Slave IV

I ordered the MegaHouse M7 figures but if they made Banpresto equivalents, I would have definitely preferred that route.

40 minutes ago, eggy99 said:

I'm disappointed that Bandai killed off the Walkure S.H.Figuarts line after Freyja and Mikumo. They teased the rest of Walkure, and then nothing, which is probably due to the poor sales of Freyja and Mikumo.

We did get a full set of Walkure Kuju figures though, which I think the special LAST prize was Mirage in Walkure idol costume, and some members here were able to obtain the full set. They looked OK for that quality level of figure.

Bandai also released Figuarts Zero of Freyja, Mikumo and Mirage I think, and those also didn't sell well... shelf warmers to this day on HLJ (maybe they're been cleared finally in the recent sales this year).

I remember Ranka and Sheryl got soooo many figures from many manufacturers. Walkure just didn't take off the same way Ranka and Sheryl did.

I'm hoping for some new premium Macross Frontier and Delta figures with the release of the new movie.

Mirage Figuarts Zero was the first Macross figure statue I ever bought and I vowed never to buy another after I got that. After seeing other options including the Banpresto, I again say that those are worth it to me if they have characters/looks that you want. The Figuarts Zero Mirage cost 5-6 or even more times more than the Banpresto versions and there is no additional quality that I perceive as worth paying any amount more for. 

I would have paid or the SHF Walkure figures if they ever came out with them but now I'm kind of glad they didn't and I got Banpresto for much less. These idol figures are just display accessories for my Valks and I really don't need articulated figures or high end, precious material statues of them. If they make more SHF, give us "action figures" like that Britai they teased!

Yeah, Banpresto are some of the best value statues out there imo. I don't really like buying statues but when I do, I think the quality and look of Banpresto is more than good enough especially for the price.

3 hours ago, sqidd said:

Me too!

I have one full blown project car left in me. I'm not sure what I want to do. The current choices are:

-77' Bandit Trans Am restomod with a big inch LS with a blower, 6 speed manual, big brakes, big suspension, etc. All the amenaties, etc. I'd probably use a 77' AT nad a recent Camaro (wrecked) as the donor. 

-67' Ford F-100 made into an extenda cab on a custom tube chassis sporting a 800rwhp GT500 motor and one of the 10 speed auto's out of the new Mustangs. Again, all the amenities. Something that would be nice to drive cross country.

-Mad Max Interceptor replica with a 800rwhp GT500 drivetrain in it. And again, all the amenities. 

If I was smart I'd sell all of the motors, transmissions, blowers, rear ends, etc I have and get a 2020+ GT500 Track Pack and leave it stock. Or a C8 Corvette.....and leave it stock. I'm not smart though.

Smart is for dummies!

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

Your car collection is coming along nicely!

19 minutes ago, Special Sauce said:

When you get a chance would you mind showing off some of it's posing capabilities with some pics?  Not a big deal if you can't just curious if I want to get into the line.  

Just watch this video.

The poses they show at the end sold me instantly!

2 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

Wasn't sure where else to post this so I figured I'd do it here.  Have a chance to get a GX-71 Voltron set brand new for retail and as a lover of the original cartoon and seeing raving reviews on it I think I might pull the trigger.  Does anyone on here have it and what are their thoughts on how good of a toy it is?

I don't like Voltron. But that toy is so good, I had to get one just as a collector of great toys and super robots. No regrets at all, it is excellent.

2 hours ago, peter said:

Dug my chunky out. The box isn't in the best shape, but the toy itself  basically stays in the box in a dark room. 

Such a breeze to transform the old chunkies, lol! 

The other 1J Hikaru in my collection (Hasegawa 1/72 1J).  Building models has really pulled me away from toy collecting the last few years. 

Cool! But that 1/55 is ugly in comparison. You should give it away!

Just kidding! You NEED to keep that for your collection!

5 hours ago, peter said:

Lol, it's a reissue, those things aren't worth much are they?

 

No, that’s why you should just give it to me. 😁

2 hours ago, peter said:

Packing is awesome, the best of any DX toys so far, love the windows to look at the toy without opening the box.  Lol, didn't even read the Engrish, hahahahaha!

Is anyone else anal like me and carefully peels the sticker seals off, and also tries to remove the glue residue? 

I'm anal in another way, removing the sticker or residue would mean my set is incomplete. Thankfully, the stickers Bandai uses are easy to peel without damaging anything so I just peel them to open and then stick it back when I'm done.

3 hours ago, peter said:

I can't believe I bought one of these.  I've been on a model-building frenzy the last few years and can't really appreciate toys anymore, but I felt compelled to get this one (and a few other DX toys lately too)......instant gratification I guess.

I totally missed the boat on the first 1J DX, saw it at a used shop in Japan, passed on it even though it was a good deal. 

The only other 1J toy I have is the 1/55 chunky re-release that someone gave me, but it's sitting in the box, collecting dust. 

Never had a GBP toy, or a decent model so this is sort of my first.  

What can I say, it's massive, and it's got some weight to it, lol!   

Beautiful picture! BTW, if you need somewhere to get rid of that old 1/55 junk, LMK and I'd be willing to take it off your hands.

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

It's THAT good. You're going to love it.

Looking forward to it!

46 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Holy craptastic this thing a LOT of figure! Especially for the money!

This is how big and nice Metal Builds should be IMO.

 

Oh nice! I have one of those on order. I usually don’t buy random stuff like that but it looked too good and the preview promo videos they had sold me. 

Can you just not peg that in all the way? I don’t remember the last time I was worried about how the bottom of the crotch looked on any of my GBP armored Valks. Naked Valks on the other hand…🤣

22 minutes ago, lavinrac said:

That makes sense, but I don't know enough about light spectrums and UV to know if the indoor overhead fluorescents can cause yellowing. The room I use has blinds that are always shut. Maybe the yellowing is just inevitable from the plastic used. I'm SURE i can find a thread on THAT.

 

Fluorescent lights do emit some UV. There are a lot of factors that have definitely been talked about in many threads but I don’t think there is any scientific fact that has shown to prove your figures will or will not yellow. Even variances in the plastic mix on your particular figure could make a difference. But in general, cutting out all UV and giving your figures space to “breathe” seem to help prevent yellowing in most cases. Detolfs aren’t really sealed all around so even if you put film on it, UV light will still get in so it will help but not sure if it’s the best method. To me, it always makes more sense to block out from the source. So maybe putting film over your light fixtures or using different lights if you can. 

2 hours ago, lavinrac said:

Tell me if there's a better thread for this. But this looks like a good place to ask about MODDING Detolfs...

Has anyone tried, or had success, with putting UV film (like in car window tint) on your detolfs to help avoid yellowing of plastic in the toys? 

 

It’s been talked about but it probably makes more sense to put the film on the window of the rooms where sunlight might reach it.

18 hours ago, leeboo1211 said:

Nice! I've been thinking about this... Not much good GITS merch around. Only got a ijiban kuji Major. Wish they had more Batou stuff, or the OG spider tank from the movie which is still my favorite design. 

51 minutes ago, CrossAir said:

Oh yes, if MegaHouse would release the spider tank with Batou in matching size I would be all-in! 

Yeah, I like the stuff we've been getting but wish they would make some original movie toys. Movie style Motoko and tank would be excellent!

6 hours ago, vlenhoff said:

 

Congratulations! I was never able to complete it.

This was my dream in Masterpiece form, but I can't bring myself to buy Hound, and I think Grapple/Inferno are too small. Maybe I am being too picky. What's the best Jazz in the after market world? and Mirage? Hoist? Meh, I give up.

Being picky is good. Don’t settle for placeholders. IMO, there are no “best” MP style Jazz or Mirage yet so it’s better to just wait until there is if you want them or any other characters. It’s not like they are going anywhere. 

Part of why I love collecting Macross is that I don’t feel any of my Macross toys since the original 1/55 can be considered placeholders. They are all great for different things with very little to no compromises considering when they came out. Now, there are some pretty crappy Macross toys out there but I don’t own many of those because…see beginning of my post. 

1 hour ago, rsvictor1976 said:

I got a question about these Macross Delta Valkyries, I used to get the older Macross Frontier toys and was dissapointed in how loose the joints got right away. I even purchased the Renewal versions of some of the toys but was still dissapointed. Since then, I stayed away from Bandai Macross toys until the 1/48 SDFM VF-1J came out and have been buying those. What are your impressions of the Macross Delta toys? They look similar to the Frontier toys and I assume they have the same issues. 

The Delta Valks are the beginning of Bandai starting to make better Valks.

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

So "premium finish" is just the company pre-decorating the model in paint rather than labels for the customer?

bleh.

Could be a combination of tampo printing and weathering, panel lining and other deco applications. Adding the decals alone would take hours to do nicely so that alone is worth the price for those who care about the details. Personally, I’m fine either way and prefer they just make one version and leave it at that. 

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

I like it.

XTB Youth Version Crackup, Overheat, and Deathwish.

Those boxes are great!

22 minutes ago, sqidd said:

After I got my stands I put some brain power toward seeing if I could think of a design I liked more. I couldn't come up with anything that didn't have a different set of compromises. A "push" if you will. 

The "fantasy" adapter would be something clear like the stand. It may be possible to do it by machining out "billets" and then sanding/polishing the crap out of them. You wouldn't be able to get every surface though. And it would be time consuming as all get out. Which means huge $$$$$. The other option would be molded clear plastic. That really would be a fortune. Molds are big, big bucks and only make sense if you're churning out tons of units. 

@ChaoticYeti got the adapters as good as they're going to get without a massive jump in price.

Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. He did start making them out of "clear" material towards the end, which didn't end up very clear but still better than grey or black. Molded clear plastic isn't very durable and "billet" would be going overboard for our purposes so yeah, we already had the best option with today's technology.

Cool! Well I totally agree that nothing should be done without his blessing. He changed our world when it comes to stands! Also, I know he put a lot of R&D into the parts so if not needed there is no reason to come up with something new. Then again, it's not rocket science and maybe someone can come up with some better designs for adapters?

Thanks for stepping up @sqidd! Only thing for me and I think even you is we prefer clear stands. While it has potential to have a different look that might be cool, I don’t really want a bunch of my Valks on steel stands. Same reason I only bought 2 of the recent Arcadia launch arm stands, as cool as they are. So I guess I’d be in for one or two. 
 

Would the adapters be the same…3D printed using the @ChaoticYeti designs?

Way to put it into perspective @tekering!

And here I am thinking they are all great products. I still think the Yamato 1/48 is the best all around to fiddle with because of its easy and groundbreaking transformation. I think the Arcadia 1/60 are overall better quality than the Bandai DX (essentially, the best overall quality VF-1S ever made). And I think the DX is a nice step in the right direction for VF-1 toy development. And of course, the 1/55 that started it all is still the best toy ever made. 

The figure looks gorgeous! 

It's interesting that the missile caps on the arm don't seem to come off when they do in the hips. Also, I wonder if any of the missiles are removeable but I guess not since it hasn't been mentioned.

Oddly, the most impressive thing to me is the wings actually lined up well on the copy used for that review.