[Accessory Analysis] 4D 1/6 Weapon Sets

Sourcing weaponry for customisations can be an uphill struggle: there may not be the appropriate weapon in the correct scale for use, or the weapon would fit the look you are gunning for. 

I stumbled upon these 1/6-scale modern weapon sets during my usual online browsing, and decided to give them a go. Fans of modern shooting games would recognise them easily, as would servicemen in the military or gun enthusiasts. The kits themselves come together rather easily, building like actual guns (bolts, receivers, the works), and come with magazines, rounds and all sorts of paraphernalia. What's important though, is the fitment.

[NEWS] New Gunpla Announcements/Confirmations/Releases

The All Japan Hobby Show is in full swing, and Bandai's marketing machinery has renewed its relentless onslaught on our wallets. The following is a snapshot of all the new toys we'll be getting, I will endeavour to update this post where possible.

WARNING: potentially poisonous images after the jump!

[Kit Insight] HGUC 1/144 MS-09R-35 Rick Dom [Hi-Mobility Type] (Customised Build)

Model No.: MS-09R-35 Rick Dom [Hi-Mobility Type]

Designation: Principality of Zeon Attack Use Heavy Mobile Suit

HGBF model kits represent possible alternate evolutions to their base designs. 

Take the R-GyaGya for example. Had the Neo Zeon obtained enough funding, they could have further weaponised the R-Jarja into a mobilr suit that would have given its adversaries more trouble. 

The Dom R35 is the latest update to the formidable Dom template, featuring the addition of numerous high output thrusters and verniers to compensate for an increased bulk due to additional armor plating. Therefore, the decision to create the Rick Dom (Hi Mobility Type) from the Dom R35 practically made itself! 

Designed to strike fast, hit hard and return to base intact for further sorties, the Rick Dom (Hi Mobility Type) would only be issued to commanders and veterans of the One Year War, pilots who would be able to handle the suit's very impressive perfomance and output. The Rick Dom would have wreaked havoc on Federation forces, blasting GMs, Balls and warships to oblivion with its huge rapid fire rocket bazooka. 

A Dom just isn't a Dom without a big gun.

[Metal Build] Bandai Tamashii Nations Metal Build 1/100 Gundam Exia [Trans-AM Mode]

Metal Builds are expensive, but beautiful.

This purple one looks great, although it's basically a recoloured and watered-down version of the regular Metal Build Exia, for a higher price due to its limited status.

[Kit Insight] Konami ModeLock Skygirls Action Character Model 03 - GK21 Fujin (Straight Build)

The amount of plamo Japan has is nigh unfathomable: just when you thought you've seen it all, something totally unexpected makes its appearance and takes your money. 

The Konami ModeLock series is one such product of ubiquitous Japanese imagination and supreme engineering.

[Store Insight] Sydney Hobby Store (Singapore)

The quest to find cheaper, more affordable Gunpla is ever-present. Even with the advent of online shopping, I still find myself seeking the (cheap) thrill of browsing a physical brick-and-mortar hobby shop, looking through the rows upon stacks of boxed Gunpla, all waiting to be freed from their mortal shackles. 

 

Therefore, it is extremely delightful and exciting to find a local hobby store that brings in the latest releases for a low, low price. 

[Kit Insight] Bandai MG 1/100 GX-9901-DX Gundam Double X (Straight Build)

The Double X always has an intriguing unconventional design. When the HG kit was released, fans everywhere snapped it up, but gaped at some of the balance issues and design limitations that appeared. 

Seemingly to address these while giving fans another reason to cheer, the MG Double X was released to much surprise, and subsequently to much adulation.

Ruzvolution is here once more to share a Kit Insight on this beautiful kit!

[Kit Insight] Audley A-Type 1/100 UNX-1S Pioneer Kainar Ver.GPN (Painted Build)

The Kainar series has always been something of an enigma: it doesn't really count as a bootleg but it parallels Bandai kits in many aspects. The first season saw a release of about 20 model kits across the different grades, accompanied by an anime series that didn't really take off here in Singapore. However, the model kits enjoyed some success, being swept up by modelers for their customisation/cannibalism needs.

Season 2 holds more promise, if the Pioneer Kainar is any indication. Having more parts than a big box Bandai MG kit (MG Amazing Red Warrior, MG Blitz, MG Build Strike Full Package, etc.), the Pioneer is ostensibly inspired by the Unicorn/Banshee Gundam, sporting clear orange psychoframe parts that take up three entire runners. The Pioneer is able to morph into a pseudo-NTD mode, where sections of the armor lift up/slide away to reveal more of the sexy psychoframe, the parts on the psychoframe gated to minimise nubs and damage to the more visible parts. The NTD gimmick is most apparent in the awesome-as-hell backpack binders, blooming like a flower to push out a central psychoframe piece. If there has to be a reason to get the Pioneer, this is it (apart from that huge beam cannon).

The articulation is also pretty amazing, with Pioneer being able to easily execute the knee bend, touch its own shoulders and move its head in ways other MG kits cannot. The MG-style hands on the Pioneer are pretty good, much better than the crappy Dragon Momoko MG 3.0 hands that snap off like dried twigs. 

The Pioneer however, suffers from a number of ridiculous design flaws, particularly in the front skirt armor. The lower section of said armor is attached to the upper section by a thin piece of plastic that is less than a millimetre thick, which in turn is attached to the front crotch section by another piece of plastic that is no better. As a result, my Pioneer is now without its left front skirt armor, snapped off by the rigors of dynamic posing.

But hey, for S$40, who's complaining?

[Kit Insight] HGBF 1/144 Gundam Tryon 3 [Ver.GPN] (Painted Build)

Took a while, but it is finally done.

LET'S TRY ONNNNNNNNNN!

[Kit Insight] RG 1/144 MBF-02 Gundam Astray Red Frame [Ver.GPN] (Painted Build)

The Red Frame is a timeless and immensely popular design, therefore it is no wonder that a RG variant will be released; it was only a matter of time.

The RG Astray Red Frame represents the most updated Red Frame to date, albeit in a slightly fragile and shaky package.