Chronocidal

My habit of trying to get at least two of every release started with the VF-25s after my 25G came with no crotch plate, and solidified when the VF-171s started spontaneously exploding. If Bandai wasn't going to provide replacement parts for their failures, I was going to at least buy some insurance, and hope I could kitbash one good figure out of two if the worst happened. The quality control got better over time, but then it started to be a crapshoot on whether the shops would even be able to fill orders, so the second order became a backup to just get one in the first place.

For a CF, what's the difference in the markings? Wouldn't it only be the carrier name vs SDF-1? I honestly wouldn't care that much if that was left off. I'd be more impressed if they gave us actual modex markings on it, or at least gave us decals for them.

Bandai did really nail the HMR release of the VF-1A CF though, and I don't see any reason they couldn't do the same for a DX release. That one included two pilots, two heads, and both DYRL and TV styled hands. The tampo wasn't fancy enough to be different at that scale. All of those would be doable for the DX release, but it would also need separate instrument panels. Considering how easily those are removed and swapped between the TV and DYRL releases, I don't see any reason they couldn't do it. The panels are minimally glued in, but they slot in securely enough that it's really not necessary. I think the biggest change would really be that they'd either have to bag the spare parts, or redesign the plastic tray to contain all those spare pieces.

There are a few details about what was required in the dedicated NY thread in the sales forum, and with enough persistence, it might be worth trying.

My favorite will always be the USS Elkins, because of just how hilariously blatant this particular kitbash is. Yes, they straight up slapped a Voyager saucer on top of an F-14 fuselage and glued on TMP nacelles mounted to Runabout pylons.

Nice looking, but yikes.. that looks really tiny. They say the base is 21 cm long.. which part of the base are they referring to? I have to assume they mean the blue part, and not the clear platform, but that's still a really small model.

Sitting out since I've got enough 1Js already and went for the webshop armor. Good luck to everyone frantically refreshing!

It's amusing to me that I didn't even notice the split until I saw people start debating it. The preorder situation has been pretty light for a few months though, so it's been easy to miss.

THIS. Do not want their panel lining.

I've long since given up on that, Bandai doesn't give two shakes about those sorts of things, and the store I bought it from informed me of that. I'm really not all that upset trading the one from the YF-25 actually, since I like the color scheme better, and I've got no plans to display the YF in any mode but fighter anyhow. It's just a minor irritation, and really would only detract from the value if I wanted to re-sell it.. which I have no plans on doing.

Ugh.. I still wish I could get a spare crotch plate for my 25G. Came missing from the factory, and of course Bandai doesn't do replacement parts. Not a big deal if I use the super packs, but I've never liked those plain gray pieces at all, since they seem so out of place. In the end, I just scavenged the crotch from my YF-25, since the blues are close enough to my eye.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking about the electronics at all, just the stresses of modifying the parts.

Wouldn't surprise me if all the work you've put into the hull adding lights and things has stretched or deformed the plastic on the hull, really. I've never been more aware of the stresses involved in sanding and shaping kits than I have been with these printed parts. I've had a few pretty nasty cracks appear between print layers, and the only thing I could really do without breaking the parts entirely was to try and force some thin glue into the layers and soak the area, then sand everything smooth once it dried.

Bit more progress with my Excalibur print, I've gotten all of the major components sanded down and polished, though I still have a few rough spots to fill and smooth out. Decided to take a break from that process, and throw together a quick display stand. I might print another of these later, since I cranked up the layer thickness on this one to 0.3mm to speed up the print to about two and a half hours, and the quality suffered a bit (and the model could probably do with a few more polygons to round it out as well). I'd like to get the lettering a bit more refined as well, since some of the layers flaked off. Still, came out nicely, and looks like it'll be pretty sturdy, clipping around the back of the wing between the engines similar to how Eaglemoss makes their stands for Trek ships, but hidden a lot better.

Please no, Fire Bomber American has got to violate at least some part of the Geneva Convention.

All of this shipping nonsense is why I left my VF-4 sitting at AE until they were ready to go. If I'm going to be paying through the nose, I'm at least getting a box that feels more substantial.

Looks good! I picked up a bundle of those kits when they came out since they were so cheap, but I took one look at the decals and decided then and there to just do my own schemes for them all.

You know, I've looked through the instructions on how that wing hinge works, and I know I've seen an entirely different mechanism for the same system that used stacks of individual panels cut from acrylic sheet, and tied together with a pair of metal rods that formed a sliding hinge, rather than a rotation about a point. I've built up the design roughly in CAD, so I might try and make something myself... someday.

I've heard their Bird of Prey kit praised as one of the best they made, actually, and the fit looks pretty nice from what I can see, but I haven't attempted to actually assemble anything yet, since I'm waiting until I work up a rotation mechanism for the wings.

The Arcadia's legs are one of its best features in battroid compared with the Bandai mold, but one of its biggest detriments for fighter mode, because the collapsing mechanism leaves you with massive gaps around the knees when they're extended for the fighter. The intake designs are also vastly different, with Arcadia's looking closer to the older Yamato VF-19 molds, and looking much more like the battroid lineart, while the Bandai ones are much closer to the old Yamato design, though a bit more angular. Overall, the Arcadia is just what you get adapting the Yamato VF-19 mold, with all of the benefits and drawbacks. The Bandai version looks more to me like they based the proportions on something like the Hasegawa fighter kits, which are much more streamlined, and it definitely gives you a more lanky battroid, much closer to the style of Frontier. In my case, I'm a complete sucker for all YF/VF-19 variants, so I couldn't pick a favorite if I tried, and have multiples of both molds. Best of both worlds, you know.

Hopefully that changes quickly, that's probably the single most useful piece I could ask for to complete the gun mounts of my giant-sized X-Wing design (which, who knows if it would even be physically feasible). Fortunately it's in the right color.

I'm not even worried about the themes, but the situation with the Kingsknight shuttle pretty much put me off of the concept entirely. I'll still pick up good sets when they come around, but I'm done getting my hopes up for potential releases. I know they have to pick and choose, but the support for that set was so overwhelming that the dismissal of every set from that selection period (if I remember correctly) was a slap in the face. I'm just not impressed with their responses to what fans clearly want, and the "excuses" they often cite for why certain things don't get produced get punched full of holes when the fans go and demonstrate how well the designs work by building them and reviewing them on their own. On a separate subject.. holy cow, do my eyes deceive me, or are they actually introducing a useful 3-stud diameter cylinder element? https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/luke-skywalker-s-x-wing-fighter-75301?CMP=EMC-PROMO-NEWS-20210422-VIP_20210422_NEWS_MT4_TEASER_GL-1073981-744067-MIX-STAR-0_0&HQS=PRODUCT_WIDGET_04&RRID=1073981&RMID=VIP_20210422_NEWS_MT4_TEASER_GL They've released so many freakin X-Wings at this point I've lost track, but I think this one might be one of the best proportioned ones they've pulled off so far.

Big In Japan was out for a few minutes, but refreshed and got an order in for one. Gotta catch 'em all!

Wouldn't the second pilot just be what's in the normal 1J box? Or did I miss it being another alternate of some sort? I'd expect the armor will just come with the masked helmet.

Oh, tamashii release for the armor alone? I was expecting pre-order shenanigans, so I can do that. I picked up an "accidental" extra 1J originally, so that'll give me something to display it with.