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18 minutes ago, vladykins said:

Even my wife, who refuses to watch a single episode of any of this, loves the HMR Monster.

 

I know the guy who runs the Scorched Earth blog/youtube that reviews macross toys - his wife super loves the Monster as well.

https://youtu.be/UPuNAjNwh9c

Lucky guy!

12 minutes ago, borgified said:

HMR Spartan - 5.6k yen (Item B, Box B)

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?gcode=FIGURE-027033-R

 

Thanks for the lead! For future reference, where on the page do they list item condition grade? I can't see it. 

4 hours ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

The HMR destroids have greater fit, finish and sculpt than their VF-1 counterparts!!

Same with the Regults and the Glaug. 

To be fair, its easier to make a toy look better when you dont have to also engineer transformations

7 minutes ago, Podtastic said:

Sadly any meh Valkyrie variant (no matter how obscure) seems to get preference over any enemy or destroid release (no matter how prominently featured).

 

And based on secondary prices, there is way more demand for the the Bad Guys than things like the Elintseeker. 

14 minutes ago, Mechapilot77 said:

we need all those.  man back in those days i was so high on this line!  enemy mecha and destroids!!  so like...disappointing after all this time they are still no shows.  also what happend to SHF breetai in scale with these HMR guys?!

Have you seen the MEPToys Breetai?  

He's 1/100 so should be in scale and he looks pretty good. 

This is my first time seeing these prototypes - they look drop dead gorgeous.

4 hours ago, ScrambledValkyrie said:

All those would great to see. But you know they already did the Monster, right?

Ha, I meant the Phalanx - always get those names mixed up.

So, has Bandai given any hints on when the next release will be announced? Covid wouldn't make all toy companies put their plans on pause right?

I am hoping for (in this order): Q-Rau armor, Battlepod Scout, Tomahawk, Monster.

Hell - I'd throw this out there - how cool would a 1/100 SDF head/bridge be? Can recreate some nice scenes.  

Question for anybody who was buying from Japan during the Great Recession. Did stories in Japan like Manadrake or Jungle see lower prices? I have a few items I am keeping my eye on, but I'm not in a rush to get them and with the economy looking like it'll be heading south, I am wondering if maybe things might be a lot cheaper by the end of the year. Thoughts?

24 minutes ago, borgified said:

Jungle's international front page mentions that all International Shipping is suspended due to the outbreak of the virus. 

 

Their front page says that several shipping methods such as EMS have been suspended, but FedEx Priority, DHL, and Japan Post Surface are all still shipping to the US. 

And I don't see anywhere that says they are suspending their 45 day time limit. I just had an issue with them over shipping fees, and you would think that they would have mentioned waiting for EMS to open up again would be 1 solution if that was the case. In addition, when they shipped me something last week, they said I had 30 days to pay the packing/shipping fee before my time was up. 

37 minutes ago, vladykins said:

Yep- my total with them right now is:

HMR GBP VF-1J

2 HMR CF VF-1As

Yamato 1/48 low vis VF-1A

Bandai 1/55 VF-1S Roy/Hikaru with supers

 

Wait, so they are extending their normal 45 day time limit? 

25 minutes ago, vladykins said:

So The Jungle had GBP VF-1J for 17,600, so I had to add it to my pile of things that they can't send me until JapanPost decides to mail again.

Congrats! You got a great deal!

I saw that one too, but was unsure about it since the image was a stock photo. Are items on the Jungle pretty safe though? (I guess I wasn't sure about its condition).

9 minutes ago, kkx said:

I have use surface shipping with FJ multiple times. After a long wait (normally just over 2 months), the package arrive in good condition. No problem so far.

EDIT: forget to mention, sometime when the item is small, you can safe a few bucks by going with non-trackable surface. Did that once, was worried, but it still arrive ok.

Oh perfect. Thanks everyone! Sounds like Surface comes with tracking and is the way to go.

Does insurance come automatic or is that some extra thing?

Update for anyone curious or if someone has similar situation. I had purchased a Monster from FromJapan. When I purchased, I put in the Monster's box's dimensions in their shipping estimate calculator, it said Surface shipping would cost about $40. 

Once purchased, FromJapan said the shipping box would be twice as long as the Monster's box (61cm vs 30 cm) and not eligible for Surface. FedEx would cost $140. 

I emailed them - at first they said the packing materials to keep it safe required a large box. I let them know I was ok with less packing material (I dont care about the box being protected), and they let me know they would tell their warehouse to pack in a smaller box eligible for Surface and send me an update on new prices.

New shipping came in: They are now using a 38cm x 38 x 34 box. Surface shipping is $35 and FedEx is $89.  

I want to thank FromJapan for working with me and having responsive customer service. I def will use them again.

Now, I just need to decide between Surface and FedEx. Surface takes 2-3 months right now - I don't mind the wait, but more worried about if it gets lost as I would hate to bother FromJapan with more problems. Anyone know if Surface comes with insurance and tracking? 

FYI, I just ordered Minmei direct from them. Shipping was $8 but will take 2 months. They didn't specify or offer multiple methods to ship. Interestingly, if I had added Hikaru, the shipping would more than double to $18

I was hoping to pre-order Lisa from them for the discount and free shipping but was too late and they are out of pre-orders. 

I'm coming from being a Transformers collector although the Matchbox SDF-1 and Gakken Cyclone are the 2 prominent non-Transformers items in my display case. Then I discovered the Sentinel Riobot Cyclones this summer, and they got me hooked back in (picked up the Ray and Yellow figs).

Then -  I picked up some Hi-Metal R items, and told myself that would be it - my one line I'd collect.

When I first saw these figures, I wasn't going to get them as I thought the price point for 1/12 scale action figures was more than I wanted to spend on non-mecha. But then seeing how well they fit with my Sentinel Riobot Cyclone figs got me interested. I pre-ordered the Roy Fokker, and will prob pick up the rest of the figures now. 

It seems that ordering straight from KitzConcept is actually the cheapest way to go?

I still wish they were all $20 cheaper, but the reviews make it seem they are nice figures. Lots of accessories and good posability. 

Ahhh thank you! I found the original Kitzconcept thread and saw it was locked - handt realized a new thread had been made!

Anyone else collecting these? At first, I wasn't going to as I thought the price point for 1/12 scale action figures was more than I wanted to spend on non-mecha. But then seeing how well they fit with my Sentinel Riobot Cyclone figs got me interested. I pre-ordered the Roy Fokker, and will prob pick up the rest of the figures now. 

It seems that ordering straight from KitzConcept is actually the cheapest way to go?

I still wish they were all $20 cheaper, but the reviews make it seem they are nice figures.

Got my first Hi-Metal R units in - the Regault and Glaug. Great little pieces - heavier than I thought they'd be, which is nice. Seem really sturdy and nicely built. Looking forward to getting my Monster in and then getting some VF's in.

I'm *super tempted" by the Kidzconcept 1/72 VFs, but I think I have enough shelving for 1 line of Macross toys, and I think 1/100 is gonna' have to be it with Hi-Metal's amazing diversity. 

Purchased 2 Hi-metal R battlepods from @kkx . Shipping was fast and all items arrived as described. No complaints! 

21 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

He's not, it actually does work.

Sun-bleaching.

But don't you runt he risk of making the plastic brittle with that much UV?

5 minutes ago, F360 said:

Since FromJapan can hold your item for up to 45 days.  you can try to just hold it in their warehouse and see if EMS would resume or if FedEx Economy would resume for the USA within that time frame.   Of course you can and should email and ask if they can ship it by surface mail (ferry) too.   There is no harm in asking.   Surface mail/Ferry takes about 2 months. 

 

Does anyone know the exact limit for Japan Post Surface? Surface is still shipping to the US (and FromJapan is using them for orders), but FromJapan says the package is over the size/wight limit. However, the JapanPost website here: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/i_parcel_en.html#:~:text=Features of International Parcel Post,weight limit is 30 kg.

seems to suggest that weight limit is 30kg (my package is under 4 kg) and length needs to be under 1.5 meters (and they're giving a length of 61cm x 42 x 34 for my package). 

So I am hoping that maybe that they actually can use Surface? 

Whats frustrating is that I was going to originally buy from a different site from Asia that had a brand new copy (FromJapans one was used) that would have been $200 plus $50 shipping. So this used copy will end up costing $40 more if they don't go down on the shipping. I am gonna try letting them know that the toy box being protected during shipping isnt a concern for me, so hopefully they can ship in smaller box or wrap it as a compromise. (I would rather trust the styrofoam to protect the toy itself).

At this point, I'd rather they just wrap it in shipping paper and let the styrofoam protect the toy so I am not paying $100 for a box! I am going to message them that as a compromise. 

Thank you Ignacio! If possible, do you mind sending some photos of the box with the tape measure?

I have a sad feeling that I may need to open up a Paypal Dispute, and could use some photographic evidence as support.