groundhog7s Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 From my memory of the AA boards, it's best they were forgotten. Since it wasn't just MM fans but also had the mix of Trekkies, there wasn't a lot of the common courteousity and mutual respect that there is here. And that's not to mention some of the shady things that went on during that time. I'll take this opportunity to give a big shout out to The Donster for telling me about MMMV starting up and how it was much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 The Art Asylum forums went through a couple of different versions with a few different leaders until finally Ady took over. AA started to withdraw from their support of a forum, so Ady jumped in and created this place. He brought a few of the old-timers onboard to smooth out the creases and here we are... The original AA boards had a "backroom" that you bought a membership into and occassionally had auctions for protos and test shots. Because AA had the Trek License and really started there from a toy aspect, many of the members were Trek only fans. Obviously, when this place was built, it was with Minimates in mind. The dynamic of the membership really changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I remember going to a place called "SERVICE UNAVAILABLE" a lot but it was pretty fucking dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch77 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I remember going to a place called "SERVICE UNAVAILABLE" a lot but it was pretty fucking dull. Ahhh, memories This place was lots of fun too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I used to go to those places on a daily basis...for a while anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdyCarter Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 The Art Asylum forums went through a couple of different versions with a few different leaders until finally Ady took over. AA started to withdraw from their support of a forum, so Ady jumped in and created this place. He brought a few of the old-timers onboard to smooth out the creases and here we are... Ah memories, although that does make it sound a bit like I made Art Asylum withdraw their support! If memory serves this timeline is accurate: Wizzy, bangy annoying Art Asylum forum Odd forum that was purely an IP address Art Asylum withdrew all support (partly after I had enough of their wondrous "representative" Mr French White) Minimate Central Forum was our temporary holdout Creation of MMMV Art Asylum forum came back and was pretty much pointless Today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 So there were no forums that splintered off of this one because of some philosophical dispute regarding Minimates. . .YET! In the future, I anticipate a progressive MMMV where all the members want extremely detailed and sculpted figures at any cost (essentially shrunk down Marvel Legends type figures), and another one where crotchety old bastards like myself shake our fists to the heavens and complain about how nice it used to be when Minimates mostly shared the same, basic style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 I need to know more about the mysterious Mr.French White Was he in Pulp Fiction eating the Royale with cheese? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 So there were no forums that splintered off of this one because of some philosophical dispute regarding Minimates. . .YET! In the future, I anticipate a progressive MMMV where all the members want extremely detailed and sculpted figures at any cost (essentially shrunk down Marvel Legends type figures), and another one where crotchety old bastards like myself shake our fists to the heavens and complain about how nice it used to be when Minimates mostly shared the same, basic style. When DC Minimates return, I expect some discord. I recall some pretty heated arguments in AA's Trek forum and a lot of it stemmed from the fact that the fandom was fractured. Endless TOS vs. TAS vs. TNG vs. DS9 vs. VOY vs. ENT debates. Lots of "MY Trek is better than YOUR Trek!" It got pretty petty. The most heated discussions I see here, for some reason, have to do with DC Minimates. And it doesn't even seem to be within the DC fanbase (Batman vs. Green Lantern vs. Superman...) but between folks who REALLY want to see DC Minimates and those who REALLY don't. Anyway, if the Minimatriarchy fractures, I'm afraid it'll be along that line, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I recall some pretty heated arguments in AA's Trek forum and a lot of it stemmed from the fact that the fandom was fractured. Endless TOS vs. TAS vs. TNG vs. DS9 vs. VOY vs. ENT debates. Lots of "MY Trek is better than YOUR Trek!" It got pretty petty. Oh yes, I remember it well. I love the Trek fans, but they can sure be an agressive bunch. They didn't much care about the whole Minimate community either once the 3" Trek Minis died off. I think we were an annoyance to some. Sorry Ady, I certainly didn't mean any implication that you caused AA to bail. They did that all on their own. I think they left many of their moderation staff holding the bag and didn't even give them the courtesy of a reach-around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I think they left many of their moderation staff holding the bag and didn't even give them the courtesy of a reach-around... I can confirm that first-hand. They had to be coerced into publicly thanking us and that was long after the fact. Then again I did give Digger a shitload of grief when I first came to his board. Kinda surprised they made me a moderator after all that but I'm pretty sure he tuned the noise on the forums out at that point. The Collectors Club was a fiasco but it wasn't for lack of trying. Those were the days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch77 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I think they left many of their moderation staff holding the bag and didn't even give them the courtesy of a reach-around... I can confirm that first-hand. They had to be coerced into publicly thanking us and that was long after the fact. They publicly thanked us? I must have missed that part (or don't remember it). Months later I did get a package with a LotR prototype and a short thank you letter - "something something, thanks for being a mod, something something, here's a proto". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Be grateful Lurch because that's more than you're gonna get from us :tongue: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The Mods of the old AA site really took some abuse at times. I think members took out their frustrations over AA's silence, on the AA Mods. I may have been a little guilty of that myself. Honestly, I don't remember, but I knew I didn't want to be a Mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch77 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Trust me I am very thankfull for this place; it is so much more fun Moderating on AA Forums Moderating on MMMV Forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappy Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Art Asylum Forums, of course! You know, I spent three days trying to remember this, posted my question, then the answer bubbled up in my brain of it's own accord an hour later. I hate the way my brain (doesn't) work. The answer is even in the Bomber Mate, which comes from that era. I can still see that little bomb wiggling when you moused over it. I had forgotten about the interim with Minimates Central, though. And that the AA Forum was predominately Star Trek. Oh, we were red-headed stepchildren on that board, weren't we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) Moderating on MMMV Forums **see what I mean, sooo much more fun now :tongue: Edited July 11, 2012 by Lurch77 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 They publicly thanked us? I must have missed that part (or don't remember it). Months later I did get a package with a LotR prototype and a short thank you letter - "something something, thanks for being a mod, something something, here's a proto". I think Adam posted something in a thread ONCE about the moderators in general. I honestly don't recall what I got through the mail but I'm sure it was Trek related. (Tribbles Kirk?) I came to the board because I was a Trek collector frustrated that, while every other manufacturer was offering figures in 3 3/4" and 6" scales, AA was making figures in an arbitrary 7" scale that didn't fit in with ANY of my other figures. Digger's ego was through the roof. I distinctly remember the only way to get him to answer questions was to lace your posts with F-bombs and random vulgarities. I tried being polite but that's how he posted so I thought, "When in Rome..." And it worked every time. I gave him all kinds of grief about the rubber pants they were putting on ENT figures. They hid the articulation but even AA didn't recommend posing them seated for long. Remember; these were DELUXE figures that came with chairs! Many consumers didn't even know the figures had articulation below the waist because AA never called it out on the packaging. All you saw was a well-sculpted figure in an odd scale that apparently couldn't sit in the chair it came with. It was ridiculous. Not to mention the concerns about how the rubber would hold up. (Anyone remember Furbie Yoda?) So glad I slid over to Minimates. Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeycrumb Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 They publicly thanked us? I must have missed that part (or don't remember it). Months later I did get a package with a LotR prototype and a short thank you letter - "something something, thanks for being a mod, something something, here's a proto". I think Adam posted something in a thread ONCE about the moderators in general. I honestly don't recall what I got through the mail but I'm sure it was Trek related. (Tribbles Kirk?) I came to the board because I was a Trek collector frustrated that, while every other manufacturer was offering figures in 3 3/4" and 6" scales, AA was making figures in an arbitrary 7" scale that didn't fit in with ANY of my other figures. Digger's ego was through the roof. I distinctly remember the only way to get him to answer questions was to lace your posts with F-bombs and random vulgarities. I tried being polite but that's how he posted so I thought, "When in Rome..." And it worked every time. I gave him all kinds of grief about the rubber pants they were putting on ENT figures. They hid the articulation but even AA didn't recommend posing them seated for long. Remember; these were DELUXE figures that came with chairs! Many consumers didn't even know the figures had articulation below the waist because AA never called it out on the packaging. All you saw was a well-sculpted figure in an odd scale that apparently couldn't sit in the chair it came with. It was ridiculous. Not to mention the concerns about how the rubber would hold up. (Anyone remember Furbie Yoda?) So glad I slid over to Minimates. Good times. Speaking of which... How HAS everyone's old rubber-accessoried toys held up over the years? Mine are several states away in storage. How have the AA Trek rubber tunic figures, the ENT rubber pants, the LOTR Toy Biz figures, etc, etc held up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 How HAS everyone's old rubber-accessoried toys held up over the years? Mine are several states away in storage. How have the AA Trek rubber tunic figures, the ENT rubber pants, the LOTR Toy Biz figures, etc, etc held up? One of my ENT figures got a tear in his pants within a few months. He wasn't even displayed in his chair. For some reason my Archer figure is still going strong though there's some discoloration and the glue seems to be coming apart where it's attached to the ABS plastic. The rubber material itself has no holes, though. I'll have to check my LOTR figures when I have a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch77 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Here are a couple of my treasures: Bombmate, MMC blank, Sentinel proto, LOTR fig & Ringwraith proto The MMC blank Luke sent to me for helping out with reviews. I can't remember much of the story behind the LOTR figure, Shane might be able shed some light on it. But do have little story behind Ringwraith: a few years ago I ended up selling it to a friend of mine (money was tight at the time and diapers/food ALWAYS wins out over toys), well not too long ago I was able to win him back over a game of Super Smash Bros Brawl :biggrin: This time he's staying in my collection! And my favorite customs: Predator, Dr Doomsy & MotU Sorceress The Predator and Sorceress are from a contest we had a looooooong time ago that was a concept design to custom contest. Predator was created by Luke with accessories by Fujis. Sorceress was created by Antacost. Doomsy is not really mine, it's my daughters. But she lets me "borrow" her for pictures. Created by the one and only MINI_MYTE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 What's the story with that MMC blank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Surely Luke made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch77 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 ^yep, from Luke. Updated my post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappy Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 That MMC Blank is great! And of the many prototypes we've seen here, having that Ringwraith is the coolest in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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