Anasazi37
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Everything posted by Anasazi37
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Okay, I put both of those back in. Not sure about 32. I had the same question.
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Yes, they are waterslide. No, you don't need to apply a gloss coat first, but I would highly recommend using a setting solution, doing so carefully so you don't damage the plastic. Mark Setter and Mark Softer are harsher than Micro Set and Micro Sol, so it's good to dilute them a bit first. Otherwise you'll dissolve the decals. You can use them at full strength on most commercial decals, but I use a thinner film so the designs look painted on and conform better to curved surfaces. If you have any spare plastic model kit parts lying around that have a similar finish to these toys, I'd practice on those with some designs you don't plan to use, or even just an unprinted portion of the decal film.
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Using @Lolicon's list, the close-up shots of the PF that were posted by @tekering, and some eyeballing of my own, these look to be the parts of the sticker sheet that I have to worry about (on the right): That's not too bad. I'll fix the KEEP CREAN text and add SDF-01B and SDF-018 for the upper stabilizers
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From what I can see, all of the extra pre-applied markings on the PF are on the sticker sheet that comes with the regular version. Since there really isn't a sticker placement guide for that version, I think the PF will have to serve a reference for where those extra markings go.
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Will try to spend some time on the set this weekend
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Sounds like DHL is adjusting their shipping rates for stuff leaving Japan. Just got this notice from Tenso: "Comparing with current shipping fee rate, new DHL shipping fee released on March 10, 2021 1:00 p.m. JST is around 5% higher."
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By the time all of the fees were piled on to the retail price by the proxy service I used, the total was almost the same as AE.
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I can add those markings. Maybe both SDF-018 and SDF-01B?
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That's crazy-expensive for a toy this size. HLJ charged me $40 for FedEx when they shipped the regular version exactly one month ago. I'm assuming the boxes for both products are nearly identical. I wonder if part of the higher price is proxies taking the Arcadia shipping box and putting that in a still larger box. If anyone here is getting their PF through HLJ, I'd be curious to know what the FedEx/DHL cost is, for comparison. Okay, looks like I need to make that set of decals for the regular finish....
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It's long overdue for them to offer it, but I also wonder if their warehouse was getting *really* full after almost a year of customers not shipping stuff and that pushed them over the edge.
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Looks like the Premium Finish versions are getting ready to ship....
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Agreed. I'm also trying to take a more relaxed stance towards toy production during the COVID era. The factories that make this stuff were shut down for some length of time and then likely had to slowly come back online at reduced capacity--all while dealing with supply issues for raw materials, a huge backlog of orders, and understandably stressed out/distracted workers. We're bound to run into more issues than usual in the near term and, at least for me, I'm happy that Macross toys are still being produced during such economically uncertain times. Compared to Gundam and other lines, Macross isn't very profitable for Bandai, so they could have easily dropped it to focus their reduced production capacity on other things. For what it's worth, my two DX Roys, bought from two different sources, were in good shape. I did hear about a lot of paint issues with the previous DX Hayao release, though. At the time I chalked it up to Hayao being a much smaller TWE release, but in retrospect the production run for it was happening during the early months of the pandemic....
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Wasn't able to quickly find pictures of the finished product, but this is what Bandai was building for a Tamashii Nations event in 2019: http://t-nation2019.blog.jp/archives/3814862.html
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- max factory
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Long live the Chunky Monkey!
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It was a very snug fit for my VF-4A. At first the handle seemed too wide, but I applied some gentle pressure and wiggled it a little and it eventually worked. The gunpod is essentially held in place via friction. Unless I did something wrong.
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Looking really good! I'm leaning towards making decals for this. Just need to set aside some time to make it happen. Have to balance this project against a few others that are consuming my weekends right now.
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Yeah, I don't bother with From Japan anymore because it's too popular. But I also don't discourage anyone from using them because the people who lurk here are likely the same ones who won't put in the time to find out if using From Japan is a good idea by, you know, being active participants in this community and keeping up on threads like this one. So while they're waiting to receive their cancellation notices for TWE items, the rest of us are going through other sources.
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Right now the thread is like a massive, unorganized folder filled with all kinds of DX awesomeness, but if you haven't been tracking it for a while, it is really hard to find helpful info. Personally, I cringe every time I have to post a link to one of my earlier posts in this thread about how to purchase TWE items when someone new jumps into this thread and asks, for the millionth time, how to purchase TWE items. Happens every time there's a new release. Granted, there will always be some folks who post the question because they'd rather have others do the work for them, but having some kind of dedicated DX FAQ thread would probably cut down on a lot of the noise.
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2400 ppi, if you have sufficient storage space. It's quadruple the file size compared to 1200 ppi, but we're not talking about huge sheets, or too many of them. Anything higher than that is usually not something a printer can handle, or the human eye can differentiate. I've seen discussion about the "ghost toner" for that one HP printer for several years now. I think it's made in Germany. One common technique people use is to print out a white version of a design using that toner, then they switch back to the regular toner to print out the color version. My advice would be to do that on two separate sheets, so you end up with a white decal and a color decal. White becomes your background, which you apply first, then put the color one on top of it. Running the white-printed sheet through a second time to get color on top of it generally doesn't work well because the printer can't keep the sheet properly aligned. That also applies to the "cheaper" OKI printer ($6000).
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Yes, the Changers kit is a repackaged Imai kit, but those aren't easy to find. I see them come up for sale on Mandarake a few times a year. The Bandai reissues (two waves of them) are readily available. I just checked the one I have and the decal sheet matches the picture you posted. Yes, the white markings will be challenging to print.
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This just showed up in my FB feed. $385? Wow, that's steep. And it looks like that price includes EMS shipping from Japan...which isn't possible for the US right now, despite what the seller mentioned in the comments. Maybe it will be available again by July, but there's no guarantee.
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The card I had on file for AJ expired several months after the Roy DX PO window and I had to put a new one in the system. Same experience for me. The card info at the account level updated just fine, but my Roy DX PO still had the old card attached to it. So, I crossed my fingers, hit the "update payment method" button for the PO, and switched to the new card. It went smoothly, thank goodness, but I was worried that my PO would get canceled or screwed up in the process and their system would try to create a new order to replace it, which of course wouldn't go through because they were sold out. I've had that happen to me more than a few times at hotels when business travel was still a thing. Any kind of adjustment to the original reservation online would spawn a new reservation where, of course, I couldn't get the room or rate that I had before. So, I'd have to call the hotel directly to get it sorted out.
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I finally transformed my Yamato VF-4G for the first time this weekend so I can display it in battroid while keeping the VF-4A as a clean, pristine fighter.
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When I started making decals about 20 years ago, I tried Krylon Crystal Clear because that was the advice I was seeing everywhere. I quickly abandoned that approach after a lot of testing. In a nutshell, you're spraying on a solution that after curing will become an inflexible layer on top of another layer that has to be flexible during application, because it's paint that is supposed to be sprayed on a solid surface (e.g. wood, metal). Decal paper doesn't absorb any of the paint like normal paper would, so it just sits on top of the film. As a result, it cracks when the decal paper is flexed. It also tends to be too thick, even if you try multiple light coats. So, you're left with a thicker-than-needed decal that resists application on even the slightest of curved surfaces. That resistance also tends to lead to air bubbles/silvering under the design and makes it difficult to use setting solutions. All of this is worse on small designs since the surface tension is a more significant factor. Last but not least, if you do inkjet printing, you have to be sure that you've covered every last bit of the ink with coating so that it won't dissolve in water, so light coats of Krylon tend not to work well. The only time I've seen the Krylon approach be somewhat okay is when the paint hasn't fully cured and is still a little flexible, but that is a very narrow window of time and it doesn't help with the thickness problem. I hand-brush LDF on all of the sheets I print to make sure they are fully protected. It dries quickly and results in an extremely thin and flexible layer that adheres to the film. It's also far less wasteful than using a spray can.
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I use an ALPS MD-5000P dry resin printer. Hasn't been manufactured in a long time. I'm down to my last one, so I use it sparingly. I actually have to use Windows XP in a virtual machine to run the printer since that was the last OS for which a driver was developed. I also have to use a special cable that converts the old serial printer connector to USB. I'm not entirely sure what kind of ink the newer OKI printers use, but I think it's some form of laser toner. Glad to hear that your old sets are in good shape. Can't say the same for some of mine. Scanning the sets and archiving them would be a great service for the community. Not sure who is responsible for this section right now. Let us know how the calibration goes. The micromark paper is probably fine to experiment with--especially at more than $1 per sheet. I have my own special source. Like me, he's basically retired from the business now, but still takes the occasional order. His paper is awesome. Whatever you do, don't use Krylon Crystal Clear to coat what you print, Anyone saying that's a good idea has no clue what they are doing. I've used Microscale Liquid Decal Film for almost 20 years now. If you're okay with translucent designs on clear paper or solid designs on white paper, your laser printer or an inkjet where you let the ink dry thoroughly before coating should be relatively inexpensive.
