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Posted

Here are my thoughts on those toys that Harmony Gold / Toynami is trying to sell. From what I've seen they aren't worth buying.

Not being a toy collector, I could not honestly offer an informed opinion myself... but the opinions I've heard from people who are toy collectors suggests to me that your take is probably accurate. (The build quality fiasco over the Shadow Fighter helps too.)

I don't know many people who are crazy about those Shadow fighters that only showed up in the last episode or two. And different colored Beta fighters? That was my least favorite of the New Generation / Mospeada mech designs.

Most folks weren't, general consensus is that the disaster that was the "Maia Sterling" MPC Shadow Fighter was the last straw for the Toynami MPC line... both because almost nobody cared, and because the build quality was terrible enough for Harmony Gold to issue a recall.

I'm sure a few 1000 or so people would get a Dana hovercycle and hovertank set priced around $300 or so if it's quality. I'm sure if Harmony Gold / Toynami purchased, finished, and released that Rook Ride Armor people would have purchased her too.

Thus far, Toynami remains adamant that the potential return-on-investment for Southern Cross merchandise is so small that the most likely outcome would be them ending up upside-down on the design, tooling, and manufacturing costs. Considering there's very little love for the Masters Saga, and equally little love for the post-legitimate Macross design MPCs, I don't think they'd have guaranteed sales of more than a few dozen.

Posted

There are several things in your post which are not exactly true (HG/Toynami did design and release their Alpha independent of any Japanese releases, for example), but this one here ^ is laughable. The number of people who'd buy a $100 hovetank toy is probably in the triple digits, and not the upper end of that range either. Throwing in a hover cycle is going to entice no one.

I remember reading that the Toynami Alpha was similar to a Japanese version. I can't remember which. There was a site that reviewed all of them. I believe the guy is a member here.

Maybe I over estimate the number of Robotech fans out there. The people that get the Toynami stuff and buy those DVDs sets again and again. The people that supported Robotech Academy. I assume some are the same people that get every version of the Toynami Voltron. They would want a Dana figure with hovertank and hovercycle I would think. They have never really been made before. The number of Alpha fighters produced by Toynami seems to be on the high side but I just can't believe how that number would shrink for the Southern Cross stuff. But I haven't been following Robotech stuff at all that much.

Thus far, Toynami remains adamant that the potential return-on-investment for Southern Cross merchandise is so small that the most likely outcome would be them ending up upside-down on the design, tooling, and manufacturing costs. Considering there's very little love for the Masters Saga, and equally little love for the post-legitimate Macross design MPCs, I don't think they'd have guaranteed sales of more than a few dozen.

People must really hate Southern Cross. I didn't know that. I liked it. But I like Robotech as a whole. But I saw it when I was young and didn't know and still haven't seen the Japanese versions of Southern Cross and Mospeada. Something about the designs of Southern Cross are just cool. I like the episodes where Dana and the crew get on the Masters ship too.

Posted

As far as determining how big of an audience is out there to buy Robotech merchandise, there were only a little less than 2300 backers for Robotech Academy and most of those people were investing far less than the cost of a quality toy. Paladiums efforts might be more similar with 5300 backers. You can play around with the numbers a lot from there but you can see, it's never going to be a huge audience barring Robotech finding some way of getting relevant again.

It might have been my website you were referring to in regard to the toy reviews. The Toynami MPC Alpha is based on the Imai 1/48 Legioss model.

I'm not a big fan of RT:TM or SDCSC but I do think there's a lot of potential there if RT ever does get a reboot. I like to doodle reinvented 2nd gen mecha for Robotech when I have time taking inspiration from what was there but also keeping in mind what is in Macross and what we eventually get in the Mospeada arch.

Posted

Maybe I over estimate the number of Robotech fans out there. The people that get the Toynami stuff and buy those DVDs sets again and again. The people that supported Robotech Academy. [...] but I just can't believe how that number would shrink for the Southern Cross stuff. But I haven't been following Robotech stuff at all that much.

I'm not sure it's a question of estimating the total number of Robotech fans out there as it is the number who are willing to drop a significant sum of money on a toy from Robotech's least popular saga. I'd be particularly wary of using Robotech Academy as a means for estimating their numbers too, because you got some folks who flatly refused to pledge regardless of their love for the "original" Robotech series due to the distasteful way they were throwing Carl Macek's name around, and quite a few folks who'd pledged with the intent of withdrawing their pledges at the last minute to ensure failure (an unnecessary gesture, to be sure).

A lot of Robotech's fan base is what you'd call the "casual" fans who might buy the show on DVD once or twice, and might look into the comics if something particularly catches their eye (almost invariably Macross-based material). They're not the market Harmony Gold and Toynami would be depending on for an MPC Spartas or Auroran.

The market for something like a MPC line based on Southern Cross designs is the a proper subset of the relatively few fans out there who are willing to pay the rather lofty prices demanded for the somewhat sub-par Toynami offerings... namely, those rare fans who don't think Southern Cross is an unholy mess.

People must really hate Southern Cross. I didn't know that. I liked it. But I like Robotech as a whole. But I saw it when I was young and didn't know and still haven't seen the Japanese versions of Southern Cross and Mospeada. Something about the designs of Southern Cross are just cool. I like the episodes where Dana and the crew get on the Masters ship too.

There's a fair amount of antipathy towards Southern Cross and the Masters Saga of Robotech in evidence... on Robotech.com in particular, the Southern Cross Army had the reputation of being a bunch of incompetent idiots who dropped the ball at the worst possible time and allowed Earth to be invaded twice in quick succession. That's part of why Toynami seems to think that making Masters Saga MPCs is not a safe investment.

Tommy's capitalized on this sentiment to actually make a number of cheap shots canon... like turning "Commander Leonard" into a confirmed rabid xenophobe, traitor, saboteur, spy, and a terrorist leader responsible for hijacking a starship and nuking a vital planetary defense installation.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Jose Ortiz draw fake cover-art Variable Fighter Master file.

Light VERITECH Fighter VF-8 "LOGAN".

[ T.A.S.C. identify code : TASC-01-SCF ]

Funny , but I WISH using Brian Denmeade's CG ART !

post-1627-0-84996100-1411365356_thumb.jpg

post-1627-0-70179700-1411365375_thumb.jpg

Posted (edited)

Mobile Suit Girls

Variable Fighter Girls

And now....

The VERITECH (Hovertank)girl "VHT-2/A2 Spartia" girl" ?

post-1627-0-45494200-1411402781_thumb.jpg

Edited by yui1107
Posted

I've never seen this Robotech Visions before. Is it a comic? The Facebook link is a mobile version. I'll look into the normal site a bit later.

Guest davidwhangchoi
Posted

the shoulder's look like rx-78gp-02a's nuke type.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

That model/Statue turned out pretty awesome! Now get one of Mary Angel/Marie Crystal and of course Jeanie aka Dana. :)

Posted

Nova is cool. But she was always the cop. But it is a good name for a girl. I've never met a Nova in real life.

Posted

Marie is awesome because she and Dana duke it out like one of the boys. No real high school drama club, they take their men and get them into a ruckus of a bar brawl :D

And then they get in their mecha and blow the crap out of the bad guys. Their rivalry really did make for a neat side story in Robotech.

Posted

The more I read this thread the more I keep feeling that I would love to see Southern Cross rebooted as a new series. Same characters, Mecha and hopefully the story ending the way it was originally supposed to vs. the rushed ending it was given.

Great excuse for new toys & kits! :lol:

Guest davidwhangchoi
Posted

Robotech Visions NEW fanart ....Marie Angel Crystal has married[/url] !

this fanart looks better than robotech academy art. they should've got these fans to draw for HG.

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