beatsing

I was comparing old himetal with the photo. The heat shield still looks like parts forming. The hinges on the front thighs is white on mine, but metallic in the photo. Otherwise, it looks the same mold.I like the shoulder transformation in the hi metal, its easier than the yamatos, and isnt as prone to breakage as they are on rails, not swivels, and the can pop off like transformers and put back on. Although its supposed to be 1/100 scale, the pilot is tiny compared with my mastergrade pilots from bandai gundams. Weird cuz theyre from the same company.

Check this diorama out http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/112114/macross_himetal_r

Lightning effect parts. I ordered it for my darth vader and maul. But it was duplicated into the order for the valk. I didnt order duplicates. The lightning effect parts work with the godzilla moster arts or figma or sic too It seems it took the prior cart contents, even though the order was completed, and the valk was on a separate order. I saw the valk after the order for the lightning parts. I bought the explosion parts before, and it looks great even with valks. Since in the macross world theres all those missiles

I ordered off hlj today too. But did you guys get a confirmation email? Mine came bavk with some other product, not the valk!?

I think the vf1s with super parts came out a while back. I got the Vf1j years ago. Not sure if sny other variants came out. I just saw a convention photo of the new armored valk in a diorama with battle pods and the green archer mech, the super vf1s. Not sure when the release dates are though.

Darn, nippon yasan cancelled my preorder, but i already paid when i ordered. What the heck?!

I think Hlj limited stuff after the fact in the past, amd i think it said limit 1 per customer.

Me too. I bought into this line so itd be in scale with my master grades. Hard to swear off; i wasnt collecting macross for a while, but armored valk to go with glaug is too tempting. Frustrating though.

Thats true. However, macross products seem to sell out so fast I'd think these companies secure more product. Little surprised that the storm trooper is still in stock, since so many peeps army build, like macross fans:)

I thought the darth maul wouldve sold out faster than the valk, considering the star wars fan base seems bigger, and the darth vader sold out so fast on preorder.

Starting to remember why i stopped buying macross stuff... That, and yamatos breaking shoulders Got pulled back in by the lure of an armored valk and possibility of glaug

Darn. Hlj wrote back that my order didnt go through, and ami amis was in my cart but at the payment stage said not enough stock.

Not sure if mine went through. I got through private warehouse and place order etc save, then it crashed before i got the message that said ill get confirmation email shortly. Are the scalpers bombing the site?! I also happened to be on buying a darth maul and saw the hi metal I had the first hi metal from when they first came out. Is this the same with the parts forming heat shield? I looked online and noted that they have photos of a himetal glaug and battle pods too. Cool. I like the scale cuz a glaug in scale with the yamatos would be a bit big for my collection.

Thanks Jenius!

Hi, Haven't collected these in a while, not since both my V2 1/60 1A shoulders broke, while on display, only transformed 3 times. It broke while on the stand even though I didn't touch it. But this set is tempting me... So, is this release the 1J with good shoulders and clear canopy? I couldn't make sense of the very detailed post by anymoon. I have the first release 1j v2, so is this different? (I heard that many had the similar shoulder issue, but mine is fine) I think this question has been asked before, but there are quite a lot of posts to wade through: Does it come with the option parts (aka elevator cockpit seat, closed hatch for the neck, and side covers for battroid)? Thanks, and sorry if this has already been discussed.

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions on how to fix it. I dont have a lot experience with models, what is plastic weld? I'm alittle nervous about opening up the valk. How do i remove the bar some one mentioned? I have some gundam cement but i'm not sure if it'll be strong enough. I've seen styrene sheets at the shop but have no idea how to use them. I haven't used shapeways, so i'm not familiar with them. Has anyone else tried this? Thanks

Hi thanks for the play asia suggestion. Made my order. This vf25g stood on its own in a display case. Didnt swoosh it or anything. I only noticed the crack when i was thinking it was time switch it back to jet mode. Sure enough it was broken. Here are the photos:

Hey guys, been lurking for a bit. I've collected from the 1/48 and 1/60 line, but collecting from the renewal series is ridiculous. Over two years and still can't order an Ozma lee. I did manage to order a VF25G, but unfortunately the crotch piece broke, so now it can't stand. I only transformed it once, into battroid mode, and displayed it in that mode for about a year. Any suggestions on how to fix it? Thanks and sorry if this is the incorrect place to post this message.

Chronocidal, I saw the 72 kits at Hlj. I've got an Alto kit and the proportions are waaay better than the frontier v1. But it is a bit fragile when you transform it. It's awesome for customizing. It takes a lot more work to paint a completed kit like the chogokin. The proportions are pretty similar to the renewals. The wings are loose, they don't lock like the renewal. They are not like gundams, you can pose them a lot, but the 72s parts dont stay on much. The fins fall off, and the shoulder parts are hard to fit together when transforming to plane mode. Until the renewals, these were the closest to the anime though.

Hey David, I dunno if I can look for thirteen months. I assumed that Bandai would re release by now, especially during 30th anniversary. I noticed that they were grinding out really old model kits like the Monster or the Archer (can't remember the proper names for them, just the Battlemech names), that's nostalgic and all, but the factory should've been grinding out more Frontier renewals. TCracker, i love the squat pose. I like the attention you did at the waist, you bent the thigh, not just rotate the hip/waist joint. Question for you, Is it tight like the renewals, or loose like the red alto? My buddy's red alto could'nt keep the tail shield thing on, but his Ozma is so tight. The renewals remind me of the old chunky monkey, tough and easy to transform. Still can't fathom why I'm willing to spend the kinda money that can by a ps3 and still can't find an Ozma or Durandal! Btw, I also like this 30th color scheme, it rocks on the battroid mode. Not so sure about the plane mode, I might paint it white, if I can get a hold of one.

Hey all, Not new to this forum, posted years ago when the yamato v2 1/60s and tomahawk came out Nice to see you guys, and thanks for the pointers then. It's crazy that this Bandai renewal stuff is so hard to find. I'm just getting back into this stuff, and the renewals look so sleek like the model kits. I got turned off cuz my buddy got the v1 frontier chogokin, and they looked crappy compared to the model kits. Building the kits were also kinda disappointment, not solid like the gundams that I've come to expect from Bandai, but quite fragile. Saw my buddy's renewal and it sure was solid. He got it overseas. So I tried to buy an Ozma. Nowhere to be found except on evilbay for crazy $. No local stores even carry cuz the v1 were so bad. I was on Hlj, and the wer still selling the tomahawk from years ago! I used to think these expensive toys were always in stock cuz the price deters everyone but serious collectors, especially after the recession. Bandai really should sell more of these if demand is so high. Funny that its easy to buy Gundam kits, seems there are so many warming shelves. Yamato stuff is so easy to get a hold of, even years after release. So frustrating just to buy a toy?!!! This is worse than trying to buy an optimus prime masterpiece (the new version)! I've been checking Hlj for months now for this 30th durandal, and the one day my computer is down, they decide to sell (out)? another poster said it: blink and you'll miss it. So true, but it's still a crazy situation.

Hi Vi-RS, thanks for taking the time and the pics to point out the marks. Actually I agree with you in that the sprue marks on your pics are acceptable to me too. In fact, my valks share a few of the marks on the same spots. The marks on my fastpack, backpack and bicep are pretty much the same areas as yours. I'd like to mention that the marks on the body of your valks appear to be largely the same color as the body, and so these marks would be acceptable to me too. Most of them look fine, not too white, and mostly flat, no gouges. The mark on one of your jet packs looks a little more white and knotty, but as I don't pose mine that often with the fast packs I don't mind either. These photos are great, and I think that I might not notice these marks in person from a distance across the room. I guess I mind the ones on my new Tomahawk a lot more because the cuts are rather bad on the cannons, which are the major characteristic of this mech, and the fact that they are bright white marks really contrasts with the green annoys me. Perhaps if my photos were as nice as yours, I think you'd agree with me that the marks on my Tomahawk are not the same color as the plastic and a bit rougher than those on the body of your valks. I'm a bit of an amateur with the camera, it took me quite a while to get those photos looking decent. I think I'll try the methods the others have suggested, or possibly doing what I've noticed on some of Yamato's photos: cover it up with the decals.

Hi Robelwell202, thanks for sharing your opinion. At first gush, out of the box, I know I was looking through rose-colored goggles too. The nostalgia factor is through the charts. I do have toys that have sprue marks that I don't mind, like those on the valks' biceps and backpack, if the sprue cuts were colored over or smoothed out or in a hidden spot. I went and looked at my valks again and my Masterpieces, and they do have cuts, but the cuts were relatively smooth and colored over in the same color. In the case of Master megs, there are slight stubs that have been painted over, so I don't mind. These cuts will take some work. I think I'll keep it though, because the shipping is pricey. The methods suggested above may work, and if not, I may try some touch up paint and some decals to cover up the blemishes.

Hi eugimon, thanks for your reply. I looked at my collection again. I noticed two areas that consistently have sprue marks that are visible (but not obvious) on the valks: right above the elbow joints/bicep (on the VF1J it's almost the same color white), and on the tailfin back pack connector. I don't mind these as the backpack is not very visible and I usually pose the arms holding the gunpod so the bicep doesn't seem that bad. I don't have a YF21, but the legs on all the vf1's look completely smooth, not a trace of sprue. About the destroids, you're right. I looked at some of the photos of the various versions of the Tomahawk, and noticed that the photos for the OD version don't show any sprue marks at the cannon, but do show slight cuts at the bottom of the calves, however, they are in green so it is not so obvious. I noticed that that photos for the sand colored /original Tomahawk, the cannons and other areas do show sprue cuts. However, in one of the photos, the cuts were partially covered by white lettering decals. If the methods suggested don't work out (or I can't reproduce the method) or I can't match up the paint, decals may be an alternative cover up.

Hi David, Thanks for your suggestions. This method does indeed sound much easier. I'll try this on some sprue trees. I haven't tried it yet, but perhaps the heat from the dryer isn't enough to melt the plastic. I think that the lighter's flame melts the plastic to some degree, to remove the blemish/sprue cut. Thanks for the instructions on TC's chest. With that knowledge, I'm more likely to pick up a TC, but I think I'll wait for the price to drop or if there's a US version, as I'm saving up for a defender and a black convoy. I looked at some of the photos of the various versions of the Tomahawk, and noticed that the photos for the OD version don't show any sprue marks at the cannon, but do show slight cuts at the bottom of the calves, however, they are in green so it is not so obvious. I noticed that that photos for the sand colored /original Tomahawk, the cannons and other areas do show sprue cuts. However, in one of the photos, the cuts were partially covered by white lettering decals. If the methods suggested don't work out (or I can't reproduce the method) or I can't match up the paint, decals may be an alternative cover up.