Ngee Khiong: March 2007

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.