TheLoneWolf
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Everything posted by TheLoneWolf
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jenius is right, the Roy MPC sold well enough that there was a 2nd wave. About a year after the Roy MPC was released, RT.com began taking orders for a 2nd wave at the full MSRP. The only difference between the 1st and 2nd waves was the white shipping boxes that they came in. I want to say that there was a 3rd wave, but I'm not entirely positive. Anyways, one of the side effects of having more Roy MPC's on the market was that there wasn't enough Super Armors to go with all those new Roy's. So Toynami released a 2nd wave of Appendix Super Armors. Like the 2nd wave of Roy MPC's, the 2nd wave of Appendix Armors came out about a year after RT.com stopped carrying the initial batch and had a different white shipping box from the 1st wave. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a 3rd wave of Appendix armor. These subsequent waves, combined with the reported serial numbers that they carried, was how we were able to deduce that Toynami only manufactured about 5,000 ~ 7,000 pieces per wave. AFAIK, none of the other MPC's had any subsequent waves. I'm still shocked that the Roy MPC sold so well. While Yamato's v1 VF-1 was a mixed bag at best, Bandai's reissue 1/55 Super VF-1S was readily available at the time and had a superior build, despite being a then 20 year old design. As for Southern Cross merchandise, I believe John Moscato wanted to build an Auroran model kit, but couldn't even get 30 pre-orders to start the project. If that isn't a damning indictment, I don't know what is.
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I always thought that the colors used on the Yamato v2 were a little off. Unless my monitor is miscalibrated, the colors that Bandai's HMR uses is a better match with the colors chosen by the Macross Mecha Manual, which is pretty reliable.
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I completely agree. Arcadia's micro-thin panel lines do a disservice to their products' otherwise exceptional engineering by making the them look plain on the surface, especially when compared to Bandai's offerings. When done right, pronounced panel lines can improve a product's marketability without increasing its cost. I don't know why Arcadia continues to make them less visible.
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My guess is that if the SDCC version quickly sells out, Calibre Wings can do a 2nd run under the Robotech brand. Also, Harmony Gold needs to maintain the "SDF Macross" trademark in commerce, so they probably require that their toy licensees occassionally release "SDF Macross" products when possible. So this lets Calibre Wings kill two birds with one stone.
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I don't think this will mark the end of Arcadia's 1/60 VF-1. The 1/48's Achilles' heel is that hardly anything else in the Macross universe scales with it; most other mecha in that scale would be too large and cost prohibitive. There's always going to be a market for a 1/60 VF-1, due to ancillary support from 1/60 VF-31's, etc. Though, depending on how good this 1/48 VF-1 looks, it might just motivate Arcadia to begin development on a v3 1/60 VF-1.
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It looks great, but with the market flooded with high quality VF-1's, there's nothing about this that screams "insta-buy" to me.
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According to the Hepburn system, it's undoubtedly "Stick." His given name in Japanese is スティック, which is romanized as Stick. The Danish name Stig is written in Japanese as スティグ. Note that only the first three kana in the Japanese names are the same; the last ones are different. I think that Stick's name was inspired by the Danish name Stig, but was purposely misspelled in order to add a unique wrinkle to it, such as we've seen with Focker/Fokker and Mardook/Marduk.
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I was hoping that Bandai would make the heatshield completely flush against the canopy with subsequent VF-2SS releases. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers.
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http://www.oocities.org/futuristgroup/vauto.html#jetfire This is the most comprehensive site that I've found, with 7 different Jetfire variations listed. But be warned, it's an old site and won't win any aesthetic awards. The only potential inaccuracy I see is that it lists all of the Matsushiro Jetfires as having "ridged/notched" head lasers. But I've seen a couple of people claim to have bought Matsushiro Jetfires that were still taped shut by the factory and have "smooth/fat" head lasers. With fans Frankensteining their Jetfires together for various reasons, I don't know if we'll ever be a definitive answer.
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These con-exclusives are SDF Macross branded products. I wonder if they'll be released to the general public under the Robotech brand. Either way, I'm seriously tempted to get one. If only one of them happened to come with a Minmay figure...
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All Things Videogame Related: EXTREME VS!!
TheLoneWolf replied to Keith's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
And let's not forget the backlash Microsoft faced when military servicemen pointed out that they wouldn't be able to play their Xbox Ones when they're out on deployment if it required a broadband connection to do a license check. What's that old saying about people living in ivory towers? -
Let's hope there are no QC defects that would necessitate a return, because I doubt they're gonna cover return shipping.
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Oh man, I'd love to see an HMR VF-1SR. But that's doubtful since the VF-1SR is jointly owned by Nippon Computer Systems (NCS), not to mention it's such an obscure design. Our best chance of seeing one is through an option kit from an unlicensed third party. By the way, who made that model kit? It's definitely not the best looking VF-1SR, but I'm still impressed that someone made one.
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That Miyatake interview was great! Your site is truly the most underrated Macross site out there.
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I was in the same situation. I wanted to get one after hearing the good reviews, but they were already sold out everywhere. Rather than give in to scalpers, I gambled that Sentinel would issue a 2nd batch, considering how quickly the initial run sold out. Even though I'll have to wait a couple of months to get mine, I'm just glad that the line has been selling well. Hopefully that means there's a chance we'll see Yellow and Houquet versions.
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Thanks for the links! Missed out on the pre-orders the first time around, but got them this time!
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I have Calibre Wings' Roy Fokker and Rick Hunter F-14's and absolutely love them, but I'm not too excited for a 1/72 VF-1. The Fokker and Hunter F-14's were unique enough for me to justify the expenses. But the availability of other 1/72 VF-1's on the market kind of dulls its charm to me. Plus, a VF-1 in 1/72 scale is relatively small (unlike a 1/72 F-14), so I'm concerned it won't have the same level of detail as the Fokker and Hunter F-14's. The inclusion of internal landing gears, movable flaps, etc., would make it more appealing, but again, I just don't see that happening in 1/72. Hopefully Calibre will prove me wrong.
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It's pretty disapointing to see that the Destroids are still selling for so little. This doesn't bode well for future Destroids.
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After seeing all the gaudy tampo on the YF-19, I'm keeping my VF-19 Advance. I rarely display my VF's with their canopies open, so the only things that appeal to me are the YF-19's accessories.
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Back in 1984, Big West did license out at least one Macross branded piece of merchandise in the USA, but they appeared to have stopped after DYRL was released (most likely because DYRL was originally supposed to be the franchise's swan song). Since they stopped licensing out any more Macross products, nor contested Harmony Gold's subsequent usage of the Macross mark, they've lost all claims to the trademark. If Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko Production fail to renew their contract, then Harmony Gold will be required to assign the Macross trademark to Tatsunoko, as per the arbitrator's order. Even though Big West was the first party to release a Macross product in the USA, trademark common law gives priority to "continued use" over "first to market". When a trademark is assigned to another party, it doesn't lose any of the strength (ie: continued use) that it's accumulated over the years. In other words, the assignment process won't leave an opening for Big West to try to claim the trademark. This isn't related to RavenHawk's question, but damn, there's finally a Youtuber who actually gets it! Thanks for posting this video!
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Don't have time to read the full order, but it's great news for Harebrained
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If I didn't know any better, I'd swear I was looking at a bootleg.
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The History of Robotech by Toy Galaxy
TheLoneWolf replied to no3Ljm's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Excellent point! But there are certain defenses to copyright infringement. That commercial has a lawful purpose: to market a legitimate product. Second, Jetfire only appears for mere seconds, so it would probably be considered de minimus (ie: trivial) infringement. A de minimus appearance with a lawful purpose wouldn't be a cause for concern. If it was an indisputable infringement, don't you think that commercial would've been, ya know, banned? -
The History of Robotech by Toy Galaxy
TheLoneWolf replied to no3Ljm's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Or Hasbro just had a dutiful legal office (what a concept!) that sent out a staff reminder saying "We heard you all want to give the Autobots an aerial transportation vehicle. Just a reminder that we only paid for Jetfire's toy rights, not its film rights, so don't include it in any way, name, or form in the cartoon." In the absence of reliable evidence, I tend to find that the more mundane explanation is usually the correct one. Because otherwise... -
The History of Robotech by Toy Galaxy
TheLoneWolf replied to no3Ljm's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
There's no mention of any actual adversarial legal action from the 1980's in that article. Just a vague reference that the controversy's origins date back to the 80's. If that's what Toy Galaxy is basing their information on, then they're doing sloppy research. There isn't, because Harmony Gold never did take any legal action against Hasbro in the 1980's. Hasbro's contract with Bandai and Tatsunoko Production predates Harmony Gold's own contract with Tatsunoko (source: Robotech Art 1). Likewise, the 1/55's design patent was filed on April 13, 1984 (source: U.S. Patent No. 287,037), which also predates Harmony Gold's contract with Tatsunoko (signed on Sept. 11, 1984). Since they predate Harmony Gold's contract, there's nothing Harmony Gold could've done to Hasbro and Bandai back then.
