No Love for Southern Cross?

[jenius]

Wow, well done! Now we need three stills color corrected of each Bioroid so everyone knows how to paint them!

[Protoman]

Not sure if this warrants a separate thread. But could anyone point me in the direction of where I could commission the build of a  Hovertank in the robot mode? It's always been one of my favorite mecha and the Matchbox just doesn't do it for me. 

[tekering]

37 minutes ago, Protoman said:

It's always been one of my favorite mecha and the Matchbox just doesn't do it for me. 

Nor do any of the various 3D models we've seen attempted since... 

I think our only hope is @captain america, who has clearly generated increased demand for a Spartas to scale with his upcoming 1:48 Bio-Lloyd kit.  Since his Southern Cross work has been commissioned by a particularly dedicated fan, that's who will likely need convincing. 

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Now we need three stills color corrected of each Bioroid so everyone knows how to paint them!

I've already started work on episode 8, which focuses on the captured green Bioroid. 

[CoryHolmes]

I have no idea how I'll afford it, but I'll commit to two of any Hovertank kit the Cap'n makes.  I'm sure my brother only needs one kidney afterall... 

[tekering]

1 hour ago, CoryHolmes said:

I'll commit to two of any Hovertank kit the Cap'n makes.

Start saving now!  Southern Cross merchandise is a notoriously difficult sell, so -- if there's even a chance of it happening -- I'm sure it'll take a lot of advance capital to secure such a commission.  A mere "commitment to buy" won't be enough; we're gonna need to pool our resources on this one. 

[captain america]

16 hours ago, Protoman said:

Not sure if this warrants a separate thread. But could anyone point me in the direction of where I could commission the build of a  Hovertank in the robot mode? It's always been one of my favorite mecha and the Matchbox just doesn't do it for me. 

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Just kidding. If you want something done from scratch, and done remotely properly, expect to pay mid four figures and upward.

-Good and fast won't be cheap

-Cheap and fast won't be good

-Good and cheap won't be fast

Edited February 26, 2021 by captain america

[Convectuoso]

Should we resume this list?

 

 

[tekering]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

Should we resume this list?

Nah, that just proved demand was not high enough to begin with.  Like Cap' says, we'll need several thousand dollars in capital -- up front -- for such a commission.

Perhaps we should start a Kickstarter campaign...

[CoryHolmes]

18 hours ago, tekering said:

Start saving now!  Southern Cross merchandise is a notoriously difficult sell, so -- if there's even a chance of it happening -- I'm sure it'll take a lot of advance capital to secure such a commission.  A mere "commitment to buy" won't be enough; we're gonna need to pool our resources on this one. 

I could save... or I could just sell my brother's kidney.  He doesn't need it that much, does he???

5 hours ago, captain america said:

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Just kidding. If you want something done from scratch, and done remotely properly, expect to pay mid four figures and upward.

 

I remember, which is the only reason why I haven't commissioned you to build any of the obscure mecha that I really want.  

[captain america]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Perhaps we should start a Kickstarter campaign...

Only if you want HG to put an end to my kit-making.

[CoryHolmes]

43 minutes ago, captain america said:

Only if you want HG to put an end to my kit-making.

and and a one of ! 

[tekering]

2 hours ago, captain america said:

Only if you want HG to put an end to my kit-making.

Ah, excellent point.  Foolish me, I've ignored the elephant in the room for so long that I scarcely even notice it... 

Gotta keep things out of the public eye! 

[TheLoneWolf]

On 2/25/2021 at 9:07 PM, tekering said:

Since finding an original 1984 broadcast of Southern Cross, I've taken the time to try and correct the color-timing on the ADV box set release from 2003:

ADV's masters on the left, my color-corrected version on the right.

It's still a soft, low-contrast transfer from two decades ago, but at least the colors aren't so messed up this time. 

 I did my best to reproduce them using the superior DVD video source.  If there's demand, I can upload further episodes. 

Standard-definition DVDs are either NTSC or PAL, certainly; however, both Japan and North America use NTSC.

Naturally, your results may vary, based on the specific configuration of your monitor. 

Whoah, how did you manage to get a recording of the original TV broadcast?

Anyways, I wonder how those color stills compare to the original Southern Cross LD box set. If you have access to a laserdisc player, I can't imagine the LD box set would be too expensive, especially if you don't have to worry about pricey overseas shipping.

[tekering]

29 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

Whoah, how did you manage to get a recording of the original TV broadcast?

Found it here. 

32 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

If you have access to a laserdisc player, I can't imagine the LD box set would be too expensive, especially if you don't have to worry about pricey overseas shipping.

I do, yes... and I don't, yes. 

However, the only Southern Cross laserdisc listing I've found is this one... and the seller obviously can't tell an LD from a vinyl record. 

[TheLoneWolf]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

Found it here. 

I do, yes... and I don't, yes. 

However, the only Southern Cross laserdisc listing I've found is this one... and the seller obviously can't tell an LD from a vinyl record. 

Incredible! Not only that someone made a recording of such an unpopular show back in the day, but that it managed to survive to the digital age!

Yeah, I wouldn't trust anything from that particular seller

But anyways, here's two sets that I found on YJA.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m448897887# - 5,000円

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k505930100 - 5,500円

[Rhubarbarian]

5 hours ago, TheLoneWolf said:

Incredible! Not only that someone made a recording of such an unpopular show back in the day, but that it managed to survive to the digital age!

 

There are two Southern Cross LPs, actually:

https://www.discogs.com/ja/Yuji-Dan-Haruhiko-Wada-Ken-Satoh-超時空騎団サザンクロス-シャワーコロン-Southern-Cr/release/5515847 (I picked this one up as a Christmas gift for my partner since we were enjoying Southern Cross and both like vinyl)

https://www.discogs.com/Yuji-Dan-Haruhiko-Wada-Ken-Sato-Super-Dimension-Cavalry-Southern-Cross-II/release/8543132

Honestly, it's a good soundtrack for the time, even if it wears very thin about halfway through the series. Opening song is still a banger, though.

[JB0]

8 hours ago, tekering said:

However, the only Southern Cross laserdisc listing I've found is this one... and the seller obviously can't tell an LD from a vinyl record. 

LD, LP... basically the same thing, right?

[DewPoint]

Well... LD is an analog format.  So Yes!  But I'm sure a lot you you already knew that. 

[JetJockey]

I wish I could find some Southern Cross cels. I'm still upset that I didn't really go after that Dana in Wonderland cel with background.

[Major Tom]

On 2/26/2021 at 3:06 PM, Convectuoso said:

Should we resume this list?

 

 

I would say we should. Since we have the Bio Lloyd coming soon. I want to update my number to 2 of each in the above category.

[Podtastic]

On 2/27/2021 at 2:56 AM, CoryHolmes said:

I remember, which is the only reason why I haven't commissioned you to build any of the obscure mecha that I really want. 

Colour me curious. Whats on that list of obscure mecha?

[CoryHolmes]

20 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Colour me curious. Whats on that list of obscure mecha?

From Southern Cross, we get the big three:  Hovertank.  Ajax ( AGACs.  AGAX.  Ugh, fine;  Auroran).  Logan.  (I love this little maligned mecha more than is reasonably healthy).

From New Generation I'd get the Horizon-T transport.  I wrote/imagined a Firefly-themed Robotech setting, with a Horizon-T taking Serenity's place.

((Ideally, I'd love to have a VF-1, Hovertank, and Cyclone all in-scale so I could pose the three generations together fighting in the Invid War))

 

From Rifts we get the USA G10 Glitterboy and the PA-06A SAMAS.  (based on the Kevin Long pictures from the original RPG, none of the other artists come close.).  Might have to get the Jaeger mecha from Rifts: Germany, too.

 

From Halo and Mass Effect, I'd get a custom Master Chief / FemShep duo (my favourite non-canon OTP!)

 

If the Captain felt up to doing human figures, I'd get a custom Dana Scully wielding the Witchblade.

 

From Transformers I'd get a GOOD representation of Punch / Counterpunch  (my absolute favourite Transformers character ever of all time).

 

Those are just the ones from the top of my head.  I'm sure more will come to mind in the next few days, but then my bank account will remain too empty to do anything about them.

[Podtastic]

On 06/01/2009 at 3:05 AM, CoryHolmes said:

That's kind of odd because Southern Cross always had some of my favourite mecha and I just love the armour designs. Very cool.

They are cool. Some people just want transforming jets - and nothing else -  I think.

BTW no obscure alien mecha on your list? 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Podtastic

[captain america]

7 hours ago, Podtastic said:

They are cool. Some people just want transforming jets - and nothing else -  I think.

BTW no obscure alien mecha on your list? 

I never understood the "evolution" of the Zor Bioroids. The versions we see earlier in the series (red, blue, green) look more advanced than the later ones. I don't even remember this grape-flavored version from the anime.

[pablumatic]

4 minutes ago, captain america said:

I never understood the "evolution" of the Zor Bioroids. The versions we see earlier in the series (red, blue, green) look more advanced than the later ones. I don't even remember this grape-flavored version from the anime.

These third-gen Bioroids were never seen on screen due the series getting canned, but the only real difference other than the heads seems to be the feet. They go from two-toed to gradually more human looking. The aliens becoming more human seemed to have been a running theme for much of these Tatsunoko sci-fi series. 

[Podtastic]

2 hours ago, captain america said:

I never understood the "evolution" of the Zor Bioroids. The versions we see earlier in the series (red, blue, green) look more advanced than the later ones. I don't even remember this grape-flavored version from the anime.

Pablumatic nailed the explanation I think.

The earlier Bioroids certainly look more like the products of exotic alien technology.

However this isnt a bad looking mecha with the right colour scheme.  The fight kind of anime exposure would have made a world of difference as well.

[Seto Kaiba]

2 hours ago, pablumatic said:

These third-gen Bioroids were never seen on screen due the series getting canned, but the only real difference other than the heads seems to be the feet. They go from two-toed to gradually more human looking. The aliens becoming more human seemed to have been a running theme for much of these Tatsunoko sci-fi series. 

Not really.  There weren't any aliens in Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross.  The Zor were Human All Along. 

That was the big plot twist that the series never got around to due to being cancelled.

What little is available in the minimal official materials for Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross attributes the changing design of the Zor's Bioroids during the course of the war on Glorie to the Zor's efforts to improve their combat performance and overall survivability.

 

The Zor were the descendants of the original colonial pioneers whose ship had vanished en route to Glorie in a warp drive accident.  They settled Glorie in the distant past, lived there for generations, ruined the planet in a nuclear war the same way their pre-accidental time travel ancestors ruined Earth, and then decided that this "war" thing was a crock and totally rearchitected their entire society around a new concept of emotional control via division of responsibility for Information, Judgement, and Action to abolish it.  By the time Glorie was habitable again after terraforming by a new wave of settlers from Earth helped lift the final stages of the planet's nuclear winter, they'd lived in a harmonious society for so long that war had become a bit of a lost art to them.  The Southern Cross Army's saving grace was that the Zor's overwhelming technological superiority was being wielded by rank amateurs who were "learning by doing" when it came to waging war and weren't remotely interested in conquest or fighting.

[Podtastic]

7 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

attributes the changing design of the Zor's Bioroids during the course of the war on Glorie to the Zor's efforts to improve their combat performance and overall survivability

Which just coincidentally has the effect of having them looking simpler and more angular than their predecessors. Closer in aesthetics to something the other side might have made.

 

[Seto Kaiba]

7 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Which just coincidentally has the effect of having them looking simpler and more angular than their predecessors. Closer in aesthetics to something the other side might have made.

I disagree with the assertion that later designs look simpler.

The designs of the forearms and legs are a lot more complex on the Middle period Type I and II Bioroid and the Late period Type I and II are a lot more complex to draw with all that additional business going on on the chest and face.

The middle Bioroid Type I and Type II are noticeably less bulky and more streamlined than the somewhat blobby and indistinct early Type I and Type II.  It literally looks like it'd move faster than the early types.  They've also moved the sensor blister to the center of the torso and added a redundant energy transfer conduit.  The late Bioroid Type I and II picked up more human-like physique around the torso, possibly to further improve mobility, but also clearly are layering on thicker armor for better defense and moved some of their energy conduits underneath the armor for better defensive performance.

(While the more angular sloped armor absolutely works for low-aspect fighting vehicles and is more an aesthetic choice for giant robots, it is a way to signal to viewers that a mecha was meant to be heavily armored.)

 

All that said... the reality is that you can blame it on the designs the creators of Southern Cross were plagiarizing.  

The early model Bioroid Type I and Type II are pretty obviously ripping off the original Gundam's MS-06 Zaku II.  The Type II is even painted green to further enhance the resemblance to the MS-06F Zaku II, though the Type II Custom used by Siefriet Weiss knocks it out of the park by being a fetching shade of Char Aznable red.  The mid model Bioroid Type I and II seem to be the MS-07B Gouf equivalent, and the late model Bioroid Type I and Type II are pretty obviously modeled on the MS-09B Dom right down to the Type I having "inherited" the Dom's distinctive + shaped face.

[tekering]

10 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

the late model Bioroid Type I and Type II are pretty obviously modeled on the MS-09B Dom right down to the Type I having "inherited" the Dom's distinctive + shaped face.

I was wondering why the image @Podtastic posted was "grape-flavored..." 

[Seto Kaiba]

4 minutes ago, tekering said:

I was wondering why the image @Podtastic posted was "grape-flavored..." 

I love that they kept the Dom's big 80's shoulderpads.

[CoryHolmes]

On 3/2/2021 at 3:06 AM, Podtastic said:

They are cool. Some people just want transforming jets - and nothing else -  I think.

BTW no obscure alien mecha on your list? 

I tried to keep my list to mecha that haven't had model kit or toy releases.  Most of the Zentradi mecha have been done, the Cap'n did the Invid mecha himself, and how he's doing the Bioroids.  After that, the bad guy mecha aren't really my kind of jam from most anime.

 

If I expand my list to ones that have already been done, I wouldn't mind a Zoa figure from Detonator Orgun.  That's another old anime I have fond memories for.

Edited March 4, 2021 by CoryHolmes

[jenius]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

I was wondering why the image @Podtastic posted was "grape-flavored..." 

Is this fan art or a real design (the bioroid)?

[tekering]

The "Late Period" Type I Bioroid is an officially-published Ammonite design...

The image posted earlier is a Robotech RPG derivative... 

...and the purple coloring is most likely fan-done. 

 

[Podtastic]

 

4 hours ago, tekering said:

I was wondering why the image @Podtastic posted was "grape-flavored..." 

I mostly used the colour scheme from the RT Crisis Point board game, then added more black as I felt it needed it. I'm not familiar with this Gundam mecha posted.

Really I could have chosen any colour but red, blue, green and brown have already been used. 

15 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

is more an aesthetic choice for giant robots

Debatable, but you will at least acknowledge that it is usually the humans or "good guys" whose stuff is mostly all angular  while the aliens or "bad guys" stuff has more flowing curves.