Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[nightmareB4macross]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Nice pose.

Those ET fingers on right hand really are pronounced.

[oshanmacross]

4 hours ago, mandio222 said:

Anyone knows if theres still somewhere to preorder the 1S at a semi reasonable price? Tranks

I check the thread every day for some news like this.
I think you are gonna have to wait like me, or settle for a Max.

Still haven't decided what I might do

[mandio222]

14 minutes ago, oshanmacross said:

I check the thread every day for some news like this.
I think you are gonna have to wait like me, or settle for a Max.

Still haven't decided what I might do

yep, but there is no choice for me, maxs 1a from the series is literally my least favorite vf1

[jenius]

It's a good bet a few will show up on MW and else where, at this point you're just waiting for release. I'm sure a few people have a couple on order in case one retailer falls through and if both get delivered they'll sell one.

[Digitalfiend]

I pre-ordered a VF-1S (with markup of course) through FromJapan.  We’ll see if that comes through and I’ll still try and snag another one if I can.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Digitalfiend

[sh9000]

5 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Nice pose.

Thanks.  Took that pic in the morning.

Took this pic just now.

[beatsing]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Thanks.  Took that pic in the morning.

Took this pic just now.

Looks good.  That blue is so cool.  

[kkx]

5 hours ago, Digitalfiend said:

I pre-ordered a VF-1S (with markup of course) through FromJapan.  We’ll see if that comes through and I’ll still try and snag another one if I can.

My order of DX Max at FromJapan fail to deliver. I think there is no way to recover my money, so beware of the risk.

[Digitalfiend]

3 minutes ago, kkx said:

My order of DX Max at FromJapan fail to deliver. I think there is no way to recover my money, so beware of the risk.

I paid with my CC so I’m not too worried.

[sqidd]

10 minutes ago, kkx said:

My order of DX Max at FromJapan fail to deliver. I think there is no way to recover my money, so beware of the risk.

That doesn't fill me with confidence. I've got VF-0D's ordered through them.

[jenius]

FromJapan is just a proxy... it's similar to saying you bought something from eBay and it never arrived. That's not because of eBay, it's because of the seller on eBay.

[sqidd]

2 minutes ago, jenius said:

FromJapan is just a proxy... it's similar to saying you bought something from eBay and it never arrived. That's not because of eBay, it's because of the seller on eBay.

I don't know the answer to this. That's why I'm asking.

Like eBay (technically PayPal I think in the end) does FromJapan guarantee your order. I.E., will they refund your money if the order isn't filled?

[Digitalfiend]

Just now, jenius said:

FromJapan is just a proxy... it's similar to saying you bought something from eBay and it never arrived. That's not because of eBay, it's because of the seller on eBay.

Yep.  I hope I chose a good seller - I made sure to choose one that said they had already a "paid reservation" and "would ship immediately upon receiving".  Still nervous, but that's why I'm hoping I'll be able to snag one on AE or HLJ...definitely going to be harder than getting Max.

[Digitalfiend]

4 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I don't know the answer to this. That's why I'm asking.

Like eBay (technically PayPal I think in the end) does FromJapan guarantee your order. I.E., will they refund your money if the order isn't filled?

I think that is part of their Buyer Protection plan, which is offered on purchases from sellers with a sufficient number of positive ratings.

[sqidd]

11 minutes ago, Digitalfiend said:

Yep.  I hope I chose a good seller - I made sure to choose one that said they had already a "paid reservation" and "would ship immediately upon receiving".  Still nervous, but that's why I'm hoping I'll be able to snag one on AE or HLJ...definitely going to be harder than getting Max.

Ahhh. I didn't think of that. The seller in my case is Arcadia. A wee bit less chance of things going sideways.

[F360]

 

52 minutes ago, sqidd said:

That doesn't fill me with confidence. I've got VF-0D's ordered through them.

Fromjapan is a proxy..  They are not a store, you did not buy your item at a Fromjapan store, you request fromjapan to buy a item for you at a store of your choosing.   The risk depends on which store or seller you request fromjapan to help with your japan only purchase.  You can also pay the higher Buyer Protection fee (700 yen) which cover almost everything, from seller not shipping, wrong item , damage item etc.

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/help/servicePlan#whats_plan

 

But back to your question.  You request Fromjapan to place a preorder for you from the official Arcadia website.  I do not see any issue unless either of those company close down, 

 

[kkx]

Sorry I was not being too specific. I should said I paid a seller on Yahoo through FromJapan.

So the seller is not responding to message.

The problem is, if I complain through my CC, FromJapan will loose the money. They will not be happy about that.

So I am now stuck.

[F360]

15 minutes ago, kkx said:

Sorry I was not being too specific. I should said I paid a seller on Yahoo through FromJapan.

So the seller is not responding to message.

The problem is, if I complain through my CC, FromJapan will loose the money. They will not be happy about that.

So I am now stuck.

did you use the Buyer Protection plan (700 fee)?

Did Fromjapan tell you that you are out of luck?  perhaps they are already working on it on their end with their own paypal filing etc. 

You can try asking fromjapan what is going to happen with this order now since the seller is not responding and not shipping....

[kkx]

42 minutes ago, F360 said:

did you use the Buyer Protection plan (700 fee)?

Did Fromjapan tell you that you are out of luck?  perhaps they are already working on it on their end with their own paypal filing etc. 

You can try asking fromjapan what is going to happen with this order now since the seller is not responding and not shipping....

Yup, send them a request about 19 days ago, and they try to contact the seller.

No response till now, so just request advise from them about what to do. Will see what they can do.

I didn't pay the 700yen protection fee. Maybe that will limit what FromJapan can/willing to do to help.

Will wait and see.

[Sanity is Optional]

45 minutes ago, kkx said:

Yup, send them a request about 19 days ago, and they try to contact the seller.

No response till now, so just request advise from them about what to do. Will see what they can do.

I didn't pay the 700yen protection fee. Maybe that will limit what FromJapan can/willing to do to help.

Will wait and see.

If you signed up for the buyer protection plan it's supposed to cover them never receiving the item, even if you don't pay for it until they ship to you.

[sqidd]

6 hours ago, F360 said:

 

Fromjapan is a proxy..  They are not a store, you did not buy your item at a Fromjapan store, you request fromjapan to buy a item for you at a store of your choosing.   The risk depends on which store or seller you request fromjapan to help with your japan only purchase.  You can also pay the higher Buyer Protection fee (700 yen) which cover almost everything, from seller not shipping, wrong item , damage item etc.

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/help/servicePlan#whats_plan

 

But back to your question.  You request Fromjapan to place a preorder for you from the official Arcadia website.  I do not see any issue unless either of those company close down, 

 

Roger that. Thanks for the outline. I suppose I never thought the process through at all. I knew that FromJapan was going to buy the items for me and their service is processing the order. I didn't think about it past that though. That system is sketchier with private sellers, small fly by night operations, etc. Arcadia I'm not worried about. And at the end of the day there is always the PayPal/CC protections.

Thanks!

[sqidd]

That 700yen protection plan seems like it's worth every penny.

[sh9000]

10 hours ago, beatsing said:

Looks good.  That blue is so cool.  

Thanks @beatsing!

[Digitalfiend]

10 hours ago, kkx said:

The problem is, if I complain through my CC, FromJapan will loose the money. They will not be happy about that.

Maybe you can ask your CC company to only reverse part of the charge so that you still cover FromJapan’s fees.  Obviously keep FromJapan in the loop.  I certainly would not want to lose hundreds of dollars...

[sqidd]

10 minutes ago, Digitalfiend said:

Maybe you can ask your CC company to only reverse part of the charge so that you still cover FromJapan’s fees.  Obviously keep FromJapan in the loop.  I certainly would not want to lose hundreds of dollars...

That's smart thinking.

[vlenhoff]

Well, I wasn't very inspired to unbox anything, but I decided to take Max out, and check if the shoulders were properly assembled. I am glad to report the shoulders are fine, and I was able to transform it, very carefully without the swing bar splitting on me. This thing is amazing, and i believe it is slightly better constructed than my Hikaru release. The wings close flush and leveled at the back, and somehow the feet feel better. The only first world problem is... I've ran out room. Time to get another detolf, but as always, that will have to wait. I am officially in limp mode, as priorities are a thing.

.

[Anasazi37]

1 hour ago, vlenhoff said:

Well, I wasn't very inspired to unbox anything, but I decided to take Max out, and check if the shoulders were properly assembled. I am glad to report the shoulders are fine, and I was able to transform it, very carefully without the swing bar splitting on me. This thing is amazing, and i believe it is slightly better constructed than my Hikaru release. The wings close flush and leveled at the back, and somehow the feet feel better. The only first world problem is... I've ran out room. Time to get another detolf, but as always, that will have to wait. I am officially in limp mode, as priorities are a thing.

.

I'm having the same first world problem with my Max. I had to squeeze him onto a shelf right in front of my HMR Monster.

[vlenhoff]

1 minute ago, Anasazi37 said:

I'm having the same first world problem with my Max. I had to squeeze him onto a shelf right in front of my HMR Monster.

I had to settle by putting Miria at the back. I have the feeling, she wont like this very much, being a Zentraedi and all.

[F360]

4 minutes ago, vlenhoff said:

I had to settle by putting Miria at the back. I have the feeling, she wont like this very much, being a Zentraedi and all.

I think you just need a taller riser . with that we will be able to see Miria hovering in the back

[vlenhoff]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

I think you just need a taller riser . with that we will be able to see Miria hovering in the back

You read minds! I just oredered these super cheap ones from AliExpress!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33025927651.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.7e0674dcdMc9Oh&algo_pvid=1ad17c54-6c2f-4d0c-9a9d-231e049e03c1&algo_expid=1ad17c54-6c2f-4d0c-9a9d-231e049e03c1-0&btsid=32c1a77b-6e53-4486-bb2b-2ae2203a2b56&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3,searchweb201603_55

[Anasazi37]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

I think you just need a taller riser . with that we will be able to see Miria hovering in the back

This could also be filed under the "how do you display your valks" thread, but my solution to this problem generated by Bandai's 1/48 DX line was to get a clear acrylic monitor display stand through Amazon and put some of my "in flight" valks on it so you can see them in the background. Way cheaper than official display risers of that size and it can hold a lot more weight if needed. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WSW2BK/

Edited October 13, 2019 by Anasazi37

[vlenhoff]

3 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

This could also be filed under the "how do you display your valks" thread, but my solution to this problem generated by Bandai's 1/48 DX line was to get a clear acrylic monitor display stand through Amazon and put some of my "in flight" valks on those so you can see them in the background. Way cheaper than official display risers and they can hold a lot more weight if needed. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WSW2BK/

Yeah i started to notice the vertical empty space in my Detolfs recently. This is why i got those tamashii action stands a while back. the risers are a great idea/solution!

[sqidd]

6 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

This could also be filed under the "how do you display your valks" thread, but my solution to this problem generated by Bandai's 1/48 DX line was to get a clear acrylic monitor display stand through Amazon and put some of my "in flight" valks on it so you can see them in the background. Way cheaper than official display risers of that size and it can hold a lot more weight if needed. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WSW2BK/

Good find!

[Californium]

Loving my 1A Max.  I still think it's crazy that such a plot-heavy scheme never got a chunky-monkey release, and I'm really happy to have it now in the form of a stellar DX. 

My only quibble would be the overlong head-laser.  They made this thing a frickin' narwhal.  I cut off nearly 7/16th of an inch within a few hours of opening the beast up, (and drilled and sanded and polished back to factory fresh -- I'm no barbarian), and it's still a little bit longer than the lasers on the 1J.  And, I think, looks nicely like most of the animation and lineart now.  I attached some post-surgery pics.  

 

A few notes:

- Not a big deal, but I do wish the shoulder lights were more orange than yellow.

- The yellow for the wingtip and back-of-hands light-strips are a deeper yellow on this release.  I think I prefer the paler yellow on the 1J.   

- Swing-bar connection is much tighter on this release.  Never bothered me on the 1J, but for those that complained, looks like it won't be an issue going forward.  (At least, if my sample is anything to go by.)

 

Awesome release.  Bring on the 1D and the TV-style 1A cannon fodder.

 

 

 

[gerwookie]

20 hours ago, sh9000 said:

 

Took this pic just now.

Very nice mimic of that scene. I love rifle holding poses. Arms tucked in nice and close. Wish we could bring it up straight out from the chest with the stock against the chest like modern rifle holding stance, holding it up to eyes, but eh it’s a giant robot, it doesn’t need to look down sights.