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Seto Kaiba

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  1. Seto Kaiba

    Finally updating my Macross DVD collection to blu-ray!

  2. Seto Kaiba
    More of a Hall-effect magnetohydrodynamic thruster, but yes... We got a few real-world examples as I indicated via that link... but, yes, sort of. To be precise, it's a sort of a hybrid of fusion rocket and magnetohydrodynamic plasma ion thruster system... which will seem uncannily familiar if you're at all familiar with the technology of Star Trek, because impulse engines work on the same basic principles. The plasma stream produced by the engine's reaction power system powers (and is further accelerated by) the MHD plasma ion thruster near the rear of the engine. More or less, yeah... the diagrams in Sky Angels and Variable Fighter Master File show cutaways of thermonuclear reaction engines that look like variations on a low-bypass turbofan jet engine, just with the thermonuclear reaction power system situated directly behind (or partly overlapping with) the high-pressure stage of the compressor, so that plasma is bled directly into what would be the combustion chamber. Later engine designs show the "combustion" stage as having a few concentric "rings" of heat-exchange surface area. The MHD system is usually situated in or near the tail end of the turbine shaft. By all accounts, the preferred fuel is hydrogen slush for a hydrogen-hydrogen reaction... one of the benefits of the thermonuclear reaction overtechnology is it's easy to maintain reactions like that in the plasma state, and they don't produce harmful radiation.
  3. Seto Kaiba
    Probably not as severe an issue on a smaller craft like a VF... esp. if, as in Macross, the "paint" is also fulfilling other functions... and this neatly ties into the next bit: Actually, according to the descriptions in Macross Chronicle and Great Mechanics.DX, the two are actually one and the same. The ablative anti-beam coating is an added function of the passive stealth coating applied to the airframe. The material we see is pretty darn tough stuff... though that's a recurring theme in Macross where material science is concerned. The paint on the YF-21 survived pretty much everything that was thrown at it, until pushed the YF-21 to the limit at too low of an altitude and the paint burned off from the friction heating at some ungodly high velocity below 30km. (Mind you, there's some art that suggests Mylene hand-painted the Gubaba on her VF-11MAXL... and that's shown to have been tough enough to withstand reentry heat.) That's... not exactly accurate. Quamzin just said that there was an ace aboard the Macross that was as good (or better) than Milia, and at the time Max was not flying an "elite" craft either. Not to mention Milia's exploratory attack had her killing mooks at random because she had no idea what to look for. Now THAT part is true... though the VFs in question needed to get VERY close to each other in order for the pilots to recognize their opposite numbers... and they needed to be on fairly intimate terms to recognize the other's personal markings. The IFF and HUD actually are shown to cheerfully tag nearby units with not only their type, but their unique identification if they're friendlies... you might call it an aid to visual recognition that removes any ambiguity. Actually... the descriptions associated with the VF-25 suggest that it's actually storing its waste heat somewhere insulated that won't show up on infrared detectors, and then radiating it out after combat ends using the wings as a heat sink.
  4. Seto Kaiba
    On the VF-0? Yeah, I think that's a fair summation. With a maximum operating depth of just a few dozen feet and without a power plant capable of running underwater, the limited lifespan of the VF-0's capacitors would probably be enough to put all but the most daring or suicidal pilots off the idea of taking a swim. They'd have only a few minutes to surface and to restart the engines to avoid their dive becoming a one-way trip to the ocean floor.
  5. Seto Kaiba
    That looks like a probable place where that misconception could be picked up. 'course, we know VFs aren't flying as bare metal airframes... they've got a variety of materials applied to the airframe's composite armor skin, such as paint or coatings of passive stealth material/anti-beam weapon ablative armor. The "Caution Sign and MODEX" sections of Variable Fighter Master File also include a number of locations on the airframe (sensors and such) which are not to be painted on. Perhaps the most blatant case of this being the VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX, for which the change from blue-grey to white is explained as the result of the new formulation of ablative anti-beam coating applied to the airframe.
  6. Seto Kaiba
    Well, yes... to a point. Not all armor or armor-piercing ammunition is created equal, after all. Nor is all armor of uniform thickness or defensive capability... even across a single fighter. The level of firepower that can take down a light AFV will not necessarily be enough to hurt a main battle tank. Or, to point to examples in-series, ammo which would have been enough to seriously mess up an enemy VF will not necessarily be equal to the task of taking down an enemy whose armor is better than what the NUNS uses... as the Frontier fleet found out to its peril in Macross Frontier.
  7. Seto Kaiba
    Not sure where you're getting that idea... Not quite. Realistically, any color is a low-viz color in space because there's simply not enough ambient light to make out color unless you're very close to a star or a massive, high-albedo surface like a planet or large-ish moon. Sci-fi commonly has ships unrealistically (and uniformly) illuminated to make it easier for the viewer to see the ship. What you'd get during most flights in space would be more on the order of what we see in the original Macross series when they pass through Jupiter's shadow... nothing visible but running lights. (Or as seen on the SDF-1 Macross in the opening sequence of DYRL?.) That's what IFF and other squad datalink tools are for. Sounds like a Robotech-ism to me.
  8. Seto Kaiba
    It's a picture in the Lost Two Years part of Perfect Memory... which shows what looks to be a pro-wrestling match between two (giant) Meltrans with a VF-1A referee. (From page 64 of Perfect Memory.)
  9. Seto Kaiba
    I haven't found anything that states (or suggests) that Zentradi warships employ energy conversion armor. Though it's worth noting that only a few human-built ships are explicitly identified as using the stuff too... and that's mainly the ones which are meant to wade into the areas of the heaviest fighting (transformable warships) and the more sophisticated vessels used by the Varauta forces (which nevertheless appear to only be partially covered). Cost is almost certainly a factor, given what's been said about how prohibitively expensive the heavier forms of ECA are. It certainly seems that way, yes. The wording on the Technology Sheet for gun pods (Tech 03A) implies that Zentradi mobile weapons do incorporate energy conversion armor... and there's a bit said about how the VF-0 and so on had their armaments developed with the expectation of having to fight a foe with energy conversion armor comparable to that which was employed by the UN Forces. (Anti-ECA shells are mentioned in the VF-1's assortment of shell options for the GU-11 in Master File as well.)
  10. Seto Kaiba
    As far as I know, all of the thrust figures that've been quoted to us WRT thermonuclear reaction turbine performance are for the engine mounted on the aircraft itself.
  11. Seto Kaiba
    Well... this pushes the date of the first explicit mention in an unambiguously official Macross source back a decade or so, yeah. I think we've actually talked about this before, a couple years back, when I was looking for other mentions of anti-beam coatings outside of the Macross Frontier mecha.
  12. Seto Kaiba
    Or heat in general... we know that atmospheric friction can really mess a VF up, to the extent that atmospheric friction-heating at high speed is one of the primary obstacles to a VF getting hypersonic below 30km. Looking at it this way, that would explain why the VF-27 needs both its energy conversion armor and pinpoint barrier to achieve top speed below 30km... using the energy conversion armor to improve airframe durability and the barrier to reduce friction-heating.
  13. Seto Kaiba
    Very unlikely... as pinpoint barrier systems produce a focused distortion in local space, rather than any kind of electromagnetic effect. They're a derivative of fold technology. Nope, you weren't hearing things. Not sure when exactly the technology came into being though.. I vaguely recall being told that it existed as early as the VF-0, though the only main Macross timeline designs that I recall explicit mentions of it for are the YF/VF-19, VF-171EX, and VF-25. One thing that occurred to me a while back that may explain the apparent discrepancy between energy conversion armor's excellent resistance to physical impacts and its apparent vulnerability to energy weapons is that the descriptive details we've uncovered so far sound a LOT like a "smart material" version of something that exists right now... (bulletproof) laminated glass. The way it sounds, energy conversion armor may be increasing the structural rigidity of the layers of composite armor material (and possibly enhancing the elasticity of the laminate), using the hard-armor layers to stop the actual projectile and the laminate layers to permit the armor to flex without losing its integrity and disperse the impact energy over a larger area. This would possibly explain why comparatively low-powered laser weapons are moderately effective when otherwise overwhelming kinetic force is usually required to damage the same material... the laser (or particle beam) is heating and ablating the armor, which would melt and/or de-laminate the elastic layers that would otherwise absorb much of the impact, robbing the armor of most of the structural strength it would have against a kinetic impact.
  14. Seto Kaiba
    Well, it's similar to a number of technologies in theoretical development... and also contains the functionality of a number of things that already exist. The latter is very relevant to your question... The underwater battle scene in Macross Zero is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser in that we don't know how exactly they intended to get that bloody thing airborne again afterwards or if it had the necessary equipment to maneuver underwater since it didn't implement thermonuclear reaction turbine technology. Normally, a VF would simply be able to use the MHD ion engine system that's built into every thermonuclear reaction engine as an aquatic MHD engine, and maneuver underwater using power from the reactor. Most likely, the VF would close the main intakes to protect the deactivated turbine blades while operating underwater. Where it gets sticky is that, in Macross Zero, the VF-0 derives its propulsion from a pair of overtuned conventional jet engines... it may or may not have been outfitted with a separate MHD system to compensate for not having one built into the reaction turbine engines it was supposed to have had at that point. All we're told is that it can run for several minutes on power from the onboard capacitor banks when the engines are no longer supplying generator power. It's not really clear from the animation how much of Shin's underwater maneuvering is controlled "flight" and how much is simply drifting on the momentum he'd built up in the dive to attack the Octos. It does, however, appear that he may have been using the VF-0's Shinnakasu ARR-2 rocket sub-engines (in the "backpack") as a propulsion system after transforming to battroid mode in the fight... the rockets are definitely lit when we see him escape from the fight and head toward the surface. Per spec., the VF-1 Valkyrie was able to operate underwater to a depth of 100m (328ft). Spec. gives the VF-0 a maximum underwater operating depth of 20m (65.5ft). Macross VF-X2 had a specialized underwater variant of the VA-3 Invader. EGF-127 turbofan jet engines, yeah... whether or not they have a separate MHD for underwater use run off the generators and/or capacitors is unknown.
  15. Seto Kaiba
    They're pretty much on par when it comes to the variety (and modularity) of fixed, internal gun systems... it's missiles where the difference really comes into play. On the Feios Valkyrie and most "5th Generation" VFs depicted so far, we don't really see a lot of armament versatility. The VF-22 has limited internal room the larger missiles, but is principally armed with guns and micro-missiles... barring the optional external body pylons in Master File. The Feios Valkyrie, VF-27, and YF-29 all go in for large numbers of micro-missiles but don't seem to have any concession to larger ordinance in common use. The YF-30 seems to have 2 or more pylons per wing but just never uses them. The VF-25's got either 6 or 8, depending on how official Master File's wing glove stations are. So, against a newer, more agile opponent, a VF-19's best option might be to out-range them with HMM-111 or CHM-2 missiles.
  16. Seto Kaiba
    Of the VF-19? Sort of... there are a lot of limited-production modifications and locally-produced versions of specific variants. There aren't many true "one-off" designs though.1 The locally produced versions still get built by the dozens or the hundreds, like the -EF version built by the Frontier fleet2, the Macross Galaxy fleet's VF-19C local spec3, or the VF-19A2 built for flight demonstration team use. Quite possibly, yes... we're not really given a ton of information on patrol circuits and so on for VF operations, esp. since the ranges attributed to shipboard and fighter-carried sensor systems are pretty significant... sometimes easily exceeding the practical range of fighters without fold boosters. As far as the attributes of the VF-19 aiding it against an enemy with superior thrust and agility... that's a tough one. An enemy that has superior engine power and maneuverability is likely going to be either a next-gen VF with an ISC or something like the Feios Valkyrie. In most cases, the big advantage might be in ordinance carrying capacity (unless you're dealing with a VF-25, in which case all bets are off), since most of the super-high performance fighters exceeding the VF-19's capabilities tend to internalize their armaments and therefore carry less (or less variety). 1. The known "one-off" versions of the VF-19 are mostly evaluation craft built to field test new tactics and technologies. Basara Nekki's custom VF-19(F) was built to test equipment for "Project M", a UN Forces development program. Chelsea Scarlett's VF-19ACTIVE was built to test some of the hardware being developed for the YF/VF-25 Messiah. Isamu's is probably the only ace custom that was actually built to be a true ace custom... since it was built specifically for Isamu's use and to his specifications. Oscar Brauhitsch's VF-19A is a grey area, since that one is supposedly a mostly-stock VF-19A with later model engines... but is believed by some (in-series) to be an experimental aircraft for the VF-19's 2050s-era upgrade program. 2. The VF-19EF Caliburn, VF-19EFs Caliburn, and RVF-19EF Caliburn used by SMS and the NUNS Special Forces unit "Round Table", of which ~160 were built. 3. The VF-19C/MG21 Excalibur, a calculated "take that" aimed at Shinsei Industry if ever there was one... a technically superior VF-19 built by Shinsei's rival.
  17. Seto Kaiba
    Welcome! Also, I may have some unfortunate information WRT your perceived flaws in the VF-1 design. For instance, per spec. the VF-1 Valkyrie actually has more wing area than the comparably-sized F-16 Fighting Falcon. It boasts a wing area of 32.8m2 (353.1ft2), 17.7% more than the F-16's 27.87m2 (300ft2). Well, it has a couple different systems to supplement conventional control surfaces... but on the conventional side, those outward-canted stabilizers are basically ruddervators that, combined with the ventral fins, forms an X-tail. Ruddervators are a pretty common design feature on VFs in Macross (often variable cant). On the less conventional side, there's also single-axis thrust vectoring (possibly verging into multi-axis thanks to a little side-to-side freedom in the nozzle/ankle), and also the usage of boundary layer control for attitude control assistance as well. Later VFs have vortex flow control systems as well. Kawamori did something along those lines for Character Model magazine... resulting in the SW-XA1 Schneeblume (think of a VF-1 with modern stealth aesthetics and internal ordinance bays).
  18. Seto Kaiba
    Sadly, none that I am aware of. Well, most VFs do have proper variant letters... and most of the 2050s era ones have a special designation section indicating what fleet or emigrant planet they belong to... though Master File does give production block numbers in detail for some of the covered craft. (Principally VF-1 and VF-19).
  19. Seto Kaiba
    Those are Zentradi picket ships... they don't have an actual "name" like the Nupetiet Vergnitzs or Queadol Magdomilla. I believe it is... AFAIK, a correct romanization of "Nyan-Nyan" ought to be hyphenated. I don't think anything is said about how the Tomahawk's guns are meant to fire... which is probably the genesis of the problem. Both the Tomahawk in the series and in DYRL are supposed to be the same model and mark (Mark VI) so I would assume that's simply the greater attention to detail in DYRL at work. (My take would be that the DYRL presentation is the "correct" one.)
  20. Seto Kaiba
    The "Fire Valkyrie" was built as part of a secret UN Forces development program "Project M". Ray still had deep connections to the UN Forces even after he left the military, so he was entrusted to pass the plane along to its intended test pilot, Basara.
  21. Seto Kaiba
    Minor? The UN Forces stripped him of his medals, put him under house arrest a few times, and his last bout of reckless flying got him kicked out of an active duty unit and sent to be a test pilot on a program that had already been the death of two pilots and hospitalized two more with severe injuries. (After first threatening him with virtual exile to coal mine security or planetary fragment disposal duty!)
  22. Seto Kaiba
    Probably? The actual statement (the last one at the bottom) just says that those are supposed to be VF-19E types with the F-type wing and "MML"... which I would assume to mean "Micro-Missile Launcher". That would appear to be the same micro-missile pod used in Macross the Ride1 on the model for Anthony Clemens' VF-11C Thunderbolt Interceptor. If it adheres to the usual convention for micro-missile pods, it'd hold 24 micro-missiles (No. of ports x 3). WRT your inquiry in the other thread about the device Master File refers to as the SPP-8 propelled mass driver pod, the only source that offers any commentary on it is toy manuals, which affirm the Master File identification. The SPP-8 does not appear to be a micro-missile launcher pod. 1. Macross the Ride's visual books identify the one on the VF-11C Thunderbolt Interceptor as a micro-missile launcher pod.
  23. Seto Kaiba
    There's a distinct nod to this in the Variable Fighter Master File: VF-22 Sturmvogel II book as well. On most VFs, there's enough clearance to keep the pylons in place... and it looks like that's probably still true for the VF-19. When the VF-19 transforms to battroid, the wings fold, and that fold puts the underside of the wing facing in towards the space behind the battroid's legs. The diagrams on page 076 of Variable Fighter Master File: VF-19 Excalibur bear this out, and from their art it looks like the VF-19's folded wings have enough clearance to leave the pylons in place. Well, according to the specs and description published as part of Macross the Ride, the VF-19EF produced by the Macross Frontier fleet was an attempt to enhance the monkey model spec they'd been given for the VF-19E. It's mentioned that they had to produce their own local version of the airframe control AI and sensors... and that limiters were installed in several systems. I'm sure it outruns and outmaneuvers the comparatively mild VF-171, though I'd wager the weapons are probably at the same level unless we're counting the Caliburn's usage of the GU-17 on a field test basis. The kicker, I'm sure, is that the VF-19EF is probably still more expensive to build, maintain, and operate than the Nightmare Plus.
  24. Seto Kaiba
    Indeed... and on those occasions where we're shown coaxial laser weapons being used against enemies of comparable or superior armor strength to the VF that the laser's mounted on, they don't seem to do a hell of a lot unless they hit an exposed weak spot or lay down a sustained barrage. Probably the best example is in Macross Zero Ep4, where Roy attacked a pair of Octos units and his lasers weren't doing anything until he hit an exposed leg joint on one and shot the missile the other had shot at him almost the instant it launched.
  25. Seto Kaiba
    A lot of different Macross sources tend to say the same thing in slightly different ways... once you've translated the same factoid in nine or ten different forms, it sticks with indecent tenacity. The generally unhelpful non-answer is "Anywhere from 'not at all' to 'essential' depending upon the fighter and mission in question". Well... I suppose part of it is that active stealth isn't infallible, and becomes less effective as the power of the enemy radar increases, necessitating some measures to preserve passive stealth design. Having internalized armaments also has the advantage of reducing drag, which I'd imagine would be a pretty vital consideration for aircraft that are as acrobatic and prone to sudden acceleration as the later generation VFs. (It'd probably also help with their flying near-hypersonic at ~10km.) Nah... most can. For oversized loads, they just leave the wings unfolded (e.g. VF-1 carrying UUM-7 pods or Super Valkyrie). The ones that can't, but don't also fully internalize their armaments, are pretty rare... seems to mostly be a FSW problem (except on the YF-29).
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