Vinnie

If "I" were Hikaru, I'd be completely oblivious to both the subtle and blatently obvious advances of both girls. I'd further wonder why there weren't any eligble girls around and blame it on a combination of my choice of military lifestyle and the reduction of the female population following SWI.

No, that's a UN Spacy patch of some sort since the military folks all have it on their shoulder. Based on the fact that the M+ team did their research at Edwards AFB, I'd imagine that is the symbol for their Major Command (and it looks a lot like the air combat command patch) AF Pilots wear the command patch on their flight suits and the support personnel wear it on their BDUs/DCUs. The one on the front of Isamu's vest I'm undecided whether it's a rated aviator's badge or something akin to a fighter wing. AF pilots wear the wing and their command on their flight suits, but I forget what, if any, ornamentation they have on their nameplates. I'll have to look next time a C-130 crew comes through the DFAC. As for the Shinsei patch. I could of sworn there were some blue-jacket techs around the YF-19 in various scenes that had a logo of some sort on them. Although if you ask me, the whole project supernova looks like a setup. I mean, one company had an entirely civillian team and test pilot. The other had a comparitively disproportionate amount of military personnel working on it, to include its test pilots. Gee, I wonder who the military was really betting on?

Because it's in that "VTOL mode" (for lack of a better term) between fighter and GERWALK. It appears occasionally in all the series, but notably Hikaru's VF-1 when he rescues Misa from the Grand Cannon, and Isamu's YF-19 when he's searching for Myung on the Macross. Or the real reason: I haven't done the rigging on the arms yet.

Well, I used the term "VTOL mode" because we often see in the various series that unofficial 4th mode between Fighter and GERWALK where the legs are down but the arms are still in, usually so the pilots can accomplish a vertical takeoff or landing. I'm just working on the IK/bones rigging for the legs and haven't gotten to the arms yet. But interesting that Mephistopheles mentions the GERWALK being akin to a helicopter, because that's how I imagine this particular mode would handle. I also think the avionics package would have something similar to the Blackhawk AFCS that would allow the pilot to accomplish most flight tasks with just throttle/collective, stick/cyclic, and rudder/pedal inputs. But as for the aesthetics of the VF-4, it's a very polarizing design among fans. You either love it to obsession, or you hate it and wonder what Kawamori was thinking. There's really no middle ground when it comes to the lightning. Personally, I think the fighter mode is very sleek and elegant, but it doesn't lend itself well to transformation without taking artistic liberties. I think this Little Valk strip sums it up. On the subject of the model though. I think I'm going to try scaling up the upper nacelle/arm&shoulder area and scaling the forward fuselauge back along the length to see if that makes the model look more "right."

Well, there's no thrusters there in fighter mode in any of the schematics I've seen. It leads me to believe this was like Max's nose lasers in Virgin Road, something the animators threw in without regard for mechanical design.

Starting to play around with turning this thing into a Battroid. Of course that entails me learning IK, and bones, and all kinds of new tools in 3ds Max that I've never touched before. I'm also coming to the realization that the VF-4 has to be the UGLIEST GERWALK in the Macross-verse. I mean, I'm trying to adjust the proportions to make it look right, but there's only so much scaling that you can do. The eventual Battroid proportions are going to look less like lineart or a direct fighter-battroid port and more like the chunky Yellow Submarine 1/144 Battroid resin kit. I think that'll work quite well for the intended medium of 2D comic. Anyway, let me know what you think of the work so far. -Vinnie 19 days and counting 'til I get the heck out of here.

I got mine on the 16th and I'm in Iraq. God bless Amazon.com and the USPS. "Neither rain, nor snow, nor even hail of shrapnel from an EFP...or something like that." All I have to say about this volume is: Why AnimeFiend? Virgin Road is such a key episode! Although having watched this now as an 24 year old. I can kind of see why Max and Millia's marriage is in shambles in Macross 7. Kind of reminds me of servicemen who have whirlwind romances with local nationals, marry them, bring them back to the states, and then things fall apart.

More like I'm playing platoon leader again and we're starting the whole packing and getting the heck out of here process. But I find time to draw and every now and then, mostly when I'm on first up. As far as Remove Before Flight goes. I'm planning on a 01 January 2007 re-release date. I'm switching to a full page format and planning on shifting the emphasis to story over gags. Although, it'll still be humorous and light-hearted. Think of it more as romantic-transforming-mecha-comedy (if such a genre can exist.) Trust me on this one. I'll keep the previews coming to the MW/MN community, so you'll probably get to test flight the everything before the official launch. The character sketches on MN are a hint at what's to come. So until the relaunch, I'm working on getting a chapter's worth done (20-30 pages) and up on the site at release. It'll let people get into the story and style. Plus having a small backlog so if I get busy, I can slack off on drawing for a week and still keep a regular update schedule. These are apprently webcomic basics; things to do before you go public. Other things to keep me busy until then will be a small library of mecha, and redoing the site. I plan to take off most of November and December before I start work again, so I'll have some free time on my hands.

Back south in Tallil. No more Baghdad runs for me for a while. Been busy working on the VF-4 model. I should have a product for show and tell in the next few days. In the meantime, here's another WIP comic page waiting for the model to finish up. Must sleep now. Admin mission to fly in a few hours. Good luck to Anthony (Lightining 06) on his big move this weekend!

I agree! What do you plan on doing with it when you're done?

Ah, the poor Sundowners. Oh well, I hope the increased maintenance reliability of the VF-11B makes up for all the firepower they lost. Bummer you have them as an early transition and then off with a fleet, because they have some of the coolest tail art. Excellent work on the color schemes as always. The squadron I'm looking for will appear over the skies of Macross city in 2017, the planet Hydra in 2037, and then coming back as a VF-11B squadron part of Carrier Air Wing 7 in late 2038. I probably won't get around to this other VF-4 scheme for another month or two, and the VF-11 is still a ways off, so no worries.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'd be more than happy to do the higher res wallpaper. The only thing that keeps me from kicking the resolution up, is a lack of surface detailing and weathering on the model. I mean, the VF-4 doesn't have a lot of body panelling, even with me borrowing some from the Musasiya kit, so I've been having a hell of a time with it. If anyone has some good techniques for weathering the Lightning (weathering the Lightning...get it?,) I'm all ears. Also, if anyone would actually like to give it a go, I'll zip up all the files and let you have at it. I'd actually really appreciate the help. They're multi-layered TIFFs. EDIT Actually, Nied's high-res 143rd VF-4 has some weathering on it. That'll be as good place as any for me to start. I'm gonna give it another go using that as a reference. Finally, Nied, I remember you're a big fan of the Sundowners and mentioned that you had their history in this 'verse planned out. Any chance they were long time users of the VF-4 like the Dogs, or at least using it as early as 2017 and as late as 2037? I just ask because I think I'm gonna need another VF-4 scheme, one for 2017, and one for 2037 (which I imagine will be high-viz and low-viz respectively.)

Just lettin' ya know I'm still alive and kickin'. More importantly that I'm still working on the comic. I actually don't plan to do any site updates for a while. I'm going to redo/recycle the first strips in the new full page format and build-up a buffer. I've got a pretty good rhythm going now with my schedule, so I should probably be ready for re-launch when I get home from Iraq this fall. I will however keep posting updates to this forum. Attached is some VF-4 goodness. Looks like the Dogs managed to get two up and flying! Question though, is the lens flare too cheesy?

Ah Chrono Trigger! Yes The RPG Genre as a whole definitely peaked in 1995 with the release of Chrono Trigger. I don't think there's been a game yet that can beat it. I'll still set up the SNES from time to time and have a go at Chrono whereas many RPGs I'll simply play through once. I don't even want a sequel to Chrono Trigger (Cross doesn't count) just give me a remake of the original. I want Crono, Lucca, Marle, Robo, Ayla, Frog, and Magus saving the world from Lavos all over again, 3D, 2D, one 20-hour long FMV cutscene, whatever.

You have trouble even if you get it sent to your mail room? That's odd. I've always been able to get anything anywhere I've been. Including a 1.2m Hughes Satellite Dish through FedEx here in Iraq. In any case, good seeing another soldier and 3ds Max modeler here. Your 19 looks good. If you look through the old posts there's a ton of lineart for the VF-19, also some of the folks here like Nanashi...erm, the original one who posts as Nanashino, have access to high quality scans.

Slowly but surely. I've got some of the lineart for the next few comics done, and I'm back to work on the 3D VF-4 doing the Battroid. Not as much progress as before because I moved 90 miles up the road to our team site at the Polish Forward Operating Base (FOB) a few weeks ago. I'm doing section leader duties, regular flights into 10th CSH Baghadad (as seen on Baghdad ER,) and some of the end of tour admin stuff like NCOERs. We also get a rocket or mortar attack here once a night. All in all a good time, but not as much time for art. Although here's a little something to show that I'm still at work: Maria's ready to go! And proof that I'm here Yours truly in the pilot's seat of an Mi-24D Hind

#10 is up. Sorry it's about a week late. The damn backgrounds and our OPTEMPO kinda kicked me in the butt. As always, comments here or at the site are appreciated. And Nied, great point about the Vietnam era mentality. I didn't even think of that. Although, the former Seahawk and Seasprite drivers in my unit say that things were still quite colorful up until Tailhook. Some of that has been revived in recent years, but never quite the same as the good old days. Still, if you want to pass any of the old school along my way. I'm all ears.

As maintainer, did you feel that comic #9 was dead on?

Whoa! That's a completely awesome story. I wish I had some like that...maybe not though. It's also proof of the difference between Army rotary-wing aviators and Navy fixed-wing ones. Man, I'd never crank my Hawk without a good preflight. It's sorta been conditioned into us that unless we check EVERYTHING something will go horribly wrong. But that's cuz helicopters by their nature want to fall from the sky. It's that difference though that I wanted to bug your dad on stuff. Basically at the moment I'm looking for a primer on Air Combat Manuevers and any of the quirky (and colorful) naval aviation traditions. The stuff I don't get in my line of work. And finally on the subject of work, weekly comic release is gonna be delayed for another day or two. I just need to do the backgrounds. Full page comic as opposed to a strip and introducing the Dogs' dysfunctional bridge bunny: Peaches.

Whoa, what did your dad do? If he was with fixed-wing fast-movers, is there any chance I could use him as a technical consultant?

What a tease! Of course, now I'm REALLY curious about this clip...

Hmmm...well you've sold me for the time being. I'm just not sure how much help I could be. 1) I have a high-poly VF-4 and I'd be all about working with. Unfortunately I'm only an amatuer artist and have no experience animating in Max. I'd be willing to learn though. I'm also willing to just prep the model and hand it over to a quality animator, somebody that would take good care of my baby. Although, I'm under the impression that you're more looking for the recognizable form of the VF-1 Valkyrie rather than the Lightning. So I'm probably not much help there. Doktor Gonzo or Aztek would probably be your best candidates for ready to go VF-1s. Dok Gonzo is also a professional 3d artist, and has experience animating in Maya. 2) I'd be willing to help sponsor the project. My pockets aren't too deep either, but I have no dependents or living expenses. So if either can help, let me know.

Comic #9 is up! Clicky the link. Hopefully have some site updates and Ben's newspost later tonight.

Here's my take as a quasi 3D modeller and wannabe indie filmaker: Your demo reel is a spiffy piece of broadcast work. Clean crisp visuals designed for your medium to keep the short attention spans of viewers and deliver your points. It doesn't however showcase your ability to put together a low-budget sci-fi film, which is essentially what you're proposing. Demonstration of camera work, compositing (in the sci-fi special effects sense,) directing, etc.) is what modellers for free are looking for. We've all seen the Star Wars and Star Trek fan-films, so we have this pre-concieved notion of how things go. Ugh... Still, I'm keeping an open mind because it's one thing I wanted to do a while ago. There's a few fundamental issues that need to be addressed though, and these are what ultimately killed my ambitions to do a live-action film. -Costumes: Getting any type of UNS space suit that looks right on the camera is just damn near impossible without trained costumers and professional facilities. Cosplay quality outfits, which look great at cons, just will not do for film. -VF Cockpit mockup: presumably most action and story-telling will be done from the cockpit of a variable fighter. Once again, the pain is constructing one that looks both real and good on camera. And short of the AVFs, you need to do seperate Fighter/GERWALK and Battroid mode cockpits. Then there's the matter of getting them to a suitable green-screen sound stage. -Sets: while concievably a colony world could look like rural Texas or downtown DFW, there's little elements that you're going to have to add to make them look 20-30 years more advanced. Will you build and film props, or leave it to post-production compsiting? That's if you're going with a 2012-2045 story on a colony. If you're doing it in space, then there's the matter of constructing believable UNS Ship sets or doing it all on green-screen. -Music: Simply said this is Macross. One's favorite techno tracks, the high school garage band next door, or obscure orchestral pieces aren't gonna cut it. Even a 3 minute piece that's essentially a music video like the Macross M3 opener needs to have a killer original track. This is what elevates from simply a sci-fi fan-film with transforming fighter-robots to a macross work. Those are the four big roadblocks that need to be addressed. There is of course the minor issues of actors, script, directing, filming, post-production, blah blah blah, but that's for the producer to work out. I'm sure a freebie 3d artist is going to want some input on it, but that's of little concern. In any case, if you can sufficiently address the 4 issues, I'd consider going in on it with my VF-4 when I returned from Iraq. I don't speak for the other modellers/animators here, but I'm sure if you could hit those 4 things, you could get some of them on board too. Also, here's a short sample of my work on Super-low budget live-action macross fan-film effects! That's $50 in lumber and paint for the greenscreen and for costume materials, a few nights building a set and sewing, one night convincing my sister to star in it, and a few more nights figuring out how to make the compositing work in Final Cut Pro 3.0. Originally intended for Doktor Gonzo's VF-1 demo piece, it was me seeing if it could be done at what I call the "Public Access TV" level. http://www.removeb4flight.com/temp/Open.mov

I'll keep this up until you tell me to take it down. I don't expect to go through my bandwidth or diskspace quota any time in the next few months. This is of course a quicktime file, make sure you have the appropriate players/plugins to view. http://www.removeb4flight.com/temp/Demo.mov