My recent favorites – Nendo and figma BRS figs! AmiAmi was pretty quick, I received my order 2 days after paying for it. I’ve been excited for the arrival of these figs especially the Nendoroid version and I finally received the figma last Friday and the Nendoroid yesterday. Why two separate packages you ask? Well, I’m trying to avoid big boxes since they might catch the attention of the customs and I don’t want BRS to take a detour to their office. I’d rather pay extra for shipping than pay them for random charges. It happened to me before so I’m just being careful with my EMS packages.

Let’s see some pictures of these cuties, shall we? Ali helped me with the photos. I didn’t actually get the effect that I wanted to get from this shoot because we still don’t have enough lighting but here you go.

One thing I noticed about this Nendoroid is it is made of a softer plastic. Compared to older Nendoroids, I think Black Rock Shooter’s face is a bit softer as well as the other parts like the arms and legs which makes it more flexible I guess. I accidentally dropped the hair piece twice but it didn’t break or anything considering it has thin parts. I also trimmed parts of the hair since it looked uneven to me, something like an excess sprue, so I used my Tamiya diamond file to fix it.

I really like the blue streaks on her hair. It even looks better when the light hits it. It’s actually easy to pose this Nendoroid and her parts fit nicely with each other.

Here she is sitting calmly on her cannon. Her scars appear a bit more red than her figma version.

I didn’t use the extra stand for the cannon because she can actually hold it with ease since it’s quite light. It’s really nice that I can recreate various fighting positions with this Nendo.

Here’s another angle of BRS holding the cannon.

Bandaged Nendo BRS. Lol. This one’s my favorite expression of the bunch. She’s actually displayed this way on my shelf right now. I bet it would be nice to get at least a couple more BRS Nendos so I can display her in various ways. ^^

Now here are some photos of figma Black Rock Shooter.

I think her face is looks gentler than the other BRS figs. I really like the blue flame on her eye, it looks like a pretty crystal. ^^ My only complaint with this figma is it’s kind of difficult to fit that stand on her back. I managed to put the stand but at first it’s a bit loose and I even scratched a portion of her jacket when I was trying to place it in. I’m sometimes clumsy with these things though, fortunately I haven’t broken anything yet. ^^;

That cannon is a little heavy so I really have to use the extra figma stand and holder. I’ve always admired figmas’ articulation and with BRS you can really recreate wonderful poses.

Since this figma also comes with chains, I tried to pose her like the first Black Rock Shooter fig that came out but I couldn’t get her arms to the correct position. ^^; There was even an angle that she looks like she’s scratching her head. Lol.

I forgot to take a photo of her sitting on her cannon, but here she is sitting on her box. Oh, speaking of the box, I like how they have better flaps now, I think it’s easier to open and less prone to dents.

Both Nendo and figma come with the 50-minute Original Animation BRS DVD.

I’m sure most of you are already enjoying your BRS figs. I think they’re pretty awesome. I would have gotten doubles or maybe even triples of these if I had the budget. ^^;

Looks like somebody is really happy it’s the end of another work week! Or is it because she gets an entire box of Apollo chocolates to herself? ^^

Just want to share an old picture of the cheerful Yotsuba. Happy weekend everyone!

Can’t help but post this painfully adorable picture of Dead Master and Black Rock Shooter Nendoroids. I’m not really crazy about all things BRS, but to me, these nendo versions are just too cute to pass up. I can totally picture them sitting on my shelf looking really goofy with bumps and bandages like that. Lol.

Saw more pictures of Dead Master Nendoroid on Mika-tan’s blog and for a mean girl, she’s just so charming. ^^ Since both BRS and Dead Master’s colors are predominantly black, I like shading done on their hair, which of course is the same color with their eyes.

Dead Master Nendoroid will be available for pre-order on Thursday, August 26.

Images via Mika-tan’s blog.

I really have no interest in dolls as previously mentioned in my one of my older posts but something about Dollfies and other BJDs like the beautiful Calla here makes me think otherwise.

You see, my choice of toys while growing up are not exactly normal suitable for a girl. I think I did have a couple of disjointed Barbie dolls and some plushies but my fondest memories as a child include playing with robots, Lego and toy cars, watching tokusatsu and mecha anime. ^^; Now that I’m older, I became exposed to these types of dolls and their design intricacies and points of articulation make them all the more fascinating to me.

I found the link to Calla while I was looking for something in my Netvibes account. I have bookmarked her page a long time ago because I find her hauntingly beautiful. Calla is part of Dream of Doll’s Dream of Teenager line of full-sized ball-jointed dolls from Korea.

If you’re interested to know more about Calla, you may may want to check out her page on D.O.D.’s website. I bet it would be great to adopt Calla but I’m not sure if I’m ready to spend more than US$500 for these dolls though. I know that it won’t stop there, you have to buy clothes and shoes and wigs and other items for your daughter (or son) which can get really expensive.

Are you a BJD collector? Perhaps you’d like to share some information about these pretty little things? ^^

Images via Dream of Doll website.

Azunyan jumped right on the plate when she saw I was having Banana Nutella waffles. And yeah, she really glows when she eats sweet stuff. Lol.

Here’s the food before she jumped in.

She asked me if she could have more Nutella on her lion bread.

Then she gave me this face when I told her that pork buns and Nutella may not be the best combination. ^^;

I know most of you are not really fond of Mondays but I hope Azunyan’s photos and this little clip from K-On will make you smile. ^^

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hey Drossel, could you tilt your head up a little more so they can see what you’re looking at?

That’s right, I added that nifty red tab on your left so you can send in your feedback, questions, ideas, what-have-yous anytime you like. Get Satisfaction is actually a social support app that businesses use for customer service but I decided to give it a try so I can have a better grasp of what you, my dear readers, would like to see more on the site. Since whatever you sent will be posted in a community board, others can just jump right in and join the discussion.

Go ahead, do some clicking, give that feedback tab a little whir. I’d really like to hear from you. ^^

As part of Toy Pusher’s anniversary celebration, I previously announced that there will be an anniversary giveaway. I’d like to thank everyone who participated and I really appreciate all your support. ♥

Now, it’s time to announce the winner. After checking all comments, tweets and trackbacks, I’d like to congratulate ninjovee, for gathering the most number of points!

Again, thank you all for joining. If you didn’t win today, no need to worry, there will be other giveaways in the future. ^^

Original image via moe.imouto.org.

Yay for Friday! It’s the last day of work or school week for most of us so I guess that’s enough reason to smile, right? ^^

Tsukasa’s actually my first Nendoroid. I wasn’t familiar with Lucky Star back then but she’s so cute, (just look at that face) and because I found her at a local toy convention I got her at a discounted price.

Do you still remember which character was your first Nendoroid?

Toy Pusher interviews are back. In the past I gave you super cool urban vinyl creators and customizers, a Pinky St:/FF collector and owner of a very informative J-pop blog, an awesome Chicago-based artist, a creative blogger and figure collector, and a talented lego builder and props maker.

Now, I’m featuring not just one, but three modelers of the RX-78-2 Gunpla group. I’ve always been fascinated with customized Gundams but I have yet to try my hand on it. I guess I can’t call myself a decent builder yet, I only have 1 MG and a couple of SDs under my belt and I haven’t even drawn a single line on my kit with a Gundam marker. ^^; Well enough about me, let’s see what these talented guys, Rockleelotus, Chubbybots and h4mster have to say about creating amazing customs and why they love their RX-78s.

ToyPusher.com: How long have you been building, customizing kits?

Rockleelotus: I recently got back into Gunpla and have been building with a focus on customizing each of my kits for about a year now. Prior to that I built a few kits back in around 2002, that was also when I first ventured into customizing, and experimented with one kit. My test subject was the 1/144 Wing Zero Custom, and I attempted to add some battle damage with just a hobby knife and a few gundam markers.

Chubbybots: I have been building kits for close to 2 years already. Customizing is very much a recent affair for me since August last year. No doubt tedious but very fun!

h4mster: I’ve started this hobby since December 2008. Before that, I only buy Gundam and display it in a snap-fitted condition. After I jump into a local Gundam forum in my country, I realized that this hobby could be taken into another level. Even though its already more than a year since I started, there are still much too learn. That’s why I haven’t got bored on building model kits :D

ToyPusher.com: What is your favorite customization style and tool for the job?

Rockleelotus: I find kits with some weathering and battle damage effects to be a very beautiful thing. It’s my favorite style of modification, and I enjoy trying to recreate myself the different types of battle scars a unit could receive out in the field. When done right, you can look at a particular area of damage and see that there is a story behind it. One of my favorite tools for the job when it comes to battle damage is a stick of burning incense. It may sound unusual but it definitely gets the job done and helps to add that extra touch of realism.

Chubbybots: I happen to know a few people who donated their old kits to me and kit bashing aka mixing parts from other old kits to form a new one is pretty much my kind of style. I love changing a bit of the stock kit like giving it an extra armor and yet still retain 70% of the original look ^^. Sometimes if I get really fired up I’ll put together something different!

h4mster: Even if my first kit was a gundam, the majority of my finished kit are military scale model… so I gotta say that the customization style I’m good at is weathering and damage effect. However, when it comes to gundam, I prefer a clean build. By looking at the skill that I currently possess, I go with the philosophy that “less is more” on my custom kit. LoL. I aim to build kit with simplicity so I there’s not much to think about. But gunpla is a type of scale model which gives a lot of room for customization, so I’m still gonna try other style in the future :D

During my modeling journey, I have gathered some tools to get the job done. But my best friend for all time is my airbrush. Painting is the most important stage is customization. No matter how much modification you put into a kit, when the paint is bad, the whole kit looks bad. My airbrush is definitely prevent this from happening :D

ToyPusher.com: Yeah, I think good battle damage effects and some weathering give a lot of character and story about the kit. And I guess it would be great I have friends who will donate their old kits to me too!

What do you find most interesting or appealing about the RX-78?

Rockleelotus: The RX-78-2 played a huge role in the One Year War. It was a powerful beast for its time, and was very impressive on the battlefield. After watching the original series the simple yet iconic design slowly grew on me, now its one of my favorite mobile suits. Another thing I like about this Gundam is that the pilot is Amuro Ray.

Chubbybots: Its simple yet very nice design for a moblie suit! In other words simplicity at its best!

h4mster: I always love the classic :D Whether it is motor cycle, fashion, music, tanks, airplane, those classic things have this special attraction. I consider that RX-78 is a classic and legendary Gundam. Unlike the new Gundam these days which are so complex in design, RX-78 is so simple. When a kit is simple, the possibilities to custom it becomes broader. So for a modeler, RX-78 is very friendly :D

ToyPusher.com: Indeed the RX-78 is a classic. Sorry guys if this post took so long but I guess this interview is just in time for the 1/1 Gundam RX-78 which is now on display in Shizouka.

Please describe your RX-78 entry (customization you plan to do or are currently doing).

Rockleelotus: For my entry I will be attempting to combine two things that I love into one, and that is the RX-78-2 Gundam and Kamen Rider Kva in Emperor Form. Otherwise to be known as, “Gundam Rider Kiva” lol I wanted to push myself and try new things in this build, that includes scratch building parts using plaplates, which are plastic sheets for crafting and applying new color scheme.

Currently I have been somewhat successful in scratch building a few Kiva-like armor pieces to integrate onto the Gundam, along with a version 1 Zanbat sword. I admit they are not of the best quality as I still have much to learn in this area, but I hope to improve along the way and possibly make updates to the design in the future. The next step would be to complete making the rest of the armor pieces, and then proceed to scratch building; custom hands, a violin, version 2 of Zanbat sword, and followed by making a cape.

Chubbybots: The stock kit that i’ll be using is the RX78 from the SD Sangokuden Series which I work with a lot and grew to love :D My plans for this RX78 is to change it to a super robot character like Mazinger Z or Gaogaiger with the parts that I have ^^. Though this will take some time!! I am very slow when it comes to mods!

h4mster: My RX-78 is almost done actually :D I try to implement a new style without eradicating the classic feel of RX-78. The only way I come up with is by building it out-of-the-box style and changing the color scheme.I go with a majority of white and purple color (which is my favorite color) and give some yellow for the details. It’s not very hard in terms of technique, so I really have a great time building it :D

ToyPusher.com: Very cool! I really wish I have your skills. ^^; You guys have a lot of plans with your kits and I guess what makes this hobby awesome is that you give your a part of your own personality to make your kit amazing and of course, one of a kind.

Any message to others who would like to join the group build or to other Gunpla enthusiasts?

Rockleelotus: I started this group build in hopes to encourage modelers to take a step into the world of customizing Gunpla. Even if it’s your first time, this group is open to anyone willing to try new things or practice what they already know. Customizing may not be for everyone but these model kits were made so that you have that option. So are you ready to make your own one-of-a-kind RX-78-2?

Chubbybots: Come on what you waiting for! Start cutting! Thanks for the feature Xine!

h4mster: I really encourage everyone that have an RX-78 to join this Group Build :D Building a kit in a Group Build will double the excitement. You’ll also get a free publicity in RockLeeLotus’s Blog LoL a great blog which has a lot of readers. And since there are a bunch of people that are building the same kit, exchanging ideas, comments, or problem will become easier :D

Thank you Xine for doing this interview :D I am so honored to do this. It shows that you are giving a great attention to my build, and that is the appreciation that a modeler would always wanted :D

ToyPusher.com: Thank you guys for your time and sorry again because it took me quite a while to post this interview. I hope you can give me more tips and a tutorial perhaps when I finally start to make my own customized kit. ^^ More power to your group!

I was browsing through my old photos and found this one with Kagamiku and my favorite Milano cookies. Now I’m craving for some. It’s Friday and I’ve got the munchies. Too bad it’s not available from the convenient stores nearby. T_T Oh well, maybe I’ll just buy some tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend!