HardlyNever

AE seems to have some right now:

http://www.anime-export.com/product/35274

I've been eye-balling an HMR monster for a while, but in my experience with yahoo auctions (or any online auctions) is that price is going to shoot up a good 30-40% in the last few hours.   

I agree this is good news for consumers, but we might be getting ahead of ourselves here.  Like others, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Arcadia, in that I'm glad someone is still making 1/60 vf toys (that I didn't have the time/money to collect when yamato was around), but I'm a bit disappointed in the steep cost versus quality.  For what I've paid (at or below MSRP) for my 3 Arcadia's, I think the quality of construction should be a bit higher and definitely more consistent.  If a KO company can make a similar quality product for 1/3rd the cost, I think we definitely have grounds to be pissed at Arcadia (I understand they have a lot of other costs involved, and KOs will always be cheaper, but should it be 3x  more expensive?).

But I'm also skeptical of how good these KOs are really going to be.  This is a design that has known durability issues, even when made by the official license holder, so there is definitely room for something to go wrong here, especially at almost 1/4th the cost.  Looking at the advertisement again, the focker release seems to be missing a pilot and option parts (a minor oversight, but it makes me wonder what other parts of the mold they might be missing).  Coupled with the limited run these guys seem to be doing, there isn't a whole lot of incentive for them to make a great product for repeat business. 

I'm really withholding judgement until some gets their hands on one and we get an idea of the quality.  I don't think this spells the end for Arcadia if these things are going to break a month after getting them.  But they could be great, we'll just have to see.

6 minutes ago, jenius said:

Maybe Arcadia sold a bunch of molds because they were losing licenses only to find out the buyer wasn't a Toynami employee after all. 

Are you saying Arcadia might be getting out of the sdf macross/dyrl? line?

But don't they have the Yamato sdf-1 mold?  Arcadia please... 

At those prices, I don't see how the quality could match Arcadia, but I'd love to be wrong.  I'd jump at an M&M pair for under $200.  

Hopefully someone will get the first releases and give us an idea of the quality.

13 minutes ago, Mazinger said:

I won't lie, I googled around for KO's, and have yet to find any of anything not 1/55 or from Macross7 - not on eBay, Alibaba, or just now on TaoBao English.

There's Gundam KO's a plenty, but not for Macross, which I guess is some indication of where the franchise lies in popularity if bootleggers don't want to take a risk to produce them.

It took me about 5 minutes on the Chinese Taobao to find products using the exact pictures that the Arcadia warning uses.  I'm not going to link them here, as I don't know how that kind of thing is looked upon here.

The prices are ridiculously low (Like sub $10 USD), so there is no way I'd ever buy them (as it seems WAY to good to be true), but they are out there.  Maybe a braver soul would try it, just to see what they actually get.  I'd be nervous about even giving out payment info/address, but that is me.  Most are marked as KO's, so they aren't even pretending to be the real deal.

Edit: Those prices might just be for pre-orders, I'm not sure.  I don't read chinese, so I'm going off of a bad google translation, which is a mess.

Since the thread has taken a bit of a shelf detour, I've been wondering what people's experiences have been with weight issues.  Ikea lists the Detolf shelf max load at about 8 pounds.  Has anyone ever gone much beyond that, especially long term?  I don't think I have 8 pounds on any of my shelves yet, but with display stands etc. and trying to push maximum shelf space, I could see how running up to that 8 pound limit could be an issue.

Anyone know what the deal with those figures is?  I have no interest in the cockpit, but I'd be interested in those figures if you could get them separately for a non-insane price.  Are they exclusive to the cockpit? 

34 minutes ago, Sandman said:

I was looking at the arcadia release thread and noticed this:

 

 

 

This can't be right. Did Arcadia only have 2 releases in 2016? Both reissues no less.

Dreams of a max/mirya 1j reissues are seeming like a pipe dream now.

 

 

They also released these:

http://arcadia.ac/products/detail.php?product_id=173

http://arcadia.ac/products/detail.php?product_id=229

http://arcadia.ac/products/detail.php?product_id=175

I don't know what you want to consider those.  But I think they are also reissues.

About a year late on this one, still excited nonetheless.

My first (and probably last) non-SDF Macross purchase (it kinda counts as sdf right ):

Got the display stand as part of the purchase.  It's a lot sturdier than I expected.

Bump with update.

Bump.

1/48 straps also available (they are the same thing, just longer).

Updated: I will be making these to-order for the foreseeable future.  They are available in 1/60 and 1/48 sizes, with or without detachable clip.  Also updated pictures.

I have created a gunpod strap for the 1/60 valks that is somewhat "removable" to make it easier to mount the gunpod in fighter mode, while still having strap functionality.  This is pretty similar to some of the other gunpod straps people have made, but I know there are newer collectors (like me) who didn't have a chance to get those, so I'd like to make this available for people that want them.  

You'll have to install the rings that clip onto the gun yourself (needle-nose pliers highly recommended).  Those rings stay on the gun even when the strap is removed, but the gunpod can still easily mount in fighter mode with the two rings on the gun.

I could make a "less removable" version if people want that (I would just take the clips out and have the rings on the clips attach directly to the gunpod rings).  That might be a little more anime accurate, although I prefer the look of the strap with clips.

I make these to-order, so you can decide the length (I have a few "standard" recommendations), as well as whether or not you want the clip part.

I'm asking for $12 (plus shipping) to the continental US. To order, just send me a PM and we'll work out shipping and payment details (Paypal required).  If you are outside of the continental US and want one, contact me, and we might be able to work something out.

Edit: Removed 2 per customer limit.

Below are some pictures of what it looks like:

On 1/30/2017 at 0:23 PM, Darotower said:

Resting!

Really like this one.  The monster is so huge!  Tempted to get one...

My attempt at a "removable" gunpod strap for the 1/60:

2 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

I remember there's a FAQ/Question thread pinned before but I can't seem to find it. Quick Questions or General Questions regarding toy is directed there.

Anyways, I never had problems with my Gunpod that was left for months in Battroid mode for it to get warped or crooked when it installed back under the arms in Fighter mode. It's very hard to imagine or to visualize what you're saying without a photo. The Gunpod plastic is so sturdy and thick for it to get warped or crooked just by holding it in Battroid mode. I'm assuming you retracted the grip before you mounted it in Fighter mode, correct? 

Will just wait for a photo so we can understand how it got warped or crooked. Thanks!

 

Hey Noel.  Yeah I looked for the noob/FAQ thread, but it seems to have disappeared.

I fiddled with the gunpod in fighter mode some more and it is 95% straight now.  I'm not sure how much the handle is really warped, might have just been lighting/frustration when I was trying to get it straight.  I probably won't bother transforming it again until this weekend, so I won't have a pic until then.  Even then, it would be really hard to see what I was talking about in a pic, as the bend seems very minor.  I couldn't say with 100% certainty it wasn't like that when I got it, as I really haven't had it in fighter mode much.

Either way thanks for the reply.  I might update with a pic this weekend.

Not sure where else to post this question.

Has anyone else had some weird warping of the gun pod grip when left in the gun-grip hand for extended periods of time?  I've had the gun held in-hand in battroid and gerwalk for several weeks.  When I went to put it in fighter mode, I keep having a crooked gunpod mounted below the arms.  At first I thought it was the arms not lining up, but after several attempts, I realized it was the handle causing it to be crooked. 

I'm at work so I don't have a picture (could post one later, if necessary), but I don't know how much that would help (it is very hard to see).  The grip is just slightly warped/crooked; it still fits in the arms in fighter mode and in the hands, but it just has a slight bend towards the middle of the grip.

Is this a common thing?  Is there any real way to prevent this when leaving the gunpod in hand for extended periods of time?

16 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I kind of wish they'd always printed the skull logos on the fast packs.. but that would have limited how they're used.  I've just never felt like using the stickers on them, so all of mine are bare.

I actually disagree on this one, and that is part of the problem I have with the "premium" version in general.  I actually prefer the UN Spacy kite on most of my FAST packs.  Is it 100% anime accurate?  No, but I prefer the way it looks like that, and I'm glad I have the option.

I actually like some of the customization options I have with stickers, even if it isn't always 100% canon accurate.  I guess I'm just saying I hope they don't remove the sticker option for future releases, as I actually prefer that to having everything tampoe'd, regardless of price increase (I don't like that part either, ofc ).

2 hours ago, Sandman said:

This is probably an experiment to see if arcadia can get away with charging more if they tampo all the stickers like bandai.

Yeah, I'm of similar thinking.

Far be from me to tell people what they should buy, but as someone still interested in collecting some 1/60 valks, this might set an expensive precedent that I'd prefer is not repeated (or at least I hope we'll always get the option to get "non-premium" versions).

A little HMR action scene:

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:

Good transaction with Kanedas Bike. Item arrived in good condition and was shipped promptly.