Scyla

15 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

I think everyone is reading too much into the preorders with an old mindset. Everything from revivals like 25G, Tornado, 31J, 262Hs, 171EX, 25S armored and 27, have all been selling out very slow. Some of them are still in stock. Even the PO for the Fire Valkyrie is still in stock at a few places. PO madness is simply no longer much of a phenomenon for these toys. The only exception to this was probably the YF-19. While the 21's sales were hampered despite being new and having demand...

It seems like it's just the current trend with DX Valks. It may just be the result of the overall known issues of recent bandai action figures in general, including metal builds, and the economy, and bandai overproducing as they embrace global releasing valks after the legal issues of the macross IP cleared up

Even if they had perfected the sculpt for this release, my guess is that it would just sell out at a similar same pace. There's no way this thing could sell out faster than the 19Kai

While I agree that preorder madness is not what it was before (thank god) for DX Chogokins I feel like for a new Valkyrie they do tend to sell out faster than the VF-17S is selling at the moment.

Bandai is selling the VF-17S as a companion piece to the Fire Valkyrie so I assume the production run might be as large as the VF-19 Kai and the Kai sold much better as far as I remember.

The other item I got was Mattel Hot Wheels Nemesis Prime.

It is similar to Binaltech Laserwave in that he is made out of a lot of metal, a wheeled vehicle and probably the last piece of my Mattel Hot Wheels collection I need (). I can’t see how they could make more characters I want.

The only other Transformer I could think about would be Cliffjumper.

As for Nemesis Prime, as something that was  scheduled for November it arrived very early. 

Nemesis Prime is super tiny and as someone who never owned a G1 Optimus Prime he is kinda interesting and neat. However, with no nostalgia for either Hot Wheels nor Optimus I feel I’m missing out on the main appeal of the piece.

So he feels like an expensive novelty in the same way the Missing Link Transformers feel like an expensive novelty to me. 

Looking at the current aftermarket prices they don’t seem too outrageous to me and I don’t see them skyrocketing like Optimus did. So if you are interested to check it out, and missed the preorder, now might be a good time to buy one from the aftermarket. 

I got Binaltech Laserwave to finish my Binaltech/Alternators collection (of two items, the other is Nemesis Prime).

The RX-8 is nicely painted (and super heavy due to all the die cast; almost to a detriment). I especially like how the transformation changes the seats and floor of the car to the, nicely tapered, lower torso. 

Of course on mine the hood pops up constantly during transformation. The fact that is made out of die-cast doesn’t help with that because it is so heavy.

There are some outdated solutions on the figures like not having a thigh swivel - which I hate because you cannot achieve natural looking poses - but overall I’m quite happy.

It is so nice to have something that is not G1 Shockwave. I’m super excited for the Shockwhale and the Kuro Kara Kuri SG Longarm that was revealed this week. Funny how Shockwave is a Jazz/Meister retool quite often now.

56 minutes ago, PointBlankSniper said:

Honestly, the only thing glaringly inaccurate in fighter mode is that the elbow guns are far past the shoulder panel gap that it should have been in line with. And then the shoulder missile port(s) upon closer inspection. Otherwise, line art for fighter mode seems to have always had those leg proportions.

To me, from the top view the major issues are the details on the upper intake covers, the incorrect feet and the shape of the wing lights. I think the feet are the most egregious inaccuracy for this view.

There is a bunch of additional surface detail not on the VF-17 line art but I can explain this away by being an attribute of the DX style. The problem is that the details are a copy from the VF-171 and not new details for the VF-17.

I assume, Bandai couldn’t have shortened the arms a bit more in fighter mode because of the underlying engineering.

Since the preorders are not selling like hotcakes Bandai might revise the VF-17 but I doubt it.

8 minutes ago, rsvictor1976 said:

The tariff tax will be the same for all carriers, but the actual rates the carriers charge for their services will be different. EMS shipping through the post office is usually much cheaper than DHL, FedEx, and UPS. Even the processing fees are different by carrier. For example, DHL charges an additional $17 duty processing fee on top of the tariff and actually shipping cost on items while FedEx only charges $9.75 + tariff + shipping for items valued under $200. To further complicated things, you get discounts if you have an account with specific carriers.

Oh, I can imagine that it is quite chaotic at the moment but I believe this will all be streamlined once the dust has settled.

1 hour ago, rsvictor1976 said:

Can't you just use EMS since you're in EU? I thought the Japan Post suspension was just for the US.

Oh, I can use EMS but all EMS packages will be handed over to DHL to be delivered in my country.

Even if this wasn’t the case, all carriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) have processes in place to make you pay the processing fee and pay the import VAT; there is no escape.

And it will be same in the US. You will get used to your new federal tax and the fees attached to it once all the carriers have processes in place to request the money from you.

On 9/29/2025 at 6:42 AM, jenius said:

Lol, can confirm that I just received a 'duty invoice' from DHL. The breakdown is $24.91 on top of the 5200 Yen I paid to use DHL (since it was the only service available). Get this duty fee breakdown:

$1.31 Regulatory Charges
$6.60 Duties
$17.00 Tax Processing

Sooooo, if it weren't for the 'tax processing' charge things wouldn't be so terrible. Maybe Japan Post will get this figured out and be able to give us an affordable option again. Right now, it sounds like DHL is the big winner (though I'm sure their business is way down with everyone else's). 

In the EU I have to pay DHL €7 for each package that I import (in addition to %20 import VAT) so my strategy is to use shopping sites that allow me to store a lot of stuff and then ship it out so I only have to pay the €7 once and not for every item.

On 9/20/2025 at 4:26 AM, Mommar said:

Next update, right now the official word for Rogue is "next Month."  However, AoA Wolverine and Cyclops were both set for the 27th of September and now their official release date is "next month" too.  If things hold that would probably make Wolvie/Cyke the 11th of October and Rogue on the 25th.  But that's a heavily salted guess.

Monthly Magex Rogue update: delayed till November…

Amiami’s preorder page for the DX Chogokin VF-17S: https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail?gcode=FIGURE-192154

With the preorder being scheduled for tomorrow October 1st, do we have a time slot for the preorder? Is it 5pm JST?

19 hours ago, jenius said:

In a way, we're getting the best of both worlds from an aesthetic protective. If you want something more like the show, track down the Yamato. If you want a more "realistic" approach, get the DX. If you were let down by the Yamato and want something like it but better, tweet Arcadia... But I think it sold like a turd for Yamato so don't hold your breath. 

As I said earlier, I want a slim VF-17 but this is just wrong. It would be the same if Bandai released the VF-19Kai by painting the YF-19 red and gave it a different head turret.

It also doesn’t help that Frontier had a totally different animation style compared to 7. Because the Valkyries in Frontier were computer generated they had a lot more details than the ones in 7 ever did.

Things like the details on the intakes, the additional surface detail on the back of the plane. Where do the micro missile launchers in the legs come from, where is the opening for the gunpod in the legs?

The problem is that this is not realistic VF-17, it is a VF-171 cosplaying as a VF-17. I really want to like this, because it has all the markings Yamato omitted (and I had to apply myself) and it is a sleek fighter mode but I can’t.

I think Bandai could have made something really cool, even reusing the "skeleton" (i.e. same transformation design, same joint engineering, same internal parts) of the VF-171 (which I don’t hate for the record).

Bandai showed with the VF-19Kai that they can do it but this is just halfhearted.

Maybe Bandai didn’t want to invest in such an extensive re-shell because they knew how bad the Yamato had sold and don’t want to commit to that.

Poor Gamlin, just can’t get a leg up against Basara.

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

If SS86 Soundwave isn't for you, Takara announced MPG-19 will also be Soundwave.  Before you guys get too excited, though, it looks like a repaint of MP-13.

 

EDIT: If SS86 and MPG-19 aren't enough Soundwave for you, I'm also hearing that Missing Link Soundwave is coming next year as well.

MP-13 is still pretty great but those hips suck. They were trash 12 years ago and they are a big detriment to this repaint. I wished they would have redesigned them for this release for the people who want a toon style MP Soundwave. I’m happy with my Acoustic Wave though.

MOG continuous to be a hodgepodge of odd choices. I don’t know what Takara is thinking.

1 hour ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Yeah, just look at the Yamato 17's in comparison. I think they struck a great balance in the proportions for all three modes.

With the FAST packs, it's even better. 

Bandai couldn't even bother remolding more of the parts to be accurate to the VF-17, skinniness aside.

The only thing the Bandai beats it in is availability, which I guess is the most important factor for those who don't have the Yamato.

Yamato obviously had other priorities but the fighter mode is much too thick. Especially when you look at it from the side and below. 

That was a roller coaster ride. At first I was happy about a new sleek fighter-mode VF-17 with proper markings (two areas where the Yamato one was a real letdown).

But this all came crashing down after realizing it is a remold of the VF-171.

And the VF-171 mold has several, not just the terrible knee joint design: the shoulders, the sliders for the fists, the way the chest locks together, the wing connection, the shoulder triangles.

Sure later releases made them less error prone and more durable but I still don’t want to see them on new toys.

Plus it is super line art inaccurate in a way that the Fire Valkyrie is not (which is a re-shell of the DX VF-19 I assume).

If they had to reuse the VF-171 mold, Bandai should have take more care in re-shelling all the parts; this is just lazy.

To be clear I’m not harping on the proportions. You cannot replicate anime magic in a physical form and I would love to have a sleek jet mode VF-17 but it needs to be more accurate than this. 

Also why the hard points on the wings? I don’t remember the VF-17 having ordinance in M7.

Thanks for the mention @mikeszekely, I usually don’t but KO but if Hasbro never does a Studio Series 86 repaint (the same way they never repainted the Earthrise version) I might have to look into this version.

[edit:] I wonder why they didn’t bother painting a faction symbol. They clearly knew they could get in trouble thus not marking the box with a company name. So why not go all the way and paint the faction logo. It would have been a nice touch 

Yay on the Impulse announcement.

In other news Hacchaka’s review of the 1.5 Gundam: https://hacchaka.net/archives/52125239.html

22 hours ago, danth said:

That does look nice! I'm interested to know the ratio of printed parts to stickers.

If you want to have a detailed look and discussion of the set here is a review by Jang: 

Managed to get one of the Hot Wheels Nemesis Prime from Mattel Creations. At €94 including VAT and shipping this stings quite a bit.

I had to wait 10 minutes in a queue, click through 3 captchas and fill in a telephone number that’s market as optional but I managed to score one.

In my monthly Mafex Rogue update HLJ now lists her as an October release.

I wonder what is taking so long? Are the assembly workers stealing all the butt pieces, I don’t understand.

At this pace Jubilee will be out before her, if she is not also delayed.

This is maddening! Is this normal for a Mafex figure being delayed for 6 months and counting?

This and the Heatboys Shredder being delayed and delayed again is driving me crazy. I fear that they will either be in permanent preorder limbo or being cancelled outright.

41 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

You don't need to pay bills this month...

There are other constraints than just money 

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

I never was able to get their Optimus so I probably won't even try to get this one either.

 

I will try to get one, since the prices to ship to the EU are not outrageous.

Nice Devastator review @mikeszekely. To me the biggest criticism would be the black hole in Devastator’s chest. It is very unsightly to me.

The upsides is that DNA has a lot to do and Hasbro can improve over the Studio Series one.

With only three data points it is hard to determine but assuming the releases of new Devastators is getting faster and faster I predict that the next one from Hasbro will be in 2029. 

On 9/4/2025 at 9:18 PM, Robin-11 said:

So, I am from Europe and...where the hell can i get this? Bandai is really unbelievable,  they just don't want my money😡

I found a preorder here: https://www.nin-nin-game.com/en/gundam/195711-re100-1100-mobile-suit-gundam-f91-xm-02-den-an-ge-limited-edition-bandai-spirits-.html

I never used this store but others had positive experiences with it I believe.

I usually bought my Gunpla from HLJ. They usually have all the non exclusive kits.

If you have never bought from Japan before aware that you have to pay 20% customs fres/VAT on top when you import the item from a non EU country if the total order (including shipping costs) is over €100 (this might vary from country to county.

On top, the local carrier usually has a service fee to import the item for you (filling out the customs paperwork). For me that is usually around €7 for DHL.

Plus shipping from Japan can get expensive too when you buy from smaller stores (i.e. not Amazon Japan).

The UCS Death Star has finally been revealed and I’m stunned how bad it looks from the back:

I know no one will display it like that but since it has the window bulging out and those ugly rods from the stars in the landing bat it would had been nice if Lego took greater care with the backside…

…for you know a $1000!!! 

I was thinking it would be cool if the backside had an approximation of the outer shell so you could display it from both sides. Since the outside is anyhow not scale accurate with the turbolaser pointing out and the elevator knob looking like an mobile home exhaust vent you could have an mini diorama of the trench run or the entry point of the Millennium Falcon and Wedge’s X-Wing from RotJ (two super iconic scenes). 

As is it just looks cheap and like a cost cutting measure. These bricks are super cheap for Lego to produce so it wouldn’t have reduced their profit margin too much.

The minifigs also look like nothing special with no dual molded legs (besides the Hot Tub Trooper it seems) or arms and lots of stickers in the set.

I’m all for high priced collectibles but they have to look the part.

For anyone who had the TechKaiser SP//dr preordered apparently this project is being cancelled:

Announcement on X/Twitter: 

The standee and patch can now be added to an existing backing: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madoverlord/macross-ii-lovers-again-alus-edition/posts/4472714?ref=ksr_email_mktg_auto_backer_project_update_registered_users