My MiG-45 Valhalla Project

[Vostok 7]

Back on the old forums shortly before the switch I posted my MiG-45 Valhalla project. Well, it's long gone along with the old forum, but I found the images I made the other day and thought I'd post them.

It all started with this sketch:

The MiG-33, NATO Reporting Name: Victor was supposed to be the Soviet "version" of the VF-1A, made cheaper and more simply (and therefore more rugged and easier to maintain) in the true Russian fashion. The first ground for the MiG-33 actually broke long before Macross Zero, and I've had to adjust some things since then, but despite having dropped the project for around 6 years, I plan to resurrect it with a good bit of well educated fanon

The MiG-33 evolved into the MiG-45, NATO Reporting Name: Valhalla:

Shown here as a teaser lineart in SVFA-307 297th Black Wolf Squadron colors:

And the full lineart:

As you can see, it's essentially a -1A head with a fixed ballistic cannon (can't remember the bore at the moment, I believe it was based on a standard Russian aircraft cannon) instead of an elevation-adjustable laser cannon. The ammo feed is in the back, the ammo would have been stored in the chest section of the battroid (or the fuselage of the fighter). I never got around to designing the fighter, something I plan to do now, and I might adjust the head (I want to make it more VF-0A-ish).

Here's the squadron logo:

And here's the Black Wolf Squadron's VF-1A's color scheme:

Hopefully I'll get to work on this a little more and finally flesh it out a little bit

Stay tuned for some back history on the MiG-45 in general!

Vostok 7

Edited December 24, 2008 by Vostok 7

[SchizophrenicMC]

Hmm... Well, It looks like it's Russian; copy of an American plane... Though, it really wouldn't be fair to call the Valkyrie American... I'd like to know more, Vostok. Sounds cool.

[Vostok 7]

Hmm... Well, It looks like it's Russian; copy of an American plane... Though, it really wouldn't be fair to call the Valkyrie American... I'd like to know more, Vostok. Sounds cool.

It wasn't so much intended to be a copy of the Valkyrie, more their "take" on it based on limited information before the actual VF-1 came out. But that was all before Macross Zero came out, and long before we knew anything about the SV-51 (though we still don't know much).

The profile views at the bottom are of the later VF-1 in the color scheme of the squadron I came up with for this whole project. The actual MiG will look much more... MiG like...

Vostok 7

[anime52k8]

so a Mig-29 that transforms like a VF-1? interesting, or maybe a Mig-25/31 (coolest mig ever in my opinion)

[SchizophrenicMC]

MiG-25 transforming like a VF-1? Man, I like Sukhoi better...

[Vostok 7]

so a Mig-29 that transforms like a VF-1? interesting, or maybe a Mig-25/31 (coolest mig ever in my opinion)

Oh yes, the MiG-25 and -31 have ALWAYS been my favorites. Huge arse engines. Elegant in their own blocky, ugly way

Vostok 7

[SchizophrenicMC]

In Soviet Russia, Chunky Monkey is in scale with you!

[Vostok 7]

In Soviet Russia, Chunky Monkey is in scale with you!

What I love about the MiG-25 and -31 is that they just positively DRIP with '60s and '70s Soviet design philosophy. The MiG-29 and later Sukhois are just too "pretty". In the space-race (and in some ways, air-race) times of the '60s and '70s, the Soviet philosophy was make it as simple as possible, strap some huge arse engines on it, and see if it will go fast America was much more about finesse and figuring everything out in the design studio and windtunnels first. Not that there isn't a lot of advanced (for the time) technology behind the MiG-25 and -31 (at the time they set the standards for materials and construction techniques for Mach 2+ interceptors), but there was also a lot of simplistic things (avionics, control systems, etc.) for ease of maintenance.

On a similar vein, the F-104 Starfighter is still one of my most favorite American jet fighter designs, mostly because it's basically an intercontinental missile with a pilot

Vostok 7

[SchizophrenicMC]

Don't get me wrong, I like Russian fighters. I just happen to like the "finesse" (Not really) of American planes more. I mean, look at the F-14D. That thing was curvy in all the right places, but it had huge engines... Bigger still, than the Su-33D or the MiG-29. That thing was big. Heaviest carrier aircraft in US history and the Largest Carrier Fighter in US history. Up with the Russians. However, what I like most about American planes is, though they're damned advanced and not simplistic, they're easy to fix and they don't break as often.

Add to that, our bombers are pressurized...