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SuperSenpai

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Everything posted by SuperSenpai

  1. SuperSenpai
    It's not that I think $100+ is an absurd price for the Destroid toys... it's just that even though I like them, I like valks better, so if I have the money, I'd rather buy a valk. I'd be more inclined to pick one up over a valk if they were less expensive. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I inherently categorize the Destroids to be a toy that should be of lesser price because they don't transform. I'm guessing I'm probably not the only ones that feel that way, since they evidently did not sell all that well.
  2. SuperSenpai
    With all due respect, I think it's a little absurd to come into a toy forum and sanctimoniously claim that people have their priorities mixed up for buying expensive pieces of plastic, and then turn right around and say that you prefer to spend your money on different expensive pieces of plastic. If you're going to play the "priorities" card, then someone else could just as easily play the same game and say that any grown man who buys $100+ transforming robot toys should have their head examined. After all, that money could have been used for feeding hungry people in third world countries or stopping human trafficking instead, right?
  3. SuperSenpai
    I wouldn't mind acquiring some Destroids for my collection, but I can't seem to find them for what I'd consider to be a decent price. I remember a couple of online web shops were trying to clean out their last Destroid stock right around when Yamato went under, and they were going for well under $100. Which if you ask me, is about the right price for them. Not that I don't like them, but if I'm going to spend over $100+ and I have a choice between a valk and Destroid, the valk is going to win.
  4. SuperSenpai
    So THAT's why I had a random box from Mandarake show up on my doorstep today! Thanks! J/K... never had that happen before. Their international e-mail account seems pretty responsive though, from the few times I've had to e-mail them.
  5. SuperSenpai
    I think you can find it cheaper at HKCollectibles: http://www.hkcollectibles.com/macross-robotech/6958-vf-19-fire-valkyrie-basara-nekki.html
  6. SuperSenpai
    I'm pretty sure every Max and Milia VF-1J release from Yamato was always with super parts. The only M&M VF-1Js that I can think of that were sold without them were the Bandai 1/55s and Hi-Metal 1/100s (no Milia for that line).
  7. SuperSenpai
    The hi-metal line is 1/00 scale. They're small, but excellent toys. I wouldn't say that they are better than the Yamato/Arcadia valks -- after all, they are pretty small -- but they do have certain features that put them above Yamato valks in some ways. I think they have the best battroid mode in terms of articulation and posability, and I prefer the way they implemented the shoulder transformation mechanism over Yamato's. That said, they are not 100% perfect transformation. You have to swap out the canopy cover, and the landing gears are not integrated. Also given their size relative to a Yamato 1/60, they are hard to find at a reasonable price. I got mine for 6,000 yen at Mandarake before shipping.
  8. SuperSenpai
    I was happy that I finally tracked down that Max 1J -- they were web-exclusives, so they're not easy to find. I scored a pretty decent deal on the Soundwave too. There are quite a lot of people selling their Hasbro TRU exclusive Soundwaves on eBay minus the cassettes -- I'm guessing that they had the Takara versions which only came with Laserbeak, and then bought the Hasbro versions to scavenge the rest of the cassettes. Anyway, found one on eBay that came with the box, all the accessories, and Laserbeak, and managed to win him at auction for $70.
  9. SuperSenpai
    Here are my recent additions.
  10. SuperSenpai
    I think it's more logical to keep it in one post, as the differences between all the variants are fairly minor. It's still basically the same toy.
  11. SuperSenpai
    I distinctly recall Macross II and Plus being in very heavy rotation on cable in the late 90s to early 2000s.
  12. SuperSenpai
    Panic buy rush for Flightpose stands in 3, 2, 1....
  13. SuperSenpai
    I'm sure Mandarake sells stuff every now and then with damage that was not noted in the listing. When you deal in secondhand goods, it's bound to happen periodically. But I've never had any problems with them, and based on other people's experiences as reported in the forum, it seems to be a rare occurrence.
  14. SuperSenpai
    I believe any of the valk + super/strike parts combo sets are in the "not safe" category. That said, jenius's list is not an absolute indicator that your shoulders will be cracked. I think it just means that valks in those batches were made before Yamato ironed out their manufacturing problems, so it is more likely you'll get cracked shoulders. As a piece of anecdotal evidence, I purchased an unsafe-according-to-the-list Hikaru VF-1J from Mandarake and it arrived with perfect shoulders -- no cracks, no stress marks, handled fine. I believe skullmilitia also recently purchased an "unsafe" valk with strike parts from Mandarake, and it had perfect shoulders too. Also, Mandarake is really good about making note of defects in their used goods. So if it has cracked shoulders, chances are the listing will say something to that effect. And even if you do end up with cracked shoulders, you can always hit up Shapeways for replacements. The broken shoulder syndrome is not really something people need to fear anymore, given that there are fixes now. What is more worth noting is that the valks with potential shoulder issues also are the valks that have the rainbow tinted canopy effect and the older-style mechanism for locking the leg swing-bar into the nosecose (or crotch in battroid). Some people don't like the rainbow canopy effect, and the older-style locking mechanism is a bit more difficult to transform compared to the newer releases (which use the same mechanism as the 1/48 valks, so technically it is the older one I suppose). I think these issues are more worth noting since you can't really fix those.
  15. SuperSenpai
    I dunno about that -- if you a Google search on Yamato VF-1 or Yamato 1/60, links to anymoon.com and your video reviews show up on the first page of hits. Anyone that's looking for info on those toys is bound to stumble across your review pages at some point. With all due to respect to other reviewers, I think your site is among the more definitive and comprehensive English-langauge Macross-related toy sites, and the shoulder issue still seems to be an issue that people keep asking about, even after the multitude of revisions and reissues from Yamato and Arcadia since those early models. Someone even posted about it the toy forum within the last few weeks. I think it would be worthwhile to mention that aftermarket replacements are now easily available, so people don't need to live in fear of cracked shoulders. Not boring at all... very informative, and I appreciate all the detailed information. I think the "soothing" thing has something to with your diction and pronunciation -- it's very precise -- and you tend to speak in a very calm and deliberate manner. Unlike, say, this guy:
  16. SuperSenpai
    What type of cabinet are you moving the toys to? If I recall correctly, you had quite the nice wooden display cabinet already.
  17. SuperSenpai
    Yeah, I think this all happened before I started frequenting MW. Glad to see that it was completed... based on the early build pictures that thing looked like a real work of art. It would have been a shame if it never got done.
  18. SuperSenpai
    What ever happened to the Legioss project from the old MW site? http://www.macrossworld.com/mospeada/john_moscato/_main_john_moscato.htm Was it ever completed?
  19. SuperSenpai
    I'm not a toy design/manufacturing expert, but do you think it might be possible that Arcadia acquired molds for toys they were planning on redesigning anyway? Perhaps they intended to use them for reference purposes?
  20. SuperSenpai
    The paint scheme is not my cup of tea, but I do think they did a great job applying the paint and tampo printing. Also glad to hear that the swing bar is still metal, and that they improved the paint application for the metal parts. I hope they keep that in any further VF-1 reissues they do. I understand Arcadia's need to charge more to be profitable, but anything they can do to convince us that there's at least some added value in terms of design upgrades or extra accessories will go a long way in convincing those of use who own multiple VF-1s to pick up the reissues. Great review Jenius. So this is a random question but I've always wondered why the site domain name is "anymoon.com", especially when the actual page name and YouTube channel are called "Scorched Earth Toys". And is it weird that I find your voice oddly soothing? There's been more than a few times where I've been watching one of your video reviews late at night and have been lulled to sleep by it.
  21. SuperSenpai
    Haha -- he could tell you, but then he'd have to kill you. Interesting -- when he says "plus the vf-1", does he mean that the vf-1 is included in the seven, or in addition to? I would normally assume that latter, but it's possible the translation could have gotten it wrong. In any case, it seems that they acquired the molds for the VF-1, the SDF Macross, plus 6-7 additional toys.
  22. SuperSenpai
    Mandarake strikes me as very conservative when it comes to pointing out defects. For example, everything I've purchased from them had a comment indicating that there was damage to the box, even though they always arrived in pristine condition. Given that they deal with a lot of secondhand goods, it may be that they don't want to have collectors coming back complaining that they failed to make note of some defect.
  23. SuperSenpai
    Nice shots. I especially like the SDF photos -- makes the ship appear more Zentraedi-like.
  24. SuperSenpai
    You can't blame people for stalking deals on Mandarake. My experience has been that if you see something good there, grab it quick because it's not gonna last long thanks to the vultures on MW! Recently, I saw a VF-25F renewal Alto for 13,000 yen... didn't act on it since I have one... came back to the page 5 minutes later and someone had already snapped it up. I only wish Mandarake had a private warehouse function like HLJ does. I've probably paid a lot more in shipping costs because everything I bought from them was shipped one piece at a time.
  25. SuperSenpai
    Optimus Prime's death was intended to elicit more emotional reaction by design -- he's their leader, and the most iconic Autobot. But he died with honor and dignity, taking out Megatron in the process while saving the rest of the Autobots. Prowl got taken out worse than VF-1A cannon fodder. Just look at the poor guy's face, it's practically crying out "Why??????" In all seriousness though, I remember the TV commercials at the time teasing the audience by asking "Will Optimus Prime die???" And of course, I said "No way they'd kill Prime... they're just trying to hype it up to sell tickets." Keep in mind that this was after dozens of episodes of the TV show where the Autobots got shot at, and at worst they got some minor wound that Ratchet or Wheeljack would patch up and they'd be back in action the next episode. But when Prowl bought it in the movie, I was thinking, "Wait... what?? Did that just happen? He ACTUALLY died???" After that, all bets were off!
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