Bandai Sv-262 DX valk

[Saburo]

8 hours ago, brouken said:

And this is why you're the master Saburo! You've made me reach a new level of appreciation for your photography. :-)

 

7 hours ago, Andy NYK said:

OMG, Saburo-sama! Kamisama!

 

Thank you @brouken and @Andy NYK. Even while I was processing the photos I kept looking at the optical illusion.

[wm cheng]

On 9/12/2017 at 9:39 PM, Saburo said:

 

I love that last shot Saburo!!!  That's what I want to set mine up whenever I actually get my Lil Drakens...  I wasn't really a fan of the Gerwalk mode before, but somehow I really like it on the SV-262 and your last picture just confirmed it for me.

 

I ordered from NY (Eco-SAL) and the last tracking entry is "Dispatch from Outward Office..." in Osaka on Aug 31st - its been 3 weeks and no further entries.  Should I be worried or did it just take the slow boat (I guess I've been pretty lucky with Eco-SAL in the past, its never taken this long)?  Canadian Postal system always drops the ball on our end though - but I get a higher chance of slipping through Customs via the Postal system.

[Valkyrie2008]

35 minutes ago, wm cheng said:

I ordered from NY (Eco-SAL) and the last tracking entry is "Dispatch from Outward Office..." in Osaka on Aug 31st - its been 3 weeks and no further entries.  Should I be worried or did it just take the slow boat (I guess I've been pretty lucky with Eco-SAL in the past, its never taken this long)?  Canadian Postal system always drops the ball on our end though - but I get a higher chance of slipping through Customs via the Postal system.

I've placed my ordered with eco-sal (snail-mail, literally) and my order always came through. I'm not in a rush, so to save a few bucks here and there does help when you're on a budget. I live in Sunny California, so it only takes one and a half week to get here. Canadian Post might have a stricter rules.

[seti88]

1 hour ago, wm cheng said:

 

I love that last shot Saburo!!!  That's what I want to set mine up whenever I actually get my Lil Drakens...  I wasn't really a fan of the Gerwalk mode before, but somehow I really like it on the SV-262 and your last picture just confirmed it for me.

 

I ordered from NY (Eco-SAL) and the last tracking entry is "Dispatch from Outward Office..." in Osaka on Aug 31st - its been 3 weeks and no further entries.  Should I be worried or did it just take the slow boat (I guess I've been pretty lucky with Eco-SAL in the past, its never taken this long)?  Canadian Postal system always drops the ball on our end though - but I get a higher chance of slipping through Customs via the Postal system.

I also tracked it via the japanpost tracking until it reached my shore, then information went dead.
I switched over to my local post tracking and found it still sitting in my local post for what i can say waiting to b dispatched.

Somehow i thk updates for eco-Sal sparse for the fact that its cheap and not in priority...

[wm cheng]

Thanks, so I shouldn't worry after 3 weeks, when should I start to worry?

[mechaninac]

3 - 3.5 weeks is to be expected.  If your package hasn't arrived after 5 weeks, then you start to wonder... 6+ and you worry.

[wm cheng]

OK Thanks, that's a good guideline.  I guess I've always been real lucky or had EMS or FedEx and I'm not used to this. 

[jenius]

Man I tried to do GERWALK on the display stand with the Lil Drakens... what a nightmare. That GERWALK adapter needs like a mm shaved off either side.

[Saburo]

14 hours ago, wm cheng said:

 

I love that last shot Saburo!!!  That's what I want to set mine up whenever I actually get my Lil Drakens...  I wasn't really a fan of the Gerwalk mode before, but somehow I really like it on the SV-262 and your last picture just confirmed it for me.

*snip*

Thank you @wm cheng, glad you like the last pic, it was my favorite in the set.  Gives the Sv-262 that bird of prey look to it.  You going to weather your Lill Drakens along with the Sv-262?

[wm cheng]

I'm not sure, haven't had the time lately, I've only been able to panel line the Macross Delta toys.  I'll definitely panel line them but not sure if I have time to properly weather them (which means sealing it in with a clear coat).  Maybe sometime in the future, if I had time, I'd rather try to take that stupid gold flake off the canopy and tint them clear.  It's always harder to weather dark valkyries and see it without over doing it.

[recon]

On 22/09/2017 at 9:04 PM, wm cheng said:

I'm not sure, haven't had the time lately, I've only been able to panel line the Macross Delta toys.  I'll definitely panel line them but not sure if I have time to properly weather them (which means sealing it in with a clear coat).  Maybe sometime in the future, if I had time, I'd rather try to take that stupid gold flake off the canopy and tint them clear.  It's always harder to weather dark valkyries and see it without over doing it.

Would you be doing any post shading to bring out the panels highlights? Always love your work cos i would not do that to my toys

[wm cheng]

9 hours ago, recon said:

Would you be doing any post shading to bring out the panels highlights? Always love your work cos i would not do that to my toys

It's tough to do post shading on a dark bird - its almost like you need to do the reverse and do lighter panel highlights around the edges, then the dark wash on top for the panel lines which becomes a more involved process.  The Blue and Gold of this SV-262 always screamed more show than military so I might be just panel lining it and keeping the weathering to a minimum.  Plus I think I have do up the new VF-1S that I just got recently

 

[Lolicon]

Considering how little action any of the Delta valks saw, a clean, unused look is probably most appropriate. 

But I still look forward to your work. I expect your VF-1S will make mine look like it was done by a toddler. 

[jenius]

My review of the accessory parts are up now. Check them out on anymoon.com!

[chyll2]

wholeheartedly agreed with the last bit of the review. If there were a accessory pack without the drones, I would definitely pick that up instead

[Graham]

The Lil'Drakens are nice as standalone toys, but yeah I don't think they look good attached to the 262 and I'd be worried about stress on the wing joint.

A standalone pack of the sword, missile pods and shield would defintely been a good idea.

 

 

[Lolicon]

You guys don't think Bandai knows that would be a good idea? Of course they do. That's why they're not doing it but instead making you buy the entire bundle if you want just the sword or whatever.

[jenius]

He stated previously, there is no clearance, its an optical illusion.

[Sandman]

So for these leg armours, do they stay on securely or are they falling off at the slightest touch?

 

 

[Sanity is Optional]

3 of my 4 stay on securely, the last one I managed to knock off once.

Seems like the design tolerance is a bit tighter than the manufacturing process managed.

[jenius]

I had no problems with mine, it usually took some effort to pop them off.

[chyll2]

I thought the connection was flimsy for the Leg Armours until I find out that I did not connect it properly. Once connected properly, the leg armour is like a part of the toy itself. It is a VERY DIFFERENT story for the lil drone though.

[Saburo]

10 hours ago, s_i_t_h_l_o_r_d said:

As always great looking photos! Any shot of the fighter nose positioned forward towards the camera lens, I would like to see how much clearance you got with your lil drakens from the striated Tarmac. Also what camera lens do you use to have everything into focus?

 

2 hours ago, s_i_t_h_l_o_r_d said:

Oh didn't see that but that only answers my first question.

I use a 50mm lens.

 

2 hours ago, Sandman said:

So for these leg armours, do they stay on securely or are they falling off at the slightest touch?

 

 

When I first put them on, 2 of the armor pieces would stay in place but would come of kinda easily. When I transformed into battroid mode, I was able to "click" the parts into place and now they sit securely on the leg.

[seti88]

Just got the lil draken set and boy, fighter mode on the display stand with opened missile hatches sure look impressive! 

Also got the initial bewilderment as to the pack attachments,  but if you pushed the packs backwards till you get a click it all locks in good.

Now bring on the Ba's!

[Saburo]

On 9/22/2017 at 6:04 AM, wm cheng said:

I'm not sure, haven't had the time lately, I've only been able to panel line the Macross Delta toys.  I'll definitely panel line them but not sure if I have time to properly weather them (which means sealing it in with a clear coat).  Maybe sometime in the future, if I had time, I'd rather try to take that stupid gold flake off the canopy and tint them clear.  It's always harder to weather dark valkyries and see it without over doing it.

@wm chengI look forward to seeing your work on the 31s and 262 when you are able to complete them.  I especially want to see what you will do with the engine nozzles on the Lill Draken, they are complex looking but so bland as they are just molded in blueish plastic.

[wm cheng]

I'll post pictures if I ever actually get my Lil Drakens - they left Osaka on Aug 31st and that't the last entry I've seen on the tracking with Eco SAL.  Starting to get a little worried now...:(

 

[RealJayDee]

To me the lil drakens attach too far from the wing, make it look too bulky and im not sure about the color. 

Though on tv it looked better, ll definitely pass... 

 

[Sanity is Optional]

I ended up taking the Lil Drakens off of mine, and leaving it at fighter mode with opened missile bays. I wish the gerwalk held together better, as I'd prefer to display it in that form.

[Valkyrie2008]

Great photos Saburo! 

[Andy NYK]

5 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I ended up taking the Lil Drakens off of mine, and leaving it at fighter mode with opened missile bays. I wish the gerwalk held together better, as I'd prefer to display it in that form.

Possible but with stand support:

[mickyg]

Mine arrived after a 3 week transit (eco SAL from NY) and I have to say, I'm underwhelmed. Not quite disappointed, just not really what I was hoping for. 

The lil'draken drones are cute but there's very little going on except for the landing gear and wing fold. And the main gear collapse way too easily. I'm with Jenius on his critique that there should have been something to catch them, even if it's the doors themselves. I was also under the impression the exhausts had some level of articulation to them and was surprised to see they're completely fixed.  Unusual for a DX in my opinion.  I mean, even the super packs for the Siegfried have every single nozzle on a ball joint.

The missiles, as nice as that paint app is, fall flat in how badly the doors close up. There's a noticeable gap around the sides on all four of mine, making the green micro-missiles quite visible from some angles. And the gold trim looks to have been painted while the parts were still on the tree in my example. The blue plastic, with nearly white stress marks from being cut, is visible around the gold edges on a few doors. And the fit, although I managed to get them applied correctly, thanks to all the tips in this thread, don't fit as tightly as expected. There's no click to be heard, more like a soft clunk I guess. They won't come off but they feel less solid than what I am used to with other parts in the DX Macross line. 

Anyway, it's not all bad but there's definitely a touch of buyer's remorse on my end, given the premium we have to pay for these TWE items. 

No doubt it looks good though, I'll give em that!

Edited October 3, 2017 by mickyg
Revising information

[Valkyrie Driver]

Are these still available?

[no3Ljm]

11 minutes ago, Valkyrie Driver said:

Are these still available?

With a mark up price now at Nippon-Yasan for Y11800. It was initially cost at Y8860.

https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/20426-macross-delta-lill-draken-missile-pod-for-dx-chogokin-sv-262hs-draken-iii-keith-aero-windermere-custom-limited-edition.html

From CDJapan Proxy

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/agency/yahoo/product/star-shop-online_1000113244

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/agency/yahoo/product/gcp2_1000300134

Yahoo Japan Auction

https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search/search?auccat=&tab_ex=commerce&ei=utf-8&aq=-1&oq=&sc_i=&fr=auc_top&p=DX+リル・ドラケン＆ミサイルポッド&x=0&y=0&fixed=0

Jungle

http://jungle-scs.co.jp/sale_en/?page_id=116&do=detail&id=103000008491

Mandarake

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1071363435&ref=list

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1073190104&ref=dos

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by no3Ljm

[Sanity is Optional]

8 minutes ago, Valkyrie Driver said:

Are these still available?

I see Nippon Yasan has them in stock, same for mandarake and jungle.

Jungle looks to have the best price, more or less at MSRP of 8640 for a sealed one. http://jungle-scs.co.jp/sale_en/?page_id=116&do=detail&id=103000008491

Edited October 3, 2017 by Sanity is Optional

[Valkyrie Driver]

Oops, I should have been more specific. I meant thee Base fighter too.