SRW Original Generations OG2

Here comes the main course!

1/144 Alteisen Riese WIP part 3

For the WIP this time i will show the my work on the Waist part which will be quite short since it is probably the least interesting part to be shown.

For the waist part, the work is relatively straight forward since there i just need to cut the sprues remains on the part and removing the Gundam marker pain most of the time. Though there is one part that i need to apply some putty.

I had couple of hard times working on this part since i have applied putties for several times yet the seamlines are not removed completely. After my third time reapplying the putty the seams are mostly removed which doesn't look that bad!

By the way i also have finished one of the Alteisen's leg and some comparison with the unpainted one. For the next WIP probably i will show some working progress on the Upper Torso.

1/100 Type-00F Takemikazuchi Yui Takamura Deluxe version

In anticipation for the upcoming anime of Muvluv Total Eclipse, Kotobukiya decided to release a special version of the main Heroine's Type 00-F Takemikazuchi. The kit will be released around June this year with 5800 yen price tag. From what it looks, the kit will be given special coating just like some special edition of Gunpla. The kit will also will include Type-74 Longsword with special effects and some miniature Tank Class-BETA to join the ride. I really want the BETA so bad because i need some shooting targets for my Muvluv toys/kits but it don't want to buy the kit. Aside from rather expensive price tag, if i get a Muvluv kit, i will be painting them so i will get the regular version if i ever plan to get one. It seems that the kit will be get special packaging which is likely going to be some anime illustration. Apart from this kit, Kotobukiya also have announced 1/144 Takemikazuchi which might get them to compete with Bandai's 1/144 Bandai HG lineup.

Pics source Cybergundam

1/144 Alteisen Riese WIP part 2

So now i am going through the first real part of the Alteisen Riese WIP. As you can see i am working on the legs first since it is easier to work on compared to the arms. Back then when i assembled this kit for first time i left plenty of nubs on it due to lack of proper tools and skill obviously. This makes me have to fix lots of the parts by intensive sanding then priming to double check the results.

SRW kits tend to be less popular compared to Gunpla due to lack of the series exposure in the west, but there is one other thing that makes most casual modellers stay away from them; which is Seamlines. The seamlines in Kotobukiya's kit tend to be located in visible parts unlike Bandai's MG which the newer kits concealed them well.

Recently i managed to use putty properly and i used Tamiya's Epoxy putty which is not the best for fixing seamlines but works anyway.

It's Nail Polishing Time!

The most visible seamlines on the leg parts is the back of the Thigh and the leg. Since i just learned how to use putty properly, there might be some minor inconsistency as there are still plenty of putty remained. I used Nail Polisher to remove the majority of the putty since Sandpaper will took ages to clean up the parts and then i sanded the surface to smoothen the surface and cleaning up some residues. I tried to isolate the parts to be sanded since it will leave plenty of clean up job if i didn't.

Here is some of the results from the putty usage which gives quite a satisfying result.

As you can see the putty really solve the Seamlines issue and if my skill was better, probably i can make the surface really smooth.

For the next WIP i am planning to work on the waist parts which is by no mean interesting but i am going to show more of the working results of the legs part.

Stay in tunes.

Scrapped Princess

  Probably this anime is one of the few titles that have lasting impression on me. I watched this series  back when i was in middle school and it is the one that made me going into Anime from tha time onward. Scrapped Princess or Haikyou Oujo is an anime series made by Bones with story revolving about runaway adventure of a girl who were chased by religious sects as she is prophesised to bring the end of the world when she reached 16 years old. Scrapped princess is not really epic compared to some major series but it will give  a satisfying experience since the series is self contained really well. If you are into Fantasy genre, you will definitely enjoy the series. Perhaps one of the most memorable thing from this anime is the music which is a top notch as JAM Project is the one who contribute for the opening song and i am still got attached with the ending song. By the way this anime also have some mecha stuff if you consider semi-organic Dragon as a mecha.

1/144 Alteisen Riese WIP part 1

Recently i almost finished my entry for HLJ sci-fi modelling competition and thus allow me to have some time to work on my Alteisen Riese. I had this kit for 2 years already and as you can see my modelling skill back then is relatively bad and i feel the work i done to this kit doesn't do enough justice. I am going to do full paint job on this kit and i intend to work it in fast progress which should take about a week to reach my target and i also have prepared a special equipment for this guy once it is finished. For the WIP i will be breaking down the work by each parts starting from Legs then Waist, Torso, Head, Arms and finally the Backpack which i find will be taking plenty of work if not the arms.

These are the paints that i will be using which are sufficient for the Alteisen Riese color scheme though i think i am going to need another can for Bright Red paint since i am running low for it.

Stay in tunes.

Volks A3 Fubuki Review

First Review of this year!

Kotobukiya Wonderfest 2012

Just like last year, Kotobukiya's lineup always caught my interest in Wonderfest. In their booths, they show the prototyper for Panzer Zero and Berserk Fury which was confirmed around last week already. My wallets will cry for sure since i will be getting both of them which will be released around the 2nd half of this year and i bet the latter one will cost 7800 yen at least.

Perhaps one of the lineup that Kotobukiya always supply new products steadily is the D-style which grew in rather fast pace. Kotobukiya show new addition of the lineup which is ARX-8 Levatein and Takemikazuchi which i would've gotten them if i am collecting SD kits. So far there is no news for Muvluv kit or SRW which i will be looking forward to.

I am never really into Revoltech but Monster Hunter caught my eyes for sure. In their booths they show the prototype for MH3 version of Rathalos Blademaster armor though no weapons shown yet. They also show their revoltech version of Rathalos/Rioleus which would be a great pair for the Hunter and i will be looking forward for them. Apart from Monster Hunter, it seems that Kaiyodo is a serious contender for Volks rather than Kotobukiya as their Muvluv lineup grow in really fast rate. This time they already announced F-22A Raptor and SU-37 Terminator though i won't be getting them at any rate.

I will update this post if i find anything interesting

Source: Cybergundam

Some loots from Mandarake

Over last 2 months i have ordered some stuffs from Mandarake which i happen to participate the Christmas promotion as well. I got some Volks A3 stuffs again and some SRW loots and probably this is the first time that i bought a figurine too. Since now i got YF-22 and F-4 Phantom i think i only need F-15E to complete my collection but there is a chance that i plan to get YF-23 in which either Blackwidow or Gray Ghost would be fine. Out of these loots perhaps the best deal that i got is the Cerberus action figure which seems to have quite number of Gimmicks and 1500 yen is rather cheap for it. If you know what you are looking for i would say Mandarake is really good place to find some Hobby stuff from Japan especially the exclusives one.

SRW Alpha 3 Cobray route finished!

Finally my patience really paid off really well.

DSLR Get!

 Today i just received my new Camera which is a DSLR from DHL Courier. I bought the camera from a Hongkong merchant roughly for AU$630(which would have been really good deal if AUD was lower). With this i can get better quality pics for my reviews and  I chose Canon EOS 550D in particular since i find the specs is not too low or too high for my need. I hope with my new camera i could also improve my skills and learn more about photography. Probably in two weeks i will be able to make another review again as currently i got my hands full with things to do in real life. By the way i also just watched the PV of Saisei-hen and certainly look promising though i didn't expect Esther would pilot a Brasta and perhaps there is a chance that she will get a different mech for her upgrade.

Senritsu no Stratus

Few months ago i played this game shortly after saw the trailer which makes me instantly interested with the game. Senritsu no Stratus or Terror of Stratus is a PSP game made by the developer of Infinite Space and published by Konami around the end of last year. This game is a side scrolling with some mecha action and it is a standalone series which is quite a rarity these days. Senritsu uses one of common theme of Mecha series where a teen protagonist save the world from aliens by piloting a Giant robot. The main character of this game is Kudan Seishirou(voiced by Mamoru Miyano) ,a teenage boy who are forcefully draftedinto special military group called 6th Division as he possess superhuman ability after being infected by the Alien creature which are called as MEME/MEEM. Seishirou also possess ability to pilot mecha called Arabaki which is the only effective weapon to fight against the giant strain of MEMEs in limited time due to the special conditions of Arabaki.

Overall i find the game to be rather ordinary due to mediocre plot(though there are some interesting twist in midway of the game) and short playtime. However the experience given by the game is quite unique since you will feel like watching the anime while playing the game due to the unique format of the game. Graphic wise, Senritsu does really well as it push the graphic level up to the limit of the system. Unfortunately the gameplay of the game is lacking which makes the game rather not memorable though the Mecha battles are quite fun despite it is too few. Nevertheless i would recommend this game if you really like Mecha since you will find some unique experience playing this game though you need to be able to read some Moonrunes since it is quite full of Kanjis(which i only managed to understand the main plots).

Here is the opening of the game.

Red Eyes

     There haven't been plenty of mecha manga with Power Armor theme throughout the past, but there are some particular series which are really great and Red Eyes is one of them with more gritty setting taken in. Red Eyes takes place in semi-futuristic dystopian setting where modern warfare evolve with the introduction of SAA(Special Assault Armors) which grants "One Man Army" power to Soldiers. The series revolves around a soldier named Grahalt Mills who leads an elite SAA corps called "Jackals" who is also known for his prowess in battle which makes him had a nickname "Genocide". In the beginning of the series, his country fought a losing war and he is framed by his comrades leading him to be sent on death row. However Grahalt managed to escape and sworn himself to get revenge on his former comrades that betray him.

The manga is one of the best mecha manga that i have read so far since it incorporates plenty of military tactics and SAAs strengths and weaknesses are clearly shown. This manga is Seinen however as you will also see plenty of Gore fest, in a good way. Though some people might criticise the main character as he is invicible considering he is another Chirico Cuvie except that he is more brutal but i think Grahalt had his own charming points. Of course the design of the power armor in this manga is really awesome since the mangaka put lots of great details in the designs which is the main selling point of the manga. So far the manga had reached 15 volumes already though unfortunately the manga seems to be neglected by scanlators because it is not a mainstream title or some other reasons. I would say this one of the hidden gem in mecha series and you probably won't regret reading the manga if you are into these kind of stuffs.