Red Nova's Rambles

Completed Candy Toy Goukaioh

2011-04-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Finished my work on the Candy Toy Goukaioh. In total, it took me about a week to finish this bad boy. Overall, despite the hurdles that was thrown on me, I felt as though I did a decent job. A friend of mine bought a box from AmiAmi, and we ended up splitting a box together.

Once again, here's the paint line up:
Citadel Colours:
Skull White
Sunburst Yellow
Mithril Silver
Sunburst Yellow
Snot Green
Hard Coat

Tamiya:
Blue
Red

Gundam Marker:
Black
SD Gundam Lame Peral Silver
SD Gundam Lame Peral Orange

From this set here:
http://www.hlj.com/product/GNZGMS202

WIP 3: Candy Toy Gokaioh

2011-04-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

So here we have box 5, Goukai Pink's mecha the GoukaiSubmarine finished. I'd show photos of the submarine mode but I had a very unfortunate accident...somehow the foot ended up snapping in two places and I have no idea how it happened...but I suspect it happened when I tried to close the submarine up. I fixed it using Tamiya model cement.

The paint line up is the same as before with the addition of Games Work Shop Skull White and Chain-mail.

WIP 2: Candy Toy Goukaioh

2011-04-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Finished the GoukaiGalleon today. Once I figured out the type of paint I was going to use and how I was going to paint it, the rest of the model kit came easy. One thing I dislike about minipla candy toys is the fact that if anything happens to the stickers...then you're out of luck. I wish bandai would either give you a spare set or sculpt the detail actually into the plastic...but I realize that will raise the cost of these little model kits *Sigh*

The pain I used was a combination of Gundam Marker and Tamiya Arcylics

I use Tamiya Red
Gundam Marker Black
and a set of Metalic SD Gundam SanGokuden markers...both gold and silver.

I found that Gundam markers can be a bit hard to work with, especially if you're going over wide surfaces. I'll still use the markers however for tiny hard to reach spots...I'll need to go out and buy some paint that I don't have yet, but I may start on Goukai Submarine or Racer next.

WIP: Candy Toy Goukaioh-Goukai Galleon

2011-04-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Long time no update....I figured I'd use this chance to do a Work in progress report of the Candy Toy Goukaioh that I got yesterday...progress has been a bit slow due to...complications in the painting, and a busy weekend. Originally, I was going to use all Gundam Markers, but found them a bit frustrating to work with, so I went ahead and switched to good ol hand painting, and in the process deciding to cover up the Gundam Marker paint with the Tamiya arcrylics. The pieces are a bit messy right now as you can do doubt tell, so I'll be going back and doing some touch up work after taking a bit of a break from working on this.

MG Strike Noir WIP Report

2011-01-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm about 85% finished with the MG Strike Noir that I received for Christmas. I'm really liking this kit so far! It's quite an interesting build, as it is my first time handling a Master Grade Strike Gundam of any kind. Building this is making me want to go back and re-watch the Stargazer OVAs. Now, what I'm considering doing is taking some silver paint, and painting all of the grey bits you see into silver. I really think it would help accent the colour scheme a bit better.

PRESENTS!!!!!

2010-12-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and great hauls...my Christmas this year I thought was alright. As you can tell by the picture, I got something last night a gift from my sister's BF...and that gift is: Master Grade Strike Noir!

So to recap...my Christmas haul would be as follows:

Master Grade Deathscythe version Ka
Master Grade Strike Noir
1/10 Rockman.

Mail Call: Automaton Toys

2010-12-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

I won't bother doing an unboxing, because alot of you knew that this was coming for me...but the god damned Canada Post kept me waiting long enough Finally! It's here.... ..something that I've been eagerly awaiting for the last few days: Fansproject's Protector armour and Sidearm! I had this shipped out on the 16th, and it only arrived today. I became pretty paranoid when I saw the tracking status changed to "Item successfully delivered" yet nothing had arrived at the door yet...I was suppose to get this on the 20th, but I suppose it got held back because of the Holliday rush...I suppose I can only blame myself for having something ordered so close to Christmas. But this is a very, very cool set none the less!

For those not in the know, Fansproject is a well known third party company that works outside the boundaries of Hasbro and Takara Tommy. They take pre-existing figures and then improves upon them by adding armour or extra pieces, their more well known for their City Commander upgrade set for the Classics Ultra Magnus...pictured below here:

The Fansproject Protector Armour set came curtsy of Automaton Toys, I'll post a link down below here:

http://www.automatontoys.com/

And I'll post a link to Fansproject's main website as well:

http://www.fansproject.com/

Tron Legacy thoughts and impressions

2010-12-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'll try to keep this as spoiler free s possible, and will only give how I thought the movie was overall:

I went to the Midnight premiere last night and saw it in Imax 3D, without having seen the original Tron I went into this with zero expectations, and not really getting a lot of the references the film made I can say though that this movie is just awesome though! Granted there were a few moments of the film I felt were cliched, almost making me wanna roll my eyes...and the film was a bit predictable.

I love the sound track, and the visuals and special effects were pretty awesome. I went to the Imax 3D Showing, and i can tell you that at least half of the film isn't really in 3D...the beginning part and the end in the human world anyway.

Overall, I really had a fun time with this movie, I think it really is worth a watch.

Yet another shopping trip

2010-12-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

As you can tell by the photo, I went out and bought something again. This time, it's the 1/100 Master Grade Death Scythe ver Ka, I bought this from Gundam Base in Pacific Mall who FINALLY got some new model kits in. The price for this kit wasn't bad either, it came up to about 60$. Either way, my parents gave me some cash for Christmas, and I paid it using that money...so this is technically their present. I do have plans for this model kit, since I have some black paint left over from another project, I'll be using that to add a bit more black here and there...personally I love the design but think there's a bit too much white.

On a side note, I just got my shipping notice for the Fansproject Protector Armour and Sidearm, so I'll be getting that within the next few days! So very excited for this set.

Shopping Trip

2010-12-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

I did some more shopping today and I was met with a couple of nice and unexpected surprises first, my reason for going out today was because Power Core Combiners were on sale at Toys R Us, unfortunately I don't have a Toys R Us near me, so I had to take the flyer to get it price matched at a different store. Like an idiot, I didn't take the whole flyer with me, just the page that had the sale. Luckily, I found a cashier at Zellers(A Canadian Target) And they were able to price match for me no problem. Then I went to EB Games today, and I found Alpha Protocol for the PS3 brand new for 10!! I nearly bought Persona 3 Portable too, so I'm pretty glad I decided to take one more look before buying it.

At the same EB Games, there were these girls there advertising Tron Legacy, after talking with them I told them that I already got my advance tickets for the midnight showing, and they gave me this really spiffy double sided poster:

And yes, I do really have my advance tickets for the movie, I'll be seeing it opening night.

China Builds a Giant Gundam!

2010-12-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

With Japan building their own life-sized statue of the RX-78 Gundam, it seems as though China wants to get in and make their own version of the statue, . Oh China...is there nothing you'll rip off just to make a quick buck?

Shopping Trip

2010-12-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

I went downtown on a cold, Wednesday afternoon the other day and stopped by my favrioute import shop: Anime X Treme. I was in a mood to build some Gunpla, so I picked up: The 1/144 High Grade Beginning Gundam...cool design, but I still think the name is garbage. I also picked up some Tamiya cement, which will be used for a kit bash/custom that I have planned for somewhere down the line.

Figma Dragon Knight is OUT!

2010-12-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Seems as though the Japanese market's getting their hands on the Figma Dragon Knight now! As you can tell by the photos: this toy is going to in perfectly with you're S.H.Figuarts, so it seems as though it can act as a stand-in for an S.H.Figuarts Ryuki! Now I'm wondering if this will be in scale with the R&M/Souchaku Henshin EX Mirror Monsters. You can see more photos of this figure here:

http://herofigure.blog24.fc2.com/blog-entry-541.html
http://schizophonic9.com/figma_dragonknight.html http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/taka421jp/53160848.html http://zzkeroro.blog75.fc2.com/blog-entry-556.html http://taste.image.coocan.jp/hobby101202.htm
http://shishioh.info/figma-sp015.php

Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger Rumours and First Impressions

2010-12-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

Taken from the Rumours thread at HenshinJustice, please take it with a grain of salt:
New Program, "Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger" February 13th, 2011 Start on TV-Asahi, Nationwide!

The 35th Super Sentai Series, the likes of which have never been seen before in history. Their name, "Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger."

POINT 1- Goukai! Soukai! Tsuukai! (Heroic! Exhilarating! Thrilling!) The motif of this year's heroes is "Pirates". This motif overflows in from both its popularity in anime, cinema and other types of entertainment.

POINT 2- Super Sentai Series 35th Work. A Memoiral Year. 34 Sentai Series and 200 past heroes are used in this work. Both parents and children alike can enjoy it.

POINT 3- Transformation items are the "Ranger Keys", keys which have the likenesses of past Sentai Heroes, and the Mobile Phone, "Mobairetsu". Using the keys, the Goukaiger can turn into past sentai heroes and fight their enemies.

POINT 4- Their sword is the GoukaiKen, their gun, the GoukaiGun, which creates both an enchanting and violent Pirate Action.

POINT 5- Red's machine, GoukaiGalleon, unites with "vehicles favorited by boys" to form the gattai robo, GoukaiOh.

Now, I'll like to start that I'm not into Sentai as I am into Kamen Rider. The only Sentai I've seen start to finish is Dekaranger, I dunno I find Sentai to be a little "meh". Goukaiger is shaping up and looking quite interesting though. I loved Kamen Rider Decade, so I'll no doubt enjoy Goukaiger as well.

Goukaiger however, is shaping

1/10 Rockman Unboxing and Mini Review

2010-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

I just finished my Rockman kit, and I have to say: this kit is bloody fantastic! The parts count isn't particularly large, as you can tell in the photos. In total, there were about 11 runners and the build was rather quite simple. It only took me a couple of hours to finish this bad boy. The model kit stands a bit shorter then a Figuarts, and it's somewhere around the same height as a 1/1144 High Grade Gundam kit. I wouldn't have known it was a model kit if I wasn't told before hand! Any fan of Megaman owes it to themselves to pick this kit up!

Planned for future release is Protoman/Blues and Roll-chan..I already had plans on picking up Protoman, and now I'm considering Roll as well.

Pros:
Easy to assemble, takes no time at all...so long as you pay attention to the instructions
Highly articulated and highly detailed, this thing looks good just straight out of the box!

Cons:
The kit includes some water slide decals, and they are a PAIN to mess with.

An unexpected Christmas Present!

2010-11-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

In my house, we don't really celebrate Christmas but we still give gifts to each other none the less, sometimes we get them early and sometimes we're allowed to pick our own items as gifts. Anyways, as you can tell by the pic I posted I did indeed get something extra yesturday, an item I've been eagerly waiting to get my hands on: the 1/10 Kotobukiya Rockman kit! This gift came from my sister, and I can't wait to dive into this baby!

Shopping Trip 03

2010-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

On a whim, I decided to go out toy hunting today, I wanted to see if I could find any of the Genorations Wave 2 Deluxes, which includes War For Cybertron Megatron, Soundwave, and Red Alert which are the three that interests me. I know my stores must've gotten them in cause I found Dark Mount last time I was there...I had no luck, sadly...but as you can tell by my photo, I didn't go empty handed! I ended up taking home with me Hunt for the Decpticons Scout Class Breacher! Breacher is going to be my first new Scout Class figure, and my first figure that uses the clip weapon system, I can already tell I'm gonna enjoy him.

Figmas Strike and Sting

2010-11-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

I saw these new photos of Strike and Sting over at HJU this morning. So far, there looking quite good, they did a really good job of hiding the joints on this figure. Sting really temps me, despite the fact that he was one of the riders I didn't care for in Dragon Knight...I'm keeping my eyes on these two, but I'm reserving judgement till I mess around with the Dragon Knight I got pre ordered.

MG Figure Rise Heat Metal

2010-11-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

Saw photos of the MG Figure Rise Heat Metal today, from the photos the thing looks really, really good. The metal shaft looks like it might be extendable too!

I'm highly considering getting the thing now that've seen photos of it now...I'm not looking foreword to building the hands though...man those were a pain

Shopping Trip 02: China Town

2010-11-17T18:10:00.000-08:00

We had some business to take care of downtown, and while I was waiting for my Mom I decided to walk into this video game store in one of the Asian Malls there. I couldn’t really tell you the name of the store to be honest, I don’t know what it’s called but I do know it was in China Town Center, right beside the washrooms. Anyways, so I go in there and I managed to get a hold of this:

Valkyire Profile Lenneth on the PSP. Now, I’d take a photo of the cover but unfortunately the game didn’t come with the actual case, it came in one of those plain Gamestop cases. The best part is: the game was 15$! I played the original PS1 Valkyire Profile and liked it quite a bit, this game is hard to come by these days so case or no case I’m just glad to actually own a copy.

MG W Mini-review

2010-11-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

Finished the MG W this morning, I’m not gonna go too in-depth with these reviews, but this was a pretty nice kit and very fun to build all things considered. Oh boy, did this thing give me some trouble...nothing major, but they were more like minor annoyances. As stated in my pervious blog entry, the pegs on the arm socket ended up snapping on me, fortunately it wasn’t a big problem, the armor hugged around the socket tight enough so that it doesn’t move around.

Secondly, the fingers...my god, the fingers are a PAIN to put on, I ended up loosing one of the fingers a couple of times, and there tiny pieces so finding them was easier said then done. After all that trouble though...I really, really dig this model kit! It has a few tricks and details that the S.H.Figuarts doesn’t such as the working W Driver and the removable Gaia Memories, the detailing on something so small as the Gaia Memories really impress me, and I’m in love with the mini-W Driver. The stickers are a bit of a pain to put on, and they don’t adhere very well, so you might wanna keep a glue stick handy.

You can choose to paint this kit of you so choose, but really this thing looks pretty damned good right out from the box.

In conclusion: If you’re a fan of W there’s no reason why to pick this up, even if you already own the S.H.Figuarts this model kit is just...gorgeous. The build itself isn’t really all that difficult, but I would advice treating it delicately as parts CAN break on this thing. All in all, a very nice model kit.

You can purchase this model kit from HobbyLinkJapan, though if you have any stores near you that sell model kits, might wanna check there first:

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN964495

Keep an eye on Hobby Link Japan, as it does go on sale sometimes!

MG W Progress Report

2010-11-14T08:43:00.000-08:00

Spent most of yesterday building this guy and I'm half way done, here's what I have done so far. So far, I'm enjoying this kit, it's definitely a real interesting build and rather unique...this is my first time diving into a humanoid Model kit. The Cyclone side was giving me a bit of a hard time...more specifically, the fingers and the joint which connects the arm....the pegs on the part where the arm socket is actually broke on me on the cyclone side, but luckily the armour hugs it tight enough so that it's not a real big issue....which is a good thing cause it nearly gave me a heart attack.

Stickers are PAIN to put on and don't like to stay on very well, you might wanna have a pair of tweezers or a glue stick handy case you mess up....at the pace I'm going, I should be done either today, or tommarow depending on how much I want to work on it.

MG Figure Rise W Mini unboxing

2010-11-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

In my last blog entry I mentioned acquiring the MG Figure Rise W Cyclone Joker, and I figured I might as well do a semi-box opening, to show off all the parts and runners that are included.

All together, including the runner to build the stand there are about 15 trays of parts. If you're reading this, and you're interested in purchasing this product, but you've never built a model kit in your life don't feel intimidated, as shown in this picture here:

Despite being a Japanese product, the instruction manual is well pictured and shows you exactly what you need to get the job done...though the only thing I use for these kits is a pair of tweezers and scissors. Now if you excuse me, I have some work to do....

Shopping Trip: Pacific Mall

2010-11-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Every Wednesday, my dad gets the day off, so if we don’t have errands to run elsewhere, we usually go shopping to Pacific Mall, for those that don’t live in Toronto, Pacific Mall is a huge Asian-run mall, and my family frequently goes there. I like shopping around this place because you can find so much stuff there. Due to the abundance of stores that sell cell phone related products, my friend The Emperor and I always call it Phone Mall.

My spoils from this week’s trip there comes from My Toys:

Master Grade Figurerise Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker Form! Having just watched T JOmega's review of this product a few days prior, you could say that he sort of influenced me to pick this item up. While, I already own the Figuarts CJ, and I have a rule to only buy one type of figure of a character, but there are exceptions to this rule, depending on how much I liked the character, or how much I liked the show, and it just so happens that I love W, it’s one of my favrioute Kamen Rider series. Now, I should make a mention that it’s not every day that I find Toku related items that aren’t cheap looking crappy knock offs. The only place I can think of that stocks anything Toku related in the GTA are the toy shops in First Markham Palace. In fact, I’m convinced that if this item wasn’t a Master Grade model kit produced by Bandai, the stores probably wouldn’t have bothered ordering these.

As a model kit enthusiast and a fan of W, this item tickled my fancy I’m looking foreword to cracking into this model. I am considering getting the other MG Figurerise Kits, I definitely want Heat Metal and Luna Trigger, so I can do a custom Heat Trigger, and I am thinking about getting Fang Joker so I can do a couple of custom Riders out of them, again it depends on how much I enjoyed Cyclone Joker...and if the local import stores will get them in.

Samurai WTF?

2010-11-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Bandai of America released photos of their toys for Power Rangers Samurai: The upcoming adaption of Samurai Sentai Shinkenger....I saw these designs for the 4 inch figures and I laughed my ass off, these designs are so horrid, it’s not even funny...actually it’s more sad then funny...I mean seriously BOA? Seriously? Are you people even TRYING to make decent looking toys any more? The Nanashi looks decent, but that’s about it...

These designs are a joke, an absolute joke! The rangers looks NOTHING like their actual suit designs! I mean seriously, the boys look TOO buff, and the girls looks like they haven’t eaten anything for months on end. For the record, I don’t collect many Power Rangers figures myself, as I’m only really interested in the Mecha, I have a Super Legends White Ranger figure and while it’s...okay? It still pales in comparison to any of my S.H.Figuarts.

I suppose it is nice that the weapons are painted, but seriously...I cannot give Bandai of America my support knowing that they keep turning out garbage like this year after year, after year...whomever’s in their engineering department needs to be FIRED ASAP.

Now I understand BOA works on a tight budget and make these figures as cheap as possible so the parents will buy them or their kiddies, but that’s NO excuse for making something that looks like absolute rubbish, look at figures like 3.75 Inch Movie Iron Man, or the scout Class Figures from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, those work on a budget, but don’t look like garbage at least! It’s funny, because right around the time these were released, Bandai of Japan opened up pre orders for the S.H.Figuarts Shinken Red and Shinken Gold, it’s almost like they planned for this...knowing that these figures will be absolute rubbish...

If you are interested in pre ordering these, you can place your order for these and other PR: Samurai toys here:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=342&company=951