wm cheng

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Why do I feel like they're still underestimating the demand terribly?  At the rate they're trickling out, I don't think they're going to actually produce enough, even in two years.

You still can't even order them online either.

Why don't they just open up orders already and just let people take a number?  I'd be more than happy to wait two years if I knew I had one guaranteed.

 

YES!!!

Would be nice to have a Black Friday sale on this puppy... one can dream right?!

Any place to download the dubbed versions? hoping to get my young daughter into this.  How far along with the dubbed versions are they?  At what rate are they coming out and is there going to be an eventual Bluray release?

4 hours ago, Xigfrid said:

I really hope the release version canopy will stay clear without the metallic paint.

X1000!

... pretty perfect toy except for the opaque metallic canopy and the seam/gap behind the cockpit canopy

THANKS!!!  Just ordered a second one.

12 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Just picked this massive thing up from the post office!  

Congrats!  Can't wait to see you build, please post so I can live vicariously through you.

2 hours ago, tekering said:

I think Bandai made a brilliant decision to reproduce the original five-footer, and thus avoid direct competition with the FineMolds Falcon.

At 1:72 scale, the FineMolds still represents the finest reproduction of the ESB Falcon, and Bandai's now represents the finest reproduction of the ANH Falcon.  The two complement each other quite well, I think.

7 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Hehe, actually I don't see any reason for that, since this is a different ship.  The Bandai PG one is modeled after the ANH version, while Fine Molds built the ESB modification, with the extra landing gear, and hull sections.  The details are very different between the two.

I like your thinking!  Just trying to justify not buying the Bandai one after I've bought just about every detail kit for the FineMold years ago and its sitting gathering dust in the basement as a retirement project.  It's just the Bandai is so much more detailed and crisper that it makes the FineMold pale in comparison (in fact my 1/144 Bandai MF puts the FineMold to shame).  So hard, to little money and time which is making the decision for me but I'm sure I'll come to regret it years from now.

7 hours ago, electric indigo said:

Time to set the old Fine Molds kit on fire...

Yep, kind of feel like that

59 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Bandai valkyries are always designed from the ground up to easily handle any add-on parts without the need for additional attachments or risk of damage to the valkyrie itself. 

Isn't there some emoji for sarcasm?!

12 hours ago, biggooftoybox said:

Yup. Canada Post historically sucks donkey balls. =) But you should be glad at least you received it in the end. I've had two shipments just disappear on me before. The shipments just leave USA, arrive in the Richmond BC sorting facility and it just disappears and never appears on my doorstep and I'm only in Vancouver!!

Wow!  That really sucks - especially being on the west coast I'd thought you would have a much better chance of getting anything than us in the east coast.

I do like the drones attached to the Draken, its unique, however they do seem a bit oversized - and I wished Bandai designed the wing pivot differently to not need the clear support which was clearly an afterthought.

Yeah, they seem a little big.  I do love the gold paint app for the SV-262 though and the fact that its a different original transformation.

Woohoo!!!  Finally got my LilDrakens - took over 2 months by Eco-SAL from NY (note to Canadians, Canada Post does not support tracking, so once it left Japan which only took 3 days there is no more tracking information for Eco SAL - it spent almost 2 months in Canada somewhere! - our postal system sucks!).  Never will I cheap out again on shipping - argh.  Yep slightly underwhelmed, might feel differently when I put it on the actual bird, but the drones are a bit bulky/fatter than I expected.  Like the RVF-25 drones better - designwise.

It looks really good especially the articulated fingers and such, I wished the black wheels were actually rubber and definitely yes, its too expensive for its small size.  I'm going to wait for a few reviews before I think seriously about plunking down that kind of cash for something 16cm long!

6 minutes ago, Dobber said:

Neat...though their cut and past picture can NEVER happen as that is CVN-65 Enterprise in the background. She's not look so great as of late. 

Chris

Maybe this is Final Countdown 2 where the Enterprise goes into the future?...

5 minutes ago, VF-18S Hornet said:

That micoset solution you used to seal your waterslide decals, can it be used on dry transfer decals?

NO!  Microset is used to soften waterslide decals only (its not a sealant)  The Future (floor polish) topcoat sprayed over top after all the decals are applied and provides a hard clear acrylic gloss coat over the decals and it would work for dry transfer as well.  Don't use Microset or MicroSOL for dry transfer, my guess is it would dissolve the transfer.

I guess I'm biased but I've had enough of young kids saving the world or young kids being in positions of high authority - yeah, yeah... I know its every Millennial's fantasy to boss over these old fogies but it just makes all these films so fantastical (when you already have to suspend so much disbelief for giant robots!).  Our Millennials here can't even change the photocopier toner and then expects us to cheer when they finally do it with lots of help?!  Boy, how old do I sound!   (quietly gets off the soap box without hurting my back!)

1 hour ago, UN Spacy said:

LOOKS GOOD...I just hope these huge frakking robots move like huge frakking robots.

They are much smaller than the first movie and they sync up to the pilot movements so much that these robots look like they move at a human scale (but in slo-mo) - no sense of weight or inertia - argh!

1 hour ago, Tking22 said:

Wow yeah, after seeing the trailer, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY disagree! This looks amazing, and like a ton of fun! The CG looks perfectly fine to me, and I'm not seeing anything Power Ranger like with the new drift suits, they look fine, no worse of more PR like then the first film's suits. The CG looks phenomenal, plus it's not hidden by rain and darkness, a big issue I had with the fist film. To each their own I guess, I can't wait, it looks way bigger and better then the first!

We must agree to disagree...  Maybe its the bright daylight, but it "flattens" the cityscape behind the robots and makes them "pop" out of the scene.  The new suits are soft spandex, where as the original suits are "hard" suits like an astronault (they had to hold liquid to suspend the pilots from the inertia & g-forces).  Yes, I don't like darkness to hide stuff, but the rain definitely added depth and reflections to the nighttime battle sequences that this daytime sequence looks so flat - there weren't even reflections of the robots in the glass of the office towers.  Also there's just no comparison between DoubleNegative (VFX for this movie) and ILM (VFX for the original) they aren't even in a similar ballpark. 

27 minutes ago, azrael said:

They shrank everything.....

Maybe that's why they can move like they have no weight or size and just dance about with martial arts!  But yes, the original Jaegers were like taller than skyscrapers (50-60 stories) and now they all look to be around 15-25 stories tall.  They move and fight just like Transformers - argh!

20 minutes ago, funkymonkeyjavajunky said:

So, let me get this straight. For these exclusives you must pay the cost of the toy right now, but pay for shipping when it is released?

You pay now including shipping (at least that was the case from NY)

$319.74 CDN including EMS shipping - argh!  (now there's the crap shoot 50:50 of getting dinged by Canadian Customs & Duties which could be an extra $45cdn - if you order FedEx or UPS then its guaranteed that there will be the extra $45 Customs & Duties - mostly $10 fee + taxes)

33 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

It’s a bit cheaper to let your credit card do the conversion. PayPal charges something like 3% for currency conversion; someone correct me if that’s not right. 

It may make sense to open a credit card that does not have a foreign exchange fee as well. Some cc companies charges upwards of 3%. 

Good to know, might try that again - I've had some problems in the past with my credit card allowing NY to charge - apparently they were flagged as suspicious because the financial company they charge the credit card through is based in France and has worked with other fraudulent companies as well (at least that was the story my credit card company tells me each time I had to call them to authorized the payment)

Wow EMS shipping is 4,500Y at NY - got it anyways since this is the one I wanted all along - thank God I didn't have to stay up all night and go through that Madness (I guess sleep is worth the price difference though).  The difference between CAD & Yen at NY was only about $15cdns - but definitely better to pay in Yens and let PayPAL do the conversion instead of NY.  Now the long wait...

3 hours ago, Tking22 said:

I can't wait!!! I absolutely LOVED the first one, this one looks like it will be a ton of fun too.

What looks like a kiddie show exactly? The new Jaeger designs?

It reminds me of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and the new suits looks like black leotards with blue hockey pads stuck on them (a far cry from the original hardsuits!)  The VFX looks cheesy badly composited in with bad lighting that doesn't match the environment.

Do we have to stay up and go through the madness to order this one or will the PO's stay open for a while since its "made to order"?

LOL!!!  Totally!  (I worked on the first Pac Rim, but this sequel went down to Australia and it looks like a kiddie show now)

Woohoo!!!  I love the grey scheme - probably my favourite and I'm so glad there won't be the usual PO madness.  (so no need to stay up tonight?  It will just show up at NY sometime?) 

I sure hope they don't forget about the orange EWACs one as that's the last one I really wanted (sucker for the EWACs dome). 

Yep, too early about the canopy, all the original VF-31s had clear canopies when they were first shown - argh!  Dissappointed with the lack of the different missile pod too.

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

If I ever find that decal sheet, you can have that one decal.

THANKS SO MUCH! (you started my search! :P) - now I'm obsessed...

39 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Hey Mr.Cheng. To be honest, I would love to go the Hasegawa look. But I already started mine with those purchased 1/60 waterslide decals and just make the best of it. So beyond the ones in the instruction manual, I added some here and there based on the Master File book so you can say I'm kind of doing my own thing. Though I need something for the Super Packs since the ones I have are wrong. I might try those Hasegawa ones from eBay soon and see how it's going to look. 

 

Yeah unfortunately the eBay ones lack the Strike Cannon designation. 

I believe what we need are...

NP-BP-01 - back booster packs

NP-FB-01 - leg fuel/maneuvering thruster packs

NP-AR-01 - arm missile packs

------ above are what Yamato/Arcadia has for their sticker sheet or premium finish (but incorrectly designated for the parts below)

HMMP-01/02 - back booster forward missile packs

RO-X24 - back booster forward strike cannons

------ above are only on the Hasegawa kits (they are not shown in MasterFile books - but then again, the MasterFile data stenciling is a bit different than the Hasegawa models - they even forgot the slime formation lights on the forward fuselage which are pretty prevalent in all lineart except MasterFile)

It looks like the Hasegawa ones are more correct, but the eBay 1/72 reproductions all lack the strike cannon's "RO-X24" designation because they just reproduced the VF-1A Super decal sheets even though the listing in eBay says they are VF-1S Strike.  It doesn't really matter whether its for the Battroid or Fighter since we're just really looking for the fast/strike packs which are on both modes - but all I can find on eBay are the Battroid decals - I couldn't find any Fighter mode.