Chronocidal

2 minutes ago, max928 said:

how is luna park with shipping these days?  i had some macross items ordered quite while back and it was shipped in a plastic bag... 

I think they received a pile of feedback about that, and eventually started using boxes, but my experience ordering one thing from them was a little weird, because they just seemd to forget about it until I reminded them.  

10 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said:

It looks like you can stand a whole other valk in there to hold it up

Yeah, this is an angle I didn't catch before.  That's insane.  

Makes me wonder if they couldn't just throw some sort of accordion fold into that massive panel and decrease the gap like they did for the VF-171, but yikes.

16 minutes ago, magicsp00n said:

https://tokullectibles.com/products/dx-chogokin-vt1-super-ostrich?variant=47746234122557

Not cheap ($350, free US shipping), but better than the second-hand prices may be, I reckon.

The free shipping shouldn't be underestimated, depending on the methods available.

Yeah, they're not too much more expensive than your usual proxy shipping service for normal TWE items.

It's things like lottery exclusives where they add a higher premium.

I think CD Japan has sometimes listed TWE items as well, but it's a rare occurrence.  They have the original VF-31A in their listing history, and I think I got a set of DX VF-1 missiles there, but it's really not something you can depend on.  

They do offer proxy services for hunting down rare items after the fact, with some markup applied.

Anime Export does usually carry the TWE items, but AmiAmi and HLJ do not.  AE has been very reliable in the past, but they do require full payment up front, and they usually seem to have a shorter order window than many others.

And no, we're not seeing this one stateside, unless someone sorts out the rights to DYRL lickety split.

19 minutes ago, Alphahorizon said:

There numbers on how many they have left keep fluctuating...down to 3 up to 7 up to 9 down to 3. How?

I'm not too worried, so long as they aren't marking up the item as the numbers change.

Could just be people adding or removing to the cart.  As nice as it is to see those numbers, the systems that calculate them may not be reliable due to how people add and remove them like that.

I'm not seeing anything about status, but it might be an indicator of shipping/payment status?

I opted for storage, to avoid having it delivered during the holiday week in July.

I do appreciate the fact that they listed the total available.  I did see it go up and down a few times, but they didn't adjust the price.

I think the question will be whether they re-open later with a price increase.

Yep, certain sites just open early for some reason, probably to streamline the order process from their allocated TWE order slots.

Others just wait until it opens for real.  Not sure if there is any benefit to either, but I guess ordering after they are opened might be more definite, since you're dealing with orders already placed?  Hard to say.  

Eh, if the recent reviews are decent, I'll give them a shot.  AE is lagging behind tonight.

Maybe I'll order a third as a backup when they open...

That's good to know then.  I would still love to know exactly how all of that played out, but it's probably lost to history now.

I am rather surprised I'm not seeing email spam from Luna Park about this one yet though, usually they're the first to send me ads.  

Despite being so "rare" and unique, the VT-1 never seems to be a really huge seller in the end.  I got both the original Yamato and HMR releases on clearance.

Got one at Big in Japan, debating whether I want to gamble on Yoyakunow, or wait until I see AE's listing.

Just now, Shizuka the Cat said:

Be advised, as I understand it, the owner of Yoyakunow.com comes from Nippon-Yasan.com. 

Given how I was burned by NY (losing over $200 on a pre-order that never materialized), I personally am staying clear of Yoyakunow.

 

Edit - Yeah, if that's the case I might wait on that.

Hobby Genki's page is up

https://hobby-genki.com/en/dx-chogokin/29076-dx-chogokin-vt-1-super-ostrich-the-super-dimension-fortress-macross.html

Also, for those not aware, yes, this is happening in a few hours, because today is the 25th, and it's already the 26th in Japan.

Boy, yeah, in for two of these, but I need to find what places will offer them.  The last few exclusives have been a one and done deal for me.

Got mine from AE today, did a quick unboxing and dropping the legs to check on them.  Doesn't look like they've really changed anything about the locking mechanisms, but I think this one is going to be a pure fighter mode display forever.  Not worth the risk, since I can see mold flow lines in the knees marking exactly where they will break if I ever stress them.  Lower shoulder triangles have a factory-fresh stress mark where the pin was inserted as well.   Will just keep this one in fighter for display, and leave the original release for transforming and posing.

The shoulder triangles do look like they are an entirely different plastic this time though, both upper and lower.  Obviously they're not glossy like the original release, but they're actually a very dark gray, more like a "rubber" color paint would make them.  Might be for aesthetics, but I wonder if it's a more durable/flexible plastic than pure black would be.

Wing mounts are definitely an improvement though, more like how they should have been all along.

Michael's.. I kind of get.  Same super parts as Alto, easier to streamline the production.  I wouldn't even be surprised if they do a Luca first as well.

Ozma's is going to take a unique production to make all those parts though, so it'll probably be later.  Maybe we'll even get an Alto armor set while they're at it.

(And I still want that red Klan VF-25S )

I don't really care about Luca's enough to want another, but I hope they at least address the screaming elephant in the franchise and finally release an armored Ozma pack, just to satisfy the demand that has gone completely unanswered for over a decade.

58 minutes ago, jenius said:

They gave us wings and no way to install them? Bizarre.

20 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Ah yes, but the proof would be in the pudding...when it comes out..because that nice lean in the fuselage, angled chest intakes/back wings are helped by the stand in both mag and early prototype pics..

can the lean be adjusted without the stand i wonder...

Considering the massive depth of the shoulders on the DX, no, I don't think there's any way you're ever getting that kind of angle out of it without the backpack sticking out an obnoxious amount, possibly to the point that the stand won't even support it.

Bandai's doing an admirable job of distracting from the thick torso in most of their shots, but this thing's body is really deep.  I don't believe for a second it's standing unassisted in any of their pics.

3 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

I thought they included a second tail fin with 100 on it. The product description mentions an interchangeable tailfin for the right side. Bandai really can't let go of that mistake and call it mistake, can they?

No, because if they admit it wasn't on purpose, they're going to have the entire community who purchased the original release demanding spare tailfins to fix it like they did this one.  That's why it's called "optional."  Calling it a "fix" would be admitting they were wrong.

7 hours ago, MKT said:

Fighter-mode comparison pics from Yasumori Jinno on FB:

HG (left) vs Yamato 1/60

HG (left) vs DX Chogokin

These two comparisons are eye-opening, especially as compared with the DX.   

Frankly?  I think they even came up with a slightly better shape than the Yamato, at least from the top down.  The bigger wings and tails look better overall, and while some of the changes might be related to the parts-swapping, the wings and tails really don't have any effect on the other modes.

Yeah, really is sad, those little 1/100 kits were great, I bought a ton of them.  Nice little builds, and really affordable.

Plus the whole lineup of YF-29s, it's nice to see Ozma's get some love again.