Firefighter Destroid

Okay, reusable Micro-missiles instead so they're small & endearingly cute like Tachikoma. And that's why they're just missiles because Funnels belong somewhere else.

I understand your idea about the SWAG is it kind of strengthens the molecular integrity of the outer armor, right? I think that would involve making the armor highly malleable - like it were composed of energy-static nanomachines. But nanotech was virtually unknown in the 80s. That's interesting & it may also add a benefit to the VF's survivability. My idea goes like this though - think of a metal plate, maybe the size of a thin wooden plank. Embedded within the plate are myriads of energy conduits that run up & down along it. These energy conduit serve the double purpose of transmission & conversion (that is, from raw fusion energy to electrical energy, fictionally speaking). If wired correctly, you could plug a car battery on one end & a video game console & HDTV on the other and enjoy some portable gaming & have a very sturdy metal table at the same time.

True, but that's also a reason for this discussion - to open one's imagination on how they might actually do things. It may be fiction after all but when you watch Amuro & Co. moving levers back & forth it really draws you into their reality. Macross is no different but their rendering of ideas here in Frontier is in an even more realistic level. They totally upped the ante, so to speak. And yes, anime magic will always be a reason why we love to watch. I guess those anomalies of old, like the infinite ammo, were a means of stretching the imagination. I vividly recall Ichijo walking out the GBP-1J from the hold and its feet would bend like soft rubber. Back then & even now most Japanese mecha designers (Kawamori included) never take into account the ability of the toe to flex upward. It's the toe that puts a spring in every person's step - the same should be with robots too. I know Asimo & Qurio don't have what I'm speaking of but that is because they don't walk & balance themselves in the same manner humans do. But I know real well anime robots should because they're so damn fast. The only anime mecha I know to be this elaborate are Tactical Armor Raiden Type-17 from Gasaraki & Arbalest from Full Metal Skin Panic & only one Gundam - the one in 08th MS Team & only one VF - the 11 Thunderbolt. Gunpla makers Bandai were able to foresee this and have since started making their MG & PG kits more flexible in the feet & shoulder section (gotta love that new MK II!). But this issue in anime is still the same. And Revoltech figures would have cut it, but no. I'd like to know more regarding the weapon rifles & ordnance too. I figure ammo should be on the way out but that's not very exciting is it? Besides, nothing beats a giant solid radiating slug decimating the thick armor of a Vajra. How about reusable missiles that forcefully batter their opponent but return to their launch nacelles unscathed because of their own individual PBS & AI system? 25G's sniper rifle really rocks. It's original & a first for Macross - rifle variety. Long-range & absolute firepower.

Yeah, it's pretty vague. But i doubt there's enough space in a VF's cockpit for its pilot to make such elaborate movements. But it may also be because minute pilot motions translate to full gestures externally, so you do have a good point regarding the EX-Gear as a puppet control system.

Thanks, ruskiiVFaussie. I hope to hear your ideas too. Feel free to get in a debative mood.

Yes, you're right. The only VF to have this system was the prototype YF-21 Omega One and it wasn't for generating power. But I just made up that last type of power system because it was intriguing. Have you seen the expressive body language gesturing by Michel in his 25G while he was talking with Klan Klan the Gorgeous in Frontier episode 9? I don't believe that was done by him pulling levers & flicking switches. That has to be a function of Brainwave Piloting. You know, directly translating the emotions from his mind into body gestures while he's talking at the same time.

Good day to you ProtoCulture enthusiast! I'm starting this topic as a means of getting over my obsession with the Variable Fighter vehicle, easily one of the most fantastic apparati in science fiction. And also to speculate with you how this complex system works. Prior to writing this I have had a less than comprehensive research about this issue. I did not quite have the opportunity to read or hear Shoji Kawamori's explanation of the SWAG Energy Conversion Armor System. Most of the official specifications from toys & scale-model replicas fail to mention any form of robotics. And in canon, everything is built from the alien OverTechnology. So I invite you to post your thoughts & counter points to what I have initially put here. So what is this topic all about? I want to try to explain what makes a Valkyrie move - what gives it its propulsive power & its robotic ability. Pt 0 - TECHNOLOGY When Alien Space Ship 1 came to Earth it introduced to humankind an advancement in technology beyond their wildest dreams. It seemed the obvious benefits of this advancement were increased miniaturization, structural strengthening & over-abundant output efficiency. This new retro-engineered technology was dubbed OverTechnology. Pt 1 - POWER OverTech enabled the human race to create the first safe, cheap, compact & portable nuclear fission reactor. Three of these miniature cores are implanted in a Valkyrie system as follows: one in each 'leg' & the third in the 'central body'. There is also an array of rechargeable batteries feeding off excess energy that provide back-up power. And there is this last system I devised that operates via a SWAG system integrated in the pilot suit. It draws bio-electrical energy from the pilot & converts it for the VF's operation. The pilot must be in a catatonic state relying on BDI & BPS (Brainwave Direct Imaging & Brainwave Piloting System) to minimize wastage & become the 'central nerve' of the vehicle. However if used alone it greatly diminishes the VF's motive ability. It is relegated as a last motive means of resort (just imagine a ravenous zombie crawling along the ground in slow-mo). Pt 2 - TRANSMISSION & CONVERSION Another OverTech benefit is to integrate a power conduit & energy conversion system into the thin but durable armor comprising a Valkyrie's entire build. This was named SWAG by the higher-ups, I believe. SWAG converts & distributes raw fission energy into both electrical energy & propulsive force (thruster). Electricity powers the VF's control systems & robotic motors, whereas the Propulsive force courses through the vector thruster 'feet' and the various apogee motors throughout it's build. A good visual analogy to SWAG would be the Orbital Frames in Zone Of the Enders. You could very well see the Metatron energy coursing through the external veins of their armored bodies. Pt 3 - ROBOTICS & AGILITY There is no official type of system written that determines the kind of robotic motor used. It may be hydraulic, or muscular with artificial fibers, or just plain electrical servo motors not unlike the ones used in present day automatons Asimo, Qurio, and the iFoot. I'd like to believe that with the added boost of OverTech, highly sophisticated highly-compact, high-torque & high-speed multi-axis actuators where produced. Kinda like an electric servo motor on steroids. They were built in such a way to occupy only their respective joint area in the whole machine. This frees up a lot of internal space in a valkyrie for many various important systems like life-support & extra ammo/ordnance. Part of this robotic system are the myriads of motors that transform a valkyrie into its respective variant forms. Pt 4 - THRUST The VF flies in both the air & through a vacuum. In 'air' mode, the air intakes open and the rocket motors switch to an 'air friction' mode to optimize thrust. In 'vacuum' mode, the air intakes close and the rocket motors switch back to their default mode. This also makes it possible for the VF to fly in the air (& underwater) even when the intake vents are closed. So there you have it, the start of this discussion. The way I've seen it, the valkyrie in actuality is really very much like a walking empty suit of armor that happens to be so well designed to withstand hard blows (remember the Studio Nue building that got smashed into by Ichijo's careless gerwalk landing in South Atalia Island?). But what do you think? There may be more to this than meets the eye. Feel free to reveal your sci-fi tech in relation to this topic.

The 27 is sort of a rival plane to the 25, which was given the petname 'Messiah' attributing it to Ichijo's original Vulkyrie finish & also to the giant-killer Shao Pai Long. For most Christians worldwide, Messiah refers to only one person - the Christ figure Jesus. I'm wondering, though it seems unlikely, the closest rival to Jesus would be his relative John the Baptist. What pseudonyms are associated with this other person? Is there a one that can follow the letters VF-27? You know, as someone noted here, it's hardly likely the VF-27 is of direct ProtoCulture origin what with the VF designation & all. It's likely to be a MetaCulture fighter built alongside the YF-24s development but within the Macross Galaxy several light minutes away. And the design stylings are strikingly close to the Soviet-made SV-51. As for its more sophisticated avionics, that can be attributed to the Galaxy's more advanced level of OverTech. Who knows, perhaps the original SV-51 designers made it to the 27 development team? And, just imagine if there was an underlying Cold War-like animosity in the Macross F timeline it would be between these two entities labeled Galaxy & Frontier. Each has differing ideologies as the narrator Capt. Wilder, Sheryl & Grace seem to point out. Okay, that pretty much inspired a stupid name. Here goes: VF-27 RASPUTIN. This long-bearded fellow was pretty much admired by the Czar of Russia and his family as a messiah of sorts with mystic powers (like Jeebus). Here's another inspired by a contemporary movie inspired by the life story of this Russian mystic: VF-27 HARLEQUIN. Do the people at Big West ever read stuff we put here, I wonder? Where would you want to live: Frontier, Galaxy, or Liberty City?

The mystery VF in the opening made its appearance in Episode 7. It has some stylings reminiscent of the SV-51. And that Dr. Hasford-like-dude Mr. Bilrer kind of resembles a Protodeviln miclone. I suppose M-Quarter would be the biggest, baddest Battroid in the history of this world. This show just gets more & more intriguing.

'Messiah' - Not a bad name. It's short & simple. Another word for 'Saviour', even if it does so in ways inverse to the one in a popular religion. And you can probably place your faith in it. Or perhaps that's what they want you to believe considering it is flimsy enough to suffer dents quickly in the 1st episode (Lt. Gilliam: In memoriam), get its arms blasted off indirectly by a shockwave in episode 2, have an unsafe cockpit that 'protects' you from outside explosions in episode 3 (Ouch! Ozma, say 'Ouch!'), and have its leg easily ripped off when thrown (Missu Macuross Flontia). Maybe it was luck the 25 didn't crumble like a well baked hot-pocket when the Vajra blew up in its face on that same day, yeah? Or this may have been the producers' way of depicting a realistic situation for a valkyrie? That seems like a step back when you consider how much more structurally sound the Eagle One & Omega One prototypes are. Don't get me wrong. Aesthetically & functionally, the Messiah is Numbah One. They just make it break up into pieces too soon. I suggest the name YF-25 be used with its name Messiah in the hopes this flimsy trial product will only get better as the series progresses. Oh wait, there already is a YF-24 which is the base model if you read the NewType scan. So I guess we're stuck with a sucky destructible VF-25 On a separate topic, what would you call the new civilization consisting of humans & Zentrans & Meltrans (Yuck! De-Dekaltchaa-!) now living together? Back then there was the Protoculture. Then there was the gender separation: Zjentolhauean & Meltolhauean (whatta mouthful) which are essentially augmented & macronized clones of Protoculture people and the top-secret Protodeviln, and somewhere along the way there was the sub-Protoculture Earth dwellers. Now that there is a united post-Space War I minority group of Lilliputians & Brobdingnadians traversing the galaxy, should we refer to them as a 'Metaculture'? What would you call this distinct conglomeration of humans & giants?

Here's another interesting name I thought up. VF-25 represents the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Valkyrie. The metal associated with this lengh of time is Silver. And we all know how Mr. Kawamori sometimes likes blending Deutsch in the names he comes up with. So why not come up with a: VF-25 SILVER VALKYRIE (Silver Walkure / Silbur Valkyrie / Silbur Walkure) If that is too long, we could just name it: VF-25 WALKURE In Japanese, this would be pronounced: 'ba-ru-kyu-re-' as compared with the original 'ba-ru-ki-ri' so even if they refer to the same thing they are distinct from one another. The U should actually be the smiley face letter. By the way, which fictional manufacturer was involved in its production? Could it be Shinsei because of the transformation design or could it be Stonewell Bellcom, 25 years after producing the first ever VF? Credits to 'omg' for sending in the ALBATROSS name first.

I was influenced by the following in order to come up with this name - the beautiful long fighter nose of the 25, its far-reaching wingspan, the red-striped white finish, the letters in Alto's name, a bird, and the way it rhymes with Macross: VF-25 ALBATROSS So what do you think? In Japanese, they'd say it a-ru-ba-to-ro-su. Like it? Thanks for reading.