vlog 25-12: Wave’s 1/20 Maschinen Krieger AFS Mk. II

When I’d first gotten into scifi back in 2017 or so, I fairly quickly “discovered” Maschinen Krieger. It was Modelmaking Guru who pointed me towards Lincoln Wright, and once I saw Linc’s work, I knew I needed to try out this Ma. K stuff!

I actually ordered an SAFS kit first, but I also ordered a variant of the AFS called a New Rally Pawn. I was a bit impatient when it came to waiting on the SAFS, which came from Japan, so I snagged the AFS, which arrived sooner – from New Jersey. 😉

And I really enjoyed the kit. It was new, different, and quite fun.

But That Wave Release Schedule

As I built more Ma. K kits, I learned that Wave released most of the fighting suit variants. And their formula was simple. Every quarter, they release a variant on an existing suit… maybe add an antenna, or an extra rivet, or a cup holder, whatever, and then produce approximately 12 of that kit, and sell out immediately.

I joke of course, well, mostly… but what I learned quickly was that if you wanted a Wave Ma. K kit at less than unobtanium prices on Ebay, preorder them when first announced.

Having learned my lesson, I began building one or two a year, pre-ordering as they grabbed my interest. And all the time waiting for a variant of the AFS to be released.

Y’all Can Thank Me Later

I tried to be patient. I really did. Each quarter I’d keep my eye on HLJ.com to see what was the next Wave kit for preorder. And while I liked most of what was announced, I was always a little disappointed that no AFS was announced. Still, I waited. Because while I could find plenty on Ebay, they were all far more expensive than a new release would be. And I had this fear that as soon as I paid three times to much, Wave would announce a new release of an AFS.

After a while though, the modelers impatience grabbed hold of me. I found an AFS Mk. II on eBay, and decided to go ahead and get it. For about 2.5 times what a new retail release would be. Still, I figured it was 2025, and Wave still hadn’t re-released one. So why not?

Of course, you know what happened…

Within a few weeks, HLJ began pre-orders for not just one AFS, but a two-kit boxing. At a very reasonable price. Being a modeler, I of course put in a pre-order. Despite the fact that I had the very kit that I wanted to build now safe and sound in my own house.

So here’s that kit. And as I write this, my two-kit AFS Mk. I and Mk. II model, which was a very reasonable price, is on its way to me, somewhere over (or perhaps on) the Pacific.

But at least now I have built the kit I wanted to build. Again. And can do so yet again. And again. {sigh}

The life of a modeler is so complicated sometimes.