Ok so thos is a kind of an embarrassing question. What happens of when it comes time for a preorder on Amazon and there isn't enough funds to cover the preorder. I obviously cant cancel it at this point but do they revoke your ability to preorder or anything like that?

 

So what’s with the tempographed brushing on her robot shins? That’s not show accurate...

 

It actually is.



They seem to be replicating the wonky rendering of the primitive chrome textures and how they worked (or didn’t work) on her legs. They weren’t always there in any given scene, but the majority of the time they manifested less as a reflective surface and more of, well, streaks along her legs.

Considering they could’ve left her legs orange-gold and nobody would’ve known the difference, it’s pretty great they went that extra mile in recreating the limitations of the old CGI ala Cheetor’s “low res” spots.

 

I guess so. I always viewed her shins, and many other parts of her, as chrome, since the streaks shifted whenever she moved. These are fixed, and the other parts that were chrome on the show are just metallic paint on the figure. So I do appreciate the effort, it comes across as antiquing to me, and is kinda weird that it’s only on that one part.

Wouldn’t say I wish they left it off, and I think chrome parts would look to contrasting to the rest of the figure, so maybe they should have applied it in a few other places as well, like her shoulders

 

Takara is just being cheap to not chrome the legs. Shame!

 

I wonder what’s more expensive, chrome or digital printing?

 

I would hope that your bank is like mine and would cover the costs, but then they most likely hit you with an massive fee. I have run into that once or twice with my bank... I've usually went over by a dollar or a few cents and have gotten some overdraft fees.

As for the Amazon side, if your bank did pay for Blackarachnia, like mine would, you wouldn't have anything to worry about with them...they get their money, but the bank fees...ugh.

 

They will email you to complete payment. I think they give you three or six days to complete the payment. The order will be canceled after that. The option to cancel will reappear once she releases so you will be able to cancel your preorder.

 

It's "reflection mapping", using an image/texture as a shortcut simulation for reflective surfaces, since Mainframe didn't have the available budget/rendering time to do fully ray-traced reflections or shadows usually back then. It can be very convincing when done well, but that requires a lot of time/work too (like building a map of the environment the shiny thing will be in).

I've got mixed feelings about the simulated reflection streaking on BA's legs. It doesn't look a lot like the way it did on-screen, but then actually chroming them probably wouldn't either. Perhaps just the shiny polished metallic paint would be better overall, but regardless I can appreciate the BW masterpieces doing their best to recreate mid-90s made-for-kids'-toy-cartoon-budget-level CGI. We don't sculpt fur - we print a fur texture over a flat surface!   I find it more interesting than accurately recreating a 1980's cartoon model anyway, for whatever reason.

 

I'll have to see how it looks in hand but this is the sort of thing that drives me crazy about TT's dedication to show accuracy. They slavishly copy what they see in the show without thing why it looks that way and if that was the animators intention or not. It's there in MP-44 white shorts, it's there in Dinobot's Pink sword and as you mention Cheetor's spots... They either don't realise these were due to the limitations of animation (unlikely), don't care (again not so sure) or think we as fans would rather dodgy animation/short cuts are included....cos nostalgia feels and all that. Personally I'd prefer they replicated the intention of the animators rather than they compromises they had to make but I worry I'm in a minority.

 

The problem with this right here is that you can't definitively prove something as vague as intention. Is it really an animation error? Your interpretation of what you see on screen is in itself subjective. Also, where do we draw the line? The animators themselves might have wanted to do something completely different than what ended up on screen. What if their idealized Dinobot was something completely different? What if there were multiple designers or animators with differing opinions? How do we reconcile any of that?

The reason I and many collectors yearn for show-accuracy and use it as a yardstick is that it's an objective marker. No matter how crappy or shitty the on-screen design may look, it's something concrete that we can compare the finished product to. No matter how much "better" a furry gorilla or a feathered raptor with non-birthing hips may look, it's still nothing but someone's subjective interpretation.

 

I don't see that as a problem, I see it as a challenge. Far more challenging that blindly copying what you see on screen when in many cases it's pretty obvious what the animators intention was... which I wager is why TT do it. It's simpler in a way as there is less margin for 'error'. I know it's subjective but it's pretty obvious to me that grey and white was used in G1 as short hand for metallic/silver surfaces... or that Dinobot's sword wasn't supposed to be pink!

Which is IMO a great shame. To me it seems sort of crazy to demand MPs look exactly like cartoon that most fans would agree was limited by the technology of the day and time/money spent on it. There's a difference between being sympathetic or respectful towards toon accuracy and strictly/blindly applying it across the board. Like I said above I worry I'm in a minority... I'll rephrase that I KNOW I'm in a minority, but I personally would prefer a more thoughtful and interpretive approach.

 

the pattern look great in hand , better than left it bare. you lots make it way too grave. Throw it to a customizer and chrome it , better solution if have money

 

Good deal, if I have an additional few days afterwards to pay I should be in the clear then, thanks for the info.

 

We are just a couple of days away!!!

 

Are we?! Says who!?

 

For those in Japan, yes.

 

How many faces does she come with again?

2-3?

And is the visor a separate piece from the faces, or is it attached to one face plate?

 

I hope all works out for you, and that you can get Blackarachnia without any bank fees...if your bank operates that way... but don't they all?