STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2

[treatment]

Got Darth Stewy Vader nendoroid today and I'm surprisingly disappointed with it.

Very very loose torso out of the box and the helmet doesn't even secure. WTF, GSC?!

Otherwise, it does have more hands and accessories than Nendo Storm Trooper.

So pics...

darksiding with the empress umaru-chan:


darth ewok...

[David Hingtgen]

So, what's the easiest way to weather an X-wing kit? I don't plan to ink in every line individually like with a Gundam, there's WAY too many greeblies for that. I'm thinking almost something along the lines of MacFarlane-Toys-style "dunk it in a bucket of diluted ink".

I tried this a while ago: http://www.florymodels.co.uk/washes/ Didn't work at all in my experience---even with extreme stirring, you just ended up with little clumps of pigment floating in water, and when it dried--you just got specks deposited. And the pigment certainly didn't flow into panel lines.

[Chronocidal]

Long time ago, I dirtied up a couple of the old MPC kits with... I think I just rubbed things down with some dirty thinner, honestly. You really can't ink the lines either, it's more about various shades of panels.

It was a long time ago that I made them though, and I didn't use what anyone would probably call "good" techniques. I think for the greeblie panels I wound up using a mix of gunmetal and exhaust colors, but most of the other panels were just dry-brushed to look worn.

[Black Valkyrie]

Before The Force Awakens, there was The Return of the Jedi,

[Jefuemon]

So, what's the easiest way to weather an X-wing kit? I don't plan to ink in every line individually like with a Gundam, there's WAY too many greeblies for that. I'm thinking almost something along the lines of MacFarlane-Toys-style "dunk it in a bucket of diluted ink".

I tried this a while ago: http://www.florymodels.co.uk/washes/ Didn't work at all in my experience---even with extreme stirring, you just ended up with little clumps of pigment floating in water, and when it dried--you just got specks deposited. And the pigment certainly didn't flow into panel lines.

Huh. I used that on my Fine Molds Y-Wing, and it didn't give me any trouble.

[sh9000]

Saw the huge 6" scale Tie Fighter at Target. Looks cool. Good thing I don't really collect Star Wars anymore otherwise I probably would have bought it.

Edited November 15, 2015 by sh9000

[Fatalist]

Saw the huge 6" scale Tie Fighter at Target. Looks cool. Good thing I don't really collect Star Wars anymore otherwise I probably would have bought it.

If they made a new X-Wing in that series and scale, as well as detail, I'd hop all over that. Saw it on Friday at a local TRU retailing for 159.99. Couldn't believe they actually had one. The box was huge!

[Chronocidal]

They kinda did try to make an X-Wing in that scale... but they also completely failed in designing anything anyone would actually want, and made it a giant block of plastic with no moving parts, meaning it was probably the first X-Wing in history that couldn't actually make an X with its wings.

[skullmilitia]

That TieFighter has less detail than the 3.75 inch one.

Stupid move Hasbro, I would have bought one, if it had been more detailed.

[electric indigo]

The First Order TIEs have HOTAS cockpits now:

[wm cheng]

New Bandai kits that are banned in North America?

[Chronocidal]

Looks like it, but that doesn't look much like the other fighters seen in the movie trailers so far. Guessing there are multiple versions. This one just looks like a patch job to the existing kit.

I haven't had much trouble ordering the Bandai kits from Amazon though, seems like there are plenty of Japanese retailers who are willing to ship outside of Japan. I don't know how long that might last though. I should probably grab another few Ties, X-wings and Y-wings while I can.

[VF-19]

New Bandai kits that are banned in North America?

I'd second the whole buying from Amazon deal. Most of the retailers aren't going overboard with the markup. I did, however, notice the regular TIE fighter went up from $24 to the $30 range. As long as there are dealers willing to be reasonable, I'll continue to stick it to Disney.

[Chronocidal]

Really, it's not sticking anything to Disney, because they're still getting the money from Bandai.

What it -is- doing is sticking it to Revell for making suck sucktastic kits for NA sales, which they deserve entirely.

[skullmilitia]

Revell is just doing what the american markets want. Cheap, snap together kits.

Bandai sells to a population where detailed, intricate models are popular.

But, someone somewhere should give a official reason as to why Bandai kits are not allowed to be sold.

[VF-19]

Really, it's not sticking anything to Disney, because they're still getting the money from Bandai.What it -is- doing is sticking it to Revell for making suck sucktastic kits for NA sales, which they deserve entirely.

Considering who told Bandai where they could sell their kits, I think I'm sticking it to Disney. However, despite what has been made public, I don't think Revell isn't exactly innocent.

[peter]

Really, it's not sticking anything to Disney, because they're still getting the money from Bandai.

What it -is- doing is sticking it to Revell for making suck sucktastic kits for NA sales, which they deserve entirely.

No kidding, the Revell kits suck balls. And some retailers are charging nearly the same price for the Bandai kits.

[mechaninac]

As far as the Revell SW kits are concerned, I'll only give consideration to subjects not offered in the Bandai lineup; there's just no comparison in detail and quality, and for roughly the same prices even with the procurement hoops imposed by Disney... who'd want a Revell neo-X-wing with soft and crude detail, and inaccurate proportions, when Bandai's version looks spot-on?

[Chronocidal]

The one Revell kit I am giving thought to is the large scale one they have coming. It's probably terrible detail, but just having a base model in that scale to work on fixing up is still a step up from any of the other kits I've got. I can always print myself replacement parts if I have to.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Chronocidal

[Black Valkyrie]

Black Series 4 inch Kylo Ren, really Hasbro should have started with this line for TFA, instead of that crappy 5 point articulation line.

[calubin_175]

http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?auccat=&tab_ex=commerce&ei=utf-8&aq=-1&oq=&sc_i=&p=%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%88%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%EF%BC%88%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BA%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89&x=0&y=0

28k yen chocolate exclusive Hot Toys Stormtrooper being resold for 75-98k yen.

It seems easier for Japanese to get it as it is limited 500 units, much more than Hong Kong.

[peter]

http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?auccat=&tab_ex=commerce&ei=utf-8&aq=-1&oq=&sc_i=&p=ストームトルーパー（ミラーブロンズ版）&x=0&y=0

28k yen chocolate exclusive Hot Toys Stormtrooper being resold for 75-98k yen.

It seems easier for Japanese to get it as it is limited 500 units, much more than Hong Kong.

Copper Crome or chocolate, lol!

[David Hingtgen]

Got my Bandai ep VII X-Wing today. $23 shipped.

[mickyg]

Nice, ain't it?

[Hikuro]

I actually just ordered the new X wing and a first order trooper. Very excited to start work on them both!

[derex3592]

Where's the best place to get the new Bandai kits cheap-ish shipped to to the US from a semi trust worthy source?

[Chronocidal]

Amazon still has ties with a few sellers who are willing to ship to the US, so it's worth looking there. I've gotten several kits from them with no trouble, they just cannot guarantee shipping times due to having to import them.

[derex3592]

Just gave Revell or Disney or whoever another middle finger and ordered a Bandai 1:12 First Order Stormtrooper from evilbay for $28 shipped. Of course it's on a slow boat from Japan, but it's not like I don't have plenty of things to build..

[Hikuro]

I only have prime for 3 more weeks, so I've been taking as much advantage as I can. Even if it's a few dollars more on some kits versus slower service I'm doing it.

[Chronocidal]

Honestly, looking at the Revell stuff, I'd take the original 1978 MPC kits over their nonsense.

I don't understand how it's so incredibly hard to properly proportion a ship that's literally one of the most iconic designs in history.. just do a google image search already.

[Jefuemon]

May the Banana Be With You

Yep. the Disney hyper-merchandise engine is still running.

[skullmilitia]

Rebelscum posted Dragon Models now has License.. hopefully this means stateside.

[David Hingtgen]

I've found that FS35183 is a dang close match to Bandai Ep VII X-W blue decals, but only comes in enamel. Currently leaning towards using Tamiya X-14+flat base+white+something intensely electric blue. (I hate mixing, but since the blue wing hashes literally touch the other blue areas, it's gotta be a perfect match)

(I'm not painting the whole kit, doing it Gunpla-style---only paint what's not already molded the right color). Plus lots of weathering.

[Chronocidal]

Eh? Well that's interesting, I don't even remember which market they target though.

I really wouldn't mind buying Revell stuff if they would bother to offer something aimed at serious modeling instead of the insta-build, pre-painted, snap-tite crowd. I mean, I'd be decently satisfied if they'd put forth the same effort they put into their 1/48 aircraft kits, but tiny little ships selling for more than something like a 1/48th F-14 is a serious stretch.

Also, I think the Bandai kits have a similar issue to the Arcadia VF-0D in terms of colors on both their parts and decals, they just seem way too saturated.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Chronocidal

[Chronocidal]

Anyone tried to assemble the Bandai Y-Wing kit yet? This is turning out to be an adventure.

While I can appreciate their attention to detail, I'm really wishing they had opted to mold more of the main body details in place, or in groups. Several of the pieces are actually too flimsy to even survive the forces necessary to snap them in place, and I'm having to assemble a good portion of the kit with tweezers.

Also, I might have just gotten a bum packaging, because a few of the pieces are warped, including some of the long engine struts. I'm thinking some of these pieces would be better replaced by paperclips, or even guitar string, just for the higher strength.

Really wishing we could get one of these in 1/48 now, though I'm surprised how big the ship is in 1/72. Makes me wonder what the old MPC kit was.

Edit: Also, this is weird, but I just got a purchase announcement from HLJ for a Bandai 1/48th X-Wing I ordered back before the embargo happened. The item doesn't even exist on the site, but the purchase went through, and is now in my warehouse.

As nice as all the electronics are, I think I'm going to actually have to rig up a way to make the wings work manually. Plugging the ship into the stand just to open and close them is kinda silly, and I think I can probably shapeways myself a scaled up copy of the 1/72 kit's brackets to hold the wings.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Chronocidal