The State of the Gunpla Union – 113110

Before you know it, it’s the end of the month again (give or take a few days….^_^:;) November ended up being quite a bit busier than I expected on the real life end and quite a few factors kept me from the website and Gunpla.  But let’s get on with the how things are in the state of the Gunpla Union.

First up, as I mentioned last month, my PS3 bit the dust and I sent it off for repairs in hopes that they wouldn’t have to do anything that would involve wiping my hard drive and nearly 4 years of saves.  Unfortunately, that was not the case, so rather than having them fix it, I opted to have it returned and will attempt a fix myself in order to try and save my data.  But considering there is a chance that I’ll screw it up, I went ahead and picked up a new PS3slim, and have immediately been sucked into Black Ops, especially now that GaiGun himself is playing.  Nightly matches of domination and Zombies means less time for website, gunplay, or sleep at this point.  Of course, add in my back log of Assassin’s Creed, Castlevania, Medal of Honor, DJ Hero 2, and the upcoming Gundam Musou 3, and I start debating skipping sleep all together…

Our new (blue) son

Other than that, I’ve also been shuttling back and forth to Tokyo for projects and work on a weekly basis, and that has actually been cutting into my weekends.  Again I’ll be in Tokyo for this week and next weekend for work, but I’ve secured time to meet up with my drinking partner, Gaigun, in Akiba.  Now that I think about it, we’ll be meeting up on the day of the PG Strike Freedom drop, so we’ll be able to see firsthand how popular it is.

It’s definitely looking good! 

So unfortunately, it looks like things are going to be a bit busy for me in December as well, between work, gaming, and the Japanese penchant for end of the year parties (I’ve already got 5 on my list..)  So I guess I need to forgo not only sleep, but my liver as well….  But, onto the Gunpla stuff!! I actually did manage to finish a few kits in the first part of November, so all that’s left is photos.  I also did manage to get some new kits so I guess that puts me at plus/minus zero for the month…  First up, some completed things (and upcoming (truly, yes, I will do this) photo shoots) include the following kits.

More Eco-pla HG kits!

And a bit of orange to go with that black 

Yeah, I jumped on that bandwagon too (and hand painted the gold at that) 

While I finished the above, I still have the MG ReZel that I’m working on with the folks at the GAF GBP thread.  Currently I’m exactly where I was last time, with the legs finished, and all the other pieces snipped out.  I just need to paint, and do so light after market parts work.   The goal is to get this done in the next couple of weeks if possible.

MG ReZel

So why do I want to get this done?  Well, the major reason is that the PG Strike is dropping in less than two weeks, and I’m ready to jump on it.  PG’s definitely take time though, so I want to clear off my work table of all current kits before I dive into that monster.  Of course, there is a couple of other small kits I want to try and squeeze in there if possible.

Selling like hotcakes, and for some reason, I want to build this more than the RG Gundam…

More (or is it less since it’s Mini?) Hoi-hoi

And yeah, I went there. 

Honestely, I like the box art for the Linkin Park HG kit.  I think because it’s more of the realistic portrayal of the members more than anything else.  But that’s my current gunpla status.  The main goal in December though is to get the photo shoots for all the done kits out of the way, finish the ReZel, and jump into a WiP for the PG Strike.  What’s on everyone else’s plates this holiday season?

PG Strike Freedom release date!

Been busy going back and forth to Tokyo for business and got the chance to stop by Akiba for a bit after work today. I was pleasantly surprised to see the PG Strike Freedom not only on display, but also that the final release date had been set. According to Yodobashi Camera, this PG kit will be making a dent in your wallet on 12/11! As I was expecting an end of the month release, this comes as great news. And the model on display looks awesome. Time to stock up on flat top coat!

MG Char Use Z’Gok (EXF Version) Photo Gallery

Continuing with my slow pace of knocking things out, here are the photos for the MG Char Z’Gok.  While I like the Z’Gok in general, I can’t really place why.  While imposing, the Z’Gok is unfortunately limited by… well it’s form I guess. While the waist is movable, you really can’t twist it around and have realistic (at least realistic for the Z’Gok) poses.  And of course a lack of neck doesn’t help.  Still, I love the color scheme, as this was a rare extra finish version kit in which that gate damage doesn’t stand out too much.   If you can find it, worthy of a pick up, in my opinion.

Rockman 1/10 kit Photo Gallery

A bit later than I would have liked, but as promised, here are the Rockman photos.  Having finally gotten my set up working again, my next step is to work on some more dynamic poses.

Some final thoughts on Rockman before the pictures though.  First off, as mentioned in my WiP, this is a quick build and easy build.  To be honest, they don’t get much easier than this, and can be completed with only an hour or two of work.  But despite the simplicity the build involves, it still comes off a stable build, and looking really nice.  The kit can do fairly dynamic poses, and the three faces it comes with show off an excellent range of emotions.  And, most of all, considering that it’s Rockman, the color combination possibilities are unlimited.  So the question remains, what weapon power will your Rockman have?

For fans of Rockman/Megaman, this kit comes highly recommended, and for those who may want to try their hand at a non mecha kit, this is also a great beginner level kit.  Now to hope that they’ll bring out a Rockman X kit!

WiP – MG Char Use Z’Gok (EXF Version) Part 2

Continuing on with the WiP for the Z’Gok, we left with the upper body and arms finished as seen here.

Crabwalking

Honestly, going on from here I’m already over halfway done, with only the waist, legs and feet to go.  Jumping into the waist we find an abundance of rubber parts for where the legs and upper waist connect.  This gives it more of a rubbery, seal kind of look, which I guess fits considering the amphibian nature of the Z’Gok.

Waist parts

Next up we move onto the legs, which is pretty much the exact same as the arms.  These also have the gimmick of being able to extend and shrink slightly.

Leg pieces

We follow that with the pretty large feet and lower leg parts.  Honestly, the Z’Gok has huge feet, and that gives it quite a bit of stability.  While the feet have good left/right move ability, front/back is pretty much out of the picture.

I wish I had Shin guards like this for soccer.

Flat footed?

Connect the pieces and…

And that’s it, a rather fast build considering the unique build of this mobile suit.  Put together we get the following.

Here comes Z’Gok

Overall, the colors look excellent in extra finish style, and the gate damage isn’t as noticeable as it is on Gundam-types.  The only thing is that you can only do so much with the Z’Gok when it comes to posing, giving its rather wide feet, and a torso that can’t twist around.  Still, I’ve been taking some shots with my new set up, and hey, it looks good enough just standing around.  So, next up, photo gallery!