MKT

Agree.. but they always seem to re-open every few minutes.. And its up again: AmiAmi [Character & Hobby Shop] | DX Chogokin Movie VF-31J Siegfried (Hayate Immelmann Custom) [Field Projection Unit Equipped](Pre-order)

CD Japan, cheapest so far, but sold out immediately: CDJapan : DX Chogokin Movie version Macross Delta Absolute LIVE !!!!!! Movie version VF-31J Siegfried (Hayate Immelman machine) [Fold projection unit equipment] Collectible

At HLJ: DX Chogokin Movie version VF-31J Siegfried (Hayate Immelman Machine) [Fold Projection Unit Equipment] by Bandai (hlj.com)

Received ZD Toys' Mark 5 & 6, with corresponding Hall of Armor couple days ago.. Already have the Mark 2 - 4, now just awaiting release of their Mark 1, Mark 7 & 42 to complete the whole Iron Man 3 hall of armor scene..

Every time I see these speaker pods, this image comes into my head:

Lol that’s hilarious!

@Chronocidal You mentioned missing the 2 larger ball jointed flaps.. I found mine in the baggie of parts, together with the missiles, plus the easily missed tiny switch button for the back of its head. Good explanation on the pylons issue. I knew there was something off about the pylons, but I'm not enough of an aircraft nut to identify what it is.. @Bobby I only speculate, yours came with missing face because it was still in the old separate wing & face package. Show.Z versions came with the much needed wing peg fixes. They got the new replacement wings, threw it in with the toy but forgot about the face sitting in the older package..

Sharing a recent purchase that arrived last week, with a pictorial write up.. This is Zeta’s ZV-02 Flash, aka 2018 Bumblebee movie’s Blitzwing.. For better or worse, as opposed to Bayverse bots, Travis Knight’s Bumbleblee movie designs hark back to the G1 era. Most who grew up with G1 would have instantly recognized all the characters in the opening scene on Cybertron. For some reason though, they choose to make this guy as Blitzwing, even though the whole design screams, ahem.. Starscream. With these third party Bumblebee movie toy efforts, we do seem to be entering a new era of toymaking, whereby these companies are really able to replicate their bot mode to almost 100% of what we see onscreen, yet make them transform to their real-world alt modes with more than reasonable likeness. This is the 3rd figure of this movie, after Toyword’s Optimus Prime & Transcraft’s Bumblebee, which a casual observer would have a hard time telling the difference between them and the non-transforming, CGI-accurate Threezero’s versions... Nevertheless, there are some concessions. Head & hands are a bit too small, and having to transform means articulation can be compromised in some ways. The quest for accuracy in both modes means transformation is a really complicated and involving affair these days. I have come to approach these toys the same as assembling a model kit, or building a moderately sized Lego set – prepare to block off a whole afternoon or evening to transform them. Total concentration, gentle but steady hands are necessary. But the payoff is satisfying… Blitzwing turns into a cool McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom II jet. Even though it has endless folding panels, everything comes together solidly & securely (perhaps too snugly in some places), and there is no slack at all when holding it in hand,, In bot mode, it is already a big toy, but transforming it involves some mass-shifting resulting in an even larger jet. Here it is with a 1/48 DX Chogokin VF-1J for comparison. Picking it up and swooshing it gives me a huge silly grin as I come to a certain realization.. You see, when we were kids, toys were on average much bigger than they are today, and coupled with our kid-sized hands, they felt much more substantial. The size of this Blitzwing and its solid plastics in grown-up hands really telegraphs the feeling of being a kid-with-a huge-toy-plane again, more so mostly needing two hands to swoosh it.. Nevertheless, the pic above also shows there is a bit of problem in its proportions, as someone (@Dobber ?) observed a few pages back. Its length of 41.5cm makes it about 1/46 scale, but its wingspan of 29cm makes it 1/40 widthwise. Hence, its overall too short, giving it a bit of a SD-ish characteristic. However, it is a characteristic I’m willing to overlook, as this toy manages to do the one most important thing most other Transformer jet toys have failed: having a relatively clean underside without extraneous kibble or having that bot-hanging-off-a-jet look. Although there are some gaps & what look like missing panels on Blitzwing’s underside, it’s a huge, huge improvement as compared to say, Bayverse’s Starscream F-22 & Jetfire SR-71 toys. I also love that all the armament missiles are individual pieces, including the pylons and external fuel tanks..

Thanks @Lolicon I hope to one day try panel-lining & washes, like you did your valks.

Thanks for the compliments guys.. I thought that was the problem at first, but I checked & rechecked. Even locked, it still flops down too easily with the weight of the boosters.. But I don't recall those HMR VF-1s with Super/Strike parts having this issue though.. When Sci-Fi 06 was first previewed, I knew I wanted it for non-SW stuff with the imagined pics I have in mind. But in reality, lighting the transparent pieces proved to be challenging for my very amateurish efforts. If the pics look to have strange, off or sloppy lighting, that's because it really is. It's just me randomly placing light sources around to see what looks acceptable to my beginner's eyes. I have even more appreciation now for how you manage to light up your subjects so evenly across the whole pic, not only the foreground, but the background transparent pieces as well on your custom Sci-Fi set, with very deliberate aimed lighting on certain spots to get that reflection off the fighters' canopies or the battroid head lenses..

The recent Chogokin Armored VF-1J pre-order frenzy have made me re-acquaint with other Armored VF-1Js in my collection. I had the HMR version for sometime, but other than quickly slapping on the armor parts & put in a quick pose for the display cabinet, I did not play with it much, until recently.. Back in high school many eons ago, me and mates used to have *R* RPG sessions, and the one mech we would always want to get our hands on was the Armored VF-1.. We would feel that much more invincible when the GM throws the many Regults our way. Non-withstanding the big diaper pants to protect our crotches , this is 80's real-mecha chunkiness at one of its best.. But it was also the awesome firepower it holds that's the obvious draw. Incoming Itano circus! This HMR version is generally a real pleasure to handle even at this size, and could see Bandai did make quite some effort to keep as much as possible the base 1J's hip movement for that dynamic A-stance. Minor annoyances would be the hip missiles that fall off too easily and the backpack which will always want to fold down.

Previously the little Petite Cola diorama scene, and now this! This flight deck full of cool surprises! Mega likes your way @arbit

Yup, the first naked VF-1J has lower MSRP because of the lower domestic tax of 8% then.

Something I have noticed over the past few Bandai pre-orders, are that PO prices have been trickling upwards. And I don't mean the base price by Bandai, but by the online stores themselves. It used to be that on PO day, the prices are usually MSRP less Japan domestic consumption tax, plus some discount (the PO cherry!) on top. So taking this VF-1J + Armor bundle pack as example, it could have been MSRP Yen 33k, less 10% Yen 3k domestic tax, and perhaps another Yen 1k-2k for PO price of below Yen 30k. PO prices then went up such that it landed somewhere between the no tax & 10% domestic tax zone. Amiami is still maintaining this with the current bundled pack PO , but most other stores are now charging the full fat tax-included MSRP. Only CDJ do not charge this 10% domestic tax, & somewhat unfortunately it has been almost impossible to score a PO anything from CDJ these days. Anyway, its just an observation..

Paid a bit too late at AE, so got a refund e-mail. Gonna be losing a few bucks from the exchange rate.

Double post: pls delete

Double post: pls delete

Its the mythical unicorn.. the 'reservation' button only lights up for couple seconds. Place must be swamped by bots given how fast it sells out every single time.

Up at AE Anime-export

HLJ back up and ordered!

Great find! It seems the chest missiles slide forward when the bays are opened, a very nice touch. As I understand, Yamato's 1/48 GBP also has the same gimmick, but eschewed in later 1/60 versions..

First time seeing a VFX-X 'premium finished', and it looks swell. That underside shot well captures the sleek look..

Wow sold out at Tamashii already. Most likely there'll be a second run then. Including a separate grey goggled head was a great idea; no doubt more people have bought this armor since it can now be pretty much put onto any other DX VF-1 valk..

Now I have to move my 1/100 A-10 to the Macross HMR shelf, and get another A-10 for the real-life jets shelf.. More excuse for doubles!

Just realized this would be the most articulated Armored VF-1 ever, just by the DX's new hip joints (are they called drawer joints?). Always felt this was the single biggest improvement to the VF-1 toys that allows more action figure-like posing.. On related thought, we have had non-transforming VF-1 figures over the years, and I think many would be a bit put off by the non-transforming aspect. But if there is a case to be made for non-transforming VF-1 figure, it would be the Armored VF-1 for obvious reason, yet none seem have been made so far.. I would get an army of them if they did haha..