Bandai DX VF-31

[spanner]

maybe b'cos im in Australia and we get punished for that or maybe b'cos I've spent so much money with NY so they treat me like a bitch or maybe I just don't know.. I'll just wait for it to pop up at another store.

[kyekye]

super parts set ordered one from NY

[abbadon]

Preordered Super Parts!

[spanner]

just putting it out there but has anyone else noticed how completely crap the amiami product search engine actually is!? geez get with the times guys!

[Lolicon]

Dammit Bandai, why are you starting preorders right before Christmas? We all have enough to pay for as it is!

Where's noel with his wallet-obliterating gifs?

[chyll2]

I have to wait for a week more POing buying the supers, in order to avoid it getting lumped with the horrible Christmas bills of January. Is there any other option that we can use to PO it without paying up front?

Edited December 15, 2016 by chyll2

[no3Ljm]

Glad I bought them earlier at NY for 15680 yen.

Wow! That was the initial price at NY?

Dammit Bandai, why are you starting preorders right before Christmas? We all have enough to pay for as it is!

Where's noel with his wallet-obliterating gifs?

Ok. So I caved in and got shot down by NY. Ordered both DX VF-31J and the Super Parts. But I just choose the Eco Registered for the Super Parts.

I know. I know. Didn't join the initial PO but it's better now than never. I just want to check if I'm going to like this since I'm still waiting for Arad's and Messer's. If not, I could just toss this on the F/S thread.

Edited December 15, 2016 by no3Ljm

[enphily]

oh damn... it's so overpriced

[Moosey]

Big in Japan has some stock of VF-31J

http://www.biginjap.com/en/completed-models/18251-macross-delta-dx-chogokin-vf-31j-siegfried-hayate-immelmann-use.html

Bit of a price hike

[chyll2]

I guess people that wanted it were able to PO it at SRP. NY still has its stock

[mechaninac]

I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger for this at the prices they've been offered at Amiami, N-Y (non early pre order), or BiJ. Holding out for HLJ to see if it'll go up again for 18K yen or so; otherwise, I can skip this thing without regrets... there are plenty of other, better looking, variants on the horizon, specially the one a truly want, the 31A version.

[Shukenzero]

I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger for this at the prices they've been offered at Amiami, N-Y (non early pre order), or BiJ. Holding out for HLJ to see if it'll go up again for 18K yen or so; otherwise, I can skip this thing without regrets... there are plenty of other, better looking, variants on the horizon, specially the one a truly want, the 31A version.

That VF-31A is an absolute beast. The VF-27 winded up as a web exclusive, but the VF-25A didn't. Which way will the 31A fall?

[no3Ljm]

Just want to confirm. This new DX VF-31J featured a ratcheted crotch joint instead of the traditional ball joint, correct?

[sh9000]

I missed out the initial super cheap NY pre-order price but 18k at HLJ was better than nothing.. and as much as I would like a second one, 22.5k is BS money..

I also see the super parts pre-orders are now up but pay later option isn't available. Got too much on my plate for xmas crap to blow the better part of $100 (aud) on those parts.. might wait and see what the other stores offer and decide then.

I had an extra 31J preordered at HLJ for 18k but I decided to cancel it around 2 months ago. If I had known I would have kept it and sold it to you for 18k plus shipping.

Wow! That was the initial price at NY?

Yeah while HLJ was frozen I kept refreshing NY. I thought I didn't secure one at HLJ and NY's price was good so I jumped on it.

There was a guy (who is hardly here) that kept saying Amazon Japan's price would end up cheaper. I doubt it.

VF-31J Super Parts preordered.

[Duymon]

I dunno why after thinking about it for a while I cancelled out my amiami order and decided on just 1 VF-31J since there's gonna be 5x VF31's + maybe 5x Drakens + the VF-31A Kairos which I think I will spend all my money on.....

Also the price diff between my amiami and HLJ order was staggering

[Kinzoku VF]

Still don't get the price hikes on these DX Deltas.....It's really too much 😒. I mean ¥15000/¥17000 should be an average price for DX at retail. There aren't any extras with this VF to justify the price.

At this rate, most newly released VFs are going to end up costing ¥30000.

I did pick up a VF-31J. But not the SP. (Wish they could have a 'pay later' for those....). As it is, I'll skip and wait 6 months or so to get them 2nd hand. They look great in battroid mode (adds a bit of bulk to the skinny frame) , but I don't like them on the fighter....With 90% of my VFs displayed in fighter mode guess it's not a must-have for now.(trying hard to convince myself to skip the SP.....)

As for the VF itself, hope it'll look better irl than on the pics. It's cool sure,but not "blown away cool".

We'll see!

Kinda like the box though 😓

Rambling as usual...

[Mommar]

not for me it doesn't.. im talking about the super parts, not the Valkyrie. Just to be clear.

Untitled.jpg

You cannot "Pay Later" on web exclusive items from NY anymore. You have to pay up-front. They changed their policy in October of 2014, and that was a huge pill to swallow given how many of us had Pre-ordered the Figuarts Hulkbuster and suddenly had to cough up $300+.

Also, I'm enjoying all of the price bitching. Remember when Arcadia were the overpriced bad-guys and Bandai were the low priced saviors who should completely eclipse and push Arcadia out of the market because their prices were so much lower and they could never, ever, in any way, shape or form hike the prices on their merchandise... and that's why I laugh.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Mommar

[chyll2]

The price hike though affects most if not all toy lines and even other series. That is why you cant really compare the frontier stuff VS the delta stuff. And yes, in the future, we might be looking at 30k Yen DX, the only thing I can do right now is look for better Job or business

[venth85]

As far as I know, all toys makers in Japan have been increasing toy's prices due to Japan's economy issue, Metal build, Figma, Nendoroid, SHFiguarts, DX Chogokin, PlayartsKai and many else. And in some toys line like SHF, Bandai decrease the quality/durability yet increase the pricing.

Edited December 15, 2016 by venth85

[jrhudson311]

Got my VF-31J ordered on NY last night. I have not ordered form them before, what is their order to ship time like?

[Duymon]

NY shipping time is so all over the place that expedited shipping is often a waste because it takes 2-5 days to ship your item sometimes lol. I always go el-cheapo so I never get salty about it.

I Just ordered parts on NY with airmail.

PAY IN YEN, you save like 5-6 bucks vs NY's ripoff currency conversion

[jrhudson311]

NY shipping time is so all over the place that expedited shipping is often a waste because it takes 2-5 days to ship your item sometimes lol. I always go el-cheapo so I never get salty about it.

I Just ordered parts on NY with airmail.

PAY IN YEN, you save like 5-6 bucks vs NY's ripoff currency conversion

Crap, I will remember that next time.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it!

[auberondreaming]

Also, I'm enjoying all of the price bitching. Remember when Arcadia were the overpriced bad-guys and Bandai were the low priced saviors who should completely eclipse and push Arcadia out of the market because their prices were so much lower and they could never, ever, in any way, shape or form hike the prices on their merchandise... and that's why I laugh.

Haha I feel the same way Mommar. Bandai as the Macross savior has made me chuckle, I still maintain that the quality you get from Bandai vs Arcadia is lacking, especially as prices begin to even out between the two.

I preordered the SV-262Hs, it is a much different design from all the 25 through 31 valks which to me seem like the same valk over and over. It's going for 23k jpy. Which is what they wound up pre selling the 31 for a few day ago. Which is entering the dreaded Arcadia pricing territory.

I think that the hi metals are overpriced as well (fun as heck though), and of course the scourge of trying to buy a bandai macross product makes the decreasingly higher prices of arcadia easier to swallow.

Gotta say, these super parts do nothing for me, most of them blend into the valk, and the boosters look very slapped on and inelegant, especially in fighter mode.

[Slave IV]

It does say "pay later" but it also says "is not available" after that.

Exclusives are always pay up front at NY.

Can someone remind me...were the super parts only on the last episode when Hayate had the updated Valk with the knight emblem or was this on an earlier episode with his original Valk that just came out? Trying to decide if I need to get this set or if there is a possible different version coming for his last episode Valk.

[Chronocidal]

There was... one(?) episode in the middle of the series where they used them? The one where they were dancing around and bouncing off asteroids while projecting Walkure concert images on them. For whatever reason, this set isn't including the projector/booster packs though.

To be perfectly honest, I kinda don't care if we ever see those projector packs produced. For being what seemed the only actual time they made use of the entire "hot-swappable weapons pod" idea for the 31, it felt like the entire concept was wasted, and I would have much rather seen a more streamlined fuselage on the 31 than the gappy draggy mess of plates and boxes we wound up with between the engines.

Of course, knowing Bandai, that's the only way we'll be able to acquire the RMS missiles they mounted in the final episode.. you know.. despite the fact that they weren't used together, and their single appearances were half a series apart.. But it seems to be against Bandai policy to ever include enough optional parts to let you actually decide how you want to display your valks.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Chronocidal

[Slave IV]

So to clarify, it's unclear if another set specifically for the last episode version will be available or does it mean this set will also work for that? Basically, I'm more interested in having a complete last episode Hayate with fast packs (I think).

Thanks!

[UN Spacy]

Will wait for that AmiAmi link.

[no3Ljm]

Got my VF-31J ordered on NY last night. I have not ordered form them before, what is their order to ship time like?

One thing I like with Nippon-Yasan is that they do have virtual system of putting an in-stock item so you can see and estimate all the available shipping methods and prices that goes with it. So basically you can see how long or how many days till it reaches you depends on which shipping method you choose. Having said that, for sure people will always remember the HMR Roy fiasco of where NY is asking for more shipping cost for under estimating the extra boxes that came with it. Granted, that it's their fault but who could've guess in the first place when the item is still not in their shop and finding out that Bandai put the box inside another box? But enough of that. What I'm trying to say is that it's nice that NY have this kind of system so you can estimate the cost and timetable of each shipping method. And as for the payment, it really helps if you always pay them in Yen rather in USD. Hope that helps.

It does say "pay later" but it also says "is not available" after that.

Exclusives are always pay up front at NY.

Can someone remind me...were the super parts only on the last episode when Hayate had the updated Valk with the knight emblem or was this on an earlier episode with his original Valk that just came out? Trying to decide if I need to get this set or if there is a possible different version coming for his last episode Valk.

IIRC, mostly in earlier episode (?). But I'm not 100% sure.

So to clarify, it's unclear if another set specifically for the last episode version will be available or does it mean this set will also work for that? Basically, I'm more interested in having a complete last episode Hayate with fast packs (I think).

Thanks!

I'm not sure if there's any big difference on the packs used mid-series and final episode. But one thing I know if ever they did used the packs in the end is that it didn't have the speaker pod they used during mid-series but it has those RMS missiles instead.

Still don't get the price hikes on these DX Deltas.....It's really too much . I mean ¥15000/¥17000 should be an average price for DX at retail. There aren't any extras with this VF to justify the price.

At this rate, most newly released VFs are going to end up costing ¥30000.

I did pick up a VF-31J. But not the SP. (Wish they could have a 'pay later' for those....). As it is, I'll skip and wait 6 months or so to get them 2nd hand. They look great in battroid mode (adds a bit of bulk to the skinny frame) , but I don't like them on the fighter....With 90% of my VFs displayed in fighter mode guess it's not a must-have for now.(trying hard to convince myself to skip the SP.....)

As for the VF itself, hope it'll look better irl than on the pics. It's cool sure,but not "blown away cool".

We'll see!

Kinda like the box though

Rambling as usual...

Yeah, I did like the box. It's totally new. And good thing I bought it from NY. As much as I love HLJ and was hoping that I should've PO this before from them. But the way they ship bulk items, it will probably have dings and bruises once I receive it. Just saying.

[Scyla]

Love the Super Parts. Need to order them as soon as Christmas is over. Especially the logo on the leg armor. I don't know why but I'm a sucker for small details like that no matter how out of place they might look (yay for Metal Build Gundams). In these pictures the micro missiles look better than on the YF-29 but I'm sure they are not as nicely detailed as on the VF-25 Armor Parts.

Speaking of that I'm still bummed out that the Super Parts for the VF-171 and VF-27 don't have opening missile bays.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Scyla

[Mommar]

Crap, I will remember that next time.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it!

To be honest I've never had them take very long shipping things except for maybe once they did take two or three days.

[Mommar]

I preordered the SV-262Hs, it is a much different design from all the 25 through 31 valks which to me seem like the same valk over and over. It's going for 23k jpy. Which is what they wound up pre selling the 31 for a few day ago. Which is entering the dreaded Arcadia pricing territory.

To be honest while there is an obvious lineage between the 25 and 30/31 they're really totally different overall. it would be like if you didn't like the VF-5000 because it's like the VF-1. And, as a matter of fact, the VF-5000's transformation is far closer to the VF-1 than the YF-30/VF-31 is to the 25 series and it still has it's own unique look in all three modes. The YF-30/VF-31 is like an amalgam of the 19/21/25. Only the exterior styling and basic shape are reminiscent of the 25, the actual configuration/transformation is like the 19 with the arms stowed to the outside of the body like on the 21/22 (more so the 30, the 31 deviates from that further.)

[kajnrig]

For what it's worth, HLJ had some P-Bandai items on sale recently. I forget if it was during this most recent sale. So... they MIGHT have some Super parts in stock?

Edited December 15, 2016 by kajnrig

[UN Spacy]

I'm not too familiar with this Premium Bandai BS.

Does this mean they won't be available on AMI, HS, and HLJ?!

[Chronocidal]

Generally speaking, no, they'll never show up except on places specifically carrying the online Bandai exclusives, which usually is restricted to NY and a couple other shops I'm not as familiar with.

Transformation-wise though, the 31 feels closer to the Sv-51 to me than any of the other designs besides the 30, at least as far as general structure and fuselage folding. Similarly folded wings too, despite the different layout. Kind of makes me wonder what an updated Sv-51 with a turreted gunpod mount would look like in gerwalk.

As far as the RMS missiles go though, zooming in as close as I can to the arm shields, it does look like they've got mounting points for them. They're just not included. I do think it's interesting that Delta went back to red-tipped missiles though.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Chronocidal

[no3Ljm]

DX VF-31J Siegfried (Hayate Immelman) Super Parts Set

May 2017 Release

P-Bandai @ Y7344 (Proxy service needed)

Nippon-Yasan @ Y7820 (Pay now only)

BigInJapan @ Y8300 (Pay now only)

Edited December 16, 2016 by no3Ljm