Slave IV

5 hours ago, shazam said:

Just asking for your motives my friend. If you love collecting that much by all means. It's your time and money at the end of the day.  I just don't understand the frequency of constant updates. 

I might be going out on a limb but did you read the title and description of this thread?

5 hours ago, shazam said:

Good to see another well rounded collection. For the most part I only keep my vintage items mint in packaging. In the past I have kept a lot of figures mint in packaging that are locked away in storage free from sunlight and humidity. It's only when I have had to check back years later to see some of those collectibles end up with "figure rot". No matter how much you intend on looking after these figures they still only have a shelf life. Not every figure you buy will be valuable, not even in the future. I stopped buying multiples of the same figure long ago. I might do it for an exceptional figure, but I am not investing into collectibles to sell in the future. I would much rather put that money into other figures or just keep my money for more useful things in life. I have never needed to "army build" with toy lines or collect every single figure that comes out. I just collect figures that appeal to me. It's good when you can buy what you want online. It is also satisfying collecting those hard earned items from faraway places like travelling interstate or overseas. 

 

With the exception of a few who are clearly in it to buy extras to sell for profit, I think most true collectors are buying extras for the sake of collecting them. I know one big reason I started buying extras is based on nostalgia, which is what most of this is all about. However, in this case it is a kind of negative nostalgia when I ruined some of my toys as a kid and wish I had an extra. Knowing how delicate some toys are and the thought of ever needing replacement parts or just because I really like something, I got into the habit of buying extras. Now that it's got to the point where I am beyond space threshold and also found that I have rarely broken any toys that I wasn't able to resolve right away, I'm pretty much done with multiples. Unless it's something really, really, really special that I definitely want extras of.

34 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I feel the same, but ultimately I am a sucker for mini diecast Macross figs...

Yeah, I always loved the little plastic super robot figures I had since I was a kid and even better when they are die cast.

23 hours ago, jvmacross said:

I guess Amazon.jp no longer has any more at the moment for PO...unless you are looking at another site?

My shipping total was just over 3400 for all three...but that was for priority shipping

Yeah, AJ must be done...NBD, I can wait and see on these as they are just a nice to have to me.

I'm seeing 8,000+Yen to ship one. No thanks for now.

2 hours ago, CollectorCanine said:

I've been looking and the old 1/55 "chunky monkey" Valkyries are all going for around $500 now, even the reissues are around $300-ish...

A 1/55 chunky monkey in bad shape is still $200. I refuse to pay that much for something that isn't PERFECT.

I feel like I've seen much better deals than that but I haven't looked recently so maybe that's the case and we need another reissue soon! Also, if you aren't looking to have a huge collection, it might make sense to get one in a larger scale. Since you love the Hikaru Strike VF-1S, I think there is another release of the recent DX mechanical edition so those may show up for a reasonable price. You can also look into the older 1/48 Yamato or 1/60 Yamato/Arcadia Valks. Besides the original, these are all still great options with each one still being great at different things. Again, I love the HMR line but the true greatness of that line is in the displayability of a large collection of them including the Enemy Mecha and Destroids. And the non-transforming mecha are the real stars of that line too...the scale works really well for them. If I was to only have one VF-1, I would not choose the HMR version mainly because it's not as fun to play with by itself and requires a lot more partsforming to get looks in different modes.

2 hours ago, CollectorCanine said:

As someone who has only been into Macross for about a month now, what would be the best Macross toyline to get into first? Especially for someone like me who doesn't have a ton of space and definitely cannot afford things in the price range of the DX Chogokin toys.

HMR are great, I have them all but if you are new to Macross and just starting, you might as well start from the beginning and get yourself a 1/55 “Chunky Monkey” VF-1. The finest toy ever made period and every collector of toys should experience at least one. You can get an original release or any of the reissues (and even some KOs). Depending on which one, they might be around the same price or less than an HMR and you don’t need to worry if it is slightly used. Even heavily used but well cared for copies could be in great condition to this day. 

Fix what? Bandai doesn’t make mistakes. 🤪

Less than a year ago, it used to be a normal thing for me to lose track of all the preorders I had and stuff would show up at my door almost daily. I’ve been cutting back heavily and keeping much better track so it came to me as a big surprise when I saw a payment come through on my credit card statement for a mystery “Macross” item. 

Couldn’t figure out what it was but I did buy a fancy cake earlier and it wasn’t until I noticed what the name of the cake shop was that the mystery was solved!

😆

If you don’t have one already, don’t miss out again!

Meanwhile... I'm processing the paperwork to open my own Macross toy rental company. 😜

14 hours ago, grogall said:

I honestly never collect things to have too sell them again. I collect to have them for display. This year I'm getting a new display case from USM-haller wich have enough room for all my Valk's and any future releases....

Man, I look forward to seeing this setup! Another thing I can’t bring myself to do is spend more for my display than the stuff it’s displaying but if got the means, I want to see it, lol!

8 hours ago, borgified said:

Macross up here in Canuckle Land is not big as Transformers from the start since Generation One (1980’s) and onwards and mostly likely the Bayverse Era helped that too. There’s also Gundam which was also super popular in the ‘90s. 
 

I’m pretty sure Transformers is bigger than Macross everywhere. Part of the problem we Macross collectors face is it is such a niche market. People always whine about “artificial scarcity” but if the market was big enough to warrant so many more products, there would be more made. 

4 hours ago, Paco Grande said:

Wouldn’t the attic destroy your toys pretty quickly? Mine is hot enough in the summer that it would melt toys for sure. 
I would rather see them go to a collector, even at a loss. 

Anyway I’m not sure what else to say. I will put an ad up and get nothing but low ball offers for months. Eventually I get fed up and take a low offer to get it out of my house. I just don’t have the storage space and I’m more about having money in my account than dusty toy boxes in the attic. 
 

And I have the same issue with Masterpiece Transformers. Mine are always super mint and I can barely give them away. I have one up for sale right now that I paid over $200 for. It’s barely been touched and is mint in box with all the parts etc. I have it up for sale for $100 and the best offer I’ve had after 6 months is $70. So I’m hanging on to it for now. I’m wondering if some of you have not actually tried to sell anything recently? It may be worse than you think out there. Most people are barely getting by so expensive toys are pretty far down on the priority list. 

It was kinda a joke or figure of speech meaning I’d rather let them rot than to essentially pay someone to take them from me. I get you are getting some money back but I look at it as whatever loss you take is how much you just paid someone to take your toys from you. So yeah, I’d rather give them away to some kids or something or literally let them rot. But like I said, I get it and everyone has got to do what they gotta do. I’m the one sitting in a house that’s literally packed to the brim with boxes of toys so that’s my own heaven/hell. lol!

4 hours ago, Paco Grande said:

I have sold a few DX valks. I have limited display space and decided to focus on TV only. So I sold my movie figures. My experience is that people in my area are cheap as hell and refuse to pay anything decent for these things. Less than Japan MSRP and I always have to pay way more to get them. So I’m selling at a massive loss which is very disappointing and makes me question my toy collecting. I wish it were easier to get these things closer to MSRP.  I typically pay more than $400 CAD for DX VF-1 figures and I’ll be paying over $500 CAD for the DX YF-21 and if I sell them I won’t be able to get more than $250. 

This makes it even worse! Not only are you selling Macross items, you’re doing it at a loss? That’s essentially paying people to take your Macross from you. Can’t fathom the thought. I’d rather let it rot in my attic than do something like that, lol!

1 hour ago, Paco Grande said:

OK and what does this have to do with my situation? I have a wife and kids and I cannot display my toys in the shared areas of the house. Macross is not my first collecting priority so I have very limited space to display them. So sometimes some have to go to make room for others. To be clear I don’t intend to sell anything. But sometimes I need to sell to make space for something I want more. All I’m saying is that of all the things I collect, Macross depreciates the worst by far and it’s because of Bandai’s ridiculous consumer unfriendly tactics. 

I don’t get this either, if anything it seems like Macross appreciates better and more consistently than most other toys lines as a whole. sometimes it takes a while but once items are mostly depleted from secondary market sales, the clearance shelf warmers often become the most valuable probably because there were less of them to begin with and Macross collectors are so few in the scheme of things. 
 

But I get you gotta do what you gotta do. 

21 hours ago, Radioguy said:

I still can't wrap my mind around the idea of that. I still wish I had more Yamatos.

I’m with you but more to the point of not being able to grasp the idea of getting rid of any Macross. 

2 hours ago, Mommar said:

Oh, you're the other guy who likes Gerwalk!?  I thought I was alone.

8 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I'm with you guys. I love GA-OH-KU! It's what makes Macross -- MACROSS.  

Yeah, it’s the perfect thing. Can’t decide between Fighter or Battroid mode? Why not both? It really is the single best thing about Macross among many other great things. 

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Overall I still love it and got two.

This is a sweet Gerwalk pose.

Yep, I already plan to have mine displayed in Gerwalk mode most of the time. Gerwalk is my favorite mode overall for most walks anyways since it is one of the main things that made Macross mechs stand out to me in the first place.

Panel Formers are the WORST! One of the things that always put Macross over Transformers for me was the "realistic" transformations that at least had some consideration for how something like that would work in the real world. The way most Transformers, especially MP style toys are these days, I don't even want them and have pretty much stopped buying them completely because of the recent Panel madness going on. It's such a cop out...anything can transform into anything if you have endless folding to force it into whatever shape you want.

50 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

I do wonder how they went from selling out on pre-order day to now having 17 more available for pre-order?

I don't really see that happen with pre-orders from AmiAmi or HLJ, as far as I am aware. 

Also, as discussed recently, it’s a completely different process. HLJ and Amiami don’t get any TWE preorders to begin with and anyone who does, is able to based on how many they are able to buy direct from Bandai just like any other individual. So the shops that do offer any can keep offering as long as they can secure more. A standard retail item usually has a set amount allotted for each shop that is predetermined. 

1 hour ago, grogall said:

Have you tried this stand with a DX and Super/Strike parts? or anyone else? Would like to know if they hold!

This style of stands are the best you can get. Check the yeti stand thread for examples of what it can do. Depending on how you configure, it can easily handle multiple Valks with super parts.

8 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Anyone who's actually owned or owns an Arcadia VF-OS or D can attest to how good Arcadia CAN be when they try. Bandai impresses me less and less these days honestly. Mainly the DX stuff. HM-R stuff is/was really good when it came out. 

The VF-0S and D PF are pretty much the best Valks ever made. Only with they had better hands or came with other hands but not a big deal at all. 

32 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

They've made a big difference for my displays. I now have options for Fighter, Armored Fighter, Gerwalk, and Battroid. Those last two work with or without armor. Fighter required a separate adapter for each.

Really nice!

But he was answering his own question. Implying he was curious what the lowest price anyone was able to obtain one for.

I estimate around $275 for mine by the time I ship it from hlj.

4 minutes ago, rematron said:

To be clear, I love Arcadia products. Anyways, this is why I stated that Arcadia “tweaked” molds. While the SV-51 and VF-19 and VF-0 are not the same molds as Yamato, they are still based on Yamato’s molds and the transformations are basically identical. Arcadia just went in to try to improve them. That seems substantially easier than engineering and creating a perfect transformation from scratch. The VF-5000 is such a design. How many Macross mechs has Arcadia designed from scratch? 

In that sense, maybe all of them? Aren’t they basically the same designers and key people from Yamato? Plus, there is always T-Rex that seems to design for everyone doing high end transforming Mecha. 

2 hours ago, WhatBoutMyStar said:

I must be one of the lucky ones that hasn't had any issue with the legs detaching on any of the 3 DX VF-1s that I have when transforming them, which granted isn't that often and I've only unpegged that lock once (when I first got the 1J) to check out the waist swivel feature only to think, eh not worth it, and never used it again on any of my VF-1s. I can can  sway the figure mid-transformation back and forth and it stays locked with the legs attached. The only annoyance I have w/ the DX is the leg fins easily getting moved or falling off. Otherwise, I think they are significant improvement over the older Yamato 1/48 and Yamato/Arcadia 1/60 VF-1s that I have.

My DX VF-1s don’t have the legs falling off too easy either. My main complaint about them is their fit and tolerances feel sloppy. Look and articulation are great but the v2 1/60 feels like a much more refined and quality piece in hand even though it’s lighter with much less metal content. Heck, even Bandai’s own HMR feels better than the DX in similar ways. 

1 hour ago, Anasazi37 said:

This is particularly true in Fighter mode. I designed an adapter for the Archi Stand and had to do some clever engineering to make sure that the back-heavy weight was distributed well and that the arms don't drop down when the armor and gunpod are attached. They don't "peg in" as securely on the Yamato as on the DX when the legs are lowered to accommodate Super/Strike parts. 

I still need to get some Yamato adapters at some point to get my display set up ideally. 

The Yamto 1/48 is a pain to handle with super parts because its just too much stuff for the frame. But it looks great when all setup! That's the other thing with Yamato is it still looks better in some ways and modes. As for overall handling, I'd argue the Yamato 1/48 still has the most pleasant transformation out of them all except the OG Chunky. You can easily transform it into all modes quickly and with no fiddly parts that fall apart.