D_Unit

My Mugen and Defender just arrived via SAL in just over a week. Packages were in great condition and no duty!!! Ya!!! I'm loving' HLJ right now.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I'm really excited about getting my stuff too. Can't wait till they have another sale.

I just got an email back from them. They're now sending SAL in 2 boxes. The shipping's only 2,860 vs. 4,980 (original EMS + SAL) vs. 6,400 (bundled EMS). I guess they thought I was a cheapskate after reading my email and decided to send the big, expensive, and heavy Mugen under SAL too?!? I'm glad in a way that I'm saving on the shipping but now I'm also kinda nervous about the safety of the Mugen.

Argh! I purposely bought my items separately so one can be shipped EMS (the only option) and the other one SAL. I got an email yesterday that they lumped them together (I emailed back but got no response for over a day now). The extra shipping's bad enough but now that extra large container's sure to be check by customs. At least the prices were good (and the $CDN is relatively higher). Oh the irony!

Looks like the Defender's not on sale anymore... there's 2 pages of Yamatos on sale vs. 3 from yesterday.

Yeah baby! Just got a Destroid Defender (35% off) and the CM'S Limited Mugen (70% off) from them. Very tempted by their 1/60 V2 VF-1's (but I'm got too many VF-1's already). I don't own the 25th YF19 but I got the beige version and it's been all good for me. The design's not the most flush or sturdy of the newer 1/60 Mac+'s but if you treat it with care (along with a bit of luck) then it's still a great toy to own. Edit: Yup, shipping is kinda the luck-of-the-draw when it comes to custom fees. HLJ prints out the full receipt; here in Canada, our customs officers randomly checks the products. So while the lower labeled eBay stuff never gets fees, I actually got away with no fees for more than 50% of my purchases from HLJ (oops... I hope I didn't just jinx my current order by stating so).

I personally think right now is a good time to buy a home if you have the money. In most parts of the world, real estate prices seems to be reaching a bottom... that doesn't mean it won't go down even more though. But economically; any drastically lower home prices and cities will likely crumble in the wake of lowering property taxes and higher maintenance costs. Just think, for the price of 1-3 years net salary of $50-$75G take home, you get to pay off a new home... laterally! I wish I could say the same for Vancouver Canada, where I live. Prices have dropped, but only moderately. My neighbor sold his home for $850,000.00 CDN ($740,000.00 US) which was 4 years older than mine and a bit smaller. My sis got her home a couple of years after me (and right before the retarded real estate bubble started) for $430,000 CDN; both of us are paying property taxes for homes accessed closed to 800G's... ouch! But let me please remind everyone in the rest of the world that a 800G to one million dollar home in Vancouver ain't what you think... it's the same as a $150G-$250G home in many cities in the US or other areas of Canada. My sis has less than 10 years left on her mortgage and I'm done with mine. Problem is, she's got a family now and I'm still all by myself... well at least I got the surly old man and my tenants (and my adorable little "boys" of course). Oh dam, I'm so freakin' bored and lonely I'm about to chug down my remaining bottle of scotch and run naked in the streets with an axe... oh wait, I gotta walk the "boys" tomorrow morning. To anyone else living in Vancouver I say, don't buy... if prices don't tank after the Olympics, then just move away... I'm sure you can live like a king in most parts of the world with $500G's or more. BTW: TD Canada/Waterhouse is where I invest my portfolio with. I don't bank with them but they do have the most competitive brokerage prices in my area of Canada and they have the most robust trading system. PS: I've noticed that most online toys stores are having sales. I just got my 1/48 Angle Birds & GBP armor for cheap (plus the $CDN is up now too). So besides saving money, just wait. I plan to get all my Bandai's and Yamato's later on. The plan has already worked for my recent TF collection; I got most of them for 1/2 price or less.

If I was in the position to make a choice I would literally dump my entire collection, then go travel and maybe even start a business of my own. From the time I stopped collect toys (after high school) till I started again (2001); I traveled, partied, made tons of friends, had way the heck too much s@x (actually… correct that; there's no such thing as too much s@x) and enjoyed life. In fact I think the only reason I started collecting toys again was that at the time I made a conscious decision to stay with one girl. I was so sure I made the right/permanent choice that I felt comfortable in starting a hobby and getting pets… and I don't mean by just aquarium fish, I also got dogs with my ex-GF. Personally, I'm dam confident that I am a real man. Since the day I was able to cook for my younger sibling (I was 9yrs old) I had to take care of matters on my own. I work hard enough and help others close to me enough so I can earn my right to do whatever I wanted. At lot of people like to talk about how mature and responsible they are, but in reality those who talk a lot - do the least. Many of my friends (including my ex) didn't appreciate the work I had to put in to accommodate them. From putting together venues, building websites, installing electrical devices, obtaining hard to get stuff (not drugs), etc… etc…, and I even help put my ex through college. Fortunately, I'm no longer associating myself to leaches or my ex (who wasn't really that bad). The guys I hang around now are a very competent bunch. The real reason why I'm so freakin' lonely right now (and less and less interested in collecting toys) are my dogs. I'll explain; first I love my boys more than anything in this world. I walk them, play with them, and tell them I love them every day. In a way, it's like being a single dad. A lot of people tell me I can go on vacation and just leave them with a doggie hotel or a relative; but since they wouldn't do that to their human children, why the heck would I do that to my boys? It might sound weird but I guess I'm looking for a new GF to be a mommy to my dogs. I would rather spend a day out with my boys than buy a new toy any day. But it's really hard to drive them out to a park and walk all of them at the same time by myself. I would like to say that I've had a fairly colorful/romantic/exciting life so far (maybe I'll write about it in my blog); but there's nothing I enjoy more than time with my boys. Recently, a good buddy of mine offered to help me take my boys to the park with me. I told him to bring his kids along; living in Vancouver, there are a lot of same-sex couples that frequent Stanley Park (our best park). The last thing I want is for the hot girls/ladies at the beach to think that we're an item - walking with our "kids" (the dogs). So for me at least; a happy family would be tops, an adventurous life would come second, and toy collecting would come after that. In that retrospect, there are actually very few important things that I would forego to buy Macross toys. But I'm proud to admit that one of the things I would forego is collecting other toys (Transformers, etc…); along with food, clothing, haircuts.

I hadn’t had to forgo anything yet. Besides still blowing my money on toys; I’m still playing video games way past midnight, still watching everything blockbuster (and non-blockbuster) movie released, and still eating & drinking like a pig. I even scrounged up enough to update my DJ gear (yes… I actually learned how to mix music correctly since last November). And stupidly enough, I dumped what was left into the stock market (that’s right, my portfolio’s down right now). I met up with an old high school buddy last week whom I haven’t seen for ages (he's married with a daughter now) and directed him to my website of hobbies. He emailed me and wrote about how astonished he was at my hobbies… I think he was more bewildered than impressed (well… at least he liked my mixes). Maybe it’s time for me to look for a girlfriend again so I can be broke and miserable. I’m not being sarcastic either… been feeling kinda lonely lately. PS: I have to mostly agree about the no sex is ever free part (and yes… my dad is the kind of guy who would say something like that). I mean there were the lucky one-nighters back in the day; but they also came with some bonus nasty stuff. Monetary wise, some girlfriends can cost a lot and others not at all. Unfortunately, oftentimes there’s an emotional toll. I’m soooo bored!

Also check if toxic drywall was used to remodel the new area. They stopped using the stuff since 2007 but a few may be still lying around. http://www.canada.com/news/Toxic+Chinese+d...7648/story.html

Thanks bro, you make some good points there. If I don't find someone I can always travel and volunteer. I don't necessarily have to have my own kids to make a difference in young people lives. And yep, the extra dough at the end of the month is a definite bonus.

Congrats to all you dads (and maybe a few moms) out there. Personally I've always loved kids and in one way or another have been "Uncle D" for all the kids from my family, friends and neighbors. It's always a big rush for me when I find bargain clearance sales for toys, I usually stock up plenty so all the kids (especially the less fortunate ones) get something for the holidays. Unfortunately, either by my own ignorance (as in been artificial) in the past or just way too high of a standard (as in the kindness and intelligence of a girl/woman) now... I am a loner. But don't feel pity for me; I've had long and meaningful relationships with virtually every race (and some short and non-meaning full ones too). I guess I should just prepare myself to live a lonely life until I die. I've already made plans to have my collection donated to charity when I bite the big one (just in case some smart-ass springs up and claims to be my spawn one day). That may be a while though 'cause I'm still relatively young (knock on wood). Well, I guess that means more toys to be given away then. Anyways, leaving a legacy to one's kids is great; but I think it's an even better goal to have one's children live their own lives and follow their own dreams. The toys will be there for them no matter what; but a life worth living is the best gift a parent can give to a child (I think).

Ya, it's an Escalade I got for $50 at Wal-Mart.

Thanks. BTW stram8777; I wonder if your wife has a hobby of her own. I find that woman seldom reveal that they have hobbies to men. Either the guy's don't listen or the woman drops her habits in hope that her partner does the same with theirs. I suspect this forums comprises of almost all males so it's hard to ask a female for her opinion here. I'm very fortunate to know (and respect) a number of older men and woman who have taught me that being mature doesn't mean you'll have stop being young at heart. Couples that play together stay together it seems. Besides, what exactly does growing really mean? Sure you're more responsible, but that doesn't mean you can stop having fun. I guess I'm still traumatized by my last GF (from fear - NOT from regret). I've always dated carefree people before but I thought I should end up with a mature and responsible person (man was I wrong). Anyway, I hope you'll have tons of fun with your new baby and your wife.

I'm not very good at putting models together or painting them. In fact the chances of me breaking down in an insane fit of rage, destroying the kit I was working on, then going outside on a mass rampage is very likely. It would be great the next time I visit my relatives in China to find a local artist that can paint/put together some kits for me. But since I much prefer diecast toys over nicely done models any day; I'd most likely to be paying someone for "adult" anime figurines instead (the hand painted ones are sooo much better/sexier than mass-produced versions).

Yamato can take all the time they want to plan their next move as far as I'm concerned. That'll give my wallet time to recover.

Their warehouse is a lot bigger and a lot cleaner than I though. I just got a $59 1/48 Angel Bird from them today to go with the $56 Urban Armor from Angolz. It's good to know when they have a clearance sale they'll likely have plenty of stock to pick from.

First off; congratulations! Now about the boxes; if you don't have a huge pile of them and don't expect to have a huge pile in the future, then it should be O.K. to keep them. Folding the boxes can work for those toys that don't have a large amount of clear plastic bubble containers inside that you may need in the future. If you have a garage then maybe you can stuff the boxes there so your wife has more space (mine's already stuffed with other junk). I crush almost all my boxes (except for Bandai S.O.C.'s, most Macross toys, and Masterpiece Transformers). But if you can believe it or not, that still takes up more than my closet (well, I do have some M.I.S.B. toys too). Now I have boxes and boxes of used toilet paper containers piling up in my collections room (full of folded boxes withing larger boxes). Below's a link to my collections room gallery, the last image is one of the boxes in my closet. That photo is from quite a while ago. I now have 10 of such boxes piled up in the room itself, I'm sorely tempted to just recycle everything. I hope you won't let your situation turn out this way. This mess is one reason why I'm now single (well, that and my ex-GF was kind of a hag). http://loopydetails.com/index.php?/expose.html?album=10

Man, I know she's got the "guns" but the mug on her face; I'm sure they could have done a better job on the head sculpt.

The Quarter and Iron Gear should be about the same height. It would be crazy awesome if the Quarter came with little Valks and Detroids like Iron Gear comes with all it's little bots. And yup, I think I would display them together; the Quarter would look way out of scale in my Macross/Robotech diorama. BTW, here's my review of Iron Gear (with images) for reference: http://loopydetails.com/index.php?/Core-Ar...ear-review.html

April Fools, that? Not gonna happen. If by an infinitely small and retarded astronomical chance that was to happen, Yamato would be committing the most colossal act of corporate suicide in the history of corporations. In other words... nice try. In this sagging economy, a more believable joke would be that Yamato will be giving away free GN-U's with an early pre-order of an SDF-1... that or free burgers at McD's.

The faded green parts look like they've been accidentally left out on the sun (and got bleached). I hope more people who gets theirs can post if theirs are the same or not. There's no way I can buy these if they look like that (I can't repaint worth crap).

Dang, sorry to hear about your situation miriya; I really hope things get better for you (& your boy), soon. Although I've personally been though some rough times (horrifyingly rough); the current situation that average people are suffering from seems much worst. When I was a poor kid things were cheap and inexpensive, and there were always kindhearted people that could afford to help. When I was a badass adolescent I always had my bros to back me up (or at least roam the streets with me when I had no place to go). But what's happening now seems systemic and hitting people from all walks of life. I don't think the kind of "salvation" that society used to provide is going to be around much longer if the economy gets any worse. Let's hope the upsurge in the markets is a sign of good things to come and not a "dead cat bounce".

Thanks. I realized early on that I wasn't collecting to impress anyone. I have a huge love for these toys (more like works of art), and I try to treat each one of them with care and a place all its own. Don't feel guilty about spending money on something you're passionate about (within reason that is). As long as you're collecting out of love (OK, that sounds a bit too much) and not for bragging rights, your soul will always feel full.

I made a appointment to open an investment account with a new bank tomorrow. After liquidating all my investments BEFORE the crash to settle all my debt, I'm going back in debt to invest. I don't know if I'm still up to it but I fell so helpless not doing anything (or maybe that's the best thing to do... nothing). Oh well, I promised one of my best buds that if I fail miserably I would give him the "last shirt" on my back. It's actually the only piece of clothing I had on (besides my ginch) during a very "traumatic" moment of my life - on the shirt I will write my name and the words "I suck" next to it. If by chance I make some good dough, I'm going to buy him a Hugh Hefner robe with his name embroidered on it. If I end up with a mediocre performance, I'll just buy him a cheeseburger. PS: Sorry to hear you lost your job Arthurius.