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technoblue

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  1. technoblue
    Yuck. I would send them a message. I know a couple members have received this one from HLJ already.
  2. technoblue
    You're welcome, B! Thanks for reminding me about the DYRL VF-1 Cannon Fodder. The one I have is currently wearing armor and I didn't include it in the photos, but it's almost like the TV version. The differences are very minor. I think it doesn't have Prometheus on the tail fins. And it's interesting that you bring up being tempted to sell it, because I'm also finding myself tempted to sell off parts of my collection lately. Mostly, I'm thinking of cutting down on what I own from the later series like Frontier and Delta. The VF-1 is where it's at for me.
  3. technoblue
    It looks like I have more of a vested interest in the SV-51 reissue today. I noticed that a crack had developed in the plastic of the left leg when I went to transform my copy to fighter mode this afternoon. Oh well. Nora had a good run guarding various other collectibles around the house. The Doctor will remember her fondly for the work she did while guarding the TARDIS. I'm going to to see if I can use an adhesive to fix the stressed/cracked parts back together again. There is one fold of plastic hanging on, so the break isn't complete. If it isn't something that takes to adhesive easily, then I'm going to break this old Valkyrie down and save the parts.
  4. technoblue
    Double post... This is a long shot of the 1S premium together with the two Yamato "Brownie" Valkyries. For this picture, I tilted up the tail fins to better illustrate those differences.
  5. technoblue
    I know I'm getting old because I'm starting to forget the finer details in my own collection. Anyway, I set up the cell phone this morning to take comparison photos of Arcadia's VF-1S Hikaru premium, the VF-1J "Brownie", the VF-1A "Brownie", and Arcadia's Hikaru VF-1J that they included with the armor set. I don't own the Yamato version of Hikaru's VF-1S anymore, so that won't be part of my comparison. As a side note, I do own the Yamato Hikaru TV VF-1J; however, since it has the exact same amount of printed detail as the Arcadia release, I didn't include it my comparison. Now, onto the pictures! I scaled them down 50% to preserve the details. The VF-1J "Brownie" is one of the few Valkyries in my collection that comes close to matching Arcadia's premium VF-1S. Those fans and collectors who were able to buy it when it was new are lucky. It was a deal back in the day compared to what it goes for on the aftermarket now. I do need to make one correction: It does not have carrier markings printed on the tail fins. That was a detail that was on the TV VF-1A. There are a lot of other details that this TV 1J shares with the premium 1S, though. It's hard to see in this shot, but the 1S and the 1J share a lot of the same cockpit detail. The 1S has only a handful of additional markings. Most notably, the skull squadron marking. Here's a shot showing how the 1J has a slightly different printed layout when compared to the 1S. The square forward of the triangle ejection warning symbol is also a different color. It is more of a yellow on the 1J, where on the 1S it is more of an orange. The 1J is also missing a couple of the yellow warning arrows. From the top of the 1S: Those yellow 2-like icons, no-step icons, other text details (too tiny to read). Showing the difference. More differences. For me, this kind of inconsistency is a bummer, especially when prices inch over $100US. Subjectively, I think it would have been cool if Arcadia had rebooted their philosophy early on. Other manufacturers are releasing ultra realistic movie versions of toys and anime (or TV) accurate versions of toys regularly now. It would have been cool if Arcadia had jumped onto that boat early. The tale of two Arcadia Valkyries. This picture represents the ideal that I was hinting at above. I really like both of these Valkyries. It's just too bad the premium 1S wasn't priced more in line with the 1J armor set.
  6. technoblue
    AmiAmi still has the retail version available on backorder for a 10% discount: AmiAmi: http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?scode=FIGURE-018953-S001 As for your other question, do you like stickers? The standard version has stickers that you apply. The premium version eschews all stickers for printed markings. That's the only difference, there are no additional items or anything like that bundled with the premium version. Yes! I miss the flaps and the antenna on the Gerwalk backpack. At this scale such things would be more delicate I guess, but if done right they could make the toy that much more enjoyable. And it isn't like we don't have small moving parts already. I also agree with Xigfrid...on all points! Better hands (maybe even an articulated finger or two?), better landing gear, the rotating seat (which we've seen elsewhere). I think a new mold would be great for favorites or special paint schemes. The HM-R line is better served for collecting everything, and it is cheaper when buying up front. I wouldn't replace all of my v2 Valkyries with a new Arcadia or Bandai DX VF-1. To be honest, I might use a new VF-1 as an excuse to thin my collection down.
  7. technoblue
    You're welcome, b. I'm glad I helped to save you some money in the short term. As happy as I am to own this version of Hikaru's 1S, I can't help but wonder how things would be different if Arcadia had updated the mold to a 2.5 or 3.0 VF-1. I wonder where they would make improvements or change the articulation to make it more of a modern toy?
  8. technoblue
    On my monitor, the light shines through the wings and the foldy tail piece on both Vaklyries, but the Angel Birds Valkyrie is letting a different color of light pass through those parts. I think the pink/purple hue is strong evidence that Arcadia is adding something to its plastic mix. An anti-UV agent would be smart, especially since Arcadia decided to move to bright TV-style whites early on. Time will tell, though, if any Arcadia Valkyries are prone to yellowing like the older Yamato Valkyries.
  9. technoblue
    I finally got a chance to look at my Hikaru VF-1S premium in person last night... The added details are really nice, and there are a lot of them when comparing the markings to those of other 1/60-scale Valkyries that I own. Some of these have already been discussed. For example, the yellow icon near the landing gear bay doors that denotes a jack/lift point on the aircraft. Such a small, but neat detail. There are other odd yellow marking on the top of the fighter too. These look like a yellow number 2 and appear behind the cockpit and on the main body of the craft. See Lolicon's pics for what I mean. The only other Valkyrie in my collection that comes close to this is the VF-1J Brownie. I'll try to put together some rough comparison shots later. I don't have a nice phone, though, so beware that they will be cell phone rough. The most noteworthy difference is the carrier markings on the tail fins: The VF-1J has markings for the Prometheus instead of the SDF-1 (on the new 1S). The price...yeah, I've come around... it is too high... For the price this needed a lot more than just printed detail. Recommended only if you know what you're getting yourself into and don't mind paying the price. Otherwise, stick with Arcadia's regular version.
  10. technoblue
    If MegaHouse ever decides to release more Orguss mecha, I wonder if they will keep a common scale? The Nikick, Ishkick, and larger mecha will be easier to scale relative to the Orguss. I imagine smaller ones like the M.Lovers will be tough, though. Also, I finally put my order in for the Orguss Brownie at AmiAmi. September is going to be expensive.
  11. technoblue
    Nice. How is the combining gimmick? Do the four mini vehicles lock solidly together to create the larger Batmobile? It looks fun with all the mini figs. I've been browsing the LEGO Shop...tempting myself back into even more brick building. I'm late to the party on some of these, but I'm already building up a very pricey wish list. The last time I was buying LEGO sets on a regular basis was when LEGO first introduced the Star Wars line, back in 1999/2000. Since then, I've been picking up the odd set here and there, but I haven't been keeping up with LEGO like I was. Time to keep track of it again.
  12. technoblue
    Thanks again. It is most appreciated. OT: I've been having fun watching Thrawn develop in Rebels. I agree that they appear to have done right by Zahn's original characterization of a highly calculating, intelligent tactician. I do wonder if Disney has any plans to bring Thrawn beyond Rebels to big screen Star Wars films. That would be something.
  13. technoblue
    Thanks for the tip, @M'Kyuun! Although the TRU link was inactive by the time I looked at it, I was at B&N today looking for a couple Timothy Zahn novels, including the new Thrawn and your story was fresh on my mind. I went to the LEGO section on my way out and noticed the same thing. One Apollo Saturn V box sitting next to the other LEGO sets. I picked it up and bought it with my books. Now I have another rainy day LEGO project to look forward to.
  14. technoblue
    Mm. I think patience will be rewarding in this case. Everyone who missed the Saturn V pre-order is jumping on getting a copy now. I went looking for one on impulse at my local brick and mortar LEGO shop Friday, but they were sold out when I got there. Once the release week madness dies down, I think it shouldn't be as difficult to get.
  15. technoblue
    You're welcome, david. I don't know what's taking Ami, CDJ, HLJ, and NY so long.
  16. technoblue
    You're welcome, @M'Kyuun. I'm glad you found the info useful.
  17. technoblue
    Yeah browsers like Chrome and Firefox are getting finger pointy about https security. I think it is still up to site owners how they want to manage migration, though. I get the little (!) icon next to AE's URL in Chrome warning that the site may not be secure, but I get the same icon here on MW. So, so far so good? Payment works like NY and HLJ, AE first sends out an email notification that payment was received and then the site gets updated. Here is the cancellation policy from their FAQ section: Orders can be fully cancelled with no cancellation fees if unpaid. If the order is not paid in 48 hours it will be cancelled automatically by our system. Once paid a 20% cancellation fee applies to all orders if cancelled if 60 days from payment are past. Items on pre order can be cancelled if in the 60 days of payment date. Special items can’t be cancelled (Tamashii web items or out of production items and rare items) Since the duplicate MP-39 that you paid for isn't a special item and you are within the first 60 days, I think you should be okay.
  18. technoblue
    @Lolicon and @neko878 posted good pictures already. If you can't tell the difference, then I would say it isn't worth it. Save the money! Edit: Extra double correction...sigh...
  19. technoblue
    Okay, here are the AE links: MP-39 Sunstreaker http://www.anime-export.com/product/36260 MP-12+ Lambo Animated Version (the differences are quite subtle) http://www.anime-export.com/product/36259 Shipping is fair. No discounts, just the straight JapanPost rate. When I shipped my Spartan recently, the weight of the package was 720g and I was charged 2540JPY for EMS. I do like that AE has a pile-o-loot feature like BBTS. It makes combining multiple items into single shipments easy, as @sh9000 was alluding to.
  20. technoblue
    Yep. HLJ was in the rare position of offering the lowest pre-order price. But I gotta admit, since I've had time to reflect while waiting for these premium releases, even that HLJ price is high. It's a shame Arcadia never gave a retail release with extra markings a chance.
  21. technoblue
    LoL! Yeah, I'm gettin' old and the doctor tells me that I have to eat more rabbit food and less hot dogs. It's the way it is. I still indulge once in a while. I didn't get in on the latest HLJ Orguss deal. It's okay though since I have Kei's version already. I'm starting to save more pennies for the "brownie" Orguss that was announced.
  22. technoblue
    No doubt. The Orguss was worth every penny. After the M&M 1Js, I think only a VT-1 announcement would lure me back to Yamarcadia's VF-1. That, interesting paint schemes or a completely new VF-1 mold. Edit: Okay...Max's 1S would get my attention too.
  23. technoblue
    Hm. NY didn't use their usual tactic of inflating the price. 28600JPY is exactly what they charged for pre-orders. At today's rate, it comes to about $256US before shipping. That's still up there, but I paid exactly $280US for my copy with shipping. I think I paid more for the Orguss in my avatar. I might need a new wallet saving strategy. You're right! For better or worse... Given how Arcadia has dropped the ball on other releases, I'm kind of relieved that the packaging was the only thing affected this time.
  24. technoblue
    If you are willing to pay up-front, anime-export has MP-39 available for 8400JPY which is ~$76US before shipping.
  25. technoblue
    They are creating a new aftermarket for begrudged collectors. It's time to get extra fun money for all the unwanted standard retail packaging filling up spare closets.
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