Seeing double

Recently an acquaintance of mine inquired about the differences between the P-Bandai MG Banshee and MG Banshee Final Battle Ver. When my answer of  "nothing" failed to suffice I promised a picture show to validate my somber confession. If you number amongst the curious click the break and dive into a bit of deja vu!

Eye Spy the Second

Eye Spy peers at... Master Grade Rick Dias Quattro Bajeena Custom.

Cheers for:

• Cool weapons
• Great feel (I'll explain)
• Unique design
• Competent hands
• Options 
• Awesome engineering
• Sweet color scheme

Jeers for:

• Wonky shoulder armor
• Limited leg pose-ability

A in-depth review can be found after the break.

Alright I'm Joining the Dark Side

Back when Gundam Build Fighters was nearing the end of it's run the Exia Dark Matter made it's appearance and I found myself quite underwhelmed (by the design not the action). Then the first prototypes surfaced and I became slightly interested. Then the colored version surfaced and I raised an eyebrow (the left one) slightly.

Over the weeks leading up to the release of this kit folks like Gundam Guy have bombarded my eye-holes with images and gradually caused my interest to percolate more severely. Well folks, thanks to Syd at HobbyLink TV I'm all! Straight up this thing is bad@ss! It looks menacing and strangely heavy, which is appropriate since the kit is loaded with sharp pointy weapons! Of course you don't have to take my word for it, have a look at the shiny video below and become a believer.

So yeah I'll soon be buying yet another kit I don't have the time to build, oh well Dark Matter will have plenty of company in the Gundam closet while it waits for me to complete my Geara Doga painted build. 

Early Returns Are...

Very good in my humble opinion. Thanks to Gundam Guy we now know what Master Grade Hyaku Shiki ver. 2.0 is going to look like on our collective shelves. I'm simply loving this color choice! While the gold of the original Hyaku Shiki was lovely, it was also a bit too flamboyant and its magnetic attraction to finger prints quickly ruined it's luminscence. Meanwhile the Ballute System version was a spoiled mustard eye-sore. Here Bandai has found a successful middle-ground and remedied both of these shortcomings by adorning this version of Quattro Bajeena's Mobile Suit with a lovely soft gold that should prove finger print resistant.

Read more.

By the Brightest Moon Doth Come Thine Doom!

We got box art people! MG Gundam Double X box art to be specific. I think I like it but I'd have liked something more dynamic. Given the spectacular design of the DX there was real opportunity to create some classic box art. As such, simply having the DX centered on the tiny box in what is essentially the same pose from the promo material just seems lazy. This is made all the worse when you consider that this same image is going to be plastered not only on the side of the box, but most likely on the manual as well. Why not adorn the box with a more dynamic scene, something worthy of the excitement that greeted this unexpected gunpla? Where are the explosions and particle effects you love so much, Bandai? Sigh I guess that horse is sufficiently dead now so I'll leave my rant at that and let you, dear readers, enjoy the pretty picture.

Follow the break for my plastic sexy courtesy of Hobby Search

RAWR!!!

Korean Plamodel Contest Exhibition photos! Your eyes are welcome.

Sate your Plamodel lust at Gundam Kits Collection. 

Thoughts on the Second Coming

Thanks to Gundam Guy (among others) we now know the Master Grade line will receive a Hyaku Shiki 2.0 and while that's quite great it does bring up some thoughts. First though pictures.

To Be Feared Indeed

While there a many Gunpla that a modeller can build and appreciate straight away, there are many that cannot be and the FAZZ is one of those kits that shines when treated with love. Modeler Kamm has done just this with this Master Grade FAZZ dubbed "The Feared One". 

I'm sure I've mentioned it before but purple man, I love that color. I also love that wicked looking axe. All images are courtesy of Gundam Model Kits Collection and can be viewed here.

Some Love for Ryu Jose

Don't see very many of these as I wander across the internets taking in various Gundam and non-Gundam related sites. However, while the design of the GunCannon has never really inspired I won't let that stop me from giving love to top flight modeling skills.

All images courtesy of Master File and Onesoul. Additionally pretties after the break

The Smoke is Real!

Here we have more Master File badassery, from modeler Yamakichi we have this masterful MG Dual Gundam - love those colors. The smoke effects are awesome, while I see a lot of custom and painted builds I don't often see effect details like those.

First thing I thought upon seeing the beam sabers was, how would they look with clear orange paint? My blind optimism thinks the answer would be freakin' awesome! Guess I'll have to wait until my Duel arrives from HLJ and my other Gundam projects are resolved.

All images courtesy of Gundam Guy and Master File.

Gundam's Come in Bunches (Apparently)

Wasn't long ago that Unicorn and Banshee were crowding my view, well that time is over it is now the season of the Astray. Fortunately the many versions of the Gundam Astray have all been stellar pieces and this MG by Kusganie is no exception.

Images courtesy of Gundam Guy and Master File. 

Banshee and the Amazing Technicolor Paintcoat

Seems everywhere I look either the Unicorn or it's sibling suit the Banshee are plucking my attention from it's casual wanderings. While I'm hardly a fan of the Unicorns candy cane color scheme - the white/green combo's another matter entirely - I've always loved the color combination of the Banshee. But what happens when someone alters that scheme?

This Banshee turned kaleidoscope answers that question emphatically. Honestly a paint job this fabulous doesn't need many words so I'll just credit the sources and shut up. Props to G-Farmer for pulling off some serious metallic coating and shout out to Gundam Family for sharing this with the world.

Better With Ninjas

Much like Pirates all things are made better with the inclusion of Ninjas, Gundam included. I defy you dear readers to gaze upon this Gold Frame and not see the awesome! Just go ahead I'll wait... See told you you couldn't do it.

This Gunpla modeled by Miniamp123 has been dubbed the "Astray Gold Frame Ninja Version" but I'm going to call it Konoha Gold Frame because much like the Shinobi from Naruto, this mobile suit don't give no damns about concealment (Ninjas were masters of camouflage).

Jokes aside this fantastic build highlights one of my favorite aspects of the Astray line, versatility. Parts swappable across Blue and Red frame mean anyone can easily kit bash one of their own and the nature of the design makes it easy to create some really awesome color combinations by changing the color of the armor, frame or both! Those of you interested in seeing the full gallery should head over to Gundam Guy post haste.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive!

It seems Karma has heard me and granted my wish! The master modeler hath returned with a Banshee Variant (BV) of his four legged Unicorn. Where the original kit was a frightening plastic beauty monster, the BV sports a more sombre look. Of course that could be my recollection of the last two Unicorn episodes coloring my opinion, but since they're my feelings I'm gonna own em!

Okay when I see the BV's naked frame somber isn't the word that comes to mind. That glistending gold frame is actually pretty freaky, gorgeous but freaky. Even still having this on my shelf wouldn't leave me wondering if toys only come to life in my imagination.  You can see the Unicorn that confuses my emotions here. If you wish to be further dazzled by this gold gilded Gundam visit Gundam Kits Collection for the full gallery. 

Beast Mode Activated

No this isn't a post about Seattle Seahawks Running Back Marshawn Lynch, rather it's about a frightening piece of craftsmanship.

Modeler Karma has smushed together a number of kits and flexed his scratch building muscles to create this winged mobile suit. Despite how awesome this model is I can honestly say it freaks me out a bit, it seems like something out of a Puppet Master Re-Boot.

Were I in possession of any scratch building skills of my own, I'd try this with a Banshee but I don't so I won't (yet). Instead I'll just head back over to Gundam Kits Collection and ogle more images.

Hmm

While doing a part check on the new MG Rick Dias I came across this:

I've seen the SB plate or similar naked in the box before but this ain't those. What do you think dear readers should I be concerned, has this ever happened to you?

A Little Bit About White

Remember that earlier post about how anti-white I am, well there is an exception to every rule. This MG Quan[T] entitled "The Doctor" by modeler LOD is fabulous example of how white as a primary tone should be used. 

Roughly 70% of this kit is white, however the remaining 30% is high contrast shades of red, black and grey. This is how you do a predominately white mobile suit. I really need to get a Quan[T].

 

All images courtesy of Gundam Kits Collection. 

Big Things Poppin' - MG FA-010-A FAZZ!

Can't say the FAZZ (somehow pronounced "fats") has every piqued my interest, in fact it is on the very short list of MG kits I have no interest in. Or was until I saw this:

There was definitely some modification done to this kit but damned if I know the extent, based on the comparison image there seems to have been some lengthening of the legs among other mods. I haven't done so yet but modification is definitely on my to-do-list (along with scratch building).

All images courtesy of Supreme Mecha and Xiaot. 

Perfectly Purple MG Quan[T]

It's like a flower, a deadly metallic flower.

Shout out to Gundam Family for posting this masterful work! 

Purple Dabbed Death Dealer

Purple is among my favorite colors - yellow, orange and salmon are the others - so naturally my eye was drawn to this custom version of the granddaddy of all Gundams.

Find more eye candy at Gundam Guy and Sabotenkun's blog.