Warmaker

If there is going to be a "Transformer Godzirra," you can count on there being a whole slew of model tanks and helos getting blown up. For "homage" sake!

It's fine for Macross to have been somewhat centered on a "big transforming space battleship." It was designed that way from the start! Transformers? No, it wasn't like that from the start. They tried in the 80's to tack on gargantuan sized characters who never really did or could do anything. That and their toys didn't exactly sell well, compared to smaller stuff, say... Thundercrackers and Starscreams.

Wait a minute, I just noticed... there's no option for Kakizaki! What the heck is up with that?

Same here. But I still want to smash Michael Bay!

I recall hearing of the character's first name long ago. But after seeing Macross, I never put 2 and 2 together... d'oh! USS Enterprise, captained by James T. Kirk. With a host of MORE Bridge Bunnies. /kirkapproval

Ahh, but a great leader does not equate being a great pilot! I'll use real life as an example. I know Marines who shoot ridiculously well with no sighting accessories (Red Dot Scopes, Holographic Weapon Sights, assorted scopes), just plain old Iron Sights. Yet they may not be great leaders. I know some Marines who are big, insanely strong, yet can run fast for long distances. Yet their leadership may not be up to par. I know Marines who were d**n good leaders, but not as great in physical fitness, weapons proficiency than some of their subordinate Marines. That's how I equate Max in this thread. I don't bring up Max's leadership as a reason for being the best pilot. I say he's the best pilot since he's by far the most successful ace. And he's alive. His blinding fighting skills, survivability, and capabiity of defeating the enemy's best show's why he is the best ace... the best pilot in Macross. Also, Roy, as great of an ace he is himself, does not cut a blinding swathe of kills like Max does. Max blazes through the opposition like a full throtttled jet engine's exhaust through butter. Max does it repeatedly in almost every combat scene he gets into, right as a brand new pilot with the white / blue VF-1A through his blue / white VF-1J days (I'll leave out the Macross 7 instances). Roy is a well rounded individual. He's a great ace himself and the best squadron leader of the characters shown in Macross. But as a pilot and succesful ace, Max is the best.

It wouldn't surprise me. We sink ships all the time to be artificial reefs. Even old aircraft carriers on rare occasions.

There's only one way to go about business. Get the hot alien chicks. Explore (a bit). Kick ass while doing all the above, like how the Federation used to be back in Kirk's day

That's avoiding the question MilSpex! Who is the better pilot, not leader?

The other thing with Max was that he was a natural with VF combat. Right when he entered service as a Valk pilot, he showed impressive skill in combat, wowing Hikaru who had already seen a healthy amount of combat. Every single instant that we see Max fight, it was kicka**. SDFM, DYRL?, etc. I also recall a little discussion between Millia and Quamzin, where Quamzin goaded Millia into a fight against an enemy pilot that even she can't defeat. She did find the pilot and she of course was defeated... x2 in SDFM!

I didn't know what the M202A1 FLASH was, but after searching around I recognized the launcher. I think Schwarzenneger used it for Commando. So what happened? Procurement fell through? I didn't see anything stating why it didn't go in service, just specs and capability of the weapon system. Edit to add: Okay, while on the subject of the M202A1 I finally did some reading for the weapons type you mentioned, Thermobaric weapons. Really nasty stuff and the Russians didn't kid around with it either. XM1060 40mm Thermobaric Grenade (just for kicks)

It'd be awesome in a funny way if their hand to hand fighting was like TOS. And God help the poor sap that gets Kirk's overhand-double-fist attack!

The best pilot in all Macross? As far as Aces go? Easy. Max. He was cool, calm in demeanor during combat. He flew with all 3 VF modes fluidly with no real breaks in combat. The only time I can recall him being surprised in combat is against Millia. Plus, he flew and proved himself (and survived) in a catastrophic era for Earth and the UN military, SW1. Personally, I tend to place the pilots who flew in the massive conflicts on a higher level. That includes Max, Roy, Hikaru, etc (naturally that counts out Kakizaki. Poor Kakizaki). Space War 1 was definitely massive in every way. Roy was great but not as great an Ace as Max. But Roy was more "rounded" in that he was a squadron commander, showing his ability to lead. Hikaru I put in the same category as Roy (by the end of SDFM), but not on the same level as his predecessor as an Ace and unit leader.

I'll use toned down language this time. I dislike Basara to a large degree.

An M1 Flamethrower tank variant? Heck, there's still tons of M60A3's laying about. Maybe those could be converted? But yeah, the US used to be a firm believer in fire. Fire tends to change the minds of the most fanatic.

Vin Deisel? I can see it already. The Dieselnator, standing over a dead human, looks down at him and says, "Didn't know who he was fu****' with."

I remember talking with my friends many years ago about how cool it would be if there was a Terminator movie placed in the future. But this? Hmm. We'll see. I nervously await, but I have a better feeling about this than AvP2. But not by that much more.

Sweet, that's what I needed to know. Thanks!

Come on, Graham! Think of the possibilities. If video games like Mario Brother and Street Fighter can do wonderfully in live action, why not anime?

Yeah, I love the longer, thinner look of the YF-19 over the regular VF-19. By any chance, appearance-wise, did the initial production of the VF-19 look the same as the YF-19 flown by Dyson? The reason I ask is I still have yet to build my Hase YF-19 but I don't want to do it in the traditional Macross Plus scheme, but want to make it belonging in a regular UN military unit, being one of the first to receive it. I also want to do it correctly with Macross canon if it's covered (and canon through the Macross Plus thru 7 is a weakpoint for me).

A wild, random idea. How about a live action Ranma?

There is no need for me as a Macross fan to do more since so much has been done ALREADY, officially by Big West, S.Kawamori, etc. Like I said, they have tons of storyline done, models made, toys produced. Unsatisfied? With true Macross? No. But with Robotech? More than unsatisfied, and my ranting in my earlier reply covers it with the complete lack of attention to fans back in the 80s, the real high time of RT. And later, with the "internetz" and the 21st Century, I came across the harsh truth that the true Macross franchise had alot more shows and stuff. And having HG hamper domestic US releases of Macross produtions such as FB2012 and especially DYRL? pissed me off more than anything... I was irked by the only possibility of getting FB2012 and DYRL? in the US was through poor quality bootlegs, thanks to the legality issues with HG. And the bootleg quality isn't exactly getting better. Thanks! I can't "support" RT since it supports HG.

Ah, a war to fight... Sure, I can watch Macross anytime I want. But I don't play with my toes, no, not since I was a kid. As for making this vid for fun, so what? Prepare yourself since I'm getting ready to go into my Robotech tirade and will surely piss off some more. You know why Robotech needs stuff like this? Because officially, HG can't make anything worthwhile to seamlessly fit in, from outside the originally aired RT saga. Coming from a former fan (me if you haven't figured it): Face it, RT had 2 things going for it... "The Macross Saga" (SDFM) and "The Next Generation" (Mospeada). Nobody gave 2 sh*ts about Southern Cross (most people anyways). There was only so much they did with Macross & Mospeada. HG made some half-assed attempts to domestically release some GODAWFUL Robotech toys (Matchbox ones? Remember?). There were maybe a few coloring books, IIRC. I know Palladium had the pencil & paper RT RPG. But after these few things? That's it, not for years upon years. It's not until AFTER the TURN OF THE CENTURY that you see some minimal material being released to flesh out the Robotech background, merchandise remotely worthwhile for collecting. Macross! All this while the actual Macross shows, the Japanese originals, kept churning out stuff every few years. In the 80's, the 90's, and now into the 21st Century. Macross Plus, Macross 7 (which I'll be honest I'm not a fan of), Flashback 2012, and of course, DYRL?. In between all these shows and movies, Macross is quite fleshed out with its background with room to expand. And it all flows together, not a patchwork of completely different shows. Then there's the merchandise and collectible items. The Official Japanese releases had tremendous amounts of stuff. Toys, Models, animation books top the list. Tell me, did anything officially released for RT during the 80s (I won't count 90s, since there was nothing really for RT) measure up to the Japanese 1/55 Valks? No. Even these days, they don't measure up against the Yamatos, quality control issues included. Oh, I even forgot to mention the Gakken toys... those badass "Alphas?" Only Japanese... Including the Cyclones, until very, very recently. From the Japanese Macross shows themselves, you also have the variety of Valkyries designed by Kawamori himself. VF-1, VF-4, VF/YF-19, VF-11, YF-21, etc. All having a traceable lineage since they were done by the original designer of the VF-1, Kawamori. What worthwhile, original design was made for RT outside the original saga? Lastly, the other thing that irates me with HG and RT is how hard it is being a Macross fan outside Japan (and in the USA) to get an official, domestic release for Macross shows and stuff. Why, oh why, do I have to resort to bootlegs and such to even get the shows I want to see, even though it is the original Macross shows? So, to get back again to your original train of thought. "so do u need to watch macross or play those toies?" I sure can if I wanted to (except the toes thing. I only clip the nails off them when they get long. Makes holes in the boot socks). And the original Macross universe is plenty filled with a background (and more possibilities still) between all the actual Macross shows. But RT needs the help, since nothing's been fed into her for... what? Almost 2 decades?

It was the first few seasons that were really top notch, the best. I was still in my military MOS schooling as a Lance Corporal when the show started in '93. The show's timeslot was Friday 9pm. I had to watch the show. At the expense of going out on a Friday night! At least I made up for my lack of a social life on a Friday night by going out hard on Saturdays. The show was weird but it had lots of fun possibilities. It was also funny how far along they strung out the Mulder-Scully "relationship" My friend who was a big fan also, she complained "How can they not do anything there!?!" I replied with: "That's for you to watch for the next episode or something. The producers have you with a hook now." Anyways, it was't an X-Files episode unless: - You had someone in total darkness using a flashlight, possibly a pistol with it. --- You had the two FBI agents in the darkness, using flashlights, yelling "Mulder!" "Scully!" - Aliens! Esp. the first couple seasons. - Some hapless person gets killed or disappears in a miserable way. - Mulder going on about his crazy theories And more. It was fun while it lasted.

Star Wars is my favorite, but mainly the Original Trilogy. The Prequels have some cool elements but it all just doesn't hold like the originals. Cartoon / Anime? Macross, but it's pretty close to some other pretty good anime. I used to adore X-Files. But it's been so long since the series ended I forgot about it! Anyways, that was the last TV show I followed. I just don't care for much on what's on the tube these days.