Jasonc

OK, I understand that now about sponsorship, but w/ Shadow Chronicles, we're not talking about a financially hurting company. We're talking about a company that brings in gobs of money through film, as well as various other product, and real estate. This is a company that has the money to do more than what they produced, with plenty of room to spare, but really did cut corners. Whether or not Matchbox was responsible for pulling out or not, the fact is, it takes two companies at work here. I'd probably want to pull out too, if I saw the way Sentinels was going. I admit, I don't know, nor do I care too much about the exact details of the Matchbox/Sentinels fallout, but with so many excuses that have come from the camp, it all just sounds the same. I'm not blaming Tommy or Steve at all, either. They work for a company, and need to keep a good image for them. So, I'm not attacking them on everything. If they say certain things the company wants them to say, or don't say, that's not on them. There have been times, however, where the excuses for things directed at the staff have been indiscriminantly directed at people that it shouldn't have. I wonder what would be the excuse if there was not Shadow Rising, or if no toys ever came out again. They're hypothetical situations, but would it be WB's fault for Shadow Rising? Would it be the fan's fault for no more toys? Just asking here.

If you take the Matchbox debacle of back then, it seems like HG simply put as little money as possible into creating a high quality toy. Matchbox probably took what they were given, and simply did what they could with the money given. Then, if you ever here the pitch they give about the Matchbox event, they blame everything from bad market, shoddy product, and you guessed it, money. Fast forward to these days. Whenever they get enough complaints on Shadow Chronicles (things that they can't avoid), the first excuse they give comes down to the budget they had for it. I see a trend where HG will put as little forward as possible for a product, try to rake in as much as possible, then use the scapegoat of "Oh, we didn't have much of a budget to work with", as an excuse when fans complain. Heck, now that I think about it, that seems to be their M.O. for just about everything, "blame everyone and everything else." With the video games, it was the game designers taking too much liberties on their own. With the comics, it was the Waltrips bad story. With the MPCs, it was either Aoshima or some poor factory (true to a certain point, but just overall bad product design and materials). With the big boobs in Shadow Chronicles, it was the young Korean animators. Even with the distribution fiasco before Shadow Chronicles, it was the other parties wants, not their own staff (if you wanna know, pm me). I'm sure there's many other things that you guys can find, but the fact seems to be that it's never their fault for simply trying to get the most for the very least. It's a reason why Macross will always be a superior product. It seems like the difference in work ethics is the real difference between the two perspective companies that we usually talk about here.

Whamhammer, goto the for sale section, I have them up for sale there. Although, I have someone interested in the lot. But I do have a CMs red Legios/Tread set for sale for $150. Anyways, check it out.

As long as they resculpt the heads. Those things were hideous and ugly. However, it would be kinda humorous to see them back on the market.

See, that is what the Robotech fandom is missing here, people who actually do stuff like this. Nice pics of the model kits and stuff. A lot of Macross stuff in there for sure. Looks like a well organized event and a lot of participants for everything. Great job.

The Betas are probably the best made "Robotech" item Toynami has made. The toy is good, probably because it's the easiest transforming toy they had to make. There's really not much into it at all, so I'm sure that helps with quality. While they're good on the wallet, they don't leave any choice for those who are looking for stuff to buy. With very little as far as merchandise, it seems more of a decaying franchise. I do like the betas very much, but as far as everything else, there's just nothing worth anything of interest.

At least you're a fan who can take it with a grin. I don't think other fans would find that optimism you have. Question though, since you are more of a Southern Cross/Mospeada fan, does that mean you really don't care about the LAM coming out? If it will be all Macross based, I'm just curious. Last I talked to Tommy Yune, I think they said the movie was like a 98% sure thing, which even the most optimistic production companies that aren't in production will give, but he also said the movie would get done around 2012-2013, which by Mayan calendar time, may be too late.

To some extent, that's what some have concluded. while most of us talk about the mecha and designs, it was quite interesting to have someone who wasn't just guessing mention something about the characters. What surprised me about the whole fiasco with that was that they seemed to want to debate the issue with no direction. It seemed more like a debate started simply to start a fight, even with the hard facts their to grab. It's probably why the thread got put down, and the lap dog got himself banned as well, instead of getting a free ride to talk crap. Harmony Gold, should the LAM fail miserably, will simply start work again on Shadow Rising. I know there was Tommy's treatment, and more than just that, that was written. If they have the story ironed out, they'll probably start working on script and will move right into finishing Shadow Rising. If the LAM fails, as it still could very well do, they're gonna need a backup stream of news to counter-weight the negativity they're gonna get hurled at them. Personally, I'll just be here waiting for more Macross.

I certainly agree with that. I've been fortunate to talk with someone who was/is working on the LAM (haven't talked to them in awhile), and the LAM is very much envisioned to be a recreation of Macross. As to what extent, he couldn't tell me, but in his words, "If it gets made, it'll more or less be the first show of Robotech with only a couple of the staple characters in it." Who knows where it's at now, or what they want to do now, but what stuck out to me was two things. First was the tone at which he told me this. It was kinda in a non-belief fashion, as if the movie was more of a longshot than anything. Secondly, was the fact that it seemed more like a sidestory to go along with the Macross Saga. I didn't ask him about any of the other technical stuff about Zentraedi or whatnot, cause I figured he wouldn't tell me, but just to get that bit was very interesting. Again, this was several months ago, so fo all I know, the new writer could be working on something different. I think that their fans are going to be slightly disappointed, to throroughly disappointed when the movie comes out. They're expecting reenvisioned designs to some extent, but they expect the Macross story all over again. I wonder how much this deflates the work that HG is trying to put forward in Shadow Rising? Maybe they don't even think about it, but the longer they use Macross, the more it becomes evident of their ability to create stuff on their own accord. It kinda goes along with how everytime I go onto ebay, so many Macross specific items have the name Robotech attached to them. Robotech wants to be on its own, but wants all that Macross is, and Macross just wants to be left the hell alone and doesn't want to be pulled down with Robotech's downward spiral. Who knows, perhaps the LAM coming out will get BW riled up enough to try to get back the rights to use the word Macross in the U.S. That could open up lots of doors.

Hahaha, and here I am putting some alphas for sale.

(in the words of Darth Vader) Feel the hatred rise up, then you will truly know the power of the dark side. All it seems is that HG is not gonna change any of the status regarding Macross, and right or wrong, they are really only hurting the fans of Robotech and Macross. They are trying so hard to relinquish the chains they're under of Macross, yet, refuse to let any of it go. They want to create Macross free shows, but the fact is, without it, they have no story. They won't grow at all until they give up Macross completely. What's sad is that they'll still find a way to stick it to Macross fans, as well as their own fans. It's really too bad.

While I do believe Yamato would do a great job on the Mospeada line, I don't think it'd be necessarily a good idea for them to jump in the game at this point. I'm on the firm belief that Beagle's downfall was basically producing 2 of the same damn design in a row. Had they been smart and do the Stick first, then do the Fuke, Yellow right after, that would've kept the interest going. While I think the Ley version was cool and great, it's not different at all from the Stick, save a different head, different gun, and different colored fabric. And I tend to think of much of my purchases on the same as the general consumer for these things. I really had no interest in buying the Ley until the news that they were dying out came along. Why would most people want to spend $200+ for a toy that looks so similar to the first one they just bought? I thought that was Beagle's, Megahouse's big mistake. Although, with CMs, I think they survived basically on the price point alone.

Man, I'm torn between the VF-4 and the VF-2SS w/ SAP. I really want to vote for both, but my official vote went for the VF-4. I would vote for the VA-3 but as that's not on the list, not much I can do.

Che, send me a pm on what type of 2D stuff you need, and I'll see if she can swing getting something done. Can't guarantee anything, but perhaps if it's nothing too in depth, whe may be able to swing something.

And if Robotech was in a RPG, they'd be rolling to take damage, critical strike.

Just a quick post here, got my VT-1 yesterday, and this is one badass toy. I took it out, transformed it a couple times and put the armor on, and this toy is simply amazing. The look and feel of it is awesome. It's now making me drool for the VE-1. Awesome job Yamato.

you know you want it, the Waltrips and HG know what everyone wants. For the Mechwarrior game, I still don't think that the item in question looks enough like the "Warhammer". Still, if they do without it, I don't think it'll sway fans from not getting the game. From what I've gathered, it seems like the fans are just pissed at HG more than anything, and want to vent. I intend to buy the game for sure, so I'll be showing my support.

I'd ask my wife to do some 2D stuff, but I have a staff that is trying to get ready to present for an animated series, and we've been working on character designs for awhile with that. I'm still available for any musical needs, and anything else perhaps. Let me know. Just can't do too much in any timely manner.

Yeah, that article should sting the RT fans and staff a bit. I'm sure it wouldn't to those that live in the happy "Space Bubble", but the reality of that article defines HG's actions for the last 23 yrs, 24 years if you wanna add the original Robotech concept in there. Let's just face it, Robotech is never gonna stand on it's own, and will always be tied to the originals.

My lists of accessories are: 1) Flight crew and vehicles 2) Extended seats for Battroid and that baby pod 3) Additional armament packs (contemporary, and non standard Macross weaponry) 4) Standing 1/60 characters (Minmay, Misa, Roy, Hikaru, Max, etc.) If we got all that, I think I'd be set with enough things to set up dioramas for a loooonnnng time.

Damn, and now I know. Well, if you need any extras, let me know. I sent you an email regarding why my auditions weren't going through about a week ago. If you have any cast members back out. I can do Yang Newman pretty damn good. Anyways, good luck with the project. I'll be happy to see updates.

I saw this some time ago. I wonder if there are any other name usages going around. HG might want to put a C&D order out on him too, ROFLMAO

Speaking of, I can't send emails to you. Either your mailbox is full, or you can't accept mail over 10Mb. Let me know what I can do to send stuff to you, Hikuro.

Yes, it's very true. my demotion from their site had some to do with hear-say and assumptions from other sites, as well as quite a few other people. I know someone's website that was watched every freakin' day by computers at HG simply because it was negatively reflecting them. I know for a fact Steve Yun does not like Robotech fans, based on a comments I've heard him make several years ago. He puts up with them, and puts a good front, really doesn't give a crap about them, save for maybe those that Tommy actually likes. Even then, probably not. Even as a regular poster over there, I always got the impression that they thought of their fans as gullible twits, who were easy to manipulate. I don't think they accept those that have their own opinion. Your site, HP, shows that you have your own thoughts, and can openly criticize them, and still remain a fan. Those are the people they probably really worry about. You're not on some stupid vendetta, you don't hate the franchise simply because it's not Macross or something like that, you have valid issues with the way they run things. The simple solution that most will give here is simply leave it all behind. But being a fan isn't about just abandoning things you like. That, I can understand. And voicing your concerns, and having a place where others can do so is a good thing. Let them read on. WTF are they gonna do, ban you from your own website? Getting banned is the worst thing they could do to some fans, cause whatever restrains they have on spilling out the crap they do gets disintigrated, and it becomes free reign on their parade. I spent a lot of time telling several others about some of the crap I knew, just never said when I was a member over there, out of respect. But they do it to themselves. Not much you can do to help them when they feel they know better. Maybe one day they'll get over it and fix things.

Looks like it was a lot of fun. I'm now working the A.M. shift (10p.m.-6:30a.m.) So poker is definitely restricted to days off for me, for now. Cool prizes definitely.