"Possible Good News for Robotech Miniatures Fans" Topic

Hiya,

Didn't see this posted anywhere (which kind of surprised me) but thought fans of Robotech / mecha miniatures might be interested in this.

link

Sounds like the plans include production of 6mm sometime next year :-)

Enjoy,

Scott

That's cool, can't wait to see these become available! The sculpts look *very* nice, and would also like to see more about the game system.

Also good news for Battletech players too…

Damon.

It would be very exciting if anything comes of it…but I'll believe it when I actually see the models for sale.

Greg B… I'm with you in that I'll believe it when I see it. Still… Something to definitely look forward to.

The sculpts look *very* nice…

If this leads anywhere, I don't think it involves the excellent sculpts by Jon Paulson in any way. It appears that Kevin Siembieda has yet to contract sculptors to model figures and is not interested in Jon's work.

Harmony Gold and Palladium are not well known for playing nice or handling their licenses well.

According to stuff I read from Jon, his attempt to get them to bite at a minis game went nowhere. If I recall correctly, they gave him a polite answer to the effect of "we like thei dea, but we won't be going with you".

-Eli

Or it could be that Palladium didn't want to start contract negotiations with sculptors before they had the license to produce minis.

Something like that could easily have messed up the HG negotiations (considering how obsessive HG is about the Robotech IP)

Robotech minis?!?! Yayayayayyay…wait, Palladium?

Oh.

Robotech minis?!?! Yayayayayyay…wait, Palladium?

Oh.

Well put. But perhaps this will be the instance where it all suddenly comes together…I should try to be optimistic…

Well, I figured this was coming. I'm less enthusiastic about it since I believe the nice prototype sculpts we've been seeing won't be used.

I can hope!

(They are doing Robotech minis!)

This is fantastic news!

(Uh, Palladium is doing them.)

This is… interesting news!

I want the Mospeada minis!

I have been in contact with Kevin at Palladium. They are excited to see the updated contract signed by HG. There are a few items that will need to be discussed over what Palladium wants to see for their new gaming aids and project ideas. Robotech Battles: Macross is currently being reviewed and will be revised to meet the requirements for Palladium and not be conflicting with any Harmony Gold licensing. There is a big road ahead for new things for the Robotech License. Everyone should be happy to see something come out of all this. There WILL new products out of Palladium for the Robotech License.
Tom: RED DUKE GAMING

Wake me up when this hits Kickstarter.

I will hope for the best on this project.

-Eli

Could all this really be happening because Carl Macek has been dead for over 2 years now?

I know it's really HG, but Carl was a major part of HG for years. Can't help but feel he's been in the way of all this in the end.

Good to know this is moving along. I've been following the progress of Paulson Games and the other fellow who was working on some rules.

If the minis are near the same scale and don't cost more than equivalent BT minis, I'll definitely be getting a few. I've still got my "unseen" plastic BT mechs, but a modern update to those sculpts would be very welcome.

If KS at Palladium is involved, outside talent won't be. At least not if he has any control over the final credits in the rulebook.

Daedalus Attack…in 1/285!!

My land forces general staff want Destroid Monsters!! En Masse!

@Farstar: KS still can't sculpt, he's advertising for sculptors as we speak.

The prototype models you guys saw before are not being used as I won't be working with Palladium. (Paulson)

I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing any models inside the next year (or posisbly two) as they have no idea what it takes to build a line that size and will be freelancing talent which is painfully slow.

I hope for the Robotech fans out there that they can source decent artists, but given their non-exsistant experience with minis and the price range they were looking to get sculpts at I doubt we'll see anything better than the old Ral Partha battletech quality. (which is ok for the time but sucks by modern standards)

I'd honestly expect mediocre product typical of palladium's norm, which doesn't get me particuarly excited over the prospect of minis from them.

Lion: I was refering to rules, which KS has shown a strong tendency to "edit" then claim full credit for.

KS has also been milking the same tired, 1st generation Palladium rules system for decades. the last major advancement in that system came with the introduction of MDC to simplify the damage system for mecha units in the Robotech RPG.

A wargame is an entirely different ball of wax and requires the ability to streamline and do away with excesses that can bog down the system. This would be especially true in a game that is supposed to simulate massed anime mecha combat.

When was the last time Palladium streamlined anything?

-Eli

The prototype models you guys saw before are not being used as I won't be working with Palladium. (Paulson)

Sorry to hear that Palladium is yet again ing up a …

You're still my hero, Jon Paulson

Lion, have you EVER heard of KS being less than a total ass to work with? Not just paying low, but not bother to pay at all for a long time. Taking credit for others work. tons of other stuff. Probably I could spend an hour typing stuff. then you could come back with another long post of stuff I have never heard off.

It is a real shame, becsaue I like a lot of the ideas that have come from palladium. I played the Robotech RPG decades ago, and liked it. But it never went anywhere. I did not know why back then. now with the net I do. Very much to bad as I love Mechas.

owen

The only books I own from palladium are the re-released Robotech RPGs (the ones in manga-size format) and a copy of Deluxe Revised RECON.

The Robotech rules are really clunky, but they have the vehicle stats in them… Recon isn't running off the Palladium system (thank god).

The descriptions of KS's business practices literally makes me wonder how they've managed to stay in business.

Probably looking at Palladium finding the cheapest sculptors possible. Would you kindly sculpt a battlepod for a copy of Rifts? rather than really putting the stops out. Well, they'll say they're pulling out all the stops to bring the fans the greatest game EVAR!!! but likely, yeah, subpar product promoted as the best available and likely sold at a premium price with plenty of trademarks and copyrights liberally emblazoned on the packaging.

@Mechdude/Ron Paulson: Have you considered telling Harmony Gold and Palladium to pound sand and get a license for Macross instead?

"No, KS, these have nothing to do with your Robotech(c) license, these are licensed Macross(c) designs! According the the Fasa/HG lawsuit, HG does NOT own the exclusive rights."

You'd need to talk to either ADV or Manga Entertainment to get a contact with the Japanese firms, though.

Isn't that what FASA tried to do?

Back in the late 80's early 90's I was a fan of Robotech and Rifts. (and I was obsessed with TMNT) The issue for me is that 20-25 years later those games are still exactly in the same place.

It's like playing AD&D without ever doing a new edition or new material. The systems were fine back in the day but nowdays they are incredibly dated and not very inspiring as there are far better rpg systems out there. Palladium is like the fly trapped in amber, if you break it open you only get dinosaurs. ;) It has a place within my history as a gamer but it's been off the radar for so many years it's not funny.

It would be possible to contact the Japanese parent companies, however the only option would be to make the product outside the US as HG controls the rights in the US and blocks anyone else from using the macross images & designs.

If I were to move my business to Japan it's much more likely to be able to get a lisc to make maross items, the problem is that I would be unable to sell them to the US or other countries where HG has registered the Robtech mark. Items would need to trickle their way here much like macross does now, through Ebay and other 3rd party vendors, which is a pain in the butt for the custoemrs.

Making that jump I don't think is very practical (at this point), although I've entertained the idea.

I'll continue working on my own models and game, it just won't be for sale. I ran it as far up offical channels as I could go and I'm happy with that as it's not a failure on my end. I do find it sad when other people prevent a good idea from reaching proper fruition due to greed and red tape.

I get to walk away knowing that now offical minis can at least be be made by somebody and the rights are in place finally, which is a massive change after almost 20 years of chaos. So that's a victory. I just hope that they can evolve beyond their old school norm and deliver a good product to the fans for a change.

It would be possible to contact the Japanese parent companies, however the only option would be to make the product outside the US as HG controls the rights in the US and blocks anyone else from using the macross images & designs.

Harmony Gold *lost* that case, and lost it hard, when they took FASA to court. The company HG bought the original rights from didn't have the rights to sell for that purpose.

I can buy US-legal copies of Macross videos (both remastered originals with English subs and with an English audio track).

You should have no problem going to Bandai (with a reference from either ADV, Funimation, or Manga) and saying "I would like to publish a game to refight the battles shown in Macross. These are examples of the models I would like to use, and here is a copy of the rules."

I've been following this patiently. Long time RPG'er (using Palladium games, but HEAVILY modified) of Robotech, and recent delver into table-top gaming them.

Like all others I'm rather cautiously optimistic. Palladium/HG are pretty good at absolutely suffocating the entire franchise state-side.

I have zero faith in Palladium doing a decent wargame, but I don't care if they release good sculpts. Personally I'd hook up with a studio which is doing computer design. It's pretty damn popular now, and hard-lined mecha (as opposed to difficult to master humans) would be cake on a computer.

They could release boxed sets of _____ of Battle Pods etc. However I'm afraid we'll end up with sub-par white metal sculpts asking $7 USD-12 a figure…yada yada.

I also hope they keep the scales consistent. I'm excited, but have very little faith in the outcome. Same thing every Robotech nerd thinks when you consider the idea of a Robotech Live-Action movie. It could very well end up like a horrible ball of crap (See: Transformers).

I am also a little afraid if they do release the miniatures/models, the community may devour them so fast they'll be very hard to get a hold of.

I'd buy MANY full sets. Really crossing my fingers for this. Any word if there are any not-Macross 1:144 kits around?

Any word if there are any not-Macross 1:144 kits around?

If there are, they have flown beneath everyone's radar. Most people know not to draw the ire of either Palladium or HG.

IIRC, 1/100 was a common model scale for Macross stuff back in the day of Arii and Imai, while 1/144 was more common for the larger Gundam designs.

There are a load of decent 1/144 Macross kits still available, but that scale is pretty big…the power armour suits are around 7" or so.