Jasonc

Can someone please help me to understand what the issue we are discussing here is? Are we talking about a moral debate of buying the official copy versus a scanlation, or politics of current book selling trends, or something else? I haven't been on this thread in awhile, and it seems like a little of all this is running into each other. I'm all for supporting the original product, even if I don't read Japanese. To me, I enjoy supporting a franchise that's given a lot of great product, stuff I grew up with. If people here aren't going to buy items because it's not in english, that's one's choice, but with that token, I'd almost say, don't demand that they make accomodations for you. English is a secondary market, and wishing, hoping, and demanding isn't going to show product viability in a secondary market. The only figures the Japanese companies like Satelite, BW, and Yamato can go off of, are sketchy sales figures, and informed guesstimations on people who don't buy anything, but maybe would if english was added to their products. Those are some of the things I'm trying to bring to the table to help, but it's a long road. It's also not as easy as just having one person decide to make these decisions. I won't go into details, cause we probably know most of it already, but sometimes to make your voice heard, you gotta put up the $. It's not like you're getting the raw end of the deal either. You get official Macross product.

From what I know of the relationship between HG and Toynami, I'm guessing that Toynami is making the DYRL figures on their own, because they know what sells. I'm pretty sure HG isn't telling Toynami what to make and what not to make. My only hope is that they put a Macross Logo on it, and nothing of Robotech, as it would be non-canon to Robotech anyways. Toynami is a smart company, and they aren't going to make something they don't think will sell. That's why they'll never make the Southern Cross toys, even though they would be really cool to have.

Today, I have finished what are the external tanks located on the back calf of the legs. All scribe tools have come in, and I've begun to sort out what I need to put lines on. Pretty soon, I will recast what I need to duplicate on this thing, and can then start the process of super clean-up, and paint. I still need to put the top piece to the backpack, but that can be done in a day or so. Almost there. I'll start on the decals soon, as well.

Is this the 2nd version? I'd have to think about it. Can you send me a pm with the details?

I think the web exclusives say a few things that haven't really been touched on, like the fact that Toynami has much smaller production runs. Of course, as most of us have seen and know, this makes the product possible to list as an "Exclusive", and also allows a higher price point. I know the price probably goes up in production with smaller runs, but also taking into account that these molds have all been done, the cost shouldn't be affected too much. This is one of the things that staff at HG use to avert people's eyes from. McKeever has many times claimed that all the Robotech product sells out, and is supposedly a cash cow. But when you're only producing say, 5000 units and you sell 4000, that's 80% of the entire run, and not too bad at all. then compare that to a company that makes, say, 100,000 units. If they sell 80,000 units, that's still 80%, but the gap in units sold/unsold is much larger. I thought that deal was essentially put on indefinite hold, or "hiatus" as HG would say?

Awesome cels, jvmacross. This year, I'm looking to be able to buy some more Macross cels if they are available. It will also depend on if I can make a trip out to Japan this year.

That's alright, they're in different eras, but my vote is for Sheryl from Frontier, Akiko from M7, Myun from Plus, Mao from Zero, and Kim from SDF.

Damn, I'm getting behind. I still need the black bunny Sheryl figure.

What bothers me, is that those same fans and a couple others try to pass off this notion as fact, when it's simply their opinion. There's nothing they can really "validate" when it comes to a 100% pure subjective claim. If they wanna believe that, it's fine. There's no hurt feelings, and I don't need to change them. In my OPINION, Macross is better than Robotech in it's epic and grand scale. It has great characters, on and on, etc, etc. See, that's my opinion, and I have no need to push that on anyone. I still like the original Robotech almost just as much, but no amount of yapping from the nutjobs is going to change my subjective opinion. Now, if they try to say that Robotech is more successful, then they may need to attempt to verify that. As has been stated many, many times, I don't see Robotech product in the toy shelves, or new series coming out, or successful video games, or manga, magazines, food product, and that list goes on. Macross has all of those, and is verifiable fact. You'd think that with all the so-called Robotech fans in such large numbers all over the world, they'd be making money hand over fist. They can't even get reprinted comics enough interest to print in their own backyard.

I work in real estate (not full time), and while we do try to make some money off of our services, it is a business. Why would people do it for free. I think you're probably referring to more of the land owners in your comment, as when I have a client, I try to cater to them and help them as much as possible, and usually develop a good relationship with them throughout the process. What's sad about Robotech is that it directly and indirectly generates people hating some, if not, all aspects of it. HG's approach to the fans, as well as the wannabe higher-up fans, generates discourse between their own fandom. The way they treat the original series, especially Macross, generates it's own hatred for the company and product tied to it. They would probably be more tolerable if they did let Macross series come over, but I think they have this fear that it'd stomp out interest in robotech, as if it isn't already. I've done plenty of marketing in the past, and there's one thing that comes to mind here. The customer may not always be right, but you gotta at least fake it to make them feel as if they are. That saying can apply to almost everything in marketing. If people are complaining about things like updating the site, brushing it off doesn't make the problem go away. Nor does telling them that they only care about their money. Simply adding updated looks and even some mindless articles could've gone a long way to let the fans know that they at least listen to them. In the end, let's face it...HG doesn't have the pull like it did even 5 years ago. If you look at the span of 10 years, you'll see that the site went from flourishing, to being on life support. Through poor staff decisions, bad firings, and poor product ideas, the site isn't even worth the time. Kevin can spin all he wants to on how well the site supposedly is doing, but I can see with my own eyes, as can many others, that the site's traffic is lower than ever, and with comments about how hard it is to update the site, whether true or not, it pretty much solidifies it as a useless site for the average fan. I'm glad I did my part in steering away a good number of people from the site. If I can, I'd get more to leave the site.

I wouldn't be upset with that. MtF should be the way Macross is to be redone, if it was going to be. That said, with the new Frontier movie coming out this month, they'll probably still be riding high on Frontier, as it's probably generated the most popularity for them since the original SDF Macross.

As I was surfing the net today, I found tons and tons of Robotech related podcasts. There have been a few in the past that were well received. Why is it now, over recent time, has there been a need for fans, but more importantly, the nutjobs, to start up all these ridiculous podcasts that only rehash the same crap that is talked about on their forums? A few of us were speculating on this, and there maybe a couple of possibilities. However, I'm interested in hearing what you guys have to think about the reasoning. One of the things I thought of, was the fact that most of them believe that the loudest voice is the right one. Another idea was that they do it for the attention and accolades of being "cool" as a Robotech fan. On the contrary, I didn't see any Macross specific podcasts, and it dawned on me that it maybe due to the fact that Macross fans don't have anything to prove or legitimize. that's not to say that a good Macross podcast can't be started, but you get my point. I hear part of one RT podcast, and it's whining about Macross and nothing but idol speculation. I hear part of another, and its idol speculation, and yet another is the same thing. What happened to bringing something new to the table, or actually talking about the show the podcast is about? I'm not saying that speculation should be thrown out, but in going to JT's podcast, it had so much substance other than ranting and speculation. It talked about the show itself, it had interviews, talked about fan works, etc. It was everything, and had something for every fan. I seem to feel that RT fans are losing their minds and having to create their own news to fill the gap of none from the source. Anyways, your thoughts?

OK, not a big update, but since I'm still waiting on more tools, I'm working on the little details and accessories. Here is the handgun that the Platypus will carry. Basically, it's the GU-11 handle (used so that it'll connect in fighter mode), attached to styrene 3/8" styrene tube wrapped over 3 times. I did that so that I could taper the tube, and so far, it's coming along nicely. Just need to put a round cap on the back of it, and the inside barrel, and it's all done. It'll be another accessory I'll end up recasting for a set later, or if I do another one of these, as I might do if someone wants one of these. Today, I'll be working on finishing this if possible, and adding the other small tanks and build up pieces on the Valk itself.

Here's to hoping that one day, I'll be able to go to this, and buy all these badass kits. The cutlass is simply gorgeous, as is the the blue one. Is that the Vf-3000 Crusader?

For some reason, I just can't justify buying one of the Maia alphas. I do have 3 or 4 of the red alphas, 2 green, and 3 blue, and then one set of the aoshima ones. Perhaps someone may want to trade for a red alpha? As for the Aoshima Tread, If they are going for that price, I'll probably have another sell/trade coming soon, and will look to get some of those. They look pretty sweet when combined with the Legioss versions, with the missile boxes and the gun on top. For the CM's I was interested in those, but just can't get over the non scale Tread they come with. they look amazing, but hate that they are so off scale with the Legioss.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about making some sort of kit, but because it uses parts of the valkyrie toy in different places, it's not really kit ready. Someone had asked about me commisioning one for them, and I'd probably do that, but the time and work that goes into this kit don't make it cheap. It's also easiest to make these from the unassembled kits, as all the parts are not glued, and specific pieces can be worked on in segments and not as whole pieces. Today, as I've been waiting on my scribes and squares, I started work on the handgun. Found some round round styrene that is about perfect for the diameter of the gun. So, with some work, I've managed to put the handle onto the rigged piece, and tomorrow, I'll be cleaning it up and I'll post up pics of the WIP of that.

Calling Robotech "death" is a bit over dramatic, don't you think? I don't have any issues with Robotech (at least it's original inception, that's not counting Shadow Chronicles or anything after). What is the cancer of Robotech though, are the so-called fans, that seem to be brought up over and over in these threads and other websites. But, that's neither here nor there. It's been nice and quiet, and not having to recap on stupidity has been a good thing as of late.

I'd like to go, but it's in the air as of now. I probably won't find out if I'm going till friday, but looks like it should be a fun day.

If you guys are going this weekend, I may go out there. Is there a cover fee?

Out of the different shades of red from the pic above, I'd go for something between shade 3 and shade 4. However, if I had to pic one of those, I may have to go with the #3. It's a little bit washed, not so bright red in color, and has a bit more of a weathered look. That would've been my response.

HUH??? That was quite odd, as the verbage is a short about the commonality of anxiety students share with tests. But OK.

Man, that is some awesome work. My hat off to you for such a fantastic job. I'd love to get my hands on one of these. I also like the gundam colors to it. Wanna make a 1/60 scale one?

I got Aquarion, thinking it was gonna be a good mecha movie that took some of the cheesiness out of the combining robots, but it didn't do that. I keep trying to watch the first disc, and can't get through it, either because I fall asleep, or I start doing something else. I finally finished watching Armored Trooper Votoms, and am now popping in the ImagineAsian licensed version of Universal Century Orguss. I've seen it before, but the series is worth a rewatch fro certain. Good story, good mecha action, and of course, Mikimoto's characters just make this series worthwhile.

Interesting...Thanks for the info on what the pods are. I thought it might have something to do with electronics, but didn't know what to call it. Drop tanks was just an easy default to give it.

I actually like the color of those Aoshima Treads. I have the Aoshima Legioss, so perhaps one day I'll be able to swing the time to pic those up. Seeing these Mospeada collections makes me wanna put out my collection for display. Just wish I had the room to do so.