jenius

Creepy? Nah, no fanfic (well, other than what I just wrote above). After I wrote it I went to bed and thought of more stuff... it really could have been a fanfic. I was thinking you could justify my little story above in an accompanying art book to appease the diehard fans. You wouldn't mention it at all in the new show but in the book you could elaborate saying that the Invid Exodus caused a universal change in existing Protoculture which rendered it inert. All lifeforms that had been created using any form of protoculture-based technology then became unstable and began dying off in masses. Protoculture's becoming inert at that point would also explain why Roy Hunter would know it as something ancient. Within the context of the new cartoon I outlined, you then never have to mention "Zentraedi" or "Robotech Masters" outside of that one vague sentence I fanfic'ed. Sure, lots of fans might be sad to think they'd never see Miria, Dana, Breetai, Exedore, etc. but the truth is most of those couldn't be seen properly in a Robotech show again any way.

It makes sense that people would see Macross and ask if it were going to be part of Robotech because the title "Macross" actually appears in Robotech. Even if they were somewhat more educated it's inarguable that Macross anime would be amongst the easiest to shoehorn into Robotech... in many instances it features the same vehicles as used in Robotech AND there's a tradition there. It also makes sense that many Robotech fans aren't the most informed anime fans, they grew up in a time when anime was relatively hard to get and Robotech had very broad appeal. From there it makes sense that the anime they do like is similar to Robotech as their appetite for mecha anime was clearly whet by Robotech. Why don't they like the anime about the comedical going-ons of 13 year old girls? Probably because their 30 years old and they only let themselves like mecha anime for sentimental reasons. Robotech was a phenomenon because it had broad, sweeping appeal. It was the kind of appeal that turned people who weren't staunch cartoon devotees into fans. Those hardcore anime people (like the kind who post on forums) represent a subsection of anime that is so small anime can not survive on them alone. Shadow Chronicles fails on several levels. Every generation after the Macross Saga had a gap and left Rick Hunter off somewhere in the cosmos. IMHO they should have done the same thing with Shadow Chronicles. I can come up with about a billion scenarios I think would have been more accessible to first time viewers while retaining the old-timers. For example, make it 18 years after the Invid have left Earth. Introduce us to a plucky young orphan named Roy Hunter being raised by his uncle Max Sterling. Don't even bother with all the backstory. Have Roy join the military when he hears that an SOS beacon from the ship his father was the captain of has been tracked down in some distant corner of the universe. Have him get to some distant space station and be introduced to his commanding officer, Scott Bernard. Then his ship goes out in search of the SOS beacon, encounters a new enemy while troubles brew within the ship, and in the end Roy finds out what happened to his dad. It could be a story that functions entirely on its own, with a new cast of characters and mecha, that is only bolstered by its relationship to the original shows, not completely dependent on them. Edit - doing this would also let you get rid of all ties to terms that should be dead in Robotech. You could have a scene where, upon hearing that a distress beacon has been heard, Max tells Roy about the last time he saw his father: "We were on the far side of the universe having been at war for four years. Our Protoculture supplies were all but depleted..." "Protoculture? You still used that stuff?" "Yes, it wasn't until a couple years later that "unobtainium" was discovered. Now, where was I, oh yes, your parents were on the capital ship heading toward the enemy stronghold. My wife took my position as squadron leader and I was transported to the medical ship to receive treatment for my wounds (points to robotic knee). Your parents sent you along with me as you were only a month old. During the battle the capital ship took extensive damage and folded away to safety... and that was the last anyone saw of it. We sent a few ships out to look for her once the smoke cleared but the plague that killed off our allies The Masters and their genetically engineered armies left us so under-manned we had to cut the rescue effort short."

kudos... that looks great so far -

I replace your subjectivity with my own! Waaah waaah... You like Southern Cross, we get it, good for you. Mospeada did much better than Southern Cross did, mostly 'cause it wasn't as bad. Sorry you disagree. Those of you saying "Robotech wasn't a gateway to anime" are viewing it well outside of context. Back in the 80s there was all sorts of publicity about Robotech which generated publicity for anime in general. Macek said it was a remark in a news article that the japanese import Robotech was more popular than a Disney release that was in theaters that triggered the creation of Robotech: the movie. How much actually came from all that? It's tough to say... but it's easy to say the small handful of anecdotes from people in this thread won't even scratch the surface of 80s reality.

QFT. I thought the same thing. I also agree that some characters should have been lopped off the show in better fashions in earlier episodes. Sayid has a good following so I guess it makes sense that they kept him around as long as possible but I still would have liked to see something more. His story arch has been pretty screwy for a long while now... ever since he started working for Ben only to end up trying to kill him as a child. I wish they had set him up as a third point in the Locke, Jack dynamic since he clearly had strength and resolve.

are they making 3D porn yet? Porn pushes technology right?

Hey, don't lump Mospeada in with Southern Cross. Southern Cross was a big failure because it sucked. Mospeada was a larger failure because merchandisers thought it was the next Macross so they dumped too much money in it trying to cash in on a phenomenon that didn't take. Personal anecdotes aside, it's silly to argue that anime would have taken off in the US even if it weren't shown on TV. Macross would have never been as popular as The Macross Saga if it were brought over by random fans throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Sorry, some of us still would have watched it and loved it... but most of us would just be bigger Transformers or GI Joe fans.

Yamato Mass Production Version... doesn't that mean it will be the same product in cannon fodder paint scheme

Glad you're enjoying the site! I received my GN-u VF-1S as a gift, I think it was purchased from HLJ.com. I know some member in HK were discussing picking them up at steep discounts in the store there... unfortunately I don't know if any of those stores make items available internationally.

I'm pretty sure the 1/100 VF-0 Yamato was making had the same transformation as the V1 1/60, meaning the legs popped off and fit into the nosecone in battroid. If I get bored tonight I'm gonna have to try to dig up that fossil somewhere... I should have included some pics in one of my VF-0 reviews... You know, screw calling the VB-6 a "DX" toy, Bandai totally should have made it part of their "Hi-Metal 1/100" line. That seems to be where it fits the best.

Yes, a review of this and the GNU VF-1 will eventually make it up on the site. I had some old posts I wanted to get updated in the meantime

Someone should do a fan dub of AstroPlan and use Robotech music. Make it a download phenomenon and Robotech will finally have a sequel. A fan dub is perfect, Robotech didn't have a whole lot of voices involved back in the day anyway.

I actually just did this last weekend. You're right, the Gnus are similar in size to the 1/100 Toynami toys and look much better.

To be fair, that was back in the V1 days when Yamato was strutting a 1/100 VF-0 toy that looked terrible and was a big partsformer. Now Bandai is making 1/100 toys that look good and aren't nearly the parts-formers the Yamatos were. Go figure there'd be lots of praise.

I believe the in-universe explanation of Protoculture goes like this: 1) The Masters create "Protoculture", a bio-fuel that when used in concert with other sciences makes just about anything possible. 2) The Masters tell their ignorant slaves the Zentraedi go fetch them Zor's ship and all the Protoculture therein but be careful, Protoculture makes whoever has it very powerful. 3) The Zentraedi don't really know what Protoculture is, just that it's dangerous and they need to get it back. Anything beyond the realm of their understanding could thus be Protoculture. 4) The Masters seek the Protoculture on Zor's ship but find it's too late. The ship has been blown apart and the biological aspects of the fuel source are just thriving plants. There's some problems here... as in when did humans learn how to use protoculture, where did they get their supply (all off the SDF1?) and if they were aware of it as this omnipotent power source how come they didn't figure out a way of isolating it from the SDF-1 wreckage. Also, if they looted the SDF1 of this power source, then they knew it was there, wouldn't they immediately suspect when the Masters showed up that that was what they were after? 5) Since the humans had apparently looted the SDF1 of protoculture batteries, that's what all the new gen and REF mecha work off. Meanwhile, the Invid take the flowers that form protoculture's biological aspect and are able to reap the bio-fuel directly from them thus making them incredibly powerful (don't make me go Phoenix on you).

I know you don't buy a Lamborghini for the interior but that interior looks pretty hideous.

Wow Vic, great job, thanks!

If they're going alternative wings thing, they should go the next step and include stubby wings for battroid. Personally, I think alternative wings sounds kinda lame.

Someone above already mentioned the difficulties the smaller scale represents. We should also note that Yamato failed. They had more room to work with and they still screwed up the tolerances on the shoulders. So, Bandai has much tighter tolerances to deal with and thus will be more prone to being fragile. If they can make their toy look THAT good and still be playable than they'll have pulled off a major coup. Of course, some people are just going to hate this toy for various reason (landing gear you have to put on, heat shield that's not integral, etc.). I think what we need to do next is have someone put up a piece of line art in that same pose... but that probably doesn't exist. I suspect if that were done people might be a little less prone to praising the V2... which is beautiful no doubt but has some compromises of its own.

nice work. The HM 1J does seem to have a gap from front to back of battroid (although the side covers make it a bit harder to tell how bad it is... but they do make that V2 look sweet). Note, nosecone placement in battroid is pretty much the same but the HM has its head in the right spot (which probably means fighter mode of the HM looks much more squat).

uh... that head is definitely not where it's supposed to be and those pictures just make it that more painfully obvious. You see the top of the chest piece? That's where the neck is supposed to start. I also don't the low hung nosecone is a huge issue. First, the 1/48 had a somewhat elongated nose which makes the problem worse. Second, there's plenty of line art that shows the nosecone beneath the wings.

This thing has hard points on the wings right? If so, it looks like you might be able to leave the missiles on for battroid mode.

The HM looks fantastic in battroid. Just having the head in the right spot is a huge step forward. The lower head makes the battroid look so much meaner. Otherwise, yeah, the seams are more obvious on the 1/100 but that all comes with the scale. The fact we're even seriously comparing a 1/60 to a 1/100 is pretty amazing for the 1/100. Now we just have to hope the 1/100 handles well... fortunately for it Yamato set the bar pretty low.

Is this a toy or a model? I'm hoping it's a toy since it's in the toy forum. Is it like a joke machine? 'cause it looks like a joke machine and that is friggin' awesome.

Special = Ranka Guard GIGGITISH!!! That's my guess.