Bandai 1/60 DX Chogokin Macross Plus YF-21

[rematron]

56 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

Received one from Luna Park. One still on the way from nin nin. Haven’t opened it to check the laser. 

Did Luna Park send you a shipping notice, or did it just show up in the mail?

[MKT]

So, anyone who got bent head laser other than from HLJ got any resolutions yet?

Meanwhile, after a long back and forth with HLJ, I finally used the hair dryer trick on mine. My head laser wasn't that much bent compared to others I've been seeing, but the stress mark is quite visible. Here's a before pic for one side. I should have taken a pic of the other side too, because the stress mark there is more prominent.

 

After using the hair dryer, I managed to straighten it out quite perfectly. The stress mark on this side also reduced quite a lot, but I could not get it to completely disappear.

 

Other the other side, the stress mark only reduced a little, so it's still quite visible.

 

I'll just leave it at that, and won't carry on further in case I'll over-correct & get irreversible damage. At normal handling / display distance it shouldn't be that bothersome, and especially considering our eyes may not be so good now.  

Meanwhile, many thanks to @Actar for showing the way with this hair-dryer method. 

[MacrossJunkie]

15 hours ago, MKT said:

 

 

I wonder if painting the piece to hide the stress mark would be an option, either just on the stress mark or the whole thing (and just paint around the red label as close as possible). Just based on the photo and not having it in hand yet, the color looks close in color to either "Tau light ochre" or "Averland Sunset" Citadel paints. 

[rsvictor1976]

I got my YF-21 today from Yoyakunow and am happy to report the antenna was straight as an arrow. A couple of questions though, was the YF-21 suppose to come in the brown P-Bandai shipper box? Also, I asked Yoyakunow to take a picture of the antenna before shipping it to me to verify it was good but I noticed the box I received had the big round clear tape sealing both ends of the box. I always thought the tape was something Bandai puts on so was expecting the box to be unsealed already.

 

 

 

 

[Froy]

Just now, rsvictor1976 said:

I got my YF-21 today from Yoyakunow and am happy to report the antenna was straight as an arrow. A couple of questions though, was the YF-21 suppose to come in the brown P-Bandai shipper box? Also, I asked Yoyakunow to take a picture of the antenna before shipping it to me to verify it was good but I noticed the box I received had the big round clear tape sealing both ends of the box. I always thought the tape was something Bandai puts on so was expecting the box to be unsealed already.

 

 

 

 

YF-21 is a regular retailer release, no brown shipping box for those. Unless you buy 4 that might come in a shipper box with 4 units 😂

Edited July 31 by Froy

[rsvictor1976]

42 minutes ago, Froy said:

YF-21 is a regular retailer release, no brown shipping box for those. Unless you buy 4 that might come in a shipper box with 4 units 😂

Thanks, good to know.

[rsvictor1976]

Holy crap! The ball joints attaching the legs to the pelvis are super tight. I can’t even pose them without moving the metal swing bars by accident.

Edited August 1 by rsvictor1976

[MKT]

8 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I wonder if painting the piece to hide the stress mark would be an option, either just on the stress mark or the whole thing (and just paint around the red label as close as possible). Just based on the photo and not having it in hand yet, the color looks close in color to either "Tau light ochre" or "Averland Sunset" Citadel paints. 

I suppose just touching up the stress mark alone, even if the yellow doesn't match perfectly, should be an improvement than it is now.

I just noticed the bend have returned ever so slightly, so will try another round of heat treatment. 

[no3Ljm]

8 hours ago, rsvictor1976 said:

I got my YF-21 today from Yoyakunow and am happy to report the antenna was straight as an arrow. A couple of questions though, was the YF-21 suppose to come in the brown P-Bandai shipper box? Also, I asked Yoyakunow to take a picture of the antenna before shipping it to me to verify it was good but I noticed the box I received had the big round clear tape sealing both ends of the box. I always thought the tape was something Bandai puts on so was expecting the box to be unsealed already.

Nice!  

I'm currently still waiting for Yoyakunow's reply regarding the bent antenna on mine. Hope he can help those who got their YF-21's antenna bent, including me, with Bandai's antenna fix. Bandai should've included an extra pair of antenna for this. Or load the figure with soft one like they used to do on their previous releases and the hard antenna as an extra accessory.

[Chronocidal]

If I can find my box of saved scraps from old Bandai kits, I might try and carve out another copy or two, just for spares.  

[rsvictor1976]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Nice!  

I'm currently still waiting for Yoyakunow's reply regarding the bent antenna on mine. Hope he can help those who got their YF-21's antenna bent, including me, with Bandai's antenna fix. Bandai should've included an extra pair of antenna for this. Or load the figure with soft one like they used to do on their previous releases and the hard antenna as an extra accessory.

I'm scared of transforming this toy now and accidentally mishandling the antenna, specially since a lot of it requires to handle the plane upside down. 

[ArchieNov]

33 minutes ago, rsvictor1976 said:

I'm scared of transforming this toy now and accidentally mishandling the antenna, specially since a lot of it requires to handle the plane upside down. 

You can try removing the antenna. It's pretty snug so it can be scary to remove at first, but once you get it done once it becomes less scary.

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, ArchieNov said:

You can try removing the antenna. It's pretty snug so it can be scary to remove at first, but once you get it done once it becomes less scary.

Just keep in mind that removing it might make the pivot sloppier as it wears down.  That's the biggest reason I kind of prefer the homemade one, I flattened it out so it sits flat against the back of the head, and doesn't rotate.

If Shapeways had the right color to print them in, it might be worth seeing if they can make them in whatever crazy nylon mix they like to use, since it would be really sturdy.

Edited August 1 by Chronocidal

[spacemanoeuvres]

On 7/30/2024 at 5:36 PM, rematron said:

Did Luna Park send you a shipping notice, or did it just show up in the mail?

I wrote them a couple times because I never received a shipping notification.
 

They kept assuring me it would ship the following week and I got some Nippon Yasan vibes hahaha; then it just showed up the next week! Yay

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, Luna Park has never ever actually done anything wrong with my orders, but they seem to be very scatterbrained about when (or if) they send things without constant prodding.

The last thing I ordered from them was a Mirage 31AX.  I wasn't in a rush to receive it, since it was a backup, so I decided to wait and see if they actually sent it without me requesting it.

In short, nope!   Order was placed on October 25 2021, and they didn't ship it until I poked them, in February of 2023, almost a year and a half after the initial order.

I had to wonder if my request sent them scrambling to find stock of it, but given the issues the 31AX line had, I don't suppose it was all that difficult to find one.  

Edited August 1 by Chronocidal

[rematron]

5 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Yeah, they haven't ever actually done anything wrong with my orders, but they seem to be very scatterbrained about when (or if) they send things without constant prodding.

The last thing I ordered from them was a Mirage 31AX.  I wasn't in a rush to receive it, since it was a backup, so I decided to wait and see if they actually sent it without me requesting it.

In short, nope!   Order was placed on October 25 2021, and they didn't ship it until I poked them, in February of 2023, almost a year and a half after the initial order.

I had to wonder if my request sent them scrambling to find stock of it, but given the issues the 31AX line had, I don't suppose it was all that difficult to find one.  

Yikes.  Thanks for this.  I was wondering if I needed to contact them or just be patient.  Obviously, I need to contact them.  My first and last time ordering from these guys if that's the case.  Better off using Amazon at this rate and pay the extra money so not to deal with all these hassles.

[Chronocidal]

1 minute ago, rematron said:

Yikes.  Thanks for this.  I was wondering if I needed to contact them or just be patient.  Obviously, I need to contact them.  My first and last time ordering from these guys if that's the case.  Better off using Amazon at this rate and pay the extra money so not to deal with all these hassles.

Honestly, I'm not going to even label this a "bad" experience.  They delivered without issue once I asked, and I purposefully dragged it out to see what would happen, so that part is on me.  I'd probably still use them as a backup if I couldn't get something elsewhere, provided the price wasn't absurdly inflated.

I'm not going to say it's a positive vote for them, but it's neutral at worst, and I'd be willing to believe it's just a miscommunication about them expecting me to request shipping when I was ready.

[MKT]

I can't remember, but does Luna Park automatically ship once the stocks come in, or do they first notify that item has arrived at their warehouse?

[rematron]

Fair enough, but I prepaid for shipping and the ball is in their court.  I should not have to hound them to come through with their service.  

[wm cheng]

23 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I wonder if painting the piece to hide the stress mark would be an option, either just on the stress mark or the whole thing (and just paint around the red label as close as possible). Just based on the photo and not having it in hand yet, the color looks close in color to either "Tau light ochre" or "Averland Sunset" Citadel paints. 

Have you tried using a hairdryer to heat it up to remove the white stress mark (I haven't tried it myself) I've read on here earlier that someone found that successful.

[MacrossJunkie]

20 minutes ago, wm cheng said:

Have you tried using a hairdryer to heat it up to remove the white stress mark (I haven't tried it myself) I've read on here earlier that someone found that successful.

I haven't gotten mine yet. Tracking says ETA Aug 4th. I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. If mine does arrive bent, I have a heat gun I can use which should work better than a hair dryer. I've used it to bend acrylic and fix weirdly bent pvc parts before. The key is to dunk it in cold water afterwards while it's still being held in the right position. Worst case scenario where there's a visible stress mark, I may try matching the color and painting the piece.

Edited August 1 by MacrossJunkie

[Chronocidal]

From what I saw on the one I heated with a space heater to fix, the white marks disappear close to the point where the plastic reaches its melting point.

I was able to get rid of my stress mark, but when I brushed my finger against the plastic, it was very limp, so I pushed it too far, and it got too hot.  I was able to get it straight for the most part, but what's amusing to me is that the tip of the laser actually bent in the other axis direction, and now the tip is slightly limp.  

[rsvictor1976]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Honestly, I'm not going to even label this a "bad" experience.  They delivered without issue once I asked, and I purposefully dragged it out to see what would happen, so that part is on me.  I'd probably still use them as a backup if I couldn't get something elsewhere, provided the price wasn't absurdly inflated.

I'm not going to say it's a positive vote for them, but it's neutral at worst, and I'd be willing to believe it's just a miscommunication about them expecting me to request shipping when I was ready.

So far Yoyakunow is okay to buy from in my book. I think part of the problem is they seem to have limited staff and everyone contacts them (I'm guilty of this too) for updates on their orders and they just don't have the man power and time to deal with both packaging orders and answering emails. 

[Chronocidal]

3 minutes ago, rsvictor1976 said:

So far Yoyakunow is okay to buy from in my book. I think part of the problem is they seem to have limited staff and everyone contacts them (I'm guilty of this too) for updates on their orders and they just don't have the man power and time to deal with both packaging orders and answering emails. 

Realized it might have gotten muddled in the conversation, I was talking about a previous order experience with Luna Park, not Yoyakunow.  I edited the original post to clarify that.

So far my order process with Yoyakunow has been solid, I waited a little after release to request shipping of my extra VT-1, and I'm just waiting on the shipping charge now.

Edited August 1 by Chronocidal

[kajnrig]

Well, looks like I drew the unlucky straw today. What's this I'm hearing, people are talking about hair dryers and paint? Fun fun fun!

[MacrossJunkie]

7 minutes ago, kajnrig said:

Well, looks like I drew the unlucky straw today. What's this I'm hearing, people are talking about hair dryers and paint? Fun fun fun!

Yikes, that is one of the more extreme ones I've seen. It looks half broken off...

[mister_e]

Wow! At this point it almost seems like you're actually more likely to get a bent laser than an unbent one. One of the biggest QA snafus I have seen from Bandai in a while

[kajnrig]

After heat gun treatment. Not bad, but the new curve is... I might try to correct it a bit more or quit while I'm ahead. Following Chronocidal's lead and scratchbuilding a new antenna might be preferable...

[26662]

1 hour ago, mister_e said:

Wow! At this point it almost seems like you're actually more likely to get a bent laser than an unbent one. One of the biggest QA snafus I have seen from Bandai in a while

Naw.  I'm thinking it's a simple case of sample bias: pleased customers are going about their business while folks with bent antennae are piping up.  Ordered 10 from 3 different vendors and got 10 valks in perfect condition.

[Bolt]

36 minutes ago, 26662 said:

Naw.  I'm thinking it's a simple case of sample bias: pleased customers are going about their business while folks with bent antennae are piping up.  Ordered 10 from 3 different vendors and got 10 valks in perfect condition.

Someone's doing some reselling 

Considering how many are getting bent head lasers just on this forum, there's definitely a percentage to be looking at . Bandai..!

[Chronocidal]

53 minutes ago, kajnrig said:

After heat gun treatment. Not bad, but the new curve is... I might try to correct it a bit more or quit while I'm ahead. Following Chronocidal's lead and scratchbuilding a new antenna might be preferable...

Yeah, mine drooped a bit less than that.  The plastic just got gooey with too much heat.  It's really difficult finding the right amount of heat to move it without distorting it worse.

I'm trying to think of the easiest way to mass produce spares, and finding some way to cut them out of plastic in the correct color seems like it would be the most reliable, just to avoid having paint rub off.

Or, you know, in some dream dimension Bandai could actually accept responsibility for this crap and make good on its failures by sending out free spares to everyone who bought the darn thing.  Between this and the stupid VT-1 tails breaking, this summer has been a quality control disaster for them.

I'm tempted to buy a third just so I have a valid product support avenue to complain through.  

Edited August 1 by Chronocidal

[davidwhangchoi]

1 hour ago, kajnrig said:

After heat gun treatment. Not bad, but the new curve is... I might try to correct it a bit more or quit while I'm ahead. Following Chronocidal's lead and scratchbuilding a new antenna might be preferable...

 i would quit while being ahead, i usually will damage it beyond recovery if i try to make it perfect.  

[PointBlankSniper]

4 hours ago, rsvictor1976 said:

So far Yoyakunow is okay to buy from in my book. I think part of the problem is they seem to have limited staff and everyone contacts them (I'm guilty of this too) for updates on their orders and they just don't have the man power and time to deal with both packaging orders and answering emails. 

4 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

So far my order process with Yoyakunow has been solid, I waited a little after release to request shipping of my extra VT-1, and I'm just waiting on the shipping charge now.

I know this convo came about from confusion, but YYK has stopped responding to me after they sent the photos. My response to the photos was basically that things looked fine, and asked them if they could check for the double same shoulder, and if not, to just move on to shipping. I've tried email, order details chat, website contact form, one of each, in that order. The latter being from yesterday, so may not have been adequate time, but it's been a total of 2 weeks with no confirmation of even recieving any messages. Not sure how I sure feel about it, seeing that they have a good reputation, and personally experiencing great communication up until this point...

 

Me aside, the last few bendy photos above really suggest it's hard to blame the bubble for the bends...

[Pontus]

In case anyone, like me, saw the tampo on these head lasers and thought, what the heck does "Erlikon AAB-7" mean, the first result on Google wasn't actually Macross related; It was for the Oerlikon 20mm Autocannon.  This anti-aircraft gun was used in both world wars by both allied and axis forces and is still in use today.  Would this head laser have been a nod to the Oerlikon cannon?

[no3Ljm]

8 minutes ago, PointBlankSniper said:

I know this convo came about from confusion, but YYK has stopped responding to me after they sent the photos. My response to the photos was basically that things looked fine, and asked them if they could check for the double same shoulder, and if not, to just move on to shipping. I've tried email, order details chat, website contact form, one of each, in that order. The latter being from yesterday, so may not have been adequate time, but it's been a total of 2 weeks with no confirmation of even recieving any messages. Not sure how I sure feel about it, seeing that they have a good reputation, and personally experiencing great communication up until this point...

 

Me aside, the last few bendy photos above really suggest it's hard to blame the bubble for the bends...

I just checked Yoyakunow. And saw that Ryota just sent a reply to my 2 messages since the 30th. I know they're probably doing a lot of logistics at this point due to releases. He said that he will check their email regarding the photos that I sent of the bent antenna and will contact the manufacturer.

As I mentioned before, I just hope they can help out customers since they know of the problem and they have more access to Bandai than us. Fingers crossed.🤞