Bandai 1/60 DX Chogokin Macross Plus YF-21

[Shawn]

5 hours ago, Lolicon said:

The best way to straighten the head laser is to send the broken thing back and get a replacement.

That doesn't work if you buy on the 2nd hand markets (Yahoo Japan or Mercari) because you could not get into the HLJ sales window or wanted to save $100 off of BBTS
but that is the trade off isn't it.

You either stay up at 3am and try to get into some super small sales window from a place like HLJ at near retail cost
You pay a bit more on a place like BBTS, knowing you have their support for a defective item
You pay $235 on Mercari , with the risk of a bent head laser and no support to save a buck (me)

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

So has anyone tried using a heat gun and getting the plastic to revert back to its molded shape?    I've had success with other plastic and vinyl figures doing this.   Just be very cautious with how much heat you apply,  you don't want to melt it.  

[Usagi]

1 hour ago, treatment said:

 

err., you just paste the youtube-link/url and the forum will auto-embed it unless you select the display-as-link option as shown below:

 

---

meanwhile,

https://x.com/Ezwea1/status/1809747342435971161

web-translated:

click on this twitter-link for full-scale of his pics...

 

Thanks a lot, looks like this checkmark was on automatically.

[Actar]

10 minutes ago, Stampeed Valkyrie said:

So has anyone tried using a heat gun and getting the plastic to revert back to its molded shape?    I've had success with other plastic and vinyl figures doing this.   Just be very cautious with how much heat you apply,  you don't want to melt it.  

I've had a ton of success in the past with a standard hairdryer. Definitely must be careful to prevent overheating.

[PointBlankSniper]

25 minutes ago, Shawn said:

You either stay up at 3am and try to get into some super small sales window from a place like HLJ at near retail cost
You pay a bit more on a place like BBTS, knowing you have their support for a defective item
You pay $235 on Mercari , with the risk of a bent head laser and no support to save a buck (me)

You could also watch stocks sit there for a few days on YYK, and then order one out of fomo, and then still not have received word about it being in stock by now. 🤪

Jokes aside, I'm in no hurry to get in on the head laser situation. Gonna hope hadling of it improves by the time they get to my unit. I'm not in a hurry to part with my shipping money anyway.

[treatment]

[shazam]

 

[MKT]

12 hours ago, jvmacross said:

 

These are great diorama pics! 

[ArchieNov]

Question: does this have a waist swivel? In wotafa's video, he does swivel it very slightly from side to side. But when I try it on my copy, it doesn't seem to budge at all. The peg that connects it to the torso is also square so I'm not sure.

Edit: I watched another review and he was also able to swivel his waist slightly. I guess mine is just stuck tight.

Edited July 7 by ArchieNov

[no3Ljm]

No Penguin in sighting yet?

[MKT]

42 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

No Penguin in sighting yet?

By one Franz Peter Siegfried:

[wsna]

32 minutes ago, MKT said:

By one Franz Peter Siegfried:

Ah!

The 5th mode!

[Lolicon]

Okay, had some time to fiddle with it. Going from fighter to battroid wasn't too bad at all, other than kinda juggling everything while you move everything into place.

Going from battroid back to fighter was another matter. Getting the panels to all line up and lock back together is a hassle. 

I think I will keep my second copy to keep it in battroid mode permanently. 

I still think the Yamato has a better looking fighter mode, but Bandai's looks pretty good too.

For battroid, Bandai is definitely better.

Took a couple of quick fighter pics.

[ArchieNov]

18 hours ago, jenius said:

Anyone figure out a way to straighten it yet? Maybe an iron on it's lowest setting and putting a thick piece of fabric above it? Blow dry it for a bit and then place a book on top of it to flatten and then run under cold water?

I managed to more or less straighten the one on my first copy. It did cause some stress marks to appear on the other side, but at least it's somewhat symmetrical with the stress mark on the other side.

Basically I just held the laser just right below the bend with one hand, then with the other held the entire tip up until the top of the bend. Then I slowly applied force to straighten it out. Fortunately it didn't break.

Now I wonder if using a hairdryer can help remove the stress marks. I've never done that before but I've heard some people have done something like that on other toys.

Edited July 7 by ArchieNov

[505thAirborne]

3 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Okay, had some time to fiddle with it. Going from fighter to battroid wasn't too bad at all, other than kinda juggling everything while you move everything into place.

Going from battroid back to fighter was another matter. Getting the panels to all line up and lock back together is a hassle. 

I think I will keep my second copy to keep it in battroid mode permanently. 

I still think the Yamato has a better looking fighter mode, but Bandai's looks pretty good too.

For battroid, Bandai is definitely better.

Took a couple of quick fighter pics.

You spared no time in painting the landing gear white, it makes such a big difference in its appearance. 😎👍

[treatment]

3 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

I managed to more or less straighten the one on my first copy. It did cause some stress marks to appear on the other side, but at least it's somewhat symmetrical with the stress mark on the other side.

Basically I just held the laser just right below the bend with one hand, then with the other held the entire tip up until the top of the bend. Then I slowly applied force to straighten it out. Fortunately it didn't break.

Now I wonder if using a hairdryer can help remove the stress marks. I've never done that before but I've heard some people have done something like that on other toys.

 

You're quite brave to do such a straightening on a rather delicate and thin plastic.

I would've just sent it back for a replacement or a refund.

Still, try to contact your vendor and see if Bandai can provide support and/or a free replacmeent fin/antennae at least.

 

 

 

Edited July 7 by treatment

[ArchieNov]

52 minutes ago, treatment said:

 

You're quite brave to do such a straightening on a rather delicate and thin plastic.

I would've just sent it back for a replacement or a refund.

Still, try to contact your vendor and see if Bandai can provide support and/or a free replacmeent fin/antennae at least.

 

 

 

I did contact Anime Export last Monday about it. They asked me to send some pictures of the damaged part and the box, which I did last Wednesday. But I haven't heard back from them since then. Since mine wasn't as severely bent as some of the others, I decided to try and straighten it out myself to see if it was possible.

Edited July 7 by ArchieNov

[treatment]

Box-comparo (YF-19 FS vs YF-21).  They're about almost the same size and stuff, except for depth:

 

 

 

Edited July 7 by treatment

[treatment]

couple of interesting pics from the twitterverse...

https://x.com/Kabuto_siren/status/1809493233111822694

web-translated:

 

https://x.com/shitopiccyan/status/1809904492424667498

 

rescaled sample:

 

[JIS]

6 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Okay, had some time to fiddle with it. Going from fighter to battroid wasn't too bad at all, other than kinda juggling everything while you move everything into place.

Going from battroid back to fighter was another matter. Getting the panels to all line up and lock back together is a hassle. 

I think I will keep my second copy to keep it in battroid mode permanently. 

I still think the Yamato has a better looking fighter mode, but Bandai's looks pretty good too.

For battroid, Bandai is definitely better.

Took a couple of quick fighter pics.

I always disliked the metal look of Bandai landing gears (plus the lack of inclination). I'm liking the idea of painting them white plus panel lining like you did. It looks great. Any advice?

[M'Kyuun]

On 7/6/2024 at 3:28 PM, AlphaOne said:

For those who ordered through BBTS:

 

Hello Ken!

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your orders.

I would be happy to help and explain. We are not able to do any quality control inspections of the items included within the manufacturer packaging of an item. The manufacturer has their own process of QC in their facilities that we have to abide by as a retailer. However, should you receive a damaged item, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via email and would be happy to see how we might be able to assist you with that issue. Each case is different and there is not a set way of assisting customers, but we will be sure to bring your case to our team to find the best resolution should the need arise.

Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise I hope you have a wonderful week!

I appreciate your sharing that, as I have mine ordered through them and had given thought to requesting they open and check my antenna before shipping it. I guess they can't do that, but at least they're willing to help if i gent a bent antenna. Digits crossed I won't. Seems like a good packing job minimizing any pressure on top of the box is getting good results. I hope BBTS follow the example.

[Bolt]

On 7/6/2024 at 1:07 PM, jvmacross said:

 

Looks so cool JV  

[jvmacross]

15 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Looks so cool JV  

 

15 hours ago, MKT said:

These are great diorama pics! 

Thanks!

At some point I'll gather the nerve to go into Gerwalk and then Battroid.....would like to try some more 'as seen on Macross Plus OVA/Movie' type photoshops like the one posed by @treatment

 

[Shawn]

That is an amazing setup, I need an official YF-21 hangar diorama set now.
Maybe it'll come with the worp wings and ghost

 

[ZYZY]

HLJ got back to me. Said that the damage falls within Bandai's range of quality variation. What a load of bs. 

[MacrossJunkie]

11 minutes ago, ZYZY said:

HLJ got back to me. Said that the damage falls within Bandai's range of quality variation. What a load of bs. 

They can't be serious! This isn't just some quality variation where tampo is misprinted or joints are loose. This is damage due to poor packaging design on a $300+ product. So basically Bandai is saying "Meh, it's fine. Deal with it"

So HLJ can't/won't help?

 

I'm seriously considering cancelling my order now since if I get one with a damaged head laser, it sounds like I might not have any recourse for a fix from the manufacturer.

Edited July 8 by MacrossJunkie

[Lolicon]

16 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

You spared no time in painting the landing gear white, it makes such a big difference in its appearance. 😎👍

12 hours ago, JIS said:

I always disliked the metal look of Bandai landing gears (plus the lack of inclination). I'm liking the idea of painting them white plus panel lining like you did. It looks great. Any advice?

Yeah. With something as detailed as the YF-21 it just made the unpainted landing gear even more of an eyesore than older valks that had way less tampo. Same with the DX YF-19.

Nothing special about the process. Just mask, primer, paint, detail, and clear coat.

 

1 hour ago, ZYZY said:

HLJ got back to me. Said that the damage falls within Bandai's range of quality variation. What a load of bs. 

That's some weapons grade BS right there.

Man, if that's HLJ position, I don't have much hope for other retailers to actually do anything about the problem. In this case, it might be better to just buy from Amazon. Yeah there's a mark-up, but you'll be able to freely exchange it for a replacement if you get a broken laser.

What a crap deal though. Pay a mark-up so you can replace a broken unit if you get one, or roll the dice elsewhere and pray you get an unbroken unit because Bandai has deemed it a "quality variation."

F U Bandai.

Typing this from the middle of a hurricane. Good times. 

Edited July 8 by Lolicon

[davidwhangchoi]

33 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

F U Bandai.

Typing this from the middle of a hurricane. Good times. 

 

[treatment]

6 hours ago, ZYZY said:

HLJ got back to me. Said that the damage falls within Bandai's range of quality variation. What a load of bs. 

Yeah. 

Total BS by Bandai. 

They most likely just don't want to deal and support overseas purchasers even if you have to send the whole item back thru HLJ.

Hopefully HLJ has offered some other recourse, like return-for-refund.

 

 

[ArchieNov]

I guess it was worth the risk to try and straighten the laser out myself. I haven't gotten another reply from Anime-Export so I'm guessing they won't be able to get a replacement part either.

[MKT]

It’s saddening to hear a reply like that from HLJ.

No doubt the worldwide units on the slow boat now are gonna be hit with plenty of bent head lasers, & Bandai already washing their hands off the whole matter leave a very bad taste in mouth even if the solution is just about the simplest ever when coming to replacing these parts. Will they still be as resolute having their head in the sand when more complaints start flooding from worldwide sellers?

It’s nowhere near as complicated or costly to rectify as the YF-29 Alto shoulder misprint, or Arcadia’s double left ankles for the SV-51.

[jvmacross]

It's unfortunate that the Japanese retailers still do not support 'overseas' customers....however, this is nothing new.  It has been this way for decades.  Just because Macross is now 'WWM' doesn't mean anything to folks that buy overseas.  If anything, now Bandai has an 'official' reason not to. 

With that said, I am very interested to see how these claims will be handled for customers purchasing from retailers outside of Japan...especially from those listed in the Bandai Tamashii webpage as 'official' webshops and physical stores...https://tamashiiweb.com/en/shop/

Edited July 8 by jvmacross

[jenius]

I also gently pushed the head laser into position and it looks fine now. There's a stress mark but you have to look real close to see it. Since it's not a part that ever receives any intentional stress it should hold up fine. Hopefully I don't accidently stress it a bunch of times on accident while handling the toy.  

[CF18]

Got mine from amiami, massive padding on top, head laser is fine.

[ArchieNov]

11 minutes ago, jenius said:

I also gently pushed the head laser into position and it looks fine now. There's a stress mark but you have to look real close to see it. Since it's not a part that ever receives any intentional stress it should hold up fine. Hopefully I don't accidently stress it a bunch of times on accident while handling the toy.  

Glad it worked out for you too