Bandai DX VF-31

[Shukenzero]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Wait. You're not US based, right?  

Haha. Bandai have gotten us hooked again by giving the Valks with the least attention bazookas!!!!

[IXTL]

http://www.tamashii.jp/item/12492/

[TrickyCustomer]

Be cool if they did a Roy Focker colour variant. 

[Chronocidal]

2 hours ago, TrickyCustomer said:

Be cool if they did a Roy Focker colour variant. 

Just so long as it's not Bandai who designs it.. their "Focker" YF-29 was probably the dumbest repaint I've seen in a very long time (outside of anniversary schemes).  White tampo on white plastic? Really? 

Edited February 27, 2018 by Chronocidal

[TrickyCustomer]

3 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Just so long as it's not Bandai who designs it.. their "Focker" YF-29 was probably the dumbest repaint I've seen in a very long time (outside of anniversary schemes).  White tampo on white plastic? Really? 

Agreed, it's very crazy looking. I would have preferred a more traditional paint scheme like of the vf-0s and vf-1s.

[valhary]

I hope somebody upload a Countdown

[Mommar]

12 hours ago, TrickyCustomer said:

I guess because I haven't collected for a very long time and because I missed the initial pre order way back when? I took what I could get. I didn't want to miss out on it. Hopefully in future I will have you guys to keep me in "the know" for best prices and release dates etc It was cheaper than ebay anyway. Suppose it's something. Be cool to have two in formation or one in battroid, the other fighter mode. May even get the 31s. I haven't really warmed to the hero valks, the paint schemes are a bit too crazy for me. I kinda like the real world look of the 31a and prefer the wing shape. Bit like the vf-11b. Need to find myself a grunt 25a too. More money!

The 31F is the most sane of the five hero Valks.  Just a lot of Black and White really.  That might be an okay substitute an for a 31A, plus you can justify it because it has a different head unit ad the wings are forward swept so it's not just the same Valk purchased two or three times.

[TrickyCustomer]

49 minutes ago, Mommar said:

The 31F is the most sane of the five hero Valks.  Just a lot of Black and White really.  That might be an okay substitute an for a 31A, plus you can justify it because it has a different head unit ad the wings are forward swept so it's not just the same Valk purchased two or three times.

Your right there. The grey white and black does look the best out of the bunch i think.  It's the 31f head that actually lets it down for me. That stupid forward facing horn kind of looks out of place. I think the 31s head looks the best. Swap that with the 31f and yeah I'd probably go for one. The Kairos just looks stunning, probably why i was happy to grab two! Same with the sv262. Just need the lil draken set to finish it off. That set's parts can be utilized pretty well split between the two sv's.

[no3Ljm]

8 minutes ago, TrickyCustomer said:

Your right there. The grey white and black does look the best out of the bunch i think.  It's the 31f head that actually lets it down for me. That stupid forward facing horn kind of looks out of place. I think the 31s head looks the best. Swap that with the 31f and yeah I'd probably go for one. The Kairos just looks stunning, probably why i was happy to grab two! Same with the sv262. Just need the lil draken set to finish it off. That set's parts can be utilized pretty well split between the two sv's.

Good thing those horns can be removed. Though it will leave an empty hole but atleast no more horns.

[Scyla]

I love the VF-31S paint job. I hope I can secure a preorder. Looking back at the VF-31C I wonder what the preorder will be like. Mirages Valkyrie hat a really short window, never opened until release and was fairly easy to acquire after release. 

On other news I received my VF-31J Kai today and these toys really rival Yamatos VF-19 toys for the top spot of most fun Macross toy. Two things that keep them back is the fact that the Siegfrieds don't have dedicated thigh swivles because the one in the Gerwalk joint is breaking up the sculpt and I generally think it looks more natural and dynamic if they rotate on the thigh.

The other think of course are the articulated perfect transformation hands. I don't want to beat a dead horse but I wished we had a 3rd party company that produced high quality replacement for the hands that could bend the trigger finger and hold the gun securely. Something like KFC did for MP Ultra Magnus.

I still can't understand why Bandai didn't include a new set of hands with the Super Parts. That would make me buy an extra set for the Kai.

[spacemanoeuvres]

Yeah the 31C was very easy to get at a discount after release. Seemed like a dud despite all the PO madness. 

We’ll see how the 31S compares but I’m not too worried about it  

Did they announce the lottery winners for the Kai? I haven’t heard anything from my proxy but I thought the announcement was this week. 

[no3Ljm]

8 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

Did they announce the lottery winners for the Kai? I haven’t heard anything from my proxy but I thought the announcement was this week. 

Yup. The announcement should be happening today (2/28) Japan time as per Tamashii site.

 

[kajnrig]

2 hours ago, TrickyCustomer said:

It's the 31f head that actually lets it down for me. That stupid forward facing horn kind of looks out of place.

Before physical merchandise and close-up shots of the 31s came out, I had hoped that the F would look something like the Aaliyah from Armored Core 4.

I was disappointed when the F turned out to have a more... bug-like face, with two distinct eyes instead of a visor. And yeah, that horn. It's a blight on the YF-29, too; get rid of it, and they both have at least passable head designs.

[no3Ljm]

18 minutes ago, kajnrig said:

Before physical merchandise and close-up shots of the 31s came out, I had hoped that the F would look something like the Aaliyah from Armored Core 4.

I was disappointed when the F turned out to have a more... bug-like face, with two distinct eyes instead of a visor. And yeah, that horn. It's a blight on the YF-29, too; get rid of it, and they both have at least passable head designs.

This is why I bought an extra 31J before so I can swap it on one of my 31F's head only to realize I can't since there's some grooves around the back/neck plate area that specific to which head is using. So now, I'm thinking if I should keep my extra 31J or sell it in the future. Not sure what to do yet.

 

[Sandman]

3 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Yup. The announcement should be happening today (2/28) Japan time as per Tamashii site.

 

I thought the lotto got delayed till April or something.

[wmkjr]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

I thought the lotto got delayed till April or something.

The shipping date got delayed to April. The lottery has been completed.

[chyll2]

You have received a new message regarding your order #XXXXXX

" We are contacting today regarding this product : Macross Delta - DX Chogokin VF-31A Kairos (Regular) - Limited Edition
We've just got the confirmation that the release date for this product was changed.

Initially the release date was on : 2018-03-31
The new release date is now on : 2018-03-24

If your order isn't paid yet you will receive the deadline notification close to the release.

Kind Regards

 

edit:

Context, I got this email from NY.

Edited February 28, 2018 by chyll2

[TrickyCustomer]

6 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Before physical merchandise and close-up shots of the 31s came out, I had hoped that the F would look something like the Aaliyah from Armored Core 4.

I was disappointed when the F turned out to have a more... bug-like face, with two distinct eyes instead of a visor. And yeah, that horn. It's a blight on the YF-29, too; get rid of it, and they both have at least passable head designs.

That's a really cool design. Wish they had gone with that one. True, I have the isamu version on route but the head laser/spike can be swiveled back which looks better. 

[TrickyCustomer]

8 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Good thing those horns can be removed. Though it will leave an empty hole but atleast no more horns.

Haha true! 

[wmkjr]

Anyone got lucky with the Kai lottery?  Also looks like NY release date for the Kairos is 3-24.

[spacemanoeuvres]

1 hour ago, wmkjr said:

Anyone got lucky with the Kai lottery?  Also looks like NY release date for the Kairos is 3-24.

I’m curious about this too. Did anyone here win?

[Loop]

I lost

[spacemanoeuvres]

43 minutes ago, Loop said:

I lost

Ah that stinks. You should be able to pick one up on yahoo auctions for a moderate markup.

They were available for as low as 24000 JY right after tamashi nations but shot up to 30000 JY almost overnight.

[jrhudson311]

Have any sites setup a place holder yet?

[TacticalNuclearPenguin]

Quick noobish question, but I'm assuming as a US based buyer I can't buy direct from Tamashii's website (in this case, the preorder for the VF-31S), but have to wait for a site like HLJ or Nippon Yasan to offer them for sale, correct?  

[WaferMouse]

@TacticalNuclearPenguin You are correct!

BTW peeps, here's a handy link for the world clock.

Edited February 28, 2018 by WaferMouse

[TacticalNuclearPenguin]

Just now, WaferMouse said:

@TacticalNuclearPenguin You are correct!

BTW peeps, here's a handy link for the world clock.

Thanks for responding!  So, am I safe to assume that when Tamashii preorders go up, HLJ and Nippon Yasan's preorders will go up at the same time, or has there been a delay?

[CF18]

2 hours ago, TacticalNuclearPenguin said:

Quick noobish question, but I'm assuming as a US based buyer I can't buy direct from Tamashii's website (in this case, the preorder for the VF-31S), but have to wait for a site like HLJ or Nippon Yasan to offer them for sale, correct?  

Short answer: yes.

 

Long answer: VF-31S is a regular retail release, and is expected to be listed on Japanese web stores for pre-order at Match 1st 4pm JST, along with other Bandai July releases.  Many past Macross releases that were popular would get the pre-order quota cleared out within a minute of being listed.  Similar thing happened with other popular release like Metal Build Gundams. 

Some shop like NY may list it at a later time.

Edited February 28, 2018 by CF18
Spelling

[TacticalNuclearPenguin]

Guess I'll be up past midnight tonight!

[treatment]

HS has their preorder-page up for the DX VF-31S (inactive as of yet, of course) :

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10522560

18,900 yen

 

[brouken]

That’s actually not a bad price. I haven’t ordered from Hobby Search before though. Always get my valks from NY, HLJ or Amiami, though I’ve never been able to score a pre-order valk from Amiami ever. They literally get snapped up in seconds there. 

 

[anubis20]

6 minutes ago, brouken said:

That’s actually not a bad price. I haven’t ordered from Hobby Search before though. Always get my valks from NY, HLJ or Amiami, though I’ve never been able to score a pre-order valk from Amiami ever. They literally get snapped up in seconds there. 

 

Hobby Search is worse than Amiami IMO. HS i cant even add to cart, ive only seen the add to cart button 

[brouken]

Hehe, at least you get to see the add to cart button. In Amiami, I never even got to see it. Its always pre-orders closed almost immediately after the preorders open. No amount of F5 pressing got me anything from them. 

[anubis20]

Ive managed to get a few from them and Metal Builds as well so with them i have hope. HS is a lost cause for me 

[Sanity is Optional]

HLJ is my preferred place, but good luck getting a PO initially. Stuff finally shows up for order randomly, and even with a web monitor I'll probably be away from the computer.