Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[sqidd]

@ghostryder inspired me to re-pose my Battroid 1S Hikaru for the first time since I un-boxed it.

 

 

[weiser21]

8 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Keep in mind that $450 was with Super & Strike Parts and a missile set (which don't come with the Valks).

And as previously;y mentioned shipping has added a whole new level of complexity to cost. My Tenso address is really paying off right about now. Not that they cost anything.

 

That was a really good deal! Almost pm-ed you for it. I spent around $540 to get a whole set buying separately.

[ghostryder]

7 minutes ago, sqidd said:

@ghostryder inspired me to re-pose my Battroid 1S Hikaru for the first time since I un-boxed it.

Nice.  I think you captured the feel better!  And you are literally a few joint clicks away from the 1/55 Strike Valkyrie box art

Oh, and I give Justice a pass because it was my first Metallica tape. Being a bass player now however, it's hard not to ignore how they neutered Jason's lines.

[mantisfists]

8 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Keep in mind that $450 was with Super & Strike Parts and a missile set (which don't come with the Valks).

And as previously;y mentioned shipping has added a whole new level of complexity to cost. My Tenso address is really paying off right about now. Not that they cost anything.

 

Not judging at all, my man.  Just wanted to get an idea of what the original cost of them were. Shoot....even $450 is $100 cheaper than anything I saw while perusing Ebay.  Wish I would have seen your sale as it sounds exactly like what I'd be looking for.  I'm in no rush, though.  If it takes me a year or three or never, I'm cool.  I've got plenty of other toys to play with.  First world problems, right?

[mantisfists]

12 minutes ago, ghostryder said:

Nice.  I think you captured the feel better!  And you are literally a few joint clicks away from the 1/55 Strike Valkyrie box art

Oh, and I give Justice a pass because it was my first Metallica tape. Being a bass player now however, it's hard not to ignore how they neutered Jason's lines.

I'm just impressed you know what a tape is.  Metallica represented the height of what a garage band could aspire to and the Justice album sounded like a garage band.  I remember cutting school to go to Tower Records to get that album when it was released, rushing home to listen to it with my best friend/guitarist, being blown away by Blackened only to be completely disappointed by the rest of the album up until Dyer's Eve at the end.  That time has some great memories for me as a couple of years prior to that I happened on a cartoon that looked like a Japanese version of Transformers (yes, I know how stupid that sounds, but at 12 y/o, I had no idea Transformers WEREN'T American) where planes exploded BEFORE people ejected and they killed my favorite character two weeks in.  I was hooked.  None of the other Macross shows captured my imagination like the original, as cool as some of the other designs are.  And Newstead's neutered sound stemmed from suffering the terrible affliction of not being Cliff.  Sad but true (no pun intended). 

[Toonz]

19 hours ago, orindlt said:

The trick with NY might be the following - use the following exact phrase as the title of a new ticket:

"Change shipping method"

I'd launched a few tickets around the premium VF-0D and hadn't got anywhere, then went back to the email they sent me at one point asking if I wanted to change shipping. Within 10 minutes of using those exact words I had a response. I'm betting they have a filter for those words on incoming tickets. Use them, get routed to a human for immediate assistance. Use your own creative version (I used "upgrade shipping" and "can I use UPS") and didn't get anywhere. Worked for my SSPs and for my 0D.

Anyway, it may work - but I certainly got a result when I followed their instruction precisely. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip and I received an immediate reply with the title "Change shipping method"

And so this is their reply:

Delivery center said we will receive our stock little by little.

Unfortunately due to this fact, they decided to ship first orders by UPS (faster shipping method ) , come after orders with only 1 products from fastest to slowest sending method, and afters other orders with quantity 2 and 3 ....

For this moment i cannot tell you when your order will be ship. Probably during this month, but when exactly, I do not know yet.

[Corrinald]

24 minutes ago, Toonz said:

Thanks for the tip and I received an immediate reply with the title "Change shipping method"

And so this is their reply:

Delivery center said we will receive our stock little by little.

Unfortunately due to this fact, they decided to ship first orders by UPS (faster shipping method ) , come after orders with only 1 products from fastest to slowest sending method, and afters other orders with quantity 2 and 3 ....

For this moment i cannot tell you when your order will be ship. Probably during this month, but when exactly, I do not know yet.

This is word for word the response I got from them a few weeks ago. I ordered 5 SSP because obviously I am stupid lol. Should probably get them by 2023.

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, ghostryder said:

Nice.  I think you captured the feel better!  And you are literally a few joint clicks away from the 1/55 Strike Valkyrie box art

Oh, and I give Justice a pass because it was my first Metallica tape. Being a bass player now however, it's hard not to ignore how they neutered Jason's lines.

Tapes! Remember those?! Remember when you could actually wear your music out?

In Justice For All was the first "metal" that I was introduced to. Up to that point I was into Van Helen, Motley Crue, Ozzy and all of the 80's hair bands. In Justice For All was my gateway to where I was supposed to be the whole time. I went the metal route hard from that point. In my 20's added punk and then ska. In my 30's added classical and opera. In my 40's I added jazz and blues. Also a huge Sinatra fan. Still love my meal though. Lately I've been infatuated with Walls Of Jericho. I dialed up some Sepultura for a workout the other day. Man, Beneath The Remains still holds up.

[DYRL VF-1S]

50 minutes ago, Toonz said:

Thanks for the tip and I received an immediate reply with the title "Change shipping method"

And so this is their reply:

Delivery center said we will receive our stock little by little.

Unfortunately due to this fact, they decided to ship first orders by UPS (faster shipping method ) , come after orders with only 1 products from fastest to slowest sending method, and afters other orders with quantity 2 and 3 ....

For this moment i cannot tell you when your order will be ship. Probably during this month, but when exactly, I do not know yet.

All of that was already posted in the appropriate thread btw. They’ve told a number of people the same. Anyone else interested should go there to read more. 

Edited August 4, 2020 by DYRL VF-1S

[Slave IV]

3 hours ago, mantisfists said:

Besides, I was lucky enough to see them twice in the late 80s and early 90s and once at an improv/FREE show at the Raiders/Titans AFC Championship Game (YES, the Raiders have been in the playoffs)

Haha nice! And that was when the Raiders were still “The Winningest Team in Professional Sports” sigh...

[vladykins]

8 hours ago, mantisfists said:

I'm just impressed you know what a tape is.  Metallica represented the height of what a garage band could aspire to and the Justice album sounded like a garage band.  I remember cutting school to go to Tower Records to get that album when it was released, rushing home to listen to it with my best friend/guitarist, being blown away by Blackened only to be completely disappointed by the rest of the album up until Dyer's Eve at the end.  That time has some great memories for me as a couple of years prior to that I happened on a cartoon that looked like a Japanese version of Transformers (yes, I know how stupid that sounds, but at 12 y/o, I had no idea Transformers WEREN'T American) where planes exploded BEFORE people ejected and they killed my favorite character two weeks in.  I was hooked.  None of the other Macross shows captured my imagination like the original, as cool as some of the other designs are.  And Newstead's neutered sound stemmed from suffering the terrible affliction of not being Cliff.  Sad but true (no pun intended). 

Tower Records.

 

Spent so much money there in their imports and indies sections (especially the cut outs).

But on topic: Demand for these is strong, but varies a bit by character, so if you can't make PO night, you can be patient and get a deal. I think I paid $250 for Max shipped, Hikaru is pretty much untouchable anywhere under $300 (and usually much higher) both since he is the favorite in Japan and it was the first limited release. I'm hoping for a rerelease with the GBP for him. Roy went so fast it was nuts- I was happy to get a store with a small markup at 25000 yen.

[Anasazi37]

15 hours ago, vladykins said:

Tower Records.

 

Spent so much money there in their imports and indies sections (especially the cut outs).

But on topic: Demand for these is strong, but varies a bit by character, so if you can't make PO night, you can be patient and get a deal. I think I paid $250 for Max shipped, Hikaru is pretty much untouchable anywhere under $300 (and usually much higher) both since he is the favorite in Japan and it was the first limited release. I'm hoping for a rerelease with the GBP for him. Roy went so fast it was nuts- I was happy to get a store with a small markup at 25000 yen.

YES! Tower Records! Spent way too much time there in my youth.

@mantisfists, the key with this line is patience. You can wade into the fray on PO nights and try your luck, but if that doesn't work or you value sleep like a normal human being, just regularly monitor the For Sale section here plus Amazon Japan, Mandarake, Jungle, Yahoo Auctions Japan, Rakuten, and a few other secondary market sites. What you want will eventually show up at a price that won't absolutely destroy your wallet. Except for the Hikaru 1J. That one probably won't come down unless/until some kind of reissue happens (hopefully combined with a GBP set). Be prepared to pay above retail for popular variants, though. With that said, the Hikaru 1S has started to come down since the Roy 1S TV was announced, which is nice to see.

[sqidd]

39 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

YES! Tower Records! Spent way too much time there in my youth.

 With that said, the Hikaru 1S has started to come down since the Roy 1S TV was announced, which is nice to see.

Yes, hours and hours at Tower for me too!

From what I have seen they went up, then after the Roy PO went down for a very short window and now they're creeping up again. $300 and up + shipping is what I'm seeing.

[Slave IV]

Haha, Tower records....I’ve never even begun to talk about my cd collection here have I?  Let’s just say that thankfully they are smaller than comic books but they still weigh a crapload when you have dozens of boxes full of them. 

I have mentioned that I’m a collector so if I’m not collecting one thing at a point in time, I’m collecting another. Most the time, I’m collecting several things at the same time. 

It’s a tough life but someone has to do it. 

[Pcfly]

So, whats the next big step with the DX line? Release of Roy this fall/winter........and then maybe another model or two announced fall/winter? Where do we go from here besides save for the Roy release?

[Corrinald]

If anybody is curious about how the DX VF-1 Shoulder armor comes apart - here it is. It's two halves - I pulled up on the long end to expose the seam and then worked my thumbnail into it. Two out of three pegs broke. I don't know if they were glued or just really right. The larger half is the front in Battroid mode.

Going to try disassembling the other shoulder without breakage. Experimenting for future painting possibilities.

Edit: Upon closer inspection, I think those pegs were glued. Might try some heat for the other shoulder.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Corrinald

[RedComet]

2 minutes ago, Pcfly said:

So, whats the next big step with the DX line? Release of Roy this fall/winter........and then maybe another model or two announced fall/winter? Where do we go from here besides save for the Roy release?

Well, impatient/crazy people are already working on DYRL Max VF-1S customs and TV Alaska Base VF-1A customs, so if you can dream it you can do it! 

[sqidd]

3 minutes ago, Pcfly said:

So, whats the next big step with the DX line? Release of Roy this fall/winter........and then maybe another model or two announced fall/winter? Where do we go from here besides save for the Roy release?

Dunno. My guess is another TV and DYRL release.

I don't really care. The only thing I'm interested in now is maybe the GBP. The Arcadia 1/60 is SO GOOD I'm not looking to replace it though. Deciding factor for me would probably be that I want all 1/48's. That may not be enough though.

My interest would perk up at a SDFM M&M VF-1J's with Supers. But again, I already have three of each and they look good enough. Dropping approx $3000 to replace them seems rather silly.

Sadly I may be done with DX's after the Roy release.

[kaiotheforsaken]

I remember getting the 1J when it came out and thinking that it was really solid and a great piece, but also not one I absolutely needed to have. Joke is on me as now I wished I'd kept it since that I've sourced a Max 1A and have a Roy on pre-order. That would be a nice, clean TV display. Maybe throw in a couple of pilot figures depending on space. Maybe we'll luck out and they'll do a GBP or something that warrants a reissue of Hikaru's 1J.

[KFDzero]

5 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Haha, Tower records....I’ve never even begun to talk about my cd collection here have I?  Let’s just say that thankfully they are smaller than comic books but they still weigh a crapload when you have dozens of boxes full of them. 

I have mentioned that I’m a collector so if I’m not collecting one thing at a point in time, I’m collecting another. Most the time, I’m collecting several things at the same time. 

It’s a tough life but someone has to do it. 

This also explains my collection of all sorts of apparently random things haha

[Major Focker]

4 hours ago, Pcfly said:

So, whats the next big step with the DX line? Release of Roy this fall/winter........and then maybe another model or two announced fall/winter? Where do we go from here besides save for the Roy release?

Ozma in 1/48.

full load out.

[vladykins]

6 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Haha, Tower records....I’ve never even begun to talk about my cd collection here have I?  Let’s just say that thankfully they are smaller than comic books but they still weigh a crapload when you have dozens of boxes full of them. 

I have mentioned that I’m a collector so if I’m not collecting one thing at a point in time, I’m collecting another. Most the time, I’m collecting several things at the same time. 

It’s a tough life but someone has to do it. 

We found an old postal sorter in Philly years ago that I have stacked four or five rows deep with old CDs. It naturally starts to accumulate other things in the slots as well, like old documents, wine, batteries, etc. I need to clean some of the stuff out of it.

 

[Anasazi37]

8 hours ago, sqidd said:

Yes, hours and hours at Tower for me too!

From what I have seen they went up, then after the Roy PO went down for a very short window and now they're creeping up again. $300 and up + shipping is what I'm seeing.

I think I bought mine many months ago on AJ for ¥28,000 plus free domestic shipping to my Tenso address. Just checked AJ again and new ones are going for ¥28,500 plus free shipping, so it indeed looks like the price recovered. Hopefully it doesn't go up too much more for folks who still want to get one.

7 hours ago, Corrinald said:

If anybody is curious about how the DX VF-1 Shoulder armor comes apart - here it is. It's two halves - I pulled up on the long end to expose the seam and then worked my thumbnail into it. Two out of three pegs broke. I don't know if they were glued or just really right. The larger half is the front in Battroid mode.

Going to try disassembling the other shoulder without breakage. Experimenting for future painting possibilities.

Thank you for being brave enough to try that on your Max 1A. I've been looking at mine for several months now, wondering if I should make my own Hayao 1A out of a second copy or wait until Bandai decides to release one. If they decide to release one.

[ErikElvis]

Only took about 3 days for NY to send me the additional fee for UPS for my strike parts. Hope it ships soon. My PF 0D did. 

[Slave IV]

7 hours ago, KFDzero said:

This also explains my collection of all sorts of apparently random things haha

Yep! Random to others but it all makes sense to us!

5 hours ago, vladykins said:

We found an old postal sorter in Philly years ago that I have stacked four or five rows deep with old CDs. It naturally starts to accumulate other things in the slots as well, like old documents, wine, batteries, etc. I need to clean some of the stuff out of it.

 

Nice! My CD shelves also tend to start collecting other items along the way.

So...I think my DX 1/48 Missile sets are are my office so I won't be able to get them for a while, which means I won't be opening my 1S for a while longer and I have no new pics to share...

[DYRL VF-1S]

24 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

I won't be opening my 1S for a while longer

Sweet! When did you finally get a 1S? Did HLJ come through?

[Slave IV]

31 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Sweet! When did you finally get a 1S? Did HLJ come through?

Lol, HLJ still has it as a pending order for me. I’ll take it whenever they decide to make it available to me. I actually got it a while ago but just never opened yet.

[DYRL VF-1S]

55 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Lol, HLJ still has it as a pending order for me. I’ll take it whenever they decide to make it available to me. I actually got it a while ago but just never opened yet.

Nice!  Glad you were able to snag one.

[Slave IV]

59 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Nice!  Glad you were able to snag one.

Thanks! These things are like mining for gold!

[peter]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:52 PM, mantisfists said:

There's no way I'd lower myself to watching a Metallica concert nowadays.  Being around a bunch of 50 year old cats who sit down to watch a watered down version of the band I  grew up idolizing, or a bunch of kids who have no idea who Cliff Burton is would make me lose all faith in humanity.  Besides, I was lucky enough to see them twice in the late 80s and early 90s and once at an improv/FREE show at the Raiders/Titans AFC Championship Game (YES, the Raiders have been in the playoffs). 

Dang.  What's with the fervor behind these things?  Are they that amazing that everyone wants them?  Thanks for the link, by the way.  Cuts down the search for me to find info.  

Scalpers.

[DYRL VF-1S]

48 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Thanks! These things are like mining for gold!

Right?!  You know me.  I live for that hunt!!

[Slave IV]

2 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Right?!  You know me.  I live for that hunt!!

Haha, yup!

[Angesdad]

Hello I am a new member and this is my very first post

I have a question regarding copyright sticker on the right upper corner of the DX box. I have just purchased a DX VF-1S Hikaru off Mandarake and this particular box seems to be missing the copyright sticker. Has anyone on the board experienced something similar, what is the meaning of this if anything, thank you.

 

[sqidd]

There were some people looking for info on DX's and getting one recently. Well, here is a pretty smokin deal on a VF-1S Hikaru.

 

[treatment]

14 minutes ago, Angesdad said:

Hello I am a new member and this is my very first post

I have a question regarding copyright sticker on the right upper corner of the DX box. I have just purchased a DX VF-1S Hikaru off Mandarake and this particular box seems to be missing the copyright sticker. Has anyone on the board experienced something similar, what is the meaning of this if anything, thank you.

 

 

don't mean anything special other than it possibly just fell off or something.