Mecha production dates?

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Ok...these are guesses based on the show and the current continuity.

VF-4 (Fury?) = 2014, but this is only speculation as the VF-X-4 shown in Macross is never said to be put into production.
VF/B-5 Condor Fighter/Bomber = 2017(?) or thereabouts
VF/A-6 Alpha Fighter/Attack = 2018? (VF-X-6 Genia Prototype shown flying in 2015)
VF/B-9 Beta Fighter/Bomber = 2038 (initial test in 2022 proved unsuccessful)

VR-series Cyclones = 2020's sometime (not known for certain, but its a good bet in the '20s cause of the Old Coots wearing CVR-3)

Mk II Series Destroids = These were probably developed and deployed during the early years of The Malcontent Uprisings for the benefit of the Army of the Southern Cross before their mainline Battloids (Salamander and Basilisk) were built up to strength. This is assuming that HG will use the Destroids that were developed for The Sentinels.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

VF-X-4 Prototype 2011

Uhh...no....in Robotech the VF-X-4 is shown to be flying in the last episode of The Macross Saga...which is January 2014.

VAF-6 Condor 2014(Went right to production with this one)

Umm...probably not. Its probable that the VF-X-5 Condor was produced in 2014 but the VF/B-5 was most likely 2015. The designation is VF/B-5.....not VAF-6.

VAF-9-X Prototype 2018, VAF-9 Alpha 2020

As much as I cant stand Tommy Yune's comics...the VF-X-6 Genia (Alpha prototype) was shown flying in 2015.

As for the VF/B-9 Beta....you pretty much got that one right. As for the Cyclones....again....its pretty much sometime in the 2020s (though the initial testing would have been an outgrowth of the Fenris Aerial Powered Armor of that the ASC used.

Macross did go into the Malconent rising, and with great alacrity and detail. It would be easy to super-impose the ideas of the Macross version, onto the timeline of Robotech, if you can keep an open mind to it. I know a lot of the novel readers around here cannot, so I will leave out any details until requested.

Umm....ya got that backwards. There was no Malcontent Uprisings in the Macross universe. A general uprising by Zentraedi worldwide occured in Robotech (we hear about it peripherally in eps. #36 To the Stars when Rick hears about the Southern Cross coming across a downed Zentraedi cruiser).

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Unless your talking about the newly reanimated footage? The only, and I repeat ONLY time you EVER see a VF-4 is the toy model Rick is playing with in his quarters.

Except that 2 seconds before that we see a VF-X-4 flying somewhere and hear engine noises (which indicates that its really a Veritech...not simply a model).

MOSPAEDA Graffity lists it as the VAF-6: I just. report them, I dont name them

Thats funny....my Artmic Entertainment Bible simply names it the Condor, while the Super Robot Page lists it as the AF-Condor (for Armo-Fighter). The VAF-designation originated with The Invid Invasion RPG supplement.

http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~akira_t/rbdble/pgm/ttnk1e.htm

As much as I can't stand Yommy Yune's comics either? I dont - hence why I dont supply information from them, especially when they are only near-canon.

Its closer to the canon than either the old comics or The Sentinels. God....the sky is gonna drop now...Im actually defending Tommy Yune's position.

And most important of all - M1, M2, and M3 are all based on the adventures of Max and Miriya during, intially, the Zentraedi Rebellion. Calling it the Malcontent Uprising was so their was clarification on my part, so that Robotech players would not get confused on the subject matter I was presenting. Weather the details of the Macross version, or the Robotech version are 100% identical I leave up to the GM's who run their games as they will.

There is a significant difference between The Malcontent Uprisings (which were originally referenced in the Robotech novels) and the Zentraedi rebellion in M3. God...another sign of the apocalypse...Im defending Jack McKinney.

By the way - little detail you left out? Technically ALL of the mecha in Southern Cross where originally Power Armor of one nature or another.

Umm...no...sorry. The Robots (that we call Battloids) were not powered armor. There was powered armor in Southern Cross....the Fenris and Kraken (mislabled in the RPG as the Cosmic Units Battloid and EBSIS Soldier Battloid respectively). Bioroids, however, are like power armor in many ways.

[Shawn Merrow]

Unless your talking about the newly reanimated footage? The only, and I repeat ONLY time you EVER see a VF-4 is the toy model Rick is playing with in his quarters.

Except that 2 seconds before that we see a VF-X-4 flying somewhere and hear engine noises (which indicates that its really a Veritech...not simply a model).

I just saw that episode and the background from the part your talking about matches the sky seen through the window. I think it was just a closeup of the model Rick was holding not supposed to be some random shot of a Veritech flying (also why have such a scene). The engine noise seems more like Rick messing around while playing with a model. I checked the original Macross version and there is no engine noise in that scene and that seems to back up that in the dub it was just Rick making engine noises. Of course though if Rick has a model to play with means it must be in some stage of development and production.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Of course though if Rick has a model to play with means it must be in some stage of development and production.

Harmony Gold has decided that the scene represents both....that there is a VF-X-4 in development (and is flying at that time) while we see Rick playing with a model version (probably given as a gift from the test pilot to his friend whom he knows loves that kind of stuff).

::shrugs::

The YVF-4 is currently in limbo as to whether or not it will ever be used again. The Infopedia says it wasnt put into mass production...but that could change since HG can pretty much do with Macross as they want in the States. Unlikely as it is...the VF-4 (Fury?) based on the Macross Tv series (not the one from FB 2012) could become the mainstay Veritech of the Pioneer Mission/REF until the early 2030s.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Geez...never replied to this one.....I must be getting soft in my old age.

The main problem is that the Lightning III is the mass production version of the VF-X-4 in the Macross Universe. Its seen in Flashback 2012 and looks more streamlined than the test bed model. It has no place in this discussion.

In Robotech (now through the comics) we see the YVF-4 (Fury?) looks almost IDENTICAL to the VF-X-4 test model. Since it appeared in the Macross Tv series, Harmony Gold has direct access to it. There is no need for a making the Robotech VF-4 the same as the Macross VF-4.

Note: The reason I say VF-4 Fury is because that has been a proposed name for the Robotech version. Its unofficial and only used by some of the Rt.com (and RDF HQ MB) hardcore fans. Rtsurfer at Rt.com and RDF HQ came up with the designation and I for one like it better than Lightning III.

Addendum: In Robotech, presumably two (maybe as many as four) different mecha grew out of the VF-X-4 test bed program (other than a production version VF-4):

VF-7 Sylphide - The main aerospace Veritech of the United Earth Government during the 2nd Robotech War until it was partially supplanted by the Ajax. It is considered a cheaper alternative to the VF-4. Although we never see them transform....they are called Veritechs in two separate episodes as well as the thing LOOKING like it should transform. See especially eps. #43 Prelude to Battle.

SF/A-5 Bat - The main non-transforming Strike Fighter of the REF. Seen for a brief few seconds during eps. #71 The Secret Route in Lancer's flashback sequence. Its the mecha that he is piloting.

VTOL Unnamed fighter designed for The Sentinels seen in Robotech Art 3 and named the Delta Veritech in the comics by Eternity. Its a 2-form (at least) Veritech that is almost identical to the VF-7 Sylphide in profile. Probably, as the uRRG speculates, its a Recon or Elint model. Should be classified as a VE-

VF-X Gamma Fighter Now abandoned concept for a new Veritech in the proposed Shadow Force Tv movie. Basically take an SF/A-5 Bat and make it variable. Not a bad design in my opinion.