MG 1/100 F-91 & F-91 Harrison

Now, after the Seed Destiny kit, let's talk about the revolutionary MG kit from Bandai - the MG 1/100 F-91 Gundam F91 and the MG 1/100 F-91 Gundam F91 Harrison Suit. The reason why I called these kits revolutionary is because Gundam F91 is only 15 Meter tall in the anime, so 1/100 would means that it will only be 15 cm tall. To make a MG at 15 cm tall would be a challenge because there are limitation on how much parts that can be used just to construct i.e. the leg and yet allowing it to do the trademark of the latest MG series - squatting. In order to do so, they opt for a new way to design the kit - not using any polycap.

Above is a shot for F91, the first prototype. F91 appears in the 1991 movie Mobile Suit Gundam F91, happening in UC 113, the continuation of the UC timeline. This Gundam is special because it wields a pair of VSBR (Variable Speed Beam Rifle) that could be adjusted according to situation, either to have a high speed penetrative beam or a slow wide range attack beam, which only F91 would have. Then, the amount of heat that this suit generated could actually dissipated through the whole suit and created some after image hologram that could be used as decoy, which it does in the final battle scene with the Rafflesia. The main pilot is Seabook Arno, a New Type pilot.

As for the kit, I'd say that Bandai did a good job with this kit because of the articulation of each join and the variety of pose that it could do. The down side? Well, if you try to spray it, do not spray the joint part because this kit doesn't have any of those polycap joint. That's why it's revolutionary because Bandai uses polycapless design for this kit. As a result, the joint are precisely meassured to make sure that it will not losen easily.

Sadly, as I said, do not try to spray the joint. The reason is because spraying the joint will cause the joint to be thicken by the color, and it may cause the joint to stuck inside the connecting point. It happened to this F91 kit. I tried to pull out the right hand from the main arm, and I broke the ball-joint part, and the damage I did is beyond repair. Too bad I'm not in Japan, otherwise I could have just mail in my order form to purchase the spare part. So, I have to discard the joint, glue some shorten stick to the hand, and use a polycap to join the arm to the hand. I must say that although it is not brilliantly done, it still looks alright.


As you can see from the above picture, the display stand is like some octopus thingy. Well, it is not a octopus, it is the main nemesis of the F91, the Mobile Armour Rafflesia. The stand is only showing the cockpit part, as the original Mobile Armor Rafflesia is actually 10 times or more bigger than F91.

And here is it posing the trademark selling point - squatting. I must say that this kit does what it does, but the front armor skirt sort of like spoiling the whole posture because it raises too high. The other comment that I have about this kit? The VSBR is restricted by the side armor skirt, making it very tedious to pose it with both of them together.

And now, here's a picture of the Harrison Suit of F91. Harrison is the name of the person who piloted this F91, and the color scheme is changed to show that it's his mobile suite. This is a modified color scheme, because the original color scheme is without white color. This color scheme is adapted after his suit is partially damaged during a war. What war?

Well, this F91 is produced few years after the first F91 that I mentioned above, and it's categorized as limited mass production unit, meaning it's only for ace pilot. It happens a few years after the original F91 story, and before the story of Victory Gundam. It involves in a war on the planet Jupiter, where the Jupiter empire is trying to conquer earth. Jupiter empire is another group of human that migrated into space colony, and decided to achieve independant on their own and would fight against the earth alliance. The story about this can only be found in the manga series Crossbone Gundam. It has never being make into an animation.






Above are some more pictures about this kit. I must say that because I didn't spray on the joint, thus the joints are a bit loose. This is also the first time I used Mr Color spray, and I like the texture that it provides because it's very smooth.

1/100 Seed Destiny - Legend Gundam

The last of the 4 most powerful Gundam in Seed Destiny, this Legend Gundam entered into the world of Gundam modelling after Destiny, Strike Freedom, and Infinite Justice. As with the previous batch, the first batch of this kit comes with a display stand as well. But, it is not the same stand included with the first 3, it is a special stand, the 'prototype' IMHO of the current Bandai Action Base.

In comparison to all the previous kit, the proportion of this kit is more proportionly made. The head, the torso, the arms, the legs, the rifle, the dragoon pack, all just nicely fit together, making this kit outshine the other 3. Here are some pictures of the front and the back of this kit. Again, please forgive me of the poor background.




Articulation wise, I would say that it is the best out of the 4 kits. Honestly, I like the overall structure of this kit because it feels more solid and could really stand firm on its own. In every single angle, it looks fantastic. Here is a picture with it posing with the 'prototype' action base.


Some up close shots from th






In summary, this is a nice kit to get. Again, if there is a MG version, it would be better to get that instead. The Dragoons can be separated, so if you have time, you might be able to make a full burst mode of this kit, which I don't have the time to do so.

1/100 Seed Destiny - Infinite Justice Gundam

Finally I've been able to put up some pictures for this kit that I built 3 years ago. Not only this, the 1/100 Legend Gundam, 1/60 Gundam Exia, MG 1/100 F-91, MG 1/100 F-91 Harrison's Color, and MG 1/100 Crossbone Gundam X-1 ver. Ka will be updated here in my blog with pictures. Thanks to my friend who borrowed me her digital camera because without it, these second wave kit will not be able to show their faces in this blog. Now, I won't go into detail of what second wave means. I'll explain that after I've uploaded all the above.

Now, let's start off with some pictures of this 1/100 Inifnite Justice Kit. As you can see from the following pictures, the background is not as pleasant as it looks, so please forgive me. This kit is based on the fictional mobile suit in Gundam Seed Destiny with the same name Inifinite Justice Gundam, pilotted by one of the main protagonists called Athrun Zala. The base color scheme is pinky red, but instead of that I sprayed it with metallic red instead. Following are pictures taken from the front and the back of this kit.






The significant feature about this Gundam is the flight lifter at the back of it's body. As compare to the anime, the whole body slimmer, and the flight lifter is bigger, so one can consider this as out of proportion. But in my opinion, it is out of proportion but it still doesn't look extremely horrible like its twin brother, Strike Freedom. The reason for such a slim body figure is to accommodate for the flight lifter because the lifter can be moved upward with its head connected to the shoulder of the Gundam's body, thus the body has to be smaller to allow the Infinite Justice head to move around.

As compare to the previous Gundam Seed universe kit starting from the 1/100 Strike Gundam, this is the first kit in the line that has double joint in the elbow, allowing it to be more articulated. If the lifter is moved to connect to the shoulder of the kit, it won't be able to stand firm by itself because the back will be very heavy. It requires quite a few trial and error to make the legs to be in a position that could sustain the weight. Thank goodness that this is one of the first batch that being produced because the first batch comes with a display stand, that could allow it to be displayed with the lifter in flight mode (connected to shoulder of the Gundam's body). The picture above shows the Infinite Justice displayed with the display stand, with the flight lifter in flight mode.


Some not-so up close shot of this kit. Notice that the color scheme on the torso, where the silver lining from the upper chest towards the shoulder. The original color of that line is actually green, but because I don't have enough resources, namely money at that time to purchase a can of green color spray just for that purpose, I decided to spray it silver instead.


It comes with another palm for the left hand that could be used to show display it dispatching the anchor... whatever it is... from the shield. Speaking about the shield, it is another weapon that is out of proportion because it is too big, and the beam saber that comes with the beam boomerang is also too big in proportion. Despite of the proportion, it comes with the affect part for the flight lifter, the beam saber on the legs, and 2 for the beam boomerang.

Overall, it's not such a bad kit. The reason for me to get this kit is because I want to make up the collection of the 4 major Gundams that appear late in the Seed Destiny series, namely Strike Freedom, Destiny, Legend, and this one. But if one is thinking to buy this kit, if one have enough budget, I'd suggest to get the MG version of this kit, of which I've got one. The MG version is much more proportionly made, so it should be a better option as compare to this one.

Latest Update - PG 1/60 from Bandai!!!

I scouted around certain blog site like NgeeKhiong's blogspot, and found out that Bandai is going to release a new Perfect Grade gundam. It is indeed a great news, 'coz the last PG that Bandai ever released was the Strike Gundam back in 2005 (not counting the Pearl edition PG Wing Zero Custom that released last year).

This time, it's not a Gundam from any major TV series that we all know, but it's from a side story instead. It's from the Seed universe side story, Gundam Seed Astray. Yes, it's the Astray Red Frame.

It is basically built on Strike Gundam PG frame, since in the story line, Astray is built on the reference to Strike Gundam. I'd love to have it because it's so original and it has a Katana as armament, which making it looks so much like a Samurai without the armor, like a lone warrior wandering around... Sounds like Rurouni Kenshin, but coincidentally, Kenshin also wearing red and white clothing, and he has a lont red hair too! Why would I say that? 'coz Red and White are the major color scheme for Astray Red Frame. Further information can be found from Bandai website. They even released a PDF document to be downloaded for viewing purpose.

But seriously, I'd prefer Bandai to come out with something in the future that would be from the UC century, like a PG version for Nu Gundam, PG for F-91, PG for Double Zeta Gundam, and most of all, PG for V2 Gundam!!! Issue probably is with the marketting, but hey, if it came out, I'm sure people would go for it despite the price tag (if it's reasonable). Is that too much of a request? No, 'coz I have a friend who wants a PG of GP-04 Gundam Gerbera. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised, since GP-04 has never made it's official appearance in the Gundam UC universe.

Latest Update - Pla Model Acquisition

In case there's someone out there wondering "What is Pla Model?" , it means plastic model. The reason why I called it Pla Model is because it's a direct adaption from how the Japanese addresses plastic model kit.

So, continue with my saga, I have purchased 2 new pla model of Macross series. Which Macross series? The Macross Frontier, 1/72 scale VF-25F Messiah Alto Custom, and 1/72 scale VF-25S Messiah Ozma Lee Custom. Yup, these 2 I'd consider as hot pick, with Ozma Lee's VF-25S being the hottest. But the thing that distracted me the most, is that they care going to come out with VF-25F Alto Custom with Super Pack in the coming February/March, so I was like "Arrrggg!!!! Why didn't they release the information earlier?" But thankfully, Bandai is going to release the Super Pack separately as well, meaning I could buy 2 for both of this Valkyrie!!!

Macross is considered as the gateway for me to enter into the amazing world of Japanese mecha series. I watched it when I was 7 years old, dubbed in Cantonese (that's where I learned my Cantonese). I was amazed with the jet fighter for its ability to change form into a robot and immediately I like it. I used to have 2 of the original Valkyrie die-cast metal toys, of which Bandai has reproduces it recently, both the Skull Leader yellow stripe version and Ichijo version.

I was amazed with the detailing and the proportion of the VF-25 Messiah, 'coz it's just so beautiful and nicely done. Althought he transformation may not be as flexible as compare to its DX Chogokin counter part, but it still very nice. I told my friend about this, and he said "They should come out with it in a bigger scale" like the biggest scale for aircraft. Wow, that would be nice, but if all model kits should be that big, where on earth I should store it?

Anyway, update of my progress for my current pla model:

1. MG 1/100 Strike Freedom - Waiting to be painted
2. MG 1/100 Hi-Nu Gundam - Waiting to be painted
3. MG 1/100 Strike Noir Gundam - Waiting to be painted
4. MG 1/100 Unicorn Gundam - Waiting to be painted
5. 1/72 VF-25F - Still in the box
6. 1/72 VF-25S - Still in the box

Anime: Psalm of Planet Eureka 7

I was playing Super Robot Taisen Z for quite some time now. This is the latest game produces by Banpresto, which features a lot of new mecha series - Gravion (1st & 2nd), Big-O, Genesis Aquarion, Overman King Gainer, Eureka 7, Gundam Seed Destiny, Baldios, and God Sigma, with the ever popular Mazinger series, Gundam (UC series, X, and Turn A), Getter Robo, and with the Banpresto original.

Currently I'm following the storyline of Eureka 7, of which I started to spark interest in this series. Eureka 7 was broadcasted in late 2005, and it spanned for 50 episodes. I noticed about this series from the Sunrise official website, but yet I was not interested to watch it at that time. I tried to search for it on the Internet, and found that some one has actually put it on in flash video format.

I watched from episode 25 onwards, and I found that the story line is nicely done. Wikipedia stated that this series has been voted with the best anime of 2006, which I think that it does deserve that title, 'coz the story line is indeed very captivating, fantastic. I took the trouble to visit Anime Tech to try my luck if I could find the whole DVD box set of this series, and walla!!! I found it and without any hesitation, I purchased it, and watch it until 6 o'clock in the morning. It's a really good series, and the character design is modest, not too much of 'flamboyant' movement on the female character, if you know what I mean.

The mechanical design of this series is done by Shoji Kawamori, from the fame of Macross series, Cyber Formula series, and Genesis Aquarion.

MG's Modelling Update

It's been a while since my last posting about Chogokin Godmars. The Godmars has been out for about a year now, yet I was not able to even own one. Despite of that, here's what I've been up to in partial detail.

1. MG 1/100 Strike Freedom Full Bust Mode

I haven't finished with the construction of this kit yet. The parts are all being processed, meaning cutting out from the runners, sand down the surface, putty the necessary place, and even use cement to glue together the parts that needed to. I tried to follow some advice of Dengeki Hobby magazine dated 2007 on how to modify this kit, and I would say that it's difficult for me to do so since I don't have the necessary tool at that time, and I don't think I have the confidence to do so.

2. MG 1/100 Hi-Nu Gundam

The status is the same as Strike Freedom. In comparison with the Strike Freedom, I'd say that it's harder to deal with the surfaces of this kit, since there's a lot of linings that needed to get rid of.

3. MG 1/100 Strike Noir Gundam

Same as the above. This kit is basically a kit uses most of the MG 1/100 Strike Freedom parts for the body, thus although it's newer than the above, the articulation is not as good as the above, especially with the hip part. When I was working with the parts, I've purchased certain modeling tools from Hobby Link Japan, which are mainly scribers (Tamiya Scriber and Hasegawa Needle Scriber), files, and sponge file. The files especially is useful to sand down the gates/the cemented extra.

4. MG 1/100 Unicorn Gundam

Same as the above, but with much more detail being done on the surfaces, by having the line to be engraved deeper. I would say that I'm not a good craftman, 'coz there are some lines that I tried to engrave have become a disaster, which I needed to correct it by applying putty. I tried to apply the epoxy putty, but it hurts my skin, and it doesn't stick anymore, thus I need to give it up and use the Gunzo Sungyo Pre-Thinned Putty instead.

I'm trying to proceed with my latest acquisiation - the MG 1/100 Inifinite Justice, while trying to save money to purchase an airbrush set to apply the color.

Roku Shin Gat Tai - God Mars

Oh yes, this is another toy that I'm looking forward to collect. It cost about RM800. I can't afford to pay that much of money in one shot because of my other commitment, what a shame. But anyway, it's very nice for Bandai to come out with this toy again after 20 years or more. I could see that they have really put in effort to re-design the whole toy to make it looks more closely to the anime design. I like it.

I used to own the original Godmars (might be a fake one) about 20 years ago. I like it very much because it feels solid, and the combination gimmicks. Godmars is one of the combination robot toys that I owned 20 years ago. The others that I could remember are Godsigma, Baxinger, GoLion, and Transformer Victory's Leo Caesar.

As compare to the original Godmars, this latest chogokin from Bandai is much more closely resembled the Godmars from the animation, better articulation for posebility, and better combination. Good job, Bandai.

Latest Modelling Update

It's been quite a while since I started to work on my Gunpla. First, I have finished to cut out and sanding the parts for MG Strike Freedom Special Edition. Then, I have the Fin Funnel, weapons, and the thrusters that have yet to be done for my MG Hi-Nu Gundam. After this, I would continue to do the same on both MG Strike Noir and MG Unicorn Gundam.

The reason for me to process only the parts and not assemble them is because I'm saving money to purchase a new airbrush set. I have purchased an airbrush from a local art shop recommended by my friend, and I'm currently saving for the compressor that would cost a lot of money.

I used to favour the Tamiya spray can, but because of the amount of works involved in making the Gunpla is slowly increasing, it's about time to invest in some tools that would help to improve the expanses. Yet, it would cost a lot more at the initial stage, but 1 bottle of color costs only RM 7.00 to RM 10.00, of which it could be used to color a few Gunpla (if I'm not mistaken). Plus, with the airbrush, I would like to learn some Gunpla coloring techniques like shadowing and weathering.

The Origin of Valkyrie

I found out from Bandai's Tamashii website that they have come out with a series of Macross toys, named The Origin of Valkyrie. Unlike the nice looking, high priced Yamato's Macross series, this is based on the very first Macross toys produced by the company that made it during the early 80's. I could recognize that the design is indeed the very first Valkyrie. Why? Because I used to own the original Roy Foker's VF-1S and Hikaru Ichijo's VF-1J from that time (although mine is probably fake).

I have not own any of the latest Yamato's Valkyries, so I can't make any comparison between the 2 in term of the playability. But, as judging from the design, one could see that the Yamato's Valkyries are actually more closed to the original design as compare to its counterpart, especially the VF-1J, where the mouth and chin portion are missing.

I still remember that the original Valkyrie is made with plastic and some die cast metal, of which I think they still preserve this judging from the picture. As for playability, I'm not sure whether it will still be the same. I still remember that the transformation of the Valkyrie between different mode is very solid, not fragile, and I don't have to worry that I may break anything.

The price is cheaper as compare to the Yamato's version with less goodies and smaller box. VF-1J and VF-1S are available for sell at Hobby Link Japan. Max and Miria verions of VF-1J will be released in the coming month.

MG Unicorn Gundam

Forgot to say about this: I got my hand on a MG Unicorn Gundam. First glance at it - it's all white, and it's pretty hard to build, and there's a lot of transformation gimmick with translucent red plastic parts, which means it's really hard to build.

Yet, I haven't have time to build it yet partly because I'm trying to finish the easy to build Gundam Exia (relatively), and partly because I'm waiting to get my hands on an airbrush compressor set from Tamiya - the new Revo Compressor with HG trigger double action airbrush that cost a lot. I'm not really a fan in using airbrush initially because I found that it's hard to get the color. Yet, it's time for a change because it's pretty easy to get Mr Color here, and I'm moved by the fact that there's a lot of tricks can be done perfectly with airbrush. So, I'm going to wait for that, probably endlessly...

Goodby to Squier

I sold my Squier Strat 1 week ago for the reason being that I felt it's a waste on money to get something that I'm not going to use it anytime soon, and is sitting there collecting dust. So I sold it to Cash Exchange instead, and only got like less than 25% back from the original price that I bought.

Yet, my friend who's into guitar said that I could get at least 50% - 70% from the price that I purchased if I sell it through guitar forum. Honestly, I don't really like to join any forum at all because I just don't like it.

Guitar: Squier Stratocaster

I bought a Squier electric guitar on last Saturday. It is a strat model. I'm an amateur in electric guitar, so I may give mis information on what is a strat model. A strat model is an electric guitar that bears similar appearance as the Fender Stratocaster, which normally has a pickup configuration of Single Coil - Single Coil - Single Coil. Other electric guitar models that I know of are:

1. Tele - Something like the Fender Telecaster
2. Les Paul - Something like the Gibson Les Paul

Squier is a subsidiary of Fender. It basically produces the same electric guitars like it big brother, but with cheaper material to reduce the production cost. A Fender Stratocaster would cost about RM 2000++, and my Squier cost only RM 500++.

I tried the sound with the ZOOM practice amplifier (15W) that my friend gave me. It sounds great with the pickup sets to neck & mid position, with some chorus & some delay. As compare to playing an acoustic guitar, I personally find it that it's much more enjoyable to play with an electric guitar because of the sound that it created. Not to say that acoustic guitar doesn't sound nice, and I really wanted to get a new acoustic guitar too, and top of my list would be the McPherson acoustic guitar (USD 4400, about RM 16000++); it is the array of sounds that an electric guitar can produce that I really appreciate. After all, I'm struggling to get the right sound to accompany in a church worship setup, because my Fender Stratacoustic (acoustic electric) can't produce the same fill as nice as the electric guitar when I'm playing with another acoustic guitar.

At first my friend doesn't really like to buy anything below RM 1000 because of the quality. Yet, after trying out my Squier, he's amazed by how much it could accomplished with RM 500 nowadays as compare to 10 years ago. Well, face it, as years go by, technology is advancing to a state where it will be getting cheaper and cheaper to obtain the things that are impossible to be owned 10 years ago.

Even though my Squier could produce the nice sound, I still prefer a Parker Fly/NiteFly. Yet, I don't want to spend so much money into buying such expensive guitar at first place (Parker Fly - USD 3000/RM 12,000, Parker NiteFly - USD 1500/RM 6,000) because I won't be able to harness the potential of the guitar if I don't really have the skill to play it. So hopefully I could play well on my Squier that I would feel like to change it to a Parker next time :)

MG Strike Freedom - Starting

Just started to work on the assembly of MG Strike Freedom. It is going to be a hard one because there are a lot of smaller parts that needed to deal with. Despite this, after reading the manual for MG Hi-v Gundam, I changed my opinion on this gunpla because MG Hi-v Gundam is much more harder to built thanks to all the gimmicks. Even though both are hard to build, it still worth the effort to see it to be completed :D

Starting from Strike Freedom, I wanted to give it a change by not using the Tamiya spray paint anymore. The reason is because I have bought a lot of spray can until now, and the amount of money that I spent can be used to buy an entry level Tamiya Basic Spraywork unit. I have set my goal to get this Tamiya HG Spray-work Compressor Revo w/HG Airbrush Trigger that due to release in March. Still, I have other things to deal with before I could get my hand on this unit.

I thought that it will be better for me to start to snap out the parts from the runners and to prepare it for assembly. This way, it will save me a lot of times. What I have done up until now is that I gathered the parts into different plastic bag; the head parts in 1 plastic bag, the upper torso in 1 plastic bag, left arm in 1 plastic bag, right arm in 1 plastic bag, etc. I have done until the left leg. Right now I'm waiting for another time to do the sanding on the parts for the right leg, and then the lower torso.

Plus, I may try to follow some advice from Dengeki Hobby to process certain parts. I wanted to try to increase my skill to another level, so why not give it a try? With that currently underway, my list of Gunpla that still in the line would be:

1. MG Hi-Nu Gundam RX-93-2
   
2. MG Strike Noir
   
3. Armored Core
   
4. Gundam 00 1/60 Gundam Exia
   

I haven't bought any new Gunpla lately because I don't have any extra cash to spare :-(. But it's no harm to have a wish list :D. Here it is:

1. Soul of Chogokin - God Mars (First in the list, because this can stop production anytime with very limited unit, and it's the most expensive one - about RM 800 without pre-order)
   
2. MG Turn A Gundam
   
3. MG Destiny Gundam Extreme Burst Mode
   
4. MG Unicorn Gundam
   

MG X-1 Crossbone Gundam Finale

Finally, I have finished with this MG Crossbone X-1. My comment on the kit is that it is of good design, and it's pretty much Katoki Hajime's signature of slim & balance proportion.

Articulation is not as great as compare to the MG F-91 due to the reason of the waist armors that tend to restrict the legs movement, while trying to pose it squadding. The thighs tend to break easily, so it has to be handled with care. Then there's the core fighter that can attaches and detaches from the main torso. This is another part that needs to be handled with care as well because taking out the core fighter from the main torso with incorrect force can break the internal structure of the torso. The Beam Sanber is really hard to be grabbed because of the circular bar around the handle that forms something like a fencing sword handle. As for the cape, one will have to be very patience in order to make it looks like the picture in the manual; it is really hard to put it on.

Overall it is a great design despite the articulation and some posing difficulties. Still, I have 3 small minor things to fix, the daggers and a small part of the Beam Sanber because the colour don't match with the overall body.

Next on the list:

1. MG Strike Freedom (Have to postpone until I purchase the colour)
2. MG Hi-Nu Gundam
3. MG Strike Noir
4. Armored Core
5. HG Gundam Exia 1/60

MG X-1 Crossbone Gundam & New Gunpla

After assembling the kit for about 2 months since I finished my previous MG F-91 Gundam, it's almost come to an end to finish building this kit. It's amazing to find that this piece of art designed by Katoki Hajime is really different as compare to other MG kit; not only the design is nice, but the overall architecture of the kit makes it very easy to construct & less friction among surfaces. I wonder if this stay on for the other Katoki designed Gunpla.

I've done with the colouring of the thrusters for the core fighter. It should be ready for touch-up once I'm back home. I would have the Gundam ready by tonight. Next on the outstanding task would be the weapons.

After this, I'll have to start to work on the following outstanding kits:

1. MG Strike Freedom
2. MG Hi-Nu Gundam
3. MG Strike Noir
4. Armored Core (my first non-Bandai kit since I came to KL)
5. 1/60 HG Gundam Exia

Yup, I got myself a new kit again. But this time I didn't pay for it; I received it as a Christmas present. I bought the 1/100 scale Gundam Exia for my younger brother, and who know that I'm blessed with this 1/60 scale Gundam Exia. I can't wait to build it since this is my first Gunpla from the Gundam 00 series. Sure enough that Bandai may come out with the 1/60 PG for this kit, because they have done that for the Strike from the Seed series, and surely they are going to do it for this one. It won't be that hard since this unit doesn't have any rifle or complicated structure like Strike Freedom.

Talking about Robot Anime...

I remember while I was 7 years old, I was amazed and excited by this anime that has transforming robot! It can transform from a fighter jet, to a jet with arms and legs, and to a robot. Sound familiar? Yes, it's Macross.

Back then, I don't really appreciate Macross story line that much; all I want is to see the Valkyrie in action - transforming from Fighter Jet to Gerwalk and to Battroid mode. I particularly like the variation that piloted by Roy Foker. More information about Macross can be found on http://www.mahq.net.

But why am I all of a sudden talking about this? While I was surfing the net, I came upon the upcoming March 2008 release of the new Soul of Chogokin Godmars, of which there are some people who doesn't know much about it. Godmars is one of the series that I watched when I was only 8 years old. I can still remember back then that my dad gave me a Godmars toys made of dia-cast metal. It really stirs me to save some money to get this Godmars again, 'coz I like it very much.

Those are the days that my dad would buy the toys that I like. But because I was so young and I don't know how to protect them, my toys are all broken beyond repair, and all have to be thrown away. If my memory serves me well, the list will be as follow:

1. Macross - Valkyrie (part die-cast metal part plastic) - Variation S & J
   
2. Orguss - 2 variable fighters of main characters and 1 opponents variable fighter
   
3. Gundam RX-78 - It's not the plastic model kit by Bandai, but it's made of Die-Cast metal that comes with G-Falcon (made from plastic).
   
4. Godmars - part die-cast metal part plastic. This toy is really heavy.
   
5. GoLion - part die-cast metal part plastic (height similar to 1/100 scale Gundam). It is a smaller version. My cousin has a bigger version (similar to 1/60 scale gundam).
   
6. Baxinger - part die-cast metal part plastic. This is the only robot anime that I never watched. It's from the series called Ginga Reppuu Baxinger. Height at 1/100 scale Gundam.
   
7. God Sigma - part die-cast metal part plastic (height similar to 1/60 scale Gundam). Same as Baxinger, I never watched the series. It's from Space Emperor God Sigma.
   

If I have the resources (money of course), I would try to collect the toys of the anime that I have watched. But when I look at the Valkyrie produced, it doesn't look nice at all. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, the nose tip of the jet was not that long when it was in battroid mode. Apart from Valkyrie, I would certainly wish to get a Godmars (if extra, I'd get Vikung-fu).

Toyota Isis 2005

Early this month, I booked a Toyota Isis version 2005 from Mofaz. It's a CBU unit directly imported from Japan. It is a very basic model - 1 passenger side power door, no sun roof, no security alarm, no rear A/C, no ionizer, no front-rear sensor; but it has most of the important features - ABS, Driver seat and passenger seat SRS airbag, side airbag (probably), Super ECT (Electronic Controlled Transmission) automatic transmission, and VVT-i engine.

I drove it for about 1 week. Apart from 1 of the fog lamp is not functioning, the rest are working fine. I must admit that it's not a very exciting car because it cannot accelerate from 0 - 100 KM/H within a few seconds. Despite that, it has been a very versatile car and very fuel economic because with 3 quarter of fuel, this car can go for about 550 KM. It's interesting to know that the faster you drive, the more miles you will gain.

It's interesting to know that the difference between this Isis with the local assembled MPV is that the Isis has electronic circuitry that helps to conserve energy, while the local assambled MPV does not have this feature. I might be wrong, but from the specification that I found on the local assambled Toyota Avanza and Toyota Innova, I couldn't see such feature being mentioned at all.

The other things about Isis is because it is built in Japan, thus it needs to comply with the Japan's measurement of fuel consumption and gas emission to protect the environment. With that in mind, they need to produce a car that use lesser fuel, emit lesser gas, but at the same time could more power and more miles. This is something that we should learn from.

Gundam F-91 - Harrison's Custom Colour

Just finished building the Harrison's custom F-91 Gundam F91. For this GUNPLA, I used a different spray paint - Navy Blue for the most of the body. I won't be able to get the necessary colour 'coz I don't have a spray gun and a compressor that could spray the paint evenly. So I resorted to find a suitable colour that could match the original colour scheme. It turns out very well.

I didn't use the provided decals for the yellow stripe; instead I spray the yellow color onto the parts that would have yellow strip, then I cut the masking tape to the size of the strip, tape it onto the necessary location, then spray the navy blue.

This GUNPLA is way cooler as compare to the original F91 mostly because of the colour scheme and the extra part for the right arm.

Next on the list:

1. X-1 Crossbone Gundam - Started to work on this GUNPLA.
2. Hi-Nu Gundam
3. Strike Freedom Gundam
4. Strike Noir

Favourite songs of the past...

I still remember that the first time I listened to Japanese music was when in this classic anime Macross - the opening sequence. Back then, there's not much resources/material related to Japanese music, until in the late 90's where the "Japan Wind" (literally translated from Chinese, it means the J-Pop wave) started to hit the scene. That's when I started to hear Chage & Aska songs on Radio 5, which is Yah! Yah! Yah! Then, there's this Astro satelite television broadcast started the service, which I was able to watch NHK Pop Jam every saturday night before I moved to KL.

Back in those days - late 90's and early 00's, I've listened to numerous good Japanese songs from some well known singers/bands, of which some of them have not become that active anymore due to the music trend that slowly move away towards hardy rock? Or more radical? I don't really know, 'coz I haven't been following the scene for a long time.

Now, I was actually able to watch some of the music video on YouTube, which I really enjoy. So, who are the singers and what are their songs that I listening to? They are:

1. Chage & Aska -
(all time favourite #1)- You're Free, Yah! Yah! Yah!, On Your Mark (nice music video by the famous animation producer of Chobit Studio)

2. Glay -
(all time favourite #2 - I enjoyed to watch their live performance) - Mermaid, Scream, Survival, Winter Again, and many more

3. Luna Sea -
Gravity, Storm

4. TM Revolution (This guy is really unique when it comes to live performance, but no doubt that he's a really good singer) -
Hot Limit, Vestige, Thunderbird, Burnin' Christmas, Heart of Sword, and many more

5. Da Pump -
Feelin' Good it's Paradise, Raphsody in Blue, Corazon, Cray Beat Goes On, If, Dragon Screamer

6. Fukuyama Masaharu (This is another talented musician) -
Heart, Squall, Sakura Kaza (properly wrong)

7. Toshinobu Kubota (This guy is good, and he's one of the pioneer in R & B Japan) -
Lalala Love Song (all time favourite), AAAAhh!!!

8. SMAP (Basically, I don't think that they're that good, but they do have some nice song) -
Yozorano Mukou (The only song that I would say worth to listen over and over again from them - in my case)

The above were the one with quite a lot of music video to watch. The list could continue on and on. It's really hard to get the japanese CD distributed by local record company nowadays, 'coz the selling is not really that good due to the wide spread of free resources through Internet.

But apart from the above, I would say some theme songs from the past animation are worth to listen as well, such as the one from Yu! Yu! Hakusho!. There's a band called JAM Project that formed in Japan, of which they're mainly composing music for anime and game, most notably Super Robot War series. Their style are the old fashion super robot spirit type. It's worth to listen.