Chronocidal
-
Posts
10761 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Everything posted by Chronocidal
-
I've never had any issues with HLJ's shipping, but the things I order also tend to fit astoundingly well in the boxes they use. Their standard shipping box is roughly the same footprint of a 1/72 Bandai VF-31 kit, or an Arcadia VF-0 box, and my box of two VF-0Ds was basically perfectly packed in the cardboard. I think they laid a few plastic bubbles on top and down one side, but nothing in that box moved a bit. It'll really depend on what you order, basically. Getting lots of small items might leave them bouncing around a bit.
-
If I can get these through HLJ, I'll probably spring for both of them one more time. A roughly $60 markup from the original price I got my Yamatos for isn't that terrible at all. Milia's 1J just has a special place for me as the first transforming VF-1 I owned (an old Matchbox reboxing of the Bandai Joke Machine), and I can't ignore the Max release if I get one of them.
-
Surprised I haven't seen more about these, personally. https://hlj.com/product/GSC90335 Only Atlas seems available so far, but clearly both are planned.
-
Your most recent Macross or toy purchase! General thread.
Chronocidal replied to Gakken85's topic in Hall Of The Super Topics
That Gamora won't fit in a 1/60 Q-Rau, will it? -
That's another thing that confused the heck out of me... If the interceptors, bombers, and advanced models were so much better, why weren't they further developed? In 30 years, all they could come up with was a two person version with a turret, and still absolutely horrible aerodynamics and visibility? The pace of technological development in the overall Star Wars universe is seriously like molasses trying to push itself uphill. My dislike of the X-wing is entirely due to the wings though. It's a nice enough design when they're closed, but that is the single most irritating ship design decision I've ever seen applied to an existing design, and it rubs every bit of my sense of style and design in the worst way possible. Call it OCD, or whatever, but having them so horribly unbalanced and ruining the original symmetry of the design just makes my brain hurt.
-
Yeah, they screwed up the cockpits in the 31. The console is so close to their chests that there's no possible way they could operate the instruments there, let alone even see them. I actually wasn't bothered too much by how opaque the canopies are, since it hides that particular goof pretty nicely.
-
Yeah, a huge chunk of the props used in the OT were manufactured from surplus military hardware, everything from uniforms to weapons. The original stormtrooper rifle was built on a Sterling Arms Mk4/L2A3 sub-machine gun. Han's gun was a Mauser C96, and a few variations popped up on the design, including the gun Luke used in ESB. Heavy rifles seen in use in ANH were nearly stock MG34 German machine guns from WWII. Luke spent most of two movies running around in German military uniforms. Heck, Luke's (Anakin's) lightsaber's handgrips were made from windshield wipers off of a jeep. If anything, I'd bet the new designs are specifically to make merchandising easier. It's a lot easier to get away with making movie-accurate toy guns if the guns in question don't look real to begin with. But... yeah. The ship designs of the new movies suck. Rehashed OT designs with new greeblies and paintschemes, industrial junk that no one cared wasn't even visible on screen, and flying taco stands. At least the X-wing looks almost new, but the stupid offset wings completely ruin the design for me. Like.. it's half of a good design... the McQuarrie half. The... things.. seen in the new trailer that they're passing for ships are really missing the boat on multiple levels. First off, they're ugly as hell. Second, how do they expect to even attempt merchandising those pieces of space junk? Has no one in their merchandising department gotten any clue from the piles of unsold die-cast landing craft and whatever else is flooding the shelves? People want attractive merchandise based on attractive designs. So far, these new movies are providing neither in any significant amount.
-
Seeing a pair of A-wing tails in one scene is at least something different, but nothing from these new movies is really even remotely interesting looking as a ship. Bad as the prequels were, they at least had some memorable and distinctive designs throughout (and things I actually bought models of). If there's one main thing that's kind of depressing to me, it's that we're probably stuck with the same new X-wing design for the remainder of this trilogy, and I just can't bring myself to like it.
-
See, if they had made a Gnerl fighter pod in 1/60 instead, I would have grabbed that.. but that also has about 3x the potential moving parts of this thing. Maybe Bandai will hear our pleas and put out ah HMR lancer and fighter pod... bonus points if they make a bundle pack of 3 Lancers, or even a combo with both in the same package.
-
The licenses shouldn't have cost that much for Zero*, but comparatively, the VF-4 was a recently designed product with no retooling needed, and may not have even needed a renewed license agreement (assuming Arcadia could purchase that outright). The Zero valks though definitely were entirely new tooling, and may have even needed a re-negotiated contract, since the Yamato ones came out so long ago. * Note, I really don't know anything about what they should cost, but just on popularity alone, Zero shouldn't be in much demand. Given how many things Bandai has teased as potential HMR releases though, it wouldn't surprise me if Bandai's offers are driving up the licensing costs for Arcadia across the board.
-
As long as we can get some molded ones in standard colors, I'll be good, it's just sad how Bandai seems to love being such a cruel tease with so many product lines.... All their new valks with empty hardpoints, reissuing Ozma with no armor re-release, that sort of thing. It's like they always plan ahead to drive up demand for something they can release later.. but it never happens. It's like they're practically begging for bootleggers to step in and make all the stuff that they keep refusing to.
-
Urg.. yeah, think I'll either just wait until Bandai reissues them (don'tcha love Bandai's exclusive nonsense <_<) or make my own at that price. Like, I'd hope they'd release a stand alone pack again, but given their continued abuse of Ozma fans, I'm not betting on it ever happening.
-
Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII
Chronocidal replied to David Hingtgen's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I still can't figure out how they can fit a fully grown human being in that thing. They can't have any kind of radar in it, because his feet must be sticking clear into the nosecone. -
Macross Collectibles Market Watch - Current Auction/Store SOLD prices
Chronocidal replied to jvmacross's topic in Toys
I'd rather hold onto the boxes and have a safe place to store my valks when I run out of display room really. Though, honestly, you could probably pack a half-dozen VF-1s in a single box if you disassembled them, or even just folded them up to take up less room. I eventually plan to multi-stack the plastic trays in a larger strike bundle box, fold up the boxes, and then pack the bare valks and accessories in something a little more space efficient. Pity you can't do that with the Bandai ones, what with their styrofoam trays, but fortunately I have less of those than Yamatos. -
STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
Chronocidal replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Oh, interesting, I guess their target market doesn't overlap with anything Hasbro is making then. If they're producing something more along the lines of the 1/60 Macross DXs, I'll probably bite, but yeah, I'd rather have something more like a completed model than a light-up toy with all kinds of whiz-bang gizmos and whatnot. At least I can hope that whatever s-foil mechanism they come up with doesn't fail miserably like the old FX-mold X-Wing. What I'd really love to see is Bandai producing a non-electronic 1/48 X-Wing kit (not to mention the Y-Wing and B-Wing.. just due to silly scale shenanigans, the A-Wing already is 1/48). I picked up 3 of the electronic ones because they're just beautiful, but I've stripped out the electronic guts in them because being unable to open and close the wings without battery power is just stupid. -
Looking back historically with Yamato's releases, I know that once the v.2 VF-1 production reached full tilt, we were getting barraged with releases left and right for several years straight, but did Yamato always produce so much so quickly? I want to say that Arcadia's current production rate is slower like the earlier days when Yamato first made the VF-0 and 1/48 VF-1, but I only jumped into the collecting game around the time the v.2 showed up. Going slower to avoid oversaturating the market seems wise, but maybe they're just working slowly to build up capital so they can expand? On the licensing side though, it wouldn't surprise me if Bandai is driving up the cost of Arcadia's licenses just by their interest in the franchise as a whole. Big West has to be aware of how much money Bandai could dump directly into their pockets if they agreed to give them all the licenses Arcadia currently is holding onto. At some point, Arcadia might not be able to compete with Bandai's offers. Heck, just in pure business sense, I'm not even sure how Arcadia still has the licenses they do. Macross Zero doesn't really seem like a hot property, but it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the profits from the VF-0s were dumped directly into DYRL and SDF licenses.
-
Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII
Chronocidal replied to David Hingtgen's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
See, I wonder how long it will be until someone develops a nozzle that can effectively distribute thrust over a wider area, and... well, basically let you make a turbofan-powered Osprey, without needing 3 or more engines for a stable platform. Or, barring that, just make a three-engined Osprey that looks like the Cobra Rattler. The F-35B can sort of do that, but it still needs ducted compressor air for steering and attitude control, as well as whatever diffuser the lift fan uses. -
I think aside from the more silly aspects of the design (which you can pin on Kawamori), the 31 my be Bandai's best DX valk yet. It's a tough call between that and the VF-19 Advance, though. They both have their quirks, but the fit and finish of the 31 feels better overall, and transforms easily without a lot of massaging to get it seamless. If I was limited to one version though, I'd get the 31C, just for the unique color, and more streamlined head laser design.
-
Believe those figures are meant to be 1/60, to go with the Yamato Q-Raus. So, for the outer leg packs, did you actually repaint them, or did you just strip off the white paint on the bottom panel? And assuming there are any left on the market ( ), how much do those old HM pack sets go for?
-
I could be wrong, but I think there are a couple of reasons why that makes sense though. Partly, I'm thinking that the VF-4 was a recent enough release that there was a minimal change in labor and manufacturing costs, so they were able to release it with no real change. Aside from that though, and please correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the VF-4 was the only Arcadia release that was actually identical to a Yamato one. The initial VF-1 releases came with stands, and the Fire Valkyrie was bundled with the sound booster and the band figures, if I recall. The Anniversary schemed VF-1J was really close (just the simple fighter mode display base was packed in), but it also tanked on the market, and quickly became cheaper than a lot of Yamato releases. I don't recall if the new VF-1S strike bundles from Arcadia come with the stand anymore though, so in that case, yes, you've got a direct comparison of products. Anyway, I feel like in the grand scheme of things, everything evens out in the end. If you consider how many of the Yamato VF-1s were sold for far below MSRP due to repeated clearance sales, I bet you that the hike from Arcadia's pricing is probably going to gradually drag the average sale price of them back toward the original market price from when Yamato first released them.
-
STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
Chronocidal replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I'll be curious what scale they'll use for those.. The falcon I can't imagine will be that big, but I wouldn't want an X-Wing in anything less than 1/48. Will be interesting to see if they make them mostly out of metal, but would also be easier on my wallet, since I'd much rather have them continue their 1/72 kit line. I'm also really curious about the licensing regions for something like this though. There's absolutely nothing even remotely similar marketed in the US, so I'd hope the embargo on the models doesn't carry over. -
They did with the first series of Hi-Metals, but no one bought those back then, and now people are buying up the old web exclusive sets to equip their naked HMRs. I don't really want to speculate, but I'd love to know what sort of license issue could keep both Bandai's and Arcadia's hands tied, and unable to release stand-alone packs. I'm honestly getting pretty close to seeing how hard it would be to get a set of packs built up in Shapeways for the HMRs.
-
Yamato used to be decent about this sort of thing, and announce multiple versions at the same time, like with the initial release of Roy, the Roy strike bundle, and the stand alone packs all within two months. With this, they're just shooting themselves in the foot by proving time and time again that people shouldn't buy the first release, because a better one will come out later. I know I wouldn't have touched the Arcadia Roy and Hikaru stand-alone releases if I'd known they'd put out bundles with fast packs later.
-
Except once they release the base VF-1, it'll be another 10k yen for the missiles (and the wings with hardpoints, of course).
-
Yeah, given the "outstanding quality" of the rest of the animation in that episode, I wouldn't use that as any kind of standard to judge anything by. None of those individual screenshots even match each other let alone the other episodes where they're shown. I don't really mind the white colored tips on the boosters, that goes nicely with the schemes. The random white panel on the bottom of the legs though just looks out of place, and for no reason other than animation mistakes.