Hi-Metal R

[Shizuka the Cat]

My 7000 yen HMR VF-1A CF from Mandarake just arrived, and is in excellent condition. It was my first time ordering from them. Definitely gives me a good initial impression of Mandarake.

[chyll2]

Mandarake condition is superb. Even the Opened/damage packaged is usually in very good condition. When they say box is damage, it is usually just box wear from putting in and taking out of shelves.

[linitrofe]

24 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Mandarake is my go-to store when trying to find discontinued figures in good condition 

How you deal with Chilean customs taxes?

[ArchieNov]

20 hours ago, ScrambledValkyrie said:

Yep, what @jenius said. I don't think there's much cause for concern with used items from Mandarake, based on my somewhat limited experience.

I actually have a different experience (though I think I’m more of the exception). I haven’t really bought much from them (maybe less than 10), but there were 2 items that weren’t very good.

One was a Figma Drossel. Up until this day, I am not sure if the one I got from Mandarake is authentic or not. The plastic quality felt different from the moment I opened it and as of today, some of its paint has gotten sticky or fused together.

The second was a Figma Zexxen. I bought this in person from the Akihabara branch. I asked the clerk if it was brand new and he said it was. But when I opened it later, I found a broken stand peg lodged into her back. Fortunately though, it seems the previous owner included a replacement stand peg inside the box.

Nevertheless, generally most 2nd hand items from them are good enough, especially if it’s at a discount.

[no3Ljm]

4 hours ago, chyll2 said:

Mandarake condition is superb. Even the Opened/damage packaged is usually in very good condition. When they say box is damage, it is usually just box wear from putting in and taking out of shelves.

I can't say any bad things about Mandarake. Their service is top-notch. I bought my Beagle Stick Ride Armor back then. And the sticker was missing. I contacted them and they informed me that they forgot to put it back when they inspected the toy. They shipped it to me no charge. Recently, I ordered a Variable Action Super Asurada Rally Mode from Future GPX Cyber Formula for Y5000. But I ended up getting a Variable Action Hi-Spec Galvion. There was a Mandarake QR code sticker on the side that says Super Asurada Rally Mode. Guess, they put the wrong label in the toy. And probably since they have high traffic volume on orders and such for them to inspect it one-by-one during purchases so I guess they always rely on what the computer scans. And just so you know, the picture on their site was the actual item I was looking for. I know they did a mistake but hey, I kind of like Galvion too even though the figure is flimsy to begin with. And that's what most reviewers said as far as I remember. Not to mention the paint smudgings and scratching. But I like the car mode so I let this one slide. Good thing it's Galvion that I received and not some random figure that I don't like.

 

[sh9000]

Every experience I’ve had with Mandarake and HMR items has been great with items coming in better than expected.

[fenrir72]

15 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

I actually have a different experience (though I think I’m more of the exception). I haven’t really bought much from them (maybe less than 10), but there were 2 items that weren’t very good.

One was a Figma Drossel. Up until this day, I am not sure if the one I got from Mandarake is authentic or not. The plastic quality felt different from the moment I opened it and as of today, some of its paint has gotten sticky or fused together.

The second was a Figma Zexxen. I bought this in person from the Akihabara branch. I asked the clerk if it was brand new and he said it was. But when I opened it later, I found a broken stand peg lodged into her back. Fortunately though, it seems the previous owner included a replacement stand peg inside the box.

Nevertheless, generally most 2nd hand items from them are good enough, especially if it’s at a discount.

Drossel? 

Was it shipped or personal? If the latter why didn't you have it replaced? I'm going by your being in Japan or was it a tour/area assignment?

As for it being sticky, is it humid and hot in the Philippines? That or white plastics suck.

The last would be unthinkable, might have been a knock off.

 

[fenrir72]

16 hours ago, linitrofe said:

How you deal with Chilean customs taxes?

What's your country's policy on "toy" imports?

[ArchieNov]

4 hours ago, fenrir72 said:

Drossel? 

Was it shipped or personal? If the latter why didn't you have it replaced? I'm going by your being in Japan or was it a tour/area assignment?

As for it being sticky, is it humid and hot in the Philippines? That or white plastics suck.

The last would be unthinkable, might have been a knock off.

 

The Drossel was shipped. It was my first time ordering from Mandarake. 

Yes, it can be hot and humid here, but my stuff isn’t exposed to extreme temperatures or weather conditions. I have owned other Figmas that are either older or also have predominantly white plastics (e.g. the 2nd version of Drossel) and none of them turned out as bad as that first Drossel.

I remember watching so many knockoff videos to figure out if the one Mandarake sold me was a KO or not, but there was never a complete match with any of the KO versions. Like maybe it would have 1 of the flags/indicators of a KO, but have 4 others that make it seem authentic. But never did it check all the flags for an authentic Drossel. I suspect that either what I got was a different KO version, or the previous owner mixed parts from other Figmas (e.g. stand, pegs, etc) to make it seem like it wasn’t a KO.

Edited April 12, 2018 by ArchieNov

[Convectuoso]

21 hours ago, linitrofe said:

How you deal with Chilean customs taxes?

Since Mandarake won't declare a lesser value, If my order is less than ¥10.000, 90% of the times I won't have to pay custom taxes. It will just be delivered to my house. 

If it's above ¥10.000, I'll have to pick the parcel from the post office and pay taxes (25% of the total cost, shipping included) 

That's why I try to use Jungle for more expensive items. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by Convectuoso
More info

[chyll2]

But Mandarake except SAHRA will declare any value you want them. They just say they wont in their policy but in practice they actually do. Again, except SAHRA/SAWARA

[Lolicon]

I think I buy more stuff from Mandarake than any other Japanese shop, and pretty much everything has been solid. It's thanks to them I've been able to obtain almost every past valkyrie that I missed from the Yamato years, and most of them at reasonable prices. 

Some notable purchases I recall were Basara's 19 for 12k and an SDF-1 for 18k.

 

[sh9000]

[Arthurius]

If anyone has an extra VF-1a CF that they can let go of, pls let me know, i am on the lookout.  Dont care about box, or if it has been transformed, just that it be in good condition.  I live in Canada

[Ignacio Ocamica]

3 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Gorgeous pic!!!! My HMR VE-1 is enroute to me. I have only one HMR CF, but will do this very same pic with my 1/60's.

[F-ZeroOne]

Hi, apologies if this has been asked before but I''ve just picked up a VF-1J Max and Millia pair and I've had trouble getting the wings to stay inserted on their mounting points; is this a known issue with these toys or do I need to try inserting the wing a bit more firmly?

[sumyumgoy]

23 minutes ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Hi, apologies if this has been asked before but I''ve just picked up a VF-1J Max and Millia pair and I've had trouble getting the wings to stay inserted on their mounting points; is this a known issue with these toys or do I need to try inserting the wing a bit more firmly?

With my last HM-R, I had to push firmly to get the wings to snap in place.  My previous ones weren't like that though so it might be case by case.

[Shizuka the Cat]

1 hour ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Hi, apologies if this has been asked before but I''ve just picked up a VF-1J Max and Millia pair and I've had trouble getting the wings to stay inserted on their mounting points; is this a known issue with these toys or do I need to try inserting the wing a bit more firmly?

I had to push my wings in somewhat forcefully for them to snap into place on my Miria VF-1J. 

[sh9000]

5 hours ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

Gorgeous pic!!!! My HMR VE-1 is enroute to me. I have only one HMR CF, but will do this very same pic with my 1/60's.

Thanks.  I need to transform the rest of my CF’s.  Here’s a pic with 5 of them.

[seti88]

5 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Hi, apologies if this has been asked before but I''ve just picked up a VF-1J Max and Millia pair and I've had trouble getting the wings to stay inserted on their mounting points; is this a known issue with these toys or do I need to try inserting the wing a bit more firmly?

My right wing in the VE pops out occasionally when swept back. However no biggie, a push back into the clip does the job.

Left wing is a-ok and swings without fault. But its one of those annoying things.
Haven't tried adding some polish to tighten it up.

[fenrir72]

18 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

The Drossel was shipped. It was my first time ordering from Mandarake. 

Yes, it can be hot and humid here, but my stuff isn’t exposed to extreme temperatures or weather conditions. I have owned other Figmas that are either older or also have predominantly white plastics (e.g. the 2nd version of Drossel) and none of them turned out as bad as that first Drossel.

I remember watching so many knockoff videos to figure out if the one Mandarake sold me was a KO or not, but there was never a complete match with any of the KO versions. Like maybe it would have 1 of the flags/indicators of a KO, but have 4 others that make it seem authentic. But never did it check all the flags for an authentic Drossel. I suspect that either what I got was a different KO version, or the previous owner mixed parts from other Figmas (e.g. stand, pegs, etc) to make it seem like it wasn’t a KO.

Major bummer dude!

[borgified]

20 hours ago, Lolicon said:

I think I buy more stuff from Mandarake than any other Japanese shop, and pretty much everything has been solid. It's thanks to them I've been able to obtain almost every past valkyrie that I missed from the Yamato years, and most of them at reasonable prices. 

Some notable purchases I recall were Basara's 19 for 12k and an SDF-1 for 18k.

 

I'm right behind you in using Manda! Mostly for Figuarts, TFs, Macross and few other things as well.. Used them for my Neca Alien Queen as I couldn't get one as I missed the boat and after that and the rest is history..

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Okay, thanks for the replies about the wing issues!

[Acteon]

Still loving my Max and Milia combo. I could buy at this scale for everything in all honesty.

[sh9000]

I’ll keep an extra set of Super Parts with the grey but leave on the custom Yamato color scheme Super Parts with TV arm armor and dark grey visor heads for my Max and Milia.

Bringing more CF’s to work to transform today.  

[ScrambledValkyrie]

1 hour ago, Acteon said:

Still loving my Max and Milia combo. I could buy at this scale for everything in all honesty.

Cool photo. They definitely look best together.

What SDF-1 is that?

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, ScrambledValkyrie said:

Cool photo. They definitely look best together.

What SDF-1 is that?

That's probably the first release version of Wave W.H.A.M. 1/5000 scaled SDF-1 DYRL.

 

[Acteon]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

That's probably the first release version of Wave W.H.A.M. 1/5000 scaled SDF-1 DYRL.

 

 

Exactly right

Edited April 13, 2018 by Acteon

[sh9000]

[RDX17]

One week to go!

My last HMR purchase was Max's VF-1J (November 2016), so I'm really looking forward to this one, and with the VT-1 coming out in August...I've got no complaints this year.

[Arthurius]

Sure would appreciate getting my hands on just 1 vf1a cf at a fair price....

[spacemanoeuvres]

43 minutes ago, Arthurius said:

Sure would appreciate getting my hands on just 1 vf1a cf at a fair price....

Keep an eye on mandarake, yahoo auctions, and the for sale sub-forum and you will find something reasonable. 

However, you may be waiting a long time if you’re trying to buy one at preorder or list price.

[Shizuka the Cat]

52 minutes ago, Arthurius said:

Sure would appreciate getting my hands on just 1 vf1a cf at a fair price....

What would you define as a "fair price"?

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Since you have them out, recreate this one....

 

[sh9000]

6 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Since you have them out, recreate this one....

 

I’ll try it.  That would be cool but I left them at work.

I took home a bag of Super Parts.  I want to see how they look on the VE-1.

Edited April 14, 2018 by sh9000