Slave IV

3 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Maybe crossed wires and thinking of the VF-0S HMR Max?

But yeah, they'll do weird one-off schemes sometimes, but I'm sure it's dependent on how well the base mold has sold.  The ridiculous abundance of YF-29 repaints is honestly staggering compared with everything else.

Oh yeah, that's it. I knew there was something of his.

1 minute ago, twich said:

YF-29 Max is from second Macross Delta Movie, so it is very much canon.

Twich

Thanks for the reminder. For some reason I thought it was something else. Gotta watch again when it comes to D+.

6 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

Well, tbf, all that stuff is kind of non canon or outsourced designs. Bandai pretty much only deals in mainstream canon when it's not gundams.

Even then, they won't even complete a line up of all the mechs from any specific gundam show. Even one offs for very popular designs from their own side stories is a big maybe at best.

There's also weird stories of japanese copyright issues too. A game studio or magazine, or even just a seperate department of the same company, could tangle up IP ownership and stop someone else from using a design somewhere down the line. Even anime cannot legally use their own titles after a season ends. That's where you get weird titles with extra exclamation marks or random new wording when a new season comes out. Gintama for example, with all the seasons full of punctuation marks in their titiles, had to even be "moved to a whole new animation studio" in name at some point, because of strange legalities. They had to move from Sunrise to Bandai Namco Pictures, just to make a sequel with the exact same staff. Both studios are still just under Bandai Namco, so none of this makes sense to the average sane person.

Gundam sentinel for example is supposedly written and therefore owned by a magazine. So everytime the ExS Gundam is in a game, the pilot has to be faceless, because Bandai has no rights to him.

I'm sure Hasegawa is willing to jump through all sorts of funny hoops to get a niche model kit out, but Bandai is too big a boat to expect navigating such niche matters for IP that isn't even their own, as much as I'd like to see them do it.

They've done a few non-canon valks. 

YF-29 Max, VF-1S Messer, Anniversary VF-1J,... I'm sure I'm forgetting more.

9 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

Thanks.

Now I'm tempted to ask for it, but the risk of extending this loop of multi month correspondence... I wonder if I can intercept my own email, since they check email in large batches at a time it seems. Maybe I'll ask anyway, if they haven't magically responded very fast this time.

I think they responded fairly quickly but I'd have to check my emails. But since you're going for surface shipping, no hurry right?😜

21 minutes ago, PointBlankSniper said:

It seems crying about it here has magically worked. YYK finally responded saying they are very understaffed while having a big boom in business. Shipping fees look real hefty with no surface option, but they have offered to cover half of it to compensate for all the delays in correspondence. Now to wait for them to actually charge me and reach the point of sending the box out... Let me keep on crying till we get to that point. 😭

Just for reference, anyone know if YYK normally offers slow boat shipping at all? They quoted 8k-9k yen (18k DHL doesn't count, wtf) for the various shipping methods, at the weight of 3000g. It should include the YF-21 and a master grade gunpla. Do those numbers sound right? I would think that is within the weight limit for surface shipping, but it doesn't seem like they offer that service at all.

It's not published but when I ask for it, I get surface options and there shouldn't be a weight limit for surface since it technically can support the largest shipments possible. My VT-1 is currently at sea courtesy of YYK.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Non-transforming mecha don't do much for me.  I've never really cared for the Destroids,

I used to think the same way about Destroids and also thought the whole HMR line was a joke in general. 

Then I decided to try a Regult since I thought it would be nice to have one enemy Mecha represented in my Macross collection. It was so good that I felt I needed a Valk from the line to go with it. When the Destroids came, I didn’t care much but ended up getting a Monster and was completely blown away by the quality they put into it. Same goes for the rest of the Destroids. I guess since they don’t transform, they are able to put extra effort into making them really, really good. The smaller scale actually caters to them being so good and you’ll be blown away by the details and joints on them just from a toy lovers perspective even if you hate their designs. 

Anyways, point is I thought the same way you did and it’s the Destroids and Enemy Mecha that sold me on the line to the point where I have every single release now and multiples of most of them, plus a lot of the non-Macross HMR. Just because of those non-transforming Macross Mecha that I used to not even pay attention much to. 

17 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Funny you mention it, I just bought the DYRL VF-1S Strike from a board member, @Reni  We worked out a deal good enough that I bought the VF-1J with GBP armor from him while I was at it.

I saw, and despite bought three HMRs in less than a month already I'll probably pull the trigger on that. After that I'll probably have to let my wallet cool off a bit, but I'll probably get the VF-2SS eventually, too.

(I just wish I had some better skills as a customizer, too. Then I'd repaint the red or blue on the VF-2SS, as some black stripes to the wings, put some black and yellow on the stabs...)

Now that's it's already too late for you and your wallet, you might as well look into getting any or all the Destroids and Enemy Mechas to really get the hype of this line!🤣

I don't have anything recent but throwing in some old pics for motivation:

1 hour ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I've partially rectified the error of my ways and added two GERWALKs to my display while I added in a couple of the new ghosts that I completely forgot I had until today. 

 

Ah, much better! Less excuse, more gerwalk!😁

8 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Finally got a new display case for my Macross collection. The old old one had a door shatter into a million pieces and I had moved my stuff into detolfs for temporary housing, but remained like that for years after. This new one has adjustable shelves and a metal frame so I don't have to worry about the whole thing collapsing should a side panel break somehow. 

Only 1/60 scale stuff inside the case. I plan on finding some display boxes to put some of the stuff on top of the case in.

Got a replacement door from a local custom glass shop and repurposed the old display case for my 40k stuff.

I really like that new case you got for the 1/60s. The metal frame actually looks very clean.

But…I find your lack of Gerwalk disturbing. 😉

$30, not bad but limited space makes it not too appealing to me. Maybe I’ll get one or two to put in a corner above my detolf someday. 

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

That really is the dancing elephant in the room.. when was the last time Arcadia sold a VF-1 that wasn't a DYRL VF-1S?  The last ones I got from them were the PF M&Ms and VE-1, which all happened over five years ago now.

Can they just not even justify producing anything but those two specific VF-1S versions now?  I might even bite at a PF version of either if they did them.

They've done the PF YF-19, VF-0D and VF-4A in the interim, but those are where they started raising the "premium" in their PF releases to include weathering and panel lining, and I was just crossing my fingers they'd get around to the VT-1.

I'm absolutely not expecting the ThreeZero releases to ever even attempt most of the schemes Yamato did back in the day though.  Considering the Robotech branding, I'd be very surprised for them to even dip into the DYRL designs at all, which knocks strike packs off of the menu.

They did do the GBP but again, that count's towards another HikaRoy reissue, lol! The last other VF-1s were M&M 1Js and those, including the PF versions were on clearance for years - I think you might still be able to find some in stock somewhere, haha. We, as hardcore fans love those versions but it just goes to prove there aren't that many of us in the world willing to pay over a relatively short time. Sure, after they are out of print for years, the few die-hards who missed out or just got in the game at that point will be willing to pay insane prices, which is justified at that point due to the rarity and low volume of them that exist in the first place.

I don't expect 3Z to do anything outside of SDFM either and have doubts they will make it past their M&M teases themselves if they even make it to those. But if so, we can maybe hope for Max, Hayao and some brownies?

I hope Arcadia sticks around as well but might be tough given the market now. Their VF-1s (and the rest of their Valks) are still among the top notch ever made but I don't see any point in them updating the VF-1 with the 3Z out and almost the same scale, at this point it makes more sense to just buy those and hope they have enough support to do some of the decos we haven't seen in that scale since the Yamato days. Problem with all that is, the market must be so low for all those other decos or Arcadia would have done them a long time ago instead of continually reissuing HikaRoy Valks.

24 minutes ago, seti88 said:

I do think arcadia would benefit greatly with some runway space, to focus on lifting up their brand and P/L. They must be under tremendous pressure to keep their margins, just by looking at their announcements and delays.

Hence, i would edit bezos out and insert in a Japanese billionaire, who is a macross fan, knowing the japanese inclination to keep IP's in the hands of their own countrymen....😅

If you put it that way, I guess a few billion dollars couldn’t hurt most causes, lol.

20 minutes ago, seti88 said:

What if some company bought another company and....nah....

If only bezos is a macross fan...arcadia could use with some capital injections...

Nah, part of what makes Arcadia so great is because it is made by fans who do it because they love to. If they get bought out by some corporate entity, they would be more like…Bandai. And since profit is the primary goal of corporate entities, they probably wouldn’t be looking at investing in a company that pretty much only produces Macross or even more niche figures. 

Looks great @Pontus!

8 hours ago, Robin-11 said:

Arcadia's touch. Something Bandai will never achieve (and i own a lot of Bandai DX).

This is exactly what I was going to say. 

1 hour ago, MKT said:

I've only one 1/60 VF-4 being displayed for years (the same one in pics elsewhere), and it has never been brought out of Fighter. It comes together so well in that form, that I have irrational fear if I transform out of it, it may never go back as tightly in Fighter.  

I get it but that’s part of Arcadia’s touch just mentioned. It will go together perfectly again. Sure, you’ll lose some missiles along the way but the fighter itself, perfection! 

Tried to take a better shot of the toy for fun but didn't get what I was going for.

Maybe next time...

6 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Are you leaving on the piece of clear plastic that's under the heat shield?

I just haven’t taken it off yet. 

And just to prove my point. Battroid locked in place without that clear piece:

No silly gap or looseness from the side:

Just got mine and it’s another great addition to the HMR collection!

The only thing I don’t get is the tiny clear part that is supposed to “support the ghost in Battroid mode”. The only thing it seems to do is prevent the Battroid torso to lock in place making the whole thing less stable and look loose from the side because it is completely loose. What’s the point of that when I can just leave it locked in place and therefore supported better? So, the one thing I did notice is since the backpack is folded down, it can come in contact with the nose but that actually just provides even more support so again makes that clear piece pointless. The only way that part would make sense to me is if it had pegs that connect to the nose so it locks in both sides just like before (but you still lose the swing bar lock, so still less stable than just not using it). 
 

Am I missing something here?

9 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Just to answer, @seti88. I'll only participate if it bundles with Super Parts. 

What, and miss out on two preorder madnesses?🤣

1 hour ago, tekering said:

I certainly meant no offence, and I thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt. 🙏

I imagine most of us here (the so-called "Robotech generation") are middle-aged men now, and even those of us who aren't pushing fifty are nonetheless past our prime.  My vision isn't what it was five years ago, and I certainly don't expect it to improve...!  😬

I wonder how soon the products catering to collectors of our generation start to reflect the aging market, and how they're likely to change as a result.  Kawamori himself is only six months from mandatory retirement, and without his direct influence I don't expect future Valkyrie toys to maintain the same level of quality... 🤔

Perfect timing to bring back the Chunkies!

I love the clear parts and final product looks good to me. It would be cool if they did a matching GBP but also annoying since I skipped this release and that would make me want it a bit more.

On 6/16/2024 at 2:38 PM, m0n5t3r said:

Your comparison reminded me of this from jenius' site...

*picture borrowed from www.anymoon.com

Mystery solved! Bandai copied the wrong version!

I feel like I recall something about the DX VF-1 hands possibly fitting or easily made to fit the Arcadia VF-0? I could be wrong but that was the first option I thought of.

Yeah, I think the reason they redid the whole thing was because they were aware of the issues of the previous version. Just be aware of the hip issue that may exist in some early releases that @MKT mentioned. Also, the only complaint if any for the Arcadia VF-0 is it doesn't come with fixed pose hands so they do use the small articulated hands. I haven't had any issues with mine but would just look better if they included some options.