neostrata

Yeah ordered the Vf22 on 6/12 and havent received an email from them yet. I just emailed to trouble@hlj.com and advised them to cancel the second order I made in error.

Hmm... I ordered mine on the 12th as well. Got my confirmation this morning. They did mention that they only process orders on working days so since its just the start of the week there's no surprise about the delay

I just ordered three items from HLJ:

VF-1J Hikaru standalone (free shipping)

VF-0A reissue (free shipping)

VF-1D (20% sale)

In one single shipment, these three are going to be packed into one huge box, and I don't want to call any attention to such a big box at the customs department, lest I be taxed to kingdom come.

BTW, are the customs guys going to tax this based on each individual item purchased, or the combined price of all three items on a single receipt?

Is there any way I can get HLJ to ship these items individually?

Damn HLJ and their frequent sales!

PS, I'm currently living in Malaysia, which means online purchases above MYR 500 (local currency, about USD 156) aren't tax free.

Hey bro

I inquired about shipping back in the Msian hobby forums once and I was told that the customs will see a price tag which includes shipping apparently. So even if its free shipping the customs will process your items as a full sum inclusive of shipping. Well the friendly guy who told me this did manage to "persuade" his way out of it by telling them about the free shipping. But there's no guarantee. Guess its quite subjective

I ordered the VF-22S Gamrin Kizaki this morning and completed all the info just like every other time I've order from HLJ, but I've yet to receive an order acknowledgment from them. Has this happened to anyone else? My last order was during the free shipping and it went through right away.

Me me!

I found it strange as well. Probably coz its during the weekends? I've sent them an email last nite regarding this. No reply for that as well

Except for the fact the paint comes off the DX VF-27 so easily during transformation.

Can always have the DX in fighter and the model in Battroid.

Well at least the DX transforms more reliably

Gonna put on all the other decals soon and give it another coat of semi gloss

Just completed my 1/72 VF-27 gamma Brera custom model kit. Was really looking forward to getting it done. Well I was pretty impressed until I tried to transform it. Feels really flimsy. Really don't see the point in having it transform if it was so fragile (just my opinion anyways ). I followed the instructions closely for both the build and transformation. Managed to scrape off some of the water slide decals and made some stress marks on some of the tabs after trying to transform it from plane to gerwalk to battroid for the first time.

Well yea its a model and its not meant to be played with. But its really detailed and looks friggin awesome as a display piece. Keeping it in jet mode at the moment.

Guess that getting the model kit as a cheaper alternative to the DX didn't work out as well as I thought. Oh well, DX here I come!!!

*prays that Bandai makes a better VF-25 in future*

Usually for kits coming in from outside the EU I get charged 18% VAT only and no duty. 40% charge seems a bit oo much.

I just picked it up yesterday. This was the reasoning: Goods above GBP18 will be charged VAT of 17.5% and goods above 135 pounds will be charged customs duty with VAT on top of that. So apparently the VAT charge was about GBP4. The other 8 pounds was Royal Mail's Service and Handling fee....... so much for 8 pounds to sign a few papers and getting me to collect it from them

Hey guys.

I live in the UK and I ordered a 1/72 VF-27 gamma Lucifer Valkyrie from HLJ about 27 days ago (d@mn that took awhile! ). I got it mailed to me using SAL and today I received a note by royal mail stating that I have a package to collect from the collection office and there is a charge of GBP 12.32. It was marked as "The sender didn't pay full postage" instead of a customs charge. I haven't collected it though. I'm pretty sure it will be my model kit from HLJ as I have not ordered anything else to be delivered to me in the mail. Guess its just really unfortunate that my package got picked off by the customs

Anyone who cares to share some insight on this? Just really unhappy about paying such a large sum after such a long wait. I purchased the kit for GBP33 and they are charging me almost 40% of my purchasing fee on top of that?

Actually the VF-27 box is not very large, and it's pretty light.

Just estimating, I would say 3" thick by 12" long, which just happens to correspond with the size of my...Ha, ha

Guess they must have put it in a large box for shipping

My package took more then 40 days, and still i have yet to receive it yet.

Anyways one gd news is that i manage to get my deposit for VF-22S gamlin custom refunded.

But i aren't ordering from that shop again after this... at least HLJ says it will probe and check accordingly when i have not receive by 6th April..

that is at least a comfort to hear.

HLJ says to wait 2 times the maximum extimate (45 days). So that makes like 90 days of waiting? lol

Been waiting for my 1/72 VF-27 Lucifer Valkyrie Brera custom for like the past 23 days since it was dispatched from HLJ via SAL. Funny thing is that I've already received some of my Mr. Hobby supplies (shipped using SAL as well) yesterday which I had ordered from HLJ a week after I had ordered the VF-27. Is this probably due to the size of the package?

UK seller! Bump for attractive pricing

Two weeks is a fairly normal time for SAL without tracking. But as Big F said in Europe the only real option is online stores.

It's annoying that the more expensive stuff like Yamato and Bandai Chogokin valks nearly always end up being send with a traceable method. Easy pickings for customs.

Just expressing my impatience coz I can't wait for my Lucifer valk!!!!!

Dang..... and I had high hopes of getting a yamato one of these days until I find out about the extra charges if it gets held by customs

Looking around for a 1/60 VF-1S but still no sign of it around the local ebay/sales section.

Well I have learnt when buying from HLJ try and keep the value of the goods to under £40 that way customs dont bother looking into it. Got nailed for £10 on my last delivery as it went over £40 by a couple of quid.

If the sender marked it gift they almost always leave it. Most reputable retailers wont put gift on the label as it is fraud though.

Not so many places in the U.K that sell Macross stuff. There used to be but, the ones I used to use were all London based and AFAIK all gone except Forbiden Planet, they are expensive though and dont have much at all. I used to get a fair bit off of eBay but the sellers I used also dont have anything Macross any more.

I ordered a VF-27 from HLJ and it cost me about 31 quid inclusive of shipping. Sure hope that the customs don't get nosy with it if what you say is true.

What delivery method did you use when you made your last delivery? I was told that SAL almost never gets stopped by customs so I went with SAL. Bad thing is that its been almost 2 weeks and still no sign of my kit

Wondering if are any local shops in the UK which sell Macross kits/figures?

Purchasing from Overseas websites are an option. Well thats cool until the customs get nosy and put on a few more numbers to the price tag.

Any collectors who care to share a thing or 2 about this?

Hello all

Just got poisoned into collecting macross recently. Decided to start off with a frontier kit. Probably a DX or Yamato later on

Some 1/72 macross Frontier kits are on sale at HLJ at the moment so I got myself a VF-27!!! on its way at the moment

I have been snap fitting Master Grade gundams for the past few years. Just normal snap fit, dry decal application, minor painting using gundam markers and panel lining. Nothing extravagant to the extent of using paints and air brushes. Guess I will be doing the same with this macross kit with the exception of trying out water slide decals

Was wondering if some of the great modelers out there could drop me a tip or two? I saw this review of the VF-27 and it looks awesome!!

http://schizophonic9.com/vf27.html

Well I don't expect to achieve that result with the current experience I have but something decent would be nice. I plan to apply as many water-slide decals as possible (just hate the stickers..... they peel off especially on uneven surfaces after some time ) . Since its my first time, would it be necessary to get a mark setter and mark softer for the decals?

Oh and regarding top-coat, the VF-27 in pictures of the review look a little shiny. Could he have probably used Semi-gloss? Or would matt make the kit look nicer.

Hope to hear from you guys. Cheers from UK