valkyriepilot

That's why i don't care much for "exclusive" or "limited edition" kits... Model kit companies are bound to milk their molds sooner or later, there's no one stopping them from doing that, and that's just how the business is. It's their chance to make really big bucks by selling event-limited/exclusive/limited-edition kits (not that they aren't making big bucks with their regular releases...) and justify the prices because, well, they're event-limited/exclusive/limited-edition kits

I didnt know they offered replacement parts

Could you provide the website,

thanks

here's a concise but comprehensive step by step guide:

http://www.hobbyfanatics.com/index.php?showtopic=18472

a sample letter from Bandai:

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s228/el...ment_policy.jpg

Can I get any opinions/reviews of the PG Skygrasper? How complicated/detailed is it? Does anyone have a comparison pic with the 1/60 Valkyries? I always loved that design and I have never built any Gundam model bigger than the 1/144 scale Wing models released in the US. I decided to try this kit first if the reviews are good and then I would move on to another PG. Thanks in advance guys

Here are dalong's reviews of PG Sky Grasper and PG Strike Rouge + Sky Grasper . Can't seem to find comparison pics of the Sky Grasper against Valks at the moment though...

The thought occurred to me too actually... Hopefully it would not be too difficult to mod the extra parts to make a Exia-Re using the NG 1/100 Exia instead...

@Vince: I was referring to azrael's post before mine, so yes it's the latter link: http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN960226

What's the difference you ask? It's not just the chrome, but all the other stuff that azrael listed down in his post are included in the Ignition Mode, the regular version doesn't have those.

But take a look at HLJ's price: "Preorder this item by June 7 to get it for 5% off the regular price of 5,000 yen!" That would work out to be 4,750 yen in actual, with the 5% discount.

Rainbow Ten on the other hand is offering it at 4,000 yen. Got mine reserved already. If you're buying the regular from HLJ, then consider that you only have to add 390 yen and buy the Ignition mode from Rainbow Ten, and you get all the other stuff.

However, I checked their site just now and preorder for the first batch is already closed, so...

yep, 1/200 sounds just about right for macross figures used as table top game tokens. 1/100 macross figs/kits would be almost as big as 1/144 gundams, around 4-5 inches.

Uhm... how about Del Rey Robotech novels?

Just kidding. But hey, I've completed all the novels in that series so far...

Well, not sure if you'll like the other books I have in my collection, but here goes:

Shannara series by Terry Brooks - it has a LotR feel to it, but on a less grander scale. The focus of the stories are on the royal line of Shannara and their descendants, the Ohmsfords, in what seems at first is a middle-Earth type world. Terry's storytelling is very fluid and very flexible. He can be focusing on a single character at one moment, to the point of exclusion of the others, then suddenly, through a very subtle transition phase, be telling the story from a wider perspective. The words are also not too... archaic, for lack of a better term Recently he has published volumes that bridged the timeline current world, in a twisted and unexpected way.

Sigma Force books by James Rollins - it's like combining Templar/ancient secret society stories with believable sci-fi stuff and secret agents. It has the riddle/puzzle elements common to secret society stories, but in current world setting. James Rollins also tells a damn better story than Dan Brown does

Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik - a very interesting series involving talking Dragons and set in the Napoleonic Era. Temeraire is the protagonist of the series, a very intelligent, and later on will be revealed as "royal" bloodline Dragon, serving under the British Air Corps with aviator and friend Captain William Laurence.

yep, better hurry with your preorder folks, Rainbow Ten is offering it at JPY 4000, that's more than JPY 1000 off than the already discounted price for the first batch...

@honkhet: i agree with you sir, it seems like the VF-25 was designed from the start with the objective of having a VF design that will work both in animation and kit form. it's all part of the marketing strategy, probably one of the major things Kawamori-sensei and Bandai talked about during the planning of the show.

as confrimed by Ngee Khiong, Armored Messiah Ozma custom will come with a Cathy custom decal set:

http://ngeekhiong.blogspot.com/2009/05/cat...nsformable.html

Gmail is ok with me too, funny thing is, yesterday I tried logging in 3x in my Yahoomail and I always get errors I exited Firefox and ran it again, and the errors in Yahoomail login was gone, weird...

(I wonder if Mari Iijima would be willing to collaborate with Yoko Kanno on songwriting and arrangment...?)

big question indeed, or if she's even willing to do any further character based roles at all...

a pair of clear VF-25s arrived today and dissapointingly, neither of them had the sheryl decals. guess i'll have to chase the seller.

can i ask where you ordered the clear VF-25's?

Don't forget the upcoming HGUC 1/144 Zaku Ground Battle Set too...

I just saw this on HLJ.com and does anyone know more info than what is posted on their site?

http://www.hlj.com/product/BCL2880

High Detail Manipulators for VF-25 was posted here just recently.

The Chinese character for "girl" is in his name. Lol.

if i recall correctly, "saotome" means "rice-planting girl".

Alright, I just bought the Clear VF-25F to try something new and it should arrive in a few weeks. I want to know if there are any special tips for building clear models? Do I treat the whole thing like a massive, multi-pieced canopy? Is giving it a gloss coat of future a good thing, or will it just make the kit 'disappear' and make it look like I have decals floating in mid air? Any help will be appreciated!

In my experience, clear/crystal kits are more brittle than the regular versions. So yeah, take care not to apply excessive pressure, and watch the sprue gates as you cut them; I've had a few clear kits that were notched at the nubs because I cut too flush to the surface of the part.

I haven't tried applying paint or coating to my clear kits though.

another short update:

finished the front skirts and modding some knee details for the legs:

the front skirts were taken from an old 1/144 GP03S kit. the hinge mounts were SAWed off the said kit, then were notched off from the SD kit to provide slots for the hinge mount pieces. also rear view pic shows the rear skirt needs a little more lengthening, so will work on that too

this is the knee armor of the HGUC FP01Fb, i modified it to be used as the knee detail of my wip, since GP01/Fb and GP03S have similar knee details. i basically just chopped up the knee armor to shorten it

previous posts are here: 1, 2, 3. thanks for looking!

Sounds good. Honestly, I usually don't sand my models down, but I want the Luca to look extra nice. I'm pretty good at getting them smooth with an exacto, but it does leave little "scratch" marks. I'll pick up some of that high grit sand paper.

this thread has a lot of suggestions for sanding:

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=28709

hope that helps

well, for diorama scenes or displays like what alfye has, the ACTION BASE 1 CLEAR (JPY 440 at Rainbow Ten) is just right, since with proper "camouflage" you can hide it well. of course if you plan to display it stand-alone or side by side other VF-25's then you can't go wrong with the upcoming S.M.S. Action Base.

Reaaaalllly short update.

Managed to get my lazy butt off the ground and shortened the fins

Before and After shots comparison:

Side View

Close up of Fins

Previous posts are here and here.

I was having trouble deciding at first how to cut the fins, seeing as the original Stamen had curved fins. But then I just thought why not give it a different look altogether Well that's all for now, will continue work on the front and rear skirts over the weekend, hopefully the legs too. Thanks for dropping by!

Excluding those parts that need to be replaced means Bandai will be creating new moulds specifically for the Alto special, which translates to added costs, not to mention they will need to possibly reconfigure their moulding machines for that setup, unlike if you just use the existing setup of the machines used to manufacture the VF-25F and possibly add a few machines setup for moulding the FAST packs.

Or I could be wrong and they did exclude the unnecessary parts but included a few more gimmicks instead.

In my case, aside from the above-mentioned online import sites, I try to keep an eye and ear out for the latest toy sales. For instance, there are a few hobby shops here in Manila that me and my plamo friends go to at least once a week so we'll know if they have a sale or scheduled one.

Another way is to ask friends or relatives who might be going to Japan or HK so you can request them to buy the kits you want cheaper. Just make sure though that they are knowledgeable in the plamodelling field too, it helps when choosing the kits to buy. In case they aren't, just give them a sketch/map of where to buy the kits (e.g. AsoBit City in Tokyo, or the various shops in Kwong Wah), just use Google to search up info on these shops or look for the thread somewhere here in MW that has info on HK toy shops.

additional work done on the SD-GP03EX over the weekend (previous work was here):

i modded the rear fins to make them longer and added side skirt armor:

the extension for the side armor came from the 1/144 (not HGUC) spare fins as well as the side skirts:

i cut up the lower portion of the 1/144 rear fin and sawed it to fit the smaller rear fin of the SD:

then i sawed off the pin mounts for the side skirts from the torso of the 1/144 version, sawed a portion off the SD version's side (where the fixed side skirt should be) and superglued the pin mount of the 1/144 side skirt:

next up would be added leg details, front and rear skirts extension, and hopefully arm lengthening too. here is a mock up of the front skirts, Blu-Tacked them in place first:

the rear fins bother me a bit in that i feel they are too slender or too long. i think i may try to widen it a bit and shorten it's length. but please feel free to comment and suggest as usual. and thank you for looking!

http://www.hlj.com/faq/q16.html

I could be overlooking it, but I don't see where the policy says SAL isn't covered. They mention that SAL isn't trackable in places, but again, I don't see where they say SAL is an "at your own risk" type of thing.

They do have these disclaimers at the bottom portion of the FAQ:

If all of these steps fail to turn up your package, then please send us e-mail at trouble@hlj.com and we'll work out a solution for you.

Please Note : The Japanese post office can investigate missing packages for up to six months after an order has shipped. If the recommended time has elapsed and you still have not received your package, please contact us as soon as possible. If you fail to contact us within six months from the day your order was shipped, we regret that it will be impossible for us to assist you.

Seems to be saying that they will try, but will not guarantee, recovery of lost packages for SAL shipment. And this sort of jives with RainbowTen's FAQ, particularly about shipping types and descriptions:

7. What if my order is missing!?

A: We regret that even though the service of the postal agencies has shown a great improvement, there is still some non-delivery occured in our long business carrier, especially in SAL SP. As we have mentioned earlier in this section, SAL SP & AIR SP & SURFACE SP are not insured, treated just like a letter. If you go & ask the post man if your letter is trackable, the answer should be definitely "No". Therefore, if the shipment goes missing, we have no way to track the package if it was shipped by SAL/AIR/SURFACE SP. These deliveries also do not require reception signature of the recipient so that we also have no way to know if the shipment is received by a due recipient or a wong recipient. Due to all those reason, we are unable to guarantee the SAL/AIR/SURFACE SP. We would recognize the customer's selection of either of the SP delivery as a full responsibility of customer in case of missing. In spite of these terms & conditions, more than 60% of our existing customers are regularly using SP delivery and successfully receive the package without problem. EMS has no non-delivery in our past 10years business carrier. SAL/AIR/SURFACE P (big size delivery) can be insured with extra pay, however, those delivery costs more if insurance is attached compared with EMS that covers upto 20,000yen value insurance without any extra pay.

Note the phrases in italics, very good points to consider when picking the type of shipping. For those who are interested, click here for the link to the full RainbowTen FAQ Page.