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This article will serve as afterthoughts covering the finale part of Gagharv Mobile adaptation of Tear of Vermilion chapter as well as highlighting some of the moments in the storyline which I consider noteworthy from this classic JRPG. So I would recommend fellow readers to stay away if you are still interested to witness the journey of this particular Chapter of Gagharv Trilogy for yourself.
China Model Kits might not have caught up with Bandai's Gunpla when it comes to playability, But they certainly could make some cool looking designs even if they are still not the most original ones. Coming from a manufacturer called Eddas Technology, China hobby industry now have a counterpart with Full Armor Thunderbolt Gundam simply under Asgard callname. Scheduled for December 2024 release , this is yet another 1/100 Scale Model kit that comes with Diecast Frame and will be sold for 199 RMB.
Chinese take on Gundam Ensemble, Canned Squad unit has made its return! This time they release another three sets which are another variants from the first batch which consisted of Barking Hound, Super Gauntlet and Chariot. Just like the previous batch, these units will be sold for 49 RMB each with Q1 2025 release schedule.
Baichuan got some really cool looking prototypes in their weibo which are mostly Gundams. But due to legal reasons we will just get these CSU units for now. In the second batch we got ourselves a Flight Type and Dive type Barking Hound which looks more like GM/Jesta this time and heavily armed Super Gauntlet accompanied by construction type Chariot units which come as a set apparently. In terms of accessories I think the Manufacturer tried to be more generous this time considering the first CSU are relatively barebone when it comes to accessories. In any case I am willing to support this one so that we get to see the Baichuan make conversion of their Gundam prototypes which got some Gundam Seed stuff.
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In this first part of SMC Mechatalk, I will be covering the Six Mechs of the Starter characters which are Arthur, Firefox, Caramel, Andromeda, Hot Steel and Skylark which I will include the noteworthy skins and any concept Art that I got. Considering these mechas have been around since the inception of SMC series, they tend to be the receiving end of generous amount of skins by the dev and there are plenty of Good SS Skins belong to this group. In my personal opinion, the Top 3 Mech with best skin in this batch are Arthur, Skylark and Hot Steel in this particular order and slightly regretted that I didn't spend more for the Fancy skins when I had the chance.
Another great looking Mecha Musume coming from Nuke Matrix, the same manufacturer with the Mad Wolf product. This one is a futuristic Bat themed Mecha Musume called Bat Sonic Blast Attacker which got plenty of cool gimmicks as expected from Chinese manufacturers. Scheduled for Q1 2025, Nuke Matrix Bat Sonic will be sold for 188 RMB but surprisingly over 14000 Yen for Japan market.
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Super Mecha Champions demise may have been set in place with Netease total neglect, but it doesn't mean that you can't stop enjoying this series and appreciate whatever things that this already had. This time I will present you the 6th of the 7 Sluban SMC Brick Model Review. This time I am proudly Ranger in its Safeguard Skin version, 1 out of the 2 Sluban SMC variants that were made in their alternate skin. If you have followed my blog, you will likely know that Ranger is my first Sluban Brick Model that I got for SMC and the rabbit hole goes down further from that point on.
Out of the 7 Sluban SMC Brick model that I obtained, Ranger was the cheapest one. But it comes with somewhat decent transformation gimmick that turns the unit into car just like the unit's gimmick in the game. Considering this one of the last few Reviews for this particular series, this one obviously got something more special included in the review.
Hemoxian Tastier and Fruity Robo model kit are easily the eyecatcher in this one. Certainly they are very difficult to ignore with its value for money when they are Big box product under 400 RMB Price tag that could give 1/100 Scale gunpla a run for their money. FYI Joytoy Leman Russ are still more expensive even when those two combined. I also got several heavy duty for Joytoy as well in this batch with the Rome Legion box set which are surprisingly small in size but will still look forward for the unboxing opportunity.
The main star of the batch are no doubt the P-Bandai RoDa FA Hyakushiki and Amuro Dijeh which combined values easily surpassed the rest of the loots in this batch, yet they end up with modest box size. I also got myself a MG Hyaku Shiki clear as the bonus on the side because I am a Lieutenant Quattro fanboy after all since SRW MX and got to complete a set with another recent collection as shown below. Lastly if anyone wonders what is inside the Top red box, it is 3rd party Yoroiden action figure for Ryo made by Dasin which I will look forward to compare with my armor plus.
Took me more than a year to complete this particular supposed peak of FGO Lostbelt chapters. But as I did promise to myself when I got Arcueid in FGO 7th anniv and LB7 is looming over, I decided to clear Lostbelt 6 Avalon Le Fae over past 2 weeks. Actually, I would have made this sort of FGO article for LB5.2 if Olympus was not an utter disappointment compared to LB 5.1 Atlantis which remains to be my personal favorite for the abundant Heroism from the casts in that one.
Overall, I felt Lostbelt 6 is a drag to finish with pacing issues all over again despite it has some good moments which are not utilized to the fullest. But given this particular Lostbelt chapter has great significance with Morgan, easily one of the most popular waifu in FGO and personal favorite as well. I decided to make a full fledged article in regards to my experience with this supposed High points in FGO.
10-15 years ago, Before their Hobby industry flourished, China had a rather interesting model kit called Precursor Kainar which resemble Gundam Model kit. After Dussack getting the gorgeous Diecast makeover by Cangdao last year, It is the turn for the Posterboy from the original lineup, Asytac Fronteer getting the next Diecast Product by Cangdao. Obviously just like Dussack, Cangdao take on Asytac is fully armed to the teeth in Diecast glory. This one is scheduled for Q2 2025 with 650 RMB price tag.
Looks like Bandai G-Frame Candytoys lineup is doing well enough that they are making some big stuffs. If Robot Damashi got Big Zam as P-Bandai Limited, G-Frame is getting another Mobile Armor and it is no other than Psyco Gundam from Zeta Gundam! Scheduled for April 2025 release, G-Frame Psyco Gundam will be sold for 14960 Yen!
Easily triple the price of the regular HG Kit before next spring's revision, G-Frame Psyco truly make itself a collector item. This one comes with an exclusive inner frame to suit its massive size and still have the transformation gimmick available which is quite something. While G-Frame Psyco appears overpriced for regular gunpla collector, this product definitely prove its worth for the collector. Over the time I do grow some appreciation toward this sort of gigantic Mobile Armor and still looking for a suitable collectible. G-Frame is certainly beyond my strike zone since I am not exactly a G-Frame collector and might settle for repainted HG or GFF if the latter is still around. Speaking of candy toys, I do have Psyco MkII Converge which I reviewed before which is probably the reason I start to take interest on these massive Warmachines in Gundam universe.
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A Review from my past backlog that I reserved for celebrating 7th year in FGO Gacha hell! Another of those old Photoshots from 3-4 years ago that got delayed review due to slow slightly being burnt out at that time, but I am still glad that I could reserve a timing to release it someday.
Scathach is one of my favorite servants and still remain my Top 5 even if she got overshadowed by Morgan and thus I do have couple of her collectibles including a premium PVC figure. When Furyu still make FGO Prize figures, Scathach in her 3rd Ascension is one of them considering being one of the most popular servants in FGO early years. Obviously as prize figure, the product quality never surpass the premium one but Shishou's prize figure overall has a solid quality for its class. Perhaps in near future I will do more reviews for my FGO collection which still have many unopened.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke has been on a roll lately with their 2nd year Anniversary and that also includes their Merchandise department! After Figma Alice and Hyper Body Modernia, It is the turn for the popular Goddess Squad Nikke Swordsman, Scarlet comes in Figma format. Scheduled for October 2025 release, Figma Scarlet will be sold for 14800 Yen.
A rather expensive price tag for Figma, but Scarlet Accessories is quite elaborate for this lineup. Scarlet is one of the member of Legendary Nikke Squad called the Goddess Squad who left monumental legacy among Nikkes in the fight against Rapture. The version of the Scarlet that the Figma being made is her regular one who had more laid back personality who prefer to spend her time drinking after living more than 100 years in the war between Humanity and Rapture. Scarlet is Nikke that is very skilled in close combat sporting a pair of oriental blades and more than capable of taking down Raptures just as effective as other Nikke with ranged weapons and easily surpassed the mass produced variants.
While I have given up Nikke recently since I can't bother to put up with Cinderella's banner nonsense in 2nd Anniv, I will still keep a tab on Nikke Figmas hoping that Scarlet Black Shadow will get one someday because she is definitely one of the better designs from this particular series. I don't even mind If D: Killer Wife got an affordable PVC figure either.
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Surviving yet another year in Gacha Hell with this once great dying Gacha game. Almost give up with FGO with the nonsense I encountered early this year but still saved by my commitment and persist on. Ultimately my patience do get rewarded by the time Anniversary arrived only to have it crash and burn again on my last destination of this year's Gauntlet.
Well I am supposed to reserve today's post for my FGO 7th Anniversary but something else deserves the priority this time. Given the Super Mecha Champion has been constantly teetering since Mid of this year with the game end up in maintenance mode for almost 6 months, Netease has finally decided to pull out the plug and announced the online service for SMC will be officially terminated in 20th January 2025. This is quite expected as SMC Chinese counterpart, Mobile City Alpha had announced their service termination last week. The recent money laundering scandal by some of Netease execs most likely accelerate this game's demise along with many other Netease games. Regardless the poor treatment of SMC by Netease really make me greatly disappointed yet again.
When I missed out the Gashapon Quest Candytoys lineup last year, It appears that Bandai is opening yet another opportunity for me to give this particular interesting lineup a try. Packaged in a new series, Gashapon Quest took a modern post apocalyptic fantasy turn and comes under new lineup called Link Travellers. There are about 6 series to be planned up in 2025 release and one of the available for Preorder is the SIDE:G Lineup featuring a female heroine and a Maid robot as the character roster. Scheduled for June 2025 release, Link Travelers SIDE:G will be sold as 500 Yen Gashapon with 13 Variants and Boxed version available.
