Saw a toy online today that made me feel nostalgic about the shows that I used to enjoy back when I was a kid. It’s a Metal Hero action figure by Action Works. This Metal Hero is the first of a trilogy of Space Sheriff shows. His name is Space Sheriff Gavan. Continue Reading

So many capital letters on a blog title!

It has been quite some time since I featured someone other than Keita on my blog so I figured I would talk about another one of my favorite gunpla modellers: N.P.GPM. The kit featured here is the HGUC 1/144 NZ-666 Kshatriya. I have talked about the Kshatriya in the past and now that there is a kit out, I will talk about it again.

The Kshatriya, after watching the first episode of UC Gundam, is definitely a formidable mobile suit. It has the size and flexibility of a moderate-sized MS with high mobility thanks to the four booster units mounted on its shoulders. It utilizes funnels from underneath the booster units similar to how the Quebeley or the Quin Mantha deploy theirs. It has an awesome design and I still cannot get over the sleeve designs on all these Neo Zeon mobile suits. And I like how the booster units can be pulled back around the mobile suit itself to act as a shell/shield. It also has manipulator arms for better hand to hand combat on the field.

Now, what I have always loved about N.P.GPM is the colors he uses for his kits. They’re always softer than what you would normally expect or have gotten used to and the design is always so clean. There are not a lot of physical modifications like Keita’s Evolve series but it has enough mods to make it look quite aesthetically pleasing. Not a lot of pla-plates added to it. There’s just enough bits and bobs added and replaced like the boosters to give it a more realistic look with the metal parts. Overall, if you need to look for images of a kit that would look like one of those gunpla masters displayed in conventions and events, then N.P.GPM’s work would be along those lines.

You can see the rest of his work here.

When I started collecting Japanese toys, my starting point was robots. I was into the super robot genre before anything else (Voltes V, Daimos, Combattler V, Mazinger Z, etc.). As I grew older, I moved towards the real robot genre because the technology was more realistic than the super robot genre even though the entire concept of robots being used for war was still very much out of this world or that the technology to power such large 20-meter units was still very distant.

Old school mech + steampunk design = AWESOME

My first serious acquisitions of Japanese toys were Gundams. Gunpla to be specific. And as my budget increased, I was able to afford larger model kits. I started with a few HGUCs (High Grade Universal Century) and then moved to MGs (Master Grade) and finally, when I could afford it, purchased my first PG (Perfect Grade). But as my work life got busier, I had less and less time to spend on building and painting gunpla which was really sad for me since I still had a lot of model kits that I wanted to build but just didn’t have the time to do so. My work shift also did not allow me to conveniently build and paint model kits after work (I get off work at 12mn since I work during Europe hours but live in the Philippines). Continue Reading

Aaaaaaand Keita does it again. This time in HGUC fashion. This is his custom HGUC Hi-Nu Gundam HWS. You probably remember seeing those three letters at the end of the Nu Gundam designation.

I honestly don’t recall seeing a Hi-Nu Gundam with HWS parts. HWS parts were originally used on the Nu Gundam. And for those who played SRW, this was a nifty feature because it gave the Nu Gundam unit a double life ability (HWS gets destroyed, parts are jettisoned, Nu Gundam is new and shiny and damage-free).

Seeing the HWS parts on the Hi-Nu though is an interesting sight to see especially for this HGUC version which mimics the MG version that Bandai had released before. The HWS parts give it the proper bulky feel that the Hi-Nu was known for. See, the Nu Gundam was the slender, sleek version. The Hi-Nu was just a towering unit of massive firepower. Having the HWS parts added gives the HGUC Hi-Nu the girth to look menacing.

But this isn’t the first time HWS parts were considered to be used on the Hi-Nu. I remember Ngee Khiong mentioning Vicious Project and their conversion parts for the Master Grade version of the Hi-Nu. I’m just not too fond of the feet since they look like swimming flippers instead of mecha feet. But the HWS parts are pretty much loyal to the original Nu Gundam HWS parts design.

Hit up the image link to go to Keita’s site and see the rest of the images. It never fails to amaze me how he puts metal parts on such a small kit. And I absolutely love that massive white beam rifle.

When before we only had some  scans from Mr. BlurryScanner, now we have shots of the actual merchandise spotted at Tamashii Nation 2009.

These display items look absolutely gorgeous and it’s spurring me to finish my two Master Grade Gundam Unicorns soon. One thing’s for sure, though. When this baby hits the shelves, I’ll be one of the first people to grab one for myself. It’s going to burn a painful hole in my pocket but it will definitely be worth it. I mean, just look at the detail! I do have a feeling that posability will be almost as limited or even worse than the Psycho Gundam Mk. I but who cares, right?!

There may be some crazy people who would buy two just to have both forms on display on their desk. I would if I had the cash. But right now, one is enough.

Don’t know about release dates yet but this definitely falls in my watch so I’ll keep you guys who are interested in this posted. ^_^

Images from SRW Hotnews.

[polldaddy poll=2067373]

This is going to be my next Gundam purchase and before this comes out, I will make sure I complete both model kits that are still waiting to be completed in my room. It will definitely cost an arm and a leg but this is one of the few GFF Metal Composites that I am not willing to pass up on.

News from SRW Hotnews.

Here’s something interesting and different. It’s Fichtenfoo’s version of the MG Sinanju ver. Ka. Deviating from the usual cherry glossy red iterations, he chose to paint it in purple and use white trim. I like the different color scheme. I feel the white trim was lifted from the Kshatriya. Click on the image for the rest of the shots. This is definitely and interesting color scheme and I think it’s absolutely awesome.

Well, ever since a couple of my colleagues got new equipment or new bodies, I’ve started getting into shooting again. I’m talking about cameras here, just in case.

One of them got a nice Canon lens while the other got himself a brand-spanking new Canon 500D. Am I jealous? Of the lens, probably. But I’ve got two good cameras and not much usage on both ends. So I took them out for a spin again after keeping them in their containers for quite some time. Well, it’s more of the DSLR gathering dust in my house. I bring the LX3 with me every day just in case I would need to shoot photos. It was only recently that I started bringing the DSLR out again.

400D, f/1.8, 50mm

LX3, f/2.6, 10.2mm

400D, f/1.8, 50mm

In mecha-related news, tons of Gundam gunpla and merch updates a Ngee Khiong’s blog. I especially liked this bit of news from Dengeki Online.

It’s definitely a slow Friday for me here at the office and I don’t even know what to write about except for the fact that I’m still definitely drooling over that Zune HD I blogged about yesterday. *drool*

Yesterday, I changed my monitor’s wallpaper to some bokeh work from Deviantart. Can’t remember the name of the bloke who made it but if you do recognize the wallpaper I have behind my EVA 01, please feel free to mention it so I can link back. Used my LX3, my iPod’s Flashlight App and the new background to try out some shots. Placed the robot a bit farther from the screen, zoomed to around 60mm and fired away. First shot reminds me of the scene in the first movie where only one eye of the EVA could be seen. The bottom image reminds me of the scene where you can mainly see it’s luminous green parts. Revoltech did really well with these action figures. I’m happy to own them.

So weekend! What are your plans? Mine? Probably go on a food trip with Chil on Saturday then come the evening, go with a colleague of mine to a party (Kare Kare again! Wooh!), and then hopefully be able to watch G.I. Joe on Sunday. That should be fun.

Now about that Zune HD, that wallpaper’s really nice. I’m a big big fan of rainbows so seeing that on the Zune HD’s screen makes me want to buy it even more. I have a feeling Winslow, my iPod Touch (after Winslow from Questionable Content) is shaking in his boots over this knowledge that I’m considering a different PMP when the Zune HD comes out. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to disown him (poor thing!).

Will shoot more photos at the party I’ll be going to this Saturday and hopefully be able to put up some of the non-incriminating ones on my blog.

Oh and can I just say that Yogurbud yogurt tastes awesome?! Even just the classic one makes my mouth water. Kicks Fro-Yo in the nuts if you ask me. Mhmm mhmm!

It’s still early in the day. If I stumble upon some interesting news today, then I’ll write about it soon enough. I’m still contemplating on whether I should show Aimz that page where there’s an SHCM Pro Gundam Unicorn. She’ll probably hate me for it. Oh what they heck, I’ll send her the link anyways.

This news is a bit old. I recall having seen this bit of information in Ngee Khiong’s blog almost a month ago. I just had to talk about it today.

My partner gave me two MG Gundam Unicorn kits for my birthday and I haven’t even gotten around to finishing at least one. And now this one comes in and if the price is what I think it is from Happinet, then that means this action figure clocks in at almost Php5,000 pesos. That’s just crazy. That’s an SIC already. But I assume due to the complication of its transformation, they had to raise the price a bit, if knocking it up a couple of grand would be considered “a bit”.

Would I buy it? I’m tempted to but I’d rather pay for that Figma Miku Hatsune Live Ver. And I’ve yet to finish those two MG kits.