megaprime

Thank you all. Managed to put it back to fighter mode. It took a good half hour but I succeeded..

Thank you very much for your reply and links. Unfortunately those links show transformation into battroid mode. I need the opposite, from battroid to fighter plane mode.

Apologies for cluttering the forum. It's been a very long time since I was active and have forgotten some rules

Is there a video somewhere which shows how to reverse transform the VF27y super parts set into flight mode please? It has been a very long time since I transformed it into battroid mode and have forgotten.

25F in my opinion. Crisp white and just the right amount of black and red.

I dont hate Bandai. I have no reason to. In fact i am grateful to them for taking the time to produce stuff for a super niche market.

I bought the products that I wanted and I love them. Had I not liked them i would sell the products and not buy from them again. No reason to hate them since they didnt force me to buy the stuff.

And I promise yo- No, I GUARANTEE YOU that they've driven the desire for it up so much because of it, that when the finally DO re-release it, it will be gone in seconds, mark my words.

That makes me respect them even more since any company that is able to create that much demand for their products is an excellent company (in the business sense).

I 'm probably alone here, but I think it's pointless. It looks like it got stuck mid-transformation. Moreover, everything for which GERWALK is used can be accomplished by the battroid mode, so why not skip the intermediate step. Just my humble opinion.

I agree with you on the fact that looks like stuck mid transformation however I do think that it does have some purpose since it allows the wings to be spread sideways which helps with the flying. Well, at least in atmosphere that is.

Personally I dont like the gerwalk simply because its shape does not appeal to me esthetically. My favourite shape is battroid and that is maybe connected to the fact that I like robots more than fighter planes.

Honestly, how many Macross fans would actually care for a Macross series with absolutely no transforming fighters?

Personally, i wouldn't. The same as I wouldn't watch Transformers just for the love story. I have only watched SDF, Frontier and Zero so far and the main love story seems to be the same old triangle.

Again, Macross was born in a mecha saturated market but manged to survive through other means.

I got into Macross because of the Bandai DX line. There is a lot of merchandise out there of the "transformable vehicle robot" style however the Macross one really made an impression on me.

it could have Idols and Metal like BabyMetal

OMG

(SHUDDER)... I hate Babymetal... give me Momoiro Clover any day...

I dont blame you. I was a heavy metal fan for over 15 years and I have listened to every genre, from Led Zeppelin to Black Metal to opera Metal and all the experimental stuff but that Babymetal...is the weirdest and most nauseating thing I have ever seen (no offence to anyone who likes them).

What we can realistically expect of the Macross franchise at this point is something of the same quality as Macross Frontier. I enjoyed Macross Frontier but I know some didn't. But I can't imagine another "Macross Plus" scenario in the future for the franchise. I hope I'm wrong. I'd welcome new blood into the franchise, certainly helped when Shinichiro Watanabe came along

I really liked the Frontier so if the new one follows in that line then I would be quite happy.

But then the question would be whether fans would ever accept anything other than a Kawamori led Macross anime. If not, then the Macross franchise, for better or worse, would be somewhat limited in how it could grow in the future.

I suppose you can never please them all. Apologies for continuing with the Lucas/Star Wars analogy however it has been the same scenario there too. A lot of Original Trilogy fans hated the Prequels and the Clone Wars however the latter two brought in a lot more fans to the franchise. Maybe BW should follow the same strategy after Kawamori retires i.e. dont bring out anything for a long time and the fans will be that eager for a new release that they will accept anything (Kawamori involved or not).

I'd like to believe it but being April 1st makes me a bit suspicious.

Thank you guys. Those are glass dome bell displays. Easy to find on ebay. Inisde diameter is 24cm and height of the glass dome itself is 36cm. They work a treat. The white bases are ceramic and the black one is wood. Unfortunately no rotating option but it is something that can be added on easily I would have thought.

Here is my very modest but growing collection:

Here you go...

Read his entire review then scroll to the bottom and enjoy.

Thanks mate. Fully transformed.

Just received mine today. The colour is really nice and looks a lot better than in the pictures. Is anyone aware where I may be able to find a transformation instructions video please? I have searched all over the place but all I seem to get is the review videos (which dont show step by step transformation method).

And when they do target the US market, they get lawsuits. Seriously... what would YOU do...?

If using the name Macross is the problem then rebrand the product.... that is one of many solutions possible (in my opinion) There have been plenty of ocassions where the same product has been given different names in different coutries for various reasons.

Bandai has opened up to the western market. It's just that it's all products the west already likes such as Dragonball Z, Super Sentai, and Sailor Moon.

For example their Saint Cloth Myth line is incredibly lucrative thanks to the popularity of Saint Seiya all over the world (except America).

If Bandai has already got a stronghold in the market and they are seen as a strong brand (which they are) then they are able to introduce new products in that market with more ease. How do they know if the new market will like a product or not if they dont give it a chance?

I can appreciate your attempts at rationalizing why things are the way they are, but let's not confuse apples and oranges: entertainment products are not the same as the devices used to play them on, and the manufacturers of one are on a completely different scale than the other - the reasons why the major electronic manufacturers suffered is far more complicated than mere close-mindedness and rigidity (the effects of the Leeman Shock come first to mind).

Nevertheless, if it was so easy to double their profits, why hasn't anyone already done so? Maybe its not as easy as you think, and maybe the so-called international market is no where near as big as you perceive it to be?

It's probably for the best if you keep in mind that the producers of anime and manga do not have the finances to do anything BUT release domestically. History also shows us that they are willing to licence their products to foreign distributors. So, it's more relevant to ask why distributors in your country have stopped, or reduced the amount of anime and manga they import, then putting the blame on companies and individuals that aren't in a position to do that.

It's not confusing apples with oranges. I'm not talking about what products a producer makes but rather their attitude toward promoting those products in a new market. If the attitude is similar to what Castel describes in post 477 of this thread then .....

If producers do not have the financial means to do anything internationally then how did hundreds of other mange products, etc make it into the International market? Today's emerging markets and technologies create an excellent environment and give the means for the underdogs to compete. Projects like Kickstarter (for example) are an excellent way to address insecurity regarding wider markets and even legal issues that may result (from HG and greedy companies like that).

Hm. I guess it's a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario. Thankfully, there are some Americans (even in the U.S.) who are not so spoiled to demand instant gratification day in and day out. And when something is out of their reach (that is, too expensive or just unavailable in some way), they either save up, bank on the generosity of a friend, or move on.

As Mick Jagger wisely once put to song, "You can't always get what you want."

From what I can see people are not demanding at all. They are simply asking for something basic (i.e. English subtitles). And frankly it is quite a confusing situation. On one side you hear that Big West etc produce Macross for the domestic market only and they dont care for the international one. So if that is the case then why do they bring out releases that contain English subtitles? That conveys a confusing message to the fans.

You can put people in three main categories:

those who demand instant gratification (I want it here, I want it now-generally an attitude that plagues the majority of the West)

those who gratefully accept any little bone that is thrown to them now and again and accept anything said company does without questioning it (hardcore Apple fanboys come to mind)

those who question and try to do something to contribute towards change ( like quite a few members here who have very generously provided translations, etc)

That third group is the most valuable for any company.

I've never complained about prices personally although I have questioned the reasons why they are high in comparison to the West. I've never complained about availability either ( since I have been able to get the English subtitles for all the releases thanks to those kind people on the net who made the effort to help).

You may not be able to get what you want all the time but I bet you can most of the time. It just depends how hard you work towards it.

Dont get me wrong I am not someone who likes to whine. I came accross Macross by chance and in a strange way. Initially I liked the Bandai Valks and once I found this forum I learned more and then started to watch the films/series. And I really like Macross and enjoy watching it (although I have never enjoyed watching Dragonball Z or Pokemon). Maybe it is because I like Star Wars, or because I'm a bloke and like war stories. I dont know why, but I certainly do hope that Macross continues with new releases and increases in popularity.

I'm sorry if this is the inappropriate place but wasn't sure where to ask the questions below.

Does anyone know how I can burn an mkv file into a dvd that I can play in my dvd/bluray player? More specifically I'm trying to burn the Macross Frontier TV series which I downloaded as an mkv file and which contains English subtitles. I tried the MKV to Any Lite app from Appstore but unfortunately it loses the subtitles in the process of converting it. I use a MacBook Pro by the way.

I transformed my 29 Isamu with no issues at all. All I did was follow a transformation video on YouTube and had no issues whatsoever. And that was my first ever Valkyrie of any kind. Personally I love the 25/29/30 Valks because they are so sleek in eother fighter or batroid mode (although I keep them permanently in batroid mode).

If we look at JUST this forum, we have a userbase of ~15,700 accounts. At time of this post, we have ~80 unique visitors viewing the forums, ~30 are actual members. Out of those ~15,000 accounts, how many of those are active vs non-active, legitimate vs spam, I haven't crunched the numbers yet.

Our most usage occurred when Frontier aired. Those days where we saw ~200 unique visitors were on viewing days. We have not had those numbers since.

Thank you. The numbers are certainly a lot lower than I thought. At least I am aware so that I can curb my spending on those Bandai Valks. Dont want to end up owning a ton of them and then be unable to sell them in the future and end up with a loss.

I have to agree with Renato and Tochiro on this. The comparison with Pixar is, well, simply ridiculous.

How can a comparison with a Pixar movie (which was simply in terms of content) be ridiculous and a comparison with bondage be OK??

Personally I think that none of us can really say for certain whether Macross would have had success in the West or not because it has never been given the chance. The fact that macross has done this well simply through word of mouth (mainly a merit of forums like this) and despite the lack of English (or any other language) subtitles or dubbing says a lot to me about its potential. Still, I am probably wrong and am being over optimistic.

However in the interest of not de-railing this thread any further from the original content ( I've done enough of that already so, apologies) I think this is probably a subject in which we have to agree to disagree

Megaprime... not trying to offend you... but maybe you should live inJapan for a year or two before dictating what they like and don't like. If you do so and it works, I for one will definitely listen to you. If you haven't, maybe you listen to those who have.

No offence taken at all . I'm not dictating to the Japanese or rather not dictating at all. I'm simply discussing what the Western world may like or not. I cant discuss Japanese audiences because I dont know them at all. I'm merely discussing about Western audiences and what the Japanese producers can do for them.

Trust me kiddo, they know. And it doesn't produce the numbers you think it produces.

I was guessing based on numbers such as membership on this forum for example. But if that is not the case then I respectfully bow out of the discussion.

Purely out of curiosity, can I ask, what are the numbers of fans in Japan and international? Does anyone have any rough idea? Are we talking in the 100s, 1000s or more?

If we are only talking about content, then what you suggest is that we take the approach of a show which everyone can enjoy, which has worked in the West. There you have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of Japanese society when dealing with pop culture. Like I said before, there is an anime stigma. Most people in the mainstream will not watch anime by virtue of it being anime.

I'm not talking about penetrating the Japanese market, I'm talking about the Western market. And I'm not talking about making movies for people to watch in the cinema but rather Macross tv series that get licensed to children tv stations. I remember shows like Dragonball Z, Yu gi oh, Pokemon, etc, etc had plenty of success amongst the young generations (and older ones as well).

That is why, for example, Pacific Rim failed at the box office here. And English-language news people were surprised, saying "What? We thought the Japanese would love it!" No, they don't. It is a subculture, and there is resistance from the mainstream.

That is why I believe my "bondage movie" analogy works much better than your "Up" analogy. Because the mainstream is repulsed by S&M, but there is a healthy subculture that is sustainable within its own confines. Same with robots and little girls. Shows with robots are childish, and shows with little girls are considered perverted. There is no pre-existing stigma against old men with balloons.

By using the bondage movie analogy you are straight away cutting out the under 16 audience and the Up analogy gives a chance to all people of all ages. If Macross is super nich then bondage is ultra niche. If shows with robots were childish then films like Transformers and many more would have never made it in the West. And if shows with little girls are considered perverted then most of the Disney movies with the princesses (or Hanna Montana, etc) wouldnt have made it either.

A lot of people may be repulsed by bondage but I dont say there are many out there who are repulsed by cartoons. To be fair anime has a lot more chances of being accepted by general public than bondage. Grandparents may not like anime but if grandkids like it they would go along to watch it (so there is an incentive). Whereas with bondage grandparents may not like it and the grandkids are not allowed (so no incentive there at all).

I think you are wrong about Pixar. People dont go to see their movies just for the sake of it but because they have created a reputation for releasing movies that are not only tasteful to the eye but also with a strong and meaningful storyline.

The fact that Western culture has an attraction to Japanese culture (finds it cute, etc) and the success of films like Transformers, Ponyo, The Borrowers etc create, in my opinion, a favourable environment for cartoons/anime like Macross.

I think ultimately it boils down to cultural differences and the willingness of the producers to make an effort. They can start by finding out to what extent the current international fanbase has extended. By collaborating closely with forums like this or retailers such as NY, HLJ, AmiAmi, etc they could even test the international market's demand for basic things such as English subtitled films, etc. (That way they are not breaking any Western licensing laws either). In today's internet age the possibilities of promoting the brand and releasing merchandise (without breaking any laws) are endless. I'm just surprised at how easily the producers are dismissing the worldwide fanbase, that's all.

I just finished watching the Frontier series and the movie. I was very surprised by the noticeable difference between the series and the movie. Even Alto's stance, looks and voice sound different for example. Alto's voice and behaviour were more aggressive in the series (or at least it appeared he was prone to getting angry a lot quicker in the series).

Is this sort of difference typical of all the releases in the Macross world? Or is it just a Frontier thing?

There are so many things wrong with this argument that anyone would need a post five times as long to address them all.

I'll content myself with asking, how niche is Pixar? Do they not have millions to spend on advertising? Did all the people who saw Up suddenly turn into lovers of all animation?

And of course you understand WHY Macross is not being marketed in the west, as do we all...

I wasn't comparing the two companies. I was merely poitning out that the content of Macross (robots and little girls that Renato said) is not much different from the content of UP (old man, little boy, house with balloons). All people who saw Up may have not turned into lovers of animation however it shows that there are a lot of people still willing to watch cartoons despite of their age so the argument about ageing population does not hold much water.

I am well aware of the greedy and selfish reasons that prevent Macross from being marketed in the West although those legal claims are on shaky ground anyway (as it has been pointed out in several places). Despite this there are plenty of legal loopholes that can be easily exploited in order to recognise and satisfy the worldwide audience.

If producers want to know the extent of the worldwide audience of Macross they can easily find out through places like this forum and the various shops that sell merchandise. Granted that may not be 100% accurate but it would certainly give a very good idea in terms of numbers.

There is not going to be any "mass market penetration" -- I hate to sound like a broken record, but anime is a niche market. When you have an ageing society that doesn't watch cartoons and you try to sell a cartoon about giant robots and little girls, you are marketing your product to a specific group of people.

Maybe if Macross was given the opportunity to flourish in the West you would have cheaper BDs. Actually I'm fairly positive you would. But we all know who to blame for that, right?

If we take Pixar's Up that is a cartoon about a little boy and an old man flying around the world in a house held up by balloons. It still didnt stop the film making millions upon millions and had millions of kids, teenagers, young adults and old peple glued to the screen. So in terms of content there isnt much difference there (apart from the fact that Japanese seem to strangely love including girls in thongs and naked in (some of) their cartoons). The argument of ageing population can be counteracted with the rise in "baby boomers" so there are more and more older people who have the time and money to dedicate to their childhood hobbies. I wouldnt dismiss the older people as "dont watch cartoons". You would be surprised how many grandparents sit there watching with their grandchildren the latter's favourite cartoons. And those grandparents have the money and need the ideas on what to get their grandkids . The rise in popularity of Transformers and other films featuring robots would also have a positive indirect impact on this genre.

The west does have a secret love for Japanese anime (and anything Japanese for that matter). Films like Ponyo, The Borrowers, etc have been quite successful. I dont see why Macross wouldnt (providing the nudity was taken off of course). It is cute and has a love story so it appears to girls, and has transformable toys and fighting scenes so it appeals to boys. Look at Apple's strategy: get the youth on board and the rest follows. However Macross can appeal to all ages. In fact I bet there is a good mix of ages in this forum as well.

Hence why I believe that anime is a niche market because of choice. The difference in cultures that you mentioned has a lot to do with it. If someone makes a product with the specific view of it targeting just a niche market then that product certainly isnt going to become popular outside its target since it was never given a chance.

Dont get me wrong. I am not complaining. It is Kawamori's creation and he will do with it as he pleases. I just think that since Macross has created its own niche market in the West the producers should make a little bit more effort in recognising it. I'm off to transforming that VF 27 Lucifer that has just arrived.

Thank you everyone. For some reason my mind had created the opinion that the Yamatos were slightly chunkier in design compared to Bandai DX line. I'm sorry for going slightly off topic but is there a thread on here that best describes the various Yamato models (scale,design, etc)?

Can i ask, are the Valks produced by Arcadia better, worse or the same compared to the chogokin DX line produced by Bandai?

LOL, I personally like it and I guess my wife too. She liked the figure when I showed her before I pre-ordered it she just said "you should get it".

Watch it. That kind of allowance is usually followed by a request. She is probably wanting you to buy her something (usually more expensive than what she let you buy) :D