HardlyNever

Did you buy that used?  That thing looks pretty busted up...

Anyhow, maybe try moving the sliding part (that part the slides on the pin in the left hand side of your picture) down, then try lifting and turning the arm assembly.  But you may have to take it apart to get it freed up.

Is it full extended?  It looks like it isn't extended there.  It might be pretty stiff out of the box.

5 hours ago, Mommar said:

I sincerely think the 262 needs a 2.0 version already.  They did not get that original toy design correct.

I don't think the economics are there.  The first release is still warming shelves below retail.

Is it because it is a "bad" toy?  Maybe, but I think being an enemy valk also hurt it a lot.  

I don't really hate the toy, honestly.  It looks fine in all modes (kinda gappy in fighter), and battroid is pretty easy to handle.  Transforming into gerwalk is the only place I feel like they failed in the design area.  I also don't like how they required buying the lil'drakens in order to get what should be included accessories, imo.

39 minutes ago, Scyla said:

It is totally bizarre. Where is NY getting their VF-31As from. Why do they tickle out so slowly. I can't imagine that Bandai is producing more VF-31As and sending out one per month to NY so where are they from?

Adding to the strangeness is that it seems NY knew this is how it would play out, to some degree or another.  Their refusal to refund money, never fully admit that they can't fulfill orders, and general lack of providing information about the situation seems to imply that they knew they would get a steady stream of these long after release.

I'm not saying how NY handled this is right, but what is going on that they knew they would be able to fill most of the orders over the course of several months?

6 hours ago, eggy99 said:

Also the backpack sits at just the perfect height on the DX. I noticed that it sits a too high on the HM-R line.

 

HMR / DX / Yamato 1/60 / Line Art

It's interesting that the HMR got the bottom flap detail the most accurate to the line art.

It always seemed to me that the backpack flap was/is supposed to slide out of the backpack, not fold down.  But you never really get a clear look at that specific part during transformation.  I understand why older toys just have the fold down flap(it is a lot easier to do), but it seems that now that the precedent is set, no one is going to try the slide out variant.

I was kind of hoping Bandai would try something new in that area, but I think there is basically no expectation for improvement for that part, since it is a pretty minor detail.

Quick question about shipping with Mandarake.  I've only used them a couple times, and I've never gotten more than 1 item at a time. 

If you order multiple items from the same location (say Nakano), can you combine shipping?  Or do you still have to play individual shipping for each item, even if they are coming from the same place?

15 hours ago, borgified said:

Call me stupid... I literally just remembered this (don't know if you did read this in conjunction @ShadowVFX?) 

http://www.macrossworld.com/why-are-arcadia-products-so-expensive-by-mr-k/

 

 

tl;dr of that article: Production costs (especially in China) have gone up, and they haven't cut costs anywhere else.  They can't easily move to a new manufacturer with lower costs, as the skill needed to manufacture the toys is fairly high, as far as plastic toy manufacturing goes. 

The way he goes into detail about the production process implies that there is a lot of QA involved, as well.  But the topic about whether Arcadia has the appropriate QA level for their prices has been argued to death elsewhere on these forums, so I'm not going to get into that.  Most of the things he details seem like things that would be done at any high-end toy manufacturer.

I think people also forget that inflation is a thing, and different countries have different rates of inflation.  So while the cost increase has out-paced inflation for most of us in the West, that isn't necessarily true for places like China in the last 10 years.  I'm not saying it is entirely inflation, but it is a factor.

And last, let your wallet do the talking.  If you think Arcadia's prices are too high, then don't buy their products (or try to get them at a big discount).  That is your only real option.

21 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

I wonder what that ship to the left of the N-Ger is supposed to be. The one shooting at a Regult

Probably just something the artist made up.  It sort of looks like a loose interpretation of the Star Goose.

7 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Jeeeez----looking at that list, I didn't realize --time flies!!! All the best Yamato Valks are allmost 10 years old now!!! Glad I bought in back then when they were MSRP or on sale as shelf warmers...couldn't imagine having to build a V2 collection nowadays. Wonder if Bandai figured 10 years was long enough to wait before they dropped the new "Daddy" of Valks on us! Which brings us neatly back on topic...

I'm personally not expecting Bandai to do a full and complete run of vf-1s in 1/48.  That is what HMR is for, and even that probably won't get all the canon variants.  

I'm expecting the 1/48 line to be basically "greatest hits," with maybe a mass production thrown in.  I don't think we'll see the vt-1, ve-1, or even vf-1d in this scale.  But I could be very wrong.

I know I personally won't collect a complete line in this scale, but I could be in the minority.

11 hours ago, spanner said:

Isn't there something funky going on with the branding here?  It has the SDF Macross logo (not Robotech: The Macross Saga), and yet all the Harmony Gold/ Tatsunoko licensing stuff.  I thought HG only had the rights to Robotech (including the "macross saga"), not SDF Macross?  Is this some sort of "dual licensed product" or something?

Is it time to sue HG? 

Sigh... also got a shipping notice from CDJapan.  Despite changing my address with them weeks ago, and sending them 2 emails after I noticed they were STILL shipping the vt-1 to my old address... they sent it out to my old address...

I think USPS has a rerouting option, but I know that costs money.  And I'm sure CDJapan won't cover that cost.  This is my first (and probably last) time using them.  If your system can't automatically update the shipping address of pre-ordered items, then you need to update your system.

Edit: Just checked and it looks like that is only available for domestic shipments... so... I'm not sure what to do.  I might try a change of address, but I'm not sure if this package will be redirected by that.  Anyone else ever run into a situation like this?

I did end up getting my vf-31s from AmiAmi.  Overall I'm impressed with the engineering and build quality (this is my first vf-31), and I'm excited to see what Bandai can do with their new vf-1 now.

Anyone have experience with CDjapan support?  I recently changed my shipping address, but they have my VT-1 set to "shipping in process" to my old address (I dunno why they are using that address, you think they would use the updated one).  The only contact I could find was info@cdjapan.co.jp.

I suppose I can re-route it after they ship it if necessary, but I'm pretty sure that isn't cheap. 

Anyone know a better way to contact cdjapan customer support?  I emailed info, but I don't know if that will do anything.

1 minute ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Looking at AmiAmi's policy pages, it looks like you only get a full refund if you use EMS or DHL,

For SAL Small Packet Registered, their site says they refund up to 6000 yen, 

So.... them refunding about 7000 yen would be considered generous I guess.... if said refund ever actually showed up.

Maybe I'll go with EMS for the rest of the chogokin releases, for a little more peace of mind. But the ones I have pre-order I'm pretty sure will be hard to replace, even if I get a full refund, if they end up getting lost in transit.  But really, this could be USPS's fault more than AmiAmi.

I wanted the shipping on this item to be slower as I was mid-move, but I didn't expect it to be quite this slow.

Sorry about your lost package, I'll update here if/when I get mine in (it is the vf-31S Arad).

3 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

My order used SAL Small Packet Registered, costing 1490 yen in shipping fee.

Too bad it then got lost somewhere after it was handed off to USPS.

Yeah, I used SAL small packet registered for this.  

The tracking just now updated (while I type this), so maybe it is ok.  But it took 4 days to go from New York to New Jersey.

10 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Well.... I think I might have to put AmiAmi on my no-shop list moving forward.

Back in early April, I ordered from them an HMR toy.... a toy that never arrived.

Both JapanPost and USPS tracking showed the toy ending up at a USPS distribution facility, but never leaving it. To this day, tracking still says the package never left the facility.

After my package showed no signs of movement for a couple of weeks, I contacted USPS to do a search. No luck there. I then contacted AmiAmi, who told me to wait another month. Still nothing. So AmiAmi said they would contact JapanPost and told me to wait another month or 2. 

Finally, a week ago, almost 4 months after I placed my order, AmiAmi said they would send me a refund.... about 7,000 yen of my nearly 14,000 yen purchase.... which I find frustrating. Why they can't send me a replacement order, or fully refund me, I have no idea, nor will they explain it to me.

AmiAmi told me they would be sending out the refund last Wednesday. Well, now it is a week later and the refund still has not appeared in my PayPal account... which is just making me more frustrated with them. And the email I sent asking them about the refund has gone unanswered.

 

I have ordered a lot of stuff from AmiAmi these past 5 months. This particular HMR order is the only time I have been disappointed with the store. But geez, this experience dealing with AmiAmi's customer support... or lack of it... has been quite off-putting, enough so that I question if I ever want to shop from them again. I now consider AmiAmi as shopping at your own risk. You may never receive what you paid for, and yet still lose money. 

*sigh* 

Now I am very concerned about my existing pre-orders I already have at AmiAmi.

Uh oh... I have something from them sitting at a USPS facility right now (and it has been there for 4 days).  Do you mind if I ask what kind of you shipping you used for the HMR item that got lost (perhaps SAL small package...)?

I also have several of the upcoming DX Chogokin releases pre-ordered with them.  I hope they turn out to be ok.

5 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Yeah, it will protect from either side but it’s designed to be on the inside to protect the film from scratches and whatever else, plus it usually looks cleaner that way. 

Have you considered putting the film on the windows of the room the detolf is in? It would be easier to do and protect everything in the room from UV instead of just the detolf. 

Yeah, but I'm only going to be in my currently place for about a year.  So I don't want to use film on a rental place.  

I went ahead and moved the detolfs out of any direct sunlight (I just moved in, they were empty), so I'm not 100% sure I even need the UV film now.  But it is on the way already.  Maybe I'll just keep it and use it for the next place I move to (which we should be buying).

I do like the idea of having it on the detolfs, though.

For those of you that have put UV film on their display cases (specifically detolfs, if you have them) did you put it on the inside of the glass or outside?  It seems like if I'm going to do it "right" I should put it on the inside, but I really don't feel like taking everything out and partially disassembling the defolfs.

Would putting it on the outside be reasonable?  I've never worked with the UV film before.

1 hour ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I'll be honest, I care more about pulling stuff out of the box than I do about detaching/reattaching things while transforming.

Yup, I'm the same.  I don't really care about perfect transformation for any kind of "purist" sake; I'll take whatever works.  But when I want to repose something, and think "Well I have to go get those other parts..." that's when I start to care about how much parts swapping needs to happen.

I accept the HMR valks for what they are, but for something this size I want to be able to go through modes and different poses without having to get any parts out of the box; and I would like for it to look good without any part swapping.

Ok, I'm less worried now.  I'll just be patient, thanks guys.

So my VF-31S exists somewhere between Japan and my house, but I have no idea where.  I had it sent SAL small package and it has been "Dispatch from outward office of exchange" since 7/27.  Has this happened to anyone else before?  I've had a day lapse, maybe two, between leaving Japan and showing up in the USPS tracking system, but never this long.

1 hour ago, Daedalus said:

Tho while I do agree that we should support smaller shops, they have to stay competitive and price within certain realities of the consumer.  I donno if I was able to follow Arcadia's pricing upwards while innovations left them a bit behind.  

Agreed.  In order for the companies to compete, they both need to be... competitive.  Arcadia is slipping away on the value front.

I do want them to stick around, but they need to do a better job of finding their niche where their prices aren't insane.  I know they won't ever have Bandai's resources, but they need to find an edge somewhere.

1 hour ago, jenius said:

So Wonderfest is done right? Arcadia seems to have hit this convention with a thud (from a Macross perspective at least).

Well, we got an update (albeit a pretty lackluster one) on the sv-51.  I wasn't expecting much from them in the vf-1 department; nothing they currently have can match the Bandai announcement.

I would have loved to see the rumored vf-0 ghost booster, but I guess that's why its a rumor.  Beyond that, I'm not really sure what else we could expect from them. 

44 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I had one of those little covers break off on my VF-1S Roy. Before you reassemble and glue them back on, take a look at the flap pegs for rough areas, mine had some leftover nubs that were stressing the covers. Sand the rough spots, or trim with a hobby knife to help prevent re-breakage.

This.  I had the exact same issue.  I suffered several re-breaks after gluing,  before I realized what was causing it.

I did the "double click got 2" with Ami Ami but had no problem changing the quantity to 1 during check out. In my experience with Ami Ami at least, once something is in your cart you pretty much have it reserved.

But I still hesistated on changing it.  Of course that early in the morning I'm often just wondering why I'm still doing this to myself... So my judgement might not be the greatest.