Grandpa, meet your grandson.

WIP photo-sharing time -- the iconic RX-78-2 meets the Exia.


Although it's not the case with these SDs, the RX-78-2 is actually taller than the Exia in reel life. Grandpa Gundam stands at 18.5 meters overall, while Setsuna-san's MS is 18.3 meters from head to toe.


If they were to go out and fight one another, which do you think will win? ^_^

Modeling notes: Both kits are built straight OOTB which is why you can still see seamlines in the two unpainted MSs.

SD Gundam Exia

Here's the other SD that I was supposed to take pictures of before my cam's battery bonked out on me the other night.

The super-deformed version of Gundam Exia.


Just like the SD RX-78-2 Gundam, I snap-built this one in between adding panel lines for my MG Strike Rouge just to break the monotony of scribing each night.

Purely OOTB, the seam lines are yet to be cemented/puttied/sanded, and the kit itself, painted. I just wanted to try out a new way of lighting objects. ^_^

With foresight in mind, masking this little fella for airbrushing is going to be hell! The torso came in just a single color -- blue. The Exia's got five colors for its upper body as can be seen in this kit of mine --


Good luck to me. 'Coz of intricacy involved in masking, I'm starting to consider using Gundam markers! ^_^

SD RX-78-2 Gundam

I've been wanting to take pics of my recently-snap-built SDs for some time now and at the same time try out a new lighting/background setup, but due to my current WIP's (see left sidebar) penchant for devotion and time, I'm unable to do so... until last night.

I was able to set-up my ultra-custom mini-studio in just 15 minutes (See? I'm getting faster with each session in doing so ^_^) and brought out the SD RX-78-2 Gundam for some test snaps and pre-shoot adjustments... and those were exactly all I got -- adjustments and two test photos. My cam's battery dried out as I clicked for the third pic.

Nonetheless, I was happy with the way everything turned out. I could say that I was able to achieve the look that I wanted. I learned something new... and got one image that is decent enough to post in this entry.


As you can see, the SD was built straight OOTB. The fugly seamlines are yet to be cemented, puttied and sanded. The kit itself is yet to be primed and painted.

I was supposed to take a pic of BB # 200 back to back with another SD, but the photography gods weren't that kind last night to give me around five minutes more worth of battery juice. Maybe next time... probably Thursday night. ^_^

00 Gundam... 1/100 scale!!!

From the 48th All-Japan Plastic Model Radicon Show 2008, here's one more kit to get giddy about -- the 00 Gundam in 1/100 scale!

Due to be released in November, 2008, it costs JPY 2,940 (inclusive of tax.) My wallet can already feel the strain with Bandai's last quarter offerings.

Here's the box art:

Ohhh boy... this thing's gonna look good beside my 1/100 Exia. ^_^

BTW, here's the 0 Riser, coming a bit late in December, 2008. JPY 1,680, tax-inclusive.

More season 2 notables: the Ahead...

... and the "masked-man's" Ahead. Again, three guesses on the identity of the pilot! ^_^

Both HG kits are tagged at JPY 1,050, tax-inclusive.

Images are from Moeyo.

MG Sinanju Ver. Ka and the MG Unicorn Gundam

Still on vertical challenges. I guess I won't let this issue rest until I get my hands on one of the most (if not the most) anticipated MGs of the year and pair it with my Unicorn.


The MG Unicorn Gundam and the upcoming MG Sinanju, both produced by the master of re-designs himself, Hajime Katoki.

Now, you can see the two side-by-side, and from the looks of it, the Sinanju is even taller (if not as tall) than the Unicorn Gundam in Destroy mode.

If you're wondering what happened to my current WIP (see the sidebar), I'll update you guys within next week... hopefully. ^_^

Photo from Dengeki Hobby.

MG Sinanju Ver. Ka

It looks like my fear regarding Bandai having a relapse of the "horizontally-challenged-Shin-Musha-syndrome" on the MG Sinanju has now been laid to rest. Notice the Unicorn Gundam which is barely on the frame to the left?


Basing on the pictures (from Hobby Stock), the MG Sinanju Ver. Ka is indeed taller than the MG Unicorn Gundam.


I think that it's got better articulation than the MG Sazabi or the MG Unicorn Gundam.


Now that the size issue has been cleared, the next problem to think of is the emblem on its chest, which is also molded in black! ^_^

Time to save up (it costs JPY 7,350) for its December release! ^_^

Face your manga

I've always wondered where the members (in some online forums that I belong to) got their cartoonish-looking avatars. These members try to make their avatars as faithful as they can to their real appearances... sometimes they do the exact opposite -- veer away from reality as far as possible.

It's quite understandable, really. Some, if not most, of us are stark contrasts to our online personas. Me? My online persona-thingie is as close as to saying WYSIWYG... with the exception of some things that must be hidden from public knowledge. ^_^

Anyway, last night, I finally found out how they were generating those cool avatars. The said avatars were all generated by Face Your Manga's Create Your Mangatar.

The site will ask you to install the latest version of the Adobe Flash plugin... if you haven't got it installed yet.

The interface is straightforward and easy to use. The mug shot (preview of your avatar) is to the left, while the options and buttons can be found on the right.

You can customize virtually all facial features from the features of your face (including the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair), to your clothes and accessories... and you can add your very own make-up too! Plus a lot more! Cool huh?!?

I played with the thing around a bit until I got pretty satisfied with what I got:


Yes, the mangatar above is a representation of my person. The graveyard? It came from the site too! ^_^

One of these days, I'm going to experiment a bit with my mangatar in Photoshop and see what I can come up with.

Edit:

If my fiancee had a Mangatar, I guess this would be it:


I wish they'd make a Mangatar generator for pets too! ^_^

Boxes and backlogs - Part II

Without nothing much to do last Friday night, I grabbed a carton of chocolate milk (yes, no beer in this post ^_^), and, as promised earlier, took a few snaps of my most recent SD Gundam kits stash.

Note: Please correct me if there was a mistake on the stats.

First up, the grand daddy of them all, the RX-78.


Amuro's famous mobile suit has been offered to the public twice under the HGUC (High Grade Universal Century) line, once under the SD (Super Deformed) line as pictured above, once as a Hyper Hybrid Model (costing around 78,000 yen!), eight times (and still going) as a Master Grade, twice in Speed Grade, twice in the GFF (Gundam Fix Figuration) line, four times as HCM (High Complete Model) Pro (in different scales), and twice in Bandai's MSIA (Mobile Suit in Action) line, once in the Gundam the Origin line, and once in the PG (Perfect Grade) version. Oh yeah, it's head with light-up eyes have also been offered for the 1/100 scale. ^_^

I think it's only fitting that grandpa made the 200th SD mark. I guess it's sort of a tribute to the old mech. The number label in the SD's box is framed in gold. :)

I'll now proceed to the extreme end of the timeline and continue with the Gundam Exia.


Even though it's the newest (along with its siblings), Setsuna F. Seiei's ride, is already available in the Cosmic Region variant, in HCM Pro (twice), in MSIA, in various kits and scales -- SD, NG, HG, 1/100, 1/144, 1/60 -- you name it, and the Exia more likely has a version of it. Sadly though, all of Gundamland is still waiting for the MG release. It would probably come within a year or so of Gundam 00's initial showing... cross your fingers.

Currently Bandai's milking cow, the Exia already has two more mech variations -- the Avalanche and the Astraea. I don't even wanna count the main mech (the 00 Gundam) in the second season of the series in yet.

Now, let's go to somewhere in between the two (but a lot closer to the RX-78) and have a look at the Dendrobium. The Dendro is actually two units -- the Stamen, or the RX-78GP03S (I told you it's a lot closer to the RX-78 ^_^), and the Orchis (RX-78GP03, without the "S").

The Stamen has been available in the GFF, MSIA, HGUC, SD, and MG versions. The Orchis, (the wicked-to-the-bone-bad-ass-Gundam-mobile-weapon-behemoth) which packs a mega beam cannon, two large claws (each mounting a large beam saber), weapons container pods, and gazillions of rockets, plus more, has been offered thrice in the MSIA (once) and HGUC lines (twice). However, the offered scales of the Orchis goes up to only the 1/144 scale. None in the 1/100 (MG) scale. The kit length of the 1/144 scale is 40 inches, from the tip of the mega beam cannon to the fins at the back. Do you still need a reason why the Orchis hasn't got a 1/100 version yet? I didn't think so. ^_^

For the sake of imagination (mine), a 1/100-scale Orchis would have an overall length of 55 inches! That's seven inches short of being six feet! Now, start early and build yourself an action base so that you would have one for this monster once it comes out! LOL!

BTT. They say that the 1/550-scale of the Dendrobium is the poor-man's-Dendro. I beg to differ. IMHO, this IS the poor-man's-Dendro -- the SD version. ^_^


It's going to be a fun build, this one. :)

For posterity, here are more pics...

The old and the new, RX-78-2 Gundam and Gundam Exia.


And all of my (and my fiancee's) SDs... well, boxes of SDs.


Parting shots, my MG MSN-04 Sazabi's box.

This is one huge-ass box. It's as big as the PG Strike's! ^_^

It's been offered twice in HCM Pro (I'm still on the hunt for the HCM Pro Special Painted version), thrice in MSIA, once in MSIA-E (MSIA Extended), twice in MG, once in HGUC, and about six times in the SD format. I never realized it's got so many SD versions until now.

So there you have it. My latest kit hauls. The MGs for the Infinite Justice and the Sinanju are still coming... I don't know how long I can resist the temptation once the time comes. ^_^

Note* I only counted releases by Bandai for the stats.

Seeing red

I might as well post something before I burst a bubble -- a co-worker has been bugging me for the past 30 minutes regarding some things that we talked about on the phone around 31 minutes ago. ^_^

Until I get my hands on some Tamiya Pla-plates, I'm putting the MG Strike Rouge project on hold... and moving on to more SD madness!

I got back to my stack of kits last night and noticed that I haven't taken a pic of my latest hauls yet... which I'll do, hopefully, this weekend.

Anyway, here are a couple of more pics of my SD Strike Rouge.

I've noticed that my recent posts have flavors of red in them -- MG Sinanju, MG IJ, Supes, MG Strike Rouge, this one too... ^_^

More pics with the MG MBF-02 Strike Rouge

Here are a few more pics before I did some slight pre-paint mods (scribing additional panel lines).


With the Aile Striker...

In my opinion, the design of Strike Gundams (any of them) can hold its own even without the Aile Striker. I guess that's the reason why Bandai released a PG version sans its backpack.

Anyway, I'm now working on the Rouge's legs... yup, I'm still scribing additional panel lines. I hope I can get it over and done with (scribing) before October ends. ^_^