Anasazi37
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Everything posted by Anasazi37
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The current price and availability of Roy compared to previous releases is raising some questions for me. Did they make more this time? Is he not as popular? Is it because this is a TV variant instead of DYRL? Will Bandai make less next time? Where I've landed at the moment is that this kinda feels "just about right" with respect to Bandai, where if you missed out during PO Madness you can still easily get one after release on the secondary market at a price that isn't completely ridiculous. I'd love to have the kind of availability and pricing we used to get with Yamato (insert the usual commentary about their poor business decisions here), but since that's not going to happen, maybe this is the new normal now that Bandai has several DX releases under their belt. Perhaps they're relatively dialed in to market demand and we don't have to stress so much during PO Madness. Unless you're an adrenaline junkie like @DYRL VF-1S and you live for the thrill of the hunt.
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Yeah, that's HLJ's original price for the Premium Finish version. They pick a price for pre-orders and stick with it until release. Can't say the same for some of the other shops out there. You're paying for convenience and good customer service. With HLJ, you know you'll get the item you ordered or your money back. No shenanigans where they ignore multiple support tickets you submit, keep telling you that stock is on the way, or try to give you store credit instead of a refund when they can't deliver.
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Premium Finish version is back in stock at HLJ, with a February release: https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-kanzen-henkei-vf-4a-lightning-iii-hikaru-ichijyo-use-premium-finish-aca82155
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They arrived faster than I thought! International mail is a bit unpredictable these days. Looking forward to seeing your valks all dressed up.
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Closest thing I could find
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Scores have definitely improved since East and West Germany reunited... https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/east+German+judge
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That's what I'm assuming at this point, with a decent chance that it will slide into early February if there are any more production hiccups.
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I can't unsee this, or get that song out of my head. It definitely speaks to the poseability of the DX line!
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I use it for overseas transactions when I'm not sure if I can trust a site to safeguard my credit card information. Especially if it's the first time I'm using a site. Sure, my credit card company is hyper-vigilant about fraud protection, but I'd rather pay a little money up front to avoid spending a lot of time dealing with identity theft later.
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I do have the set in hand. It's printed in fine detail plastic, which is clear, so it's hard to see the level of detail in a photo unless you paint everything or, as I just discovered, you hold it in front of a diffuse light source. The actual Roy figure is sitting lower in the second picture because the four pilots in the set are on a sprue that runs along their lower backs, which keeps them higher up. (click on images to see full size)
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I picked up a set of @Xigfrid's DX pilots on Shapeways so I can make a Roy with space helmet: https://www.shapeways.com/product/G8D52LFAX/pilots-set-for-vf-1j-dx?optionId=91611789&li=shops
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I look forward to seeing your detailed Roy! That's some classic Simpsons goodness. And you're right. All Bandai had to do was give their DX teams two simple instructions: Look at the marking and painting guides for a few Hasegawa 1/72 or 1/48 kits Watch DYRL and some episodes of SDFM That probably would have cut down on the excess tampo and ensured that key markings like ejection seat triangles and skulls were included.
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Happy to hear that the sets I shipped out last week are starting to arrive. I was worried that they'd get stuck in the USPS holiday package backlog, but I guess the envelopes are small enough and flat enough to make it through quickly. I've aimed to keep prices as low as possible over the years, essentially covering the cost of the increasingly-difficult-to-source ink for my dry resin printer, paper, protective coating, packaging, and shipping. It's definitely not a business for me, or I'd be out of business! Most folks here know that I "retired" from making decals many years ago, in order to focus on my own massive backlog of Macross projects (and because work keeps me insanely busy), but I do occasionally come out of retirement to right the wrongs of manufacturers like Bandai and Plamax, when they make bad decisions with respect to markings for our very expensive collectibles.
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Yeah, I'll be prepared to cover up whatever stupidity Bandai has planned for the canopy on the 1D. Their best move would be to leave it blank, but Bandai's motto with tampo seems to be "more is always better," so they'll likely slap something on there. To be consistent with the 1/60 Yamato, 1/72 Hasegawa kit, and the old 1/72 variable kits, something like "PILOT" and "TRAINER" next to each seat in the cockpit would work. It's a generic training aircraft.
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Very glad to hear that they arrived safely and are being put to good use so quickly. I err on the side of making my mailers bomb-proof. Costs a little more to ship sets that way, but they get to their destination in one piece!
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My reaction to all of this 1/55 history:
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Nice finds! I've been looking for a BP-8 replacement for a Yamato 1/48 1S that I want to turn into a Minmay Guard Paris Act. Just placed an order for the two-pack (in case I screw something up). And I *do* still plan on 3D scanning all of the resin cast 1/55 parts that I have, which includes a VF-1D head, cockpit, and heatshield. I'll probably scan in a chestplate and modify it for the 1D, too. The scanning project is on hold at the moment while I design and build my own scanner from the ground up. The reasonably-priced commercial options ended up being very disappointing.
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*Pulls out the box for the Arcadia VF-1J GBP reissue that arrived a little while ago and looks at the bottom tray* Son of a....Well, what do you know. I was so excited about the reissue showing up (I own very few Yamato 1/60 v2 and Arcadia valks) that I slapped the armor on without noticing or attaching the foot covers or the side cavity fillers. I'll fix that tonight. And both of your corrections are GBP-related. The non-metallic finish on the feet, which look to have no seam lines, does make one wonder if those are covers. Happy to be corrected on this stuff. I also stand corrected on the HMR. It *does* come with foot covers. Just turned mine upside down and sure enough there are duller plastic covers on the shiny metallic feet.
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Those look like original feet in the picture. "Shoulder extensions" seem to be a common way to get the armor to sit on the valk correctly and allow for some movement. They show up on the Bandai HMR, Yamato and Arcadia 1/60s, and the Yamato 1/48. None of those do anything with the feet, otherwise the toys would be very hard to pose. I'm assuming Bandai is going to continue that tradition for their release (assuming we get one!).
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Very good point. I just watched that episode last night, actually. I should have remembered. I keep thinking about this preview from a past Tamashii Nations event, where the TV hands were shown as a possible option set.
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If Bandai follows what they did for the VF-1D in the Hi-Metal R line, then this is the only time we're going to get that extra piece. It's integral to how the VF-1D appears in SDFM, but I don't recall seeing it after that. Who knows, something very much like it could show up on Shapeways at some point after release, like the properly-sized replacement pilot for the DX Hikaru 1J.
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Both of those were made for a recent Tamashii Nations event and displayed next to the more "stock" one for the Hikaru 1J. Bandai has a long history of making one-offs like these for events, so odds are very low that they will ever be released. On the bright side, it's the first time we've seen a Max 1J in the wild, so there's hope that Max and Milia variants are in the works.
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I'd like to be wrong about this, but I don't think most/any proxies will accept or ship items they did not procure themselves. Probably a legal thing. Couldn't hurt to ask DeJapan, but I'm sure they'll charge you some kind of handling fee if they can do it. You could also set up a Tenso address and have Kurama and DeJapan send everything to them. You'd probably pay $5-10 per package to get them shipped domestically to Tenso. From there, Tenso would charge a per-package handling fee ($5 each), a shipping consolidation fee ($5), and then mark up the surface shipping a bit. It adds up fast.
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Bandai blocks Buyee from placing orders, I think. Not exactly sure why. Could be their association with Tenso, who owns them. I know from personal experience, as do several others here, that if you are overseas and try to use your Tenso address to purchase TWE items directly from Bandai, they block you when you supply the phone number Tenso gives you. Even if you find a way around that by giving them a different number, you need a credit card issued by a Japanese bank. Even if you have that, Bandai still might block you if they don't like the kind of card you used or when they see a Tenso shipping address. I don't know of a single overseas member who has successfully navigated the purchase process, despite using some very creative methods. Bandai aggressively polices TWE items. I wish they put this much effort into quality control for their products. We could have avoided excess tampo, missing tampo, reversed tampo, paint scratches, etc. on the DX line. I'll probably end up reposting this again...and again...and again as folks who don't keep up on the thread drop in right after a PO window opens and ask "how do I purchase a TWE item when I'm outside of Japan?"
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I think those are the same sneaker bots that were deployed, to devastating effect, for PS5 preorders. They seem to be everywhere now. FYI: MyKombini is now sold out for the 1D
