GU-11

Actually, I did try to negotiate for a complete replacement. They said if I really wanted to have the figure replaced, I'd have to pay for the figure's shipment (sending the busted one to them, AND for them to ship the new on to me.) Worse still, there's no guarantee that I'll get a brand new fig, because they said its up to Yamato to decide whether to repair it for me and then ship it back to me, or give me a new one. Bottom line: if Yamato can get me the parts, which they usually can, then there's little to no chance of a brand new replacement. That said, I understand that HLJ's just trying to run a business, and naturally they'd try to minimize absorbing any losses if possible. Still sucks to get an expensive lemon and have to fix it yourself, though. BTW, I just emailed them asking for an update. Hopefully, they'll reply by tonight.

I hear you. I bought me a BRS last week, too. In fact, I liked it so much I bought a second one to keep MISB. The only fault I could find with it is that its hip joint tends to jut out the left side, and its pretty hard to ease back into place. Other than that, full marks all the way. Yeah, I'd love to see some GITS and Appleseed figmas, myself. But what remains my most illusive holy grail of female action figures is that of Gally/Alita from Gunnm aka Battle Angel Alita. If only Max Factory would make a Figma incarnation of her, and maybe Sechs too... B))

Yeah, HLJ's general policy seems to be that as long as Yamato can scrounge up the necessary parts to replace the damage in your VF, they're not giving you a new one. The guy who replied said the only circumstances that would warrant a full replacement is when Yamato didn't have the necessary parts to send you, or if the figure is completely totaled. I agree that for the kind of money we're paying, it just sucks that a collector ends up having to fix a busted up figure himself. And yeah, the wait for replacement parts gets really aggravating. Admittedly, I wouldn't be nearly as upset if they'd be quicker in sending those parts.

1. 1/60 VF-1J - Probably the single most symbolic VF. 2. 1/60 VF-1D (the fact that I had to replace the leg peg notwithstanding) - IMO, one of the most memorable VF's in Macross history. 3. 1/60 VF-0S 4. 1/60 VF-22S Sturmvogel Gamlin Custom 5. 1/60 YF-19 DN

They still haven't replied yet, and it's been a month already. I thought I'd give HLJ ample time to get the parts for me, so they won't have an excuse saying it takes time to get parts from Yamato and what not. I'll send them an email next Monday and ask for an update. They'd better have my Nora's replacement parts shipped to me within the next two weeks.

Sweet! The VF-0A should be approximately the same size as the 1/48 VF-1's. Seeing it in a picture, Leader SS looks so "Macrossy" in GERWALK mode, it's uncanny!

Man, ROTF Leader SS has been sitting on my shelf for weeks, and I didn't realize it could do that! I've got to try this. Bet he'd look perfect next to the VF-0A.

Very cools pics, Gemur. The Gamlin is such a sexy beast, it looks good any way you pose it. BTW, the first pic is my favorite.

After a long hard look at my display...I'd have to go with the 1/60 Roy VF-OS. If ever there was a revisit of the original VF-1 design, this would be the closest thing to it. What I mean by that is that the VF-0S closely follows the look and design of the VF-1S, being a supposed predecessor. But ironically, it has many of the modern trappings of later VF's, such as those "imaging cameras" on the sides of the nose. Also, I personally prefer the more rounded, robust look of the -0S, as well as it's head design.

Man, that is ten kinds of awesome! I love how the Minmay decals line up with the FAST packs as well. Personally, I prefer this more realistically drawn Minmay than Hasegawa's SD--even the proportionate Hase Minmay decal, I found rather "cutified".

Where I'm at, I had to go all the way to a hobby store to buy WFC/Generations figs, and some of them are strictly sold in sets, such as Megatron and Darkmount. Personally, I really don't like Darkmount, and wanted to get only Megs. The store owner wouldn't budge, and insists in selling the two as a set...at least for the first two weeks. He told me to come back two weeks later (which will be next Saturday), and was willing to reserve one WFC Megatron for me. Honestly, I really don't understand this whole "sold in sets" policy with the Generations line. AFAIK, TF's have always been available individually (except for those prepackaged box sets by Hasbro, of course). Good thing I plan to be buying WFC Soundwave and Red Alert when they eventually arrive. That way, I won't have to wait two weeks before getting my hands on them. Hopefully, Generations Jazz will be paired with a fig I like when it gets released.

Out of curiosity, I checked the shoulders on my VF-0S/A, and the screws were to frigging tight I couldn't even turn them. Would it be advisable to try and unscrew them with an electric screwdriver (heard that overly tight screws aren't exactly good for the joints), or should I just leave well enough alone?

Gosh, could I be the only one in the WHOLE country who actually bought Drift and Thrust along with WFC OP and Bee? BTW, Drift rocks, except for his super-soft chewing gum swords. Currently looking at some model kit/Gundam edged weaponry to find a sword befitting a true Cybertronian samurai. Any suggestions?

Aw dude, you just HAD to show me those pics, didn't you? Sadly, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on the MG, seeing how the Japanese Yen has risen to an all-time high recently. Damn, and there's still the YF-19, fold booster pack and TV Kakizaki! Hope the yen comes back down in time for HLJ's next sale!

The thing is, SK supposedly intended for the VF-22S to incorporate FAST pack "elements" in its core design, thereby doing away with the necessity of FAST/SUPER pack augmentation. The two storage panels that hide the legs in fighter mode were substantially upgraded from the YF-21's, to include internal storage for the twin gunpods (not featured in the Yamato toy, unfortunately), as well as extra fuel and ammo. On other words, there are no FAST packs designed for the VF-22S because it never needed one. It's really more to do with the company than the franchise itself, IMO. Hasbro almost exclusively markets its toyline to kids. Takara, due to the massive otaku market in Japan, substantially diversifies its demographic to include adult collectors, hence the ML, DL, and MP lines.

Thanks for the heads up, man! Looks sweet. I'm tempted to buy that Hasegawa kit and build my very own Minmay Guard, right now. Don't have the confidence or skills for a mod/customization, but a model kit, I can still handle.

Fighting back the man-tears as I admire those photos.... A work of art. BTW, pardon my ignorance, but is the Minmay guard a "canon" VF (in the sense that it actually appeared in a Macross movie/series), or is it like the YF-19 DN and BoP, where the manufacturing company just cooked up an idea for a new product?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

TF-style electronic gimmicks for Yamato VF's would be a VERY bad move. I see them as a negative point in the toys instead of a plus point, due to the huge compromises you'd make to accommodate them. In fact, all the gimmicks for Hasbro's Leader class toys put me off, as they usually come the cost of bloated, misshapen alt/bot modes for the TF's. In the leader class, the batteries, sound chips and light up gimmicks caused ROTF Optimus' torso thickness to be almost double what it should be, and made ROTF Starscream's alt mode so bloated it could never pass itself off as a realistic F-22 Raptor (which is why Takara's more realistic repaint doesn't appeal to me). As for the HA line, Bumblebee was so laden with human-interaction gimmicks that it severely compromised the proportions of his arms, with these huge seats strapped to them. Starting with Skids, subsequent HA figs payed less emphasis on the gimmicks, which resulted in better proportions. Jazz, the latest and probably last HA fig, is a near-perfect representation of the Bayverse character, with thankfully unobtrusive gimmicks. I agree with what others said about the light piping gimmick; it rarely works unless you've got some sort of back-lighting or display light from above. Besides, the cost of having the back part of the head in clear plastic is NOT becoming of a $200 plus high end toy. Also, I'd like to point out that VF's DO NOT have glowing eyepieces like TF's. They're just cameras for the pilots to see through in battroid mode, and have no business glowing like lanterns. I've only watched SDF-Macross, MacPlus and parts of M7 and MF, but I don't recall a single scene where a battroid's eyes lit up. And no: images on posters, wallpapers, and scenes where light reflects off of the eyepiece for dramatic effect don't count. That said, extra accessories would be a welcome addition. Looking at the plethora of stuff MP OP and Megs come with, I think Yamato could add some other cool character-specific stuff like baby Komilia's transport pod for Milia's Super VF-1J, or that Zentraedi uniform disguise to go with Max's TV VF-1A, along with individual standing Hikaru and Misa figs to fit into the front pocket (I wish!). Then again, the cost of such additions could put the price of the VF's through the roof. At the very least, Yamato could release additional accessories in sets like for the fold booster set. Maybe group packages together like maintenance crews with ladders and FAST pack docks, or a set of four "battroid mode seats" with diorama bases. They'll probably be expensive, but at least its better than third party companies selling them at conventions, or through web exclusives.

I haven't even found Megatron in TRU yet. I'm not exactly a fan of Darkmount and Red Alert either, so the only ones I'll be hunting for are Megs and Soundwave. Is that an official mode, or was it improvised? Not perfect by any means, but I'd definitely be displaying him in this mode once I find him at TRU.

Thanks for the info, man! I'll ask around and see if I can get the windows in my house coated with low e film.

Low e glass? This is probably a case of my own ignorance, but I've haven't heard of it before. Care to elaborate? I've been looking at something called Crystal Bond or something. It's supposed to be some kind of nanotech spray that bonds to the glass itself, rendering the surface 99% UV proof, but with absolutely no alterations to the glass surface itself. It's not available as a DIY product, and you have to get a contractor to apply it. It's a relatively new product, and I haven't been able to find anyone who does that kind of application aside from auto shops that offer it for car windows. So far, I've only seen this on a newspaper ad for a new apartment building that lists UV-proofed windows as part of its eco-friendly features. Back to low e glass, if it's more commercially available, maybe I'll opt for that instead.

Gosh, I'm too afraid to even consider that possibility. As it is, I'm doing what I can to minimize the risk of my Valks yellowing. My Max TV VF-1A, Hikaru VF-1J, and Hik/Roy TV VF-1S's are all kept in their boxes. Will take them out to mess around with them once in a while, but these won't be on display until I can UV-proof the windows of my display room.

Still waiting for WFC Megatron and Soundwave to hit the shelves at my local TRU. When the heck are these two supposed to be officially released, anyways?

Welcome to the board, Sherylfan! The straight answer is, yes and no. "Yes", to the question of whether they're new stock. The earlier releases have long since sold out (at least at HLJ), and the ones on discount are all from the latest release. And unfortunately, "No", to the question of whether ALL of the issues in the earlier releases have been fixed. Most of them have been solved, namely the non-lockable feet, loose joints, and explodium shoulders. The drooping nose issue is still somewhat of a problem, as members like Chronocidal and Muzaffar have experienced them. My VF-0A also has a very slight problem with the drooping nose, but it's totally unnoticeable when displayed on its landing gears, and has a very slight gap (about half a millimeter) on the heat shield when mounted on a stand. I'll get around to fixing it someday, but as it doesn't call any attention to itself, I'll just leave it in the back-burner until later. If you want my opinion about it, I'd say go ahead and buy either or both of them. They're very cool VF's, and look awesome in all three modes. Even if the problem of the drooping nose does exist, Chronocidal has already posted a guide to fixing it in this same thread--just go back one page to find it. Hope this helps.