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Astro Plan


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Recent ramblings over at RT.com over this:

relak says:

I'm not the type which will squash creative new ideas, so let me offer a suggestion.

The only way i think this AStro plan(which is called "Space Adventurers" in chinese BTW......wat kinda lame 60s name is that...) can be incorporated into Robtech would be as a "show within a show".

In that way, the horrible animation can be forgiven. Whats more, you can lame it up as much as possible and get away with it since its a kids show that broadcasts WITHIN the robotech univers.

(while we in real life are watching Robotech, REF children are watching this cartoon)

Kinda like what "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" is to "Toy Story".

Hear me out on this suggestion.

Astro plan(remaned "Robotech:Astro Force") is a cartoon that was quite popular in 2029.(it would explain why the designs are similar to the VF-1s since the Alphas have not been put into use yet). Dana herself remembers watching it now and then. By 2044, thanks to all other forms of entertainment programs literally wiped out in the invid invasion, "Robotech: Astro Force" is the only entertainment program available to ANYONE(including REF personnel. Which is why you never see them watch TV cos there's nothing good on). ITs a hit with the kids though.

So while the more "serious buisness" like hunting for the SDF-3 and repelling Haydonite attacks take place in "real time", the kids on earth and children of REF personnel would tune in every saturday morning to watch "Robotech: Astro Force". It can be introduced in Shadow Rising via a small dialogue snippet when Marcus, Maia, Scott and Ariel walk by a child care facility for REF children and orphans and Ariel starts to ponder how these children will survive in the years to come and how they are supposed to grow up in a world at war. On TV, AStro plan is playing and the kids are laughing at it. Marcus makes a comment, "we can start by letting them watch some REAL shows rather than that trash they got on TV"

To incoporate it into Robotech, one can animate a couple of new scenes of a child care facility at Moon Base Aluce and the kids sitting down to watch the latest episode of the darn show(the same way the opening of "Buzz Lightyear of Star command" has the toys from Toy Story turn on the TV to watch the Buzz lightyear cartoon).

So, ya. It would be a cartoon within a cartoon. All its cheesiness, crappy animation and horrendously one dimensional characters will be easily forgiven since it is aimed at the children/orphans of REF personnel who have nothing else better to keep them entertained while their parents lie dead or are dying fighting the wars.

THe characters are

-"Draco Skai"(originally Tian Long aka "sky dragon") nicknamed "Hunter" by his friends. Brash young pilot of the white "Astro plane"(renamed VF-10 mecha and as a shout out to the original title of the show)

- Han B Silver(Hai Ying. Ying means silver in chinese). "B" stands for "Baker" (notice his hair color and beard bears a similarity to PTTSC's Jack Baker design?). Pilot of the blue Astro plane

- John Grant (Jin Gang. forget the translation). Oldest member of the Robotech Astro Force "Sky Arrow" squad. Pilot of the Grey/yellow Astro plane.

- "Starling"(Zi Jing). Token minority race/Half Alien/female member of Sky Arrow squad. Her real name is near unpronounceable in her alien language.(Yes its "STARling" not Sterling to avoid copyright issues. YA, even in the Robotech universe, there are copyright issues)

- Flint Fokker (Fei Yi), "Fokker" is only what his pals call him, not his real name(and as a clever in-universe shout out to Roy Fokker, another blond). Pilot of the orange Astro plane

- "Jouji" (Zhou Zhi)the kid who pilots the green AStro plane.

There you have it.

A cheesy saturday morning cartoon for the REF kids and orphans who need some strong brain rotting broadcast to take their minds of the horrors of war that their parents are going through.

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Wait a minute...since when were RT fans concerned about legal issues?

Robotech2010 wrote:

This could get ugly.

Getting the rights to the mecha designs from astro plan and bringing it to the west could cause a lot of problems.

China is known for blatantly ripping off other people's ideas and most companies don't care since they can't really do much to companies in communist China, but the minute you bring those designs into the west you are just setting yourself up for a huge lawsuit.

Lets face it, their designs are blatant ripoffs of the vf-25 from macross frontier and I'm sure Big West would be all over that.

@relak. I respect your point of view but I would have to completely disagree with you. I would call the mech designs in TSC ugly rather than real. They are boxy and just look unappealing. Compared to the mecha from Macross plus or frontier its like night and day.

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Thanks for the pics Areaseven. The plastic seems atrocious but would love one as an "aggressor" for my yammies to shoot and dismantle. Every time I take a look at the battroid form I keep getting drawn to the "splitdick" nosecone. :o

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Thanks for the pics Areaseven. The plastic seems atrocious but would love one as an "aggressor" for my yammies to shoot and dismantle. Every time I take a look at the battroid form I keep getting drawn to the "splitdick" nosecone. :o

You'd be surprised by the build quality of this toy. Examining it is like that one time, at Band Camp, when some MiG-25 pilot defected and landed his plane in Japan for the Americans to disassemble it. This toy screams Chunky Monkey, but it's got some tricks up its sleeves.

There are no ball joints anywhere; articulation on the shoulders, hips and swing bar is through loud ratchet joints, while everything else is swivel-type. Unlike the Chunky Monkey or Toynami's Valks, the swing bar is a solid plastic "wishbone".

There is one thing it has that no Valkyrie toy has: a telescoping front landing gear. Sheer genius! :lol:

My biggest gripes so far are the lack of locking mechanisms for the arms, head and tail fin in fighter mode. The arms and head just dangle around under the fuselage and the two halves of the tail fin have no pegs or clips. Otherwise, there's no reason not to pick up this toy.

On another note, none of the Type Yi Fighter toys have their "Ultimate Skill" weapons. I was so disappointed when I found out that mine didn't come with the energy axe or the shield. So for those who want the blue one, sorry - no sniper bazooka.

Right now, I'm in the process of detailing the toy. I've already painted the UN Spacy kite on the back and gave the wishbone a better color. Pics and full comparison with some Valks coming soon.

Edited by areaseven
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This is not the greatest show in the world, no... this is a tribute.

Couldn't remember the greatest show in the world, no, no! This is a tribute!

This is a tribute, you gotta believe. Oh I wish you were there. It's just a matter of opinion. Aw yeah.

You rock. Hard. \m/ :lol:

But seriously, I can't believe the rip off happening here. As someone pointed out... even the Macross kite symbol has been bastardised in the flag... amazing cheek!

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They are really cheap, about $30 :lol:

Maybe in China, they're dirt cheap. But it ended up costing me a lot more than I expected. I ordered mine through KOTOYS.com for US$39.99 (US$27.99 + US$12.00 Zone 1 shipping). Unfortunately, since it was shipped through EMS, I was forced to pay import taxes and duties here in Manila, which US$32! Maybe those in the US will be luckier with their orders.

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Comedy gold, anyone? I opened up the HyperWiz site using Google Chrome to translate it to English, and I discovered this article:

Space Adventures (Astro Plan) identify genuine piracy

Published :2010-3-23 16:28:52

Manufacturers of illegal piracy of intellectual respect for the coveted new - Space Adventures (Astro Plan) launched, the market of pirated products immediately overwhelming. Consumer products, even with eyes that are difficult to distinguish between true and false. Should know that using non-toxic materials are genuine products ABS plastic manufacturing, quality inspection departments relevant inspection certificate with the 3C compulsory certification will not jeopardize children's health. Pirated materials used, without correlation, can not guarantee security. From last year, "melamine", "egg poisoning", "water is poisoned," recently attracted uproar, and there Shanxi vaccine event. Make a life-threatening vaccine is really terrifying.

Star Jie (HyperWiz), is holding the purpose of health and happiness of children, child development puzzle for the deformation (transforming) of toys, has launched a Variety machine beast, the space adventure. Children are like, in the process of buying, but also carefully check the authenticity of identification. Some even with the genuine packaging of pirated products verbatim.

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Thanks for the detailed photos and the comments, areaseven!

I'm hoping to pick up the purple girl's one at some point, for my Valk knockoff collection. (It's like the modern version of Megaro Zamac...

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