TheLoneWolf

Just got my VF-31A from Loopaza. They must have really good connections to Bandai's distributor, because I placed my order less than a week ago. I figured that late stragglers like myself would've been at the mercy of eBay scalpers. After seeing those YJA auctions, I made out like a bandit at under $300 shipped

3 hours ago, ScrambledValkyrie said:

I hope Bandai makes some adjustments so that the head can be completely stowed away in fighter mode. I know it sounds strange, but that was probably my favorite feature on the VT-1, since it made for a sleeker fighter mode.

On 3/20/2018 at 9:38 PM, Roy's Blues said:

Thanks. I've been looking for one. They have it listed instock. First time ordering from them.  https://www.loopaza.com/dx-chogokin-vf-31a-kairos-macross-delta.html

Thanks for the link! Managed to get my order in before they raised the price. But even then, I can see the VF-31A's eventual markup quickly exceeding the current one.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who thought that Fantastic Beasts was better than any of the Harry Potter movies. I've got high hopes for the sequel, but I'm really not looking forward to seeing Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. He's a decent actor, but I'm burned out from seeing him in yet another movie. If the movie needed publicity or funding, I could understand why they'd go with him. But the last thing a movie in the HP universe needs is help with publicity. And with J.K. Rowling herself writing the story, I highly doubt they had a hard time securing the funding. With a sea of exceptional British actors out there, I find it hard to believe that Depp was the best that they could find, especially at the price tag he probably comes with.

The 1/72 looks promising, though my only two gripes are the glossy plastic and the overdone panel lines. I can forgive the glossy plastic because glossy plastic is cheaper than a matte finish, which saves the customer money. But the panel lines don't save anyone money and may even bump up the price tag a little. If they were expertly done, then it'd be a different story.

That's hilarious, thanks for posting that! I'm pretty sure that "YF-19" is fan made, and not from any official Macross animation, because its canards are facing the wrong way.

On 3/4/2018 at 2:40 PM, mechaninac said:

^ I read ya; but to be fair, Figmas and Figuarts and Mafex are also around that price point.  Ordinarily, $15-$25 would be far more reasonable for 1/10-1/12 articulated figures, but limited production volumes and licensing costs, etc., play major factors in the final retail price.

Oh I'm completely aware of the pricing factors that come into play with niche toys (looks at pile of Yamato VF's). But as someone who doesn't collect action figures, the pricing doesn't tempt me into starting another collection either. Still, I wish KC all the best!

Ouch! As nice as KC's Minmei and Rick figures are, they're not worth $50 to me.

20 hours ago, Sandman said:

What is the criteria used to justify pro bono work?

First, and foremost, is the client's financial status. If they're living below or near the line of poverty, an attorney will take that into consideration. Since the backers here had enough disposable cash to spend on a Kickstarter, they're unlikely to convince anyone that they need a handout. The next thing to consider is the nature of the grievance itself. Is the victim's physical safety or freedom at stake? Fanboys losing some disposable cash is a far cry from someone who's lost their entire life's savings. Third is the likelihood of success. No practice wants to spend their own money on a case unless there's a reasonable chance they'll win; resources spent on a questionable case are resources that could be spent on a legitimate, paying case. The long list of outrageous Kickstarter failures balanced against one or two legal victories isn't encouraging. As for publicity, believe it or not, I've yet to meet an attorney who does pro bono work for that reason. But if that was someone's motivation, they'd probably seek out children, minorities, and abused women. Middle class 30 to 40 year-old fanboys don't elicit much sympathy from anyone outside of their respective fandoms.

22 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

You never know.  The subject of crowdfunding, and e-commerce in general, is one where you have a LOT of lawyers looking to make a name for themselves by establishing precedents.  I wouldn't be surprised if they found a lawyer willing to work pro bono on the case for the exposure a ruling on a controversial topic like crowdfunding would bring.  That said, there is also a GoFundMe to finance a lawsuit against Palladium being run by a Facebook group for disgruntled backers which is getting a LOT of attention now that they've suddenly been proven right-all-along.

I've worked on several pro bono cases and I'd be shocked if they found anyone willing to take on this case pro bono. This case simply doesn't meet any of the criteria used to justify pro bono work. Their best chance at anything lies with success of the GoFundMe. I'm curious to see if they're willing to put their money where their mouth is.

Yeah, suing Palladium is waste of time. After losing money on a Kickstarter, who'd want to lose even more money on attorney fees and court costs? I only know of one successful Kickstarter lawsuit, but that was the result of a default judgment (ie: the defendant never responded to the lawsuit). Palladium's not going to roll over and play dead.

I tip my hat to Kitz Concept, that sculpt looks great! While I don't collect action figures, this one does look tempting.

I actually love that photo! This is the first time I've ever seen a VE-1 sporting GBP armor and can't believe no one's tried it before.

@jenius This photo

18 minutes ago, vlenhoff said:

Nice photo!

It's interesting that Yamato chose blue helmets for their pilots. Is either version canon?

8 hours ago, JB0 said:

I sort of feel like the VF-0 is close enough to a VF-1 that HG could make a reasonable argument that they have a license.  I know this is a sacrilegious stance to take, but... it is REALLY hard to argue the VF-0 is anything other than a "VF-1 Katoki version", and they DO have a license to use the VF-1.

That's pretty much my thinking too. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one guilty of sacrilegious thoughts.

So killing off a character, who's already supposed to die, was their big surprise? That's just pathetic. Sure, Gloval is a memorable character, but he has little impact on the overall plot, so an early death is inconsequential. Kawamori recognized as much. The early drafts of SDF Macross had Global die in the middle of the series and Misa become captain. I suppose Titan's next "shocker" will be the revelation of Gloval's murderer. $10 says it's going to be Robotech's most overused and uninspired villain, T.R. Edwards

Good question about the VMU's. I'll bet they were originally programmed to transfer data as efficiently as possible to the console, so I doubt there will be any problems using Bluetooth instead. Purists may scream, but I hope that RetroBit tightens up the controller's d-pad. It always felt too mushy to me. I was always surprised how Sega went from the godly Saturn d-pad to the Dreamcast's d-pad.

Congratulations on completing this project! Just curious, but how small are the original wings compared to the ones that you used? I also find it interesting that neither the line art nor the original promotional photo appear to show any wings at all. Oh yeah, who made the original kit?

19 hours ago, TheLoneWolf said:

Same here. I sent them a message asking for an update. If I hear anything back, I'll post it here.

Not sure if it's a coincidence, but they replied that they just shipped my order.

3 hours ago, easnoddy said:

Anyone else waiting on NY to ship theirs?  Mine has been in "Preparation in progess" since 12/26.

Same here. I sent them a message asking for an update. If I hear anything back, I'll post it here.

Good work, the persistent logos should deter video thieves. But I think the logos themselves are a little too "busy" and thus a bit distracting. I'd suggest using flat colors and/or a sans serif font.

14 hours ago, Rogueload said:

You won’t see a strike Hikaru 1S in this line because it’s under Robotech. 

Harmony Gold/Tatsunoko Production has the international merchandising rights to DYRL, so KitzConcept has the option of releasing DYRL variants. But it's safe to say that HG's licensees will usually lean towards TV merchandise, since the TV show has more exposure here in the west.

On 12/11/2017 at 3:55 PM, jenius said:

I think people having been staring at their Yamato V2s so long that they have come to think that that is what battroid mode is supposed to look like... this will give Bandai an uphill battle if they're trying to get this thing to look more like some of the older chunky art.

I remember during the 1/55's heyday that fans would proclaim that, excluding the swing bar and head sculpt, it was the perfect representation of the VF-1. Now we're seeing the same thing with the v2 1/60's. It's funny how psychology works. Anyways, I thought that the 1/35 VF-1J prototype was an excellent compromise between the line art's beefy proportions and modern day aesthetics. This new whatever scale VF-1 just looks too blocky; hopefully it's just a case of bad angles.

7 hours ago, azrael said:

http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-21st-century-fox-comcast-sale-out-1202636618/

This is probably the nail in the coffin and confirmation that the Mouse will own a considerable number of properties. Beyond Marvel stuff, Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Aliens, Predator, Orville, etc...

Can't say that I'm surprised that Comcast dropped out. With the imminent repeal of Net Neutrality, there's no reason for Comcast to get into a costly bidding war with Disney when they can profit as the gatekeepers of all of Disney's shows when they're released on Disney's streaming service.