Archive for June, 2008

Random Gunpla Facts & Figures

June 12, 2008

Some nice random gunpla facts & figures ^^

00

Nikkei Business Online has been posting a series of discussions with Bandai Hobby Division‘s Deputy General Manager & Bandai Hobby Center chief Katsuhiko Sasaki. The second one focuses on his work as a manager and the people who support the Gunpla market.

– Development of a plamodel takes 120-150 days from design to shipping out. They plan on optimizing this to 100 days.

– The plamodel market exceeds 50 billion Yen in value.

– Said market is such that even 10-year-old products can be manufactured and sold with repeated demand. The ratio of sales for new products vs. old products is roughly 50-50.

– The people who buy Gunpla can be largely divided into two groups: 14-year-olds who purchase them because of their interest in the newest Gundam on TV and 35-year-olds who’ve been fans since First Gundam. Gunpla has been particularly sustained by the latter.

From Gunota

Wave’s Xecty Reservation Starts!!

June 11, 2008

xecty

This new 1/8 Scale figure of “Xecty S.O.F.T” from Shining Wind series, will be available this coming September 2008 by Wave, and will be retailing for 6,500 Yen. There will be 2 versions released. One is the Normal version, and the other is Limited version.

There isn’t any difference in the limited version, in terms of colours or any, but it’ll come with a Limited Telephone Card that has the original Xecty art by Tony Taka printed on it, in which you can view it below:

xecty2

The limited version is retailing at a higher price, at 7,500 Yen. Hobby Search is taking reservations for both as of today.

Is telephone card really that expensive? ( ^ _ ^ );

Wave’s Yoko Reservation Starts!

June 11, 2008

yoko

yoko2

This new 1/8 scale figure of “Yoko Space Look Ver.” from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann series, will be available this coming October 2008 by Wave, and will be retailing for 6,600 Yen.

There will be 2 versions released, one is the Normal version and the other is the Limited version. Top image is the Limited version. Hobby Search is taking reservations for both versions as of today.

I don’t know about you guys, but this is probably one of the best looking Yoko I’ve seen, atleast for the matured one~ I like the limited version better ( ^ _ ^ )/

Lucky Haruhi Completed!!

June 10, 2008

Remember the Lucky Haruhi video I posted back in Febuary? The video is now complete with epicness ^^ You can view the complete video below:

From Dannychoo.com via member Gordon

What I like about this video, is it’s not just some Fan-Made video. It’s actually really well directed, and with smooth animation~( ^ _ ^ )/

Griffon’s Shana Delayed

June 10, 2008

Bad news for those who ordered Griffon’s Shana.

shana

Griffon Enterprises“Shana 1/7 Scale” has been delayed to August 2008 release from its orginal release date. This figure was originally scheduled for June 2008 release.

From Griffon Enterprise Site via Foo-Bar-Baz

Man…I just hope they stopped delaying more stuffs. First was Goth Haruhi, now Shana ( > _ < )

Saber Alter Wonder Festival 2008 (Summer) Exclusive

June 10, 2008

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saber2

A new alteration of the previous released “Saber Alter” by Solid Theater, is going to be sold during this coming Wonder Festival 2008 (Summer) in August, hence it’s another Wonder Festival exclusive ^^

This new limited “Saber Alter WF2008 Ver.” (As what I would call it ^^ ) will be up for 6,800 Yen. More images of this at Solid Theater Site

This version is definitely less scarier than the normal version~XD And she looks more matured on this~ Great looking figure, although it’s another WF exclusive~( ^ _ ^ );

I personally like this version better than the normal one~( ^ _ ^ )/

Clalaclan Noir Box Art Revealed!!

June 10, 2008

clalaclan

Kotobukiya posted the sample Box Art preview of the upcoming “Clalaclan Noir Ver.”, which are scheduled for September 2008, at their Blog

Griffon’s Ryofu Housen Reservations Starts!!

June 9, 2008

ryofu

This new 1/6 Scale figure of “Ryofu Housen Plain-Clothes Ver. Red Colour” from Ikkitousen series, is scheduled to be released this coming August 2008 by Griffon Enterprises, and it’ll be retailing for 6,500 Yen. Hobby Search is taking reservations for her as of today.

Shirt can be cast-off ^^ (Heart-shaped ftw~)

ryofu2

This is definitely one of the better releases of Ryofu Housen I’ve seen so far by Griffon ^^ Is it just me, that the 1/6 scale version is getting not much different in price compared to the 1/8 scales ( ^ _ ^ );

Petit SOS-Dan In Action!!

June 9, 2008

A nice rendition of “Hare Hare Yukai” dance, by replacing the usual characters with the Chibi version ^

A bit laggy, but CUTE OVERLOAD!!! \( > _ < )/

No Kyon and Itsuki though ^^;

From Sankaku Complex via Dannychoo.com

A Day At Singapore Botanical Garden

June 8, 2008

A change of topic than the usual~XD

I went to Singapore Botanical Garden the other day, as part of our Photography Class outing assignment. It was really a hot tiring day, as in you have to walk to one end to the other end ( > _ < ) There’s no transportation, and it’s definitely not a short walk to get around the Garden ^^; I just wish they would provide a bicycle rental place or something.

Although it was a hot day, it was quite worth it ^^ Took some nice shots there~ The only thing I regret of not having is the Macro lens. It’s not cheap, however ^^;

(Right Click on Images, and choose “Open Image” for higher resolution)

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I could probably take a better one, but this the best I can do for now~( ^ _ ^ );

All photos are taken with Nikon D40.

1/100 Gundam Astraea Type-F Box Art

June 8, 2008

A little bit late, but here’s the box art for the upcoming “1/100 Gundam Astraea Type-F”, which is going to be released this month ^^

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From Hobbyist Inc

This Month Upcoming Goodies – Part VI (Part 2)

June 8, 2008

Another updates on some of the confirmed release date for the month of June, plus other news ^^

LS

Name: Clayroid Puchi Lucky Star Season 02
Company: Good Smile Company
Scale: Non
Release Date: June 26th, 2008
Note: –

nanoha

Name: Takamachi Nanoha Teaching Corp Uniform Ver.
Company: Good Smile Company
Scale: 1/8
Release Date: June 30th, 2008
Note: –

mikuru

Name: Figma Asahina Mikuru School Uniform Ver.
Company: Max Factory
Scale: Non
Release Date: June 28th, 2008
Note: –

itsuki

Name: Figma Koizumi Itsuki School Uniform Ver.
Company: Max Factory
Scale: Non
Release Date: June 28th, 2008
Note: –

Other News:

Alter‘s Asahina Mikuru Maid Ver. has been pushed back to July 2nd, 2008, and the same goes to Good Smile Company‘s Nendoroid Melissa Seraphy, which is also pushed back to July 2008.

Both figures were originally scheduled for June 2008 release.

Thanks to Foo-Bar-Baz for the heads up ^^

Shuraki Trinity Box #02: Liu Mei Feng (Good Smile Company) – Part 2/2

June 7, 2008

Continuing on where we left off, here’s the 2nd part of Meifeng‘s review ^^

(Right Click on Images, and choose “Open Image” for higher resolution)

Cast off~

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Close up~^^;

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Well, she got one nice booty to be honest~XD

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Now with the Battle Damaged dress~

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Closer look of the dress~

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That ends Meifeng’s review ^^ Next will be Rize‘s turn, and after will be either Chu Astram or Figma Nanoha. Look forward to them~( ^ _ ^ )/

Shuraki Trinity Box #02: Liu Mei Feng (Good Smile Company) – Part 1/2

June 7, 2008

Alright~ Next is the the review for “Shuraki Trinity Box #02: Liu Mei Feng” by Good Smile Company ^^

meifeng

Just like Nida, Meifeng’s review will also be divided into 2 parts because of the photos. This will probably also apply to Rize, because of their alternative costume capability ^^; From now on, any review that produced more than 40 photos will be divided into 2 parts. This just to save bandwiths and reduce lag ^^;

Back to topic~ Meifeng is the 2nd figure to be released from the Shuraki Trinity series, and was originally released last year. The one that I have is the “re-release” version which was released earlier on May 22nd, 2008. Meifeng probably, in terms of popularity, is on par with Char, which makes her almost impossible to get if you’re not quick enough. It’s probably too late to get her now ^^;

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A little bit info on the character~ Just like I mentioned before, each character from Shuraki series is designed by different famous designer. In Meifeng’s case, she’s designed by Satoshi Kiba. You can view more of his work here. He’s quite well-known around the Doujins Circle, especially during Comiket.

Meifeng is a 17-year old China-born fighter that utilized and specialized in lightning quick melee attack, by using her trusty “Twin-Engetsurin” as weapons.

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Just like any Shuraki figures, Meifeng also comes with alternate Battle Damaged China-Dress, which you can switch around, and also a custom Diorama base stand ^^

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Other bonuses also include the usual Character Illustration Booklet “Shuraki Secret File Vol.2: Meifeng” and a Drama CD. Well, as you guessed it, Meifeng also gets her own Voice Actress in the Drama CD. She’s voiced by Iizuka Mayumi, which is more known for voicing Kasumi (Misty) in the Japanese version of the Pokemon series. The Drama CD also features other famous Voice Actresses such as Koshimizu Ami and Mizuki Nana. More on the Character Illustration Booklet and Drama CD will be posted later on different entry ^^

Well, what can I say, another amazing figure from GSC ^^ There’s no flaw on Meifeng either. She probably got the best dynamic pose out of all the Shuraki figures ^^ My only complain about the figures is it’s really difficult to do cast-off on her, and probably the hardest. All the joints are so tight and difficult to take off, which makes me really afraid of breaking her if I use too much force ^^; So please be careful if you ever get her.

Ah, and don’t forget to clean up the Oil excess from the skin and the inside of the dress when you’re casting off her for the first time ^^

Anyway, on with the shots!! More pictures will be posted in Part 2 of the review ^^~

(Right Click on Images, and choose “Open Image” for higher resolution)

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Close up~

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Closer look of the dress~

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Beautiful hair~^^

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Her “Twin-Engetsurin”~

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Base Stand~

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To be continued to Part 2

Figma Nanoha Sanjou!!

June 7, 2008

nanoha

My “Figma Takamichi Nanoha Barrier Jacket Ver.” by Max Factory just arrived today ^^

Supposed to arrive together with my Figma Kyon, but I guess they’ve decided to send it anyway, since Kyon is still delayed to unknown date.

Anyway, review for Figma Nanoha will be posted as soon as I finished with Shuraki reviews. Review for Meifeng will be posted later this evening, so look forward to it~( ^ _ ^ )/

Nendoroid Kaito

June 7, 2008

kaito

From Figure/GK

Real or not, it’s for you to decide~( ^ _ ^ );

GSC’s Hime Reservation Starts!!

June 6, 2008

Another new entry by Good Smile Company is now ready for reservations ^^

hime

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This new figure of “Hime 1/7 Scale” from Princess Ressurection (Kaibutsu Ojou) series, is scheduled for October 2008 and it will be retailing for 6,800 Yen. Hobby Search is taking pre-orders for her as of today. The figure also comes with her small robotic maid servant ^^

I have to say, that’s one pretty figure ^^ I saw the anime series, and it was worth watching~( ^ _ ^ )/

Kotobukiya’s Gothic Rei Reservation Starts!!

June 5, 2008

Another entry from the Evangelion series is now ready for pre-orders ^^

rei

This new 1/8 scale figure of “Ayanami Rei Gothic Lolita Noir Ver.”, will be available this coming October 2008 by Kotobukiya, and it’ll be retailing for 6,800 Yen. Hobby Search is taking reservations for her as of today.

This was made so you could paired it up with Gothloli Asuka ^^ Another fine figure I have to say, although I probably won’t be getting her~( ^ _ ^ );

Alter’s Triple Threat Ready For Reservations!!

June 5, 2008

You won’t believe this ^^ Alter just opened the reservation of their 3 new awesome entries, which is really unexpected ^^;

rei

elizabeth

aya

These amazing entries are “Elizabeth 1/8 Scale” from the PS2 game Persona 3 FES, “Ayanami Rei 1/8 Scale” from the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, and “Aya 1/7 Scale” from Onee Chanbara VorteX.

All of these figures are scheduled for October 2008, with both Elizabeth and Rei retailing at 5,800 Yen, and Aya retailing at 7,800 Yen. Hobby Search is taking reservations for all of them as of today.

Wow, these are so gonna blow my wallet away. I personally like this version of Rei a lot~( ^ _ ^ )/

My Secret Base (Well Not Really~)

June 4, 2008

I’ve decided to take some photos of my current room as of June 2008, after seeing Danny’s new “Your Room” sub-section Member’s News ^^ I just did some cleaning, so I think this is the perfect time to do this ^^ This is also a good time for those who are stil curious on how do I get all the space to display my collections ^^;

Anyway, lets start off with an overview of the room~

(Right Click on images, and choose “Open Image” for larger version)

The left side is the Figure section and the right is the Gunpla section. The space between them is where I do all my work~

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A look on the Gunpla section~ The lower part is where I kept all my Nendoroid-Petits~

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A look on the lower Gunpla section~ All the Nendoroids are well kept in a special display case, which makes my job much easier when cleaning them ^^ Put my Figmas there so I can play with them when I’m bored~XD

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The top is some of the Gunpla boxes (Yeah, Dendrobium takes lots of space = _ = )~

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My work space~ Also the space where I converted it to my “Mini-Studio” to do all the reviews ^^~ As you can see, I have 2 Desk Lamps, which are essentials for my reviews~XD

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Figure sections~

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My Shuraki figures which I have collected so far, lacking of Char ( > _ < ); Meifeng and Rize which reviews still pending ^^;

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MG Strike Freedom -FBM- (The only perfect place to display it ^^; )

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The only Manga I have collected so far~All in English (and that’s my Astraea which I still need to find the time to build on > _ < ).

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All my PSP & PC games~ Also Meifeng’s and Rize’s Box which I still kept for my reviews. The rest of the figure boxes is inside the cupboard below.

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More Gunpla boxes~ That’s my “1/60 Strike Freedom – Lightening Edition” on the left, which I still havent done any review on ^^; Brown box is my “Diffuser” for photoshoot lightening purposes.

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Another corner of the room, where I displayed my humongous Dendrobium and Destiny -EBM-~ I just lucky to have the space ^^; Below is some of the Hobby Search boxes, which I still haven’t thrown away ^^;

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Lastly, my only Nanoha Wall Scroll which I acquired from KKnM last year (It was the only item at KKnM) ^^;

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I’m kind of blessed with all the display space, but as you can see, everything is in the open. So I have no choice but to clean atleast once a month. Such a hastle ( > _ < ) I’m planning to get myself a new Detolf Cabinet when I have the chance ^^

That’s about it I guess ^^ A little bit cramped, but I kind of happy with the overall layout, since it’s just perfect for me ^^