmmakers. Someone like Neil Blomkamp is clearly passionate about the idea of doing an Alien film. Blomkamp was so interested in fact, he appears to have used the internet buzz machine via the blogosphere and social media to pitch his concept for the film rather than knock his head against a studio wall first. Rather clever and seems to have worked brilliantly in his favor. That being said, I do have reservations about Blomkamp doing this project. I believe acknowledging that the Alien films are about Ripley is the best way to go (like the video game "Alien: Isolation" proved through a similar protagonist) but a lot more than that will be needed to make the movie compelling. Yet at the same time I can't deny that it's better to have someone like him attempt something with the franchise rather than produce something awful again like "Prometheus". Mixed emotions, I suppose. One aspect of the Alien franchise where I clearly have doubt is whether or not the xenomorph has any relevance in modern popular culture. The biomechanical body horror of the alien played upon real fears that many of us suffered at the time, which was fear of space travel, fear of technology and fear of sexuality. Public interest in space simply isn't there anymore and as such there is little fear for that which does not interest audiences. Fear of technology does still exist, but not in the same way it does as told through the Alien franchise. The internet has made everyone a geek and technology is no longer viewed in the same world-ending fear that it once was in the West. While fear of female sexuality and homosexuality is sadly very much alive and well, our culture has clearly shifted attitudes. While many admit they do not understand homosexuality, most have chosen not to fear it and simply live and let live. That lack of fear in our culture removes the power of the xenomorph, that horrifying idea of male-on-male rape that was so integral to the creature design of the xenomorph life cycle. Ridley Scott eloquently stated the fear that Giger's Alien design evoked was a once-in-a-generation discovery. I believe it's still possible to make an engaging and entertaining Alien sequel. But I'd have to agree with Scott that the visceral horror of the xenomorph is not likely something the audience can ever experience again.

The detail is becoming ever more impressive with each picture you post. This is going to be a truly outstanding model.

It's possible. Without any official word on the mater, one fan theory is as good as another. I would say that for me personally, I'm not sure if it would be more or less advantageous to manufacture the most advanced variable fighters for colonies/settled worlds or for deep space patrol/colonization fleets. There's plenty of reasons that could support either theory. All colony fleets will need to replace their valkyrie complements eventually, as service life of the variable fighters will necessitate it. Now that doesn't necessarily mean all the VF-11 Thunderbolts in a New Macross Class colony fleet would be replaced with the latest variable fighters like the VF-19 Excalibur. Economic and manufacturing considerations may actually favor replacing old VF-11 Thunderbolts with newly manufactured VF-11 Thunderbolts, perhaps because it is more cost effective and easier to build them. However, I would imagine most NEW fleets that were assembled post-official adoption of a new VF would adopt that craft, as appeared to be the case with the VF-11 Thunderbolt for the New Macross Class colony fleets, even though the VF-4 Lightning III had been manufactured for many years prior to the VF-11. The more I think about the Macross universe post-Macross Plus and pre-Macross Frontier, the more I feel like it's possible the VF-11 Thunderbolt was both the MOST widely adopted VF and the LAST widely adopted VF. Macross Plus and Macross 7 both depicted the VF-11 Thunderbolt as ubiquitous in the UN Spacy. Mass numbers of the VF-11 are found operaitng in deep space patrol fleets (the fleet where Isamu serves during his asteroid battle in M+), they are found on colony bases (New Edwards Base on planet Eden in M+), they are on Earth for the Armistice Anniversary (M+ again), and they are manufactured by the thousands for the New Macross Class fleets (as shown throughout the M7 series). The VF-11 even appears so numerous that they either convert existing Thunderbolts or cheaply manufacture them for use as target drones in live fire tests of advanced aerospace craft (X-9 Ghost trials in M+). Of course, we know other colony worlds/fleets adopted different VFs as shown in M7 (the VF-5000 Star Mirage on planet Zola and the VF-14 Vampire within the Megaroad-13 fleet). But none of the other VFs are ever shown as widespread as the VF-11, even setting aside story bias and just looking at the background/setting. When Macross Frontier was released, Kawamori and Co. wrote the new landscape of the human/zentradi civilization as increasingly decentralized. Fold communications and the Galaxy Network kept the New UN civilization connected and culturally/economically integrated. However, it's been written that the realities of the vast distances of open space demand each colony world/fleet operate as their own independent interstellar nations, each responsible for their own economy, manufacturing, defense, and governance. Such independent interstellar nations would ultimately choose radically different defense policies based upon their own unique needs. Even when the UN Forces adopted the VF-19 Excalibur as the main variable fighter (and later when the New UN Forces adopted the VF-171 Nightmare), it's likely the defense market is far too fractured that all these colony worlds/fleets would adopt the same fighter. It's possible that population and economic growth could mean that in relative terms more VF-19 Excaliburs or VF-171 Nightmare Plus craft were built than VF-11 Thunderbolts. But even if we were to assume that is true, I think proportionally the newer VFs would have fallen behind the VF-11 Thunderbolt because they don't appear as widely adopted among all the independent colony worlds/fleets in this new structure of the human/zentradi civilization. Anyway, just a thought

Just remember the Master File books are not official continuity, so we have to be careful to reconcile MF trivia to be in-line with what is official. That being said, what you've noted about the VF-19C doesn't seem to support nor condem anything about the OVERALL production/adoption of the VF-19 Excalibur variable fighter. The "VF-19C" can still be the most successful "variant" of the Excalibur, but as a whole ALL Excalibur production could still be low...or high....or somewhere in between. Yes, the decentralization is a known facet of the Macross universe circa 2059. Which means that plenty of the fleets - as autonomous governments/nations unto themselves - can go with almost any variable fighter they wish. It's possible that even in 2059, there may be fleets with 1,800 VF-11 Thunderbolts operating as the main variable fighter. Maybe some of the more successful fleets really embraced the VF-22 Sturmvogel II or the VF-19 Excalibur or the VF-17 Nightmare. Perhaps more frugal fleets are filled with VF-5000 Star Mirages. Thinking about it, that broad diversity of variable fighters might have been part of the reason Kawamori and Co. created this "decentralization" of the UNG civilization. Perhaps it serves to preserve 25+ years of Macross variable fighter designs, indirectly stating that the various fleets might be fielding almost any of the valkyrie designs that have been made. Perhaps the VF-3000 Crusader or SDP-1 Stampede valkyries still operate in some fleets

I'm refering to the lack of any specifics. From the few translations I've been lucky to read so far, the Master File books spend many pages naming, describing and designating the technology of the variable fighters, yet very little is provided in the way of actual measurement or real meaningful figures. Generally, the reader is not provided any units. For me, one of the joys of Macross has always been the description and detail of the fictional mecha using real scientific units. It's one of the foundations of the "real robot" genre. The VF-1 Valkyrie is 14.23 meters long, a real measurement that I can visualize or compare to the real size of my own car. The VF-1 Valkyrie weighs 13.25 metric tons, a real figure I can imagine and compare to other real vehicles. The GU-11 gun pod has a massive 55mm caliber that reveals it is highly unusual and perhaps over-powered for a jet fighter weapon. The VF-1 engines each produce an unreal 650 megawatts of power, more than entire modern cities. The point being that for the layman, this kind of trivia is all understandable, comparable and relatable. Such real world trivia helps suspend my disbelief and inspires my imagination. For example, the missile is one of the defining visual elements of the Macross series, yet the lack of trivia remains a glaring ommission. Even just simple statistics would suffice. How much does a AMM-1 missile weigh? How fast can it fly? What are the physical dimensions? What is the explosive yield (even if it's just hyperbole like "twice as deadly as a conventional missile", that would do)? Given the cost of the Master File books and the large amount of text written for each volume, I was expecting more "nuts and bolts" information. This series was a great opportunity to expand upon the Macross mecha trivia in much greater detail. More important than that, the Master Files were an opportunity to fill in gaps. For example, the VF-1 Valkyrie is the only VF that has any power rating for it's engines. Why not finally provide power ratings for the other valkyries? Very few of the VFs have any weight statistic other than empty; why not detail the weight of the VF-11 Thunderbolt's FAST Pack system, or detail the Standard Take-Off Weight for the YF-19/VF-19 Excalibur or detail the Maximum Take-Off weight for the VF-4 Lightning III? Some of the missing trivia is so simple, it's silly that there's still a lack of figures. Such as: A "GU" designation for that anonymous 30mm gun pod for the VF-11 Thunderbolt An official thrust figure for the VF-1S enhanced engines A definitive height for the YF-21/VF-22 Sturmvogel II Battroid A caliber size for the YF-19/VF-19 Excalibur gun pod and the YF-21/VF-22 Sturmvogel II gun pods An official micro-missile count for the VF-1 Super Valkyrie FAST Packs An official micro-missile count for the VF-11 Thunderbolt APS-11 Protect Armor Pack The Master File books should provide calibers, ammo counts, weights, ranges, physical dimensions, explosive yields, etc. Basically, give more comprehensive trivia for each variable fighter that matches or exceeds the most detailed variable fighter (arguably, the VF-1 Valkyrie). An entire book is being written on a single variable fighter, how are these facts not covered in such a comprehensive volume? These books were a perfect opportunity to establish this trivia. Honestly, I get far more out of the "nuts and bolts" trivia than the fluff trivia. It's about detail that is measurable or has "weight" in the figurative sense. I mean, six pages describing the YF-19/VF-19's radar system is all fine and wonderful, but it doesn't "mean" anything because the information can't be easily quantified, compared, or measured. Trivia for the layman is what makes the trivia fun for fans. We can ENGAGE in the trivia. Compare it. Contrast it. Make charts. Calculate competing T-W ratios. Compare gun calibers. Compare speeds. Compare sizes and weights. These are numbers we all understand presented in real measurements that provide context. In other words, real robots

A great story and an amazing wood model for the time. I hope your project goes well. The wings on the VF-2SS Valkyrie II were intentionally designed as much smaller than other atmospheric-centric variable fighters. That's why less "anime magic" is required to accomodate them in Battroid mode. Everything I have on the VF-2SS Valkyrie II is on my website, under the dedicated profiles for that Valkyrie. http://www.macross2.net/m3/macross2/macross2-index.html If I ever find any other useful artwork, I'll be sure to post it here. Best of luck!

It's a tough call whether to spend the time and effort to translate the Variable Fighter Master Files given their status as "not official setting material". As we've gone through them and translated more bits and pieces, it appears much of the information within the pages is "fluff" trivia. The information provided is written vaguely to avoid specifics in an attempt to present the appearance of meaningful material. Perhaps the reason for this style of writing is intentional on behalf of the writers, not to be too precise for fear of writing technical data that may contradict something from the animated films and TV shows. Unfortunately, that writing style makes the material shallow. I've found much of the text "sounds" more meaningful or accurate than it actually is. That being said, there is some rather insightful and interesting technical information in the Master File books that offer more than fluff trivia. Like the best of the official Macross trivia, the Master File books do include some real technical statistics described in real scientific units of measurement. If you love the Macross mecha statistics and world building like I do, some of the Master File trivia is really fun to read. Some of the highlights are: Muzzle velocities provided for a few of the gun pods (ex. 2,000 m/s for the GU-11 Gun Pod) Descriptions of the numerous gun pod munitions [ex. High-Explosive Anti-Conversion Armor (HEACA)] Power ratings for some of the directed energy weapons (ex. YF-19 head cannon rated at 9.5 megawatts) Ranges for some of the weapons (ex. effective range of the YF-19 wing root laser guns is 50 kilometers) Thrust ratings for the VF-1 "backpack" rockets (ex. roughly 8,500 kgf) A lot of the interesting "nuts and bolts" technical trivia is fun because the writers provide real figures for trivia that has never been written in any official source. Thus despite the unofficial status of the Master Files, they provide SOME detail about the Macross mecha that isn't contradictory and can help fill in long standing gaps in the official tech statistics.

Little bit of notekeeping here... According to all official trivia, we don't know how widespread or ultimately successful the VF-19 Excalibur was as the main variable fighter of the UN Spacy. It could have been very widely adopted and successful...or it could have been very limited and neglected...or something in between. All we do know officially is that the VF-19 Excalibur was adopted as the UN Spacy main variable fighter in 2041. We also know from official trivia that the mass production models VF-19F and VF-19S were designed specifically with stabilized engines and a simplified airframe that allowed average pilots to control it. The Macross 7 Fleet adopted the craft for mass manufacture in small numbers (and adopted it for special operations in Sound Force). And of course, the VF-19P Excalibur was seen deployed in Macross Dynamite 7. Official trivia about the VF-171 Nightmare Plus indicates it was first flown in 2046 and was declared as the main force VF of the New UN Forces sometime in the 2050's (no specific date is given). The only thing we do know for certain is that the VF-171 Nightmare Plus had to be adopted as the main variable fighter sometime in the 2050's and before 2059, since by that year it was already known as the main variable fighter used by the New U.N. Spacy. Outside of the official trivia, the Compendium states the following about the VF-19 Excalibur and the VF-171 Nightmare Plus: So the reason we didn't see more of the VF-19 Excalibur was strictly a creative decision made for the Macross Frontier TV series audience; there is no official in-universe declaration for any explicit exclusion.

Fantastic! That color scheme looks quite good on the YF-19/VF-19A. Great work!

Oh nice work! It's very unique, not something I think I've seen before. Well done! I get impressions from the design that are varied. I feel like there are some familiar elements from the Mehve in Nausicaa of The Valley of the Wind, the style and motif of something like Bioshock and maybe even some retro-futurism from David Lynch's old Dune film.

Special operations is a very broad category of military mission and doesn't necessarily mean valkyries running around in black balaclava's and gun pods with suppressors But seriously, special operations is basically just unconventional warfare conducted in cases where larger, more conventional forces would actually hamper the mission objective. Entire conflicts have been fought via special operations; arguably much of the real world conflict in the middle east is far more special operations than open war. So special operations variable fighters could be used for almost anything, especially since the very nature of variable fighter technology (Battroid, GERWALK, Fighter) would allow them to perform in a vast array of roles. I'm not sure I'd classify ALL pilots in Macross as elite, especially since piloting in the Macross universe happens on a far larger scale than anything in our current world militaries. A single colony fleet has more pilots operating more aircraft/spacecraft than the entire military of most modern nations on Earth. The official trivia for the variable fighters (like the VF-171 Nightmare Plus) seem to imply UN variable fighters are designed specifically for average skill pilots. Hell, there's even construction valkyries and variable police mecha, as seen in Macross 7. The technology of variable vehicles has become ubiquitous in the Macross universe, a stark contrast to the very limited numbers of jet fighters in our current world. The official trivia describes the VF-17 Nightmare as possessing "strengthened armor in Battroid mode equal to Armored Valkyrie". So it's likely the role of a heavy variable fighter/battroid is to partially field the firepower and enhanced armor of an armored valkyrie without the need for an armored pack.

I looked into translating my Macross books years ago when I first started building the M3 website and it can be done, but it's prohibitively expensive because of the nature of the translation (azrael accurately described the major obtacles). I also found motivation was a problem, as most folks consider translating fictional material for an animated kids show as something beneath the considerable skill set it takes to perform that kind of work. If you are serious about getting someone to do the translations, I can pass on some advice that I was told by translators: provide a translation bible to your translator that contains all the created words, common technical units, technical jargon, and as much simplified context as possible in English and Japanese. That way, the translator (who will most certainly lack any knowledge of Macross) has at least some base from which to start and will help ease any initial frustration. IMO, the best way to get quality work done for this would be to pitch an English translation to the actual Macross owners, Big West. If you have some kind of business proposal, there's at least the possibility you could obtain funding for the project rather than trying to foot the bill yourself or finanice it through a few donations. But again, the problem there is motivation; there is little corporate interest from Big West to sell Macross outside of Japan (temporarily ignoring the legal side of the equation, of course).

I always find my thoughts are complicated when it comes to the whole debate over the Macross vs. Robotech music. I mean, I'm not a fan of Robotech in any way, so I have no love for any of the Robotech music. I've clearly got a bias toward Macross. However, I really do find it puzzling to read preferences for that Robotech music. As a Macross fan I will concede this: the Macross music is very dated, very pop and very melodramatic/chessy. I admit the music works for me, in spite of the fact that I'm very self-aware of it's actual questionable quality/worth as standalone music. However, there is the fact that the vocals are quality. Ijima's talent is undeniable. On the flip side, I've no idea why people like that Robotech singing or that background music. The Robotech vocalists were not good singers. Listening to it now - without being drunk on a tankard of nostalgia - is like listening to the worst of American Idol. Macross = talented vocalist singing dated, melodramatic Japanese pop music cheese. Robotech = poor vocalist singing dated, melodramatic American pop music cheese. To my mind, Macross is the clear winner here...in a battle of dated pop music cheese, LOL As for the Robotech score, it's well known in film circles that the late 1970s and most of the 1980s were plagued by "over-scoring" or "over-playing". There was this insufferable trend in western popular media to score virtually every moment of a movie, TV show or video or to go as grandly over-the-top as humanly possible. Robotech is an especially egregious example, clearly scored by a trend whore. Personally, I find the Robotech background music so damned obnoxious. If one has an orgasmic adoration for the 1980's period of western pop music, I suppose I can at least understand liking the Robotech music from that perspective. I've no orgasmic adoration for Japanese pop music of the 1980s, so I'd like to think the Macross music has some greater value in spite of my nostalgia-colored glasses. But I suppose at the end of the day it's all just another flavour of rationalization. I suppose I'm just really happy that I have the original SDF Macross to enjoy, warts and all

Perhaps another fun and realistic way to look at potential candidates for an AVF Upgrade in the Macross universe might be to examine modern technologies solving the shortcomings that plagued some of the old valkyries. For example, I'm currently in the midst of a complete revision of the VF-3000 Crusader profile and reading the description of the craft, it sounds like the joint problem could be solved with Frontier-era technology. If the VF-3000 were to be built using " linear actuators", this could solve the joint slipping issue. I was also thinking about the change in mass/weight and how that may impact revisiting an older valkyrie design. Again using the VF-3000 Crusader as an example, perhaps some of these variable fighters would excel in a role other than the role for which they were originally designed. While the VF-3000 Crusader was a larger fighter and battroid compared to the VF-1 Valkyrie, the Crusader was actually less massive (11.95 metric tons vs. the VF-1 Valkyrie weighing 13.25 metric tons). Now at the time (2012-2018), the VF-3000 Crusader was built to replace the VF-1 Valkyrie as the main variable fighter. However, if the VF-3000 Crusader were built today (we'll assume "today" is 2059), it's weight would more properly classify it as a special operations VF or heavy VF in the same mold as the VF-17 Nightmare (itself a 11.85 metric ton craft). Since the 2030s, nearly all main variable fighters have been in the 8-10 metric ton class. Any exceptions - like the VF-27 Lucifer - feature far superior engine output to compensate for the added mass above the 8-10 metric ton range. Although the VF-3000 Crusader was originally built as a main variable fighter, a modern rebuild via an AVF Upgrade program might better position the craft as a heavy battroid special operations VF. As a heavier special operations craft it could excel in that role rather than suffer in a more conventional role where it's heavy mass would lead to underperformance relative to modern main variable fighters.

Since Macross is fiction, technically this kind of modern AVF re-manufacturing could be done for ANY valkyrie in the Compendium. Anything from Macross Zero to the Macross Plus/Macross 7 era would be game; there'd be no limits or constraints unless the fiction was written as such. I suppose the one constraint that is already mentioned and is part of the Macross fiction would be an economic constraint. In which case, it would make sense for an AVF Upgrade in the style of a F-15SE Silent Eagle to be proposed for a similar "workhorse-like" valkyrie. A valkyrie that is very widespread, proven as reliable and for which such a AVF upgrade would be the most beneficial to the greatest number of potential operators for the craft. If we assume the setting is 2059 (the Frontier era), that VF would likely be the VF-11 Thunderbolt. Individual colony fleets manufactured the VF-11 in the thousands, UN bases like New Edwards were packed with VF-11 craft and they were so numerous that unmanned variants were used in live-fire tests during the 2040s. At least according to the impression given by the trivia and animated series, the VF-11 appears to be the most mass manufactured valkyrie. Such a well used and widely deployed VF would be ideal for an AVF Upgrade program and would benefit/appeal to the most fleets and colony worlds in the UNG.

I'm happy to soil your desktop, any time Hmmm, that would require rebuilding the wallpaper into a tall, narrow format. If I have time I might do that, but no promises.

I love the new pieces of art in the Cowboy Bebop blu-ray set and so I built a wallpaper using that art in a style similar to the box cover for the Amazon.com Limited Edition set. I'll post it here, as well as a link to a 1920 x 1200 resolution version hosted on my webspace. http://www.macross2.net/m3/misc/cowboy-bebop-bluray.jpg Hope you like it

A fine article.

I think the only thing Bound has lost because of the positive progress of homosexual rights is being topical. I recently rewatched the film with a new group of friends (mostly younger crowd + one viewer my own age) and everyone really took to it, one commenting that he was so grateful for seeing it but couldn't believe he'd never heard of this film. In my experience it still seems to play well story-wise and seems to hold the attention of the younger generation well. Any novelty it's lost as seems to have morphed into "a good thriller". Actually, one thing Bound does very well even by today's standard is accurately portraying the equality that many gay couples enjoy. Those two characters in the film are portrayed as equals and complementaries, neither dominating the other despite their distinctly different personalities, something reaffirmed by the closing dialog of the film. Nearly all our entertainment is about straight people and often it shows the gender roles in horribly dated ways that end up depicting women poorly. Now that gay characters are growing significantly across both mainstream and independent media, there's been talk in film circles that they may be abused. Much in the same way straight men have been backwardly writing straight women in film/TV for decades, it's been said gay characters are vulnerable to being written by straight folks who have the erroneous tendency to impose an already outdated male/female gender role depiction. Bound may sadly stand as a high benchmark for such well written characters. Here's hoping the future is brighter than that

Apparently there are new rumblings... http://www.slashfilm.com/robotech-live-action-movie/ Sounds exactly like the pedigree I'd expect

That's a very interesting theory. I can see how Kawamori would be attracted to something like that, given how he loves to work in worlds with as many open-end possiblities as he can. This theory is actually quite a good fit for Macross.