Macross 7 VF-Hi Metal R VF-19 Kai

  Macross 7 fans gotta be pampered quite well early this year by Bandai. Other than the Tiny Session for Basara, the Iconic Red VF-19 gets the Diecast Hi-Metal treatment! While this is not exactly the first diecast product that VF-19 Kai had, the Hi-Metal R probably addressed the proportion issue that the first one have to become an even better product. Hi-Metal R VF-19 will be scheduled for August 2024 release with 14300 Yen Price tag.

 Back in college days, My first VF-19 Kai collectible was an Old 1/100 scale Bandai Kit that cost 1700 Yen yet features complete transformation gimmick by parts swapping. As I get older and do get my personal life sorted out somehow, I do desire a better representation for the Macross 7 Protagonist. While it doesn't look apparent, I do have soft spot for Macross 7 which is my second favorite Macross series after Macross Plus but when it comes to music scores, Fire Bomber is still my absolute favorite up until now. Therefore this version of VF-19 Kai would be a right candidate as my pick for VF-19 to join the collection. Given that Macross Plus YF-19 & YF-21 got Model Kit from Bandai, I won't be surprised that VF-19 Kai will follow up at some point. Quite sure VF-19 or VF-17 could join the Hi Metal R series as well at some point if Bandai is motivated enough.

Fate/Grand Order 1/7 Caster Artoria 3rd Ascension

  FGO series is still going strong at staying alive with their Merchandise department as we are getting another premium PVC figure for Castoria! This time it is Goodsmile Company themselves who make the figure for Castoria in her 3rd Ascension! Scheduled for May 2025, GSC 1/7 Castoria 3rd Ascension will be sold for 27800 Yen.

Previously Aniplex did release 1/7 Castoria in her 3rd Ascension as well with default pose while GSC take more dynamic pose with her. However the one that GSC made will be more prone to break off due to the amount of stress on the very thin connecting point for the base which excacerbated with the sheer weight of the Sword Staff that Castoria carry.. Personally I would prefer to wait for Castoria coming in Figma and Nendoroid format because you will never have enough Artorias for your Fate collection. Around the timing of this Castoria figure has been announced, I finally started LB6 Fae Avalon as well after almost 1 year of procrastination thus will look forward Castoria's journey to reach her final ascension. Lastly while this particular version of Castoria won't catch my attention, As much as I prefer getting 1/7 Scale figure for Morgan, I am still interested to obtain the bunny version of Summer Castoria if it ever gets the Scale figure.

Chogokin Rubik's Cube

 A totally random Diecast toy made by Bandai but still an interesting novelty! Out of all IPs, Bandai decided to make a Diecast robot out of the Rubik's Cube which I only know that it is not a public domain and the IP is owned by a british company just now. Chogokin Rubik's cube will be scheduled for October 2024 release with 9000 Yen price tag.

While this one can't be played like a regular Rubik's cube, Chogokin Rubik Cube certainly can turn itself into robot complete with their own gimmick. This sort of product is definitely not for mass market but will find a place for avid collectors who wish for unique collection. While not related by any means, Chogokin Rubik Cube certainly will pair well with Chogokin Gold Lightan considering both are blocky robots that transform from a Cube like object. Apart from the Chogokin Rubik's cube they are planning to release some Pokemon Chogokins as well as their side project. For those who care, better not miss this one when it is still up for preorder considering these kind of stuffs only have one time production.
 

Bang Bang Bravern The Gattai DX Bang Bravern

 During its short season run, Bang Bravern, The Obari Mecha series that was ruined by excessive dose of Bara fanservice did get some decent Merchandise during its run for what it matters. Apart from the Moderoid stuff, they do get some cool Robot Toy product for Bang Bravern under the Gattai Lineup which had been churning out the definitive stuff for Yuusha series. What catches my attention from this particular product for Bang Bravern under the name of The Gattai DX is the unusually cheap price for this sort of product. Scheduled for January 2025 release. The gattai DX Bang Bravern will be sold for 16800 Yen.

For this price tag, You got yourself 20 cm tall Bang Bravern toy with decent articulation. On top of that DX Bang Bravern comes with 3 Melee weapons ranging from the short sword, Axe Polearm and large Energy Sword that serves as Bang Bravern's equivalent of SRX Hi-Zol Sword. Personally I am not too amused with Bang Bravern's silly storyline which necessitates the condition for the sufficient budget to be aired. Seriously with such market condition there will be virtually no New Mecha series made from Japan that are likely capable of becoming long term success with Bang Bravern added into the batch of newest victims.

Regardless I still appreciate the Bang Bravern inherent mecha design for what its worth who is still worthy of being the young step sibling of Yuushas and Obari still kept the essence of the mecha very well. I will still be looking for the Bang Dragon which literally turns Bravern into God Gravion. Despite the Super Robot is the primary focus of Bang Bravern, I am very willing to wait for Non Model Kit merchandise for XM3 Rising Orthos and M2 Exceed Rhinos which are definitely some cool looking Real Robot.

Realm of Darkness - Final Gear Mechatalk Ultimate Archive

"Without Love it cannot be seen"

 The dust have settled and with Final Gear have officially closed its service for all of its servers. It is time for Realm of Darkness to move on as well and wrap up this series properly. To be honest I never expect this pet project of mine that began since July 2023 could last for more than 10 months! This is partially owed to Final Gear persistence in surviving in Maintenance mode despite the end will be still inevitable regardless.

As my token of Final Appreciation and send-off for the memories over 2.5 years from Final Gear, I proudly present the Final Gear Mechatalk Ultimate Archive! This is the Culmination of my Final Gear project in Realm of Darkness which started from the the moment when Final Gear announced its maintenance mode right until the Global server closure. You will find all of the link for Final Gear Mechatalks in this post whether it is Compendium or the individual unit discussion. Lastly the Individual Posts will be sorted by 6 Unit Classes chronologically. Personally I could have just not putting so much dedication toward Final Gear but over 20 years of my pursuit in Mecha Genre, I saw something special from this series and If the Dev couldn't care less up until the end, at very least there are some of the fans who will do, which I happen to be one of them and I am doing my part to keep the memory alive for this series.

Hopefully this Final Gear Ultimate Archive will serve some use for any fellow Final Gear Fans who stumble upon it in the future who desires a place to revisit for their memories with Final Gear. I also still hope that if Final Gear ever been given another chance for comeback, the Dev in charge better be putting their best effort to make the series thrive and reach the potential it rightfully deserve.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Compendium - UR Edition

Final Gear might have officially concluded its service with the Global Server has closed down and so does the Mechatalk series for this game. Overall over past 2.5 Years it is still a pleasant journey with this game despite Final Gear never reached the peak of its potential that rightfully theirs and I am actually grateful that the Global Server is willing to endure for another 10 Months after concluding its update which is rather unheard of for unprofitable Gacha Game. As a Last Encore for the Final Gear Mechatalk series, I present you the last of Final Gear Mechatalk Compendium! which is no other than the UR Edition!

In this article you will get to see the list of all available Final Gear units that have UR Upgrade in Global Server  including the link to the Mechatalk Article if there were any previously and it will be sorted according to the numerical order in game. Overall there are 30 Mecha Units that obtained the UR Upgrade in Final Gear during the lifetime of the Global Server. The CN server probably got one or two more UR Upgrades including Trida but the Devs decided to hang the towel before the update ever reached Global Server. Throughout the lifetime of Final Gear Global Server, I managed to upgrade 15 Units to their UR Version which account for half of the available option. It is truly one of my proud achievement because it is not exactly an easy task despite the weekly handouts after the game went into maintenance mode.

Out of the 30 Available UR Units in Final Gear, apart from the 15 UR Units that I actually obtained which will have [UR] tag  in the list, there are another 8 Units belong to this list that had the Mechatalk Article made for despite I was unable to obtain their UR Upgrade, yet I did briefly discuss their UR Skills briefly in their respective article. This mean only 7 Units that doesn't have dedicated mechatalk article which is pretty good result from this whole Final Gear Mechatalk run while it lasted I would say. If Final Gear had lasted abit longer, there are around 4 Units which I planned to bestow UR Upgrade to them which are Favia, Flavia, Jasmine and Margaret. In any case, Hopefully this culmination of small efforts from a dedicated Final Gear fan could help the series revival in some way.

Earnestcore Craft Robot Build RB-14 Denki Auto Nine

 

 Earnestcore output pace might not be as fast as other Chinese manufacturer but they sure churn out Quality products after another for their Designers Toys lineup, Robot Build! Back then, some of their previous entry of Robot Build did have mecha musume action figure coming as the part of package, but this time Earnestcore integrate their Mechas with the Mecha Musume even better with their newest entry RB-14 Denki Auto Nine! Scheduled for July 2024 release, Robot Build Auto Nine are open for Pre-order with 268 RMB Price Tag.

Hexagear 1/24 Early Governor Vol.2

 One of the Hexagear previous product that got a rerun recently and definitely a well deserved one! Compared to most Hexagear Soldier Model Kit, this one falls on slightly more expensive price range but still one of the better value. Dubbed as Early Governor, this particular Hexagear edition features modern military style Soldier model kit. As for Volume 2, this one will be scheduled for November 2024 release with 2800 Yen Price tag.

 Hexagear Early Governor series is probably part of Kotobukiya attempt to compete with Joytoy which really thrive in 1/24 Scale military product. While I don't think they are quite successful at this, this particular lineup do still have its own merit. What makes Early Governor Vol 2 stands out among its peers would be it is easily the best of this series. Basically you got yourself a Elite Soldier clad in Black armor for this one which can be customizable to resemble popular Pop Culture soldiers like Jinroh Wolf Brigade to Killzone Hellghast Soldier or even Hunk from Resident Evil. Also Early Governor Vol 2. comes with generous amount of Armaments which you can see below. At the end of the day, I think I do find the best Pilot Candidate for my Bulkarm Lambda Jackal. 

Eulogy for Final Gear

 The day has arrived for the inevitable fated parting and at this moment Final Gear has officially closed its Global server and concluded pretty much all of its service! Overall I feel that Final Gear is one of those Gacha Game that once had really immense potential and could have made it into big franchise given its Mecha niche and the 2D Assets quality. However due to mismanagement and apathy from the Dev and combined with many other things, ultimately Final Gear had its opportunity ruined making it unable to seize the potential rightfully theirs. At very least, I am happy that I am committed enough to stick around with Final Gear until its last moment. Therefore In this opportunity, I would like to bid proper farewell and share some of my personal experience from my journey with Final Gear since October 2022.

Transformers: The Movie

 Ever since the inception of Realm of Darkness, I have been deliberately avoiding Transformers series all this time. Considering it is a Rabbit hole that I am not willing to plunge into given the overwhelming size of this IP which may compromise the focus on Japanese Mecha series that have been the staple of this Blog. Even so, While I am not exactly fan of the bayformers, I am still an enjoyer of the G1 editions as I did have exposure to G1 when I was a Kid and even had Diecast Optimus Prime toy at some point. However due to recent turn out of events, as much as I wanted to avoid this series, due to work related stuffs, I probably had to face this series once again and decided the G1 Movie would be good starting point.

Transformers G1 1986 Movie is what you expect from an Action movie and in terms of animation it is a solid one, given it was made in the Golden age of Mecha in Japan. Other than having mechas brawling each other, To me there is nothing much to obtain from this movie apart that this one serve as turning point where Rodimus taking the leadership mantle from Optimus Prime and you get to witness the Autobot fight against one of their largest adversary, Unicron. As I decided to enter the rabbit hole called Transformers by my own volition. In near future I will be inevitably getting some collectible from this series. Transformers: The Movie will only be my starting point for this massive series as my possible work requirement will demand me to delve into the series even further.
 

Rihio Animacha Vol.2

 It has been a year since we got any update from Rihio with their Blindbox Mecha Toys, but early this month they are ready to announce the 2nd Edition of their Animacha Products! Featuring 6 variants of Animal themed Mecha with 1 Secret character just like the 1st Volume, Rihio Animacha will be sold for 400 RMB per box of 6 Pcs with Q2 release scheduled date.

I am always a big sucker for Robot Toys that come with pilot gimmick and Animacha Vol 2 manage to scratch that itch just like the 1st volume. This time Vol 2 features Cat, Rabbit, Panda, Gorilla. Sheep and Turtle as its rosters with the Rabbit palette swap as the secret unit. Just like the 1st volume which features Tiger, Shiba Inu, Lizard, Pig, Penguin and Hamster, Rihio Animacha Roster are just as colorful even though this one leans more on herbivorous side this time. My personal favorite from this roster would be the Rabbit one as it looks compact and utilitarian unit that could make use of any equipment or blitzing through with its light armament setup. I just hope there will be sellers that are interested in bringing in this interesting Designer Toy which had unique designs as one of the main selling point evidenced by the effort required by Rihio to continue the lineup.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Aita - Swift

 Every good things have to come to an end at some point and so does for Final Gear Mechatalk too. As a Token of Appreciation and preparation before Final Gear officially close down, Realm of Darkness presents the 42nd and last of Final Gear series Mechatalk! As promised It will be another UR Pilot and it is no other than Aita with her Neo Zeong Mecha, Swift! Not particularly the most special characters in terms of Meta but I do have a reason to pick this Peppy Pink haired Waifu as the last of Final Gear Mechatalk as the Swansong to send off this once Promising Mecha Game series. Final Gear Mechatalk may end with Aita but I promise there will be a couple more articles down the road to wrap up Final Gear.

Xiwanshe Dragon Princess 01 - Yuwanglong/Huoying

 Year of Dragon 2024 do have plenty of opportunity for Hobby Manufacturers to make some Dragon related mecha model kit but for Mecha Musume, this one looks like going to take the cake! So there is a particular manufacturer called Xiwangshe/喜玩社 that released yet another eye-catching product! What's better than a regular mecha musume? The answer is a Dragon Riding Mecha Musume! Dubbed as the Dragon Princess, Xiwanshe is releasing a set of Red colored Mecha Musume complete with her Bipedal Dragon mount which will be sold for 159 RMB with Q3 2024 schedule release!

Not sure if Xiwanshe is over promising for a model kit product on such caliber with this price tag. While the design are not exactly the most original and Sculpt quality of the Mecha Musume still requires improvement, the Dragon mecha unit are worth the price tag already. The dragon unit is pretty much reusing the mold from Kotobukiya Zoids Berserk Fuhrer but the effort of this hobby manufacturer is still commendable if they can actually deliver a product with decent quality under that price tag. In any case their marketing stunt do catch my attention until their product release at very least.

Persona Qset+ Persona 3-5 Protagonists

 A surprise simultaneous release for Persona series but a pleasant one nonetheless. For once I never though Goodsmile Shanghai took initiative for a Japan IP but here we got the Persona mini figure under Qset+ lineup! Released under 2500 Yen Price Tag, the main protagonists from Persona 3 to 5 will be released simultaneously on October 2024.

 On the first glance I think this Qset Sculpt quality will be somewhere in between Qposket and Nendoroid. Quite sure there were plenty Prize Figures that has a set of a Figure in sitting pose that comes with pairing chair, but it is still quite uncommon for super deformed scale similar to Qposket to get such treatment even if there were couple of those Nendoroid Swacchao before though Qset appear to be different lineup. If the product is selling well, I am quite sure that Goodsmile Shanghai might consider release the supporting party members from each Persona series. But given the ongoing global economic situation and the target demographic spending power, I really doubt that it will likely happen. Might have considered getting the Qset Makoto Yuki though I am still banking on possible Nendoroid Doll release.

MOSHOW x Hobby Mecha 1/100 Jingwei

 Moshow dropped another bomb of a Diecast Mecha yet again! Being a collab works with Hobby Mecha they are releasing what appears to be 21-cm tall Diecast Robot named after the fabled China's Monster Bird, Jingwei! The Sculpt Quality alone is quite breathtaking, but the price for such quality of Diecast Robot Toy is no Joke! Scheduled for Q3 release, Moshow x Hobby Mecha Jingwei are open for preorder with 498 RMB Price Tag which is very difficult to resist if you are a Hobby Collector.

 If Freedom, Destiny and Wing Gundam Zero combined together into a Fantasy themed mecha, Jingwei is probably what you get out of it and this one comes with Spear and Sword as its angelic armaments. Seriously for a Diecast Product of this caliber will easily cost 30-40k Yen from Bandai and I don't know what kind of Black Magic that Moshow pull off to be able to sell this Quality item for cheap. Considering that China market is a huge fan Freedom Gundam, Jingwei will definitely be a huge success and this one is easily successful for Overseas market too.