Questions about Arcadia YF-19 and VF-1 1/60 Scale Toys

[Mr March]

I haven't purchased a new Valkyrie toy since my old Yamato 1/48 toys and I'm thinking of purchasing some new stuff. The 1/60 scale YF-19 from Arcadia and the 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyrie from Arcadia caught my eye. I've been out of collecting for years and know nothing about the toys. So I'm looking for some guidance. The individual threads about these toys are hundreds of pages, so I'm asking for information in a easier to read thread. So here we are.

So basically I just want to know if there are any details about these two toys (I'm probably looking for a VF-1J or VF-1S) that I would want to know about as a first time buyer?

Was their multiple versions of these toys released? Was any version better than the other?

Any serious defects? Any minor ones I should be aware of?

Can you still purchase these online or are they all discontinued and now sold only on the secondary market? I'm not seeing these on HLJ.

I also read in some other threads that Arcadia does reissues. How do you find out about these? Are the advertised in any way? Any idea of what is set to be reissued and what won't?

Just looking for a few details for the newb breaking into collecting again. Any help is appreciated.

[ChaoticYeti]

-----OPINIONS AHEAD-----

I have an Arcadia VF-1s Roy, and a couple Arcadia YF-19's. The YF-19 being one of my all time favorite mecha, I was hoping for it to be perfect. You can read in the YF-19 thread about peoples issues. I have 2 big gripes about mine. The ankles are not stiff, and the high speed mode is too big of a durability sacrifice for it to be worth while. I can't really say my ankles are floppy, but they are not stiff. I can stand him up on his feet, but some angles are too much for the ankles to bear. When my Yamato VF-19s from years ago has the same issue I am annoyed that this was not fixed. To that point, the YF-19 is just a renewal version of the Yamato VF-19's. They transform the same, and they almost have the exact same proportions. Am I glad I have an Arcadia YF-19? Yes. Did I expect more from it? Yes.

The Arcadia VF-1's, on the other hand, are the same of the Yamato 1/60 VF-1 v2's. I think they (either the Yamato, or Arcadia releases) are the defacto 1/60 VF-1's as of right now. People gripped about their price, and the exclusion of super/strike parts, but as a Valkyrie, they are great.

And even if you don't like, or have not seen Macross Frontier, get a VF-25/29 renewal. You won't be dissapointed. Great Mecha.

Edited July 15, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[Mommar]

It's going to get complicated fast. Arcadia has only released three VF-1s. The 30th Anniversary 1J scheme, the Roy DYRL 1S which is in what people are calling "pink-white" and Hikaru DYRL 1S also in "pink-white." The two 1S are bright white, not an off shade. There are also no Arcadia Fast packs available, so if you want to deck out these Valks you have to find an old Yamato version in order to do so. Some people would disagree with me but I believe the White Roy or Hikaru 1S are both a good buy, plus you get a stand to display them on. However, they were made to order. You'd likely have to find them second hand at this point, minus the 30th Anniversary paint scheme.

If you want to get into the Yamato back-catalog things... it gets complicated fast. Primarily the only real issue are knurled pins on the earliest Yamato releases which caused the shoulder hinge to crack. You could lose an arm, but it was fixed.

Jenius has a pretty thorough list of what is a "good" and bad toy. He has a rundown of all of them but you're pretty much relegated to secondary market for everything at this point.
http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=4599

The Arcadia YF-19 is the fourth Valk they've released ever. It's the best YF-19 available, period. The only other thing you would find online are some very old Yamato YF-19's and they are honestly terrible. A thing to note, the ankles are poorly designed. They can come out of the box super loose and Battroid may not stand. You can fix it but for $300+... yeah. The other thing is the addition of metal wing hinges for high speed mode, they left out any way to lock the wings in place, so they aren't very stable and can be a bit loose as well. Even still, it's better than the old one by a wide mile (If you ask me to compare it to the Yamato VF-19, the 19S is still for sale and relatively cheap, I'll tell you a different tale.)

Right now HKCollectibles has all of the Arcadia stuff available still. I've used them before and haven't been disappointed. Prices can be a bit higher on a few things, but they have sale items as well. The Roy 1S right now, for instance.
https://www.hkcollectibles.com/10-macross-robotech-1-60?orderby=quantity&orderway=desc

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mommar

[Scyla]

So to sum it up.

The VF-1: great toy and great accessories (like a stand) but missing the Super/Strike-Parts. The ejection seat blast warning is missing and the plastic has a pink hue if you look at it in the right (or wrong) light.

The YF-19: good toy but you pay for accessories you might not really like (the missiles). It has the Super Parts but is missing the arm cannon and a stand. Issues are the terrible loose ankles. The might get so loose that the toy can't even stand properly. They get more loose if you try to pose the toy in a good Gerwalk stance. They toy has some areas where it can lead to paint rubbing. one is the black painted spine area behind the cockpit and the other is in front of the cockpit near the egress hatch in Battroid-mode. The wing hinges to accommodate high-speed mode are loose or get loose over time if you move them so they probably won't stay in the proper position in Battroid-Mode. Some copies seem to have a gap where the belly-plate in Battroid-Mode is attached in Fighter-Mode.

[edit:] Oh and the gun-pod is the one from the VF-19 Excalibur not the one the YF-19 has in the animation.

As you see the YF-19 has a good amount of issues and I would say that the Arcadia VF-1S is the better choice. However if you want something different than the classic Valkyrie you should get the YF-19. That said I think the VF-19 from Yamato is the best Macross toy you can get and has none of the issues the YF-19 has except for the ankles. They are still available at places like angolz or hkcollectibles if you want to check it out.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Scyla

[technoblue]

Mr. March:

HLJ still carries the 30th Anniversary VF-1J:

http://www.hlj.com/product/ACA82001/Sci

I think the YF-19 is more difficult to find now, but I didn't look very hard. If you don't mind using Nippon Yasan, they still appear to have the VF-1S Valkyries in stock:

Arcadia Roy VF-1S

http://www.nippon-yasan.com/macross/5554-1-60-vf-1s-roy-focker-special-movie-ver.html

Arcadia Hikaru VF-1S

http://www.nippon-yasan.com/macross/5787-vf-1s-ichijou-hikaru-special-movie-ver.html

Edited July 15, 2014 by technoblue

[ChaoticYeti]

...

The Arcadia YF-19 is the fourth Valk they've released ever. It's the best YF-19 available, period. The only other thing you would find online are some very old Yamato YF-19's and they are honestly terrible. A thing to note, the ankles are poorly designed. They can come out of the box super loose and Battroid may not stand. You can fix it but for $300+... yeah. The other thing is the addition of metal wing hinges for high speed mode, they left out any way to lock the wings in place, so they aren't very stable and can be a bit loose as well. Even still, it's better than the old one by a wide mile (If you ask me to compare it to the Yamato VF-19, the 19S is still for sale and relatively cheap, I'll tell you a different tale.)

My sentiments, exactly.

Here is a VF-19s going for $146.00.

http://www.angolz.com/store/1-60-macross-vf-19s-emerald-force-custom.html

Edited July 15, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[Kanedas Bike]

I haven't purchased a new Valkyrie toy since my old Yamato 1/48 toys and I'm thinking of purchasing some new stuff. The 1/60 scale YF-19 from Arcadia and the 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyrie from Arcadia caught my eye. I've been out of collecting for years and know nothing about the toys. So I'm looking for some guidance. The individual threads about these toys are hundreds of pages, so I'm asking for information in a easier to read thread. So here we are.

So basically I just want to know if there are any details about these two toys (I'm probably looking for a VF-1J or VF-1S) that I would want to know about as a first time buyer?

Was their multiple versions of these toys released? Was any version better than the other?

Any serious defects? Any minor ones I should be aware of?

Can you still purchase these online or are they all discontinued and now sold only on the secondary market? I'm not seeing these on HLJ.

I also read in some other threads that Arcadia does reissues. How do you find out about these? Are the advertised in any way? Any idea of what is set to be reissued and what won't?

Just looking for a few details for the newb breaking into collecting again. Any help is appreciated.

Well, welcome back to the world of Macross toy collecting. Those are a lot of loaded questions, but I know you'll get some really good answers.

A good resource for you to start is at Jenius' site; http://www.anymoon.com/blog/

You can get a good handle on most of Yamato's VF-1 offerings which are essentially the same as Arcadia's VF-1 offers, notable exceptions being a few small cosmetic changes in paint applications, tint/coloration of certain plastic parts and included accessories.

The Arcadia YF-19 is the best iteration of the YF-19 from Macross Plus to date but Mommar and Scyla did a good job articulating (as I type my reply) some of the concerns owners have had (granted on the copy I've opened I haven't seen those issues straight out of the box, so your mileage can and may vary). Which can at this moment still be ordered at AmiAmi (status of Backorder);

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIGURE-002551&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_cate3%3D986%24s_keywords%3DMacross%24pagemax%3D20%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D2

Good luck!!!

-b.

[Mommar]

The Arcadia YF-19 is the best iteration of the YF-19 from Macross Plus to date but Mommar and Scyla did a good job articulating (as I type my reply) some of the concerns owners have had (granted on the copy I've opened I haven't seen those issues straight out of the box, so your mileage can and may vary). Which can at this moment still be ordered at AmiAmi (status of Backorder);

The Ankles on my first 19, the one with the broken wing, were nice ans stiff. The second replacement one couldn't stand in Battroid right out of the box. It's a crap shoot.

Bottom line, if you buy an Arcadia VF-1, barring manufacturing issues, it WILL be rock solid. If you buy an Arcadia 19 your mileage may vary... even if it is the best YF-19 on the market.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mommar

[Mr March]

Wow, that was FAST (pack? *chortle*)! Really appreciate all the great replies. You all did a fantastic job summarizing the issues. This is exactly what I wanted to know. Plus these are some great links to places selling stuff that I've never used before. It means a lot to hear endorsement of these places from other Macross buyers. Also, Jenius' blog website is an amazing resource, so thanks for mentioning it.

So yeah, thrilled by the response. You guys are the best!

To Kaneda and ChaoticYeti, just so you know I am seriously looking at grabbing the YF-30 Chronos at the end of August. I've also long wanted to purchase a Macross Frontier mecha (have I seen the show?...tsk, tsk, silly Yeti, lol). But there's been so many toys, I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm leaning toward a VF-25F Messiah or a VF-25G Messiah. But let's talk of that in another thread.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mr March

[ChaoticYeti]

I am torn on the yf-30. I really want one, but I am worried it will be a floppy mess. They are including some braces that you add to gerwalk and battroid to help keep it in place, which is nice, and dissapointing all at once. I will wait for others to share their experiences. I have probably already doubled my valk collection this year...oh god...what a thought.

[Chronocidal]

Don't think you really need a new thread for other stuff, you could change the topic to cover general recommendations.

As far as the YF-19 goes, mine are both solid, but like others have mentioned, the ankles are still the bad ball joint from the Yamato VF-19s and the wing pivots are iffy. But those issues aside, any valk based off of that VF-19 mold is on the top of my personal favorites list. You can't really go wrong with a 19S or Fire Valk sale, since those two were overproduced, and are still pretty easy to find.

For the VF-1s though, I'd try to find old Yamato releases if you don't need the stand, as they may be slightly cheaper. Otherwise, they're exactly the same, and a rock solid design.

In Frontier's case, you picked a relatively good time to get interested, since there was a recent VF-25F re-release, and you might be able to find one fairly easily. As for the other 3 on the team, you're not likely to find either a G or S for anything approaching a reasonable price. Bandai has just been absolutely trolling the market by refusing to re-release any of the other main characters.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Chronocidal

[Sildani]

I see HK Collectables has a movie 1A with option parts... Is that a good/safe buy?

[barurutor]

^yeah, that's safe. anything with option parts or has the 30th anniversary sticker/packaging should have no durability issues.

[rahvin]

I have the Arcadia VF-1S, and it's amazing. As others have said, super solid. I just wish I had Super/Strike parts for it.

Just yesterday I received a VF-17s and a VF-19s from HKCollectibles (who has them on sale at a great price), and both of those are incredible.

I only have one Frontier figure - the YF-29S - and it, too, is mind-blowingly good.

[Mommar]

I am torn on the yf-30. I really want one, but I am worried it will be a floppy mess. They are including some braces that you add to gerwalk and battroid to help keep it in place, which is nice, and dissapointing all at once. I will wait for others to share their experiences. I have probably already doubled my valk collection this year...oh god...what a thought.

Trust me, one way or another you're going to hear about the 30 from me.

[Kanedas Bike]

I see HK Collectables has a movie 1A with option parts... Is that a good/safe buy?

Yep (as already answered). I have two of them and there are no issues - they're currently displayed in Battroid mode. Honestly I think it's one of the more underrated Yamato releases.

Trust me, one way or another you're going to hear about the 30 from me.

This. Even though I don't always agree with Mommar ( ) I give major props for him always being very unbiased in his critique of any given release.

-b.

[aaajin]

Here's a safe/avoid list of Yamato's VF-1 that *jenius* compiled :

EDITED : All arcadia releases can be considered safe.

Edited 2 : replaced *someone on the board* with *jenius*. Sorry folks, was out of the board for almost 6-7 years, didnt know who compiled what.

Edited July 16, 2014 by aaajin

[jenius]

Someone? C'mon, if you don't mention it's crazy ol' jenius' list some people might start thinking that 'Version 2.0/2.1/2.2" is something official and not just the musings of your's truly. Also, if you link to the site you get the updated list!

Edited July 16, 2014 by jenius

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

that's jenius' hardwork there.

props!

[aaajin]

Haha sorry jenius, didnt kow it was you...althoughI did have a feeling that it was you

[YF-29 Durandal]

Someone? C'mon, if you don't mention it's crazy ol' jenius' list some people might start thinking that 'Version 2.0/2.1/2.2" is something official and not just the musings of your's truly. Also, if you link to the site you get the updated list!

I hereby put forth the motion that the Arcadia VF-1S variants should be known henceforth as Version 2.2B.

Edited July 16, 2014 by YF-29 Durandal

[Mr March]

I read on Jenius' site the infamous ankle joint problem can be fixed cheaply, so I'm not too worried about it

ChaoticYeti
I'm not sure why the YF-30 Chronos would be a floppy mess, but I suppose it's possible. You've encountered such a problem with Macross toyus before have you? Keep in mind my experience with Macross toys are limited; I know the old 1/55 chunky monkeys, the original 1/60 and 1/48 scale Yammies, the non-transformable Bandai model kits and lastly the Revoltech figures.

Chronocidal
Alright, well in that case which Macross Frontier version/company/scale of the VF-25F Messiah would you recommend, since you say the secondary market is asking too much for a VF-25G? Like I said, I know nothing about the many lines of Frontier toys, I just know there are too many of them. I'm looking for a transformable toy of the VF-25F Messiah that has excellent proportions, articulation and quality that is in a similar category to Yamato/Arcadia stuff we've talked about so far.

So who makes the best one?
What scale is it?
How much is it?
Any problems I should be aware of or any lines I should avoid?
Got a link to any sellers?

Let me know what you think.

rahvin
The YF-29S Durandal sure does look nice. It wasn't a mecha that was on my radar, but I might wait to hear reviews of the YF-30 Chronos before buying it. If I should decide against it, the YF-29S might be a good choice.

Mommar
Yeah, I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts on the YF-30 Chronos. I like the design, so I'm strongly leaning toward buying. Only thing that will turn me off is if the toy turns out to have serious issues, like ChaoticYeti has said.

jenius
Thanks for the information. Your website is turning out to be quite the resource. Have you done an Arcadia YF-19 1/60 review yet? i don't see one. I'd be very curious about your thoughts.

[jenius]

Sadly I have not. I was moving so my friend in Japan has been holding onto it for me. I will probably ask him to ship me a package after the dx renewal tornado parts are released.

[technoblue]

In Frontier's case, you picked a relatively good time to get interested, since there was a recent VF-25F re-release, and you might be able to find one fairly easily. As for the other 3 on the team, you're not likely to find either a G or S for anything approaching a reasonable price. Bandai has just been absolutely trolling the market by refusing to re-release any of the other main characters.

It's true that you won't be able to find a sealed VF-25G for 17000 JPY today. The VF-25A and VF-25F are better for the bargain hunter. The VF-25G is still available, though. Just reset your expectations. A sealed box will cost about twice MSRP. Me? On the Frontier side, I'm doing my best to be patient.

Edited July 16, 2014 by technoblue

[ChaoticYeti]

I read on Jenius' site the infamous ankle joint problem can be fixed cheaply, so I'm not too worried about it

ChaoticYeti

I'm not sure why the YF-30 Chronos would be a floppy mess, but I suppose it's possible. You've encountered such a problem with Macross toyus before have you? Keep in mind my experience with Macross toys are limited; I know the old 1/55 chunky monkeys, the original 1/60 and 1/48 scale Yammies, the non-transformable Bandai model kits and lastly the Revoltech figures.

Chronocidal

Alright, well in that case which Macross Frontier version/company/scale of the VF-25F Messiah would you recommend, since you say the secondary market is asking too much for a VF-25G? Like I said, I know nothing about the many lines of Frontier toys, I just know there are too many of them. I'm looking for a transformable toy of the VF-25F Messiah that has excellent proportions, articulation and quality that is in a similar category to Yamato/Arcadia stuff we've talked about so far.

So who makes the best one?

What scale is it?

How much is it?

Any problems I should be aware of or any lines I should avoid?

Got a link to any sellers?

Let me know what you think.

rahvin

The YF-29S Durandal sure does look nice. It wasn't a mecha that was on my radar, but I might wait to hear reviews of the YF-30 Chronos before buying it. If I should decide against it, the YF-29S might be a good choice.

Mommar

Yeah, I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts on the YF-30 Chronos. I like the design, so I'm strongly leaning toward buying. Only thing that will turn me off is if the toy turns out to have serious issues, like ChaoticYeti has said.

jenius

Thanks for the information. Your website is turning out to be quite the resource. Have you done an Arcadia YF-19 1/60 review yet? i don't see one. I'd be very curious about your thoughts.

I am worried about floppiness because it appears that they are adding non-integrated support bars that are suppose to be put in place to secure the valkyrie in gerwalk and battroid. If they are an extra "just in case" bracket that is not necessary, than cool. If they are required to keep things from being floppy, than that is a huge letdown for me.

[Mr March]

Thanks fellas. Good to know.

For you Arcadia YF-19 owners, I've been looking at reviews of the craft and I'm really curious as to the size of the fighter and battroid. The toy is advertised at 1/60 scale, so it actually appears as if the fighter is the same size as the VF-1 in 1/48 scale from Yamato, if maybe a centimeter or two difference. Anyone own both and can compare? Also, how tall does the Battroid stand. Again, it seems like it's perhaps about the same size as the 1/48 scale VF-1 Battroid from Yamato.

[Mommar]

I read on Jenius' site the infamous ankle joint problem can be fixed cheaply, so I'm not too worried about it

ChaoticYeti

I'm not sure why the YF-30 Chronos would be a floppy mess, but I suppose it's possible. You've encountered such a problem with Macross toyus before have you? Keep in mind my experience with Macross toys are limited; I know the old 1/55 chunky monkeys, the original 1/60 and 1/48 scale Yammies, the non-transformable Bandai model kits and lastly the Revoltech figures.

Chronocidal

Alright, well in that case which Macross Frontier version/company/scale of the VF-25F Messiah would you recommend, since you say the secondary market is asking too much for a VF-25G? Like I said, I know nothing about the many lines of Frontier toys, I just know there are too many of them. I'm looking for a transformable toy of the VF-25F Messiah that has excellent proportions, articulation and quality that is in a similar category to Yamato/Arcadia stuff we've talked about so far.

So who makes the best one?

What scale is it?

How much is it?

Any problems I should be aware of or any lines I should avoid?

Got a link to any sellers?

Let me know what you think.

rahvin

The YF-29S Durandal sure does look nice. It wasn't a mecha that was on my radar, but I might wait to hear reviews of the YF-30 Chronos before buying it. If I should decide against it, the YF-29S might be a good choice.

Mommar

Yeah, I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts on the YF-30 Chronos. I like the design, so I'm strongly leaning toward buying. Only thing that will turn me off is if the toy turns out to have serious issues, like ChaoticYeti has said.

jenius

Thanks for the information. Your website is turning out to be quite the resource. Have you done an Arcadia YF-19 1/60 review yet? i don't see one. I'd be very curious about your thoughts.

Actually, only Bandai produces Frontier toys. They're in 1/60 scale so they roughly match the Yamato/Arcadia valks. Avoid all of the Version 1's as they're terrible. I think Jenius has a portion of his website that lists the differences between the V1's and Renewals and now to identify them. Typically the box should have a lot of white on them. Not terribly useful. lol Anyway, I own all of the 25 Variants released to date. If you're an Alto fan they have the renewal for sale at Nippon-Yasan right now:

http://www.nippon-yasan.com/macross/4884-macross-f-dx-chogokin-vf-25f-messiah-valkyrie-saotome-alto-custom-renewal-version-reissue.html

Honestly, I think the two best Valks are the Cannon Fodder 25A and the YF-25 Prophecy. They're beautiful in all three modes, but I know many people like to buy vehicles based on the character piloting it. It's too bad the G is so hard to find as that's my third pick. Unfortunately all of the Super/Armor parts have been Tamashii Webshop exclusives and they don't re-release those so you're stuck buying on the secondary market and you'll pay through the nose too. It turns out the Alto Tornado Parts will be released starting this Saturday so you might be able to grab one of those after release if somebody cancels a pre-order. But you'll have to jump immediately.

You'll definitely hear what I think about the 30, for sure. Even though I'm set to be disappointed I'll try to be as fair as I can. I've actually been planning to try a few different fixes for the floppiness issue that may arise in Battroid as well.

[no3Ljm]

I believe Arcadia's YF-19 Battroid mode stands about 23.5-24cm to the tip of the head. Same height as the VF-19's from Yamato. I'm guessing that 1/48 VF-1's stands around 27-28cm. And 1/60 VF-1's around 22cm to the tip of the head. That's all 'guess-timate'. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.

Edited July 16, 2014 by no3ljm

[Mr March]

Mommar
Ah, I didn't know Bandai was the only maker of the Frontier stuff. There's been so many lines of Frontier toys since the 2008 series was released I just assumed it was because a bunch of companies were cashing in on the popularity of the show. And yeah, there's a lot of terrible Frontier toys that came out over the years. Which is why I've avoided buying anything Frontier until now.

That VF-25F Messiah ("Renewal", is it?) looks exactly like the kind of Frontier mecha I'd like to buy. Thanks for the link, I may make another purchase because of it, you evil man

I don't really choose to buy valkyries based upon the character/pilot and I'm not opposed to buying variants. But understand that for me the original is a big deal. When a new Macross series showcases a new valkyrie, as a mecha fan I dive into exhaustive examination of that craft. This means typically the first iteration of the Valkyrie is the one I'm going to know and fall in love with first. As good as some of the variants can be (and I do like the odd variant better), it's difficult to upstage the original. Once the first version of the VF-1 was released in 1982, every day afterward we were living in a post-VF-1 Valkyrie world and any variant that comes after can never be as fresh as the original. So I lean toward the VF-1J or S as my favorite of the Valkyrie class, the YF-19 for the Exaclibur class and the VF-25F for the Messiah class.

I'm sorry to hear the Super Parts and the variants like the VF-25G are so hard to find now. Like I said I am looking at some other stuff like the YF-30 Chronos and even recommendations in this thread like the YF-29 Durandal. But we'll see how it goes. I am treating myself, but I don't want to over-indulge or buy a bunch of toys that I'll regret create so much clutter in my home.

Please do share your thoughts on the YF-30 Chronos after release. I'll likely decide to purchase based largely on what you and fans like jenius have to say about it.

no3ljm
Ah, very interesting. That would make the YF-19 1/60 Arcadia smaller than the 1/48 Vf-1 Yammie in battroid mode, but the YF-19 will be slightly longer in fighter than the Yammie 1/48 fighter. Not bad guesses I'd wager, I suppose I'll find out soon.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Mr March

[chyll2]

For accessories of VF-25F (that is thanks to the July re-issue means it is "easier/cheaper" to get them now), Super Parts are really expensive, all the more is the Armored Parts.The multiple re-issue of VF-25F means that there is less Super/Armored parts around and supply and demand dictates it should have higher price.

I suggest try to look at the upcoming Tornado parts if it is your thing. Since this is recently released, it might be reasonably cheaper.

[Mr March]

I think I'll just stick with the base models for now. I love the Super/Armored Packs as much as the next fan, but I'd much rather spend the money toward buying another valkyrie (such as the VF-25F Messiah or YF-30 Chronos) than spend money on accessories. That VF-25F is looking good

[YF-29 Durandal]

Bandai Renewal aka V2 are the white boxes and much better but also more pricey than the V1's.

[ChaoticYeti]

I think I'll just stick with the base models for now. I love the Super/Armored Packs as much as the next fan, but I'd much rather spend the money toward buying another valkyrie (such as the VF-25F Messiah or YF-30 Chronos) than spend money on accessories. That VF-25F is looking good

This is true, but if you have even an inkling that you may want one of the packs get it now. Prices will only go up.

[Mommar]

Yeti has a point, if there's the slightest inclination you might want to use the packs you pretty much have to buy them at release or else you're SOL after that.

[Mr March]

It's good advice. I'll have to think about it. I just know what I'm like as a buyer and accessories don't really work for me. They look good for certain and most are built quite well, but aside from the VF-1 Strike Parts, I didn't really use any of them all that much. During the Yamato 1/48 days, I purchased quite a few accessory sets for my valkyries (Strike, Super, GBP Armored, etc) and pretty much regret doing it. I ended up selling the accessories first before anything else. I don't really want to make that mistake again.

I've tried purchasing a lot of toys and accessories, but eventually my personality gets the better of me and I resent having so much clutter. I just end up selling most of it as the years go by. So the solution has been, don't buy much at all. And if I want something new, I sell something old. That way I keep things to about a couple dozen pieces, rotate them on display and that's good enough for me.

Anyway, I truly appreciate your warnings. You're right, it's best to get them now. I'll consider getting a Super Pack for the VF-25F Messiah. How much are they going for?

Edited July 18, 2014 by Mr March