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Macross Frontier Mecha/Technology Thread *Read 1st post*


azrael

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Kresphy has dumped a Konig Monster's bumload of awesome scans from the latest Newtype, with all sorts of mecha and technology goodness! Let's take a closer look, shall we?

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080600.jpg

The key new designs here are the Stealth Frigate (based on the Macross 7 Northampton class) and the Stealth Cruiser. Both follow the classic anime space batleship motif, with lots o' guns (in turrets this time) and little visible fighter capacity (though M7 proved us wrong with the Northampton).

Also seen are the stretched-looking aircraft carrier and ARMD designs, which we know from M7, and the "Island" modules trailing the main city dome. The only katakana I can make out of value seems to be "bioplant", suggesting the function of the Islands, or at least what runs them. The Vajra pics don't really show anything we haven't seen, other than that the big red version seems to operate in two distinct modes.

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080601.jpg

Not much new here, other than a pic of Island 1 when the dome is "closed". I wonder what the other Islands do for protection?

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080602.jpg

A good look at Alto's flight suit here. It's very form-fitting a la SDFM design, with a little hard stuff on the shoulders as with later designs. It hasn't been this trim in a while, but OTOH is was definitely made with an EX-Gear interface in mind. Oddly, we dont' see his helmet or the EX-Gear. Not enough space on the page since Ranka's taking up most of it. :p

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080603.jpg

Ahhh, Sheryl... We see her "inner suit" here, which suggests that any oufit she projects over it will by default include 3-inch heels. :p We see more of Ozma's flight suit too, with helmet.

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080604.jpg

I'm willing to bet money that within the year, two people will be cosplaying as the grown-up AND chibi versions of Klein Klan simultaneously. Lots of good looks at uniforms here (why is Monica the only one wearing the bunny uniform hat?) and names too. The SMS commander's name is Jeffrey Wilder. He musta kicked ass in 2040 with a name like that. :)

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080605.jpg

Back to the mecha! It's apparently nicknamed the VF-25 Messiah (the katakana calls it a "pet name"). Some GREAT pics of the 25 here, including the super pack rear views, gun pod (open and closed) and knife. Alas, nothing I can make out about the knife other than it's usable in battroid and gerwalk modes. The super and armored packs tend to make the 25 look really back-heavy, but we've seen it doesn't impact the maneuverabilty of the machine much at all under gravity. Bless you, overtechnology!

http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080606.jpg

We see the back and underside of the VF-171 new here - still no gunpod. Good overviews of the sniper and EWACS variants, plus a more standard super VF-25 like Alto's that Luca seems destined for. Nice to know we'll see he can fight. :p

We get to see details on the Ghost fighters, though no real stats are provided. We also see the cute li'l "Destroid Work" (Destroid Worker?) that is clearly based on the destroid design from Macross Zero (itself mostly from teh Tomahawk lineage). A glimpse of the Konig Monster in Battroid rounds out the new stuff.

Quite a wealth of information! Now to see it all in action. :) :) Thanks Kresphy!

Mark

Edited by Mark Nguyen
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http://www.jiulm.com/uploadme/me/macross/2...507nt080600.jpg

The key new designs here are the Stealth Frigate (based on the Macross 7 Northampton class) and the Stealth Cruiser. Both follow the classic anime space batleship motif, with lots o' guns (in turrets this time) and little visible fighter capacity (though M7 proved us wrong with the Northampton).

Also seen are the stretched-looking aircraft carrier and ARMD designs, which we know from M7, and the "Island" modules trailing the main city dome. The only katakana I can make out of value seems to be "bioplant", suggesting the function of the Islands, or at least what runs them. The Vajra pics don't really show anything we haven't seen, other than that the big red version seems to operate in two distinct modes.

Mark

The new yellow/green ship is a refit of the Bolognese Class Stealth Frigate. Same basic shape and features, just updated a bit and given a new color scheme. The other ones aren't ARMDs but Guantanamo Class Stealth Carriers. They've also been given a bit of a CG update and painted green. What the heck is a "Northampton Class"? Also, I think you meant the "Destroid Work" appears based on the Destroid Cheyenne and I agree, it looks very similar to the Destroid in Macross Zero. Same design motif.

Edited by Mr March
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Both Alto and Luca's Valkyries seem to have an additional headshield in the super version. Now I understand why Gilliam's VF-25 didn't have any colored stripes over the head in Fighter mode. I thought it was just a blooper.

FV

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The new yellow/green ship is a refit of the Bolognese Class Stealth Frigate. Same basic shape and features, just updated a bit and given a new color scheme. The other ones aren't ARMDs but Guantanamo Class Stealth Carriers. They've also been given a bit of a CG update and painted green. What the heck is a "Northampton Class"? Also, I think you meant the "Destroid Work" appears based on the Destroid Cheyenne and I agree, it looks very similar to the Destroid in Macross Zero. Same design motif.

-"Bolognese" (which STILL makes me think of spaghetti, even twelve years later) is mentioned once in Macross 7, referring to a specific ship. I'm not sure where exactly they mention this in the official artwork... The Macross 7 materials book only calls it a "Stealth Frigate". Some online sources call the Stealth Frigate "Northampton", but I'm not sure where this OR Bolognese came from... However, in Frontier episode 1, the tactical fly-through of the Frontier fleet passes over several of these upgraded frigates, which certainly look like they are labelled "Northampton Class Stealth Frigate".

-Yes, I am aware that they're not the same ARMD vessels seen in SDFM; I'm saying "ARMD-type" because i'm similarly unsure of the class designation (it's been called Guantanamo and Maizuru over the years, but the aforementioned flythrough definitely says "Guantanamo"). In any case, I believe one of these ships is actually numbered as "ARMD-368" somewhere onscreen or in the artwork. Besides, I'm referring to the Stealth Cruiser - the grey ship that blew up so eloquently in the first episode. The katakana explicitly refer to the grey ship as such.

-Agreed on the awkwardly-named "Destroid Work". You know, while it simply "sounds cool" to the average Japanese consumer, I think a lot of these anime coule really maintain credibility if they hired an anglophone consultant to read through all the Engrish they drop in. I hate enjoying an anime thoroughly only to see a red alert light loudly announcing that the ship is "STATUS CLITICAL"... :)

Mark

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Oh, I see. I suppose, if we get really technical, calling them Bolognese or Guantanmo "Class" might be a stretch (even though there were many active service Bolognese, which strongly suggests a "class" of ship by that name). Regardless, I'm not sure what other "online sources" you're referring to. To my mind, the Macross Compendium or direct translation of animation materials would be the only sources that count, and they say Bolognese and Guantanamo, however delicious they may sound (hahaha) :)

I've never heard Northampton or Maizuru in any Macross show nor seen in any translated material. My guess is the "other online sources" are Robotech stuff?

So we still don't know the name of that new ship, the grey one with all the gun turrets? About the Engrish, I'm used to it by now. I agree it would be nice if they got it right (especially if they insist upon using so damn much of it over and over again), but we english fans are the beggers so we don't get to choose :(

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AHA! FINALLY!

I've been trying to see how the VF-25 wings folded on Battroid mode without the FPs on and we finally get some official renderings. I'll have to admit that I love mostly everything about the VF-25 (particularly Mikhail's custom) but, I swear to God, THAT'S THE MOST LAME AND HIDEOUS WING FOLDING MECHANISM ON ANY VALKYRIE I'VE SEEN IN MY WHOLE VALKOHOLIC LIFE!

Seriously, why did Kawamori-sama think that kind of wing folding would look good on the VF-25? it's not even aerodynamic, it's actually very unpractical for combat. To me it just looks wrong, let's hope they allow us to fold them all the way to the back (or in some other way) whenever they release a toy of this valk.

PS. Messiah its quite a cool name BTW, it gives a lot of character, I'm just not sure it sounds as good on a valkyrie, maybe a Destroid. It's not bad at all though, but it'll take some time to get used to it.

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I guess U.N. Spacy learned that you actually need large battleship guns onboard your starships when fighting in the macross universe :lol: . Its not all about missiles and who's reaction warheads are bigger. The new Gold plated destroyer (dont kno if it fits in that class) proves it. Looks very WWII/Yamato with the triple barrel cannons. Very nice. And it looks like it has some of the same weapons of the Northampton. If its just as fast as its parent design should be a hell of a ship.

I seen the Northampton name for the ship on Steelfalcon... and the Same for the ARMD Maizuru steath crusier. And a few other sites.

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Hmm, SMS battleship aka Macross 1/4 is around 1/4 size of the Macross class, no wonder the hangar look cramped. I wonder if some mecha/ship will make a cameo in Galaxy Fleet, maybe like a Variable Glaug or the VFX-Raven carrier :huh:

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Im ok with the wings. I just don't like the origami (ala SV-51) style of the nose section. That giant nose turns into the tiny chest of the battroid? I don't buy it.

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The new yellow/green ship is a refit of the Bolognese Class Stealth Frigate. Same basic shape and features, just updated a bit and given a new color scheme. The other ones aren't ARMDs but Guantanamo Class Stealth Carriers. They've also been given a bit of a CG update and painted green. What the heck is a "Northampton Class"? Also, I think you meant the "Destroid Work" appears based on the Destroid Cheyenne and I agree, it looks very similar to the Destroid in Macross Zero. Same design motif.

Northampton may or many not be another variant of the Bolognese.

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No the Haruna was a ship in the macross games. It was a missile boat or something like that. but it did have Stealth technology.

Which game? All I remember is the Algenicus cruiser from M3, there was a missile boat (or destroyer) used by Critical Path corp in VFX-2.

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I seen the Northampton name for the ship on Steelfalcon... and the Same for the ARMD Maizuru steath crusier. And a few other sites.

Steelfalcon is horribly out of date (not to mention it's an RPG stats site). The stats on the site were last updated 10 years ago.

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I love the VF-25 rear wings. They make the VF-25 look more intimidating, like a gargoyle :) Besides, it makes the VF-25 more distinctive among the Valkyries and it does so in a good way (yes, those VF-9 wings are awful :))

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Steelfalcon is horribly out of date (not to mention it's an RPG stats site). The stats on the site were last updated 10 years ago.

Agreed. Not a good source for accurate information at all, even ten years ago. Best to stick with the Compendium, as always.

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Im ok with the wings. I just don't like the origami (ala SV-51) style of the nose section. That giant nose turns into the tiny chest of the battroid? I don't buy it.

IIRC, the VF-19/YF-19 also had the origami style folding of its nose section. :ph34r:

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That giant nose turns into the tiny chest of the battroid? I don't buy it.

From what I understand, the VF-25 CG model transforms without any anime magic, so no magically shrinking parts or changes in proportions occur with the design.

Graham

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From what I understand, the VF-25 CG model transforms without any anime magic, so no magically shrinking parts or changes in proportions occur with the design.

Kawamori even built a model out of LEGOs to be sure there's no magic...

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Kawamori even built a model out of LEGOs to be sure there's no magic...

He does a model with LEGOS, then takes pictures of it from different angles. Then draws above those pictures the final design sketches. There was a video on Youtube, but they took it down... (it was recorded from some japanese T.V. show that had Kawamori as a guest I believe).

I suspect he must have been using this technique since the 90s, because I find his designs from that era more mechanically realistic like the actual ones...

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I wonder if some mecha/ship will make a cameo in Galaxy Fleet, maybe like a Variable Glaug

That would make me explode in my pants. I just love that design... Imagine an updated version of it piloted by the Pixies & with S.M.S. colors...

Its beam cannon would be very adecuate to deal with the Vajra... & its slim looking battroid mode would look great side by side with the VF-25, hehe... (Imagine Nene finally kicking bug ass in it.... saving Klan Klan from a Vajra, hehehe...).

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