Friday, March 30, 2007

Gundam Unicorn

Gundam Unicorn is the rumored new Gundam series in 2007. However, it turns out that it's going to be a novel instead. Too bad I don't know Japanese, the official website's information seems pretty much like encrypted text for me. However, concerned fans can visit MAHQ.net to see some of the featured MSs available in the novel. While most images of the MSs are not available, sketches of the lead Gundam (?), Gundam Unicorn can be seen. Hajime Katoki is quite a household name in the industry, he must have a lot of confidence to ditch the V antenna, and replace it with a horn. Let's see if the not-so-traditional-looking Gundam design will be successful this time (as compared to Turn A in the past).

According to the info from MAHQ.net, the specific timeline will be around UC0093, since it involves some MSs from Char's Counterattack, such as Jegan and Geara Doga. However, the fight is not between Londo Bell and Neo-Zeon, but a new organization called Sotsudeki. The long-haired-Char-look-alike on the homepage of the official website might be from that organization, and I bet he's playing the villain. :-)

MSs wise, like I said, too few images to decide whether I like the series or not. The only MS design available on the website is NZ-666 Kshatriya (how do you pronounce that?). Super-duper cool!!! It's like a mix of Gelgoog (the head) and Quin-Mantha from the ZZ era. All the Zeon ornament on the wrist and the on chest, and the green color scheme really reminds me of the old Principality. Might be a bit early, but I'm hoping that this fella will come out as a MG kit. 22.3 meter in height is quite close to match Sazabi.


NZ-666 Kshatriya - Image from MAHQ.net

By the way, the model number of NZ-666 is supposedly from the Newtype prototype MA series developed by the Neo-Zeon during Char's Counterattack era. MSs of the line include NZ-222 Psycho Doga and Quess Paraya's NZ-333 Alpha Azieru. So, I guess Kshatriya's concept is close to being a MA as well.

I hope to see more updates on Gundam Unicorn soon.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

SD Verde Buster & Others

I think SD Verde Buster deserves to be the lead merchandise, at least among the four listed below, since the other three are re-issue items of the past. MG Zeta 3rd Unit for example, uses the exact parts from MG Zeta Gundam Ver. 2.0, but being a model on limited edition, fans might want to add this exclusive kit to their collection.



The big scale 1-60 HY2M 'Glorious Series' Char's Rick Dom and Rick Dom contains genuine bling-bling parts :-) As compared to the previous releases for both Char's Rick Dom and Rick Dom, I think the only changes would probably be the packaging and the decals. Anyway, building these models will test more on your electrical and wiring skills rather than assembling and painting models. Not sure whether Char's version is a special coated one or not.

By the way, do you know that Char's Rick Dom only appears in the original novel version of Gundam UC0079? In that novel, Amuro Ray died in combat when he was piloting G3 Gundam. Imagine if Bandai sticks around with that original idea in the anime version, we will never get to see Char's Counterattack. Of course all of us know Bandai is smarter than that. The company most certainly knows that red sells better than grey, else why isn't G3 Gundam being popularized.





SD Verde Buster is a really cool model. I don't know when Bandai fix it, but there's no more hollow-single-molded parts for SD models anymore, at least for this one. I think that's good news for the fans, since the models will look much nicer with 'complete' parts. This SD version of Verde Buster can mimic all actions of the HG unit, and I'm sure the upcoming SD Blu Duel will have the features, provided that Bandai fix the problem of the bulkiness of the armors.



All images are from The Gundam Base Side 1.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Convoy... ... Nike Ver. ?!

I don't know much about Nike stuff, since I'm not into jogging or any of their items. But this one…


Even the box is very 'Nike' - Image from Transformers World 2005

I don’t know if I should categorize it as a Transformers toy or a pair of ‘special sport shoes’. Never a second before I thought that Transformers can be in disguise as part of our attire. Our usual perception is that they must be in machines of some sort, or animals made famous by the Beast Wars series. Creative design, and a bit crazy as well, I have to give it to the designers (not sure if they are from Takara or Nike or both :-) From the Binal-Tech series, we get Transformers featuring real sport cars seen on the street. Now Transformers become shoes people wear daily on the street. Also, Convoy is promoting Nike, maybe Adidas and Reebok will retaliate with their own version of Convoy as well.

I know what you’re thinking, but from the information I read, this pair of shoes are NOT meant to be worn. Imagine stepping on Convoy’s head when you’re jogging. What a bitter humiliation that would be to the commander of the Autobots.

Personally, I think the design of the shoes is really nice, as with all the previous Nike shoes. But when it transforms into Convoy, its back is so damn ugly. Don't blame me, the shoes are supposed to be for the comfort of our feet, so the design must deter Convoy from being real machine like as we know him, i.e. it looks really real as a pair of shoes, but the transformation must have some permanent defects. However, there are some really cool design, like the famous swoosh on the chest, and the little Nike Free 7.0 worn by convoy himslef in robot mode. Plus the price isn't too expensive either: $30, which is less than RM120 in Malaysia (not including shipment of course).

Should be quite nice to surprise your girlfriend. Muahaha~

But no, I'm not going to buy this :-P

My Top 10 Gundam Models Revisited

I was reading some of my previous posts the other day, and the particular post on top 10 favorite models caught my attention. It's being a little bit more than a year now, and some of the previous models on my wish list have already shifted into my favorite model list instead. However, more models start to 'bug' my wallet :-D and it's quite reasonable for me to revisit the list made last year, in order to map out the targets of purchase (as well as inspiration to get enough money to buy them)

Here are my top 10 models in my collection:
1. MG 1-100 Scale Kampfer
2. PG 1-60 Scale Strike Rouge
3. MG Sazabi
4. MG Nu Gundam
5. MG Freedom Gundam
6. MG 1-100 Scale Rick Dom
7. HG 1-144 Scale Astray Red Frame
8. MG 1-100 Scale Ex-S Gundam
9. MG 1-100 Scale S Gundam
10.PG 1-60 Scale Gundam Mk2 (Titans Version)

…and the top 10 models I would like to add to my current list:
1. MG 1-100 Gundam RX-78-2 (One Year War Version) Soon to be on my shelf, hehe~
2. HGUC 1-144 Zudah
3. Ex-Model 1-144 Hildoltr
4. HG 1-100 Infinite Justice Gundam
5. MG 1-100 Crossbone Gundam Full Cloth
6. HGUC 1-144 Scale Gryphios War Set
7. HG 1-100 Scale Duel Gundam
8. MG Gundam Mk2 Version 2 (AEUG’s Version)
9. MG Zaku 2 F2 (Zeon's Version)
10. MG 1-100 Strike Freedom Gundam

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Master Grade No. 100

With the announcement of MG Char's Gelgoog as MG No. 99, Bandai really got everyone guessing who No. 100 is going to be. I read from Gunota Headlines that Bandai will even give away exclusive gold plated MG No. 100 to fans who makes the right guess. Too bad it's not an online competition, since the participation form (in this case, postcard) are available in some affiliated Japanese magazines, namely Gundam Ace, Dengeki Hobby Magazine, and Hobby Japan.

For those who live in Japan, I'm sure you'll be anticipating for the magazines to get those postcards, as much as I'm to see who's No. 100.

My guess is ZZ Gundam Ver. 2.0. Wanna bet? :-)

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Future Gundam Items

Too bad there's no image to support this post, but the updates from Gunota Headlines really throw me off my seat.

Five Gundam items coming up are:
1. MG Char's Zaku II Ver. 2.0 with loading crane (May)
2. MG Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0 (July)
3. HGUC Ground Type Gundam (June)
4. BB Senshi Blu Duel (N/A)
5. HCM-Pro Destroy Gundam (May)

Like I said in my previous post, Char's red Zaku II will always come out almost immediately after the green one's being released. What surprises me is the announcement of Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0. In my opinion, that's about the last previous MGs to require an upgrade to Ver. 2.0 desperately. The old one does have a lot of spaces for improvements, mainly its posability and action. I just didn't expect it to be this fast~

This is really the year for Zeon fans like me. Wuhhuh~

Also, as being predicted in my other post, HGUC Ground Type Gundam is going to be out as well. Don't think that I'm psychic or something, it's very obvious from the design of HGUC Blue Destiny. So, pretty soon, we are going to get Gundam Ez8, Ground Type GM, GM Sniper, and GM Head (a Ground Type Gundam with a GM's head, piloted by Karen Joshua in the last two episode of The 08th Gundam Team) as well.

Not to mention Norris Package's Gouf Custom as well!!

Can't wait for that.

As for Stargazer fans, SD Blu Duel Gundam is also being announced. Get this to complete the full team of SD Strike Noir and SD Verde Buster. But I guess the bulky armor is going to be a problem for action, as seen in SD Duel (Yzak Jule's version).

The biggest shock is HCM-Pro Destroy Gundam.

GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam man!!

38 meters and 56 meters in MA and MS mode respectively, may not be intimidating to MG or PG models since the difference in scale is too far apart(1-100 for MG, 1-60 for PG and 1-200 for HCM-Pro), but if you have HCM-Pro Freedom and Impulse Gundam, putting all of them together is going to be quite a sight. o_0

Images from MAHQ.net




Can't wait for that as well.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Laptop-less Four Days

Last Thursday, my laptop's hard disk died, which left me stranded in school and my home without much to do for this blog and for my assignments. For a while, I thought I was cursed, since days before that incident, I just formatted the laptop as a last resort to solve the wireless connection problem. All the hours of backing up all my files, images, wallpapers, songs, and favorite videos into another partitioned disk, all went down the drain when the incident struck. Everything was gone.

Currently I'm using the laptop again as I just install a new hard disk which cost me the budget for MG Gundam Ver. OYW T_T. Nonetheless, the model can wait, since the priority goes to my school work and studies. Anyway, broke or not, I'm still going to get that MG for sure, and (evil) plan of overspending is pretty much being finalized already~~

The unfortunate incident between me and my laptop left me four days without my personal computer, and I realize how dependent I was on that piece of hardware. Quite some time was spent sitting at my study without doing anything. Everything I thought of during those wretched hours required my laptop, but it was not working. For a while, studying with books and stationery seems to be so hard, as I got used to reading notes from laptop screen (to save cost on printing).

Scary, since my life was not like this two or three years back.

I felt that (my) life should never be like this: too dependent on something that can render me useless when it’s not around. Even if I’m alone, I should be able to do something I like without the need to rely too heavily on that something.

So… …

I completed a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of Snoopy in the library. How I wish it was a PG Gundam or something :-)


Snoopy's expression pretty much sums up how I felt for the last few days

Quite a piece of jigsaw puzzle, and I never did one for years now. The experience most certainly brought back quite a lot of sweet memory, and some baggy eyes as well for trading my sleep with its completion +_+

By the way, I’m currently redesigning a whole set of small banners to replace the text links you see on the right panel of my blog. Should be out by the end of this week. Stay tuned!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

New and Previously-New Gundam Stuff

Updates on many Gundam models and items from various sites. The news come from Gunota Headlines as usual.

(from GA Graphic)
HGUC Blue Destiny


Ex-Model Oggo


HCM-Pro Ground Type Gundam RX-79[G]


HCM-Pro Freedom Gundam


HCM-Pro Gundam Special Marking


HCM-Pro Guntank Special Marking


HCM-Pro Zaku II Special Marking


HCM-Pro Rick-Dom Special Marking


HCM-Pro Char's Rick-Dom Special Coating


(from Moe Yo! Akibajin's Miyazawa Mokei sale coverage)
MG Strike Noir


MG Zeta Gundam Unit 3 Ver. 2.0


HG 1-100 Akatsuki Full Set


HY2M Glorious Series: Char's Rick Dom, Rick Dom and Gouf - Re-issue of the 1-60 scale Zeon MSs with lots of lighting components. If not mistaken, Char's version will come with special coating parts.


Gundam Fix Figuration GP03S Stamen and Simplified Dendrobium and a bit of prototype image of what I assume to be Cosmic Region Providence/Legend Gundam on the left


(from Tamashii Web (EMSIA Gelgoog) and Zeonography Qubeley)
Extended MS In Action Char's Gelgoog


Zeongraphy Qubeley Mk. II/Qubeley Mass Production Type - I have posted the images of Qubeley Mk. II in my previous post, so here are the images for the Mass Production type. Why is it not black? Plus, I think Haman Karn's version will come out as another release, probably with the red armor parts for convertion with Mk. III.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Links

Links - Gundam News

     Gunota Headlines
     Gundam Unicorn
     Gundam SEED Stargazer Official Site
     Gundam 00 Official Site
     SD Gundam Sangokuden
     MS Igloo Official Site
     Xplosion! Gundam SEED
     Gundam Perfect Web


Links - Gundam Merchandise

     XL-Shop - Malaysian-friendly Gundam Store
     Hobbylink Japan
     Hobby Search English Page - Gundam
     Bandai Hobby Site - Monthly New Items
     Bandai Hobby Site - English
     Master Grade Catalogue
     G System Shop - Hong Kong Resin Kits Dealer
     HobbyStuff4U
     Noda-Ya Online Hobby Store
     Image Anime - Easier to Search than HLJ :-P
     Rainbow Ten - A Lot of Discounts
     e-Toyz


Links - Gundam Communities

     Forum at Lowyat.Net V2
     Zero G Forums - Malaysian Gunpla Modelling Cyber Community
     Celestial Being Forums
     Hong Kong Model League (Chinese)


Links - Gundam Fans' Blog

     Danny Choo's Blog in Japan - Gundam, Figurines etc
     Super Robot War Hotnews
     Mark Parrenas's Blog - Gundam, Games etc
     Marvin's Gundamaniac Blog
     Marvin's Gundamaniac Blog (Blogspot)
     Lincoln's Anime and Gundam Blog
     Figure FM - Post your own coolsome models and figurines
     Ninja Science Little Gundam Mecha Universe
     Anaheim Machines 3D Gundam Development Project
     Techno-Ken - Japanese toys and life of a Malaysian in Thailand
     Akatsuki Chopper Daves - amazing Gundam blog
     Michael's Gundam Collection
     Mike's Thirteen Autumns and a Widow
     Digital Gashapon
     MJ's Gundam Papercraft
     Yasseranas
     Otaku Surf
     Otaku's Hideout
     A Short in the Head
     Gordonator


Links - Gundam Modelers' Blog

     Dalong.net
     GUNPLA Blog
     Wonder Excellence - Expert modelers!
     Biga's Playroom
     E-asy Factory
     Ewac Zone
     F3000
     FichtenFoo >> Michael Fichtenmayer
     Garage T4
     Gasdam
     GP-Circle
     Hellohello's Toybox
     Modelers' Garden
     Nachy's Room
     Only One
     Saku-Zion
     Ver. Ma Gunpla Modeling
     Gunpla Secret Base
     Lifezoids
     Kaijin
     Gundam Mecha Remodeling Evolution
     MIA Nado - Rich Mobile Suit in Action Galleries
     Gundam Fix Figuration Maniac


Links - Friends' Blog & Fellow Bloggers

     Ngee Khiong's Friendster Blog
     Brown Town - Mr. Brown's Show
     Kenny Sia's super-duper blog
     The One & Only Sarawak Laksa Review Blog in the World
     Mike FV's blog: The lighter side of life
     A Princess Smoothie: Andrea's blog
     Rachz the Queen's Blog ^_^
     Rachz's New Blog on Blogsome
     Jian - a Malaysian model, model as in cute girl ^_^ not Gundam model
     Regalia's Blog - a Malaysian student in Australia indulging in anime, gaming and collectibles
     Kelly's Blog - Cat lover and McD. toy collector from Swinburne
     Alice's Blog - Meow Meow Meow :-)
     Kimberly the Songstress
     Clair Kho Guardian Angel
     Syafiq's Xanga Site
     Syafiq on Blogspot
     Adeline Yeo - Ex-Kuching High schoolmate
     Dwinz's Journey Through the Highways of Life
     Mortal Life, Immortal Stories of Swee Won
     Up Close and Personal on Siu Jing - ex-Kuching High classmate
     World of Houg
     SWAT Wolf @ Host Play
     Serena's Looking on the Bright Side of Life
     Nth, Just a day of Ntheng's Life


Links - Chinese Blogs

     YQhome 永远放晴的安乐窝
     漫漫の世界 - 生活·愛
     彪民@留意聆听


Links - Gundam Resources

     MAHQ.net - the ultimate Gundam encyclopedia
     Ultimate Mark - Translations of Gundam History
     Gears Online


Links - Useful Sites

     GFX Forex.GH Currency Converter
     Alta Vista - Babel Fish Translator
     W3 Schools - Learn more HTML stuff
     Blogger - Start your own blog
     Flickr - Photo Sharing
     Photobucket - Video and Image Sharing
     Album Town - Free Online Photo Album Sharing
     PicsPay


Links - Other Interesting Sites

     Youtube
     Bunch of Japanese Girls' Blogs
     Ai Amano, a Japanese Idol's Blog
     Aki Matsuhoshi, Kawaii O~~ ^o^
     Eri Otoguro's Travel Diary
     Xia Xue the Blog Princess
     Alodia 'Edjie' Gosiengfiao *Blackmage9 on deviantART
     Seibertron.com - Complete Gallery of all Transformers Toys
     Transformers the Game


Links - Movies and Music

     The Internet Movie Database
     Movie Mistakes
     Yasmin the Storyteller
     Transformers the Movie 2007


Links - Extremely Funny (*Warning* Vulgar Content Ahead)

     Sifu Dr. Liew
     Rojaks Daily
     Kenny Ng's Crap & Rock Site


Links - Malaysian and International News

     New Straits Times Online
     The Stars Online
     Malaysian News Agency
     Malaysiakini - alternate views to Malaysian happenings
     Onlinenewspapers.com - international newspapers portal
     CNN.com
     BBC News
     Reuters


Links - Football

     BBC Sports Premiership Updates
     Liverpool Football Club's Official Site
     UEFA Champions League Updates


Links - Affiliate Programs

     Google Adsense
     Nuffnang Malaysia
     Amazon.com Associates Central
     Advertlets.com