Bandai DX GBP Armor Set and VF-1J Armored Valkyrie

[mech9T8]

On 10/25/2021 at 2:25 PM, peter said:

I got mine off Amazon.co.jp for 35,000JPY plus shipping and import fees. 

I think my total was 43,305JPY which works out to about $471.89CAD

Probably one of the more expensive toys I have, but it's not like I go around throwing money at toys like this all the time.

Considering the stand-alone 1J prices are a bit bonkers right now (or at least they were the last time I checked), I think it wasn't too bad.  I love the box cover getting the stand alone ones as well since I can actually see the toy while still on the box.

For my Canadian friends, check AJ once in a while because periodically you get a seller willing to ship to Canada.

If that includes shipping, duty, taxes, etc. that is an amazing price. Congrats!

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

wow,. the king of beast next to it looks so tiny 

I'm pretty sure he will also get the Blitzway King of Beast to tower off the Armored VF-1J.

 

[sqidd]

.

Edited October 27, 2021 by sqidd

[peter]

21 hours ago, mech9T8 said:

If that includes shipping, duty, taxes, etc. that is an amazing price. Congrats!

When shopping on amazon Japan, don't forget the sticker price includes domestic tax, which gets taken off at check out! 

Always worth throwing it into the cart and calculate shipping and duty to see what the total damage might be.

[eggy99]

35 minutes ago, peter said:

When shopping on amazon Japan, don't forget the sticker price includes domestic tax, which gets taken off at check out! 

Always worth throwing it into the cart and calculate shipping and duty to see what the total damage might be.

Unless you're shipping to Australia, in which case Amazon JP no longer ship to Australia thanks to our government requesting foreign online stores to collect GST and report back to AU Tax Office about all sales to Australia so the ATO can collect that tax. Amazon JP don't want to deal with that rubbish so Aussie collectors are unable to buy from Amazon JP easily - you can still buy, but the items must be shipped to a shipping forwarder or a friend in Japan - No Amazon discounts that can be taken advantage of in majority of cases. 😢

[peter]

1 hour ago, eggy99 said:

Unless you're shipping to Australia, in which case Amazon JP no longer ship to Australia thanks to our government requesting foreign online stores to collect GST and report back to AU Tax Office about all sales to Australia so the ATO can collect that tax. Amazon JP don't want to deal with that rubbish so Aussie collectors are unable to buy from Amazon JP easily - you can still buy, but the items must be shipped to a shipping forwarder or a friend in Japan - No Amazon discounts that can be taken advantage of in majority of cases. 😢

Oh, that sounds lame. 

Looks like a lot of sellers simply won't ship to Canada, but once in a blue moon, someone pops up.

[wm cheng]

Very happy to receive my GBP Armored Parts today delivered to my door from NY (after a lot of worry from the stories around here) - they haven't failed me yet in at least 10 or more yrs.  I'll try to post some pictures to compare against my old weathered decaled up (thanks to @Anasazi37) Yamato 1/48 GBP-1.

[treatment]

Now that I have it in hand, I'm find myself rather a tad bit annoyed with the reversed-color UNSPACY Kite symbol that Bandai used for their GBP-1S.

 

😦

[Sanity is Optional]

8 hours ago, eggy99 said:

Unless you're shipping to Australia, in which case Amazon JP no longer ship to Australia thanks to our government requesting foreign online stores to collect GST and report back to AU Tax Office about all sales to Australia so the ATO can collect that tax. Amazon JP don't want to deal with that rubbish so Aussie collectors are unable to buy from Amazon JP easily - you can still buy, but the items must be shipped to a shipping forwarder or a friend in Japan - No Amazon discounts that can be taken advantage of in majority of cases. 😢

Over in California, Amazon Japan has started collecting sales tax. So I guess they just can't be arsed with Australia's system?

[eggy99]

2 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Over in California, Amazon Japan has started collecting sales tax. So I guess they just can't be arsed with Australia's system?

They probably can’t be bothered setting up all the systems and paperwork required with submitting the quarterly and yearly tax reports for ATO.

Strangely Amazon US will ship a majority of items to AU.

[Anasazi37]

7 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Very happy to receive my GBP Armored Parts today delivered to my door from NY (after a lot of worry from the stories around here) - they haven't failed me yet in at least 10 or more yrs.  I'll try to post some pictures to compare against my old weathered decaled up (thanks to @Anasazi37) Yamato 1/48 GBP-1.

I'm relieved that your GBP set showed up! Looking forward to seeing the armored DX side by side with your customized Yamato masterpiece.

[Paco Grande]

11 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Very happy to receive my GBP Armored Parts today delivered to my door from NY (after a lot of worry from the stories around here) - they haven't failed me yet in at least 10 or more yrs.  I'll try to post some pictures to compare against my old weathered decaled up (thanks to @Anasazi37) Yamato 1/48 GBP-1.

 

And I'm getting more and more concerned about my NY order. Still radio silence and ignored tickets. Pretty soon I'll be putting in a PayPal complaint.

Edit: I just submitted my PayPal dispute. It's a shame because I have used NY for many years and appreciated them marking down my packages so I could avoid taxes. But enough is enough. I also find it hilarious that when you start the PayPal dispute process NY actually have a note on the PP page that lets you know that if you raise a dispute all your orders will be stopped while the dispute is being performed. And as everyone knows by now, your account will be closed after the dispute.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Paco Grande

[Angesdad]

10 hours ago, treatment said:

Now that I have it in hand, I'm find myself rather a tad bit annoyed with the reversed-color UNSPACY Kite symbol that Bandai used for their GBP-1S.

 

😦

Yeah I got my copy too and I kinda have mixed feelings about it. Besides the kite symbol, I wish the base color for the armors was a bit more gray like the illustration booklet. A tad too purple for my taste. I've just put it together last night but why do I get the urge to undo all that armor to reveal the J instead? - I believe I need two combo sets. 

[no3Ljm]

43 minutes ago, Angesdad said:

Yeah I got my copy too and I kinda have mixed feelings about it. Besides the kite symbol, I wish the base color for the armors was a bit more gray like the illustration booklet. A tad too purple for my taste. I've just put it together last night but why do I get the urge to undo all that armor to reveal the J instead? - I believe I need two combo sets. 

No. What you need is to pay a combo set price for a solo J. That way, you don't need to worry about the extra Armor that comes with your second combo set. 

 

But that's not the practical choice, right? 

 

[peter]

I am really surprised stuff is coming out of NY.  They still owe me strike packs from 2019.

[Angesdad]

10 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

No. What you need is to pay a combo set price for a solo J. That way, you don't need to worry about the extra Armor that comes with your second combo set. 

 

But that's not the practical choice, right? 

 

haha yeah, the going price for 1j alone nowadays..it makes sense to get a combo set if you're in it for the J for sure.

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, Angesdad said:

Yeah I got my copy too and I kinda have mixed feelings about it. Besides the kite symbol, I wish the base color for the armors was a bit more gray like the illustration booklet. A tad too purple for my taste. I've just put it together last night but why do I get the urge to undo all that armor to reveal the J instead? - I believe I need two combo sets. 

You don't have a stand alone 1J? If not there is a argument for buying another combo set, and then selling the armor off so offset the cost. You could be into a 1J for about $280 pretty easy. That would be a killer 1J price.

[Angesdad]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

You don't have a stand alone 1J? If not there is a argument for buying another combo set, and then selling the armor off so offset the cost. You could be into a 1J for about $280 pretty easy. That would be a killer 1J price.

No sir, I do not have a stand alone 1J because I jumped into this deep hole with Hikaru 1S as my first DX 1/48 Valk, and I mean to catch up.  

Edited October 28, 2021 by Angesdad

[no3Ljm]

Just now, Angesdad said:

No sir, I do not have a stand alone 1J because I jumped into this deep hole with Hikaru 1S as my first Valk, and I mean to catch up.  

No need to get the stand alone. Just get another combo set and sell the Armor Parts if you want another 1J. That is, if you're not into the special stand that comes with stand alone release. The good thing on the other hand is that the nose cone joint of the 1J has already been fixed.  

 

[treatment]

4 hours ago, Angesdad said:

Yeah I got my copy too and I kinda have mixed feelings about it. Besides the kite symbol, I wish the base color for the armors was a bit more gray like the illustration booklet. A tad too purple for my taste. I've just put it together last night but why do I get the urge to undo all that armor to reveal the J instead? - I believe I need two combo sets. 

So a bit more thoughts on the DX GBP-1S armor:

 

good:

• quite impressive as it is
• installation and removal are rather easy
• nice detailing and coloring

not-so-good:

• the Shoulder missile-pile are oversized a bit when checking from both TV and DYRL animation scenes. The old Yammie/Arcadia are more balanced aesthetically in the sizing and presentation, in contrast.
• The Arms missile/armor are a bit heavy. I'm not sure the DX's arms can hold it a posed raised with it as such in my pic for a long time without evenutally sagging and stuff. 
• Like the missiles and FP sets, this is another quite overpriced accessories import if you're not a japan-resident.

meh:

• The reversed Kite coloring is a bit annoying.
• The tampo is nice, but a bit overdone as per usual Bandai.
• more due to the existing original DX VF-1J issue, the Chest-Armor can be rather bit floaty and easily raised-up/insecure when the armpit-fillers are not installed on the VF-1J.
• due to design choice, the wings of the 1J are a bit exposed and not covered by the crotch/dong armor. I prefer the longer dong-cover of the 1/60v2 as it mostly hide/cover/protect the valk's wings behind.
• the 1J's head/neck seems to have a bit inadequate neutral height-clearance (lower/deeper/sunk) when the chest-armor is installed. Had to play with the hinge to extend the head up a bit.

So yeah. That's it for now.

Despite some minor aesthetic and design issues I have with it (as well as pricing and availability issues), I like it overall as an addon.

It makes the rather bland naked 1J more of an imposing display piece when wearing the GBP-1S.

I have not tried (and don't usually bother) displaying it holding the gunpod, so I'm not sure if it'll be an eventual sagging issue or not.

 

[sqidd]

56 minutes ago, treatment said:

The Arms missile/armor are a bit heavy. I'm not sure the DX's arms can hold it a posed raised with it as such in my pic for a long time without evenutally sagging and stuff. 

This place cracks me up. One of the first complaints I saw leveled at the GBP was that it felt light and cheap.

56 minutes ago, treatment said:

as well as pricing and availability issues

What availability issues? I think this is the most available DX release yet, They can still be had all over the place for a very modest "late fee".

[peter]

[seti88]

5 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

No need to get the stand alone. Just get another combo set and sell the Armor Parts if you want another 1J. That is, if you're not into the special stand that comes with stand alone release. The good thing on the other hand is that the nose cone joint of the 1J has already been fixed.  

 

Selling either the 1J or armor set from the combo set means, either selling the 1J/armor loose, cut the beautiful combo box with it or selling with a one side empty combo box.

The combo set is also a display piece, ie. 1J on one side and armor on the other, for an open box display.  
Whether or not, folks want to display it that way is another story but to hard core collectors, the combo set is a piece on its own.

[ps99042]

Woohoo!  My combo set just shipped from NinNin.  My faith in them has been restored and my stress level has dropped back to normal.

[seti88]

Just now, ps99042 said:

Woohoo!  My combo set just shipped from NinNin.  My faith in them has been restored and my stress level has dropped back to normal.

hahaha congrats!

[jenius]

I got mine en route also. Yay!

[treatment]

9 hours ago, treatment said:

So a bit more thoughts on the DX GBP-1S armor:

 

not-so-good:

 

• The Arms missile/armor are a bit heavy. I'm not sure the DX's arms can hold it a posed raised with it as such in my pic for a long time without evenutally sagging and stuff. 

 

 

Ok. A little update on this observation-point.

Figured more out why the arms on mine were a bit sliding inward way too easily when the arm-armors are installed.

It wasn't just the weight of the arm-armor.

It's actually a combination of the shoulder-armor, the arm-armor and the shoulder's ball-joint connection that's making the the arms slide inward way too feather-easy.

Tested further by removing just the shoulder-armor, and the arms doesn't quite slide inward as feather-easy as before with the shoulder-armor on.

Quite an odd thing to be happening.

edit/update:

Charles seem to have actually shown and commented about

the same issue/anomaly with the arms from his review at the 15:28 mark.

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by treatment

[borgified]

Going to do this just once..

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1178217260&ref=list&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

35k yen (unopened, package damaged)

[f-valk]

11 minutes ago, borgified said:

Going to do this just once..

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1178217260&ref=list&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

35k yen (unopened, package damaged)

How much shipped?

[borgified]

I have no idea as I just posted it not too long ago. I believe that there is a estimate of the s+h tacked on when you click on it and make a account with Manda.  Either is get it now or your going to miss the boat and it will be harder to get down the road. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by borgified

[no3Ljm]

47 minutes ago, borgified said:

Going to do this just once..

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1178217260&ref=list&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

35k yen (unopened, package damaged)

[f-valk]

41 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Heh you're not kidding. Gone gone

[Angesdad]

7 hours ago, f-valk said:

How much shipped?

I got one shipped from Manda for 8210 yen via DHL, total came out to 43,210 yen.

the usual unopened, package damaged. But the condition is usually excellent and essentially new.

and stuff gets snatched up real quick on Manda especially if it's a hot new release. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Angesdad

[no3Ljm]

Yup, with Mandarake, you have to be fast. Don't linger too much.   

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by no3Ljm

[f-valk]

On 10/29/2021 at 12:30 AM, borgified said:

I have no idea as I just posted it not too long ago. I believe that there is a estimate of the s+h tacked on when you click on it and make a account with Manda.  Either is get it now or your going to miss the boat and it will be harder to get down the road. 

It's back!

 

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1178523917&ref=list&sort=price&soldOut=1&keyword=Vf-1 dx&lang=en