Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[sqidd]

4 minutes ago, betocc said:

I paid 5,250 yens using EMS to Mexico for a VF1J shipped from Sapporo on May

 

Redcomet's shipping charges were for DHL. A 2,700 up-charge for DHL isn't actually too bad.

[Anasazi37]

Bandai just put a Roy on display in Akihabara with the Super Parts *and* atmospheric-flight-helmet-Roy in the cockpit. How very non-canon of them.

I've already picked up two of @Xigfrid's DX pilot sets on Shapeways so I can have both Roy and Hikaru in space flight helmets:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/G8D52LFAX/pilots-set-for-vf-1j-dx?optionId=91611789&li=shops

[F360]

2 minutes ago, mantisfists said:

I get the 1J has a larger box because of the included stand.  But the box they shipped it in was about the same size as the box the 1A was shipped in.  And, while the difference in weight is about half a kilo (1.7Kg to 1.2Kg), according to Mandarake's own DHL estimate, that's only a difference of 300 Yen, not 3,000. That just doesn't add up.  Maybe at some point, I'll try them again just to see what happens.  It'll probably be a while for me, though.

 

shipping box that is about the same size is not the same size.  Also shipping box even at same size sometimes the weight is different due to thicker cardboard and packaging materials.

If they put a extra sheet of cardboard on the bottom, that alone will add at least 100g or around 3.5 ounces

(in order to get under a certain total weight some shops will modified the shipping box to get it weight less by cutting out certain parts or making a custom shipping box all together) 

For me the magic total shipping weight going out of japan have always been not to exceed 2000g.   

 

If you only compare the weight of of the actual item 1762g - 1218g = 544g in difference. 

But once you add in the weight of the shipping box and everything else , then the VF-1A one can be just under 2000g while the heavy VF-1J will be over 2000g for sure , which can increase the cost quite a bit.  

The estimate that you see from mandarake is it from this page? https://earth.mandarake.co.jp/help/shipping_options-en.html#dhl

Notice how they have pictures of 2 boxes with a huge difference in shipping price even if their total weight is the same?

That is because the weight is not the only factor.   Size matter too and it can change the cost by alot.

The example of cost on their charts seems to reflect more on their smallest box.

 

I'm not trying to push you into buying more from mandarake.  I'm just trying to show you that the price that they charged you is very fair.

By the way,  the price that they are charging you is already discounted ..  If you were to ship this yourself with your individual DHL account, you could be paying double that.

[treatment]

13 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

Bandai just put a Roy on display in Akihabara with the Super Parts *and* atmospheric-flight-helmet-Roy in the cockpit. How very non-canon of them.

 

Do they ever show it without the FPs in Akihabara?

 

[RedComet]

37 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

Bandai just put a Roy on display in Akihabara with the Super Parts *and* atmospheric-flight-helmet-Roy in the cockpit. How very non-canon of them.

I've already picked up two of @Xigfrid's DX pilot sets on Shapeways so I can have both Roy and Hikaru in space flight helmets:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/G8D52LFAX/pilots-set-for-vf-1j-dx?optionId=91611789&li=shops

From the site: This is a set of 4 pilots for the DX VF-1 in 1:48 scale.
There are 2 female pilots TV and DYRL styles and 2 male pilots TV and DYRL styles.
NB: You may have to sand a bit more the butt of the pilot before painting to perfectly fit you valkyrie.

@Anasazi37Couldn't you just get one set and paint the "TV male" as Roy and the (more slender but not noticeably busty) "TV female" as Hikaru? And do you paint miniatures yourself? My guy is not a fan of painting miniatures and declared the Hikki to Roy helmet change as "the worst part" or the customizations.

[Sanity is Optional]

5 hours ago, sqidd said:

It's adorable that you think it's that low!

I don't think I've hit 5 figures yet, and they're letting me pay with card, despite being in a "no card" area.

[mantisfists]

26 minutes ago, F360 said:

 

shipping box that is about the same size is not the same size.  Also shipping box even at same size sometimes the weight is different due to thicker cardboard and packaging materials.

If they put a extra sheet of cardboard on the bottom, that alone will add at least 100g or around 3.5 ounces

(in order to get under a certain total weight some shops will modified the shipping box to get it weight less by cutting out certain parts or making a custom shipping box all together) 

For me the magic total shipping weight going out of japan have always been not to exceed 2000g.   

 

If you only compare the weight of of the actual item 1762g - 1218g = 544g in difference. 

But once you add in the weight of the shipping box and everything else , then the VF-1A one can be just under 2000g while the heavy VF-1J will be over 2000g for sure , which can increase the cost quite a bit.  

The estimate that you see from mandarake is it from this page? https://earth.mandarake.co.jp/help/shipping_options-en.html#dhl

Notice how they have pictures of 2 boxes with a huge difference in shipping price even if their total weight is the same?

That is because the weight is not the only factor.   Size matter too and it can change the cost by alot.

The example of cost on their charts seems to reflect more on their smallest box.

 

I'm not trying to push you into buying more from mandarake.  I'm just trying to show you that the price that they charged you is very fair.

By the way,  the price that they are charging you is already discounted ..  If you were to ship this yourself with your individual DHL account, you could be paying double that.

I get what you're saying.  But, the only reason I say that the boxes were about the same size is because I got the two items about a week apart but threw the shipping boxes away as they were too big for me to store, so I can't hold them side to side. That means I have to go by memory (a VERY sketchy proposition). I'm almost positive they were the same size, but I've been punched in the head a LOT, which means making mistakes is very common for me. Yes, that was the chart I was referring to. Just above that chart, it states that DHL charges first by box size, followed by weight.  That's what has/had me confused and frustrated about the shipping charge.  If the boxes were the same size (I thought they might have boxes that were very similar in size but if Mandarake only has a few box sizes, then I'm almost positive they were the same) and the weight of the toys is only off by half a kilo, it's hard for me to understand that whatever they packed with the 1J would make it that much heavier.  In fact, you'd think the shipping materials themselves would be heavier in the 1A box because there would be more space in it, hence, more packing materials. I don't know. I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to argue a point or debunk what everyone is saying, nor am I trying to stick to my guns. If Complex's shipping rates aren't inflated, then I'm just trying to understand. If I'm the only one that experienced this, it's obviously something I'm not seeing.  Wait....forget that. I'm not the crazy one, all of y'all are!

[Lolicon]

Lack of SAL and EMS to the States are why I haven't bought much stuff from Japan in the past few months. Only if it's something I absolutely can't pass up (like a PF or DX release) will I take the plunge with the way shipping is now.

[Anasazi37]

9 hours ago, RedComet said:

From the site: This is a set of 4 pilots for the DX VF-1 in 1:48 scale.
There are 2 female pilots TV and DYRL styles and 2 male pilots TV and DYRL styles.
NB: You may have to sand a bit more the butt of the pilot before painting to perfectly fit you valkyrie.

@Anasazi37Couldn't you just get one set and paint the "TV male" as Roy and the (more slender but not noticeably busty) "TV female" as Hikaru? And do you paint miniatures yourself? My guy is not a fan of painting miniatures and declared the Hikki to Roy helmet change as "the worst part" or the customizations.

You could definitely do that. The female figure is a bit more slender, but if you painted it as Hikaru, I don't know if anyone would notice the difference unless you pointed it out. He is shorter and skinnier than Roy, after all. I just couldn't bring myself to do that to him, plus having a second set as backup in case I somehow screw up the first one seemed like a good idea. I'll probably pick up a third set in case I need to make my own space flight Max and Milia pilots, because I'm holding out hope that Bandai will release their 1Js at some point and include or at least offer Super Parts for them, but I'm assuming they'll make a bad non-canon design choice and only give us atmospheric flight pilots (even though a space flight pilot comes with the Max 1A TV). For as small as the figures are, the level of detail on the 3D printing is really nice. As @Xigfrid says on the site, you might have to do a little sanding here and there, but otherwise they're ready to paint.

I don't normally paint miniatures and yes, it's a major pain in the backside. I remember doing it, and not enjoying it, when I was making 1/48 and 1/60 Yamato customs for folks here. I'll probably start on my Roy and Hikaru figures next month so I can have them ready for the release at the end of November. They will take time and I'm sure I'll make a bunch of mistakes that I'll have to fix.

[seti88]

22 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

Bandai just put a Roy on display in Akihabara with the Super Parts *and* atmospheric-flight-helmet-Roy in the cockpit. How very non-canon of them.

I've already picked up two of @Xigfrid's DX pilot sets on Shapeways so I can have both Roy and Hikaru in space flight helmets:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/G8D52LFAX/pilots-set-for-vf-1j-dx?optionId=91611789&li=shops

Bandai, zip up your air intakes....they are showing...

 

[Anasazi37]

39 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Bandai, zip up your air intakes....they are showing...

 

Good point! I missed that additional party foul. No air intakes necessary in space.

[Lolicon]

Roy also taking a cue from Char and not wearing a spacesuit in space. 

[Roy Focker]

Zombies war heroes don't need to breath air.

[RedComet]

44 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Roy also taking a cue from Char and not wearing a spacesuit in space. 

I definitely should have beat you to the punch on that 

[Anasazi37]

57 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Roy also taking a cue from Char and not wearing a spacesuit in space. 

That's exactly why I posted the picture. I noticed Roy in the cockpit, ready for atmospheric flight. Bandai could easily solve the problem by including an extra Roy wearing his space flight helmet, but no....

[weiser21]

Anyone hear any news when EMS and SAL will be available to the US?

[Anasazi37]

17 minutes ago, weiser21 said:

Anyone hear any news when EMS and SAL will be available to the US?

Best place to check for updates is this page, under the "Notifications on International Mail" section:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/index_en.html

Latest update is from 10 Sep. Nothing mentioned about the US. The master status list for all countries is here:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_en.html

I doubt that there will be any change in status for the US until there are more commercial flights coming here from Japan (EMS and SAL hitch rides on those flights). All the usual online stores will probably post the news before we see an official update on the English language JP site. It seems to lag behind the Japanese language site by a day or two.

[F360]

57 minutes ago, weiser21 said:

Anyone hear any news when EMS and SAL will be available to the US?

does not look like anytime soon. 

 

[Kyp Durron]

I'm so glad I will soon be done with this line once I get TV Roy in. I might get the missile set, just to complete it. Unless they make a Low Vis of course, which I doubt. Or. they make a two seater, which I think is even less likely.  

I have to admit though, I am curious as to what Bandai's road map is. 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Kyp Durron

[weiser21]

11 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

Best place to check for updates is this page, under the "Notifications on International Mail" section:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/index_en.html

Latest update is from 10 Sep. Nothing mentioned about the US. The master status list for all countries is here:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_en.html

I doubt that there will be any change in status for the US until there are more commercial flights coming here from Japan (EMS and SAL hitch rides on those flights). All the usual online stores will probably post the news before we see an official update on the English language JP site. It seems to lag behind the Japanese language site by a day or two.

 

Thanks dude!

[Lolicon]

One of these isn't like the others... 

[vladykins]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

One of these isn't like the others... 

 

Hikaru for being the only 1S.

No wait, Max for being the only TV version.

 

No, wait, kakizaki for being the only one to die like a bitch.

 

 

[DYRL VF-1S]

Just now, vladykins said:

No, wait, kakizaki for being the only one to die like a bitch.

[Kyp Durron]

3 hours ago, vladykins said:

 

 

 

No, wait, kakizaki for being the only one to die like a bitch.

 

 

[tekering]

2 hours ago, vladykins said:

Hikaru for being the only 1S.

No wait, Max for being the only TV version.

No, wait, kakizaki for being the only one to die like a bitch.

Look more closely, guys.  One of them should look plainer than the others... but it doesn't, because it's no longer stock.  

[kaiotheforsaken]

3 hours ago, Lolicon said:

One of these isn't like the others... 

The weathing on that Max is fantastic. *chef's kiss*

[Saburo]

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Look more closely, guys.  One of them should look plainer than the others... but it doesn't, because it's no longer stock.  

But... they're all planes...  

[RedComet]

5 hours ago, Lolicon said:

One of these isn't like the others... 

What did you use for the panel lining to give it that slight metallic sheen? 

[Lolicon]

Oh wow, I just intended for TV Max to stand out, but you guys totally Vsauce'd me and showed me that the question is much more complicated than it initially appeared.  @tekering has some pretty damn sharp eyes. 

@Saburo Fantastic pic! Taking me to school, as always. 

@RedComet It's some Tamiya weathering kit and a semi-gloss coat. I guess it really helps on something as plain as TV... planes.

[Saburo]

On 9/14/2020 at 3:01 PM, Lolicon said:

Oh wow, I just intended for TV Max to stand out, but you guys totally Vsauce'd me and showed me that the question is much more complicated than it initially appeared.  @tekering has some pretty damn sharp eyes. 

@Saburo Fantastic pic! Taking me to school, as always. 

@RedComet It's some Tamiya weathering kit and a semi-gloss coat. I guess it really helps on something as plain as TV... planes.

@Lolicon, no schooling here.  Your shots are coming out great!

Edited September 16, 2020 by Saburo

[Alan Molina]

is it me or  some valks have the cockpit part not flush with the rest of the plane?

 not sure if its only mine 

 

[sqidd]

40 minutes ago, Alan Molina said:

is it me or  some valks have the cockpit part not flush with the rest of the plane?

 not sure if its only mine 

 

I think you're right. That's junk. You should probably give it to me.

[Angesdad]

Haha I'll take one as well please, that J in the background looks awfully good to me. I tried to line it up push it up some more but it never seems to sit flush, which really ruined the beauty of the fighter mode for me

Edited September 15, 2020 by Angesdad

[Norland]

5 hours ago, Alan Molina said:

is it me or  some valks have the cockpit part not flush with the rest of the plane?

 not sure if its only mine 

 

I noticed the same thing too. I also noticed that if I took the figure out of the cockpit then it closes completely.