Hi-Metal R

[spacemanoeuvres]

1 minute ago, EmilianoAlfaro said:

PERFECTO estado!

To be fair I’ve only ever had an issue with the 31A preorder but I still feel raw about it.

So many folks here are charitable to NY because they’ve been lucky enough to not have to deal with them outside of placing an order and paying for it. Remember the old retail adage, for every customer that complains there are two dozen more that sit silent and simply take their business elsewhere. 

I still use NY because they are the cheapest game in town.  But I will never rely on them as the sole source of something I absolutely have to have because they have let me down in the past. 

[Alex GS]

36 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

All of these products are technically illegal for us to purchase anyways 

Hmmm not sure about that, if those were illegal I think we wouldn't get our stuff from Japan so easily also I think there is a special Trade agreement with Japan well at least for the US so it also there's is no custom or other  taxes to paid in when the item arrives at the US, I mean heck I can received my AmiAmi item using DHL in just a couple of day, so how can this be an illegal procedure? , also there is an agreement with EMS and USPS, you can use EMS tracking numbers in the USPS site. So I really think there is nothing illegal going on here  unless you are trying to receive specific items, like flammable liquids , somekind of batteries, etc. 

Sorry for being off topic here it just it really grabbed my attention  

Edited November 2, 2018 by Alex GS

[rdrunner]

27 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

*snip*

I still use NY because they are the cheapest game in town.  But I will never rely on them as the sole source of something I absolutely have to have because they have let me down in the past. 

I agree with you - I won't rely on them as the only source of an item on PO either.  As a backup, their prices with economy shipping are competitive.  We just have to wait like a couple hours for them to post the PO link after everybody else, and get past the spinning wheel of death....

[technoblue]

For me, the 31A SNAFU was enough to get me to take a break from NY. Before that fiasco I didn't really have anything horrible happen, just minor frustrations like getting dinged for extra shipping on certain exclusives (Roy's VF-1S HM-R release comes to mind) or receiving items in cut up, resized shipping boxes. The second frustration there being more of a nitpick. When packaged well, resized shipping boxes are perfectly serviceable and it's also a good way to recycle cardboard.

Edited November 2, 2018 by technoblue

[jenius]

This discussion belongs in the "where to buy" thread. This thread is about Hi-Metal R toys.

[no3Ljm]

10 minutes ago, jenius said:

This discussion belongs in the "where to buy" thread. This thread is about Hi-Metal R toys.

As Jenius have pointed out. Let me help you guys on your next jump.

 

[technoblue]

To be fair, if you guys have an issue, you should really report it and contact a mod and have it looked at fairly. 

It's not up to regular members to moderate threads or interrupt the natural flow of discourse.

No offense, but this leads to bias, passive aggression, and just creates bad juju for everyone.

Quote

 

Section II: Staying On-Topic

This forum is a Macross discussion forum. Therefore, topics discussed here should be limited to topics that interest Macross fans. If a topic is not specifically about Macross, it should have broad appeal among Macross fans. The 'Anime or Science Fiction' section exists on these forums because those genres are generally appealing to a vast majority of Macross fans. That is not to say, however, that every thread in that section is therefore exempt from the "Off-topic" rule. You may love the movie "Megaforce," and it may indeed be a science-fiction movie. But, that does not necessarily mean that "Megaforce" is entitled to its own thread in the "Anime or Science-Fiction" section. The staff reserves the right to delete and/or lock topics that are deemed to be off-topic at their sole discretion.

 

 

[jenius]

Sure, i could complain to a mod, and have that mod complain to you, or I can just say "hey guys, this isn't the right place for this discussion we've all seen in four different threads now."  I don't think that should hurt anyone's feelings....

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, Alex GS said:

Hmmm not sure about that, if those were illegal I think we wouldn't get our stuff from Japan so easily also I think there is a special Trade agreement with Japan well at least for the US so it also there's is no custom or other  taxes to paid in when the item arrives at the US, I mean heck I can received my AmiAmi item using DHL in just a couple of day, so how can this be an illegal procedure? , also there is an agreement with EMS and USPS, you can use EMS tracking numbers in the USPS site. So I really think there is nothing illegal going on here  unless you are trying to receive specific items, like flammable liquids , somekind of batteries, etc. 

Sorry for being off topic here it just it really grabbed my attention  

Last post just to respond...they are illegal in that these are products meant for the Japanese market only and part of that is because of IP laws that are being broken every time we purchase them. It seems minor enough to slip by but still a technicality that luckily most of us and the people involved with getting them to us don't seem to care about. Anyways, I'm happy I got my VF-4 order in with NY. No wheel of death, no crashing sites to worry about, lowest price. I'm a happy camper.

[jenius]

"Illegal" is probably the wrong term as it invokes visions of law enforcement. This is civil stuff. I don't think there's anything against the law about selling toys overseas, it's just that, the toy manufacturers have contracts that say that THEY can't market or distribute overseas and so they make that clear with their wholesalers and so the stores can't come to them and say "my overseas customers need replacement parts" because they're not supposed to be selling overseas. 

[Sanity is Optional]

I always thought it was more of a grey area, as it's importing for personal usage (at least if you buy it from an overseas site).

 

Anyway, any thoughts on what the next VF-4 they make will be? We all know they're going to milk the mold somehow.

[Slave IV]

4 minutes ago, jenius said:

"Illegal" is probably the wrong term as it invokes visions of law enforcement. This is civil stuff. I don't think there's anything against the law about selling toys overseas, it's just that, the toy manufacturers have contracts that say that THEY can't market or distribute overseas and so they make that clear with their wholesalers and so the stores can't come to them and say "my overseas customers need replacement parts" because they're not supposed to be selling overseas. 

Cool. Whatever the case, I'm happy that we can get these toys much easier than it was back in the day. I avoid HLJ and amiami when I can, especially now with all their issues and HLJ's recent higher pricing. 

Just now, Sanity is Optional said:

I always thought it was more of a grey area, as it's importing for personal usage (at least if you buy it from an overseas site).

 

Anyway, any thoughts on what the next VF-4 they make will be? We all know they're going to milk the mold somehow.

I will buy M&M versions of the VF-4 for sure! Actually, I will buy any HMR pretty much. 

[technoblue]

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Sure, i could complain to a mod, and have that mod complain to you, or I can just say "hey guys, this isn't the right place for this discussion we've all seen in four different threads now."  I don't think that should hurt anyone's feelings....

My fault for posting something abrupt. I wasn't really worried about feelings in this case. I'm used to no3Ljm's posts, and seeing other posts like yours. I was thinking more about fairness and getting things back on track quickly. Anyway, I've sent a PM in case you want to take the discussion offline so as not to clutter things here. 

[Sandman]

4 hours ago, fenrir72 said:

That bad huh amigo?!

They are good until they are not. The most applicable description of N-Y.

[jenius]

I blame SK for how ugly the M&M VF-4 schemes are. I would probably get a VF-4G over the M&Ms (but realistically, I'd get them all). 

[TheLoneWolf]

3 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Last post just to respond...they are illegal in that these are products meant for the Japanese market only and part of that is because of IP laws that are being broken every time we purchase them. It seems minor enough to slip by but still a technicality that luckily most of us and the people involved with getting them to us don't seem to care about.

It's understandable that you feel like importing Macross toys is illegal, especially after seeing all the legal actions taken by Harmony Gold against retailers like BigBadToyStore. But as a private citizen who's importing these products for personal use, not business use, you're not doing anything illegal.

Jurisdiction

Since you're buying these toys from Japanese retailers located in Japan, the sale is considered as taking place on Japanese soil, therefore none of Harmony Gold's rights are infringed. Even though the Internet has no actual "soil," the retailers are still registered in Japan and don't actively market (ie: junk mailings, paid advertisements, etc.) their Macross products in the US, so Japan is still considered as having jurisidiction. Simply having a website in English isn't enough to give the US and Harmony Gold jurisdiction, the Japanese retailer would still have to actively market their Macross products in the US.

Importing the Toys into the US

After you've purchased your Macross toy from a Japanese retailer, importing your toy into the US is still legal if it's for your personal use. However, if you purchased dozens of toys with the intent to resell them in the US, then you would be running afoul of US trademark laws, as Harmony Gold has registered the name "MACROSS" as a trademark and claimed the UN Spacy kite symbol as another one of their trademarks.

Even users such as sh9000, who these toys by the dozen, are safe because we can clearly see from his posts that he buys them primarily for customization and army building, not for business resale.

With that said, I'm pumped for the Hikaru VF-4! I hope there'll be a few available at release as I wasn't able to get a preorder.

[Slave IV]

13 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

It's understandable that you feel like importing Macross toys is illegal, especially after seeing all the legal actions taken by Harmony Gold against retailers like BigBadToyStore. But as a private citizen who's importing these products for personal use, not business use, you're not doing anything illegal.

Jurisdiction

Since you're buying these toys from Japanese retailers located in Japan, the sale is considered as taking place on Japanese soil, therefore none of Harmony Gold's rights are infringed. Even though the Internet has no actual "soil," the retailers are still registered in Japan and don't actively market (ie: junk mailings, paid advertisements, etc.) their Macross products in the US, so Japan is still considered as having jurisidiction. Simply having a website in English isn't enough to give the US and Harmony Gold jurisdiction, the Japanese retailer would still have to actively market their Macross products in the US.

Importing the Toys into the US

After you've purchased your Macross toy from a Japanese retailer, importing your toy into the US is still legal if it's for your personal use. However, if you purchased dozens of toys with the intent to resell them in the US, then you would be running afoul of US trademark laws, as Harmony Gold has registered the name "MACROSS" as a trademark and claimed the UN Spacy kite symbol as another one of their trademarks.

Even users such as sh9000, who these toys by the dozen, are safe because we can clearly see from his posts that he buys them primarily for customization and army building, not for business resale.

With that said, I'm pumped for the Hikaru VF-4! I hope there'll be a few available at release as I wasn't able to get a preorder.

Works for me. HG can go F themselves anyways.

Bring on more HMR! I want some Frontier Valks since the DX versions suck and I don't care about them enough to pay DX prices.

[Sandman]

I can't believe we are finally getting the FB 2012 scheme. Just wish we could have a 1/60 of that scheme.

[David Hingtgen]

Well, I'll be doing like I often do---bookmarking the VF-4 page of the main sites, trying to stay logged in 24/7 to all of them, and checking for orders being reopened for just a minute:

When I wake up.  When I leave for work. At lunch.  On break.  Walking to the car.   When I get home.  Before I go to bed.  When I wake up in the night.   

It sometimes works, it's how I've gotten at least 2 valks.  But it shouldn't be that hard...

[Sanity is Optional]

41 minutes ago, David Hingtgen said:

Well, I'll be doing like I often do---bookmarking the VF-4 page of the main sites, trying to stay logged in 24/7 to all of them, and checking for orders being reopened for just a minute:

 When I wake up.  When I leave for work. At lunch.  On break.  Walking to the car.   When I get home.  Before I go to bed.  When I wake up in the night.   

 It sometimes works, it's how I've gotten at least 2 valks.  But it shouldn't be that hard...

Distill web monitor. You can have it check websites based on a time increment (from 1sec to days) and alert you in various ways when it sees a change (including sending email).

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

I blame SK for how ugly the M&M VF-4 schemes are. I would probably get a VF-4G over the M&Ms (but realistically, I'd get them all). 

Yea I'm not a fan of the M&M paint schemes for the VF-4 either. They don't look as appealing as the Skull team and VF-X Ravens VF-4(which I've grown to appreciate much but more through the years). The other valks in M3 got good paint schemes, the VF-4's in it look lacking in comparison.

Hoping to trigger hand is able to retract into the forearm.

[slide]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

I blame SK for how ugly the M&M VF-4 schemes are. I would probably get a VF-4G over the M&Ms (but realistically, I'd get them all). 

SK?

[jvmacross]

I like this red and blue VF-4 better.....

 

.....than these....

[easnoddy]

They fugly. The VF-9 M&M are SO MUCH better. 

[jvmacross]

2 minutes ago, slide said:

SK?

 

Shōji Kawamori

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

4 minutes ago, slide said:

SK?

Shoji Kawamori

3 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I like this red and blue VF-4 better.....

 

.....than these....

WAY better! Just stripes sure but a small change makes a big difference in this case.

Edited November 3, 2018 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[easnoddy]

Either of those are better than these monochrome monstrosities (which I'd still buy)...

[Shizuka the Cat]

14 minutes ago, easnoddy said:

Either of those are better than these monochrome monstrosities (which I'd still buy)...

Agreed. The addition of a white/grey nose cone and some white line accents would help a lot.

[sh9000]

21 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I like this red and blue VF-4 better.....

 

.....than these....

Thanks for the pics @jvmacross.  They will come in handy.

[slide]

55 minutes ago, easnoddy said:

Either of those are better than these monochrome monstrosities (which I'd still buy)...

I'm going to go this route:

Solid M&M colours with white DYRL stripes and a white nose.

Because it reminds me Alot of @PetarB's Milia Custom VF-4 Racer:

OMG it's beautiful!

 

 

... His Max-Custom VF-2 is also pretty snazzy... plenty of inspiration

Edited November 3, 2018 by slide

[Microbe999]

As someone who is late to the party and collecting, I really do depend on these forums for information about what is being released and when preorder madness usually begins.  I also see countless times many of us who missed out on preorders either because they were asleep or just didn't know about it.  Everyone is generally so great about posting links when the madness begins while many of us are struggling with search engines.  

I guess the newest valks have all been the subject of most of our hunting, not so much the models or figures but is anyone willing to maintain some topic where we can see whats coming out for the month or at least prepare ourselves a week ahead of time?  I wish there was a way you can pin some general announcement in the subtopics so everybody sees it.  The discussions can move to the subtopics once the madness begins so we all know where to be.  I just think it might be helpful if someone who follows the releases more regularly then I do can keep the forum users aware of the next big great thing.  I know there is a big archival topic for the toys but it has been dead for years now.  Has this been tried before and it failed or something?

[seti88]

I think you just described the very thread you posted in.  Just follow the thread and you will catch the buzz...

On pre-order dates, bandai announces them only a week before the actual pre-order. So no, you don't get to plan for it month's ahead of time.
What may help is to refer to https://tamashii.jp/item_character/macross_series/ for bandai macross release schedules. The special listings on the right side of the macross page, or on their home page, will let you know anything new macross related coming out.

Another way is to look at their past listings as a guide to when releases normally come out and plan around that. Subtract 3-4 months and you get an approximate pre-order release date.  March releases subtract 5 months due to the holidays.

Edited November 3, 2018 by seti88

[sh9000]

I’ll probably pay for my 3 orders of the VF-2SS Nexx this weekend.  Can’t forget.

[onnasake]

V4 Lightning  is now 17,800 yen on amazon japan.  That didn't take long....scalpers are pre-scalping.   Scalpers gonna scalp, I guess.

With other toylines I collect, the price almost always comes down once it's released and there's enough to go around, but I don't know enough about Macross to make that claim.

My only purchase is the YF-19 which has been sitting around 30,000 since release date and has been readily available.

 

I guess we'll see in March what happens!

 

[vlenhoff]

Sorry to hear Emiliano Alfaro. Nippon-Yasan better pay attention, before Macrossworld loses interest in their store.