Talos

I actually dragged those three pages up last night, hobbes. Thanks, though, it's really appreciated.

Thanks, Mr. March. I need to find some good lineart of the FB2012 uniform so I can redo it, though. There's only so much you can see in the animation.

Thanks. I only had side views of the DYRL and Macross Zero helmets, so I had to guess everything, based on a couple of screen grabs I took from FB2012. It needs some work still, the sharp visor needs to be blunted and that kink taken out, and the angle of the chin needs to be lower. I also need to do better shoulders, since those are the Zero ones (I wanted to get something out to show). I'll probably go in the Macross 2036 and ELS route for improvements to it later.

Updated!

I have some surprises for it that I think you'll enjoy...

Ok, that works then!

Looks pretty nifty, Mike. If I may make an observation, though, that chin on the battroid's head looks like it won't fit past the panel in front of it when the head's retracting for fighter/GERWALK

I recently started going back and redoing the shading on my VF-4, as well as redoing the major paths, since it was my first one done like that and I've learned a lot in the year since I first did it. Here's where I am right now, I'm slowly working my way back along the plane from the nose. I still haven't touched the highlighting yet, but I think the shading is much improved.

Got a couple on the back-burner. First though, I'm doing some TSR-2s like this one:

Nicely done! Once I finish up my Stratos 4 TSR-2s, I need to get back to working on some Valkyries. Hit me up with a PM and I can type out a rant on how to shade and highlight these.

Here's two more retro VF-4's.

It's gotta be hard to see the full-size plane, so here's a smaller reproduction of it that's only 1500 pixels wide. Should be faster to load and easier to see. Let me know if you need any more specs and backstory for the VE-3, as well as crew accommodations and such for your project. I look forward to reading it!

Thanks guys! Troska, once I get back to finishing my VF-0A profile base, I'll probably do a few in US colors. I know Damian did some already using my lineart as a base.

Thanks, Wolfman. In the decades after the end of Space War I and during the reconstruction of Earth and the initial movement of colony missions, most ELINT, recon, C2, and AWACS support was provided by modified VF-1Ds (VEFR-1) or purpose-built ships derived from the VT-1 (VE-1). With the main fighter force transitioning to the VF-4 and VF-5000 variable fighters, a new platform with higher speed and more up to date technology was desired. The solution Northrom-Grumman came up with was to fit an updated version of the VE-1's sensor and ECM suite in their successful and easily adaptable VA-3 Invader spaceframe. The new craft, called the VE-3 Howler, featured a second crewmember to handle the data load from the sensors and to control the powerful ECM and ECCM systems it was fitted with. The Howler remained completely combat-capable and retained all the pylons and carrying capacity of the base attack plane. Occasionally, in some squadrons and missions, the radar dome could be dismounted to improve speed and maneuver capablilities. Eventually, the VE-3 was supported by new variable fighter-class craft with a similar mission, versions of the successful VF-11, the VF-17, and VF-171. Despite being slow and vunerable in comparison to the smaller ships, the VE-3 (Redesignated by NUNS as the RVA-3 and carrying an enhanced electronics suite) continues to serve in various planetary defense forces and outlying colonies.

Nearly finished, actually. Did a lot of work on it yesterday.

Yeah, I already decided it was too narrow, so I'm going to make it taller later and maybe also change the tail to the more swept-back early one Kawamori has in that lineart.

Yep, seriously. I only do the lineart in it though, all the markings, coloring, shading, and high-lighting are done in GIMP. (All those white dots are the endpoints of separate lines.

Sure, no problem. You have an awesome design, I'll help where I can.

It's looking good so far! I actually use a really low-tech program to do my lineart, I draw them in Microsoft Publisher.

Here's something else I worked on today, the heavy boosters for the VF-4 that replace the arms and the normal rockets.

I can help with cleaning up and coloring the fighter-mode profile when you're done with the design if you'd like. I've already done a lot of work with VF-4s and would enjoy working on this one. There are a few minor things I'd change in the design (which is awesome, by the way). Mostly, I'd lower the nose a bit so that the tip is even-with or below the side thrusters in front of the cockpit and I'd make the cannons in the upper engine nacelles a bit more substantial like they are in the original design.

2 days ago... It's a good update.

Ohhhh, Japanese crane....I HAVE to try that one!