Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk.IV

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk.IV

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Hijo Del Helmsley posted:

UK Gunpla Goons, it seems I may have found the answer to our struggle. A store with decent prices, and especially reasonable delivery costs.

I've bought a cheap kit with cheap delivery as a dry-run to see what their service is like.

They're... okay. I've ordered from them a few times with relative success (their cheapest delivery option uses low-rent couriers like Yodel and Hermes rather than Royal Mail which comes with a fair number of issues), but had a truly terrible experience with them the other week that has kinda sworn me off using them again.

Ordered a Build Burning Gundam and it was delivered by an absolute prick of a courier - he left it on the window ledge outside my ground-floor flat on a rainy day. That would be a fairly irritating incident on its own, but was compounded by the fact that Japan Cool had simply wrapped the kit's box in paper - no packaging box or padding/insulation. So once I got it inside, the kit box had basically been reduced to paper-mache and a couple of the runners were completely wrecked. I'll pull the photos off my phone later to show just how nightmareish the whole thing looked.

I got in touch with them to complain, and the owner was fairly apologetic and offered a free replacement with next-day delivery... Only it didn't show up for over a week. He gave me free delivery on my next order as compensation for that, but that's not much use when I'm probably never going to use them again.

As a UK Gunplar I generally find the best experience is just to order from Hong Kong eBay stores like tokyohobby and j3hobby and wait out the 10 day delivery rather than run the customs gamut from Japan or pay over-inflated UK store prices.

Cat Machine fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Nov 4, 2014

# ¿ Nov 4, 2014 11:39

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 18:30

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

BizarroAzrael posted:

Does Tokyohobby get much cheaper with combined shipping? An HG and shipping looks to be about �14, half of that postage, which is actually okay overall but I figure with the postage so high it might get better.

I've never done a multi-kit order from them, so you'd probably have to ask someone else. They handle customs on your behalf, which is likely rolled into that shipping quote and explains why it's so high.

I generally find Tokyo-Hobby's shipping prices quite reasonable - they work out less than ordering from the UK most of the time. For example, Tokyo-Hobby would charge you �14 for a shipped G-Self, whereas Japan:Cool would charge a minimum of �22 with basic delivery. Plus they randomly put an HG Builder Parts box in with one of my shipments so I have a bit of a soft spot for them.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2014 13:10

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

BizarroAzrael posted:

And back to the GB gunpla chat, is HLJ still the way? Ebay/Amazon? What do I do to avoid customs charges?

It's probably best to just choose whichever's cheapest/fastest based on your priorities and keep in mind how different retailers handle customs.

- Most big-time eBay stores like Tokyo-Hobby and J3-Hobby will do customs on your behalf. This usually leads to a higher shipping cost up-front, but also shields you from maybe having to pay a customs fee on your end + any 'handling fees' from Parcel Force or their pals.
- HLJ is completely honest to customs about the cost of items when they ship them and won't do customs fee-paying on your behalf, so each time you buy HLJ you run the risk of getting a customs bill (more likely on EMS shipping compared to SAL). However you're buying products valued in JPY rather than USD/GBP and the Yen is super-weak right now, so even customs charges might not be enough to make it more expensive than other routes.
- UK stores like Japan Cool, Gunpla UK and Gundam Mad are shipping products from a UK location to other UK locations so there's no customs risk at all there, but that usually translates to higher product cost.
- Amazon is super-dependent on the Amazon seller you use.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2014 16:54

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Cat Machine posted:

They're... okay. I've ordered from them a few times with relative success (their cheapest delivery option uses low-rent couriers like Yodel and Hermes rather than Royal Mail which comes with a fair number of issues), but had a truly terrible experience with them the other week that has kinda sworn me off using them again.

Ordered a Build Burning Gundam and it was delivered by an absolute prick of a courier - he left it on the window ledge outside my ground-floor flat on a rainy day. That would be a fairly irritating incident on its own, but was compounded by the fact that Japan Cool had simply wrapped the kit's box in paper - no packaging box or padding/insulation. So once I got it inside, the kit box had basically been reduced to paper-mache and a couple of the runners were completely wrecked. I'll pull the photos off my phone later to show just how nightmareish the whole thing looked.

I got in touch with them to complain, and the owner was fairly apologetic and offered a free replacement with next-day delivery... Only it didn't show up for over a week. He gave me free delivery on my next order as compensation for that, but that's not much use when I'm probably never going to use them again.

Figured I would dig up this post from page 4 because the guys who run the store ended up coming across it and gave me an HGRECO Grimoire with next-day delivery for free by way of further apology. Really good of them!

# ¿ Nov 10, 2014 15:51

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

The Build Burning on the whole has excellent articulation and posing (I think I saw a photo of someone who was able to pose it into a one-armed handstand??). I'm a big fan of the way it's wrist joints are articulated too.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 13:34

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Warmachine posted:

No handstands, but now I'm convinced that I need to recreate the meditation scene in Empire Strikes Back with the BBG and the God Gundam.

Given the Beargguy F comes with a little guy in a backpack, surely that's the way to go

# ¿ Dec 17, 2014 13:38

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

signalnoise posted:

I have files and I have sandpaper and I dislike both of them. What's a nice convenient way of sanding? Sanding sticks? What brand? I desire to spend money to make sanding convenient.

I use sanding sponges, but honestly I don't see a world of different between each of the sanding implements. You'll still be doing pretty much the exact same thing.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2014 16:31

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Does anyone have advice for the leg pipes on the RG Char Zaku-II? Even the slightest movement in the knees causes the pipes to break out and spray little pink hoops everywhere. Should I just seal it up with some glue?

# ¿ Jan 26, 2015 11:28

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Need to see some more pictures, but I might get this and keep it perma-partsformed as the HG variant.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 14:46

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

closeted republican posted:

Where's my HGCC Kapool, SUMO, and Turn-X Bandai?

Uhggghhhhh I would buy all of these in an instant

Also, when is the RG line gonna get back to churning out some main character UC Gundams? I'd totally buy a Real Grade Nu Gundam.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2015 13:58

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

1/44 Punch Hands sounds awesome. I love posing my God Gundam and Build Burning because they have the most dynamic hands of any HG.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2015 11:37

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Luminaflare posted:

I'm really tempted to use the HG version to display the uncombined forms in front of the MG if that ever comes out.

I'm actually thinking of getting two HGs just because I love that drat lion form so much.

# ¿ May 27, 2015 16:05

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

EthanSteele posted:

Five years ago if an EMS thing was marked as a gift so it didn't need to be checked for tax it would arrive within 48 hours no problem. I'd often order a thing around 2 am on a Wednesday and it'd arrive on the Friday without having to pay any fees at all. Now I'm lucky if I get the letter charging me for "expediting" the process before a slow parcel would have arrived. If a thing is marked as a gift it takes no time at all, it's nuts.

Blame David Cameron and pals for privatizing Royal Mail

# ¿ Oct 9, 2015 11:49

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Sorry if this is the wrong thread for this, but I picked up a Bandai X-Wing on a whim and didn't realise how much paintwork it would take to make it look right. I've got a fair amount of Gunpla painting experience, but haven't done much weathering work - does anyone have any good tutorials they could recommend, or general advice?

# ¿ Oct 19, 2015 14:32

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

I seem to remember someone posting an eBay Store in this thread that sells individual runners from kits. Does anyone know the store I'm thinking of?

# ¿ Oct 20, 2015 10:15

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

MJP posted:

So I'm starting the Bandai TIE Fighter, and I want to make it a little more popping in terms of detail. Babby's first hardcore preshading action: http://imgur.com/a/dF8N3

The Bandai Star Wars kits are some seriously dope poo poo, but they require a ton of paintwork to look on-model - what's the deal with the parts not coming in the correct shades? For comparison, here's the snapped X-Wings vs. what I painted them up to look like:

Gunpla is my bread and butter, so I was kinda taken aback that Bandai would put out kits that require that much paint-effort to look like the original.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2015 11:48

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

The Star Wars kits seem to have a ton of effort in everything *but* the colouring, which is why I'm kinda confused.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2015 12:58

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Ka0 posted:

In BF, the first time Mr. Ral tests Reiji he's using a Gouf but you can tell it's the best mecha collection Gouf and not the HG, a fact that my stupid brain only picked up recently.

He makes an explicit callback to this a while later when he says "This is no Best Mecha Collection Gouf, boy! No Best Mecha Collection!" to Sei.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 17:16

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 18:30

Cat Machine: Jun 18, 2008

Bimmi posted:

And is "Best Mecha Collection" an official thing or what, because it's not ringing a whole lotta bells here.

It's Bandai's name for legacy mecha model kits, mostly stuff that came out during the 80s boom. It's been used a few times recently, mainly in reference to one-off mecha kits (like One Piece's General Franky model).

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 17:31

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk.IV