captain america

Hi all. I was scouring the internet for good images of the Destroids; particularly the phalanx, and strangely enough I seem to be coming up rather short. As it were, I'm looking to bolster the visual reference I have on the Phalanx in order to arm myself with the best possible references for my upcoming scratchbuild... Don't suppose anyone would know of any links with good Destroid immagery?

Actually, the MPC (POS?) is quite different from its Imai counterpart: completely resculpted head, nose, LEXs and main body, as well as some other tweaks in the arms and legs. I have to give them credit where credit is due, it's an improvement over the source material. Nonetheless, I can't fathom the concept of a 1/48 resin Tread for the old Imai model; it was just never good enough to begin with, and to be blunt, I just don't know if there's enough demand for what would likely be a very complex and labor-intensive undertaking... A Tread, I mean.

Hi Vermillion. Megatron I can understand them needing to tinker with: Tf the movie is really just a thinly-veiled 2-hour commercial to allow Hasbro to make rediculous money with new TF toys. That having been said, there is one well understood faux pas with toy marketing: no realistic guns. If Hasbro tried to re-market the original concept Walther P-38 Megatron (or modernized version), they'd essentially be buried in an avalanche of lawsuits and complaints by every gun-grabbing organisation, leftist girlie-man and paranoid soccer-mom in the whole US of A... And that's assuming that they'd even be able to get the idea past their own legal department. Furthermore, the big department stores would refuse to carry it. Too much controversy. Not good for business, plain and simple. Optimus Prime on the other hand, was an inexcuseable NO-brainer; Takara already made the perfect Prime toy, all they had to do was model THAT in CG. Would it work? Let's try this. Let's have a little home-grown poll: take 5 of the most recognizeable Optimus Prime incarnations, including the Takara MP Convoy, and ask everyone which one they feel would make the BEST movie prime. I can practically guarantee you that that design will win by a mile. That film has $150 million budget and they're telling me that those a$$-clowns couldn't even get something that simple right? I weep for the future.

From what has been posted on other message boards about the script (which I should've bookmarked--aargh!) roughly 70% of screen time will be devoted to "human character development", with only about 30% for the robots <--which are supposed to be the stars of the show... Aren't they? Alas, the person who was able to look over the script has stated that it was disappointing. Or as I think he put it: it's a great movie, just not a Transformers movie. The film will be a failure in the eyes of the fans. A bold statement on my part, I must confess, and I shall explain it: Paramount is beginning to hype this film A YEAR ahead of its release date. Posters, theatrical teaser, thinly-veiled viral marketing stunts... The whole shabang. Now think about it: the cat's outta the bag, and because of this, all of the dormant TF fans that had no idea that a film was/is in the works, are now awakened to the idea of having their childhood heroes come to life on the big screen with cutting-edge special effects.. A year from now. A whole year... A year in which to build-up expectations. That's a looooong time, and it's only normal that expectations and anticipation will grow to a fever pitch all the way up to the film's release. At that point, even if the film is f*cking Grapes Of Wrath good (which it won't be) the fans will still be disappointed because their expectations will have built up so high for so long, to a level that would simply be impossible for Hollywood to satisfy, no matter what it did. Call me a cynic if you like, but I fear that we will be witness to another BUTTZILLA. Believe me, I hope I'm wrong, and if I will, I'll gladly eat autobot pie

Very strange, I must admit. The initial sculpt was actually more accurate. The reason behind the changes are just plain puzzling. To be honest, I don't hate it, but I don't see why they felt the need to overhaul the sculpt like that... Looks like a classic case of not knowing when to leave well-enough alone.

Hi David. The comparative pics of the before & after Starscream have no doubt been posted, but as this is a long thread... Could anyone possibly post a side-by-side of the before & after of the sculpt? To be honest, I haven't scrutinized the few pictures I saw closely enough. About the only thing I (think) I noticed was that the lower legs now look slimmer. On the issue of the colors, what I find unfortunate is that it isn't genuinely accurate to a real F-15's scheme, and it isn't true to either the original toy's colors OR the anime colors... It's essentially a "nothing" scheme. Nevertheless, I'm still not worried: transforming toys are expensive to develop, and Takara will no doubt be looking to milk the market with different paint schemes, and I dare immagine that a mass-market version with corrected colors figures into those plans somewhere.

Amen. It's not bad enough that their toys are junk, but you'd think they would at least follow-through with the line for continuity's sake. "Buy our toys, we'll make newer, better ones" they told us. They have sone neither. At this point, they have no credibility left as far as I'm concerned.

According to the fan sites, to get the Cartoon Accurate MP-3 you’ll have to join the Japanese equivalent of the American Transformers Collector’s Club. After which time you become a member you can purchase (I’m assuming) a limited amount for a higher price than the normal version. This also seems to be the only way you can get the roller that should have come with MP-4 Convoy’s trailer. 418021[/snapback] Sounds sensible. How/where does one go to join, and are there any "fees" or restrictions?

How does one go about acquiring one of these supposedly limited TV-accurate versions of Starscream anyway?

This is most worrisome. Already with the minute amount of leaked info, they are generating a significant amout of discontent from fans. I just recently saw some pictures of this "G2 laser Prime" toy, and if the film Prime is indeed made to look like that, all I can say is WTF????? I haven't been a fan of TF since I was a kid, so I don't consider myself a zealot by any means, but even as a casual fan who occasionally looks back on the TF phase of my childhood and chuckles, there is one, ONE unwritten rule to be observed: do NOT F*ck with Optimus Prime: he is the pivotal core of that franchise. And of course, what's the first leaked image of the live-action film that we see? An optimus Prime that has been f*cked with and bastardized. Felicitations gentlemen, Rick Berman would be proud.

There are some rumors floating around that some robot mode pics of Optimus have been seen. Though I can't confirm this, he supposedly looks something like "G2 laser Optimus Prime"... Whatever the hell that means.<--being the old fogey that I am, I only remember the original OP. Can anyone confirm this information? Better yet, pictures would be greatly appreciated.

I wouldn't be too worried about Starscream's paint scheme: given my own experience with toys and marketing, it's just a ploy to sell more units. They'll release this initial, low viz batch, and people will buy it because it's a first edition, and it's all that's available for now. Once those are sold, they'll most likely release a version in "authentic" Tv colors.

Hi Valkyrie. That's very kind of you, but I can assure you that it won't be necessary. As is tradition with all my sculptures, I like to work almost exclusively with the source lineart to get the most authentic feel possible. Though I've been known to improvise at times (controversially) with certain details, there won't be much of that on this baby, since it's a fairly prominent mecha.

All pms recieved. Thanks guys Hmm. The Hobbyfan head seems close, but still not quite right. I'll enlarge the cell image and work directly from that. I may begin as early as next week.

Yes, from the knee down. There should actually be some pics of the old plastic kits you can use as a comparison in the MODELS section on Macrossworld.com

Hi Frederic! How are things going with your new "recast" anyway? Have you been getting decent shut-eye?

Wow, you know... I've seen footage of that particular scene countless times, but I never noticed the different head. Must be old age creepin' up on me I think that alternate head lookes wicked. I'll gladly make that as an option... Don't suppose there's any clean lineart of it, or is this the only known footage of it?

This is something that truly bamboozles me. I have the Macross Perfect Memory book, and the lineart for the Phalanx is quite limited, but it looks to me that there's only one head... unless I'm missing something?

First post updated.

Hi Berttt. Having studied the lineart for the Destroids somewhat, I can say that the only leg components that are the same on the Phalanx and Tomahawk are the lower legs and the foot; everything else is custom-constructed. As far as price is concerned, my aim is to maintain consistency in the pricing, so that if future variants are made, they will be about the same price. The key point to remember is that with artsy stuff of this nature, nothing is 100% certain: it all depends on how well (or not)one model is recieved, how the molding/casting goes, and most importantly, how I feel about working in a specific rut for a determined length of time.

just out of curiosity, are there any plans for a Masterpiece Megatron? Somehow I doubt it, as the transformation sequence would be quite difficult to achieve, and he's a Walther. While the latter is ok for the japanese market, I seriously doubt we'll see a proper Megatron P-38 on US/cdn toystore shelves.

Hi all. Having recieved a great deal of feedback from my latest models, it seems that many of you feel that the Destroids have gotten a bit of a raw deal in modelling circles. Having looked-around myself, I am forced to agree with that statement... Which is why I would like to make the following announcement: the next 1/72 "mo-suu-kaa-toh" hobby model will be a Destroid Phalanx. Having said this, I would like to sculpt something that is "free pose", which is to say that the model may be built in any pose desired, and I would like to incorporate the following features: -missile pod hatches which may be posed open or closed -all-individual micro-missiles Having said this, I would like to know how many people would be interested in a kit if indeed I did produce one? I will set a target price of $105, which I believe is reasonnable. All interested parties please pm me with the following information: -full name -your full address -email address Those of you who already own my last piece can skip that step, as I already have your information.

Now now. There's enough room for models AND toys in this world

Yup, I know just what you mean about pressure pots. The largest one I have is a Devilbiss 5 gallon pain tank. It has a diameter of 14" or so that I usually work-around. Depending on the shape and complexity of the part, you may not necessarily need to pressurize it though. With regards to molds for big parts (1lb mass or greater) all I can say is just take your time to make the mold box as strong, secure, and leak-proof as possible--this is where most people cut corners; often with disastrous results. Hehe, I remember back when I had a mold box fail right after a pour.. 1.5kg of silicone spewing out like a tsunami of green goo. Oh the memories!

Hi honneamise. "Big" is not necessarily linked to difficult... Depending on the subject and medium of course. I tell myself that if the part can fit in my studio, I can generally find a way to work with it Actually, I must commend you on the Ghost as well: I think it came out quite fabulous and you've managed to give that obscure old design new wings