VF-2SS

[Mr March]

Slowly. Apparently there is some new VF-2SS information posted on the official website and I'm waiting for a friend of a friend to translate it. I'm also waiting on scans from several members. Nonetheless, I've completed six of the VF-2SS profiles with color variants and I'm almost done the VF-2SS SAP profile. I'd like to have the VF-2JS Icarus, SNN Valkyrie, the Gigamesh, the Macross Cannon and the Marduk Fleetbase completed for the opening of the Macross II section.

[Zinjo]

Slowly. Apparently there is some new VF-2SS information posted on the official website and I'm waiting for a friend of a friend to translate it. I'm also waiting on scans from several members. Nonetheless, I've completed six of the VF-2SS profiles with color variants and I'm almost done the VF-2SS SAP profile. I'd like to have the VF-2JS Icarus, SNN Valkyrie, the Gigamesh, the Macross Cannon and the Marduk Fleetbase completed for the opening of the Macross II section.

There's an official site?!

How did I miss that....

[Mr March]

I'm just referring to the japanese site (hence, translations).

http://www.macross.co.jp/

[type j9]

hi

you want see a great job an vf 2ss

I think the vf-2ss is my preferred valkhyrie

I would yamato manufacture in the 1 / 60 scale

[Alex]

hi

you want see a great job an vf 2ss

I think the vf-2ss is my preferred valkhyrie

I would yamato manufacture in the 1 / 60 scale

Is that a scratch built or a custom of the kit?

[type j9]

Is that a scratch built or a custom of the kit?

The basic kit is the VF2SS scale 1 / 100 of bandai with the kit resin b-club for arms and legs, but for the fast pack back, it's custom.

It's a very good job.

I'll try to do the same, because I order at HLJ 3 kit VF2SS of bandai.

Hope

[Zinjo]

Is that a scratch built or a custom of the kit?

That gunpod looks custom. I've never seen one like that before, at the back half...

Edited April 23, 2008 by Zinjo

[ComicKaze]

I made this playing in lightwave ages ago.

Also, you can't beat William Cheng's VF-2SS

5 years ago, I was basically going to do what Mr. March was doing but on my website. I got busy with school and forgot all about it. I have like 100 VF2SS pictures on a hardrive somewhere and 5 unbuilt kits in my parents basement.

http://members.shaw.ca/decepticon/VF2SS.htm

Edited April 28, 2008 by ComicKaze

[roxychloe24]

I got one of these as a gift but it came without instructions.would it be possible for anyone to post pictures of the instruction book please? Ive had it a year without being able to build it yet.please i would appreciate it very very much.i cant find the intructions online .thanks

[grapetang]

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10034870

Have fun!

Edit - oh wait. Which kit do you have? The resin one?

Edited May 6, 2014 by grapetang

[roxychloe24]

Grapetang this is the exact one i have. I cant believe i got a reply do fast. Thank you thank you thank you.

[YF-29 Durandal]

The VF-2SS is a very nice valk and should be reintroduced into the canon Macross storyline as the VF-15 Valkyrie II or something to that effect.

It could be the valk for the aces when the regular pilots flies the cheaper to make VF-11 Thunderbolt.

Edited May 19, 2014 by YF-29 Durandal

[anime52k8]

The VF-2SS is a very nice valk and should be reintroduced into the canon Macross storyline as the VF-15 Valkyrie II or something to that effect.

It could be the valk for the aces when the regular pilots flies the cheaper to make VF-11 Thunderbolt.

no.

[Mr March]

Yeah, not a good idea.

There's a grounded realism to the fighter mode designs of the animated variable fighters in Macross that doesn't really meld well with VF-2SS Valkyrie II. I'd say the VF-2SS would work much better if it were an "enemy" valkyrie. The Valkyire II's visual departure from the established lineage would be better suited as something akin to the Varauta valkyries in Macross 7 or the VF-27 Lucifer in Macross Frontier. There's also the official statistics to consider. It makes little sense to sandwich the VF-2SS Valkyrie II into a place within the variable fighter lineage where it's weight and thrust clash with the established progression of the Valkyries. The VF-11B/C Thunderbolt actually has superior performance to the VF-2SS Valkyrie II, built with slightly more thrust but far less weight. If the Valkyrie II were to fit into the continuity, it would be far better to place it above the VF-1 Valkyrie and VF-4 Lightning III but before the Macross Plus era VF-11B/C Thunderbolt, YF-19/VF-19 Excalibur and YF-21/VF-22 Sturmvogel II.

The VF-2SS Valkyrie II's design would make an interesting "experimental space variant Valkyrie" in the official chronology. Like a craft they were using to test a different kind of Valkyrie, one that never went anywhere afterward. Like a tech demonstrator. That way the VF-2SS could be included in the valkyrie lineage but you could easily reconcile why no other valkyries look anything like it either before or since. Also, it's nature as a test bed for a different, heavier form of space craft would allow more leniency with regards to it's performance relative to the established valkyries. In fact if you placed it during or after the Macross Plus era, the VF-2SS's heavy weight and low thrust would make an ideal in-universe explanation for why the Valkyrie was never widely adopted.

Personally, I think the VF-2SS Valkyrie works best as it is now, established in a parallel universe. I know some folks think the Macross II fiction/mecha would be more enjoyable if they were included within the official continuity, but I disagree. I find the parallel universe status of Macross II has enabled me to enjoy the mecha far more. I don't need to reconcile why the far future setting of Macross II (2092) features variable fighters that lack the performance and technologies established by the 2012-2059 fighter generations that preceeded the VF-2SS Valkyrie II (engines, wrap-around imaging monitors, pin-point barrier, beam guns, etc). I also really like the idea of a parallel Macross II universe, one that doesn't follow the established chronology of the official Macross world. There's far more creative freedom there. In fact, the Macross creators might do well to consider exploring the parallel universe concept again in the new Macross series. And I don't necessarily mean the Macross II universe, simply "another" Macross universe.

THAT sounds like an awesome idea to me

Edited May 19, 2014 by Mr March

[YF-29 Durandal]

no.

Reintroducing the VF-2SS under a new designation into the general Macross storyline as in a new TV series would probably be the only way that we get a well detailed in scale 1/60 VF-2SS valk from Arcadia or Bandai.

And in response to the above poster, if the specs of the VF-2SS thrust to weight ratio needs to be increased in order to surpass the VF-11B's thrust to weight ratio then it's just very easy to change those arbitrary numbers.

Edited May 19, 2014 by YF-29 Durandal

[Seto Kaiba]

Reintroducing the VF-2SS under a new designation into the general Macross storyline as in a new TV series would probably be the only way that we get a well detailed in scale 1/60 VF-2SS valk from Arcadia or Bandai.

And in response to the above poster, if the specs of the VF-2SS thrust to weight ratio needs to be increased in order to surpass the VF-11B's thrust to weight ratio then it's just very easy to change those arbitrary numbers.

Actually, the VF-2SS's thrust-to-weight ratio is already roughly comparable to the VF-11's... but technologically it's a mismatch in the main timeline. In some respects it would be advanced far above the VF-11 (or, arguably, even the VF-25), while in others it's not up to the level of even the VF-11. Aesthetically, it doesn't fit either.

I love the VF-2SS dearly... it's my favorite Valkyrie. It's just not a good fit for the main timeline. It belongs in the timeline that its parent title exists in, where the continuity supports those specific advancements in that timeframe.

[Mommar]

Actually, the VF-2SS's thrust-to-weight ratio is already roughly comparable to the VF-11's... but technologically it's a mismatch in the main timeline. In some respects it would be advanced far above the VF-11 (or, arguably, even the VF-25), while in others it's not up to the level of even the VF-11. Aesthetically, it doesn't fit either.

I love the VF-2SS dearly... it's my favorite Valkyrie. It's just not a good fit for the main timeline. It belongs in the timeline that its parent title exists in, where the continuity supports those specific advancements in that timeframe.

What about it is so off in both directions?

[Nekko Basara]

Regarding the aesthetics, couldn't that be explained by a difference in manufacturer and design philosophy, a la the SV-51? That mirrored real-world differences between east and west, but even within the western system, two aircraft designed for the same purpose with comparable technology can look radically different (e.g. the ATF competitors that inspired Plus, or the JSF competitors that could hardly have looked more dissimilar if they tried.)

Personally, I see a huge aesthetic shift just between the VF-1 and VF-4, when that's a direct successorship within the same show. It's not without precedent for even valks that are closely related to appear very different.

I'm not speaking to the specs here - maybe those could be retconned, maybe they couldn't - but just regarding the looks, I don't think they're a deal-breaker.

[Seto Kaiba]

What about it is so off in both directions?

Oh boy... well, for starters, the Valkyrie II's about the same size as the VF-1, but also slightly heavier. The general trend is "larger and lighter" in the main timeline. Four reaction engines instead of two isn't unprecedented, but the transformation is a bit out there for the main timeline. The Valkyrie II's gun pods - both the regular model and the "Nex Special Use Ver." - are railguns. Not hybrid rifle-railguns like the VF-25's SSL-9, but pure railguns. That's something we just don't see on VFs, excluding the artillery mounted on the Konig Monster, until 2058 with the YF-25 Paladin Prophecy and the Queadluun-Alma. The Super Armed Pack doesn't add any actual engines, it's just a big ol' set of fuel tanks and missile launchers with an anti-capital ship railgun on one side. The Auto-Attacker Bits are a technology that just plain doesn't exist in the main timeline (and the usage of Ghosts in a similar capacity doesn't start cropping up until either the RVF-171 or YF-25. The restraint armature in the cockpit is basically a pseudo-EX-Gear system that would be decades ahead of its time, and I don't believe the magnetic coatings (yes, Gundam ref.) on the Valkyrie II's actuators are a tech that exists in the main timeline either.

[YF-29 Durandal]

Just ditch the oversized railcannon and replace it with two smaller beam cannons.

And as for the four reaction engines... yeah this is THE valk for the ace pilots in the 2030's.

[Seto Kaiba]

Just ditch the oversized railcannon and replace it with two smaller beam cannons.

And as for the four reaction engines... yeah this is THE valk for the ace pilots in the 2030's.

It's just bloody unnecessary... the VF-11 has more diverse armament, and greater operational versatility on top of being all-regime. The VF-2SS is for space-use only, and in 2035 would be rendered obsolete anyway by the adoption of the VF-17 Nightmare as the elite/special forces fighter.

[YF-29 Durandal]

It's just bloody unnecessary... the VF-11 has more diverse armament, and greater operational versatility on top of being all-regime. The VF-2SS is for space-use only, and in 2035 would be rendered obsolete anyway by the adoption of the VF-17 Nightmare as the elite/special forces fighter.

The VF-17 doesn't have the VF-2SS maneuverability... stealth designs tends to lack in that department.

[Seto Kaiba]

The VF-17 doesn't have the VF-2SS maneuverability... stealth designs tends to lack in that department.

Both the VF-11 and the VF-17 are all-regime fighters... they can operate equally well in space and atmosphere. The VF-2SS can't, because it was optimized for space combat and neglects atmospheric performance as a result.

[YF-29 Durandal]

Both the VF-11 and the VF-17 are all-regime fighters... they can operate equally well in space and atmosphere. The VF-2SS can't, because it was optimized for space combat and neglects atmospheric performance as a result.

The VF-2SS looks like it would have excellent maneuverability in an atmosphere.

And it should have since it's basically a futuristic looking VF-1.

[Tochiro]

ALL Macross are 'Parallel Worlds.' Heck, its a concept thats even discussed in one of the extras on the new Macross F BD boxset (and is something that Kawamori himself told SpeakerPODcast members when asked about it).

As such, the VF-2SS is neither more nor less cannon than anything else in Macross.

We just dont get any new toys because that wouldnt sell in Japan which is the only place they can be legally marketed to anyways. For better or for worse, that's the financial reality of the situation.

[Seto Kaiba]

The VF-2SS looks like it would have excellent maneuverability in an atmosphere.

And it should have since it's basically a futuristic looking VF-1.

"Looks like" doesn't mean "actually has".

Mind you, the VF-2SS Valkyrie II, like the VF-4S I recently corrected you on elsewhere, is optimized for operations in a particular regime. The VF-2SS is optimized for combat in space, and with virtually all of its armaments tied up in the Super Armed Pack, it wouldn't achieve much in atmospheric combat. Nothing I've yet seen in canon sources has suggested the VF-2SS can use the Super Armed Pack in atmosphere. Without it, its sole armament is a pair of beam cannons in the head.

ALL Macross are 'Parallel Worlds.' Heck, its a concept thats even discussed in one of the extras on the new Macross F BD boxset (and is something that Kawamori himself told SpeakerPODcast members when asked about it).

As such, the VF-2SS is neither more nor less cannon than anything else in Macross.

Yeah, a few folks keep bringing that up... and persistently forget (or perhaps willfully ignore) that while Kawamori says that every now and again, the Macross franchise as a whole doesn't seem to be paying him a lot of mind and is cheerfully investing a lot of effort in outlining inter-title continuity via Macross Chronicle and the like. Macross II fans, of course, can cheerfully thumb our noses at Kawamori's view because the Macross II creators DID define an official continuity, canon, etc.

This seems to be less an actual point and more something people try to throw around to stifle anything resembling an actual discussion.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Seto Kaiba

[YF-29 Durandal]

Well, I have said my piece on what needs to be done if we are ever going to get a VF-2SS valk from Arcadia or Bandai.

[Scyla]

What we need to get a VF-2SS done is a rich mecha fan with a limitless love for Macross 2, the VF-2SS and the fandom. This super-fan would go to Arcadia give them a lot of money and than they would produce a limited run of that toy.

There it's not that hard.

[anime52k8]

ALL Macross are 'Parallel Worlds.' Heck, its a concept thats even discussed in one of the extras on the new Macross F BD boxset (and is something that Kawamori himself told SpeakerPODcast members when asked about it).

As such, the VF-2SS is neither more nor less cannon than anything else in Macross.

I think it's really just a polite way of saying that Kawamori will do whatever Kowamori feels like doing and Kowamori really does not care if it contradicts something he included in a project he worked on decades years ago.

[Seto Kaiba]

Well, I have said my piece on what needs to be done if we are ever going to get a VF-2SS valk from Arcadia or Bandai.

Not likely to happen anytime soon... to my great dismay. It's one of many neglected VFs.

I think it's really just a polite way of saying that Kawamori will do whatever Kowamori feels like doing and Kowamori really does not care if it contradicts something he included in a project he worked on decades years ago.

That's exactly how I've always read it... Kawamori's not a "sole creator" anyway, it's not like his word is gospel for Macross as a whole. He just wants to tell his story, and doesn't want to be boxed in by every little detail of work he did thirty years ago. He's doing his own eccentric thing and the rest of the staff make it fit.

[Scyla]

Not likely to happen anytime soon... to my great dismay. It's one of many neglected VFs.

*snip*

I feel that is only neglected VF that hasn't got a proper 1/60-ish (Arcadia or DX Chogokin) treatment. I mean it was prominently featured in official Macross animation. The other one might be the VF-5000 but that wasn't flown by a main character.

What other VF designs you have in mind? I'm not a Macross expert so I'm interested in new data.

[Seto Kaiba]

I feel that is only neglected VF that hasn't got a proper 1/60-ish (Arcadia or DX Chogokin) treatment. I mean it was prominently featured in official Macross animation. The other one might be the VF-5000 but that wasn't flown by a main character.

What other VF designs you have in mind? I'm not a Macross expert so I'm interested in new data.

Personally, I think a LOT of my fellow fans here would agree the VF-4 has been sorely neglected.

I'm no toy collector, being that I own only four Macross VF toys (the WHAM SDF-1, DX Macross Quarter, Isamu's YF-29 DX, and the old Bandai VF-2SS), but I'd personally love to see some love for the following... though YMMV as to whether or not the ones I'm listing actually deserve it:

• VF-5000 Star Mirage (Either the Max/Milia -B type or the Liza Hoyly -G type)
• VA-110 Variable Glaug (Moaramia's from Macross M3... that was a player character mecha from a canon game)
• VF-1SR Attack Valkyrie (main character mecha from Macross 2036)
• VF-2SS Valkyrie II (duh)
• VA-1SS Metal Siren (also a main character mecha from Macross II)
• VF-19ACTIVE Nothung (main character mecha from Macross R)
• VF-1X++ Valkyrie Plus (same as above)
• VF-0 Kai "Zeak" (same as above)
• SV-52 Gamma "Oryol" (same as above)
• VF-XS Valkyrie II (just for the heck of it)
• VA-3 Invader (baddie mecha from D7, briefly a main character mecha from VF-X2)

Edited May 22, 2014 by Seto Kaiba

[Mr March]

Regarding the aesthetics, couldn't that be explained by a difference in manufacturer and design philosophy, a la the SV-51? That mirrored real-world differences between east and west, but even within the western system, two aircraft designed for the same purpose with comparable technology can look radically different (e.g. the ATF competitors that inspired Plus, or the JSF competitors that could hardly have looked more dissimilar if they tried.)

Personally, I see a huge aesthetic shift just between the VF-1 and VF-4, when that's a direct successorship within the same show. It's not without precedent for even valks that are closely related to appear very different.

I'm not speaking to the specs here - maybe those could be retconned, maybe they couldn't - but just regarding the looks, I don't think they're a deal-breaker.

That's actually my point. I feel the VF-2SS Valkyrie II works better as either an "enemy" Valkyrie or a one-off because of it's aesthetic differences. It could still work, but I think it would not function as part of the main lineage. But that's just me.

Gotta say I disagree on the VF-1/VF-4 comparison. I think the VF-4 looks too much like the VF-1, especially the nose and fuselage. Looking back on the VF-4 from today's post-Frontier perspective, I can maybe understand how the VF-4 looked so "futuristic" compared to the VF-1 in 1987, but now I find the VF-4 looks very much of it's SDF Macross era. As soon as we get to Plus, the the VF-4 feels very 2012

I think it's really just a polite way of saying that Kawamori will do whatever Kowamori feels like doing and Kowamori really does not care if it contradicts something he included in a project he worked on decades years ago.

Absolutely. I think he does this for the same reason many writers play fast and loose with continuity; to allow as much creative freedom as possible when they are writing a story. I don't believe every Macross story is a parallel universe, since there is clearly continuity from one to the next, but perhaps in Kawamori's mind it is HIS version of a parallel universe

Personally, I think a LOT of my fellow fans here would agree the VF-4 has been sorely neglected.

I'm no toy collector, being that I own only four Macross VF toys (the WHAM SDF-1, DX Macross Quarter, Isamu's YF-29 DX, and the old Bandai VF-2SS), but I'd personally love to see some love for the following... though YMMV as to whether or not the ones I'm listing actually deserve it:

• VF-5000 Star Mirage (Either the Max/Milia -B type or the Liza Hoyly -G type)
• VA-110 Variable Glaug (Moaramia's from Macross M3... that was a player character mecha from a canon game)
• VF-1SR Attack Valkyrie (main character mecha from Macross 2036)
• VF-2SS Valkyrie II (duh)
• VA-1SS Metal Siren (also a main character mecha from Macross II)
• VF-19ACTIVE Nothung (main character mecha from Macross R)
• VF-1X++ Valkyrie Plus (same as above)
• VF-0 Kai "Zeak" (same as above)
• SV-52 Gamma "Oryol" (same as above)
• VF-XS Valkyrie II (just for the heck of it)
• VA-3 Invader (baddie mecha from D7, briefly a main character mecha from VF-X2)

Oh, hell yeah. A lot of the designs in Macross are gems. Including stuff like the VF-2SS Valkyrie II. Just because the VF-2SS is in a parallel world, it's definitely a strong enough design on it's own to justify a toy. It's a total hero mecha that deserves more toy-attention. Also, the VF-5000 Star Mirage is another that deserves love. Especially since these valkyries have been animated, they really need to get more toys.

[VF-15 Banshee]

Funny this discussion on the VF-2SS should get revived. Some of my friends are doing an Anime Movie Night with Macross 2 tonight at 10 PM EST.

http://new.livestream.com/ShinStation/AMN-S02-002

[M'Kyuun]

I'd also be down for a VF-2ss toy. However, I have to concur with the argument that it looks out of place next to Kawamori's designs, the vast majority of which mirror real world aircraft aesthetics. I think the VF-4 would turn heads if such an aircraft were developed, since the closest real world aircraft to that basic aesthetic is the Blackbird. But even with its spaced engines along the planform, it still retains an overall conventional fighter appearance. The VF-2 is odd and unconventional, especially with the small steeply sloped forward fuselage, extremely wide placement of the main engines beyond the main fuselage(they look like they're wing-mounted) , small secondary engines mounted to the upper fuselage, and underslung arms that are aesthetically made to look like a third set of engines, but would not function as such, are incongruent to the main engines, and just plain redundant on a fighter this size. I've seen the majority of US fighters in person (retired AF), been to the AF Museum, and have looked at plenty of pics and vids of experimental and non-US aircraft, and have yet to see anything that even comes close to the VF-2 aesthetically. Current trends are to streamline and remove superfluous structures in order to maximize efficiency and maintain stealth. So the VF-2 would be counter to the current design model, although I have to concede that all those structures wouldn't matter on an aircraft developed solely for space combat. But we don't do that either, at least not with jet fighters.

I'm happy to leave Macross II as it stands, in its own parallel universe, along with its mecha designs. Despite its oddities, there is certainly a prettiness to the VF-2ss, and I wouldn't mind a fully transformable 1/60 scale toy to stand with the rest of my valks.