[Bandai] Gundam Exia MG Model Review

As previously mentioned, this Gundam Exia MG Model didn't belong to me, it was my brother's so this post had a fair share of his contribution to the construction and photographing process. The full review is below (For atleast as much as I could).

I did participate in part of the construction process even though most of it (head, torso, both arms, and 1 leg) was done by him. From what I could pick up from the construction, it seemed relatively complex and worthy of the title MG. I've always had a worry about the 1/100 models that didn't use the standard MG box. Though, I never built those Strike Freedoms and Destiny in their Full Burst Mode or what not.

Glad that wasn't the case. (Though it was kind of obvious as those didn't have MG on the box, but hey)

The blade was most likely the most appealing feature on the whole Exia suit. And the kit didn't slack in that department, it, along with the 2 swords attached to the waist (detachable, of course) had metallic coating as blades should.

Love the blades *_* !

Aside from the high level of detail in the suit, such as complicated knee joints and such, the joints were relatively strong, as the arms had to hold up that heavy blade. The joints I found were weaker than the joints on the Shinaju but stronger than the Unicorn. Which was acceptable. The leg joints were relatively weaker than the arms, surprisingly.

Some frustration went when posing the Gundam. One of the fold up beam saber/dagger holders on the shoulders was loose and difficult to keep it in the "up" state. Second, that large sword was difficult to put on. The hand's "stuck up part" was difficult to get to fit into the weapon handle's "slot". Although this is generally the case for most models since they don't want the "stuck up part" to take up too much space on the hand so its made rather short, so contact isn't deep. And the ones which can retract and frustrating in its own way.

I found Exia to be one of the best looking suits from 00, if not THE BEST from 00. I personally don't like how 00 Gundam looks. I know I might receive alot of flaming if word gets out. But this is afterall a personal blog. I see no reason why I can't state personal opinion.

The model kit was relatively expensive because of shipping, otherwise it was quite cheap, around 50 bucks, then like 30 for shipping. Boo.

Generally, the kit had no problems as far as I had experienced it. I didn't try to apply decals and my brother said that stickers were no problem.

The gallery was split into 2 because one of them was taken by my brother and the other was by me. Atleast he took most of the pictures from the Canon EOS 7D camera with some Tamron lens (I'm not a photographer, so don't ask photography questions). I was using some older Lumix DMC-FZ30 camera (his old camera that he discarded when he got the 7D).

You can probably tell for sure the 7D is much better at low light with much less noisy pictures. But other than that I think they're similar. Was it worth 1.6k (after discount) for camera and another 500 for the lens? I don't know.

Gallery: From Lumix / Canon.

Lastly, while taking pictures, I put together a fun photo clip of how Exia beat 00 ! YEAH !

Special thanks goes to Kev and King for their wonderful 00 Gundam HG. And yes, I know I'm using a Char Aznable Red Zaku base instead of the actual base from the 00 series. But there are some stuff I don't have with me.

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[Bandai] GP-01 PG Gundam Model Review

I recently finished building the PG GP01 Gundam Model from Bandai. It took far longer than expected because I had many things tied to my hands, making me unable to work diligently on it. But it is completed now and I am able to give a 80% review. Updated

Perhaps thats why it took so long ;o

The reason why I can't give the full review yet is because there is one last thing I have to do first. That is, the transformation from GP01 to GP01-Fb. Although it is theoretically possible, there may be problems which hinder the actual process.
Also, I would like to put decals on atleast the GP01-Fb parts and take some pictures. That will be the first time I've ever done decals.
First of all, there were an INCREDIBLE number of pieces on this thing. I don't seem to have any pictures of the box, but it came with a large box which had a handle. Upon opening it, you would have 2 boxes around the size of the MG Hi-Nu gundam. There are 2 booklets for this model also. One was for construction, the other had details about the gundam and where to put the decals. There are lots of pieces of parts and lots of screws also! That helps to hold parts together. There are springs also. As far as I could remember master grades don't offer such complexity. The MG Shinaju does offer 2 springs (for the belt), but thats about it. All in all, this model does offer you great amount of joy with the abundance of things to build.

Listing them all, they are,- Head
- Body
- GP01 exterior
- GP01-Fb exterior
- Arm- GP01 shoulder
- GP01-Fb shoulder
- Waist
- GP01 exterior
- GP01-Fb exterior
- Leg
- GP01 exterior
- GP01-Fb exterior
- Core fighter- Beam rifle
- Machine gun
- Shield
- Beam saber x 4
- Maintenance rack
- Wheels x 6
- Missiles x 2
It sounds like alot of things, below is a picture of what the finished product looks like (excluding one piece pilot or other people)

Yes, the background has a MG Exia Ignition Mode, its my bro's.

The joints feel solid and doesn't feel like giving way anytime soon. Which is pretty good because this model is old (Nov 2003). Probably the only reason why I was able to get it for 5000 yen (roughly $50USD). I had another old gundam, a MG ZZ Gundam. The hands couldn't hold the weapons. Maybe the weapon was too big, or maybe the joints were bad. Either way, it was a terrible model.

The details and complexity were noticeably good. Many of the parts, hands, head, body, legs, they all had parts you could open up. Notice the pictures below.

Before

After

Quite different, wouldn't you say?

At this point there isn't really anything thats bad about the model. The only thing I didn't like being the transforming part. I found the torso piece was difficult to place into the rest of the Gundam. Also, when I was opening all the "armor plating" or something in the above picture, some pieces would actually come off! I think the transforming part should be more sturdy (Unless I'm doing it wrong). But otherwise, the model is great. I looked at the decals, theres only 1 sheet of it, I thought that wasn't very much. But we'll see later when I finish the final touches. I also want to do panel lines, except I don't have a fine marker.

Oh..!
I thought of something else, there were no stickers !! D=
I've always thought I was pro with stickers as seen on the Shinaju (All the gold lines on the model)

I am quite happy with my first PG. I will definitely build another should the opportunity arise!

Gallery: Here

Update:
As this was my first time putting on decals on any Gundam, I didn't find it too difficult. Except in the cases of larger decals, the result didn't turn out too great. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong though.

Some of the decals are easily seen (shoulders and cockpit), others are more hidden and blends into model.

Here are some before and after pictures.

Before decals.

After decals

On a completely different train of thought, the transformation between the configuration wasn't too difficult. The book neatly laid out the steps required. And without any difficulties the new parts were easily swapped. Great!

Though the GP01-Fb torso cover along with the head and arms are pretty loosely attached to the actual torso. It is held on by only 2 connections. It is easily removed by holding the Gundam still and sliding the torso forward.

But the presentation in the end is what really matters for me. I probably won't pose it more than I have already.

I give this model 4/5.

Pros:
- Sophisticated/complex
- Lots to build/per cost
- Strong joints
- Low difficulty

Cons:
- Transformation could be better
- Lack of stickers and rub on decal

Part 2 Gallery: Here

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[Bandai] Unicorn Gundam Review

After a long break on my part, I finally gotten myself together to writing an entry about something that happened about a month ago. The completion of the Unicorn Gundam by Bandai.

Full review below.

I know in the past the reviews (if they were called that was rather sloppy) had very little information, so I will try to fix that. Though, when writing posts like this, I write as I go and I try to think back or look at the product that was formed. Since I didn't take notes when building the model, its likely that some details would have been missed. But on with the review.

First of all, I love this Gundam, not only because its from Universal Centry (UC), but its White.. AND Red! I am also watching the Unicorn Gundam OVAs.

Similar to all the other models I've built thus far, decals were not placed (and for this I have no excuse, its not difficult, but for some reason I chose to neglect it. Sorry). I try my best for all the sticker work (and am proud of it).

The eyes on Unicorn, like all other gundams are done with a green metallic coated sticker. Same with this Unicorn's horns. And that green light on top of the head. Gundams have surprisingly small stickers for small parts. I was quite shocked when I built my 2nd Gundam that I would be pretty good at installing stickers.
The details are as you expect from a Gundam, nothing too outstanding there. Though the design was lovely. When you're building it, the model seems tough (and by all means, it is... until you want to DESTROY).

I would apologize for the lack of pictures, although I enjoy building them, I am discontent for posing them. I have my reasons for doing it. And those reasons were justified in the past.
1. From moving the joints, they become weak and lose the ability to maintain form.
2. They may break.
3. Parts are lost

And especially for the Unicorn, in its Destroy mode, its flimsy at best. Because most of the colour is hidden when its being built (meaning, to expose it, you're litterally expanding the armor, which causes empty space to fill the insides of the model, and empty space = bad support). It results in.
1. Taller model
2. More prone to breaking
3. RED HAWTNESS

Overall, I loved this model, both building it and looking at it. The red definitely defines this Gundam well. Its not Unicorn if theres no red. The colour contrast looks amazing. The arsenal is adequet.

Though on a downside, the transformation is not the easiest thing to do. It may have been just my model kit or maybe the way I built it (though I followed the instructions to the book). My model had a little problem with the transformation of the knee cap. The instructions said I just had to pull and that was it, however, I pulled and pulled and nothing happened. So I opened up the leg (it was surprisingly easy) then set it into the position of the transformed look, then built it back together. The problem was, the pathway for sliding the hinge was too narrow, causing it to jam half-way. A solution could have been to sandpaper or file it, but if you did too much then it would become loose and the effects would have been devastating. My friend who also owned a Unicorn Gundam (but metallic version), also encountered a problem with the kit, different problem than mine, and also fixable. Perhaps we were unlucky, or maybe the quality control for this batch was snoozing.

I took pictures of the previous model, Shinaju with Unicorn because they're from the same series. Which was the main reason why I bought this. Even though, the looks of this Gundam is so good too!

Gallery: Here.

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My Previous Gundam Models

My Gundam collection although haven't been large, have started for atleast 4 years. And going to anime conventions wasn't until a year ago. Although I can't exactly remember what brought me into this lifestyle or animes, I don't regret what I do. Sure... there are people who detest people who has a hobby or watching anime, and its not always easy to find people who are able to talk about this hobby with, but whats wrong with that? I find animes to be somewhat like movies, except things can be more creative, since real humans aren't used in the pictures (drawings can be made to exaggerate certain things, while an actors exaggerated facial expression will only go so far).

But enough about that, I'll be posting the rest of the Photos of my previous Gundams including 2 pictures of my display case back in May 2009 (before I got the 00Gundam). If I remember/time permits, I'll upload a photo to show just how much smaller 1/144 is compared to my 1/100 collection (minus Freedom Gundam from Gundam Seed).

Updated: Rest of the photos are uploaded, Aug 10, 2009.
Title image source: Author [Passing Rim] (May be NSFW depending on where you are)
(Ex S-Gundam is the best Gundam ever in Gundam Battle Universe for PSP)

ZZ Gundam, my first model.



Heavy Arms Custom, I got it from my relatives when they came to visit a few years ago. (The thing behind it is the Forbidden Gundam, but the detail and box size was so small that I didn't consider it as one worthy of photos.)


Strike Freedom, I got it when my dad returned from Hong Kong after visiting relatives. (Its much cheaper there than here.)



Hi-Nu Gundam, I bought this myself in Canada cause I liked how it looks. (Quite expensive though. Around $120)



Lastly, the Shinaju, my parents got this for me in Hong Kong for about 450 HKD, it also came with a "gold" (not really) metal coin. I later found out that the coin was only placed into the model kits which were sold at a japanese convention. Or simply, not many people will have this Gundam coin >=D !



Size Comparison of 1/100 vs 1/144 (left vs right),

WOAH! Huge difference D= !

Display Case as of May 2009,

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