PLAMO Review 20: MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0

20 July 2007, PLAMO Review 20: MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0




Although the decals and clear stickers given are quite rich, I only apply them to two spots: the right shoulder shield and the backpack. Since I'll be playing around with the model a lot after completion, decals on the body and weapons might be scratched off accidentally.






Details of Zaku II's inner frame. The elbow and knee are designed so that they move together with the forearms and legs respectively, which is very human-like and fun to play with. There are many parts in the whole kit which can be enhanced by painting them in silver. I usually take many photos of the assembly process, since I normally do not bother about the inner frame afterward when the parts are being clad in armor.



All the armaments for Zaku II. As compared with Ver. 1.0, the weapons are larger in size, and of course with much more details as well. The machine gun and the Heat Hawk can be attached to both left and right hand of the model to firm action. The bazooka however, seems to be designed exclusively for the right hand.
I took the liberty of painting the missiles in red to make them stand out from their containers. The mount racks to the legs are a bit troublesome, since they get detached easily. They are also quite delicate, so make sure you don't break them.
The Heat Hawk is my favorite weapon of all, since the flexibility of the model makes it absolutely stylish in showing off that weapon.



See how it can kneel naturally in Pic 3? I can't imagine how a fat pig :) like Zaku II can do that mechanically in real life.



Action poses with the action display stand. My favorite photo is the last one (just above this caption): Zaku II reaching for his Heat Hawk, with no problem at all!
Verdict: A must have for all Gunpla fans, even if you do not fancy the mono-eye mecha series. None of the MG Gundam-type model can give you the size and flexibility at the same time as this Zaku II. For a 3,500 Yen (about RM 123) kit, it's definitely worth every cent you paid for.

View all the photos in this Gunpla's gallery.

Superior Balls than Malaysian

Football actually.

For your information, Malaysia is the co-host of Asian Cup 2007, alongside Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Here's the situation: in a group against China, Uzbekistan and Iran, we lost 1-5 against the first opponent, and 0-5 against the second one. We are the only team without a single point, not just in Group C, but the ENTIRE tournament. We are also the team which conceded most goals (10) and the confirmed host nation among the four to be eliminated. Plus, we haven't face Iran yet.

Even the football bookies in Hong Kong had given up on us: 1 - 1.06 for a win by Iran; 1 - 7.50 for a draw and 1 - 22 for a win by Malaysia. Walau~

Here's the conclusion: we are in deep, deep shit now.

Especially for Iran who wants to bypass China to become the group leader. Currently, the two teams are tied at four points each but China has the upper hand with a three goal margin against Iran. So, here's the math: if China wins 1-0 against Uzbekistan tonight, or at least in the mind of the Iranians, Iran will need to present five goals against none to Malaysia in order to top China, i.e. we will suffer another goal fiesta tonight and end our miserable little Asian Cup daydream.

Of course that's the most optimistic(!) guess, since we can't be sure how the Chinese will fair against Uzbekistan. Surely the Iranians feel the same way as well. So they will definitely opt for more goals to make sure that they will definitely meet their mark, i.e. we might be seeing seven or eight goals behind Malaysian net tonight.

Even our own coach "has no illusions about beating Iran". As a matter of fact, his formation tonight will be focusing on defense to try to minimize conceding more humility. Iran on the other hand, has vow to "start attacking right from the start to score" (same report), with "all their powerful players" (same report) some more.

Yeah man, we are in deep deep shit now.

Although I'm not particularly fond of Malaysian football, I didn't hope of such bad result from the our team either. I think the bad performance is one huge nightmare for all Malaysian, not because we are one of the co-hosts, but because we should be able to do much better as compared to other teams. We have massive funding for player trainings, including trainings on foreign soils, and world class facilities for the players. For other participating nations like Iraq, with facilities ravaged by war and continues to face terrorists' insurgence almost everyday, they manage to top their group featuring Australia, Thailand and Oman, plus they travel hundreds of miles away from home fans to participate in this tournament while we are playing right here in our own country.


Yeah, that's right. Image from NST Online
So, what's wrong anyway? Just before the opening match against China, "we are ready!" After the match, "Malaysia Got The Tactics All Wrong". After the 0-5 lost to Uzberkistan, "We tried but we failed". Oh shit~

The deputy president of our football association (FAM), Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad has quited after the match against Uzbekistan. His departure started a snowball effect and many top people in Malaysian football start seeing the green exit signs as well. But will that be enough? I don't think so. After the glorious 80s, which saw Malaysia as the strongest football nation in South East Asia, and among the top three teams in all of Asia, our football standard started to slip into oblivion. We have political figureheads who know nothing of their balls managing our balls not only on national level, but in each of our states as well. We have different standards and regulations for our national league every year. These political influences had poisoned the game so much I reckon quitting of the entire FAM board of directors will not make any difference in improving our football standard.

I'm sure many of you will still remember the incident of Malaysian government and AFC (that's the tai-kor-tai in Asian football) in the planned friendly match against Manchester United. The match was supposedly two days before the Asian Cup. For a bloody hell friendly match only to make our National Day celebration more colorful, the whole Malaysian government is willing to put the membership of our country in AFC at stake. Even our Tourism Minister minded the ball, even though clearly, he can't handle the ball. Then, our whole Youth and Sport Ministry tried to handle the ball as well, but clearly, they should really learn how to play with their own balls first.

For one freaking damn friendly match, so much political influences was being mingled in the already troubled Malaysian football. Where's the attention to the training scheme of our players? Players who are in the squad were still playing matches in the league when they are supposedly training for the bigger tournament. Where's the attention to the Asian Cup preparation? Is seeing Ryan Giggs, Ronaldo and Rooney more important than the whole Asian Cup? Is the money earned from this proposed MU extravaganza enough to cover for our humility in the Asian Cup? Priority, man, priority!

If the Asian Cup is not as important as the MU match, then please don't hope for anything out of it. The comment of "we don't have the quality to compete in Asian Cup Finals" (same report) should have being uttered way before we join in the parade of organizing this year's Asian Cup, just to bring out all our shit and show it to the whole Asia.

Regardless of how the match tonight is going to be, I'm sure of one thing: the problem with our ball is way out of control and can hardly be solved by a mere "full report" or even an "overhaul" (same report) of FAM. The problem is our mentality, or rather the top management's mentality. The day when they stop girl, wine and dance party when it comes to improving football in Malaysia is the day when the tiger will start growing claws and fangs again. Can't do that? follow the example of Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad then.

If you can't keep up, don't step up then.

Zaku II is Hiding in MG Gelgoog Ver. 2.0

I was browsing the preview of MG Gelgoog Ver. 2.0 on Dalong.net yesterday with the floor flooded with my saliva :-) My drooling only stopped when I read the construction manual of that Gunpla. I found out that there are so many similarities between this kit and the previous MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0. As a matter of fact, I would say that 75 percent of the inner frame is based on the concept from Zaku II.


What's that? Even the box art seems peculiarly similar to each other


The eye which moves along with the head? Not a big deal anymore after two Zaku II Ver. 2.0.


I suppose the PG-style inner frame for the arm has become quite a standard, not just for Zaku II and Gelgoog, but other MGs in the future as well. I think they will features similar assembly method as well.


There are more similarities in the legs between the two kits. Just check out Dalong.net
Also, the frame of the leg armor (that’s like inner frame within the inner frame) need some painting to look nice, and the thrusters looks a bit goofy to me.

Well, that almost cut down my interest on MG Gelgoog Ver. 2.0, especially when the price is so much higher than Zaku II (4500 Yen, around RM165).

But then again, the sheer size of this mecha (not to mention his massive Zulu-type shield as well) is a reason good enough to make my wallet cry again.

Zeta Gundam: A New Translation I, II and III

I just finished watching the last bits of the trilogy last night, which was actually Part I for me. I watched them in reversed chronological order actually, starting from Part III down to the first one, since it was the last episode that triggered my interest I checking out the other two. That’s was fine for me, since I watched and remembered the original anime series well, plus the storyline of the movie version didn’t divert much from the anime series anyway.




Overall, I’m quite disappointed actually. Fitting a 50-episode anime into three movies of around 1 hour and 40 minutes each is not a good idea at all. There were too many good points in the anime series that were scarified in the movie version. They were either too short in time, or were just cut in from nowhere and failed to convey any sort of message what so ever. If you never watched the anime series before, there is a huge chance that you’ll be lost halfway through and started wondering who’s who and what’s going on.


"Excuse me sir, but it seems that you’re the only one thinking you’re Quattro Bagina around here."


"What’s with that green aura before your transformation? You think you’re GaoGaiGar or something?"


"With or without your ballute on, you’re still going down!"


"Yeepie! My Asshimar doesn’t look too UFO-like in these new scenes!"


"Char! You change you color preference from red to gold?"
Of course there were good stuff as well. Some of the battle sequences were reanimated, with some coupled with CG effects as well, which made them quite cool. Some were a bit cheesy as one second there were new animation bits, the next scene that came from the original anime series, and then it switched back for the few seconds of new stuff again. Sound like the movie editing assignment back in my university days :) I’m glad that the moment when Amuro meets Char for the first time after the One Year War was reanimated as well. For me, that’s the most unforgettable scene in both the movie and the anime versions.


"Feel like cutting an egg"


"My combat debut finishes with a broken back?!! Arghhh~~"


"Hopefully this will improve our HGUC sales :)"


"I wonder if I can get these in Axis’s model stores?"


"Thanks for the escort, but you don’t expect me to pay for you fuel right?"
I guess there is some truth to the saying that the movie version is an evil way for Bandai to rip off sales of old and new Zeta related merchandises. The scene of Haman Karn in her Gaza C inspecting the MSs on Argama at the end of Part II is one of the best examples. So Haman Karn gets a new MS with her customized color scheme, which DID NOT do anything at all in combat. So much for a super cameo MS that was being released in HGUC format. Methuss got more exposure, and Hyaku Shiki was finally animated with a pair of red camera eyes inside its protective goggles, so that they appeal more to the Gunpla fans? You decide for that~


"Where's the sales reports of my Qubeley and Gaza C models? :)"


"Dear Paptimus Scirocco, your hairdo is as ridiculous as it was back in the anime series!"


"No, Emma-san, don’t die on me! This is the second time already!"


"*Sob Sob* Tell me, Zeta! Just when are they gonna release my Master Grade model?!!"


"Thanks for the guide, girls!"
Overall, two stars out of five for the whole trilogy. Thumbs up for the newly animated battle sequences, as well as some of the most memorable moments from the whole series (Amuro meeting Char in midair for example). Thumbs down for rushing 90 percent of the whole anime series into the three movies, which made all the movies seems so unorganized and painful to follow.

I suppose I would like it better if the title was Zeta Gundam: An Express Edition :)

PLAMO Review 19: MG Qubeley

PLAMO Review 19 goes to MG Qubeley, Haman Karn’s MS from Zeta and ZZ Gundam era. This time I’ll try to talk less and let the photos do the review instead :)

To begin with, Qubeley is one weird-looking MS, like I said once, back in those days when I had no idea what it was called, I named it butterfly, as the shoulder armors looks very much like the wings of a butterfly. Qubeley is the exclusive MS of Haman Karn, the leader of Axis. The shoulder armors mentioned are wing binders mounting thrusters for the MS's mobility. Being an exclusive MS means only Haman herself can pilot the MS to its fullest potential. Also, the color scheme of pink and purple on white is quite a match to Haman Karn herself. As a MS for newtype, Qubeley is armed with ten Funnels, which can be used to attack enemies even if they are out of sight. The funnels are stored in the tail binders and need to return to it after a certain time of operation for recharging.



Front and rear views of the model, displayed on the Action Display Stand. You'll need to drill a hole in Qubeley's back for that purpose.


The top view of the model
Personally, I would say that Qubeley is one of the most powerful MSs in the UC timeline. It fought with Kamille Bidan's Zeta Gundam in the that series, and fought Judau Asta's ZZ Gundam in the final battle in its series as well. Same MS in the grand finale of two different Gundam series. Who can do that other than Haman Karn and her Qubeley? And mind you, the fight between her and ZZ Gundam was a draw, and Qubeley was destroyed because Haman threw the MS onto an asteroid.

As for the model, here's what you will get:


A very nice set of inner frame for the arms and the legs. This model is probably the only kit in the world that shows you the inner frame of Qubeley. For the legs, remember to remove the two blue caps before removing the armors.


The details for the tail binder and the shoulder armors are also very nice, but for the tail binder, it's molded entirely in pink, so quite a bit of painting is needed to make it looks good. Use of different colors will certainly be a bonus to its appearance.
In terms of firepower, Qubeley has only the ten funnels, and two beam sabers which double up as beam guns when they are stored in the forearm.


The funnels are really small, that's why I didn't bother to panel line them. In contrary from what you might see in the anime, they are ONLY ten funnels, not just from the model, but according to the mecha information of Qubeley as well.


Three sets of hands: closed fists for holding the beam saber, spread palms for posing the beam gun, and free hands with movable fingers (personally I would call them claws instead :) for posing. The free hands seem cool, but has very limited use actually.
Just how big is this model? Let's compare it with another model.




The height of Qubeley is the same as the other MS, but its width is unmatched, even for Strike Gundam that stretches his arms across in full.


A single shoulder armor is bigger than the shield of Strike. Wuhhuh~
Here's the bad thing about the model:


The elbows of Qubeley use ball-type joints, so they can rotate (but why do you need that? I wonder) and bend easily for action. But after a while, the whole forearm will just detach at the elbow, just like the forearm of Zeong or Destroy Gundam :-D Can be quite annoying sometimes.

And of course, NO display stand included even for a MS used exclusively in outer space, a worse drawback as compared to the elbow issue :(

Lastly, some action poses from the lady's MS of course:


Can't really pose exactly like what you see in the anime, but there's a fine line between reality and fantasy of course.


I'm not going to complain about poor firepower on this model. I think if the designer gave Qubeley a beam rifle from the start, she will look really goofy :-D



And my favorite pose before signing off this posting~
PLAMO Review 20 is coming soon as well, and this time, it'll be one of my most anticipated one as well. Who'll it be? Hehehe~

???

There is a Chinese proverb, 虎毒不食子 (hu3 du2 bu4 shi2 zi3), which means as ferocious as a tiger can be; it will not harm its own offspring.

Killed and burnt: Police probe couple's motive for killing Ying Ying

But we as human being can do that, and sometimes in the most devastating method as well. We can put up the most beautiful clothes on our bodies, wear the most beautiful makeup, and then be called ladies and gentlemen, but in another time, we commit the most hideous thing no one can imagine of; we claim dominance over this little planet with our limited intelligence, but sometimes our actions are a hell lot worse than the animals we claim as interior to us. We even started claiming the quality of God, through our science and technologies, but sometimes we destroy lives in manner worse than the Devil himself.



Sometimes I am ashamed to call myself a human being.

Shockingly unbelievable, but no one can escape from seeing the news whenever we flip the newspapers, or tune in to TV news, even the Internet news portal is full of the case’s report. Reading this kind of news just makes the sunny day outside seems so gloomy and distressing.

I just hope that little girl can find peace in her death.