Chronocidal

Will do, I just popped mine into Gerwalk, and there they are. Brand new, delivered in the past week, never transformed until just now, and both shoulders already stressed. I missed it the first time I looked, the stress marks are actually harder to see in that tan plastic. Pics coming momentarily.

I need to go re-examine my newer Valks now, since it seems the shoulder problem is reappearing..I think my M&Ms are ok, but I didn't look too closely at my VF-1D and VT-1 yet, and I think someone reported seeing the knurled pins making a comeback on some of those. Btw David, if you didn't already, please change my vote to the "multiples" option.. I voted "both" before thinking of that.

If you catch it in time, it's not hard to fix the shoulders preemptively. My first two VF-1s both had stressed/near cracked shoulders on both sides. I pushed the pins out with a sewing needle, soaked the pivot points in super glue, and replaced the pins with sections of a thick paperclip. The joints are much looser now, but they hold up well enough, and since my valks stay in fighter mode mostly, I'm just happy the arms aren't falling off.

Wheee! Got my VF-1D, VT-1, VF-11, and YF-21 all yesterday (along with a super alto kit), and spent the better part of the evening fiddling with them (mostly with the YF-21, geeez that thing is complicated ). Pleased to say that so far it looks like the only thing that got yamatoed with this shipment was my wallet. Haven't transformed them all yet, but nothing broken far as I can tell.

Both broken on my first two DYRL V.2s, Roy and Hikaru 1A, so 4 total. I mostly fixed them myself so I haven't ordered new ones, but I'd gladly take a set of new shoulders for both if they were available (and if Overdrive ever gets back to me.. I emailed them several months ago about a new Hikaru 1J head, still no help there ) Any chance you can add a "multiple valks/multiple shoulders" option to the poll?

Well, since my boxes are at the post office awaiting pickup, I suppose you could say they're still "in the mail." Come 4pm, I'll have 5 new valks to unpack (along with whatever other mail I wasn't expecting over the past two weeks). It'll be like Christmas day all over again. Work today can't end fast enough (and it's boring to boot.. everyone's just getting back from vacation time, and no one has anything to do yet ).

Woah.. this is new. I'm gonna wait and see if they get imported before buying, but 1/32 is a nice size for these. I think they're roughly the size of some WWII fighters, probably pretty small aircraft.

My stand alone 1J Hikky is fixed as well, the hinge pins are noticeably smaller. I did get two broken ones, both the stand alone Focker and the Strike Hikaru 1A, but they're fixed up just fine now. It's an annoying problem to be sure, but if you know how to fix them, I don't think it's worth skipping those versions entirely. You might even get a bargain for buying potentially cracked ones, then fixing them yourself.

Ditto on that, and her hair looks much more blue here than purple.. if it weren't for the chesticles, I would've thought that WAS Alto. Really.. she looks more like a cross between Grace, and that weird guy Foo-foo-head met with in that restaurant.. the eyes just don't look anything like her.. it's like they're too big. I wonder if this shot is mid-change between different external appearances. The hair and glasses do make a difference, but even with those changed, that doesn't look like her face.

And the Valkgirl Leekspin would be next, I assume? Oh wow.. my brain just did a crazy mashup mid-thought, and now I'm imagining Miku Apple. And if you used the latest Miku design style.. it could actually work. Edit: imagine Sharon crossed with this:

yeah, seems to be a complete crapshoot. I emailed them a LONG time ago that my Hikaru 1J needs a new head. In the months since then I hacked the original head apart looking for a way to fix it, and it's sorta fixed, but the head looks like crap now.

Frak, what do you mean they don't accept free email accounts?? I don't HAVE a paid email.

Actually, I think the fix was to loosen the screw.. apparently tightening it pulls the hinge down somehow.

Oy... there goes another $400. But not now.. maybe late January, or February.

That's not a new sale, it's the same items as went on sale early in fall.. but the prices are all higher now than they were then. The sale v.2s used to be a little over $70.

Oh nice, the VT-1 is in the same size box as the regular non-super VF-1s Can't wait to get mine after I go home from vacation. I might have to get a normal TV fast pack set at some pont, but I've already got a strike pack, plus my M&M booster sets, so that's enough for the time being.. plus, I generally prefer plain fighter mode. I might get a cannon fodder next.. but I need to ease up for a while. Plus, I need to save up for the M&M VF-22s and VF-11C... and hope they go on sale.. hmmm... Maybe if the sale at hlj keeps going, I'll get something smaller first... and I don't have a cannon fodder yet.. grr.

Oh, ho! Do my eyes deceive me, or do I see painted metal parts? Looks like the gear and metal chest plate come painted white. I am happy. I wonder if I could get a deal for buying them in bulk... As for assembly, I'm not too worried. The standard v.2 VF-1s does depend on quite a bit of glue to stay together though, and I don't know what type of glue these will require. It might not be bad, probably just use superglue of some sort.. But putting together the internals of these may turn out to be a daunting task. What I do hope to figure out is how to file down the right spot on the tail section so that the tails actually lie FLAT when folded. That's something that continues to bug me about my all my v.2 Valks. The fact that they didn't fix the new Roy issue is beyond stupid however.. if these turn out to have the original thick pinned shoulders, and the subsequent breakages...

Actually, the VT-1 had a good amount of screen time in DYRL, I'd bet a lot more than the VE-1. The VE-1 is really unique, but I never cared for the look of the sensor dish on it. What I wonder is how hard it would be to make Misa figure for the VT-1.. Since the VF-1D comes with Miinmay, I think it's only fair Misa gets a ride too. I have to watch DYRL again, but did Misa wear the same type of suit as Minmay (guessing a different color), or did she wear something entirely different? If it's the same, I might just try and repaint the VT-1 backseat figure. I kind of have a soft spot for the VT-1, it hit me just recently what it reminds me of: the T-38. People have debated the differences between the VT-1 and VF-1D before, but it finally hit me that it's the same relationship between the T-38 and the F-5F. Same base design, just a dedicated trainer vs a combat ready two seater.

I'm just wondering what all this "HI-METAL" talk means. I see... a metal pin or two maybe? Yes, it's a prototype. But there's so much clear materlal there, I have a hard time understanding what metal has to do with that toy. At least they finally learned to put hardpoints on the wings, instead of using clip-on missiles.

I got my Hikaru VF-1J around early October I think, and it already had the shoulder fixes. The only thing it didn't have was the new nosecone hatch, and that really doesn't bother me at all. I can't say I have a favorite yet. Roughly half of the Valks I "own" are currently waiting for me to pick up at the post office (or will be by the time I get back to my apartment). It's gonna be hard to decide later.

Personally? 1/100 is too small for me to care about ... well, nearly anything. I don't have anything in that scale, and I'm not going to start another VF-1 collection just to have something similar. The VF-19 might be an okay size, but 1/100 VF-1s will be freaking tiny. While I'm sure there's a portion of the population that will buy the Bandai VF-1, and will gather a decent collection in that scale, they need to offer something more than another set of VF-1s. The market is just flooded right now. What I would like to know is how far Bandai plans to carry their VF-1 line.. Yamato has covered pretty much every canon scheme possible now, and they're even covering the customs market with their kit version. Bandai is playing catch-up at best here, and unless they have some massive gimmicks up their sleeves, I don't see any reason not to buy a bigger plane. Shoot, the VF-1 kit price is around $60 if I recall (not sure about that, need to re-check).. with the VF-19 coming in around $70.. If Bandai can't keep the VF-1 price significantly below the 1/60th kit, I don't know how they'll ever sell. Yes, it takes work, and some people like their planes smaller. But considering how people like Gundam kits.. I dunno. I guess what seems funny about this to me.. it's like Bandai is trying to sell Macross using the same methods it uses to sell Gundam. Smaller action figures, bigger kits, bigger still DX versions.. I don't know if it'll wind up working in the end.

That happens a lot to me, I usually chalk it up to the time difference. Being over a day late might happen, especially if this is your first order. My first one took a couple of days to appear. Once you have an account in their system it seems to go faster (did for me at least).

Correction... this HAS BEEN an expensive winter. This month: 1/60 YF-19, YF-21, VF-11B, VF-1D, VT-1. So.... 1/48: Still 1 1/60: 12 now Well, I hit my goal of getting one per month for the year.. I just didn't start buying until September. Oh well, something to work on for the new year.

*sigh* So a relative sent me a surprise for Christmas, and I decided to jump on the VT-1 before the deal disappears, along with a VF-25 kit I'd been planning to buy. So depending on the mail system, that makes this december a 5 yammie month: 1/60 YF-19, YF-21, VF-11B, VF-1D, and VT-1. And that's not counting several models. HLJ must love me right now. But hey, they were all on sale! So I actually saved money, right? Edit: Wheee, page 6. We oughta just retitle this thread... Oh you better watch out, There's so much that you'll buy, With a sale on Valks, You'll spend til you cry, HLJ is coming to town. You're filling your cart, Checking it twice, Shipping be darned You'll pay any price, HLJ is coming to town. With YF-19s, And Sturmvogel IIs, VT-1s, M&Ms, And model kits too, HLJ is coming to town. The valkaholics here now, Will be waiting at their doors We'll be in debt to our eyeballs If they ever make VF-4s! So you better stay safe, And hide all your cash, If you see the discounts, It'll be gone in a flash, HLJ is coming to town.

BLASHEMER!!!! STONE HIM! That trailer is no where NEAR long enough. I got chills..and that pic of Yuki's face, screaming, splattered with blood..... *shivers* wow. I can't wait. *goes to re-read disappearance with those images fresh in his mind*