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HardlyNever

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Everything posted by HardlyNever

  1. I don't want to derail this thread any further with a referendum on the state of higher ed. I would just add that it is easy to forget that 18-22 year olds (generally) want more than just a string of courses and a piece of paper at the end. They want to get away from home, experience new things, meet new people, etc. Of course colleges play up this experience, and cater to the idea of it being amazing and life-altering. I'm not saying there are no issues with higher ed today. It's just when online courses come up, they seemed to be discussed as if they are in a vacuum; or its a very simple transaction of money for a degree, when there is more to it than that. There is a disturbing percentage of students (depending on the actual college) who attend the bare minimum of classes to pass, while doing other things, so they are there for more than just classes, even with professors actively reminding them that is expensive, and not attending class is a waste of money. For my part, more online students would make my job easier, and probably more desirable on the market (I work in web development). Anyhow, back on topic. I ordered another gundam kit back in march from Amazon, and I realized it is being shipped by Japan post. I wonder how/if Amazon plans to fulfill that order given the current situation. They have until the end of April to fulfill it; I wonder if they'll send me some notification about delaying that, too. I do wish I had stocked up on a few kits before all this...
  2. I can speak about the last one, anecdotally. I've been on the campus of a higher ed institution for the past 20 or so years (first as a student/grad student, then as faculty). Online learning has been the "thing that will change everything" in higher ed for... about 15 years now. And it just never happened. Physical, on-campus enrollment has increased to some degree or another at every institution I've been at for the past 20 years (some by a lot, some by a little). And that has always brought more construction, more dorms, etc. Don't get me wrong, online class enrollment has grown too. Every institution I have been at has seen increases in online enrollment as well. But the physical enrollment has kept pace, and often surpassed it. My wife works as an elementary school teacher, and I can tell you that online learning is not working out too well for her class. Sure, at lot of it is the ad hoc nature in which this all happened, but there are still a lot of things that don't work as well in a virtual environment. If online learning does in fact become the new-norm (and I doubt it will in the next decade or so), we're going to need better tools across the board. All that said, colleges and universities across the US were expecting slight decreases in enrollment over the next few years before the COVID-19 pandemic. That is mainly due to demographic shifts (less college-aged people in the coming generation). How this will affect enrollment beyond that, no one really knows. And that's the take-away from all this. We're in uncharted territory. No one knows how this will shake out in terms of changing how things operate. We know we'll see changes, but it's just impossible to predict which changes are permanent, which are temporary, and what changes we'll have to make that haven't even happened yet.
  3. NY responded, and they did indeed want a stupid amount of money for UPS (11,064 yen). They didn't list DHL as an option. So I just switched to EMS, at like half the cost. I know that means I might not see these things this year, but I'm not paying that kind of shipping for this.
  4. FYI, NY responded to my ticket. They are, in fact, allowing me to change the shipping method on the DX SSP. Right now my only options are EMS or ferry, but I asked about DHL or UPS. We'll see what they say. Of course, we still don't when they'll actually receive the product, much less send it out.
  5. I usually re-watch SDFM around once a year. Can't say I recall ever seeing a CF VF-1S (there is a CF VF-1J that is seen several times). Not saying it isn't there, just haven't noticed it. I'll keep an eye out for it. My personal list: Best: Yamato: I don't own any actual Yamato product out side of the launch arm display stand, so I can't really say. I think the 1/60 v2 is their best achievement, though. Arcadia: PF SDF-1 Bandai: DX 1/48 VF-1 Favorites would be the same, but maybe VF-4 from Yamato as my favorite (since the Arcadia one I have is nearly identical).
  6. I submitted a ticket to see if I can at least change shipping method (which may not even be an option by the time these things are actually in their hands). We'll see what they say. Not holding my breath...
  7. Well, that means my DX SSP from NY might not even get here... this year... ever? I don't even know if I can cancel, since this is past even CC protection, I believe.
  8. Famous. Last. Words. I was only going to get one single Arcadia 1/60. A few years later, and thousands of dollars later... Hope you can stick to your plan, if you want to.
  9. Pre-covid I would have said an Arad 31A was likely but not guaranteed (Bandai's gotta milk that 31A mold to recoup costs). Arad got armor already, so maybe he gets his super parts, maybe he doesn't. He sold well enough to justify it. Chuck is still floating around near MSRP, so I'd have said supers or armor for him were unlikely. Post-covid, it's all up in the air. I think we're still lucky to be getting any Macross product at all (like the DX 1/48 line), given the circumstances.
  10. No problem. I like the idea, and I think it would make a great video series, as well (wink @jenius, I thought the GBP and super parts evolution videos were awesome). As for the Hi metal stuff, Anymoon still has you covered there (Hikaru was the first release). VF-1J Hikaru Custom, June 2010, 5,500 Yen VF-1S Focker Custom, November 2010, 6,500 Yen For Hi Metal R: The GBP set (technically not Hikaru) was the first release there. Roy came out in April 2016. Similar to the Yamato/arcadia 1/60 v2 situation though, I'm not sure you need a representative from both Hi Metal and HMR. There are differences, but they are pretty subtle. I think an HMR release would be enough to represent that line, personally.
  11. When you float this idea to a bunch of Macross nerds, you're going to have to deal with a lot of suggestions and such I think I know what you were going for: sort of the "best of the VF-1 for each generation" kind of thing. But as @tekering mentioned, it wouldn't be that great of a display once you actually put it together, only the chunky monkey and 1/48 would really stand out to the untrained eye. The Bandai high complete model also kind of throws a wrench in a scheme like that. Maybe have like a "generations" theme? Starting with the Takatokou 1/55 and 1/100 scale in the 80s, then some of the Arii and Toynami stuff for the 90s. Early Yamatos (1/60 and/or 1/48) for the early 2000s, then yamcadia v2 and HMR for the "modern" era. With a DX 1/48 when it comes out. It's a lot more to collect, obviously, but you'll have a good contrast of scales, and would be able to see how it evolved in different scales over time.
  12. It's on Anymoon: First Yamato 1/48 is 2002 (First Roy is 2003) First Yamato 1/60 v1 is 2001 (First Roy is 2002) I personally would consider the Arcadia 1/60 vf-1 the same as the Yamato 1/60 v2. But if you want to consider them different the first Arcadia VF-1 release was 2013 (first Arcadia Roy was also 2013). There was also the Toynami "masterpiece" collection that came out in late 2001 (I don't think they hit shelves until 2002, though). Whether or not that is worth including is up to you. But getting one new is definitely not worth what it's going for on ebay, imo. The first Bandai DX 1/48 release was 2019. Ofc we don't have the Roy yet, I wouldn't hold my breath on actually getting it in hand this year, with the whole pandemic situation.
  13. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of KO's. But if this prompts Arcadia to do a CF, I'd probably get one of theirs.
  14. I was only really interested in this one because I wanted it to sell reasonably well to increase the chance of a TV Kakzaki. It looks like it is selling well enough that I won't have to subsidize poor Hayao, and I'm not going through any kind of hassle to get his DYRL release. If it is readily available after release at or near regular retail, I might grab one, but probably not. I'm with the people thinking the initial (only?) production run will be crazy low relative to the last DX VF-1 releases. We know how much Bandai hates the idea of shelf-warmers, and they aren't afraid to leave some potential money on the table if it means their product doesn't get marked down. This could potentially become a weird "grail" for people trying to get this whole line. Only time will tell.
  15. Ah that makes sense, thanks. I suppose I could try to pry it out, maybe tighten the screw, then glue it again. I'd probably cause more damage than it's worth, though. It's not really a big deal, just an odd thing I noticed. I guess I could turn the bicep around and basically never notice, as well.
  16. So cabin fever is starting to set in and I got to staring at my displays a little too long. And I noticed the oddest defect on my Hikaru VF-1S copy. The upper part of the left bicep is slightly raised. At first I thought it was cracked or something, and maybe causing it to poke out a bit, but no, it's actually molded that way. My Hikaru 1J and Max 1A are completely flat on all the biceps. Has anyone else noticed this issue on any of theirs?
  17. In the anime, the TV skull leader has red triangles on the shoulders, and the DYRL skull leader has yellow triangles. Whether Bandai would care about that is anyone's guess.
  18. My theory on this is that if they admit it is wrong, they could possibly be legally liable and therefore obligated to do something about it (refund, discount, reissue, etc.). They could have said nothing at all, but I imagine they've gotten quite a lot of "feedback" about it in Japan. So they decided to claim it was on purpose to cover their ass. Just my theory, though.
  19. Regarding the cockpit, the short answer is that there are differences between the TV and DYRL cockpits. Most toys don't really make the distinction, though, and end up either picking one style or the other, or doing some kind of hybrid. The DX cockpit favors the DYRL canopy shape, but I wouldn't say it is exactly that. I think if we were going to get accurate TV/DYRL style different cockpits and canopies, it would have happened in the yamcadia v2 1/60 line, since they were separate pieces that could theoretically be made differently and put together easily. It didn't happen even then. I believe some kits do make the distinction.
  20. Great set-up. Is that the perfect grade Wing Zero up there?
  21. With Macross releases slowing to a trickle lately, I've decided to follow one of my other nostalgic/guilty pleasures: Gundam Wing
  22. Looking at that it really reminds much of how much stuff Bandai as a company puts out. Glad the SSP aren't delayed (yet). Of course I have to deal with the NY delay, as well. No, they cannot. You can disassemble it if you are so inclined, but that's just taking the toy apart. It's not an intended gimmick.
  23. HardlyNever

    Macross figures

    Any word on the KC Misa Lisa Hayes? I'm assuming it's delayed like everything else from China?
  24. Don't have any packs, but I'll still wait the extra 3-4 months for the ones I ordered from NY. I waited this long, whats another few months. They kind of don't exist to me at this point.
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