KOG Water Dragon

Hey, if milking the existing molds means generating additional low investment profit that can be re-invested in new toolings... I'm all for it.

But the point of variant repops like this is to generate more sales of the main kit. 😄

Sure it conveys what it's trying to convey. I just think the overall sickly green is hard to look at and I prefer the art for the yf-19 w/ fold booster.

This might be the first Hasegawa box art I really don't care for. I don't think it's the most flattering angle for the YF-21, even if it's rendered well. And the bright acid green background isn't super exciting or visually appealing. Sorry, this is one I wouldn't want a poster for. Unlike a lot of the others.

I've got 3 (vanilla, Lightnings, Ravens) but I'd gladly take another if they released their Dullahans version in 1/48. My primary hope for next all-new 1/48 fighter kit would be YF-21 to pair with the YF-19. Anything else after that is welcome. VF-0, VF-25, and VF-31 all make sense since they can be milked as several variants. But imagine the shelf space needed to display all 4 main VF-25s or all 5 main VF-31s... 1/48 VF-0 would be fun but I'd mostly be interested if they did VF-0A or VF-0D. I do wonder if VF-11 is popular enough and milkable enough to warrant a 1/48. Thought a 1/48 Super VF-11 would be really cool.

I'm a little surprised they haven't done more with the VF-1 gerwalk, to be honest. I would have liked to see alternate livery versions like they've done with the fighters. Had also hoped for VE-1/VT-1 gerwalks. An armored VF-11 battroid would be really nice, but I'd like an armored VF-31 even more. But we need the plain VF-31 battroid first.

Very true. We just got the YF-19 battroid so maybe a gerwalk is feasible a little down the road.

Unexpected. I wonder if there's hope for gerwalks of their other 1/72 subjects. YF-19, YF-21, VF-11, VF-25, VF-31, etc. But of course the near future will probably bring a string of VF-0 gerwalk variations. Interested to see if they can do VF-0A or VF-0D gerwalk. The 1/48 YF-19 with fast packs is a little less surprising, and also a little less interesting. But I guess easy for them to do since they have done the fast pack parts recently in 1/72. Makes me wonder if they'll re-release the 1/48 yet again with a fold booster later on. I'm kinda interested in seeing the 1/48 fast packs kit painted up in an alternate squadron scheme.

Yeah... really would have preferred 1/72 to be in scale with all the Hasegawa, Plamax, Wave, and older Bandai stuff. Hoping Hasegawa will do some new fighters in 1/72 eventually, but at least Plamax said something about a YF-29 right?

Ok, didn't realize they still had some dribs and drabs of Bandai product. But all the Gundam stuff is unavailable, all the Macross stuff is unavailable, the 30mm Armored Core line is unavailable, and I don't see residual listings for Bandai's Patlabor or Dunbine stuff (though those are old and could have been delisted previously perhaps). There's a few other Bandai lines I don't follow, but I suspect they're unavailable as well.

Just have to wait and see I guess. In addition to the Macross items, I have quite a few other Bandai items on pre-order at HLJ. The RG RX-78 ver 2.0 (pre-ordered early but I never got one and it's backordered now), RG Akatsuki, MGSD Wing Zero, MG Gundam Vidar, and all the upcoming Armored Core VI kits. Will be interesting to see if any of those pre-orders get filled in a timely way (if at all). The limit of 3 on the new VF-22s could be a mistake or it could be a sign they expect a large allotment. I'm genuinely curious to see what happens. I'm seeing that all the Gundam and Armored Core stuff I have on pre-order is also limited to max 3 per person.

It's not likely anything will change. Bandai just simply doesn't want businesses based in Japan to sell their products overseas. That's why Hobbysearch flat out doesn't carry Bandai on their website anymore. HLJ was able to defy this, maybe because their FOCUS is on selling overseas (and don't really focus on selling to Japanese customers), so they still carry Bandai product, but my understanding is their stock allocations were greatly reduced. So yeah, I'm sure HLJ would get more stock to sell if they could, but they can't. They can only sell whatever stock they are alotted. So yeah of course they are losing money on Bandai sales. But they sell way more than Bandai so they'll be OK. We just have to accept the fact that it is no longer easy or convenient to buy recently released Bandai kits from HLJ. If you look for MG Gundam kits on HLJ, virtually nothing is in stock. Big change from the old days. I still use HLJ heavily for all the non-Bandai Macross stuff though. I got the Queadlunns, Regult series, 1/72 YF-19 battroid, YF-19 w/ fold booster, Armored VF-1 kits, Wave VF-171 kits, and all the Plamax stuff there no problem. Orders filled as soon as kits released.

Nothing a little paint can't solve. I've always thought the paint jobs on the Max and Miria VF-22s were exceedingly plain, so I'm glad to have a lot of stenciling to spice things up. The eternal question is will I actually be able to get any from HLJ or will I have to buy local as usual. I've bought 2 of the Fire Valkyrie locally and HLJ still hasn't filled my pre-order for the Fire Valkyrie which I placed as soon as it was listed for pre-order.

They still routinely include waterslides in most p-bandai MGs (PGs?) and Ver Ka kits though, so the waterslides seem to be somewhat synonymous with premium/limited. I just wish all the p-bandai RGs had waterslides too.

Thanks for the perspective. As far as Bandai and decals go... I'm not sure they're actually doing the customers a favor. Bandai's approach - selling kits with stickers and giving the option to buy decals - is relatively unique in the modeling world. Hasegawa sells all their kits with decals (sometimes very big sheets) and their kit prices are still quite reasonable. Max Factory quickly moved to decals being included after their first Macross release was stickers only. Wave Macross kits have decals. Stickers are pretty much unheard of when you get into any of the other model kit genres - auto, combat aircraft, armor, naval, civil airliner, etc. Maybe its because the target market in japan for gunpla is so different from the other types of kits. But yeah, other japanese kit makers like Tamiya and Fujimi and so on just consider decals standard. So to me, Bandai making you buy decals extra just feels like video games that want to make you pay extra for small DLCs. Part of the problem is that the decal sets are often more expensive over here and harder to find after initial release. Maybe its not as difficult and expensive to get the decals if you're based in japan. I hear what you're saying about smaller living spaces and difficulty working with anything that creates toxic fumes. I deal with that difficulty myself even living in the U.S., as I do not own a house. I at least have windows and a small balcony though, which I'm sure many in small apartments in Japan do not. That said, I know there is a robust scale model industry in Japan, with companies (Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Aoshima, etc) making lots of traditional scale model subjects which do require glues and paints. And the modeling mags are full of fully painted works. So what's the difference? Perhaps the other companies and types of kits cater to older hobbyists who are more likely to have more work space? While Gundams are often the choice of those with less space? Who might often also be younger? I don't know, just speculating. The thing over here is... model kits as a hobby have been on a decline for years and years, with scale auto and aircraft and armored vehicles and ships largely being an "old man's hobby". A lot of younger people here take their first steps into the hobby through Gundam kits. They're not necessarily excited first and foremost about building models of things... they're first and foremost interested in Gundam (the animation) thanks to the franchise's increasing exposure and popularity here in the west. So buying some Gundam models to mess with is a means to express fandom for the series and its mecha designs. Some get really into it and want to build skills, some keep it surface level (snap and display/play) and some lose interest and sell off their collections after a little while. A similar thing has happened lately with Armored Core - a lot of people played an Armored Core game for the first time thanks to the hype surrounding Armored Core 6. And consequently a lot of people who are aware of model kits through Gundam are suddenly interested in the Armored Core kits that are being re-issued by Kotobukiya. And of course, a lot of these people are... surprised... by how unlike Bandai kits they are.😓 So yeah, a lot of people here are doing Gundams as their first foray into model building, so it's inevitably going to affect their perception of other kits. I freely admit, I first got into mecha models in a similar way. I got super into Robotech when it aired on american TV, and was super excited when I found Macross kits on the shelves at my local hobby store. The difference was I already had a long history with scale models (wwii aircraft, airliners, sci-fi ships) so I was prepared to understand what was involved with building the 80s Macross kits. Later on I got into Gundam in the reverse way of most Gundam hobbyists today - I found cool looking Gundam kits on the store shelf while shopping for more Macross I had no idea what Gundams were or where they came from, I just thought the models looked cool. I only tried to learn about and watch the shows many years after I had already built a bunch of the kits.

I agree with all this so hard. 1000%. I don't hate Bandai kits for what they are... it CAN be nice to have a stress free experience where you can focus on other aspects of finish like painting or decaling or weathering or whatever. Not having seams that cut right through complicated details is good. Increased parts separation cuts down on the need for hours of masking (though it's good to know how to mask well). And of course it's nice to not have parts that just don't fit together well. But. I hate how Bandai kits have shaped the expectations and mindsets and learning paths of great swaths of the modern mecha modeling community. Bandai is not seen as something that goes above and beyond in order to be beginner friendly and attainable for kids and beginners... it's seen as the standard that defines what a model kit should be. Lack of need for glue, quick snap-fit, everything moulded in color. And these days, full of gimmicks and hyper-articulation. This is an issue because anything else becomes seen as sub-standard and a 'problem'. Those conditioned by Bandai will, a lot of the time, not want to try something outside the Bandai box. Which is a shame, since there's so much other neat stuff out there. Who remembers when the original MGs had opening hatches and optional add-on greeble parts? That felt special. And now the MG line is all but dead. What a downfall. Now pardon me while I go adore my Eduard aircraft kits with resin details, photo-etched detail sets, fantastic waterslide decals, all packed in the box. But not moulded in anything but grey. 😁

Eh... maybe I'm in the minority these days, but I don't think OOB bandai kits look all that great. I fully prep/glue/paint/topcoat all kits whether it's Bandai or Hasegawa or Wave or Kotobukiya or anyone else. And I'm already deeply invested in tools and supplies so.... it's a moot point for me. And the whole reason I picked up model building as a hobby was to have something to invest time, work, and passion into. So Hasegawa is still a win for me. I guess you could even say I have a rampant unquenchable distaste for OOB. If I don't wanna work, I can just get a toy?

And super VF-1 and Armored VF-1 are about $24. Regults around $20. New YF-21 with fast pack is on pre-order for about $22. Granted these prices would be different if the yen wasn't so weak right now, but still. Good value.

AND they keep their prices reasonable. A massive kit like the 1/48 Super/Strike is under 6000y.

There's the Queadlunns, and the YF-19 battroid, and the nice Regult series wasn't all that long ago either. Hasegawa may not release 10 new mecha kits every month like Bandai does, but I'm usually more happy with what Hasegawa actually does release. And remember, Hasegawa makes other stuff like cars and aircraft so they can't do Macross full time all the time. Whether it's a Glaug or a 1/48 YF-21 fighter or 1/48 VE-1/VT-1 or a 1/72 YF-21 battroid or even just the VF-1J max super battroid or VF-1D battroid I'm waiting for, I'm hopeful Hasegawa will give us some more interesting things in the future.

I'm very sad Wave didn't do it when they did the others. I'd be more than happy if Hasegawa decided to fill the gap if their other new 1/72s sell well.

You know, back in the day, I paid $80+ for the MG Gp02 when it was first released. Not like it was P-Bandai or anything. I think the yen price was about 4000y. That was just how buying japanese kits from specialty import shops worked. That's what drove me to buying everything from HLJ for a lotta years. P-Bandai could be worse.

If the Gamlin kit has extra runners, added effects parts, and waterslide decals, it's easy to see why it's costing a fair bit more than the YF-21 release. I'm seeing reports that the japanese price on it is 8000yen. So the $70-ish price on P-Bandai makes sense. If you could buy it direct from Japan, using dollars to buy it at the 8000yen price, you'd be getting it for way less than $70. But I don't know anywhere to buy P-Bandai in that manner. I don't think westerners can buy direct from P-Bandai Japan, and any western retailers with the kits are selling them at a markup. You'd pretty much have to travel to Japan and shop local stores to get that low price. Shops like HLJ of course do not sell P-Bandai merch. As for whether the kit, at 8000yen, is worth as much as one of the newer 8000yen Master Grade kits... that's another question altogether. All in all, I blame the high prices on modern Bandai kits being needlessly partsy and over-complicated. To be honest I much prefer Hasegawa's traditional style 1/72 models over Bandai's 1/100 partsformers.

It's inflation. MG Sinanju Stein Narrative Version Ver, Ka is about 8000yen, MG Narrative Gundam Ver Ka was about 7000yen, I believe MG FAZZ ver Ka was around 11000yen. MG Zeta Ver Ka was 6500yen, MG Virtue was 8000yen. Some simpler MGs like Kyrios and Eclipse are down around 5000yen. Aside from inflation? This is getting into personal belief territory, but I think a big factor in the rising cost of these kits is absolutely down to the demands consumers are placing on Bandai for increased color separation and accuracy out of the box, as well as increased detail (internal structures and such) and poseability (kneeling, joints with multiple ranges of motion). Just look at the RG RX-78 2.0 for example. It's a small 1/144 kit but SO many small intricate parts, layer upon layer. The need for everything to be moulded in correct color and be super articulated absolutely drives up the parts count, which drives up the sprue count, which increases the investment in required toolings, and the increased size and weight of the final kit is going to drive up associated logistical and shipping costs. If you look at the larger 1/72 Macross kits from Hasegawa and Plamax, they are priced similarly to the Bandai 1/100 kits despite being much 'larger' kits. Hasegawa 1/72 YF-19 Battroid - 5390yen, Plamax 1/72 VF-1J Battroid - 4180yen, Plamax 1/72 VF-1S Strike Fighter - 5940yen. Bigger kits, but less rigid demands for hyper parts color separation and hyper articulation, so they can be made simpler with less sprue count inflation. And they even comes with waterslide decals while Bandai makes you buy those extra. Obviously the parts forming nature of the Bandai 1/100 kits is also driving up sprue count as well. It gets even worse when Bandai is giving you kits with multiple duplicate sprues in different colors just to account for small color changes which one could easily paint oneself. It doesn't cost them a ton to pop some extra sprues, but they will absolutely charge you extra for the added sprue count.

There's a reason for the price differences, as I discovered through discussion with my local hobby shop owner. The original yen price on the YF-21 for example is somewhere around 4700 or 5000 yen (I don't have the exact number handy). Right now, because the yen is weak against the dollar, the price to buy from japan (i.e. HLJ) is just over $30. But Bandai doesn't want westerners buying up japanese stock (either for personal use, or in too many cases, scalping). Bandai wants us to buy our stock through domestic retailers. And through western retailers, they've set MSRP as closer to what prices would have been when the yen was stronger, closer to the $1 = 100yen range. So that's why your Amazon or whatever price is a lot higher than what you can pay buying from HLJ right now. If the yen strengthens against the dollar, then that HLJ price will go up. As we've seen, Bandai is making it harder for shops based in Japan to sell to the western market. Hobbysearch doesn't carry Bandai at all anymore, and HLJ only gets much more limited amounts of stock than it used to. So while it may be cheaper to buy from HLJ, it will also take a lot more waiting to actually get any Bandai stuff from there. I have only managed to get 1 YF-29 Max and 1 YF-21 from HLJ. I never could get a YF-29 or YF-19 or the new Fire Valkyrie from there. Similarly, I've been unable to get most new Gundam kits from HLJ before I could just buy them local. Was never able to get MG Narrative Gundam ver Ka, MG Sinanju Stein Narrative ver Ka, RG Force Impulse Spec II, etc from HLJ and just gave up and bought local. And in all cases I had preordered almost immediately after the items were posted for preorder. As for the Gamlin VF-22, it may seem a lot more than what you paid at HLJ for the YF-21, but consider two things. First of all it's probably a little more expensive than vanilla VF-21 to begin with. It may come packed with waterslides, whereas they are an extra expense when you buy the YF-21. I don't know if it has any extra sprues compared to YF-21 vanilla, but that could also affect price. And then remember you're seeing on P-Bandai an MSRP based on converting the japanese retail yen price at something closer to the $1 = 100yen rate, so you're not going to see a price close to that $30something you paid at HLJ. In effect, P-Bandai is just charging prices that reflect what kits used to cost us here, before the yen value dipped so low. And realize, getting a kit at a straight $1 = 100 yen valuation is still a MUCH better deal than having to buy kits at a 2x $1 = 100yen valuation, which is what we used to be stuck with in the old days, when all stuff stocked locally was imported from Japan and then marked up significantly. We won't always be able to count on getting stuff cheap from Japan with the benefit of a severely weakened yen. On the bright side, we can at least still get Macross and other series kits made by other companies (Wave, Max Factory, Hasegawa, Kotobukiya, etc) pretty cheap from HLJ still. (Also, shipping from Japan has gotten super expensive. A simple kit like the YF-21/VF-22 could cost a TON to ship. I just checked, and the Hasegawa YF-19 w/ fastpack in my private warehouse has a lowest quoted shipping rate of $26.12 for 2-6 week non trackable delivery. Around $40 shipping if you want something faster like EMS, DHL, or FedEx. With shipping that high, cheap HLJ prices aren't such a bargain anymore. That $30something YF-21 is now close to $50 after shipping is factored in.)