Most the Japanese retailers are extremely trustworthy. Probably more so than Amazon since they would not be fulfilling directly and you would most likely be going through a 3rd party using an Amazon storefront. I guess you would still get the overall protection of Amazon though. Anyways, hope you get one at the price you want!
Here you go: まんだらけ通販 About $125 with current exchange rate. Add shipping and it should still be under $150. Mandarake is an excellent shop I've bought many items from. Description says it is unopened but packaged damaged. Should be good to go!
Click on the English translator link near the top. Should be clear from there on. So the way it works is after you get through the order process, you will get an email and then you will need to wait for another email confirming they have the item on hand and ready to ship. That's when you will actually pay. So it's very clear that you won't pay for something not on hand. It's best if you have a credit card with no foreign transaction fee or you will be paying about 3% extra for most credit card or Paypal fees. It seems iffy at first but it's a great shop and kind of addicting once you see what you can get there for what prices and you know how reliable they are. Good luck!
I've been hanging around this thread for 2+ years now and still learning all the time... I still don't know the difference between "TV Focker Special" and the Strike Valkyrie that was already released (with respect to the HMR line specifically, or more generally). Can someone enlighten me please? Which is the one that was pictured in the Tamashii reveal, but not yet released?
Roy's VF-1S whether in the TV series or Do You Remember Love?(DYRL?) movie was known as the Roy Focker Special. The Super Valkyrie version has the FAST pack armor. Only Hikaru flew it with FAST packs in the TV series since Roy had died before those parts were introduced. The Strike Valkyrie is basically a Super Valkyrie but with dual beam cannons on 1 booster instead of a missle pack. Roy used it in the movie and Hikaru used 1 at the end. In HI METAL R there are 2 Strike Valkyries: Hikaru(mass release) with red trim and Focker(tamashiiweb exclusive) with yellow trim. The VF-1S Super Valkyrie was at the Tamashii reveal. It's Focker's Special(piloted by Hikaru) with FAST packs, with Hikaru pilot figure. The VF-1S Focker Special in the TV series and DYRL? Is different. TV version was an older block with traditional HUD, black arrows on head, joystick in middle. DYRL? version is a later block VF-1 with sidestick, HUD projected directly on canopy and yellow arrows on the side of the head. Yamato further differentiated by molding the TV Focker in bright white, while the DYRL Focker was light grey. Meanwhile Arcadia opted for bright white on their DYRL Fockers. Bandai on the other hand, went for a darker grey on the HI METAL R Focker(and Hikaru) Strike Valkyrie.
Wow that is a super detailed response, very helpful thanks! I award you no points, and my God have mercey on your soul. EDIT: Finally found the Tamashii image I was hunting for! Source: http://robotpilipinas.blogspot.com/2015/11/upcoming-macross-toys-display.html Thanks to you too! =) Ten points to Gryffindor!
After mulling over all the helpful posts from the last day or so, I think I've decided to wait it out and see what's coming down the line. That anniversary VF-1S looks sharp as hell, but I'm really just after Roy, since good ol' Skull One was absolutely my jam back in the olden days. The Mandarake listing is tempting too, but I think I'll gamble on a lower price down the road. Thanks for the insight all around though!
Patience is a good thing! As long as you don't mind sometimes waiting years. The good thing is this franchise isn't going anywhere and the longer you wait, the more and better versions will appear. Being the most iconic of all the Valks, it's likely you won't have to wait too long to get something you want.
He’s talking to YOU Bandai, now get off your duff with that light-up 1/35 scale VF! I ain’t getting any younger or richer!
Haha yeah! And if that comes, it will likely be the Hikaru 1J first and who knows about the Roy 1S. My bet is if one comes, they both will at least. The only problem with paitience and Macross is if a reissue of what you want never comes, the price is just going to keep going up. That 1S I posted at Mandarake is a really good deal and tempting me to complete my HMR collection if I can get the Hikaru 1S for that price. I purposely didn't pay attention to those to save myself some money.
Oooooh my Hikaru HMR 1S is dicey. Very tight shoulder I actually just reboxed him rather than risk breaking it.
Thanks for the warning. I actually just checked and it's a bit more expensive than Roy. Add on that the look is not as nostalgic for me and I just got the Arcadia 1/60 version (for about the same price as the HMR is asking for) means I'm passing on it for now.
Well, I got a release date delay notification for Milia 1/60 this morning... Now end of October. What the heck is going on? That's now a 2 month delay.
If anyone is planning on getting the event special vf-31j refined/kai best to contact your perfer proxy asap to see if they can get one for you. Theres a limit on how much they can get too. Expect to pay extra service changes and extra transportation fee (both way) Biginjapan listed for 32,000 yen and it was sold out just a quick.
Thanks! I'm hoping that someone like NY will just have them available after the event. Getting one from the actual event seems like a pain but I would have paid that 32,000 if I could have.
