akteon

Are they real production paintjobs on actual operational jets? Damn!!!

Also, new to all these Chogokin things... what does "DX-chogokin" mean or refer too?

What scale are these? 1/60 or 1/72?

Per Wikipedia:

Chogokin (超合金 Chōgōkin?, Sometimes Chougokin or Cho-gokin) is Japanese for "Super Alloy" and is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's Mazinger Z manga and anime. It was later adopted by Popy in 1972 as the name of a new line of die-cast metal robot and character toys sold in Japan. The first of these toys was the "GA-01" Mazinger Z, which, in spite of questionable engineering that led Popy to offer a free replacement campaign, ignited a craze that changed the face of the Japanese toy industry in the 1970s. Bandai, the parent company of Popy, continues the Chogokin line to this day, branded under their own name.

...

(Vintage) Chogokin toys were generally produced in ST and or DX sizes. ST is short for "standard" and is usually in the range of 5" in height. DX is short for "deluxe" and is usually much larger. In addition to the larger size, the DX versions usually came with more features such as separating parts and more complex weaponry, usually with launching projectiles.

...

The use of die-cast metal in mass-market robot toys declined greatly after the 1980s, with PVC and ABS plastic becoming the only materials used in most cases. Chogokin toys produced today are usually fairly expensive, high-quality items aimed at collectors.

I couldn't resist any longer!!

Thanks for the heads up on the link!

Another thumbs up for plastik - didn't realize until I saw his sales thread here, I had bought my VF-25S + Super parts from him on eBay ...

How come Kakizaki doesn't get his own shelf?

Solo shelves, like sprinkles, are only for winners ... sorry Kakizaki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAw2TXsgBbY

Which Regults are those?

They are the vinyl Toynami ones. The scale is of course off, but didn't look as bad with the valk in gerwalk.

Looking to get another VF-25S Renewal, from someone in North America (if possible) to cut down on shipping.

I know a couple of sold recently in the For Sale & Trade section, but always seem to just miss out. So if you've got an extra you're thinking of selling, let me know and hopefully we can work something out. Thanks.

Found one.

Nice haul ... I never played Macross 30, but all these posts make me want to pick up a YF-29B

Here are the exact bubble shields I ordered off eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121713282922

They DO NOT fit perfect at all. The bottom part won't fit around when they are on the top snaps. In the pictures above they are not snapped and pushed above the snaps so the bottom of the bubble shield will fix just inside the bottom of the mask. The top visor and the bottom part of the mask do hold it in place so it's not moving around, but it's definitely not snapped in.

I'm looking at trying something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/371411032099 to allow the bubble shield to ride up and fit at the bottom but still be snapped.

My other option was to take a dremel tool and cut slots in the bubble shield on the sides where they make contact with the bottom two snaps used by the original flat shield, this should allow the bubble shield to have a bit more flexibility when fitting the bottom of the mask on, while still being snapped at the top.

Thanks guys ... I got really luckily, the VF-25S + armor was $300 on eBay, which is less than some are selling just the armor for so I couldn't pass it up.

I went from thinking I wasn't sure if I wanted one VF-25S to now thinking I need to get a third to have all 3 types (stock, armor, super) and show off all 3 modes ... yes, that's the addiction talking

Since my detolfs are otherwise occupied and I just started getting back into Macross, I stumbled cross a small glass display cabinet I call my mini-detolf and filled it with Macross stuff.

Ignore the R-word on the busts if you find that sort of thing offensive

Slightly blurry cellphone pic - I finally got around to putting bubble shields on my two Masei helmets.

Finally broke down and started buying some Frontier valks (yeh I know I'm late to the game) ...

Curious what was the Youtube link of? It doesn't work..

This is what I think he was trying to post, but the youtube url was missing the middle part https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aSjHnbw18

I just meant it was a DYRL style helmet with a TV style paint scheme ...

Wow, this went for a lot more than I expected...

Masei Macross helmet with Focker TV paint scheme

Despite being canonically incorrect, I liked the paint style and was going to bid to have a second helmet, but the price got out of hand in my opinion.

Finally got my replacement parts, but im having trouble putting this thing back together. Is anyone else having problems screwing in the chin piece? The screw just doesnt catch for some reason, probably because these pieces dont't line up very well.

I took mine apart and had a lot of trouble as well. Kept trying switching which side to start on, swapping screws between the sides. Finally I took it all apart again and was really careful putting the visor on perfectly, then it all seemed to screw together a bit easier. But I do agree it's hard fro that screen to catch if things aren't line up perfect.

Here's the exact auction I won: www.ebay.com/itm/121529304493

I missed out on the pre-order, but I got one on eBay and just picked it up from the post office.

First off, the outer box was in good shape (aside from a slight smell). The helmet itself was wrapped in 4-5 layers of bubble wrap. The only imperfections on the helmet were two small sections on the visor where the black masking was chipped/missing (the underlying red visor itself was not damaged). There was also one small scuff on one of the nozzles, but both were firmly attached. All very minor, especially compared to what others have reported, so it seems the bubble wrap did its job.

Other good news aside from the better packaging was that it shipped really fast - 8 days total.

My only complaint is my fault, not theirs - I wish I had asked for a XXL instead of a XL. Apparently I have a larger head than I thought.

Hopefully this is all a good sign for those waiting for replacements.

These are pretty sweet. Love the grey visor with the GBP

From the damage of the box I fully assumed the toy it self had damage as well - it literally looked like someone had sat on the corner of the box. As soon as I saw the extent of the damage to the box I didn't open it - at that point I knew I would be sending it back so what good would opening the box do?

Lunar refused to work with me on providing an exchange, so why would I open the box and risk not being able to get a refund?

What I don't expect is to be showered with free stuff because of a dented box.

Showered with free stuff? I just wanted what I paid for - I didn't want anything free.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect an un-damaged item, I even offered to pay the shipping to return the item to Lunar. Unfortunately they demanded I pay roundtrip shipping, when Lunar/evilcat acknowledged they sent out damaged boxes. Offering to split the shipping between the two of us shows I was trying to work with Lunar, but they were not willing to work with me to resolve the issue.

The Lunar Toys Website states that damaged boxes are worth less than un-damaged boxes, but I was charged the same as everyone else. Like I said, I wasn't expecting nor did I ask for anything for free, I simply wanted what I pre-ordered and paid for.

What's funny is that evilcat005 does know that box condition affects the value of collectable toys, this is taken from the Lunar Toys website:

•Mint Box - Mint box are those boxes in the finest condition. Nice fine corners all around without any sign of damage.

•C9 Box- C9 Boxes are still very nice and very collectable worthy. There might be signs of minor dings around the corner, and imperfection, but it won't affect it’s over all apparent.

•C8 Box - No one can predict what will happen during shipping, and this is where the C8 comes in. C8 boxes have visible imperfection on the box, and some bend area. C8 boxes are still considered to be new, and the item inside the box is MISB. If you’re a buyer who don't care about the box condition, and would like to save a few bucks, C8 box is your best bet.

http://www.lunartoystore.com/pages/c-rating-disclosure

However, no where on the order or pre-order page is this set as an option to select this nor is box condition mentioned. Therefore one would reasonably assume you're getting a mint box.

What offends me most about all of this is frankly the arrogance that it's the customer's fault. That expecting an undamaged box is some unreasonable request, that we did something wrong. The offer to provide geodude and I return shipping labels comes off as doing us a favor to shut us up, not because it's the right thing to do - evilcat005 still doesn't think it was wrong to knowingly send out damaged boxes. Heck even the response to my asking the forum where else to buy this was just as dismissive:

Try RK, and Chumingming. Maybe they are willing to provide you with free round trip international shipping because you have a dented box corner.

I'm really disappointed because I was looking forward to not only this toy but the future toys in this line and was originally happy to find someone like Lunar to deal with. Now I'll just have to pay more to purchase from someplace else, even if it's overseas, that at least respects their customers.

Frankly, it's none of your business if someone plans to open a toy or not. People are paying $100+ for a new collectable toy, of course they don't want a damaged box regardless of what they plan to do with it.

Asking someone to pay shipping x2 on top of the original price to just get what they already pre-ordered is NOT good customer service. Telling someone after the fact that if they wanted an un-damaged box, they should have asked for one beforehand is NOT good customer service. If you receive damaged boxes from the manufacturer, take it up with them - passing the damaged items on to your customers blindly is NOT good customer service.

As usual, the only recourse we have as consumers is to vote with our wallets. So assuming Lunar does actually give me a refund (I fully expect them to pull a surprise restocking fee or something at this point) who else is selling this toy that I can support?

The "run around" is telling me that in order to get a replacement product I would have to pay for return shipping to you AND shipping back to me of the replacement.

After I showed you photos you still were dismissive saying that "imperfections" aren't covered. Look again at the photos, that's not an imperfection, that's damage. I still wanted to do business with you and had looked forward to doing business with you in the future, but you blamed ME for not asking for a un-damaged box.

Just got mine today and had some minor issues. First, the box was a little dinged up. The shipping box was immaculate so I think this was a result of the shipment from overseas.

I had a similar problem. The USPS shipping box was in great shape but the toy's box was pretty damaged on one corner. I didn't even risk opening the box to checck for damage.

To top it off, I contact Lunar Toy Store and they start giving me the run around saying their exchange policy doesn't cover box "imperfections" and that if I cared about having an undamaged box I should have specifically asked for one