Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[jchapman]

Apologies for the newbie question, but everyone seems to refer to certain retailers by abbreviations - would someone mind translating?

NY?

AE?

AJ?

I haven't ordered an import in years, but I'm guessing Hobby Link Japan and CD Japan aren't the go-to places for trying to pre-order a DX Chogokin? Thanks for any help; I searched and looked through recent pages but I'm still stumped.

[jenius]

Nippon yasan

Anime export

Amazon Japan

HLJ, CDJ are also still players.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by jenius

[jchapman]

Thank you!

[Bub]

On 5/24/2019 at 11:08 AM, CF18 said:

Another scan.  It's a must buy for me, but those extra markings on the upper legs are just weird.

 

From which Magazine(s) is/are this/these?

 

[eggy99]

Reminder for all interested in the upcoming VF-1S Hikaru PO.
 

It's my list of all the retailers and their PO prices and open PO times for the VF-1A Max TV. This will help you plan your PO targets and back ups if you missed the bigger stores like HLJ, Ami, CDJ etc.

Since I'm poor right now, my only option is to PO with Ami, CDJ or HLJ, so I can pay in Nov (the penalty is +10% AU tax for those stores), but AUD is pretty bad right now, so maybe it'll pick up by November and even out a little bit compared to paying upfront for the PO with another store right now (AE for example).

[beatsing]

17 hours ago, Dobber said:

Was the 31A the last Valk TWE? If so maybe they’re scared off of doing valks now because they can’t handle the demand. So they stick with these “small” production runs instead, which more or less let the scalpers dictate the market. 

Chris

If Bandai saw the huge demand from the valk on TWE, Bandai should increase production numbers and go exclusive for all valks.

[Chronocidal]

3 minutes ago, beatsing said:

If Bandai saw the huge demand from the valk on TWE, Bandai should increase production numbers and go exclusive for all valks.

This assumes they would actually produce equal to the demand.  Clearly that would make far too much sense for them to actually do.  

Honestly speaking here though.. really not liking how just.. bad Bandai seems at making aircraft markings.. I get it, they want to throw everything and a pile of kitchen sinks at the tampo, but it really looks bad, and they're badly oversizing a lot of elements, and putting them in places that look awful.

As much cheaper as these are than Arcadia's premiums, I'm starting to think the extra cost is worth it, even at the smaller scale.  

Edited May 29, 2019 by Chronocidal

[Lolicon]

We wanted more tampo, and Bandai gave it to us.

Bandai is the monkey's paw.

[beatsing]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

This assumes they would actually produce equal to the demand.  Clearly that would make far too much sense for them to actually do.  

Probably the guys that work at Bandai have ties to the scalpers, so they are getting a cut that otherwise Bandai would have earned.

[DewPoint]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

This assumes they would actually produce equal to the demand.  Clearly that would make far too much sense for them to actually do.  

Honestly speaking here though.. really not liking how just.. bad Bandai seems at making aircraft markings.. I get it, they want to throw everything and a pile of kitchen sinks at the tampo, but it really looks bad, and they're badly oversizing a lot of elements, and putting them in places that look awful.

As much cheaper as these are than Arcadia's premiums, I'm starting to think the extra cost is worth it, even at the smaller scale.  

"Cheaper" For DX Bandai released is a relative term for me.  The base Valkyrie is cheaper, but Bandai will nickle and dime us for all the accessories that Arcadia has been including on their 1:60 releases.  The total cost of the 1:48 Valkyrie, Missile set, Strike/Super parts set, and shipping for each will be more than what Arcadia is asking.  But you do get a bigger, more updated Valkyrie.

[That one dude]

1 hour ago, Bub said:

 

From which Magazine(s) is/are this/these?

 

That scans from Hobby Japan, where as the other ones are from Figure Ou

[Lolicon]

3 minutes ago, DewPoint said:

"Cheaper" For DX Bandai released is a relative term for me.  The base Valkyrie is cheaper, but Bandai will nickle and dime us for all the accessories that Arcadia has been including on their 1:60 releases.  The total cost of the 1:48 Valkyrie, Missile set, Strike/Super parts set, and shipping for each will be more than what Arcadia is asking.  But you do get a bigger, more updated Valkyrie.

Yep. I've paid about 25k for each PF Arcadia VF-1 that's been released. I estimated way back that by the time you've bought the valk, missile set, and super parts, it'll run about 35k for a fully loaded Bandai VF-1 (assuming you managed to even get a preorder and didn't have to pay a mark-up elsewhere). With the announcement of the super/strike parts, it looks like my original estimate was not too far off.

Oh, and let's add on three shipping fees on top of that, because who here will have managed to buy the valk, missile set, and super parts all at the same shop, kept them all in a private warehouse for who knows how long, and shipped them all in one box? 

So yeah, even in absolute costs, it's considerably more than an Arcadia valk. But as mentioned you do get a bigger, more newly engineered valk. But they still refuse to paint the landing gear. And took three releases before adding the ejection seat warnings, along with some additional, obnoxiously large text. 

[jenius]

They could still surprise us with some markings on the Max TV VF-1A toy... though I doubt they will. The benefit for the Bandai release nickel and diming is that you don't need to buy stuff you don't want. Assuming you could get an Arcadia PF for 25K¥, but only wanted the valk and didn't care about supers or missiles, then Bandai's strategy sure seems a lot more appealing. For Hikaru's 1S, I think a full load out makes a ton of sense. For Max's TV VF-1A, I think a lot of people will be happy to get just the valk. Not sure many were able to secure it at 18K though to really enjoy the benefit of that strategy.

[DewPoint]

Well we all want it.  Having space for it is an entirely different issue.  The question is whether or not you can even land on during PO madness.

[Lolicon]

There is the benefit to those who just want the valk by itself, but for anyone wanting more than that, it's going to cost them. You don't even get any ordinance with the valk. Even the old Yamato standalone releases gave you missiles.

And yeah, good luck on PO nights!

[no3Ljm]

Remember, with any Bandai deluxe toy releases... It's not about how much... It's about how to secure an order.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by no3Ljm

[no3Ljm]

Anyone still looking for Hikaru's VF-1J? There's one available at Mandarake for Y35000. Go grab it while it's still hot!

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1105534143

 

[no3Ljm]

Ok. So is it just me or the skull emblem placement on the heatshield is a little bit too high like their HMR VF-1S.

[Lolicon]

30 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Ok. So is it just me or the skull emblem placement on the heatshield is a little bit too high like their HMR VF-1S.

It's even higher up than on the HMR, though the HMR has the elongated torso that makes it look like it's even higher up.

So is anyone going to buy at least 4+ sets of SSPs in anticipation of the rest of the DYRL squadron? That's a huge up front payment.

Or does anyone think Bandai will actually reissue these TWEs later on? I don't have any faith in Bandai to do such a thing. They didn't reissue super parts for Hayate's rebuilt 31J, so if you didn't order 2x earlier, you had to pay a mark-up elsewhere if you wanted them on your 31J Kai.

[That one dude]

The Product page is up

Strike parts arent up till next month though

https://tamashii.jp/special/macross/vf-1s/

[no3Ljm]

5 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

It's even higher up than on the HMR, though the HMR has the elongated torso that makes it look like it's even higher up.

So is anyone going to buy at least 4+ sets of SSPs in anticipation of the rest of the DYRL squadron? That's a huge up front payment.

Or does anyone think Bandai will actually reissue these TWEs later on? I don't have any faith in Bandai to do such a thing. They didn't reissue super parts for Hayate's rebuilt 31J, so if you didn't order 2x earlier, you had to pay a mark-up elsewhere if you wanted them on your 31J Kai.

I think I'm all set regarding the missile set assuming that I will be able to PO 2 Hikaru 1S and hopefully down the line a Hikaru 1A. I ordered 2 from NY before and bought an extra one afterwards. I think it will cover all my planned Hikaru rides with a set extra of TV missiles that I'm not sure if I'm going to use.

 

[no3Ljm]

I definitely love this image.

Minmay approves.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by no3Ljm

[sh9000]

[Vi-RS]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Ok. So is it just me or the skull emblem placement on the heatshield is a little bit too high like their HMR VF-1S.

 

Yes, it's too high for me. It'd have looked much better if the clearance on the top and bottom is the same, IMO.

Not my best attempt, but you get the idea.

 

[ErikElvis]

Safe to assume I’ll buy at least 4 sets of super packs. Maybe more. We may get some cool variant vf-1’s that could benefit from a set. 

[seti88]

TV kakizaki over Hikaru DRYL. Strange but true, for me anyway. 

Will stay away.

Good hunting to all. 
 

[Ignacio Ocamica]

6 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Good hunting to all. 
 

And a lot of luck for those of us who want to secure a PO at 18k 

[seti88]

 

You got this!!

[Duymon]

The walls won't be able to contain the salt on June 3rd

 

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Duymon

[HardlyNever]

Hype levels increasing.

Wishful thinking here, but I'm hoping Bandai is doing a larger run of the Hikaru VF-1S than the TV Max VF-1A.  My understanding is that it should be more popular, especially in Japan. 

And just maybe... the fact that the Max release hasn't hit the ridiculous prices the Hikaru VF-1J has, yet, means some of the scalpers will pass on this release.  They're generally more about a quick turn-around, not a long-haul investment strategy.

Basically, I'm hoping the Max VF-1A was a combination of low production run, combined with scalpers seeing the VF-1J prices and thinking there was easy money to be made.  And that won't be as true this time... But who knows.

Preemptive silver lining for anyone that doesn't get one: there is always the Roy VF-1S!

[VF-1A Cannon Fodder]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

They could still surprise us with some markings on the Max TV VF-1A toy... though I doubt they will. The benefit for the Bandai release nickel and diming is that you don't need to buy stuff you don't want. Assuming you could get an Arcadia PF for 25K¥, but only wanted the valk and didn't care about supers or missiles, then Bandai's strategy sure seems a lot more appealing. For Hikaru's 1S, I think a full load out makes a ton of sense. For Max's TV VF-1A, I think a lot of people will be happy to get just the valk. Not sure many were able to secure it at 18K though to really enjoy the benefit of that strategy.

Yup, I am in this category.

My goal is to collect the DX vermillion squadron (minus Roy) and display them sans missiles.

[Valkyrie2008]

Bandai is being a penny pincher, releasing a separate missile pack from the fast pack, I was hopping for a complete set just like Yamato.

[nightmareB4macross]

Jenius might have a point here. Since the missile set released is for DYRL VFs maybe we might get an official TV version with red nuke tips and appropriately colored missiles to match.

We can only hope. 

[Ignacio Ocamica]

42 minutes ago, HardlyNever said:

Preemptive silver lining for anyone that doesn't get one: there is always the Roy VF-1S!

I'm not going to collect the whole line, but I want a 1S (got Hikaru's 1J at PO). This is the first 1S available, so it will be my first try at the preorder roulette 

The Strike Packs being a Tamashii exclusive are going to be a lot easier to secure at MSRP.

[technoblue]

My main focus with this line is to collect vermilion team and Roy's 1S too, so I'm crossing my fingers hoping that Bandai comes through with the rest of the TV liveries. The thing is, though, the pull of the DYRL side is strong with Hikaru's 1S, and I can't deny that it would look sweet in a Hikaru-only display with the smaller scale Arcadia and HMR iterations. 

And so it goes. I'll be seeing you guys and gals on pre-order night.