Seto Kaiba Posted April 17 Posted April 17 1 hour ago, tekering said: Incidentally, Marie's Logan is the only one to survive their debut appearance... These "cannon fodder" Logans are only briefly onscreen before they're destroyed, and after that Marie's is all we see for the rest of the series. 😅 For some reason, Southern Cross's writers and the design team "Ammonite" seem to have had it in for the Logan. Despite already having a bunch of secondary fighter designs that were specifically and explicitly made to be destroyed onscreen, the Logan's the one they saddled with the rep of being replaced because it was ineffective on the battlefield. That the Logan's a bad fighter in-universe is one of the few consistently mentioned details about it. Even the show's promotional materials get in on it at points. (That Marie Angel's hangs on for as long as it did is apparently more an indicator that the "Cosmo Amazon" just that good.) Quote
Big s Posted April 17 Posted April 17 Just got my notice from bbts that Dana is in my private warehouse. Quote
pengbuzz Posted April 17 Posted April 17 (edited) On 4/17/2024 at 11:31 AM, Seto Kaiba said: For some reason, Southern Cross's writers and the design team "Ammonite" seem to have had it in for the Logan. Despite already having a bunch of secondary fighter designs that were specifically and explicitly made to be destroyed onscreen, the Logan's the one they saddled with the rep of being replaced because it was ineffective on the battlefield. That the Logan's a bad fighter in-universe is one of the few consistently mentioned details about it. Even the show's promotional materials get in on it at points. (That Marie Angel's hangs on for as long as it did is apparently more an indicator that the "Cosmo Amazon" just that good.) Too bad we couldn't get some Logans in as patrol craft for the cities in the next Macross series as cannon-fodder to get blown up. Edited April 23 by pengbuzz Quote
shazam Posted April 17 Posted April 17 (edited) 8 hours ago, Big s said: Just got my notice from bbts that Dana is in my private warehouse. Same! Edited April 18 by shazam Quote
CoryHolmes Posted April 18 Posted April 18 I might have spoken too soon! I just got a notice in my mailbox that there's a parcel waiting for pickup Quote
tekering Posted April 23 Posted April 23 Lipstick on a pig? 😉 That's a pricey chunk of ham on display... and some 3D-printed upgrades, by the looks of it. 🤔 Quote
pengbuzz Posted April 23 Posted April 23 Has anyone else ever noticed that the Spartas' transformation is basically: Spoiler ...turn around and bend over? Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted April 23 Posted April 23 (edited) 22 minutes ago, pengbuzz said: Has anyone else ever noticed that the Spartas' transformation is basically: Hide contents ...turn around and bend over? It is, yeah. Designing a believable transformation for something like a car, a tank, or a plane is pretty damned hard even when you're cheating and using "anime magic". It gets far harder if you have multiple alt-modes to consider and they all have to plausibly look like they belong to the same vehicle. Designing that same transformation in a way that can be applied to a transforming toy or model kit is exponentially harder. Keeping it simple while still getting the job done is a virtue, even if it sounds silly in the abstract... and the Spartas's transformation is simple enough that it CAN be replicated on toys or model kits with a minimum of "cheating". The Ammonite design team did all right job considering they were trying to keep the designs simple enough for merchandising and were not by any means specialists in designing transforming robot toys the way Kawamori is. (There are certainly transformations that could be described in less dignified terms out there... like the Gundam Arios and GN Archer from Gundam 00. Their combined flight form essentially involves the GN Archer jamming its head up the Arios's backside.) Edited April 23 by Seto Kaiba Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted April 23 Posted April 23 Seeing a decent-quality arming doublet figure really makes me wish Tatsunoko Pro would go back and revisit the Science Fiction Sengoku Saga pitch they canned back during the development of Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross. There's a fair bit of love for retro designs on the air right now and that could actually go over pretty well. Certainly a lot better than their attempts to get back into the mecha genre. Quote
tekering Posted April 24 Posted April 24 On 4/16/2024 at 7:35 AM, Protoman said: 3D print files for the Logan are now for sale. You know, seeing the transformation demonstrated on YouTube, I was excited by the potential of producing my own Logan and purchased the files for myself... ...but now, after seeing photos on Facebook and comparing them to the lineart, I'm experiencing considerable buyer's remorse. 🤕 I first assumed the model looked poor because it was made on a low-rez FDM printer, as opposed to a proper SLA resin printer designed for miniatures. It's a terrible decision that reflects badly on the designer, but that doesn't mean the design itself is poor... except now, being able to examine the files in 3D software, I can see all the geometrical discrepancies and misshapen proportions. It's fat where it should be lean, and lean where it should be fat, and a lot of the angles are wrong. Frustratingly, most of the inaccuracies have nothing to do with engineering, either, as they'd have no bearing on transformation. 🤨 It actually looks like a Logan toy designed 40 years ago, if Takutoku or Matchbox had tried to produce one. Perhaps the designer wanted to capture that "retro toy" look...? 🤔 Regardless, i guess I'll just have to teach myself how to do 3D modelling. 🙄 Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted April 24 Posted April 24 5 hours ago, tekering said: I first assumed the model looked poor because it was made on a low-rez FDM printer, as opposed to a proper SLA resin printer designed for miniatures. It's a terrible decision that reflects badly on the designer, but that doesn't mean the design itself is poor... except now, being able to examine the files in 3D software, I can see all the geometrical discrepancies and misshapen proportions. It's fat where it should be lean, and lean where it should be fat, and a lot of the angles are wrong. Frustratingly, most of the inaccuracies have nothing to do with engineering, either, as they'd have no bearing on transformation. 🤨 It actually looks like a Logan toy designed 40 years ago, if Takutoku or Matchbox had tried to produce one. Perhaps the designer wanted to capture that "retro toy" look...? 🤔 My assumption would be that the person who created the 3D model probably used the animation itself as reference instead of the line art from the animator's model sheets. These kinds of issues are very common in fan projects by Robotech fans, who frequently fail to even consider the existence of things like off-model animation, animation errors, or dialog errors and inconsistencies. Southern Cross unfortunately had a fair amount of off-model animation, and that's led those fans to some... interesting... incorrect conclusions about the designs of the series. Inconsistencies in how the Tactics Air Force fighter "Sylphid" is drawn led Robotech fans to conclude there were as many as three different types with different wing designs when there's actually only one, for instance. I'm betting that 3D model was put together using a combination of incorrectly-proportioned fan art and a stills from the animation, some of which are off-model. Considering the weird lengthening of the nose and widening of the body, I suspect it's Yui's fan art they referenced. Quote
tekering Posted April 25 Posted April 25 Good news! I found a much better Logan model... at half the price! 😊 This one's not quite perfect, either -- it's fighter-mode only, and entirely lacks a cockpit -- but I can use MaxLab's "Wolverine" cockpit and articulated limbs to Frankenstein a much more accurate kit. Quote
Major Tom Posted April 29 Posted April 29 and the 1/12 Flash Clapper STL file HR-32 Flash Clapper Light Hovercycle 1/12 Scale (Dana Sterling hoverbike) 🎬 ・3D print design to download・Cults (cults3d.com) Let me know if it fits in with the 1/12 figures. Quote
tekering Posted August 30 Posted August 30 So, back in the spring I was whining about MaxLab's "Wolverine," the 3D-printed Logan model they'd developed in cooperation with MEP... I complained about the proportions, the inaccurate details, and the obsolete equipment they'd used for their prototype. Now that I have my own 3D printer, and a few months of experience with modeling software, I've spent the last few weeks tweaking their design to come up with something more anime-accurate: The first (and perhaps most significant) change I made was to add a TASC pilot figure. The hollow shoulder covers were taken from a different 3D model, as were the thinner wings... I made major changes to the legs and the feet, to try and make them look more like the Ammonite line-art... I also replaced the oversized nose cannons with my own scratchbuilt barrels. Finally, I added some additional articulation to the heels and feet with aftermarket ball-joints, and an alternate open hand. The flight stand is temporary; I hope to come up with something more adjustable. Now it's finally ready for painting. 😁 Quote
jenius Posted August 30 Posted August 30 I have a mep prototype and this looks significantly improved. Excellent work. Quote
CoryHolmes Posted August 31 Posted August 31 *happy noises* I love this much-maligned minature mecha more than most. It's great to see it getting some love. Quote
derex3592 Posted August 31 Posted August 31 wow! Awesome job @tekering! Can't wait to see it painted! Quote
pengbuzz Posted August 31 Posted August 31 Looks good enough to get shot down! Seriously Tekkering, nice job! Quote
captain america Posted August 31 Posted August 31 Hi Ted. I see you relied more on the technical schematics than the 3/4 view beauty shots. I originally did that with my 1/72 Destroids, but went the other way for the 1/48 Tomahawk and IMHO came away with a more aesthetically pleasing result. Might be worth considering. Quote
JB0 Posted August 31 Posted August 31 21 hours ago, CoryHolmes said: *happy noises* I love this much-maligned minature mecha more than most. It's great to see it getting some love. Yeah, I think the Logan's an adorable little piece of fictional machinery too. Quote
CoryHolmes Posted September 1 Posted September 1 2 hours ago, JB0 said: Yeah, I think the Logan's an adorable little piece of fictional machinery too. It fits perfectly in my preferred fictional version of the Southern Cross era. Not too flashy, just good at the job it was designed to do. Pity the Masters had to come by and muck it all up! Quote
tekering Posted September 1 Posted September 1 Thanks for the words of encouragement, gentlemen. 17 hours ago, JB0 said: I think the Logan's an adorable little piece of fictional machinery too. I wasn't a big fan of it before, but the more I examine the overall shape and the individual parts, the more I see the charm of the design. I've really become quite taken by it now. 😍 21 hours ago, captain america said: I see you relied more on the technical schematics than the 3/4 view beauty shots. I originally did that with my 1/72 Destroids, but went the other way for the 1/48 Tomahawk and IMHO came away with a more aesthetically pleasing result. Might be worth considering. That's very observant, and just the kind of constructive criticism I was hoping for. And from the Captain himself! 😁 Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted September 1 Posted September 1 On 8/30/2024 at 2:12 PM, tekering said: So, back in the spring I was whining about MaxLab's "Wolverine," the 3D-printed Logan model they'd developed in cooperation with MEP... I complained about the proportions, the inaccurate details, and the obsolete equipment they'd used for their prototype. Now that I have my own 3D printer, and a few months of experience with modeling software, I've spent the last few weeks tweaking their design to come up with something more anime-accurate: The first (and perhaps most significant) change I made was to add a TASC pilot figure. The hollow shoulder covers were taken from a different 3D model, as were the thinner wings... I made major changes to the legs and the feet, to try and make them look more like the Ammonite line-art... I also replaced the oversized nose cannons with my own scratchbuilt barrels. Finally, I added some additional articulation to the heels and feet with aftermarket ball-joints, and an alternate open hand. The flight stand is temporary; I hope to come up with something more adjustable. Now it's finally ready for painting. 😁 Impressive work... easily the most faithful rendition of the Logan I've ever seen. It looks more like a proper toy/model prototype than some professional efforts I've seen from the official licensees. Maybe you should be sending Toynami or the others your CV? You've probably shown more love for the Logan than the people who actually designed it at this point. Quote
tekering Posted September 7 Posted September 7 Thanks to your feedback and encouragement, guys, I've made a couple more adjustments... ...and tried to push my digital kitbashing skills a little further. Landing gear! Even more display options now. 😎 I've also replaced the single-thruster heel design with the double-thruster heels more consistently seen in robot mode. I'm hoping to get a couple of these little Logans painted up before my Tanku-Robo kits arrive. ☺️ Quote
tekering Posted September 8 Posted September 8 Not roughly, no... Precisely in scale. As far as I've been able to calculate, it's exactly 1:48th (to scale with all the Moscato Bioroids, Invid, Sentinel Mospeada and DX Chogokin VF-1s). 😊 Quote
CoryHolmes Posted September 8 Posted September 8 3 hours ago, tekering said: Not roughly, no... Precisely in scale. As far as I've been able to calculate, it's exactly 1:48th (to scale with all the Moscato Bioroids, Invid, Sentinel Mospeada and DX Chogokin VF-1s). 😊 Ooooh, SOMEONE planned ahead You simply MUST do a group shot with all these mecha in scale with each other! Quote
tekering Posted September 18 Posted September 18 Testing colors and decals: I want markings reminiscent of Macross, but visually distinct. We've got plenty of reference for detailing ATAC, TASC and GMP armor, but the mecha is uncharted territory... 🤔 Quote
Valkyrie Hunter D Posted October 8 Posted October 8 (edited) Just came upon this one today: Quite a nice build, though I can't place what figure that is. Edited October 8 by Valkyrie Hunter D Quote
tekering Posted October 8 Posted October 8 3 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said: Quite a nice build, though I can't place what figure that is. That's the KitzConcept, of course. The pornstar mesh bodysuit is a dead giveaway. 😝 Quote
505thAirborne Posted October 14 Posted October 14 Looks awesome @tekering, really nice detailing, especially for such a tiny figure. Now let's see that Hovertank in the background. LOL Quote
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