ewilen

Yeah, the runways on the carriers could have been useful even in space. In fact, a catapult launch has the advantage of giving it a boost in the direction of the objective without having to use up the Valk's internal store of reaction mass. As for how the catapults work...since we're currently planning on using electromagnetic catapults in the near future, I think it's safe to speculate that in Macross, with OT speeding up technological development, the Prometheus and Daedalus would have them by 2009. In principle, I think that steam catapults would work in space, though.

Well, we haven't really established that the Valk engines produce a plasma stream either in atmospheric operation or in space. In the atmosphere, there may just be extremely hot air coming out of the engines. In that case, maybe a second-stage reheat via chemical combustion could do something--except it seems strange that it could improve on what the fusion engine can do all by itself. Also, by using a combustible fuel for afterburning, you get the slightly odd effect of the Valk being able to fly virtually forever in the atmosphere, but only having limited afterburner. In space, it's harder to imagine combustion occurring, though again I suppose that for some reaction mass ingredients, there are things you could spray into them to get a chemical reaction...e.g., for water used as a reaction mass, spray in liquid/gaseous sodium, or if you use oxygen (probably stored as liquid oxygen), then hydrogen or kerosene would work. Or conversely, use hydrogen as the reaction mass and inject oxygen. It seems pretty unnecessary, though. Nevertheless, some of those official diagrams have references to afterburning, and the Compendium mentions an "overboost" mode for Valk engines, so I wonder if the creators have actually worked out what that means.

I looked at the first and thought, "That's really great." Then I looked at the second one and said to myself, "Even more awesome." Great work, Valk009.

But there's no combustion, as far as I can tell. It is most definitely a rocket, but not one as we commonly think of rockets. Again, the mechanism I envision is storing reaction mass in the wings, which is then pumped--and possibly compressed--into a heat chamber analagous to but not the same as a combustion chamber (because nothing is getting oxidized). The reaction mass expands and is expelled out the engine nozzles, producing thrust. This operation isn't much like a conventional jet engine, but it is similar in ways to the atmospheric mode of the Valk's engine. The similarity is that both processes involve moving reaction mass through a heat chamber, where it heats up, expands, and is expelled out the back. The difference is that in one case, the reaction mass comes from the atmosphere, while in the other case it's stored on board. That's the "similarly" I was talking about. It's a given that we're not talking about a jet as soon as you have "instead of sucking in air through the fans/compressors, it injects reaction mass (which is stored on board) into the engines". Anyway, for those curious about what's been debated and/or revealed about the Valk's engines previously, here are three threads: Thread with pics of Valk cutaways showing engines. Thread on Valk engines, with different cutaways Propellant/Reaction Mass Thread (especially toward the end) A basic problem, IMHO, with some of the official info and fan-speculation is that it is often claimed the Valk's engines have afterburners. I can't figure out how that would work in a fusion-powered engine, as there's nothing to combust. I suppose that maybe, a combustive fuel like kerosene could be injected into the exhaust to achieve a greater output than normal, but that seems a little weird. Another common idea that doesn't sit well with me is the notion that the fusion reaction product is itself ejected from the engines to produce thrust.

I don't have any experience in industrial management, but it seems there may be ways of improving the output quality even if the assembly line worker pool isn't very talented/conscientious. First, every toy could be inspected carefully by trained QC testers before shipping. I have a feeling this might be expensive, but it is an option. A less expensive approach would be to group units in batches (a "batch" being a set of toys assembled by the same person or team) and then randomly sample from each batch. At the moment, the defect rate is high enough that a problem could probably be detected by examining about a dozen units out of every batch. Problem batches could then be examined more closely (one by one) and/or the workers responsible retrained or replaced. Granted, retraining/replacing only makes sense if you expect to retain workers long enough for them to make more toys after the first QC test. But zeroing in on problem batches and looking at them carefully could significantly reduce the rate of bad toys reaching the consumer.

Just to clarify what I meant by the shipping affecting the prices...since you have to pay more to have an item shipped from Asia, I'd expect the final auction value to be lower compared to an HCM which is sold by a US buyer with lower shipping costs. So the prices I quoted may be a little on the low side, since one item was being shipped from S'pore, the other from Hong Kong (I think).

I don't know if this is reference to my post or others', but I don't think anyone is saying that it's working as a turbojet in space. I meant that the reaction mass (whatever it is--water, kerosene, liquid hydrogen, etc.) gets heated by the fusion engine, expands, and is ejected out the back of the engine. The intakes/fans do nothing in this situation, although perhaps the compressors still compress the reaction mass before heating.

Lutesia, you might try doing a couple searches here--I know there's been a vs. discussion or two that managed not to get out of hand or get locked. Welcome to MW.

Azrael, that's the first I've seen anyone link the Valk's engines to those technologies. Generally, what I've seen is something works like a normal jet engine when it's in the air, except that instead of creating heat by burning jet fuel, it uses the heat of the nuclear reaction. In space, it still works in a similar fashion but instead of suckin in air through the fans/compressors, it injects reaction mass (which is stored on board) into the engines, which heat it into a jet. Maybe someone can dig up those old threads. The Compendium describes the VF-1's engines thus: There are also a few diagrams which have either been posted or linked in the forums which show cutaways of the engines.

Yep. You'd be surprised how many of the films we think of as modern classics are remakes. (Or I was, at least.) Amped, hang on a sec. That description you give of Night of the Hunter sounds too much like Cape Fear. Checking... Ah, I see. Yes, Mitchum had the tattooed Knuckles in Night of the Hunter, then as an hommage in the remake of Cape Fear (in which Mitchum also has a supporting role), De Niro has the tattooed knuckles. Night of the Hunter sounds like one scary, sick movie. Must see. Edit: BTW, I don't think Sinatra is all that tough in Manchurian Candidate, but it is a great movie. Von Ryan's Express is more hardbitten.

In regards to what I said, I was referring to a 1/100 Bandai toy which of course was produced from the molds to a 1/100 Takatoku toy. I also bought one of these bootlegs to butcher for a project of mine and I will tell you that it is EXTREMELY obvious when holding it that the bootleg I was commenting on IS copied from a 1/100 toy. I'll take your word for it, but can you point to something in particular that makes the bootleg more like a 1/100 than a 1/55? The only thing I can think of is the hands, which don't retract. I remember that the bootleg has a different kind of chest locking mechanism from the 1/55--is that more like the 1/100?

I have to admit I haven't seen Mitchum in that much stuff. Mainly The Winds of War, when he was past his prime. But like Holdman, he was one of those guys who looked like he subsisted on a diet of scotch, cigarettes, and red meat, and he was in a bunch of WWII flicks. But I suspect he was at his scariest in the original Cape Fear, where he had the De Niro role. Need to see that some time.

If the price is right, it's worth getting for the Superdeformed version of the intro to SDF Macross.

Based on the pictures we've seen comparing it to Imai's model and the old Gakken 1/55, it's probably closer to 1/48, regardless of what Toynami and HG say. Anyway, if it is 1/48, that makes the toy more attractive to some (including me, though not enough in my case to actually buy it). It's a tough call on what they should have done about the size, given that they inherited the specs of the "real" mecha from Mospeada, which was never intended to be linked to Macross. They opted to stick with a common scale, at least notionally, which emphasizes the Robotech continuity. Also, if they sincerely intend to produce a Beta, they have to limit the size of the Alpha or the Beta will be huge.

To me, Jack is just a sort of crazy guy, not really tough or hardbitten. I personally wouldn't rate him any higher than Bruce Dern or Donald Sutherland. But it's your list, A1. (And also, I haven't seen A Few Good Men.) Suggested category: Flosses with barbed wire. More nominees: Telly Savalas, Frank Sinatra (yeah, ever seen Von Ryan's Express?), George C. Scott, Robert Mitchum.

On the other hand, at least they're not scrapping it. The F-4 Vandy-1 was sold to the UK and later scrapped. Parts have been recovered by an enthusiast who's trying to rebuild it, believe it or not. Hopefully the F-14 Vandy-1 will eventually be restored to its proper paint scheme eventually.

That's unbelievably stupid. Oh, well, here's a link with some of the last pics of Vandy-1 in black: http://www.flybyaviation.com/oceanabv2004.htm

If only they made a clear Valk with credible reproduction of the insides modeled in colored plastic (like one of those x-ray Valk posters)...

Actually, the compressor is linked to a turbine like a normal jet engine, so it doesn't need to be powered by electricity except when starting up. I reckon the engine is cooled by some OT gadgetry, or more likely it's made out of OT stuff that can take the heat. I forget all the details, so some of what I've written may be personal speculation influenced by other fan speculation. But we've been over this a few times in the past.

Unless you're talking about a 1/100 bandai model, I think it's pretty hard to distinguish whether the design being copied is a 1/55 Taka/Bandai toy or a 1/100 Taka/Bandai.

Sithlord, just want to mention that the poll is seemingly targeted only to people who actually own the thing. I voted before I realized that... As for Toynami's profit margin, I think it's worth mentioning that their expenses include not only cost of manufacture, but cost of licensing. And does anyone know what the retail markup on the Alpha MPC is?

I don't know if the vernier thrusters have enough thrust (or are even pointed in the right direction) to do a vertical takeoff in fighter mode, and I don't remember the scene Opus pointed out well enough. How to takeoff without a runway? Well, if you're on the ground in fighter mode, how did you get there without a runway? (Note: if you put an airplane the size of a Valkyrie on unpaved ground, its tires will sink into the earth.) But granted, maybe the runway's been blown up, so how do you get off the ground now? The only thing I can think of is to just give up on the landing gear and transform into battroid as best you can. Then boost into the air and transform into gerwalk or fighter. Valks have very tough bodies due to SWAG (which is why they can smash through buildings). So the gear might be ruined, but in an emergency the Valk can still take off.

Glad to see Bill Holden made the cut. Unlike some of the other guys, he could also be quite the dapper charmer (Paris When It Sizzles, Sabrina), yet he was still taking tough roles late in his career. Starred with McQueen in The Towering Inferno, BTW. And mention of Sabrina is a nice way to seque into another suggestion from yesteryear: Humphrey Bogart.

This is true. Nope, no fuel needed as such. Fans suck air in, compressors compress it, nuclear engines heat it, and it exits the engine as a hot jet.

I don't mind a level of swap/removal on the scale of the 1/60's, but I dislike the use of parts-swapping to cheat on the proportions, the way the Yamato VF-0 does with the nose cone.