wm cheng

Or this is the v1 (remember all the ugly gaps on the v1 VF-25s) and they'll rape us again with a v2 in a year or so. I'm not sure about the nose section as seen from the side, the canopy just seams to jut up from the forward fuselage in a very non-sleek way. I'm more on the fence now with this one - the aircraft mode is all that I will ever display it in anyways. Just not sure.

TRIPLE THAT!!! Your decals are my favourite 1/48s in my collection. I NEED you to step back in please! What a wonderful collection of customs, I'm glad they're all in one place!

Ok, for those interested, I removed the Made in China and Copyright information markings on the underside of the wings. Rubbing Alcohol works, but you really have to rub it with a paper towel, but the time I got it all off, I made a tiny little shiny spot (took away the rough semi-gloss plastic texture). I also tried Lacquer thinner, that works too, melts the ink, but because of the textured plastic, removing the stained melted ink took lots of wipes and it "stained the texture" a tiny bit. I used an eraser to rub away the stain, but the time I got rid of any stains, I created a tiny spot that was a little bit shinier than the rest of the matte plastic. So the end result was about the same. I will clear coat the whole bird after I decal and weather it, so that will go away after that process. I do notice that this plastic does seem cheaper, slightly more swirls when you look at it in different light. Why the heck does Yamato/Arcadia insist on mounting the stand mount so far forward away from the center of gravity of the toy?! It could be better hidden under the toy and create less stress on the stands when its further back. I just don't get their thought process, its already a bulky non-elegant solution to have this claw, it really can be adapted to be anywhere.

Well, after 7 days in transit via EMS... I finally got my hands on this toy. I agree with everything already said about this toy, but still am a bit disappointed, especially factoring the $300+ cdn price tag (in fact it was closer to $390cdn after shipping, I didn't get the Black Friday sale - but luckily I escaped customs or duties, so NY comes through again, although a bit late for charging a steep 5,400Y in EMS that took 7 days!). Luckily my copy is fine, no breakages yet. I have the non-aligning right tail fin (how did you correct that again? - the other one is fine) and one of my little gullet doors don't close flush (how was that corrected again... where was the excess glue? - these threads move so fast, I couldn't find the solution back 10 pages!) Maybe we could start a new thread or pin these corrections to the front of this thread (along with sanding the rear backpack as to not scratch the black paint). I'd just thought for such an expensive toy, we wouldn't have to make all these corrections right out of the box! I am more critical of this toy because its a 50% increase in MSRP - I don't get a 50% increase in pay for doing nothing, I expect that much better quality or design. If it were a 5% increase or something geared to inflation, then I would expect the same quality as before. What if the cost of living just went up 50% - wouldn't people expect more or be more critical? No denying its a beauty, but that's got more to do with the original K design. I don't mind the plastic, its way better than the glossy finish which I think looks cheap & toylike IMHO. How come no one has mentioned the really low hanging down tilted gunpod, its almost touching the ground when the landing gears are out - if only the gears were a few milimeters taller. I find there is excessive gap on the back between back plate and intakes that really detracts from the aircraft mode - I was hoping that it was just mis-aligned, but it I see it in all the photos and now I see that its the design of the toy. Funny how some panels have a great tight flush fit like the little doors around the head, but you've got huge gaps at other areas. That collapsing side panels on the shield still creates a huge gap either side when they're extended - why create the collapsing panels when they don't even cover much when they are extended. It just seems unnecessarily complicated / over-engineered to the point that its more fragile than fun to transform. I wished there was a simpler canopy hinge that doesn't involve a partial transformation to just open or close the canopy or I really don't see why the tail fins needs that extra hinge to fold back that part, it really doesn't contribute to the look in anyway. Then on the opposite side of the coin, why not hinge the canards like the VF-4 instead of pulling them out and rotating them / a very non-elegant awkward (parts-former) solution. I just don't get it - what could the Arcadia engineers be thinking? The real lack of tampo printing really bothers me - especially when they chose to not include waterslide decals yet they do for their VF-1 releases. I have to give Bandai props for printing everything on the toy. Some panel lines are impossibly faint too (such as the grey stripes on the top). Overall, I'm happy they revisited the YF-19 (I never bought the original because of the fat gullet) but I'm not overly impressed with Arcadia. I was hoping for a VF-4 quality toy from here on out, but I'd say its below Yamato VF-4 and SDF-1 around the VF-11 quality - maybe even below Bandai VF-25 renewals as at least they are fun to transform and have everything printed on them AND INCLUDES A STAND (excluding the pre-ordering fiasco!). I no longer have as high hopes for the VF-0D... which is too bad. I just hoped the first new Arcadia toy would just hit one out of the park! I think a lot of people are letting Arcadia off easy because they spent so much for a toy (people tend to like stuff just because they spent a lot of money on it, its like self justification) - I on the other hand feel overly critical because they thought they could charge so much for a toy of this level. I'm glad I didn't get more than one, I had thought to get 2 since I actually think they really improved the Battroid mode the most but I don't feel they deserve my second purchase. I am "satisfied" with my one copy and will display it in the "This is Animation" cover configuration after I had corrected it, with decals, light weathering and panel lining - I just really wanted to be "over-joyed" with it. I think THAT was my biggest disappointment. Now please, can someone print true white and make us some aftermarket waterslide decals? Pretty please??!

I just bought a 1/700 PE parts set for a navy destroyer to detail up the Bandai GX-64 toy and it seems to have most of those parts (at least all the railing, landing and stairs stuff with grills that can be used for the radar too) - I wonder if there's a 1/500 set for some destroyer that would work (although 1/500 isn't that common of a scale for ships).

Yep, the VF-4 was the height of Yamato - its my favorite by far! It's what made me buy into the YF-19 sight unseen... however that's disappointed me a bit especially after the VF-4

Exactly my feelings too...

Do you mean recessing it? I prefer the fan face to be as far back as possible too! Overall, I am very impressed with the sculpt and shape. I only hope they can pull off the transformation mechanism better than the YF-19 with its share of problems. Also I hope the neck doesn't sag like the original VF-0 and locks in tight so I can swoosh it around the room. I am looking very much forward to this release! BUT PLEASE!!!! include water slide decals and a stand... would someone please tweet that in Japanese to Mr. K - the waterslide decals even more so than the stand (for me).

Thanks so much! That's perfect.

Hey does anyone have any pictures of the rear of the Yamato 2199 that shows any tiny white waterline / plumb markers at where the red meets the grey similar to those that are at the front end near the torpedo openings? I seem to remember seeing them there on some graphic, but can't seem to find it anywhere in my books or online - maybe I just imagined it or its from a pre-2199 shot I've seen somewhere. Thanks.

What? I never even got that option (I would prefer Registered SAL) - when I pre-ordered it, it only allowed EMS at NY and it was expensive EMS at that at 5,400Y. I also paid last Friday morning, and its still says its in Japan today (Dispatch from outward office of exchange). How long is EMS supposed to be anyways?

What made AmiAmi change their tune with you? Did PayPal contact them or was it just the threat of going to PayPal?

Well, I'm sorry for Mommar & Kicker, but this has opened my eyes to AmiAmi and I for one will not order from them again. I never knew about Nippon Yasan though, are they really worst? because they have been my saviour when it comes to Valks I can't get anywhere else. I haven't had any problems yet, so I wouldn't know if they had better or worst customer service - but now I'm worried. I'd love to get it from HLJ (even if I have to pay more) but lately, I haven't had any luck finding anything from them - I'm always too late. I think AmiAmi should know how much business they are losing because of their poor handling of the situation. Likely, they'll never know how we feel about them other than just through Mommar & Kicker. Yes, this does sour the new YF-19 - its too bad because I was hoping that Arcadia would come back better than ever! I really wanted to like the new company. Already, finding out that they did not including any extra tampo printing (Bandai has everything printed!) other than the bare minimum, the lack of waterslide decals, the lack of an included stand, no real improvement to QC and the hike in MSRP price already puts a sour note in my initial impressions while I wait for my toy. What really justifies their 100% jump in MSRP then? I guess being able to get away with it is now the new corporate profit policy. This has got to be one heck of a toy to overcome these initial impressions.

Glad you guys all got yours, well Nippon Yasan is letting me down... I paid for it right away last Friday and 6 days later, its still in Japan! EMS 5,400Y too?! The tracking still says "Dispatch from outward office of exchange" argh... I guess I'm not getting it this weekend... I didn't need it that fast anyways, I would have chosen Registed SAL, but NY didn't offer me the choice for this pre-order. Now that I paid for the "express" I was hoping to get that service!

What adds salt to the wound is that everything is so much more in Canada. The same item at Amazon.ca is often 100% to 200% more than the equivalent item at Amazon.com. The BMW M3 is $30K more in Canada than its US counterpart and that's before the taxes and fees. Even with the recent Canadian dollar at parity with the US for the last few years, we've still seen these horrible disparities, and as soon as our dollar loses 10 cents in the last year, the disparities get even bigger. I just feel like we're getting gouged every which way - and being Canadians, we're too polite to complain about it. We just got hit with a 40% hike in our gas heating bill (government approved) - I can't think of any other country around the world that would just sit idly by a 40% hike. ... argh, off my soapbox! Back to topic... I can't believe that this gunpod detail was overlooked! Seems like a good candidate for a 3D print by someone here on these boards... just like waterslide decals anyone?

You lucky duck! They NEVER miss me... You EVEN LUCKIER DUCK!!! that you got in on that deal...

Sorry about your customs charge... been there, done that! I really bothers me this extra levy we have to pay as Canadians. What did the government do to deserve this extra payment, if anything, they made it harder for us to obtain this toy - God forbid that there's no French on the Arcadia box?! Yep, that's why I go with Nippon Yasan now, its a little more 1,500Y ($15cdn) for the YF-19, but you save on the customs/duties when it arrives - I'd rather pay the store helping me get the toy than the government making it harder to buy these things for me. So sorry to hear about the problems Mommar & Kicker... its every collector's worst nightmare, I really hope you get it resolved.

What are you referring to? Did you make custom waterslide decals?

Paid 5,400Y for EMS from NY and it just got shipped today... NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! No waterslide decals or grey chest markings... this just gets worst and worst... It better be one hell of a toy! No one with aftermarket waterslide decals yet? I wished Anastazi still made his amazing decals... sigh.

You know April Fools ends at noon right?!

Thanks Falcon18 - I am really bummed out about the lack of waterslide decals. I really hope someone steps up to the plate to make some (I have laser printed my own in the past, but I just can't do the white letters on clear carrier film for the pilot - it generally works on a light background, but not on the black portions). Do the landing gears look a little short and stubby or is it just me?

There isn't a 2nd sheet of waterslide decals?... I'm bummed about that too! Damn right! I just got a "Preparation in Progress" e-mail update from NY...

I don't think so, the Live Action Movie Yamato is quite different (I'd jump at a model of that version!) http://www.gunjap.net/site/?p=68932

I remember building that back in high school... boy it brings back memories!

Woohoo!!! That gives me hope. Thanks EXO. Please if someone can actually confirm this, it would make my day! I'll probably find out next week, but its so nice, I haven't been so excited about a new toy in ages...