MAAS Toys is making Veritech Hovertanks and Red Commander Bioroids w/Biover!

[JB0]

Just now, Podtastic said:

Which good movie? You can't mean TLK surely?

 TLJ may not be quite at Skyline's level of "WTH were they thinking" but it's certainly the worst Star Wars anything ever made.

I haven't seen it*, but... you'd have to dig PRETTY HARD to find the worst Star Wars anything. I'm not even convinced the infamous holiday special is the worst Star Wars anything.

 

 

*Not because of any press it received. I was thoroughly unimpressed with The Force Awakens, did some thinking, and decided I didn't want to invest myself in another bad Star Wars trilogy. I realized I don't HAVE to watch a movie just because it is called Star Wars. It was liberating.

[Podtastic]

3 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I haven't seen it*, but... you'd have to dig PRETTY HARD to find the worst Star Wars anything. I'm not even convinced the infamous holiday special is the worst Star Wars anything.

 

 

*Not because of any press it received. I was thoroughly unimpressed with The Force Awakens, did some thinking, and decided I didn't want to invest myself in another bad Star Wars trilogy. I realized I don't HAVE to watch a movie just because it is called Star Wars. It was liberating.

You're far better off with Rebels and Clone Wars than the new trilogy. 

TLJ made TFA look good, it was that bad. I found it quite telling that I independently came to hate it for the exact same reasons as fans on the other side of the globe.

[Big s]

So I guess since there’s no news, this thread turned into another Star Wars depression thread.

[JB0]

It is that or we watch Shadow Chronicles. And no one deserves that.

[Seto Kaiba]

4 hours ago, Big s said:

So I guess since there’s no news, this thread turned into another Star Wars depression thread.

This link I posted back on page 5 is likely to be the last news we'll ever get on this project:

https://toy-wizards.com/2019/04/17/toy-news-rumor-maas-toys-goes-under-customers-demand-refunds/

TL;DR: MAAS Toys is broke and effectively out of business.  Their pissed-off customers are filing Paypal grievances in the hopes of getting refunds, and BigBadToyStore have cancelled all MAAS Toys preorders.

 

15 hours ago, Bolt said:

Haha. That’s what I thought too, at the time. I was like what is HE doing here.

What I've heard from folks inside HG is that they spent most of the voice actor budget hiring him - to do background voices and a character who has half a dozen lines tops - in the hopes that his name on the box would catch the attention of Star Wars fans.

 

7 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Then I wouldn't even know what to call what he was doing in that TLJ garbage.

Making a mint.  Regardless of whether your personal feelings about it, that was a major studio's AAA flagship property that made over $1.333 billion at the box office.

"Slumming it" is appearing in a project like Shadow Chronicles that barely made back its shoestring budget.

 

5 hours ago, anime52k8 said:

How am I supposed to laugh at how bad everything Robotech is when you guy's are complaining about good movies?

Well, as an alternative, you have a lot of potential ways to react to the fact that the entire MAAS Toys Southern Cross announcement was basically a sham perpetrated by a group of bootleg toy makers who were looking for a way to cover their debts and couldn't actually afford to make anything?  Relief, amusement, concern, and dismay are all valid options there... a real emotional smorgasboard.

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Seto Kaiba

[anime52k8]

7 hours ago, Podtastic said:

Which good movie? You can't mean TLJ surely?

 TLJ may not be quite at Skyline's level of "WTH were they thinking" but it's certainly the worst Star Wars anything ever made.

 

The Last Jedi was a good movie and I liked it.  I'd put it 3rd or forth out of the main films in terms of how much I liked it.

[Podtastic]

11 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

that made over $1.333 billion at the box office.

The toys aren't selling and long term fans are no longer interested in the franchise due to it, its that bad. A Star Wars movie and they can't sell the toys. It's a failure.

 

5 hours ago, anime52k8 said:

 

The Last Jedi was a good movie and I liked it.  I'd put it 3rd or forth out of the main films in terms of how much I liked it.

Meaning you rate it higher than an OT movie, or higher than Clone Wars. If you had said all the movies then even fourth place would have you rating it higher than Rogue One (despite masses of classic Stormtroopers and Darth Vader carving up Rebel Fleet troopers and all that awesomeness)

I guess the: disgusting drinking alien green milk (really hope it was milk - truly a scene that belongs on the editing room floor), Mary Poppins moment, totally nerfed turbolasers, totally out of character Luke, gibbering Yoda, clueless Snoke, pointless death of their only interesting character (Phasma) etc, etc didn't bother you.

Alrighty then...

[anime52k8]

19 minutes ago, Podtastic said:

Meaning you rate it higher than an OT movie, or higher than Clone Wars. If you had said all the movies then even fourth place would have you rating it higher than Rogue One (despite masses of classic Stormtroopers and Darth Vader carving up Rebel Fleet troopers and all that awesomeness)

I have zero interest in anything clone wars so I can't comment, and if were counting rogue on in the mainline then my ranking would be

A New Hope

The Force Awakens

The Last Jedi

Rogue One

Return of the Jedi

Empire Strikes Back

Solo (I haven't actually seen this one, but there's no way I could dislike it more than the prequel films so it's here by default)

The Phantom Menace

Revenge of the Sith

Attack of the Clones.

 

19 minutes ago, Podtastic said:

I guess the: disgusting drinking alien green milk (really hope it was milk - truly a scene that belongs on the editing room floor), Mary Poppins moment, totally nerfed turbolasers, totally out of character Luke, gibbering Yoda, clueless Snoke, pointless death of their only interesting character (Phasma) etc, etc didn't bother you.

Alrighty then...

responding in order: I found that scene funny; it made sense to me; I couldn't possibly care less; the character development worked for me; Yoda always talked like that; power and hubris are blinding; Phasma was an interesting character in the same way Boba Fet was an interesting character.

Edited April 24, 2019 by anime52k8

[Big s]

Since this is for sure a Star Wars argument thread, I’m gonna have to say rogue one was barely better than the other prequels. I found the main characters either boring or annoying with the exception of k2so. I at least liked most of the characters in the newer ones even if the last movie got pointless with it’s what the hell is going on here and why plot.

[Bolt]

12 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

What I've heard from folks inside HG is that they spent most of the voice actor budget hiring him - to do background voices and a character who has half a dozen lines tops - in the hopes that his name on the box would catch the attention of Star Wars fans.

At least he actually died fighting..unlike old man Skywalker who pulled the ole force projection trick (admittedly the most powerful force trick I’ve seen in SW..)

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Bolt

[Seto Kaiba]

28 minutes ago, Bolt said:

At least he actually died fighting..unlike old man Skywalker who pulled the ole force projection trick (admittedly the most powerful force trick I’ve seen in SW..)

 

Sorry, two characters who only have half a dozen lines... and that guy went down like a b*tch to some basic Inbit grunt.

It's almost as humiliating as the Zor Lords being taken out by a boy-crazy airhead and her mentally ill crush with the purple mullet.

 

Since this topic has now suffered a complete derailment in the wake of another one of Robotech's inevitable embarrassing failures, I'll throw caution to the wind and just pour fuel on the fire for the sake of watching this magnificent disaster accelerate into its death spiral:

Rey is the only interesting Star Wars protagonist because she's the only one who isn't being railroaded into a predetermined destiny by the Force and her bloodline.

Let the galaxy burn!

[Convectuoso]

2 hours ago, anime52k8 said:

I have zero interest in anything clone wars so I can't comment, and if were counting rogue on in the mainline then my ranking would be

A New Hope

The Force Awakens

The Last Jedi

Rogue One

Return of the Jedi

Empire Strikes Back

Solo (I haven't actually seen this one, but there's no way I could dislike it more than the prequel films so it's here by default)

The Phantom Menace

Revenge of the Sith

Attack of the Clones.

 

I need to ask: did you like Macross Delta by any chance? 

[anime52k8]

2 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

 

I need to ask: did you like Macross Delta by any chance? 

haven't watched it yet.

 

[David Hingtgen]

Watch Solo instead of Delta.   Quicker and better.  (not that either's good, but if you're going to waste time watching inferior parts of a franchise, try to waste as little time as possible) 

[Bolt]

Watch the Delta movies and save time. 

So there goes any (long) shot at Southern Cross toys hitting the streets. 

Oh Captain , where are you...?

[Podtastic]

10 hours ago, anime52k8 said:

I have zero interest in anything clone wars so I can't comment, and if were counting rogue on in the mainline then my ranking would be

A New Hope

The Force Awakens

The Last Jedi

Rogue One

Return of the Jedi

Empire Strikes Back

Solo (I haven't actually seen this one, but there's no way I could dislike it more than the prequel films so it's here by default)

The Phantom Menace

Revenge of the Sith

Attack of the Clones.

 

responding in order: I found that scene funny; it made sense to me; I couldn't possibly care less; the character development worked for me; Yoda always talked like that; power and hubris are blinding; Phasma was an interesting character in the same way Boba Fet was an interesting character.

Goes into shocked denial after seeing how low down TESB, the best SW movie, (Snowtroopers, Stormtroopers, AT-AT's, Superstar Destroyer, Probot, Bob, Bossk, Slave 1, Vader making veryone his b**ch in good old Dr. Doom style) and even toted as one of the best movies ever made, rated so far down.

[Convectuoso]

5 hours ago, Bolt said:

Watch the Delta movies and save time. 

So there goes any (long) shot at Southern Cross toys hitting the streets. 

Oh Captain , where are you...?

I think we lost @captain america on this. 

[tekering]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

I think we lost @captain america on this. 

On the contrary, he's got nothing holding him back now (except for a couple pending Macross commissions).

It's only a matter of time.  

[Ridden001]

I feel like the pilot should be looking the other way in hover mode, then the propulsion from the feet pushes it forward and the cannons can be used.  I know it’s line art accurate the way they have it but it looks completely backwards.  It doesn’t make sense that the turret points forward in the assault mode, but is backwards and unusable in hover mode?

its a pass for me, it looks just like matchbox pretty much except with some more articulation.  If they want support from the community with our purchasing power, they need to produce something more on the level.  The competition is high and nostalgia only goes so far when you are going to charge $200-$300 for a toy.  I guarantee this thing will be at least $200.

If they want it to sell: add more panel lines and detail, get the legs laying flat like they are supposed to and not angled in hover mode which is only as good as the simple mods people are already doing on the matchbox.  Effect parts go a long way also and the proportions need tuned.  It really just looks like the matchbox.

Edited April 25, 2019 by Ridden001
Changed typo of liking to looking

[Bolt]

Right... except the project is dead

1 hour ago, tekering said:

3 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

I think we lost @captain america on this. 

On the contrary, he's got nothing holding him back now (except for a couple pending Macross commissions).

It's only a matter of time.  

Fingers crossed ...

[Seto Kaiba]

9 hours ago, Bolt said:

So there goes any (long) shot at Southern Cross toys hitting the streets. 

Well, Southern Cross mecha toys... there's still that indie guy making action figures, right?

 

9 hours ago, Bolt said:

Oh Captain , where are you...?

Oh captain my captain?

 

4 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

I think we lost @captain america on this. 

IIRC he'd said he was abandoning Southern Cross stuff because it'd been licensed.  If the MAAS Toys license isn't valid anymore (or never was) then he should be in the clear.

 

2 hours ago, Ridden001 said:

I feel like the pilot should be looking the other way in hover mode, then the propulsion from the feet pushes it forward and the cannons can be used.  I know it’s line art accurate the way they have it but it looks completely backwards.  It doesn’t make sense that the turret points forward in the assault mode, but is backwards and unusable in hover mode?

The propulsion system isn't in the feet... but yes, there are a lot of really illogical design choices in the Spartas and the other Southern Cross mecha. 

Partly it's a product of the troubled production's rushed schedule, and partly the designers themselves not being accustomed to designing mecha.

 

2 hours ago, Ridden001 said:

If they want it to sell: add more panel lines and detail, get the legs laying flat like they are supposed to and not angled in hover mode which is only as good as the simple mods people are already doing on the matchbox.  Effect parts go a long way also and the proportions need tuned.  It really just looks like the matchbox.

Whether or not it would sell is academic at this point given that the most recent news about it is that MAAS Toys is broke and going out of business.

[Convectuoso]

On 12/19/2018 at 12:37 AM, Tober said:

Yep, which gives some liberty to the design, and is why I think that one's much leaner design is a great (re-)interpretation. It looks like the head can turn a bit too, which it isn't supposed to, but again, it's their interpretation.

How many times has a 'perfect transformation' SDF VF-1 been refined over the last 40ish years? And it's still not line-art accurate on account of the puffy hands alone. Takara is set to release their third Masterpiece interpretation of Optimus Prime, whose robot and truck mode looks accurate, but the transformation is hectic as parts of the cab move into the legs to achieve it.

Beagle (arguably) produced the best Ride Armor 10 years ago, yet it was the least accurate in terms of proportions or transformation compared to CMs Corp or MegaHouse. They traded proportional accuracy for practicality and it worked well enough for Aramaki to adopt it for his later redesigns (assumed).

The Bioroids don't even transform, but as Captain America implied, something has to give to for them to achieve a decent range of motion. And where there is a will, there is a way.

These are still the best Bioroid kits I've seen in terms of proportion, even though they're not completely loyal to the line-art either.

But I don't make toys, so what do I know... Right? I just buy them.

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead, but... Was the blue kit ever released??? 

[Tober]

6 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead, but... Was the blue kit ever released??? 

Those are custom kits. Only the red one had a kit from SOL which was different from the one above.

[Convectuoso]

Thanks @Tober. Then I'm not going to waste more time looking for them. 

[Magnus]

So resurrecting this thread as it's been close to 3 years since I paid USD$102 as a deposit to MAAS toys for their Hovertank, with no news and their website gone without a trace. 

I'm guessing i'm never getting that money back at this point right?   Scum like this make getting legitimate projects started that much harder, since, at least in my case, I doubt i'll invest in one again. 

[Sgt Nate V]

Hey, at least MEPToys has a Spartas in the works

 

[mikeszekely]

46 minutes ago, Magnus said:

So resurrecting this thread as it's been close to 3 years since I paid USD$102 as a deposit to MAAS toys for their Hovertank, with no news and their website gone without a trace. 

I'm guessing i'm never getting that money back at this point right?

Unfortunately, probably not.

46 minutes ago, Magnus said:

Scum like this make getting legitimate projects started that much harder, since, at least in my case, I doubt i'll invest in one again. 

For what it's worth, from what I'd heard about the whole situation, MAAS Toys was not a monolithic entity out to screw people.  They were fans, they had designs, and they really did want to bring them to the masses.  Some of the MAAS Toys team were, themselves, screwed over.  Almost all the trouble with them can be traced to one individual who oversold, underdelivered, then took the money and ran.  Indeed, if everything I'd heard is true, this individual didn't just screw MAAS Toys and their customers, he might actually have something to do with Maketoys being reduced to a shell of their former selves.

[tekering]

22 minutes ago, Sgt Nate V said:

Er...  I'm not sure if MEP's prototype fits the definition of "proper."

More like "Here's my homage to the Matchbox toy.  Maybe Super7 will produce the design for their ReAction line."

54 minutes ago, Magnus said:

I paid USD$102 as a deposit to MAAS toys for their Hovertank

I thought their design was even worse, but I admire your decision to back it and I respect your sacrifice.

[Kurisama]

Oh hey, i was the guy who designed the red bioroid and sled for MAAS as well as the Not-Cybertronian Seekers.

I received exactly $0 for my efforts.

Spencer ran off with all the cash and was never heard from again. I heard he legit went to work in the arse end of the world as a lighthouse keeper.

[Tober]

2 hours ago, Kurisama said:

Oh hey, i was the guy who designed the red bioroid and sled for MAAS as well as the Not-Cybertronian Seekers.

I received exactly $0 for my efforts.

Spencer ran off with all the cash and was never heard from again. I heard he legit went to work in the arse end of the world as a lighthouse keeper.

Really sorry to hear that.

Doubly sorry because that Bioroid was looking good. 

[vladykins]

4 hours ago, tekering said:

 

More like "Here's my homage to the Matchbox toy.  Maybe Super7 will produce the design for their ReAction line."

 

At this point I'd almost get a ReAction line one, as terrible as all those are.

Almost.

[Magnus]

22 hours ago, Kurisama said:

Oh hey, i was the guy who designed the red bioroid and sled for MAAS as well as the Not-Cybertronian Seekers.

I received exactly $0 for my efforts.

Spencer ran off with all the cash and was never heard from again. I heard he legit went to work in the arse end of the world as a lighthouse keeper.

Ok, so I guess there's the explanation.  I'll amend my statement to just aiming it at this Spencer guy as being scum.  I hope his lighthouse suffers continuous blown fuses. 

[CoryHolmes]

23 hours ago, Sgt Nate V said:

Hey, at least MEPToys has a Spartas in the works

 

I want.  I know it's limited by the odd transformation, but I want it.