sorry robert. you lost me on the second sentence of that paragraph. too tough on these old eyes. i'm going to figure out how to remove all of Joe's one word posts and drop his post count by 2/3.
I dunno what teh fuss is about - I see plenty of honest commentary here - myself included. I dont frequent the customs section so dont know what goes on there. I do however check out PK's and Lash's customs on their sites and like most of what I see.
It gets boring when just post that they like or dislike something without saying why. They are like "+1" posts or posts about sending a pm. The point about criticism is very true. If you can't take it, then you might as well just quit...and if you don't know how to dish it out, then don't. There is nothing constructive about saying something is cool, or looks awesome, looks like crap, or what have you. Why do you like it? Why do you hate it?
You forgot to put your 4D glasses on. Anyway, don't worry about it. Just the ramblings of a madman still trying to figure out keyboard spawned criticisms .
I can't answer for Mr. DeCastro, but it seemed pretty clear to me that when he mentioned 'bullying' that he was referring primarily to Uberboy's comments. Uberboy's comments seemed to be a thinly veiled 'get the fuck out of here' directed at the original poster. Perhaps you didn't read the whole thread? To those who stated in this thread that people on this message board can't take criticism, perhaps you should have reconsidered the wisdom of such a statement in a thread wherein the original poster took all the comments with grace, without complaint, and seemingly in a very good spirited manner. His responses to the criticisms levied against his toy would seem to refute your assertions. I am sure there are/were some on this board who can't/couldn't take criticism, but I honestly don't believe it's as common as you would have us believe. I do agree that there is too much useless criticism and praise. Opinions such as "I like it.", "I hate it." without any support are far too prevalent. I've done it myself, I must admit. I will go on to say, though, that while a statement of "That's awesome!" is not particularly helpful other than as a stroke to the ego of the person it's directed at, at least it is not pointlessly hurtful or destructive as a statement of "That's crap!". For myself, there is a limited amount of time that I can, or am willing to, spend on Skullbrain. Often, I am reading Skullbrain on my break at work. I simply don't have time to compose and post a well thought out critique every time I want to. Because of this time constraint, I mostly choose not to post my opinion. Perhaps others have similar reasons for not being more thoughtful with their responses. And perhaps they post brief 'unhelpful' responses because they simply want to participate, or at least feel like they are participating. I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing, just that it may be a factor. Atease, please point me in the direction of some of your posts with well thought out critiques that have thorough reasoning explaining why you like or dislike a toy. I seem to come across your posts lamenting Skullbrains lack of such content more often than I see such content from you. Maybe I'm just not reading the forums that you post to.
You miss the point that this isn't some one who has been on the boards and then said "here's what I'm working on." This is someone using the boards to promote/get info. Fair enough, but tread at your own will. The board's gotten soft.
I didn't miss the point. I fully understand why the original post in this thread upsets some people around here. If you read through the whole thread you will find that it is many of the other responders who have missed the point and gone off on tangents about people not being able to take criticism and the dearth of thoughtful critiques on this board. My post was simply to point out what I perceived to be misinterpretations or misrepresentations of Robert's post, the ridiculousness of arguing that people on this board can't take criticism in a thread where someone took all criticisms extremely well, and to point out something I perceived to be hypocrisy. I may be wrong on all counts, but at least I'm trying to be thoughtful. I'm wondering how this thread demonstrates this board "has gotten soft". My impression is that the general consensus of opinion in this thread is something like "this toy is not for me". Several respondents were clear that they felt this toy was out of place on this board and at least one seemed to tell him to get lost. Your own response to the original poster's toy was less harsh than some others. Were you hoping to see fewer replies in support of his toy, more replies like your own, or more of the "get the fuck out of here" type of response from other board memebers? Just curious because I've seen other people say that the board has gotten soft, but what they mean by that is only ever implied. They never explain it.
I've already been so long winded in my other two responses in this thread, I figure I might as well take a few moments and give my opinion on the toy in question. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I like robots, but I don't like this one. The quasi-organic facial expression seems out of place on a robot that is so mechanical in all other aspects. That lip looks the most ridiculous and out of place of all. The spindly legs seem mismatched on a robot of this size. I can imagine that the 2d artwork it's based upon might look pretty cool, but it hasn't translated very well into three dimensions. Not every cool drawing does. That's my opinion, for what it's worth. I do applaud you for creating something from scratch as you have done.
On the same track as Len...along with everything he's said, there is a very "I'm gonna make it this way cause it looks cool..." aspect which I don't really care for. It's like the only thought was to make it the way it is cause it's suppose to look cool and that makes for a very shallow piece. The "I just wanted it that way." answer almost always is the wrong answer to questions like, why are the arms angular...what's with the lip...you get the picture. The legs...well...visually it doesn't really work. Unless that body is made of some super light alloy, there is no way the legs can support something of that size and weight. Sure it's just imagination but really, it just doesn't work. The legs look like they're going to keep going out from under the body...and how does he move about? Are there little motors at the base of each wheel? There is no visual clues to even hint that he is motorized to make him move anywhere. It just looks like he will roll in whatever direction...but only forwards and backwards because it doesn't look like he can turn. They also look like they're just slapped on. As if to answer the question A: How should he move about? B: I dunno... (while at the grocery store or walking the baby) A: Hey...let's put him on wheels!! B: Yeah...like a shopping cart or a baby stroller!! The lip...well...you know it's bad because most people didn't even read it as a lip. What's it there for? He's got teeth too...really? This thing needs teeth? Oh wait...the lip is pink and that button/knob/joystick thing is also pink...are they somehow connected to each other? I'm just gonna stop. It's just really bad over all. It's like freaking drawing masturbation.
I was just watching some episodes of The Jetsons on Boomerang and was thinking the same thing. I guess Unbox's robot design was more whimsical than Gundam but I do like some of it's design elements. I still think that lip either needs to come off or turned into a bow tie or something. I've pretty much said what I felt needed saying here but here are my parting two centavos. This board has not gotten soft and this thread is a good example. It shows that we are truly self policing and that we may be hard at times but fair. Tread lightly? Only if you're intentions are less than genuine but it goes for both new-bs and OG's.
I don't collect robots. But it would be cool if all toys had to be pre-approved by SB prior to production. No one followed up on his tease about working with a Board favorite artist? Is it pushead?
This board hasnt gotten soft. In fact in some ways its more harsh - when we all started out on here in late 2005 I dont recall people slagging much stuff off at all, no one really knew what was what, not so many toys were being released, and everyone helped each other out and shared info - and when collection shots of fight figures mixed with Western wouold appear no one would freak out. Then as people specialised, became more knowledgable, it got harsher and some folk decided to do their own thing. Now teh board is just different. There are more toys, more accessible companies and hence more divergent likes and dislikes. Some things which would have gotten slagged off if companies had released them 2 yrs ago are popular with newer collectors and also cross over as well. As a result there are more cliques as well. What it will really take for this board to keep living, breathing and progressing isn't people being harsh or telling robot dude to F off - its sticking with it (not having a huge collection sell off when the next new thing comes out), being loyal to what you like but willing to give new things a shot, sharing info, being willing to help a fellow collector out and displaying genuine enthusiasm when you honestly like something, be it from a company or a creative individual on teh board - y'know - a sense of community - just like in 2005.
Hi I'm back for more punishment! I just thought I would say thanks to IL_Muffino & Gatchabert for their opinions. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder and I am sure when I get my finger out and post some collection pics I will be vilified even more! My problem is that I really dig toys full stop, I grew up loving monsters, dinosaurs and weird ish regardless of it's geographical origin and it has never stopped. This whole thread has been really interesting for me...debate is healthy and it's better to receive a harsh response than one of apathy. As for future productions, I have been asked to keep quiet at the moment but I promise you will see results (perhaps not posted by me until I get my SB ghetto pass) Thanks.
