Sunday, October 21, 2007

1/100 Gundam Exia & Others

A lot of sweet pictures of Gunpla coming in November from The Gundam Base Side One. 1/100 Gundam Exia is definitely on my buy list now ^^ but the true gem this time is actually SD Sangokuden Ryofu Tallgeese. Just read on to find out why:-)

1/100 Gundam Exia - Apart from the extra details and beam saber given, Bandai seems to introduce, or rather reintroduce a new kind of shoulder joint for 1/100 Gundam Exia - the "pull-out" type XD (the name I call it, since there's no official name given to such feature). For the shoulder to move more in all directions, you can pull the joint out more from the body so that the shoulder is free from barrier of both the shoulder itself or the body. This isn't new anymore, as such technology is used, and seemingly put aside after MG Zaku II F2, and PG Gundam Mk. II.



1/400 Gundam Collection Ptolemaios - the carrier for the Gundam Meisters, which is seemingly handled by 5 crews only. In 1/400 scale, it's still quite a huge model really. The four 1/400 Gundams included are painted nicely and look really detailed. The price is 12,000 Yen (around RM420).



1/144 HG Gundam Dynames - As compared to the previous release of 1/144 Exia, Dynames sure is packed with more equipments and playability. The huge armor coat he wears is something we haven't see from the anime yet. It sure makes him look like Master Gundam from G Gundam XD. Anyway, as a sniper unit, the ability for him to pose laying on the ground with his rifle is quite a sight, for a HG model. Not sure if the visor can really slide down to cover his eyes as seen from the anime, but with the mentioned features, I think this model can be put under consideration for your buy list. The price is (surprisingly a bargain) 1,200 Yen (around RM42).




1/144 HG Gundam Kyrios - The transformable Gundam from Gundam 00. While I said once that the bottom view of Kyrios is awful as the head and the rest of the body are completely unshielded, the simple transformation gimmick gives us something in return: greater articulation than any other transformable MSs. As a matter of fact, I think the only true transformation part is the backpack (?) which unfolds and becomes the nose and the tail of the MA mode. Other than that, there's not much difference as compared to the other Gundams in 00. What do you think?



The picture on the right directly above this caption is the unpainted version.


1/144 HG Tieren Ground Type - I ranted quite a while ago about the ugliness of Tieren (as a matter of fact, all the enemy MSs in 00 ^^;) and that Bandai would have a hard time designing this mecha into plamo. But Tieren comes out really cool. I didn't know the huge armor on his left knee can be used to mount his machine gun, and that he can actually kneel in the firing position. Cool~
However, as a HG kit, some details are not only missing, they are being completely omitted. Can you see that the interior of the rear skirt armor is hollow in one of the photos below? That's not possible for a heavy-armored mecha right? :-(



SD Sangokuden Sonken Gundam - The most knight-like Gundam so far in Sangokuden? The visor on his helmet can be slided down to form his mask, and the sword he wields looks very much like the fordable beam sword of Destiny ^^



SD Sangokuden Ryofu Tallgeese - Like I said at the beginning of the post, Ryofu is the most coolsome Gunpla in this posting, and I don't mean his horse/bike only. Ryofu himself is a great design, especially the golden tile-patterns armor he wears and the details on them (I like the skirt armor the most, but good luck painting that!) Also, Ryofu wears a clear green visor which covers his eyes, and I do believe that the purple mane and V-fin on his helmet is plated, and the lovely parts are included in this kingly kit.



But there's more, the "Jade Armor Set from Heaven" (unconfirmed name from me based on the kanji name of this equipment as seen in the previous post) is unveiled, and more then just a support unit, when it's used by other Sangokuden characters, you can see clearly where the idea of each comes from ^_^



With Liu Bei, it's the Mega Rider; with Sun Quan, it's Dendrobium; and with Cao Cao, it becomes Meteor. Unbelievable creativity by the designer.

Also, Lu Bu's horse, Chi Tu (in Chinese, it literally means "red rabbit") can be used by Guan Yu as well. This is being loyal to the original story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: when Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao, the horse was kept by him briefly. When Guan Yu was forced to join Cao Cao's army (temporarily), Cao Cao tried to convince him to change his allegiance by presenting the horse to him, and Chi Tu became Guan Yu's horse ever since.

1/20 Scopedog Red Shoulder Custom - Apart from the red left shoulder (hence the name of this kit), an array of weapons are included, plus a new figure and the platform for him/her ^^; to stand on.