Cypher

For $500, I'd love to pick up the Hikaru helmet to complete my display. It's still a little rich for an 'undersized' 1:1 prop helmet, but it beats paying 4x the price on ebay for one of the ones released a few years back. PM/e-mail me some info, Jasonc, and I'll mull over whether or not I can pull the trigger on one.

Word. If I had known they were going to do the Proto Garland, I never would have bought the original. Now I have to rob Peter to pay Paul in order to get a Proto Garland. And even though you only see the "GR-2" in the movie for a few seconds, I hope that Yamato takes on the task of making a 1/15 version. I loved the Garland designs for Part II and to have the hovering Mass Production to go with the Proto would be awesome. Especially if they did a nice clear stand to go with it in Maneuver-Craft Mode.

I would tend to call the 'green' one 'movie-colored'. That was the one I went with and I think originally was the first one available. The black and chrome came as follow-ups. Mr. Reagan

In my experience it's DVDs released from CHINA, not Japan, that are usually region 0. And in most cases, they are incredibly well manufactured bootlegs. Otherwise China is normally region 6. If you wanted to watch anything from Japan or the UK (region 2), you had to buy a pre-hacked DVD player or a brand that left the loophole in there if you just happened to find it. I'm not going to argue the DVD player brands and features with anyone but, with 1080 upconverting and all the extra features , my $60 unit does exactly what I need. Including allowing me to watch my new DYRL 25th DVDs straight from the Land of the Rising Sun. Mr. Reagan

Got the set today. Noice! Only got to watch a few minutes of the HD version but the region 2 discs apparently work just fine on my DVD player. Mr. Reagan

Oh I'm sure I will. It appears this isn't the only set of its kind. Apparently, there was a mondo release in 2001 of Akira that I would have loved to own. And there's one out now for APPLESEED that I may go back and pick up. I bought the Philips DVP5982, which upconverts to 1080p, plays DivX files, can be set to region-free and I can plug in my Archos PMP via USB and watch/listen to stuff from it. The DYRL set will be my first other region set of DVDs that will test whether or not the region-free hack worked. Mr. Reagan

I'm glad I checked back in on this thread. A little late, but still.... Just fought my way through their sign-up process, etc. and put in an order for one of these. I figure if I start picking up more region 2 DVDs, I might as well have an account. Think mine was like $93 shipped. Mr. Reagan

As seen in other threads.... Mr. Reagan

Agreed. Finding the original (movie?) color, like I have, in that price range is even harder. Mine would have been cheaper if TISINC99.com hadn't sent the Hasegawa model stand first and saddled me with the $10 shipping cost to return their screw up. Mr. Reagan

Probably should have used the macro.... *shrugs* That's cool. Has more meaning on the main board I frequent. Figured I'd use it here too instead of racking my brain for a new username. Mr. Reagan

Might as well show mine off, since I just got the stand for it: Still have to finish the panel lines on the insides of the legs and work on getting the remaining sticker outlines to disappear.... Spent 7 hours hand cutting them as close as I could with an X-acto. I know the picture doesn't show off the panel lines or the work done on the stickers but it's there. Maybe in future close-ups they will be seen.... Mr. Reagan

I had it on order with Amazon for months, they voluntarily cancelled that order. They perpetually advertise it but there's been apparently no word on any more being released. Mr. Reagan

Agreed. I sat down one Saturday with my decal sheets and a plan to do the whole thing, fast packs and all. I cut all the Yamato decals as close as I could, with a fresh X-acto blade, and tried to burnish them down really well. Seven hours and a few fits of artistic license later, I was done. Just wish there was something, like decal set, that could be applied to make sure they're permanent. And to help them blend into the painted/colored plastic parts better.

I got a hold of my contact in Osaka and he's on the lookout for me. I'm waiting to see if he comes through before putting yours or Shawn's ideas into motion. Thanks for the additional suggestion! I've waited this long - if I have to wait a bit to find out I have to go it alone, using what you guys have armed me with, then my odds will certainly increase. Always better to have backup plans.

Thank you! I may do what I should have done in the first place and beg someone I know in Osaka to nab one for me. Glad to know they are still around. I couldn't care less about the screwed up pages or whatever.

I don't mean to butt-in and hijack here but, has anybody been able to score this (3-disc edition) from anywhere since Bandai yanked it? I know you can still get the single disc version from places like YesAsia, etc. I had it on order from Amazon US, since the day they offered it, initially for $140. Then it steadily rose over the following weeks to $200. Then I got an email from them saying they wouldn't be getting it and they cancelled my order. Lo and behold, a few weeks later it's back on their site for $200, but not available. I think they just weren't willing to commit to the original price, their guarantee not withstanding. What's the latest?

Waiting a little longer for the cash to pick up this bad-boy. I love the Garland (got one from Macross73 a few years ago) but REALLY love the Proto-Garland. The only thing that could be better is if they did the Military Hover-Garland from Part II. Thanks to the heads up from people here, I was able to carefully transform my first Garland with little problem and no breakage. When I pick up the Proto-Garland, that will be transformed into Slave mode and the original will go back into Craft mode.