Valk-1S

Arcadia said it was gonna be 27k.. Amiami lists it as 29k and discounted to 27k.. I was sure we'd see discounted prices closer to 25 or 26k?

Amiami price has the 8% tax on it. RRP is 27k if you remove the tax.

Had a great transaction with Valk-1S. I was really impressed with how mint the conditions of the items were. I would definitely purchase from him again.

Thanks to rsvictor1976 who was an excellent buyer to deal with and will be happy to deal with again.

I have been selling my collection recently. You can check my sold auction on eBay same username as my MW username. It will give some guidance I guess.

I expect it to be more than Yamato price as this is under the Arcadia banner now with the new higher pricing where they have charged more than 50% compared to Yamato. My guess similar to the VF-0 or even higher, probably about 35-40K Yen.

As with all toys, unless its said to be a limited release, they really can do what they want. Even if stated limited release, they can always do a slight different colour variation for a normal production like what Bandai did with the V1 VF-25F by budling it up with the super parts.

Everyone has been helpful but I'll try to give a timeline to explain what is going on here.

Yamato YF-19 - Plus version, Double Nuts, Bird of Prey. - It's all a very bad mold. Avoid.

Yamato VF-19 - Basara, S, F, P varieties. - You're already familiar with the quality.

Arcadia VF/YF-19 - Yamato went under and Arcadia bought the mold for Yamato's VF-19 series. They've released the Basara again but with Gold trim instead of yellow and then made a new YF-19 Plus Version based on that VF-19 mold. The new YF-19 was designed so that the Fold Booster made for the old, terrible, Yamato YF-19 mold will work on the Arcadia YF-19 as well.

I would personally buy the VF-19P, which is similar to the Basara VF-19, over any of the Yamato YF-19 versions.

I'll add a little more on the history as well to Mommar post.

The first issue of the Yamato YF-19 Isamu had two noticeable issues as well. The gunpod did not sit straight in fighter mode and the rear landing gears did not bend outwards enough. This was then fixed in later issues.

Had an amazing and smooth experience with Valk-1S, who hooked me up with a vf-25s + armor set. Items beautifully wrapped, from Australia, to the US, to Argentina, which is a lot to say. Great experience, so thanks a lot!

Thanks to 3D-Brainx who was an excellent buyer to deal with and will be happy to deal with again.

I have given up collecting. But if I was still collecting, I would be tempted to pick up a VF-0S but at the end my answer would still be:

7. No and I am less likely to purchase an Arcadia product in the future due to the pricing and/or general direction of Arcadia.

This is partly due to the Australian dollar weakening this year as well.

Also with history of QC issues on toys such as shoulder issues on the original VF-0, shoulder issues on the 1/60 VF-1 V2, Bandai VF-171 bad plastic, some white plastic more prone to yellowing easily like the first version VF-25F DX, you will get really ***** off more by spending US$300 as compared to US$150 toy.

If you can get it cheap then probably you can consider getting it. I had 6 of them. One only had an issue right from the beginning where the leg broke and the NUNs triangle and little triangle broke. The rest was inspected without transforming and showed no issues. Then a few months later when I checked, two more showed cracks either at the NUNs or little triangle. Sold those two off at a loss. About a year later, checked again, cracks starting to show on one of them on the NUNs. Will be selling those off as well at a loss.

Super thanks to Valk-1S!

Fantastic communications. All items received were in excellent condition and were extremely well packaged. Very smooth transaction, I would definitely happy to deal with him again.

Thanks Whatever_Guy who is an Excellent Customer and definitely happy to deal with again.

I think one of the biggest factor is the Yen weakening against most currencies. If you look at the Yen against the Yuan in the last 5 years, the Yen has devalued by over 30%, and if the cost is being charged in Yuan to Arcadia, then yes they are being hit hard with rising costs, maybe a bit with the increase in prices in the factories in China, but more in the devaluation of the Yen.

Those are some nice items.

Would you be willing to deal here on the boards with members in good standing on the Straight Shooters list?

Yes, as I prefer not to support eBay with their high fees. But some people will feel safer going through eBay. But at the same time, I won't entertain low ball offers and will prefer to deal with good standing members. The prices I put up is the minimum I am looking to get at the moment, but dealing outside of eBay, I am happy to pass majority of the savings of the eBay fees. Also, I prefer to deal with members not too particular with the box conditions. Box conditions varies as I have received numerous items overseas, and sometimes you get them in factory mint condition, sometimes you don't due to the box being moved around the sellers warehouse or due to poor packaging or just bad handling by the post office (I pack my items well with bubble wrap and then in an outer box). Even HLJ don't guarantee their box conditions, and I have received items from them where the box condition was not that great as it was already damaged prior to being sent out by them. I find that if a buyer is very particular about the box condition, it is best they purchase from a person/shop directly so they can see the condition prior to paying for the item.

I have decided to quit collecting and selling all my collection and have or will put them up on eBay. Please see below link for my eBay auctions. I have mainly listed my Bandai stuff, and still have some other Bandai, Yamato and Arcadia items to list. I have used up my free listing quota for the month, so I will only be able to list more in September. I have a lot of rare items to list such as 1/60 Max Virgin Road, VF-1J Max & Milia, Super Ostrich, VF-1D, VF-11C, VF-11B, VF-X, VF-1A Cavaliers.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/valk-1s/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3692

Normally i would agree but i'm afraid the conclusion Arcadia would come to was that we don't want VF-0 toys. It's like how yamato thought their zero line failed because people weren't interested in zero valks but missed the fact that that they all were released defective (exploding shoulders etc).

I think the VF-0 sold well for Yamato as I don't recall them being heavily discounted at all. The only one that failed was the Nora and CF SV-51 which were heavily discounted.

I'd get Shin's 0A if i could afford it, i really would. I love the Zeros, and this is the hero characters plane! But at close to $400, I just can't do it. I'll get the 0S no matter what, and be happy. I think it looks wicked as hell!

Same here as well. I had the VF-0A on order but cancelled it. Tanking AUD and Arcadia pricing, just can't justify getting it. Just have to be content with Yamato VF-0.

Also have recently decided to give up collecting for good. VF-27 will be my last stuff coming in.

Just got shipping confirmation from CDJ.

Wonder whether they made changes to the gunpod, as noticed that it doesn't come with the optional part to mount the gunpod in fighter mode like the isamu version to accomodate the bayonet.

Edit: Thanks Sildani. My mistake as didn't see the pic showing it as with the isame it was together in the plastic tray with the stand.

That's lower than when it was first put up for preorder too.

Yeah, it's pricey for sure, wasn't HLJ like 3200JPY for EMS? CD Japan doesn't have the best shipping rates for large shipments, so that's probably playing into it, and maybe they're trying to recoup the money they lost on the underestimated preorder shipping quotes.

HLJ has the cheapest EMS shipping as their rates are discounted rates and not the standard Japan Post rates. It was 2,980 yen to ship the VF-19.

Same here waiting for mine from NY. Don't know why but it seems to take a lot longer now when it comes from Osaka to Aus. Tokyo to Aus is still fine. Last package from NY took almost 2 weeks to arrive via EMS.

They've sent me payment requests on Sundays before and they're usually around the same time around 1.30-2.30 AM. Why shouldn't they fix it if it's a bug? It's just giving false hope to buyers who might cancel their pre-order elsewhere because they think they managed to secure one from HLJ.

That link did closed yesterday when it went to discontinued and besides it say awaiting for stock to come in so they won't ask for payment until they have received more stock. Just wait and see what happens in the next few days.

Can I assume everyone's gotten their payment request from HLJ, even the late orders?

Could HLJ really have delivered this time?

I think they are and they are getting more in. Orders have been opening and closing throughout the day still. Just keep checking for those still looking for one. You need to look at the actual product page as what I found is that the status on the product page is different from the search. Search could say order stop but when you click on it, the product page lets you place an order in.

Yeah I'm not worried. In the end it's all about the Benjamin's. I spend tens of thousands so I doubt they will do anything like block my account.

Many people had their account block before due to ordering more than 1 when it was limited to 1 per customer. And they just block your account without telling you and you have to email them to find out why. Since you only want one, I would cancel the other one just incase they do a routine check to see whether anyone ordered more than 1. But at the end, its up to you on whether you want to take the risk.

I ordered two on separate occasions. im not sure about 1 person limit, as it does not state that on order page and i did order two vf-25s on the reissue and i received both. I guess Ill find out!

The VF-25S was not limited to 1 per person. But HLJ was supposed to send 1 per person due to limited stock but some slip through their mailing process and some people managed to get 2 or more.

The VF-19A is limited to 1 per person. The way some people get around this limit is by placing seperate orders of 1 each time. However, HLJ has now crack down on this and if you are caught your account will be frozen and you need to write to them and promise you won't break their rules again if you want your account back.

I have two on order from hobby link Japan. I will part with one at cost plus shipping if they come though.. If anyone is interested.

I hope your two are on seperate accounts as it's limited to one per person and HLJ may freeze your account when they do a check to see whether anyone broke their limit rules.

Mine finally came in yesterday after being in limbo for over a week between leaving Osaka and reaching Australia.