Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[RedComet]

2 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

You ruined the figures! (There, now you’ve been accused ) 

If I understand correctly, you commissioned the work to an artist right @RedComet? It was a good call to have it weathered. Personally, I’d rather wait for Roy to officially be released than to pay on top of the actual price to get a Roy now. Even if I had Roy weathered after his official release, I imagine it would be less expensive to just weather than to redeco the whole thing. Plus, unless you’re not taking a cut, I would be paying for you as a broker as you handle the relationship with the artist.

 However, for impatient people like @sqidd this is perfect.  It looks great.

Yes, in case I didn't make it clear I am working with an artist(I am humble enough to admit I don't have the steady hand needed to do this quality of work). But I did come up with the idea. I sought out an artist who I felt could properly do the work (lots of Gunpla Experience), drew up schematics, and had multiple design meetings. I created the custom water slide decals (did you even notice the "MAJ Roy Focker" on the cockpit?)  I found examples of just how I wanted the weathering to look and I even picked out the paint colors. Then I systematically started building up a stock of DX 1S for the project. I also built up a reputation on Facebook as a guy who can get you the figure you want from Japan for a reasonable price delivered quickly. And of course the artist still gets the lions share of each one cause he has talents I don't possess.

The TLDR is I'm not a broker  I gave birth to this custom project! I guess you could call me the real Mother Focker 

[canklebreaker]

9 hours ago, RedComet said:

It's something I thought about, then probably overthought  But let me ask you a question, can you name one episode where Skull 1 doesn't fire off every single missile? Logically to me, weathering happens over time, but every time missiles are loaded up, they are instantly used and even the micro missile boxes are discarded. So stylistically you may be right, but logically it didn't make sense to me  but hey getting missiles, and strike parts for that matter, weathered and/or panel lined will of course be an option for anyone who orders their own. That's kinda the nice thing about small batch customs 

Damn, valid points lol.

[sqidd]

9 hours ago, RedComet said:

It's something I thought about, then probably overthought  But let me ask you a question, can you name one episode where Skull 1 doesn't fire off every single missile? Logically to me, weathering happens over time, but every time missiles are loaded up, they are instantly used and even the micro missile boxes are discarded. So stylistically you may be right, but logically it didn't make sense to me  but hey getting missiles, and strike parts for that matter, weathered and/or panel lined will of course be an option for anyone who orders their own. That's kinda the nice thing about small batch customs 

It is a very valid point. 

Another question is what about SSP's? I think of them as mission oriented parts. The same Valk may not be married to the same set of SSP's And in theory they're getting installed/removed a lot. You could make an argument that maybe the SSP's aren't weathered quite as much as the Valk. But, they may be pretty beat up from getting moved around a lot, installed, removed, etc.

So:

-Weathered Valk

-New missiles. 

-Beat up SSP's with a little weathering.

Thoughts?

[Mechapilot77]

12 hours ago, RedComet said:

I mean, if you got one of these you would both have an amazing looking Roy and technically also a DYRL Hikaru 1S  it would ship to you snugly secure in this box after all haha

 

lol....i missed u are selling them?  i'm pretty sure i don't even want to think what they'd cost me (i mean i can tell lots of time and effort went into this!) but yeah if money were of little concern i'd have PM'd you straight away. haha

[DYRL VF-1S]

8 hours ago, RedComet said:

The TLDR is I'm not a broker  I gave birth to this custom project! I guess you could call me the real Mother Focker 

No, you're a broker.... who birthed a great idea for yourself and then offered it out to anyone else who wants in.  And those impatient enough to not wait out the possible 2 years for an official Roy will totally pay you the premium for it.  Kudos.  It's a good business transaction that gives back to the community for those who desire it. 

I have a cool Macross project coming up too.  Same concept:  I had a need.  Approached a reputable company to take it on.  I introduced them to the artist.  They contracted said artist and will be offering my idea out to the masses instead of just doing a custom job for me.  The difference is that I don't receive anything in return but a free product for my own use.  In that regard, I'm not a broker because I don't get paid.

Anyway, it doesn't matter whether or not you consider yourself a broker.  I'm just giving you a hard time/teasing.  It really is an awesome end product.  And if I didn't know that Bandai was making a Roy, I'd definitely take you up on paying that premium.

[sqidd]

5 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

No, you're a broker.... who birthed a great idea for yourself and then offered it out to anyone else who wants in.  And those impatient enough to not wait out the possible 2 years for an official Roy will totally pay you the premium for it.  Kudos.  It's a good business transaction that gives back to the community for those who desire it. 

I have a cool Macross project coming up too.  Same concept:  I had a need.  Approached a reputable company to take it on.  I introduced them to the artist.  They contracted said artist and will be offering my idea out to the masses instead of just doing a custom job for me.  The difference is that I don't receive anything in return but a free product for my own use.  In that regard, I'm not a broker because I don't get paid.

Anyway, it doesn't matter whether or not you consider yourself a broker.  I'm just giving you a hard time/teasing.  It really is an awesome end product.  And if I didn't know that Bandai was making a Roy, I'd definitely take you up on paying that premium.

Being a broker is a great gig if you can get it!

[DYRL VF-1S]

21 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Being a broker is a great gig if you can get it!

Indeed!!  No hate.  Just calling a spade a spade.  There are a lot of modelers here on MW who do the work themselves and do an amazing job.  A number of them do panel-lining and weathering.  @RedComet didn't do that in this case.  Rather, he got some amazing work done by a talented artist (I'd say the work is below LEK but on par with talent for the scope of the job).  Broker on brother!

[RedComet]

35 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

I have a cool Macross project coming up too.  Same concept:  I had a need.  Approached a reputable company to take it on.  I introduced them to the artist.  They contracted said artist and will be offering my idea out to the masses instead of just doing a custom job for me.  The difference is that I don't receive anything in return but a free product for my own use.  In that regard, I'm not a broker because I don't get paid.

 

Well the original idea was honestly to just get enough other ones of these done to cover the cost of my own  and with the cost of the figure, I am not quite there yet haha, but it looks like I will get there! I am a middle school science teacher (read, not a ton of disposable income) who loves the DX, really wanted a Roy and thought weathering would look sweet. The cost to make just one though would have been staggering and nothing I could justify to myself (let alone my fiancé haha). So I worked the problem, and it looks like I found a solution  I am not doing this as a business though, just as a fan (and yeah, I admit that I may have gotten a bit carried away on yahoo auctions getting DX VF-1S figures, and need something to do with them haha). But thanks to members of this community and others on FB, it looks like this crazy idea might actually pan out! I appreciate the support!

[Corrinald]

On 5/26/2020 at 2:02 PM, Corrinald said:

I politely asked NY about the S/S parts that I ordered almost a year ago. Curious to see what they say.

I got a response from NY:

"Hello

Thank you for your message

We apologize if we were unable to send your order upon release of the product.

We cannot send orders by EMs to USA due to the restriction of Japan post

So for the moment, orders are on pause. As soon as we can send again, we will honor your order.

Please don't hesitate to send another message if you need anything else.

Kind Regards

Nippon-yasan.com
Customer Service"

[RedComet]

12 minutes ago, Corrinald said:

I got a response from NY:

"Hello

Thank you for your message

We apologize if we were unable to send your order upon release of the product.

We cannot send orders by EMs to USA due to the restriction of Japan post

So for the moment, orders are on pause. As soon as we can send again, we will honor your order.

Please don't hesitate to send another message if you need anything else.

Kind Regards

Nippon-yasan.com
Customer Service"

It's like they don't even know DHL exists...

[Anasazi37]

9 minutes ago, Corrinald said:

I got a response from NY:

"Hello

Thank you for your message

We apologize if we were unable to send your order upon release of the product.

We cannot send orders by EMs to USA due to the restriction of Japan post

So for the moment, orders are on pause. As soon as we can send again, we will honor your order.

Please don't hesitate to send another message if you need anything else.

Kind Regards

Nippon-yasan.com
Customer Service"

They'll happily ship your SSP set via UPS if you're willing to pay an additional $37.

[sqidd]

Well, to offset the NY doom an gloom...........Hikaru DX glory!

[burnout6]

fyi. Amazon JP has the SSP for 12238yen shipped. Only 4 left as of this post 

Link

 

[Syro]

3 minutes ago, burnout6 said:

fyi. Amazon JP has the SSP for 12238yen shipped. Only 4 left as of this post 

Link

 

I got one. Thank you sir 

[wm cheng]

2 hours ago, burnout6 said:

fyi. Amazon JP has the SSP for 12238yen shipped. Only 4 left as of this post 

Link

 

Shipped to North America for 12,238Y or within Japan?  I'm getting 15,306Y for Standard Shipping to Canada.

[chyll2]

3 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Shipped to North America for 12,238Y or within Japan?  I'm getting 15,306Y for Standard Shipping to Canada.

Amazon Jp also collects taxes at check out. That might be causing the difference.

[Corrinald]

10 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

They'll happily ship your SSP set via UPS if you're willing to pay an additional $37.

They didn't offer that but I guess I can ask, you know, on top of the 8700 Yen they wanted for EMS shipping up front. I paid this (for 5 sets) a year ago, in the opening moments of the first batch of S/S parts, that should have been sent to me when they released at the end of 2019. Never would have got caught up in the COVID shipping issues. 

I guess I can just wait, and in theory, someday they will send me my $500 worth of merchandise. 

End gripe.

@sqidd your shelf displays are looking good! I thought I was the only lunatic displaying multiple DXs 

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, Corrinald said:

 

@sqidd your shelf displays are looking good! I thought I was the only lunatic displaying multiple DXs 

[Skull-wan]

12 hours ago, sqidd said:

Well, to offset the NY doom an gloom...........Hikaru DX glory!

looks epic, what kind of stands are you using btw? especially made for Bandai DX?

[sqidd]

1 minute ago, Skull-wan said:

looks epic, what kind of stands are you using btw? especially made for Bandai DX?

The fighter mode ones are on Flightpose stands. The VF-1S Battroid  and VF-1J Gerwalk are on YetiStands. Flightpose you can find with Google. YetiStands web site is down ight now. You can message him here that @ChaoticYeti.

[Anasazi37]

8 hours ago, Corrinald said:

They didn't offer that but I guess I can ask, you know, on top of the 8700 Yen they wanted for EMS shipping up front. I paid this (for 5 sets) a year ago, in the opening moments of the first batch of S/S parts, that should have been sent to me when they released at the end of 2019. Never would have got caught up in the COVID shipping issues. 

I guess I can just wait, and in theory, someday they will send me my $500 worth of merchandise. 

End gripe.

@sqidd your shelf displays are looking good! I thought I was the only lunatic displaying multiple DXs 

I had to specifically ask them for an alternate shipping method--they didn't offer anything to me, either. Since EMS isn't an option for us, and they're apparently upgrading other people from SAL to UPS for free (I still call shenanigans on that BS), you'd think they'd at least offer UPS as an option to everyone with un-shipped orders, even if you have to pay for it.

[Paco Grande]

On 5/29/2020 at 2:56 AM, wm cheng said:

Shipped to North America for 12,238Y or within Japan?  I'm getting 15,306Y for Standard Shipping to Canada.

U.S. citizens don’t pay import taxes under $800 or something. 

Amazon Japan charges the import taxes up front so you don’t pay anything more when you get the item delivered in Canada. They also use DHL for shipping and it’s super fast. Usually around 2 to 3 days. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that they have been refunding my import taxes 100% for months. I’m not sure if a law changed I’m not aware of or if AJ just has a software bug. But around a month after shipment I typically get a refund of 100% of the tax amount. So I’m paying the same as U.S. citizens these days which is awesome. Not sure if that will continue to happen but it’s worth a shot. 

[borgified]

1 hour ago, Paco Grande said:

U.S. citizens don’t pay import taxes under $800 or something. 

Amazon Japan charges the import taxes up front so you don’t pay anything more when you get the item delivered in Canada. They also use DHL for shipping and it’s super fast. Usually around 2 to 3 days. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that they have been refunding my import taxes 100% for months. I’m not sure if a law changed I’m not aware of or if AJ just has a software bug. But around a month after shipment I typically get a refund of 100% of the tax amount. So I’m paying the same as U.S. citizens these days which is awesome. Not sure if that will continue to happen but it’s worth a shot. 

I also get the refunds as well from Amazon.jp on the stuff I get from them (import tax) as I'm in the West Coast. Will see if I also get the refund after the re-reissue of the Arcadia VF-1J with the GPB to be delivered September 3rd - 6th if it's correct.  

[ErikElvis]

Just loaded up final strike Hikaru. I don’t know if I was just in a bad mood but I was a little annoyed transforming it to battroid. The stupid legs kept falling off. Looks damn good though. 

[derex3592]

It's not just your mood..the transformation with the detachable legs thing is annoying AF IMHO. Main reason why mine stays in one mode for a long time. 

[sqidd]

13 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

It's not just your mood..the transformation with the detachable legs thing is annoying AF IMHO. Main reason why mine stays in one mode for a long time. 

Why did Bandai make it so it comes apart? Is there any function to being able to pull the legs off?

[kkx]

10 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Why did Bandai make it so it comes apart? Is there any function to being able to pull the legs off?

I believe it is to allow the waist to rotate.

[RedComet]

12 minutes ago, kkx said:

I believe it is to allow the waist to rotate.

Yeah, it is my understanding that is the reason. But it sure as hell makes it easier to do the customization, so I appreciate it!

[fenrir72]

10 hours ago, kkx said:

I believe it is to allow the waist to rotate.

Yup. Anymoon mentioned that option in his videos (I used his video as a guide to transform)

[sqidd]

15 minutes ago, fenrir72 said:

Yup. Anymoon mentioned that option in his videos (I used his video as a guide to transform)

I wasn't able to locate that part or what video. Can you link me/time stamp? I want to see how this thing works. I've alreday thought that I may make that plastic "hip joiner" out of aluminum or stainless (probably aluminum) and "lockable". I'd be more inclined to make it if I had lets say a ton of people that wanted them too. Larger runs are always a lot more cost effective.

[Slave IV]

8 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I wasn't able to locate that part or what video. Can you link me/time stamp? I want to see how this thing works. I've alreday thought that I may make that plastic "hip joiner" out of aluminum or stainless (probably aluminum) and "lockable". I'd be more inclined to make it if I had lets say a ton of people that wanted them too. Larger runs are always a lot more cost effective.

The latch can be attached or detached and folded up into the torso to allow waist swivel. It’s in the instructions how to do it or just watch the videos. 

[sqidd]

2 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

The latch can be attached or detached and folded up into the torso to allow waist swivel. It’s in the instructions how to do it or just watch the videos. 

So you un-couple the waist/swing bar thing at the plastic clip/clamp/joiner to get the waist to swivel?

My guess is that most people are not doing this and then dealing with the "spontaneous disassembly" that tends to happen with that clasp/joiner thing for no reason. Does that sounds like an accurate assessment? If so I would think a metal locking type clasp/joiner thing would be a want for most people? Thoughts?

[Sanity is Optional]

So, I personally haven't had any issues with "spontaneous disassembly", but it might be a bit difficult to replace with metal given the small working space allowed.

If you undo the plastic clasp it sits in a notch on the nosecone near the leg locking mechanism, so making it wider, taller, or longer might interfere.

[Jesper77]

I’m really new to the bit of collecting models, been looking at anime for ages tough  Bought a VF-1S from Mandarake and was really exited. It was scheduled to arrive on Monday next week. On Thursday I got a package containing a 1/60 VF-1S Fokker I’ve bought second hand. I realy liked it and it had SSP and missiles. It was really cheap and a knock off but nothing broken and looks really good. 
 

On Friday I got a sms telling me my package from Mandarake had arrived. Carefully opened it and....what a sweet model!! It’s stunning!! It’s surpassed all my expectations !! Transformation went so smooth and clean. And it’s huge!’ Looked big in fighter mode but it’s massive in battroide model. I’m in love with my model!!!! Best Buy I’ve ever made   Now I must get missiles, Strike parts and 2 flightpose stands. Damn it, feels like I’m hooked on this collecting thingy

 

So I’m a proud owner of 2 valks, already planning to get some more. Feels like I must have a VF-19 Advanced and a I really like the look of the VF-0S and VF-0D. Somewhat scarred of buying the latter because of the hip problem. Have to wait and see if the new VF-0D have fixed it  

Edited May 31, 2020 by Jesper77

[fenrir72]

2 hours ago, sqidd said:

I wasn't able to locate that part or what video. Can you link me/time stamp? I want to see how this thing works. I've alreday thought that I may make that plastic "hip joiner" out of aluminum or stainless (probably aluminum) and "lockable". I'd be more inclined to make it if I had lets say a ton of people that wanted them too. Larger runs are always a lot more cost effective.

It's in his youtube video Hikaru VF1J. I only use his instructions when transforming anything Macross.