DewPoint

The backpacks on my Arcadia Roy and Hikaru folded over without issue. When I got Millia, straight out of the box, the backpack hinges were super tight. When I tried to fold it over it didn't want to go past 80 degrees. At that point the backpack looked like it wanted to separate. I could see a gap forming between the tail fin top plate and the  thrusters. At that point I stopped to examine the hinge and review the instructions. My Max had a similar very stiff hinge. It doesn't seem to be that much of a problem after the initial transformation. But that first time is scary.  

From my experience, you basically broke it.  I almost broke mine as well.  Arcadia stated that they tightened up a lot of the joints starting from the Millia release.  You can't fold the backpack the way you see in Jenius' transformation guide anymore.  The backpack seems to hook into the bottom of the back plate just beyond the hinge.  Because they tightened up the joints, the rear hinge dosen't move as readily as the previous releases.  So as in the Chinese video posted, you need to make sure you bend the rear hinge to unhook the backpack from the back plate before you fully bend it over or you end up blowing out the hinge just like you did.

2 hours ago, seti88 said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thats art.

The other aspect of better tampo are higher resolution prints, vibrant color range, fit to edges or resistance to fading/peeling amongst many things. This to bandai's credit, I have seen them improve. Just looking at the sv-262 and the recent 31a gold wings on the skull leader emblem or the delta valks, that wow feeling you get when u notice the tampo while unboxing the valk.

Knock on wood, so far I feel bandai is on a roll and deserves the title of tampo-king for their quality of tampo.

edit* just realised this is an arcadia thread. So, in no way reflective of arcadia's efforts and not comparing the behemoth that is bandai in terms of resources.

 

Yup! you can do A LOT when you own Gundam and Sunrise.

CDJapan sold out!

4 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Really? am refreshing it and it still says 2...http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOGDS-294953

 

1 left!

Most venders were sold out in less than 8 minutes.

Just now, Smacky said:

Was it as big of a markup as it was today?  An almost 50% markup seems ridiculous.

Maybe they PO for amiami to resell?

Interesting business practice.

NY back up at 22,000 yen!

I guess that's why it's called "Super Dimension?"

1 hour ago, HardlyNever said:

Ah, the old "what are those things."  I've seen those called laser guns, or sensors.  Same thing with the red dots on the front of the nose cone (some say guns, some say sensors).

I just rewatched SDMF, and I can say that 100% they shoot lasers out of the red dots on the front of the nose cone, multiple times (in different episodes).  Not so sure about the things on the intakes, but it is possible (the animation is pretty rough sometimes).

Or you could chalk it all up to animation errors.  But it is the 80s, everything that could be a weapon, is a weapon.  And some things that couldn't be weapons, are still weapons.

According to the Macross Mecha Manual "reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake."  Makes sense to me although it was never depicted in use in the show. The "18 low-thrust vernier thrusters" were never shown in use in the show either.  I honestly never knew what those were back when I first watched the show.  The appeared to be giant screw heads to me.  The blisters on the nose cone were depicted as lasers on several episodes, but I think they should have also been thrusters.  Since the show was riddled with production errors, only Kawamori knows for sure.

I just had a thought. Since the current VF-1s are largely a 9 year old version of a 36 year old design, how much more innovation are we expecting from these toys? At what point does "better" become simply "different"? I know that with the varying opinions, we could nit-pick anything to death.

13 minutes ago, bleecher said:

Guess I should prepare myself for the wheel of death. Does N-Y allow for multiple units during preorder?

It would seem that it depends on the item. Sometimes the limit is 3, sometimes it's 1. 

I agree with azrael. Motherboards, processors, and RAM should be bought together. You save more money in the long run and run into fewer issues. The big question is always going to be "what are you going to use the computer for?" This is what usually determines what parts you buy. My last build was a home theater PC built around a 3rd Gen I7. I quit on-line computer gaming years ago. For Web surfing, YouTube and watching movies, it's still more than adequate. If you use it for gaming or video editing, you'll probably end up spending a lot more on your rig. If you can afford it, it's probably best to replace the entire rig all at once for the exact reasons you have already stated. 

16 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

It was mentioned in the teaser commerical they put in the Tamashii website via YouTube video. It's 1/48 scale. Announcer said Yong-Ju-Hachi Sukeru (1/48 scale). She also mentioned 'big size'. 

And if this is how big it's going to be besides YamArcadia's 1/60 scale, I'm in and the rest of Hikaru's ride -- Super VF-1A and  Strike VF-1S.

 

Thank you sir! She did indeed say that.  I guess I'm going sit back and watch the pre-order madness and see how fast this thing will sell out.  That is unless it retails for some ridiculously low price.  Then I may reconsider.  

4 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

We know that it's 1/48. And that's not stopping us for wishing how the price should be. For now, let's not think about PO discounts. Arcadia's VF-1's Premium Finish releases are priced at Y27864 MSRP on Arcadia's site. While their regular VF-0 priced at Y37584. Which I think it might ended up something like that. However, regular DX releases such as the VF-31's cost around Y22680/Y23760. Y27000 for the upcoming YF-19. Knowing that Bandai is more mass produced and more commercialized than Arcadia, everyone is just hoping it's below Y30000.

 

I probably missed it, but when did we know that is is 1/48 scale?  I didn't see it on any of the magazine pages posted.  Honestly, I think 1/60 would make more sense as it would scale in batter with the existing DX Chogokin line.  Because I too believe that more than a handful is too much. 

I notice when people complain about Arcadia pricing here they gloss over the fact that a lot of Arcadia's Macross products are not just "naked" Valkyries.  Most of Bandai's DX Chogokin Valkyries are "naked."  If you add the price of the super/armor parts to the price of the Valkyrie, the cost is comparable.

If it is 1/60, I may bite, I'll probably pass if it is indeed 1/48.

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

Saying that Bandai is bigger than Arcadia is an understatement. Yes they can produce more toys at lower cost, and as such can offer lower prices overall. I expect the 1/48 VF-1 to be around the DX 31 to YF-19 price range.

Though I wonder why some people are eager to see Bandai "hammer the nail in the coffin" of Arcadia. As I stated once before: what kind of fool wants less competition and choice in the marketplace? Did we suddenly become pro-multinational behemoths that grind any competition under their heels? 

Yeah Arcadia prices are high and I can understand if that's too much for some people. And you can show your disapproval by not buying their products. But wanting them gone so that Bandai is the sole provider of Macross toys? We had that for long time and we got nothing but garbage from Bandai.

Also, I doubt Bandai would ever waste their time making a 1/60 VF-0 or Sv-51. They might, but they have so many other things they can produce that make more money, so why would they bother? Even Bandai only has so much factory capacity.

No. There is another.  Evolution Toy.

AmiAmi has Tamashii Stage ACT.5 clear display stands up for pre-order.  August 2018 release date.

Tamashii Stage ACT.5 for Mechanics: Clear(Pre-order)

I re-watched SDFM earlier this year. If Bandai sticks to the current accessory paradigm, we should only be offered an Armored accessory set. I believe that we didn't see Super Packs in the show until after Hikaru inherited Roy's VF-1S.  

My Bandai HCM VF-1J that my father bought me back in 1985 is all kinds of shades of yellow.  It hasn't been out of it's box for more than a hour in literally the last 30 years!  It lives in my closet (two different closets) and I did play with it a lot for the first three years or so.  It showed no signs of yellowing when I stopped playing with it.  I'm afraid to completely transform it now as I'm afraid it will fall apart in my hands if I do.

Perhaps Bandai need to do something new for an accessory.  How about something radically different!  How about releasing a Misa in space suit figure complete with Riber's room so we can have Hikaru rescue her like in Bye-Bye Mars!

Though I believe it will probably go as Silence the Cat said:

8 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

So... in my head, I am thinking the VF-1J will end up costing around $200 - $250.

Then comes Super Parts for $100 - $150.

And then Strike Parts for another $100 - $150.

And then Armored Parts for $200 - $250.

Maybe you get lucky and get a combined Super/Strike Parts.... maybe.

I just fear that a single VF-1J plus accessories ends up running as much as $800.

This seems to me how Bandai does business in their DX line.

You could also try to look for a broken/damaged VF-0 to harvest parts.

If you go for the welding option keep in mind that when applying that much heat metal can warp, stretch, or shrink.  Soldering and brazing is less heat, but rather then fusing the metal together (along with a secondary metal), it's more like gluing metal together with a secondary metal.  Either process requires removing the existing paint and can warp the metal from the heating process. Just make sure you know what you are in for before deciding on a process.

You could also use this opportunity to upgrade to a PF model.

Even military jet fighter canopies need to be replaced every three years.  At least so I've been told.

4 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

Thay should release the Blue Phalanx with two alternative decals:

One with the girl and the other with "Mari Ijima", so you can have both versions shown there

 

I believe that there are actually three variations of the Blue Phalanx. Mari Ijima, Mika Doi, and DAICON.