I've been eyeballing this thing for years and finally decided it was time. Sold a bunch of old anime stuff I wasn't into anymore and got something awesome.
Woah, thats awesome! Can you easily take it off the stand? Because if so, I would never get any work done - I'd just spend hours flying it above my desk and making spaceship noises :D
Absolutely. Not only does it easily come off the stand, but it has many moving parts such as landing gear with wheels, foldable wings and even a light up engine. I've yet to get the 3 button cell batteries required to power it though.
It's made by a Japanese company called Goodsmile that makes all kinds of figures. The way they make figures in Japan is that everything is a limited run. They take pre-orders and then only make a little bit more than that. So at this point the only place to get one is a reseller. The price is actually about the same as the initial sale so it isn't really a problem until there is no more and then you have to pay gouged prices.
Yours looks different, but the model looks identical. Did you paint this yourself? I like the more raggidy look as that is pretty much how it was in the show as it always gets beat up.
I had to put on a handful of parts, but I wouldn't call what I got a "model kit" as it is 95% preassemble and painted.
Mine is made by Bandai and yes, I did paint it. Out of the box it's very plasticky and "perfect". You're totally right, it should be a bit beat up. I tried my best to do some cartoon style damage.
I looked up the one you have and the features are really cool, hope you're enjoying it!