Latest Gundam/Mecha Merchandise thread (2008-2011)

[quasadra]

do share some opinion on VF-27 when you got it. i have been itching to get one. even though its a Chogokin, i am still not convinced its joints are sturdy enough.

[Jaynz]

Yesterday's build, actually...

Warrior Zaku Concert Edition
I got this as a trade, but I felt I had to get the most powerful of the SEED mecha (according to many games). Yes, this is the HG 1/144 Meer Campbell special. The sheer randomness aside, it's actually pretty good, being largely a redress of the regular Zaku with VERY bright pink and red. Oddly, this comes off looking better than it sounds, since the black pieces really break up the sheer brightness of it. Granted, I could have done without the egg blue veriners...

Without the stickers you could ALMOST see a CE Char Aznable piloting this thing. It's one heavily armed Love Machine (TM), carrying most of a Zaku's weaponry. Of course, the stickers give the Zaku it's character and they don't really dissapoint here. The heart, Haro, and 'Lacus' stickers are detailed as you would expect and largely lay down clean and flat. The yellow stickers for the shield are complete crap, though. I ditched them right off and used a Gundam Marker to finish up the unit.

It's definately an oddball piece, but it just adds something to the collection, particularly if you're getting SEED-era machines.

[Jaynz]

Gunner Zaku - Lunimaria Hawke Custom
This HG kit is obviously very similar to the Concert Zaku, only this time done in a slightly less garish set of deep red (for the torso), regular red, with black and white trim. Mold-wise, the body is identical to the previous kit, so I won't go into too many details here.

The main difference, physicdally, is the inclusion of the BFG for Lunamaria, which consists of a fuel tank, 'silhouette connector', and the gun assembly itself. It's decidedly okay, and really needs paint to make it stand out more. Again, you can ALMOST see Char piloting this instead of Luna... not that that's a bad thing.

[quasadra]

stuff arrived... after delay...

MG Unicorn OVA ver. not the cage version, that parking space is too expensive, Figma Fate Testarossa School Uniform Ver, Nendoroid Fate Testarossa, HG Cherudim GNHW/R x2 and Figma Hakurei Reimu(this one cost me a lot...). that is all for now.

[Shea]

Ordered the Master Grade Extraordinary Superior Gundam. (God, doesn't that sound manly as hell?)

[Jaynz]

Rose Gundam 1/144
Man, the line between the HG kits that came out with Seed and pretty much anything before it is a pretty sharp one indeed. Rose Gundam is, of course, from the G Gundam line, and the model kit hasn't aged all that well. To make matters worse for me personally, the stickers lost all adhesion... meaning that EVERY detail was going to have to be hand painted.

And, brother, is there a lot of painting to have to do. The mold for the model is fairly poor, being again just a step up from a FG model. The main joints are there, but much of the detail pieces are simply molded with whatever body-part they're on. The legs, in particular, are big hollow pieces of plastic, despite the added verniers and cowlings, which should have been seperate pieces. To make matters worse, awhite piece on the right shoulder was molded on the blue sprue - meaning to accurize the model, you have to paint it WHITE! Oddly, a near identical piece for the left shoulder WAS molded seperately.

So this all means that not only every detail needs painted, but large swaths of the model needs painted just to get the base color correct. JEeze, and I thought the Epyon was a pain!

It's unlikely that the Gundam Rose is on anyone's short list to become a new HG kit, but it really seems like both Wing and G Gundam really suffed in the model line and desperately need redone. IF you're going to do multi-color sprues, then at LEAST make sure the sprues you're using are correct - or default the mixed ones to white so that they can be painted more easily. Sheesh.

[reeoyuy]

do share some opinion on VF-27 when you got it. i have been itching to get one. even though its a Chogokin, i am still not convinced its joints are sturdy enough.

Well, it arrived yesterday, and all I can say that it's dozen times better than DX VF-25. It has everything that DX 25 lacks. Removable intake covers & pilots, correct-sized landing gears, inner details, more tampo markings, articulated exhaust nozzles, self-contained gunpod clip, swivel joints for GERWALK mode, etc. Transformation is similar to DX 25, but much smoother overall, and new neck joint mechanism is great . It lacks articulated hand btw, and the tiny wrist joint can't seem to hold the big gun one-armed; but the gun is designed as 2-handed anyway. Some people also reporting paint easily scratch at front portion of nosecone, but I guess that came from mishandling. Proportion is not anime-accurate but much much better than DX 25. If joints are your concern, well I can say that they're sturdy enough. Some of them are diecast, and the knees (vital joints to hold all the weight) are ratcheted. Shoulder joints are bit confusing at first, but if you get things right, they're fine. It's worth the money, really. My advice is to read the transformation manual carefully, fiddling with it to get things right and you'll be satisfied.
In case you want some reference, I'll link from somewhere else :
http://collectiondx.com/review/macross_ ... rne_custom

stuff arrived... after delay...

MG Unicorn OVA ver. not the cage version, that parking space is too expensive, Figma Fate Testarossa School Uniform Ver, Nendoroid Fate Testarossa, HG Cherudim GNHW/R x2 and Figma Hakurei Reimu(this one cost me a lot...). that is all for now.

What are you going to do with that Cherudim x2?

[quasadra]

looks like the VF-27 is a win. alright, i will add it to my "to buy" list .

2 Cherudim because i want some symmetry. plus my previous normal Cherudim broke its head and leg after falling from the shelf(i have myself to blame). i can cannibalize some parts from the broken one to make another normal Cherudim.

[reeoyuy]

Wow, I don't think I can force myself to build the same (or similar) kits over and over again. That's why I'm not rushing to get OO 7 Sword and ReZel commander. Already got two OO and one normal ReZel.
Anyway, I just ordered SIC vol 52 Masked Rider Kabuto. I heard that it will be re-issued in September, I don't know why; maybe it's sold out now?. I'm glad I can snatch one .

[quasadra]

but i build the last cherudim one year ago, this time i am free to modify and experiment with the bits as i please . i got those from a local store which is doing some clear stock offer. needless to say i got them cheap.

[Jak Crow]

I scored the robot damashi regnant a couple weeks ago without breaking the bank. Quite nice.

[Shea]

I ordered the MG Victory "Ver.Ka" yesterday.

[Blue 55]

Just got my MG Wing Gundam in today and man it brings back the good ol' days when I first got my HG 1/100th Wing Gundam.

[Mr Bushido]

I just got

Robot Damashii
Gundam F91
Stark Jegan

Both RDs are fantastic and realy improves since RD's first introduction with 00 Gundam.

For older stuff I bought, well there's too much to list but the more recent ones from 2010:

1/100
MG Victory Gundam ver. ka

1/144
HG Reborns Gundam
HGUC Unicorn Destroy Mode
HGUC ReZEL
HGUC ReZEL Commander Type
HGUC Geara Zulu
HGUC Stark Jegan
HGUC Blue Destiny Units 1, 2, and 3
HG CGUE DEEP Arms
HG Dagger + Gunbarrel
HG CGUE

Robot Damashii
00 Gundam Seven Swords
VF-25F Super Valkyrie Alto Custom

MSIA
Jegan + Base Jabber
Re-GZ
Ground Gundam
GM Ground Type
GM Sniper
Astray Blue Frame
Dom ver. 2
Wing Gundam ver. 2

[Jaynz]

I just got (snip)

Damn, if I ever bought a haul like that, the wife would take out the pruning shears! As it is, I'm going to have a mini-White Base set up around here.

[Mr Bushido]

Damn, if I ever bought a haul like that, the wife would take out the pruning shears! As it is, I'm going to have a mini-White Base set up around here.

Sometimes when I look at what I have, I get kinda sad knowing I spent so much money. But then again I've seen pics of Otakus' rooms with wall scrolls, dozens of figures, figmas, oppai mouse pad, and whatever else they have, and when I see that, I feel a lot better just cause I know they spent ten times more.

[Jaynz]

"I only do a little crack, but that guy over THERE has a PROBLEM!"

Yeah, sorry, sorry... but I do find myself being more and more cautious these days about any of my hobbies. Money's just starting to dry up for us and the 'relative value' of a new Gundam has to be a LOT higher than it used to be. I think the days of plopping down a Franklin for entertainment in one go are pretty much over.

[Shea]

I just finished a 23-hour marathon build of the Master Grade Ex-S Gundam model, and my fingers are SORE! All in all the model is very sturdy and beefy, but due to its obvious hugeness, is quite difficult to pose. Also this is one big and mighty sumbitch! It outclasses every model I have by a mile. Height, width, weight. It dominates every field! And thanks to the numerous screws required to simply hold it together it is, in fact, very solid. I spent 95 dollars on mine and I have to say that it was worth it. (Though probably not worth the sore fingers.)

[Jak Crow]

I just finished a 23-hour marathon build of the Master Grade Ex-S Gundam model, and my fingers are SORE! All in all the model is very sturdy and beefy, but due to its obvious hugeness, is quite difficult to pose. Also this is one big and mighty sumbitch! It outclasses every model I have by a mile. Height, width, weight. It dominates every field! And thanks to the numerous screws required to simply hold it together it is, in fact, very solid. I spent 95 dollars on mine and I have to say that it was worth it. (Though probably not worth the sore fingers.)

Thank god it comes with a stand.

[Shea]

I just finished a 23-hour marathon build of the Master Grade Ex-S Gundam model, and my fingers are SORE! All in all the model is very sturdy and beefy, but due to its obvious hugeness, is quite difficult to pose. Also this is one big and mighty sumbitch! It outclasses every model I have by a mile. Height, width, weight. It dominates every field! And thanks to the numerous screws required to simply hold it together it is, in fact, very solid. I spent 95 dollars on mine and I have to say that it was worth it. (Though probably not worth the sore fingers.)

Thank god it comes with a stand.

Not just a stand, but what could be considered the Ex-S's own personal Pedestal Of Time. Seriously the things stand is almost a foot long, and at least 6 inches wide. Posing this beast isn't as hard as simply find a place with enough room to put the damn thing!

==================================================================

Finished the MG Victory Gundam Ver. Katoki and I have to say that this model pisses me off.

After all the innovations and progress that's been made for these models, for some reason the legs don't have any kind of design that allows them to stay attached to the waist. Why? I wager that most people are going to pose the Victory in its humanoid shape, so why can't the god damned legs stay put?

On top of that, the body itself is very loose and feels extraordinarily frail. I wasn't scared to take my new bad-ass Ex-S model over to my buddy's house to show it off, but I'm too scared to pose, never mind move, the much smaller and much less complex Victory. I know that Ver. Katoki models are notorious for placing priority on detail rather than stability or posability, but this is pathetic.

The focking stock market is more reliable than this model. Still, despite its flaws it does capture the image and charm of the Victory, so I guess that is worth the purchase. But the fact remains that this is the most unstable Ver. Katoki model of all, and that's saying something.