ChristopherB

Wow, that's great news!!! I was really, really close to buying the overpriced previous release and worried that the VF-0A would have shoulder and/or tail fin problems. Hopefully they will release them with the ghost again as well.

Ooops, looks like WF is this coming weekend. I should have read the thread title more closely. I keep forgetting that it's Winter time in most places, because here it's so sunny and beautiful outside.

Hello, I haven't posted any pictures on MW for several years, so I'm a little bit rusty. I'm only using a brand new Nokia X3 music edition with 3.0 megapixel camera. My wife and I plan to buy a real digital camera soon. My plan is to upload some pictures to Photobucket and then post them to this thread. I checked the MW Forum Rules & Guidelines and couldn't find any information as to the recommended image size. Please let me know what would be a good size so as to not use too much bandwidth, etc. I also wasn't sure how people post reduced sized images, which expand to full size when they are clicked. Thanks in advance, Christopher

Hello, I finally had time to visit the local post office and found (5) boxes waiting for me, (4) of which are pretty big. Looks like my limited edition GBP armor with smoke effect arrived very quickly. I was pretty upset to find out that I was expected to pay $400 in customs tax, which brings my grand total up to about $3,000. My plan is to upload some pictures to Photobucket and then post them to this thread. I checked the MW Forum Rules & Guidelines and couldn't find any information as to the recommended image size. Please let me know what would be a good size so as to not use too much bandwidth, etc. Thanks in advance, Christopher

Wow, thanks for the links!!! It's been a few years since I bought WF items. A fellow long time MW member and I are planning to have some Macross items available for sale there. It's still in the planning stages though. What are the prospective dates for the Winter WF? That way I know how much longer I have to save up. Thanks in advance.

Hello, I'm considering buying this release as well, the color scheme is cool. There's quite a few available on eBay. Not sure if the prices are good or not. Sincerely, Christopher

Amen brother, I'm gonna take your advice and shop around for the best deals in the future. I could have bought something nice with the money I would have saved. Oh well, live and learn. Very nice Mustang areaseven. That's my favorite car, I've owned about ( so far to include the 1985 Mustang SVO. My favorite is the 1993 Cobra R 5.0. Last week I bought a 2010 Ford Escape in the same color as your car, or pretty close. It's called "Fusion" I think. Thanks for the info. about the VF-25A Cannon Fodder, and I also hope Bandai will release one soon. Bandai doesn't seem to be as re-paint happy as Yamato, but perhaps that will change with time.

Nice helmet and car, thanks for the pictures! I was thinking about getting the Hikaru motorcycle helmet version to use with my Yamaha FZR 1000cc, the colors are similar. It's weird, but as soon as I saw the neighborhood in the background, I knew that was Texas. I grew up in a new subdivision just like that in Deer Park, just outside of Houston. My father is a native Texan as well going back several generations, but my mom's a cajun from New Orleans. See ya'll later over yonder

Yeah, you're right my friend. It was my stupidity, and I hate to use this word...but I assumed HLJ would automatically give me the sale price. Once again I learned that assuming only makes an ass of yourself. Ha, ha Oh well, I'm now more wise and wasted some good money all at the same time. HLJ wanted to ship my packages via SAL, but I was like screw that. They're supposed to have a policy that high value orders can only be sent by EMS, but apparently that doesn't apply to large orders. So I reminded them that I requested EMS in the very beginning and paid the revised amount straight from my bank account. I hate credit cards, because you've got to pay it later plus interest, annual fees, and so forth.

Yeap, you guys are 100% correct. I love HLJ, but they weren't very fair with me especially after I've been a loyal customer for so long. I e-mailed them and said, "Hey, why aren't you giving me the sale price?" They replied with, "Sorry, but you placed your order before the sale started. If you want the lower price, cancel the discounted item(s) and then make a brand new order." I was on my way to leave town and my wife was fussing at me to turn off the computer, so I just let it slide. Too bad though, I could have saved some money for something else. Not sure if anyone else has the problem, but I like too many different things...Macross, Gundam, Transformers, Evangelion, Tamiya 1/16 R/C tanks, motorcycles, etc. Unless your really rich, you can't possibly get all of the different releases.

Hi reeoyuy, Wow, only (11) posts in the (18) months since you joined. Well, if it was only (1) package I couldn't fit it in the back of my Ford Escape very easily, let alone carry it. Even so, I'm pretty sure each of the (3) packages will be pretty large considering the size of the Bandai/Yamato boxes. Please don't envy me, I have too many sleepless nights due to contemplation of material possessions. ha, ha "I'm running out of time. I'm out of step and closing down, and never sleep for wanting hours, the empty hours of greed. And uselessly always the need to feel the again the real belief of something more than mockery, if only I could fill my heart with love." Robert Smith Sometimes I wonder if it's a waste of money to buy toys, but if we don't spend our money, someone else will. I'm sure a lot of people don't understand our fixation with robots, especially at our age. No offense to anyone, but my advice is to play with and display your valkyries/kits/figures. If you're saving them as Mint in Sealed Box, you will be sadly disappointed to find they won't make you rich in the future. Something newer or better will have been released by that time. The days of high priced Bandai Hi-metal 1/55 valkyries, Joke Machines, etc. are long gone. The highest priced Macross item on eBay is a brand new helmet at a little more than $500. There is a glut of Macross/Robotech/Transformers and so forth. Everyone who wants something can buy it now direct from the manufacturer, so there won't be a secondary market. That's my two cents, Christopher

Hello, After reading this thread for a long time, I finally broke down and decided to order the Bandai 1/60 VF-25. I have all of the 1/100 releases to include the event only, but I don't really care for "parts formers", although 1/100 scale is better with regard to display space. I just received my HLJ shipping notice: EMS (3) boxes: Item Code Item Name Quantity Price Extended Price BAN958453 DX Chogokin Macross Quarter 1 19,800 19,800 BAN960342 DX Chogokin VF-25F Super Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom 1 16,000 16,000 BANOP-48 Macross Quarter Materials 1 0 0 TKT34145 RA-07 Knock Out 1 1,200 1,200 TKT34855 RA-21 Human Alliance Bumblebee & Sam Witwicky 1 5,000 5,000 TKT35579 RA-22 Human Alliance Sideswipe & Tech Sergeant Epps 1 5,000 5,000 TKT35582 RA-23 Arcee 1 2,300 2,300 YMT00054 QF-2200D-A Ghost 1 4,800 4,800 YMT00063 SV-51 Gamma Ivanov Type 1 21,800 21,800 YMT00067 YF-21 1 21,800 21,800 YMT00122 Destroid Tomahawk Olive-Drab Weathering Special Version 1 12,000 12,000 YMT00126 VT-1 Super Ostrich 1 15,800 15,800 YMT00127 VE-1 Elint Seeker 1 16,800 16,800 YMT00130 VF-1D Virgin Road 1 9,800 9,800 YMT00171 VF-1S Low Visibility Ver. 1 9,800 9,800 YMT00172 YF-19 Prototype Unit No.3 Bird of Prey 1 18,800 18,800 YMT00176 VF-1J Hikaru Ichijo w/Armor Parts 1 16,800 16,800 Merchandise Total: 197,500 Shipping Charge: 15,000 Total: 212,500 I'll post some pictures/feedback, and I really hope I made the right choice. The VF-27 looks awesome, and I placed my pre-order with HLJ the same day they started to accept orders. Sincerely, Christopher

Hello, I'm waiting on (4) packages right now, but not all of it is Macross. I'm out-of-town now, so hopefully they'll be there when I get home. I'll post some pictures as soon as possible. At the current time, I'm living in the Philippines, check out Subic Bay on Wikipedia/Google. Beautiful place, sight of former US Navy base. Jungle, beaches, mountains, and lots of recreational activities, plus a 46 to 1 exchange rate for Americans!!! Here are my HLJ shipping notices: EMS (3) boxes: Item Code Item Name Quantity Price Extended Price BAN958453 DX Chogokin Macross Quarter 1 19,800 19,800 BAN960342 DX Chogokin VF-25F Super Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom 1 16,000 16,000 BANOP-48 Macross Quarter Materials 1 0 0 TKT34145 RA-07 Knock Out 1 1,200 1,200 TKT34855 RA-21 Human Alliance Bumblebee & Sam Witwicky 1 5,000 5,000 TKT35579 RA-22 Human Alliance Sideswipe & Tech Sergeant Epps 1 5,000 5,000 TKT35582 RA-23 Arcee 1 2,300 2,300 YMT00054 QF-2200D-A Ghost 1 4,800 4,800 YMT00063 SV-51 Gamma Ivanov Type 1 21,800 21,800 YMT00067 YF-21 1 21,800 21,800 YMT00122 Destroid Tomahawk Olive-Drab Weathering Special Version 1 12,000 12,000 YMT00126 VT-1 Super Ostrich 1 15,800 15,800 YMT00127 VE-1 Elint Seeker 1 16,800 16,800 YMT00130 VF-1D Virgin Road 1 9,800 9,800 YMT00171 VF-1S Low Visibility Ver. 1 9,800 9,800 YMT00172 YF-19 Prototype Unit No.3 Bird of Prey 1 18,800 18,800 YMT00176 VF-1J Hikaru Ichijo w/Armor Parts 1 16,800 16,800 Merchandise Total: 197,500 Shipping Charge: 15,000 Total: 212,500 EMS (1) box Item Code Item Name Quantity Price Extended Price BAN958458 VF HI-METAL VF-19 Kai Fire Valkyrie 1 7,000 7,000 TKT35583 RA-25 Human Alliance Skids & Mikaela Banes 1 5,000 5,000 TKT36731 RD-20 NEST Decepticon Bludgeon 1 3,800 3,800 Merchandise Total: 15,800 Shipping Charge: 2,700 Total: 18,500 Sincerely, Christopher

Valkyrie addict, Very eloquently spoken, and you intelligently stated your position without being repetitive. I'm impressed and you literally took the words right out of my mouth, as well as others, I'm sure. Honestly, this is my first experience with a company "recycling" a high price broken/defective item into a new box without any warning to the customer. This was nothing short of deliberate and intentional on the part of Yamato. Historically it reminds me of when the Japanese ambassador was negotiating with Washington, DC, while at the same time the Japanese Navy was bombing Pearl Harbor. While it's not fair to consider the entire country in general terms, I always presumed that Japanese businesses operated under high ethical standards, in comparison to many American companies. Yamato is truly motivated by the Yen. Sincerely, Christopher

Loop, I had the same thing happen to one of my 1/48 valkyries. I just fixed it using some super glue and never posted anything. It's just a small nub, and looking at the picture the mold looks to be pretty worn out. You're correct that the plastic can become brittle. Sorry to hear about your problem. Sincerely, Christopher

Eugimon, Wow, I like the repair you made. Excellent idea! You could make some money offering repair kits, especially since the left/right shoulders are the same. Ron5864, Cool custom. The symmetry is great and the weathering makes it look more realistic.

Thanks for posting the pictures, very nice! Eugimon, Sounds like a good plan. Would you please post some pictures of your "little metal insert" or a link to the thread if it already exists? I'm interested to see your remedy. ChristopherB

If past performance is an indication of future behavior, then Yamato will not provide any replacement parts to customers living outside their limited service area. Instead they will release V3, which will eliminate the shoulder problem, provide various upgrades taken directly from MW, while at the same time introducing another point of breakage in anticipation of V4. I checked last night and the Max VF-1S and Hikaru VF-1J weathered versions both utilize smooth pins. Hopefull the Focker VF-1S weathered will follow suit.

Eugimon, It's up to you, but I would recommend doing preventive maintenance now. You might wake up one day to find that the shoulder has stress marks or has cracked. From what I've read, the pins are pretty easy to remove and sand down. My fear is that my GBP will arrive with the shoulder already cracked, so I'll have no chance to fix the problem. Sincerely, Christopher

Hello, So far, I only have (2) 1/60 V2 valkyries, which are both the limited weathered versions. Previously, I naturally presumed they are brand new toys, but after reading the posts I learned that Yamato has been repackaging and repainting old valkyries that sold poorly the first time around. Very clever marketing on their part and completely sh!tty to sell broken toys at such high prices. As such, I will have to inspect my (2) valkyries and post pictures if I find any cracks/breaks. Lord forbid. After reading all of the posts/threads I have decided to cancel my pending 1/60 V2 orders, because they can break sitting in the box, sitting on the shelf, or suddenly break after being just fine for several months. When Yamato released the 1/60 V1, we didn't know about V2. Who knows if we will see V3 one day, especially after we created a thread with so many good suggestions. For my part, I will wait for the Bandai 1/100 perfect transformation VF-1 and see how it does. In addition, I would rather own a "parts former" for a lower price than pay a high price for a perfect transformation valkyrie with broken shoulders. Sincerely, Christopher

I ordered the 1/60 GBP, but would rather have the low visibility woodland color scheme that was released for the 1/48. I hope Yamato will release it soon. The factory should have thrown away or recycled the old style metal pins. Honestly, if they were supposed to be using a new pin, why would they leave the old ones laying around for the factory workers to pick and choose as they like? My experience is that these toys are made in an assembly line process, wherein specific individuals are responsible for the final shoulder assembly. This was created/perfected by Henry Ford to permit employee specialization, thereby increasing production speed. Considering the toys are made in China, I sincerely doubt the workers are college graduates. Companies use China because of the cheap labor. This is an example of the fact that you don't always get what you pay for. A pin with one edge like that is normally used to keep the pin from sliding out on one side; however, it makes no sense to use it in such thin plastic holes. I feel bad for everyone who has spent so much money only to end up with a broken arm hinge. The plastic around the pin looks to be only 1mm in thickness, which is much too thin for a shoulder joint, not to mention that the arms hold additional weight with the gunpod and armor. Getting a good Yamato appears to be a crapshoot. Roll the dice and pray yours won't end up an amputee.

15.) SDP-1 Stampede Valkyrie Conversion Kit http://www.new-un-spacy.com/macrossga/sdp-1.htm

Hello, 1.) VF-1AG (Armored Gerwalk) kit 2.) VF-1SR 3.) Thunder Hammers 4.) Custom Decal Sets (Hasegawa Style) for use with the undecorated valkyrie 5.) Removable covers on the sides of the legs to show turbine engine detail 6.) Removable cover on the bottom of the fastback boosters, instead of only the top 7.) Removable nosecone assembly to show radar/electronics 8.) Small laser light/changeable batteries for Strike Cannon red targeting sensor 9.) More detailed cockpit, pilot, standing pilot/passenger figures 10.) Misc. diorama sets/ground crew/equip. 12.) Detailed launch arm which can be wall/shelf mounted 13.) Small hidden button to activate pre-recorded sounds similar to Yamato battleship/Tamiya 1/16 Tanks (Roy Focker's voice, turbine noise, etc.) 14.) Release something other than the VF-1 or Macross Plus valkyries (VF-2SS, etc.) Sincerely, Christopher

Hi Tober, Thank God someone remembers me. I haven't really posted for a long time, just started visiting again September of this year. I hope you're doing well amigo. Yeah, I miss that avatar. Jung built VF-1S Focker, Hikaru and Max custom valkyries for me with Takatoys extended nosecone with clear canopy and pilot, plus decals from Anasazi, removed swing bar, and resin strike armor. Those babies were sweet, but pricey at $400 each. I've been too lazy/busy to update my avatar. You might be right about the VF100's line, but I'm still holding out hope. At this time no future releases have been announced besides the hi-metal you mentioned. There are (2) new 1/60 releases, but what about the 1/72 line? Dashgtr, I paid close to $200 for my VF-1S Max to include Super/Strike armor from an eBay seller. It was the lowest auction price I found, and the only one that included the armor as well. I personally like weathering, and I don't plan to buy any other 1/60 VF-1 valkyries. So I didn't mind spending more for something special. It's funny, but HLJ has (2) identical VF-1S Focker valkyries with armor listed for sale. One is a re-stock and costs 12,800 yen, and the other is an early bird special which is 12,160 yen. Duh, which one are you gonna buy? That translates to about $130, so I paid more than $70 extra for the weathered version. How limited is the VF-1S Max, and will HLJ eventually carry it for a lower price as they are doing with the other weathered versions? Only time will tell if I paid too much or not. Thanks, Christopher

Hello, I recently purchased the (2) 1/60 Yamato weathered valkyries (VF-1S Max & VF-1J Hikaru) on eBay. I found a pretty good price, and both come with the armor set, but it would be better if the armor was also weathered. Perhaps HLJ will carry them later, but either way the price should be about the same. I agree with a lot of the comments from "do not disturb" and find most of them to be pretty damn funny. Although he does seem to intimately familiar with homosexual terminology and the side-effects of anal sex. Hopefully it's not from personal experience. Ha, ha (just joking my friend) The following is off topic: I have no idea where Yamato produces their valkyries, but the selling price seems to be way too high. We could start a thread on production costs/materials/labor, but I think there is a very large profit margin. The price seems to be directly correlated to how much we're willing to pay, since people keep lining up and paying whatever is asked. I'm not sure what we as consumers can possible due to complain and lower prices to a reasonable level. Yes, it is possible to stop collecting. "Do not disturb" and I are proof of that. Before, I would buy every single Macross/Robotech item released. I had the complete 1/72 Hasegawa collection, even the rare event ones, and one autographed by Kawamori. I also had a lot of rare resin kits, plus a custom built Club-M 1/48 Ultimate Valkyrie with working lights and matching hanger diorama with figures/etc. My collection included at least (20) custom 1/55 Bandai valkyries with full armor made by Jung/Mslz22/etc that cost $250 to $400 each. Not to mention Gundam FIX figures/PG/MG/G-System, Transformers, Zoids, etc. I went to work in Iraq as a contractor making good money. I lost contact with MW, eBay and HLJ so the collecting "bug" died due to a lack of fuel to feed the fire. When I got home I took everything out of storage and sold it on eBay over a period of time. I made a profit for the most part. I stopped buying collectibles for about (4) years or so. I did this by staying away from websites that would entice me to start collecting again. It's like a drug, you've got to restrict yourself from the temptation, or be strong like "do not disturb". He is able to look at all the pictures without feeling the compulsion to buy something even though he is financially able to do so. I recently started collecting again, and will do so in a limited and focused manner. For example, the Bandai VF100's are reasonably priced and are supposed to cover the entire Macross valkyrie series. Just some advice from a long time member (8 years as of September 2009). Sorry for being verbose. Sincerely, Christopher