Lolicon

The price point argument is BS to me. $100 is only "cheap" relatively speaking. It's still $100. We're not talking about $9.98 toys you can pick up from Walmart. In any case, no, I don't think we'll see a V3 from Arcadia. Given Arcadia's current pricing, who's going to pay that much for a slightly improved VF-1? I imagine only the most hardcore collectors, and they probably already have a substantial VF-1 collection. If they could manage it at a good price point, say $150 for a new, improved VF-1, then it might be worthwhile. I'd be much happier if they would reissue past releases, especially some of the hard to find items. I'd gladly pay $180 for a super ostrich reissue.

I feel the HMR VF-1 is the weakest entry in that line, with inferior proportions to the Yamato version and questionable build quality and design choices.

Took mine out of the box and transformed it to make sure it's fine while I'm still in the HLJ 10 day window. It was only slightly more difficult to transform than my Yamato only because some parts felt tighter than I remember them (though it's been years since I transformed my Yamato so my memory could be off). Missiles still fall off fairly easily. This and the VF-11C have go to be the plainest looking valks out of the box. Still, I love it! But would it have broken the bank to throw in a gunpod, Arcadia?

Painting those stabilizers is one of the more arduous tasks for me, so I'm in for a couple.

It's made by Eagle Moss. They're die cast and very well-detailed for such small items, with lots of printed details, Aztec surfaces, and clear parts for the nacelles and deflectors. BBTS still has some for sale, but you can find lots of them on eBay for relatively cheap too. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=34&company=623

Maybe making up for the sticker shock when people see the shipping cost.

Great pics as always, Saburo! What great timing too, since I just got my Kakizaki after scrounging around for ages. Makes me want to open it right now!

Great addition to my fleet of starships! I'm going to have to get a second one to display in storm attacker mode. Here she is with a couple of other lesser known sci-fi ships.

Put all the stuff I picked up (or arrived on my doorstep) over the past week into a pile...

50% off? I'll bite. I'll try to make it look a little prettier once I have it in hand.

Looks flawless. Like a lot of the valks I bought second hand like this, the previous owner just kept it for years in its box and never played with it. It's the Japanese davidwhangchoi!

Allegedly second hand, but I inspected the item and found that it had never been used. Still had the original tape on the front landing gear doors and navigational lights. I like all the tampo printing on it. This is the level of printing every VF-1 should have had!

Found another gem today.

Yeah the early VF-11 runs had the tinted canopies, but not later runs. I'll probably just swap the cockpit pod and sell the extra VF-11 with now untinted canopy.

Some more finds from Tokyo. Already have a VF-11B but this one has the tinted canopy, so I had to have it!

Got my HLJ payment request a few hours earlier.

I didn't check the shoulders. If they're cracked, no big deal. It's something a drop of super glue can fix. Was willing to pay extra for the intact rainbow tint! Also picked this murderously adorable item up!

23000 yen unopened. There was an opened item for 18000, and it was in good condition too, but the rainbow tinting had started cracking, so I paid extra for the new one. I love the rainbow tinted canopies!

Found an unopened Hikaru VF-1A in Akihabara, so snagged it. Once both my Kakizakis arrive, I'll finally have finished my TV and DYRL squadrons! Oh, and grabbed another Regult for good measure. Still a few more left on the shelf.

Where did you buy it at? I wouldn't mind picking one up at that price!

Any with substantial discounts?

Finally got my Regults. It's the first HMR purchase I've made that I'm actually happy with. Looks great and is quite stable on its big feet. It comes with a Tamashii stand in the box... good job Bandai! Don't include them with the VF-1 (which could really use it) and include them with the Regult (which doesn't really need it). So how dirty would a Regult be after being in service for 500,000 cycles?

"Brown forearm" sounds like a nasty surprise from a coworker who doesn't like to flush afterwards.

That commander head looks great!

Whoops! Forgot to cancel my HS Monster order. Guess I'm getting two.