Arcadia 1/60 VF-4A ‘Flashback 2012’ Premium Finish & Regular Release

[Lolicon]

Hmmm so after the From Japan email saying they messed up the price, I told them proceed with the order, and they did, but never sent me an invoice for the remainder of the balance. On the FJ page it just says order complete with the 10% deposit. Maybe they're fine with just the deposit and they'll charge me the remainder later? Who knows. Feb 2021 is a long way off.

[Corrinald]

12 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Hmmm so after the From Japan email saying they messed up the price, I told them proceed with the order, and they did, but never sent me an invoice for the remainder of the balance. On the FJ page it just says order complete with the 10% deposit. Maybe they're fine with just the deposit and they'll charge me the remainder later? Who knows. Feb 2021 is a long way off.

Mine said they will add it to the Charge 2 payment. Maybe they won't charge the balance until they receive the item in February and it's ready to ship.

[technoblue]

That's pretty cool that FJ let the 10% deposit go through on a few orders. I put my order in a day after the Arcadia web store link went live, and it looks like FJ "fixed" the issue and were correctly requesting full MSRP so no 10% discount for me.  FJ is like:HaHa! It's no big deal, though. 

[Scyla]

8 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

I had that problem a few weeks ago when I tried to order a magazine. Ended up clearing out my browser cache and cookies and that seemed to do the trick. I contacted HLJ support about it as well and they told me to do the same thing. I first confirmed that it had nothing to do with my account by firing up a Linux virtual machine, using a "pristine" browser in there, and everything was fine. Their new site can be...glitchy.

Amazon Japan is a solid option.

Thanks, that did the trick. 

[onnasake]

On 8/4/2020 at 11:36 PM, MKT said:

 

I love my Hi Metal III Lightning....just love it.

But I've never noticed being able to put it on the stand in robot mode.   Is that the same piece that clips under the fun in fighter mode, or is that some kind of custom piece to use the stand in battroid mode?  I'm not about to attempt anything unless I know for sure!

Thanks!

 

[MKT]

1 hour ago, onnasake said:

I love my Hi Metal III Lightning....just love it.

But I've never noticed being able to put it on the stand in robot mode.   Is that the same piece that clips under the fun in fighter mode, or is that some kind of custom piece to use the stand in battroid mode?  I'm not about to attempt anything unless I know for sure!

Thanks!

 

Its the battroid stand adaptor that comes with the toy. There were 2 included adaptors: one for fighter & gerwalk, and another just for battroid.

[onnasake]

Oh my god...it's been in the box the whole time....cool!!

[Mommar]

On 8/4/2020 at 8:58 PM, Anasazi37 said:

I don't think they offer standard courier services like FedEx, UPS, or DHL. That means you either have to let them hang onto orders until Japan Post opens up shipping again or have them ship to a domestic Tenso address, then have Tenso ship to you via DHL, which adds to the total cost of your order. They were offering some kind of sketchy no-name courier service that wanted lots of personal info, but given that it is sketchy, I don't think many people took them up on it. Please correct me if the shipping situation at AE has improved since I last checked.

I just noticed this.  Have y9ou had anything from AE forwarded to Tenso yourself?  I've got multiple things backed up there with two more on the horizon and it would be easier to ship them to Tenso and have it all shipped at once.

[sqidd]

2 hours ago, Mommar said:

Have y9ou had anything from AE forwarded to Tenso yourself?  

I have. Easy Peasy.

[orindlt]

Interesting (and kinda frustrating) that the premium version hasn't turned up on NY yet. I've not used From Japan, but I'm wondering if I might need to just jump in that pool to get the PE of this specific Valk. 

[Anasazi37]

7 hours ago, Mommar said:

I just noticed this.  Have y9ou had anything from AE forwarded to Tenso yourself?  I've got multiple things backed up there with two more on the horizon and it would be easier to ship them to Tenso and have it all shipped at once.

Yes. A few of us, including @sqidd, ran an experiment recently to see if we could get AE purchases shipped to Tenso. The biggest challenge was filling out their "additional shipping address" form correctly. English translation of your address works best, but one of the three lines they give you on the form doesn't save what you type into it. I think it's the middle one. Cost me about $10 to basically ship something across Tokyo, but I was happy to pay $10 to get the item in to the hands of shipping professionals. You have to submit a support ticket to Tenso if you want them to use DHL, since it's not one of their regular options, but that is painless.

For the experiment, we tried formatting our Tenso address a few different ways. All were successful. Mine looks like this, which is based on the Rakuten Global Market version of my address:

Address: TSXXXXXX tenso.com, 42-4, Senjyuakebono-cho (all on a single line to avoid issues with AE's address form)

City: Adachi-ku, Tokyo

Country: Japan

Zip Code: 120-0023

Edited August 9, 2020 by Anasazi37

[DYRL VF-1S]

1 hour ago, Anasazi37 said:

Yes. A few of us, including @sqidd, ran an experiment recently to see if we could get AE purchases shipped to Tenso. The biggest challenge was filling out their "additional shipping address" form correctly. English translation of your address works best, but one of the three lines they give you on the form doesn't save what you type into it. I think it's the middle one. Cost me about $10 to basically ship something across Tokyo, but I was happy to pay $10 to get the item in to the hands of shipping professionals. You have to submit a support ticket to Tenso if you want them to use DHL, since it's not one of their regular options, but that is painless.

For the experiment, we tried formatting our Tenso address a few different ways. All were successful. Mine looks like this, which is based on the Rakuten Global Market version of my address:

Address: TSXXXXXX tenso.com, 42-4, Senjyuakebono-cho (all on a single line to avoid issues with AE's address form)

City: Adachi-ku, Tokyo

Country: Japan

Zip Code: 120-0023

Yup! I think we were the first two that announced trying it. I did mine a different (and presumably wrong way). It ended up getting flagged for them to research at JapanPost, but eventually made its way till Tenso after a couple of days. The above method is what I changed it to for future shipments to Tenso.

[sqidd]

Just giving you guys an update. I have still not given in and PO'd one of these. The struggle is real!

[ErikElvis]

3 hours ago, sqidd said:

Just giving you guys an update. I have still not given in and PO'd one of these. The struggle is real!

 

[slide]

3 hours ago, sqidd said:

Just giving you guys an update. I have still not given in and PO'd one of these. The struggle is real!

Even I couldn't resist this one... GL with your resistance...

 

 

YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!!

[505thAirborne]

3 hours ago, sqidd said:

Just giving you guys an update. I have still not given in and PO'd one of these. The struggle is real!

[Slave IV]

Seriously though. The Fighter mode is a work of art and worth it for that alone. I haven’t decided if I will get the PF as well or not yet but I have a regular ordered. My friends that know Macross and transforming toys very well see it and ask if it actually transforms. 

[DYRL VF-1S]

4 hours ago, sqidd said:

Just giving you guys an update. I have still not given in and PO'd one of these. The struggle is real!

 

[Major Focker]

sorry, haven't been keeping up.

so other than proxy, no one's put up a PO for the PF? even NY?

[orindlt]

Not as yet. I'm sure there is a byzantine reason for it that makes complete sense to someone somewhere, just like I'm sure at some point the revision to HLJ's website made complete sense and someone paid to have that work done rather than it being some sort of punishment.

[jeniusornome]

I finally got around to transforming my Arcadia VF-4G recently and I was... surprised by the transformation. It wasn't as complex as I'd feared, but the arms were a little weird the way the forearms just kind of half-rotate to make room for the fists, and the little missiles, the reddish panels below the vertical tailfins and the "gap filler" pieces that sit flat on the bottom in fighter mode fell off quite a bit.

I don't think Arcadia has said anything about changes to this mold for this release, but anyone know if it's realistic to expect any tweaks in fitment? I'm on the fence about selling my 4G and possibly preordering the 4A. I can't afford / don't have room for both. Or maybe just never transforming my 4G again.

[orindlt]

https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-kanzen-henkei-vf-4-a-lightning-iii-hikaru-ichijyo-use-premium-finish-aca82155 Up at HLJ in Premium Form

[RIBFIR]

34 minutes ago, orindlt said:

https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-kanzen-henkei-vf-4-a-lightning-iii-hikaru-ichijyo-use-premium-finish-aca82155 Up at HLJ in Premium Form

Ty! And it looks like they don’t require payment until it’s ready to ship.

[Kanedas Bike]

56 minutes ago, orindlt said:

https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-kanzen-henkei-vf-4-a-lightning-iii-hikaru-ichijyo-use-premium-finish-aca82155 Up at HLJ in Premium Form

Your tweet worked!

-b.

[Anasazi37]

49 minutes ago, orindlt said:

https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-kanzen-henkei-vf-4-a-lightning-iii-hikaru-ichijyo-use-premium-finish-aca82155 Up at HLJ in Premium Form

And at a premium price! Arcadia lists it on their site, with tax included, for ¥38,280. That's a 10% markup. Not terrible, and you get the convenience of ordering through HLJ instead of dealing with shipping to Tenso and then having them ship overseas, but it might give some folks a reason to stop and think about it for a few minutes before purchasing.

[MacrossJunkie]

Yeah. This is good news for people who wanted the premium finish without all that hassle.  More options is for people is always a good thing.

[kaiotheforsaken]

This is one I'll probably hold on and see what's around at release. If it's like most Arcadia releases that I remember, I'll have plenty of time to decide, which is always nice. I'm not sure I need a $400+ VF-4, but the PF does look nice.

[Grey728]

I think these exclusives are made to order (like Bandai TWE) so unless someone (or scapler) is willing to sell theirs I don't think you'll get one at MSRP for very long. The none PF on the other hand will likely be very easy to get. FWIW I'm still on the fence and would prefer a weathered/panel line version. The VF-0D has raised the bar.

[kaiotheforsaken]

The VF-0D has at least convinced me that there's an argument to be made for their PF releases. I don't know that I've found any of the prior PF options to be totally worth the extra 100+ dollars. The VF-4 kind of lives in a realm between the 0D and a PF VF-1. It's got a bit more going on because of the panel lining, which is nice. I'm pretty happy with the look of the standard version, so if I miss my shot at the PF, I won't be super heartbroken.

[Lolicon]

Buying from HLJ also means you'll get actual assistance if there's a problem with your unit, though since this is just a repaint I'm not too worried about first release problems.

[MacrossJunkie]

Now I'm almost tempted to get a PF version as well. I forgot how tedious and frustrating it was panel lining a Yamato/Arcadia VF-1 until a few days ago and if I recall, the VF-4G wasn't really any better. The VF-0's were better in that regard at least.

[Ryoma]

Any other websites carrying the  PF version? I checked the usual suspects and i can't find it anywhere else. Not that i don't like HLJ but i always have to pay custom with them and 25% out of € 400 it's kinda expensive.

[Dobber]

There’s not much extra to this PF when compared to the standard  not enough to justify THAT MUCH of a mark-up for me. Especially when you add in HLJ’s shipping. My Standard version SHIPPED from Amazon is already around $100 cheaper than just the item cost at HLJ.

Chris

Edited August 18, 2020 by Dobber

[derex3592]

12 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Now I'm almost tempted to get a PF version as well. I forgot how tedious and frustrating it was panel lining a Yamato/Arcadia VF-1 until a few days ago and if I recall, the VF-4G wasn't really any better. The VF-0's were better in that regard at least.

The VF-4G's are a nightmare (no pun intended) to panel line. Go with the PF! 

[MacrossJunkie]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

The VF-4G's are a nightmare (no pun intended) to panel line. Go with the PF! 

Lol, we're all a bunch of enablers on these forums. Around here, both the angel and the devil on the shoulders say to do it.