Slave IV

Meanwhile... I'm processing the paperwork to open my own Macross toy rental company. 😜

Man, I look forward to seeing this setup! Another thing I can’t bring myself to do is spend more for my display than the stuff it’s displaying but if got the means, I want to see it, lol! I’m pretty sure Transformers is bigger than Macross everywhere. Part of the problem we Macross collectors face is it is such a niche market. People always whine about “artificial scarcity” but if the market was big enough to warrant so many more products, there would be more made. It was kinda a joke or figure of speech meaning I’d rather let them rot than to essentially pay someone to take them from me. I get you are getting some money back but I look at it as whatever loss you take is how much you just paid someone to take your toys from you. So yeah, I’d rather give them away to some kids or something or literally let them rot. But like I said, I get it and everyone has got to do what they gotta do. I’m the one sitting in a house that’s literally packed to the brim with boxes of toys so that’s my own heaven/hell. lol!

This makes it even worse! Not only are you selling Macross items, you’re doing it at a loss? That’s essentially paying people to take your Macross from you. Can’t fathom the thought. I’d rather let it rot in my attic than do something like that, lol! I don’t get this either, if anything it seems like Macross appreciates better and more consistently than most other toys lines as a whole. sometimes it takes a while but once items are mostly depleted from secondary market sales, the clearance shelf warmers often become the most valuable probably because there were less of them to begin with and Macross collectors are so few in the scheme of things. But I get you gotta do what you gotta do.

I’m with you but more to the point of not being able to grasp the idea of getting rid of any Macross.

Yeah, it’s the perfect thing. Can’t decide between Fighter or Battroid mode? Why not both? It really is the single best thing about Macross among many other great things.

Yep, I already plan to have mine displayed in Gerwalk mode most of the time. Gerwalk is my favorite mode overall for most walks anyways since it is one of the main things that made Macross mechs stand out to me in the first place.

Panel Formers are the WORST! One of the things that always put Macross over Transformers for me was the "realistic" transformations that at least had some consideration for how something like that would work in the real world. The way most Transformers, especially MP style toys are these days, I don't even want them and have pretty much stopped buying them completely because of the recent Panel madness going on. It's such a cop out...anything can transform into anything if you have endless folding to force it into whatever shape you want.

Also, as discussed recently, it’s a completely different process. HLJ and Amiami don’t get any TWE preorders to begin with and anyone who does, is able to based on how many they are able to buy direct from Bandai just like any other individual. So the shops that do offer any can keep offering as long as they can secure more. A standard retail item usually has a set amount allotted for each shop that is predetermined.

This style of stands are the best you can get. Check the yeti stand thread for examples of what it can do. Depending on how you configure, it can easily handle multiple Valks with super parts.

The VF-0S and D PF are pretty much the best Valks ever made. Only with they had better hands or came with other hands but not a big deal at all.

Really nice!

But he was answering his own question. Implying he was curious what the lowest price anyone was able to obtain one for. I estimate around $275 for mine by the time I ship it from hlj.

In that sense, maybe all of them? Aren’t they basically the same designers and key people from Yamato? Plus, there is always T-Rex that seems to design for everyone doing high end transforming Mecha.

My DX VF-1s don’t have the legs falling off too easy either. My main complaint about them is their fit and tolerances feel sloppy. Look and articulation are great but the v2 1/60 feels like a much more refined and quality piece in hand even though it’s lighter with much less metal content. Heck, even Bandai’s own HMR feels better than the DX in similar ways. I still need to get some Yamato adapters at some point to get my display set up ideally.

The Yamto 1/48 is a pain to handle with super parts because its just too much stuff for the frame. But it looks great when all setup! That's the other thing with Yamato is it still looks better in some ways and modes. As for overall handling, I'd argue the Yamato 1/48 still has the most pleasant transformation out of them all except the OG Chunky. You can easily transform it into all modes quickly and with no fiddly parts that fall apart.

I’ve had some cases where I think the shop messed up and charged a lot less than they should have and there are also times when they have promotions (especially HLJ) so I always go through the options and pick the cheapest. Yeah, I think this is a YMMV situation and depending on where you live and especially your local carriers, different options might not work out. Either way, I suspect most the damage is coming after the items arrives on shore because I happen to have pretty good local carriers and I have rarely received a damaged package. I probably use surface shipping more than anyone here so if the journey across the sea was the issue, I surely would have come across a lot more damaged packages. It makes sense to assume though because the longer it takes, the more chance of something going wrong but on the ship, we’re talking 2-3 months where it is safely tucked away with no one touching it. It’s when it gets into people’s hands again is when you need to worry.

I was going to mention in the other thread about Arcadia/Bandai preorders and quality that the Yamato 1/48 also still holds up as one of the 5 Almost equally greatest VF-1 toys ever. OG 1/55, Yamato 1/48, Yamacadia 1/60, HM-R and DX 1/48. Each one of these stands out for different reasons and are irreplaceable in a collection, imo.

Surface is almost always the way to go. The only time it isn’t is for very small items that cost less to ship small packet so you get it faster and cheaper that way. Saving $10 or more per shipment adds up quick!

Haha, yeah all the better and easier for me to collect Arcadia, not that it is too hard based on what we just talked about. I still consider Arcadia to be top of the line when it comes to Macross figures. The reason they didn’t need to change some molds is because those were already that good that they still hold their own to this day.

Just to ease some of your worry, it typically takes domestic (US) shops 3 months after Japan release to get stock here, which corresponds to about how long it takes for a ferry to make it's way across the ocean and then you probably need to add domestic shipping to the shops and then their own inventory downtimes. So getting it 4 months after release date sounds perfectly normal. I personally wouldn't just because I'd rather save around $100 ordering direct from Japan and don't care about when I get it.

I think the answer is simply that Bandai is one of the world's largest toy companies that makes thousands of different products and they need to allocate resources according to what is most profitable to them. Macross is not even a blip to Bandai from any of the few reports I've seen so it makes a lot of sense that they are limiting and likely making less Macross products in comparison to a similar Gundam product for example. IMO, it has nothing to do with them purposefully making Macross artificially scarce to piss off collectors and we can get an idea of just how small the Macross market is when you take that into consideration and see how fast some sell out and how long some stick around even at clearance prices. Arcadia on the other hand is a tiny boutique company that mainly focuses on Macross products out of their own love for it so pretty much every release they have is made to order and they can keep orders open for whatever time period they need to coordinate with their factories. So basically, it's two completely different business models.

Haha sweet! I'm not sure where my VF-4s are buried at the moment but will keep in mind when I uncover them! I do have some HMR around so I bet it works with those too!

Haha yeah! That’s exactly what I was thinking when they did it!

I buy with intention to open all my toys and play together with my kids. But I got into a vortex of buying everything that remotely sparked interest and nostalgia so now I’m dealing with stacks upon stacks of misb toys that I don’t even know how I’m going to get through. Been changing that lately and really limiting my selection down to must haves. Funny thing is I used to be able to justify every piece as a must have. Last time my kids played with some of my chunkys they came up with this 4th mode: lol!🤣

Yeah, I don’t care what people want to do with their toys. That example is cool but to me, it looks just as good yellowed and whatever color it is doesn’t change my enjoyment of my toys. The only thing I would argue against it is that I hear they just turn yellow again pretty quickly so it seems like a lot of trouble for nothing.