D_Unit

Hasbro & Takara-Tomy’s been giving the public what they want lately (instead of dishing out stuff they want the public to have). Plenty of awesome homages and some very nostalgic designs. Their transformations techniques have also become more and more innovative. I just wish the YF-19 & YF-21 fast-pack booster set was the YF-19 & VF-22S fast-pack booster set instead. Like how hard would that have been… as if there was an actual Yamato 1/60 YF-21 that didn’t come with fast-packs already. Well if I had to pick a gimmick, then it would be missiles that really shoot out/fire. That’s a 25+ year old gimmick for ya.

I got my payment confirmation from HLJ last week but never got an email verifying that my VF-22s was sent. I requested SAL shipping so maybe they don't send emails because there's no tracking number involved. Guess I'll just wait.

Pure gold.

I have one of those setup inside a track for photos. It sits on a sheet of cardboard so I can take it off to race my R/Cs. I have the track sitting on 2-plys of plastic table cloth so I can remove the track to play ping-pong/poker/other stuff. The ping-pong table splits in half and is carried away so I can play pool/snooker... saves a lot of space this way but also a lot of work (the diorama collects a of of dust over time).

Cool, at least it's not just me.

I ordered the VF-22S Gamrin Kizaki this morning and completed all the info just like every other time I've order from HLJ, but I've yet to receive an order acknowledgment from them. Has this happened to anyone else? My last order was during the free shipping and it went through right away.

Still 2 Tornado's left as of right now; below's the link. http://www.amiami.com/shop/?set=english&am.../e_display.html

Thanks to these recent posts I've finally decided to preorder the VF-27B and pass on the Tornado (booster pack+ vs. SWS-). I still think the Tornado is a terrific buy but my diorama is running out of space (and one Alto with the Tamashii exclusive fastpacks is good enough for me).

Oh yeah; that's the important thing... and both stores were eager to help. I think it's best to be patient, thing will usually turn out just fine.

Had my VT-1 with broken shoulders from HLJ right out of the box last December: - Emailed them and they tried to look for a spare part. - Waited till January after holidays and they told me to send the entire toy back. - The got the toy in February, got Yamato to fix it... and I got it back at end of February. - They credit me the shipping (cost me $69 to send it to them) to my credit card and it finally showed up on my statement last week. Got my Macross Quarter from AmiAmi with 1/2 off shipping: - I noticed that the left open hand was missing the ring finger. - I took a photo and emailed it to them. - They responded right away and sent me a replacement. - I got a new hand 10 days later (packed in a huge box). Bottom line: HLJ are good on their world but it takes a few formal steps to get stuff fixed (and it costs them a lot too). AmiAmi on the other hand seemed to be much more relaxed and accommodating; the heck with sending stuff back... they just take parts out and send them to ya.

Wow! Welcome Peaugh... love your TF reviews BTW. Now I get to watch some awesome Macross reviews too. Well I'm sold, just ordered the Quarter today (along with Ex Gear Alto, Alternity BB & CJ) from AmiAmi.

^Thanks... I waited and they emailed me back 5 minutes ago. It seems I'll have to send them back the entire toy after all.

I've got a damaged VT-1 Super Ostrich right outta the box from them in December. I was first told to send it back but then I got an email to wait so that they can look for the part for me "A.S.A.P.". I didn't get any replies yet and then they went on holidays. I've waited for a response and they should be back in business by now. I emailed them again twice and I still haven't got a response. I've never had a problem with them before but I did complain to them about them bumping my SAL order to EMS. I don't think anyone working there would be vengeful or spiteful and ignore my repeated emails (especially since I've been very patient so far). Does anyone know if they're all back in business and are responding to their emails? I've never had problems with HLJ before, but that's because I've never had a problem arise where I had to deal with them before. I don't want to risk sending them back my entire VT-1 Super Ostrich now... what if they decide not to reimburse the shipping... or even fix it and send it back to me? I know... the chances of that happening to me are slim to none, but I'm slowly loosing my patience with them.

Man, this thread brought back an embarrassing memory. About 11-12 years ago I was a young punk cruising around for girls in my V8. I had a stripped down Jetfire and like less than 30 Transformers. One of my ex's at the time showed interest in my toys and she pointed out the "Robotech looking" one. I got so excited that I drove all over town in search of an old chunky monkey so I could spend like $500 on it... the closest I got was a $300 offer for a complete Jetfire. Eventually I ended up at a specialty toy store that my friends and other toy retailers recommended. The owner told me he sold all his Macross stuff just a few months back. The only thing he had left was a complete 1/3000 SDF-1 (with box) for $100. Being the ignorant punk that I was I just walked away from disappointment. I thought my chance for redemption was finally at hand when Yamato announced their 1/2000. Now that it's too limited/bland/expensive to ever be in my collection... I think I should be doing some stretching exercises as I feel the need to kick myself in the head once more.

I've got more than enough room in my 7 1/2" x 3" x 3" enclosed diorama... and I would spend $2,000+ for a weathered-painted version (not just regular paint apps). But this thing is now a non-painted exclusive item. I'd rather pay for quality & quantity... not exclusivity. That and my horrific painting skills will quickly turn that $2,000 figure into a $20 figure. I'm planning on getting the Mac Quarter soon and I'm quite happy with my little WAVE.

^Thanks for the heads-up. I emailed them and their either going to find a replacement part for it or I'll send them back the entire toy for repairs/replacement.

God lord, another problem with my order: Yup, right outta the box it's freakin' broken like that. What the heck was Yamato thinking using plastic for that crucial part?!? is there anything I can do via HLJ when it comes to manufacturer's defects? I checked my VT-1 also, but that one's fine.

I got my Nora from eBay shipped for $190 CDN over 2 years ago (back when $CDN was worth more than $US). It's huge and it's beautiful. Extremely intricate to transform and it comes with the stand too. Right now it's $171 US ($180 CDN) shipped so yeah, it's still a good deal... definitely pick it up if you can. Edit... err, I think there's a better deal to be had below (10,254Y vs. 10,900Y): http://www.amiami.com/shop/?set=english&am.../e_display.html

Have anyone noticed that SAL is now available for the VE-1 & the VT-1... when initially during the sale it wasn't? I emailed them to ask why I chose SAL and they charged me EMS... only to provide SAL a few days later. They emailed me back with a generic message telling me that they specifically send EMS & SAL for traceable reason on products costing 15,000Y or more. Talk about the most retarded response ever (for reasons below): 1.) They wrote down both EMS & SAL... so what's their point, I wanted SAL!!! 2.) On sale, both products were under 15,000Y. 3.) The sent me products separately on SAL before. The total order was well over 15,000Y. 4.) Does that mean that when I buy 10 toys worth 1,500Y each (=15,000Y) that they'll charge me EMS too? I wouldn't have cared if they told me the truth that they just made SAL available for the two products because of demand, and that when I ordered it... SAL wasn't available. Instead, they just emailed me a generic message without even reading my email! That's is freakin' insulting. Oh well, it's the holidays and I'm having too jolly of a good time for this little incident to dampen my spirits. But suffice to say I'll probably be looking to other online retailers for my toys in the future. Angolz and AmiAmi have regular prices that are close to HLJ's sale prices.

Just got my order processed and shipped... they bumped me back to EMS (for the VT-1 & VE-1). I could have emailed them back and asked them to force SAL shipping (like what I did a few months back), but I'm way too busy and tired at the end of the year to put up an effort... oh well, there goes another $25.

I started to wait for clearance sales since the end of last year... but I made exceptions for a few Macross imports (I thought "for sure they'll sell out before a sale", but NO). So far I managed to get a few Macross toys at good discounts (30%-60%) and all my TF's from 30%-80% off. It was easier for TFs since the stock is local and abundant (my wait for them to go on sale is a meager month at the most... much less than the agony waiting for a Bandai or Yamato to go on sale). If this recession keeps up, I'll wait till my wallet collects cobwebs if I have to.

Sweet! I can't wait.

Oh dear God... just ordered the Elint Seeker & Super Ostrich. I was on the fence about buying anymore VF-1s but the pictures of the open viewable engines plus the fact that everyone on this thread seemed so dam freakin' jacked up about it... so I was like; what the hell, I'd do it! I selected SAL but they'll probably force EMS on me. I will NEVER-EVER buy another VF-1 again after this!!!

Hi Everybody: Just updating my expired post. It's been over a year since I have my hobby site up and things are doing quite well. Feel free to visit at the link below: http://loopydetails.com/ The Macross (and others) specific section is: http://loopydetails.com/index.php?/Macross-Robotech/ Take some time and check out the other sections also, maybe they'll be something else that will pique your interests. The site isn't very formal and I usually let things fly in my articles (so little kids beware).

Wow, just noticed your site now. That's some top-notch professional looking site you made there, the Flash work is exceptional.