Valkyrie Driver

There were two Aerial Knights that weren't obnoxious, Cassim and the other Older guy.

This came yesterday. Haven't started yet, I need to do some thinking about how I plan on painting it. Since I don't want it to be standard colors... Edit: How should I go about this? Do I prime on the sprue, or should I take the individual pieces off and prime? Do I paint the whole thing once assembled, or as individual pieces?

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I have quit collecting Warhammer 40k. I haven't bought a Warhammer model in almost a year and a half. And honestly, I couldn't be happier, though I have a bunch that need building and painting.

Substantially more entertainment value than reading Titan's Robotech comic or watching the show. Agreed, all of this.

QFT Um, So what? If you don't want your wife to know, maybe she has legit concerns, and you should talk about it? As for your neighbor, who cares? Your complaints about the box are probably the most inane thing I've heard in a good long while. Also, if you don't care that the logo is on the box, why are you making such a fuss? I'm assuming you meant Canada, and this forum is supposed to be apolitical, so you can keep those comments to yourself, we are here to discuss what we have in common and to unite as a fandom, so I'll say it before a mod does. Or if you prefer, we can get a mod involved... Much of that is probably from people who have cancelled pre-orders. Also, for a company as big as HLJ, your 10K is a drop in the bucket. I'm sorry about your issues, but that's their business model, and it seems to work quite well for them. I'm going to reiterate what @no3Ljm said, you run a business like that and then you can criticize. That's not at all the case. You said at least 15 times that you had cancelled pre-orders, that establishes a pattern. Patterns can be predicted, and they decided that doing business with you is a risk that they don't want. You may not agree with their model, but it is their model, and a majority of their customers don't seem to have a problem. Anyway, you can't seem to do business with them anyway so this point is moot. Actually it isn't stupid. It's completely accurate, because it's the cornerstone of free market economics, which by the way, a form of which is practiced in most of the westernized world (That means, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, most, if not all, of Europe, even Russia to an extent). Maybe you need to take an economics class, and actually try to understand how markets work, review supply and demand, and then you'll understand collecting as a hobby and an investment. Besides, if someone wants to sell a thing for $1000, it's either worth it, or it isn't. If it is, that means the market supports the price tag, if not, the thing will stay on the shelf, and the guy is only hurting himself. He can charge whatever he wants, the market will determine it's actual worth. Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's an unreasonable price. Also, scalping is an integral part of trade, it's only a bad thing when it's illegal. Any private resale of goods is going to contain an element of scalping, since when we sell off our toys, we're trying to make a profit, even if it's small. That's private resale for you. Also, saying it's greed is a cop out, since everyone wants something they don't have. TL;DR, Stop bellyaching and deal with it. This is the hobby. If you don't like it, quit. We're not going to hear any more bitching. Hopefully our suggestions have helped. Actually, I don't think I ever did. But that was years ago so there's really no point now... Maybe I'll give them a try on my next non macross purchase.

You know, now that you mention it, I knew that. But I also know how much intellectual sweat equity you have in the project so... credit where credit is due I suppose?

I've had some bad experiences with BBTS. Their markup is too high and there was one package I ordered from them that just never showed up. Also being a US retailer, they just don't get the merchandise that I'm after. So Typically They aren't on my radar anymore. Ah, I see. The only fees that I saw n the customs website were for storage fees.

I'm familiar with Macross Mecha Manual. Seto and Mr March are the owners of the site.

As for the YF-29, Looking at the toy, I see 6 Micro missile launchers (2 shoulder mounted, and 2 outboard on each leg/engine nacelle), the back mounted twin beam cannons, the head lasers, and the Beam Gun Pod (which I don't know the technical name for). There are ports on the hips, and forearms which look like they should be weapons, and then there are supposed to be guns of some kind in the monitor turret. That accounts for the weapons that I can see, some of which seem unlisted. Is it true that the YF-29 was supposed to have the same performance and firepower of the VF-25 with tornado parts?

The only thing that really bugs me, is that Sheryl and Ranka don't have their own shelves... Otherwise, those are impressive displays! I will admit to being a tad jealous...

Wow, is it just that the toys are old, or is it wear and tear from use?

Yay! More commonality with NATO, and the cost of the F-35 program will hopefully decrease.

That's a bit more info than I had. That all makes sense though. I was hesitant to include the D since it was a 2 seater, and there are plenty of real world examples of single and tandem fighters serving in the same squadrons (ex. there used to be 1-2 F-106B's in every squadron for checkrides and training). I meant to imply that the E was included tentatively, since as you pointed out we can't know if it was a 1st or 2nd production type. So I have to ask, with the 1st production type VF-19's was it a C model serving as a command version of the A, or was there a VF-19A/C commander type sub modification? Fair enough. Similar to how the F-4C/D/E/G all operated concurrently, but were mission optimized. The F-4E/G sharing the same airframe modification, but the E being optimized as a fighter/bomber, and the G being SEAD optimized. Am I drawing a correct parallel? Right. I guess my primary concern was less that there were multiple serving concurrently, but that there were multiple variants serving within the same organizational structure (flight/platoon/team/squadron, etc). I mean, All of those arguments made sense. I'd never really thought about it in terms of WWII, since I'm so much a child of Cold War era thinking. I don't understand what you mean about the Japanese using a larger flight platoon. Practically, what ones aren't?

I don't really collect figurines either. This was really the only one I found myself wanting. Mostly because I adore Mirage. She does look good though. I think that If I were going to continue, I'd only want figurines of the pilots for whom I have Mecha. BUt then my shelves would be a sausage fest, and that's not fun to look at... I got mine for like $14 shipped, so I had to wait a month, that's fine. At least it showed up on my Birthday, so Happy birthday to me!

Up until recently, I had been going through Amazon for most of my Macross Toys. Shipping was often quick, and often bypassed customs. I have ordered from HLJ, AmiAmi, and Mandarake. I have had very good luck with all of my orders. Nippon Yasan and CD Japan are two that I have not yet had need to use, but from what I understand, they aren't bad either. Where do you live? That customs is tacking on extra charges because of a logo on a box is ludicrous, but I live in the US so YMMV. BBTS is one of the worst stores I've ever purchased from, and would never do so again. For those of us outside of Japan, getting Macross anything is going to be nigh impossible (unless you purchase from a Japanese company like HLJ, NY, AmiAmi, or CDJ). As for being banned, well, you see, when you preorder something and don't pony up for it, they have that product allocated. That means it's going to sit on a shelf, and that means it's not getting purchased. At least 15 times you admitted to causing HLJ to lose money on a deal, so they have every right to refuse to do business with you, because you've proven unreliable. That sucks, but it's business. As for your local shop, he can charge whatever he wants, regardless of what he paid. The price is whatever the market will pay. I'm sorry that you're having a hard time, but it seems that some of this is stuff you've brought upon yourself. We'll try to help, but I think that this post has a bit too much bellyaching and few of us seem to be having the same problems that you are.

My Mirage figurine finally came in! This is my first figurine, and also only my second non-Valkyrie purchase.

Isn't the YF-29 the most heavily armed prime continuity Valkyrie thus far?

The VF-1 had multiple models, but there were 4 serving concurrently (the A, J, S, and D), the VF-19 2nd production run had the E, F, and S serving concurrently, and the VF-25A/F/G/S served concurrently as well. Then there were the other valkyries like the VF-4, VF-11, and 1st production VF-19 that were more like real world aircraft models, where the model designations denoted major design changes or upgrades, and don't really serve concurrently in the same squadron. I understand the storytelling reasons for having special models for the team leaders and squadron leaders to differentiate them from the mooks. I don't understand the practical reasons for it though...

I have a really hard time storing my boxes. I don't have a lot of space that's why it's such a problem for me...

I'm really happy with it. it makes display so much easier and cleaner. I'm going to need another set.

That's not strictly correct. MRE's are shelf stable, which means that they'll stay edible for a good long while. The stated shelf life is 5 years, which is when the military will rotate the unused cases out. They're actually good up to 10 years after their shelf life. Yeah, you actually don't. I don't mind eating MRE's. Though, they're hard to get since I got out of the military. Mountain House is actually really good, and packs a lot easier. You do need a jetboil though because the Mountain House stuff is dehydrated. Packs a lot easier though. Eating MRE's for a month would be easy. Watching Robotech would be hard. I would also gladly bear the consequences of a month of eating MRE's than read these comics.

Can we get some pictures of progress? Also, My parents claim to still have my bucket of legos from when I was a kid, If I can get them back, I'll be trying to build some things from scratch.

I am very happy with my Draken III. I'm not usually big on this sort of thing, but, yes. So much Yes...

Thanks for the Advice!

So, I was actually thinking of trying this yet again. My last story sort of just petered out, as I was trying for a slow burn at the beginning to establish some characters. I'm not convinced that was the right call. So, I want to try again. I want to try the colony fleet story again, so I need a name for my fleet. I was hoping for a name that would evoke a tranquil and ideal setting, that would contrast with what I'm going to subject the setting to. Can I get any suggestions?