dafob

I still think my Jetfire was A LOT worse than this so I don't think this is too bad. LOL. I also have this reissue, still MISB. You had me worried so I just pulled it out of the closet and mine is still white (...for now...).

Yeah, that's probably the plan at this point. Just gotta find matching gray spray paint. Thankfully there's no tampos on these parts and the backpiece can be separated so it should be easy to paint.

As evident from my posts in this thread, I've had much success whitening yellowed plastics. But everything I've done up to this point has been stuff that was originally white or off-white. I recently picked up some sunburnt Yamato YF-19 Fast Pack parts. These parts are dark gray and I've never seen plastic that dark go yellow. I wanted to experiment w/ the hydrogen peroxide treatment to see how it would affect plastic that dark. Since it has been cloudy in sunny SoCal lately, I was only able to get in a few hours of sun the first day. Here are the results after about 3 hours: Stupid me should've stopped there because the following day was a bright sunny day so after 8 more hours of sun: It seems TOO much hydrogen peroxide treatment is a bad thing on darker plastics because you can see blotches of white and uneven coloring on the left piece. So this is a PSA to those that want to try hydrogen peroxide on darker plastics. I'm sure plastic composition and other factors also play into it. Note that this is just my experience. If anyone else has had better success, please let us know.

I also got a shipping confirmation from HLJ Friday evening. Ironic part is that I tried desperately to cancel my HLJ order after seeing the Amazon price but was too late. So as I wait a month to get mine I'm gonna check out of this thread so that I don't have to see all you Amazon folks get yours tomorrow (and for $30 less than what I paid shipped! grrr!!!!)...

... or you could just set the website to English. Just look for the little Globe icon: Some things won't ship to the US but I've found most things will ship if you purchase at release and it's sold (or fulfilled) by AJ.

I had assumed the battered Valk came from AJ, but you're right... Reading the post again he did say regular Amazon so now it makes more sense. I've never had a problem with AJ.

Oh man, that sucks! ... and I just posted in the other thread that I got my VT-1 today from Amazon JP in perfect condition in just 3 days after placing the order. I feel your pain.

Yeah, I learned my lesson when MP-36 Megs was released. I had ordered from AE and used SAL to save on shipping (even then it was like $25 and took 3 weeks). But people were posting that they ordered from Amazon JP and got 2-3 day shipping for $10, so they ended up paying less than what I paid AND got their stuff in 2-3 days. Since then, I've been using Amazon JP for MP's and it's been great! Now I can add Macross to the list. I guess the risk is that you have to wait and hope Amazon gets whatever you're looking for because they don't always get it and you could miss out on a PO.

New toy, from Amazon JP. Ordered Friday, shipped Saturday, received today (Tuesday). All for $85 shipped! Hard to beat that price with 3 day shipping from Japan to the US!

Does anyone else think the HMR VT-1 looks very much like the original Yamato 1/60 VT-1 version 1 (w/ the removable legs)? The color scheme looks almost identical, and the molding of the boosters look more like that than the Yammy V2. It's as if they were going for that look instead of the Yammy V2 Ostrich. SMH...

PSA: for those still looking for the HMR Ostrich, as of 8/10/18 noon PDT Amazon Japan currently has it for ￥7,808 (even though it lists it at￥8,433 -> add to cart and price drops). That comes to about $72.92. Shipping is another $11.20 (and Amazon shipping is fast! Gets to you in 1-4 days) -> Total price around $84.12USD. https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B07C9NDSZR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AN1VRQENFRJN5&psc=1 Edit: ...and gone.

Got 2 at Ami Ami! Dammit, only wanted one...

I personally haven't tried a 10% concentration of hydrogen peroxide. I've only used developer 40 hair gel, which is about 12% H2O2. I like the "gel" part because it's easy to apply and doesn't dry out as quickly. I'd assume the cleanser cream you're referring to would achieve the same results, but you're welcome to try and let us know how it goes.

Just curious if anyone here has tried to add the rainbow effect on regular clear VF-1 canopies? I've seen sprays that supposedly add the effect to any surface and was gonna experiment but would appreciate feedback for those that were brave enough to try.

Where did you end up getting the first release YF-21 from? I have two YF-21s, but both are the re-release version. Was thinking of selling one of them to get the 1st release but still debating if it's even worth it since I've read that the FP for the YF-21 isn't all that great.

Agreed with Cat. If cheap enough, it'd be worth it if you wanna put some effort in whitening it. It's not hard or expensive, but requires patience. If done right, the results are very rewarding.

...you must not resist... give in to the dark side... it is your DESTINY!

Ready to sell me some of those VF-1's we had discussed a while back...?

You actually need 3... one for each mode! LOL

Up at HLJ: https://hlj.com/product/BANN55061/Act

From my own experience, the H202 does seem to affect some paint and not others. On my jetfires, I noticed it lightened the reds. Most of time, the solution is applied using a Q-tip directly on the plastic and over the paint. But for certain areas where I don't want the paint damaged (like the chest area in the above example), I cover the paint w/ tape before applying the H2O2. I then put those treated pieces in a sealed ziplock bag (to prevent drying/evaporation) and leave the bags in direct sunlight.

So after going through this post I was inspired to finally try the whitening on a Yamato figure (after whitening a few G1 Jetfires). I used Developer 40 Hydrogen Peroxide Hair Gel. But I didn't want to experiment on any of mine so I picked up a cheap, damaged & yellowed 1/48 VF-1A: The yellowed figure next to a white VF-1J for comparison: Disassembled the figure in preparation for the Developer 40 treatment: The back panel and wings after one full day of sunbathing. The chest plate is untreated in this picture for comparison. The final result: It's still not as white as any of my original pristine figures but still very passable for display purposes. And especially since the junker figure only cost me $75, this experiment was totally worth it.

That's how I feel looking at your TV Max and Kakizaki. ...grass is always greener... Lol.

Really bummed I lost an eBay auction yesterday for a 1/48 VF-1A DYRL Kakizaki by a freakin $1 because my stupid browser froze on me in the final 15 seconds of bidding. I guess I have to settle for these two obscure birds that no one seems to want: Ostrich came in today and the 1D a few weeks ago. Shout out to @Offswitch for both! All that's left on my list are the VF-1A TV Max and TV Kakizaki and I'm done (in either 1/48 or 1/60 scale). Anyone wanna help me finish my collection?

Thanks for the tip. I checked Jungle every now and then but not as often as I should. As for the 1/48 TV Max on eBay: I've been lucky enough so far to get most of the valks at "reasonable" prices. I'm now at the point where I'm hitting the "rarer" ones and have been paying exorbitant prices (YF-21, VF-11B, VF-1D, VT-1). I've been avoiding that 1/48 TV Max listed on eBay hoping I could find it cheaper elsewhere but I'm about to give in soon. I think you and I should go to rehab together and seek help for this addiction.