Mark Nguyen

Ah, I think I've seen what you mean. Will try and report back, thanks! Mark

Hi gang, I posted a ton on MWF back in the day, but then I got married. Ahh, the days.. Anyhoo, at a recent con a buddy of mine essentially donated me his Yamato VF-1J Super, Hikaru 1.0 edition. I was happy as I thought I could finally add some FAST packs to the VF-1A CF I had. But upon getting home I unpacked my CF and discovered that the backpack had no insertion points for the additional boosters - which I found pretty weird as the legs and arms had the correct points. So, I'm considering simply swapping out the VF-1J backpack piece for the CF one. Can anyone provide a way to do this without breaking anything? The toys are in pretty decent shape and aren't noticeably brittle, but I'd like to avoid potentially damaging any of them. Helpful thoughts? Mark

The shoulders. No idea how many (some say up to 16, but I dunno if that was ever confirmed in any lineart). Count me as a fan of this one. It's more than a little ananchronistic given that the old F-117 design's stealth shape was largely useless by the late 90s thanks to radar developments, but the shape is just damn cool. Mark

I'll be in Toronto in two weeks for Anime North. Message me with a price, I'll see if I can afford it. Mark

Absolutely brilliant work! And dare I ask if you'll eventually think of modifying the paintjobs on your models? For example, to let us know what you'd think a "production" version of the Macross Quarter would look like, in NUNS service and livery? Mark

Yep, pretty much the same. The control sticks don't even change position IIRC. Mark

I see the emmigration fleets as an organic construct after launching. Each one we've seen has been noticably different than the others; I see this as a combination of how they were built (there obviously are several sources of these fleets) and what has happened to them after launching. Some of these fleets have been in space for decades; it makes sense to modify and add to them as needed (by using the Three Star ships or whatever industrial support they have). Macross 11 probably looked a lot like the Macross 7 fleet when it launched, but over the years they added to themselves as their population grew and their needs changed. Also, Lynn Kaifun would be in his late 60s by 2059, and hadn't been heard of for fifteen years. He may have died naturally by now, or in any case is probably in retirement. Mark

A new Macross Mango? That's pretty cool - Mikimoto sure knows his tropical fruit... Mark

I tend to disagree, mostly going on artistic liberty based on a small drawing of a ship not meant for too much scrutiny. I've no problem believing that each Macross battle section is different, but there should be no problem to assume that there are several of each variant too. With 25+ fleets out there, there is certainly room for both. Mark

They're not too tough to see. In any shot you can see Grace's whole nakedish body, you should be able to see silhouettes of other people floatingin the background. Just watch episode 25 again - and c'mon, don't tell me you need an excuse. Mark

In practice, it's the same reason why we don't have arm-mounted rifles on people either. Mounting the gun pod in the "hand" of the Battroid or Gerwalk modes gives the machine an extra pivot point and ability to shoot at things without needing to orient the whole forearm in the same direction. ALso, if you lose functionality in your right arm, you can always switch your gun pod over to the left - Alto did just that in episode 7. Mark

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31319140@N05/...57608016144402/ Ooh! Any cahnce of a better scan of this one? There's some new mecha views we haven't seen yet in there - including Battle Galaxy! Thanks for the detailed reviews! Mark

I don't get it... Is this a parody? It reads "Sorry... Ranka-chan... Alto..." Mark

Minmay and Sharon and Basara and Mao and Ishtar and Sheryl and Ranka's Ultimate Playlist! Here's your challenge: you're a cheapo record producer in the year 2060 looking to make a quick buck. So, you comb through the archives and create the ultimate "best of" CD combining the best tracks of any entertainer ever in the Macross universe. Here's the catch: A typical record will have 8-12 songs on it, regardless of the capacity of the disk. So your challenge is to pick the best tracks ever to sell the most disks. What will your 8-12 songs be? Don't feel obligated to have something from every Macross series, or representative of the franchise as a whole. Simply create your list of 8-12 songs that you think would be the bestseller "Best of" release of the year. Go nuts! Mark

Ah, but then you have to believe that a CIWS can ACTUALLY shoot down a supersonic missile. Mark

Welcome to the world of anime, bub. Shooting down mecha with AA just istn' cool, so basically ANYONE in ANY anime will NEVER get shot down by simple AA fire, unless at least a secondary character is manning the guns. Mark

...And yet, someone with a lucky shot took down Roy. Mark

Actually, if you think about it, "Escort Battle Carrier" for the Uraga may not be so inappropriate. Evidence is limited, but I don't think we've ever really seen an Uraga in anything but a defensive role. It's either escorting New Macross fleets, or defending Earth. In the odd occasion where we see a task force independent of a main fleet, Uragas are nowhere to be found: -The exploratory fleet carrying that Gunter guy, in a M7 "Plus" segment -The scout fleet sent from the M7 fleet to check out Varauta -The small fleet sent to rescue of the Kaitos and Dulfim in MF -Isamu's assignment at the top of Macross Plus (unless you think the model on the CO's desk is the ship they're on) And so on... Mark

Agreed; though it is fun to incorporate precedent sometime. On the flipside, carrier thuse far utilize "CV" prefixes, harking back to early 20th century nomenclature. And on the third hoof, we have the "ARMD" prefixes too, from the superawesomecool tactical CG display in episode 1... Mark

Does "battle carrier" exist as common nomenclature? For the Quarter, I prefer light attack carrier (CVA in WWII) or simply battlecruiser. Carrying fighters seems to be standard on all UNS/NUNS ships anyway, all the way down to the 250m Steath Frigates and lowly Sentinel carrier. Of course, calling a ship an "attack" carrier may be taboo in a pacificist society (whcih is why no one HAS attack carriers or battlecruisers in the USN anymore), so escort carrier might make more sense. The Quarter Pounder certainly seems like a ship with a certain autonomous spin to it, but that may be simply because the bunch of thugs that operate it are independent from the military to begin with. But as the smallest NUNS ship with a BFG and strong melee capabilities, it may well be intended to go where the larger ships can't go, and to do it alone. I can easily see a Quarter as a spec ops ship, scout, surgical strike vessel, and the flagship of small flotillas of older, non-Macross ships (as indeed it seemed to do in episode 7). As for the original Macross versus NMCs, etc., it might be comparing apples to oranges. Macross may have been covered with converging beam weapons and missile batteries, but what use are they if the beam guns can't penetrate the armor or PPBs of more modern ships? And why have guns of limited effective range when guided missile strikes can take out an enemy from a distance? Today's warships don't look like the battleships of old simply because there's no reason to have large numbers of guns anymore, as cool as they look. Even the Iowa-class battleships served more as platforms for 32 tomahawk missles, rarely using their guns, where smaller ships like the Arleigh Burke destoyers could carry up to 192 missiles! The NMCs' lack of big gun armament does not necessarily mean that they are purely carriers; rather, they can still be effective all-range warships using their superior fighters and missles as their primary weapon, just like today's carriers. If there are fleet formations that need taking out, then you risk your ship to get close in enough to take them out with the Macross Cannon, if your fighters armed with reaction warheads somehow can't do it. Mark

Agreed. However, who says that someone can't build an adapter such that it can? Mark

Echo Mr. March, naturally. I'm not saying anyone's wrong, or right for that matter - just presenting differing viewpoints based on differing evidence. The discussion over this is why we love being Macross fans! And re: source on Megaroad being used for specific missions - there isn't one. Please read the post where I wrote that - I made a supposition, not a reference to a source, that there is no reason a Megaroad CAN'T be part of a short-range fleet. You don't use the QEII to go Statten Island from Manhatten - but if you had thousands of people who wanted to get there in one go, you just might after all. Mark

Pgs 91 and 97 of the "This is Animation Special" Macross Plus artbook. I'm sure someone has scanned them in SOMEWHERE. I did the silly thing and bought the book. As for the opener, rewatch it yourself. As noted, acceptance of any source regardless of its degree of officialness or apparent CG error is a choice, not a rule. I choose to believe that the pretty CG graphic is more official than a print source. You'll find most fans will, which is why most still don't know about this short-range fleet, and likely never will. Mark <--- Megaroad-04-ever!

Kawamori's supervising various documents does not render it a superior source of information. By that logic, one could insist that the company which created the YF-19 is "SINSEI INDUSTRY" and not "SHINSEI" as referred to in the animation, because one Macross Plus artbook had a spelling mistake on pgs 91 and 97 - and THAT was supervised by Kawamori too. In Trek for example, various mistaken CG shots have phaser blasts emerging from photon torpedo tubes and vice versa. Fans can either discount the source, or try to reconcile visual evidence versus the intent or script. Still, more people will refer to the animation rather than a printed source, which is why we still have people asking why VF-1s don't use their nose lasers more often, 25 years later. Canon in fictional sources will always be subjective, rather than objective. I choose to believe that the pretty CG graphic is a valid piece of evidence, which CAN be reconciled with a print source. Fans will disagree, of course - and that's what makes it fun. Mark

This is a valid counterargument; personally however, I subscribe to a common canon rationalization process whereby [stuff you see on screen > stuff you read in a book]. By default in live or animated media, there willl ALWAYS be more people who will refer to what showed up on their TV screen over whatever someone wrote in a book. This has kept Trek and Star Wars fans arguing for decades now, and I'm sure history will similarly prove that when people wonder who colonized Eden, more fingers will point to the pretty CG graphic over a print source, official or not. So, going by this process, IMO there WAS a Megaroad ship which left earth and at some point arrived at Eden in 2014. However, this does NOT discount the printed evidence of a short-range fleet discovering the planet first. This leaves us with a number of possibilities that can reconcile both pieces of evidence, some of which have already been posited: -A short-range fleet finds Eden first, and a Megaroad is sent there later to fully colonize the place. -A Megaroad was PART of said short range fleet. While the Megaroad class was arguably designed for long-range colonization, there is nothing to say that one can't be retasked for for a shorter mission, or simply found Eden early on its longer mission. -The short-range fleet finds the place, and the Megaroad simply passes by on its way elsewhere. However, we don't see a continuing arrow from Eden. And so on. The point is of course that there are many different ways to include many points of evidence from multiple sources. Everyone will have their own interpretation, and it's up to the individual in the end to decide what makes the most sense to them within this fictional context. I personally prefer to accept the visual evidence of a Megaroad ship leaving Earth and colonizing Eden, though not necessarily first, despite my knowing for years now the Compendium has stated a short-range fleet did this as well. Your mileage may vary. Mark <--- Han fired first