26662

On 8/24/2023 at 2:09 AM, Scyla said:

@jvmacross Next preorder 08/01/23: VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX (Alto Saotome machine). From @enphily.

https://tamashiiweb.com/item/14559/?wovn=en

Sweet Jesus, get in my collection!  I have the blue version.  I picked it up from Mandarake during a stretch where I bought every single Chogokin they had for about a month straight.  My wallet still hasn't recovered.  I don't know what it is about this design but it just speaks to me.  And I haven't even seen the animation!  I have zero storyline context but I love the design.

On 8/10/2023 at 9:02 AM, Paco Grande said:

Thank you for posting that, it made me smile. I'm a rookie on this forum and I'm pretty shocked at how picky everyone is here. I'm also shocked how much money people in here are ready to drop. I'm used to Transformers fans and there is a huge amount of complaining there as well, but TF fans are so cheap and constantly complain about having to pay "so much" when the prices on TF products are typically low compared to other franchises. I'm a mechanical designer so I think I appreciate more just how much effort is required to produce something like this and also how difficult it can be when there are many constraints put on a project. Budget, etc. I'm sure Bandai only gave their team one kick at the can and there is no more budget to fix anything. The designers would happily work on it for years to perfect it, but that's not how it works in large companies. this design was most likely finished back in 2019 and it's just waiting for Bandai to pick a release date. Looks like they decided to wait for the anniversary next year.

At least you don't have endless posts in here about how they will "wait for the KO". Transformers fans are always waiting for the KO and it makes me sick. Takara Tomy posted a video about their new Missing Link Optimus Prime the other day and people are posting "I'll wait for the KO" in the comments of the video. Just disgusting behaviour imo. The designers work really hard on these figures and they deserve more respect. 

Steering back on topic, I'm not nearly as picky as others on here so I'm just happy this thing exists and I'll finally have a buddy for my YF-19 on the shelf! No, it's not perfect, but it's close enough for me and I can't wait to get it.

I'm a longtime on/off collector of Transformers as well, and you're right, that community is something else.  The quality of Transformers has nosedived over time, and I'm typically stunned(?) by what Transformers fans will embrace in terms of quality, design, and QC.  You sound like a kindred spirit: I became a neuroscientist in part because of my fascination with Transformers, Macross, the man-machine interface, etc. from an early age.  [Full disclosure, I left neuro when I realized I couldn't live (or even date) on a post-doc's salary.  Proud to say I'm much happier now that I've moved into pharma.]

52 minutes ago, Reïvaj said:

You know what? I don't even like the legs. I think the lower parts, those that are over the feet, are very poorly designed and absolutely non canonical. 

OMG.  Can’t you just be happy Bandai cares enough to put their blood, sweat, and tears into a 20-yr old franchise (or thereabouts)?  Sweet Jesus, save me from these ignorant, unappreciative hordes.  You honestly believe your shitting on these pre-release images will manifest something better at this point?  Talk about cutting off one’s nose to spite their face.  Look at its construction and design!  These guys worked their ass off to translate 2D images into a miraculous 3D valk.  Go ahead and sit this one out.  I’ll buy enough for the both us us.

12 hours ago, twich said:

well, the Mospeada from Toynami and the new 32cm tall Legioss that is Die-Cast looks very interesting and has a good sculpt.  I hope they are able to make these and bring them to the fans.  I have always wanted to Mospeada and a Legioss, but the cost of the sentinel ones are as much as a Macross Variable Fighter in 1/60 scale.

Twich

I hope the quality is there.  I've owned at least one of every commercially-available alpha fighter ever produced and I have yet to be impressed enough to keep even one of them.  And w/r to the cyclone, I was pretty stoked to get the Sentinel RIOBOT version until I went to transform it: what a piece of complete junk that was.  Before I could even transform it once, the lower leg popped off because the meshed thigh is connected to the plastic calf with just a dollop of glue.

3 hours ago, wmkjr said:

Pretty sure you meant Toynami and not Yamato for the Macross stuff.

Actually, I dislike both Yamato and Toynami equally.  😜  That said, I’ll be picking up multiples upon multiples of the cyclone and fighter if they get released.  🤞🏻

I haven't seen this advertised here or anywhere outside of Toyark.  I'm not a huge fan of Yamato Toynami, but these look amazing!

https://www.toyark.com/2023/07/20/sdcc-2023-toynami-robotech-display-508536

On 4/26/2023 at 2:46 AM, ChristopherB said:

Greetings @26662 and I hope you're doing well, my apologies for the late reply to your inquiry.  I have a really large collection of resin kits, but I cleared out most of the duplicates already because I was running out of space.  Plus I would rather share than hoard.  So, nothing is being offered for sale, but if you had anything specific in mind and the price was right I would entertain further discussion.

I'm still looking for custom 1/55 Valkyries if anyone knows of one for sale.  Pictures of Rosario Love's Ultimate VT-1 Super Ostrich if someone saved any, please post them to this thread.  Likewise any cool pictures of other 1/55 customs would be appreciated, I'm trying to document as many as possible.  Thanks in advance! 

Hi ChristopherB.  I don't swing by MW but once a week at most so I totally understand.  W/R to resin kits, I'm looking for armor for my Superostrich and Elintseeker.  I don't have any custom valkyries.  At least not yet.  That's exactly what I hope to do with a resin armor set if I can get my hands on a set.  Happy to arrange a deal if you've got a set and are willing to part with them.  Either way, thanks for getting back to me.  Cheers...

On 11/4/2022 at 7:37 AM, 26662 said:

Bad apple: eBay seller "takatoku"

I recently listed a vintage Destroid Monster on eBay.  User "takatoku" asked for additional pix of the item and I obliged.  He said the item wasn't worth even the opening bid amount because of "X, Y, and Z" and made an insulting lowball offer.  I declined politely and wished him well in his search for another MIB Destroid Monster.  He bid and won the auction.  Upon receiving the item, "takatoku" immediately claimed that the item wasn't as I described in my auction and again claimed that the item wasn't worth what he paid because of, again, "X, Y, and Z": he noted the condition pre-bid, still bid, won the auction, and then demanded a refund (of an arbitrary amount) because of "X, Y, and Z."  He's since filed a dispute with eBay saying that I misrepresented the item's description/condition.  This prevents me from collecting any money from the sale until the dispute is resolved, and it prevents me from leaving him negative, or even neutral, feedback.  It's almost a perfect scam because eBay's policies protect him from negative feedback while simultaneously assuring him of a below-market price.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if he uses this system to turn an easy profit when reselling items at market value.

 

TLDR: eBay user "takatoku" is 100% a scammer.  He's using eBay's own dispute resolution policies to cheat the system, cheat eBay sellers, and force a discounted, below-market price.  His MO is to cheat you.  Caveat emptor. 

Update: it took some persistence but eBay finally acted upon my request to intervene and take a close look at the transaction with eBay user "takatoku."  eBay looked at the evidence I provided and, surprisingly, recognized the merit of my claims.  I'm still out the costs of shipping the item to/from the Buyer, but the item will be returned to me and I will not receive any strikes against my seller account.  If the item is returned to me damaged in any way, eBay will take further action and perhaps waive some of the shipping costs. 

As someone alluded to up above, eBay tends to favor the buyer during disputes so this is about the best outcome I could have expected.  I think my saving grace was that I updated my auction with the buyer's pre-bid correspondence where he:

1. made a low-ball offer

2. described in detail everything he claimed was wrong with the item

3. asked that I respect his privacy and keep our correspondence private

I don't know if eBay will sanction 'takatoku' in any way.  Honestly, I don't care.  My goal was to reveal 'takatoku's' abuse of eBay's dispute resolution policies.  Mission accomplished.

Bad apple: eBay seller "takatoku"

I recently listed a vintage Destroid Monster on eBay.  User "takatoku" asked for additional pix of the item and I obliged.  He said the item wasn't worth even the opening bid amount because of "X, Y, and Z" and made an insulting lowball offer.  I declined politely and wished him well in his search for another MIB Destroid Monster.  He bid and won the auction.  Upon receiving the item, "takatoku" immediately claimed that the item wasn't as I described in my auction and again claimed that the item wasn't worth what he paid because of, again, "X, Y, and Z": he noted the condition pre-bid, still bid, won the auction, and then demanded a refund (of an arbitrary amount) because of "X, Y, and Z."  He's since filed a dispute with eBay saying that I misrepresented the item's description/condition.  This prevents me from collecting any money from the sale until the dispute is resolved, and it prevents me from leaving him negative, or even neutral, feedback.  It's almost a perfect scam because eBay's policies protect him from negative feedback while simultaneously assuring him of a below-market price.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if he uses this system to turn an easy profit when reselling items at market value.

TLDR: eBay user "takatoku" is 100% a scammer.  He's using eBay's own dispute resolution policies to cheat the system, cheat eBay sellers, and force a discounted, below-market price.  His MO is to cheat you.  Caveat emptor. 

Hi All,

Just a PSA about my recent experience with JUNGLE.  There seem to be a couple different Jungles: they look similar, but I haven't invested the time/effort to see if they are all the same company.  The Jungle I'm referring to is found here:

https://jungle-scs-ensale.com/

They have a lot of Macross items and their prices were, I thought, too good to be true.  I made a small-ish order initially of a MIB 1/55 Superostrich and a MIB Chogokin DX Lucifer.  Both arrived VERY quickly and in the advertised condition, and this came as a great relief because as you'll see below, JUNGLE's payment processing is more than a little suspicious.  They put a hold on the total purchase price (~$500) immediately and indicated that they'd charge shipping later after calculating it.  Their DHL shipping charge was in line with expectations (~$150), so I accepted.  Instead of running my card for only the outstanding shipping charge, Jungle tried to run my card again for the entire purchase (~$650), and this amount was in addition to the ~$500 they'd already tied up with their initial 'hold.'  The transaction failed because I put only enough money in that account to pay for everything once.  Jungle said to make sure that I had enough money in the account before purchasing.  I told them they needed to release the hold on the initial transaction and charge me only once for everything, or charge me only for the outstanding shipping charge.  They opted to keep the ~$500 that they'd held and have me pay for shipping separately via PayPal.  This was my first shopping experience with Jungle and while it was a bit wonky, it wasn't overly burdensome or irritating, so I figured I'd make a bigger order...and this is where things got interesting.

I made my second purchase from JUNGLE on 11JUL for $722.36 that required an additional $212.46 for shipping (as well as $7.22 and $2.12 for international transaction fees). 

These funds remained on 'hold' just like before, however, on the 13th I saw two additional charges, 1. $729.16 (plus $7.30 for the international transaction fee) and 2. $931.92 (plus $9.31 for the international transaction fee).  Bear in mind, on the 13th JUNGLE still had $934.82 on hold, tying up a total of over $2,500.

The $729 charge is easy to explain in that they ran my card a second time for just the items (the slight price difference between the 11th and 13th can be explained by the day-to-day change in the dollar/yen ratio).  The $931 charge is just as easy to explain: it's the total price of the items I bought plus the total shipping charge.

I'd been talking to my bank throughout this entire process to give them a heads up about my short but wonky history with JUNGLE and to get some guidance on next steps if JUNGLE tried to pull a fast one.  The bank said to cool my jets until Saturday the 16th when the two new erroneous charges were set to be released back to me (providing Jungle allowed for that).  Come Saturday, only the $729.16 was returned by JUNGLE, meaning that I was out almost $1900 for a $950 purchase.  Thankfully, the bank has stepped in, as they said they would, and is wrangling the disputed portion back to me.

Anyone else have a similar experience with the Jungle referenced above?  I'd give them the benefit of the doubt if they'd made the mistake only once, but they're batting a thousand here.  One more data point and we've got a pattern.

4 hours ago, Radioguy said:

Can we see more of these?

Yes, please!

I might be alone on this one, but I kinda miss the joy that came with toy hunting.  As an undergrad in 1997, nothing brought me more joy than taking a study break in the middle of the night to tour a handful of Walmarts down the mountain in hopes of finding the latest Beast Wars release.  Sure, I was driving around in a Chevy Celebrity that was on a fragment of its last leg, never knowing if I'd have to piss in the radiator to keep the engine from seizing, but those drives were always an absolutely magical experience - especially when the search paid off.  Fast forward to today, completing collections has never been easier, especially where it concerns what I used to consider grails.  For example, I picked up an MIB 1/55 Elintseeker and an MIB 1/55 Superostrich last week and the euphoria of finally having a 100% complete 1/55 collection barely lasted an hour;  I used to be able to ride that "high" for days, if not weeks.  And this is a goal I've been chasing for nearly 40 years.  Anyone out there missing the chase as much as me?

Belay my last: my VF-31Ses aren't at the house, so they've gotta be in my storage unit a couple states away.  Since I won't be going down there anytime soon (maybe next year?), Angesdad is still in need of a VF-31S.  I've communicated same to Angesdad directly, but I'm posting here to alert community that he's still in need of a VF-31S.

I think I have 2 or 3 in box.  Picked them up from Mandarake awhile back and haven't opened them to inspect since, well, it's Mandarake: I've spent maybe $10K with them this year alone and they've never burned me.  I can take a look at them and take some pix if you're interested.  You'd be paying whatever I paid (i.e., Mandarake's price earlier this year (plus the S&H that I paid) plus the S&H to Ontario.  LMK.  Cheers.

NVRMND.  Maybe.  Ordered one from Jungle last week.  My 1/55 collection is now (well over) 100% complete with this final acquisition.  Assuming the transaction was legit and I get my item, that is.  Fingers crossed.

Do you have any resin kits available?  

Hi All,

Anyone selling a complete 1/55 Superostrich?  Last item I need to complete my collection.  If you’ve been watching eBay lately, I’m the guy who picked up the MIB 1/55 Elintseeker last week.  [FWIW, I was on the “straight shooters” list here (and maybe also on the Valkyrie Exchange back in the day).  But that was like 18 email accounts ago.]
 

Cheers…