Yeah I just wound up going the BBTS route for my Den-O and Stronger too. If I see em on Mandarake or elsewhere before BBTS gets them (which will probably be 2013 :lol) then I'll cancel.

So I have a question for those who have any clear plastic Tamashii Stages. How common is it to see cracks/plastic stressing on the parts of the arm that grab the figure? More specifically, the holes that the arm and clamps peg in to? Both stages that my Tiger & Bunny Figuarts come with have this problem? I've also been thinking of buying some extra Tamashii Stages and while I do prefer clear I'd probably go buy a solid plastic color if it was less likely to break on me.

That is, unfortunately, very common :(

Shame :( Guess I'll go with the Act 2 Black stages (which are actually cheaper) as opposed to clear Act 4.

Yeah, my one clear stand (that came with SIC Cyclone Joker) is cracked almost beyond usability. I'd much rather get black or perhaps white stands, so they're stronger, even if the clear ones look kinda cooler.

Follow up question, any idea if the Act 5 stands (which as I understand are made for heavier toys) are just as likely to crack/break? Not sure if I should go for a clear set of those or a black set of Act 2.

I think Act 5 is the ones that come with Figuarts Knight, which is a static clear stand with a multi joint arm on top of that, the arms can't be taken apart like the earlier ones, so no risk of cracking.

It's not the arms itself I'm concerned with but the "hand" of the arm that grabs the figure. It looks like it does have the same hand, but the arm is mostly solid so that should support heavier figures like Sky High. Seems each has it's pros and cons.

Oh the "hand" part? I haven't had them crack on me YET

even so, the hand is a quick fix. on one of mine the loops that hold in the fingers developed a crack, and the fingers were rendered loose and useless. i disassembled the hand and used a dab of superglue on the loops. after it dried, it was good as new.

the thing that irritates me about the stage 4 sets is that they only give you three pairs of fingers, yet six hand peices limiting you to one arm per base