mechaninac

Got the shipping confirmation email from HS this morning. Now the nail biting begins.

It's like printing money...

It is that expensive, and then some. Ever since the VF-19s, prices for Yamato, and now Arcadia, 1/60 VFs have been getting more and more out of reach of anyone but serious collectors with, at least, adequate disposable income; the VF-4G was just the worst offender, and now the YF-19 is pushing the envelope of what we as consumers are willing to pay... apparently Arcadia has not yet hit the price point at which everyone except the truly committed just throws up their hands and say "FU Arcadia, you can keep it". Even people as frugal as I consider myself, make excuses, justifications, adjustments in order to explain why a hunk of plastic and die-cast, regardless of how impressive it may look, can be worth around $300+ after shipping; and I'm as guilty of this self-delusion as everyone else... I too talked myself into purchasing one VF-4G after initially balking at the MSRP (and did not regret it, but still think it was way too much), and, although I have not yet preordered the new YF-19, I find myself giving it serious consideration while still trying not to choke at the price.

Same here, paid on Friday and just received the acknowledgment email from HS a few minutes ago; I'll just chalk it up to it having been close to the weekend. Let's see how long it'll take them to send it out, but I'm not in any serious hurry... chose unregistered SAL to save money, after all (last two purchases shipped quickly after payment confirmation and took only about a week to arrive at my doorstep via the same shipping method).

Add to what has already been mentioned the economic realities of higher labor cost, higher tooling cost, higher energy prices, higher production line rental/ownership cost, higher price of raw materials like die-cast alloys, plastics, paint, printing, etc., as well as the increased cost of a myriad other large and small factors; coupled with the need to make a sizable profit margin to make the venture worth their time and effort, specially given the small production runs that niche properties get, and you begin to realize that this YF-19 could not help but be one hell of an expensive date.

Looking at that picture, two things strike me: 1) This new TOS Galactica by Moebius looks great and shall be mine, and 2) Hot Toys really needs to make a 1/6 figure of Julie Newmar's Catwoman...

I understand the desire for a new and improved VF-0 line. The original was perfect in terms of line-art accuracy, but it was a limp noodle in terms of fit and posability, and with disintegrating upper arms/shoulder parts; but unless Arcadia goes into it with the intent of producing the VF-0D variant in Shin's and CF colors, and Roy's Armor add-on, I'd just as soon they didn't bother, and instead focus on producing stuff we haven't seen in toy form before: VF-3000, VF-5000, VF-9, VF-14, SDF-1 TV, VF-2SS, VF-2JA, etc.

At almost 3 ft. (91 cm) tall on its base?... An overly sexy midget? And something impossible to hide and/or explain away...

Well, it is supposed to be a recreation, at least in part, of San Francisco inside the colony biosphere, cable cars and all...

I like to look at it this way: In Universe, the designers of the VF-27 "rediscovered or reinvented" the feet configuration of the SV-51; it's not that the SV-51's design was any more advanced or revolutionary than the VF-0/VF-1, but since the UN side of the Unification Wars came out on top, the technology employed by the Anti-UN block nations fell into disuse. Later on, engineers from General Galaxy (YF-21 and VF-22 -- both have 3-paddled main thrusters) and Macross Galaxy VFDA (VF-27 -- 3-toed feet/main thrusters) would revisit some of those designs for their latest variable fighters. Also, the YF-24, and consequently the VF-25, VF-27, and even the newer YF-29, show quite a bit of design lineage to the SV-51 in many respects.

If I were you I'd wait for HS to contact you regarding repayment and having the toy in-hand, safe and sound, before doing anything, then I'd check and double check with the bank, credit cart, or whatever, just to make absolutely sure; then, and only then, I'd repay in order to make good on the purchase. It's not HS's fault and it's not your fault, but you do not want to end up paying twice, and finding yourself in the position of having to request reimbursement.

You are correct. The YF-19 is an entirely new toy in relation to the Fire Valkyrie and its VF-19 variants; note that all VF-19 versions are high gloss as they share most components across all models, excluding new tools for wings, wing gloves, heads, and small details... there was no way to get a matt VF-19P once Yamato decided on highly polished tooling for the Kai. The only things, toy wise, shared between the VF-19s and YF-19, and VF-19A, are the development of the design and engineering (the ground work was paved by Basara's ride), and some possible die-cast components, and maybe the tires... nothing else is compatible in form or finish. The tooling for the YF-19 had their cavities purposefully finished with a specific mold-tech etching in order to achieve the non-reflective matt finish we expect to see in the final molded parts.

I find it entirely possible, even likely, that Bandai will announce a CF Super Parts set in their Tamashii line in the not too distant future... it's like printing money.

... and charger69 manages, in one post, to take this derailed train and place it firmly back on its tracks; a job well done. I've got to admit, that battroid looks the business... gone is all the odd, inaccurate, lankiness (most notably in the legs) of the Yamato version.

HS payment request received, PayPal payment made -- not bad at 12842Yen with SAL (I had points to burn from previous purchases); now to wait for the shipping notification.

Already did that, back on page 46 of this thread, but here's a repost: The above (with the red highlighted edges) shows what I mean; nothing that already exists has to be changed at all, the only thing that's needed is to make the thigh/intake lip a bit longer off from where the current surface exists... the greater the offset, the thinner the "offending" edge will look. And the original for comparison:

I call BS on that comment by Mr. K. As I've stated before, all that would be needed would be to extend the intake lip forward 1 to 1.5 mm forward while keeping all the adjacent surfaces the same; their natural slopes, combined with the slightly longer length would naturally result in a thinner, sharper looking intake lip without compromising any strength or internal volume. The real reason, in my opinion, is that steel has already been cut, the tooling finalized, at this point -- to revise the design would mean reworking the tooling [in this case, removing steel from the mold(s) to add plastic to the part(s)], and that costs money, so no dice. Not grey, true, but far darker than what was on display even if you allow for harsh lighting conditions.

Ditto on getting my 171 CF Armor Pack today; like many have stated, those MDEs and Reaction missiles are HUGE! Swapping the wings for the hard-point ones gave me a chance to closely examine the black NUNS panels and corresponding triangular pieces, something I haven't done since I got the Nightmare Plus, and I'm happy to report that, so far, with no transformation cycles (displayed in fighter mode, sitting on its landing gears from day one), they're all intact... I so want them to remain that way that I dread the prospect of transforming this toy.

I know it's been mentioned before, but as interesting as the gunpod khaki color they're showing is, it also looks all wrong, and just does not go very well with the Alpha One's ivory color.

No news on the Ozma renewal rerelease yet; it does seem to be taking forever, but in reality, the 25F just came out not too long ago, and the 25A is still a few weeks away, so I wouldn't expect any news until the CF unit is released... heck, Bandai may even wait until after the YF-29 Isamu comes out before making any announcements. I too have been waiting expectantly for a re-pop of the VF-25S; it's the last unit I need to make my MF collection complete, that and a VB-6 (Yamato's is such a mess). I do wish Bandai will make one improvement over the original release: mold the bottom wing glove halves in the proper plastic pigment like they did with the VF-25G and RVF-25... do not paint it to shade match after molding, as it never looks the same and introduces scratching hazard that should never even be an issue.

Reservations for the VF-25A have reopened at Hobby Search, and it's also telling that the VF-27 is still in stock. Edit: I went ahead and canceled my full price 25A preorder with HLJ... no reason to pay full MSRP for it when all indications are that it will be available for quite some time after release, and at a discount, no less.

Does anyone know how long the preorder window for the YF-19 will remain open? Are we taking weeks or months? Release isn't until April, 2014, after all...

Total at Big in Japan comes to 30 950¥ with EMS (no SAL option, registered or otherwise), and because its more than 20000¥ they want immediate payment... so, no sale. I may decide to go with HLJ, hassle free cancelations if necessary, but I'll wait to see what HS charges before committing, if I even decide to buy this at all.

The downward pointing gunpod and the thick intake lip are definitely disappointing on a piece as pricey as this new YF-19 is. Arcadia should've designed the gun with a pivoting stock or grip so the barrel could face forward. As for the lip, assuming the thickness at the present edge is absolutely necessary to accommodate the rotation mechanism, they could have extended the lip 1.0-1.5 mm to make it visually sharper without compromising anything (see image).

Here's a couple words that illustrate that point: Faca = knife Foca = seal In English, they both sound a bit like the "F" word when spoken. But it works the other way around too: Payday literally sounds like peidei = I farted.