Spotted this custom "Rebornnu Gundam" over at Hobby no Toriko (which means "slave of hobby"), of which the base model is the HG 1/144 Reborns Gundam (from Gundam 00) modded to look like the famous Nu Gundam from Char's Counterattack. Hence the name "Rebornnu Gundam".Colour scheme is changed to white and black instead of white and red, with a bit of red and yellow on smaller details. The backpack is changed completely so that the gimmick to transform to Reborns Cannon is removed, and instead the Fin Fangs are now mounted in the way like the Nu Gundam does. The mouting packpack somehow does remind me of Destiny Gundam's from Gundam SEED Destiny.In case people do not know how the original Gundams should look like:Reborns GundamNu GundamOne interesting thing to note is that both pilots of Reborns Gundam and Nu Gundam are voiced by the same voice actor or seiyuu - Toru FuruyaVarious action poses of the Rebornnu Gundam. Fin Fangs / Fin Funnels can be seperated from mounted positions.Wow, it actually looks much cooler than the original in my opinion! It may be how the Nu Gundam is a very solid design in the first place, making the converted Rebornnu Gundam looking more attractive now than the original Reborns Gundam, in Gundam 00 style mecha design~Reborns Gundam, which debuted in penultimate episode of Gundam 00 Second Season, could transform an alternate mode called Reborns Cannon via a back-to-back transformation, which I am not too fond of. It is quite an unusual design and perhaps unique too, but I do prefer the two forms to be seperated into two different MS (like the prototypes 1 Gundam and GN Cannon). Now that HG 1/144 1 Gundam gunpla is announced for May release, I may consider buying one over Reborns Gundam. An unexpected release but I welcome it~All Rebornu Gundam images from Hobby no TorikoReborns Gundam and Nu Gundam images from Dalong
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Furikake (振り掛け or ふりかけ) is a dry Japanese condiment or topping used to sprinkle on top of rice to give them more of a flavour. They can consist of a variety of things - a mixture of sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and grounded meat (can be fish, beef, chicken etc). You can get them in different flavours to your liking as seen in the picture above.Furikake on top of a spoon. This one is a salmon one so you can see the pink ground salmon granules along with the sesame seeds and chopped seaweed.Furikake sprinkled on my lazily made fried rice for last night's dinner. I might have used a bit too much, but it's more than enough to show you how it looks like I suppose.Closer shot of furikake on top of my fried riceAs for anime reference, I can only think of one example right now:Ushio about to sprinkle furikake a bowl of rice, as seen in CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~Image from Random CuriosityFurikake usually come in packages or bags, and are common in Japanese food stores and supermarkets; I can buy them quite easily in Hong Kong too. Coincidently Danny Choo has a post about it some time ago too. Have you tried furikake before, and if you do what do you think of it?
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It looks like that I am shifting more and more back to Gundam than anything else recently. There are quite a lot of nice gunpla to be released / released recently, and coming up with a to-buy list will mean certain something to my wallet.1/144 HG 00 Gundam Seven Sword/GAlready released, 1680 Yen (tax inclusive)An utter no-brainer for me. This is a variation of 00 Gundam (from 2nd season of Gundam 00) with different equipment. Equipped with seven swords (hence the name), it is the "true" sucessor of the Exia Gundam which also has 7 swords. Despite the fact that it's just a variation and was not seen in the animated series, it is still very popular among fans compared to the 00 Raiser (00 Gundam docked with O Raiser support fighter). The massive GN Buster Sword is the highlight for this model kit, and big blades can be quite a killer for me.Despite having built 2 1/144 HG 00 Gundam models already (one for a friend, one 00 Raiser + GN Sword III for myself), I don't mind building another one to be honest.Chance of me getting this: Guaranteed1/100 Vent SaviourAlready released, 2940 Yen (tax inclusive)The new Gundams from Gundam SEED VS Astray side story has gained its notoriety by being colour variations of previous Gundams with a few parts swapped from one place to another. The Vent Saviour (pronounced "Van" Saviour) has for some reasons caught my eyes; maybe it's the fact that it doesn't look too drastically different to the original despite a colour change from red to white/cyan scheme. I may decide to buy one and give it a few simple modifications to make it look something closer to ReZEL (see below) or Zeta Plus.Chance of me getting this: Medium1/144 HGUC ReZEL Commander VersionMarch release, 2310 Yen (tax inclusive)Transformable, grunt machine, and large gun. This is the commander version of the normal ReZEL units (already released).The ReZELs are mass produced MS of the famous Zeta Gundam, but the transformation is based on another early transformable grunt machine called the Methuss. What's a real pity though is that the transformation for this kit will require a lot of part swapping rather than a smooth transformation (unlike the Methuss). It was also the reason why I held back on getting HG/144 Murasame from Gundam SEED Destiny for the same reason unfortunately.The ReZELs have some sort of handles on the back so other MS can get a free ride on them (laughs). If HGUC Jesta is announced (which is very likely) then I would probably pair them up in as a team, especially since they share very similar colour schemes.Chance of me getting this: Medium-high1/144 HGUC Zaku II F2To be released in MarchA later variation of the famous Zaku II that featured in Gundam 0083, it was a pleasant surprise when I first heard its annoucement for HGUC line. While I may still consider getting the green Zeon version, I do want to buy at least 1 captured EFSF version to go with my GM Commands.Chance of me buying this: HighMG GN-XAlready released, 3780 Yen (tax inclusive)The first MG model of a grunt machine outside the Universal Century. It was a surprise to some of the fans when it was first announced as it's an unprecedented move. More on it on the previous post made a few months ago.I was tempted to get the HG 1/144 version some time ago, and I even had an ambition of making a small squad of it (~3-5 of them maybe?). Hm... Maybe it's a good pair up with my MG Exia Ignition Mode that I bought in the summer.Chance of me getting this: MediumMG Wing GundamApril Release, 4200 Yen (tax inclusive)This is a total surprise for me, especially since Bandai has released a redesigned version by Hajime Katoki (aka Version Ka.) some time ago. This one is the original TV animated version, which looks remarkably different to version Ka:Left: TV Version, Right: Version Ka.Images from MAHQWhile it's not surprising that lots of fans would prefer the latter design more, I think it's still good news for those who want the original version. I did hear a lot of people ranting about why Bandai bothered releasing the "uglier" TV Version, but I think fans should respect and appreciate each people's preferences and tastes instead (something I tend to see less and less as of lately, which is a pity).Thinking back, I did wish for Bandai to rework on some of their earlier models and release them gain with newer technologies implemented on the models, and this happens to be one of them that I was 'dreaming' of one day. However, 4200 Yen is not exactly cheap, so I will have to see how the end product is like. I seriously don't mind a HG 1/144 version or it or a Wing Zero though.Chance of me getting this: MediumWhile I am not planning to get most of them a few did take into my interests recently:HG 1/144 Gundam X, 1 Gundam (predecessor of Reborns Gundam), Avalanche Exia, Astraea Type F, and many more.Most of the new gunpla are announced from the latest issue of Hobby Japan (April 2010), which all somehow sound more exciting and anticipating for me than the whole WonFes Winter 2010 had to offer last month or so. The fact that some Gundams of the non-Universal Century series during the 90s are making a return, such as Wing, X, and God Gundam as well (not shown here). I am only planning to get a few out of all that selection, not to mention that I still have a backlog of gunpla underneath my bed...Picture from my end-of-year post last DecemberWell, at least 2010 is going to be an interesting year for gunpla release. I wonder what more stuff are to be expected later in the year; at least I know that I will be kept busy for gunpla-ing when I am back in Hong Kong!Anyone here got anything they like in the recent new annoucement? It sounds like that MG Wing Gundam and HG Gundam X are going to be some of the popular ones for sure~Official pictures of gunpla from Medio Online Shop via Ngee KhiongMagazine scans from Ngee Khiong1 Gundam scan from SRW Hotnwes
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Felt like looking back at my older photos from my previous trips to Japan. They were all taken with my old camera, which died shortly before I restarted blogging. I did not take as many photos back then as I would do now, but I thought it would be a nice thing to bring a few back up on the surface from my Picasa account.The Fuji Television headquarters in Odaiba, TokyoView of the architecture of the Fuji Television headquarters from below. The observation sphere on 26th floor, and the elevator leading to it can be seen in the right photoAuguste Rodin's "Gates of Hell" in front of the National Museum of Western Art, UenoFor some reasons The Gates of Hell reminded me of the Gate of Alchemy / Door of Truth in Fullmetal Alchemist.There are a lot of performers in Ueno Park. Performances vary from magic shows to martial dances, to a diabolo performance from someone called Koji Koji Moheji (unfortunately I have lost the photos I have taken of him)No smoking signs appear in various locations in Tokyo (Tsukiji Fish Market, Nakano, Shinjuku, Musashino). For some reasons I liked taking photos of these signs, but haven't done so last year (mainly because I have revisited those places already).Ever wondered how wasabi looks like originally? The root that is used to make the spice is seen here in Tsukiji Fish Market.What's a good way to promote your music? A truck with advertisment of DOUBLE and Namie Amuro's new album "The Best Collaboration" spotted in ShibuyaRobot from "Castle in the Sky" (aka. "Laputa") in Ghibli Museum, MitakaVehicles of Uyoku dantai (右翼団体), or right wing groups, parked on one side of the road with a man giving speeches in ShinjukuDespite the fact that the Second World War is over for more than 60 years, there are still a number of extremists in Japan who would openly bring up the Rising Sun Flag and "re-justify" Japan's role during the war (among other things). This reminded me a concluding remark from a recent BBC news article: Germany has atoned. Young Germans know of their nation's dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of their nation's guilt.Back to the first image of the post: A view of Shinjuku from my room in the hotel. Even though I live in Hong Kong, I too get surprised how much of a metropolis Tokyo really is with the sheer urban area, as if there is no boundary to be seen.That's pretty much it. Unlike the Hong Kong counterpart this is probably going to be a standalone post of my past photos in Tokyo. Should you do wish to look at a few more photos you can feel free to look at my dormant Picasa gallery, which has other random photos including those I took in Bovington Tank Museum and some of the earliest figure review photos I did for figma Fate and Max Factory Shana. I moved onto Photobucket after doing the Shana review for normal images, and Flickr for trips/coverage photos.One way or the other, I do hope that you like this little post of mine. Feeling nostalgic is somewhat linked to my mood recently (feeling like 囧 again). It's not about wanting to go back to Tokyo again, but rather just to look back at the past experience that I enjoyed and appreciated back then.
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Despite the fact that Gundam VS Gundam NEXT came out on arcade in March and on PSP console (as Gundam VS Gundam NEXT PLUS) in December last year, a new Gundam VS game is already being planned for this year, currently named as Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS.Not much info is known upon the announcement of the new game, but we have been given a teaser promotional video shown in AOU Amusement EXPO 2010.<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5GOKfEDynE0&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5GOKfEDynE0&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="249"></embed></object>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOKfEDynE0New MS seen in the promotional video include Crossbone Gundam X-1, Zudah, Char's Gelgoog. Others mentioned or rumoured to be in the game as well include Astray Red Frame, Full Armour ZZ Gundam, Berga Giros, Tallgeese III.With Crossbone X-1 now confirmed, we may have more units from Gundam series that are not animated, such as X-2 and X-3 from the Gundam Crossbone manga and maybe even the S/Ex-S Gundam from Gundam Sentinel novel etc.No real gameplay footage can be observed so far, but it is said that the new game will be on System 357, which is apparently the arcade system board based on the PS3 (e.g. Tekken 6 uses it as well), so the game will very likely to be released on PS3 when a console version is announced.Ack, a new Gundam VS game so soon already! I've only just got a PSP for Gundam VS Gundam NEXT PLUS at the end of last year! (laughs)For some reasons I have a feeling that there will be a "DX (deluxe)" or upgraded version of the game some time after the game is released, just like how there is Gundam VS Zeta Gundam after AEUG VS Titans, or Gundam VS Gundam NEXT after Gundam VS Gundam. Nevertheless, I will still be keen on keeping track on what this upcoming Gundam Extreme VS will be like, and how extreme it's gonna be :oOfficial site:http://gundam-vs.jp/ac-new/Images from Game Watch and Gpara via SRW Hotnews
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Image from e-shuushuu, art by A.1 from pixiv (I think)新年快樂! Happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrate it!Year 2010 is the year of the Tiger, or rather Taiga from Toradora! as some will have put it that way. While I am not familiar with Zodiacs, Tiger is often associated with power and bravery.Again this year I am not able to enjoy Chinese New Year with my family back home as I am in the UK, but I do hope everyone else are enjoying their day, and Happy Valentine's Day for those who celebrate it as well (which I don't, but hey it's on the same day as CNY this year which makes today more special than other years - I heard a lot of couples have arranged to have their marriages to occur on this very day for this reason)!Here's a picture from Ngee Khiong's MG Acguy review done quite some ago to finish things off ^^:
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Found a similar but interesting method of repairing borken figma joints recently.The "patient" this time here is Cyranc's figma Cute with broken shoulder joints, which is actually a limited figma that comes with the special pack of the PSP game Queens Blade Spiral Chaos.Solution:Kansetsu Waza (関節技) ball joints from Premium Parts Collection. 小櫻 (Sakura) has also told me about this as an alternative to Kotobukiya's M.S.G. series. The ball joint sets come in 5 different colours (dark grey, flesh, light flesh, G grey, and pure white), and cost about 500 Yen each. More information on this as well as other joints available can be found on this page from Yellow Submarine.Hobby Search currently has the flesh one in stock as of writing this post. The one shown above is the light flesh colour.The top joint is the broken figma joint, and the one below is the replacement one. Cyranc found it difficult to remove the remainder of the shoulder joint from the figure's torso, so he has done so modification to the replacement joint while keeping the remainder of the broken joint inside the torso.He drilled a hole through the remainder of the broken joint, and sand one end of the replacement joint so that it's just small enough to fit into the hole.Glue the replacement joint to the hole, and it's done.I hope I got all that right.Again, there will be some work required to do the repair, but again if you put the effort and passion to what you like and succeed, then the end result can be very satisfying and rewarding.Hope this is useful for those who are looking for ways to repair their broken figmas or other action figures, or just as a rough guide for possible future reference.Source and images from Cyranc via OurToysLand forumAgain like 小櫻 (Sakura)'s method if you want to share it too please give a link back to Cyranc's blog too.
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One can really make something shine when effort and passion is put into it.This is the 1/144 scale Victory Gundam 'enhanced' by a ToysDaily forum member tom0083. And yes it is a 1/144 one, not the 1/100 MG (Master Grade) ver. Ka that was released 2 months ago. This is no Master Grade, boy. No Master Grade!According to what is said on the forum, the modeller has made a few subtle changes to the model in addition the decals for outward appearance. This includes but not limited the usage of double ball joints on the shoulder, increased height on the waist and legs, as well as added articulations.Since the original height of Victory Gundam is supposed to be around 15.6m, this makes the 1/144 version to be a mere 10.5cm only in height!Original gunpla box. This one is originally released way back in 1993, and that is more than 15 years ago!In comparison with Revoltech AR-7 Arbalest and HCM-Pro Sazabi (1/200 scale)In comparison with straight built V2 Gundam of the same scale. Victory is a bit taller than the V2 here because the modeller has increased its height on the legs (as well as on the waist).tom0083 has implemented lighting inside ths tiny Victory Gundam: He uses a connector of some sort to complete the circuit, and hides them wires away with the chest part. Very nifty I must say!To change batteries, he simply removed the backpack to reveal the battery that is installed inside the torso. You can see the wires that are going to the head unit.Victory Gundam lights up!It's a bit faint, but you can see the light at the back camera on the head too.Even in normal lighting you can still see a bit of light coming from the Gundam's head!If you think that the lighting within the Gundam itself is awesome already, tom0083 throws in this self-lit beam sabre. The beam effect part is removeable. With something so small I really do wonder how the wiring works there since it's independent to the Gundam itself.Beam sabre ready...... Activated!The beam effect part is mixed with 2 different material, hence the difference in colour from one end to the other.Beam shield activated with lighting too! o_Oo_o;;My hats off to tom0083 for his passion to rework an old model into this little "masterpiece". Imagine having to install the lighting into the small torso, changing simple joints with the better ones, as well as the repaint and decals. This is no ordinary modding especially for this scale! And since I am a fan of things in 1/144 scale in general, it makes me admire his work more than people who work on, say, 1/100 MG models.Some of you may wonder by now already: Why did he not just buy a 1/100 MG model instead in the first place? The modeller's answer is quite simple actually - he doesn't like how the waist the the legs being too thick for his taste on the MG version ^^;Source from ToysDaily forum
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One can really make something shine when effort and passion is put into it.This is the 1/144 scale Victory Gundam 'enhanced' by a ToysDaily forum member tom0083. And yes it is a 1/144 one, not the 1/100 MG (Master Grade) ver. Ka that was released 2 months ago. This is no Master Grade, boy. No Master Grade!According to what is said on the forum, the modeller has made a few subtle changes to the model in addition the decals for outward appearance. This includes but not limited the usage of double ball joints on the shoulder, increased height on the waist and legs, as well as added articulations.Since the original height of Victory Gundam is supposed to be around 15.6m, this makes the 1/144 version to be a mere 10.5cm only in height!Original gunpla box. This one is originally released way back in 1993, and that is more than 15 years ago!In comparison with Revoltech AR-7 Arbalest and HCM-Pro Sazabi (1/200 scale)In comparison with straight built V2 Gundam of the same scale. Victory is a bit taller than the V2 here because the modeller has increased its height on the legs (as well as on the waist).tom0083 has implemented lighting inside ths tiny Victory Gundam: He uses a connector of some sort to complete the circuit, and hides them wires away with the chest part. Very nifty I must say!To change batteries, he simply removed the backpack to reveal the battery that is installed inside the torso. You can see the wires that are going to the head unit.Victory Gundam lights up!It's a bit faint, but you can see the light at the back camera on the head too.Even in normal lighting you can still see a bit of light coming from the Gundam's head!If you think that the lighting within the Gundam itself is awesome already, tom0083 throws in this self-lit beam sabre. The beam effect part is removeable. With something so small I really do wonder how the wiring works there since it's independent to the Gundam itself.Beam sabre ready...... Activated!The beam effect part is mixed with 2 different material, hence the difference in colour from one end to the other.Beam shield activated with lighting too! o_Oo_o;;My hats off to tom0083 for his passion to rework an old model into this little "masterpiece". Imagine having to install the lighting into the small torso, changing simple joints with the better ones, as well as the repaint and decals. This is no ordinary modding especially for this scale! And since I am a fan of things in 1/144 scale in general, it makes me admire his work more than people who work on, say, 1/100 MG models.Some of you may wonder by now already: Why did he not just buy a 1/100 MG model instead in the first place? The modeller's answer is quite simple actually - he doesn't like how the waist the the legs being too thick for his taste on the MG version ^^;Source from ToysDaily forum
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Despite my lack of activity and lack of interest towards most of the recent figure hypes recently, there is one that raises my brows, which I haven't done so for a while - the Nendoroid Snow Miku from Good Smile Company.Nendoroid Snow Miku is a a recoloured version of the normal Nendoroid Hatsune Miku. Being a limited item, it will first be available in the upcoming 61st Sapporo Snow Festival (第61回さっぽろ雪まつり). It will also be available for pre-order on the web for a limited period of time. For more details consult the post on Wcloudx (kumo)'s blog.Back viewFront view showing the outer side of the twin tail with the icy shade and the silver snowflakeInner side of the twin tails seems to have a darker shade with blue snowflakes visibleHachune Miku face is also includedNendoroid Snow Miku and normal Nendoroid Hatsune Miku side by sideWith "advertisers" like Mikatan (an employee from Good Smile Company), these pictures kinda sold me, and made me tempted to want to own one of this Miku. Whether I will be able to buy one of these is another thing to consider though.Moeyo has their hands on the Nendoroid, so let's see how it looks like under ordainary lighting:These pictures seem to be taken under normal lighting so they look less saturated and possibly more true to what we may see if we have the figure on our hands too. The only thing I want to say here is that the hair looks more shiny that I would have expected.The twin tails appear to be quite shiny, especially in the innder side, and according to Moeyo they are made of clear material - sort of translucent I would think.Hachune Snow MikuClear ice-like leek!Again, for details on acquiring this Nendoiroid Snow Miku consult the post here from Wcloudx (kumo)'s blog.*Sigh*, why have I fallen for another limited item again? Sure, it's just a recoloured figure, but the cool colours present here are tickling me. I do not have a normal Nendoriod Hatsune Miku, yet I wasn't planning to have another limited Nendoroid after the Shana Dengeki Daioh ver. (the one and only Nendoroid I have so far).And talking of limited figures, there seems to be more of those last year (2009) compared to the previous years, especially from Good Smile Company and Max Factory. There are bloggers such as anonymous_object and Ninjovee who have expressed their thoughts regarding on this. Reading these posts reminds me of Bandai and how it releases new gunpla models with some recolouring or minor variations. But then again I can be a sucker of some sort into these kind of things, like how I have both the normal flaming hair and the limited black hair for figma Shana, or having both HG 1/144 Trans-Am Raiser and 00 Raiser + GN Sword III (same model but in different colours), and I am actually planning to buy the 00 Gundam Seven Sword/G, a variation with different equipment which is to be released this month. Oh well I am digressing here a bit so I will just end it here for now.Images from Mikatan's blog and Moeyo
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Note the following figma is NOT my figmaIf there is one thing I want to say about figmas then it is that they are rather delicate, especially for action figures. Sometimes even with good care one can accidently break the joints, like the picture above with broken ponytails for Fate (ouch), which belongs to ToysDaily forum user 小櫻. Let's have a look how she repairs the breakage then.One solution would be to use Kotobukiya's MSG (Modelling Support Goods) plastic ball joints. These are usually used for custom modelling (e.g. gunpla), but can also be used for other hobby items, and in this case figmas too.This particular 'kit' comes with ball joints with 5 different diameters (4 each).In this particular case, the diameter for the ponytail joints are about 3mm. A test fit here with the MSG 3mm joint (peg 2mm wide) on the head seems to work just fine.Now that the ball end is ok, it's time to work on the peg end. As mentioned above the peg's diameter is 2mm wide in this case, so we need to have a hole that is 2mm wide on the ponytail itself.While we need a 2mm hole at the end, don't jump in with a 2mm drill straight away! Start with something smaller, and work your way up slowly. As long as the peg can fit in the hole snugly at the end then it's just fine. Just don't overdrill it (i.e. if the peg is too long then cut a bit off the end, and for this case this does not seem to be necessary).Once the pegs fit in firmly the repair is nearly done. According to 小櫻 the new joints are even firmer than the original ones!Put the ponytails back in... (do paint the joints beforehand though unlike this picture)... And tada; Fate is back in good shape again~While this is not the only method to fix a broken joint for a figma, it's still a neat method with little material needed other than the MSG parts. It's cheaper than buying a whole new figma afterall. Putting some effort into things you like will get you to appreciate the your own hobby a bit more than just buying the merchandise I suppose :oOne way or the other I do hope that this post will help for those who collect and play with figmas, it may also apply to other similar action figures like mobips. As I have mentioned above this is not the only method to fix a joint, so maybe I will post another method like pinning etc if I see any good examples out there.Source by user 小櫻 from ToysDaily forum
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