Scyla

Well we will see how widely Arcadia releases will be available after they issue the DYRL? VF-1S Roy Fokker Custom. The 30th VF-1J can be a pretty limited run. It also could be that Arcadia goes for a built to order strategy with their Macross releases. So to be safe I would say that you should preorder a YF-19 as soon as possible with a trustworthy shop that allows for easy cancellation if you are willing to purchase one. Just don't over due it because you might get a bad reputation with that shop. If something happens down the line and you can't afford the toy then you still be able to cancel it. As a side note I can imagine that one of the problems that Yamato had was that people never bought their toys at the release date but waited until they where available through a sale which was almost certain at some point. I'm guilty of this behavior myself (even if I bought all my Yamato Valkyries after the rumors of the bankruptcy) so with the Arcadia releases I make sure to preorder them in advance as I think that the toys are well worth the asking price.

I know the term awesome is kinda overuses especially on the interwebs but this looks really awe.... good.

Well should I hope for a Arcadia release of Kakizakis VF-1A from DYRL or are they still available somewhere cheap as the Yamato release? Kinda want the whole squad of four.

I liked the decals on the prototype much better with the white background. Now they don't look as vibrant as they used to. Hope this one sells well as it is the first Arcadia release and thus might be important to the rest of the line.

That should do the trick!

Ok thanks for the quick reply! Btw jenius are you planning to do a review for the Super VF-27?

Looks good but you should really add the kite and the Diamond Force emblem on the chest. The VF-171D (I imagine that's what it is) just looks plain without it. I wonder if it would look better with the gray head and the red clown nose on top of it. Either way it looks really good. Great job!

Is there any difference between the DYRL? VF-1S/A besides the head. The Macross Mecha Manual shows a black canopy cover on the A but iirc the VF-1A from Yamato had also a red canopy cover. So is it possible that Arcadia includes two heads for the S and the A similar to the new Bandai kit. Or would it be impossible to swap the heads out because of the attachment to the main fuselage? (I don't have a Yamato VF-1) On the other hand that would prevent us from double dipping so I'm not sure that Arcadia wants to do that. The reason I ask is because I'm not sure if I should buy one but since I don't like the head of the A that much I could live with a squad of 3 VF-1S and 1 VF-1A.

Mine is still sitting in the HLJ warehouse waiting to be shipped. Created the order last week so hopefully they come out of their holiday with a good spirit and processing my order fast. So it looks like the Frontier drought is finally over. Can't wait for a more relaxed ordering procedure with the YF-30. Make one Bandai pretty please.

Is this just a feeling of yours or do you know something specific? I'm hoping that it will no be bundled since I don't want another VF-25G (especially not with the VF-25A around the corner). The only "renewal" release that was a bundle was the VF-27 and I think the reason for that is that Bandai thought that the collectors need some incentive to buy the updated VF-27 that was not a complete redesign of the old one. Not even the YF-29 Valkyries where bundled and their add-on sets are barely noticeable. So I'm really hoping they release the VF-25G Tornado Pack as a single release. After that Bandai can release as much bundled Sets as they want.

Basically yes but the backpack folds itself in like a cinnamon roll. The front of the intakes stay attached to the chest plate so be aware of that. The small canards in the canopy area are also fragile so keep that in mind when you transform the crotch area. I don't know how tight the tolerances are on this updated version so might want to go full on crotch thrust so the thighs don't shear the canards off. I assume it will be similar to the YF-29 which has also canards in this area.

Yes, especially on the wings. The blue of the VF-25G Tornado Pack is much better then the gray on the F version of the add-on. Altos Valkyrie looks much better as Super or Armored Messiah.

Well there was the S.H.Monsterarts Vajra that they presented at a Tamashii Nations event last year together with the RVF-25. Since then it was pretty quiet so many board members think this release is dead. Maybe Bandai surprises us with something new when the next event is held. Maybe a YF-30 prototype which would be sweet. I'm getting tired of the transformation scheme from the Frontier Valks.

The first iteration of the Tornado Parts where quite heavy right? I wonder if they can achieve a Renewal design that makes them less heavy and less blunt because last time they looked like blocks attached to the poor Messiah. And please include all the parts into the Tornado Pack not that we have to buy an additional addon set to get all the parts (yes I'm looking at you powered weapon set!). When is the next Tamashii Nations event in Japan?

Well I managed to get the EMS costs pretty close to the SAL ones with the inclusion of a few items (don't know if this is a good thing). Now I have the VF-27 on the way with some extra toys that I can bring to work and play with them instead of... ...you know actually work. Can't wait for the VF-27 though. The maroon color is just too nice.

1) If you order items with different release dates (i.e. the tems are in the same shopping cart) they will send you all the items when they are all available. In addition the shopping cotsts they calculate cover all the items you've ordered in one session. For example I ordered the YF-29 30th Anniversary Edition and her Super Parts in the same session. They send the package with both items when the Super Parts where available in May. Also they calculated the shipping costs when the order was made so splitting up the order or combine it with other orders (I tried with the VF-171 CF) will result in a different amount of money you have to pay. Combining orders will most likely raise the shipping costs (don't know about splitting). I would've had to pay more if I had included the VF-171CF into the YF-29 order. If you're planning to split/combine orders you have to sent them an email. 2) Never used it.

I bought a Robot Damashii figure to add it to the VF-27 just because I was curious about the line. Maybe hlj has something on a sale that may be interesting to you.

I was just asking myself if the VF-27 should have as much detail as the VF-25s since it is a more advance plane and thus should look more organic then the current generation Valkyries. On the other hand I'm probably making this up to soften the blow of this release. Hlj just send me the invoice for the VF-27 just waiting for the rest of my orders to go to the warehouse and soon this will be mine. *swoosh*

I figured that this would be the case since someone posted a response regarding spare parts for Bandai toys which said that Bandai will only replace the whole unit and will not send any replacement parts. If my mind serves me correctly this was a response from the hlj customer support.

Regarding the extra gun holder piece: since Bandai opted for an excessive amount of extra pieces for the RVF-25 to attach its gun-pod instead of modding the swing bar like they did for the VF-25G I had no hope for the VF-27. Shame on you Bandai!!!

Regarding the first question: I would start with a VF-1S Focker as my first Valkyrie but since you seem to be very keen on the YF-29 I won't try to persuade you (also my first Valkyrie was a VF-25F Renewal). The chance of a YF-29 Ozma Custom being made is there. I'm sure Bandai made the move for the Isamu Custom because of the YF-19 announcement from Arcadia. So if this release sells well they maybe thinking about the Ozma variant. The schedule for any Frontier stuff from Bandai is pretty empty since they re-released all the line. What's left is the Monster and the VF-27 CF version, some VF-171 Variants and the Macross Galaxy ghost drones (I'm sure they don't want to release capital ships). So if Bandai gets bored they might start to release some obscure paint schemes like the YF-29 Ozma to make some easy money. Regarding the second question: Bandai Valkyries are released over the whole year. Since the beginning of the year we almost had a new Valk or an accessory every month. So you could check this very forum for new releases. The Macross World homepage (MW is not only this message board) or the Macross toy news on the Toyark (there is a way to only list Macross related news but I don't know how to filter it from the top of my head). Don't know what Arcadia is planning as a release schedule but they are a new company but their stuff seems to bee widely available for preorder so you don't miss them when you blink. Regarding the third question: the Tamashii Web Shop belongs to Bandai and sells exclusive items that are only available through them. In addition they don't ship internationally so you need a Japanese address if your planning to buy stuff from them directly. The drill is the following: once an item is announced the shop will open a preorder window for the item that stays open until the deadline (usually several month). After that they produce as much items as they received preorders. Usually the item will never be produced after that. This is the reason why the YF-29 Alto Custom Super Parts are only available with a huge mark-up. Since most foreigners (like the toy-fanatics on this message board) don't have a Japanese address they have to go through a middle man for buying Tamashii Web Shop exclusives. There are several choices available ranging form web-shops (like NY), proxy buyers (like fromjapan) or even group buys on message on message boards. Normally preorders for Bandai Valkyries should not sell out that fast so the market is kinda overheated. To sum it up web exclusive means that the toy probably will never be re-released and a proxy fee for foreign buyers.

The release date for this one is August the 10th right? HLJ still posts the end of August but the also have the VF-1S reissue from Arcadia as an August release so I don't think I can trust them regarding dates.

What a coincident!

I think the VF-22S look fine in Battroid-Mode. It just looks different then other Valkyries. I really like it especially as the Max Custom.

I think an updated version of the YF-21 is in the realm of possibility but since the sales of the VF-22S variants seem to have been lacking I don't seem Arcadia redoing them (Especially since I bought a VF-22S during the great Yamato decay; I don't want to buy it again and honestly the Blue Gazer is a great looking toy ). So I would get the VF-22S since a reboot of the Macross Zero toy line seems likely if Arcadia survives long enough. However, do take my words with a grain of salt because I'm a noop and I don't know what I'm talking about.