Originally Posted by Rasen Also, speaking of pre-orders, do you know if there's a usual time-frame before retailers/makers stop taking them? Like, a month or two months before release? I ask because I hate pre-orders, since it means making sure you have available funds for a period of time and that can become a pain. I'm trying to decide when to pre-order those ridiculously adorable Saber nendoroids.

In general, a popular figure can sell out at least two months before release. There's no fixed rule though. I would say preorder a month in advance at the latest. It's a lot different from video games where it is usually cheaper to pick one up a few weeks after release. With figures, the preorder price is usually cheaper than msrp, while buying after release is usually >= msrp and often difficult to find (like Figma Samus).

I have all those Saber Nendo on preorder from AmiAmi. The only one I'm interested in but missing is F/SN Super Movable, but I have the Lucky Star F/SN Nendo cosplay set :3

Hey, I just had a weird thought. It's not so much about models as it is about pre-ordering across nations. Pre-orders don't usually charge until the item is shipped, right? So does it take into account exchange rates at the time of the pre-order, or do they check only when they charge?

So for example, if the global confidence in the US drops to an unprecedented low, and the dollar goes for a single yen, do all these pre-orders suddenly become clocks to bankruptcy? (The obvious flipside being if consumer confidence in the dollar soars, we profit and get things on the cheap?)

Edit: let's hear it for Hobby Search, who has managed to sneak through JFK quicker than Amiami. I question their packing sense, as they seem to do it to immobilize the contents, rather than protect them. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but in this case....

Originally Posted by Rasen Hey, I just had a weird thought. It's not so much about models as it is about pre-ordering across nations. Pre-orders don't usually charge until the item is shipped, right? So does it take into account exchange rates at the time of the pre-order, or do they check only when they charge? So for example, if the global confidence in the US drops to an unprecedented low, and the dollar goes for a single yen, do all these pre-orders suddenly become clocks to bankruptcy? (The obvious flipside being if consumer confidence in the dollar soars, we profit and get things on the cheap?)

You don't pay for preorders until they are ready to ship, and the agreed upon preorder price is in another currency, so you could say preorders are potentially clocks to bankruptcy. The reality is that within the time period of placing a preorder and it is ready to be payed, currency rates do not change that much. Worst case scenario, you don't pay for your preorder and that store doesn't let you order from them anymore. It's not like it will hurt your credit card or you're forced to sell a kidney.

Aegis Figma, release date Dec. 2012

Ah yes, possibly e one of the few girls who can pull off a Figma, her and her sister. And Samus.

Katherine and Catherine:

Love those Catherine figures! Wow!

Those two Catherine's come out in October:
Katherine from HobbySearch (5270 yen, ~$68): http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10194043
Catherine from HobbySearch (5270 yen, ~$68): http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10191497

Both are 1/8 and made by Art Spirits. Don't have anything from that maker, but they look great.

There was also a 1/7 Catherine from Max Factory in January 2012:

Sold out everywhere by now.

I wanted to love that Katherine, but her pose is super off balance. Hoping they revisit her a few times like they did her C counterpart.

Package arrived from Amiami....I like the cut of their jib, packing items in a box that doesn't closely fit the contents, so they can add protective paper padding. JFK is as worthless as ever.

Originally Posted by lilman Got my replacement Samus Figma thighs from GSC, and they have the same marks. The replacement left thigh is about the same as my current one, but the replacement right thigh is much better so I swapped it out.

Wow you got your replacements fast, that's good. One of my Samus legs is also much more noticeable than the other, even if it's not perfect I'd welcome an improvement.

I got a reply from GSC about my replacement a few days ago and they said they'd be sending them off to me soon. I'm still amazed they are sending free replacement legs overseas.

Replacement thighs arrived (that's a little creepy-sounding, innit?) Still flawed, but one of them less so, so I replaced it. Scary process, ripping off limbs and joints...

I forgot to update on mine.

They sent me both leg pieces. Both have the same mark on them. None were overly "better" than the other.

In the end, it's definitely not a big deal to me...especially seeing nearly all of them have it.

got my Samus in the mail even though amazon said they canceled the sale/purchase totally confused about that

I have no regrets buying the figure. I am not fully pleased with the height though. people complain about the $60 price tag on play arts, but i had to pay $50 for this samus figure and its 1/2 the size. atleast play arts can be seen from ten feet away :P.

I got my Samus leg replacement's too. But turns out only one leg was better than the old one but the color was slightly different and it had one tiny black dot in the paint job on the front of the thigh. So I won't be using the new ones. At least my Samus doesn't have any paint defects. Since it seems every leg has a defect to some degree I don't care anymore.

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Hokay, I dunno if anyone is still checking this thread, but Amiami also sells pre-owned figures, and given the generally meticulous nature of the Japanese, what they call damaged/used would get passed off as new-in-box here in the States.

The prices vary, can be cheaper than retail, can be more expensive, but it's another option for buyers.

Originally Posted by Rasen Amiami also sells pre-owned figures, and given the generally meticulous nature of the Japanese, what they call damaged/used would get passed off as new-in-box here in the States.

Thanks for mentioning this. Secondhand shops are great to get out of production figures.

Added secondhand stores I've used to the op (Mandarake, Jungle, and AmiAmi Preowned). If you are looking for hard to find figures, search these stores before resorting to eBay.

Hmm will be getting back from deployment in 9 months...think those Catherine figures and other "older" ones (by then) will be obtainable still? Thanks guys

Originally Posted by SuxoR Hmm will be getting back from deployment in 9 months...think those Catherine figures and other "older" ones (by then) will be obtainable still? Thanks guys

Only in secondhand stores. Even then, I don't see Catherine figures pop up in those stores too often :/ If you want one of the ones coming out at the end of this year, your best bet is to have family/friend back home preorder.

Originally Posted by SuxoR Hmm will be getting back from deployment in 9 months...think those Catherine figures and other "older" ones (by then) will be obtainable still? Thanks guys

I've seen some of the older Catherine figures floating around Amiami's preowned service. So it'll probably be ok. The question is whether it will go up or down in price tag.