-Intelligence Database, Strike on Philadelphia originated at Nod’s Cairo Nuclear Launch Facility.

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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Today I’ll be reviewing the 1/144 scale EX-Model Exass from the Gundam Seed Destiny line.

It appeared early into the start of Gundam Seed Destiny and was piloted by Neo Roanoke of the Phantom Pain group. After using it to assist in the escape of the Chaos, Gaia and Abyss Gundams, he continued to use it until the Break of the World incident. From that point on Neo switched to his custom purple Windam (which, sadly, we will never see a model kit of) for the rest of his battles on earth. What became of the Exass, we will never know. However a blue variant used by Morgan Chevalier does exist.

To start of, this is by far my first model kit from the EX-Model line. If you must know, he EX-Model line does mostly some of the other less prominent units from different series such as ships and tanks. After seeing what I presumed was one of the last Exass’s in a dying lineage, I simply had to get my hands on it. I expected it to be considerably detailed and pre-colored just like the HG line.

Boy was I disappointed.

Right off the box, the main bulk of the parts trees are all completely pink. In fact, any of the minor colors that show up on the Exass such as the baby pink and white are completely absent. Even the beam effect parts provided are clear. Not that its really that big a deal considering the surprises Bandai has given us before, but it adds another nail to the coffin.

Despite that however, there are some good points to it and I will go on to explain in a moment. But first…

The only articulation your gonna get on the Exass is in its main weapon, two beam cannons mounted on the underside of the unit. The turret is capable of rotating 360 degrees and the cannons themselves are also able to rotate 360 on the sides of the turret, though it can be abit finicky. On a similar not the weapon is rather long, just as much as the Exass is as long as a mobile suit is tall. Theres also a gimmick on the top part of the body to reveal missile pods.

For accessories, the Exass comes with quite a bunch. You get,

- 1 gray stand (for the Exass)

- 1 machine gun add-on

- 4 purple stands (for the gun pods)

- 4 clear beam effect parts

- 4 pairs of gun pod cannons

- 2 pieces of black wires

The machine gun add on connects to a hole at the front bottom of the unit. When not in use, a cover is provided to seal up that unsightly hole. The same gimmick is used for the gun pods and the beam effect parts. Interestingly enough you get four beam effect parts.

The cannon parts for the gun pods work on the same feature. When not in use, theres a cover to simulate the cannons being stored. Once again like the beam parts you get four pairs of cannons to use.

This means you can have all four gun pods fully functioning and fully armed!

I only have to gripes about the Exass. Firstly is the fact that it requires quite a good deal of coloring. Abit of a beginners trap, especially if you were to believe that the EX-Model line is just like the HG line. I managed to color mine using Gundam markers. While abit fail, at least it beats having a mostly pink Exass.

Secondly and lastly would be the connection points between the Exass and its gun pods. Seriously. Those little triangular pieces are effing brittle and wont stay in place least I wrap the entire thing in elephant glue (and my God, elephant glue is serious stuff). I accidentally dropped it off my bed and straight away one of it broke. Gah. Elephant glue once again to the rescue. The worse part is that trying to remove the gun pods may sometimes damage the pieces as well.

Pros:

Play value

Cons:

Requires painting for maximum detail

Fragile gun pod connection point

Overall, the EX-Model line kinda disappointed me. While I do plan to get the Mobieus Zero/Skygrasper two-in-one set (also which from EX) I can anticipate that it too would require a good level of work to it. However in the end, the Exass is certainly quite a good model too look at both in detail, scale, and whatnot and would certainly look good alongside other models from the early Gundam Seed Destiny series. But due to its brittleness, Im probably not gonna try moving the gun pods too often.

Final Rating 2.5/5 stars

-Raisha

Commanders are encouraged to provide compensation to the legitimate owners of commandeered Tiberium Spikes in the form of GDI vouchers that can be redeemed in Reykjavik for credits. Note that Spikes extract at different rates depending on the size and nature of the underlying Tiberium deposits, so the flow of resources may vary from location to location.”

-Commandeering Tiberium Spikes

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

-

Gah, with my army enlistment at November, I’ve got 6 months of absolutely nothing to do.

That said, I’ve been thinking of getting a job. But somehow another half of me is thinking of using the time for more better purpose. Namely to improve my digital drawing and coloring abilities in preparation for Sentinal Revelations.

Currently me and CF are at least at 60% through the storyboard. We’ve been meeting up on fridays/saturdays the past week and are quite satisfied at the direction its going. Suffice to say, it seems the storyboard wont be done until sometime next year. If we’re lucky it may be done before we get enlisted. Even then theres the final run-though and the script before we finally get down to drawing it.

With that, the series will be going live in approximately 2 years.

And man, that be bloody long. I blame the enlistment mostly for the 2 years, but I guess that cant be helped. And then after that theres many decisions to make, which brings me to my next point.

-

What to do after that. I brought the topic up to CF the other night and we’re now at a quandary as to what to do. Just as much as I want to see this series garner some fame on the internet, I cant help but wonder how lucrative it will be unless we actually publish it (locally or otherwise).

If we officially publish the series in the future, chances are we wont be able to upload it on DA or anywhere else. Purchasing it will be the only way to read it and it might be hard for fans outside of the country to get their hands on it.

That said I’m not even sure if there are any publishing companies that would take in our work. TCZ studio (the people behind Celestial Zone) might just have a look (and when I say might, I mean slim chance), but if not there are very few other options especially within Singapore. However if it works out, it will be very easy to get the word out, garner some fans and roll in some gold and even make a lucrative stable business out of it.

On the other hand, if we do it free it will be quite hard to make a stable income out of it. However, the viewers will definitely rejoice at something they can easily view online than having to purchase it. That said the only source of income from this method is merchandising, something I haven’t really thought fully (Naki dakimakuras? LOL) and may not be very stable.

-

Decisions decisions… I’m all for option 1 for the monetary gain. But I cant help but wanna do option 2 not just the for monetary gain but also for the fame and pride of it being our work.

In any case, I’d like to hear how you guys would go about trying to bring a potential comic series into the lime light. Is publishing this series in Singapore even possible? And would you rather publish it as a comic, or go free as a webcomic?

Man, thats alot of text to make you tl;dr. Perhaps a trip to this coming AFA would raise something….

-Raisha

Flame Tanks are devastating against all forms of Infantry and can clear out garrisoned buildings with terrifying efficiency. InOps advises Field Commanders to engage Flame Tanks with armored vehicles or aircraft firing cannons or rockets. The enclosed crew compartments in armored vehicles will also protect against the inferno generated by the flame throwers.

-Nod Deploys New Tool of Terror

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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Hurrrrrr…..

I’m back from quite a big hiatus. Not because I was busy or anything but more like I was just lazy. Hopefully I’ll be more active from this point until the point where I get enlisted into the army. That said, I’d better get on with the reviews. I’ll probably start with something small like the 1/144 EX Model Exass which I purchased a month back.

-

On a more lighter note, I was recently convinced by CF to watch Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (yea say that ten times as fast as you can). My Impression of it initially was that is was gonna be a light hearted magical girl show akin to Pretty Cure or something like that.

But oh man, was I wrong. Minor spoilers ahead, the first few episodes literally takes logic and throws it out of the window. You’d gotta be pretty damn dedicated, that or abstractive, to actually want to continue past episode 3. However as things go on, it starts to makes more sense thanks to that fcking cat Kyubey, and eventually the events leading to episode 10 would answer the mystery revolving around the plot of the series.

Well, in any case the series finale is by far the most epic thing I have ever watched in my life. Im pretty sure there are more better ones out there, but considering the genre of the series and the direction it was going, I couldnt ask for anything more.

To say the least, its a love story about courage and hope and sacrifice.

What else can I say? This be one of the more psychological shows I’ve seen. Surprisingly It kinda reminded me of Bokurano, both of which dealing with hopes and death. But at least Madoka Magica has the more epic ending. If I were more of the emotional type, I would have wept buckets. Who knows? Maybe the next season will finally be a real light hearted magical girl show.

I’m pretty sure CF will be doing a review of it (not that his 4koma autopsy series gave it away) but I’m sure our thoughts about it are quite equal. Next up on the watch list, Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors? Or maybe Infinite Stratos?

In any case, I need some Morning Lescue~

-Raisha

There were also indications that Nod is working on a more conventional airborne Tiberium explosive and a catalyst for detonating existing Tiberium crystal deposits in a sub-critical reaction.

Analysis of past Nod R&D efforts (which tend to be redundant and decentralised in nature) suggests the Nod Lab in North Africa was only one of several facilities participating in the Tiberium weaponisation efforts.”

-Intelligence Database, Nod Weaponising New Form of Tiberium

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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I like my bunny. Don’t you?

Sure you do. And don’t bother telling me what happens next.

On the same subject, its IS the year of the bunny rabbit according to the zodiac calender. While I did have plans for my good three days of bounty hunting, what better way to spend the second day then on a trip to Universal Studios Singapore. I certainly had better things to do on a good Saturday morning, but at least the trip was worth while. By worthwhile meaning waiting in 2 hour long queues for 3 min rides and overly priced souvenirs.

The only thing worthwhile was the Curse of the Mummy ride at pseudo-Egypt, cos’  Battlestar Galactica was down for maintenance. All the rest were pretty mediocre, I guess it really was worth my full days run for this. And I certainly will be back when the Transformers ride is ready. Which is probably long after NS.

Since it was the first and perhaps only I’ll ever get to be there so I decided to bag in my camera and snap ahoy. Prepare for one hell of an image dump. Trip took place 2 weeks ago. Since its still early February, I might as well cash in on it.

Worlds largest chia pet.

Truthfully, I never thought I’d see the day we’d have this big globe in Singapore.

Old school cars ripe for the picking.

Yet another set of old school cars.

Im under the impression B-07 gto its big break with cigars. Who knows. XD

Disappointingly, I was expecting to get hit by a big fiery red beam of doom right about now.

HOHOHO. Thats rich.

No comment. Maybe William might be familiar…

I wonder if they’ve got one for Isaac’s love issues. *forever_alone.jpg*

-Raisha

Venoms are lightly armed and armored but can take on a wide variety of targets on the ground and in the air – they are even capable of engaging our Orcas in air-to-air combat.

The Vertigo evades detection by most GDI sensors and only “de-cloaks” to drop it powerful bombs on target structures and vehicles.

The Nod Carryall is the counterpart to our V-35 Ox, a VTOL aircraft that can pick up and transport a wide variety of troops and equipment.

Finally, the Armageddon is seen infrequently but when it appears on the battlefield, it is usually bringing bad news. Nod Armageddon aircraft are used to deliver cluster mines and a number of exotic air-to-ground weapons.”

-Intelligence Database, InOps Field Guide to Nod Aircraft in TW3 Theaters of War

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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From the terror of A-LAWS to the terror of the Neo Zeon seas. Today I’ll be reviewing the 1/144 scale HGUC Hy-Gogg from the Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket mini series.

As mentioned in my Z-Gok E review, Steiner Hardy led a team armed with Hy-Goggs into the Earth Federation’s Artic base with the sole purpose of capturing or destroying the Gundam Alex prototype. While the operation was a failure, the Cyclops team however managed to do quite a number to the base before retreat, and is by far on of the most epic fight scenes you will ever see in War in the Pocket.

The Hy-Gogg moves away from the traditional Gogg design and incorporates quite a lot of new features of its own. It uses a very good shell structire for the shoulders and main body.

Now then, lets get down to that detail.

In terms of articulation, the Hy-Gogg has a unique way of doing things. Like the Z-Gok, it has no movable head as its head is part of the main body. It can rotate at the waist 360 degrees and lacks the up and down motion of the Z-Gok.

The Hy-Gogg’s arms a unique case. The arms consist of three joint segments each with a good amount of bend as well as the wrist capable of rotating 360 and bending at that point as well. Each finger is articulate to the hand and the shoulder is capable of rotating 360 and moving in and out of from the body quite well.

The legs are the least articulate of the entire model even though the legs have some joints as well. The knees are single jointed and dont really bend much. Each of the four toes on the foot can bend 90 degrees downward to support its cruise mode and the foot itself can rotate somewhat though limited.

So from what you can see, this unit has good articulation from the waist up. Simple, but decent enough for a mobile suit of its kind. Thanks to its large toes, it has no problem standing on it own feet. And even then, it can rely on it arms for support when needed as well.

For accessories, the Hy-Gogg comes with a few. You get two pairs of missile containers, a pair of missiles and a booster jetpack identical to the one which was given to the Z-Gok type E model kit.

The missiles peg into a hole on the ‘palm’ of the Hy-Gogg. That same hole as we all know also serves as the beam cannon of the unit. In order to attach the missile containers onto the hands, you must first remove a panel above the fingers and remove the cannon and finger components completely. This gives the hands enough room to sandwich the containers (which both comes in two pieces) onto it. Unfortunately, this means that you cant have the missiles on the model while the containers are on which is quite a bummer. But logically speaking it wouldn’t fit considering its scale.

Lastly the jet pack booster attaches from a peg onto a hole between the thrusters on the back of the Hy-Gogg. Simple enough just like its brother.

As mentioned before the Hy-Gogg supports  a special cruise mode when moving through water. To transform it you need to first remove the segmented parts of the arm from the shoulder and the hand from the arm itself and reattach the hand where the arm used to go. Equipping the missile containers is optional, but it would certainly improve its appearance. Having the jet pack on is optional as well.

Once that’s done fold down the shoulder armor so that it covers the arm/containers, straighten out the legs and fold down the toes. The results is as shown below.

On a similar note you can leave the short arms on when in MS mode, though it does look awfully retarded. I rather it be called ‘floppy’ than ‘stumpy’.

Lets get down to the problems. Surprisingly enough, the Hy-Gogg also shares a similar problem with the Z-Gok type E in the case of its arms. Not in terms of assembly, it was pretty easy to get it together, but in terms of movement. The arm joints of the Hy-Gogg have pipe-like designs on each segment. However the gap that allows the arm to bend through just barely clears the piping in the joints.

The result of this is that its lovely pipes often get caught when bending the arm and I fear I might break something if I apply too  much force.

Surprisingly again, the stickers weren’t much of a problem. Though small (most of it is the metallic red ones which go on gaps over the body/arm), with a good tweezers, you can get them in nice and snugly.

Now then, into the Stronghold grinder it goes and heres the result.

Pros:

Articulation

Playvalue

Cons:

-molding of arm joints

-

Overall the Hy-Gogg is a decently good model kit to have as it has slightly more play value and articulation than the Z-Gok type E. A must have if your absolutely addicted to aquatic Zeon mobile suits. Its a pity it cant store the missile in the container, but, oh well.

Final Rating: 3.5/5 stars

-Raisha

Both sides use the modular G-771G Container, a standard crate used by the commercial shipping industry for decades. You’ll find these containers everywhere – and they should be considered Targets of Opportunity for our boys in the field. If your troops crack one of these containers open, odds are they’ll find something useful.

G-771G containers are easy to spot: just look for geometric grey crates trimmed with diagonal stripes. They stick out like a sore thumb and anyone can pop them open with a bit of elbow grease.

Good hunting.”

-Intelligence Database, Logistic Crates: Targets of Opportunity, Memo from Supply Sergeant Brock Littleford

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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What better way to kick-start the new year than to do an old review. No not a model kit review of any kind, but a blog review, something WordPress was so kind to compile in my favor.

Alright then, lets take a look at those numbers.

“The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,500 times in 2010. That’s about 13 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 33 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 104 posts. There were 209 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 65mb. That’s about 4 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was October 2nd with 94 views. The most popular post that day was 1/144 HG Hiling Care’s Garazzo Review.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were thehangerbay.wordpress.com, facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, forum.project-imas.com, and thefutureand-i.blogspot.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for professor layton, 0 gundam, os tan, garazzo, and cherudim gundam.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1/144 HG Hiling Care’s Garazzo Review December 2009

1/144 HG Arios Gundam Review March 2010
1 comment

1/144 HG Cherudim Gundam Review February 2010
4 comments

1/144 0 Gundam (Double) Review June 2010

1/144 HG Seraphim Gundam Review November 2009
3 comments”

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Fresher than ever eh? Probably showing that my blog isn’t deader than ever. I’m not surprised the top five posts were model kit reviews. But really now, the Garazzo was the most popular? I guess I undermined that mobile suit. Of course working alongside with Hanger Bay B-07 for so long certainly does bring in the views.

In any case, I wish everyone a prosperous happy new year! Let us all now embrace in the ambience of Chinese New Year now and hope for the better. It will be really soon before my final year polytechnic project comes to an end, and with it I’ll need a little energon and a lot of luck.

-Raisha

Keep in mind that units are extremely vulnerable while in their air – an Ox is a juicy target for an enemy unit that has any form of anti-air capability.”

-Intelligence Database, Calling for Transport

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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Despite an almost overwhelming schedule and a late night party hard, it certainly wont stop me from making an  entry on this most spectacular day.

Ah yes, Christmas. That time of the year where we start to get warm feelings in our heart and dine out and party hard like there’s no tomorrow. For me Christmas aint like it used to. I remembered back then when I was much younger, Christmas meant the world to me. The fun of parties, the gathering of many old allies, the receiving of cool gifts from all and what not. However it seems like birthdays, the excitement kinda dies out as the years go on. Probably going t0 show I’m one heck of an old man.

But still, Im glad I was able to reunite with some of my old friends this holiday season. The best thing about Christmas is that you can party hard on an FYP and not even feel bad about it.

But damn, the days sure past fast. Soon Christmas will be over, new year will come and that will be over just as quick, and it will be 2011.

But until then, I’m gonna soak as much as the merry joy in the air. Lets not forget as well that it was this day that our Lord Jesus was born, for without him, we’d be doomed.

In any case, Merry Christmas to family, friends, allies, enemies and all. Hope you younger generation folks are having a ball of a time.

-Raisha

Buildings can provide cover and a fire base for infantry as they shoot at targets outside without being directly exposed to enemy fire. Garrisoned Buildings protect soldiers from heavy Anti-Personnel weapons mounted on vehicles. That being said, Field Commanders should be wary of enemy units that specialize in clearing the Garrisoned Buildings, particularly those equipped with grenades and flamethrowers.

Remember: Caught in the cross-fire while you’re out in the open? Order your troops into a building.”

-Intelligence Database, Garrisoning Structures with Infantry

Adapted from Tiberium Wars

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Its been awhile, but due to some screw ups on the client’s side with my final year project, I put aside the pictures for Anime Festival Asia 2010. just to clarify, this is my first time at such an event, and a first for reviewing such a thing. So I might have missed out some stuff and others may not be in sequential order.

Now then before this goes way overdue, lets jump right into it!

The first thing you see when you enter the pearly gates is a large banner which advertises the Gunpla from the recently shown Gundam Double 0 movie. Of course, Im partially here for the mobile suits, but we’ll get back to it shortly.

Take a left turn from the entrance and your in cushion heaven. Or at least where a good majority of the anime endorsed cushions, pillows and dakimakuras. Some of the Gundam Double 0 cushions where also sold during the screening of the movie back then. But at the same price for back and now, I think I’ll hold the line for this one.

Of course, you cant walk past this area without seeing the large Domo erm… plushie? Cushion? Figurine?

Speaking of figurines, next on the list is the Dollfie stand. Now really, I dont have much of a thing for, or against dollfies. The look so strangely real, but yet in an artificial way. Sure, being as close to actual humans is a good thing, but anime and manga characters turned figurines are all meant to look ‘deformed’ in some way. Be it having larger heads or bigger eyes. Its what makes them what they really are like in an anime.

Anyway, before this turns into a nitpicking, I’d like to say, the one thing I really like about dollfie’s are their outfits. Alot of them are really beautifully tailored. Some people even go to the extent of making their own custom outfits for their models. And that really goes to say something. Im not in the loop with this kind of thing, but its a hidden popularity here in Singapore.

For the record, other than Miku, I cant tell who are the rest of those characters in the picture below. I believe a good few are Touhou characters though.

And lets not forget the one thing DeviantArt has taught us: Everything is better with llamas.

Now on to something I have a bit more experience on. Figmas. Or figurines in general. There’s  a whole section dedicated to exhibiting these wonderfully crafted plastic figures. Some of which makes me wanna invest in a few.

Well first off you got our two main characters from the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. Fate and Nanoha. I haven’t actually watched the series, but I’m telling ya, Fate’s got one hell of an awesome weapon. Makes ya wonder how they package it.

Then theres also the K-ON crew. I really love the accessories these girls come with.

Also since my new camera wont let me get all the girls in the same picture without compromising detail, here’s our beloved Azu-nyan. =3

Once again, amazing detail on the accessories.

Next up the cast of Glee. Lots of great detail and accessories.

And of course my first encounter with the Mirai figma. I dont believe its actually being sold just yet, but seems worthy of an investment. =3

Ah yes, what would secondary school life be without reading McGuyver.

And then you have these cheaper alternatives to figurines but more expensive versions of gachapons.

I have a Lala figure at home. Suffice to say, she ain’t standing to well even with that base…

Now back to the main road. What would the AFA be without some Bandai publicity? Of course we wont just be focusing on Gunpla. First up this magnificent shrine dedicated to the grand Mazinger.

Next up… Phone Braver 7?…

Am’I missing something here? No seriously!

And then a showcase of some of the already released and upcoming Gunpla.

Of course the grand icon of this section would be to actually see first hand the upcoming 1/60 PG Strike Freedom. And let me say that of all the PG’s till now, this ones a perfect gem in my opinion.

Then theres also the 1/48 Char’s Zaku to pair up with the already released 1/48 Gundam. Another honorable mention is the 1/144 Real Grade Char’s Zaku.

A plamo Omnimon anyone? Certainly very magnificent looking. Another worthy investment for the Digimon fans.

HGUC Gouf Custom from the 08th MS Team series. About damn time Zeonic doves!

Then theres the little figures that are almost on par with a good quality gachapon. Alot of them are actually quite beautifully sculpted for their size.

And might I say this is the a very detailed sculpture for something so small.

While on the subject of Gachapon, heres an eye catcher. But really now, a pink Accguy? We’ve got a bear Accguy, so whats next? Pink Bear Accguy?

I sense a milking scheme!

Lastly, what would Mobile Suit Gundam be without their mascot, the Haro. While these dont explode, set off system traps, store your super weapon keys or control your bit system, they do a good job in storing any doodads that can fit into the side of its wings.

Hmmmm I should have mentioned it before, but nendos or nendoroids, play a huge role in merchandising alongside with figurines. You might think for a bobble headed character might be alot more cheaper than their full length counterparts, but hoho, you are so wrong.

I’ve seen one go up to the hundreds. And as much as I wanted to get one myself, my screaming wallet wouldn’t let me.

While we’re still on a Miku craze, theres Project Diva. A time-it-right-button-masher arcade similar to DJ max when it first went on the arcade. And its very popular over here knowing the large number of vocaloid fans. When someone cranks it up to 140 beats per min and rolls the game like a kids toy, the crowd just applauds in delight.

And then what would Miku be without her weapon of choice. I’ve always wondered why a leek? Democratic vegetarians…

Danny Choo made an appearance at AFA. Whether or not he actually learnt Singlish to commune with us more easily is debatable. But like the Mirai figurine mentioned above, there was something else he brought to the party. The magnificent Mirai mobile.

And of course its AFA counterpart. Suprisingly enough they were not placed together in the same exhibition ring.

Black Tactical made an appearance as well. Which would explain the grand number of marines, SWAT teams and police members at the festival.

Of course these guns are replicas and are perfectly legal to have in your home or to scare the shit out of your neighbour. But let me warn you that what you see on the display is terribly far from what you actually purchase. In fact to making your gun look like the one on display, will be just as good as custom painting a Gunpla.

I couldnt help but get a picture of the Nanoha girls showing the boys how to pwn at Weiss Schwarz trading card game.

Alright, where do I start on this one…

Okay what would you get if you take Sherlock Holmes, multiply him by four (not inclusive of Watson), divide his intellect by said number, lower his age by twenty, swap his gender, turn his hair color into anything imaginable by the spectrum of a rainbow and add a dash of moe moe kyun? *gasp*

You get Tantei Opera Milky Holmes. And believe me, its everything I just mentioned above.

Okay maybe I’m abit baised on this. I didnt know such a series existed until I saw it with my own eyes, so I’m pretty sure there’s alot more to it than just that. They sure seemed to be advertising this series alot over here, so I take it its an upcoming fandom. I should check out one of these days.

For the moment, just eat your heart out on some of the merchandise.

AH yes, School Days. Haven’t we all been traumatized enough by THAT one?

I also managed get snapshot of a reminder of how I’m one year too late. T_T

Ah yes, finally we have a tour around the Graffiti wall. While empty early on, it got crowded by the late half of the day. Its interesting to see aspiring artists doing their stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them were from DeviantArt.

Other than for just messing around with a large piece of paper, the Graffiti wall also features works from other well renowned artists as well, showcasing some of the public’s best submissions as well as local animation talents. Even though I could snap away at all the great stuff here, I decided to settle for my particular favorites.

First up, an anthromorphic east meets west.

And then there’s Longcat, whom we all know is, well, very looooooooong.

I swear I saw the picture below somewhere on DeviantArt! Needless to say this one really still grabs my attention.

And of course, whats a doodle board without leaving behind something for the masses to remember.

I swear though, the direction my Leafeos is looking is purely coincidental.

All in all, AFA 2010 was a first time and a grand time for me. Being able to be at one of the biggest Anime events of the year was certainly a great experience. Hopefully the next one will be in Singapore. And next time round, I’m bringing my stationary and a much larger wallet.

Oh ya, to all who wished me a Happy Birthday be letter, facebook, in person or whatever, thanks a bunch. =)

-Raisha

- Anton Slavik

Adapted from Tiberian Sun

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Things here have been reduced to a crawl due to an ongoing major project which would determine my Diploma’s state of happiness. Therefore updates wont be coming in as often as before (if that weren’t often enough).

Anyway, today I’ll be doing a ‘special’ review of the TT Hongli Brand, 1/144 Ahead. Yes, I’ll be doing a review for a bootleg model kit. But before you hurl the bowling ball at me, I have to say this kit is quite surprising.

Before that, while on the same subject, allow me to present a pic of something I encountered a few months back in the neighborhood. You know those knock-off gachapon machines that are cheap as crap? Guess what I saw.

Is that who I think it is?!

Forgive the crappy quality as it was taken on the go. But In case you cant see clearly who that is…

Its mother-effin’ Setsuna ‘pimp’ Seie!!! D=

Really now, take the Super Yoyo franchise, add a dash of Bandai and this is what you get?

In China most likely. But really now, this fails on so many levels that its a win.

Now on a more related subject. A few months back I was at Vivo City wandering the wilderness. I happen to chance upon a model kit store which, of course, Im not naming (hint: its next to the cinema) . Inside I came across a bunch of Gunpla, all of which were of the TT Hongli knockoff brand. And looking at the box art, you can see exactly where they failed at pulling off a good ripoff heist.

00 Fighter eh? *summons Domon* I wanted to do a video recording of all the model kits there, but I was stopped abruptly by the storekeeper. What really caught my eye were the prices of these knockoffs.

Sweet niblets! SG$9.90! From my experience, a 1/144 HG 00 Gundam costs at around 23-26 dollars. Here its almost a third of that price.

It was a deal I could not refuse, I simply had to cash in on it. I decided to try my luck with the 1/144 Ahead. Naturally of course I was worried that this knock off would be like the terribly bad GHD brand. But 9.90 a piece, I was willing to take that risk. Besides, I had plans to make use of the scrap parts if its didnt work out. And if that weren’t  enough, I later go a discount from the storekeeper who cut the price down to SG$7.50. Sweeeeeeet~

From watching Prime92′s model kit reviews, I was under the impression that the TT Hongli brand of gunpla are not as bad as they seem. But will I be just as lucky with my luck of the draw?

The results are surprising.

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And here it is! The 1/144 Ahead. And surprisingly its actually a rather good model for a knockoff. Well for one, its certainly isn’t falling on its own feet. Sure it has alot more problems than an official kit would have, but we’ll cover that later.

Showing up at the beginning of Gundam Double 0 season 2, the Ahead is the commander’s unit for the A-LAWS peacekeeping force. Its bears traits to that of the now mass produced GN-X III, but surprisingly, its closest living relative is actually the Tieren Ground type. And from this you can roughly see some of the traits from the Tieren that influenced its overall design, such as the legs and arms.

Articulation on the model is rather good. And in fact is reminiscent of the Tieren. Arms can rotate 360 at the shoulder and can move back and forth from the body thanks to its design. It also rotates below the shoulder and also rotates below the elbow which is unique.

The upper and lower body are connected by a ball joint which allows the upper body to move up and down. Those ‘side skirts’ dont really move at all actually. Since there are no front or back skirts, the legs can go forwards and backwards alot.

This is where I compliment the leg joints because they use the same design of the Tieren. And that means it is double jointed with alot of bend, can go forwards and backwards at the hip and the feet can turn 360, also with lots of movement.

In terms of accessories, the Ahead xomes with a few.

You get:

- 1 GN Submachine gun (plus two cartridges and a barrel for its beam rifle mode)

- 2 GN Beam sabers (all white as shown above)

- 1 GN physical shield

- 1 Automaton container

- 2 Anti-personnel automatons

The weapons are pretty standard for a mobile suit.  Unlike the GN-X, the Aheads use a much different looking beam weapon. The rifle has a foldable handle and the stock can connect to the arm of the Ahead for a more secure holding. Also, the kit comes with additional parts to turn into its beam rifle mode.

The two beam sabers are molded in white and theres no place to store them on the model. In fact they didnt even give you the handles for any clear beams to attach on which is a bummer.

However, one of the interesting things about this kit is its automaton container. The container itself is to pieces sandviched together and cant actually hold any automatons. It pegs into the butt of the model and replaces the thruster that was originally there.

But the kit also comes with two little automatons which are so puny, they dont even exceed the model’s foot. Unless kept well, they could go missing real easily.

Now on to the problems. Being a knockoff, there are certainly some problems that arise with it, so my judgment cant be exact on this. Surprisingly the real problems lie during the constructing of the kit rather than anything else.

Firstly, due to the mold flaw, the parts are all very stiff, which means you need to have the strength of an ox to get some parts together and the cautiousness of a mouse not to break anything.

Next, the polycaps the provide is shit. TT-Hongli polycaps are all out of shape and will require ALOT of trimming.

The plastic is bad. Its really bad quality plastic with lots of imprints on it.

Lastly some of the joints are loose and love to come off. I’m pretty sure the Bandai version doesn’t have any of these problems. This occurs alot to the lower arm. But considering none of my other models ever suffer from this, I take it its just a knockoff problem.

Due to this being a bootleg, I cant show you an accurate pros and cons list. But despite the above mentioned problems, the kit is actually quite likable.

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All in all the Ahead is actually a great model to get, but was brought down by this fake version. I certainly dont recommend buying the knock-off if you can help it. But if you ever see the official one, by all means, its a great kit to add to your collection. Why?

If the knock off is already this good, I believe the official Bandai version will be excellent. Do yourself some justice and purchase the original, especially if you know you can afford it.

Final Rating: 4/5 stars

On a more unrelated not, I just got back from Anime Festival Asia 2010 which was held at Suntec City Singapore! Got abit of treasure from the trove, and I’ll be sure to show you the prime of the events in the next post.

-Raisha

-Major Albert W. Eckhart, Steel Talons 151st Special Armor Brigade

Adapted from Tiberium Twilight

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Just yesterday I was listening to this song on youtube. It was the first time I heard the song as I stumbled upon it by accident through a friend’s recommendation.

It was about 815pm when I was listening to it for quite a while. Later I had the urge to hit the hay early so I hopped into bed, but only to wake up halfway at around 1030pm. Didn’t bother me, so I just went back again to see if I could resume my sleep.

The freaky thing is that at the stroke of midnight I woke up feeling very discomforted, only to realize I just got a very bad fever. I took some medicine and only started to feel better at 4am.

The next day I did some looking up to the song in the afore-mentioned music video. What I found out was freaky.

The song itself is called ‘Luka Luka ★ Night Fever’. If you must know, the main chorus of the song literally says “luka luka night fever hajikeru rizumu ni awasete“.

Okay, maybe it was more like hilarious kinda freaky. But still I couldn’t help but wonder if the song was hexed or something. XD

A case of the Lavender Town theme curse? Or maybe some hidden subliminal message? Or perhaps I just haven’t been eating my veggies.

In any case, I’m spamming the song into my ears right now. If nothing happens, perhaps its just a freaky coincidence.

…If not. Ladies and gentlemen, I just found the ultimate prank weapon.

-Raisha