Thursday, January 31, 2008

MG Nu Gundam Metallic Coating Ver. & Others EDITED

EDITED: Added news on MG Zaku II F Type Ver. 2.0 and Mobile Suit in Action Gundam Thrones.

Amazingly, all the new Gunpla mentioned here aren't exactly new anymore - they are color variations of previously releases:

MG Nu Gundam Metallic Coating ver.



MG Lukas O'Donnell's Customized Strike E + IWSP




HGUC G-3 Gundam Vs. Char's Rick Dom



Other merchandises not show here include:
* Mechanic Collection 1/35 Lancelot Royal Coating Ver.
* Keroro Gunsou Plamo Collection Musha Keroro
* Keroro Gunsou Plamo Collection Foot Soldier Tamama

All images from The Gundam Base Side One.

EDITED: MG Zaku II F Type Ver. 2.0 - New runners for the upcoming MG. Not exactly new actually - folks with the original J Type will have no problem recognizing similar parts between the two, especially the leg armors. Interested?

MGZakuFParts_s
Like that only-ah?
Image from Bandai's Space Diary of the Captain


Also, the Mobile Suit in Action line will be cashing in on Team Trinity as well. The trio will come in May and June. Strangely though, because unlike the Gunpla series, Michael's Throne Zwei will come out first by the end of May; followed by Eins and Drei, both by the end of June. They are priced at 2,625 Yen.

Hmm... I can smell the announcement of Team Trinity in HCM-Pro format soon ^^;

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Upcoming Non-Gundam Merchandises

Since most of the news and information on my blog is related to Gundam, I have to coin the term "non-Gundam" to refer to other mecha items ^^;

Anyway, here are some information on upcoming non-Gundam merchandises gathered from magazine scans and others sources:

Crest CR-C06U5 Facinetar Ver. - May, 4,600 Yen

Crest_Facinetar_01_s
Crest_Facinetar_02_s Crest_Facinetar_03_s
(Another) Variation of the very famous Crest from Armored Core - this time it's in purple, called 'Facinetar'. Fans can check out this item on Hobby Search.

Unknown Armored Core mecha - release date and price N/A

ArmoredCoreNew_s
Is that the most coolsome Armored Core mecha or what? And it seems that it's transformable as well - first in the series for sure. Also, no information about its size yet, but it looks quite big as compared to the other Armored Core mecha.
Image from Toysdaily.

CM's Dancouga Nova - Release date and price N/A
The original Dancouga was a Super Robot anime series back in the 80s. Unlike most other mecha animation at that time, Dancouga featured some serious kiss-ass mecha design, where each of the three robots used to form the giant have their own beast/vehicle/robot modes. It was probably the most complex transformable Super Robot during its time.

Like Gaiking the Great, Dancouga was redesigned into a new run of anime series last year, called Dancouga Nova. Apart from all the features of its predecessor, new functions are added to each of the mecha, plus the ability for new robot to dock with Dancouga Nova for extra coolness.

Hopefully I can dig up more information about this giant robot and share with everyone. But before that, hold your breath and take a look at this:

CM_Dancouga_Nova_s
CM_DancougaNova_01_s
CM's Dancouga Nova, 32cm in height, complete with all the functions as seen in the anime.
Image from Toysdaily.
For more updates, check out CM's official website.

Soul of Chogokin Daimos - Under development
Some black and white design sketches as consolation for all Daimos fans first XD

SOC_Daimos_s.1
More images can be founded on Toysdaily.

Real Robot Revolution 1/100 Walker Galliar - Late April, 6,300 Yen
Coming in April 2008, this R3 Walker Galliar will be the fourth entry of the series, which halted with New Layzner in March last year. Walker Galliar features a simple transformation of splitting its body into two vehicles. But I'm sure the ability to transform is not the only justification for the high price. I always look at R3 as the Master Grade series of non-Gundam mecha, so you can expect the same level of details and articulation on your average MG Gunpla for this Walker Galliar as well.

r3xabungle_s
Walker Galliar was actually created by two prominent Gundam artists: Kunio Okawara and Izubuchi Yutaka (Nu Gundam, Gundam NT-1 etc)
Image from Toysdaily.

God Keron - Late March, 4,725 Yen
Folks who are interested in getting all the five Keroro Robo Mk. II to form God Keron can rejoice ^^ A bundled God Keron will be coming soon, with a cape and two beam sabers included as well ^^

Then again, this is not going to be a good news for those who bought the five separate releases already I presume ^^;

GodKeron_s
Image from Toysdaily.

New Transformers Figures

Complaining that Leader Class Optimus Prime didn't come with the Heat Blade? and Deluxe Class Bumblebee lack the mask he deploys in attack mode?

Well, Takara-Tomy hears you:

New_Movie_Prime_Bumblebee_s
Optimus Prime comes with a new head design as well.

Knowing Takara-Tomy, I think this 'new' Leader Class Optimus Prime will exchange his Blaster for the Heat Blade, i.e. you're not going to get both weapons in this pack ^^; The same goes for Bumblebee as well, I think his mask is permanent. Folks who are interested can preorder Prime and Bumblebee from XL-Shop, which is the only online store I know of which has listed them for sales.

Not letting Optimus Prime and Bumblebee stealing the show from the Decepticons, Leader Class Megatron is coming in the different color scheme.

LeaderMegatronVColor01_s LeaderMegatronVColor02_s
Unlike the new Prime, I think this Megatron is just a color variation of the original. Somehow I like this new paint scheme better than the previous one ^^
Images from Toysdaily.

Apart from these two figures from the Movie, six Transformers Classic figures will get their Japanese version releases:

TF_Jap_Classics_s
As a non-hardcore fan of Transformers, I don't think I can really tell the difference between the original American versions, and these new releases.

TF_Jap_Classics_01_s
Optimus Prime - 3,150 Yen

TF_Jap_Classics_02_s
Bumbleebee - 2,100 Yen

TF_Jap_Classics_03_s
Grimlock - 2,100 Yen

TF_Jap_Classics_04_s
Mirage - 2,100 Yen

TF_Jap_Classics_05_s
Megatron - 3,150 Yen

TF_Jap_Classics_06_s
Starscream - 2,100 Yen

All of them will be available in Mid March. Transformers fans beware.

All images from Toysdaily.

1/144 Anf & 1/100 Virtue/Nadleeh

MSER-04 Anf, the grunt unit from the Kingdom of Azadistan is going to get its 1/144 scale plamo treatment soon. But bad news for those who are interested to get this model, because this will not be a regular release, but a resin kit by B-Club instead. This model will be available in March, at 14,800 Yen (without tax).

BClub1-144Anf_s
Would it be cheaper if you modified a Ground Type Tieren into Anf instead of getting this resin kit

Now that's 12 HG Exia of the same scale, for your information.

Also, since B-Club is a subsidiary of Bandai instead of its competitor, a resin kit version of Anf means that we won't be seeing a regular release of Anf (if there's any) for a long time ^^;

On the other hand, here's a closer look on HG 1/100 Virtue/Nadleeh:

1-100Virtue_Nadleeh_Another_s
1-100Virtue_Nadleeh_s
I really hope this is just an earlier prototype instead of the final one, because it seems that Virtue can't even hold up his GN Bazooka without the help of a display stand!

All images from Toysdaily.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Gundam Double O Updates & Gundam NT-X

Mentioned a bit about Gundam Astraea Type F some time ago, more images and information about this Gundam this time from the magazine scan of Dengeki Hobby March issue. Then again, since the text is in Japanese, I have no idea what it says ^^; And because of that, I only remember Astraea Type F as Astraea painted in red. ^^

00F_AstraeaF_s
Not sure if Type F is any difference than the original white Astraea in terms of mecha specification.

From other sources, a new female character from 00F is reviewed, and a super-cute one as well ^o^

With characters like Neena, and this new one coming out, Gundam Double O, as well as its side stories has finally show some serious progress in terms of fan service XD

00F_NewGirl_s
Somehow she looks like Latooni from Super Robot Wars to me, but more importantly, is she human?

Still a bit on Gundam Double O, SD Gundam Full Color coming at the end of February will feature Team Trinity.

SDGundamFullColor16_s
The three Thrones are the hottest Gundams at the moment no doubt ^^
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.

Also, I might a slow discoverer here:

PtolemaiosGNArms_s
Does the GN Arms looks like its from the containers on Ptolemaios? It sure looks like it to me, ^^ after its color was revealed yesterday.

On a completely separate note, another mecha design from SD Gundam: G Generation Spirits, Gundam NT-X has being reviewed. If you don't know this already, G Generation Spirits was a PS2 title released last year. Although all the mecha in the game is in SD scale, several newly designed mecha were included. Check out my previous posting to have a look at them.

The first mecha from the series announced in normal scale was Vigna Ronah. With this Gundam been announced, hopefully the designs of all the other mecha will be released as well.

RX78NT-1_s
I checked the information on this Gundam on Mahq.net and found out that the pilot is Alfred Izuruha, the little kid from Gundam 0080: War in a Pocket.
That kid grew up and became a Newtype? o_0

Monday, January 28, 2008

GN Arms & Jumbo Grade Zeta Gundam

After the emergence of Dendrobium in UC0083: Stardust Memory, and then METEOR in SEED and SEED Destiny, the idea of weapon platforms for Gundam seems to be a must for all Gundam series now.

So for Gundam Double O, we have GN Arms:

GNArmsSetting_s
The size of the weapon platform shrieked from one series to the next! XD
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.


After the announcement of this mecha the other day, here are some prototype photos of 1/144 GN Arms to tempt your wallet ^^;

GNArm01_s
GNArm02_s
GNArm03_s
While you might compared GN Arms to METEOR, those little claws on its supporting 'feet' (?) really reminds me of some of weird mecha appeared in Advance of Zeta.
Images from Bandai Hobby Center's Space diary of the Captain blog.

Also, a bit of updates on Jumbo Grade Zeta Gundam:

JGZetaDetails01_s
JGZetaDetails02_s
The size is amazing, but the transformation is done via part-swapping!!
I'm can see many disappointed faces after this news ^^;
Images from ModelGraphix March issue magazine scan.

New U.C.H.G. & Others

Some updates on many upcoming Zeon and mono-eye mecha ^^

MGZakuMineLayerBackpack_s
MG Zaku Mine Layer - It looks like the changes made for this new MG Zaku are just the backpack, the legs (changed from Type J to Type F for space use), and the head. Interested?
Image from ModelGraphix March issue magazine scan.

SHCMProZakuNew_s
SHCM-Pro Char's Zaku II - The overall design is based on its MG Ver. 2.0 release, evidenced clearly from the tri-boosters on the back of his legs. But so far there's no sign of any hatch-opening ability, and the list of weapons included seems really short ^^;
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.

HCMProTierenCannon_s
HCM-Pro Tieren Ground/Artillery Type - Amazingly, the conversion between the two modes seems really simple XD
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.

HGUCNuDevelopment01_s
HGUCNuDevelopment02_s
HGUC Nu Gundam - Being able to mount the shield on the side of the forearm sure will increase the pose-ability of this Gundam ^^
Image from ModelGraphix March issue magazine scan.

SGGodZeta_s
Speed Grade God & Zeta Gundam - God Gundam's pose-ability seems really good being a SG model :)
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.

GFFZeongPerfectZeong01_s GFFZeongPerfectZeong02_s
GFF Zeong/Perfect Zeong - Sure is huge, but what about its articulation?
Image from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.

Also, a few new U.C.H.G. models are under development, not sure if all of them will get released though.

UCHGZeonVehicle_s
Zeon's amphibious Tank from The 08th MS Team.

UCHGZeonJeep_s
Unknown Zeon Jeep for me ^^;

UCHG61Tank_s
EFSF's Type 61 Tank - being an 'omnipresent' tank as seen in the original Gundam anime, I believe we'll seeing this UCHG soon.
Images from Hobby Japan March issue magazine scan.