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Posted
1 hour ago, NZEOD said:

Is there going to much worthwhile content for a modeller though, give the other two VF1 books out already?

I wouldn't expect much on that front from this volume, mainly because all the fun stuff that modelers might find very useful like unit paintjobs, markings, variants, armaments, etc. is in the four previous VF-1 Valkyrie-focused Master File books already.  

I'm interested to see how they'll fill 128 pages talking about Roy and the VF-1S given that Roy's career wasn't that long and he only flew two models of VF... the VF-0S and VF-1S.

Posted

FedEx claims I should be getting my copies tomorrow, along with the HJ Vintage issue about the old Macross kits.

Since I've been binging translations of various sections of the Master File books over the last few days for fun, it'll be interesting to see if there's anything of actual interest in this one.

Posted
1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

image.png.379ee629fe5e36c8285360b829bfac50.png

The model of the ES-11D they used shouldn't have been pictured like that in the atmosphere!  It has the Integrated Space Propeller and Propellant Tanks on the wing engines!

Nevertheless, I like that the book goes into a bit more depth on the QF-3000.  It's just too bad that they don't have any picts of it with its FAST Packs.

Posted

Is there any imagery in the Focker one that really pops out?  Still waiting to see if there's anything we have't really seen before to make me want to buy it.

In the past, I've always found these at Book-Off in Japan for 500 yen so I usually don't order them brand new.  They don't really "spark joy" compared to the Tenjin art books..

Posted

My copies came in early... props to FedEx for going above and beyond again for no clear reason.

After skimming the contents, I have to say this book is mistitled.  This is Variable Fighter Master File: VF-1 Valkyrie Vol.1.5.

Only about 23 pages of this 128 page book are actually about Roy Focker and fewer still are specifically about Roy's VF-1S.  There are a few pages about Roy's Fokker D.VII stunt plane, a few about Roy's F203 Dragon II, a bit about the VF-X-1 prototype and VF-0S, and that's kind of it.  The real attraction here is the other stuff.

There's a section in this book that looks promising about the manufacturing of the VF-1 Valkyrie, a two-pager that revisits the "Streak Valkyrie" altitude test mentioned in Variable Fighter Master File: VF-1 Valkyrie Vol.1, and some amazing art showing how the VF-1's control surfaces operate incl. the double slotted fowler flaps, the spoilers, and ruddervators.  Some good stuff about changes between the three main production groups (Block 1-5, 6-8, and 9-17, see my posts in the Mecha Funtime thread in the TV and Movies section for more), a REALLY excellent section I'm very excited about that shows how the VF-1's boundry layer control airflow system is set up, some decent detail on the airbrake behind the cockpit, some VERY nice material about how the actual transformation system actuators are set up and how the VF-1 holds its shape during transformation, a fascinating section that shows what structural materials are used in which sections of the VF-1's design, a section about how the ANGIRAS airframe control AI works (you have no idea how excited I am for that), diagrams that show where the VF-1's optical sensor systems were, some details about the design of the mintor turret including how the motors to rotate the lasers are set up and the configuration of the main camera eyes, some repeated content about the change in cockpit design between Blocks 1-5 and 6+, a section about the GERWALK mode, some brief material on the orbital booster, and some low detail filler about the Cat's Eye and Ghost.

 

TL;DR... if you're buying just for the pretty pictures of CG Valkyries, this book probably won't satisfy, but if you're buying it for the technology porn you're in for a treat.  I am definitely looking forward to translating several sections of this book.  

Posted
45 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

... some VERY nice material about how the actual transformation system actuators are set up and how the VF-1 holds its shape during transformation, ...

If you're referring to the section I think you are, I initially thought that too.  On closer inspection, it's about the side-of-the-chest thrusters (how they're stowed in Fighter, how they form in Battroid, etc.)

Nevertheless, the next page on the electromagnetic locks looks interesting, but the real good stuff is the breakdown of where they use energy conversion armour, and what materials (alloys, etc) are used in what parts of the fuselage (and that's not once, but twice!  The Streak-revisited and another later in the book).

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Where is the best place to order these?  I am way behind on them, and sellers I'm finding either gouge on price or shipping.

Posted
8 hours ago, Knight26 said:

Where is the best place to order these?  I am way behind on them, and sellers I'm finding either gouge on price or shipping.

Try Mandarake if you do not mind "gently used"....you'll save some coin too

Posted
13 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Try Mandarake if you do not mind "gently used"....you'll save some coin too

Thank you

  • 1 year later...
Posted

Huh. I wonder if it is going to cover a bit more on the original VF-31 Kairos. Did the Siegfried book cover any of that? I do not remember. I know it covered the prototype versions of the Kairos but not if it covered the production type Kairos.

Posted
5 minutes ago, deathzealot said:

Huh. I wonder if it is going to cover a bit more on the original VF-31 Kairos. Did the Siegfried book cover any of that? I do not remember. I know it covered the prototype versions of the Kairos but not if it covered the production type Kairos.

The VF-31 Siegfried book was... well... it basically all but ignored the production VF-31.

Posted
Just now, Seto Kaiba said:

The VF-31 Siegfried book was... well... it basically all but ignored the production VF-31.

Ah! So this book may end covering the Production Type Kairos then? Hopefully! Also Seto I do hope it is better then the Siegfried as I remember your thoughts on it.

Posted
Just now, deathzealot said:

Ah! So this book may end covering the Production Type Kairos then? Hopefully! Also Seto I do hope it is better then the Siegfried as I remember your thoughts on it.

If the book is specifically for the Kairos Plus, I kinda doubt it.

Posted

I'll order my customary two copies once it's listed on CDJapan or HLJ. :) 

My hopes aren't high for the actual content, but the art should be pretty good as usual.

Posted

I'm kind of wondering what the hell they can actually put in the book, since a lot of the material from the VF-31 Siegfried book was reprints of material from the VF-25 Messiah book, and the Kairos Plus has even more in common with both.

  • 1 month later...
Posted
On 5/1/2022 at 5:17 AM, jvmacross said:

Dunno....I mostly enjoy the art!

Me too since I cannot read Japanese, I get it for the pretty pictures!

Twich

  • 4 months later...
Posted
10 hours ago, jvmacross said:

....aaaand I jinxed the release....looks like it's been pushed back to December 29th....so I guess it's now the first Macross book I'll be receiving in 2023...

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

- Douglas Adams

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