The State of the Gunpla Union – 021010

 Ahem, a second post in less than a week?  Could I truly be getting back on the ball?  Well, poking fun at myself aside, I am planning on finally getting some of this backed up content over the next week, so look forward to it.  No really, I mean it!

Anyways, let’s get on with the Gundam talk for this month’s State of the Gundpla Union address.  First off, guys, some great responses over the HG/MG/PG rant I did last month, you all kept that going despite the fact I wasn’t around for a week or 3, much appreciated.  Today I’d like to go over a slight follow up on some of the things I talked about. 

The Unicorn OVA SP Pack @ 7,875 yen – While still pricey, the updated info turns this Unicorn into a 1.5 version beast, with a ton of bonus swag.  Still a tad pricey, though.  Had they thought to included the first run novel only gatlings as well it’d be a sweeter deal.  With the OVA finally set for release this month, and with five more episodes to go, I can only imagine what comes next.  Full Armor Unicorn? Banshee?  Safe to say yes on both?

Sinanju Titanium Edition @ 12,600 yen – The price is still a freaking hell no, but I will admit nice blingy red there.  Unfortunately you’re going to pay an arm and a leg for something that’ll have splotches from where you snipped the pieces off the runner.  I’m happy with my twilight colored SInanju, thank you very much!

New to this month of I can’t believe they’re going to screw us over is the announcement of not one, but three(!) special editions of already released Perfect Grade kits!  While no pictures are yet available, the information Ngee Khiong has put up calls for a Clear version of the PG Strike (21,000 yen) along with Extra Finish versions of the RX-78 Gundam and Mass Production Zaku II (Both 23,100 yen).  Let the Gunpla 30^th anniversary whoring begin!  While I can kind of see charging a premium for the “extra finish” for the Gundam and Zaku II (albeit an additional 100 dollars seems excessive), charging an additional 70 bucks for what is simply clear plastic, is simply outrageous.  I mean it’s f’n clear plastic, how much more money does that cost?  I’m going to call it, this year is going to be the year in which Bandai tries to one-up themselves each month with in over-valuing their goods new and astonishing prices.

On a side note, I will admit that I am, sadly, intrigued by the extra finish Gundam PG.  It’s the only PG that I technically don’t have, and to be honest with you, the HGUC Extra Finish version I have is really nice looking.  I think it’s a matter of how bad would sprue damage be on a PG kit.  The bigger the piece, the bigger the cut, right?

So on to the HG kits, you know, I am really finding myself pleasantly surprised time and time again.  Due to my not paying attention to what’s available in the HG line, every time I casually glance at the store I find something new.  I don’t think I mentioned this last time, but to me, one of the major pro’s of having a low cost is that allows Bandai to put out kits that they simply can’t, or won’t do in MG or bigger sizes.  In particular you’ll find a ton of Zeon/Axis/Neo-Zeon kits in the HGUC line that are variants or experimental units, or just even the regular grunts.  ESF also has a ton of kits, and I’ve got my eye on the Hazel as a potential quick build.  I did pick up just one Zeon kit the other day that I’m looking forward to putting together this weekend maybe.

Z’Gok Experimental and, yep, the ReZEL

I realize that with my picking up of the ReZEL kit that I’ve gotten every Unicorn Gundam kit put out so far to date save for the HGUC Unicorn mode Unicorn Gundam.  I guess I really really like the design of the mobile suits in UC 96!  I haven’t really planned to get the Stark Jegan, but I just might now considering my line up.  One other thing I also realized I’ve done with most of the kits in this era is paint them.  While I said I was done painting, we saw what happened with my Geara Zulu, so what does that mean for the ReZEL…?  We’ll have to see!

Moving on to non-Gundam stuff, as you all know I did head back to the states for a while.  It’s always an eye opener to head back after such a long period… but as Bon Jovi said, you can always go home, so it was good to be back, eat real pizza and lots of Tex-Mex food, while snagging stuff that’s hard to get here.  That said, this time a couple of things I noticed going back to my own country.

• Americans are generally nicer.  Granted I’m from the south so that may have something to do with it, but the Japanese idea that American nicety is “just for the tip” feels so misplaced.
• Things are much more slower paced.  Again, this is the southern mentality here, but not so many people in an absolute rush.  Downside was that I noticed that extends to the register and checking out. 
• More green, more space!  Yeah, that goes without saying, but even in Dallas, it didn’t feel anything like the concrete Jungle that is the Greater Tokyo region, or even Kansai. 
• More expensive.  While the strong yen was good to me for buying things, I notice how things are getting just a little more expensive.  Again, I go home every 15 months or so, so it jumps out at me a little more I guess.  Also, I notice how stores don’t discount games or anything like that.  Everything is retail, or a shoddy 5 dollars of if used.  Still snagged some good deals, and retail America price for games/movies is still cheaper than Japan but I guess that “gotta find the best deal” mentality that Japan drilled into me is coming to the front here. 

Overall it was good, and there was a definite “twinge” coming back to Japan.  I love Japan, but the social interactions just aren’t the same… 

Anyways, what are your thoughts on the Gunpla news of the day?