technoblue
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Everything posted by technoblue
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You're welcome, KB. Yeah, all that cardboard adds weight, but it did its job in the end.
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Those hands look great! I'm going to have to order a set when I make my next Shapeways order.
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My HM-R Roy 1S arrived today! Everything is packed together in a brown Tamashii shipping box. It's a similar set up to the one used for the DX armor parts releases, where the retail boxes are contained inside the brown box. I'll update this post soon with pictures from my phone. Edit: Here they are. Click on the spoiler tags to view the photos. I didn't want to flood the thread with too many images. The first box in bubble wrap on top of N-Y's shipping box. This brown box is about twice the size of the Hikaru retail box. Here's the same box released from the bubble wrap Let's take a look inside, shall we? Yes, let's... The box for the stage act stand is small. Curiously, Roy's 1S also comes in its own shipping box. It's a shipping box within a shipping box within a shipping box...it's inception! And opening that, reveals the retail box that we are familiar with, but with Roy's branding.
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The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread
technoblue replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
LoL! I would be really surprised if Despotron or even Contact shot arrived before Vulcan, although I guess May is looking a little optimistic for those who are anxious to complete Guardia. Of the combiners, Guardia and Quantron are the most tempting to me for various reasons. But Fansproject's Ryu-Oh (Dinoking) looks cool too because the whole TF: Victory thing is a big unknown for me, and mixing things up is fun. -
The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread
technoblue replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
You guys and your combiners talk. Stop tempting me to the dark side! In other news, I noticed that tfw2005 updated the teaser images for Maketoys Despotron. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-3rd-party-discussion/1047083-maketoys-mtrm-08-despotron-not-megatron.html One thing that Appolyon proved, I think, is that an MP-10 scaled Megs is a difficult project, but not an impossible one. I've been looking forward to more news on Maketoys' version and I hope that they can come up with a complex transformation that is more durable and fun. Appolyon at times can be overly frustrating. Sometimes I think it is better to just keep XTB's Megs in robot mode and not mess with it. Anyway, the new Maketoys silhouettes look good. I think Megs and Prime are the two Transformers that I don't mind double dipping on. -
Sweet. I'm looking forward to having the 29 back in my collection again. I had the Isamu 29 at one point, but sold it some time ago. I think the red on Alto's version adds pizzazz.
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mechaninac: I paid for my HM-R Roy back in December. N-Y sent a message by e-mail to those of us who were charged extra shipping. In my case, after this message was sent, my account was updated from preparation in progress status to waiting for customer response status. After I got the message, I received another payment request from N-Y for 1000 JPY to cover the shipping adjustments. I guess that didn't happen in all cases. "Hello Thank you for your purchase We are contacting you regarding this order Unfortunately this order is bigger then(sp) expected therefore we will have to ask you for additional shipping An invoice will be sent out to you via paypal We apologize for the inconvenience Kind Regards"
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I understand the frustration that some members have, but I'm not pissed at N-Y for the extra shipping charge. It was just a surprise. And I agree with Noel, it was probably due to the fact that they were estimating the cost based on some previous estimate. If the shipping estimate wasn't based on the Hikaru HM-R release, then maybe it was based on the original Hi-Metal Super/Strike releases?
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Valkyrie Driver: I wanted to thank you for posting your description of that fix and including images of the parts. I bought my VF-19 Advanced new, and you could probably navigate back in this very thread to see how bummed I was about it because the very same leg on mine was super stiff and hard to maneuver back and forth. I ended up setting it aside instead of tackling the problem like I probably should have done. On my copy, I had to open the whole joint completely and get to the ball. Once the diecast(?) clamping parts were separated from the ball, I noticed that the plastic(?) half had some flashing which was causing excess friction inside the joint. I used a sanding file to smooth and polish that area. I also added some plastic-friendly lube and put the leg back together. Now both legs are working swell, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
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Thanks for the tip, Omnichannel. That is good advice for those who are still waiting for an update. And if you don't find anything in your spam box, it might be prudent to contact N-Y directly as Omni did.
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What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
technoblue replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I'm watching Bungou Stray Dogs and Kiznaiver, which is Trigger's new series this season. So far so good on both. -
Same here. I don't know if that surprise shipping payment was an N-Y tax on early pre-orders with the stand or an honest mistake, but once I paid it they processed my order quickly.
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Old Man is correct. For the big hands, DYRL style are blocky/chunky and look like large robot hands. TV style are smooth/pudgy and look like large gloves, hence the term clown hands.
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Well that's different. Kudos to Bandai for not milking the brownie, and providing both versions in one set. I'm also curious to see how that pilot gimmick works. This news tempts me...
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Evolution Toy - VF-2SS Valkyrie I 《MACROSS II ~LOVERS AGAIN~
technoblue replied to joppewo's topic in Toys
I have the gap. I was thinking of taking a fine grit sanding file to the locking tabs, because they seem to be the culprit on my copy. -
Thinking about it, I'm not as excited for a 1A CF in this scale as I would be to get a Max (anything). I'm going to sit this one out and wait for the next HM-R announcement. And it will be cool if Max turns out to be an exclusive. Hopefully N-Y will be able to estimate the shipping costs accurately for everyone!
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Like Gunn, I placed an early pre-order for this 1S (first day) and I think the stand is part of my order. I chose EMS shipping, and delivery is to the US. As noted in my previous reply, I ordered just one copy.
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I got the message too. It's strange, though, I ordered just the one HM-R Roy from N-Y.
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It is confusing. There are moments when it seems that some members need to feed a strong negative bias in order to stop their collecting habits for one toy and move on to the next, rather than just saying "I'm done" and leaving it at that. As soon as Arcadia decided on premium prices, everyone cried foul and then these fantasy scenarios about bargain basement deals started to get told on the forum. But if I am to be fair, I think we've all been Yamato'ed by a level of bias in this debate to one extent or another. I'm just glad that I don't have to pay eBay prices for a 1/60-scale VF-1. Having options is a good thing.
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That inflation calculator is nice, but the $100 example is a bit of a reach. 2008 was a roller coaster year for dollar to yen conversions. At the beginning of the year, a 12800 JPY gift set like Yamato's Roy 1S cost about $117. At the end of the year, that same retail set would cost US customers $138. That would change the $100 example somewhat, wouldn't it? After inflation, the actual 2008 adjusted cost of a 1S is between $129 and $153 US. This results in a $57 to $81 difference given the current conversion rate. It's disingenuous to ignore all variables, especially since Arcadia is about making itself profitable. And maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but it makes sense to me that some of the extra costs are being passed on to the consumer, especially since Arcadia is not releasing its Valkyries as frequently as Yamato once did.
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I agree with lolicon, I think the DX Valkyries are starting to creep closer to 20k JPY. It will be interesting to see how the prices fair once the Delta toys arrive with official announcements and prices later in the year. If anything, I think Bandai and Arcadia have kept a sort of parity when it comes to pricing these toys, with Arcadia being ever so slightly priced higher as economics forced each companies to bump the MSRP for given releases. The thing about the VF-1 is that it is an older Yamato design, and Arcadia hasn't done anything to it like they have done with the YF-19 and the VF-0 releases. I think that may work against it. But if Arcadia decides to do something to improve the VF-1 in some way, that might also cause other people to complain. And clearly, no one would want broken Battroid legs on a new Arcadia VF-1 at any scale. But quality is what is really important to me: if the QC is solid, then I'll almost always excuse a higher price. If QC is faulty, then any price is bad.
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Personally, I sold off my Arcadia VF-1 Valkyries, but I'll give credit where it is due: those initial releases were quite solid. I would buy Arcadia's Roy 1S type again to get a VF-1 Valkyrie back in my collection with the same quality. That, and my original v2 Yamato needs to be replaced anyway. It has been well-used, being one of my favorite Valkyries to transform. It survived two broken shoulder hinges and a couple loose limbs—it has been around the block. If Arcadia improves on the original release by adding in things that were missing (the super parts, the tampo printing), then it makes it that much more valuable to me. The bonus being that I get to avoid shelling out for a replacement Yamato 1S at an even higher fee. For those who are not interested, I guess it's good that Bandai is available as an alternative. There's a brand new line to collect, for one, and I also understand the need for frugality. But it's unfair to imply that Arcadia is the only one raising retail prices. Even Bandai is doing it, albeit it in a more subtle manner. But the HM-R line is more expensive than the original Hi-Metals, for example, and the DX line is also increasing in price. That said, I consider all these toys to be premium because they cost $100 US or more to import. What I don't want to see is Arcadia to adopt the business practices of Yamato today. I think adopting Yamato's business practices would cause Arcadia to go out of business faster than any of us could say, Yak Deculture! Then, there would be no alternatives other than Bandai and the odd third party and that would be an unfortunate result.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
technoblue replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
There was a release from Hasbro Asia in October 2014, which included a neat Vector Sigma bonus. A number of stores had it in stock well into 2015. I'm not sure if there was another release after that one. Glad to read that yours is in pretty good shape. -
Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
technoblue replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I agree with sh9000. If the movie is good, then I'll watch it. In my own head canon it can exist as a parallel to the other GitS stories. They are all unquely different, anyway--the manga is different from the Oshii movies, the SAC universe is different from the Arise universe. There is no perfect commonality between them, except that there is a team led by a strong female leader who uses the name Matoko Kusanagi. The issues with hiring policies and descrimination may be valid, but moviegoers cannot create these modern-day contracts for actors no matter how good their intentions may be. Affecting policy from within is like moving a sleeping elephant: it takes time, knowledge, the ability to apply/enforce changes, and persistence. -
That's true, but Yamato isn't a manufacturer today. They can't help fans that missed collecting the original Max 1S release or the weathering edition. Today, the secondary market is a person's only choice to find it, and rare Valkryies get expensive fast. Even the rare 1/48s are getting expensive!I like how Bandai is giving fans another option. Yeah, if Arcadia responds with more announcements, especially if they answer Bandai by announcing more VF-1 reissues at 1/60-scale later in the year, then I'll consider those too. But what Arcadia decides to do with the VF-1 after Roy is conjecture at this point. Anyway, enough ranting. : ) I like to keep an open mind, but for the moment I think Bandai will have Max's 1S available before Arcadia.