Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[ACH-138]

Oh I know, I had to re-register in 2018 but I've been surfing these forums since 08. It was mostly just a hypothetical for you guys but that's really my situation. I collect a few different toy lines but I also like to have a few "jewels" in the collection. Every so often I allow myself to really get crazy and order a high-end Japanese toy of a mech or character that I've always wanted but couldn't justify the price tag or shelf space, and thanks to another MWer it looks like I may be getting the Bandai DX Roy. 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

2 hours ago, treatment said:

This is MW.

Most (if not all) don't have just one...

Personally, knowing what I know now about the different valks, I'd choose a minty 1/48 Yamato Hikaru 1J if I had to choose just one VF-1.  I'm a sucker for fighter mode which Yamato did better IMO, and Hikaru's IJ is what first pops in my head when Macross valkyries are mentioned.

[sh9000]

No sun out today so maybe tomorrow.

[Slave IV]

3 hours ago, treatment said:

This is MW.

Most (if not all) don't have just one...

[Special Sauce]

It would be hard to buy only one Valk.  I just got back into it and already have 4 

I'm probably going to start hunting around for a Roy VF-1S DX soon.  

[sqidd]

26 minutes ago, Special Sauce said:

It would be hard to buy only one Valk.  I just got back into it and already have 4 

I'm probably going to start hunting around for a Roy VF-1S DX soon.  

I really do like the DX 1J. But, the Skull Leader/Roy is the closest to my heart. If you get the Roy you will love it.

[Anasazi37]

1 hour ago, Special Sauce said:

It would be hard to buy only one Valk.  I just got back into it and already have 4 

I'm probably going to start hunting around for a Roy VF-1S DX soon.  

The Roy does seem to be more available on the secondary market than previous releases, so your hunt should go well. There are seven of them for sale on Mandarake, which is unheard of for a DX, and there options on Amazon Japan and Yahoo! Auctions Japan as well. Nothing is at MSRP, but also not at super-high prices like the Hikaru 1J. He's also showing up regularly in the For Sale forum here, often for what the seller paid (MSRP + shipping to them) plus additional shipping to you. Several members bought multiples and want them to go to good homes.

No one is sure why Roy is more available, probably a combination of factors, but I think we all hope that it's the new normal--as long as it doesn't discourage Bandai from continuing the line or cause them to do smaller production runs. I don't mind paying a bit of a markup on MSRP post-release so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to participate in PO Madness.

[Special Sauce]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

I really do like the DX 1J. But, the Skull Leader/Roy is the closest to my heart. If you get the Roy you will love it.

I don't think you have enough Roy in there LOL

Love the display.  I need to get a shelf system like that.  Where did you get it if you don't mind me asking?

[Special Sauce]

37 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

The Roy does seem to be more available on the secondary market than previous releases, so your hunt should go well. There are seven of them for sale on Mandarake, which is unheard of for a DX, and there options on Amazon Japan and Yahoo! Auctions Japan as well. Nothing is at MSRP, but also not at super-high prices like the Hikaru 1J. He's also showing up regularly in the For Sale forum here, often for what the seller paid (MSRP + shipping to them) plus additional shipping to you. Several members bought multiples and want them to go to good homes.

No one is sure why Roy is more available, probably a combination of factors, but I think we all hope that it's the new normal--as long as it doesn't discourage Bandai from continuing the line or cause them to do smaller production runs. I don't mind paying a bit of a markup on MSRP post-release so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to participate in PO Madness.

I'm beginning to notice that as well.  Hopefully the trend continues like you said.

[Chronocidal]

2 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

The Roy does seem to be more available on the secondary market than previous releases, so your hunt should go well. There are seven of them for sale on Mandarake, which is unheard of for a DX, and there options on Amazon Japan and Yahoo! Auctions Japan as well. Nothing is at MSRP, but also not at super-high prices like the Hikaru 1J. He's also showing up regularly in the For Sale forum here, often for what the seller paid (MSRP + shipping to them) plus additional shipping to you. Several members bought multiples and want them to go to good homes.

No one is sure why Roy is more available, probably a combination of factors, but I think we all hope that it's the new normal--as long as it doesn't discourage Bandai from continuing the line or cause them to do smaller production runs. I don't mind paying a bit of a markup on MSRP post-release so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to participate in PO Madness.

I love that there are more of them available (especially after the initial rush), but I wonder, is this one of those things where the foreign audience really latched onto a different character than the Japanese audience did?  

Show-wise, Hikaru's the main character, and his 1J is probably the iconic VF-1 from the show, while Roy's 1S is a flashier callback to a 1980s US Navy squadron.  Far as character traits are concerned, I can't really speak to how he's perceived in Japan, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of the things that make him such a badass with American audiences come off as serious flaws to the original viewing audience.

As far as the future of the DX line is concerned though, I'll be interested to see how Bandai treats the M&M VF-1Js, if they do them at all.  I know that pair has a history of being more popular outside of Japan.

[treatment]

32 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

I love that there are more of them available (especially after the initial rush), but I wonder, is this one of those things where the foreign audience really latched onto a different character than the Japanese audience did?  

Show-wise, Hikaru's the main character, and his 1J is probably the iconic VF-1 from the show, while Roy's 1S is a flashier callback to a 1980s US Navy squadron.  Far as character traits are concerned, I can't really speak to how he's perceived in Japan, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of the things that make him such a badass with American audiences come off as serious flaws to the original viewing audience.

As far as the future of the DX line is concerned though, I'll be interested to see how Bandai treats the M&M VF-1Js, if they do them at all.  I know that pair has a history of being more popular outside of Japan.

I think it's just normal market saturation.

The Hikaru-1J was sort of an anomaly.  It was readily available at lower than MSRP back during release-day and afterwards for a while.

Then the scalpers started scalping them up and drove the pricing way up.

The Max-1A was even more readily available and readily quite cheaper than MSRP to get than the Hikaru-1J. It kinda sorta went bargain-bin route for a bit.

The Hikaru-1S was not available at amzn-jp direct, but was steady at 27k-yen for a while after Release-day,  I reckon the scalpers thought they can jack up the pricing easier than the 1J and the 1A since the 1S cannot be imported thru amzn-jp direct and suckered more people.

By the time the Roy-1S came out, people already got smarter and it was more available at amn-jp and other usual import shops more readily than the Hikaru-1S ever was at MSRP so the scalpers didn't get to scalp it as much as they wanted to.

Plus the covid-pandemic kinda put a great burden and challenge on shipping processes and  costs and possibly more restrictive export-processes.

additionally...

Maybe the scalpers simply just could not camp out at the local shops in regular droves and vacuum up the Roy-1S supplies like they did with previous DXs due to the pandemic restrictions in place.

 

 

 

Edited March 26 by treatment
addition

[Anasazi37]

4 hours ago, treatment said:

I think it's just normal market saturation.

The Hikaru-1J was sort of an anomaly.  It was readily available at lower than MSRP back during release-day and afterwards for a while.

Then the scalpers started scalping them up and drove the pricing way up.

The Max-1A was even more readily available and readily quite cheaper than MSRP to get than the Hikaru-1J. It kinda sorta went bargain-bin route for a bit.

The Hikaru-1S was not available at amzn-jp direct, but was steady at 27k-yen for a while after Release-day,  I reckon the scalpers thought they can jack up the pricing easier than the 1J and the 1A since the 1S cannot be imported thru amzn-jp direct and suckered more people.

By the time the Roy-1S came out, people already got smarter and it was more available at amn-jp and other usual import shops more readily than the Hikaru-1S ever was at MSRP so the scalpers didn't get to scalp it as much as they wanted to.

Plus the covid-pandemic kinda put a great burden and challenge on shipping processes and  costs and possibly more restrictive export-processes.

additionally...

Maybe the scalpers simply just could not camp out at the local shops in regular droves and vacuum up the Roy-1S supplies like they did with previous DXs due to the pandemic restrictions in place.

 

 

 

Like I said, probably a combination of factors. I think you captured just about all of them in one post (plus the potentially lower popularity of Roy inside Japan, mentioned by @Chronocidal).

[sh9000]

[Lolicon]

I think everyone who wanted a Roy and was willing to pay above MSRP has gotten theirs so all the remaining stock on Mandarake and other shops will slowly trickle out now. 

[sqidd]

23 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

I don't think you have enough Roy in there LOL

Love the display.  I need to get a shelf system like that.  Where did you get it if you don't mind me asking?

Hold on to your shorts!

https://www.displays2go.com/P-33985/LED-Trophy-Cabinet-Locking-Door?st=Category&sid=29651

[Rhubarbarian]

On 3/26/2021 at 8:31 AM, Chronocidal said:

I love that there are more of them available (especially after the initial rush), but I wonder, is this one of those things where the foreign audience really latched onto a different character than the Japanese audience did?  

I think there's also a weird market fracturing going on between the TV and DYRL releases. I prefer the DYRL designs and I figure it's a safe bet Bandai will eventually get around to milking the mold for most of the main cast, so I took a pass on the TV Roy. DYRL is much more popular in Japan compared to the show, as I understand it? 

[Sanity is Optional]

9 minutes ago, Rhubarbarian said:

I think there's also a weird market fracturing going on between the TV and DYRL releases. I prefer the DYRL designs and I figure it's a safe bet Bandai will eventually get around to milking the mold for most of the main cast, so I took a pass on the TV Roy. DYRL is much more popular in Japan compared to the show, as I understand it? 

Yeah, DYRL is much more popular in Japan, and Roy is less popular in Japan. Plus COVID hit (and torpedoed international demand).

[jenius]

Absent any supply side info, I think they saw the toys selling well, even Kakizaki, so they made more for Roy... I don't think it was any more complicated than that. They still aren't making pre 2009 levels of toys but the initial runs seemed very small.

[treatment]

Not that convinced Bandai made more Roy than any of the previous ones.

If they did so, then it should be available directly at the regular shops (like ami, etc) as new and at least at regular shops' SRPs. 

Anecdotally, HLJ got some stock from somewhere recently, tho I'm not sure if those were simply leftover pre-order cancellations.

As such, I think Bandai's stocks simply just sold out like their previous non-TWE DX-VF1's.

I believe Roy's got the same supply/inventory-amount from Bandai as their previous non-TWE ones.

fwiw, most (if not all) available Roy's I've seen (and still being seen) are just secondary shops/markets (manda, marketplace, ami preowned, etc) offerings.

 

 

[sh9000]

[RedComet]

#squadgoals 

 

[Special Sauce]

6 hours ago, RedComet said:

#squadgoals 

 

Someday I will have a display that cool.

[RedComet]

2 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

Someday I will have a display that cool.

Thanks, what I need is a better camera haha

[Slave IV]

2 hours ago, RedComet said:

Thanks, what I need is a better camera haha

No camera can make up for composition and lighting...Conversely, any camera these days especially can produce more than decent looking images when composited and lighted nicely. Speaking of...your picture actually looks really good to me. Just the background isn't the most flattering.

Edited March 31 by Slave IV

[borgified]

@Red Comet - Looks like the squad just came out of a non-bright and barren area (or out from a torpedo tube).

[vladykins]

14 hours ago, treatment said:

Not that convinced Bandai made more Roy than any of the previous ones.

If they did so, then it should be available directly at the regular shops (like ami, etc) as new and at least at regular shops' SRPs. 

Anecdotally, HLJ got some stock from somewhere recently, tho I'm not sure if those were simply leftover pre-order cancellations.

As such, I think Bandai's stocks simply just sold out like their previous non-TWE DX-VF1's.

I believe Roy's got the same supply/inventory-amount from Bandai as their previous non-TWE ones.

fwiw, most (if not all) available Roy's I've seen (and still being seen) are just secondary shops/markets (manda, marketplace, ami preowned, etc) offerings.

 

 

I think it has been a case of scalpers seeing the prices for previous releases, they are expecting a Roy premium, them jumping in harder than before, and now these scalpers are stuck with inventory.

[Sanity is Optional]

6 hours ago, RedComet said:

Thanks, what I need is a better camera haha

Some white poster board for background, and a couple of swing-arm lamps with daylight led bulbs will do the trick, honestly.

[Special Sauce]

I want to get a Roy but I'm wondering if I should just wait a little longer to see if the prices drop a bit.  Cheapest I've seen so far for a sealed one has been about $300 shipped which isn't too much more than retail shipped I suppose.

[Slave IV]

1 minute ago, Special Sauce said:

I want to get a Roy but I'm wondering if I should just wait a little longer to see if the prices drop a bit.  Cheapest I've seen so far for a sealed one has been about $300 shipped which isn't too much more than retail shipped I suppose.

Yeah, while the prices haven’t skyrocketed, you probably shouldn’t wait too long. Once the current stock runs out even if it is already secondary market, prices will likely climb. I agree that it’s probably the case that most the supply was purchased by resellers and they are now competing with each other for sales.

[Lolicon]

On 3/31/2021 at 12:30 AM, RedComet said:

#squadgoals 

 

I think it's a great pic. 

[Special Sauce]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

Yeah, while the prices haven’t skyrocketed, you probably shouldn’t wait too long. Once the current stock runs out even if it is already secondary market, prices will likely climb. I agree that it’s probably the case that most the supply was purchased by resellers and they are now competing with each other for sales.

That makes sense.  I'll probably just get one soon then.  

[Froy]

16 minutes ago, Special Sauce said:

That makes sense.  I'll probably just get one soon then.  

Be patient and come here every day. If they show up somewhere, like in hobby -link a month ago, fellas will post a link almost instantly. That is how I got mine. I really lost all hopes to get one when I watched the pre-orders for the VF-1J sold like hotcakes.

[Special Sauce]

58 minutes ago, Froy said:

Be patient and come here every day. If they show up somewhere, like in hobby -link a month ago, fellas will post a link almost instantly. That is how I got mine. I really lost all hopes to get one when I watched the pre-orders for the VF-1J sold like hotcakes.

Will do 

[Lolicon]

Yeah prices have hovered around 27k or so since release day. No one knows for sure when that will change, but it's unlikely prices will go down. 

HLJ did somehow come up with additional units about a month ago, but I wouldn't count on something like that happening again. 

[DYRL VF-1S]

So, when are we guessing that the 2nd batch of Supers will be shipped in April? 17?