Robotech/Macross game at Cyphan Convention

[Michka]

Since so many people are talking about Robotech and Macross I thought I'd post some photos of my buddies game at Cyphan this year. Cyphan is a Science Fiction convention held in Chicago for the last three years.











I'm just posting the photos for now. Maybe Mike will come on and comment later. It was his game, after all. I just provided the map and the six battle pods without bases. (Reminds me I need to get those bases attached soon.) 

[Roebeast45]

Looks brilliant. Very well done.

Are those gashapon?

[stone-cold-lead]

Is the cartoon that spawned all this any good?

I must say those green coloured baddies look rather nice. I think I will have to get some of them in 1/100

It's very dated now, probably appealed more to kids back in the day and was apparently butchered for the US market... but I quite enjoyed most of it a few years ago when I bought the DVD set. Enjoy it for what it is I guess.

[mpennock]

Thanks for posting those pictures, Michka. I've been meaning to post something myself but never seem to get around to it...

The game played quickly and was a heck of a lot of fun, even though the UN Spacy got thoroughly trashed by the Zentradi. All of the Veritech/Valkyries are Bandai gashapons. The Zentradi battle pods and the command pod are 1/200 kits. The fighter pods (which sadly did not survive through the first exchange of fire) and the Queadluun-Rau powered armor suits (the green coloured baddies) I had 3D printed, as those models are otherwise unavailable in the right scale.

I must say those green coloured baddies look rather nice. I think I will have to get some of them in 1/100

I'm presuming that you mean the humanoid powered suits. I'm not sure if those are even available in 1/100, but there is a 1/144 scale kit from the eighties (and recently re-issued) which is not terribly expensive and relatively easy to find.

Mike

[Michka]

Those zentradi seem to be lots bigger than the human stuff anyway.

There is a reason for that, but I won't give it away since you haven't seen the cartoon.

[mpennock]

I also really liked the way they animated missile swarms with the crazy contrails and the drunken guidence systems that flew them all over the shop until they converged on the hapless gamalon ship ripping it asunder. If Robotech has those sorts of missile swarms I would download it in a heartbeat.

Sometimes referred to as the Macross Missile Massacre.  They're in there, especially when the Qeaudluuns are on screen. 

[Elbows]

1) What kind of female power armour are you using?  They look the same scale as mine, but a different model (boxy forearms and legs?) - edit, just saw they're printed!

2) Where, OH where could I find some of those 3D printed Zentraedi Fighter pods?  That's one of the four missing links in my current line up.  I'd pay good money if someone can make some for me.

3) PS: Are your super Veritechs 1/200 kits?

Looks simply brilliant.

[kalamadea]

Now THAT is one of the best things I have seen in a long, long while! Would have loved to see that game in person, stunning work. Hopefully the Palladium game won't be complete crap and we can see this kind of thing more often.

It's very dated now, probably appealed more to kids back in the day and was apparently butchered for the US market

It IS fairly dated, especially the animation for Macross which was done by 3 different studios, so some of it looks OVA quality, most of it looks average, and some of it is downright dreadful. Apparently they're re-animating the whole thing right now in japan for a blu-ray release, which I can't wait to see if it hits here in the USA. As for the bastardization bit, Macross wasn't long enough for syndication, so they rewrote it, and then rewrote 2 other animes that had similar themes and appearances and, with some heavy handed narration, turned it into one long story which mostly works pretty well. Most of the "purists" that say Robotech is a bastardization weren't even alive when it was first airing on US television and don't realize that it was one of the big reasons we even have so much anime now. An entire generation grew up running home from school to catch it on TV. Some of the dubbing is pretty bad, some is great, but all of it was amazing if you caught it when you were young, and many gamers got their start with Palladium's Robotech RPG. Battletech only caught on the way it did because most people saw the macross figures and wanted to play a game with em.

[mpennock]

Should I get macross with subs or robotech?

Personally, I would get the Macross with subs, because at least the voice actress for Minmay can actually sing in the original version. If you want to hunt it down, there was an English dubbed version of Macross done ten or so years ago, which is pretty good. It has a different cast than Robotech, and Minmays' Japanese voice actress reprises the role in English. I picked up a copy at a convention last year for about USD $20.

Where, OH where could I find some of those 3D printed Zentraedi Fighter pods?  That's one of the four missing links in my current line up.  I'd pay good money if someone can make some for me.

I could always make them publicly available in my Shapeways shop....

Are your super Veritechs 1/200 kits?

They are Bandai Macross Fighter Collection Valkyries, which are technically 1/250 scale. I find the size to be a bit closer to 'correct' than the 1/200 kits, so I use them. Of course, the original animation plays pretty fast and loose with scale on a regular basis, so I think my decision is justified. The Fighter Collection figures show up regularly on eBay and run $8 to $15, on average (though some get pretty expensive).

Looks simply brilliant.

Thank you.

[SgtHulka]

Robotech was so awesome. A soap opera with tons of teen angst, like the X-men with giant robots instead of super heroes. I missed the middle series, but when they came back on the motorcycle battle armor fighting the bio aliens that was even more awesome than the veritechs.

That game looks great. Go micronians!

[Anpu]

I could always make them publicly available in my Shapeways shop....

Please do

[TheMightyFlip]

If all your wanting to watch is the Macross Saga, then just find a copy of the 1980's movie "Macross, do you remember love?" Animation is way better and has the majority of the main storyline intact, and vast amounts of missle swarms.

[Elbows]

I'm moreso hooked on the Robotech universe...not so much the show.  I have watched through the series (Macross predominantly) numerous times.  I just really dig the mecha, and the general storyline.  I can't stand Minmei, and sadly a lot of the episodes don't feature nearly enough fighting between mecha.  The animation is very dated, BUT as a kid, it was a shockingly adult cartoon.

Characters drink actual alcohol, main characters die...with some frequency, etc.  The whole idea behind the Zentraedi is quite good, semi-unique, and intriguing.  It's good stuff, but very much hit or miss with some people. 

[stone-cold-lead]

teen angst and singing! Oh well too late to stop now.

Oh yeah, there are a few episodes that are all angsty relationship nonsense. Real filler material trying to pad out 20 minutes. There is a nude shot of Minmei in the shower though at one point which was a little surprising for a kids show and especially one where I was never really certain of that characters age. 

Still, missile swarms and big robots knocking the shit out of each other more than makes up for the padding. 

[stone-cold-lead]

Just grabbed my 14 DVD boxed set off the shelf and will watch a few episodes throughout the day as I work.