About the Macross Chronicles

[Graham]

Preview of issue 24 of Chonicles now up on the official Frontier blog.

Cover and fold out page will be Max & Millia VF-22........yay!

Technology page will be FAST Packs........again yay! Hopefully, some new techy info will be published. Missile loadouts would be great, but given that the gunpod technology page in issue 22 had minimal-to-no stats, I'm not holding out too much hope.

Also, one of those Zentradi giant space cucumber ships, whose name I can never be bothered to remember. (You can tell I'm more of a VF fan than a ship fan, can't ya?).

Graham

[Graham]

So for those Japanese readers among us who already have issue 22, does it definitively say whether or not the VF-17's gunpod without the beamgun adaptor is a standard projectile (slug throwing) vulcan type gun?

From the animation and all previous lineart published, I'd always assumed it was a seven barrel 30mm, but there's a few members here who seem to think it's a beam gun.

Graham

[Seto Kaiba]

So for those Japanese readers among us who already have issue 22, does it definitively say whether or not the VF-17's gunpod without the beamgun adaptor is a standard projectile (slug throwing) vulcan type gun?

I only glanced over the sheet briefly when it arrived, but the gunpod sheet's got the gunpods sorted by type... and the VF-17's gunpod was put together with another field-reloadable gatling cannon, so odds are Chronicle says that it's a gatling cannon. All the art of it that I've ever seen has it down as a gatling cannon, even going so far as to show the barrel assembly without the magazine in place.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Seto Kaiba

[Gubaba]

So for those Japanese readers among us who already have issue 22, does it definitively say whether or not the VF-17's gunpod without the beamgun adaptor is a standard projectile (slug throwing) vulcan type gun?

From the animation and all previous lineart published, I'd always assumed it was a seven barrel 30mm, but there's a few members here who seem to think it's a beam gun.

Graham

Once again, the Chronicle's grammar is tripping me up.

It SEEMS to be calling it a "large output" beam cannon, but it also says the magazine can be changed to suit one's preference.

It also mentions that it's stored in the "leg" of the Nightmare, and I *think* it says that it also has stealth capabilities.

There's nothing about projectiles or vulcans.

[sketchley]

It's under the "multifunction-compound type" section.

The preamble for the section mentions something along the lines of "in addition to the standard gun pod, it can be said that other types of gun pod are possible. Of course the cost is high, but the user isn't looking at that (when purchasing these gun pods)" <- don't quote this as an actual, accurate translation, please and thankyou.

The one clear thing is that it's not under the "beam cannon" section.

[Gubaba]

It's under the "multifunction-compound type" section.

The preamble for the section mentions something along the lines of "in addition to the standard gun pod, it can be said that other types of gun pod are possible. Of course the cost is high, but the user isn't looking at that (when purchasing these gun pods)" <- don't quote this as an actual, accurate translation, please and thankyou.

The one clear thing is that it's not under the "beam cannon" section.

Crap, I didn't even look there.

But the "VF-17 Type" section says it is a beam cannon, doesn't it? Or is there something I'm missing?

[Mr March]

Just something to keep in mind, the VF-17 gun pod had the option of mounting a gun pod beam adapter. This was the big red block Gamlin would install on his gun pod to fire a big beam, which repeatedly demolished Gavil's FBz-99G Saubergeran in a single shot.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Mr March

[Seto Kaiba]

Just something to keep in mind, the VF-17 gun pod had the option of mounting a gun pod beam adapter. This was the big red block Gamlin would install on his gun pod to fire a big beam, which repeatedly demolished Gavil's FBz-99G Saubergeran in a single shot.

"The beauty of recycling footage."

[Graham]

My own thoughts on the VF-17's gunpod, based on watching Macross 7 over half a dozen times all the way through and also from the lineart in the various TIAS boooks: -

1. The VF-17's gunpod seems to have 7 barrels in a typical rotary barrel "Vulcan" style arrangement.
2. The detachable magazine is the top cover of the gunpod, ala the VF-11B/C gunpod.
3. The VF-17's gunpod is a dual (multi-purpose) type, being both a traditional rapid fire projectile cannon and also a beam weapon. In standard configuration, the VF-17's gunpod is a 7 barrelled Vulcan type cannon, probably 30mm calibre, with a detachable magazine lying along the top of the gunpod directly over the barrels. When shown being fired, in Macross 7 TV series, it seems to have typical cannon muzzle flash and ballistic effects on the target.
4. The VF-17's gunpod can be converted to a single shot high-powered beam weapon. The beam emitters are actually built into the gunpod (I have previously theorised they are the two prongs located in the 12 O'clock and 6 O'Clock positions at the muzzle). However, there is no room inside the gunpod for a power capacitor to power the beam weapon, thus the standard cannon shell magazine must be removed and the optional beam weapon adaptor (a big battery IMO), stored insiode the battroids left leg, is installed in order to fire the beam weapon. The capacitor only holds enough energy for one high-power shot.
5. Probably referred to as 'stealthy' as it can be fired from inside the Fighter's leg.

Graham

[sketchley]

There's nothing (that I can see) that expressly states one (bullet firing) or the other (beam firing). I think we should wait until we get the VF-17 sheet before continuing this discussion.

Though, I will add that I don't believe it can be both a bullet and beam firing weapon. The VF-171's combined beam and bullet firing weapon pretty much sums it up - different barrels firing different things on the same weapon. If that gun is designed and manufactured a decade or so (in universe) after the VF-17's gun pod, and they don't have the technology to combine the two, it's fairly safe to state that the VF-17's gun pod is one or the other, and not both.

[sketchley]

(...)

[*]Probably referred to as 'stealthy' as it can be fired from inside the Fighter's leg.

Graham

IMHO, it's because the gunpod itself is "stealthy". The facetted design. Probably some type of coating. Of course, there's some suspension of disbelief, because how could a battroid (even if it is made out of stealthy materials) remain stealthy? - "what the hell is he firing at us?! There's nothing on sensors!!"

[edwin3060]

IMHO, it's because the gunpod itself is "stealthy". The facetted design. Probably some type of coating. Of course, there's some suspension of disbelief, because how could a battroid (even if it is made out of stealthy materials) remain stealthy? - "what the hell is he firing at us?! There's nothing on sensors!!"

1 word: Metamaterials. I'm not sure if that technology has been incorporated into the Macross Universe though. But I agree with sketchley-- I think that it is the gunpod itself which has a stealthy design. Once you fire the weapon, the stealth would be negated.

[Graham]

I still think the VF-17's gunpod comprises both beam weapon (with adaptor fitted only) and cannon, but obviously, the beam weapon component will not fire without the adaptor fitted, thus implying that the power source and possibly the majority of the components for the beam weapon are actually in the adaptor.

I don't think the beam fires through the standard cannon barrels. However, the beam does seem to fire from the front of the gunpod, hence my theory that the two protruding prongs at the muzzle are actually part of the beam emitting mechanism.

Graham

[azrael]

I've always consider the beam gun adapter to be like a rifle-grenade attachment. The VF-17's gunpod fires bullets in it's normal mode. Ejecting the magazine gives the beam-gun attachment something to attach to as well as attaches the FCS to something. It also clears the breach of any bullets so you can't really shoot the gatling gun side. The beam gun attachment has the e-cap and barrel assembly which you slap over the gunpod and then you shoot. Much like a M1 Garand rifle grenade attachment where you added a rifle grenade attachment, inserted a blank round in the the rifle's breach, loaded the grenade in the barrel attachment and then fired.

[Mr March]

"The beauty of recycling footage."

LOL! Comedy gold

Well, since we're discussing the gun pod beam adapter, here's some shots taken from the Remastered DVD sets of Macross 7. A big thanks to DarkReaper for providing these screen shots.

From most of the screenshots, it appears the gun pod beam adapter fits both inside the standard gun pod AND the improperly colored forward barrel of the beam adapter itself fits over the front of the gun. Sadly, the forward barrel of the beam adapter appears to be missing in the last screenshot.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Mr March

[Seto Kaiba]

IMHO, it's because the gunpod itself is "stealthy". The facetted design. Probably some type of coating. Of course, there's some suspension of disbelief, because how could a battroid (even if it is made out of stealthy materials) remain stealthy? - "what the hell is he firing at us?! There's nothing on sensors!!"

There's something to be said for that... but it may be even simpler than that... the VF-17's gunpod doesn't have a cartridge ejection port... it's probably using caseless ammunition. I don't think it's a dedicated beam rifle or a beam gatling... the former didn't come into semi-common use until the VF-27.

LOL! Comedy gold

From most of the screenshots, it appears the gun pod beam adapter fits both inside the standard gun pod AND the improperly colored forward barrel of the beam adapter itself fits over the front of the gun. Sadly, the forward barrel of the beam adapter appears to be missing in the last screenshot.

Glad you liked it.

Yeah, it looks like the "beam adapter" fits over the barrels of the gatling cannon, which makes me wonder if it's not just doing that as a means of sharing the gunpod's trigger.

[Mr March]

I thought the VF-17's gun pod was passively stealthy so as not to disrupt the Nightmare's own passive stealth capabilties. The VF-17 passive stealth would be compromised if it carried a regular gun pod, which would enlarge the radar cross-section of the craft rather than reduce it.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Mr March

[Graham]

Never realised that the beam pod adaptor possibly fitted over the muzzle of the regular gunpod. I always thought it just sat exactly in place of the regular magazine.

Makes sense then that it can be considered the equivalent of an add on single-shot grenade launcher.

Graham

[Renato]

I might be repeating things here, but my interpretation of the VF-17 gunpod's explanation reads, "By replacing the special cylinder, the VF-17's MC-17A can also be used as a high-output beam cannon." To me, the "also" implies that it is primarily a standard gunpod which uses rounds, which can be adapted to a beam weapon. The animation at least shows it at such, so it's odd that most of the games show it as a beam weapon primarily.

Anyway, I found an answer to my binder shortage/expense problem. DeAgostini distributes binders with an almost identical 3-ring design, which work perfectly with the Chronicle's pages, at a fraction of the cost. I forgot that I had bought a copy of the first issue of "My Music Studio" a while back, and I had the binder just lying around, so I used it and for a while I had the Mecha and Character sheets in my Macross binder, and everything else in the Music Studio one. And yesterday I saw an ad on TV for a new one called the "Disney Collection" or something, which is only 290 yen for the first issue plus binder, so I just got that.

That adds a bit more variety and saves a ton of money on the hideously overpriced Macross binder, so I reccommend DeAgostini publications to anyone who doesn't care about the outward appearance of their binders, as long as the good stuff is preserved within.

EDIT-- I'll add a couple of links:

My Music Studio: http://www.de-club.net/mms/guide.htm

Disney: http://www.de-club.net/ddf/

Top page (Stargate, Star Trek, CSI, X-Files and more): http://www.deagostini.co.jp/

Edited May 21, 2009 by Renato

[Graham]

I might be repeating things here, but my interpretation of the VF-17 gunpod's explanation reads, "By replacing the special cylinder, the VF-17's MC-17A can also be used as a high-output beam cannon." To me, the "also" implies that it is primarily a standard gunpod which uses rounds, which can be adapted to a beam weapon. The animation at least shows it at such, so it's odd that most of the games show it as a beam weapon primarily.

Thanks Renato. Your interpretation is exactly what I've always thought. The anmation does clearly show it as a standard gunpod most of the tim, acceopt when the adaptor is fitted.

I'd forgotten about the games. I agree it is odd (and always greatly disappointed me when playing), that the VF-17's gun was a beam weapon.

Graham

[sketchley]

(...) And yesterday I saw an ad on TV for a new one called the "Disney Collection" or something, which is only 290 yen for the first issue plus binder, so I just got that.(...)

You saw that ad, too? Hmmm... if it works, I may just get it. (Been debating if I should order a Macross binder or not). At the very least, the kids will have some Dysney stuff to colour, cut up, and chew on (I mean all three literally).

[sketchley]

(...)

I'd forgotten about the games. I agree it is odd (and always greatly disappointed me when playing), that the VF-17's gun was a beam weapon.

Graham

The makers of the game may have felt that an all-the-time beam weapon was their loophole to get in the mega-beam launcher. Though, I also don't like it's "regular" fire mode in VF-X2.

[Gubaba]

I might be repeating things here, but my interpretation of the VF-17 gunpod's explanation reads, "By replacing the special cylinder, the VF-17's MC-17A can also be used as a high-output beam cannon." To me, the "also" implies that it is primarily a standard gunpod which uses rounds, which can be adapted to a beam weapon. The animation at least shows it at such, so it's odd that most of the games show it as a beam weapon primarily.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks!

[Mr March]

I might be repeating things here, but my interpretation of the VF-17 gunpod's explanation reads, "By replacing the special cylinder, the VF-17's MC-17A can also be used as a high-output beam cannon." To me, the "also" implies that it is primarily a standard gunpod which uses rounds, which can be adapted to a beam weapon. The animation at least shows it at such, so it's odd that most of the games show it as a beam weapon primarily.

Anyway, I found an answer to my binder shortage/expense problem. DeAgostini distributes binders with an almost identical 3-ring design, which work perfectly with the Chronicle's pages, at a fraction of the cost. I forgot that I had bought a copy of the first issue of "My Music Studio" a while back, and I had the binder just lying around, so I used it and for a while I had the Mecha and Character sheets in my Macross binder, and everything else in the Music Studio one. And yesterday I saw an ad on TV for a new one called the "Disney Collection" or something, which is only 290 yen for the first issue plus binder, so I just got that.

That adds a bit more variety and saves a ton of money on the hideously overpriced Macross binder, so I reccommend DeAgostini publications to anyone who doesn't care about the outward appearance of their binders, as long as the good stuff is preserved within.

EDIT-- I'll add a couple of links:

My Music Studio: http://www.de-club.net/mms/guide.htm

Disney: http://www.de-club.net/ddf/

Top page (Stargate, Star Trek, CSI, X-Files and more): http://www.deagostini.co.jp/

That sounds great and dead on perfect with the animation. It's also good to finally have a designation for the gun pod too. Thanks for the translation Renato.

I'd definitely be interested in a cheaper alternative to the binders. Thanks for the links.

[sketchley]

... and here's the Dysney binder. How it looks next to the other binders (note the Zentradi!) And inside.

I'm finding that the contents that they want to put in binder #3 to already be exceeding the amount of stuff that should be put into it. At first, I thought that it's because the ring sizes are different - their not. In fact, they are larger/longer. So, I'm going to busy myself with thinking up a better way to organize it - as binder 1 (with only mecha) is rather empty...

Thanks for the tip, Renato!

[Renato]

Yeah, I thought the same thing. They're leaving a lot of space open for the mecha section (one entire binder), but the other two binders are crammed.

LOL at the Zentradi Disney. I have still to put the stickers on mine....

[Gubaba]

Chronicle 24:

Mechanic Sheet

• VF-22S Sturmvogel II

• Noputi Baganis 5631

• Mardook Warships [are you contemplating violence yet, Seto? ]

Character Sheet

• Hibiki Kanzaki

• Gamlin Kizaki

• Hikaru Ichijo

Gallery Sheet

• Macross F

Timeline Sheet

• An Accident in the Depths of the Night

World Guide Sheet

• U.N. Government

Technology Sheet

• Variable Fighter (Super Parts)

Song Sheet

• The Silence of Two Billion Years Before / dé jà vu ~ Stay by My Side

Good Sheet

• Itasha (Embarrassing Cars)

• YAMATO 1/60 VF-1 Series

[sketchley]

World Guide Sheet

• U.N. Government

Technology Sheet

• Variable Fighter (Super Parts)

FINALLY!

[Mr March]

Chronicle 24:

Mechanic Sheet

• VF-22S Sturmvogel II

• Noputi Baganis 5631

• Mardook Warships [are you contemplating violence yet, Seto? ]

That has to be Britai's ship, the Nupetiet-Vergnitzs 5631 Fleet Command Battleship.

Mardook Warhsips? Oh, oh! Can I threaten violence too? I'm really hoping they include some additional information for the Mardook warships. There's so little about them currently available. *crosses fingers*

[azrael]

Timeline Sheet

• An Accident in the Depths of the Night

So we're spending the entire Timeline sheet on Sharon throwing a temper tantrum with Myung and Guld getting his freak on with Myung...

[Gubaba]

So we're spending the entire Timeline sheet on Sharon throwing a temper tantrum with Myung and Guld getting his freak on with Myung...

The timeline sheets have been...odd lately. Taking TWO WHOLE PAGES to cover rather uneventful SDFM episodes, and then leaping 28 years in a single bound? Strange.

[sketchley]

(...) and then leaping 28 years in a single bound? Strange.

I've also noticed something odd in the Macross article in Great Mechanics.DX: one of the sub-headings is "the missing [blank] 30 years". It doesn't mention anything other than the launching of the Megaroad emigration fleets and the start of the great era of emigration in the galaxy...

My question is: what the heck happened to M3 and all of the other backstory that was presented in games and series related books on those 30 years?!

[Gubaba]

I've also noticed something odd in the Macross article in Great Mechanics.DX: one of the sub-headings is "the missing [blank] 30 years". It doesn't mention anything other than the launching of the Megaroad emigration fleets and the start of the great era of emigration in the galaxy...

My question is: what the heck happened to M3 and all of the other backstory that was presented in games and series related books on those 30 years?!

I doubt they've been "de-canonized," if that's what you're getting at. They probably just deem them important enough to include.

In Chronicle, though, it seems like they should at least include an Extra Report in the Max and Millia pages about M3...

[Seto Kaiba]

Mardook Warhsips? Oh, oh! Can I threaten violence too? I'm really hoping they include some additional information for the Mardook warships. There's so little about them currently available. *crosses fingers*

I really find it hard to get worked up about this one... there's really not a lot worth saying about the ships, and what little worthwhile information there is, I already have.

What's got my attention is the Hibiki Kanzaki character sheet... which will hopefully confirm some of the details about how he got hired into SNN (reportedly he covered a BIG scandal, but they don't say what) and maybe even mention the 2082 Zentradi invasion that inspired him to become a reporter.

[Gubaba]

I really find it hard to get worked up about this one... there's really not a lot worth saying about the ships, and what little worthwhile information there is, I already have.

What's got my attention is the Hibiki Kanzaki character sheet... which will hopefully confirm some of the details about how he got hired into SNN (reportedly he covered a BIG scandal, but they don't say what) and maybe even mention the 2082 Zentradi invasion that inspired him to become a reporter.

Don't get your hopes up...it seems to me that most of the character sheets don't go through the character's backstory much...and how many pages each character gets seems to depend less on how important they are and more on how many outfits they wear (I'm a-lookin' at YOU, Mylene!).