Anasazi37

After firing up my VPN, I was able to get to the actual sales page:

https://p-bandai.jp/tns-online/?_ga=2.203155601.1429073089.1713525726-751954702.1713525726#event01

There are different purchasing links that you use at different times, depending on your membership level in Club Tamashii. Higher-level members get two opportunities to purchase directly, all other members get to enter two lotteries. I think this has been confusing because the 50th Anniversary celebration is being physically hosted by the Tamashii Nations store in Tokyo, which is in turn selling these commemorative items online through the Premium Bandai site, but not in the normal way. You have to go to the special event page to find the links.

2 hours ago, jvmacross said:

I had thought that it could be PO'd in advance if you were a Tamashii Club member between 4-18 to 4-24....then a more "general" sale between 5-10 to 5-24....interesting

I remember seeing that message on Dengeki Hobby Web, but it's not on the official Tamashii Nations product page, which doesn't include a sales link:

https://hobby.dengeki.com/news/2304751/ 

Okay, I found something more official that has the dates you mention and also says no sales or deliveries take place at the Tamashii stores:

https://tamashiiweb.com/store/tokyo/event/detail/202405.html

This is really confusing. Now digging a bit deeper I found this product page with a link to a more general sales site that Bandai makes difficult to access from outside Japan:

https://tamashiiweb.com/store/tokyo/items/detail/14921.html

Bandai is not making this easy to figure out, probably by design. So what I think we know now:

• Japan only
• Four online sales periods that are a combination of first-come/first-served and lottery, starting today and continuing through 02 July
• You have to be a Club Tamashii Member to buy one

5 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

You have it backwards. The AI model is well trained on bandai's long standing history of releases. At which point you would think they don't need to use said AI because they can do it themselves. But they still use it, because bandai.

A fair point. If the model was successfully trained on a long series of weird/bad/random decisions by Bandai, that's what it will produce.

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

Wish Bandai did a "Revival" edition of Chuck and Arad instead so we can finally get their super parts. 

Yes, this. Long overdue.

4 hours ago, jvmacross said:

I do not have access to the sales page....is it still up for PO?

I just checked the page and Bandai changed the sales region to just Japan (Asia and US were removed as options) and it looks like you can only buy it in person at the Tamashii stores in Tokyo and Osaka.

WHY, BANDAI? WHY??? No one asked for this and the secondary market has plenty of the past releases available NIB at MSRP or below. I agree that they should have included the sound booster to at least make it a complete set...and maybe a little more interesting.

I'm treating this as further evidence to support my hypothesis that Bandai is using some kind of poorly-trained AI model to make their Macross release decisions, because they can't be bothered to put any real human thought into the process. An executive clicks a button and the program spits out the next ten release ideas automatically. Job done. Fourth release of the same valk? Perfect! Another non-canon valk with dubious links to another product line's 50th anniversary that uses a strange combination of colors and finishes on parts? Great!

Using a random decision generator program would give us more variety in releases than whatever Bandai is doing right now.

2 hours ago, jvmacross said:

I don't mind "excessive" tampo...it's the weird, non-canon, and "creative license" type of tampo that I can do without...Tenjin is arguably the best VF illustrator out there, but Bandai'd should just let him illustrate the boxart and not ask for him to make up stuff for their DX line's tampo designs....it doesn't give the DX's more "street cred"....it takes it away...lol

That's mainly what I was referring to. Like the non-canon Angel Birds logo stamped all over that valk. As soon as I saw it, the valk went from must-buy to no-buy.

2 hours ago, Shawn said:

no Tampo

Bandai just proved to us that they are very much capable of not destroying a beautiful valk with excessive tampo, but they choose to do it anyway (Angel Birds, YF-21, etc.).

3 hours ago, Zeliard said:

PO up!

Wow, a 69% markup over the published price (¥33,000 with tax included). That's very high, even for Luna Park...which based on the experiences of other MW members seems to mark up Macross items quite a bit compared to other stores. And they have it listed as being exclusive to Japan, but the Tamashii Nations website indicates that it will be available in Japan, Asia more broadly, and the US.

The VF-1S Strike Mechanic Edition is currently selling on Yahoo Japan for roughly the same price. I'll be interested to see if other stores offer this for less. Another option would be to wait until release and pick one up on the secondary market. I'm having a difficult time believing it will cost more than ¥55,800 to get one that way, but maybe the "Tamashii Store Event" nature of it will make it really difficult to obtain? 

2 hours ago, MKT said:

Agreed that more pics should have been shown. The official Bandai pics (or rather, just one pic) can look cool in some way, even if the clear parts are weird.
But the older pic from exhibition is a big no-no since there's too much of a difference in tone between the different surface treatments. It looks like someone's incomplete kit bash, or a VF that has crashed, replaced with new panels but not painted yet. 

Bandai should have went completely with the Imai Iron Type scheme that @Shawn posted, that would be infinitely cooler even if it gives us a shiny finish all round. At least we know where KC got inspiration from for their Dark Red scheme.

Agreed, full Iron Type would have been an insta-buy for me. This one...not so much. I can appreciate the creativity that went into producing it, but it's just not my thing. I have my fingers crossed that all who want it can get their hands on it, though. Especially if it will be available at the Tamashii Nations store in New York.

12 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Why stop complaining there? We could have had an HMR Tomahawk and Phalanx by now if Bandai stopped making HMR "everything else"...

That's a good point. I know that as a community we perpetually complain about canon stuff that Bandai teases and never releases. or just completely ignores in favor of non-canon releases like this one. It seems like every time there's an HMR release, a member posts the "bingo card" from the initial HMR announcement and we look to see if we can cross any of the remaining unreleased items off the list. Usually we can't. Where's my HMR Regult Scout? 

12 hours ago, Radioguy said:

Price aside, if you love the DX VF-1 design, you'd probably want this for the variant like a sofubi in a different colorway. Folks did grab Yammie repaints once upon a time, so it's not like this is unprecedented. It certainly looks better than the 30th Anniversary Arcadia.

I just hope the availability is correct, and it's successful. If that door is opened, who knows what may come.

Another good point. I do feel that Yamato (putting aside their failed business model) did a great job of building up street cred in the community by not ignoring canon stuff, so when they did non-canon repaints, our reaction was "cool, those are interesting, I'll buy them" instead of "why are they selling non-canon variants when they still haven't made the Max and Miria 1Js, the CF 1A, the Hayao TV 1A, etc." Yamato's approach was logical and they seemed to do a good job of interacting with, and listening to, this community--because they were fans themselves. I don't think any of us truly understand what Bandai is doing with these releases, but as long as they keep making Macross stuff, I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll eventually get all of the canon stuff. I don't know if any true fans are in charge of anything within Bandai. For all we know, there's some generative AI bot deciding what gets released. Maybe that's why this 50th anniversary VF-1J looks the way that it does.

This could have been a production run of the long-overdue VF-1A Hayao TV, to complete the squadron. But no, we're getting something...unique instead.

3 hours ago, grogall said:

Looks like something from How's Moving Castle!? but WTF? 🙈🙉🙊

It's like Howl's Moving Castle and Voltron had a child

1 hour ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Is it just me, or does this look super weird with the combination of clear, metallic plastic, and metal coating parts?

I think it's super weird as well. Hard pass for me (not my thing), but good hunting to those trying to snag one.

On 4/6/2024 at 11:17 AM, Anasazi37 said:

 I cynically expect the HMR VF-19 to show up in the US for $125-ish, regardless of retailer, but will gladly eat my hat if it shows up closer to the Japanese MSRP of ¥13000 ($85) because that will be a win for everyone.

The VF-19 is starting to show up for PO in the US. Price range looks to be $120-140, or a 40-65% markup. Looks like I won't have to eat my hat, but I hope the prices for WWM start to come down. 

14 hours ago, sh9000 said:

@Anasazi37 Nice pic that shows Gerwalk.

Here's the pic that was also posted on page 2.

Mich appreciated. I should have checked the early pages of the thread.... 

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

The only thing I’ve ever seen that makes more sense and works is SH Monsterarts specifically from awesomecollector. They are the only place I’ve seen any Bandai product that is regularly released in two versions. They usually list the Japanese version first at a typical price with the markups we’re used to seeing but then they will later list a US version that is discounted to the point where it is sometimes less than what I can buy direct from Japan for. They used to offer free shipping on all orders, which helped but now they are selective in what gets free shipping but depending on situation, their US release is usually comparable to buying direct from Japan. 

US versions. Intriguing idea. Bandai would definitely get more mileage out of their molds that way. 

30 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

Yes! I forgot about that one. A VF-1S Hikaru (Strike?) with Minmay, I think. There is like one image of it from some random Bandai event several years ago, maybe standing next to the first VF-25 valks announced as part of the line? Hopefully someone here has the image. And agreed, would love to see VF-1 variants in this adorable line. Every single standard one from SDFM and DYRL, at the very least. And enemy mecha! The fact that Klan's Q-Rau exists as a prototype is encouraging.

Found it! Tamashii Nations event in 2021. VF-1S Hikaru, no armor parts, but I can see a tiny Minmay in the upper left corner.

28 minutes ago, jenius said:

There has also been at least one VF-1 teased. Hope we see more, this line is adorable.

Yes! I forgot about that one. A VF-1S Hikaru (Strike?) with Minmay, I think. There is like one image of it from some random Bandai event several years ago, maybe standing next to the first VF-25 valks announced as part of the line? Hopefully someone here has the image. And agreed, would love to see VF-1 variants in this adorable line. Every single standard one from SDFM and DYRL, at the very least. And enemy mecha! The fact that Klan's Q-Rau exists as a prototype is encouraging.

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Have they teased those in Tiny Mission? I would love to see them but I don't remember them being teased.

As far as I know, these are the ones that have been teased at Bandai events but are not yet available for PO:

Queadluun-Rau Klan
YF-29 Durandal Alto
VF-25S Ozma
YF-29 Max
VF-31AX Hayate

You can see all of them here: https://hobby.dengeki.com/event/1741260/

This thread continues to surprise and delight. Keep the finds coming!

3 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I don't want to defend the price increases, but from a distribution and manufacturing standpoint, I can see why it had to happen.

Consider that Bandai's production and distribution planning for Macross products has always been focused on the Japanese market alone, since international distribution wasn't "possible," at least not from an official point of view.

So, how are you going to begin addressing the international demand officially?  What changes have to be made to manufacture enough for the perceived international demand?

You don't want to hike prices for Japanese customers for the same products to support expanded production lines, and you don't want to even consider expanding them until you're sure sufficient international interest exists to support that expansion in the first place.

So, I'm kind of in the mindset that the WWM releases are a market study.  I don't even know if Bandai is producing more stock.  What they are doing is studying whether there is enough demand outside of Japan to start paying more attention to their international customers.

I'm thinking the international markup accomplishes two things, really.  On the one hand, it'll help cover the costs of increased production and distribution without passing that cost onto the Japanese market that didn't ask for it.  On the other, it gives them a measure of international interest, determining whether the extra cost hurdle is enough to offset the convenience of getting stuff from places like Amazon.

The exchange rate and current economy being what they are, I'm curious whether they'll think it's worth the effort.  If prices keep everyone buying from Japanese stores anyway, Bandai really doesn't have any incentive to expand.

If true, starting with a 50% markup is pretty bold. They'd be working under the assumption that international collectors are willing to pay a large premium, even above the total cost of getting a PO in Japan and having the item shipped priority international. That may be true, but the number of times I've seen WWM items eventually marked down is not a positive sign. I'm sure some business people at Bandai crunched the numbers, like we've been doing in this thread for the past few days, and came up with a markup percentage that they thought would work. If it is a market study, maybe as Bandai watches the international sales figures they'll drop the markup a bit to boost interest. If the total cost for WWM items came in under what we currently pay door-to-door for a Japan PO, I'd be willing to shift my purchasing stateside and wait the 3-4 extra months for items to arrive. It's a tough business decision: keep the higher markups at the risk of decreased demand because you think it's about convenience for international collectors, lower the markups at the risk of decreased profit because you think it's about value for international collectors, or just stop international distribution altogether because it's not worth the extra work. 

3 hours ago, treatment said:

You can most likely figure out how much Bandai markups is there by also considering how much their other various toy lines are costing when sold directly here in the US.

Llike how much do they charge for their DXs, SOCs, Metal/Non-Metal Robot Damasshii, SHFs, SHMAs, etc, etc., from, say, under their Bandai Spiritis page from Amazon. 

Especially even on their PBandai-US front for their Metal Builds and other exclusives.

Based on the experiences of other MW members who collect figures from those lines, the markup is pretty consistent (45-55%). Like you, that was my first thought: is this specific to Macross or a more general thing? Seems to be more general. You'd think the markup on massive lines like Gundam would be lower, but apparently not.

(Others with better information, please correct me if I'm wrong)

5 hours ago, jvmacross said:

And for that, we would only have BW to blame this time around....

I've wondered how much of the markup is Bandai on its own vs. some licensing thing tied to the deal between BW and HG, or maybe a bit of both. Then it makes my head hurt and I stop wondering.

53 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

I think at some point soon, the only advantage will be getting the item much quicker pre-ordering straight from Japan.....hopefully, that may also go away as well at some point....as for the prices, I believe the last couple of releases actually got to a point where the prices either were the same or actually less.....patience, of course, is the determining factor when trying to get non-Japan retailer purchases at equal or lower prices...

 

I do hope we get to price parity at some point, so then it's only about how long you're willing to wait (and not have to deal with PO Madness in the middle of the night). I'll point to the recent YF-21 PO as an example of the hefty markups that unfortunately still exist: ¥35000 in Japan ($230) vs. $350 in the US. That's a 52% markup, which is not uncommon. We usually see Bandai international markups in the range of 45-55% and that seems to extend beyond Macross to other franchises like Gundam (discussed in another thread a few months ago). Another recent example is the HMR VF-0A PO: ¥16000 in Japan ($105), $160 in the US, which is also a 52% markup. I cynically expect the HMR VF-19 to show up in the US for $125-ish, regardless of retailer, but will gladly eat my hat if it shows up closer to the Japanese MSRP of ¥13000 ($85) because that will be a win for everyone. Granted, if you're patient and wait until US retailers start marking down prices for WWM items, you can sometimes get all the way down to Japan MSRP, but it could become a situation where those retailers stop carrying Macross items because they have to sell them at a loss...and then we're right back to PO Madness for everything.

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

The cheapest price shipped for 1 HMR VF-19 Fire Valkyrie from those Japanese stores is about $105.  The highest price shipped is about $123.  BBTS shipped in my state is $157.

This is why I still prefer to deal with PO Madness, plus I get items 3-4 months sooner. But now when I'm dealing with the Madness, I'm always thinking, "if I can't get it tonight, I know I can get it through [insert domestic store of choice here] with a convenience markup."

At some point I will stop dealing with the Madness and just throw money at the situation so I can have a good night's sleep.

9 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

i wonder if this will be higher than 450 usd?

For a premium version, probably, unless they do a really small production run of the regular version. That could be costly, too.