blackwater_park

Got my invoice this morning from my HK seller as well. Good start to the day. Really tempted by the Angel Birds version now. Paranoid about missing out and finding it tricky to come by a few months down the line for anything but a highly inflated price.

Indeed. A good start to the morning to find the email saying these were up for pre-order. Tough decision, but I plumped for the VF-X. Really hope I've managed to grab one in time. Even if I miss out, I've no doubt a few will hit the after market at a more sensible price anyway. EDIT: My contact informed me that Yamato are being a bit cagey on production run numbers, so get in there quick guys.

Got my payment request in, luckily managed to get the Cannon Fodder 1A and Max 22. http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00124 What is interesting is that the original sale price of the 1A was 5880 yen. That's what I picked it up for at the weekend and what I was charged today. Now it's low stock, the price has gone up again to 8330 yen! ( edit: as bouncing boy has mentioned already! ) Was lucky to take the plunge when I did. Some reputable eBay sellers that I use often are charging around the 7000 yen mark for the trusty Cannon Fodder, splitting the difference in HLJ's two recent prices. Now the waiting game. EMS to the UK. 4 days. Getting passed around UK customs and their terrible admin which means they have to send you a physical letter with the charges? Add another week at least!

Patiently waiting at the two email state also. Cannon fodder is low stock now. Getting slightly concerned about that. The Max 22S seems to be holding firm. I thought that would be the one to sell out first. I'd be curious to find out just how successful a sale this has been for HLJ and Yamato (assuming they are clearing stock reserves by letting HLJ buy cheap and sell cheap. ) Looks like they'll clear a helluva lot of merchandise if this thread is anything to go by and a similar response is given by the other Macross forums around the world. If you make quality pieces like those v2 Valks half-price, then fans will buy something, even if they don't really *need* it.

Likewise. It's my first variable fighter that isn't from the original series or DYRL. Picked up a VF-1A Cannon fodder which was very cheap. I was happy enough with the J but the colour was a bit off, so at this price it was too hard to resist. I've held off on these purchases for a while because I always take a customs hit when they are sent by HLJ and EMS is really the only safe option. FedEx stings me as well. Such is the magnitude of this sale, it's still a new year bargain. The TV Roy was so, so tempting I have to admit.

Has any lucky v2 Ostrich owners had a chance to see if the pilots, particularly flightsuit Minmay, can fit in the VF-1D without too much hassle? If this is the case, it would mean that the Elintseeker's fodder pilots should be able to be used for all the two-seaters. That would be excellent. I dig the unsung heroes and as I only have four valks on display ( three in fighter mode ) and intend to rotate the two-seaters, I'd switch those pilots in and out. Thanks.

Be warned, once you get a version 2 1/60 and get over the lightness of it due to the materials used, the new tinted canopy, the sharp, tight construction and those crisp tampo markings begin to weave their magic. They will make your old school collection and your wallet cry. They look so much better, you will want them all. You'll need them all! Any v2 1/60 perched on a flexidisplay stand is a thing of considerable beauty.

Master Grade Gundam kit heat transfer decals would be excellent but might require some thin varnish if you plan on transforming / handling a lot. I applied some waterslide custom decals to my v1 1/60s a few years back and thicker varnish was required to make them actually stick to the Yamato plastic / diecast parts. Depending on the section that the varnish dabs were applied to the results went from excellent to OK and in the case of the strike cannon... disappointing. Yellowing can be a problem however. I can see why Yamato use the stickers rather than decals - they're more durable, require less work and easier to apply but tampo is the way forward.

The yellow on the chest piece and the top of the tail fins are fine but I think the painted yellow roundel after U.N SPACY is the main offender. If you were below and either side of this Valk that's the thing that would stick out. Fast packs though would mask them and make this look much cooler as has been said. Oh, just noticed the "danger jet intake" warning is now whitey grey instead of red also. As would be expected of course! EDIT: What the hey... Tried it out. Grey or black would be much better. White was poor.

Never noticed the Prometheus marking on the tail fin from the pics until you pointed out, Graham. That is good news. I've been tempted several times to put these on both IJs but think the stickers cheapen the look. I think the IJ markings are fine but would have been perfect with the Prometheus on the tailfins. So an amalgamation of both experiments is the ideal. However, I'm not so sure about lots of tiny no-step markings on the wings. It might look too busy.

Yep, it's quite blatantly missing all of the tiny yellow markings that the 1J was blessed with - about 4 per side. Strange decision. Maybe they forgot, maybe they thought the darker colour made the yellow look a little too conspicuous.

Strange that such a small change should improve the look so much but hey, that grey kite really ties the whole look together... Providing it's tampoed on the production piece, which it should be, I've upgraded the LV from a "pass" to a "maybe" in the purchase list.

Just received it yesterday, and yes, it does look a bit too "Desert Storm" at first. When placed with the other V2s, particularly Hikaru's 1J, the colours have a nice progression. Definitely a grower, though. The green accent on the pilot's helmet is super cool ( going to display it in fighter mode with open canopy ) and the increased tampo really adds a bit of spice. There's even a tiny marking between the tail fins which I never noticed in the pics. Would definitely say that the upcoming 1A seems closer to canon so if you're on a budget, maybe wait. To be honest, I think the "correct" or rather the most "accepted" colour for the CF is somewhere between the two Yamato have chosen.

Don't like the stickers either, I have my Roy v2.0 on display in battroid mode and only put the skull sticker on the cannon side of the SP as it looked weird without it as that was something the v1.0 did actually have tampoed. You can't see the other side of new Roy so left it blank for now. Took delivery of TV Super parts for the 1J today and I'm going to bite the bullet and put the kites on - only because I have another unused pair and I will be able to use the SP for the CFs if the fancy takes me. Completely anal about the stickers being precisely aligned so it's comforting to have a bit of back up in case of shaky hands. As has been mentioned previously, the VF-19 repaints are still pending a "buy" decision that will be based on increased tampo. Looking forward to receiving the CF. It should be inbound to Coventry, England, customs right now ( going for four in a row!). HLJ shipped late because of their annual stocktake - it was a frustrating few days of "Items being processed for shipping" before they left the warehouse. The aforementioned super parts arrived from an eBay seller in Hong Kong, very nicely packed in less than week so at least arrivals are staggered. Think I'll display the CF with cockpit open - really like that pilot helmet.

It's a slippery slope. Got the 2.0 Roy when it came out and was really, really impressed with it. I had it sitting in fighter mode beside the v1 1/60s with custom decals. The new version was so much better though. Didn't want to justify another one so let it go. I hadn't even lurked here for a while and was trying to cut down on buying stuff, was making MG kits to pass the time. Came back here and saw the Mass Production versions and just knew that I had to get them for my own sanity as I never owned the limited original. Diecast content aside, the difference in quality between each revision was nagging away when I looked at them on the corner display unit That was about a month ago and I'm replacing the v1s with the v2s at a rate of one every two weeks. So I was teetering at the top of the hill for about a year after that initial Focker v2, but a Max, Hikaru -1J and now a Cannon Fodder in quick succession and that's me rushing headlong to wallet oblivion. The only thing that's preventing me from the 1D is the pilots. I'd like to put regular guys in there. No regrets though, Max on his flexidisplay, with the light refracting off the cockpit is very aesthetically pleasing in the flesh. Pics don't do it justice. It's got me watching the anime again and I still can't decide just what colour those cannon fodders should be...

3 v2.0 Valkyries ordered to the UK... And I'm three for three on customs charges at 25 pounds a time. Customs are also slightly more expensive if shipped by EMS. Anything with Japan written on the box or shipping label gets hit in my experience. I always pay for EMS because I like to know exactly what Parcelforce in my country are doing with the package. They're pretty poor. For example, today I ordered the Cannon fodder VF-1J from HLJ. It will arrive in the main UK hub in about 5 days maximum. It won't be in my hands until another week after that. Customs here don't seem to work weekends and have a terrible system whereupon you actually have to wait on them sending you a physical letter with a customs payment code on it after it has been shipped and held in your local depot.... So all the while you're looking at the tracking details and it says: "Awaiting payment of charges" and you can't pay because you don't have a fricking code to enter into their online payment system because you haven't received the bit of paper! You'd think it would be accessible online via the parcel tracking number... but crazily it isn't. With such an strange system, EMS is the only option for me as it gives me peace of mind regarding the whereabouts of my packages. My v2.0 Focker for example was "Out for delivery" for 8 hours after paying the ransom but ended up back in the local depot because the van driver had put the package in the back of his van, but had decided not to bother delivering everything as he was "getting near the end of his shift and didn't want to go back into the centre of town" according to their customer service department. For smaller items bought from eBay, like Figmas or Revoltechs, I tend to just go with Honk Kong post and the trusty green paper or SAL as any potential mishap wouldn't be a complete disaster.

Yeah, I was wavering on this one but the pilot and increased tampo swung it. Probably going to have this one displayed with fast packs so the mismatched colouring of the legs won't be much of an issue. Probably not that noticeable in the flesh - the harsh light in those pics won't have done it any favours.

You, sir, are completely correct! Even bigger here... http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10086194a13/20/13 Also, if you look closely, it seems that a few of the tiny yellow rescue markings are now tampo-ed also.

Apologies, yeah, I have a couple of the V2s so I know they're tampoed hence why I'm hoping Yamato will apply that improvement to these YF-19 repaints. Have to wait and see I guess! Thanks for the info.

Hi, Having never ventured into any other than VF-1 territory, I'm pretty tempted to pre-order that BoP YF-19. Can anyone please confirm that the kite roundel directly under the cockpit canopy is definitely a tampo print and not a sticker, ala the v 2.0 Valks? That's the clincher for me. Sticker = No sale! It looks like a tampo and this may have been mentioned but I couldn't see where. Thanks!

I hope so, I had fears of this being a return of the cannon fodder scenario.

Long time lurker here... This appeared on a Japanese website I frequent today. I'll be gutted if the following quote turns out to be true. Surely not?! The VF-1D is my most eagerly awaited. That would be craziness. http://www.toysdaily.com/discuz/thread-73256-1-1.html "but only for yamatao fans club only , only for japanese ,not go to public " (sic) Seems to be the 1/60 judging by the title...