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Yes, there were many MWers including myself whom contributed money so that Blastotoys could hire an attorney and respond to the C&D. I believe it costed around $4K+ to retain the attorney and issue a response. MWers contributed almost somewhere between $2K-$3K. Now that you refreshed my memory, I do believe HG didn't reply to the demand to provide ownership.

No people were brought to court. Selected retailers were give 'cease and desist' notices from HG attorneys. Many retailers including myself took the products offline but eventually the retailers realized that HG didn't take any action. The Macross toys were being offered everywhere so eventually the whole thing just faded out of everyone's memory. My understanding as I heard it from a credible source was that HG was taking the necessary legal actions to illustrate that they own toy rights outside of Japan and were protecting these rights. This way if the ownership rights were brought into court, HG can show the evidence that they proceeded to do what any 'owner' would do to protect their licensing rights. I know several retailers who was served the letter. No one went to court as far as I know. The irony is that i know retailers that sell 10 times if not more the volume that I did with Macross merchandise and they never got a letter. -Kevin

Just in case anyone is interested... $135 for the VF1S, $175 for the YF-19 or $300 for both Anniversary Valks. Here's the link and shameless plug: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=23699 -K

The VE and VT Valks didn't come with them. -K

Not officially open. Just bringing in things from time to time. -K

With all the Valks coming out in the next 6 months, I'm just surprised Yamato keeps pushing product out back to back like this. They are flooding the marketplace with stuff. It's great for fans but frankly there is only so much discretionary income to allocate to Macross toys.

Yep, each one was listed at $3000 plus shipping. Limited edition figures with a metal plate indicating their production number..... I think they sold like two or three of them.... -Kevin

I'll be getting some in and will have extras if anyone is interested. -Kevin

I need a napkin to wipe the drool off my chin....

There's free programs out on the web that can create these. Search for Andrea Mosaic. -Kevin

Yes, your comments are accurate of what I know. There were a total of '2.5' production runs. The first production run of roughly 3K units were 'mispainted' with the cyan blue chest plates. The remaining portion of the run had the color corrected. A second run was done 9-12 months later and I THINK they finished the entire 15K run. I suppose they could do another run with the Blue Alpha and Beta as new Mastepiece set so technically, it doesn't go against their original plans of 15K per Alpha variant. I doubt they will produce 15K of the Alpha/Beta set. I don't belive the 15K run was completed for the Red, Green, or Shadow alphas.

See For Sale Section...

I ordered mine through HLJ under a wholesale account. Here's what the yellow tips they are adding to ensure safe arrival to customers. It's basically a rubber plug with a flat head on top - very easy to be removed. IT IS NOT GLUED ON!!! The tape seal on the box was nicely sliced with a blade, yellow tip addeded, and nicely resealed. Overall, I think HLJ did a good job conforming to U.S legal standards without impacting the toy. My shipment got opened up by customs. If I didn't have the yellow tips attached, I think the shipment would have been confiscated.

Figured I'answer your question, too! -K

The MFG gets to determine the prices. The retailer either plays the game or walks... -K

MFG's have a suggested price and a discount based (general or volume) on the price. Some mfg's have set standard prices for a 'X' period of time that their retailers have to conform to in order to secure the product. After 'X', then's it's up to the retailer to slash prices. -Kevin

In general, if you buy a VF-1S Roy Reissue (3rd Editition or greater) or any VF1S Hikaru, I think you'll find the same QC standards. Kevin

Exactly..... I had two Toynami VF1S bookcases sitting in storage for the past few years...Finally decided to let one go and sold it for triple the amount of my initial purchase price. I can't invest in stocks or mutual funds worth crap...I never made more than 6-8% in gains. Now, give me the same amount of money to buy toys and I could guarantee making more than that within a year... -K

My wife knows how much money is sitting in toys...She thinks of my toys as "reserve cash" for the rainy days...

I've spent around $15K if not more...Sometime this year...I swear I'll have to take inventory...

Just got my shipment of YF-19s in....All I can say is WOW!!! I haven't transformed it yet but in fighter mode, it's huge!!! It's nice to see something else out that isn't a VF-1 variant...

Yeah, series two just got released late last week. I am getting a few sets myself. Anyone interested can PM me. $60 shipped per set. -Kevin

Very nice, Graham... (and now go scrub that balcony down....)

Basically, there is a recent run of the FX DYRL DVDs that does not actually contain that version of the video/audio. Instead, the A/V is taken from the AC DYRL version which contains inferior subs and video quality. The DVD cover and DVD labels all indicate 'FX' but the disc contents is different. -K

The Camo GBP1S and VF0A is suppose to be out Friday 8/25/06 -Kevin