Wing Love

It appears that Gundam Wing is getting some brand new love and attention.


Gundam Wing was the very first Gundam series that aired in the Philippines. But I was already aware of the anime even before it aired locally because actually saw a few episodes during a visit to Japan when I was a kid. I loved it for the fact that it was about giant robots, and then I also got hooked on the opening song "Just Wild Beat"! I was very happy that a local channel aired the series here, and I believe that is how the rest caught up with the gundam hoopla. My first two kits were the 1/144 Wing and Shen Long. After assembling the kit, I felt like I was ripped off because the toy doesn't look anything like the images shown on the box. But still, I was happy to have the gundams of the two best pilots (in my opinion), Heero and Wufei.

I can still remember spending an awful lot of time staring at gundam boxes in convenience stores and malls during our stay there. I was intimidated by the 1/100 kits and didn't bother asking my mom or sister to buy me one.

I'm glad that Bandai is showering GW with a lot of attention recently. The MG Wing first, then now the Deathscythe. So according to Ngee Khiong, the design of the MG Deathscythe was based from the new Wing manga series "The Glory of the Defeated", and it is possible that the other 3 units will be released based on the new manga design as well. Wing looks like the MG Ver. Ka release so I guess no more future MG release for that. Shen Long looks like the old school design, and Sandrock looks like the one from EW. Heavy Arms appears to be the EW "Kai" version, but is using the old school color scheme. The Heavy Arms is my favorite unit from Wing. I got the 1/100 HG version, and I'm having big plans for that old kit.

I really like the grunt units from GW as well, and I hope Bandai would release MG versions of some of those mechs. My favorites are the Aries and Virgo. Maybe the Aries can be a transformable kit, and the Virgo can have shield effect parts for the shield discs on its shoulder. Or better yet, a Mercurius and Vayeate combo in a single box.

So there, I'm really excited about the future gunpla releases for the Wing series. I'm also excited for my first airbrush project which is the HG GN-X. I shall post updates about that soon.

HGUC Blue Destiny Unit 1

The weather finally became tolerable and I was able to do the shoot for Blue Destiny. Summer here in the Philippines has been like a punishment. Thankfully it's been raining for the past few days. I took advantage of the rainy morning and proceeded with the shoot. So here is BD Unit 1. Photo dump after the jump.

I sliced the green foil stickers to tiny bits and pasted them on the eyes/lenses.

Pardon the blurry pics. Been struggling with my Sony point and shoot due to the vibrating lens, really weird.

This was a really nice kit. I only spray painted the light blue and the grey inner frame-ish parts. Slapped on custom decals to make it look more like a GFF model, then topcoat. Since I'm a fan of these 1/144 kits, I'm really excited about the new 1/144 Real Grade line. The color accurate parts and inner frame attributes of a Master Grade model realized in 1/144 scale. Can't wait!

Finally. Victory!

And a lotta other stuff too.

So I went to Greenhills yesterday, the place where Otaku and other geek stuff can be found, to get this baby.

I got an email from the owner of a store that the MG Victory was already here. So Friday, while at the office, I called their Makati City branch to ask how much it costs. They say its about 41.50 USD, then less 5% if I pay for it in cash. Great. The next day, I decided to go to Greenhills, San Juan instead so I can also check out the stuff from the other stores. I was surprised to find out that Victory there costs more than 46 USD. I didn't tell them that I called their other branch the day before. So I went out, called the other branch and asked about the price. It was still cheaper than the one in Greenhills, so I asked them to keep it for me and promised to pick it up that afternoon.

Found this cute Banpresto figure of Alphonse. I already saw this in the store's website before and got interested. Looks kinda nendoroid-ish.

Went to the other store and found some K-ON Gashapon set. I think it was called Petit Prop Plus. I think these stores can sell them much faster if they allow customers to purchase one blind box instead of an expensive full set. A single box is lighter for your wallet than buying a sealed box set/case. Bought this set of capsule Kenshin toys, popularly known in the english sub as Samurai X.

Check out Kenshin! The first set they handed to me had Kenshin wearing blue. Good thing I checked the other set. The pink version was better than the blue, which is his battousai color I believe.

The Akatsuki Couple, Pain and Konan. The two I wanted so badly to get from the capsule machines.

I got really lucky because the machines in one store were being refilled, so they were open. I asked if I can choose what I want since the machines are open. So the dude with the magic key and bags of capsules helped me out. Finally, I don't have to spend so much trying and hoping that the machines will spit out either of these two.

I should have asked the guy to tell me the days or schedule when the machines get opened =). Here is the current set-up on top of my PC station.

So after the adventure in Greenhills, I went to Makati to get Victory. I think I have to finish Blue Destiny and SD 0 before I can start with my first Version Katoki kit. It has been really really long since last I built an MG model.

First SD Gundam

I've been wanting to display a gundam on my office desk. I figured a cute Super Deformed would be a nice choice.

I received some Gift Certificates recently, and one of the accredited merchants is Toy Kingdom. I was choosing netween MG Wing ver. Ka and the regular MG Exia. But I used some of the GCs buying other stuff so I settled for an SD kit.

The manual has a lot of interesting pictures.

Kit has a total of three runners. I was surprised at the selection of Gundam kits at Toy Kingdom (I was at the Mall of Asia). They have a lot of MGs, the latest HGUCs and BB Senshi, and tons of Gundam Decals available too. They also have the 30th Anniversary Version of SD RX 78-2, and it was a bit pricey for an SD kit.

They don't give change when you use a GC so I had to get this (expensive) Gashapon keychain of FMA Brotherhood. The SD kit costs 399.75 pesos and the GC is worth 500 pesos (about 10 to 11 USD), so I picked up Edward which costs 150. I bet this tiny keychain costs less at Otaku stores in Greenhills. I have to finish my Blue Destiny then i'll work on this SD kit. This would probably take about less than 2 hours to build.

HG Cherudim Gundam

Finally got my lazy self to take pics of Cherudim gundam. See more after the jump.

I think the Racing Green Tamiya Spray Can I used worked well. I almost got the British Green which is a lot darker and closer to the original color of the plastic, but decided to buy the Racing Green.

Same green highlighter trick as Gundam 00 for the clear orbs.

I didn't add detail to the GN Beam Pistols anymore. I kinda regret it coz it looks plain on the pics.

I like this pic =)





And GN-X makes another cameo.

I still have two kits on my to-do list, and they're not the two remaining mechas from Celestial Being. Arios and Seravee are still on the to-buy list.