Have they shown any preview images of the MS-04 from episode IV? All the ones I've seen are of the MS-05 - it's almost like they're teasing us. :-) EDIT: Ah, found the preview. Well, that's a little bit better, but still pretty peculiar. The legs in particular feel like a real throwback. Maybe it wo...

Putting aside all the third-party publications and side stories, one basic fact about the Barzam - established by its model number - is that it was developed at the New Guinea base, which is consistently referred to in the anime as a Titans base. When Jaburo is evacuated early in Zeta Gundam, its fu...

Hi all! Been super busy for the last few months, but let me take a minute to jot down some stray thoughts about MS development in Gundam The Origin and the spinoff MSD (Mobile Suit Discovery) series. One big question mark in all this is whether the mecha development setting info from The Origin and ...

Here's the specific explanation from the PG Strike Rouge kit manual: As beam sabers were widely adopted by the mobile suits of both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces, a new problem emerged. Although they were originally developed to allow for many moves in which sword defended against sword, with b...

Also too! Since people were talking about the Strike Rouge kit manual (without specifying which kit in particular), I just took a look at the Perfect Grade series kit manuals. The PG Strike Rouge manual reiterates the usual explanation about how its beam sabers use the same magnetic field fixation t...

It is my understanding that the reactors onboard CE's mobile suits are fusion , not fission . Thermonuclear reactors operate by keeping the heat of the reaction contained with extremely powerful magnets. It is technically possible turn the temperatures high enough inside the reactor to jury-rig a p...

Well, there are two combined forms - shotgun and sniper rifle, depending on which order they're combined in. Are they both yellow?

-- Mark

It was in, like, one shot in episode1.

Well, the First Gundam movies contradict the TV series on some points (the order and location of certain battles, whether M'Quve is alive or dead, etc). So encompassing minor contradictions is nothing new, and you're right that there's never been an official single continuity. In the sense that &quo...

Doesn't necessarily mean that The Origin itself is in official continuity. MSD seems to span the whole range of stuff, referencing mobile suits that don't necessarily exist as far as The Origin is concerned. Anyway, in the absence of some kind of Sunrise policy statement engraved on stone tablets, a...

Which is interesting given that the Calamity's Schlag high-energy long-range beam cannons fire standard green beams. Perhaps ZAFT just isn't that finicky about weapon naming... What about the Buster Gundam's hyper impulse long-range sniper rifle? I'm having a hard time finding pics of that in use - ...

Not sure what the status of the Origin anime is meant to be. The MSD (Mobile Suit Discovery) project that's being spun out of it seems to be intended to unite all the previous UC stuff - hence the attempts to incorporate things like the YMS-08A, MS-06Z, Efreet, Gundam Ground Type, and Gundiver which...

It occurs to me that the Seed series is generally very (ruthlessly!) consistent about how weapon effects are animated. A quick initial breakdown... Pink: All beam blades, including beam boomerangs and anti-ship laser swords, with the exception of the Aegis and Strike Dagger. Yellow: All projectile w...

I'd have to say that I'm feeling a bit lukewarm about the MSD series so far. The YMS-08B manual doesn't really explain all that much - it repeats the old MSV account of the YMS-08A, saying that it was a failed rival to the Gouf, which contradicts the development flowchart on the MSD website. And the...

Dom Test Type. (By the time it gets printed on the box, the spelling is generally frozen.) The translation on that English page has a couple of issues.

-- Mark

Yeah, "beam saber" is just a translation error. The Japanese version of that page says "heat saber".

http://www.gundam.info/topic/14811

-- Mark

I don't think it would work to have backwards-facing air intakes for a jet engine - the basic idea is that air is driven into the intake by the vehicle's forward movement, and then further compressed by a rotating fan prior to combustion. Aside from the MS-07H-8 Gouf Flight Type, and the dust filter...

That's just nonsensical word salad. My translation should be up on the official site shortly - I just sent it in. They haven't decided on the name spelling yet, but I suggested "Waff" since it's very close to the kana for "Waffe" (German for "weapon").

-- Mark

I'm relieved to know that the Zudah hasn't been slighted in recent productions, even if it doesn't seem to be included in the MSD development history. The status of the MSV-R stuff remains to be seen, too; I guess the history of mobile suit development is becoming as contradictory and fragmented as ...

Following up on a couple things... Thanks to Gelgoog Jager for the MSiA flashback! I suppose, since the Rick Dom's thrusters were depicted onscreen in Gundam III, there's not much leeway for reimagining those. But the ground version is mysterious and open to interpretation. The MG kit just recycled ...