Jump to content

SuperSenpai

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    853

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by SuperSenpai

  1. SuperSenpai
    I'm not the biggest Transformer collector, but I have a few, including an MP-10 Hasbro Optimus Prime that I picked up from TRU last year. I had to go through a lot of trouble to get that one. I've been eyeing the TRU exclusive MP Soundwave, and it seems that it's as hard to get as the MP-10. What's the deal with TRU exclusive MP Transformers? I understand retailers not wanting to have shelf-warmers, but for characters like Optimus Prime and Soundwave, these are practically guaranteed to sell no matter how many you order. I don't understand why don't make them more widely available.
  2. SuperSenpai
    They apparently accept used Toynami MPC valks, so anything is possible.
  3. SuperSenpai
    It may be an office sample that they have lying around that gets plenty of action, and therefore has some of the stiffness taken out of its joints. Lord knows no Yamato v2 I've ever handled fresh out of the box has been that easy to transform. It may also be that he handles it much more forcefully than any collector would. I'd imagine that the people who make the things aren't too worried about breaking one.
  4. SuperSenpai
    I think I saw that one. Thought the listing was a bit misleading, as he said the thing was in excellent condition except that one of the shoulders was "a little loose". If you bothered to look at the pictures though, the shoulders were clearly broken.
  5. SuperSenpai
    I think this happened to another forum member recently. There was a v1 Milia with super parts and a launch arm on eBay that someone here bought thinking it was a v2. I remember seeing that listing too -- think it was for like $100? That would have been an unreal price for a v2 Mila, let alone the added launch arm.
  6. SuperSenpai
    Seeing the Toynami MPC valks on Mandarake's website sorta feels like when I heard about Taco Bell trying to open up restaurants in Mexico.
  7. SuperSenpai
    Was scanning Mandarake recently and noticed they had a Beagle Rey-type Ride Armor for about 35,000 yen. No Legioss though. However, I was rather suprised to see that they recently stocked some Toynami MPC valks. From what I recall, they were priced around 5000-6000 yen.
  8. SuperSenpai
    Hey now, don't go bringing Superman into this. I actually quite liked Superman Returns. At least they used all-new footage (minus the Marlon Brando appearance)!
  9. SuperSenpai
    Understood, and you'll note in my post I said that I would reserve judgment until it was confirmed from others who have purchased it. I was just saying that if it's true that they switched to a plastic part, that would be a disappointing move to me. Furthermore, even if it is just as strong, it seems odd to use a cheaper material for that part when you are charging more for the product. Adding a stand and waterslides is a fine move to give the customer the perception that the added cost will come with at least some benefit, but then switching out to cheaper materials seems like a step back. Like I said, I'll hold judgment until more people chime in, but something like that just makes me raise an eyebrow.
  10. SuperSenpai
    Thanks for the pics and review. I didn't order this valk and don't intend to, since I don't particularly care for the paint scheme, and I'll reserve judgment until it's confirmed from other purchasers, but... I'm disappointed to hear that the leg swing bar is plastic. That's a piece that needs to be made from metal, in my opinion. The way that component is designed, and the manner it typically gets handled when transforming the toy -- making it out of plastic seems like a recipe for disaster. If Arcadia is going forward with a plastic swing bar on all their VF-1 reissues, I think this will upset quite a few people considering they are asking us to shell out more money.
  11. SuperSenpai
    *childish snicker*
  12. SuperSenpai
    Isn't it the same narrator as from the Robotech series? He must be an old dude by now, maybe that's why he sounds different.
  13. SuperSenpai
    I don't have a direct quote, but IIRC, I saw some posts by other forum members who referenced an interview or Twitter post from Mr. K at Arcadia, who basically said that part of what led to Yamato's demise was the release of too many variants of the same designs. From that, I inferred that Arcadia's approach would be to release fewer variants, and only those that are likely to be top sellers. I think you do have a point in that the build-to-order approach takes a lot of the risk out of the equation, and therefore releases of less popular variants by this method may lead to less shelf-warmers. I agree that we won't know for sure until it happens, but my gut feeling is to not hold my breath for a Kakizaki re-release. If this happens, perhaps all those people who picked up Kakizaki at bargain prices will suddenly be able to charge premium prices on the secondary market????
  14. SuperSenpai
    Arcadia has acquired at least some of the molds Yamato was using -- as evidenced by the fact that they are reissuing the Roy and Hik VF-1S. That being established, I'm interpreting Mr. K's statement that they are "working on" two VF projects after the YF-19 to mean that the VF releases after the YF-19 will be based on new or updated designs since a reissue of an existing design (like the announced 1S releases) wouldn't really require them to work on anything, just pump out new product based on existing molds. Consequently, I'm also inferring that if they do end up reissuing a Max/Milia 1J (or any other previously released variant), it sounds like it will be after the release of the YF-19 and the two VF projects said to be in the works. Which may mean that any further reissues will be at least year off. But like I said, I could be reading too much into things.
  15. SuperSenpai
    Maybe I'm reading into things, but might the fact that they are "working on it" indicate that the post-YF-19 projects are new designs? It doesn't make much sense to say you're working on a reissue, since all you need to do is fire the molds back up.
  16. SuperSenpai
    It's doubtful Arcadia will reissue Kakizaki in any form. It appears they are following a much more conservative strategy than Yamato when it comes to the VF-1 so as to avoid flooding the market with too many variants of the same design. They've already announced releases of the Roy and Hikaru VF-1S, which are always going to be hot sellers. After that, my guess would be a Hikaru TV VF-1J. There are many other designs that are likely to get reissued before variants like Kakizaki or cannon fodder.
  17. SuperSenpai
    Kakizaki VFs are usually not very highly sought after, so they are relatively easy to get at a cheap price.
  18. SuperSenpai
    I don't know if this experience was very common, but for me, a big part of the increased awareness had to do with friends who had lived abroad and/or traveled to Japan and brought back toys and videos. I can remember the first time I saw the original lion Voltron die-cast toy at my friend's house, who had spent a summer in Japan in the mid-80s. This was right when the Voltron anime series was just starting to air in my area and the toys hadn't been released yet. My jaw dropped to the floor seeing that thing, and when I asked him where he got he said "Japan". Then he proceeded to show me all his Transformer toys in their Japanese packaging. Because of friends who had lived abroad, I got a pretty quick lesson in where the shows and toys were coming from. And even at that young age, the word on the street among our friends was that the American stuff was ok, but the stuff as originally released in Japan was way better.
  19. SuperSenpai
    I used to think that it would be cool for someone to make an anime-accurate VF-1 with respect to how the leg/hip assembly is supposed to transform, but after seeing the Bandai kit I have changed my mind. Yeah, there's a certain novelty in seeing them make it work in a toy/model form, but there's just too much going on there that looks like it could break or fail after repeated use. I'm also of the opinion that having freely detachable parts that lack any fixed attachment point takes it out of the "perfect transformation" realm and into partsformer territory. If I have to choose, I'd pick perfect transformation over anime-accuracy in this case. While I want the toy to look and move like it does in the animation, when you're talking about a mechanical design that could never truly, feasibly exist in real life, anime accuracy is overrated. If you want to talk anime accurate transformation, over in Mospeada-land the ride armor is technically supposed to transform between cycle and armor mode without the rider ever leaving the seat. That's not possible with any of the ride armor toys, perfect transformation or not, and I don't see anyone clamoring for this to be implemented.
  20. SuperSenpai
    The journalistic quality of that article is at about the same level as your average fanboy's message board post. Scratch that -- most fanboys write much better than that.
  21. SuperSenpai
    If Bandai were to release a new VF-1 toy, I'd hope it would be a scaled-up 1/100 Hi-Metal based design, with some additional gimmicks and perfect transformation, and maybe a few design improvements to differentiate it from Yamato/Arcadia's offerings. Barring that, I'd even be interested in seeing them modernize their 1/55 scale toy -- tweak the sculpt, add a knee twist and greater hip articulation, etc. But please don't release anything based on the 1/72 model kit. That thing looks awful.
  22. SuperSenpai
    That canopy color is reminiscent of the amber-colored canopy on the Joon's knockoff VF-1J I had as a kid.
  23. SuperSenpai
    It's nice to see more pics, but honestly -- if they just put some of the old Yamato promotional pictures up there and photoshopped it with an Arcadia logo, would any of us know the difference?
  24. SuperSenpai
    I remember the Gobots being much smaller, like Matchbox car sized.
  25. SuperSenpai
    Does anyone remember what the MSRP for strike parts were back when they were initially released? Trying gauge how much the reissues might go for.
×
×
  • Create New...