Model/Toy Review Drop Box

Discuss models, figures, Blu-rays and more.
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Chris
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Thanks for all the contributions so far, everyone. I'll be cleaning out this backlog of stuff pretty soon.
Mwulf wrote:Rather than uploading each image to an imagehost, could I simply put them all into an archive and megaupload/rapidshare the archive? It would save a lot of time....
Sounds fine by me, whatever works for you.
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AceWhatever
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I'm going to review these in the near future:

GFF Crossbone Gundam X-3/Crossbine Gundam X-1 Skull Heart
MSIA Wing Gundam Zero (TV version)
HCM Pro Hi-Nu Gundam
1/144 FG Aegis Gundam
1/144 FG Freedom Gundam

Was anyone planning on covering those?
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AceWhatever
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One question: can I send screenshots for the 1/60 Wing Zero TV & Freedom? The reviews only use the box scan.
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ScornMandark
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I'm planning on reviewing the PG Zaku II and PG RX-178 in the next week or so. If anyone has a review already in progress, let me know.
Tallgeese III
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Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:30 pm

Yo, im new here and plan to pic. review all my gundam wing figures (which is about every wing figure made in the US)
Mega cannon....MEGA CANNON!!!!
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Gone Astray
Posts: 350
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:39 pm

Within the next week or two, I'm going to try and begin reviews on the following:

1/144 HG Dynames
1/144 HG Kyrios
1/144 HG Virtue
1/144 HG Throne Eins
1/144 HG Graham's Flag

Please message me if you already have a review of any of those kits in progress!
"For who would lose, though full of pain, this intellectual being--those thoughts that wander through eternity; to perish rather, swallowed up and lost in the wide womb of uncreated night, devoid of sense and motion?"
wzy
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:00 pm

Hi, I'm new, but willing to add some reviews as well, as I have plenty of models that I've built. I only build 1/144 kits (use them in dioramas). Not including the ones already reviewed either on the site or in this thread, I have (arranged by series)

HGUC:
GP01 Zephyranthes
GP02 Physallis
NT-1 Alex
Dom Tropen Sand Brown [this differs from the normal Dom Tropen only in color and weapons, so I might not write a review]
Rick Dias (Black) [if someone's writing a Rick Dias red review, then I won't bother with this one since I'm 99.99999% sure that they're just color swaps]

HG SEED/Destiny/Stargazer:
Cgue
Ginn High Maneuver Type 2
Gouf Ignited (Heine Colors)
Blitz
Verde Buster
Hyperion
Astray Blue Frame

"Edit" Here's a list of my older kits, again by series.

Wing/Endless Waltz:
Heavyarms
HG H-Arms Custom

G Unit:
Hydra Gundam

0083:
NT-1 Alex
Kampher
Rick Dom II
Gelgoog J
Hygogg

X:
Gundam X
Leopard
Airmaster

08th MS Team:
Ez-8
Gundam Ground Type vs Zaku II
Gouf Flight Type
GM [G]/ GM Sniper [they're essentially the same kit, only differing in color and some accessories]

If other opinions are wanted on other kits, I also have several of the kits already reviewed here or on the main page as well (just request something you want a second opinion on and if I have the kit, I'll write a review).
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reeoyuy
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Can we respond to the reviews posted here? Like asking something to the reviewer about the kit or giving different opinion?
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reeoyuy
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General and Technical Data:
Series: Gundam 00
Title: 1/144 HG Throne Eins
Release Date: 02/2008
Suggested Price: ¥ 1600
No. of Parts: 91 Polystyrene + 11 ABS + 1 rubber belt + polycaps
Plastic Colors: Dark brown, white, grey, light grey, yellow
Gimmicks: rubber belt for energy cable

Introduction:
My first review, hopefully it's okay.
I remember the time when the Thrones lineart appeared on this mechatalk forum, some people said they were ugly. As for me they look...strange. But hey, at least it’s original design. After saw the kit form (Eins released first), I became to like it and so I bought it.

Head:
The vertical fin (command horn?) on Eins head surely reminds everyone of Aegis, Justice, or whatever gundam that Athrun Zala piloting. Anyhow, the head is pretty straightforward. Unlike other gundam HG kits, the chin and faceplate are integrated piece. You’ll need to paint the cheek vent and top camera (between the V-fin) yellow. As usual, sticker provided for the eyes.

Torso:
The torso of Eins (and its siblings, as they’re sharing the exact same body) is much different than any gundams I ever knew. Like other Celestial Being’s gundams, it has “washing machine” sphere made from clear parts in lower chest. And then grey and dark brown armor parts snapped around it. It has ches vents molded in yellow, and angled shoulder peg. Moving on to the back, there’s this cone shaped GN Drive, but for Eins it’s covered by its backpack so it’s kinda hidden. The backpack itself is unique to Eins, since it is where the GN Launcher and rubber cable of GN Shield connected to. It also has two opening hatches (one on each side) to connect Throne Zwei and Drei in “docking mode”.
For the waist, it’s kinda plain. It has small front and rear skirt armor and no side skirt at all. But they have decent mobility afterall. There’s a hole to plug Eins to Action Base 02 (not included, of course).

Arms:
Basic HG arms here. The shoulder armor houses beam saber hilt and a fin that need some painting(molded in white). Left shoulder is a bit different since it has a peg to connect the GN Shield.
Nothing special for lower arms. The elbows are single jointed, too bad. Simple construction means more painting, kinda irritating. There’s only one set of hands : that ugly hollow-fist. Quite a disappointment for 1600 Yen kit.

Legs:
Upper legs are just standard and pretty straightforward. However, the knee joints are double-jointed and allows great mobility. Even though the feets are somewhat narrow (with “high heels” design) they can support the Eins pretty well. I feel that Bandai did a good job with the legs since it looks much better than the lineart.

Weapons and Accessories:
GN Beam Rifle : The horizontal fin need to be painted white on its edges, if you don’t want to use the stickers. The rifle is molded in dark brown, so you need to paint it grey in some area. Sticker provided for the sensor.
GN Beam Saber : Nice and detailed hilts, but it’s somehow useless since Bandai didn’t put any clear beams for this kit. Talk about being stingy...
GN Shield : One thing noticeable is of course the rubbery energy cable. It’s kinda nice actually. Other thing that not-so-nice is the complex color scheme of the shield. You can paint it if you want, but some stickers provided for your convenience
GN Launcher : Eins’ signature weapon, it’s big, long, and nice. Unfolded, it’s almost 27 cm (10,5 inch) long. Too bad it’s molded in grey, need some painting. The rear portion has hidden grip to Zwei/Drei holding on to in docking mode.

Conclusion:
This kit is great actually, but there are some issues here. First, it needs a lot of painting to match the actual color scheme. Secondly, I wish Bandai put another set of hands. And the last thing is, where are the clear red sabers? I don’t think I’m asking too much since this kit is priced 1600 Yen, more expensive than usual HG 1/144 from OO line. Anyway, I recommend this for OO fans out there or for someone who want a slightly different (and evil-looking) gundam.

Rating: 4/5

Front view pic (poorly painted, pardon me):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll26 ... s-post.jpg
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G-Slayer
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Here's my review of the FG 1/144 GN-001 Gundam Exia (Rollout Colors):

Series: First Grade (FG) 1/144
Title: GN-001 Gundam Exia (Rollout Colors)
Release Date: 3/2008
Suggested Price: Free with Gundam 00 video game
No. of Parts: 41 + polycaps + foil stickers
Plastic Colors: white, light gray, medium gray, light yellow
Gimmicks: GN Blades (2)

Introduction

Contributor: G-Slayer
Date: June 21, 2008

Featured in Episodes 24-25 of the Gundam 00 TV series and the inspired video game for the Nintendo DS, this gray-colored version of the FG 1/144 Gundam Exia was included with all preordered copies of the game. Looking for a FG Gunpla to practice modeling techniques, I thought I’d use this for scrapwork. Then realizing that this was practically a collector’s item, I decided to build and detail the model as I would with any other. Still, it’s just the same as the original kit, with the same amount of work needed to make it look its best.

Head

As you’d guess, nothing was done for the head that isn’t done for Gunpla of higher quality—except for one thing. A polycap consisting of two ball joints, Exia’s neck allows a wider range of head movement, at least as much movement as Exia’s shoulder spikes allow. Though a cheaper Gundam product, the plastic proves to be of good quality, as I learned while snipping the tabs off the V-Fin. Stickers are included for the eyes, chin, head cameras, and both sides of the head.

Torso

Composed of two large parts, the chest houses two thin holes for the shoulder spikes (which could use glue to stay in place), two pegs for the front and rear skirt armor, and a large peg underneath the torso for the double ball-jointed polycap that attaches to the legs (no doubt to compensate for the lack of articulation at the waist). This polycap also has a hole for mounting Exia on display stands. Double-jointed polycaps are also provided to attach both the chest vents (which are separate parts) and the arms to the torso. Once that’s done, though, both arms are rather stiff in the shoulders. Stickers are included for the chest vents and the front skirt armor.

Arms

Both arms have just 2 points of articulation, with both hands molded on. The articulation of the shoulders is limited not only by the armor covering them (which has holes for two beam saber hilts), but also by the tape-like structure attached to each arm (which include stickers).

Legs

Each leg has 3 points of articulation when attached to the body. Ball-jointed ploycaps attach the feet to the legs. Each leg maintains stability with no problems. Three stickers are provided for each leg.

Weapons and Accessories

GN Blades-Unless you count the sabers on the shoulders and the daggers molded onto the rear skirt armor, the GN Long Blade and Short Blade are the only weapons available from Exia’s Seven Swords arsenal. Each sword is molded in one piece, and they are a loose fit on Exia’s hands (a problem I solved with paint).

Conclusion

This being my first FG Gunpla, it’s not the worst Gunpla I’ve built; actually it might be one of the best FG’s to date. It takes as much work to build as an HG, as much coloring and detailing as an SD, and has as much articulation as a cheap action figure. Despite some trouble in coloring it for accuracy (using Gundam Paint Markers for the first time), this version of the Exia turned out great for practice—just as I originally thought.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

Pics of the model will be posted when they are available.
"That's it! I'll never Gundam the pilot again, Bright!"--Amuro Ray

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GorFrag
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Well I just finished building the 1/144 PTX-006[L] Wildraubtier from Kotobukiya

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYKP-26

Even though it comes in a box fit for a small master grade Gundam kit, its definatly High grade in stature. Its very complex with many tiny tiny parts. The plastic is harder and seems more brittle than Bandai's though no parts broke on me. Most of the colors but not all are separated as different parts so painting should be easy if I can pull the parts apart without breaking them. Its not as strong a snap tight kit as the standard Gundam and many parts really should be glued to add strength. While others are just plain lose.

Its a transforming robot similar in design to the Zeta Gundam, but this small kit is not a true Transformer. Several parts have to be swapped for others to change it. Its "Wave rider" mode is shaky and a bit dumpy to my Eye so its staying as a robot most of the time. The Actual Transformation is tricky due to its joints being fairly wobbly in places.

In robot mode it holds together well and looks nice on a shelf, but it is NOT a toy. To much playing with it will probably break some parts.

One Very nice thing about it is that it comes with 6 hands, 2 to hold weapons (they look nicer than the standard HG fair from Bandai) 2 as closed fists and 2 open "action" hands.

It comes with a stand to show the fighter "Flying" on, or to have the robot standing on, but the stand won't let the Robot "fly" without some major conversion. The kit also comes with No stickers of decals of any sort.

Over all its not a bad kit but I think it may be my last SRW kit since I'm much more interested in larger Mechs, such as MG Gundams and Armored cores. However if you like smaller robots this ones nice and cute.
Samsonator
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ok, I'm new, but I think I've got a review here, lemme know what you think

Series: High Grade (HG) 1/144
Title: GN-004 Gundam Nadleeh
Release Date: 2008
Suggested Price: ¥ 1200
No. of Parts: 97 + polycaps
Plastic colors: white, dark gray, yellow, light purple, clear, transparent pink, red (rubbery "hair" parts)
Gimmicks: 2X GN Beam Saber, GN Shield, GN Beam Rifle, Optional hand

Introduction:
Contributor: Sam Lysne
Date Sept 14 2008

My first Gundam kit in quite some time, I haven't made one since Wing models were still readily available in stores.
I've got to say, having not built that many kits, and never having even seen a MG kit up close, that this model blew me away.
Seeing as my last model was a 1/100 HG Heavyarms Custom, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the kits have come a long way since those days. The articulation, detail and overall design are leaps ahead of what I was used to.

Head:

The head of this particular unit is interesting because of the use of rubbery pieces to simulate the wire/cable "hair" the suit has in the anime, which are attached to the front and back of the head. Most of the head is molded in white, with the Gundam "V" and a part on the back being cast in yellow and gray respectively and the side GN crystals having clear domes. Without panel lines it looks rather bland, but the details are numerous enough to make a properly lined model look quite impressive. Stickers are included for the eyes, chin, head camera, red details and the crystals on the sides of the head, which you then cover with the aforementioned clear domes. Balljointed with an extending neck for further articulation, the head can be posed at just about any angle you could desire, though the rubbery hair pieces do make some of it a little difficult at times.

Torso:

The torso is one area where this particular model really shines for me. The central GN crystal has a sticker with a clear dome like the crystals on the head, but it really does lend a nice effect under the proper lighting. There are two more rubbery "hair" pieces attached beside the neck which have limited posability so they aren't always in the way, and the yellow fins just beside those can be folded into the body for "standby" mode, when the Gundams are just hanging out. The sides of the torso feature extra articulation to better pose the arms, with the pegs that the arms attach to being able to swivel upwards. The polycap piece that connects to the pelvis has enough give that you can not only swivel the waist, but tilt it up and down, too. The pelvis itself actually features a triple balljoint which I'll cover in the legs section.

Arms:

The arms are fairly simple, yet effective. The forearms contain another instance of the GN crystal sticker and clear dome pairing, and also contain Gundam 00's signature forearm slots for different GN weapons to attach to, in this case the rifle and the shield can be slotted in. The Upper arm has a swivel joint to allow it to rotate, and attaches to the elbow joint, a separate gray piece with the light purple "GN Ribbon" (as I call it) attached to the back. The articulation of the arms is

pretty standard, but it's more than made up for by the extra articulation the torso lends it. The hands are posed in the standard fist shape, though the left arm has a second hand you can swap out to give it an open palm instead.

Legs:

The triple balljoint system I mentioned earlier is what sets these legs apart from any other model I've constructed in the past, a central ball in the pelvis attached to the ball joints at the top of the legs means you can have the upper legs at drastically different angles, allowing for more motion and more posing options, the knee joints of the legs are also pretty great, as the lower leg is built on an inner frame with a rotating joint behind the knee, which then connects to the actual knee joint, connecting the upper and lower leg together. The end result is a leg that can almost double back on itself. The feet are connected by a ball joint connected to a swivel joint to allow just that little bit extra on the articulation scale.
Stickers are provided for all the GN Ribbon parts on the legs.

Weapons and Accessories:

The Nadleeh comes with two GN Beam Sabers, which come in two parts, white handle and transparent pink blade, these are a great improvement over single piece sabers that look like a white toothpick before you paint them. Sadly, however, the storage area inside the knees is not included in this model. Next up is the GN Shield, the underside and arm connector are done in gray while the top part is cast in white, stickers are provided to add the red details on the shield. Lastly Nadleeh comes with the GN Beam Rifle, which has a piece to connect it to Nadleeh's arm, and features a second side handle, a pink beam blade is included to attach to the front, I'm assuming this is to give it the effect of firing, but it could have some

other uses.

Conclusion:

Finally a high grade model that actually screams "High Grade" to me, in terms of articulation and design this is a truly impressive model at this size, If I had to complain about anything it would be that it's lacking the saber handle storage area inside the knees that the 1/100 version has. If Gundam 00 is your thing, you can't go wrong with this truly unique design, and for the price it's a sleek piece of work.

Overall Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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ScornMandark
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1/144 RGM-119 Jamesgun

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... ground.png

General and Technical Data

Series: 1/44
Title: RGM-119 Jamesgun
Release Date: 1993
Suggested Price: ¥ 500
No. of Parts: 31 ABS + 9 polycap + 7 clear ABS + film stickers
Plastic colors: White, grey, clear pink
Gimmicks: Quick-assemble trays, stand, background picture, mild internal detailing.


Introduction

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... rofile.png

Contributor: ScornMandark
Date Submitted: September 18, 2008

Ah, the Jamesgun. The distant descendant of the cannon-fodder known as the RGM-79 GM. Flash forward about 70 years, and it's great-grandchild is still cannon-fodder, beam-shield or no. The model itself is one of the earliest high-grades, although it's not marked as such.


Head

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... unHead.png

Simple 2 piece affair. Front and back, although the eye piece is attached to the back piece and the front has a hollow space. This is to allow easier use of the "eye" sticker, which is just a wide green sticker. The upper sensor sticker is a little too wide to fit into the actual slot, but looks alright with a little trimming (see above). Decent mobility for this age of model, can look side to side well, but only maybe 5° up or down. The head is molded in all white, and stickers are provided for the eyes and front sensor.


Torso

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... nChest.png

Large use of polycaps here. The entire chest cavity is filled with a polycap, providing the neck and both shoulders with ball-joints, the waist with a peg joint, and a neat internal detailing of the cockpit. One of the first internal detailing I've seen in this scale. The lower waist is comprised of 2 polycaps sandwiched between the front crotchplate and rear armor plate.

The upper polycap contains the receptacle for the upper torso peg as well as the ball joints for the front and side skirt armors. The skirt armors can move up 90° and can angle a little. The side armors are molded in one piece (not surprising for the scale) so the beam sabers obviously can't be stored there. The leg ball joints are made of the lower torso polycap. The rear skirt armor has a peg hole for docking one of the hand weapons.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... seRear.png

The backpack is 2 pieces, with the thrusters inserted into it. The lower 2 thrusters are connected at the top by a thick grey bar, but that is easily removed with a hobby knife.

Colorwise, the torso is molded in all white, and the backpack in all grey. Stickers are provided for the red areas of the torso as well as the yellow chest vents. Serviceable as far as color stickers go.


Arms

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... gunArm.png

Not much to write home about here. Polycap of shoulder pops into a slightly shaped area on the upper arm, and the shoulder armor slides onto the stem of the ball joint. There is a clamp polycap that grabs a bar in the elbow, and the hand is formed from a single polycap. The hand looks a little awkward (the thumb looks huge and flat), but other than that it is pretty decent. Not much posing the wrist, maybe 15° up or down. The arm has a tendency to pop off easily, but is decently poseable. Molded in all white.


Legs

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... gunLeg.png

Similar to the arms, not a lot of excitement. The thigh has a polycap running from hip to knee, providing a polycap-on-polycap joint for the hips. It holds pretty tight now, but after a bit of use it will probably loosen a lot. The knee clamps onto a bar in the knee. The ankle is a ball joint polycap that clamps onto a bar in the lower leg. The foot is kind of interesting. It is comprised of 2 pieces, and there's a gap between the top half and the bottom half. In the lineart, there is a black band around the foot under the ankle armor plate. I guess they figured it was a shadow or somesuch, so there's a gap in the foot. The feet also have I assume thrusters molded into the bottom. It's either that, or another hollow part like the rifle. Molded in all white.


Weapons

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... eapons.png

Beam sabers - 2 beam sabers are provided. They are clear, including the handles. One is straight, one is curved (to simulate a swipe, probably). Nothing special, but the clear plastic is nice.

Beam Rifle - I guess it's a rifle. It looks more like a ray gun, it's pretty small. I know it's V Gundam, so everything is miniaturized, but it is still more like a Beam Pistol than a Beam Rifle, even compared to other V Gundam Beam Rifles. Plus, its hollow on one side (as seen above), since its molded in one piece. It does have a peg to plug into the rear skirt. Molded in all grey.

Mega Beam Bazooka - Not in the MAHQ profile as an official weapons, but it certainly looks much more impressive. Molded in 2 pieces, also has a peg to plug into the rear skirt. A bit awkward to pose on the shoulder, but that's more due to the poor flexibility in the wrist. Molded in all grey.

Beam Shield - Mount molded onto left arm only, the clear pink shield is clamped down pretty well by the upper shield emitter. Looks pretty much like later model beam shields. Molded in clear pink.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... eFront.png

Stand - a clear pink base with 2 different arms for posing. There is a ball joint at the end of both arms that a polycap receptacle pops on to. The polycap has a peg which plugs into the bottom of the lower torso for holding the suit. Holds the model in flight poses pretty well. Also comes with a picture stand with a photograph of a forest scene. Insta-pseudo-diorama! Apparently the 3rd "Display Card" of the 4 card set.


Overall

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff25 ... nFinal.png

This is a pretty decent 1/144 HG model, but it does show its age. It has an interesting feature where the lower arms, legs, torso, and head all can be assembled by putting 2 halves of the tree together, then clipping the parts out. I guess it could save all of a few minutes when you're racing to get the parts together, but if you're doing much more than assembling and stickers, you probably won't assemble it this way.

Rating: 4/5 stars
The Mekton Zeta Mailing List wrote:27. I will not put emergency destruct devices in my mecha. I will put them in my pilots. Nothing motivates like thermite.
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ScornMandark
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Location: Cleveland, OH
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Sorry for the dbl post, just updating with some pictures:

1/144 HG Freedom + Meteor

Front, close in

Showing Missile Pods

Rear View

Side View

*Note - LEDs added to model.
The Mekton Zeta Mailing List wrote:27. I will not put emergency destruct devices in my mecha. I will put them in my pilots. Nothing motivates like thermite.
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AceWhatever
Posts: 300
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:19 pm
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Status update:

Review written, editing and photos pending:
1/144 FG Aegis Gundam
1/144 FG Freedom Gundam
GFF Crossbone Gundam X-3/Crossbine Gundam X-1 Skull Heart
MSIA Wing Gundam Zero (TV version)
HCM Pro Hi-Nu Gundam

In the works:
1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame 2nd L
MG Destiny Gundam
1/144 HG Blu Duel Gundam
MSIA RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom]
GFF Full Armor Gundam Mk. III
MG Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth
HCM Pro Gundam Kyrios

Photos for:
1/60 Wing Gundam Zero
1/60 Freedom Gundam

Upcoming:
1/100 Saviour Gundam
HCM Pro G-Box Alios Gundam with SP Item
briansiu94
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:41 pm
Location: Australia

General and Technical Data:
Series: Gundam 00
Title: 1/144 HG Gundam Dynames
Release Date: November 2007
Suggested Price: ¥ 1200
No. of Parts: 129
Plastic Colors: Dark green, dark grey, yellow, white, red, clear, light blue (rubber parts)
Gimmicks: None

Introduction:

Contributor: briansiu94
Date: January 7th, 2009

Piloted by a lovable, easy-going Lockon Stratos and sporting a sniper rifle is the Gundam Dynames from the Gundam 00 series. This Gundam is, obviously, the sharpshooter of the group. In the anime, it can quite easily and accurately snipe down any target, moving or immobile. I really like the designs of the Gundam 00 mobile suits, so I decided to pick up this model kit. Without further ado, let’s get on with the review.

Head:
The head is quite cool. That’s right, just starting the review and there’s already a cool thing to talk about. The head is mostly just a normal HG head, two halves joining together with the faceplate and eyes in between. But, the cool thing is that the V-fin on its forehead can slide down to reveal a sniper scope, just like in the anime! I would’ve thought that the scope would have to be done by part-swapping, since it’s a small model. Even though it’s small, the sliding action isn’t fragile at all.

Torso:
The torso doesn’t have anything too special to comment on. The yellow antennas on the shoulders can flip up and down. Like the 1/144 HG Gundam Exia, the Dynames also has similar ‘extra’ shoulder joints for extended articulation. There is a clear round piece in the centre with a black sticker underneath, but the clear piece is covered by a rectangular green piece. And on the back of the torso, of course, is the GN Drive, which every Gundam in the series has.

Arms:
Well, the arms have cool things to talk about as well. The overall arm is well articulated and is up to HG standard. There are clear round pieces on both forearms, which sport black stickers under it. There is an extra ‘wrist’ joint above the actual wrist, which swivels up and down. Now the cool thing is that on the shoulders are rotatable shoulder docks. They can rotate 180 degrees. They can also be locked into placed by pushing them inwards, and if you want to turn them, then just pull them out slightly. The sniper rifle and other accessories are put onto the docks, but I’ll talk about those later.

Legs:
There isn’t anything special about the legs. It’s just like the Exia’s, except it’s more angular and doesn’t sport any clear, round pieces on them. The knees are double-jointed and the pelvis joint moves separately from the actually ‘pelvis’. The front skirts can move separately, and the huge ‘butt-thrusters’ can move as well. The Dynames also has two beam saber handles on the sides of the thrusters, but unfortunately it doesn’t come with any beams.

Weapons and Accessories:
I was a little bit disappointed when it comes to the weapons and accessories, and I’ll tell you why later. Anyway, for the weapons all we have is the GN sniper rifle. This is attached to the shoulder docks mentioned earlier. It comes with a closed bi-pod but also has an extended bi-pod piece, but it’s molded in white! A bit of a disappointment there, but that’s not all. In the show, the Dynames also has two GN pistols, which it uses in mid-range combat. But guess what? The model kit doesn’t come with these! I was kind of angry at Bandai for not including them, but instead putting them in the Gundam Dynames+ GN Arms Type D model kit. But I guess that’s Bandai’s tactic, to get you to buy one model kit and buy another because the first one lacked something. Anyway, the Gundam also comes with two GN shields and GN full shields, which are attached to the rotatable shoulder docks. The full shields can open up and rotate so you can display them as some sort of cool wings. Also included is an open left hand, which has quite decent detailing on it.

Conclusion:
This kit is generally pretty cool and decent. The head scope is very nice. The only disappointments were the fact that it didn’t come with any GN pistols and that the extended bi-pod piece is white. Other than that, a pretty nice model.

Rating: 4/5
The world needs to see the true power of Gundam.
briansiu94
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:41 pm
Location: Australia

General and Technical Data:
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam
Title: 1/100 MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. 2.0
Release Date: July 2008
Suggested Price: ¥ 4200
No. of Parts: 392
Plastic Colors: white, dark grey, yellow, blue, red, clear
Gimmicks: Clear display stand for core fighter

Introduction:

Contributor: briansiu94
Date: January 7th 2009

Let me just start off by saying: This model kit is AMAZING. It looks nice, has superb articulation and has awesome accessories too. The model itself was designed to look like the way the Gundam looked in the original anime, so some people might not like it. But to me, it is an instant classic. I was so happy when I got my hands on it, and I wasn’t disappointed one bit. Let’s see just how awesome this bad-boy is.

Head:
The head is nicely molded. It has the internal skeleton parts which are covered by white plates. There are stickers for the eyes, the red camera on the forehead and the one on the back.

Torso:
The torso really resembles the look that the Gundam has in the anime. It has a lighter blue than usual, which is how the Gundam looks in the show. The chest is slanted more downwards rather than outwards (don’t get any stupid ideas from the chest talk). The yellow vents on inside fold up and down, which is a nice feature. The cockpit hatch also opens, but in two ways: Either the whole hatch opens or the lower plate on the hatch slides up. A transformable core fighter is included, and it fits inside the torso very nicely. But the amazing thing is, the core fighter doesn’t hinder the waist articulation at all! That is one of the superb features of this kit. The waist articulation includes bending side to side and forwards and backwards a bit. Unfortunately, the kit doesn’t come with a separate core block, but the body can still hold up without the core fighter.

Arms:
Well, the arms have cool things to talk about as well. It is very well articulated, as expected from a MG kit. The elbow is double jointed, and the fingers are individually articulated (but the middle, ring and little fingers are joined together). There is also a latch on the palm so it can hold its weapons securely. There is also a hole on the back of each forearm so the shield can be attached onto.

Legs:
The legs are also superbly articulated. The knees are double-jointed, but the feet are just amazing. The heel has a joint, the front foot has a joint and the ‘toe’ has a joint! Three joints in a foot! There are also working pistons in front and behind the ankles.

Weapons and Accessories:
The weapons and accessories are just fully-loaded.

Beam rifle- Nicely detailed, and the yellow scope can swivel side to side. The handle in front of the trigger can also swivel. There is also a peg on the side of the beam rifle that can be put inside the hole on the rear skirt armor.

Super napalm- Can be attached onto the barrel of the beam rifle.

Hyper bazooka- The handle can bend forward a bit. The bazooka also has a peg to be put onto the rear skirt armor, just like the beam rifle. Now you might think, “That means I can’t put both of them on at the same time!” Wrong! Both the bazooka and the beam rifle can be put onto the backpack, so one weapon can be put on the backpack while the other is on the rear skirt armor.

Beam sabers- Two beam sabers and beams are included, nothing too special.

Beam javelin- A long beam javelin is featured in the kit, although the beam part at the end of the javelin is a clear part. The other end is supposed to be attached to a beam saber handle.

Gundam hammer- A ball and chain for the Gundam is included. Nothing too special.

Shield- A ‘multi-purposed’ shield for this awesome model kit. This is probably the weapon that resembles the most to the anime. The ‘eyehole’ on the shield can be covered up by a white piece which slides up. The handle is on a track so it can slide up and down. There is also a peg to attach the shield onto the Gundam’s forearm. The shield can also be attached onto the backpack. The beam rifle can also be attached onto the inside of the shield. More than you expected from a shield, hey?

Core Fighter- As mentioned before, it’s transformable. The clear canopy piece can slide open, and a sitting Amuro can be placed inside. The core fighter itself is nicely detailed. And, just like its perfect grade counterpart, the missile launchers ports open up! But you’re going to need a toothpick or something of the sort to open it up.

Figures- The model comes with three figures: A sitting Amuro for the core fighter, and two standing: An Amuro in uniform and another Amuro in casual clothes. All figures are 1/100 scale.
Display Stand- Did I hear someone yell hooray for the display stand for this extraordinary kit? Sorry, you misunderstood. This is a display stand for the core fighter, not the Gundam. Sorry. There’s nothing special about the stand, just a two-pieced clear stand with a V-shaped base.

Conclusion:
This kit is, as I mentioned before, AMAZING. I can’t praise it enough. And the amount of accessories is more than I expected. The things the shield can do are even more surprising. Basically, this is almost like a scaled-down version of the perfect grade Gundam. Yep, it’s that good. I don’t think I emphasized enough about all the good points in this kit, but then again that would take a few days. I strongly recommend it to either Gundam fans or just plain mecha fans.

Rating: 5/5

Pics will be posted when available.
The world needs to see the true power of Gundam.
User avatar
PunchAPeach
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:58 pm
Location: Anaheim's Von Braun plant

I noticed that the review for the Master Grade RGM-79C GM Kai has no picture, and as luck would have it, I recently did a photoshoot of my model for a Facebook photo album. Here's links to a few photos that should display it nicely.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1225421136

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1225421136

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1225421136
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1225421136
User avatar
aries0083
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:24 pm
Location: Astoria, Queens,New York City
Contact:

Hey Chris if I follow your review guidelines can I post my video reviews.
Reviewing Gundam Model Kits on youtube since 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/user/aries0083
http://www.youtube.com/user/GundamCast
User avatar
mrbananaisamonkey
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:31 pm
Location: nowhere to be seen
Contact:

review: MG rx-78-05 gundam "G05"

first off this is my first review.

General and Technical Data:
Series: Gundam side story "gaiden"
Title: MG Gundam G05 rx-78-05
release date:August 2003
Suggested Retail Price: $45 (rounded est.)
No. of Parts: PS around 236, 50 ABS, wire, 2 transparent beams, 37 (extra PC included) polycaps, stickers (foil, dry, wet)
Plastic colors: white,90%,7.5%,2.5%
red,100%
yellow,40%,30%,30%
dark grey, 100%
light grey, 90%,10%
gimmicks: none (according to the box) but, extra pads, gattling gun.

Introduction: a random release from bandai, with only afew other 0079 MSV models (well alot including B-Club and other companies)the only difference[s] from the G04 is the 2 chest vents.relativly old MG so lets see how it is.

Head: standard head 10 pieces, very well molded, clean and has the katoki style to it a bit, the v-fin is sharp-ish and pops out if touched easily I recommend gluing it into place. rotates easily 360.

Torso: also easy clean looking but very nice. Quite standard one gimmick, the cockpit opens up to reveal ford romfellow, the pilot. 12 pieces to make the torso. the torso could rotate 360 just be careful about the 2 fins hanging off the booster pack... oh yeah! the backpack almost forgot, the backpack is very nice. contains 17 pieces to make. booster can move individually.also the fin conecter can move up and down.

Arms: the arms of this kit, so cool the arms probably more then the torso or every other part of this kit. althought the elbow joint is not strong the arms could support the weight of the shield well, but when you try to use the gattling gun, then with one arm it falls down. thr shpulder joint has a screw in it so that would help a bit. but two flaps on the arms make the "space" arm pads, and the bump on the lower arm is I guess a machine gun like the ones in the head. it could rotate 360 below the shoulder, and at the elbow it could bend almost or very close a parrel bend, if it can then the arms are rotated wrong, the rotation should only bend about 90 degress if you rotate the arms the official way or the way in the hanger pictures in the manuel.the hand is the standard old styled MG hand or the old HG 1/100 scales. thumb is on a ball joint the index finger is seperate on a stiff hinge joint, and the 3 other fingers move together. (I advise not to seperate them because they're all hinged by one hinge about the thickness of the index finger (on the kit not human fingers)

Legs: the legs are also quite standard, wait NVM (nevermind) this model has NO inner frame. theres not much to say about the legs, there a bit bulky and the back thruster restricts the bend to about 125 degress the feet have the ankle joint and fott joint so it can bend 360 ant 2 points the bottom foot is a solid 1 piece so no in or out bend. the foot protecter piece moves up and down and suprisingly it does not restrict the 360 rotation.

Weapons/Accessories: the "hyper" beam rifle is nicly detailed and the scope and handle can move, it is a small hassle to place it into the hand because there is a bump on the hand and it is strait-ly vertical but the beam rifle handle is on a diagonal angle. the shield its cool it can fold into a compact version, like the GP01. its has a large peg that will stick into the bump on the arm, and also has a handle too, the 2 beam sabers are standard i guess, pink beam but the handle it red and im suppose to wrap a white strip around it, using wet decals!? how come they didn't just used a foil sticker? but rsther than litsening to me rant i'll returned to the review. so the beam sabers are stored on the back pack. and now the main attration, the gattling gun, and how sweet looking it is, but the cable is a gay part but it looks very nice, it is a small struggle to keep it in a good action pose and keep it standing up. the shoulder pads for the upgrade make it look quite bulky. and the fuel pods housed beside the thruster fins.

Conclusion: if you like is Gat s**t in games you'll like this, but i'd have to deduct some points for a bad design (not in looks the design for looks in this thing is awesomly cool.)

Ratings: :oops: : embarrised you bought it (garbage)
:x : you really hate it (blah)
:cry: : you regret you bought it over something else. (gay)
:? : satisfied
:) : it's okay
:D : this thing is awesome!
:lol: : this thing isn't awesome, it's uber awesome!
:shock: : this thing is a masterpeice


I give it a :) : it's okay

manuel illustrations: BEE-CRAFT
credit to hlj.com
1999.co.jp/eng
mechatalk.net


PS:i dont care how you credit me as, and dont touch meh email OR DIE :twisted:
a never ending battle: cookies vs pie.
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