YF-19 Excalibur

[Talos 0]

Landing gear is looking awesome!

 

Are you going to install the missile bays above the landing gear areas that the original had? The YF-19 carried one large missile in each one (perhaps AIM-54C could work), and the VF-19s carried multiple small missiles (a custom model would probably be needed, I could work out the weapondata.ini work for it). Hmm, I wonder if it would be possible to replicate being able to see through the floor and lower walls of the YF-19's cockpit in Macross Plus and 7. That would be a great effect.

 

@dast54

Thanks, dast. I haven't worked on it in awhile, but I had started a top view of the F-27C. The fuselage is a modified F-15E, as is the horizontal tail. The new engines and vertical tail are based on the F-22's and the forward fuselage, canards, and wings are sourced and modded from the VF-11B. I'm going to put in LOAN nozzles based on the F-35's soon, likely.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Talos

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

The large missiles were carried in the FAST packs, which I haven't modelled. I was just going to give it hard points like any other fighter. I remember someone around here made some micro missiles for their VF-1, those would be worth looking into.

 

Once I start working on the virtual cockpit I'll do everything I can do recreate the features of the original, especially the viewscreen floor and sides.

[dast24 138]

@talos: thx

@GrinchWSLG: do you have an idea, where you want to place the hardpoints?

[+CrimsonRoamer 1]

<br />The large missiles were carried in the FAST packs, which I haven't modelled. I was just going to give it hard points like any other fighter. I remember someone around here made some micro missiles for their VF-1, those would be worth looking into.<br /><br />Once I start working on the virtual cockpit I'll do everything I can do recreate the features of the original, especially the viewscreen floor and sides.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

 

I was messing around with AMM-1's a while ago, In fact a I managed to find the VF-1 Valkyrie design book as a pdf online, which has detail of all the weapons carried by the orignal Valkyrie, I'll see if I can upload it at the weekend.

[Atreides 144]

Looks superb Grinch. Keep at it, and a sincere thanks for working on this. :yes:

[+EricJ 4,241]

Definitely looking sweet

[+Julhelm 266]

Out of curiosity, how'd it look if you stuck a flanker-style IRST onto the nose infront of the cockpit?

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

@talos: thx

@GrinchWSLG: do you have an idea, where you want to place the hardpoints?

 

Well, I was gonna wait till I had it in the sim to experiment, but for the moment I'm thinking:

 

1 under the wing root, each side, AA missiles, light ground ordnance.

1 (or possibly 2) under each wing for AA missiles.

1 centered hardpoint under the fuselage for gunpods (of course).

Then a hard point on either side of the gunpod hardpoint for heavier bombs.

 

Thats just what I'm thinking, still gotta play around with it in the sim.

 

I was messing around with AMM-1's a while ago, In fact a I managed to find the VF-1 Valkyrie design book as a pdf online, which has detail of all the weapons carried by the orignal Valkyrie, I'll see if I can upload it at the weekend.

 

Did you make any progress on it? I would love to see an Itano Circus in the sim.

 

Looks superb Grinch. Keep at it, and a sincere thanks for working on this.

 

Thanks, no problem.

 

Definitely looking sweet

 

Thanks.

 

Out of curiosity, how'd it look if you stuck a flanker-style IRST onto the nose infront of the cockpit?

 

Like that?

 

However, while I'm not up on my Macross tech I'm pretty sure the two bulges along either side of the nose provide the same function.

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,557]

Looks good would make two versions on more russian ... hehe

[Talos 0]

Well, you got me watching Macross Plus again for the first time in months since this model is so excellent.

 

I checked and you were right, the large missile was launched from the FAST packs. I scanned a lineart of the mini-missile bays from Basara's custom VF-19 Fire Valkyrie from Macross 7, but they should be the same on the YF-19. They'd be angled downwards in this case, but a decent Itano circus with them would be awesome to see. I'll have to experiment with that later this afternoon.

 

The only problem with an IRST like that (even though it looks pretty cool), is that the cockpit on the YF-19 tilts forward there, so it'd get in the way. Sounds like a good plan with the pylons, that's a sensible setup.

 

[SkyStrike 15]

Okay guys, I'm hesitant to post this, cuz I'm afraid some experianced modeller is going to tell me I screwed the pooch on this, but here goes.

 

My efforts for the past 5 days: The YF-19 Excalibur

 

Before any Macross Plus fans get too excited, let me warn you, this is not the exact version seen in the movie. I've modified it as a fighter mode only aircraft. The head and laser that pokes through the fuselage have been removed (or covered rather), I've replaced the arms underneath the fuselage with a more aerodynamic shape for mounting hardpoints, and there is absolutely no detail beyond what is necassary for the fighter mode (IE, no internal battroid workings). I have done this for 2 reasons. First, this is the first time I've modelled something this far, using this technique, with the goal of putting it in game (there was a failed attempt at a CT-4 Airtrainer for MSFS many years ago) so things were kept as simple as possible. Second, I personally could care less if the YF-19 can tranform into a battroid, I think she's perfect in fighter mode.

 

No Issues here... Frankly I'd say it's PURE EXCELLENCE without any doubt...

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

Well, you got me watching Macross Plus again for the first time in months since this model is so excellent.

 

I checked and you were right, the large missile was launched from the FAST packs. I scanned a lineart of the mini-missile bays from Basara's custom VF-19 Fire Valkyrie from Macross 7, but they should be the same on the YF-19. They'd be angled downwards in this case, but a decent Itano circus with them would be awesome to see. I'll have to experiment with that later this afternoon.

 

The only problem with an IRST like that (even though it looks pretty cool), is that the cockpit on the YF-19 tilts forward there, so it'd get in the way. Sounds like a good plan with the pylons, that's a sensible setup.

 

 

For now I'm gonna leave it plain jane and just see if I can get it working and flying well in the game, then I'll focus on weapons. Although I wondered something today. See as we have dispersal pods for bomblets, would it be possible to have the same effect except with AA missiles coming out?

 

No Issues here... Frankly I'd say it's PURE EXCELLENCE without any doubt...

 

Thank you.

 

----------------------

 

An aside, I would like to try this out in the game, just to see how it looks. I tried modifying the data files for MF's F-15C and exported the OUT and LOD's but the plane still doesn't show up on the list in the game. Does anyone know a quick and dirty way to get the model in the game?

[Talos 0]

Yeah, I agree, weapons can wait until you get it running in game on some level.

 

It might be as simple a matter as a typo that's preventing the plane from showing up ingame. I can take a look at the data files if you still can't get it to work.

 

I've been experimenting with laser-guided rockets (I've almost finished the .ini's for the APKWS, but I don't have a model for it), and that might be a possibility. I'll have to mess with IIR guidance and offset launch angles, see if I can get a real Itano Circus going.

[FastCargo 412]

Silly question...did you give it a cockpit.ini entry?

 

You need that to have it show up in the list to fly....

 

FastCargo

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

Turns out when you "save as" an INI file, you should remember to save it as an INI file, not a TXT file. Woops.

 

Sooo, I got to see it in game. And seeing as how I did the animations and linking all in the wrong order the results were amusing. I did a bunch of animations to help me build the gear and flaps, and I included them in the INI to see if they would work. Most of them didn't...

 

 

Watching the take off roll nearly made me fall out of my chair laughing.

 

I'm assuming the proper thing to do now is unlink everything, apply Reset Xform to all parts, move all the associated pivot points, reanimate. Also, does shock animation start on the bottom and go up or what?

[FastCargo 412]

I'm assuming the proper thing to do now is unlink everything, apply Reset Xform to all parts, move all the associated pivot points, reanimate.

 

Yea, pretty much if you want to avoid any future problems.

 

Also, does shock animation start on the bottom and go up or what?

 

You got it...start with the most extended position and move up.

 

One thing that could help (I'm not sure how you have some of your stuff) is for mirrored items (ie flaps, main landing gear) you can animate (say the left landing gear), then group the items, then mirror a clone of that group (in the X axis), move the 'mirror' group to the proper side, ungroup and link to the proper location (ie if the LeftMainGearStrut is linked to the LeftWing, the LeftMainGearStrut01(your mirrored gear) will need to be linked to the RightWing). You can then rename all the parts (rename LeftMainGearStrut01 to RightMainGearStrut, etc), and it should work perfectly.

 

Note I say 'should'. Occasionally, you'll get some weirdness that will require you to 'flip' a few parts in the 'mirrored' group. Not a problem...took me about 2 minutes to figure it out.

 

This is especially useful if your landing gear or animation or both are complex.

 

FastCargo

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

Okay, I unlinked and Reset Xfrom on the whole model. All my mirrored parts went black and a copied part deformed, not sure what was up with that. Whats the purpose of the Xform anyway?

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

I can't edit my posts?

 

Okay, I've been repositioning the pivots and I've got the ailerons, flaps, and rudder done. I started to animate the main gear and something wierd has started happening. I toggle set key on frame 10, where the gear is all the way down. I set the key, the move to frame 5 and rotate the gear halfway to the gear well like I normally would. I set a key here when I have it positioned. However, when I moved the slider back toward frame 10, instead of going back down to fully extended, it goes in the complete opposite direction!

 

EDIT: Well it works fine if I go back and reset the previous key so no matter

Edited May 1, 2008 by GrinchWSLG

[FastCargo 412]

Basically, from what I understand, Reset XForm simply resets the part to align with the world as it currently sits. In other words it takes what the part looks like at the top of the list of modifiers and basically resets it as if it was natively formed that way at the beginning (the pivot axis is aligned, scale and rotation are set to zero).

 

You might get some wierdness if you used Instanced to 'flip' parts (say, copying a wing). That may be what you are seeing there. 3dsMax has some oddities (like booleans with complex objects for example).

 

Please tell me you made backups first...

 

I'd recommend doing only a few parts at a time, so you can quickly go back if you need to. In addition, before applying Reset XForm, I'd collapse all the modifiers on the parts you are going to Reset XForm.

 

FastCargo

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

I guess I get what Xform is now, sorta.

 

Don't worry about backups, I have plenty, I make a new one every time I try something new. I'm on number 24 right now.

 

The weird parts were just ones I could easily copy and make new ones, most would have been replaced anyway. Only one I had to rebuild and that wasn't difficult.

 

Thanks for the help.

Edited May 1, 2008 by GrinchWSLG

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

Thats more like it

 

 

Works great too, gear animation is wonderful (considering how much time I put into it it better be!)

 

Only one problem. Either A) Thirdwire's pilot is the biggest fighter pilot in history. B) Isamu Dyson was the smallest test pilot in history. or C) The dimensions given for the YF-19 are not right.

 

Why? The pilot doesn't fit in the pit! I can understand him being a little too wide for the seat, it needs to be a bit wider, but height wise it should be about right. Instead I have feet through the floor and his butt is imbedded into the seat.

[FastCargo 412]

Only one problem. Either A) Thirdwire's pilot is the biggest fighter pilot in history. B) Isamu Dyson was the smallest test pilot in history. or C) The dimensions given for the YF-19 are not right.

 

Why? The pilot doesn't fit in the pit! I can understand him being a little too wide for the seat, it needs to be a bit wider, but height wise it should be about right. Instead I have feet through the floor and his butt is imbedded into the seat.

 

Well, to an extent, B and C might both be true. Japanese on average are smaller overall than those of European descent. If a plane was built with the average Japanese person in mind, it might be too small for non-Japanese people to use.

 

Also, fictional aircraft sometimes tend to be over optimistic in certain realities...one being how much space a real human pilot takes up.

 

Finally, does this aircraft have one of those 'reclined' seats like an F-16? If so, the pilot model maybe just sits too far upright. Unfortunately, there is no way to 'rotate' a pilot model in game. You either have to alter the aircraft, or use a different pilot model. I wonder if the WOI F-16 Netz pilot model is different...

 

Looks good so far!

 

FastCargo

[Talos 0]

I checked the numbers in a couple of canon sources and Isamu Dyson's height is listed as 183 cm or just about 6' even. The YF-19 is officially supposed to be 18.62m long, 14.87m wide, and 3.94m tall. From the picture you posted, what is visible of the pilot from the outside looks nearly right, though the pilot looks a bit too big in comparison to the plane. The cockpit in the YF-19 had a very low floor because of the view system in the floor, the pilot's feet rested on the rudder pedals. I'll try to get some screenshots and lineart later to help check things out.

 

You're not kidding about the underestimates of space needed, FastCargo. In the final episodes of Macross Plus they install a second seat in that space behind the pilot with a full ejection seat and panel.

 

EDIT: Looking superb so far!

Edited May 1, 2008 by Talos

[+CrimsonRoamer 1]

 

These are the valkyrie's particular weapons

[Talos 0]

Those are the weapons for the VF-1 Valkyrie, actually. The YF-19 used a GU-15 gunpod and different missiles. Where is that from? I've never seen that diagram before.

 

@Grinch

I found this lineart diagram in my archives, it shows where the pilot's head should be in relation to the cockpit. It also shows how the two canopy parts hinge and how the aft canopy and seat can be ejected separately. The center-right image shows the interior of the cockpit and how deep it is below the seat, as well as the angle the seat is tilted back.