Hi-Metal R

[Big s]

Sorry, I was a bit off above. The ez8 was about $25 more. The vf0 was definitely $60 more

[Chronocidal]

The other side of this could be that shipping is just that much more expensive now.  Going through a US vendor, you're essentially paying shipping twice, and one of those times is about to get a massive hike, while the other has been gradually increasing for the past couple of years.

[Sanity is Optional]

10 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

The other side of this could be that shipping is just that much more expensive now.  Going through a US vendor, you're essentially paying shipping twice, and one of those times is about to get a massive hike, while the other has been gradually increasing for the past couple of years.

Except that the international shipping is benefiting from economy of scale, with many things being shipped together at lower individual price.

It should be less expensive overall, as the larger portion of the shipping cost is the international shipping, which is benefitting from being in a larger container with many other items.

[Lolicon]

In short: the price increase due to shipping it from China/Japan to USA should be roughly the same per unit for the HMR VF-0 and RS Ez-8, being about the same size and weight each, all other things being equal.

There's some shenanigans going on to inflate the price of the VF-0 domestically. Maybe all the guys at HG got bonuses for finally hammering out a deal with BW and that cost is now being passed to us. 

[Big s]

4 hours ago, Lolicon said:

In short: the price increase due to shipping it from China/Japan to USA should be roughly the same per unit for the HMR VF-0 and RS Ez-8, being about the same size and weight each, all other things being equal.

There's some shenanigans going on to inflate the price of the VF-0 domestically. Maybe all the guys at HG got bonuses for finally hammering out a deal with BW and that cost is now being passed to us. 

Yeah $25 difference vs $60 difference makes no sense unless there’s something else going on that we don’t know about. Either that or Bandai hates Americans

[treatment]

2 hours ago, Big s said:

Yeah $25 difference vs $60 difference makes no sense unless there’s something else going on that we don’t know about. Either that or Bandai hates Americans Macross fans.

tftfy...

[fifbeat]

It makes sense that U.S. sellers/retailers are more expensive. They have to make some kind of a worth-while profit for taking a risk and getting these imports here for us to buy (so we can order with very little risk) 😃

If anyone knows a seller who is in the charity business, point me to them.  

Edited May 31, 2022 by fifbeat

[Big s]

13 minutes ago, fifbeat said:

It makes sense that U.S. sellers/retailers are more expensive. They have to make some kind of a worth-while profit for taking a risk and getting these imports here for us to buy (so we can order with very little risk) 😃

If anyone knows a seller who is in the charity business, point me to them.  

I don’t think it’s necessarily on the American retailers since all of them have a significant price difference, unless every single one of them got together to pressure Bandai on a toy line that usually sells out their preorders. The difference here is the high price has made them sit over the long weekend, unlike Japan that had a significantly lower price selling out in many cases instantaneously. Many of these American retailers get much more questionable properties without that kind of price hike.

[DewPoint]

I pretty sure HG can only get a cut from Macross TV and DYRL products. Macross Zero should be HG free. Unless I remembered that incorrectly.

[fifbeat]

4 hours ago, Big s said:

I don’t think it’s necessarily on the American retailers since all of them have a significant price difference, unless every single one of them got together to pressure Bandai on a toy line that usually sells out their preorders. The difference here is the high price has made them sit over the long weekend, unlike Japan that had a significantly lower price selling out in many cases instantaneously. Many of these American retailers get much more questionable properties without that kind of price hike.

Fair enough. 😃 I think I don't mind paying some extra dollars to the one who is 1) reliable 2) packs good and 3) ships fast. 

 

[Big s]

Just now, fifbeat said:

Fair enough. 😃 I think I don't mind paying some extra dollars to the one who is 1) reliable 2) packs good and 3) ships fast. 

 

Yeah, I preordered from USA gundam store because they were $164 and had 10% off with a coupon and free shipping. 
it just makes me worried that with the higher price, it’s gonna be a huge turn off to people and the way these are sitting around kinda shows it. Hopefully I’m wrong and the line survives so we can get some of the other hmr stuff we’ve been waiting a long time for.

[fifbeat]

10 hours ago, Big s said:

Yeah, I preordered from USA gundam store because they were $164 and had 10% off with a coupon and free shipping. 
it just makes me worried that with the higher price, it’s gonna be a huge turn off to people and the way these are sitting around kinda shows it. Hopefully I’m wrong and the line survives so we can get some of the other hmr stuff we’ve been waiting a long time for.

I had no idea they were just sitting around lol Well, I guess that explains why it took so long to get the next HMR. I guess it all starts with the price that generates once filtered in from manufacturer to distributor. A crazy business. Does anyone know what the produced runs are for these? Are they considered "limited"?

[wsna]

I put in an order to Big Bad Toy Store yesterday as I missed all of the pre-orders. I have never dealt with them...

...hoping for the best.

[505thAirborne]

57 minutes ago, wsna said:

I put in an order to Big Bad Toy Store yesterday as I missed all of the pre-orders. I have never dealt with them...

...hoping for the best.

BBTS is a good solid seller, I've bought quite a few things from them (BSG & Mospeada) with zero issues... You're in good hands. 

[Chronocidal]

The only "bad" experience I had with them was when they tried to list the original release of Alto's YF-29.  They let the order linger for a couple of years with no updates, until they just quietly cancelled it with no notice to me.  I didn't really blame them for that one though, and I'd long given up on them being able to get it. 

Otherwise they've been solid for most of the stuff I've ordered, but I'm still waiting for them to ship my Kalavinka.  

Edited June 1, 2022 by Chronocidal

[Big s]

4 hours ago, wsna said:

I put in an order to Big Bad Toy Store yesterday as I missed all of the pre-orders. I have never dealt with them...

...hoping for the best.

I’m a pretty regular customer and haven’t had an issue yet, although I did order this from another site. They still were the first American site that I checked 

[Podtastic]

7 hours ago, wsna said:

I put in an order to Big Bad Toy Store yesterday as I missed all of the pre-orders. I have never dealt with them...

...hoping for the best.

I buy from them and I am in Africa. What are you worried about?

[kkx]

missed the PO.

And not happy about having to pay $60 for my "mistake".

Might wait for release day.

[vladykins]

12 hours ago, wsna said:

I put in an order to Big Bad Toy Store yesterday as I missed all of the pre-orders. I have never dealt with them...

...hoping for the best.

BBTS is solid- just be prepared for your item to arrive 2-3 months after release, since they first surface-ship the product to BBTS (and with all the crazy shipping stuff, this has been taking even longer than normal). So you'll see a bunch of people get theirs directly from Japan first- don't be concerned; yours will come. 

[Sanity is Optional]

7 hours ago, vladykins said:

BBTS is solid- just be prepared for your item to arrive 2-3 months after release, since they first surface-ship the product to BBTS (and with all the crazy shipping stuff, this has been taking even longer than normal). So you'll see a bunch of people get theirs directly from Japan first- don't be concerned; yours will come. 

Which makes the pricing even more ridiculous.

The surface shipping cost per unit is almost certainly under $10...

[Tking22]

I grabbed mine at BBTS, they offer $4 flat rate shipping, and I order a ton of stuff from them, I'll ship my 0S out with a bunch of other items, I don't mind the markup for the convenience. 

[Rein+]

13 hours ago, vladykins said:

BBTS is solid- just be prepared for your item to arrive 2-3 months after release, since they first surface-ship the product to BBTS (and with all the crazy shipping stuff, this has been taking even longer than normal). So you'll see a bunch of people get theirs directly from Japan first- don't be concerned; yours will come. 

Most of my local store is doing this and post in their website that the release date is the month of the shipping would come to them.

They did this to save the shipping cost and to keep the item price low. They mostly got their provit from shipping fee difference and a little mark up, so their final price tend up more or less the same when you ordered it yourself from japan and ship it using airmail.

[sh9000]

HMR VF-2SS transformation tip:  Remove the canopy to make the heatshield more flush in Battroid mode.

[Lolicon]

Having to remove parts for functionality sucks.

[jvmacross]

12 hours ago, sh9000 said:

HMR VF-2SS transformation tip:  Remove the canopy to make the heatshield more flush in Battroid mode.

If I ever get to removing any of mine from their MISB existence I will keep this tip in mind....lol

[sh9000]

3 hours ago, jvmacross said:

If I ever get to removing any of mine from their MISB existence I will keep this tip in mind....lol

I wonder if someday there will be a VF-1 toy in any scale with integrated intake covers.

[wsna]

Thanks for the take on BBTS. I suspect that it might take longer. I'm still waiting for Bandai to release the YF-21...

...that's a wait...

...and likely silvering hair.

 

[Big s]

3 hours ago, sh9000 said:

I wonder if someday there will be a VF-1 toy in any scale with integrated intake covers.

Intake covers would be very difficult due to the limited space due to the hip joint location. They’d almost have to redesign that area to have tiny intakes to somehow fit the covers and they’d probably ugly or weird looking 

[jvmacross]

I'm still waiting for magic hands.....one of these decades they will include a snap on part....wonder if anyone has ever done a 3D print of these?

 

[nightmareB4macross]

I made a set from metal. They still hold up well to this day. This is an old pic from my album here on MW.

[jvmacross]

20 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

I made a set from metal. They still hold up well to this day. This is an old pic from my album here on MW.

Those are really nice....I'd buy a set from you if you ever made casts of them....did you glue them on or using magnets?

[nightmareB4macross]

8 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Those are really nice....I'd buy a set from you if you ever made casts of them....did you glue them on or using magnets?

These were hand made with wire, painted white, and the details in black. 
 

Nothing fancy to hold them in place. I just drilled small holes and popped them in. The original idea is to create opening hatches and attach them to the inside of the cavities when  the access hatches are opened.

Casting these would be a nightmare. They are  very thin parts.

[vlenhoff]

On 6/2/2022 at 10:09 PM, nightmareB4macross said:

I made a set from metal. They still hold up well to this day. This is an old pic from my album here on MW.

Sick! Wow, bravo! This is the sickest thing I've seen today. So cool man!

[sqidd]

I just measured a HMR in Fighter and I'm coming up with it being 1/91 scale. Does that sound right?

[Big s]

15 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I just measured a HMR in Fighter and I'm coming up with it being 1/91 scale. Does that sound right?

Yeah, pretty much.