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Anasazi37

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Everything posted by Anasazi37

  1. Anasazi37
    The AJ price still seems pretty high compared to what AE listed several days ago. That's surprising, since AE isn't afraid to charge more when they think they can get away with it (e.g., DX Hayao TWE). Still not listed on Arcadia's site, so I wonder if the actual MSRP is still TBD. Waiting to see what HLJ and AmiAmi list for price before I decide what to do. I wouldn't be surprised to see the AJ price come down in the next day or two.
  2. Anasazi37
    Looking good! Glad the decals worked out for you.
  3. Anasazi37
    Its current size is 4" high by 3" wide. That can easily be changed, larger or smaller, but the proportions would have to be maintained.
  4. Anasazi37
    My goal would be to help out a small number of fans, at the cost of materials and shipping. Is that your 1S with the skull already applied? Mirroring wouldn't be hard. Would it work better for you if it was an outline (hollow) instead of solid? I think it would be fun to bring those back. I'm trying to track down some other silhouettes that might be interesting. There are so many iconic images to choose from.... That's a good size. The skull on my car is 4". Just large enough to be noticeable outside without creating a visibility issue inside. I can't even see it in my rearview mirror.
  5. Anasazi37
    So there is some additional dice-rolling with AJ. Good to know. My default position with buying expensive stuff from Japan is that it's a one-way trip, so I try to manage my risk accordingly. Sometimes that means avoiding certain stores for certain items, even if they are a bit cheaper, because I don't want to deal with the hassle if something goes wrong. I know some members always go with the lowest price and the cheapest possible shipping, operating under the assumption that the number of times that approach breaks down will be small enough to make it worthwhile in the long run, so why stress about it, but I think that only works if you buy a lot of stuff or happen to be blessed with incredible luck. If you're a more targeted collector due to interest/budget/time/etc., a bad shopping experience could have a pretty big negative impact. When I've gone the lowest-price-and-cheapest-shipping route, it consistently goes wrong, so I don't do it anymore.
  6. Anasazi37
    Something like this? I could also bring back the SDF-1 silhouettes that a member made into window decals almost 20 years ago (can't recall who that was). Just found the same (or really similar) artwork online. Had the left one on my car for a long time. This vinyl cutter is just too much fun to play with--now that I know how to drive it. And there's apparently a rainbow of color options for the vinyl itself. (Realizing this is a bit OT...)
  7. Anasazi37
    I don't think it would be too hard to remove the sticker if you needed to, but you definitely wouldn't be able to use it again. Sounds like there might be some interest in making these and maybe some other things. Wasn't my original plan, just trying to broaden my printing capabilities for some personal projects and thought putting a Skull Squadron logo on my car would be fun, but happy to help the MW community.
  8. Anasazi37
    And there's the additional gamble of whether or not they're going to toss your very nice box into a plastic bag for shipping, which then looks less nice by the time it gets to you. I'm not hung up on box quality, but some collectors do worry about it. I think that mainly happens with third party sellers who use AJ for fulfillment, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm a fan as well. When I can ship something direct from AJ, great. If it has to go to Tenso first for some reason, also okay.
  9. Anasazi37
    Good point on the tax. Forgot about that. Makes it even worse. With these valks generally available through multiple outlets that cater to overseas customers, it usually doesn't make sense to buy direct from them. Haven't tried AJ for Arcadia valks before. Just checked out the GBP reissue to see what they're charging compared to the usual stores. Looks like ¥23,500 plus ¥3231 for shipping to the US. If that pattern holds for the VF-4, it will be an affordable option. I think you're still on your own if there's a problem with the toy, except for maybe sending it back to Japan for a refund. I thought I read somewhere else in the forums (maybe the DX thread) that AJ will pay for the return shipping, which would be nice. I don't think they were willing to work with Arcadia to get replacement parts for the SV-51, though.
  10. Anasazi37
    It's on the outside, for maximum visibility. Like all of those ones you see on SUVs that tell you how many children and pets a family has...with the optional dinosaur eating them or Tie Fighter blowing them up (for the more snarky crowd). It could be printed as a mirror image so it would look right when applied on the inside.
  11. Anasazi37
    Thought I'd share my latest project. I decided, since we're going to be dealing with this COVID situation for a while, that I'd finally pick up a vinyl cutting machine and teach myself how to use it. When I put together the DX decal sheet recently, I drafted the Bandai skull at high resolution. Now I can do fun things with it like this, at any size I want and on any adhesive material I want. This one is matte white. Apologies for the dirty black car. It rained yesterday. Priority was getting the sticker cut and placed on the window.
  12. Anasazi37
    I fully anticipate seeing this version and the PF version show up on HLJ, AmiAmi, and NY. HLJ seems to have a great relationship with Arcadia and they offer both FedEx and DHL. It looks like you can order stuff directly from Arcadia, with shipping limited to Japan (not a problem with a Tenso address). They ask for 10% of the price up front to reserve the item. Not having tried that before, I don't know if they employ any of the same countermeasures as Bandai to keep folks outside of the country from making reservations. Somehow I doubt it because they don't worry about the scalpers that we deal with on the Bandai DX line. One reason you might not want to go the direct order route is the price. I checked out the listing for the upcoming VF-1J GBP reissue and theirs is ¥26,180. HLJ's is ¥22,848. AE is a about ¥200 lower and AmiAmi and NY are ¥700 and ¥500 higher, respectively. I guess sometimes direct-to-consumer doesn't save you money. AE+Tenso or HLJ are probably going to be close enough in price that it comes down to personal preference. I'll likely go the HLJ route on this one because it will be less complicated and they have great customer service. If there's an issue with the VF-4, like what happened with the feet on the SV-51, they will take care of you. I believe AE told their customers that they were on their own.
  13. Anasazi37
    Another good point. Relative pain (ratio of price to wallet size) would probably have been about the same.
  14. Anasazi37
    Probably all three. #3 came first, then Bandai had to cover for the mistake with #1. #2 is a bonus, with them knowing how much it annoys collectors who complained about the mistake. Just like the reversed modex numbers on the vertical stabilizer.
  15. Anasazi37
    You make a very good point. Ten or fifteen years ago, I would have flipped a table if a 1/60 cost $250. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
  16. Anasazi37
    3) How else will we get the valks we want? As soon as you buy 3 of an existing Yamato version or pay someone to make you 3 out of an existing DX version, Bandai announces their version. Both of those would be very fun to watch. Mental note: leave my SV-262 and VF-17 to a relative I don't really like, but include a note saying that they're extremely valuable and the sales price goes way up if they are transformed back to fighter mode. Two months and several band-aids later....
  17. Anasazi37
    When they can get away with it, AE tends to post POs before other stores. Given that Arcadia's valks are much easier to obtain than Bandai's, I'll wait for HLJ or another less aggravating store to list it for sale. My new stance on AE, after watching how they've treated a lot of MW members this year, is that I'll only go there if I have no other choice. I was relieved to see this show up for a non-wallet-demolishing price. No, it won't be the premium finish version, but I'm 100% okay with that. If all they offered was PF, it would be a hard pass for me.
  18. Anasazi37
    The grey version that Yamato and Arcadia released previously is from the video game. They didn't have the rights to make this one, which I think is the only one that actually shows up in Macross Flashback 2012: That hasn't stopped Bandai from doing creative color variants in their HMR line. They released a Roy, which would have been impossible story-wise but looks nice, and they also previewed Max and Millia versions at a trade show last year.
  19. Anasazi37
    Received my SSP set via EMS after a three-month wait. Shipped on 18 Apr, arrived in New Mexico on 20 Jul. Only took a few days to get through customs at LAX and make its way here. Three solid months in line at the Tokyo airport mail facility. Japan Post was estimating four months at the outset of the shutdown, so three is marginally better. I haven't heard about new shipments being accepted. That could still take quite some time, given the current state of our country and some recent COVID flare-ups in Japan.
  20. Anasazi37
    Yep, it's not too difficult to set up a Tenso address. To abide by Japanese law, they do need to verify your identify and give you a few options for that (e.g., sending them a picture of an official government photo ID card). Once your account is set up, you can view your address in four different formats: General Purpose, Amazon Japan, Rakuten, and Rakuten Global Market (now-defunct, but the format is still useful). I'll freely admit that I've had to use Google Translate a few times for some of the formats, just to better understand which information is going into which category (street address, city, prefecture, etc.).
  21. Anasazi37
    Your detailed review of the Arcadia is what convinced me to stick with my Yamato and save my money for other projects and acquisitions
  22. Anasazi37
    I'll likely pick up at least one, just for the experience of building it compared to the Hasegawa, the newer Bandai variable, and the older Imai/Bandai variable.
  23. Anasazi37
    Yes, that's true. There was a big change in the forum software in 2003 and it wasn't possible to migrate over the content from the old system to the new one. I can't remember if our accounts were migrated or we had to re-establish them ourselves. I think that's why there's a place in our profiles for "Old MW Name". I believe that I had to populate that myself. Most likely USPS. In many areas, the post office handles last mile delivery. DHL generates a Priority Mail shipping label at the closest regional hub, slaps it on your box, and drops it in the mail. What sucks is that you don't get the USPS tracking number, so if there are issues with the delivery and you go to the post office to ask about it, they can't help you because the DHL tracking number means nothing to them. You can request the tracking number through DHL customer service, but that can take a few days.
  24. Anasazi37
    I've actually kicked off a project to build thirteen 1/55 customs, largely using valks and resin parts that I amassed back in those early days. I finally have some time to work on them. Also feels like I'm coming full circle to what brought me to MW in the first place. Almost done with the first one. The project is already reminding why the 1/55 is a really solid toy--especially for when it was designed and manufactured. I love it, and the 1/60s, and the 1/48s, and the HMRs, for different reasons. There's room for everyone in my collection.
  25. Anasazi37
    Be prepared for Plamax to sell decals and armaments separately at premium prices, Bandai-style. They‘ve done that for the 1/20 kits.
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