Plasticgoose

So after five emails sent about every other month between the March release date. I actually received my VF-31A in the mail yesterday. Like most, I kept asking for more details and eventually told them I would pull my order and ask for a refund. Coincidentally after that it shipped the following week. I ordered mine 11/16 and it shipped 8/28. Took about one month to get to me. Came with no brown box but I am not worried and it appears to not be a second hand (I figured NY would be fishing the second hand market). According to my past chats with NY they did tell me that there were QC issues and Bandai had not discontinued production. Not sure if that was just lip service.

I pre-ordered mine 11/16/2017. I emailed NY and noted that their page for the item still reflects the March release date even though we are half way through April. NY responded with, "We are sorry for the delay, we didn't receive all of our stocks for this item. Your order will be sent as soon as possible." I am interpreting this as either they really did not get all their stocks, or as many are suggesting, they are fishing to fill the orders with second hand. I have bought a few of these valks from NY. Some have the brown box and some do not, but all seem MIB. What messages are other receiving from NY when they inquire?

I guess for me HLJ has always been the go to source for Macross compared to the other online stores. Yet for whatever reason, it seems like NY get a bulk of the stock compared to the other sites as upon the release date, they seem to be the only store with extra/new stock. NY is also the most expensive. I had expected better from HLJ especially after they acknowledged it was a system issue on their side. I feel like they they should issue some coupons or store credit to those that lost their orders due to their less than stellar preparation. I have done pre-order madness with HLJ before in the past with no issues, but this last one was bad.

Just like most here, my HLJ order got cancelled. Sucks too because between amazon prime day and this, I am batting 0/2. I had it in my cart at 3 min past the release time, but I could not get past the last checkout step. I kept getting the page not found error on HLJ and gateway not found. Tried multiple times and like many the order was probably cached and proceed 3 hours later only to get the email. I wrote and email back to HLJ explaining my disappointment and asking if they would be creating a wait list should items come back into stock either during the pre-order window until official release, or after the release. HLJ said, "By cancelling orders as soon as we become aware of the problem, we hoped it would not be too late for our customers to look into other purchasing options." Well, that sucks because if that were the case, I would have gone with the other options to begin with. HLJ followed with, "keeping customers on a wait list longer would only result in their disappointment much later." I see this but honestly, HLJ had it for 18000 Yen, it is now up to 20000 Yen and NY for what ever reason seems to always have extras upon release but at some ridiculous mark up, even though their release was the cheapest at like 15600 Yen. I never have this problem with Yamato/Arcadia pre-orders. Not sure if it because their Macross line is not the current series and they do not hold the license so it is not as popular, or because Arcadia Valks seem to be in the high $200-300 range which makes it a little more prohibitively expensive. Either way, HLJ failed really bad this time.

I got the exact same email. During the pre-order I was unable to proceed to the final step to process my order, I could add to cart, select private warehouse, select paypal method, then.....dead. Tired this 5 times. Every time I did it would give me the "sorry page not found" or gateway error. HLJ really failed on this pre-order. I have pre-ordered before with them, and never saw a system outage like this before. I had one sitting in my cart, and 3 hours later, I was able to process the order. Got the order confirmation for HLJ, then the next day I got the email you got. HLJ fail.

First time in a long time I got up for pre-order only for HLJ to crap on me. Not cool. and just missed the NY post. I love how NY also seems to change the names or search criteria so it never shows up as what you think it is. Well not going to stay up and play the F5 game as I need to get to bed.

HLJ lets me add to cart, but three times it has failed when I go to checkout with "sorry page not found error."

The answer to this question really depends. I started with the Yamato valks. When Yamato and Arcadia started doing reissues I passed on a few unless I had a broken shoulders Yamato valk. I had no need to collect doubles as these are not cheap. So the ones I wish I had regardless of Yamato or Arcadia to complete my collection are: VF-11C, VF-22 M&M, and VF-1 M&M. I somehow passed on all the Macross 7 valks even though they were always available and at a discount. Now I wish I picked up the VF-11C; passed up so many of those. Also wish I had the YF-19 Macross Winterfest super parts that were made in limited quantities. Would take either color. I think Dave is working on becoming a US distributor for Macross merchandise, he is just waiting for Harmony Gold to get their act together before he can open his business.

I know this was probably mentioned somewhere, but I just got my VF-0S and the rear wheel well doors are very tight. I can get a finger nail under the large one but I am trying to find a way to pull the door up and out without scratching. Any suggestions. Compared to the YF-19 and Yamato VF-4, these doors are tight.

I have two VT-1. one has broken shoulders but I only display it in fighter mode. I would buy another in a heart beat if the price is right (meaning not Zero line prices).

Does anyone know if the reactive armor for the VF-0S/0A is going to be bundled with the valk? I have heard talk but only ask as I can see Arcadia trying to get rid of old stock with the hope of re-re-issuing a new and fixed version of the VF-0A when the times comes. I have never seen a new valk from Yamato or Arcadia be this heavily discounted so soon after release. Even Arcadia's NASCAR VF-1 anniversary edition I think is still retail and that one has been sitting for a long time.

I posted this before, but BanDai made Ultraman XIG fighters in the same scale as the HMR line with retractable landing gear and wheel doors. I have one and am actually impressed with the quality of the design. I too was worried about small tabs breaking on the wheel doors but they are smooth and very nice. The landing gear are metal with a rolling plastic wheel (wish it was rubber), but for the scale and quality it is nice. I think this could easily be applied to the HMR VF-1. I am familiar with the line so unless the leg and nose cavities are open, it should be easy. I think the reason why BanDai does not invest in the landing gear is because it is a space plane that transforms into a mech. Rarely do we see the valk on the ground on wheels, so in their eyes of BanDai it would not be worth the investment to redesign seeing how fans would display it.

I will still end up buying the zero line even with the hip issue. Arcadia is unlikely to do another release or do a bundle with reactive armor or ghost which would give them time to address the issue. Somewhat how Yamato bundled zero/ghost valks were not prone to the standalone issues. Plus I like my valks in fighter mode.

I am wondering if HLJ removed the pre-order price because they usually run a Black Friday deal on most their inventory. I remember a few years back I picked up an Arcadia Fire valk with sound booster on Black Friday. Yet, black Friday deals are probably only for in stock items and not pre-order items. VF-0A maybe???

I have the Yamato Zero Valks and display them in fighter mode. I have never transformed them but I am aware of the mold issues as my Yamato VF zeros valks both have the floppy intakes and gun pod. I have never ordered from shapeway but may need to buy some parts just in case for the future. I can definitely tell the Arcadia VF-0D and VF-0A are a tighter construction with no slop. Arcadia seemed to fix the Yamato design flaws, but at the same time introduced their own. Honestly for me, I do not transform them so not a big issue, but not as confident to dive in at these prices. I do hope Arcadia releases a ghost but I do not see that happening unless they do some sort of accessory package. I watched the reviews on youtube of the ghost on the Arcadia valk and the weapons stores do not even fit even though it was supposed to be backwards compatible.

I have not opened my VF-0A but have a VF-0S on pre-order. This news of the legs is disturbing and makes me think the Yamato Zero valks are still better despite the flaws. Even more troubling is the fact that I want to get the GBP armor for this which requires transformation. Maybe Arcadia is looking at the armor as a "valk body cast" to keeps things together.

When it comes to pricing it seems like from least expensive to most expensive the ordering goes: Amiami, HLJ, CDJapan, Nippon-Yasan. I pre-ordered mine from HLJ as I like their warehouse option. I want to say with the yen-dollar rate, this thing is cheaper than when the yamato version was released.

My understanding is that the bundled Yamato YF-19 w/Fold Booster does not have the off center gun problem. There is an easy fix for making the rear landing gear cant outward. I still like my Yamato YF-19 but I only keep my valks in fighter mode. If price is an issue and you do not plan to fly around the house and transform, I think the Yamato bundled version is a good choice.

I have to say this is a surprise. This announcement seemed to come out of nowhere. Usually we get a hint of things to come at the Japan Summer Wonderfest like we did with the VF-0S reactive armor. I really. I bought the Yamato VF-4G from HLJ at the time. I remember it was pricey then so I can expect it to be even more expensive now (not including the stand). I hope this VF-4G reissue is not the white flag or a sign like it was for Yamato. Although Yamato did go out with a bang so I can respect and appreciate that.

I would by the VF-0S if it Arcadia were to re-release the ghost with it. I saw that someone posted a picture that says the yamato ghost will fit but that it is much more tight and at it places a great deal of stress on the front conards. The VF-0S without the ghost is only going half way in my opinion. Plus you can buy a yamato VF-0S and Ghost bundle for 300 dollars and the bundled yamato version was said to have had a better run with no hanging gun or cracked shorlders. To me this one is two similar to the Yamato at twice the price. I may pass on this.

When I lived in Tokyo a year ago the best places to go were: 1) Nakano Mandarake (located on the 3rd floor of the boardwalk...the escalator passes the second floor. The mandarake right off the elevator is the one you want. Nakano boardwalk has about 5 Mandarakes each one with a different theme, but the one off the escalator is the one you want). 2) Mandarake in Akihabara (you want last floor from the top....I think it is the seven). 3) Jungle In Akihabara. This place is located along the same street as the Mandarake but it is a down a few blocks. They have a website with information. 4) Yellow-Submarine. This store is located right outside the main Akihabars station. Go to the third floor I think. 5) Volks. Located on the other side of the Akihabar Station. You want the second floor. Unless you pre-ordered most of the retail stores will not have any stock, hence I would recommend going straight for the Second Hand stores like Mandarake, Robot-Robot, Volks, Yellow-Submarine.

Not sure how it was for 2015 Wonderfest, but when I went to the 2014 Wonderfest, they had a license for 20 units. They were able to make an additional 20 by producing them in another color (20 grey, 20 brown). I assume this is what happened this year too.

Thanks. I saw the 2014 forum but thought there would be a 2015 dedicated forum. I went to the 2014 Wonderfest in Japan and talked to the T-Rex rep. Looks like it was the same story as then; only 40 units total. Could not make it this year.

Also, because I did not see a new forum for this, did anyone hear, see, snag a set of the YF-19 Frontier T-Rex super parts at Wonderfest? If not I definitly want Arcadia to start making these. Also bundle it with a fold booster too, just to take more of my money, and the advance arm weaponary (not sure what it was called but it was in M+).

I would like to see a VF-4G again. If the licenses are going back to BW for bidding wars, I really hope Arcadia can get the licencing for all the Yamato products it had. If for whatever reason Bandai in the future makes a VF-1 DX line I will probably pass. Honeslty I only buy the Bandai valks because of the Frontier license. I personally like the construction of Yamato/Arcadia Valks more and if they made frontier valks I would buy their line over Bandai; they appear to be more model quality and not toy quality. I also like the fact that they are a matte finish and not glossy (I think this was pointed out earlier). Still we need some VF-1s to keep our interest and wallets empty. I also bring this up everytime, but what is the next x+5 yr anniversary of any of the Macross Series? I know we just had a 30 year back in 2012, but if I know anything about Japanese marketing, you can expect something from the series if it is approaching some 5 year mark. So mayby in 2 more years we can have a Flashback 2012, Flashback anniversary VF-4G! If DYRL if having something, maybe a VT-1 and M&M. I would almost a entire year without an Arcadia new mold valk if it meant I could get Hard to Find VF-1 re-issues in that same year.