Gundam Explanation II: Amazing 3D CG!!

I was on RixRobots the other night. Rick is a very thorough Gundam toy and figure collector. He has the ENTIRE U.S. Gundam Collection and he's on his way to having every Gundam figure that ever existed. Pretty hardcore Gundam Fan if you ask me. I'm looking at his collection and thinking to myself, "Man, that's a lot of money invested in Gundam!" We call guys like Rick "Completists". I've always noticed that Rick has these realy beautiful 3D CG images of Gundam on his site. Absolutely amazing! I noticed that they are from a Japanese site called Gundam Explanation II. So I went there the other night to check it out. Good Gracious Gundam fans!! They have literally HUNDREDS of these gorgeous 3D CG images of Gundams and Zeons. They apparently were created in this program called Gundam Virtual Modeler and cover pretty much the entire 0079-0083 "Epochs". I personally have never seen many of the models pictured here before - especially in these color schemes. The site is in Japanese, but you can fumble about with the hyper-links and figure out what is what. I downloaded like 50 images cause I think they are so damn cool. What I realized later is that I really don't like Gundam that much at all. I think I grabbed one Gundam. My aesthetic sensibilities are much more geared towards the Zeon side of the house. I'm not sure if that makes me a "villian" or I just think villians are cooler. I mean, really...are the Zeons really villians or just mis-understood? In any case, enjoy this gallery of Zeons!! Can you tell that my favorites are Kaempfer and Doms?? Gundam Explanation II is must visit for any Gundam / Zeon fan!!!

Destiny Gundam Cosmic Region #7004 Preview

Ever since I got my grubby little hands on the Strike Freedom Gundam #7003 several weeks ago, I've been waiting for it's sibling, Destiny Gundam to come out. Appropriately numbered #7004, Destiny Gundam should be arriving very, very soon. If the Strike Freedom is any indication of the quality, detail, articulation and overall badass-ness of this figure, then we can expect another great toy that we are compelled to purchase and make room for on our shelves. However, at $42, were getting to Fix Figuration type prices for what essentially is a glorified MSiA figure. (ok, maybe a little better then MSiA), but not on par with Fix I don't think. I guess my only wish was for a different color scheme. It would be cool to also have a variant color that maybe was a bit darker, more subtle. Something like the Gundam Fix Crossbone 16b X2 Having said that, with the production quality of the wings, accessories and all the get-up, I guess I can understand why it will be so expensive at first. I just might have to wait until the prices goes down a bit. However I'm not sure I can wait that long. Pre-order it now for $42 from BigBadToyStore

Microman Rei and Asuka Plug Suit Preview

I really like licensed Micromen. They are tiny little figures of only 3 inches, but pack all the articulation and details of your normal 7-inch figures. I wish I had more. My latest is Chun-Li from Street Fighter fame which is awesome. When I heard Takara was coming out with a new set from Evangelion, I was relieved to see that Rei and Asuka would be in the Plug Suits and not some silly school girl outfits or Christmas costumes or whatever else those crazy guys seem to want to put them in. The plug suits in my mind are the only thing these two should be wearing. Although having said that, I did see an interesting version of Rei in a ninja costume complete with ninja weapons. I almost bought it, but the color was this weird very un-ninja like green. Anyways, I have been waiting forever to get sneak peek at the new Rei and Asuka Microman figures, so here they are. Around $15 pre-order from BigBadToyStore.



Ayanami Rei Plug Suit

Soryu Asuka Plug Suit

Latest Gundam HCM Pro Pre-Orders...

Last month I wrote a post on Bandai's HCM Pro Series which are essentially these somewhat mini-figures that are a cross between a highly detailed toy and a model. They're kind of "tweener". Much more highly detailed than the MSiA series (I think), made of the same plastic as the HG or MG models, but nothing to put together! yay! They are 1/200 in scale so about 3/4 of the size as a 1/144 scale kit. The articulation is not as flexible as MSiA however. boo! For around $20, they are not a bad investment. The next figure in the line up is a more subtle-colored Asshimar in a nice "Green Diver" hue. I like this color much more than the bumble-bee yellow of the original Asshimar. Like the first one, it transforms from robot to this donut-shaped flying saucer thingy. Pretty cool and nominated as Toy of the Year from ToyboxDX. You can pre-order it now from BigBadToyStore for around $20.

Next in the line-up is Hambrabi which is the sea-dwelling robot of the Gundam series. It evokes thoughts of a sting-ray / manta ray kind of animal. It transforms from robot into the aforementioned-looking submarine kind of ship which is pretty cool. Pre-order now for $20 from the same guys at BigBadToyStore.

Lastly is a very nice Hi-Zack Titan. I really like the level of detail that goes into all the HCM pro figures such as all the little details that you only see when you pop off a panel on the leg or the helmet. Great details that are normally reserved for much larger and more expensive 1/100 scale Master Grade models kits. What puts this on over the top for me is the white flag accessory. I love it. I'm sure it's not to surrender! Pre-order it from...you guessed it: BigBadToyStore

Ghost in the Shell Revisited

Ghost in the Shell has to be one of my all time favorite movies. If you can get past all the existentialism, nothing beats the artwork, cinematography, and story. It continues to influence new generations of viewers not to mention being one of the inspirations for the Matrix. GiTS was the movie the Wachowski Brothers showed the Weinsteins to get the greenlight on the concept. The characters are un-forgettable from Batou, Major Matoko and what's the guy with the revolver's name? But it's Shirow Masamune's mecha designs that are the centerpiece of the movie. The original Fuchikoma that you see here is probably my most favorite mecha period. For some strange reason, it does not seem popular enough to make into all kinds of action figures and toys. You are looking at a resin statue made by Yamato in 2001 and distributed by Diamond Select. I pre-ordered all three colors: Red, Green and this Blue one. They also made a Camo version, but I never got my hands on one. They were a great deal at $59 at the time, but you can't find them anywhere now. I have never seen one on display at a store or for sale. Perhaps partly because they are extremely fragile and the arms break easily. For the record, i'm not a fan of the sequel, "Innocence" nor the TV series even though I purchased the entire 4 DVD set. Nor have I purchased the Tachikoma you see here from the TV series "Stand Alone Complex" because I think it looks like a smurf tarantula with a humpback. What I really want is the Section 6 Tank mini figure seen here from the final scene in the original GiTS.