The Official Macross Frontier Mecha Thread: The Final

Recon 5 · Post by **Recon 5** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 5:04 pm

Until they bring back the Thunderbolt's energy guns

.

Seriously speaking, though, is that a third wing I see on the VF 171? What could it be for?

azrael · Post by **azrael** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:19 am

Recon 5 wrote: Seriously speaking, though, is that a third wing I see on the VF 171? What could it be for?

Probably another antenna. The VF-171 in question was one equipped with a radome and other electronic/ECM/ECCM equipment.

Poochi · Post by **Poochi** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:20 am

Things I loved:
- The added effect of Ozma's gatling gun pod opening up.
- The squid-like decoys the aliens use to counter missles.
- The red alien has its own version of gerwalk mode with insect wings!
- How those jet pack suits double as controls/escape pods for the Valkyries.

I'm seeing a lot of clever innovations here. Ahh, the possibilities when not having to worry about selling model kits.

r34racer01 · Post by **r34racer01** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:31 pm

It is just me or does anyone else think that the armored up Valks look way too bulked up, especially Ozumas. I mean I still think its cool but, I prefer the non-FAST/Armored look better.

MrMarch · Post by **MrMarch** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:32 pm

r34racer01
I LOVE the Macross Frontier mecha. Even the simply alien mecha look cool and that big red beast is awesome. Very creepy and very mechanical. It even moves awkward and insect-like.

The VF-171 rocks. The Radome version looks really cool and I love the underwing ordnance. The launch sequences on the Guantanamo Class (another welcome sight to see in beautiful CG) were amazing. I love all the little advancements in the VF-171 over the older VF-17. Nicer wings, sleeker nose...the thing looks so damn cool. Only sad thing is, as others have mentioned, it's the cannon fodder of the show. I just hope that the VF-171 is given a few moments to shine. I'm praying for a major character to get some time in the cockpit at the very least.

I don't think the VF-25 looks too "bulcked up". In fact, I think this armored variant is likely the fastest armored valkyrie. Not only is this VF-25 armored valkyrie the first fully transformable armored valkyrie, but it appears to be more maneuverable. The armored sections appear to be very unobstrusive allowing the GERWALK and Battroid extremities to move about almost completely unhinderted. The thing also transforms flawlessly while still remaining fuly armored. I can't wait to see more of it in action.

Nagato21
You've got a good eye. The unmanned fighters in metallic green are definitely a direct descendant of the Ghost X-9 from Macross Plus. They have some slightly different features, but the overall shape and design is unmistakable. I think they look brilliant

OpMegs
You'll note the VF-171 Radome has features similar to the radar fin on the back of the VF-25 Armored valkyire. I bet the ventral fin on the VF-171 serves the same purpose; perhaps another type of cross-dimensional radar array.

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:19 am

I didn't think the armoured VF-25 looked all that bulked up, either. That thing still came across as insidiously fast and agile while menacing at the same time, firepower and all. Seeing it animated just makes these valkyries look all the more impressive as opposed to a bunch of still shots.

Gundam Genki · Post by **Gundam Genki** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:07 am

I think this falls under 'mecha' as well... the ships.

I only noticed after rewatching the episode, that all standard habitable 'city-ships' are connected. If that's one ship... the entire thing's probably well over 20 km long!!!

Also, it might be me, but the first ship destroyed by the alien BFG looked kind of new. If I watch several battle scenes in slow motion, a lot of ships seem new or adaptations of older ship-classes...

Nagato21 · Post by **Nagato21** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:23 am

Gundam Genki wrote:I think this falls under 'mecha' as well... the ships.

I only noticed after rewatching the episode, that all standard habitable 'city-ships' are connected. If that's one ship... the entire thing's probably well over 20 km long!!!

Also, it might be me, but the first ship destroyed by the alien BFG looked kind of new. If I watch several battle scenes in slow motion, a lot of ships seem new or adaptations of older ship-classes...

You are right it looks like a new class, its the first time I actually see a battleship with this kind of gunbarrels in Macross; it looks like a naval battleship reconverted for space use.

r34racer01 · Post by **r34racer01** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:25 am

Looks like the VF-25 has ta ta na na, a combat knife! At least in the manga ver of MF it does. Thoughts anyone?

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?a ... t&id=48642

MrMarch · Post by **MrMarch** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:01 am

Yeah, I saw that one too. Macross mecha using hand-to-hand weapons is rare, but it's not unheard. The Destroid Spartan in the original SDF Macross series was seen using a mecha-sized metal club or combat baton (I believe it was episode 34). The infamous anti-armor bayonet on the VF-11B gun pod is another example that appeared in the opening episode of the Macross Plus OVA series. Personally, I'm not really against it, but I think the mecha of Macross work best without such weapons simply because their use is so limited and rare. Mecha as fast and maneuverable as a Valkyrie are simply not going to find themselves in hand-to-hand combat in the majority of engagements. Indeed, nearly all instances of hand-to-hand mecha combat in the anime productions are due to very specific circumstances.

stormturmoil · Post by **stormturmoil** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:54 am

While that's true, it does happen (in a universe where 5-up scale giants exist the possibilty is hard to overlook)

The inclusion of a knife or bayonet is a cheap, easy way to offer a minimal protection against being caught unprepared without sacrificing too much performance ( it's a few pounds at most...)

More to the point, merely the mental and morale issues that such equipment would raise would make it worth including simply because it'd make your pilots feel safer and fly with less worries.

historical example: The Hawker Hart Bomber of the first world war/interwar period was so far ahead of the enemy in performance it could regularly outfly enemy fighters with ease. When asked why the designer, Sydney Camm, had bothered to put a machine gun on it when no enemy fighter, not even the vaunted Albatros, could even get near it, Camm's reply was "I'd want one..."

MrMarch · Post by **MrMarch** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

Damn, wrong thread. See my new post here:

http://www.mechatalk.net/viewtopic.php?t=7580&start=180

azrael · Post by **azrael** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:56 pm

Unfortunately there are a few changes that appeared in the manga compared to the animation so we don't have confirmation that the combat knife will actually appear in the anime.

Recon 5 · Post by **Recon 5** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:50 pm

I saw the pilot episode, and I must say that those gunpod shots at the end seemed to be pretty ineffective. I mean, the pilot was really laying everything on and it did zilch. It calls into doubt the necessity of dodging those shots at all in regular combat.

halo · Post by **halo** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:04 pm

I don't know if this has been mentioned on any of the English speaking forums but the 'alien' mech is up on the official site under the Mechanic section. It's apparently called the Bajura (バジュラ). No info other than a pic is given though.

azrael · Post by **azrael** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:06 pm

halo wrote:I don't know if this has been mentioned on any of the English speaking forums but the 'alien' mech is up on the official site under the Mechanic section. It's apparently called the Bajura (バジュラ). No info other than a pic is given though.

One possible translation is "Vajra".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra

MrMarch · Post by **MrMarch** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:30 pm

This is the first mention I've heard of it. Thanks Halo.

azrael
That isn't half bad as a reference. These mechanoid creatures are very fast and quite ornamental. Good catch on the B/V in Japanese.

azrael · Post by **azrael** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:46 pm

MrMarch wrote: azrael
That isn't half bad as a reference. These mechanoid creatures are very fast and quite ornamental. Good catch on the B/V in Japanese.

I didn't catch it. Just one many things I have to read on another forum.

r34racer01 · Post by **r34racer01** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:42 am

The official site is up. Here's a very nice view of the armored VF-25.

http://www.macrossf.com/mechanic/mecha03.html

MrMarch · Post by **MrMarch** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:50 am

The few english statistics that are available have been included as part of my most recent update to the Macross Mecha Manual. Follow the link below to go directly to the Macross Frontier Page:

Macross Frontier section on the Macross Mecha Manual

Some really cool stuffs

Be sure to check out the rest of my revised website (and update your bookmarks/favorites, since I've recently changed to a new address)

Mecha Talk

The Official Macross Frontier Mecha Thread: The Final

Hmmmmmmmm...........

Whaaaaaaat?