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Major Focker

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  1. Major Focker
    so i wrote HLJ yesterday and got a response original letter: and the response from Scott i got this morning: so i guess it boils down to the messaging, sticking to facts not speculation, and keeping a level head (and demeanor, if i might add). the silver lining here, is that it seems HLJ has set aside part of their allocation to only be available upon release.
  2. Major Focker
    i'm kinda thinking origin story as well, though like some of you, would've preferred a 3rd gig. if the currently airing Psycho-Pass (also I.G.) is any indication, we are in for a treat, at least animation-wise. Psycho-Pass has luscious visuals and art direction, but is more psych-thriller than action, because it is primarily a detective story rather than covert ops. nonetheless, it has been more than capably tiding me over until this GitS announcement.
  3. Major Focker
    about damn time!
  4. Major Focker
    thanks! yeah, had they known in the 70's that the Yamato was split in half and the superstructure pancaked and sheared to the side, they might have thought twice about creating that story that SBY was the reconstruction of an older ship. i'm glad things panned out as they did, laden with symbolism and heritage.
  5. Major Focker
    i blinked and missed it. but it does seem to be the case: at 1:11 upper right http://youtu.be/JBLgLXQV-AY
  6. Major Focker
    erm, so what are these "measurements"?
  7. Major Focker
    wow, that looks fantastic! where did you get the tiny red decals (particularly, the one with the diagonal stripes)? or did you brush them on? [gasp] and how in hell did you paint perfect circles on the windshield?
  8. Major Focker
    not sure how or why you were expecting him to respond positively to your note when they have clearly outlined their policy and position on this matter. item#4 here: http://www.hlj.com/h...ippingcost.html if your message clearly implied avoidance of custom duties, i'm not surprised you didn't get a response. if you had worded your message on the pre-text of less costly packaging without the logo print, or maybe even privacy concerns, then you might have gotten more mileage. not to say that they won't see through that pretext anyway, but you might have at least gotten a formal response. they are actually sympathetic to this, but they won't break the legal rules though they would bend some of their own. in my case, after i requested them to ship available items then dropped them a note asking them to break that into 2 shipments so that neither one exceeded to the duty free limit in my country. they quoted a policy that said they don't do split shipments except if it won't all fit in their biggest box (this was before they implemented private warehouse) but then they also said they checked my buying history and allowed an exception at that time since they valued me as customer blah blah. the next time it happened they suggested a way for me to bend some of their rules and circumvent some of their shipping option limitations, which i cannot disclose because i promised not to. anyway, it's moot now since they have private warehouse in place.
  9. Major Focker
    would've preferred a Nepthis before this but i'll pick it up anyway
  10. Major Focker
    i haven't seen the Yamato launch scene from the original anime series, so pardon if this is a silly question: when the Yamato was being constructed, was it completely underground with a faux WWII Yamato on the surface? or was it only partly underground with an external shell on top in the shape of a rusted WWII Yamato? in the live action movie, caked pieces of mud were shown flaking off the Yamato when it launched. in 2199, it was shown to be firing at an enemy carrier, hence only partly submerged. but how was it in the original? if indeed it was just a shell on the top, that must've been very hard to construct the top part of the ship from inside, even with pre-fab. i know i'm overthinking this, but i'm just nerd-curious.
  11. Major Focker
    Here, Sheryl looks like she has Anne Hathaway facial proportions (sorry, just watched Les Mis) wasn't this in one of the Sheryl Visual Collection books?
  12. Major Focker
    classic direct mail upselling they knew you'd want an armor set! do you want fries with that?
  13. Major Focker
    not sure if you guys have seen this:
  14. Major Focker
    man, you guys are poison! but thanks for weighing in, david and superhobo. i guess i have to re-evaluate my opinion about KOs, or more accurately, 3rd party companies. admittedly, i was having a hard time reconciling my old perception of KOs with what i was seeing of the not-Devastators. and to david's point, i go first on quality, then IP ownership, then the balancer being availability and/or likelihood of the IP owner making it themselves. in that order. same as my outlook on GK models. so just like that, i am now the owner of a Green Giant, albeit i won't have it in hand until i get back next week. i found one on Singapore ebay for SGD520 (USD425) and was about to buy it when i thought of going through the other search results just for due diligence. i refreshed the page, and lo and behold, a new entry just popped in with that nice sun indicator, and pleasantly, for SGD450 (basically, same USD equivalent as BBTS/TFS preorder price). needless to say, i forgot about due diligence and just nabbed it right away edit: btw, are there already KOs (as in really knock-offs) of the Green Giant? god, i hope not...
  15. Major Focker
    ok, i'm not a TF expert so i thought i'd ask here. during the holidays i saw at a local store what looked like a customized (metalized and weathered) Devastator for $700. upon inquiry, i was told that it wasn't Devastator but in fact "Hercules" made by a company called TFC. the toy looked awesome, particularly with the customization, but for some reason i got turned off because it wasn't an officially licensed Transformers toy and my opinion of knock-offs is quite poor to say the least. that probably stems from some of my cheap uncles giving me KOs and passing them off as originals. the plastic felt cheap and they either loosened or broke within days. perhaps the only KOs i have a positive opinion of are the mini dinobots, which i think are labeled WST. i collected them but no other KOs since. so i'm on business travel now, and yesterday i came across a Maketoys "Giant Type 61" and i liked the look of it even more than the Hercules. i almost bought it there and then but that KO impression kicked in again and i also thought i'd check the internet to get a reference price. i guess my question is for those who've had more experience with KOs is: has their build quality improved ie. they don't fall to pieces or collapse from loose joints? i've googled for reviews on the Giant Type 61 and they were all positive, but none specifically talked about robustness. either that's because this toy hasn't been out long enough, or it isn't even an issue now compared to years ago. i was impressed with the sculpt and detail of the Giant, and honestly the official Encore Devastator looked dinky by comparison. my next question is where's the best place to get it. HLJ, Amiami and HobbySearch don't seem to list it. i've found TFSource but i have no experience with them. also, i don't know if it's better to buy locally since the Singapore online shops (La Tendo, TFH, etc.) i checked don't seem to carry them either. appreciate views/leads. thanks
  16. Major Focker
    ok, so i missed the part about this being 14.5 cm. that's kinda small, around revoltech size, right? was there one made around SOC size? was thinking of displaying it with my old school bots (Daimos, Voltes V, Mazinger, etc.)
  17. Major Focker
    the 171CF is available at NY for less than $200 as we speak. and if the 171EX is any indication, scalper prices for 171CF will likely dial back down to $250. whether that $1-100 Yamato premium is value for money or not, will always boil down to personal evaluation. so if you find a 17D worth $300, but not so for a 171, that's fine and i respect that. but if both had the same MSRP of $300, would you think the same way? if yes, then you're being consistent with your perception of value. if no, then that's the paradox i was referring to. from a company perspective, Bandai chose an MSRP where they could get the margin they wanted, same for wholesalers/retailer, and let scalpers take the risk on non-moving inventory. Yamato's MSRP potentially exposes a number of wholesalers and retailers to slow moving stock. Not to say that Yamato is not entitled to higher MSRP, they are a smaller company afterall, but they might want to reconsider their price and production balance.
  18. Major Focker
    wow! i haven't heard of this display box. anyone got a reco on where to buy a lot of them (like, maybe 10) at a good price? since i've been graduallly migrating my library to e-books/pdf, now i can utilize my open bookshelves! edit: can't seem to find the manufacturer's link. i hope they also make double-width, or even triple width ones for displaying Yamato ships and other Leiji Matsumoto stuff, or Macross capital ships.
  19. Major Focker
    thank you, thank you, thank you! i thought the model gallery there was lost forever. strange that it hadn't occurred to me to check the way back machine when i usually tap it for GK sites that have received CnD's from George Lucas... edit: is there an easy to use software that downloads entire web pages and sub pages while keeping the pictures as separate jpegs ie. not print to pdf?
  20. Major Focker
    nah, you got me interested.
  21. Major Focker
    oh, it was just a cursory glance at the first page on ebay. so the 171 can be had on ebay for even less than i had stated. the point is, that Bandai valks are available at less than Yamato MSRP, even on scalper-bay. of course, one has to exercise due prudence and ignore the uber greedy ones wanting $500. if one were to consider just the 171EX vs. the 17D, both of which are now available, the paradox still holds : people seem to be fine paying Yamato MSRP but not the equivalent amount of dollars (or less) for Bandai valks because it is above MSRP. OT, didn't realize the AUD has kept gaining against the USD. last time i was there to watch U2 it was just about par, and just a few years earlier it was more in line with SGD. probably great for shopping online, but tourism must be taking a hit.
  22. Major Focker
    this insight eluded me at first, but you're right. VF-17 non-FP MSRP = $280-290 VF-171 at ebay scalper prices = $250-300 VF-171 at NY "price gouging" = $195 bizarre indeed. personally, i've set a threshold of sorts at $250 for any valk. which is why i took longer to decide on getting a VF-4G (i caved, eventually) and still haven't ordered any VF-17, but spent far less time clicking on NY preorders for Bandai valks. i guess for some people, it's not that they mind paying $250 but more because they feel "entitled" to the same great price others got. i must admit i felt that way when i was sitting on a YF-29 (first release) preorder at Hobbysearch while mulling if Amiami would reopen theirs at an extra 7% off. now, how many Bandai Macross stuff have gone on deep discount at HLJ? only the Quarter and the v1 Tornado springs to mind. how many Yamato Macross went on deep discount? Nearly everything, and some even years after release. if i was a shareholder at Bandai and Yamato, i'd be more concerned whether Yamato has got their pricing and supply equation right. if i was HLJ, i'd be less worried about Bandai's limited allocation and more concerned with Yamato's MSRP. maybe, just maybe, Bandai has a better reading of the primary and secondary market than we give them credit for.
  23. Major Focker
    nippon-yasan.com
  24. Major Focker
    i've always wanted to play cyberpunk 2020 but none of my friends were into RPGs. maybe this will be my chance. still hoping for a game based on George Alec Effinger's Budayeen trilogy.
  25. Major Focker
    thanks for the link. it didn't play out that way on YAJ though, in the sense that i wasn't charged the price of the second best successful bid. i was charged at the price i bid for, which is 50 yen higher than the other guy's successful (albeit, only partially so) bid.
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