Checked out some of my favorite modders and saw some recent updates. Two have released new mods, complete with photos, while one has a teaser on a Master Grade that a lot of fans have been asking Bandai to manufacture for decades.

This is Keita’s latest masterpiece, a modded version of the Master Grade GN-X from Gundam 00. In his site, he details the changes he made on the original model kit. The difference between this and the original release is just staggering. He never fails to amaze me with the amount of detail he is able to apply on these model kits to further enhance them. I just wish he had included shots of the GN-X with the GN Drive lit up.

Continue Reading

When I first encountered these kits, I remembered a particular RPG that I enjoyed reading about back in high school: Heavy Gear. The construction, weaponry and means of movement and transport look quite similar.

While I was browsing through Ngee Khiong for my daily dose of toy release updates, I ran into the cover art of one of the Border Break units. Up until now, all I have seen were the master designs, and none of the boxart. My friend Emrys has been drooling over these kits for quite some time now and upon last checking at Amiami.com, there are currently four different units up for preorder, one of which is featured in the boxart shown above.

The unit above is called the Heavy Guard Type II. Compared the other units like the Shrike and the Cougar, the Heavy Guard definitely has a bulkier build reminiscent of the Kodiaks in Heavy Gear. This appears to be designed to provide long range heavy artillery while using a bazooka to protect itself at closer range.

Boxart is looking really good although I’ve always liked the boxart of Kotobukiya kits even though I was not always fond of the product inside. Compared to Bandai’s gunpla, Kotobukiya’s SRW line prior to the 1/100 model kits like the Alteisen, did not have very good production, with a lot of flash showing up at the edges and seemingly lower quality plastic that didn’t get cut very well with model kit cutters. These Border Break kits do come with prepainted parts. Some purists may want to have their kits non-prepainted while some who prefer to just build their kits out of the box, would be thankful for the prepainted parts. I remember the 1/144 Alteisen having prepainted parts which was a big help for that size of model kit. The Border Break units are supposedly smaller than the mobile suits we are used to: Gundam-sized ones which average around 18-20 meters. This kit comes in 1/35 scale and although I have yet to see it beside model kits whose sizes I’m more familiar with, I am assuming that the full scale Border Break units are smaller in size compared to the mobile suits we’ve all been used to thus the larger scale in the box. If anything, it would probably stand as tall as a normal Master Grade(?). If anyone has built one of these kits, kindly inform me if they are any bigger than Master Grades. Or smaller, whichever the case.

The Cougar Type I Heavy Armament A Class is actually up for preorder locally at Wasabi Toys. Contact them directly for any price inquiries.

 Loading ...

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.

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.

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.

Saw this bit of news from Ngee Khiong’s blog. It’s the Full Armor Gundam. Basically, it’s the exact same Gundam Unicorn in Destroy Mode but with a whole crapload of armaments and two large fuel tanks/boosters at rear.

The Psycoframe appears to change from the usual red to green/blue.

It appears to have a shield mounted on each arm as well, additional rifle armaments, maybe even the beam gatling gun. Rocket launchers on its legs similar to those mounted on a Zaku, and a whole Macross-salvo worth of projectiles on its back. It’s like Heavyarms Custom gone berserk.

What do you think about this one? Think they’ll release a Master Grade version of this once the anime comes out?

Haven’t been monitoring Keita closely these past couple of months because I’ve been preoccupied with Nendoroids, Figmas and figurines recently. Apparently, since Keita released his modded version of the SD 00 Gundam, Keita-sama released the 00 Gundam + 00 Raiser as well as a modded Strike Freedom bust.

But it seems the Astray bug has bitten our beloved gunpla modder. So in line with the PG Astray release, Keita will be working on something I’ve been wanting to do myself: an MG version of the 1/100 HG Gundam Astray Red Frame. I bet it’s going to be awesome!

It’s definitely been quite some time since I last posted something about Gundams and its merchandise. And since I’m starting to free up some time in the coming weekends to resume working on my Gundam Unicorn model kits, I’m posting this one as some sort of motivation.

This is the upcoming MG Gundam Unicorn Titanium Finish version. It was just called a special coating version back then but now, it appears that they’ve labelled it as such. It just looks like a pearl finish in my opinion. The blue parts are a bit brighter than the regular version and there’s really nothing else that’s new about it. Personally, I prefer the regular version over this one. When you finally build, it’s definitely not going to be as clean as the merchandise pics since you’ll be snipping them off the runners. Nevertheless, it’s something Bandai thinks will rake in more money for them by selling it off.

They should have just invested the money on making more new MGs and less reincarnations and coating versions.

Perhaps another reason for you to grab the PG Astray as early as posisble. This bit of news and the image was taken from both Happinet Online and Ngee Khiong’s blog.

The extra set of runners appear to be an extra katana and clear parts to showcase the internals for the PG Astray. Ngee Khiong states that from the site, it appears that Bandai says this is available while supplies last and probably won’t be available in the succeeding batches of PG Astrays rolled out.

It just makes the purchase of this new PG even more worth it. Won’t be buying it anytime soon though… A bit short on cash. Wonder if someone is willing to donate.

I’m probably the last one to blog about this but I’m still blogging about it even though most Gundam-related blogs have mentioned it already. I’m happy that Bandai is releasing this particular Gundam into the Perfect Grade line. For me, the Astray is one of the more contemporary Gundam designs of its time. It came out when Kunio’s work in SEED was getting too common and most of it felt like it was being forced to be designed simply to cater to the merchandise that it will be selling. The other designs felt like there wasn’t much though done in their conceptualization. Just slap on some cannons and a big-ass melee weapon and we have an enemy unit already.

The Astray, for me, was what saved the franchise by coming out as a fresh design, deviating from the common looks the other ones had. Most of the SEED Gundams had a reference or a nod to some other older Gundam series. The Astray was a Gundam in itself. It had a really nice two-color scheme and an awesome body design. Plus it sported a large katana. Picked up from a junkyard! How cool is that?

That’s why I’m really happy that this is being given the PG treatment. Yes, I know some of you are rolling your eyes and probably thinking Bandai’s just saving up on design expense by using the PG Strike frame and just slapping on a different armor. Well, to be honest, you should have seen that coming already especially if you owned a PG Strike. In the MG line, when the OYW frame broke new ground in MG articulation, they started creating ver. 2.0′s of all the other UC MG releases. Even some of that articulation was included in the later releases of MG SEED and SEED Destiny model kits.

The PG Strike frame was also a change from the previous PG builds. The hands came in a single piece already. No more painful moments of putting finger joints together. Just cut them out of the runners and you’re good to go. The articulation and detail is already a step ahead of the previous builds. And the manual showed that the PG Strike frame is essentially the same frame used on other Morgenroete mobile suits, one of which was the Astray Gundam Red Frame (also they had the same hardpoints so if the Astray wanted to use the packs, it should be able to mount them, theoretically speaking). So it’s not surprise that they used the same PG Strike frame and slapped on Astray armor on top of it. And it’s designed by BEECRAFT. I’m happy with their work so I’m definitely looking forward to this kit.

I noticed a lot of people were complaining about the price. It’s a PG for crying out loud. Of course it’s supposed to be expensive. The PG Strike was expensive too. To think that its first release didn’t have the Aile Strike Pack which you had to buy separately so essentially that’s an added cost. The PG Astray is up for pre-order here in the Philippines from one of my local suppliers and it sells for around Php10,000. I’m not surprised. I was even expecting it to be 11 or 12K to be completely honest.

Either way, I’m definitely getting this kit. As to when I can cough up 10K, I’m not sure. I’m most likely just buying this off the shelf instead of preordering it.