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Chronocidal

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  1. Chronocidal
    I figure I've waited this long for it (since the first previews of the series), so I figure a few days more to wait isn't so bad. With any luck, I should have mine by this weekend, that's usually how long SAL takes for me. In the meantime, I'll practice transforming my 1/72 kits instead.
  2. Chronocidal
    Oh, I had no idea it was actually up for order! Put in an order for a pair at HLJ. Having built two of Keith's plane now, I'd say the 262 is probably the most well built of the transforming kits yet. Takes a little massaging to get the parts all lined up, but it's a sturdy little brick in fighter mode, and love putting them together.
  3. Chronocidal
    Got shipping confirmation for my AmiAmi one at 4 am, so they apparently ship on weekends, but it'll probably take a week or more to get here. I never go over registered SAL cost, usually about half as much as EMS with them.
  4. Chronocidal
    Wonderful.. and the plastic isn't even glossy. Time to start thinking up custom paintschemes to replace Bandai's shoddy work when it wears off..
  5. Chronocidal
    I'd absolutely pick up another VT-1 if it happened. My original is just fine thanks to Graham getting ahold of spare shoulders for us back then, but I just love the paint scheme on it. If Arcadia were to add anything, I want a duty uniformed Hikaru and Misa to sit in it. Extra bonus if they include the tent. I might even get a third, and customize one with a VF-1D head instead of the antenna one. Far as conspiracy theories go though, that makes a decent amount of sense. Bandai is probably keeping close tabs on Arcadia after the YF-19/VF-19 situation. I wish they'd get on with more HMRs though. Millia's finally coming out this month, but I'm surprised they actually went with the M&Ms before the VF-1D and VT-1.
  6. Chronocidal
    Honestly, at this point, and at the current prices, I don't think I'd buy an M&M set again, even if they did release them. My pair of originals were two of the very few Yamato VF-1s I actually did pre-order, and they came out to about $125 a piece before shipping, around $300 total to my door. That same set would cost around $450 from HLJ, based on what it would cost to ship me a pair of Roy strike sets. Not to say I don't want them to re-release them, I'd love for them to put a dent in the existing overpriced circus of M&M auctions. I just have a very hard time justifying getting more of the same thing at a 50% markup.
  7. Chronocidal
    Definitely top, it's the only one with a good spot for the antenna, and I'd actually replace the domed fronts with standard flat 2x2 round plates.
  8. Chronocidal
    Mmm, can't wait for this kit (and the DX later). Curious though, is it just me, or is the folding fin on the gunpod not very... uh, good? The ones on my Keith kits tend to fall out of place and flop around to the point where I'm considering gluing them down.
  9. Chronocidal
    Payment request from AmiAmi done, now to see how long normal registered SAL takes. No payment request from HLJ yet, but that one's staying in the warehouse until Messer's ready to go.
  10. Chronocidal
    See.. this is what I would basically love to do with all of my models. Painted markings are just so much more attractive to me, I love trying to paint as much as possible and only use decals for very small lettering and things that would be impractical to paint. Those vinyl patterns pretty much nailed the markings on the tail, I love how clean that looks. By the way, as long as you're at it.. why not cut out some clear plastic inserts and replace the painted on wing lights? That's one feature I was pretty disappointed with when Arcadia didn't keep the clear ones.
  11. Chronocidal
    Really, what's actually the most concerning is a comment I remember reading from some time ago, during the production of the VF-0D. I don't remember for sure if it was speculation, or an actual tweet from Mr. K, but one of the reasons he was said to have mentioned for the higher costs was that the "failure" rate for parts was incredibly high. Now, that can be taken a few ways, or relate to a lot of different things. Given the context, at the time it was easy to assume he was referring to bad paint application, leading to a lot of fudged paint jobs. Saying that you're having a lot of failed parts at the factory is indicative of a lot of potential problems though. On the one hand, if you're having that many issues with failed tampo prints or paint jobs, then you clearly need to either A: rethink your painting processes to be easier, or B: hire better labor. There's a limit on how far you can go with B though, and if it's costing too much, you need to rethink your manufacturing, and find ways to simplify your painting and assembly. Note, this is an entirely separate issue from paint color. Bottom line, if you're making stuff this hard to assemble? You're not benefitting anyone. The VF-1 was probably the best blend of detail, accuracy, complexity, and ease of assembly, and it was originally sold at a great price point. They need to get back to that as an ideal, and work towards things that will lessen production costs, while maintaining a high standard of production. Honestly, if labor is costing that much? Just make kits of everything and be done with it. They'd probably save themselves years worth of lifetime from the reduction in stress and bellyaching from fans who want one or another thing done a specific way. Easy solution: they can do it themselves!
  12. Chronocidal
    That can kind of work both directions though, since people addressing her wouldn't call her "The Major." It just takes a little linguistic common sense to know which is right for any given situation. Very few people called her anything other than (The) Major though. On the other hand, I'm entirely down for watching this dubbed in Japanese with English subtitles. I've joked before about watching the Matthew Broderick Godzilla that way, but in this case, it might actually improve the movie a great deal hearing the familiar voices. Shoot, if they really want to garner some good will from fans, they'll include the Japanese audio as a standard option in the bluray release.
  13. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Sad they couldn't develop a better system for the weapons pod, I know the parts are tiny, but the little fold-out doors just look so clunky on the DX (besides being the wrong shape). I'd almost prefer a swappable piece for the doors like the kit uses.
  14. Chronocidal
    Fortunately for me (though unfortunately for my wallet), I trust random Chinese knockoff factories even less than I do Arcadia at churning out quality products, and though they're more expensive, I'm probably going to stick with official products through reputable sources so I have some recourse if I get caught with a lemon. As far as pricing on the knockoffs goes though, I'm not surprised they can offer them at those prices, since after discounts, I paid less than that for a lot of my original Yamato VF-1s. Assuming no one was taking a significant loss, and referencing the unassembled versions, I'd guess the actual parts cost around $50-$60 to produce (back then). Thing with Arcadia though.. I don't pretend to know how the licensing process works, and I'm not going to assume the local fanbase here is representative of the Japanese customers... but Arcadia is rapidly approaching the appearance of someone shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly, and being absolutely convinced that the next shot is going to make their foot feel better. Between paint color nonsense, lousy engineering, or just ignoring the products people want to see, Arcadia has some issues. At the very least they could have garnered some good will from the fans by releasing the strike-packed VF-1s first, instead of teasing their fans for years and then finally releasing what everyone wanted in the first place. Now they're off gallivanting through the franchise doing choice projects that I honestly don't know if there's any real demand for, and ignoring all the ones people seem to ask for repeatedly. Maybe they're just focusing on the cheapest licenses for now? I don't know. I could be entirely wrong about what the fans are demanding as well. I was plenty happy to finally get a VF-0D, but I've never been under the impression that there was all that much demand in Japan for Macross Zero merchandise. And now they've announced they're going to remake one of the all-time biggest shelf-warmers in Yamato history. Either way, Arcadia has to know that bootlegging is getting easier by the minute. Pretty soon, they won't even need molds, just a copy of the product to scan, and sufficiently advanced 3D printers to make entire products from scratch. At some point in the not-too-distant future, 3D printed parts are going to surpass your base-line bootleg molding (if they haven't already). Then they won't even need to sell a physical product, they'll just sell you a bootleg schematic, and you can print the thing yourself. (Some of us can do that already.)
  15. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Hah, nice! Grats on finding the original too. I might tweak the design a little and cut a custom one from plastic card, extend the pivot so the gun lays down against the backplate better. Thanks for all the measurements, and removal method!
  16. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I'd actually be interested in a way to remove it safely myself, I find my hand catching on it so often, I'd rather remove it entirely and avoid the possibility of breaking it off. Part of why I really like Mirage's, it's got nothing sticking up from the head to break off.
  17. Chronocidal
    So, what with Bandai seeming to be completely uninterested in ever giving anyone any decent missiles to load on this thing, I'm beginning to wonder how hard it would be to get the hardpoints to accept the Arcadia weapons. It looks like the only thing stopping them from latching on is the hex-shaped interior of the center hole. I'm getting more and more tempted to just attempt to drill those out to the proper size for the Arcadia pylons to attach. Anyone here ever tried something similar?
  18. Chronocidal
    I thought Netflix already has had all of Star Trek for years now? Unless this is just a renewal of their existing license, and they decided to shell out more for the new series, I don't get why that would even be related to this.
  19. Chronocidal
    I've got two on order, so I think I'll leave my HLJ one in the warehouse until I can ship it with Messer's, assuming his releases soon enough so HLJ doesn't auto-ship my second Draken.
  20. Chronocidal
    Granted, the name is just hearsay from a friend of mine who saw the art book, so a large grain of salt is probably called for. Depending on the timeframe of the movie, that could very well just be the name she was given by the doctor who cared for her, before actually picking her own name. I don't recall if that doctor's name is ever given in the source material. I dunno. It does seem really bonkers to go to such great lengths to look true to the original, and then make random changes like that, but I've reached a point where I really don't expect anyone or anything to make sense anymore.
  21. Chronocidal
    Whee, bout time those came out. Have to get at least 3 or 4 of these.
  22. Chronocidal
    Oh, sorry, should have clarified it here, since I didn't realize it wasn't mentioned. Apparently her actual name was released in an art book, or some promotional thing for the movie, and it's supposedly Mira Killian.
  23. Chronocidal
    I guess I mostly don't really care either way? I just feel like the people in charge are like.. "Phew.. we're past the casting issues.. now, what else can we do to simultaneously distance ourselves from the original, and piss off the fanbase?" Like.. I wish people would decide whether they want to make something for the fans, or something original. Pick one, it's not hard. Either do your best to stick to source material, or come up with something entirely your own. Time and time again, people keep getting this bright idea to try and make things appeal to a wider audience, and they fall flat on their face, because they don't do anything significant to draw in new fans, while simultaneously pissing off the established fanbase they think they can count on. I'd rather see something new and original than have someone's original plot trying to hitch a ride on an established story/universe that has to be twisted around to fit. Frankly though, I think the name change sucks. Cultural significance aside, you replaced someone who named themselves after a sword, with something that sounds like they could work in accounting. Maybe they're going to work the pseudonym into the movie at some point? I can only hope.
  24. Chronocidal
    So, I was discussing this with some friends earlier, and I'm just incredibly baffled that they would rename her... First.. they're hit with the whole initial whitewashing claims, due to their casting choice for the Major... which in reality, wasn't an issue in the first place, because being entirely cybernetic, the Major could have been cast as anyone from Eugene Levy to Lucy Liu to James Earl Jones, and it could have fit in the canon, no matter how goofy it was. The name was never related to her race, it was a pseudonym picked to sound cool, and happened to be Japanese because she lived in Japan. Best cross-cultural comparison I heard from western cultural references was that she basically named herself "Jane Excalibur." So, now that everyone seemed to finally get over the casting issue, they went and pulled their heads even further up their own rectums, renaming her to some completely unrelated thing that has no cultural significance at all, and just giving credence to all of the originally nonsensical complaints... like seriously, wtf??
  25. Chronocidal
    So, I finally got ahold of a set of 4 3x3 quarter domes recently, and will probably go about finally modding my UCS Imperial Shuttle the way I've always wanted. Mostly, replacing the wedge-shaped nose with a more subtle slope of layered plates, and modding the engine area to look like the original. (Not mine, but it's apparently a popular fix.) Just have to dig the shuttle out of storage, and figure out how to reshape that nose section...
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