vladykins

On 4/16/2025 at 1:52 AM, Big s said:

I’ve been hearing that if the shipper is sending individual orders for less than $800, then it’s exempt. I don’t know how that works or if it does at all. They’re saying that if you order from a store or warehouse and it’s under that amount, then no tariff, but if someone like an American store that orders in bulk would have to pay. 
I don’t want to be spreading misinformation, but just that there seems to be some alternate versions of what’s allowed and what isn’t.

This is true, though the exemption may go away soon. It was providing advantages to companies like SHEIN and Temu that shipped individually. Was hoping I would be able to avoid some of the tariffs with them being de minimus but the way the tariffs have changed day-to-day with this Admin it is hard to tell what the tariffs may be and if the this exemption will continue after early May.

On 4/1/2025 at 8:59 PM, Radioguy said:

I once succumbed to A-E's pricing. Their customer service ended that.

A-E has always delivered for me. NY and the like? Not so much. But never had any issue with A-E.

4 minutes ago, rsvictor1976 said:

WTF?! Is this the new price for the reissue or something? I wonder if AmiAmi or Nin-Nin are gonna raise their preorder rates too.

AE was $264 if I paid now. Shipping isn't in yet, but it will have to be big to make that difference.

They popped this up at BBTS for over $600. Ummm, I think I'll order from A-E. I know tariffs may or may not be running at the time but that's still crazy.

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/311945

Only one of my 1/48 Yamatos to have yellowed at all seems to be my urban camo GBP. Grantedf, I'm down mostly to darker colors now, but my low vis is fairly light and shows no yellowing. 

Somehow missed this long ago, but in Arlington. 

Bump for everything sold except for Ben/Kaki; price reduction to $100

I have resisted for a bit since I was getting rid of my KC stuff that I had left but then I caved:

Grabbed mine. Now I need to start reorganizing the shelf to accommodate!  

added DX missile set

Hmmm I have some missiles I'm not using- I might be tempted to put them up for sale with these prices. 

19 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Woke up in the middle of the night and another CF VF-1A was available at Mandarake.  Looking forward to adding my 27th.

I love it. I only have ten or so.

Bump fort Vermillion Team Special- all three below for $300 + shipping

7 hours ago, ChristopherB said:

Honestly, I just have so many different emotions seeing these pictures...seeing everyone's excitement, anticipation, etc!  I feel proud and a bit misty eyed to see this armor set a reality, when at times I had given up hope.  Nervous about whether you guys would like the kit, the quality, paint job and so much more. 

Thanks so much for the amazing pictures!  Please post more when you guys get time.  I've suffered from depression/post traumatic stress disorder for many, many years and have a hard time just feeling happy or even appreciative of all my blessings.  But Macross is something that takes my mind off of it, and it's nice to have a sense of accomplishment being a toy/model kit creator.  I couldn't have done it without Tony and Tom though.

The childhood remembrance of Christmas evening having trouble falling asleep in anticipation of what Santa would bring.  Is still alive within every member of Macross World, otherwise we wouldn't be here.  For me it's the time I received a Matsushiro Jetfire and it led me on a journey to learn more about it's origins.  It's all about the imagination and never growing old!

Sad to say I don't have my own Armored GERWALK kit, because the prototype was used for the photoshoot.  But I'm happy to wait.  Since I haven't personally held the armor I cannot speak to it's strength or resilience.  With that said, please be careful with your armor sets take care putting them on and don't use force.  The last thing I want is for anyone to experience damage or scratches.  haha

(5) unfinished kits were shipped to Tom today to make the custom AG sets that (2) customers ordered, they should arrive soon.  We don't yet have a firm paint scheme for the customs, but between Tom and I we'll come up with something that looks nice.  For Max & Milia having one part from each such as a wing since it has the blue or red & light gray would be a huge help so we can match the colors as closely as possible.  Likewise we'll need to do the same for other customs.  I also placed an order for (5) more unfinished kits.

I have it sitting on my desk at present but will have to take some snaps and post them. Definitely enjoying this, so it hasn't gone back up on the high shelf with the rest of the HMRs. Likely going to put it next to one of my OWL armor sets. 

Mine is currently out for delivery.  EDIT: Mine is here:

Now to figure out how to put it all together. 

Fantastic. Thanks!

16 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

When I started I was thinking, "eh, I only need one of each model."  But I could see myself doing the 1S Hikaru (that's really Roy's) and Max's 1A.  Messer's 1S has a neat deco.  I should probably get a cannon fodder 1A, too.  Max and Milia's 1Js are too blue and red, respectively, and Kakizaki's 1A is too similar to the cannon fodder 1A.  It's the same reason why I'm not really into Hikaru's DYRL 1A/1S (or Max's DYRL 1A... but ironically would do Kakizaki's).  Also, it's kind of weird that I want the whiter TV 1S, but I see no need to have both versions of Hikaru's 1J.

Not really interested in the VT-1 or the VE-1.  Honestly, I don't really like the 1D, either, but at that point I'm sure some completionist brain itch will compel me to get one.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though.  Gonna give my wallet a little break, than start looking for a VF-2SS (while simultaneously agreeing with @Chronocidal that I wish Bandai would would put out a few newer molds.  A YF-19/VF-19A and a YF-21/VF-22 would be high on my wishlist, along with a VF-11 and VF-17.  Probably a pipe dream, but I'd go for the deep cuts like the VF-9 and VF-14, too.

You want the Kaki with the Max so you can do fun stuff like this:

In for 1 finished kit if there are still any

35 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Funny you mention it, I just bought the DYRL VF-1S Strike from a board member, @Reni  We worked out a deal good enough that I bought the VF-1J with GBP armor from him while I was at it.

I saw, and despite bought three HMRs in less than a month already I'll probably pull the trigger on that. After that I'll probably have to let my wallet cool off a bit, but I'll probably get the VF-2SS eventually, too.

(I just wish I had some better skills as a customizer, too. Then I'd repaint the red or blue on the VF-2SS, as some black stripes to the wings, put some black and yellow on the stabs...)

It is a downward slope from here. Wait until you see the OWL armor and then need to by extra VFs to put them on.

As for customizing, I know the feeling. The VF-1A brownie in the GBP I have wanted to turn into the black GBP guy from "Love Flows By". One of these days I'll get around to it. 

On 9/11/2024 at 1:58 AM, mikeszekely said:

Got my very first Macross toy (that's actually a Macross toy and not a KO of a KO in Transformers colors), a Hi-Metal R VF-4G.  Took forever to get here... I thought I was buying from an American seller, and I technically was... he just happened to be shipping from an American military base in Okinawa, so it actually came via Japan.  Worth the wait, though.  I haven't had a chance to transform it yet, but I put the leg covers, the fin under the cockpit, and the antenna on, and I mounted it on the stand, and it looks so good.  I get where some people were coming from on some things like the necessity to partsform the landing gear or the fact that the cockpit comes off instead of opening to put the little pilot in, but I think I can live with stuff like that.  Not exactly an apples-to-apples, but the paint and materials on the Hi-Metal R feel much better than the God of Flame.  Probably not fair to judge Yamato/Arcadia based on a KO of a KO, but I'm feeling really good about my call to go with Hi-Metal R for my Macross toys.

I'll take some pictures and do a review later in the week or next week, I think.

Next up, track down a VF-1S in Fokker colors, then probably a VF-0S in Fokker colors.  It's funny, I'm not usually into the standard or "hero" colors, but the black and gold with the Jolly Rodger will never not look good.

Welcome to HMR addiction!

The VF-1S in Fokker colors isn't too hard. (keep an eye on the buy and sell threads here to get a good deal). They have the original older Hi-Metal release (which is very white), and HMR DYRL strike (in gray) and SDFM supers (in whiter). This is a quick picture from awhile ago but has the SDFM on the left, then the DYRL in gray to the right of it:



Amazon is currently selling the recent VF-Os for about $117 (and free one day delivery with Prime).

The thighs are still such a turn off for me.

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

So I gave this a lot of consideration.

 

I will say that based on your answer, HMR is probably the way to go. They are smaller, they are sturdy enough to play with (I've had one fall seven feet off a top shelf and, while parts flew around, there was no real damage). It has a lot of variety in terms of mecha and keeps expanding the line (even if it frustratingly doesn't finish certain parts it promises- like the still missing Tomahawk, Phalanx, scout Regult, Q-Rau, and Nos-J). I personally have stuff from SDFM, Mac Zero, and Macross II in the line. I also have some of the extra stuff produced by third parties for the line (like the OWL armor). They take up little enough space that I have 25 mechs on a six foot by one foot shelf with more room to display more, another ten in a two foot by three foot shelf, and the enemy mechs in another small area. Sculpts are great for the size, though parts forming is required for a couple minor things (usually landing gear or cockpit swaps- everything else is usually perfect transformation. 

This has been said many times but I'll say it again- the VFs are nice, but the destroids and enemies are the STAR of this line! It's also the most "complete" line we have, even if it is missing key things still that have been produced in other scales by other manufacturers. Yammie/Arcadia have more variety of color schemes for VFs, but lack the enemy mecha and have only 2/5 destroids compared to the 3/5 we have with HMR. And if you can find a good deal, buy the Monster! I didn't want to get into another scale at the time, but decided I wanted the Monster since it looked decent. So I bought that. Then decided it needed a Defender and Spartan to go with it. And the regults and glaug looked good so I got those. And then I decided to grab the Memorial Messer VF-1S since that was an unusual scheme. Next thing I knew I had around 50 mechs in the line. I also have two of the Dougram releases to go with the destroids. 

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

So... I was getting some guff about not having any Valkyries, what with this being a Macross board and all.  Is the High Metal line a good place to start?  What's the scale?  I'm not a huge fan of the designs from Frontier on, but I think I'd love a good VF-4.

I will reiterate what a few folks said, but a lot of it comes down to a few things about what *you* want. I have a series of questions below that I posted in an FB group elsewhere but I'll edit it for here a bit:

 

While you probably do want to buy *everything*, with collecting, it is usually a good idea to find a few things to focus on, as you may quickly run out of money and/or space. That's why I usually ask someone starting their collection a few things to help determine what makes the most sense to start on:


1- Do you have lots of space for display, or are you limited?
If the latter, then you may want to look at smaller scales or focusing on a few key larger scale toys. This may lead you either to lots of Bandai Hi-Metal R (HMR) toys (roughly all centered around 1/90 scale) or a couple Bandai DX 1/48 toys.

2- Do you want just VF-1s or do you also want destroids or enemy mecha? If only VF-1s, then a variety of scales work. OTOH, if you want enemy mecha to pit them against or destroids to display with them, the number of toys/scales you can go after become more limited. There are enemy mecha in the Bandai HMR line, Revolvtech, and eventually supposed to be in the (Robotech) KitzConcept 1/72 line. There is also the old Matchbox toys that work well with 1/55 and 1/60 valks. For destroids, you are limited currently to HMR (only the Defender, Spartan, and the absolutely beautiful Monster), 1/60 scale (Tomahawk and Defender only) and Kitzconcept is coming out with their 1/72 Destroids *eventually*, but no plans that I have seen for the Monster. 

3- Do you only care about hero mechs or do you want different/interesting canon and non-canon color variants?
The Yamato 1/60 has the greatest variation of colors, with a few fun ones in the 1/48 scale that I love (like the low-vis and nearly all-black anniversary) along with a lot of 1/60, Kitzconcept 1/100 has a few unusual color variants like the Jetfire-styled "God of Flame" and the evil purple Jetfire, along with other color variations, HMR is limited mostly to a single color variant but otherwise sticks with canon color schemes, Toynami's (Robotech) 1/100 has a few non-canon color variants but quality is not something they are known for and for the price you should stick with any of the others listed.

4- Are you a completist who wants to see everything in a single scale or are you content to get a few of one thing here and a few in another scale/company there? If the former, then focusing an interest is even more key. Bandai HMR has the widest range of items to be "complete", with releases of just about every major character valk, three of the five destroid models, and the glaug and regults (including both missile regults. The frustration is that they are so close to complete that the things that are missing have often been shown/displayed at past events but never moved to production (they showed the Tomahawk and Phalanx at previous events, the scout Regult at another, and a Nos-J at another, while teasing a Q-Rau another time). But they continue to be, at this time, the most complete selection of "everything. KitzConcept may eventually beat Bandai here if some of the items they have shown ever get released. If you are just going to get *one* of something special, then get the best in that type- which will often be a Bandai or Yammie/Arcadia release.

5- Is collectability a factor in what you are purchasing?
This means you may want to focus on items that are vintage or out of production rather than newer toys. So stuff like the Takatoku/Bandai "chunky monkey" 1/55s from the 80s or the Matchbox toys may be of interest. That does not mean the newer stuff won't become "collectible" in the future, of course. But the future is hard to determine and sometimes a newer release of a certain toy/scale can cut the collectability factor of some of the newer toys, whereas the older TT stuff definitely retains its value. 

6- Is playability a factor or are you popping these things on a shelf and never touching them again, which means the look of the toy may be more important?
If you want to play with/transform the toys on the regular, there is no toy more playable than the classic 1/55 chunky monkeys. But they are not very screen-accurate, having been designed to be beaten up by young children in the 80s. The Matchbox toys are also similar, though you are limited in transformations outside of the SDF-1 toy and the hover tank (but that's not Macross so not discussed here). The HMRs are also highly durable and more screen accurate than the chunkys but are smaller and . The DX 1/48s are beautiful and fun, but the transformation is much more complex and so can hamper some of that playability.
have parts-forming for somethings which is a turn off for some.

I can go on but I think this covers a number of different questions you may have that need answered. On a personal front, my collection mostly started with some old TT/Bandai chunkys (1/55) and moved into the RT "masterpiece" 1/55 and Yammie 1/60s (v1 and then v2) and got coaxed into the 1/48 Yammies by some of the nonstandard color schemes. I stayed away from the HMRs for quite awhile because I didn't want "one more scale" but the Monster convinced me to buy at least that. And then I needed a Defender and Spartan to go with it. And some enemy Regults and Glaug, because you have to have enemies. And sure, I can finally get 1 VF-1, so I'll get that non-canon Messer Memorial Vf-1S. And now damn- I have a ton of HMRs all over.

 

My extra VF-1J says count me in for a finished. 

I keep talking myself into and out of buying this. the broken tail fins have me leaning back towards holding off.