NG 1/100 LV-2GMF-X23S Vent Saviour Gundam - Unboxing

This is the modified and repainted version of the original Saviour Gundam which appears in Gundam Seed VS Astray series.

Front/top/bottom/side view:





Back of the box contains information and illustration depicting the summary of VS astray story:


Major differences of this Vent Saviour from the original Saviour are the wings mounting position have been shifted from the beam cannons to the shoulder armour. Vice versa the beam sabers mount is now on the beam cannons. The head is re-designed, and the armour panel behind the head is now fixed in position, unlike the original which can slide downwards. Other than those mentioned and the new colour scheme, everything else is the same as with the original Saviour.

Contents:


*A total of 11 runners in this kit

Manual:




I have finished snap fitting this kit and currently in progress of painting it. Current progress I've only painted the beam rifle and shield, still sanding down most of the body. Stay tune for more updates =)

News on Mcmodel's next gunpla kit!

There's news stating that the next gunpla kit to be produced by the China company, Mcmodel possibly could be a SD MSA-0011（EXT）Ex-S Gundoom!

Pictures of the prototype:




I'm usually not a fan of SD kit and I didn't buy Mcmodel's previous SD, Nightingale. However I'm a great fan of S Gundam and it's variants, especially (Ext) Ex-S variant, I'm definitely looking forward to this kit! What's more is it's said to come with Deep Striker variant parts too!!! Awesome news if it's true!!!

Source of news is from a chinese forum:
http://www.xiaot.com/vbbs/viewthread.php?tid=94589&extra=&page=1
You can check out Mcmodel's website, http://mcmodel.cn/ too, but I advise against it as the pages take ages to load and it's a problem to navigate if you do not know mandarin.

Loots, loots, and more loots

I've decided to make my 1/100 Vent Saviour Gundam as my first painted kit. I don't really like the original colour scheme and the colours separation aren't that good. This kit is also 'affordable' to try my first time spray painting. Since I don't have airbrush tools, I'll have to make do with spray cans.

These are the spray cans I bought last weekend:

List:
ACE Premium Primer - Gray (RM18.90)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 128 Clear (RM9)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 100 White (RM9)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 109 Black (RM9)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 108 Yellow (RM9)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 136 Dolphin (RM9)
Nippon Paint Pylox - 308 Sea Blue (RM9)
Bosny Acrylic Paint - 535 Royal Blue (RM7.90)
Bosny Acrylic Paint - 549 Steel Gray (RM7.90)
Bosny Acrylic Paint - 519 Orange Yellow (RM7.90)

I bought the paints separately, some from ACE Hardware store in Midvalley, others from Ikano's branch as some are not available in the particular branch. I got the primer from Midvalley's branch, where it is the cheapest, but went to Ikano's branch only found out there are cheaper primer paints priced below RM10 =_=.

Last weekend I went to Uniqlo @ Fahrenheit 88 to check out their new Gundam Illustrations T-shirts. I bought 3 T-shirts at RM59.90 each, and here they are:

A lot of the designs are very nice and I will buy few more next time. For Gundam fans, especially UC fans, these T-shirts are definitely must buy!

As for today, I finally decided to buy the Tamiya Sharp Pointed Side Cutter after some consideration. A lot people gave good reviews about it and are recommending it. Since my cheaper Tamiya cutter is getting blunt, I took the plunge and bought it today from Graffiti Toys @ Berjaya Times Square. More over I'm told that Graffiti Toys are selling it at RM96 only instead of the usual price RM120, a worthy bargain.

That's it for my loots of past week and today. I wanted to buy the 1/60 Wing Gundam 0 from Gamers Arena @ Berjaya Times Square since they just restocked, but priced at RM122. I vaguely remember that it was RM109 previously, maybe I was mistaken, need to check up on it.

New Gundam Series - Gundam AGE

Looks like the hot topic for Gundam/Gunpla fans these few days is the announcement of a new Gundam series - Gundam AGE. If you didn't already know from various sites on the internet, here's the article on the announcement of Gundam AGE:


Apparently majority of Gundam fans are raging over it, criticising that the Gundam AGE's design is a combination of recycled designs from various Gundam. Most people are also fuming over the chest design, which looks like jet engine intake according to some. Not only that, they are complaining that the storyline is too childish, it's to cater for younger audiences, especially that the lead character is a young kid.

I'm not really excited about it when the announcement was made, but nor was I particularly hating it. After watching the promo trailer, I'm now pretty looking forward to watch it, as it's pretty nice in my opinion =).
I don't understand those people who criticised this new series before even it was even aired. They are basing their opinions on the not-so-much information about the series and bashing it up before they know the full extend of the story. Ironically, when Gundam 00 was announced, the same thing happened, but now most of the criticism died out, with a large fan database some more. Some of them happened to be those who criticised it in the first place =_=.

Enough said about my opinions, here is the promo trailer:


Official Gundam AGE site

Here's a short summary of the story:

The new series will have three generations of "father, child, and descendant" as the lead characters. The main characters pilot the Gundam unit to fight against an unknown attacking enemy (UE) and save Earth in a "One Hundred Year War" — an apparent homage to the One Year War of the first Gundam series.
The first main character is Furitto Asuno, who developed the Gundam AGE-1 mobile suit (humanoid mobile weapon) equipped with the AGE System (a self-adapting computer). The second main character is Asemu Asuno, Furitto's child. The third main character is Kio Asuno, Furitto's descendant who inherits the Gundam. The Gundam AGE-1 can be augmented as the Gundam AGE-1 Titus for more power, or as the Gundam AGE-1 Sparrow for more speed.
Other characters include Emily, Furitto's friend since he was 7. Guruudekku is a Commander in the Earth Federation Forces and the captain of the battleship Diva. Mireesu is a Lieutenant (junior grade) in the Federation Forces aboard the Diva.

The Gundam featured in this series is obviously Gundam AGE. Seems like Gundam AGE has artificial intelligence embed based on this sentence:

The Gundam AGE-1 is the main characters unit. Although it’s a machine, surprisingly, the Gundam grows with the “AGE SYSTEM”. It’s form seems to change with growth from experience in battle!

Gundam AGE will also have 3 different battle/armour configuration:

GUNDAM AGE-1 NORMAL
GUNDAM AGE-1 SPARROW (Speed Type) – A cool blue unit is the highlight. The enemy is torn to shreds with the cutting edge of the sharp Sigl Blade.
GUNDAM AVE-1 TITUS (Power Type) - Though it doesn’t appear to carry weapons, with it’s unbelievable destructive power it crushes the enemy.

Seems like Bandai is going all out to promote this series as they have already produced Gundam AGE gunpla kit of various grades! Surprisingly, or shockingly for some, that a MG kit of Gundam AGE is already in the works while other more popular Gundams/MS from older series don't even have MG kit yet!
Apart from the usual HG 1/144 kit, a Mega Size 1/48 kit is also announced, with another 2 new grades: AG 1/144(Advanced Grade) & GB 1/100(Gage-ing Builder).
Apparently GB kits are figure kits embed with a Gage-ing chip, used at GAGE-ING BATTLE BASE in Japan, a kind of arcade game. This seemed to be aimed at children market, another reason for older fans to grumble, lol.

For more information, please check out my source of these information:
gundamguy.blogspot.com

Loots From 2011 2nd Litt Tak Warehouse Sales

Here are what I've purchased from the warehouse sales:

List:
NG 1/100 LV-2GMF-X23S Vent Saviour Gundam (RM93)
MG GN-0000 + GNR-010 Gundam 00 Raiser (RM250)

Initially I planned to buy MG Unicorn Gundam OVA, but it had sold out, only left 1 box of MG Unicorn HD + MS Cage when I went there. =(
I also wanted to get the NG 1/100 Astray Mirage Frame 2nd L since I already had the 1st version, but that had sold out too.
At first I thought that NG 1/100 Vent Saviour had sold out too, but after some digging through the pile of gunpla boxes, I managed to find the last box of it, albeit badly dented, but I bought it anyway.

Then, I wanted to get the MG Hi-Nu, but thinking it'll be quite boring to assemble a similar model so soon after I just got my Mcmodel Hi-Nu Gundoom recently, I choosed to get the MG Gundam 00 Raiser instead.
I did consider getting MG Sinanju Ver. Ka, but I've decided to try my luck and wait to see whether will there be a MG Sinanju OVA.

I knew the MG 00 Raiser is overpriced, AND even knew that Gamers Arena @ Berjaya Times Square is selling it at RM235, but I thought since I was there at Litt Tak warehouse, buying at RM250 is the same as paying extra for transportation fee to Berjaya Times Square.
THIS IS WHERE I WAS MISTAKEN
My "smart" thinking made me into buying MG 00 Raiser thinking I'm not overpaying,
HOW WRONG WAS I!!!

Later after I've went home, I got info through my facebook contacts that some hobby shops are selling it at below RM220!!!

Price list of MG Gundam 00 Raiser of various shops:
Gamers Arena @ Berjaya Times Square - RM235
Time Machine @ Plaza Berjaya - RM215
Fantasy Toyz @ Low Yat Plaza - RM213

I was like facepalm-ing all the way when I saw this!!!
Ironically the shop which is usually the most expensive is now selling the cheapest, while the one usually cheapest is the other way round!!!
Damn I was so regretful for buying on impulse without patience.
This will be a lesson for me to survey prices of every shops first before making a purchase, damn.

I also got info that there was MG FAZZ(Sentinel) being sold at the warehouse sale for RM200 only, but since I didn't find any, it must be sold out.
Another disappointment as I wanted to get MG FAZZ(Sentinel) badly.

2011 2nd Litt Tak Warehouse Sales - Updates

I went to Litt Tak warehouse sales yesterday morning(10th June), and I'll say it's quite disappointing. There's not many choices of gunpla kits on sale, and the already limited choices are reduced some more due to people purchasing on the first 2 days of the sales + no restocking. The prices are also quite disappointing as most kits are only a few ringgits cheaper than usual prices at hobby shops, with some more expensive!

Here's the price list of what I surveyed:
(If price stated unknown, it means I saw the kit but didn't take notice of the price)

PG GP01/FB - RM660
PG Astray Red Frame - RM595
PG RX-78-2 Extra Finish - Unknown
PG Wing Gundam Zero Custom - RM496

MG Nu Gundam - RM166
MG Hi-Nu Gundam - RM232
MG Zeta Gundam 2.0 - RM166
MG Sinanju Ver. Ka - RM232
MG Unicorn Gundam HD Color + MS Cage - RM248
MG Wing Gundam EW - RM116
MG Sword/Launcher Strike Gundam - RM160
MG Aile Strike Gundam - RM126
MG Kampher - RM133
MG Gundam Exia - RM126
MG Infinite Justice Gundam - RM155
MG Freedom Gundam Extra Finish - RM296
MG Strike Freedom Gundam Extra Finish - Unknown
MG RX-78-2 2.0 Expo Clear - Unknown
MG Astray Red Frame - RM166
MG Astray Blue Frame - Unknown
MG ZZ Gundam - Unknown
MG Zeong - RM200
MG Gundam 00 Raiser - RM250
MG Zaku Cannon - RM150
MG RX-178 MkII AEUG 1.0 - RM93
MG RX-178 MkII Titans 1.0 - RM93
MG G-Fighter - RM100
MG RX-79(G) - RM100
MG GP03S - RM116

HG Jegan (ECOAS Type) - RM54
HG Sinanju - RM80
HG Sinanju Titanium Finish - RM171
HG Sazabi Titanium Finish - Unknown
HG Sazabi GPB Color - RM150
HG Re-GZ - Unknown
HG Cherudim GNHW/R - Unknown
HG Gundam 00 Seven Swords/G Inspection Ver. - RM100
HG 1/100 Wing Gundam Zero Custom - RM67
HG 1/100 Gundam Sandrock - RM67
HG 1/100 Tallgeese - RM83

NG 1/100 Gale Strike Gundam - RM50
NG 1/100 Vent Saviour Gundam - RM93
NG 1/100 Virtue - RM120
NG 1/100 Seravee - RM140
NG 1/100 Cherudim - RM97
NG 1/100 Cherudim Designers' Color - RM110
NG 1/100 Arios - RM97
NG 1/100 Arios Designers' Color - RM110http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
NG 1/100 Gundam 00 Raiser Clear Edition - RM200http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Sorry that I didn't survey on SD/BB and MG Figurines kits as I'm not interested in them.

The following items are either sold out or I didn't notice, info credits to
Nicholas Chua aka ascentic of LowYat.Net Forum.

MG Sazabi - RM 265
MG Gundam NT-1 "Alex" - RM80
MG Zaku Minelayer - RM150
MG The O - RM397
MG Unicorn Gundam OVA - RM166
MG Full Armor Gundam - RM166
HG Gundam Exia Repair II Metallic Finish - RM45
HG 1/100 Gundam DeathScythe - RM67
HG 1/100 Gundam Heavyarms - RM67
HG Gundam Operation V(RX-78-2, Guncannon & Guntank) - RM87
HG Nu Gundam - RM87
NG Blitz Gundam Expo Clear - RM67
NG Astray Mirage Frame 2nd L - Unknown
NG Astray Mirage Frame - Unknown
NG Nix Providence Gundam - Unknown
NG Hail Buster Gundam - RM50
FG Launcher Strike Gundam - RM17
FG Sword Strike Gundam - RM17

2011 2nd Litt Tak Warehouse Sales

It's happening again, Litt Tak warehouse sales! Malaysia's gunpla fans(especially those in Klang Valley area), gear up your wallet, prepare for some shopping spree!
This is the second warehouse sales this year by Litt Tak Toys SDN BHD, this time from 8th June to 12th June. Location as usual as at their warehouse. Here's the the advertisement depicting the sales:


Halfheartedly hoping there's not much offer they are having, or I'll be much more broke than I am now =_=.
But if there's awesome offers going on, will buy first think later! xD

Loot - Nerf N-Strike Alpha Trooper CS-18

Finally found stocks of Nerf N-Strike Alpha Trooper CS-18 in Parkson KLCC today. I've been searching for it since last December but it was sold out everywhere in KL. It was recently restocked last month but it was during my exams period, didn't have time to purchase it. Alpha Trooper was so hot selling, that when I tried to find it after my exams ended, it was sold out everywhere, LOL! I'm lucky that I managed to find leftover stocks, or maybe it was new stocks, in Parkson KLCC today.



It used to be priced at RM79.90, but I had no idea why the price had risen up to RM99.90.
(The old price tag of RM79.90 is under the the new price tag, LOL!)
The usual stupid items-price-increase-when-petrol-price-increas trend of Malaysia?! DAMN!
There's 10% discount on it, and I had RM50 Parkson voucher, so in the end I ended up paying 39.90 for it, so I didn't really lose out much.

Didn't check on other models' price, hope their price hadn't been increased(very unlikely), or I'll stop buying Nerf products.

HGGPB MSN-04 Sazabi GPB Color - Unboxing

This is a recoloured white version of Sazabi that appeared in the Mobile Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G OVA series.

Front/top/bottom/side view:




*The box is pretty plain, expected from a limited edition gunpla kit

The contents:

*There are 10 runners in this kit.

This kit is basically the same as HGUC MSN-04 Sazabi, with the exception of including a paper giving some information on the GPB version. Even the construction manual is the original HGUC Sazabi's, lol. So Bandai just cast the runners using the same mould with different colour during manufacturing, print back the old manual, dump in an extra piece of paper, then sell it at a higher price. Nice marketing strategy, Bandai *sarcasm*.

Here's a sneak peak of the kit I've finished assembled. Snap fitted with nub-marks cleaning done, no panel lining and decal applied yet.




After completing this kit, I went on straight to start building my RG GAT-X105 Aile Strike Gundam.
It's not only until I finish assembling the legs and waist unit, that I noticed I've forgot to snap pics of the runners in sealed plastic *facepalm*.
Looks like I have no choice but to show empty runners during unboxing post of RG Aile Strike *sweat*.