logos

OMG if I choose Big Macs over Valks I will just stop collecting.........needless to say that would be an impressive pile for those buying the M&M VF-22s. add shipping and it will be epic!

From where I live in Canada a big mac costs about $5 so not including the the ridiculous shipping I could buy about 22 Big Macs for the price of a VF-1. If you take HLJ's price of $106US and consider the Canadian dollar is almost at parity with the US now.

But back on topic I didn't mind the $80-$90 Canadian I paid for a VF-1 or a Destroid. I thought I was getting good value for my money there. Now while I do have a bit of a problem with the price of a VF-22 being almost double the cost of a VF-1 (I know molds, numbers produced, production costs, etc. play into this), what really makes it hard for me is all the valks that they are releasing in such a short time span.

How can I be expected to come up with $400-500 for the Max and Mira VF-22 when I just paid $300 for a VE-1 and a VF-1D and have been consistently been paying $2-300 per month this whole year on Macross toys. Ive hit the bottom of the barrel and if Yamato and to a lesser extent Bandai and others expect us to pay for these they need to spread them out a bit. Not all of us can afford to buy more than 1 or 2 of these toys every couple of months (if we are lucky). We still need to buy things like FOOD........just me 2 cents anyways.

Sweet!.....now if only I hadn't combined my order with the Virgin Road......well at least I have pics...

Any news on the Virgin road being released anywhere?

Ohhhh! The VF-22s and the VF-11C are the same price........insert whine here.

Actually this is a repaint I can get behind considering they do change some stuff besides the paint (ie. Fast packs, gunpod,....) but It's getting harder to come up with the money. If it was $30-$40 cheaper.......... either way with all the releases this year my wallet is getting burnt out......... or maybe I just need to live on Ichiban and Kraft dinner again for a while.

Ah so it was a just got it and must review now moment?!?! I understand now.

Back on topic again has anyone heard of the release date for VF-1D "ahem" Virgin "Load"?

Yes I had to post this again. FTW!

I did it on my 4 with tamiya plastic cement and it's fine. I will eat away at the pastic that comes in something like an HG Gundam but not this plastic. Overall for the price their not a horrible buy if your willing to modify them. I agree with Graham though as they should have put ratchets on all the joint especially since they have advertising showing it holding up a YF-19. I would NEVER trust this stand with my YF-19 without modifying it first.

FYI for all you moders out there. If you use Plastic cement make sure to wait till the coats dry before reassembling the parts back together. Ideally you should be applying the plastic cement or nail polish in 2-4 coats letting it dry and then test fit the friction hold. Keep applying more coats if need to get the fit you want.

Also I will be picking up 2 more of these in the future to finish of the Hexagon for the top of my desk. Although at that price point your really better off buying the flexi stands (in 3 packs) especially if you live in North America as the shipping for a change is not more than the bloody stands.

And lastly. I am not too worried about my co workers I trust them and we all get along fine. Besides there are only like 20 people in the building I work in so I can track down a "prank" fairly quickly. And yes the "OLD FART" is the biggest threat to my collection as he has stated he would like to see if one of these toys could really fly..... .......

It's just too bad we may never see a Spartan.

I'll sum up my experiences with the 4 websites I use. Note: I don't compare shipping times as living in the middle of Canada it's pretty much 2 weeks no matter what.

Overdrive

- Decent customer service. I only find the customer service wanting on the Macross replacement parts. They take forever to get back to you if they ever do. I am still waiting for confirmation for a replacement cockpit on my VF-1D as it shipped with a broken landing gear bay door. Conversly the order for my VF-1S replacement arms worked without a hitch.....

- Usually the cheapest

- Good selection on new items.

- Don't always have items in stock after PreOder is done.

- They charge your credit card when you make the order not when they ship it.

- Never pay duty.

- Not the best website as it's a bit slow sometimes.

HobbyLink

- Good customer service

- Not always the cheapest but their shipping is usually cheaper so it pays to compare with shipping costs added on.

- Will ship SAL but most Macross items that I buy are usually over the SAL limit so I end up paying EMS anyways.

- Good selection and will have stuff in stock even when the preorder is over.

- Do not charge you till the item ships.

- Used to pay duty but didn't on my last couple of orders.

- Website needs work. I have to use search all the time to find Macross items.

HobbySearch

- Good customer service.

- Never the cheapest but they do have a points system that you can use to give yourself discounts latter. Like all point systems though your not really gaining anything in the end as they are usually more expensive than HobbyLink or Over-drive.

- They allow you to combine orders "after ordering" to save shipping. As long as it has not shipped yet you can usually combine it with another order.

- Great selection but they sometimes do not carry a stock of a product to much past the preoder stage.

- Have never paid duty.

- Great website. By far my favorite as they provide ALLOT of photos.

Angolz

- Never the cheapest

- Customer service is lacking. They can take a few days to respond to your emails.

- Good Website.

- Hit and miss whether you pay duty.

- shipping is not the fastest.

- They have the best sales sometimes. I got my YF-21 at $75 off which put it into the barely affordable range.

When I Google for Overdrive toys I just get Power Rangers crud. Gotta link?

http://www.over-drive-inc.com/

I love my destroids. I really like the Olive green and wish I would have picked up my Defender in that color as well...maybe I'll see it on sale someday.

Overall I really like them for how solid they feel in your hands and how detailed they are. Sure there could be some more gimmicks but I'm not complaining.

Hey Logos, thanks for that heads-up. Have you purchased something above 100$ value recently from HLJ? I think its after 50$ that duty starts, so at 100$, if you didnt get duty, i "might" risk it too for 200$ purchase.

At the beginning of the year I purchased my Que Rau for around $100+ Can and I didn't pay duty. I don't have the invoice so I can't say for sure what they did but I know that Overdrive and HobbySearch have been listing the toys as $25 dollar and under diecast toys so that is probably why I haven't been paying duty then.

When I tried the Fighter tilt pose it titled right over. They work a bit better with battroid poses since most of the weight is towards the center.

Yeah unless you "gum up" the friction fit on the joints of the stand it will do that. Check the link I provided. It will show you how to apply plastic cement / nail polish to give you a better friction fit.

Here is everything I did in regards to the Yamato stands. They aren't horrible for the price but you need to modify them alittle bit.

See here.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...tands&st=80

I do get a bit in depth with them and what you can do now that you have them.

Remember that the most import thing to keeping these stands balanced is to put the arm in the appropriate hole and if you haven't "gummed" up the works a bit to increase the friction fit to not tilt them to much. I gummed them up with some plastic cement and the results speak for themselves.

before

After

I have to agree that the all white is very bland. I like the boosters, and the new gun looks cool, but The bang for the buck isn't matching up for me. Make it the price of the VF-1 w/ fast packs, and I'm sold. I'd love to buy one, but I'd definitely pay this price for the MAXL, or even the VF-17s.

I think you would have less people complaining it was "bland" if they did something with the cockpit shield. Some kind of offsetting color like tan or something. Might not be anime accurate but for me the orange on the cockpit shield of the B really sets it off.

Definitely a candidate for weathering like the VF-1J Hick which looks just awesome weathered .......... dammit I'm talking myself into getting it even though I don't want to!

What the hell did I miss in my VF-22 review? I reviewed the crap out of it.

Not to be a twit or anything. I just didn't like it as much as the the others you had done. Too much crap going on in the background audio wise and I much prefer the light box video reviews. It's a fine review just not one of CDX's best IMO. I done mean any kind of offense...well not really.

Back on topic did the VF-1D Virgin get pushed back too with the VE-1? I could have sworn it was supposed to have a Sept Release.

The bridge that connects fast packs hold the tail fin section well in all modes. The only time that you need to use the 2 tabs is in gerwark mode or battroid mode without the fast packs.

Exactly what I said in a latter post.

Where can i preorder a vf-22 max??? HLJ doesnt qualify, since they mark actual value, so i get charged tax and duty. I want someone both cheap and reliable.

Thanks in advance.

hmm... I have been ordering off and on from them (I live in Sask.) this year and I have yet to pay duty. My last HLJ ordered listed my toy as a $25 diecast. Couple of years ago I paid duty but recently that hasn't been the case for me. If they have been I know for sure that I have never paid duty on a Hobby Search or Overdrive toy so check them out.

Yeah the B is awesome just a little steep in price. I really want the C but.....Argh if I don't stop with these some time soon I'm not going to be able to afford Christmas.....4 New VF-1s in Oct., VF-11C and VF-1J Armored in Nov., Max's and Mira's VF-22 in December......and that's only Yamato.....oh god make it stop, make it stop......

EDIT:

I now I realized I am going to need more display stands too....... ........is it time to start the Meat vs. Toy poll again?

Ah Ok I missed the sales tax part there and I hadn't realized the dollar had changed that much. Still it's not like I am making anymore money so at the very least I think I am going to have to hold out on this one till the dollar becomes more favorable.

I want one!

And now it's time for me to be Mr. Negativity again....ran the page through Google translate.

$19,740 Yen = $220 USD ...... !!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why the heck is selling for that much? The VF-11B was around $185USD which was bad enough but now they want to charge an extra $30-$40 bucks for a repaint! Come on Yamato this is getting ridiculous.

Ships 2009年11月 出荷予定予価　 19,740 円（本体価格：18,800 円） Ships 2009 Mon 11 tentative......... So we know it is coming out in 2009 and no Monday falls on the 11th for the rest of the year so I am assuming it will be out in November.......man that's quick. I won't have any time to recover from my VF-1D virgin VE-1 and VF-J Super M&M at all. Can't we space some of this out Yamato?

And here is the rest of the translate:

マクロス７作品から「VF-11Cサンダーボルト」を、1/60完全変形シリーズより発売します！ Macross 7 from the work "VF-11C Thunderbolt", and 1 / 60 Perfect Transformation series released!

設定では2030年から統合軍の主力機体として採用。 Adopted in 2030 set as the main body of troops since integration. 飛行安定性や信頼性など、現場での運用評価が高く、汎用性に優れた機体なのである。 Flight stability and reliability, high operational evaluation in the field is of a versatile aircraft.

◆パーツ差替え無しの、完全変形を実現！ ◆ without replacement parts, provide complete transformation!

ファイター、ガウォーク、バトロイドの３形態へ、パーツ差替え無しの変形ギミックを実現。 Fighter Walk gadget, the Battroid 3 to form, provide replacement parts without deformation gimmick.

あくまでもアニメ設定による変形ギミックを基本としつつ、完成品としての遊べるギミックを考慮しました。 While anime is based on actual national classification set by the deformation gimmick, a gimmick play was considered as finished.

更に発売中のマクロススタンド用アタッチメントが付属し、今回はバトロイドでのディスプレイも可能。 Makurosusutando included in the attachment for further sale, this time in display Battroid possible.

◆フォルム、ディテールにこだわった至高のアイテム <br>変形ギミックを再現しつつ各３形態のプロポーションの両立を計り、各形態においてフォルム、ディテールなどリアリティーの追求にこだわりました。 ◆ form, each item of the supreme being loyal to detail to reproduce the gimmick <br> measure to balance the proportions of the three variant forms, forms in each area, and detail obsessed with the pursuit of reality. ※特にバトロイド。 ※ Battroid particular. おすすめ！ Recommended

◆明るめの機体 <br>劇中の通り、明るめのホワイトグレーの機体になります。 ◆ <br> lighter aircraft as the movie is bright white to gray fuselage. ポイントは頭部のみに入るピンクのライン！ Pink line points into the severed head!

◆VF-11Bと何が違う？ ◆ VF-11B and different about it?

VF-11C専用（？）ガンポッドと、スーパーパーツブースターユニットのノズル＆マイクロミサイル発射口。 VF-11C only (?) And Ganpoddo, micro missile nozzles Supapatsubusutayunitto & mouth. 一般兵のパイロットフィギュアが異なります。 General military pilot figures vary.

■材質：本体／ABS、POM、亜鉛合金、他 ■ Materials: Body / ABS, POM, zinc alloy, etc.

■商品サイズ：ファイター時／全長約28cm ■ Product Size: When Fighter / total length of about 28cm

■パッケージ形態：フラップトップ付ウインドウボックス■パッケージサイズ：H280mm×W325mm×D180mm ■ Packaging Package: window box with top flap ■ Package size: H280mm × W325mm × D180mm

■付属品：パイロットフィギュア（搭乗用）、ガンポッド、スーパーパーツ（高機動バーニアパック、プロペラントタンク）、取扱説明書、マーキングステッカー ■ Accessories: pilot figure (boarding), Ganpoddo, Parts Super (high-mobility Baniapakku, Puroperantotanku), Instruction Manual, Makingusutekka

※写真はサンプルです。 ※ Photo is a sample. 実際の商品とは、多少異なる場合があります。 Actual product may differ slightly.

Ha! It's fine don't worry about it. I just can't make out what the hell is going on with the right arm there.....it's pointed up in the air with gun in hand right?

I was thinking from the show directly but that kinda of works. Guess i'll just have to go watch it at home tonight to figure it out.

Anyone have a pic of the VF-25/Alto Kabuki pose from frontier? I want to see if I can make my VF-25 do it.

Nice! To bad I decided to pick up the Virgin Road and VE-1 instead. Might have to add this to the list latter.