Recent Acquisitions (Archive, March 2012 - July 2018)

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That Troodon has a lot of potential to be a decent model...I just don't like the colour scheme The green and the blue don't blend too well.

I think just about all the Geoworld figures could benefit from a  repaint. I would love to see Martin for instance tackle the Guanlong. Bet he could do wonders with it.

[FUTABA]

Nice newcomers! (and hey, you have blue hair too? ) I guess I really need that Yutyrannus (been telling myself I can't afford anything, but my willpower is waning fast).
I find hot water usually works on models that aren't hairdryer safe.

Yeah I have blue hair. (The lighting makes it look more faded than it actually is). I like to imagine it's a feathery plumage because I need to keep myself occupied with things like that due to a chronic lack of a social life.

You and me both! Mine is a bit brighter (for now, anyway) but fading fast. It's nice to stay away from non-mammal colors once in a while.

Exactemundo! 

EDIT: Oh wait I read that wrong... I prefer to keep away from mammalian colours. 

No, I wrote it wrong!  Accidentally combined the beginning of one sentence with the end of another, resulting in me saying the opposite of what I intended.  So much for trying to be coherent on only 4 hours of sleep...

Ah yeah I get what you mean. I'm always doing stuff like that when I vocalise but it's unlikely to happen online as I proof read everything I post like a mad person.

[FUTABA]

That Troodon has a lot of potential to be a decent model...I just don't like the colour scheme The green and the blue don't blend too well.

I think just about all the Geoworld figures could benefit from a  repaint. I would love to see Martin for instance tackle the Guanlong. Bet he could do wonders with it.

Are they handpainted? (I really don't know much at all about Geoworld). The figure I saw on Amazon looked to have much more green on it than Takama's one.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That Troodon has a lot of potential to be a decent model...I just don't like the colour scheme The green and the blue don't blend too well.

I think just about all the Geoworld figures could benefit from a  repaint. I would love to see Martin for instance tackle the Guanlong. Bet he could do wonders with it.

Are they handpainted? (I really don't know much at all about Geoworld). The figure I saw on Amazon looked to have much more green on it than Takama's one.

I would assume so..at least in part. There is some airbrushing here and there.

[Ikessauro]

Today I finally got some of the Invicta Sauropods. I bought a lot on eBay which included unpainted Apatosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, both in good shape, plus 3 unpainted tan Stegosaurus, on of which has a dent in the face. Also in the lot a painted Diplodocus (Yay!!), not the best condition but still a nice catch. By the way, its paint is rubbed off in the face and the plastic below is visible. It is indeed clear translucent material, like those Invictas sold on eBay, one of which is the marine reptile Boki bought. The last one on the lot is Triceratops unpainted, chewed tail... I'm glad I already had a Trike.

[Takama]

That Troodon has a lot of potential to be a decent model...I just don't like the colour scheme The green and the blue don't blend too well.

I think just about all the Geoworld figures could benefit from a  repaint. I would love to see Martin for instance tackle the Guanlong. Bet he could do wonders with it.

Are they handpainted? (I really don't know much at all about Geoworld). The figure I saw on Amazon looked to have much more green on it than Takama's one.

I would assume so..at least in part. There is some airbrushing here and there.

Acording to the little leaflet that came with my troodon, they are hand painted.

[FUTABA]

Nice haul Ikessauro.

My Invicta painted Apatosaurus has a see through face too where the paint's come off. It's kinda creepy looking. What colour is the unpainted version?

[FUTABA]

I really want that Troodon now but there aren't any available on the U.K Amazon and I don't want to buy it from America because of the risk of being stung with extortionate customs fees. But although I can't find it it did lead me to discover a particularly pretty Caudipteryx by Geoworld. Does anyone have this figure? If so, does it live up to it's promo image?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That Troodon has a lot of potential to be a decent model...I just don't like the colour scheme The green and the blue don't blend too well.

I think just about all the Geoworld figures could benefit from a  repaint. I would love to see Martin for instance tackle the Guanlong. Bet he could do wonders with it.

Are they handpainted? (I really don't know much at all about Geoworld). The figure I saw on Amazon looked to have much more green on it than Takama's one.

I would assume so..at least in part. There is some airbrushing here and there.

Acording to the little leaflet that came with my troodon, they are hand painted.

Things like the teeth, eyes and such are..but I would bet the bodies are airbrushed and many of the markings definitely are.  It's a faster process as well so it makes sense they use it for mass production.

[SBell]

I really want that Troodon now but there aren't any available on the U.K Amazon and I don't want to buy it from America because of the risk of being stung with extortionate customs fees. But although I can't find it it did lead me to discover a particularly pretty Caudipteryx by Geoworld. Does anyone have this figure? If so, does it live up to it's promo image?

It's pretty nice overall. Pretty dynamic.



And the colours are pretty close to the picture. I'd love to help you out (I have several available) but the postage is...high from Canada.

[tyrantqueen]

I really want that Troodon now but there aren't any available on the U.K Amazon and I don't want to buy it from America because of the risk of being stung with extortionate customs fees. But although I can't find it it did lead me to discover a particularly pretty Caudipteryx by Geoworld. Does anyone have this figure? If so, does it live up to it's promo image?

It's highly highly unlikely you would get a customs fee for such a small item. In fact I would say the chance is less than zero.
I have ordered tons of items from all over the world, and most stuff that had a custom fee was over £100 (it was pricey stuff like rare video games or hard to find resin model kits)
I don't know what country you're from, but here in the UK custom fees aren't all that unreasonable.

[FUTABA]

Yeah I'm from the U.K too and regularly buy from Asia and I've bought a few items from America. It's always just when I start to feel comfortable and confident buying from abroad that I'll get a massive slap in the face from customs, even with small, reasonably priced items like some of my Kaiyodos. Like you say though, it is only a small cheaply priced item, so might be worth the risk if I can't find it available anywhere else. In the long run I'd rather spend a few extra meaningless pounds which I can earn back and have something to cherish for life.

[FUTABA]

I'd love to help you out (I have several available) but the postage is...high from Canada.

Do you mean the Troodon or the Caudipteryx? If it's the latter, then no worries, I can get that one easily from Amazon U.K. Thanks though.

[tyrantqueen]

Yeah I'm from the U.K too and regularly buy from Asia and I've bought a few items from America. It's always just when I start to feel comfortable and confident buying from abroad that I'll get a massive slap in the face from customs, even with small, reasonably priced items like some of my Kaiyodos. Like you say though, it is only a small cheaply priced item, so might be worth the risk if I can't find it available anywhere else. In the long run I'd rather spend a few extra meaningless pounds which I can earn back and have something to cherish for life.

It seems bizarre that you would get a fee for a tiny little Kaiyodo Dinotales model. If stuff is from overseas, there is usually only a custom charge if it quite expensive and valuable (for example a Battat Diplodocus). Are you buying from eBay? If it were me, I'd be rather suspicious.

[FUTABA]

Yeah I buy from Ebay. I wasn't suspicious though as I collected the parcel from the local post office and paid there. (In hindsight I'm not entirely sure if that was a customs fee or some other mallarky, but regardless of the context, I had to part with cash) And it was for 3 models which I don't think cost much more than about £20 or so. The fee was about £11.80-something.

[SBell]

I'd love to help you out (I have several available) but the postage is...high from Canada.

Do you mean the Troodon or the Caudipteryx? If it's the latter, then no worries, I can get that one easily from Amazon U.K. Thanks though.

Both actually!

[FUTABA]

Ah okay. Just out of curiosity, how much do you think the Troodon would cost coming from you with P&P?

[Blackdanter]

For UK buyers 
The subject of customs fees.
Up until relatively recently parcels were only randomly selected for customs attention where high value declarations were made on the paperwork. This has now changed. Anything with a declared value above $20 is automatically filtered out by Royal Mail for customs which effectively means that most of us will have to be a lot more selective about what we buy from abroad. The customs charge itself is quite small, just a percentage of the actual declared value of the goods however, the sting on low value goods is that every item filtered out by Royal Mail has a standard surcharge added which is about £8 (approx $12). So, buying say 3 or 4 of the cheaper Kaiyodo's can ultimately cost nearly double what you expected! Basically, Royal Mail are being rather greedy and trying to maximise their profits.
The way I get around this when I buy multiple items is to ask the seller to split the items across multiple small packages where the declared value for each is under $20. Most sellers, in Asia for instance, declare everything as a gift anyway (gifts do not attract a duty charge) but it's best to check before hand. Obviously, asking a seller to under declare the value of a package puts the seller in a difficult position as under declaring is an offence.
Another useful tip is to ensure that packages being sent or received from abroad have a sender address as anything without one is likely to be deemed suspicious and opened by customs thereby delaying you item for some time.   

[tyrantqueen]

For UK buyers 
The subject of customs fees.
Up until relatively recently parcels were only randomly selected for customs attention where high value declarations were made on the paperwork. This has now changed. Anything with a declared value above $20 is automatically filtered out by Royal Mail for customs which effectively means that most of us will have to be a lot more selective about what we buy from abroad. The customs charge itself is quite small, just a percentage of the actual declared value of the goods however, the sting on low value goods is that every item filtered out by Royal Mail has a standard surcharge added which is about £8 (approx $12). So, buying say 3 or 4 of the cheaper Kaiyodo's can ultimately cost nearly double what you expected! Basically, Royal Mail are being rather greedy and trying to maximise their profits.
The way I get around this when I buy multiple items is to ask the seller to split the items across multiple small packages where the declared value for each is under $20. Most sellers, in Asia for instance, declare everything as a gift anyway (gifts do not attract a duty charge) but it's best to check before hand. Obviously, asking a seller to under declare the value of a package puts the seller in a difficult position as under declaring is an offence.
Another useful tip is to ensure that packages being sent or received from abroad have a sender address as anything without one is likely to be deemed suspicious and opened by customs thereby delaying you item for some time.

I bought rare model from the USA, for £150, and it was delivered via Parcelforce. I had to pay a customs charge of £50 :S But I think Parcelforce is owned by the Royal Mail too, right..?

I hate the fact that postal services have become such money grubbers.

[FUTABA]

Thanks for the explanation Blackdanter. I'll keep that in mind for future reference.
I always thought it was still done by random selection so at least now I can actually calculate things and estimate the likelihood of charges. I've noticed how many Asian sellers declare the parcel as a gift so I feel lucky in that respect.

I hate the way the postal services keep kidnapping my little friends for ransom.