r/robotech

I made this Illustration in Clip studio hope you like it!

I'm pretty sure this is one of Kevin LONG'S images, and it's his full credit. All I did was colorize it, I could have done that with a crayon.

Colorized Zarian Nousjadeul-Ger. I still consider it Wayne BREAUX'S, what I did is nothing more than fill it in with crayons.

By Tim Wing

First deployed operationally by Imperial Zentraedi Forces, the Gnerl was the last trans-atmospheric fighter used by the Zentraedi. The UN Spacy, and later the United Earth Defense Force (UEDF) and the United Earth Expeditionary Force (UEEF), used the Gnerl after the First Robotech War as the FA-100 Swift. Several upgraded variants were fielded, some with minimal changes and some with major modifications to include full Terran sensor and weapons refit and conversion to human sized crew compartments. Theses variants saw limited use during the Sentinels Campaign, but were by and large transferred to the Colonial Defense Forces by the mid twenties.

The FA-100 Swifts were fast trans-atmospheric fighters with an egg-shaped nose housing a powerful cannon installation and three thrusters at the back. The hull also accommodated three double dual-purpose missile launchers nested between the engines. All FA-100s were based on the model 3 Gnerl with its more extensive VTOL setup. Changes common to all FA-100 variants were the addition of wheels in place of the original’s landing skids, UN Spacy style auxiliary power unit receptacles and other deck handling provisions needed for operation on human ships. Also, common to all variants was the addition of UN Spacy compatible Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) transmitters/receivers and radios.

Though the baseline FA-100A Swift only included the modifications listed above, later variants included the addition of Terran electronics and weapons systems, as well as versions converted for human size crews. All “Micronian” crew variants had the entire cockpit replaced with a two seat tandem cockpit arrangement with a transparent armored canopy. The edition of the more vulnerable traditional canopy rather than a fully enclosed virtual environment was a concession to the micronized Zentraedi pilots who would make up the majority of FA-100 crews. With all the space that was freed up by the smaller crew compartment, Rockwell was able to triple the Swift’s delta-v with the addition of larger reaction mass tanks. Increased ammunition supply and a small privy for the crew filled the rest of the available space.

Thanks to the its impressive 15.2 kps of delta-v and store of nuclear armed Angel of Death anti-ship missiles, the role in which the Swift excelled was long range patrol. For this reason, the human size crew variants stayed in service for quite a bit longer than was originally planned. Because the Colonial Defense Forces rarely had a surplus of capital ships, the FA-100 filled an important niche here. The last refit Gnerl was not retired until the early 40’s, when they were replaced by Legioss fighters.

Text & Art by: Tim Wing (Mecha Journal)

A little piece of my ancient fanart history: An unfinished set of chibi Robotech characters from my university days. I did have a plan to make a set of avatars for our forum, featuring faces from all three generations, but only got as far as the first seven. I finished those seven later in Photoshop, though. And yes, the coloring looks very early-2000s. 😅

The EC-66 "God's Eye" JSTAR/AWACS is the descendant of the EC-33 "Tracker" AWACS developed for the United States Air Force as the primary airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) during the Global Civil War. Like its predecessor, the EC-66 carries an extensive mission avionics package to provide long-range target acquisition, identification, and tracking, both of air and land based targets, and command, control, and communications for directing other units. Finally, personnel on board the EC-66 analyze the data to determine strengths, intentions, and probable route(s) of advance, retreat, and engagement, providing force commanders with the intelligence needed to act.

The airframe of the EC-66 "God's Eye" JSTAR/AWACS is a modified version of the MD-90-50 airframe chosen for the EC-33; The EC-33 had long, slender wings necessitated by the understanding of aerodynamics and flight of the time. The EC66 uses grav pods for flight, and therefore the wings would be redundant. In fact, the use of grav pods allows the craft to be transatmospheric; Wings precluded this, and therefore became a hindrance.

The EC-33 also had a massive discus-shaped radome above the fuselage; This design is inherently flawed, and engineers had to spend more time designing it to be safely mounted than doing anything else. In the EC-66, this dome is mounded in a specially-design notch on the underside of the fuselage which is inherently more secure and allows expanded systems to be installed. Also the radome prevented the EC-33 from rolling in the air as this would cause the craft to become unstable; In fact, anything except straight, level fight was HIGHLY discouraged due to stability. With the radome notch the craft could do barrel rolls and not be the least unstable.

The EC-66 is similar to previous generations of JSTAR/AWACS aircraft in name and mission only; Beyond that the God's Eye is so far advance of anything the Robotech Defense Forces, Army Of The Southern Cross (ASC), or even the Robotech Expeditionary Forces until the God's Eye's development could ever field it's like comparing the Wright Brother's Flyer to the stealth fighter. The forward canards were replaced by a second set of avionics for flight operations.

In addition to its airborne detection capabilities, the EC-66 mounts a powerful SR/AR-225 radar which allows the system to paint a picture of ground based targets. They are independently transatmospheric and can patrol space if to a limited degree.

The radome does provide enough lift to allow the plane to get airborne with a 3,000 ft max. safe thrust take off and to allow for a safe return to base in the event the plane losses her grav pods (such as by getting shot full of holes). The plane also has arrestor gear allowing for landing on a ship.

Variants

Medical Transport: Capable of up to 36 stable patients for advanced or specialized treatment.

Executive Transport: Outfitted to the preference of the new owner (forward facing 19 row four seat, 18 row alternating 4 row, or a inboard facing 18 seat), forward computer station to relay any information the owner may choose.

Prisoner Transport: 15 rows of 4 seats with restraints.

Cargo Transport: An airframe service limit of 2 million flight hours be converted to cargo variants (up to 11 tons).

Based on stolen *GARFISH-*Class HSTC readouts with the turret removed, the Malcontent-Class ships are THE Atorian Ship-Of-The-Line, which says much about the Atorians. Early ships were actual *GARFISH-*Class frigates that were acquired from REF scrap yards under a pretense of recycling. Later ships were newly built to exactly GARFISH specifications; After 120 years the so-called Block Ⅲ versions came out showing strong Atorian influence in form and function. The Block Ⅳ incorporated improved stealthing capabilities though even these were somewhat limited.

The Atorians know they have no chance against the REF warships; Even small CDF battle stations are usually more than a match for them. However, the *Malcontent-*Class is a legitimate threat to civilian targets and in numbers may yet prove to be a serious threat in the future.

The crown jewels of my (still WIP) collection!

Anyone playing the latest RPG?

Started priming getting ready to paint this week.

It's a lot cheaper to pay $20 for four of these than $700 for the entire game just to get the Miniatures that I'm missing.

I still consider it Kevin LONG'S image; All I did was colorize it and add arms, and badly at that.