m0n5t3r

just ordered a Max 1A TV version after confirming with HLJ that it's canopy is clear and has the new crotch. Convinced the wife to give me this for x-mas . Wish i could buy more but i'm saving for some other stuff and our vacation trip to JP next year. this will probably be my one and only VF-1A since i'm not very fond of the 1A head design and the VF-X is just too rich for my blood... and i really hate paying jacked up prices for exclusives.

i disassembled one of my VF-25s a few months ago. the ball joint for the hip is half bare metal and the top half covered w/ some kind of rough, tacky material. the ball joint for the arm is just plastic, iirc.

i remember somebody mentioned that the re-issue VF-1A Max, CF and Kaki had the new crotch and clear canopy. i had planned to have my friend in HK get the 1A Max for me but these re-issues were apparently for sale in Japan only (kinda like an exclusive re-release... this was told to me by the shop owner in HK who imports Yamato valks)... but this year HLJ started to sell these Japan only exclusives, so i'm kinda guessing that these re-stocks of theirs could be the ones w/ the updates.

anybody know if the Max 1A TV that's on sale is the new one w/ updated crotch, canopy etc.?

actually, it should be "oh crap, it's a Bandai"... esp. now that they've discontinued their replacement parts service (one-time if it's your fault and anytime when it's their fault)... it was super slow but i did get to use my one-time request for replacement part/s. the only reason why people are so vocal about Yamato qc issues is coz we have Graham to possibly hear the complaints and relay it to Yamato if it's a widespread problem. Whereas with Bandai, now it's just "suck it up", "take it or leave it"...

are you gonna try putting that DX Monster on a flexy?

the regular release prices are ok, IMO... it's the web-exclusives people are complaining about... as an example, a local shop here has put up a pre-order price for the DYRL 1As for approx. $120 each. that's the local retail price of a non-FP 1/60 Yamato v.2 VF-1. add the fact that only 2 out of the 6 announced hi-metals are regular releases... and they're not even special coating or clear-parts or whatever usual Bandai-type exclusives, they're just regular Max VF-1J and DYRL VF-1As (w/out Super Packs to boot!)... compare that to the percentage of v.2 VF-1 regular releases vs. web-exclusives. @pud333 - Tokyo Hunter is pretty reliable... he's been around for a while... a lot of fellow local collectors here have ordered from him in the past (that was before shops here were able to sell these exclusives locally).

if Yamato would make their own 1/60 toys in the (far or near) future, my bet is that they're gonna study the Bandai 1/72 kits and try to figure out how to make it into a "sturdier-than-a-model" toy. i also think they'll have some of the DX 1/60s just for laughs...

no cracks here... but detaching the locking mechanism of the top 4xcannons nearly gave me a heart attack. i felt like i would break something trying to pull it out.

thanks 505th! ...here's my DX Monster hanging out in my other display cab...

iirc, that's the head-to-head testing part where the 19 also featured that arm weapon pack thingy...

it's mostly just the batch of Armored VF-25S that has problems w/ breaking plastic joints... the joints that connect the chest to the shoulder and to the back plate, and the joints for the wings. and yeah, the DX 25s are only really good for display... near to zero playability and very high possibility of aggravation when transforming/handling them. good thing for me i don't get to handle my toys much these days...

OT - than GFFN Rezel looks nice... still pissed I wasn't able to find one during my last trip to HK. would look great w/ my shcmpro Unicorn. i'm still waiting for hlj to put theirs on sale... on-topic... i wish i could afford these, esp. at these ridiculously cheap prices... but i just can't squeeze it in my budget right now w/ all the stuff i just bought and all the new stuff that's coming out... plus, i'm one of those guys who just has to buy both M&Ms at the same time... for now i just have to be content w/ my YF-21 and M&M VF-1s...

got a new, cheap, bookshelf-style display cab so i can display all my stuff... finally took my VF-27 permanently out of its box and transformed it. also, just got my DX Monster w/c is awesome! not sure now where to put MH Klan when it arrives ...

just some quick pics before i head out... really loving this... i'll put in the eye stickers later... on display with my other MF stuff...

i'll take pics of my small MacF display (with the newest addition ) tomorrow morning. pretty dark already here... just echoing what others have mentioned... awesome heft, awesome clickety joints, awesome mechanisms all over, and i love how that little gun turret pops out from under the nose ... pretty much awesome all around! btw, gotta thank ff95gj for pointing me in the right direction... got mine from locus hk... awesome packaging.

HOT DAMN! Thanks for the pic of that little Bandai fighter mode valky thingy! Can you post more pics of the other Bandai 1/250 valks (preferably with the same background... just different angles)?

just got mine ... opted for just the regular ver.... not really into nose art and all that... plus, after re-watching Frontier last week, out of the two songstresses, i'm now kinda leaning towards Ranka coz i prefer Megumi's voice (add the fact that she's half Filipina )... but my vote for hottest MF gal still goes to macro-Klan, w/c is making me excited to receive my MH Armored Klan... and ep.17 is making me crave for some Mac7 valks... hope you get yours soon!

jealous indeed! how i wish i was at least Graham's next door neighbor right now!

haha! i'm guessing you got the Miria 22S coz it's now on backorder... but now there's 3 x Max's VF-22S available!

speaking of Yamato's VF-22S... they've been on sale, 50% off, from Amiami for the past week... unfortunately there's only one left for Miria's and Gamlin's and Max's are on backorder... still, that's pretty cheap.

a doucheb@g

if you want to open only one then obviously it would be the one with the banged-up box. it's not really MISB... more like MISBB but yeah, i'd personally open them both up and have them on display... it's not like the YF-21 is some uber exclusive item... Yamato is still making these and almost everybody who would want to have a 1/60 YF-21 already has one... unless you really prefer to admire it from inside its box... or if you have no place to display it...

i'll be perfectly happy if that next VF that Graham is alluding to will be the VF-17, specifically the D variant. as for after that... between the other 2, i'm now leaning more towards the VF-2SS than the VF-4. i would've really wanted a VF-0D, but that dream has been summarily shot down...

IMO, it would be cool. I was one of the guys who mentioned this even before the first proto pics came out. A macross toy with music, which is an integral part of Macross lore, would be awesome. I also think that Yamato would definitely be able to pull this off without it becoming tasteless like Hasbro's voice gimmicks on their TFs.