Yes the Turn A's chest is designed for missiles. In "Mead Gundam",
the drafts clearly indicates, with graphics and captions, that it can
fit 8 missiles, in which 2 are for special missiles, whatever they
are. In fact Tomino's notes on the TAG (and implies to other TAG MS
designs) is "there's lower body, and there the whole upper body is
for weapons".
While TAG look is very curvy and futuristic, Syd Mead designed TA as
a weapon, in fact goes into quite details on them... and Tomino
barely use one or two of them.
While you'd think, hey it must be Tomino ignoring/screwing others
again, think about the position TAG the MS is in the storyline: it's
a military weapon (probably very advance even in its own era) that's
recovered by a generation centuries later with a less-advanced
technology in most places.
So the MSs should be designed very futuristic YET very functional as
a weapon, which I think Syd Mead delivers. And the story should shows
how these weapons could be put to bad use in battles AND good use
outside of battles, which I think Tomino delivered.
Loran and most MS pilots in the show probably have discovered and
make used of a very small portion of these weaponry are capable of.
Loran found "bombs", so he put it into the only secure place he can
imagine... inside TA, and happens to found one in the missile pod.
However I would expect him to know about the actual usage of these
missile pods, but, hey, the nuclear weapon doesn't fit (remember how
he put soil into TA to secure the warhead inside). As Core doesn't
remember a thing on this at all we have to forgive him (he got a cute
toddler girl... so forgive him. I forgets a lot too) for assuming
nuclear warheads are "one size fits all".
As of whether TAG ever launches missiles from the hatch? AFAIR, no,
but if it's in that 5 seconds of the final duel between Turn X and
Turn A... it happened too fast, I can't tell now... but I still think
not.
Worth mentioning that while the front hatch is known to all from the
anime and lineart, the back hatch for loading missiles are only shown
in Mead Gundam and now implemented in MG. It's so unknown that one
blog thought it's for "Moonlight Butterfly"!
(Did the animation crew ended up interpreting them for MB or did MB
just came out of all the seams on TAG's back? needs to check the
final episodes again....)
On Aug 7, 2007, at 12:54 AM, Reynolds, Jason M. wrote:
My point was that in the series he never fires the nuclear
missiles. He
opens the front chest hatch, slides them out to his hand, and
throws them.
The opening panels on the back of the MG kit made me wonder if they
were
designed to open up to allow the missiles to launch like Bazooka
rounds?
Otherwise what is the point of them? In fact what was really the
point of
the chest holes to begin with before Loran stowed the nuclear
missiles in
them?
Boaz
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http://myturnaspace.blogspot.com
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