Minies, painted or unpainted?

[Alpha 11]

So this has been brought up alot. Which would you like? I hope for painted, but will take them eithor way.

[Seto Kaiba]

Not really interested in Robotech minis, since I've got a boatload of 1/250 scale Macross stuff kicking around already.

Being a bit of a 40K nut, if I had to have 'em I'd prefer them unpainted if at all possible... partly to replicate what I once did with the 1/72 scale VF-2SS Valkyrie II kids, painting them up in the squadron colors from my long-running Macross II game.

EDIT: On second thought, painted is fine too if they're solid pewter minis. That way I can just use brake fluid or mineral spirits to remove the paint and redo it myself.

[jaymz]

Painted would be preferred but unless i can somehow magically get a bunch of the Macross based Battletech minis of old (LAMS as well) I just want the minis in general first and foremost.

[Lt Gargoyle]

i would prefer them to be unpainted.

[Trooper Jim]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

[Lt Gargoyle]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

[übermensch]

I haven't played a Palladium game (or any RPG) for 20 years but I still collect and read.

I would love for the minis to come prepainted. Are modern, mass-produced, prepainted minis painted by hand? I could imagine something like that costing >$100 for a set.

[Arnie100]

Like Trooper Jim, I would rather see books then something that has the potential of becoming a boondoggle, like the Nokia N-Gage thing.

[Jefffar]

I'd prefer pre-painted due to my poor painting skills. Those who want to do custom work can either find a way to strip the model or prime over the existing paint.

[Seto Kaiba]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

I'd prefer pre-painted due to my poor painting skills. Those who want to do custom work can either find a way to strip the model or prime over the existing paint.

S'long as they're cast in pewter instead of resin, that's workable... that way experienced painters could just strip 'em down with mineral spirits or brake fluid and repaint them as they wish. Resin doesn't strip gracefully, so if they cast 'em in that it screws the guys who'd rather paint 'em themselves.

[Jefffar]

Plastic strips decently with the right solvent too.

[Seto Kaiba]

Plastic strips decently with the right solvent too.

Depends on the solvent and the plastic used, I've run into some that were fine with almost any solvent and others (most notably Citadel's "Finecast" resin) where the material is so sensitive that using a solvent that's even slightly strong could melt the minis into a plastic slurry. It's not a problem you see with pewter castings.

[Jefffar]

I prefer something less expensive an easier to work with than pewter.

[Alpha 11]

Well, it looks like, at least in the Robotech section, that most people want them so far.

[Damian Magecraft]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

the Minis are being done by an outside company so there should be minimal interference with book production.

[Shawn Merrow]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

the Minis are being done by an outside company so there should be minimal interference with book production.

If I buy some I think I'm going to paint mine "Easter-Egg-Style" *Dunk*

Who's with me!?!-

I knew someone who painted the Panther from Battletech pink.

[Kagashi]

I play Play by Post almost exclusively. Mini's would offer me nothing but something to put in a box and move to my next house and would likely sit in that same box to be moved to the next house after that. That being said, if I still played table top, Id prolly be interested.

[Alpha 11]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

the Minis are being done by an outside company so there should be minimal interference with book production.

If I buy some I think I'm going to paint mine "Easter-Egg-Style" *Dunk*

Who's with me!?!-

I knew someone who painted the Panther from Battletech pink.

[Trooper Jim]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

the Minis are being done by an outside company so there should be minimal interference with book production.

My concerns are with the time it will take to create the new rule books. Along with any supplemental material that will come out. This is time K.S.could use to finish promised books. He experiences enough "writers block" without the added distraction of a new rule set to add to his work load.

[MikeM]

I can't paint worth a damn. I would love them to be pre-painted so I can display them. If they aren't painted, they will just go on a shelf and stay in the packaging.

Yeah, I'm buying them either way. I try to buy anything Robotech. I have a wall of Robotech in my home office.

[Shawn Merrow]

I'd prefer the books we were promised before a new game.

This. Just this. Sums up my only reservation with the minis perfectly...

the Minis are being done by an outside company so there should be minimal interference with book production.

My concerns are with the time it will take to create the new rule books. Along with any supplemental material that will come out. This is time K.S.could use to finish promised books. He experiences enough "writers block" without the added distraction of a new rule set to add to his work load.

From what I understand the same company is making the rules.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

I would prefer, you know, actual ROBOTECH minis and not simply a load of Macross minis, a few Mospeada models and then no Southern Cross ones. You know, something that actually looks like a Robotech product line should look like....

[Colonel Wolfe]

I would prefer, you know, actual ROBOTECH minis and not simply a load of Macross minis, a few Mospeada models and then no Southern Cross ones. You know, something that actually looks like a Robotech product line should look like....

unfortunatly, I don't see this as a possibility, knowing HG's track record and how PB is approaching the game, as well as comments by the guy who runs the robotech mini's blog... its gonna be all macross all the time. with Token support for the rest of the series. The name of the boxed game says it all.

The Blog also talks of " Please, keep your eyes open for more details and how you can help in January, 2013."- I hope this is the Plan to Run a Crowd source event... and I pray to god its ran on Kickstarter.com so it can be managed more properly, more widely publicized and stretch goals given.

[Seto Kaiba]

I would prefer, you know, actual ROBOTECH minis and not simply a load of Macross minis, a few Mospeada models and then no Southern Cross ones. You know, something that actually looks like a Robotech product line should look like....

Unlikely, IMO... if what gets made is dictated either by Harmony Gold directly or by Harmony Gold's objective data on either ratings or sales of merchandise, then what we can look forward to is a lot of Macross, a little MOSPEADA, and no Southern Cross to speak of. They're in this to make money, so they're naturally going to gravitate toward the part of Robotech that makes money... Macross.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Unlikely, IMO... if what gets made is dictated either by Harmony Gold directly or by Harmony Gold's objective data on either ratings or sales of merchandise, then what we can look forward to is a lot of Macross, a little MOSPEADA, and no Southern Cross to speak of.

Of course its being directed by HG. They have Palladium over a barrel, unlike Toynami....

They're in this to make money, so they're naturally going to gravitate toward the part of Robotech that makes money... Macross.

You'll forgive me for calling BS on that since there is no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money. Making next to nothing for something and then using that as a the basis for it "not making money" is circular logic (aka self-fulfilling).

[Colonel Wolfe]

If I make 0 pies... and sell 0 pies... I can say that pies are poor sellers and thus I don't need to make any...
but if I make 100000 cakes (Macross) and sell 100 Cakes... I can say it sells better....
awesome Lojik.

[Damian Magecraft]

If I make 0 pies... and sell 0 pies... I can say that pies are poor sellers and thus I don't need to make any...
but if I make 100000 cakes (Macross) and sell 100 Cakes... I can say it sells better....
awesome Lojik.

Logic/common sense and middle/upper management are often strangers.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Unlikely, IMO... if what gets made is dictated either by Harmony Gold directly or by Harmony Gold's objective data on either ratings or sales of merchandise, then what we can look forward to is a lot of Macross, a little MOSPEADA, and no Southern Cross to speak of.

Of course its being directed by HG. They have Palladium over a barrel, unlike Toynami....

They're in this to make money, so they're naturally going to gravitate toward the part of Robotech that makes money... Macross.

You'll forgive me for calling BS on that since there is no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money. Making next to nothing for something and then using that as a the basis for it "not making money" is circular logic (aka self-fulfilling).

but remember, were gonna see the Japaneses Models from the 80's quoted as "proof" that in 2010's in the USA, it won't sell.
because gods know that if something (Armor doublet models) didn't sell well in Japan in the early 80's... its proof that something completely different (Pewter minis of mecha) won't sell at all 30 years later in a completely different country.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Logic/common sense and middle/upper management are often strangers.

No truer statement was ever made....

[Seto Kaiba]

They're in this to make money, so they're naturally going to gravitate toward the part of Robotech that makes money... Macross.

[...]
You'll forgive me for calling BS on that since there is no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money. Making next to nothing for something and then using that as a the basis for it "not making money" is circular logic (aka self-fulfilling).

Er... so there's no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money, other than all that objective proof that they've accrued over the past 27 years and counting of course. I don't mean to sound crass, but it's hard to reach any other conclusion when they've told us point-blank they're sticking to what they know will sell, and it's almost exclusively Macross stuff. It's not like their focus is arbitrary, they have decades of ratings that show that the Macross Saga is the most popular by far, and therefore focusing on that guarantees the greatest return on investment. We know they've tried focusing their merchandising on the next most popular saga, the New Generation, and it was a flop. The management there don't need to try and fail again to know that Robotech's least popular saga, the Masters Saga, will probably also be a merchandising failure.

So, because the management at Harmony Gold aren't clinically brain-dead, they're naturally going to focus the franchise's merchandising efforts on Macross because that's what they know is going to sell. Is it fair to Southern Cross's fans? No. Does it make tolerable business sense? Yeah, it actually does.

(Not to sound like a smartarse, but the mere fact that Harmony Gold is NOT making merch worth speaking of for the other two sagas means that Macross is the one that makes the money for Robotech by default. Yes, it's self-fulfilling, but it's also TRUE.)

Logic/common sense and middle/upper management are often strangers.

A common stereotype that's as often a lie as it is the truth.

Whatever else you might think of them, Harmony Gold's senior management clearly aren't stupid. They're not geniuses, by any standard of measure, but logic and common sense are not completely alien to them. They're at least sharp enough to know that Robotech is not a big earner by any stretch of the imagination, and that their best bet for maximizing their profits from it is to stick to the most popular and iconic part of it (Macross) because that's what's going to move the most merchandise and appeal to the largest cross-section of the fanbase.

(This is also why they made such concerted efforts to Macross-ize the MOSPEADA-based New Generation stuff when they made the Shadow Chronicles OVA, and why almost every attempt at a Robotech sequel has started out Macross-centric.)

but remember, were gonna see the Japaneses Models from the 80's quoted as "proof" that in 2010's in the USA, it won't sell.
because gods know that if something (Armor doublet models) didn't sell well in Japan in the early 80's... its proof that something completely different (Pewter minis of mecha) won't sell at all 30 years later in a completely different country.

There's more to it than that, really... but if merch for a show didn't sell in its home country when that show was new and got lousy ratings, one could be forgiven for making the leap of logic that the merchandise would also not sell in a different country where the same show got similarly lousy ratings every time it's gone to air. Yeah, the die-hards would buy a little, but nowhere near as much as they'd sell by pandering to the fans of the most popular segment.



So... yeah. I think it's a safe bet we're going to see a whole lot of Macross stuff in the mini range, a little bit of New Gen stuff, and comparatively little Masters Saga stuff. It's just the economics of supply and demand.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Please show me the Data where the Pewter minis market in Japan for the SDC: Southren Cross minis game sold poorly?
or the same data for how well the Macross minis game sold well.
the "Leap" there is jumping from one product line to another.
The models that sold poorly in Japan were Armor models: http://www.collectiondx.com/blog/modcin ... ree_ladies
There is not accurate proof that Palladium's Minis game would sell poorly for the Later eras, except for the few Macross Fans in America who might buy the Macross minis, but not the rest of the Robotech minis.
if They want to Market it specifically to Macross Fans, then the Owner needs to stop blowing smoke and saying they will support all 3 eras.

as for the poor model sales... The Model company never moved to make the Hovertank models or other mech models, because DYRL was being pushed by big West at the same time...
So Harmony golds excuse for never making Hover Tanks Super poseables or MPC's is that models sold poorly? 30 years ago?

and the oft quoted poor rating in America are never backed up by links to actual; nelson ratings, real numbers... so I can dismiss them as made up until the time proof is actually given in hard data, and not opinion and conjecture.

[Alpha 11]

They're in this to make money, so they're naturally going to gravitate toward the part of Robotech that makes money... Macross.

[...]
You'll forgive me for calling BS on that since there is no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money. Making next to nothing for something and then using that as a the basis for it "not making money" is circular logic (aka self-fulfilling).

Er... so there's no objective proof that Macross is the only portion of Robotech that makes money, other than all that objective proof that they've accrued over the past 27 years and counting of course. I don't mean to sound crass, but it's hard to reach any other conclusion when they've told us point-blank they're sticking to what they know will sell, and it's almost exclusively Macross stuff. It's not like their focus is arbitrary, they have decades of ratings that show that the Macross Saga is the most popular by far, and therefore focusing on that guarantees the greatest return on investment. We know they've tried focusing their merchandising on the next most popular saga, the New Generation, and it was a flop. The management there don't need to try and fail again to know that Robotech's least popular saga, the Masters Saga, will probably also be a merchandising failure.

So, because the management at Harmony Gold aren't clinically brain-dead, they're naturally going to focus the franchise's merchandising efforts on Macross because that's what they know is going to sell. Is it fair to Southern Cross's fans? No. Does it make tolerable business sense? Yeah, it actually does.

(Not to sound like a smartarse, but the mere fact that Harmony Gold is NOT making merch worth speaking of for the other two sagas means that Macross is the one that makes the money for Robotech by default. Yes, it's self-fulfilling, but it's also TRUE.)

Logic/common sense and middle/upper management are often strangers.

A common stereotype that's as often a lie as it is the truth.

Whatever else you might think of them, Harmony Gold's senior management clearly aren't stupid. They're not geniuses, by any standard of measure, but logic and common sense are not completely alien to them. They're at least sharp enough to know that Robotech is not a big earner by any stretch of the imagination, and that their best bet for maximizing their profits from it is to stick to the most popular and iconic part of it (Macross) because that's what's going to move the most merchandise and appeal to the largest cross-section of the fanbase.

(This is also why they made such concerted efforts to Macross-ize the MOSPEADA-based New Generation stuff when they made the Shadow Chronicles OVA, and why almost every attempt at a Robotech sequel has started out Macross-centric.)

but remember, were gonna see the Japaneses Models from the 80's quoted as "proof" that in 2010's in the USA, it won't sell.
because gods know that if something (Armor doublet models) didn't sell well in Japan in the early 80's... its proof that something completely different (Pewter minis of mecha) won't sell at all 30 years later in a completely different country.

There's more to it than that, really... but if merch for a show didn't sell in its home country when that show was new and got lousy ratings, one could be forgiven for making the leap of logic that the merchandise would also not sell in a different country where the same show got similarly lousy ratings every time it's gone to air. Yeah, the die-hards would buy a little, but nowhere near as much as they'd sell by pandering to the fans of the most popular segment.



So... yeah. I think it's a safe bet we're going to see a whole lot of Macross stuff in the mini range, a little bit of New Gen stuff, and comparatively little Masters Saga stuff. It's just the economics of supply and demand.

I so hope that doesn't happen. I will addmint that the Southern Cross arce is my least favorite of the 3, but I still enjoy it, and I was looking forward to some Hover Tanks! Those are some of my most favorite mecha in Robotech! I want some Bioroid Hover Tank action!

[Seto Kaiba]

Please show me the Data where the Pewter minis market in Japan for the SDC: Southren Cross minis game sold poorly?
or the same data for how well the Macross minis game sold well.
the "Leap" there is jumping from one product line to another.

Oh boy... how can I put this gently?

Put simply, it's much less specific than you're making it. The management at Harmony Gold isn't looking at the failure of a single, very specific kind of specialty merchandise back in the 80's and deciding it won't work today based on that. What they've based their stance on is the simple and straightforward connection between a show's ratings performance and its merchandising performance. Southern Cross was an abject failure in Japan, its ratings were so terrible that it ended prematurely in cancellation, and its merchandise line failed as well. As a part of Robotech, the series didn't really do any better... the start of the Masters Saga has consistently brought with it a sharp drop in ratings over the years.

Lousy ratings are, in the eyes of the networks and production companies, a clear indicator that a series is not popular. A show that isn't popular, as a rule, will not do well in merchandising even if it has great merchandise. Southern Cross wasn't popular in Japan, so its merchandise didn't sell in Japan. Robotech's Masters Saga has never done well in the ratings, and what little merchandise Harmony Gold made for it was not exactly in high demand even during that short time Robotech experienced a resurgence in the early 00's, so Harmony Gold has some fairly good reasons to suspect that Masters Saga merchandise of any kind isn't going to sell well enough to be worth their time.

It's just not specific to minis.

The models that sold poorly in Japan were Armor models:

Pretty much the entire merchandise line for SDC:SC was a fiasco, in large measure because of the show's unpopularity and probably partly because the few important designs from the series were buried in a morass of forgettable designs made for background characters. (Yes, they did make some Hovertanks and other mecha. There are pictures of 'em in This is Animation 10.)

if They want to Market it specifically to Macross Fans, then the Owner needs to stop blowing smoke and saying they will support all 3 eras.

I don't doubt for a second that the maker of the minis and Palladium both want to support all three eras. Likewise, I don't doubt that they will make an effort to cover the main points of all three. I just expect that they'll put the emphasis on the minis they stand to make the most money from... Macross ones. That's just good business sense.

and the oft quoted poor rating in America are never backed up by links to actual; nelson ratings, real numbers... so I can dismiss them as made up until the time proof is actually given in hard data, and not opinion and conjecture.

The problem with that stance is that they're not available online thru Nielsen's website. Ironically, where the news of the Masters Saga's drop in ratings comes from variety of official Robotech publications. However, if you prefer to hear it straight from the source, Tom Bateman has apparently had a number of patient back-and-forths with our mutual pal Rabid about how the numbers just didn't justify the costs of developing Masters Saga merch. The most recent and briefest can be found here.

[Seto Kaiba]

I so hope that doesn't happen. I will addmint that the Southern Cross arce is my least favorite of the 3, but I still enjoy it, and I was looking forward to some Hover Tanks! Those are some of my most favorite mecha in Robotech! I want some Bioroid Hover Tank action!

Don't worry, I expect we'll probably see a Hovertank, Logan, AGACs, and at least one Bioroid. They'll likely just lavish a lot more attention on the Macross Saga stuff because they know that'll appeal to more than just Robotech fans.

[Colonel Wolfe]

They'll likely just lavish a lot more attention on the Macross Saga stuff because they know that'll appeal to more than just Robotech fans.

more specifically, the few hundred Macross Fans who can't get Macross products sue to Hg's block on imports.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

However, if you prefer to hear it straight from the source, Tom Bateman has apparently had a number of patient back-and-forths with our mutual pal Rabid about how the numbers just didn't justify the costs of developing Masters Saga merch. The most recent and briefest can be found here.

Masters/Southern Cross would need a serious effort of support behind it

- Tom Bateman

[Seto Kaiba]

Masters/Southern Cross would need a serious effort of support behind it

- Tom Bateman

Rather selective with the quote, weren't you? You left off the important bit in the second half of that sentence. The whole thing reads:

Masters/Southern Cross would need a serious effort of support behind it, but it will never reach the popularity of Macross or Mospeada/New Generation.

Which is the entire problem.

As both Tommy and Kevin have alluded to in the past, Harmony Gold is determined to "play it safe" with Robotech since the franchise is not a big earner. They feel safe investing in Macross merch, because they KNOW that Macross is the most popular third of Robotech and has appeal outside the Robotech fandom too. They explored what a New Gen line could do, as the next most popular installment of Robotech, and it blew up in their faces. If that happened to the next-most popular saga's line, then it makes no sense to continue on to the least popular saga and try that when that's even less likely to do well.

EDIT: That's the business perspective on it, anyway... as I've said, I do think Southern Cross fans have gotten a raw deal in the past, and I expect we will see some Masters Saga minis.

EDIT 2: For clarification, the aforementioned Kevin is Harmony Gold's Kevin McKeever, not Palladium's Kevin.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

EDIT 2: For clarification, the aforementioned Kevin is Harmony Gold's Kevin McKeever, not Palladium's Kevin.

Ah, BankofKev....funny you should mention him since he was recently a topic at the Facebook Protoculture Times Podcast page about October 31st. Apparently, McKeever has a degree in Stage Lighting. What the hell that has to do with statistics and/or if he even has any training at all in statistical analysis is greatly in question.

Edit: Got name wrong...sheesh.

[ShadowLogan]

As both Tommy and Kevin have alluded to in the past, Harmony Gold is determined to "play it safe" with Robotech since the franchise is not a big earner. They feel safe investing in Macross merch, because they KNOW that Macross is the most popular third of Robotech and has appeal outside the Robotech fandom too. They explored what a New Gen line could do, as the next most popular installment of Robotech, and it blew up in their faces. If that happened to the next-most popular saga's line, then it makes no sense to continue on to the least popular saga and try that when that's even less likely to do well.

Here's a simple thought for the Mini's line: DO AWAY WITH SAGA/ERA from a marketing perspective and simply make it Robotech. The Starter set may have to be a single era (which probably means Macross), but the expansion/booster packs don't. Those booster packs can be blind (requiring you to open them to know what's in them) and loaded with a mix of era/factions.

This avoids the whole this saga sells better/worse than that one since they would all be in the same boat from the booster pack perspective.

[silvermoon383]

Sorry for the sudden topic change, but am I correct in understanding that the minis will be 1/285 scale?

I play 15mm Flames of War, and when they started talking about RT minis I started having time travel battles in my head XD Sadly if the 1/285 scale for Robotech is correct then the figures won't mesh up with the FoW ones (they're about 1/2 the scale).

[Tiree]

Yes 1/285th scale and Plastic!

So I am not sure if that means painted or not, but I would think so.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Yes 1/285th scale and Plastic!

So I am not sure if that means painted or not, but I would think so.

When did they announce Plastic? When i talked with Kevin last, it was Pewter, simply because it was easier to do small scale... unless the small scale has changed...

I correct in understanding that the minis will be 1/285 scale?

yeah, so a 2m cyclone rider will be 7mm.

[Seto Kaiba]

Ah, BankofKev....funny you should mention him since he was recently a topic at the Facebook Protoculture Times Podcast page about October 31st. Apparently, McKeever has a degree in Stage Lighting. What the hell that has to do with statistics and/or if he even has any training at all in statistical analysis is greatly in question.

Jeez... if JT's run so short of topics that he has to do a special on McKeever, it might be time to pack it in. You're far from the only person to question the accuracy of McKeever's analysis of Robotech's ratings from the 80's, but it does seem likely that he did have at least some training in handling information like that. His particular degree is an odd and seemingly useless one, but the college that issued it specializes in the broadcast and performing arts, so it's fairly likely that he had a formal course or two in the interpretation of this type of material.

However...

Casting doubt on his qualifications to interpret that material is going to come back and bite you in the arse. You see, that analysis of his has often been questioned and challenged by other people in the industry who DO have professional training and considerable on-the-job experience handling that kind of information, as well as amateur blokes like me who have more than a little formal training in statistical analysis*, and the general consensus has always been that McKeever's analysis is actually exaggerating Robotech's limited success in the 1980s and beyond. He's making it sound like the show did BETTER than it actually did, not worse, which is generally put down to his enthusiasm for the series. If they're getting only McKeever's rose-tinted assessment of Robotech's past performance, and based on that they're still convinced it would be a waste of time and money to put together Southern Cross merch, how much more screwed would Masters Saga fans be if senior management got their hands on a much bleaker analysis by an expert?


* Both of my degrees included a fair amount of statistics, partly because of my focus on software engineering (heavy doses of project management and process improvement) and cryptography.

Here's a simple thought for the Mini's line: DO AWAY WITH SAGA/ERA from a marketing perspective and simply make it Robotech. The Starter set may have to be a single era (which probably means Macross), [...]

Didn't you just contradict yourself there? I can't see people going in blind to buy minis for a Robotech game the way they might for a TCG or something like HeroClix. There's just not enough of a consumer base to do that... especially with many fans who have a particular antipathy for one saga or another.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Except Wizkids/Hero-Clix was in talk with Harmony Gold to do a Robotech Clix game before Topps crap-canned the whole company, sold it off to Neca, while keeping Battletech for its own.... so the Blind Booster model would have worked with Robotech in a Clix based game.

[Seto Kaiba]

Except Wizkids/Hero-Clix was in talk with Harmony Gold to do a Robotech Clix game before Topps crap-canned the whole company, sold it off to Neca, while keeping Battletech for its own.... so the Blind Booster model would have worked with Robotech in a Clix based game.

Clearly not, as NECA has shown no interest in pursuing the Robotech license for the Clix system.

The randomly sorted "booster pack" model would work well enough if the various Robotech mecha were mixed in with a wide assortment of mecha from other licensed properties, but the individual sagas of the series are so polarizing among fans that fans picking up the game are likely to be put off by the prospect of having to buy a lot of minis they don't want just to get the ones they do. I think a by-the-saga basis, or even an individual basis, would be a safer approach. I can't, to give an example, imagine you thrilled about being inundated with VF-1s when they're trying to build a Hovertank platoon.

[Colonel Wolfe]

Except Wizkids/Hero-Clix was in talk with Harmony Gold to do a Robotech Clix game before Topps crap-canned the whole company, sold it off to Neca, while keeping Battletech for its own.... so the Blind Booster model would have worked with Robotech in a Clix based game.

Clearly not, as NECA has shown no interest in pursuing the Robotech license for the Clix system.

not since Neca bought Wizkids, but when Tops owned it, and had the Mechawarrior Clix game, they were wokring on a Robotech Game, Tom Bateman can fill one in on the history of that event, that was killed by Tops firing everyone and shuting down wizkids.

I can't, to give an example, imagine you thrilled about being inundated with VF-1s when they're trying to build a Hovertank platoon.

if the Mix was even, then I don't see how i'd really have a higher number of VFs over Alpha, Beta, Ajax or hovertanks... now if it was completely managed by HG, then ti would be a 100000 to 1 mix of VF-1's to all other human mecha...

[Seto Kaiba]

not since Neca bought Wizkids, but when Tops owned it, and had the Mechawarrior Clix game, they were wokring on a Robotech Game, Tom Bateman can fill one in on the history of that event, that was killed by Tops firing everyone and shuting down wizkids.

I'm familiar with the story, actually... that kind of environment MIGHT have made a random booster workable. On its own, as a solo Robotech game, I'd put my money on a saga-specific set instead.

if the Mix was even, then I don't see how i'd really have a higher number of VFs over Alpha, Beta, Ajax or hovertanks... now if it was completely managed by HG, then ti would be a 100000 to 1 mix of VF-1's to all other human mecha...

That's a big "if". I don't think it would be possible to make it entirely even, since there are a lot more Macross designs than there are Southern Cross or MOSPEADA ones. I can't see them not doing individual characters either, so to give you a picture of the breakdown:

Macross Saga (29+)
20+ UEDF fighters & mecha
9+ Zentradi mecha

Masters Saga (16)
~12 Army of the Southern Cross mecha
4+ Robotech Masters mecha

New Gen & Shadow Chronicles (21-23)
13 UEEF fighters & mecha (incl. Cyclones and prototypes)
8+ Invid units
2 Haydonite units?

It's skewed fairly heavily toward the Macross Saga already, and that's not counting things like ships or support craft or landers or anything like that. Almost half would be Macross, while less than a quarter would be Southern Cross. It's fundamentally unbalanced.

[Jefffar]

So from a standard booster 2 Macross, 1 Masters, 1 Mospeda, 1 Random.

[Seto Kaiba]

So from a standard booster 2 Macross, 1 Masters, 1 Mospeda, 1 Random.

But doesn't that kind of screw over the Masters Saga and New Generation fans? You'd think the balance ought to go far in favor of the New Generation, since that's the basis for the ongoing (Shadow Chronicles) story. If they add ships to it, the balance skews even more toward the Macross Saga, since that has the most ships as well. (That way, the balance for minis ends up at least 40-18-29.)

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Masters Saga (16)
~12 Army of the Southern Cross mecha
4+ Robotech Masters mecha

Umm...huh? I think you maybe forgot a few....

ASC
Spartas (Battloid, Gladiator, Transport)
Myrmidon (Battloid, Gladiator, Transport)
Logan (Fighter, Guardian)
Ajax (Fighter, Battloid, Hovercopter)
Salamander
Cyclops
Satyr
Dryad
Garm
Basilisk
Triton
Unicorn
Fenris
Manticore
Kraken

Robotech Masters
Soldier
Subcommander
Commander
Recon
Invid Fighter
Advanced Soldier
Advanced Commander
Terminator

Granted, this list does not include non-transformable fighters or motorized support vehicles.