Zinjo

Damn nice post mechaninac!! The primary question the colonization program raises in my mind is "Where the hell do all these people come from to populate all these emigration fleets?" Particularly at the beginning of the program.... Eventhough I see your points I really don't see any real "apparent" advantages the newer designs had over the older ones. With the exception of the VF-19's pinpoint barrier and integrated mini-missile launchers along with the VF-22's atmospheric avionics, the only advantages the newer designs "seemed" to possess were their larger size. Granted this is an SF program, but there is a conserted effort to remain consistent within the established limitations of Overtechnology, by the producers.

Is there an implication by your analogy that the Valk II is not an military vehicle? I think a fair analogy would be the differences between the M998 Hummer and the M1114 Hummer or the IDF's M1113 ECV. They look similar, but the M1114 & IDF M1113 has upgraded armor and in the case of the IDF version the vehicle went through several structural modifications to perform the tasks required by the IDF. Your analogy would lend itself better to a comparison between the VF-1A to a VT-1C Valkyrie, not between the Kawamori Valks and the Macross II Valk 2s.

Don't expect anything on the caliber of Macross Plus or even Zero and just enjoy the characters and their interactions. With that in mind you'll be fine...

If one were to "fit" the VF-2 series & possibly even the Metal Siren into the manufacturing design groups, it would most likely fall within the "Stonewell Bellcom/Shinnakasu" group as the designs share many common features to the VF-3000 Crusader. The placement of the engines, wings, the flatter wider main fuselage, etc... Well Seto Kaiba, what "I disagree" with will remain my business, if only to annoy a smug individual... If Radd really needs to know he can PM me, but I'm sure he figured it out without a long winded comprehensive explanation...

My statements have been that there is a consistent aesthetic to every canon Macross Valkyrie design, from the VF-1, to the VF-4, to the YF-19 and the VF-22, that is lacking in the Macross II mecha designs. I disagree. No, I am suggesting those who are fans of the design are simply that. I respect their appreciation of the fighter. What I am proposing is that many SK fans "choose" to see the VF-4 as being more consistent when IMO it is a fairly dramatic departure from previous and post VF designs. Whereas the VF-2 is more consistent to the VF-1 design and within the influence of the VF-3000 and VF-5000 designs. It was after the VF5000 that the divergence of appearance appears to have become apparent. Particularly with the VF-11.

Actually the splash page was down yesterday, because I tried it too. It's back now, so all seems well.

From what I've read it appears we are saying similar things regarding design, only differently, so I don't see any need for a comment on my statement above.

What fuel? It's a pair of Nuclear powerplants! The only fueled engines I'm aware of are the fast packs which are only rocket boosters. Now I may be wrong about them as well, they too may be nuclear powerplants, since none of the technical drawings show any substantial fuel tanks (I may have missed them, but I don't recall seeing any). As I've said before, it's a matter of aesthetics, rather than any apparent (IMO) functionality. ............. One can make an argument that the VF-4 was the bastard child of the VF Skunkworks. The next time we see a production model Valk in the filmed Kawamori universe it's a VF-11 (sweet bird!), which has absolutely no resemblance to the VF-4 and tends to lean more toward the VF-1 design, kind of like a missing link between the VF-1 and the YF-19. Does that discount the VF-4 design or those who love it? No! Personal preference prevails. As with all mecha in the show. To be frank, I can think of several story changes to Mac II that would allow it to slide very nicely into current Macross Canon, but that would require the show to be redone, with the current SK timeline taken into consideration and I suspect the overall story could be improved by it as well (but that is getting off topic).

Japanese shy!? Not, the ones I know, well no more so than people of any other race. Graham 384831[/snapback] Were they born and raised in America or Japan? It's a cultural thing, not racial.

I tend to agree with JBO in that respect. If there are any militant protoculture decendants it would likely be ones who might control the Supervision Army. After all, according to the chronology there were protoculture citizens brainwashed into fighting the civil war as well as Zentraedi and they may have become accustomed to the taste of battle and conquest. The only real survivors of that war were the armies from both sides.

Well the only complaint I had about it was that it was too damn short!! I was the PRINCIPAL reason I forked out the cash to get my PS2 modded...

I would but they are too big to attach...I tried. I thought I'd post the programs so maybe one of the admins could do it. 384759[/snapback] If you have an ftp site with your ISP, you could send the link to the admins and they could download it.

LOL! Just don't tell her... It's not like she'll do some sort of inventory on them and say "Hey! You have 10 @#$#$ more kits than last time!!" Do us one favor. Take LOTS of pictures when you are done! This one will be worthy of much praise and envy!

That is DAMN SEXY!! Any plans to put 1/200 scale Valk Gerwalks or Battroids on the deck? I don't recall if the Daedalus was able to launch Valks off it's top deck or not... Like these: Valkyries: http://cgi.ebay.com/Robotech-Macross-1-200...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/MACROSS-1-200-VF-1A-BA...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/MACROSS-1-200-VF-1S-GE...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Robotech-Macross-1-200...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/MACROSS-1-200-VF-1A-GE...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-Macross-1-20...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-1-200-Macros...1QQcmdZViewItem Destroids: http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-1-200-Macros...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-1-200-Macros...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-1-200-Macros...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimaco-Macross-1-20...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimoco-Macross-1-20...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/IMAI-Macross-1-200-sca...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Nichimaco-Macross-1-20...1QQcmdZViewItem Bad Guys: http://cgi.ebay.com/NICHIMO-1-200-MACROSS-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Ha! Actually, I blew it earlier in the conversation when I mentioned how my fiancée and I plan on playing Ai Oboete Imasu Ka at our wedding. I felt guilty because my girl really wanted to be there that night, but was home sick. Here's the really amusing part, though: As I was talking to the lovely Ms. Iijima, her assistant/friend (who took the pictures) made a comment about Mari finally finding that boyfriend she was looking for. Mari then blushed and replied “No, no, he’s getting married!†Life is weird. It was definitely a night to remember, and I got her to sign some original SDF Macross scene cards as well as a few of her albums. After the utter fiasco that was the New York Comic Con (or wasn't, in my case, as I was told the place was beyond capacity when I arrived that morning and had to wait in a 2 hour line for a chance to get my refund and go home... ), I was determined not to make the day a total waste, so I hiked right back to Manhattan that night for the concert. It was worth all the effort. Like I mentioned before, I have video of the performance, but need some place to host the files. Any takers? 384627[/snapback] I'd love to but my ISP account wouldn't support a file that big...

LOL, Considering how painfully shy the Japanese are and the women are worse than the men, I seriously doubt she was coming on to anyone... If she were she'd be a LOT more shy about talking with you and would have blushed during the conversation... Though I am jealous...

My take(keep in mind I haven't watched the show since episode 5 first came out)... Sara left to get the AFOS away from Earth, I'm pretty sure. Shin left to follow Sara. The birdmen are the protoculture. 384132[/snapback] The Sara part is right. We are not completely sure if Shin is dead or not, it got all paranormal with him at the end. The Birdmen are most likely Protoculture vehicles, as the AFOS needed Sara to work properly (which seems to imply that Sara's family may have been decendants of the protoculture race). According to Kawmori et al. The protoculture became a peaceful race and established a Galactic Repulic of sorts. Their eventual Civil war was what the Zentreadi and the Supervision Army end up fighting for over half a million years. The biggest casualty of the war was the Protoculture race itself, who, as far as anyone knows, may have been completely wiped out. As for how it relates to the SDF Macross series, it is a prequel which gives us a glimpse into the Unification War (that Focker, Global and Admiral Hayase fought in), the first apearance of Variable fighters in the world and our first taste of the many mysteries surrounding the once powerful and enigmatic Protoculture race, the authors of Overtechnology.

Dude, You are aware that the "Southern Cross" is in no way associated with Macross, right?

I'd love to see a few series of just the Valk cutaway cockpits like in the Macross CMS series 2 & 3. There are so many different Valks and pilots now that it would be cool to see a few series with nothing but cockpits.

Well I don't dispute his input into the story, but giving his extensive creative credit because he drew storyboards seems a bit much. Well I expect he did have input, but likely no more than any other team member, however the director had final say in what was filmed and how it looked. Hence his directorial credits show that his vision of the Macross universe are best displayed in DYRL, Flashback, Mac Plus, Macross Zero, etc... Which are generally regarded as the favorites of the franchise.

My only point on the comment about why a space fighter needs air intakes is, Why do nuclear powered variable fighters such as the VF-1 et al, need air intakes anyway? The VF0 needed them, but none of it's successors did... It's all aesthetics kids, all the way up to Kawamori's VF22. Arguing about how "realistic" the VF-2 valks of Mac II are compared to the many "eccentric" designs SK came up with for the Macross universe is fairly pointless. Most of the Kawamori designs were exercises of the man's engineering curiosity. My personal preference excludes all but the VF-11 from the Macross 7 series. In my preferences the other fighters are far too gundamized and gawdy for my tastes. I like gundam, just not in a Macross series... This debate is much like the debate over Macross 7, in that it will invariably come down to personal preferences, rather than any irrefutable technical reasons.

Well I am finding myself missing the actors who did Roy and Breetai in RT over these guys. The voice of Roy from that show better suited the aged war vet and mentor. The Breetai voice was closer to the original bass toned voice work done in the original SDF Macross. I think if they allowed Minmay's aunt to have as thick an accent as Minmay it would help to sell Marii's voice work better. Although if ADV had the forsight to secure the rebroadcast rights to the Macross music, Marii could have transliterated the songs and sang them in English IMHO. I suspect Marii was referring to a forum from a while back. She was probably dissing the Studio and Record company for such poor treatment of their artists (including her experiences) and some "otaku" took it upon themselves to flame her for it... Which would further discourage her from associating with anything Macross at the time.

I know that... but it seems like a lot of other players were involved in SDF going where it did. Sort of like the Lucas/Star Wars syndrome. The visionary comes up with a brilliant, overarching idea but needs others to ground it sensibly and execute it properly. On his own, said genius just goes mad, off on his own. 383057[/snapback] Hence "Macross 7"...

They've toned down the clown act Focker was in Vol 01. I'm still not quite satisfied with the voice work and the "Muh-cross" pronounciation is really getting annoying!! Followed closely by Hi-kar-u... It's quite sad when HG can pronounce the name correctly and ADV can't... I have to double check, but I think they've changed a few sound effects from the original.

Kawamori didn't write SDF? Who did? This would explain sooo many things. 382663[/snapback] Carl Macek. 382667[/snapback] LOL! ................... Actually they would be: Series Script Supervisor: Ken'ichi Matsuzaki Chief Director: Noboru Ishiguro Scenario: Ken'ichi Matsuzaki, Noboru Ishiguro, Sukehiro Tomita They don't list any actual writers, but typically the director (chief director) has a heavy hand in the direction of the story.