pafy6285

27 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Mandrake had the foresight and volume to negotiate good rates and it's paying off for them (an assumption).

I would say not foresight but more of a long business relationship with DHL. Mandarake has been offering DHL for years, and even then it's sometimes cheaper to use DHL than EMS for example. Only reason I don't personally use DHL when I order from Mandarake is due to customs (and associated broker fees).

54 minutes ago, Grey728 said:

I have 2 SSPs with them (They apparently already have them) but haven’t received any additional email asking to pay for shipping. I was just going to ask them to hold off on shipping for now until things start turning normal. 

If you haven't done so, better check your account details in MyKombini and check if your order have any messages there. Sometimes I don't receive emails for new messages.

MB Astray blue 2nd revise (28990 yen), launcher pack (8990 yen) and aile pack (8990 yen) currently available at mykombini.

16 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Yesh! If that's the case will see about AJ in the future. But based on @DYRL VF-1S post above, if you are talking about items not sold by AJ, third party shops can and will charge whatever they want. I haven't checked but I don't think AJ would carry DX SSP since they are TWE items. I haven't ordered from AJ in the last two weeks but as far as I know, 1600Y is still their set price for most single items.

The  items I've checked today in AJ are all sold by Amazon. For example a PO of an item  I've ordered last Monday has the flat shipping of 1600 yen. The same item which is still in PO (and sold by Amazon) now has a shipping of ~2600 yen.

just browsing on Amazon JP and it seems the shipping is now variable (more expensive on bigger items) instead of the usual flat rate (usually at 1600 yen). Checked out some items that I've PO'ed earlier with a 1600 yen shipping which now has more expensive shipping.

my 4 strikes are ready, just for this, lol (contemplating of getting another one due to that display hangar base)

New update from Japan Post: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0423_01.html

Announcement and PDF is still in Japanese (no English yet), but as per https://myfigurecollection.net/blog/45426 ,EMS and Airmail to US for example is also now suspended (Canada not in the updated list yet). Also, it seems that EMS packages going to the US that's already received by Japan Post will be sent though delayed (up to 4 months, first in first out). 

1 hour ago, Smacky said:

I live in Ontario too and try to avoid Manda and HLJ as much as possible as they always declare the full value on their packages.  Amiami and NY (30+ orders) always declare something small and have never been nailed by CBSA when shipping with SAL or EMS.  

Mandarake can undervalue your packages, you just have to explicitly ask them (with the value you want) in the comments sections when checking out. You tell them that you'll be responsible if anything happens due to the package being undervalued. My last order with them was November, and they still accept the undervalue request.

3 minutes ago, Ryoma said:

Thanks for the update. I didn't think they would have put the postal service on hold, it's basically the only thing that has kept working (and very well too) here in Italy during the quarantine! Anyway, i guess private carriers such as Fedex and DHL are still shipping though, right?

haven't seen any suspension announcements/news from Fedex/DHL's site, but you may also want to double check if you gonna order something and use those couriers.

Mods/admins feel free to move this thread if this is not the appropriate section for this. Anyways, Japan post has an official announcement regarding suspension of international mail: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_en.html

Please check the PDF for the specific list of countries and what type of mail is affected. If I understand the PDF correctly, US (and Canada) for example can still accept EMS/Airmails. SAL on the other hand (not sure if it also includes RSAL small packet or if it's under airmail) is suspended for all countries.

FYI to those wondering about N-Y's delay which started early this year, please refer to the following MFC threads for details:

First NY thread (check the last few pages for the issue): https://myfigurecollection.net/threads.v4.php?mode=view&threadId=3602&current=keywords&replyId=0&page=100

Latest/2nd NY thread: https://myfigurecollection.net/threads.v4.php?mode=view&threadId=16848&page=55#c-77088874

To summarize many of the packages for European customers were stuck or still stuck with N-Y's logistics partner there for almost 3 months and seems to be still not resolved. Thus customers there resorted to PP claims, etc. This issue seems to also affect other non-European orders (domino effect?) further worsening the issue. Though as per latest updates, it seems that N-Y is currently in damage control (though really late at that) and even directly called some of the affected customers and as per their replies, the issue should be resolved by April.

9 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Always these conspiracy theories against NY. It is normal operating procedure for them to ask for payment about a month before release. That’s when they requested payment for this, as usual. As for the delay announcement that came after they asked for payment, you can speculate if they knew it was coming or not but I think some people think these businesses have a lot more time to deal with these minor scams than it’s worth. I don’t like paying early for anything either but I have no problem when it sometimes happens. 

just to quickly answer this, check out the NY thread from MFC: https://myfigurecollection.net/threads.v4.php?mode=view&threadId=16848&page=55#c-77088874

Note that's the 2nd/latest thread for N-Y there as the first one reached its page limit. Some of the history is also on the last few pages of the first thread: https://myfigurecollection.net/threads.v4.php?mode=view&threadId=3602&current=keywords&replyId=0&page=100

To summarize many of the packages for European customers were stuck or still stuck with N-Y's logistics partner there for almost 3 months and seems to be still not resolved. Thus customers there resorted to PP claims, etc. This issue also seems to also affect other non-European orders (domino effect?)

that's somewhat expected though not having a new date is a bummer. Hopefully N-Y (where I ordered) is alive by then as it seems there's a number of PP claims/chargebacks from their customers the past few months due to their logistics issue (specifically in Europe).

1 hour ago, Alan Molina said:

are they good ? never purchased from them 

Haven't had actual issues  with them yet (ordered some Metal builds, DX and other figures). I only had one minor issue with them and I think it's more systems related, in which one of the POs which had a delayed release seems to disappear in my history/account when the date was moved. But they fixed it immediately when I informed them about it. So I think just make sure you have a copy of order/transactions (screenies, etc). There's some history though with them cancelling PO which I believe happened on Kairos orders of some users here IIRC.

kakizaki also available on mykombini for 20990 yen: https://mykombini.com/en/august-2020/17940-dx-chogokin-macross-movie-edition-vf-1a-valkyrie-hayao-kakizaki-use-bandai-limited.html

Surprised that it's already up on mykombini. They usually have very late postings.

There are already some scalper postings on amazon.co.jp: https://www.amazon.co.jp/機動戦士ガンダムSEED-フリーダムガンダム-CONCEPT-ダイキャスト製-塗装済み可動フィギュア/dp/B08627JJJ6/ref=sr_1_1?camp=1207&creative=13039&ie=UTF8&keywords=4573102580580&language=en_US&linkCode=shr&linkId=aa6611b49939a8c512d4949a33860c70&qid=1584948243&s=hobby&sr=1-1   @ 54.9k though it's only available locally.

6 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Obviously, I'm in no rush to get any of them but I'll definitely get my From Japan order first since I don't think they even have a ferry option to ship.

FromJapan can also ship by sea (at least to Canada).  Usually use that option when shipping Gunpla in bulk (I usually bid on built or unbuilt gunpla lots from YAJ)

for what it's worth, I had an item from N-Y (pbandai kit) that was released the last week of Jan and was shipped first week of March. Though the latest order I have that was released this week seems to have been shipped immediately (shipped within 2 days).  I'm used to N-Y being slow and all, though the concern right now is the issue they have mostly with the European customers using Transilogistics which started January and seems to be not fully resolved yet. This could introduce cashflow issue to N-Y if those people do mass PP dispute or chargeback (well some of them already did) and depending on the amount might affect POs  not yet released (e..g vf-0d) or worst they might go the way of the dodo.

5 hours ago, borgified said:

Chucky for 21k yen (Box B, Item A)

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?gcode=FIGURE-045897-R

 

Chucky's also available on Amazon.co.jp for 21,990 - 5% (promo) - 10% (jap tax), so currently cheaper there (plus cheap DHL shipping)

1 hour ago, Draykov said:

Anybody know what’s up with Nippon Yasan?  Apparently the security cert for their site expired a few days ago.   Not sure if this is a fluke thing, pandemic related, or the next phase of the plan to run off with my pre-order money.

heard the cert issue on another forum but haven't encountered that and when I check it, it says it will expire on July 2020. As for NY being very slow these days, could be related to the transilogistics (Europe) issue they have which started this year most probably causing backlogs in their logistics not to mention more work dealing with PP disputes/chargebacks from those who can't wait or not used on how slow N-Y can ship things. Some (from the said forum) are even speculating that NY has cashflow issues and not paying the logistics company, etc. For what it's worth, I have an item (pbandai kit) that was released last week of Jan, which was just shipped last week (more or less a month).

13 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

BTW it's been some years since I bought any MG kits, but do they still just come with a few dry transfers and a bunch of stickers? Because I always thought it bizarre that such high quality kits would just have stickers and no decals. Are gunpla builders allergic to water? 

Unfortunately, non-Ver. Ka regular released MGs usually just have dry transfers and/or stickers. Water slides are usually included on Ver Ka kits and PBandai released items.

3 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Why is Kenshin leading with his right leg?

Just pasting Figurama's reply regarding this from their FB page. It seems they had a hard time making the left foot to work and also a major factor is the swappable torso for the Battou form, otherwise, if they go with the left foot then they might need a completely different sculpt/figure for that (thus possibly increasing price) :

Quote

1. We are Kenshin fans. So much so that during the long period of conceptualizing this statue, we attempted to put Kenshin with his left foot forward. However, no matter what method we attempted, it harmed the overall aesthetic, artistry, and composition of the statue. It obscured too much of Kenshin’s body and clothing, which we did not want to be the case (there is a reason that the Amakekiro Ryu no Hirameki panel in the manga is shown from the back and other unusual angles, for example). As a result, we looked for a compromise so that collectors would still have pose flexibility without compromising Kenshin’s visibility.

2. This statue is our first to feature a complete swappable torso for Kenshin. We are very proud of this achievement and wanted to create a practical way for collectors to post Kenshin performing two of his best moves—Battōjutsu form and the Amakekiro Ryu no Hirameki. In this way, if the statue is posed in Battōjutsu (sword-draw) form, it’s accurate. However, it can also be interpreted as a “balanced” fight, since Kenshin is not on his left leg, he has not “won” the fight, so it is more evenly matched at this specific moment (you might interpret it as “the moment right before Amakekiro Ryu no Hirameki is fully unleashing”). The exact moment of the fight being depicted is also left very ambiguous on purpose. This statue is meant to convey the overall “feel” of the battle, not a specific moment (much like our Eren VS Armored Titan Statue).

3. While working alongside the licensors (who had very strict guidelines) to create a sculpt for this statue, they approved the right-leg pose over the left-leg pose as being a better choice.

4. Although in the manga and anime series Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki is performed on the left foot (thus making it a “surprise” attack), it is impossible to do this in real life. This is why in the live action movie, they “correct” the attack by having Kenshin on his right leg. We also consulted a 5 dan kendo/iaido martial artist who was a big fan of Kenshin, who confirmed this to be the case.

In the end, with all these factors considered, we chose to pose Kenshin on his right leg. Although this is different than the specific moment portrayed in the manga and anime, we did our best (through professional consultation, licensor discussion, and reviewing the source material) to find a way to compromise the statue’s design and the anime’s fantastical elements with what looked best compositionally and made sense realistically. We know that not everyone will be happy with this decision, and we wish we could accommodate every possibility. However, we do feel we have weighed all of our options and made the best possible decision given the diverse factors involved. We are very proud of and confident in the result. However, We are always here to listen. And as fans ourselves, we very much understand your passion and perspective. I hope that after reading this, you understand more of ours as well . Thank you for listening!

Rurouni Kenshin fans, you might be interested with Figurama's 1/6 Kenshin vs Shishio diorama which is now open for PO (limited to 950 pcs): https://figurama-collectors.com/collections/elite-exclusive/products/rurouni-kenshin?variant=31754473275497

Not really into statue territory, but there's only a few really good Kenshin figs out there, and being a long time fan of the series, just have to get his, lol. It's quite expensive though at $1100 USD, (20%, or $220 deposit) but they have payment plans up to 10 months (no interest or fees). Also if you pay thru their CC processor Payfort, they have a $45 discount on shipping. Size of the statue is 60cmx60cmx55cm  so have to look for a big space to display it (by the way, they say the swords are diecast).

PO is still open as of this writing. The last diorama, the Meruem vs Netero (HxH) I believe lasted 7 hours before it was closed.

the N-Y thread from another figure site is quite active right now (for the past few weeks), due to delayed/slow shipping/delivery issue. This mostly involves buyers from Europe, who uses a logistics/shipping company only available there (trans-logistics). Apparently, there was some custom issues encountered by the logistic company early January and it seems that the packages has just started to move mid-January. N-Y being N-Y didn't explain much with regards to the delay thus making many buyers with orders already released quite anxious. 

Items actually moved and got delivered but it can be assumed that there a significant back up of packages due to shipping company delay thus not all items that are expected got delivered to their recipients. So it can be assumed that N-Y has it hands full right now as there could be a flood of tickets  not to mentioned those who don't have the patience could be doing PP disputes or chargebacks further increasing the load (some posters speculating bankruptcy doesn't help also).

Anyway, if you're buying an in-stock item from N-Y right now, I think it would be better to just order from another due to slow processing right now. And if you have an order release this month or maybe the next month expect slow processing / shipping due to the said issue.

14 minutes ago, Petrov27 said:

Watched Beaststars - I think I liked it... still trying to process lol

 

 

Ya Beastars is good and has some good social commentaries. And if you're into Beastars, try Murenase! Seton Gakuen this season which is also a school setting with animals in it (the girls are basically kemonomimi or humans with some animal characteristic, and the males are 'animals' in human form, and the faculty are literary dinosaurs). However this is a comedy series as opposed to Beastars which has serious undertones.