Knightdramon

Thanks to @canklebreaker for being a great buyer! Payment came through quickly and he was prompt to notify me when the items got there, cheers mate! 

Gosh it sounds like NY have really messed folks up.

I was lucky with my SSP order and 1A Kakizaki---possibly because when they got the SSP, the UK still had all available shipping options up. I didn't even have to chase them to ship them.

Their prioritisation order appears to me to be...

1) Customers with fewer quantities in their orders

2)In countries they could ship with no issue

3) Customers with fewer quantities in their orders, from countries with issues in shipping, that chased them

4) Everybody else

While I've come out unscratched from all NY fiascos [31A, SSP packs] I don't think I'll be in any hurry to place any large orders with them. This also coincides rather sadly but nicely with a pause in my macross collecting. 

Received my Super/Strike parts from NY today. Ordered and paid over a year ago lol.

Put them on the DX Max just to try the fit, then put them back in the box to wait for Kakizaki.

Much like the missile set, bit underwhelming. Amazing tampo and finish. Bit lacking in display options [gap on the turbine/jolly rogers part?] and the bar that the strike parts slip on to connect to the valkyrie is veeeery thin.

I do appreciate how you can change the jolly rogers signs without needing to peel off stickers. 

Nippon Yasan did send me an email yesterday saying they are preparing my SSP for shipment.

Interesting comments on higher education/online teaching etc.

There's a massive appetite for online teaching provision in the UK, and a lot of Universities are either expanding their online courses portfolio or partnering up with companies/providers that will allow them to do so. 

The reasoning and pros/cons of online teaching in lieu of on-campus teaching are multiple and very different between individuals and even countries. My Bachelor degree is taught fully online. I am doing it part-time so that adds +3 years overall, which is a shame, but as an adult in full-time employment without any financial support from family, I could not [back then] in my late 20ies drop work or downgrade my salary/job to do a full-time, on campus degree. In my near mid 30ies, I would definitely not be willing to put my job on hold for a year [say for a Masters degree] and re-locate somewhere else for a Masters or start commuting to a different city for lectures on a daily basis. I'd argue that the appetite for online degrees grows with age, so to speak, even looking at the profiles of applicants for our online degrees.

A great case can be made about the actual University life; it's a coming of age for a lot of people, new friendships, coming out of your comfort zone, etc etc. But that does come at an actual monetary cost of travel, accommodation etc. Add in moving to another country for a lot of cases and factoring in visa costs etc, combined with the duration of the degree, and that amounts to quite a monetary dedication for a family/individual. Now combine that with the complexities of immigration system per different country and geopolitical relations [try navigating immigration controls if you are from a country listed as a risk country, even if you tick all the boxes] and online degrees are starting to look more and more invaluable.

On-topic...the UK is not yet on EMS list of countries that aren't serviced, but I've cut down all overseas purchases as a precaution. Nippon Yasan were kind enough to change my shipping address for one order to accommodate this, but other than that I'll just sit tight  

On 3/29/2020 at 6:47 PM, Mommar said:

I just had the displeasure of attempting to dust off my collection and made it to the 31 shelf.  I know we've ragged Yamcadia time and again for the awful 17/19 ankles but, to be honest, from the 171 to the 31 NONE of Bandai's joints (not just the ankles) will hold up.   Unless you leave it alone in fighter mode none of the joints are safe on these things.

Quoted, as it seems even the ratchets on the legs are not that safe. My DX 31 Messer is not ragdoll loose, but substantially looser than when bought new. It's the most frequently transformed one, but not really played with or doing any extreme weight-bearing poses. My Kairos has been in fighter mode for, what, 3 years now? No idea how its joints are.

My Arad 31S has noticeably tighter joints than Messer's, but is not handled much. I had the armour parts on for a while but took them off because of all the weight they add, especially to his arms.

However, saying that, my Yamato VF19S and 19Kai have developed looseness over time by doing nothing more than chilling in a museum-style pose in battroid for years. They usually get transformed once every few months and have never stayed in gerwalk. 

I guess it's the Macross high end figures curse...

19 hours ago, Bahamutzyro said:

Picked up an extra 1/48 VF-1S so I opened the one I had. Love the quality and heft of the bandai versions. 

Is that a HT 1/4 MK III? I was toying with the idea of getting a couple of 1/4 figures, but where on earth would I keep them? 

Maybe as somebody said it's just an auto message to all NY customers with an open order on this, but I do think all their stock is an april stock. Even if I wanted to cancel to order elsewhere I am outside the 6 month window lol.

Won't like, my overall NY experience ain't bad but my 1/48 experience is far from ideal. Based on higher prices and a different exchange rate I paid about 90 GBP more for my 1A Max and missiles than if I bought them today and waited for the reissue of the missile packs. 

Almost as if Bandai and NY are trying to scare me away from these haha. 

Grrrr. Ordered and paid on the 7th of June, yet my order has been moved to April as well. It could be Bandai messing around with their allocation but honestly, WTF. 

I would have felt better about it had I not paid money for something I won't essentially get until 10 months down the line. 

Been a busy week in terms of purchases...

Think I now have at least one of each of the "big" action figures in the market. Got a few NECAs, one Diamond Select, a Black Series SW, a Figuarts and some Marvel Legends.

I got the set for Magneto and frankly, I am glad I got this 3 pack on sale. Quicksilver is by far the nicest and Magneto is just awful. I just bent his knees enough so he balances on the cape and left him on a shelf. A friend at another forum did say that they are not the epitome of MLs so I'll reserve full judgement. In terms of quality they are just one up from NECA and Diamond Select, but look worse. Figuarts Brolly is still easily the best action figurine I own.

MMC Fraudo is just incredible. Used to be very into MMC a few years ago but sold all of them when I moved away from 3P. You can just about see one of my only two other 3P figures, Peru Kill, in the background. Fraudo just hits all the right notes. 

Think so far I've been very lucky with NY, but it does seems like luck of the draw. I am certain I PO'd my VF31A CF after some people, yet got it on release. I've used them for transformers and Macross items and they haven't let me down yet. 

Yet being the keyword. I am not a fan of how they ban you from cancelling a purchase----they sell at a freaking 100%+ markup, I am certain that with few exceptions they always fill those orders anyway, and at even more inflated prices anyway. 

BLEH, want that Zaku but just used my PP credit card for a big UK order. Would not want to add 150+ GBP to it now.

Anyway...new stuff I got this last week. Got these 3 bad boys and some manga + comics. Got more Marvel stuff and 1 3P TF incoming and I think it's a wrap up for 2019. If I do get that Zaku I'll get the 1/48 Strike parts in March instead

NECA and Jada additions to the fray. 

Wait is the DX missile set being re-issued? I did get mine in September for a grossly inflated price but may look into getting more sets next summer if that's so! 

It's been a crazy few weeks, figure-wise. Here's the latest purchase....VF1A Max [1/48 DX] with a missile set that I paid an arm and a leg for. Lukewarm so far despite me wanting a toy of this specific valkyrie since I first saw it on TV 25 or so years ago.

As with my previous NECA purchases, am trying to make my collection a bit more sci-fi oriented and just a smidge less transformers-y. 

Believe it or not, the Stormtrooper was the planned purchase and Springer the impulse one. First Black Series figure I bought...was bloody difficult getting it out of the clamshell. Springer has a lot of character and engineering in him but needs at least 1-2 video reviews to appreciate the joints/clicks that need to be in place.

Count me on the same boat as waiting for NY to ship mine out. Have it bundled with the missile sets [which did NOT come cheap].

First world problems...I also have DYRL strike packs on PO [separate order for december] but they don't match Max's valk at all. That means I'll have to at the very least double-dip on the 1/48 line...

1 hour ago, Tking22 said:

 

Why hope for that? I just want Hasbro's to release or get cancelled so they can get over their huff about a fantastic looking 3P Unicron, I just want my superior looking Zeta figure, I have zero intention of bothering with Hasbro's effort. 

 

Because this is a very polarised issue and seems to encourage all sorts of negativity in not just one but two forums I frequent. Very rarely you'll find one that will say they like both offerings, or neither but are OK with it. I'm sure the figure will come back re-branded or whatever in due time. In the meantime if people can relax and enjoy the hobby it'll be lovely. As I said in my earlier post, I didn't see this much fuss over the cancelled Sparktoys WW Grimlock, G-Creations Movie Grimlock or the more recent and contemporary Toyworld's movie Primes that seem to have gotten shelved. :-)

8 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I dig the Predator..............................It's weird in all the right ways. Got a link?

It's NECA's thermal vision...got it through a UK retailer . If you want something to pose neutrally and leave on a shelf, he's great. Quality of the figure itself isn't the best in the world but for that price I can't complain much heh. 

And now using this thread to show off purchases...

All 3 [or should I say 5] arrived today. Been trying to generalise my collection bit more outside of transforming robots. Results were...interesting. 

Sculpt-wise, Pennywise is the best of the haul. Figure-wise, Reflektors win by a long shot.

Without wanting to derail this thread, I am not entirely sure that we can fully put forward claims of which version is best without having handled either. Personally, I would be sceptical of such a large and ambitious 3P product fully delivering. At that size, all it takes is a few tolerances to be off and you're left with a massive floppy mess. Plus we have not even seen it in colour.

Any of you guys around for BW Neo Unicron's prototype? It seems we're entering that territory of "mythical" status of a cancelled product by a company. 

As I said before, neither of those Unicrons are for me. 3P products have been cancelled very publicly or almost with no mention at all [CG Creations Movie Grimlock, that WW Grimlock]. The hype around Zeta's Unicron will die out by the end of the year, one can hope :-)

15 hours ago, MacrossMania said:

Hasbro just forced Zeta Toys to take down their Unicron over an IP dispute, but they have no problem lifting Bandai's Metal Build designs to incorporate in their Transformers franchise.  Hmmmm.

It looks great, but I attribute this bad ass look entirely to Bandai's genius.

Just curious as to how you've linked the two things [Zeta Unicron to haslab Unicron and Bandai's Metal builds to...Flame Toys Star Saber]? For me neither the haslab nor the zeta unicron ever did anything [admittedly they looked very cool] but I can see how when hasbro is trying to literally do their biggest thing ever [size+price] they don't want a 3P undercutting it. 

Yup, count me as well as one of the people that got the preparation email from NY. 

I guess I was very, very lucky with NY as I got my Kairos upon release, but yeah it'd be royally pissed had this situation happened to me. 

The price for the VF31S has risen to new heights---after not really selling out for around 170 quid they just bumped the price up to 280 quid [38.000 yen] in anticipation of the ipcomign armour. I got a VF31S from Anime Export instead [thankfully]. 

Yeah they did something equally shady when MP Tracks was released...some calculation was off and they were charging waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy too much money for a deluxe car robot.

I have had good experiences with NY so far [especially with them marking down Macross items] but these look very shady. 

SAL costs can fluctuate depending on the size of the package though, that much I know.