HardlyNever

I'm still interested in arcadia valks (just got their GBP release yesterday, and love it), but I'm not going to get this one. My collecting space and interest is too limited to buy what is essentially a repaint of the Focker release. But if they made/rereleased either the VE-1 or VT-1, or even a VF-1D, I'd be interested. I might even jump on a VF-1A (especially if it was in Kakizaki colors). Outside of that, I'm not really interested in paying $200+ for a bunch of VF-1S or VF-1J repaints, though. I'm fine with just getting HMRs of those.

Went home for the holidays and dug this "classic" out of my parents' attic:

Does anyone know what this is? http://arcadia.ac/products/detail.php?product_id=173 I mean, it's obviously a DYRL sdf-1. It looks really small (105mm?). I didn't see any announcement about it, though. It says limited release, so I doubt you can get one easily, but I don't think this was posted on the arcadia website after the release date? I haven't seen it on any of the major import websites, either. This flew under the radar, at least for me. Maybe I missed the announcement somewhere else on here.

My first Macross Xmas since in almost 30 years:

Yup, I had the exact same break on the first day of getting it. After many super glue attempts (and re-breaks), I ended up sanding it down a little bit and using Loctite Gel Control super glue. It has been fine ever since. I'm not saying this is definitely the best approach, just what worked for me. It also seems like the peg on the flap that goes into the "hinge cap" was a tad too big, so sanding that down a little bit helped a lot (I think that is what caused the break in the first place). Your situation might be different, of course.

1/60 Virgin Road on auction, price is just a tad insane: http://page3.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/c556351342

Yeah, I've got one of those, but they are quite a bit more expensive... Can't have it all, I guess.

I've been impressed with the Glaug and the Hikaru VF-1J, so I decided to get max and the triple display stand. The quality on these is really high, I just wish they were a little bit bigger. Now if we could only get a Queadluun-Rau...

Bleh, I hesitated on the NY sale and it jumped up about 10k yen now. Any know the likelihood of it going back on sale anytime soon? It seems odd that they are basically doing a reverse black friday sale.

Amazon has a VF-1J tv version up right now, about $74 shipped to the US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01GCACKIG/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new I just ordered mine. It seems like the vendor with the best price is putting them up one at a time for some reason, as when I ordered mine it disappeared for about an hour, then showed up again. So if you don't see one there, maybe try checking back and they will put another up.

Those look like the old matchbox power armors. I think Exosquad did a re-release of them in the 90s.

For those in the US that aren't ordering multiple items (and thus saving on shipping from the usual vendors), Amazon has some pretty competitive prices on the VF-1A CF and the TV Hikaru VF-1J: https://www.amazon.com/HI-METAL-Dimension-Fortress-Valkyrie-production/dp/B01EURH3AI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477075955&sr=8-1&keywords=hi+metal+r https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Macross-HI-METAL-Valkyrie-Ichijyou/dp/B01GCACKIG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1477075955&sr=8-10&keywords=hi+metal+r They also have the cheapest Glaugs I've seen (I got mine a week ago, and love it, definitely give it a look if you're at all interested in enemy mecha): https://www.amazon.com/HI-METAL-Macross-Guraji-die-cast-painted-action/dp/B01A6FBIYU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1477075955&sr=8-4&keywords=hi+metal+r

You're not alone: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=39641&p=1300397

I guess that sorta makes sense... But the Hi Metal R Max is still cheaper than that. I don't see why making less drives the price up. Oh well. I know this isn't really the right thread, but does anyone know if there is a non-zero chance that Arcadia might release a Max and/or Millia at 1/60? I'd rather just wait on a CHANCE at those, rather than get one of these.

This is where I'm at. I'm brand new to the hobby, and I'm looking at this thing and wondering... why? The Arcadia Focker release was expensive, but I felt like the size and quality were worth it. Then I see this and it is just a repaint of something that MSRP'd at around $85, but just costs more money. I (think) I understand that Millia is a bit rarer of a figure generally speaking, but I just don't know if I can justify the cost on this one. I'm still debating whether to pre-order (it is available on a few sites still, at the time of this writing).

Nice paint job. That interior detail is great. On a related note, does anyone know where to get one of these (or the Miria one) for a somewhat reasonable price? There is one on Amazon for about $150 shipped to the US, but I can't see myself paying that much for one of these. I know they have a sordid history and were released somewhat overpriced. Any ideas where I can get one more in the $80-$100 range shipped? I've been keeping an eye on Mandarake.

Thanks guys! That was the issue. I had removed (and replaced) the nose on an earlier transformation trying to get the heat shield back in place (it seemed really stiff at first, but the heat shield slides pretty easily now). I moved the nose about a quarter-inch forward and everything lined up. Any advice about the white stress mark on that plate (besides "be careful when transforming it")? Is there anything I can do to strengthen that area at all? If I had to guess, it probably happened when I was going from gerwalk>battroid the first time, but I'm not really sure. Thanks again for all the help.

Hey no3Ljm. I posted a response to Chronocidal in the other thread here (he's asking a similar thing): http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=39641&page=46 It has pictures regarding what I'm talking about. Your pictures are helping some, I might give it another shot at transforming tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

Thanks again for the help, Chronocidal. A bit of context was lost on that post above. I'm actually trying to go from battroid > gerwalk here (I was asking for reverse transformation videos in that post). Below are the die-cast metal flaps I'm talking about: I can't get them to align properly with the chest plate above. I can get it closer than it shows in the picture, but it feels like I'm forcing things. Any help getting it back into the position for gerwalk/fighter mode would be great. On a related note, I've noticed a white weak area on one of the plastic pieces that serves as a sort of hinge. Besides obviously being careful about any transforming that involves that spot (which is kinda what my post is about), any advice on what to do about that? That white line goes through to the other side of that piece, but it isn't as visible. Is there any way to reinforce/protect that area in anyway? I've had the toy less than a week and I feel like I'm going to break something else on it (besides the tail-flap hinge I posted about earlier). Clearly I'm doing something(s) wrong when transforming this thing.

Too much overwatch, I guess. At least she has a mech.

Oh sorry Chrono, didn't realize this board had ranks like that. Well, thanks for the help, Chrono. Unfortunately, I'm having another issue now, that I posted in the noob FAQ thread. I'll going to copy it below, if anyone can help, that would be amazing: "My specific issue is I can't seem to get the die-cast flaps that are on either side of the cock-pit totally raised and flush with the chest piece. I'm already seeing some whitening of the plastic near one of the shoulder hinges, so I really don't want to force anything. I'm not sure if this is an issue other people have, but even in the transformation videos to battroid from gerwalk, that particular step seems to be one people have some trouble with (separating the two die cast flaps from the chest piece). I guess I'll just leave it in battroid for a while."

That would be great. My specific issue is I can't seem to get the die-cast flaps that are on either side of the cock-pit totally raised and flush with the chest piece. I'm already seeing some whitening of the plastic near one of the shoulder hinges, so I really don't want to force anything. I'm not sure if this is an issue other people have, but even in the transformation videos to battroid from gerwalk, that particular step seems to be one people have some trouble with (separating the two die cast flaps from the chest piece). I guess I'll just leave it in battroid for a while.

Does anyone know of any "reverse" transformation guides? I see tons of guides on how to go from fighter > gerwalk > to battroid, but zero going in reverse. I know it is theoretically "do what you did to transform, but in reverse" but that doesn't really help much. I really am having trouble getting the main chest piece attached to the back piece going from battroid back to gerwalk. It seems like the sort of "floating" chest piece is really stiff on the hinges, and I'm already seeing a white weak spot on one of the moving plates. This is on the arcadia vf-1s 1/60. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the detailed response, Diva. I was looking at the thing more this morning, and came to realize basically what you were saying. The problem is, I wasn't able to glue the broken hinge back into the exact perfect position, so it hangs out a bit, making it even more likely to catch the bottom of the backplate. The good news is, I was able to get the backpack back in fighter position (following your advice), I just had to be EXTREMELY careful. Since it has the super parts and the backpack needs to be up even in fighter mode to have the fastpack on, I'll probably just leave it up most of the time. It is nice to know I can get it back down, if I really want to, though. Thanks again for the help.

Hey everyone, I'm a complete noob when it comes to macross toys. I received my first one today, which is the same one everyone is posting above (Roy Focker arcadia 1/60 with strike parts). I'm very impressed with the toy so far, except one issue. In true noob form, I've managed to break a part on the backpack(? I'm not sure what it's called). After a few hours, I successfully transformed the toy into battroid and back to fighter mode. However, when I went to move the backpack up again to go into gerwalk mode, the white adjustable flap completely fell out. It looks like one of the hinges that holds the flap had broken 80-90% off. I tried supergluing the hinge, with moderate success. The good news is the hinge is on there, and the flap can still rotate. The bad news is, I don't think I can ever get the backpack down all the way again in fighter mode without the same piece breaking off again. It could be completely my fault (again, I'm a noob), but it does seem like the hinges are a bit... off. Even the side that didn't break. The space for the hinges and the white flap to fit into for fighter mode seem INCREDIBLY tight, and of course one of the hinges is off (because I'm not the greatest at gluing) but even the non-broken one seems uneven. Below are a couple pictures to demonstrate what I mean: The first attached image is the broken side with my mediocre/bad glue job: The second is the unbroken side: Is it possible I got a defective hinge? It's entirely possible it is 100% my fault, but it might not be, as well. Is the area between the arms and the body of the toy supposed to be that tight (I know I can move the arms and put the back pack in first, but that doesn't really change anything). Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Again, I could be doing something very wrong when trying to get the thing back in fighter mode. Right now I feel like if I'd try to put it back in there, the broken hinge would fall off, perhaps entirely. If I need a few more pictures to show what I mean, I can post those.