mechaninac
-
Posts
4255 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Everything posted by mechaninac
-
He looks like a proud papa showing off his precocious tricycle-motor...
-
Planning on licking it, are you?...
-
Add me to the list of those who've just received shipping notification from N-Y. SAL shipping, so it should be in my grubby hands in 1+ to 3 weeks; curious to see what $78 and change gets me...
-
Maybe I'm just too jaded, but I wasn't all that impressed by the premier; as in, mostly "yawn".
-
Arcadia is walking a mighty fine line with their pricing strategy: Charge too little and they have to make and sell a lot of units to make a profit, but in doing so run the risk of flooding the market if the item does not prove a hit (VF-22s anyone?) which leads to diminished returns, and antagonizing retailers who later have to discount to move inventory; charge too much and they risk scaring away a sizable portion of their prospective customers, and losing sales due to pricing themselves out of the market, regardless of them being the only game in town. Have they hit the correct price point?... Only time will tell. For me, the price is a hard one to accept as a consumer... it's a lot of money for a plastic toy! However, not being privy to Arcadia's overhead and target profit margin, I won't try to second guess them, but I will have to think long and hard if the MSRP they've settled on is something I can justify to myself in a world of so many other things that either offer far more bang for the buck, or take priority over frivolous collecting.
-
Dobber, you've made that plucked turkey look fantastic.
-
That stuff is mold release oil, not joint lubricant. It is bothersome as it does feel greasy.
-
Of course it is. If the intent is to add material from the molded part, as in additional raised detail, or to slightly alter the shape so that the end result has more meat than prior to making the change, then that is a relatively easy tool alteration involving the removal of metal from the mold... EDM it, re-polish, and re-texture if necessary; on the other hand, if the goal is to subtract plastic from the final part then material has to be added to the tool, which involves welding of new metal to the mold, resulting in a somewhat weaker mold that then has to be machined to achieve the final geometry -- it can be done, but it's not ideal. In short, where molt tooling is concerned, it is always easier and preferable to remove metal than to add it; this is likely the reason no new recessed panel line details were added to the toy: recessed feature(s) in the part = removal of plastic = adding material to the mold tooling = big headache.
-
It's back! New season premiering tonight... joy!
-
I totally agree that if the choice is between forking over import duty tax to government bureaucrats or paying a comparable sum to the vendor supplying the goods, then the vendor is a far worthier of the lucre... the seller provides a service, the government just wants more money to waste. N-Y and Nin-Nin declare ludicrously small amounts that can save you a lot of mullah in import fee in countries that inflict such charges on their residents, so those two stores, and others, are an attractive option in this case. In the case of the US, their inflated prices are only worth it, at this point, as a last resort to acquire an item that may prove hard/impossible to purchase at or below MSRP elsewhere. If we're talking about Bandai's Frontier DXs, starting with the VF-171 CF their mark-up has been an unnecessary premium.
-
OCD, when manifested in collecting, can be a wonderful or terrible thing, depending on your point of view; and in either case, very expensive...
-
If they had the F model for near the same discount, I'd jump on it; I already have the S, and couldn't care any less for the Fire Valk.
-
Why bother, AmiAmi still has available stock at 6% off (18,800 JPY + Shipping ~ $187.26 + $20.00-25.00 SAL) as of this post. VF-171 CF, RVF-25, and now the VF-27... all readily available well after release at or bellow MSRP. Now, where is the VF-25S re-release announcement Bandai? Edit: If it weren't for the fact I've already spent far too much this year, with a bunch more stuff I have on preorder due out before the end of the year, I'd be tempted to get a second one from AmiAmi.
-
Expect a VF-25G Renewal reissue announcement a few months after the re-release of the VF-25S is confirmed, which hasn't happened yet... Bandai may wait until close to the VF-25A's release before announcing Ozma's re-pop. I would not expect any news on reissuing Michael's unit for at least another 8-12 months, but anyone's guess is as good as mine.
-
1/250 in plastic, for a one off? You'd do better with rapid prototyping. Plastic parts require 3D modeling just like you'd need for RP, only more so because you have to take into account draft angles, undercuts, pull direction, plastic shrinkage, wall thicknesses, internal ribbing geometry to supply wall buttressing while avoiding sink marks, and on and on. Then there is the need for the injection molding tooling -- aluminum (for low production runs) or steel (for high volume) blocks ranging in size from a small coffee table to a Smart Car that need to me sourced, designed with cooling lines, ejector pins, injection gates, cams, swappable inserts, etc. After that you need to secure a factory with the necessary injection molding machines to accommodate your production run. You'd be in the hole for hundreds of thousands of dollars before you ever saw your first off-tool sample.
-
I had mine shipped SAL from HS and it took all of 9 days to arrive at my door (NE, USA)... 7 days for the subsequent VF-25F that shipped 3 days later, also by SAL; both were very well packed and got to me in mint condition, so I wouldn't worry about it. If I'm not mistaken, HS offers the same range of shipping options as HLJ: regular SAL (no tracking), EMS, and FedEx; but other than SAL, the faster options are more expensive than HLJ's. Edit: regular SAL means uninsured, so HS has no liability for shipping mishaps.
-
Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim'
mechaninac replied to fifbeat's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Already?... boy, that was fast. -
Just got my copy from HS today. Kind of surprised I received it already, just over one week, since I chose SAL. Unlike Nin Nin, Hobby Search did an excellent boxing job, on par with AE, Amiami and HLJ... HS really shines with their deep discounted prices, non inflated shipping rates -- at least as far as SAL is concerned, and great packing. I'll definitely go with them again if at all possible. As for my impression, admittedly just a quick once over and swap of the default hands with the articulated ones, of the VF-27 itself, I'm not disappointed, but neither am I awed by it. This toy is most certainly an upgraded version of the old toy, but it's no renewal... not even close.
-
THAT LOOKS AMAZING!
-
HS had it at 12800 Yen not too long ago, HLJ had it for 5% off MSRP and they may still get more limited stock -- it's gone up more than a couple of times since release; currently, Amazon JP and YJP pop up at, or slightly bellow, retail, I've also read B&M stores have them for around retail (Mandarake online is worth a look), and N-Y has it for a reasonable mark-up (far less than what they were charging for the pre-order).
-
If Bandai schedules their renewal reissues in the same order in which they were originally released, then Ozma's 25S is next up, then the G, and finally the RVF. At this point I'd think they would stop with re-release of the G version, seeing as the RVF was made in enough numbers, and given its lesser popularity compared to the preceding units; after all, it's still readily available... often at a discount.
-
Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim'
mechaninac replied to fifbeat's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
It does deserve a reaction, of sorts: pointing one's finger at the issuer of such statements while belly laughing uncontrollably at its sheer absurdity seems to fit pretty well. -
So, what's the reason for not having the collapsing panel this time around, the inclusion of the leg missile bay?
-
Edge of Tomorrow, on DVD/Blu-ray Oct. 7, 2014
mechaninac replied to areaseven's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Bring on The Knight Sabers... -
Mother Puss Bucket!!! That's no haul, that's a certified spree... Congrats!