Arcadia YF-19 coming in 2014

[Mommar]

How does Paypal work for chargebacks anyway? Do you email them the responses you get from Amiami? Or do you have to deal with Amiami through a Paypal response form?

You have to deal with Amiami via Paypal first. So far they have not responded to my claim. I may try to escalate it earlier because it's obvious they're going to fight it all the way.

[VF-19]

As a retail worker I will say this: Never, ever underestimate the power of an angry customer. Especially one that you're trying to blow off (for whatever reason).

[xrentonx]

I think as long as you provide sufficient evidence and the email responses, Paypal should side with you on this. They're known to side with the buyer in the majority of cases.

[Chronocidal]

I actually half wonder if their "excuse" about pricing things lower is because AmiAmi picks up the damaged ones at a discount, and sells those off without looking at them.

[xrentonx]

That "excuse" really is mindblowing though...

[Scream Man]

I don't agree with folk talking about inferior plastic quality. It feels pretty damned good to me. Comparable to the other similar scaled/type valks. It feels differnt to the VF-19's, but then its a different type of plastic. Comparable to the VF-4 to my touch though.

[xrentonx]

I'm gonna be checking out this plastic closely when my two copies come in. It's been mentioned so much in the thread already.

[M'Kyuun]

Best of luck to you, Mommar. Sincerely.

As far as the YF-19, once assembled, does anyone know if these things are transformed through their various modes to actually check fit, tightness, paint, etc, for quality? Given the relatively low production numbers, it'd be nice if every piece was given a test run at the factory before being boxed up. Too much to hope for?

No issues with plastic quality. All my YF-19's issues are engineering/design based. Except for lack of tampoed intake markings. That's just laziness or excessive frugality on Arcadia's part. Stickers suck.

Edited April 4, 2014 by M'Kyuun

[ChaoticYeti]

I actually half wonder if their "excuse" about pricing things lower is because AmiAmi picks up the damaged ones at a discount, and sells those off without looking at them.

Either way, I will most certainly not be ordering anything from AmiAmi.

[xrentonx]

xrentox, hope yours comes problem free. Mine came in excellent shape.

I'll be sure to knock over my local liquor store if it's in poor shape! I'm sure they're insured for that kinda thing. Gotta get my money back somehows...

Edited April 4, 2014 by xrentonx

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I don't agree with folk talking about inferior plastic quality. It feels pretty damned good to me. Comparable to the other similar scaled/type valks. It feels differnt to the VF-19's, but then its a different type of plastic. Comparable to the VF-4 to my touch though.

I agree that this is not fragile toy. But I agree with those who say the wing hinges for the high speed mode make it more delicate. Not having high speed mode gimmick might have meant a more sturdy fighter mode imo.

But.....the overall quality of this is way ahead of the old yf-19. One guy blew my post out of proportion by saying "...so you think the old yamato YF-19 was a piece of crap??? How dare you!". Umm nope. I wouldn't go that far. But the overall battroid mode of this new YF-19 is a big step up if only because of the locking chest. You guys who don't touch your valks much may not care that much about those things but they make the toy a lot more fun and less half-assed than if they had no lock.

I'll be sure to knock over my local liquor store if it's in poor shape! I'm sure they're insured for that kinda thing. Gotta get my money back somehows...

lol I never said you should do that but that's actually what poor people end up having to do in the real world. Not that they are necessarily proud of it. I'm in australia and it is supposed to be a land where convicts who got caught stealing bread were sent to historically. That means all the settlers here are descendants of criminals.

Don't do it! Don't do it!!!11!! Ban him now!1!

Poor people and victims should have no relief from suffering and should just become doormats for big business. The law and govenrments will protect me!!! I don't have to worry about corrupted people working in all sectors of society. Systems (put there by less than honourable individuals) will never ever break I promise!

See? I can play that game too. Let's attack strawman arguments

Google government bail in. AKA legalised looting of your savings by white collar criminals. Maybe we are all going to end up robbing liquor stores soon.

Edited April 4, 2014 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[xrentonx]

This whole broken wing business has been intriguing though...I wonder how well those plastic shells keep the Valk in place during shipping.

I think I mentioned it awhile back but the original VF-0S had problems with the vert stabs having broken tips...new out of the box. Anyone else remember that?

Edited April 4, 2014 by xrentonx

[skullmilitia]

Trying to bring the thread back lol

[xrentonx]

It's gettin a little insane for sure. Let's bring it back

Edited April 4, 2014 by xrentonx

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

It didn't need to go insane though.

[wewe]

Congratulations to those who got them in great condition. I'll just wait on my local retailer. Both HLJ and Amiami burned me with defective/seemingly used valks before.

[Swoosh]

One more day and it will be mine!!!

[ChaoticYeti]

I like It.

Edited April 4, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[abbadon]

Those look really cool! Can't wait to get mine.

[spanner]

Okay, here are some pics of the wing. It's completely broken across the top and bottom in slightly different spots. The only reason it's still attached is because the bottom part snaps into the top. But the top and bottom are both cracked straight through. It sure doesn't sit straight.

Okay, now they're too large...

holy crap! that's pathetic! I'd be so pissed! Are they using some kind of brittle plastic or what? I saw someone else had a piece of the wing broken completely off theirs!? I have to admit im a little nervous about mine as its still in transit..

[Isamu Dyson]

Thanks Graham. Let me know. I still have not heard from HLJ. I'm just going to request shipping for the cases and if there are broken pieces then away it goes back to them. It would just really save them time and hassle to just check the damn thing.

I already contacted HLJ and got a response for checking for damages. They kindly replied it wasn't possible to offer this kind of service as they ship thousands of items a day. However, he did mentioned that there is a full customer satisfaction policy with 10 days of receiving the item for exchange or refund.

Has anyone managed to remove the hideous "made in China" print under the wings with ease?

[CrazyDude]

I agree from what I know HLJ ships over 1000 orders(not items) a day/6 days a week plus wholesale, my last order had over 30 items in it.

Next will be similar.

[Dimis]

This whole broken wing business has been intriguing though...I wonder how well those plastic shells keep the Valk in place during shipping.

I think I mentioned it awhile back but the original VF-0S had problems with the vert stabs having broken tips...new out of the box. Anyone else remember that?

To date i have had only item by Yamato arriving broken and that was a Megazone 23 Proto-Garland. I also had a VF-19P, and a VF-1S Hikaru weathering with a small paint transfer issue each (thankfully not noticeable on the second). With Bandai instead i see sloppy paint application or paint chips, and parts that may not align perfectly. I have been under the impression for a while that with Yamato the problem was after manufacturing, that the assembly and testing was done too early after painting as though they were rushing them out of the factories, but with Bandai the problems creeped in during the manufacturing of parts or the painting. I'm not sure whether the stages i described are so, but that's the only way it makes sense to me. So this issue with Arcadia seems to fit again.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Dimis

[Kicker773]

So this is ami ami response to my case:

Hi,

Thank you for the photos.

We send our new items in the exact way we receive them from the manufacturer and it's highly improbable that your item was shipped in that state.

We think this damage happened during the shipment.

As your package was sent via EMS and is fully insured we advise you to file a claim with your Local Post office.

Please then send us a copy (scan or photo) of our customer's copy of the damage report (it should have a postal stamp on it-- something to verify that the report has been submitted) so we can forward it to Japan Post for processing.

The claim itself is processed by Japan Post but the damage report must first be filed on the recipient's end at their local post office.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for shopping at Ami Ami.

Regards,

AmiAmi

I don't know what the rules are with USPS, but there was no damage to the shippers box plus it was sent EMS and was signed for already. Suggestions?

[Kicker773]

Per USPS:

What if I’m the recipient of a damaged international shipment?

If you receive an article that was sent from abroad that is damaged or has some contents missing, take it to any Post Office™ right away. Be sure to bring the item, the mailing container, wrapping, packaging, and any other contents.

The Post Office will verify the damage and have you complete a claim form. Please do not reship the package.

I know what USPS is going to say. There is no damage to the outside shipping box.

[Actar]

I can definitely understand your pain, but aside from their customer service, which I agree does need a lot of work, AmiAmi is excellent, proficient and has the best prices. I have been using them for years, literally, without any problems. HLJ's customer service is phenomenal, but their order processing isn't as proficient and can sometimes not honor pre-orders, which makes it exceedingly frustrating.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Actar

[CrazyDude]

HLJ ordering, etc processes are all automated/computerised.

I recommend to get a tour of their premises to see how they can handle their order volume with current staff.

Even Hobby Search tried to get them to spill the beans as their system is that good and that was 2yrs ago.

[neoexcaliber]

Amiami's manual invoicing kinda sucks, and I didn't think they'd be such an ass when it comes to damaged goods. I guess I should try to limit my purchases from them as much as possible.

[Sam]

keyed up to get this thing! hoping for monday next week delivery to Australia(eyeing scream mans with jealousy thinking of knocking it off when he's not looking...)

Never will order again from Ami Ami due to their complete lack of after sales service. Cancelled all outstanding orders when they refused to help fix a broken sakura play arts figure. HLJ has the best after sales IMO so I go where the service is.

This toy looks awesome though! Love all the pics everyone is sharing =-)

*droool*

[Scyla]

I'm curious why Kicker and Mommar got so vastly different answers from amiami....

For the ones who have the bird in hand. Does the plastic feel similar to the plastic of the old Yamato Valkries or the new Arcadia VF-1? I can understand why it would feel different than the VF-19 because the Excalibur has a different finish. I think someone on the board explained that matte and glossy plastic are the same the only difference is the finish of the molds they're cast in.

[MacrossX]

I actually half wonder if their "excuse" about pricing things lower is because AmiAmi picks up the damaged ones at a discount, and sells those off without looking at them.

I suspected as much . I bought from them many times in the past , the quality of their mechandise is inferior compared with the same products from those in Japanese buyers' blogs; paint job, colouring , parts (I got items with broken parts from them also). 8 out of 10 of my purchases had problems and I got this letter (same writings as shown in above posts) from Ami Ami. At times, they tried to compensate by offering several hundred yens (not even enough to get a bowl of ramen). It is NOT the post office or the shipping, it is Ami Ami; they pick up crap and sell them to foreign buyers , probably reserve the good ones (if they do have any) to local Japanese customers.

I will never buy from them again. Is Ami Ami really cheaper than others shops after combining with the shipping cost?? They always use oversized boxes , even with more than enough rooms for impact , etc.

I won't even buy rubber bands from them!

Edited April 4, 2014 by MacrossX

[technoblue]

Good point, MacrossX.

Scyla, I think the plastic does 'feel' similar. Certainly I find that the weight is about the same when balancing both toys in my hands. There are differences in the design that are obvious. The YF-19's new wing gimmick does feel fragile to me and is the only flaw that sticks out when I pick up Arcadia's version. The Kai's wings have a thickness to them that feels a little more sturdy, although I didn't measure them so that could be my own bias at work here.

Time will tell if the YF-19 wings prove to be an actual problem, but I do not like shifting them around too much. I also noticed that one wing mechanism is very stiff, whereas the other is nice and smooth. That could become a joint that needs repeat maintenance after a lot of movement.

Edited April 4, 2014 by technoblue

[CoreyD]

Finally had a chance to start putting mine together. I really, REALLY wish they had gone with magnets to help keep the fast packs on...

[CoreyD]

Eff it, this thing is almost as bad at the old YF-19 with fast packs. The whole back end just falls apart at the slightest touch. I'm just displaying it without them.

[Scyla]

Two quick questions that came to mind.

First how are the hips different from the VF-19? When we first saw the renders of the new YF-19 there was a discussion that hips are pretty different from the VF-19.

Second, why are there no clips in the wing roots that hold the metal bars into position? My idea would be an indent in the metal bar and a plastic clip in the wing root so that the hinge bar can clip into position. From what I heard the wings purely rely on the friction of the joints. Is there no room to implement such a feature. Now that I think about it, a slot and tab in the wing/wing root connection point would suffice.