pengbuzz

Can we at least keep all the Captain Pike stuff?

They did, but in 1/2500 scale and the recent 1/350 scale (HUGE mutha!). They also re-released the AMT D7 movie version ("K'Tinga" class) in 1/537: https://round2corp.com/product/cadet-series-motion-picture-era-set/ https://round2corp.com/product/star-trek-klingon-ktinga-2/ https://round2corp.com/product/star-trek-klingon-ktinga-class-battle-cruiser-i-k-s-amar/

I built the older AMT 1/2500's when the three-set came out, and I built the newer 2 stuff; let me tell you, the quality is night and day! The R2 tiny refit was worlds better than AMT's attempt.:better detailing, not so chunky, no protruding "panel lines" and the decals were pretty good. My only complaint was getting an aztec stuck on my thumb! lol All that said: I've also built the 1/1000 scale ones and they're not bad either. I don't think Defiant will disappoint you, but I haven't built that one yet.

I built the 1/2500 Refit E and Reliant; I then used them in a WoK diorama, along with Playmates figures of Kirk and Khan: (I reworked the figures as well) It has a custom Starfleet movie emblem I had made for the Diorama, but it broke off and shattered during our move from the Rockies back to the East Coast: Soon as I can, I'll build and paint up a new one for it. For right now, money's tight.

Meanwhile, on a small island in the Bonin Island chain in the pacific....

Yeah; Kay-Bee Toys was supposed to be reopening as well, then delayed it when they realized they were too close to the holiday season. That was the last i heard, and nothing else since then. At this point, I'll believe either one when I see it.

Agreed: in order to make this without the cooperation of BW, HG would have to gut it like they did Shadow Chronicles. And as far as I'm concerned, that's certainly not Macross, and it's not even Robotech in my book. It's just....bad. It's just trying to cash in on an IP without using the IP; sort of like how the 4th season of Airwolf was made without actually having the helicopter to use in the series anymore (it was sold after season 3 and another company took over production). They just used recycled footage, and here, HG doesn't really even get to do that with RT. They're down to trying to build RT from scratch, and as you mentioned before: "quality costs money". Something HG will not do, and certainly not for much as they can help it. You know, that idea has crossed my mind more than once in this convo. Some things just were not meant to be "adapted", and don't translate well to a western style of storytelling. I think anime may only be suitable for anime, much like some things simply don't translate well into other venues, or even under different minds. Star Trek never did well as being "gritty", as Gene Roddenberry's vision was of a bright, hope-filled future. Depriving it of that made it fall far below Star Wars and just flounder, because the thing that brought it to "the game" was gone. Star Trek wasn't supposed to be about continual conflict (WoK worked by virtue that Khan was on a relentless quest for vengeance against Kirk, and was a one-off and not the norm, and even then the conflict was down to two battles and an incident on Regula), but about exploring issues and concepts of our time in a venue that allowed these things to be examined in ways that weren't possible in a normal setting. Questions about the nature and meaning of morality, the human spirit and potential, questions of existence, possibilities and concepts not normally expressible today...those were (and should be still by all rights) part and parcel of Star Trek. All the JJ Abrams movies explored was how gritty they could make it before movie goers got bored... Now getting back to Macross: it works because the music, the romance and the optimism are all interconnected and are fueled by one another. Songs inspired by love and optimism speak to both the forces fighting, the people in Macross City and the Zentraedi/ Meltrandi fleets. The optimism of both races living together peacefully inspires and moves them to reach out and care for others and to ultimately soar in music, relationships and even combat. it all drives one another IMO, and this is the soul of Macross... ... and HG couldn't do any of that if their lives depended on it, even WITH the IP. So, deprived of all the things that made Macross work, all they're basically left with are the shallow impressions left by the weight of what was once there. And like Gobal and Lang looking at the space where the Fold Generators used to be aboard the Macross (after they dropped out of fold near Pluto), they're pretty much without a good idea of what to do other than to lamely head where where they KNEW they should be and hope there is something still left there (if they survive the trip!).

If anyone wants to do an RT movie as far as HG is concerned, it should be a documentary about how HG got the rights and pretty much bungled everything up and made Macross fans' lives a living hell for 3 decades.

Liking your work on the ship, MT! :thumbup My latest: I changed gears a bit and went in a...kaiju... direction... A while back, i got a 12 inch rubber godzilla toy as part of a lot I bought on Listia; this isn't the pic of mine, as mine was in pretty rough shape: (image courtesy of infinitehollywood.com) At any rate, between the horrid paint job and the really bad scuffing, paint wear and poor shape of the toy, i nearly threw it away. but I decided to spare it and set it aside for a bit until I decided what to do with it. Well, recently, Godzilla's in a new movie ("king of the monsters" for one), and I decided that it was time to pull this guy out of mothballs and do something with him. So, I did some work sanding down the bad flash and seam lines (thing was wrecked so at this point, anything was an improvement!), and do a proper paintjob: His face needed some real attention; I still have to do something about his snout (seam line was really bad there and I'm not satisfied with the current state thus far): He had no tongue, so i gave him one: He still needs more work, but G-man is well on his way. Stay tuned...

Carl Macek... don't get me started on him. Where I lived, Robotech was pretty popular in the 80's (New England); it was everywhere back then. Now trying to get an SDF-1 will cost you a vital organ or two! lol As for Bateman and Yune: they deserved better than the crap HG dished them IMO. Here's hoping that 2021 is the year HG finally loses their grip on Macross.

So basically, it's been stagnating since after it's initial popularity wore off in the 80's then. HG is truly the necrotizing fascitiis of robot anime, if not outright gangrene. That's something along my original thoughts on this: the material they devise sucks, and cannot match the quality of the original in any way. HG simply doesn't get what makes a good anime (or anything else for that matter), nor do they care. Considering that no one wants anything to do with RT after the mess they've made of it, that's essentially waiting for the rights to run out. The only thing "Shallow Chronicles" could attract is a bad case of dysentery.

What'd ExoSquad ever do wrong to you?! rofl! "Shadow Chronicles" should be part of the bad dream Hikaru had when he was in his coma following the Daedalus attack on Earth that took out his fighter.

Let's face it: HG is in trouble and has been for some time. RT has stagnated because they painted themselves into a licensing barrel with the whole HG/ Tatsunoko/Big West steaming mess. "New material" isn't really forthcoming because anything HG devises isn't going to match level of the original, and they've played out what they had to work with long ago. I personally think HG is playing a "waiting game", hoping desperately that if they can just keep a death grip on what they have long enough, everyone else will give up and they can finally do as they like. JMO, for what it's worth.

Picard probably resigned when he saw the armada couldn't stop CBS from making Discovery.

okay...looks like my model has been doing some moonlighting while I wasn't looking:

I wonder if they'll reissue the Macross Storm Attacker w/ Daedalus and Prometheus?

I chose a color I felt was best and told my doubts to go burn in a lake of sulfur...

Hopefully I can get in on this and find a couple of hasegawas for detail parts and whatnot.

Definitely to both!!! And of course, post this pic somewhere that HG can see:

You and I both my friend. I think that year will be a Macross celebration for a great many fans (and a day of weeping and gnashing of teeth for Disharmony Gold).

Well, for what it's worth, i finished the VF-1S (FINALLY): Panel lines are a bit heavy, weathering a bit too much, nose gear doors broken off, but I really don't care. I finally finished it, and it's done. It looks halfway decent and that's what matters. Hikaru and Roy enjoying a bit of hunting. Hikaru: "Roy, I get the feeling that something's behind us...." Roy: "Hikaru, I'm NOT turning around.; YOU don't turn around either. If we don't turn around, then we're safe..." Hikaru: "Um...not to question your logic sempai, but that...er...doesn't sound like a very good plan." Roy: "Yeah, well I'm all out of rum back at base so getting 'liquid courage' ain't gonna happen this time around, little brother." Hikaru: "We're screwed..." Roy: "Yup. But look on the bright side: at least you don't have to listen to Misa bitching at you for being late getting back to base."

Well, my solution was to remove the doors from the other valkyries as well, seeing as those also had cracks that were waiting to open up. I'd rather just leave the tires exposed a little on the bottom than wrestle with this.

When I did a 1/48 F-14 Tomcat conversion to a GI Joe "Skystriker", I used a large wooden dowel that I cut to length and then machined the ends using a dremel tool.

Incredible work!! Absolutely LOVE this!!

Progress report: picked up the cockpit to work on it, and instead managed to snap the landing gear doors right off the nose- This really pisses me off. This $#!+ always happens when I try to build Skull-1. Anyways, needing to repaint the nose after stripping it (long story) and I really would like to finish this model someday. Half-tempted to just glue the damn landing gear shut and add a plate over this section. Stay tuned folks.