Slowly going through the pile

I am slowly going through all the goodies I have purchased in the last while, so updates to the blog has not been as frequent as I'd like. I hope to be able to pick up the speed moving forward. I guess that also depends on how quickly I can finish the 1/144 Gundam O...and also, the 1/144 Exia RII comes with both GN sword blade and GN sword III blade...interesting...

Review: Taito Super Mechanics Arcadia from Space Pirate Captain Herlock

So here is the Taito TV version Arcadia from Space Pirate Captain Herlock. It's made of pretty good plastic material and measures roughly 40cm long. I am sure you are aware that this is the product line of UFO catcher prizes that Taito also sells in limited quantity, I got it at the original retail price of 1500 yen.


It came pretty much complete, all you have to do is to slide in the wings, and the antenna in the front, there's also a jack knife that can be attached to the front tip for executing that special pirate surgical move in battle...It also comes with a stand for display.

It's a pretty good item especially when you take into account of the price, but you can see it's lacking some details and could use an upgrade. I am planning a few simple enhancement on this and the next time you see posting of this ship it will look, hopefully better.

If you missed out on the original release, you can find it on eBay for may be $35 to $50 USD. However, I've got a feeling that the three Taito releases from Captain Herlock (this TV Arcadia, movie version Arcadia and Emeraldas' blimp) will be re-released with lighting...It's just a hunch, cause Taito did the same thing with Yamato and Galaxy Express 999. So if I were you, it may be wise to wait a bit. Also, the Taito releases are all made of plastic, don't confuse them with Aoshima's New Century Gokin version when shopping on eBay. I mentioned this cause I saw a Taito Yamato being sold at $150 USD, when you can get the Chogokin from Bandai for about $200.

1:1 Green Tokyo Gundam Project Update:Extreme close up from Pam's Homepage

Pam's homepage posted some extreme closeup of the 1:1 Gundam, here's a sample...

To revisit other updates under this topic, please look under the "green tokyo gundam project" label.

Source: http://pam.main.jp/model/event/odaiba_gundam.php

Kotobukiya Frame Arms Series

The Frame Arms series is a new robot mechanic series of plastic models from Kotobukiya, and as the name implies, all of models (at least for now) will share the same inner frame. As a mark of genius, the Frame itself will also be available for 1200 yen, it came completed as well. The SA-16 Stylet (blue one) and the 32 Series Type 1 Gorai (dark grey one) will be 3000 yen.

I really like this Gorai, it reminds me of the Mugen Calibur from Dorvack, but only better and more sophisticated. I think I'll be getting this one...if you swap a Gundam head with it, it may look ok...just need to add shield, beam rifle and beam saber.

Sources: Concept pictures from Kotobukiya, sample pictures from Hobby Search.

Bandai June 27 Robot Damashii Releases

So here are the just released robot tamashii Crossbone Gundam x-1, Lancelot Albion and Nirvish Type Zero Spec 2.

This X-1 actually looks nicer than I expected, if I come across a good deal, I may get it.

I haven't watched Code Geass yet, so I don't know what the fuss is about, I do know it has quite a following, so it can't be bad. I just think the outline of the Lancelot looks a bit too much like the Nirvish, without the transformation...May be it's just me...

This is on its way to me now...I somehow wish they'd do alternate color for this as I am not a fan of the default color scheme.

Review: Bandai GFFN ZII

The GFFN ZII, I cannot believe how well made this is.

This is a total surprise, as I already owned the initial GFF ZII released a few years ago. When the GFFN version was announced, I thought, there isn't a chance in the world I'd be pick this up since it looks more or less the same as before. Bandai, I'm no sucker, you know!


To be honest, after I bought the original GFF ZII, I took a look at all the different attachment parts, figured it's too bothersome and filed it inside my vault. To date, it still has yet to come out of the box, but it will see the light of day as I intend to do a side-by-side soon. So now back to this new one.

Just received this GFFN version a few days ago, I was impressed that the figure is pretty much as it, there were a few things for the stand, 2 bazookas, a Z Gundam rifle, and the beam cannon in the picture. Under a different brand, this figure probably will be labelled as perfect transformation.

All the parts are self contained, the ease of transformation is not bad, an old goat like myself can still managed. And the result is stunning.

The inner frame is metal and gives structure, stability and a nice weight to the figure, and the outer armour are all made with quality ABS plastic with sharp details. There is no rubbery PVC to deal with, which is fantastic.

I cannot rave enough about this, it's worth the investment. Now, I am excited about the Strike Gundam which is the next release, actually coming out this month...you can check out the preview pictures under the gffn label.

Review: Bandai GFF Gundam GP01

If I am not mistaken, the GP01 was the first release in the GFF series. I really like the GP01 design, kinda funny, cause I'm not so warm to the GP01 Fb...


The figure is made of PVC, and comes with an assortment of guns including the little machine gun thing that appeared in episode 1 & 2. There is also a long range cannon that was not pictured (couldn't get it photographed nicely).


The shield also has a second position settings to display it as "closed".

As much as I like it, it is showing its age. The articulation is quite limited, that's why you don't see any dramatic poses in these pictures. I am not a big fan of PVC 'action' figures, since I have more than my fair share of broken joints already (I still can't forget breaking the Max Factory Guyver knee 2 minutes after taking it out of the box). Also, there is no figure stand in the package, unlike the later releases.

It pains me to say this, but if you don't already have this, you may want to wait for the Robot Tamashii release (hopefully it will come one day).

Review: Bandai GFF Cross Bone Gundam X-3

I thought I'd post this review to celebrate the release of the Robot Tamashii Cross Bone X-1, in a way to remind myself that I probably should save the $30 and spend it on something else...

Anyway, this is really the first time I handle the GFF X-3 for any length of time since I got it when it was released in August 2006. It retails for 3980 yen, compared to 3000 yen for the RT X-1 and 3800 yen for the RT X-2.

This was one of the later releases in the GFF line, and I was amazed at how posable this is compared to say the very first GFF, GP01 (I'll be posting its review the next day), but I am pretty confident that the Robot Tamashii version will still have an edge over posing and playability. However, this is impressive enough for me.

This GFF X-3 is a real steal, I highly recommend it. Just think of all the accessories you are getting, beam shield, the peacock smasher, the muramasa blaster, zambuster, daggers, etc...

And then there's also the extra X-1 torso, the antibeam cloak and the antibeam armour that comes with it...

A display stand (not shown) is also included that allows you to even display X-3 in mid-flight.

It's actually kind of fun fiddling with all the accessories and armour, I do have a couple of advice...use a zip lock bag to hold all the small parts so you don't lose them (like the very small panels you have to remove to fit the armour or the cloak in), and using an x-acto knife can help to ease some of the more stubborn joints that have been painted over, just use with care...

Here's my speculation on which one is best for you...The GFF version probably is more detailed and suitable if you want to simply display the X-3 (the add-ons will provide a lot of display options), the Robot Tamashii version probably looks good in display too, but it should give you confidence to really play with it...