ArchieNov

Agreed 100%

Uh huh. This is exactly what I didn't wish to happen.

To those that have the broken/cracked black part with the NUNS logo, can you explain why exactly that part breaks? Mine is still intact fortunately, but I can't seem to understand where enough stress would be coming from to break it.Does the stress come from the transformation process? Or in a particular mode?

I hope that everyone stating they won't touch NY will keep their word. I intend to still get mine from there as they are the only online retailer I've dealt with that has never failed to fulfill a preorder and has always come through with a means to allow me to still obtain these items without any significant hassle. To me, these are more important than saving a few bucks. Also, I don't understand why people keep calling NY a scalper. They're definitely not like those ebay guys that buy loads of stock just to corner the market and force high prices. NY obviously only obtains additional stock as they sell out on their site. And if you look at the prices for their initial stock, they're not marked up over retail. It's only for the succeeding stock that the prices start to increase. But how can anyone expect them not to mark up their prices when they're obtaining these additional stock from other retailers? I don't think they're getting the same discounts as when they're getting it from Bandai themselves, so in order to make a profit, they need to add a markup. Not only that, but they'll have to pay for the items being shipped to them from the different areas of Japan, which is another additional cost to getting these. Add to that the time and effort in finding these stock in the first place. And unlike scalpers, their price markups are probably not based on the rarity or demand of the item. It's more likely based on the cost to obtain it, plus their usual markup to make a profit from it. That's why people have noticed that sometimes the additional batches of stock remain at the same markup, or even go lower in price during the preorder period. That's not how scalpers behave. For me, it's pretty obvious that NY spends money to ensure that they will have enough items to fulfill all the preorders made at their site. That's why I feel bad whenever people cancel their preorders with them at the last minute whenever they find a better price. It's like people backing out of a commitment. I'm sure you'd feel bad as well if someone asked you to get something for him, and then at the end, he'd tell you that he won't get it anymore since he just found it somewhere else cheaper. If people keep preordering from NY just as a safety net, and then cancel, I fear that NY might eventually feel it's not worth it to keep working towards making enough stock available for everyone and just act like all the other online retailers that only rely on Bandai to give them more stock and not do the extra effort that NY has been doing.

No worries dude. Think nothing of it.

They are mold changes. I first spotted them on my own Alto and 30th. Then I checked some picture reviews of both to verify if it was the same for others (pictures were taken from those reviews). I just called them guns because that's what they look like. I know they aren't but I think most people would immediately know what I was referring to if I called them guns rather than cameras.

I'm not sure if anyone has already realized this, but I just noticed that there is a very slight difference in the head sculpt for the YF-29 Alto and the 30th release. If you'll take a look at the top of their head, there are 2 things that appear to be guns. On the Alto version, those guns are facing forward in battroid mode (and backward in plane mode). On the 30th release, it's the other way around. I wonder why they made this change in the mold when everything is else just a repaint. http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/hacchaka/imgs/4/e/4ecdaf50.jpg

Ah, that's the problem. You're NOT supposed to push the hip bars back in after locking them forward.

I know it's too late for my opinion, and I'm sure it won't matter much, but I honestly think that the VF-4 isn't visually impressive enough to replace any of the 3 you originally had up there. Devastator and the SDF-1 are classics. Most people who grew up watching Transformers and Robotech/Macross from the 80s would recognize them. They would make for conversation pieces. The VF-19 is not as recognizable as those 2, but it was still the poster valk for Macross 7. And the bright colots and Sound Booster make it an attention grabber. The VF-4 is an obscure valkyrie. The battroid mode isn't really eye-catching compared to the VF-19. And while the fighter mode is sleek, I'm sure most people won't even know that it's a transformable valkyrie and will just think it's a model of a fighter plane or something. In my opinion, a stranger would only most likely be impressed with the VF-4 if they watched you transform it between modes. But that takes effort and would require you to take it down every now and then. Just my two cents.

You know, no offense, but perhaps you can give the Bandai business practice/preorder bashing/ranting a rest? It's okay to voice out your complaints but I think almost everyone on this board already knows the situation and how you feel about it from the multiple posts you have already made. I feel that it's starting to get excessive to the point it's tiring. Regardless of how entitled you or any of us may feel about being able to obtain these products, I do recall that these Macross toys are really meant for sale within Japan only. Thus the reason why Bandai targets the Japanese market/demographic. We should just thank the fact that we have been able to purchase them outside of Japan thus far. In the end, if you really want it, then you either: 1) Stalk the sites that offer discounted prices 2) Purchase through other vendors (such as Nippon-Yasan) at retail or higher prices, but are relatively easier to secure 3) Get through ebay 4) Purchase from another forum member You can't demand or expect for things to go your way all the time (e.g cheap prices AND being easy to obtain). That's just being immature, especially when you understand that these products are not meant for distribution outside Japan.

Actually, it's the other way around. Those little circles are more important as they are the pivot point for the wing. The large pin is just there to secure the wing to the body and is not really necessary if the fit of the small circular pin is tight. The low circular ring that the large removable pin attaches to is there to limit the range of how much the wing can be swept back and forth. In any case, the smaller circular peg should be easily glued back as long as it was a clean break.

Anyone have any advice on how to easily slot the flip out tab on the crotch into the nosecone when transforming the torso? I think I've done everything properly (pushed down on the cockpit, inserted the fin into the slit until it clicked, folded the midsection as far as it can go, etc), but the tab just seems to be around 2mm too far from the hole. I've tried applying more force to squeeze it together but I don't want to put any more for fear of breaking it. I've rewatched around 3 reviews and mimicked pictures but even though everything looks the same, it still won't get close enough for the tab to slot into the hole. Man, this is one of the few times that I actually gave up on transforming a valkyrie. EDIT: Well, I finally managed to lock in that crotch tab. Basically I just applied even more pressure until it could reach the hole. Not sure if this is really how it's supposed to be done but everything clicked and locked into place afterward. I do have another question though. Are the forearms supposed to be floppy or is there a way to lock them into place? I don't really understand what the manual's trying to say in step 25 on page 10. I thought it was saying that I should push down on it or something but I might be wrong and I dont want to risk it.

@TCracker I would just like to ask how you managed to get the shoulders/upper arms to stay swept back at an angle? I used to be able to display mine like that before I placed the armor pack, but now I'm unable to because the shoulder pauldrons keep bumping into the missile pack.

True, but believe it or not, that is anime accurate. Someone posted a screenshot some time ago where you can see the cockpit from the side in battroid mode. I guess the reason you don't notice it too much in the anime is because the valks keep moving around frantically and through the use of creative shadow placement.

If you want to attach super parts to your YF-29 in the future, perhaps it would be a better idea to get the 30th anniversary version as the Super Parts for it are still in preorder status and not as expensive to obtain as the Alto version Super Parts.

I was originally not planning to get this since I'd rather hope and wait for a renewal version. But if these parts are sold separately AND come with replacement shoulder pauldrons, then I will buy them. This is because the paint on the shoulders of one of my VF-27s has already chipped and I want to fix that.

I live in the Philippines, located in South East Asia.

I would gladly order 2 sets, but I'm not sure they ship to my country.

If I like a toy A LOT, then I may buy 2 copies. One to play with and another to keep mint and serve as a backup just in case I accidentally break the other toy. For some reason, I feel more secure handling a toy when I know that I have a fresh one in reserve.

You might want to reupload the video comparison. The bottom part of the video starts blinking after a few minutes.

Nice pics. I also liked the green canopy more, but I guess the purple one is not so bad. But what would really make me happy is if they included optional head lasers made out of ABS plastic in this version. If not, would it be possible to have some made using Shapeways?

Someone also tried to get a replacement part from NY in the past. They weren't as bad as AmiAmi in their reply (e.g. offering a few yen as compensation), but I believe they asked to have the entire thing shipped back to them at your cost and then they'll ship a new one back to you as replacement.

I guess I'm the only one that thinks the P version has nothing over the S version in battroid mode. I like the colors, head unit and the look of the folded wings better on the S than any of the other versions in battroid. The P version's head actually looks worse to me now because I can see the Kai's eyes (and maybe mouth) underneath that green face mask. I used to think it was just some robotic looking detail underneath it which I would have preferred.

I'd rather they release the tornado pack for the 25g

Yeah, I saw that shot too. But I wasn't sure if it was just a shadow or really a stripe.