Transforrmers Masterpiece MP-51 Arcee New Stock Images

Sam

Yup, I'm in Russia, Japan only has slow shipping to Russia (which at this point I would have preferred, it's been a month now of waiting for a shipping quote). Apparently AE are trying to get a shipping quote from DHL to send it to Ireland (since DHL can't send to Russia), after which I'd have to pay someone to send it on to me.

And yeah AE are the shop where you pay the item in full at pre-order, and pay shipping when it comes in stock.

When I noticed I still wasn't getting the pay-for-shipping update on the site I emailed them, they replied to the email after 5 days to say they can't ship to Russia, so I called them. They said they'd get me a quote. Called them again later that week, no update. Called them again at the end of the next week, still no update, they said they'd email me. How long can a shipping quote take? I can get one from a courier within 24 hours filling out a form on their website.

I can check, but I'm going to call Anime Export first one last time. But I had to get a charge back from my bank before and pretty sure there was a limit that luckily for that previous purchase I was still within.

They gave me the full refund for my MP-52 pre-order, so at least I have some faith in them there. I don't imagine they're out of stock, I'm sure the Arcee's still in the warehouse, so I don't know what their excuse is. Going to try and call them now, before calling my bank if I need to.

UPDATE:

Called Anime Export, they agreed to issue the refund for Arcee. No issues about it at all. They suck at replying to emails but absolutely fine to deal with on the phone.
Let's see how long it takes to get the refund, I can always call them back in a couple of days. I'm impressed that they had no problems issuing the full refund for MP-52 too, so overall I'm still good with them, maybe they just can't be bothered to ship to certain countries anymore? I see no reason why I wouldn't return to them when shipping becomes normal again.

I guess when this Arcee refund comes through I'll be paying some stupid Ebay price but hopefully I'm one step closer to actually finally having her!

UPDATE 2:

Refund for Arcee received. Right, where can I get the cheapest Arcee that ships to Russia?  

For anyone with pre-orders with Anime Export I wouldn't be worried at all, they're still legit. Just make sure they ship to your country first   And unlike Nippon Yasan they didn't block my account simply because I opened Paypal disputes. Overall I'm impressed.

Cool, thanks for the full thorough and honest update.
Anime-Export have always done right by me, ever since I ordered Encore 23 Fortress Maximus from them, back in the day! Glad to hear they are still as dependable as ever.

Sam

Yup, I'm in Russia, Japan only has slow shipping to Russia (which at this point I would have preferred, it's been a month now of waiting for a shipping quote). Apparently AE are trying to get a shipping quote from DHL to send it to Ireland (since DHL can't send to Russia), after which I'd have to pay someone to send it on to me.

And yeah AE are the shop where you pay the item in full at pre-order, and pay shipping when it comes in stock.

When I noticed I still wasn't getting the pay-for-shipping update on the site I emailed them, they replied to the email after 5 days to say they can't ship to Russia, so I called them. They said they'd get me a quote. Called them again later that week, no update. Called them again at the end of the next week, still no update, they said they'd email me. How long can a shipping quote take? I can get one from a courier within 24 hours filling out a form on their website.

I can check, but I'm going to call Anime Export first one last time. But I had to get a charge back from my bank before and pretty sure there was a limit that luckily for that previous purchase I was still within.

They gave me the full refund for my MP-52 pre-order, so at least I have some faith in them there. I don't imagine they're out of stock, I'm sure the Arcee's still in the warehouse, so I don't know what their excuse is. Going to try and call them now, before calling my bank if I need to.

UPDATE:

Called Anime Export, they agreed to issue the refund for Arcee. No issues about it at all. They suck at replying to emails but absolutely fine to deal with on the phone.
Let's see how long it takes to get the refund, I can always call them back in a couple of days. I'm impressed that they had no problems issuing the full refund for MP-52 too, so overall I'm still good with them, maybe they just can't be bothered to ship to certain countries anymore? I see no reason why I wouldn't return to them when shipping becomes normal again.

I guess when this Arcee refund comes through I'll be paying some stupid Ebay price but hopefully I'm one step closer to actually finally having her!

UPDATE 2:

Refund for Arcee received. Right, where can I get the cheapest Arcee that ships to Russia?  

For anyone with pre-orders with Anime Export I wouldn't be worried at all, they're still legit. Just make sure they ship to your country first   And unlike Nippon Yasan they didn't block my account simply because I opened Paypal disputes. Overall I'm impressed.

I know Omegalock still has her for £115. Obviously that's including UK vat though. You might want to check the TFS-Express Chinese site, but I'm not sure if they use DHL too. Not sure.

Fairly sure Omegalock would send to Ireland though.

Sam

Yeah you’re right, just got the email from Paypal that my Arcee claim is refused because it’s been longer than 180 days. Well shit

As others have said I would try your credit card company just in case.

I don’t know what’s going on with some stores lately. Service is going down the crapper. I heard with NY the owner allegedly split with a ton of cash so they’re having trouble buying stock now. No idea what’s up with AE. They were always good in the past. Hopefully worst case scenario you eventually get your Arcee after a long wait. I don’t think they will scam you out of your money. Maybe they are having a hard time finding more stock? Anyway I hope you get some good news soon!

Got mine in from TFSource today. All your great pictures sold me that it was a must buy. I'm glad I went for it. She's incredible. I have her next to my Protoform Azalea, who I thought was pretty great, but MP-51 just blows her out of the water. Just amazing. The transformation isn't too bad, but I'm glad I saw some tips here about how to fully compress the backpack as well as how to get those taillights flipped up all the way. I'm one of the few who liked the Earthrise Arcee mold enough to buy it three times. Have mercy on my wallet, but I hope they release a Paradron Medic/Lifeline repaint because I would happily buy this figure again, too.

crazyman

Yeah BBTS is taking too long. Canceled my preorders and just decided to get both from TFSource.

Legate

BBTS is a lot of things. Fast is not one of them.

crazyman

Usually they are 1-2 weeks late for new releases but it's much worse this time.

Seriously they have gotten much worse. Mid december I got fed up, cancelled my PO of peaen re-release with them and ordered from show.z. The bot arrived last week (china to canada) and bbts STILL doesn't have theirs in stock yet. Actually both the peaen and aegis re-releases are still on PO status at bbts.

Shipping with them is also worse than usual and "usual" was bad to begin with. I'm still waiting on earthrise sunstreaker which I ordered November 24th…

Sam

pretty sure they only cover me for 60 days after purchase

Is AE refusing to deliver to Ireland or just ignoring your emails?

Snaku

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Don't they look so good together? Yes, life is good in the Arcee world. Wait… what's this?

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Rouge's box? But that can only mean…. oh no!

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Yes, I'm afraid that's correct. MP-51 is a damn good figure and has supplanted Rouge from my MP collection. Poor Rouge has been living on borrowed time ever since.

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Distraught, her fellow Arcees aid the resolute Rouge in packing away all her accessories.

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Gotta' get every angle. That's right, while the ladies go about their grim business, my heartless ass is taking this opportunity to snap shots for the buyer.

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The accessories all packed, Rouge stands and gives a silent wave, determined to remain strong for her friends. Arcee returns her wave wistfully while Azalea struggles to keep from breaking down entirely.

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Into her styrofoam coffin, Rouge continues to keep a stiff upper lip as Azalea gasps.

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As Arcee pulls the protective film over her, Rouge gives her friends one last look. No words are spoken and none are needed – each knows what is in the others' hearts.

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Only as the lid closes and the styrofoam returns to the cardboard that birthed it, does Azalea allow herself to fully give in to her sorrow, collapsing into Arcee's arms. Arcee, herself overcome with grief, steels herself to provide the support her dear friend so desperately needs.

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It's over now. The pink ladies will forever carry the memory of their departed comrade in their hearts and whenever they go into battle they know Rouge will be there in spirit.

Don't worry – Rouge is going to a good home with a person with better photography skills than me. I enjoyed her and still regard her as a great Arcee figure, but MP-51 has taken her place and she really didn't serve any purpose in my display anymore. As mentioned above, I took these shots to show Rouge's condition and packaging, but I wanted to have fun with it and give my first MP Arcee a proper farewell.

Is it funny that I actually made myself sad while taking these pics? Like not super for-real depressed or anything, but like posing Azalea and seeing her looking like she was about to break down just triggered my empathy a little. I actually experience something similar when I'm drawing – draw a person smiling and without thinking about it, I smile; draw someone sad and find myself sad. Same thing happened while working on my MP51 faces – smiled, frowned, grimaced, and smirked while working on those faces (I didn't split my jaw open for the IDW face, though – I have limits).

Damn Snaku, you can really tell a tale with your sequential photos. There’s a future in comics for you.

Paco Grande

Now you’ve got me worried. Let us know how it goes. I’m not sure how you can cancel if you already paid and the figure isn’t due until June.

That’s becoming an issue with preorders that are more than 6 months out. My understanding is that PayPal only covers you for 6 months after you pay.

Yeah you’re right, just got the email from Paypal that my Arcee claim is refused because it’s been longer than 180 days. Well shit

Paco Grande

Sorry to hear that! My MP Starscream is preordered with them so hopefully your situation is rare and they aren’t turning into NY. NY is pretty much completely considered to be a scam these days in the Macross forums. Lots of PayPal disputes.

I’m attempting to cancel my Starscream pre-order with them too, let’s see how that goes.

that sucks about NY, fortunately Paypal covers things pretty well I think, but it’s still a pain

Enough is enough, dispute opened with Anime Export, after being their customer since 2013. Shame.