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sketchley

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  1. sketchley
    Thanks for the closeup on the on "A" sprue, as the manufacturer's name caught my eye: 뽀빠이 과학 (Popeye Science). Did some digging on the company and found this https://namu.wiki/w/뽀빠이(동음이의어) (translation in spoiler—seems to be the modelling arm of a larger company): That said, the Youtube results are intriguing—I see a couple of videos with knockoff Valkyries!: https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/뽀빠이과학
  2. sketchley
    That was a great set! I really liked the extra details; especially the zipper on the back of Batsuit and the hint of a mustache on Joker! As I've been displaying the Batmobile without them, I've completely forgotten that it came with stud shooters! 😅
  3. sketchley
    Well, for better or worse, the producers of Macross use different naming schemes (a la Delta's characters named after famous jets and pilots), and they seem to choose less silly names out of public suggestions*—such as "Messiah" in the Newtype mail-in promotion during the initial part of Frontier's run. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Sir_David_Attenborough#Naming_poll ... though, it would be great to see NUNS ships named "Boaty McBoatface" and "It's Bloody Cold Here"! 🤣
  4. sketchley
    Yeah, that was where I was coming from when I brought it up. It's old and decrepit enough to look like it's been around much longer than the Macross 7 City Ship it's attached to, and Macross Chronicle's description is pretty suggestive... Thanks. I didn't really look at it that way—gotta break out those meme's about Macross 7 having everything, again! This adds so much. Not only the out-of-universe evolution of Fold Quartz, but also suggests so much about the in-universe discovery and initial exploration of the material's capabilities. The other line of thinking I had is "what real-world situation or country was Kawamori-san basing it off of?," as he is quite concerned about justifying fictitious things (E.g. the "dancing Battroids" in Macross Delta to justify manned transforming humanoid robots when a drone jet would suffice.) The coal-mines is admittedly a blink-and-you-miss-it, throw-away line that I'm probably overthinking, as it's goal was most likely only to justify the need for the YVF project in Macross Plus. Agreed. While the Master File books hold a bit more weight (as Kawamori-san was directly involved as a "supervisor"), ultimately they are glorified fan fic. And as Kawamori-san has said himself: each Macross production is a dramatization made in-universe about real events, the same holds true for the Master File books (as in-universe publications—that may or many not be fanciful extrapolations—about "real" events, technology, and equipment!)
  5. sketchley
    That's kind of assuming that those ultra-high efficiency renewable energy sources and thermonuclear fusion power capabilities are being freely shared. As the Macross Galaxy Fleet suggests, not every government plays nice with its civilians. However, putting all that to the side, this could be a sign that Kawamori-san had the concept of Fold Coal and Fold Quartz in mind all along—akin to the Energy Conversion Armour idea that he purportedly had way back at the time of SDFM but didn't formally introduced until Macross Zero. It also goes a long way to justifying why there was a mining settlement on the planet Basara visited in The Galaxy Is Calling Me. (Perhaps a precursor or initial attempt at the idea that got refined and clarified in the Macross Frontier materials as Fold Carbon & Quartz?) I agree that those explanations are neat. However, due to some other oddities and unusual hangups in those books, I can't fully accept them into my head cannon... 😅
  6. sketchley
    There is very little information on those short range fleets. Some supposition is that the SDFN class (from Macross F) and Akusho (from Macross 7) may have at one point been involved in those short range fleets. The Battleships Of The Galaxy Book 3: Zentrādi Military Vessels (a fan-made dojinshi) supposed that the Unified Government converted the Zentrādi Kirutora Keruēru into Environment Ships (the Kirutora Keruēru-class Environment Ships), but the write-up indicates they were for the Super Long-range Emigrant Fleets. Nevertheless, it does suggest that other converted Zentrādi ships could have been used in those short range fleets. Those short range fleets also appear to mostly have occurred only during the initial period shortly after the end of the First Interstellar War. The limited materials on them suggest that they started being launched before the completion of the Megaroad-01. So, the supposition that ships used in those fleets later returned to Earth and were repurposed to other roles or fleets makes a lot of sense. Macross Chronicle did have a poetic line about some Super Long-range Emigrant Fleets being fated to spend "half an eternity" looking for a habitable planet. Yeah. The production team really played fast and loose with continuity in that game. I'm glad that they were reined in a lot more with VF-X2!
  7. sketchley
    Yeah... Fold speeds are a grey area. The only "official" specifics we have are from material about Macross Plus (the distance and travel time—given as a broad time frame) or the doubly vague "20 years to the centre of the galaxy" from Macross F. While Macross Plus is great for nerding out over, it's also for an 'experimental and disposable' Fold Booster. So, erring on the side of caution, that's on the slower side of the scale and a ship-scale Fold drive ought to be significantly faster and/or traverse greater distances. Then we get statements like the Varōta High Speed Cruiser being able to travel even faster than a "normal" ship-scale Fold Drive... 😵 Ultimately, it seems to boil down to "speed of plot", and probably best not to get too deep in the weeds about. Especially as there are some stories that play fast and loose with the rules (the penultimate story beat in Macross Digital Mission VF-X to name 1 of many...)
  8. sketchley
    Expanding on what Seto said: in the initial period, there were 2 types of Emigrant Fleet: close range (within 100 ly of Earth*), and long range. It makes sense that elements of the close range fleets would return to Earth and be reused due to the distances involved (E.g. parts of the fleet that discovered Planet Eden; located a mere 11.7 light years from Earth—about 1 day's travel. Isamu took around 18 hours* with the experimental Fold Booster). To give some numbers on the farthest flung Emigrant Fleets: the Macross F Fleet was described as having taken "20 years" to navigate to the vicinity of the centre of the galaxy, and it would take about half that time (10 years one-way) for a ship to return to Earth. So, I think the NUNS crews and civilians knew that they were on a one-way trip when they launched. The advent of the Super Fold Drive (in Macross F) reduced travel times to 1/10, but that would still take 1 year. Not impossible, but not really feasible. * back of the envelope math. 100 ly takes about 8.33 days to traverse with a standard Fold Drive.
  9. sketchley
    There's two possibilities that I can think of: 1) they reused existing modelling assets and mashed them onto the MiG-29 (aren't the canards and micro-missile launchers directly ripped from the Sv-51?) 2) the publicity at the time of the remaster's release stated that they used AI to 'enhance' the images. Could this be an example of an "AI hallucination" during that process? Or could Kawamori-san possibly have used the tool to add additional details to the footage?
  10. sketchley
    If I'm reading it correctly, this is the Blu-ray specs: Audio: Japanese Subtitles: Korean* ※ why the languages are like the only things written in English is beyond me... Source (image on the left side): https://www.miragemall.co.kr/m/product.html?branduid=3739813&xcode=003&mcode=000&scode=&type=P&sort=regdate&cur_code=003&search=&GfDT=a2d3UQ%3D%3D PS: I think the title should be changed. It's not a 25th anniversary release, just the Korean "Macross F: The Movie Steelbook Edition - Lenticular Version". [2월 26일 오후2시부터 예약시작][2026년 4월 24일 발매][블루레이] 극장판 마크로스 F 스틸북 에디션-렌티큘러 버전 [Pre-orders start at 2:00 PM on February 26] [Release date: April 24, 2026] [Blu-ray] Macross F: The Movie Steelbook Edition - Lenticular Version
  11. sketchley
    Thanks for that description! I've also designed my own transforming jet fighters*, so it's neat seeing the similarities in our workflows. That going back and forth and refining the design as we do basic and test assemblies is a pain in the butt, isn't it? 😅 For step (5), I refer to that as "making it look cool." (cool being a combination of making it look like it could actually fly [refining the aerodynamic features, etc.], and artistic polish that makes a design pop.) * https://www.deviantart.com/studiootaking/art/CFs-Generation-3a-Master-File-Chronicle-767383491
  12. sketchley
    I'd say it's worth a view—even if it's just to see a "what if Kawamori-san wasn't in charge of Macross". If memory serves, there is a massive drop off in animation quality in the last episode.
  13. sketchley
    From the descriptions*, it sounds like the show runners are having their cake and eating it, too: they want an academy setting with cadets, but also want to do the standard Star Trek ship-doing-space-adventures. I'm not saying it's impossible (DS9 pulled off something similar), but from the sounds of things, this show's writers haven't figured out how to do it. * stopped watching nu-Trek at the end of the second season of Discovery, so my impressions may be biased...
  14. sketchley
    Question is: will they release the missile pack equipped version in the near future? And what about the Quadoran-Nona? It would be a good way to milk those Quadoran-Ro molds!
  15. sketchley
    Don't you mean the F-3000 version that showed up in Macross 7 Trash? 😉
  16. sketchley
    Which is really confusing, as "Variable Fighter Master File" has their own VF-1P Freya Valkyrie*! 🤪 * most of the info is on Pgs 90 & 92–93 of Variable Fighter Master File VF-1 Valkyrie Wings Of Space)
  17. sketchley
    One thing to keep in mind is the requirements of the plot. Destroids aren't the reason why a lot of people tune in to Macross, and they are more or less superfluous to the plot—in the sense that above and beyond being the thing that gets shot at to demonstrate the power of the antagonists, they don't have much of a role. So, even if we presume that the defensive capabilities of a Destroid's armour is exactly the same as (or even greater than!) that of the Energy Conversion Armour on a Battroid-mode VF (along the lines of Seto's desription above), the Destroid is still going to be easily blown away due to its role in the story. That said, one of the "boss" enemies in the Macross M3 game is a PPB equipped Destroid Monster (if memory serves). That suggests there is the possibility of a low-cost upgrade to Destroids that significantly increases their defensive capabilities (low-cost in the sense that PPB projectors and an upgraded reactor would require less resources than replacing the entire surface with SWAG armour and a much, much higher output reactor.)
  18. sketchley
    Well, that sucks. However, take the good from it: adding electricals to models is notoriously difficult, and the wiring harness you built worked as intended. The next time you attempt it, I'm sure you'll get exactly the results you want!
  19. sketchley
    Is it the strips themselves, or the wiring? There's a possibility that the soldering wasn't sufficient, and that broke. Before prying the kit open: are there any kinks in the wires outside of the kit? The fix could be as easy as cutting out the damage wire and splicing in a good wire. Also, do you have a multi-meter? If so, can you check to see if you have a circuit? (Check working lights and see if similar readings appear on the broken ones).
  20. sketchley
    You've made excellent points. It makes no sense—especially compared to the bridges and command centres in modern naval vessels. It also lends credence to an earlier post about the bridge being a redressing of a large set that is (or was) also being used as a large room. That, or they wanted plenty of space between the work stations to set up and move the cameras around while filming! 🤷‍♂️ The only other cavernous command centre in live-action that comes to mind is the control room in the film "Elysium". It's very dark, and has multiple levels, but that may be stylistic choices to emphasize the villain on her throne, so to speak. The plants are a nice touch, and all the underlings have radio earbuds to facilitate communication. Around 2:12
  21. sketchley
    Not sure if I'll see this movie, but I must be of the right age, as seeing all those toys is bring back a flood of nostalgia. That said, I'm really curious if a Slime Pit and/or Glow-in-the-Dark Ring will appear in the movie? 🤣
  22. sketchley
    Wasn't Starfleet Security (in the TOS–Next Gen era) something along those lines? I may be conflating the origins of the M.A.C.O.s from Enterprise here though... 🤔 It begs the question: is Starfleet Academy the Nu-Trek answer to The Orville? (albeit, coloured by the show runners' interpretation of Star Trek as seen in Discovery et al.)
  23. sketchley
    There's nothing wrong with that. I enjoy watching The Mummy (Brandon Fraser's version) for that very reason! However, Star Trek is... well, for certain fans like me, it's known as the type of show that I watch to be challenged and use my critical thinking. (Yes, I stopped watching Nu-Trek after the first Kelvin timeline movie and the 2nd season of Discovery. On the other hand, I'm currently rewatching the 4th season of Enterprise, and thoroughly enjoying it.)
  24. sketchley
    Is it a Windows PC? If so, you can try playing it with VLC. (This advice is for Win 10. Not sure if it'll work for Win 11) As VLC* doesn't natively support Blu-ray, you'll have to take some extra steps. The first is to put the Keys Database and AACS Dynamic Library on your PC. You can find them here: https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ * I believe you'll also have to install Java in order to enable the Blu-ray on-screen menus. It's not a necessary step. However, even if you do, annoyingly the menus are keyboard activated only. (As these programs are free, we can't really complain. 🤷‍♂️) I'm having about a 50-70% success rate in watching Blu-rays with just that. For those Blu-rays that don't work, you can try using MakeMKV to decrypt the Blu-ray. Regrettably, MakeMKV is in beta, and you have to update the Free Beta Key monthly. So far that has worked on the handful of discs I've tried. Instructions: https://www.reddit.com/r/VLC/comments/1fnbp3k/comment/mpkp9tj/?context=3 https://www.free-codecs.com/guides/how-to-use-makemkv-for-free.htm Hopefully this will work, and you will be able to watch those discs! The alternative is buying an expensive Blu-ray viewing app, or—as Shawn said—a super cheap Blu-ray player.
  25. sketchley
    Japanese publishers print those multi-volume novels in "pocket sized" editions, and there's no particular rhyme or reason for where they break up the books. For example, my Japanese version of The Hobbit comes in 2 volumes. Perhaps the translation of Children of Dune would have resulted in 4 volumes that were too thin (for the market and/or the publisher), so they opted for 3 slightly thicker volumes?
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