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 Talizvar wrote:
I just love this fun of wanting/needing the models for RRT and PB figures that GHQ is the way to go for pumping out new product.
But they still owe a bunch of us KS product.
So they have our money, but got more stuff made in NA to get moar of our money.
Dastardly fiends they are.

As posted earlier in this thread...

 warboss wrote:

As posted earlier in this thread...

Now see, this.... this is art.

Maybe Simbieda will offer signed copies for on $40 each?

He will be flattered to be a "meme" these kids keep talking about.

BTW that little modification is awesome!

Launching my own Kick Starter soon Robot-Electronic Combat Howitzers!

Robot-ECH will feature F-18 Hornets that transform into robots, IN SPACE!

I hope to clear a million with it.

 Cyporiean wrote:

 warboss wrote:
Our only hope then is that some sort of japanese company picks up the rights to a tabletop macross minis game.. which isn't likely. I can't think of a single game in this hobby made by a Japanese company despite the fact that they make so many great models.

Bandai made a Gundam tabletop minis game awhile back, but never bothered to do anything with it outside of Japan. There are a ton of RPGs that never get translated as well.

Does anyone have a link to this mythical game? I've never seen it, but it sounds like an interesting project for winter break...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Never mind. Someone apparently already beat me to it...Gundam Collection 1/400

On the toy licence front there is some movement.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YHYX2SW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_3&smid=AT9LTREXYNJM3

$120

Maybe whomever is making these can invest some money in RRT?

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Launching my own Kick Starter soon Robot-Electronic Combat Howitzers!

Robot-ECH will feature F-18 Hornets that transform into robots, IN SPACE!

I hope to clear a million with it.

You could also go with Robo-Tick. A blood-sucking parasite of a project about robots that leaves you confused, upset and drained,

But then, PB might sue for being too close in concept to their campaign.

Careful. People might get that confused with Robot-Ecchi which would be really unfortunate.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Launching my own Kick Starter soon Robot-Electronic Combat Howitzers!

Robot-ECH will feature F-18 Hornets that transform into robots, IN SPACE!

I hope to clear a million with it.

Or you could start a game about slightly grumpy transforming robots and call it "Robot Tetchy"

 Conrad Turner wrote:
Or you could start a game about slightly grumpy transforming robots and call it "Robot Tetchy"

Or Robots doing IT support. "Robot Techie".

 Lynx7725 wrote:

 Conrad Turner wrote:
Or you could start a game about slightly grumpy transforming robots and call it "Robot Tetchy"

Or Robots doing IT support. "Robot Techie".

Really really small robots? Robo-Titch?

Whelp, due to a power outage at the office they'll be delaying the weekly update.

I, for one, am simply on the edge of my seat as to whether or not there'll be future subtle changes added to the Q2 target, and if the weeks of RPG focus will be extended to best deliver product to the hands of those that they truly love.

Spoiler alert; the filthy needy wargaming peasantry will continue to get vague nods at best.

But at least they'll continue to emphasize the immense savings found in the grab bag! And how you can even as for a core box if you really want to! Even though doing so from the continental US would cost $53 for a core (with media mail shipping), whereas CSI could easily end up at $50 a core and a pair of them (or other stuff) at $100 would qualify for free shipping.

But act now, only a limited number* of them will be allocated!

*number limited by the piles of them sitting in the warehouse, please ignore the attempt to push artificial scarcity.

 Forar wrote:
Whelp, due to a power outage at the office they'll be delaying the weekly update.

I, for one, am simply on the edge of my seat as to whether or not there'll be future subtle changes added to the Q2 target, and if the weeks of RPG focus will be extended to best deliver product to the hands of those that they truly love.

Spoiler alert; the filthy needy wargaming peasantry will continue to get vague nods at best.

But at least they'll continue to emphasize the immense savings found in the grab bag! And how you can even as for a core box if you really want to! Even though doing so from the continental US would cost $53 for a core (with media mail shipping), whereas CSI could easily end up at $50 a core and a pair of them (or other stuff) at $100 would qualify for free shipping.

But act now, only a limited number* of them will be allocated!

*number limited by the piles of them sitting in the warehouse, please ignore the attempt to push artificial scarcity.

But remember, the grab bag robotech allotment is "limited" so you have to order fast before they run out! I mean... we all know that master wordsmiths at palladium don't throw around words like "first" or "exclusive" willy nilly so you really do have to act fast in order to guarantee that you'll be able to get it.

PB wishes they could put new models out as fast as me

Talizvar wrote:
BTW that little modification is awesome!

Morgan Vening wrote:Now see, this.... this is art.

Thanks. In case anyone is jumping to conclusions, no I don't think Palladium screwed this project up on purpose or came into it with nefarious reasons. I do firmly believe though that they're incompetent braggarts who fail to recognize their shortcomings in advance nor have any desire to change their ways when those shortcoming are blatantly obvious even to them after years of denial. Admitting they've failed and then doing nothing publicly to show that they've learned from it is pointless. I don't care if they had the theoretical "best of intentions" when they started the project; their actions for the past two years show their contempt in practice for the people that believed them and that speaks much louder. They delivered most copies of RRPGT in 2014 which makes 2015 a wasted full year for the "valued" backers. What have/will we get for a full year of supposed hard work on the project we funded in 2013? A blast rule correction. That's it. Twelve months and we get a few paragraphs of text. And, no, failing to achieve even ancillary follow up side projects that they've worked on INSTEAD of the main project doesn't count (especially since they mostly screwed that up too). We didn't fund conventional vehicles, metal special character models, or advanced rules.. but yet that is the only whiff of supposed "progress" shown for the entirety of 2015.

 warboss wrote:

Talizvar wrote:
BTW that little modification is awesome!

Morgan Vening wrote:Now see, this.... this is art.

Thanks. In case anyone is jumping to conclusions, no I don't think Palladium screwed this project up on purpose or came into it with nefarious reasons. I do firmly believe though that they're incompetent braggarts who fail to recognize their shortcomings in advance nor have any desire to change their ways when those shortcoming are blatantly obvious even to them after years of denial. Admitting they've failed and then doing nothing publicly to show that they've learned from it is pointless. I don't care if they had the theoretical "best of intentions" when they started the project; their actions for the past two years show their contempt in practice for the people that believed them and that speaks much louder. They delivered most copies of RRPGT in 2014 which makes 2015 a wasted full year for the "valued" backers. What have/will we get for a full year of supposed hard work on the project we funded in 2013? A blast rule correction. That's it. Twelve months and we get a few paragraphs of text. And, no, failing to achieve even ancillary follow up side projects that they've worked on INSTEAD of the main project doesn't count (especially since they mostly screwed that up too). We didn't fund conventional vehicles, metal special character models, or advanced rules.. but yet that is the only whiff of supposed "progress" shown for the entirety of 2015.

You forgot the paper standees. Don't forget the paper standees! Well, except for them bolloxing that too, by not having something they could have had ready a year or more ago (the stat cards), but have chosen not to do during their "constant work on the project".

I agree I don't think they intentionally went in with ill intention, and while I'm sure incompetence is their default setting, I'm finding it hard to believe that at least at this point, it's less about earnest incompetence, and more about "ahh, to hell with it". Like you said, the contempt and deflection speak as loudly as the lack of anything but the vaguest of information.

On a wild conspiracy theory thought though, regarding Forar's post. Maybe the weather didn't take out the power grid. Maybe they defaulted on their utility bill. The end is nigh! Bring out your dead! I don't THINK this happened, but it would in no way surprise me at this point. And it'd be just the kind of bs excuse that PB would use to cover their butts. Cause can't detract from the Grab Bag time! It's the most wonderful 14 weeks of the year! With an extra 3 weeks during Summer.

Asterios wrote:
PB wishes they could put new models out as fast as me

I must admit, I REALLY liked the Alpha's and the Cyclones.
First toys of Robotech I bought as a kid.

Did they actually come out with the standees yet? The last time I checked, they had not (and had apologized because they were distracted by a squirrel in the parking lot or something for weeks).

edit: I stand corrected. They did come out with the standees. So.. to correct my earlier statement... all we have to show for the entire year's worth of "effort" on this long overdue project is a single rules correction and some paper standees... you know... what Mike1975 does on his own in his spare time for fun one weekend.

 warboss wrote:
Did they actually come out with the standees yet? The last time I checked, they had not (and had apologized because they were distracted by a squirrel in the parking lot or something for weeks).

edit: I stand corrected. They did come out with the standees. So.. to correct my earlier statement... all we have to show for the entire year's worth of "effort" on this long overdue project is a single rules correction and some paper standees... you know... what Mike1975 does on his own in his spare time for fun one weekend.

Well.....a single update that we pretty much did for them....then they changed it a bit....and if you want/need standees for any unit and any generation..just ask....I've had them done for a coupled years now.

Thanks for the offer but I'm a bit put off by Robotech for the forseeable future. Unless I find someone actually interested in playing that has figs themselves, I don't see myself doing additional legwork to support a game that palladium has shown no actual progress in completing.

@Morgan: I counted the paper standees as "progress" but it's got a big ol' asterisk by it. We didn't back "paper" minis so this is technically a side project and NOT the actual kickstarter project. That said, it's free and helpful. If they had put up wave 2 that would have pushed it over the edge but the ones I see on drive thru rpg are only wave 1.

 warboss wrote:
@Morgan: I counted the paper standees as "progress" but it's got a big ol' asterisk by it. We didn't back "paper" minis so this is technically a side project and NOT the actual kickstarter project. That said, it's free and helpful. If they had put up wave 2 that would have pushed it over the edge but the ones I see on drive thru rpg are only wave 1.

Oh, I was definitely being unserious. As I (and others) said when they were released, good idea, a year at least too late.

And no, Wave 2 aren't up. As per the PBWU two weeks ago,

Wayne had meant to post the Wave 2 paper game pieces on DriveThruRPG last weekend, but then it was pointed out that you guys still need the cards to play them. With the book deadline we’ve been up against this week, he hasn’t yet been able to export the files and post them, but they should start going up in the next few days, along with their associated paper game pieces.

That's what I was meaning regarding them bolloxing it. They've had 18 months (at least) to get Wave 2 cards ready for production. But instead of getting the stuff they CAN do (like these cards, or the resin components) and showing progress, they seem to be of the feeling that until they get what they want to get done, done, getting the things that can easily be done, is better off holding off.

Seriously, if they do meet their current target (which admittedly, I highly doubt), I fully expect an Update after they get the product in, saying that anyone with resin pieces will be delayed, as they haven't done them yet, or there's a hold up of some kind. There was zero reason why the resin components couldn't have been done in the leadup to Wave 1 (given it's 9 month delay), but they chose not to do it then, either. I'm not sure if produced resin has an expiry date, but unless it's got a really short shelf life (in which case, why use it?), there's no excuse for these to have not been started a couple weeks after the Pledge Manager concluded.

I know that Christmas grab bag season is the time of year when they see a big influx of cash, but after Kevin is done giving so much stuff away do they end up with any profit?

 n815e wrote:
I know that Christmas grab bag season is the time of year when they see a big influx of cash, but after Kevin is done giving so much stuff away do they end up with any profit?

well if people requested RRT items, then they got money they would not have gotten.

Generally they sell to distributors at 40-50% off so the discount you get with the grab bag is about the same as they give to distributors... and the customer foots the entire shipping bill... and you have to pay upfront... and they get to technically give you whatever THEY want and are not obligated to give you exactly what you ask for. I'm not sure about the shipping for distributors (maybe Cyporiean can answer that one) but the rest are certainly in Palladium's favor in terms of the grab bag versus normal industry sales. The savings on the grab bag are definitely greater than anything else you get from Palladium (and the only one I ever got I was happy with in 2013) but if anything the napkin math says they're MORE profitable than when palladium sells through the normal industry.

Okay, that makes sense.

I always thought their grab bags was an excuse to clear out non-moving stock and free up space in their warehouse for stuff that sells, like mugs, mouse pads, print-on-demand clothing - oh wait nevermind... Sorta like when I bought a bunch of anime DVDs and the store decided to throw in some Hello Kitty DVDs for free. Because clearly from my long purchase history with various Gundam, Ghost in the Shell, Armored Trooper VOTOMs, Evangelion, Mospeada, Southern Cross, etc, they thought I'd be interested in Hello Kitty too.

If I didn't end up with more battlepods, I'd be tempted to get some more items as I need some extra Valks to convert up some Supers and maybe try doing up a VF-1D and VE-1 as well. More destroids and even another box of artillery pods would be useful. I just don't want to give PB more money.

I still can't believe there hasn't been any progress on those, especialyl the SDF-1 bases which I didn't get, but I'm sure there were people who did with the intent of using it to base their models. I do fear the quality of the resin that PB would approve though. Imagine the mold lines, air bubbles and vent placement because there was no other way(tm)(c)(r).

Because those things aren't free to design or produce, and those take money that PB doesn't have.

And let's say that they DO produce those things. What, then? They are going to ship them, at their own cost, knowing that they'll eventually have to ship something to you again, and at their cost again?

That stuff isn't happening, not unless everyone gets a "free" resin SDF-1 and then signs an agreement with PB that prohibits them from pursuing legal action or disclosing the outcome of the KS.

Yeah, I'm with Warboss (and others) on this one. From what I've read, standard wholesale price is roughly 1/2 of MSRP, and PB are very clear about people paying $42 for $86-100'ish in stuff (basically, 40-50%).

So unless they're stuffing these things heavily, no, if anything they're basically turning product that's just sitting around into cash at roughly what they'd be getting through a distributor (yes, yes, before anyone bothers, I'm aware that it's not a perfect lineup; the distributor gets a cut as well).

Throw in some art/items with artificial scarcity (ie things that they claim a higher value on than anything remotely close to what their production costs are), and other odds and ends that they pay (figurative or literal) pennies for but charge dollars (mouse pads and pencils and whatnot) and I could easily see them coming out ahead. I mean, they wouldn't do it (and wouldn't pimp it so hard) if it wasn't profitable. I really think this is how they turn random gak around the warehouse back into cash. Even at a minor loss, it's more efficient to have capital on hand again than Rifters (purely an example) that nobody is paying full price for in the first place, nor gaming shops are clamoring to keep in stock.

So even if they 'lose', they win. Like the core boxes we've been joking about them having a 'limited supply of'; Someone paying ~$45 for one as their *only item* is still probably about on par what they'd expect to get from a non-webstore sale anyway, within a reasonable margin of error. And if you have 1000 of them sitting around, taking a small haircut to move some of the stupid things is all around a net good, doubly so if that person then puts in more grab bags or other purchases for expansions. From them directly would of course be the highest ROI, but even driving up demand at local stores works to their advantage.

Yet a savvy consumer would be much better off if they just waited to see if CSI has another 50+% off sale at the end of the month. 2 cores for $100 and free shipping alone would be a solid deal. Under the working assumption that Wave 2 remains MIA for years or indeffinitely, it's basically what backers paid (2 cores, an Artillery Pod pack and a Spartan/Phalanx pack would basically come to what a KS backer got in wave one, at roughly the same price).

@cannonfodr: if you want a few more things but don't want to reward PB's gaky business practices, go to the secondary market. Buy off a backer or ebay or wherever, see if you can snag a solid deal while not handing them any money directly or indirectly (in that sure it's a negligible increase in demand, it's through random dudes like us rather than the distribution network itself). I still ponder selling off some of what little I have left now and then, maybe we can work something out to further trim my remnants and hook you up.

What it comes down to is, product sitting in their warehouse is costing them money, it is money lost, so right now anything they can get for it, is a win win for them.