VF-4 in VTOL Mode

[Vinnie]

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.

[UN Spacy]

Looks pretty detailed so far Vinnie.

Make it outta there safe and sound alright?

Can't wait to see how this progresses.

[Mephistopheles]

I always thought the VF-4 was an ugly design from the start. Good luck on your project though.

[IAD]

"I always thought the VF-4 was an ugly design from the start..."

Oh, that's nice.

The model looks great to me!

And it's nice to see the term 'VTOL' attached to a variable fighter. I never did get the whole GERWALK thing. I mean... "Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint." What in the world?

Keep up the good work!

~Luke

[Mephistopheles]

"I always thought the VF-4 was an ugly design from the start..."

Oh, that's nice.

The model looks great to me!

And it's nice to see the term 'VTOL' attached to a variable fighter. I never did get the whole GERWALK thing. I mean... "Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint." What in the world?

Keep up the good work!

~Luke

I'm not commenting on his work. His work is good. I'm just saying that I think the VF-4 is one of the ugliest designs in the Macross universe and I don't see why some people like it so much.

G.E.R.W.A.L.K basically means an armed vehicle with wings that can walk. You could even say that it is a vehicle that fulfills the same role as a helicopter — possessing flight and infantry reinforcement/anti-tank with a walking ability as well. You can see what the abbreviation is trying to say when it spells it out but it's like those other acronyms where they want to to make a word that is easy to say and remember rather than having what it stands for be precise.

Edited September 28, 2006 by Mephistopheles

[Vinnie]

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."

[IAD]

Yes, I've also thought about pilot controls, and figured that up until the arms are deployed, it would be quite helicopter-like in VTOL configuration. Once you have the arms, then what though?

I'm a fighter-mode guy myself, so I'm a VF-4 fan. (Reasonably sized canards, a wing without too many bumps/discontinuities, no overly bulbous structures, that's about as good as it gets. )

~Luke

[Mephistopheles]

I've always understood that Kawamori's reference to VTOLs in a design was referring to fighter mode only. They said the VF-0/1 didn't have a VTOL — although it was capable of it in gerwalk mode — but the SV-51 was. Notice that the SV-51 could take off vertically without changing modes. Its VTOL is similar to the F-35 (JSF) with a thruster pointing down behind the cockpit and the main enigine directing thrust downwards as well.

[Lightning]

The VF-1 can partially accomplish this, it can use the thrusters to get the valk off the ground enough to get it into GERWALK mode.

Vinnie- nice to see you found the "Little Valk" strip, it was funny.

keep up the good work, I should've noticed this thread sooner...

[Ishimaru]

How come the arms are not out?

[Vinnie]

How come the arms are not out?

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.

[anime52k8]

Because it's in that "VTOL mode" (for lack of a better term)

I've heard it refered to as "Stalking Fighter mode" before a few times,

personaly I perfer VTOL

[Mephistopheles]

I've heard it refered to as "Stalking Fighter mode" before a few times,

personaly I perfer VTOL

...I have no idea how anyone could come up with “stalking†as the descriptor for GERWALK without the arms deployed. I suppose it came about the same way people use “ninja†to mean stolen or taken by force. I always thought ninjas were primarily stealthy assassins which has little to do with theft. Anyway, VTOL is a much better description as that is pretty much the only reason they use that mode. On occasion they switch to VTOL mode for rearward thrust much like the opening fight scene in DYRL.

[IAD]

Yep, it does show up a few times for combat maneuvering, etc.

Nora uses a VTOL-esque mode during the second M0 ep., for reverse thrust. Same goes for Ivanov at the very end of the 5th, as he sets up his final run on the Birdman.

~Luke

[Mephistopheles]

Yep, it does show up a few times for combat maneuvering, etc.

Nora uses a VTOL-esque mode during the second M0 ep., for reverse thrust. Same goes for Ivanov at the very end of the 5th, as he sets up his final run on the Birdman.

~Luke

The SV-51 used the real VTOL mode at least once in the series meaning that it is capable of vertical take-offs and landings without leaving fighter mode. The GERWALK sans arm mode is mostly for rapid changes in direction, rapid deceleration, hovering or quickly landing.

[Lightning]

Hikaru used that "mode" in the Episode "Bursting Point" (the one right after "Pineapple Salad")