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SuperSenpai

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  1. SuperSenpai
    The only bundle packs that are supposed to not safe are the non-anniversary DYRL bundle packs. Also, there's a possibility that even "unsafe" toys may be fine. I have TV Hikaru VF-1J that belongs in the unsafe group, but the shoulders are totally fine.
  2. SuperSenpai
    Nice deal on the 25F, I think I saw that one too. That's definitely the low end of the prices I've seen for the 25F on Mandarake. I bought one from them a while back for $150 MISB. I figured I got a good deal since that was about what it retailed for. But I've seen them list it for higher too -- I think there's one there now that's been warming the shelf for a while at $220.
  3. SuperSenpai
    I've done this as well, and it does sorta work, but I also discovered that it can damage the plastic. For some types of superglue, the bonding process actually "melts" the plastic in order to create the bond. Thankfully, I discovered this on a cheap action figure and not a $150 valk!
  4. SuperSenpai
    Mandarake's customer service has usually been pretty helpful and responsive for me, but if the item you're interested in is priced to sell it might get picked up by someone else by the time they get back to you -- especially when considering the time difference. The items listed in the website are also usually available in their stores as well, so you're not only competing against the online shoppers, but also the store customers who can make purchases while you sleep. A while back, I was eyeing a TV VF-1S that got picked up before I got a reply back from my inquiry e-mail -- and the reply was within a day.
  5. SuperSenpai
    According to jenius's review on Anymoon.com, the Aoshima one is worse quality than the Toynami. It also has the missile pod that sits between the shoulders in fighter-mode (which for some reason shows up on all the model kits but was never seen in the animation) and is not removable. The other differences are some slightly different paint colors, and ratcheting hips on the Aoshima. There's a couple of Aoshima Stick-type Legioss toys on Mandarake going for about 70,000 yen. If you're ok with the differences, that's a heck of a lot cheaper than $300. Personally, I like the look of these toys but it's a real shame they are such crap quality-wise. I have a Toynami Alpha which I bought loose on eBay for $60. if I ever pick up another one, I wouldn't pay much more than that. No matter how great it looks, I can't justify paying that much money for something that could crumble at the slightest touch.
  6. SuperSenpai
    Sorry to hear. There's Beagle Stick ride armor on sale over at Mandarake. Not cheap, but not crazy expensive either. At least you can get it replaced. http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/item_s-698522.html
  7. SuperSenpai
    I think with Ikea furniture, the trick is knowing what to buy. I stick with things like shelves, bookcases, tables, desks, etc. Things like sofas, chairs, beds, dining room and kitchen stuff I buy elsewhere. I also find that it helps to know what you're doing when you're building. My first few builds were kinda rickety, but now that I know my way around Ikea furniture pretty well, I find that my builds are much more solid. Things like removing and re-screwing threaded parts into pre-drilled holes also reduces the strength of the joints. And you can always modify the furniture a bit to make it more solid -- things like drilling a couple extra holes to add screws. I also live by the rule of thumb that Ikea furniture is generally good for maybe 1-2 moves. After that, it's best to throw it out or sell it on Craigslist. Anyway, to bring it back on topic, I still think the Detolf is the best cost-effective display solution for toy collections. When I was looking for display cabinets, I wanted something that was predominantly glass to make the display bright (bookcases are too dark and shadowed in my opinion). Most furniture stores I looked at had glass display cabinets that looked too much like dining room furniture. I didn't want something that looked like it would be used to display silverware and fine china, especially since it was going in my office which is pretty simple, understated furniture.
  8. SuperSenpai
    Based on my handling and in comparison with other MP TFs I own, I would not be surprised to learn that the KO MP-12 is most likely made at the same factory as the original, using the same molds, possibly rejects for various minor QC purposes, or were done as off-the-books runs. It's that good. The price difference is all due to the licensing and development costs which Takara had to bear and the KO sellers are taking advantage of this. I'd imagine that Takara had to pay a pretty penny to acquire the Lamborghini license, considering that new MP-12s were selling at retail for a lot more than the Prowl/Streak/Smokescreen molds, which are comparable in size, materials, and engineering. Designing and licensing these toys is expensive, but manufacturing them is dirt cheap. This is why the KO makers can sell basically the same toy for a fraction of the price.
  9. SuperSenpai
    Just to clarify -- I'm not necessarily advocating that one purchase KO product in lieu of genuine articles as a matter of habit. Count me as one of the individuals who purchased a KO MP-12 more out of curiosity/novelty -- I kept hearing from various sources that it was amazing how close it was to the real thing, so I wanted to see for myself. My KO MP-12 is the only KO I have, and my past TF were all legit Hasbro or Takara releases. Quality, cost, and similarity to the real product aside, there is an obvious legal and ethical component to whether you choose to purchase KOs, but far be it from me to tell anyone how they spend their money. The argument that bootlegged products will destroy the market for the real thing is an old one, and has never really proven to be true. People worried that illegal filesharing would destroy the market for legally downloadable content. Tell that to iTunes and Netflix. Companies in China have been churning out fake designer label products for years, and it doesn't seem to have harmed the market for the real items. I would argue that some third party TFs are practically KOs given their obvious aping of certain designs, and yet this doesn't seemed to have harmed the market for genuine Takara or Hasbro product.
  10. SuperSenpai
    I disagree. Dedicated collectors will always come up with the cash to buy what they want, and will pay a premium for the real thing over a bootleg. And within that group there's probably a small subgroup who will buy genuine articles AND the bootlegs because they want to support Hasbro/Takara, but can't resist having the bootleg because of the collector-mentality, or because they are just curious. Just in this thread alone we have a few folks who have purchased both KO and real MPs. If anything, it's the casual collectors who are more likely to buy the KOs instead of the real thing, and chances are a good portion of those casual collectors are people who would never have shelled out the bucks for a real MP anyway. You see the same thing going on with KO merchandise of other goods, like designer shoes or clothing. The people buying the fake Prada handbags are not wealthy people looking for a great deal -- it's people with less income who can't or won't ever buy the real thing, but are happy to pay a lot less for a reasonable facsimile. The Macross market is a lot smaller and more niche, so in theory KOs could do more damage by stealing sales from legit products. However, I'd argue that for the same reasons, Macross collectors tend to be more dedicated to begin with, and are more likely to want to the real thing rather than a KO.
  11. SuperSenpai
    Where is this pic from?
  12. SuperSenpai
    Being a KO and probably not subject to the same QA as would be if sold Takara, I wouldn't be surprised if there were bad ones in a lot that didn't get weeded out. But so far mine handles great. I've checked a few reviews online, and overall the general consensus seems to be that the KO MP-12 is an excellent alternative if you don't mind a few minor cosmetic differences from the real thing. This review sums things up pretty nicely:
  13. SuperSenpai
    This is the listing I bought mine from. Seller seemed legit. I got it in about three weeks. http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Transformers-Takara-Tomy-Masterpiece-MP-12-Sideswipe-KO-Version-/321221703801?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item4aca4e3879 EDIT: I just noticed the listing is no longer for free shipping. Still, not a bad deal.
  14. SuperSenpai
    I've never handled MP Megatron, but just from the pictures it looks pretty disappointing. The legs are way too skinny, and the visibility of the trigger in bot mode makes them look hollowed out. That said, I'd imagine that making a perfect transformation handgun that resembles the Megatron from the cartoon in bot mode is probably not an easy task -- I'm glad it's not my job to figure it out.
  15. SuperSenpai
    On a whim, I ordered a knock-off MP-12 from an eBay seller in China, and received it in the mail today. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with the quality of this thing. I don't have a genuine MP-12 to compare it with, but I checked a video comparison on YouTube, and aside from things like a couple of small paint details (spelling of "Lamborghini" and "Countach" on the rear end of vehicle mode), it looks like it's nearly identical to the Takara MP-12. In terms of things like materials, construction, paint apps, joint stiffness, etc., it's pretty comparable in quality to my Takara MP-17. Not a bad deal at all for $40 shipped from China. Anyone else pick up one of these?
  16. SuperSenpai
    Even though the pre-order deadline is supposedly past, I went ahead and got one from NY. Since I haven't gotten any e-mails informing me that it's out of stock, I guess it's still possible to pre-order. I'm assuming that they placed orders for a few extra on top of their actual pre-orders for stragglers like me, or they have excess pre-orders due to cancellations and will continue to accept pre-orders until those are all spoken for. Or I will get an e-mail in a couple of days saying that I missed the boat. We shall see.
  17. SuperSenpai
    I agree. The more information that is coming to light about upgrades makes the higher price seem more reasonable. So far, it seems the improvements are: 1) included stand 2) water slide decals 3) additional tampo printing 4) improved paint on the metal parts
  18. SuperSenpai
    Anyone know when the preorders on this close? I noticed that Nippon Yasan still has it available.
  19. SuperSenpai
    Diecast is overrated. In my opinion, diecast should be used selectively and only in certain scales. Small toys and/or toys with a minimum of moving parts are a good fit for diecast metal. Larger toys should only use diecast for small support pieces. After a certain point, unless the entire toy is made of diecast (which would then probably make it prohibitively expensive), diecast just gets too heavy and starts to put too much stress on joints and hinges and make things floppy. A 1/48 valk in diecast would probably end up with many loose and floppy joints if diecast were used for things like the arms and legs.
  20. SuperSenpai
    So what was up with his colored sky writing thing? What was he doing there?
  21. SuperSenpai
    Just finished watching the Frontier movies. Can someone explain to me what happened at the end of Wings of Goodbye when Alto was doing his colored sky writing routine? Where did he go? Did they just fold away somewhere?
  22. SuperSenpai
    For $800, an Optimus Prime toy should transform.... by itself.
  23. SuperSenpai

    Display Case

    SuperSenpai replied to Skull005's topic in Toys

    The amount of dust in one's home is dependent on a variety of factors, including how many people live there and how much the rooms are occupied. Bear in mind that the vast majority of dust is simply dead skin cells that fall off and accumulate on your furniture and floors. Ergo, it stands to reason that you get a lot of dust in rooms where people spend the most time. In our home, I've noticed that the rooms with the highest occupancy (bedrooms and family room) accumulate the most dust quickly. Also, electronic appliances attract dust. I keep my Detolfs in my office which is located in the basement, windowless, and is usually only ever occupied by me. There's a little dust that gets in but not much. I think you'll have a hard time finding a glass display case with as much bang for the buck as a Detolf. You might get lucky from a store going out of business and unloading its cases at a bargain. My experience has been that most mass produced glass display cases you find at furniture stores 1) are a lot more expensive -- several hundred dollars at least 2) look more like things you would store fine china or silverware in -- think of your mom's china cabinet
  24. SuperSenpai
    Maybe I'm alone on this, but I always thought that in the DYRL valks looked a lot whiter in the photos that they did in real life -- and this goes back even to the Yamato days: Maybe the lighting causes it to appear whiter? Or it's been photoshopped? Or the pictures are of a prototype version whose plastic is whiter? All I know is that the DYRL valks I've owned were noticeably darker in shade than the promotional photos. And this is not darkness due to yellowing, but more of a creamy colored off-white.
  25. SuperSenpai
    VF-25As are starting to pop-up in the aftermarket: http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/item_s-1437359.html
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