"Matchbox Blue Destroid Phalanx / Spartan Robotech 1/200? fun" Topic

This is a Matchbox Destroid Phalanx/Spartan that I repainted to represent the blue one seen on the SDF1. As a kid in the 80's I had the original Matchbox blue Destroid Phalanx but I in 4th grade at the time foolishly traded it to a 5th grader for some "Army Ants" figures. So I got a new one. In the photo I placed a NICHIMO 1/200 VF-1A and a VF-1A from the Bandai Macross 2nd Mission gashapon for size comparison. As you can see the Destroid is out of scale. It appears that this mecha would not be suitable for 1/200 scale battles. But until someone comes up with a 3D printed 1/200 mecha it is any 1/200 Robotech player's best bet.

If you read my captions you can learn about what I discovered when researching the Blue Destroid most of which happened after I did my paint job that I now know is not correct.
Cheers,
Mike
link

Nicely done! Yeah, I have one of those sitting on my table, and I like the blue paint scheme – just don't have your talent. I'm debating painting it up as a stand-in.

It's the only thing I'm missing from the UN Spacy side. I'm also debating using some spare Defender models and simply kit-bashing one…close as I can get it.

I love the paint scheme you did…very gritty. Wish I could convince myself to take enough time to do that. Looks great.

Hey Android – whereabouts are you? I'm in the South East US.

Maybe someone can 3D model just the missile pods in 1/200 scale..
Great work, by the way…

I'm in Washington State. Severe lacking of Robotech opponents in this area. Lots of Pokoman card players, radically complicated D&D spin-off players and people that like to dress up like knights and wizards and molest each other… you know cool people like that.
Anyway… We 1/200 Robotech fans need to start nagging 3D printer sculptors aka "shapies" to scale their Robotech/Macross sculpts to our superior scale. No more of this 1/300, 1/289, 1/405 1/ whatever novelty size. Yah, I decided im a 1/200 Robotech fundamentalist now after I got my first 1/200 3D printed kits. 3D printing is the future of the hobby. It is amazing and it is going to change everything. You might have read articles about how governments are concerned about the coming 3D printable firearm and how they can't stop people from printing themselves a gun a few years out. Well the same goes for miniatures. Anything a hobbyist can dream up is just a click away. No more of the long drawn out mess of scratch building in the shop. The hobby model kit casting industry is facing trouble. It's going to be all about sanding, gluing and painting in the future.

What the Robotech copywrite holders or any franchise owner should do is produce a bunch of high quality 3D sculpts and then list them with a 3D printer. Otherwise they loose. It's the future. No government or corporation can stop unlicensed designs from shooting out of the new generation of cheep home 3D printers that are coming. After browsing the designs people have listed at one 3D printers site, I think that some 3D sculptors have actually downloaded the 3D models they made for the actual movie they originally created them for. Talk about skipping the middleman. Yep, the future is now.

Now for some quick painting tips:
Weathering your models is quick and easy, after doing your basecoat work. Make up a bath of black acrylic wash that has the consistency of 2% milk. Then dip your model. Be sure to test your wash on some old junk so that you can see it is not to thick. Next, let it dry over night. Now you can add a wash of red oxide for rust all over the model or in select places with a brush. I recently experimented with Folkart's bright orange acrylic called Tangerine and it looks like real rust. Now you can add some dry brushing with white. The model needs to be completely dry. Dip your "dry" brush in white or silver and then rub the majority of paint off the brush on a rage so it looks like no paint is on the brush. Now draw the brush across the surface of the model to highlight the details. Don't over do this or the model will look chalky. Use an old soft brush as dry brushing kills brushes. I'm into the George Lucas' (May he burn in Hell) "Used Universe" paint scheme look so I go back in with a 000 brush or a silver paint pen and pick at the kit to make it look like the pint is falling off in high traffic areas of the kit.
Any way I hope you enjoy!
Cheers,

Mike
Robotech 1/200 Fundamentalist (Sarcasm off)

Well, I went for the 1/100 stuff that Bandai re-released as part of the 25th anniversary, but I am definitely going to have to paint my Phalanx in blue.

Thinking I also need to find a 'rifleman' (Defender?), since that's the model that has not been re-released.

There are loads of 1/100 defenders on ebay.

I used to have an entire china cabinet of 1/100 scale Robotech. I even had the 1/100 Robotech factory. The fact is it is just too big to use for the types of engagements you see in Robotech. Once you kill the three 1/100 pods on the table in the first turn the game is all over. I got rid of all my 1/100 scale kits mostly because I was sick of packing them around when I was in school. 1/200 is just more storable, easer and faster to build and paint. 1/200 is also more fun to work with than say the static Dark Horse Robotech miniatures or their related Batteltech miniatures many of which look deformed. I say sell your 1/100 kits in a lot on ebay and save yourself the hassle of haling them around with you all your life. Take for instance; I can store my (what is most likely the largest in the world) 1/200 Zentraedi army in an apple box.

Let me preach the affordances of the 1/200 Robotech Cult:

1/200 kits are easy to hide from your wife when they come in the mail.

1/200 kits take a very short time to assemble

1/200 kits take a very short time to paint

1/200 kits are easy to display in a shadow box in your man cave, garage or playroom you share with your five year old kid.

1/200 kits are easy to store in a box (especially the VFs that you need 3 of to represent one transforming unit).

1/200 kits use less supplies to sand, paint and glue.

1/200 kits are not deformed (most of the time) like most of their smaller counterparts.

1/200 Robotech scale now (Yes it is so) has the largest range of mecha with all mecha available with exception of the Destroid Phalanx/Spartan this thread is about.

1/200 kits often come two in a box as with the NICHIMO and Battletech box sets.

1/200 Robotech battles last longer as more than five mecha can participate before they blow each other up and are thus more enjoyable.

Hope I persuaded many to join the 1/200 scale cult.

Cheers,
Mike
PS
Good luck packing that 1/100 Destroid Monster around.

I can't say I can encourage the 1/200 line right now, merely because it's too damn hard to get ahold of them (especially if you're on a budget).

I think for the scale of battle, 1/285th would be preferred…but only if you're doing Macross. Remember that the Masters and New Generation are scaled by about 2/3rds the size of Macross mecha.

I'm curious how Palladium will tackle this, as 1/285th means Cyclones etc. will be 6mm or so. Invid Scouts will be very damn small.

If they re-release 1/200 stuff, I'd suggest people pounce on it. The kits are mediocre at best, but they're all 30 year old sculpts.

If this were a perfect world, Palladium would do the smart thing, and enlist several excellent 3D modellers who could produce nice crisp plastic kits for all of the mecha. You could sell 4-5 Battle Pods in a box for $30 USD or so.

However I suspect we'll get overpriced metal minis. Right now, I do think 1/200 is the only scale you can really game in, as there are next to no other models available in other scales – besides a handful of destroids and Veritechs.

You simply can't game Robotech on any kind of reasonable budget – that's the biggest problem.

PS: I would also love to see many more notRobotech items show up for 3D printers.

"I'm curious how Palladium will tackle this, as 1/285th means Cyclones etc. will be 6mm or so. Invid Scouts will be very damn small."

Ding Ding Ding Ding we have a Winner!

1/285th will not work for Robotech!

But it still would if you were gaming it from a strategic game…it will become weird if they try to do it as a "tactical role-playing game" or whatever they're calling it.

For instance, the 6mm scale would work fine with my game, BUT…it's not a role playing game. You wouldn't really want to refight small Invid skirmishes at that scale, using only a handful of cyclones etc.

I'm not sure I'd want to mix stuff between arcs. If you follow the stuff that's available for the rpg then the cyclones are capable of dropping macross era mechs without too much effort. I wouldn't want a tiny little model that's 6mm or even 15mm dropping a full sized mech. Also they'd be really fiddley to game with.

How did I miss this one? Great job Mike!

And yes, Mike encouraged me to go 1/200 and I never looked back.

Very nice! And my favorite mech! Back in the 80's, I played the RPG with some battlebuddies. They all went Officer and Veries while I selected the Spartan in blue and yellow and senior enlisted. Before change of duty stations divided us all, my character made CWO and command of the Screaming Blue Meemies squadron.
The memories of the flyboys rushing off to fight, me trudging along crying wait up! Then covering the retreat as they limp past overhead.
Although I really do not care for walkers and I have not seen the show, I do have a soft spot for that mech. I bought the exosquad spartan action figure toy a while back just for the sheer nostalgia I have for that mech and the memories of a RPG adventure.

Regarding 1/200 Robotech: the Zentraedi pods have gotten pretty scarce on eBay lately. And prices beyond being acceptable for me. Bring on 1/285!