Dark Duel's Shop-Fu and assorted artsy stuff

[Deathzealot]

Very nice. I actually like your version better than the canon ones. Going to fiddle with the GYAN Storm now?

[Dark Duel]

Very nice. I actually like your version better than the canon ones.

Thank you. I admit, the GELGOOG Menace(I really hate that name) as originally designed was a good starting point, but the head was just too "Zaku" for my taste and I wasn't fond of the shoulders. Fortunately, it was an easy enough fix.

Going to fiddle with the GYAN Storm now?

Maybe, but probably not. Setting aside the fact I stole the Gyan Storm's shoulders for my edited GELGOOG, there's just so much about the GYAN Storm that I don't like design-wise, I honestly don't know where I would even begin. Plus I've never been a big fan of the Gyan to begin with.

[Deathzealot]

Thank you. I admit, the GELGOOG Menace(I really hate that name) as originally designed was a good starting point, but the head was just too "Zaku" for my taste and I wasn't fond of the shoulders. Fortunately, it was an easy enough fix.

You are quite welcome, yes, while I am quite in the middle with this new GELGOOG design I do like some elements of it. Can I share it on a couple of Gundam forum threads I am part of? A few others were not much fans of the design either.

Maybe, but probably not. Setting aside the fact I stole the Gyan Storm's shoulders for my edited GELGOOG, there's just so much about the GYAN Storm that I don't like design-wise, I honestly don't know where I would even begin. Plus I've never been a big fan of the Gyan to begin with.

Darn, well you can always start at the beginning. Also I think it would be quite interesting for some mobile suit designs to share parts, especially as it looks like another similar arms limitation is in effect in some way. So having that ability to share parts with one another would be a boon. Just a thought.

[Dark Duel]

Can I share it on a couple of Gundam forum threads I am part of? A few others were not much fans of the design either.

Yeah, sure. And thanks for asking.

Also I think it would be quite interesting for some mobile suit designs to share parts, especially as it looks like another similar arms limitation is in effect in some way. So having that ability to share parts with one another would be a boon. Just a thought.

It's funny you should mention that, because a GELGOOG-based design is something I considered using in GSDA, and that's sort of how I imagined it in the sense that it's not so much an entirely new mobile suit as it is a variation of the DOM Trooper(which in GSDA, was designed primarily as a ground combat mobile suit. It can operate in space, but it's not as good in zero-G as it is on the ground). This GELGOOG would have been built from the same basic frame, and optimized for use in space - it's less heavily-armored, not quite so fast, but more maneuverable, and the majority of its internal parts are carried over from the DOM Trooper.
I intended for Heine to pilot this machine during the final battle, but I scrapped the idea because I couldn't come up with a design I liked that resembled the DOM Trooper enough and still appeared distinct enough.

[Deathzealot]

Yeah, sure. And thanks for asking.

You are quite welcome! I always try to ask if I am not sure about something, not that anyone will answer me on some of my older questions. Sigh. Anyways here is the link to the thread in question I posted on.

It's funny you should mention that, because a GELGOOG-based design is something I considered using in GSDA, and that's sort of how I imagined it in the sense that it's not so much an entirely new mobile suit as it is a variation of the DOM Trooper(which in GSDA, was designed primarily as a ground combat mobile suit. It can operate in space, but it's not as good in zero-G as it is on the ground). This GELGOOG would have been built from the same basic frame, and optimized for use in space - it's less heavily-armored, not quite so fast, but more maneuverable, and the majority of its internal parts are carried over from the DOM Trooper.
I intended for Heine to pilot this machine during the final battle, but I scrapped the idea because I couldn't come up with a design I liked that resembled the DOM Trooper enough and still appeared distinct enough.

Interesting. Yeah, that would have been quite a difference.

Still have you looked at the new stuff dropping from Urd-Hunt or the IBO MSV lately? I would love to see your own interpretation of some of that new stuff.

[Dark Duel]

I've not really been keeping up with the IBO stuff for a while. I might take a look-see.

In the interim, since the new movie introduced a Destiny Spec 2 for Shinn, I recently got the idea to apply the same concept to my old reinterpretation of the Destiny from my rewrite - which was destroyed in its final duel at the Second Battle of Jachin Due, with only its cockpit block surviving the battle.

I confess, I didn't use any parts from the Destiny Spec2 except the faceplate, which I wanted to keep as a carryover from its predecessor - albeit this time entirely unaltered(the original GSDA Destiny I added vents to the faceplate). I did, however, freely pull from several other designs, much as I freely took parts from unused GSD designs for the GSDA Destiny. Unfortunately, whereas I used BEE-CRAFT's lineart from the MGs for the original, this time around I'm stuck using Okawara's rather pudgier designs. But that's okay.
EDIT: The latest edit changes the faceplate from the Destiny's to a redrawn version of the Rising Freedom's, which I did by using the SF Type-II's as a base.

One thing I want to bring up: The very earliest iteration of the GSDA Destiny was intended to reuse the SF's torso, because I noticed its shape was very similar to the Impulse's. I ended up not doing that due to parts compatibility issues for the MGs, which I was building, so I kept the canon Destiny torso. This time around, while I did not use SF's torso, I did use the torso from another machine in the same lineage, which I immediately noticed the first time I saw it was very similar to the original Destiny's...

This is the result: the AF-MSX407 Destiny Gundam Type-II. It does not use a ZGMF model number because it's not manufactured or deployed by ZAFT: It's based on the previous Destiny Gundam, but it's designed and manufactured in-house by ISAF, a semi-autonomous, multinational peacekeeping task force that was created by the Second Treaty of Junius Seven in GSDA's epilogue.

[Omega]

I find it funny how this attempt at the suit feels so much more unique... Same for a lot of these other insane mecha you've made

[Dark Duel]

Thanks. I recently experimented with redrawing the Rising Freedom's faceplate to get it look less awful, and decided to see how it looked on my Destiny Type-2. I used the Strike Freedom Type-II's for the basic shape, then altered it using parts from the RF, and I rather like how it turned out, actually.

I'm also experimenting with using some other of the SF Type-II's parts to see how they look on it, and also gonna try to experiment with different color schemes and possible alternate weapons loadouts.

For instance, here it is with the arms and shoulders from the SF Type-II instead of the RF's. I kinda like this better - I think aesthetically, it fits better with the overall look.

And here's a version with an alternate weapon loadout, which replaces the boomerang/sabers on the hips in favor of a pair of Freedom-style hip-mounted railguns and traditional beam sabers. In GSDA, the Destiny was developed in part from the X10A Freedom, so I'm pulling pretty freely from the Freedom lineage for its successor, in addition to using parts from Shinn's Immortal Justice

[Dark Duel]

And while I'm at it, why not take a crack at the Impulse too? Here's the AF-MSX156(ZGMF-X56S2) Impulse Spec-2

I kind of think the SF Type-II's arms work a little better on my Destiny, so I decided to try to see how the RF's arms would look on the Impulse, and it just sort of snowballed from there. On the GSDA-verse version of the Impulse, I had ditched the pocket knives in favor of beam sabers(lifted from the IJ), so I did the same thing again by taking the beam sabers - along with the front waist - from the IJ Type II. Didn't change anything else visually. I had to redraw some pretty big chunks of the right arm and the legs and waist required a little tweaking to fit together, but overall I'm satisfied with how it came out.

It's not visible on the lineart, but this version of the Impulse Spec-2 reuses the same shield as the original X42R Destiny - a field modification carried out by Shinn to the original Impulse in GSDA's final chapters which carried over to its successor. Also, since it's operated by ISAF, which uses a mix of ZAFT, Alliance, and Orb mobile suits, the Spec-2's redesigned backpack hardpoint is compatible with Alliance Striker Packs as well as the Impulse's Silhouette Packs(stole that idea from Out Frame D in Destiny Astray)

Next on my to-do list is a Buster variant I'm calling the AF-MSX238 Inferno Buster, as well as a modification of the Millennium.

[Deathzealot]

Woah! Nice change to the Impulse Spec-II. It does look very good. I am looking forward to seeing your new Buster and whatever you are going to be with the Millenium for while I do like the overall design of the Millenium I wouldn't mind seeing a new version of it. Also, what is the ISAF? Your version of COMPASS?

[Dark Duel]

Also, what is the ISAF? Your version of COMPASS?

Pretty much, except I did it first . ISAF is a multinational peacekeeping task force that's created as part of the Second Treaty of Junius Seven in the epilogue of GSDA, composed of units from the PLANTs, Orb, the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and a couple of other nations that allied with the PLANTs against LOGOS. Were I to write a sequel using these designs, ISAF would be the primary focus. I envision them operating out of Armory One at L4.
ISAF mostly uses hardware provided by the various member states(PLANTs, Alliance, or Orb), but they have their own in-house development team that sometimes designs equipment or upgrades for their machines. They also use their own designation system for their machines. The first digit in the ISAF designations identifies the nation of origin of that particular mobile suit - 1 for the PLANTs, 2 for the Alliance, 3 for Orb. The Destiny Type-II uses 4 instead of 1 because it's not a pre-existing machine that was modified. Even though it's based on a ZAFT design, it was developed and manufactured entirely in-house by ISAF.

I am looking forward to seeing your new Buster and whatever you are going to be with the Millenium

As I did with the Minerva, the changes to the Millennium will probably be fairly small for the most part - some changes and additions to its weapons. The biggest change I want to make is to redesign its launch catapults: Instead of Argama-style open catapults, I want to tweak that section of the hull to give it closed launch cats like the Minerva had. I also plan to change the name to Concordia, after the Roman goddess.

As for the Inferno Buster, I plan to basically combine elements from existing official variants like the Verde and the new one from the movie, and give it a new color scheme.

[Deathzealot]

Pretty much, except I did it first . ISAF is a multinational peacekeeping task force that's created as part of the Second Treaty of Junius Seven in the epilogue of GSDA, composed of units from the PLANTs, Orb, the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and a couple of other nations that allied with the PLANTs against LOGOS. Were I to write a sequel using these designs, ISAF would be the primary focus. I envision them operating out of Armory One at L4.
ISAF mostly uses hardware provided by the various member states(PLANTs, Alliance, or Orb), but they have their own in-house development team that sometimes designs equipment or upgrades for their machines. They also use their own designation system for their machines. The first digit in the ISAF designations identifies the nation of origin of that particular mobile suit - 1 for the PLANTs, 2 for the Alliance, 3 for Orb. The Destiny Type-II uses 4 instead of 1 because it's not a pre-existing machine that was modified. Even though it's based on a ZAFT design, it was developed and manufactured entirely in-house by ISAF.

Ah! Though I figured I did it first myself, as I introduced the Paladin Protection Force (PPF) in a couple of my Post-Destiny based Cosmic Chronicle Shorts. The most obvious is chapter six, in which PPF Fleet Commander Murrue chooses a new officer to command the newly refitted Archangel and (I think? FFN is still down) chapter seven which is a very post-Destiny story that explores the Archangel becoming a museum ship somewhere around two decades after Destiny. I think I wrote both stories somewhere between 2008 to 2012 as that was when I was focused on my aging dead horse of a fic Honor of a Knight which the Cosmic Chronicle is supposed to further explore in some cases. Again. FFN is still down therefore cannot go and check the dates on the site. That said, for my own PPF they also used machines mainly from Orb, with the main example being a refitted Murasame which I called it with the form of the Murasame Kai in FREEDOM, and ZAFT, mainly a few G-Weapons and the DOM Trooper, the main issue they had was trying to find ships to make up their forces. Outside of the Archangel and a modified ship of the class that ZAFT found nearly completed underneath Heavens Base. Rolled Eyes. If I remember things correctly at the end of that particular chapter Murrue ends up making the decision to start purchasing a third-party developed ship design that is based on that of the Salamis Kai Class as I was a big fan of the design at the time. Not the one I would choose at this moment in time really, but I feel a bit vindicated with the likes of external mobile suit catapults in SEED with the introduction of the Millennium in FREEDOM.

That said. I have been picking at a total rewrite of Chapter Six over the past few weeks which follows more closely with that of FREEDOM and introduces COMPASS instead of the PPF. The ship of choice for the new COMPASS Fleet, as I hated how they only had two ships in the movie, would actually be a slightly downgraded Millennium Design that the shipyards at Armory One were developing, known as Project Millennium, but for some reason ZAFT itself pulled out of the deal who go on to include an expanded form of the Nazca Class, the movie version of said design something I am calling the Veracruz Class Destroyer Leader, from their normal ship designers located at the Martius City PLANTs to be their new ship design for the Post Destiny Plan world. The Project Millennium Ships being produced at Armory One Shipyards are then left on a lurch before being sold to the newly formed COMPASS Taskforce as the Victoria Class Mobile Assault Ship. The mobile suit COMPASS would end up using would actually be the Murasame Kai which is a design that Morgenroete tried to sell to the Orb National Defense Forces but due to some internal issues going on would refuse to buy the new Murasame design instead going for a new more advanced Strike pack capable Astray variant the M2. This is also when Morgenroete, mostly Erica Simmons, would hand over two G-Weapon Prototypes that she had been working on off and on for a while based on her studies of the Freedom after the end of the First War. This would become the Rising Freedom and the Immortal Justice which joins the newly rebuilt Impulse Spec-II that ZAFT gave COMPASS to become the newly formed Yamato Team.

Anyhow. Sorry about babbling like that about my own idea. Moving on!

As I did with the Minerva, the changes to the Millennium will probably be fairly small for the most part - some changes and additions to its weapons. The biggest change I want to make is to redesign its launch catapults: Instead of Argama-style open catapults, I want to tweak that section of the hull to give it closed launch cats like the Minerva had. I also plan to change the name to Concordia, after the Roman goddess.

Huh. Any reason you are moving away from the external catapults? As I found them to be an interesting development from that of the similar system used on the Nazca Class? I know that SEED doesn't really have such things as external catapults but I do like how they portray it in the movie. Also, good call on the rename as I mentioned above I am naming my version on the Roman Goddess of Victory Victoria and the other ships will be named after Goddesses of Victory or War from different mythology.

As for the Inferno Buster, I plan to basically combine elements from existing official variants like the Verde and the new one from the movie, and give it a new color scheme.

Interesting. Well, I hope to see it soon! Thanks for replying!

[Dark Duel]

Ah! Though I figured I did it first myself, as I introduced the Paladin Protection Force (PPF) in a couple of my Post-Destiny based Cosmic Chronicle Shorts. The most obvious is chapter six, in which PPF Fleet Commander Murrue chooses a new officer to command the newly refitted Archangel and (I think? FFN is still down) chapter seven which is a very post-Destiny story that explores the Archangel becoming a museum ship somewhere around two decades after Destiny. I think I wrote both stories somewhere between 2008 to 2012

I'd have to check, but if that's the case then I do believe you did it before I did as well. Either way, we both did it long before GSF came along.

I hated how they only had two ships in the movie

Same here. In my case, ISAF initially starts out with three full strike groups - so somewhere between 24 and 36 ships or so, with three lead vessels: The former Orb Izumo-class Kusanagi, the former Alliance Alakhshya, and the former ZAFT warship Minerva. Since Orb has no spaceships other than the Izumo-class, the rest would be a mix of ex-Alliance and ex-ZAFT vessels: Nazcas, a few Laurasias, a couple of Agamemnons, a few Nelsons and Drakes.
Eventually, the new Concordia is added and becomes their flagship.

Huh. Any reason you are moving away from the external catapults? As I found them to be an interesting development from that of the similar system used on the Nazca Class? I know that SEED doesn't really have such things as external catapults but I do like how they portray it in the movie.

I'm just not a fan of open catapults in general. But there's another reason. I don't remember how clear it was in the movie(I don't think it was all that clear), but according to the novelization, the Millennium is capable of submerging and traveling underwater the way the Archangel was in GSD, which is how they managed to survive a nuke. I want to take it a step further: The Concordia is not only able to do this, but it is also designed to be able to launch its mobile suits while underwater. And the best way to do that IMO is with closed launch bays that can be sealed off from the hangar bay and flooded. So what I think I want to do is to enlarge the secondary launch bays under the deck and turn those into its primary launch bays. The upper deck space where the current catapults are will be partly left as a deck, but a decent chunk of it will be occupied by added weapons.

[Deathzealot]

I'd have to check, but if that's the case then I do believe you did it before I did as well. Either way, we both did it long before GSF came along.

Laughs. Yeah, once FFN is back up I'm going to check just for my own curiosity if nothing else. Still yeah, I'm sure we are the only Gundam SEED fanfic writers who have done Post-Destiny work that uses some of the ideas from FREEDOM long before it came out. Heck. Outside of a couple of other authors, I do not think there any other work that follows the end of Destiny. They all try to "fix" Destiny or continue on from their own SEED stories, and then just forget about anything after the end of the original Destiny Series.

Same here. In my case, ISAF initially starts out with three full strike groups - so somewhere between 24 and 36 ships or so, with three lead vessels: The former Orb Izumo-class Kusanagi, the former Alliance Alakhshya, and the former ZAFT warship Minerva. Since Orb has no spaceships other than the Izumo-class, the rest would be a mix of ex-Alliance and ex-ZAFT vessels: Nazcas, a few Laurasias, a couple of Agamemnons, a few Nelsons and Drakes.
Eventually, the new Concordia is added and becomes their flagship.

Hmmm... That is a bit more than how I imagined it. It helps that my Victoria Class like the two Archangel Class ships are able to be used in space and on earth. Honestly, I am using Assault Ships styled ships for my own version of COMPASS purely because like my original idea I just do not see any of the other MP Space Warships, outside of say the Laurasia Class, being used as an independent unit which is required for how I see COMPASS operating, at least during the first few years after their formation. The Earth Alliance ships are all designed to work alongside one another in decently sized fleets while the ZAFT ships as mentioned can act in a somewhat independent manner they too sometimes would require to be operated together in smaller fleets. Meanwhile, the Izumo Class, i.e the Izumo and the Kusanagi, and my own fan developed mass produced version which are slightly smaller versions of the original Izumo Class, really are more needed under Orb control as Orb really barely has their own space forces, therefore, would need every ship they can get after the somewhat chaotic time, I have being a thing in my story, after the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War. The other only other space warship I could see used by my version of COMPASS would be the Eternal, though I do like it being used in the matter we see it used in FREEDOM. Shrug. Still I do see where you are coming from though with your somewhat larger force for your ISAF Fleet.

I'm just not a fan of open catapults in general. But there's another reason. I don't remember how clear it was in the movie(I don't think it was all that clear), but according to the novelization, the Millennium is capable of submerging and traveling underwater the way the Archangel was in GSD, which is how they managed to survive a nuke. I want to take it a step further: The Concordia is not only able to do this, but it is also designed to be able to launch its mobile suits while underwater. And the best way to do that IMO is with closed launch bays that can be sealed off from the hangar bay and flooded. So what I think I want to do is to enlarge the secondary launch bays under the deck and turn those into its primary launch bays. The upper deck space where the current catapults are will be partly left as a deck, but a decent chunk of it will be occupied by added weapons.

That is quite interesting and I never really thought of that really. Didn't they launch something while underwater before the nuke hit? Or am I crazy? I know they launched Lunamaria in her Gelgoog before that, but I could have sworn they launched something else right after they dived. Shrug. Anyways. I may not go that way for my own Victoria Class mainly as a means of keeping the overall price down for the design, as it is already sporting a large prize tag. If COMPASS wasn't jointly funded by the PLANTs, ORB, Eurasia, Scandinavia, and a few other minor nations they wouldn't be able to really afford several ships of the class. Besides I like the whole external catapults look, which I personally like more than the similar catapults on the Albion during 0083.

Again. Thanks for Replying! I am now off to play Feddie vs Zeon for the first time in years. Shame we never got a true Alliance vs ZAFT version of the series. Sigh.

[HussarZwei]

https://www.mahq.net/macrossm3/
https://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/ ... onster.htm
https://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/glaug.htm
MAHQ lists the HWR-00-Mk.II Destroid Monster being deployed by Zentradi troops in Macross M3. With this in mind, I would be interested in seeing Destroid Monster in the colors of the Glaug Battle Pod.