Artoor Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Valkyrie said: Thanks again. I submitted a request for an EMS quote over the weekend. Looking forward to hearing back, so I can get started on this thing ASAP! They wrote me an email with info that only possible ways of shipping it to Poland are FedEX and DHL. Or private warhouse and waiting till EMS will be possible...Damn... Edited April 20, 2020 by Artoor Quote
jorawar_b Posted April 21, 2020 Posted April 21, 2020 I hope they reissue the weapon set, I should have picked one up when I ordered the strike fighter with the fast packs. Quote
Valkyrie Posted April 21, 2020 Posted April 21, 2020 HLJ got back to me last night. They gave me these three much more reasonable offers. EMS: Y7,620 FedEx: Y12,223 DHL: 13,177 They asked which one I wanted to go with, and they will be processing the shipment tomorrow. Quote
Anasazi37 Posted April 22, 2020 Posted April 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Valkyrie said: HLJ got back to me last night. They gave me these three much more reasonable offers. EMS: Y7,620 FedEx: Y12,223 DHL: 13,177 They asked which one I wanted to go with, and they will be processing the shipment tomorrow. Thanks for sharing! I'm still waiting to hear back from them, but since Japan Post prices EMS by geographic zone, I'm pretty sure the estimate will be the same. FedEx and DHL might be different, but probably not by much. $70 is a lot more reasonable--even with the delay of a few weeks to get on a plane. Quote
Artoor Posted April 22, 2020 Posted April 22, 2020 8 hours ago, Valkyrie said: HLJ got back to me last night. They gave me these three much more reasonable offers. EMS: Y7,620 FedEx: Y12,223 DHL: 13,177 They asked which one I wanted to go with, and they will be processing the shipment tomorrow. Do you ordered Valkyrie to private warehouse or just waited? To Germany and Slovakia they have normal EMS shiping option but to Poland still FedEX and DHL. Strange... Quote
Valkyrie Posted April 22, 2020 Posted April 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Artoor said: Do you ordered Valkyrie to private warehouse or just waited? To Germany and Slovakia they have normal EMS shiping option but to Poland still FedEX and DHL. Strange... I ordered it to my private warehouse, and requested an EMS shipping quote when it came in stock. They replied with those three prices, and they were all cheaper than the prices the automatic system gave me. I think DHL was originally about Y30,000. You should send them a message and ask for an EMS quote. It may come out cheaper for you too, even if they can't ship it with EMS. Quote
TMBounty_Hunter Posted April 22, 2020 Posted April 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Artoor said: To Germany and Slovakia they have normal EMS shiping option but to Poland still FedEX and DHL. Strange... EMS has been suspended to certain countries, full list of which is in a PDF linked on this page: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_en.html Quote
Valkyrie Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 Well... things have changed. I just got an email from HLJ, saying that effective 4/24, Japan Post is suspending shipping to the USA. However, FedEx and DHL are still available for now. So unless they manage to get my kit shipped today, I'll either be paying an extra $50 for FedEx, or waiting for EMS to reopen. https://support.hlj.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000679023-Temporary-Stoppage-of-Japan-Post-services-to-the-USA Quote
Anasazi37 Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 24 minutes ago, Valkyrie said: Well... things have changed. I just got an email from HLJ, saying that effective 4/24, Japan Post is suspending shipping to the USA. However, FedEx and DHL are still available for now. So unless they manage to get my kit shipped today, I'll either be paying an extra $50 for FedEx, or waiting for EMS to reopen. https://support.hlj.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000679023-Temporary-Stoppage-of-Japan-Post-services-to-the-USA In the Japan Post discussion in the Toys section, someone mentioned up to a four-month delay in getting EMS shipments out of Japan, depending on when they receive your package: https://myfigurecollection.net/blog/45426 "EMS and Airmail packages already taken in charge by Japan Post will be shipped, but they will be sent by order of reception, and with the current volume of packages they already have at hands, just for EMS there's an estimated delivery period of upwards to 4 months." Quote
Valkyrie Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 Damn, 4 months! Then it's probably a good thing HLJ didn't get mine shipped before the shutdown. It's back in my private warehouse now, and they gave me the shipping cost back as store credit. I think I'm going to go ahead and have them ship it via fedex instead. Quote
Valkyrie Posted April 29, 2020 Posted April 29, 2020 (edited) I finally got my kit yesterday! This thing is huge!! Overall, it's really impressive. But cleanup is a pain, because the points where the parts connect to the sprues are huge. Especially on the wings. The molding quality is better than I expected, but there's some parts that have sink marks caused by the parts being too thick in some areas. The most serious I've noticed are on the legs, which are new parts to this kit. The back side of them have huge alignment pegs, which caused distortion on the top surface, It'll take some work to repair it, especially where it's distorted surface detail. On the plus side, the backpack looks a lot better in this version. They slimmed it down a lot. Edited April 29, 2020 by Valkyrie Quote
joscasle Posted May 29, 2020 Posted May 29, 2020 On 5/25/2020 at 10:19 AM, arbit said: Check out this guy's mods to the 1/20. WOW!!!!!! Quote
big F Posted June 5, 2020 Posted June 5, 2020 On 5/25/2020 at 5:19 PM, arbit said: Check out this guy's mods to the 1/20. Oh yes. The bigger it is the more you can fit in. Quote
Kylwell Posted June 5, 2020 Posted June 5, 2020 I will admit this has taken a lot of pressure off me. I no longer have to worry about motorizing anything and my idea for the cockpit will be much simpler. Still trying to argue my way out of adding buttloads of details. Quote
Anasazi37 Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 My 1/20 Fighter kit arrived earlier this week. I clearly have a 1/20 addiction. I tried to plan it so that there are just enough armaments for all three. The two Strike kits are getting four RMS-1 and two UUM-7 each and the Fighter kit is getting four AMM-1. The packaging of the armament sets had to be intentional, so that unless you do what I'm doing, you'd need to buy two per kit. That's low, even by Bandai standards of nickel-and-diming you to death. When the Strike Battroid kit comes out (I'm an optimist), I'll just forgo the armaments and keep the wings folded. Quote
big F Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 2 hours ago, Anasazi37 said: My 1/20 Fighter kit arrived earlier this week. I clearly have a 1/20 addiction. I tried to plan it so that there are just enough armaments for all three. The two Strike kits are getting four RMS-1 and two UUM-7 each and the Fighter kit is getting four AMM-1. The packaging of the armament sets had to be intentional, so that unless you do what I'm doing, you'd need to buy two per kit. That's low, even by Bandai standards of nickel-and-diming you to death. When the Strike Battroid kit comes out (I'm an optimist), I'll just forgo the armaments and keep the wings folded. You are on to the road to recovery now that you have admitted you have a 1/20 addiction. These kits have me interested..... just need to finish the workshop and office build to have somewhere to make and the n display them. Quote
Anasazi37 Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 1 hour ago, big F said: You are on to the road to recovery now that you have admitted you have a 1/20 addiction. These kits have me interested..... just need to finish the workshop and office build to have somewhere to make and the n display them. Very true The Gerwalk Strike kit is what motivated me to set up my workshop in the garage and design and build a spray booth large enough to handle the pieces. It's a slippery slope, because once you have the setup it becomes a lot easier to justify purchasing large kits.... Quote
jorawar_b Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 Grrrr should have purchased the Armament set. Has anyone purchased from Nippon Yasan here? Looks like they have a set left. https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/28050-plamax-mf-38-minimum-factory-vf-1-valkyrie-armament-set.html Quote
Anasazi37 Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 1 hour ago, jorawar_b said: Grrrr should have purchased the Armament set. Has anyone purchased from Nippon Yasan here? Looks like they have a set left. https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/28050-plamax-mf-38-minimum-factory-vf-1-valkyrie-armament-set.html I've bought from them a few times and a several MW members have used them a lot. They tend to have decent prices except for when they know there is high demand, like with the DX valks. In those cases they jack up the price by a lot. Their shipping tends to be a bit more expensive than other stores, but if you're in the US they're only offering ferry and UPS right now (and I think it's only if you ask them for it). Order processing can take some time, too, but my experience is limited to pre-orders, so maybe it's faster if an item has been in stock for a while. MSRP on the Good Smile website, pre-tax, is ¥7000, so ¥7800 isn't bad. With that said, I just checked Amazon Japan and they have it for cheaper with international priority shipping that will probably cost about as much as NY would charge you (¥2,941 for me): https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07R4TM7Z8/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_vWa3EbTFCYSXR I just went through the motions of checking out and the price dropped to ¥6680 because they removed the tax. That's probably your best option. Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted June 6, 2020 Posted June 6, 2020 Just under ¥10k after shipping to California via Amazon Japan. Quote
arbit Posted June 9, 2020 Posted June 9, 2020 On 6/5/2020 at 9:44 PM, Kylwell said: I will admit this has taken a lot of pressure off me. I no longer have to worry about motorizing anything and my idea for the cockpit will be much simpler. Still trying to argue my way out of adding buttloads of details. He's actually using Hachette parts to motorize the cockpit and wings. The benefit of being in Japan and buying extras of whatever you want... Quote
Anasazi37 Posted November 29, 2020 Posted November 29, 2020 2 hours ago, jorawar_b said: Finally came in Nice! Quote
jorawar_b Posted November 30, 2020 Posted November 30, 2020 I hope there will be a 1/20 Battroid mode with FP or GPB. Quote
pengbuzz Posted December 4, 2020 Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) On 11/30/2020 at 5:33 PM, jorawar_b said: I hope there will be a 1/20 Battroid mode with FP or GPB. With how the leg is simply an outer shell, how would that even stand? Without an armature or different design, it would have to be on some type of stand. In fact, that I think would be a major issue for the model with the arms as well as the shoulder and hip joints. Edited December 4, 2020 by pengbuzz Quote
Anasazi37 Posted December 4, 2020 Posted December 4, 2020 8 hours ago, pengbuzz said: With how the leg is simply an outer shell, how would that even stand? Without an armature or different design, it would have to be on some type of stand. In fact, that I think would be a major issue for the model with the arms as well as the shoulder and hip joints. Max did a prototype for a hobby show about a year ago and it was on a stand for exactly that reason (and for dramatic posing, I'm sure). He also reinforced the model in several areas during the build process. Quote
pengbuzz Posted December 5, 2020 Posted December 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Anasazi37 said: Max did a prototype for a hobby show about a year ago and it was on a stand for exactly that reason (and for dramatic posing, I'm sure). He also reinforced the model in several areas during the build process. Gotcha; thanks! Those hip pins look hella weak compard to the rest of the Battroid! Quote
TMBounty_Hunter Posted December 5, 2020 Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, Anasazi37 said: Max did a prototype for a hobby show about a year ago and it was on a stand for exactly that reason (and for dramatic posing, I'm sure). He also reinforced the model in several areas during the build process. That build was for TENGU Modellers event, which is a small but high profile hobby meet, not any kind of industry hobby show. I can't find the tweet right now but it was specifically said this is not an indication of future products. He did do another tweet later of using just kit parts, without proportionally modifying them and the results are nowhere near as great. I really wouldn't hold my breathe for a battroid kit. It would need mostly new molds if we want it to look good and all of them gigantic and it's doubtful that's financially viable. And that's before getting into structural problems. At this point the only thing I'd expect is VF-1D parts, since that needs only one new big mold (B runner), one small (Q1 runner) and new canopy Edited December 5, 2020 by TMBounty_Hunter Quote
Anasazi37 Posted December 5, 2020 Posted December 5, 2020 30 minutes ago, TMBounty_Hunter said: That build was for TENGU Modellers event, which is a small but high profile hobby meet, not any kind of industry hobby show. I can't find the tweet right now but it was specifically said this is not an indication of future products. He did do another tweet later of using just kit parts, without proportionally modifying them and the results are nowhere near as great. I really wouldn't hold my breathe for a battroid kit. It would need mostly new molds if we want it to look good and all of them gigantic and it's doubtful that's financially viable. And that's before getting into structural problems. At this point the only thing I'd expect is VF-1D parts, since that needs only one new big mold (B runner), one small (Q1 runner) and new canopy Thanks for the clarification. Couldn't remember where he displayed the Strike Battroid. I'm keeping some space on a display shelf available, right next to where the Strike Fighter and Strike Gerwalk are going to live, in the hope that he might actually make it available. Agree that it would cost a lot more for him to make the Strike Battroid kit because a lot of new parts would be needed. Making the Fighter kit after the Gerwalk kit was relatively easy, not many new parts needed. Structural integrity and stability are definitely concerns. You'd almost need a dense plastic or metal internal frame (skeleton) to which you attach everything. That way the frame bears the load, not any one section of parts. If he did make a Strike Battroid kit, he could also release a regular Battroid one, like he did with the Fighter kit, so that could spread the design, fabrication, and production costs out a little bit. Quote
Ricky Posted February 13, 2021 Posted February 13, 2021 So sad. I was in Japan last September 2018 and had no hand carry. The cost of shipping would have offset my plane ticket cost by a lot. Quote
peter Posted February 15, 2021 Posted February 15, 2021 On 12/4/2020 at 2:48 PM, Anasazi37 said: Max did a prototype for a hobby show about a year ago and it was on a stand for exactly that reason (and for dramatic posing, I'm sure). He also reinforced the model in several areas during the build process. That was a really good looking build. Looked like he brush painted the whole thing, including the pre shading. This is a bit of a long shot, but does anyone remember a year or so a go, there was a VF-1S Strike Battroid, looked like it stood at least 6 feet tall? The proportions looked really good, like a scaled up Hasegawa or something. Wasn't just a big crappy fibreglass mess slopped together, this actually looked good. I think it was for some hobby show. Quote
takatoys Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) All I want is only the cockpit for my Hikaru. Hope Max Factory releases it soon. Edited February 17, 2021 by takatoys Quote
Anasazi37 Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 On 2/15/2021 at 2:33 AM, peter said: This is a bit of a long shot, but does anyone remember a year or so a go, there was a VF-1S Strike Battroid, looked like it stood at least 6 feet tall? The proportions looked really good, like a scaled up Hasegawa or something. Wasn't just a big crappy fibreglass mess slopped together, this actually looked good. I think it was for some hobby show. Wasn't able to quickly find pictures of the finished product, but this is what Bandai was building for a Tamashii Nations event in 2019: http://t-nation2019.blog.jp/archives/3814862.html Quote
peter Posted March 12, 2021 Posted March 12, 2021 On 2/17/2021 at 12:01 PM, Anasazi37 said: Wasn't able to quickly find pictures of the finished product, but this is what Bandai was building for a Tamashii Nations event in 2019: http://t-nation2019.blog.jp/archives/3814862.html Apologies for the late reply, but thanks! I was looking for this pic, but I guess they never finished it or there aren't many pics of it. Quote
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