25 January 2006

 

NEO 3 Variations Revealed

Posted by A at 3:13 PM | View All 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Along with the DX4 pictures from Dengeki Hobby magazine, the ToysDaily forum link provided by akum6n also reveals the figure "alternates" for Collection NEO 3, which will be released next month. The variations include:
  1. Sandrock with shotels attached to shield
  2. Shenlong with dragon claw extended
  3. Wing Gundam with beam saber
  4. Gelgoog Marine with beam saber
  5. Infinite Justice Gundam with beam saber
  6. Leo with dober gun
  7. Tallgeese with beam saber
Sure are a lot of exciting beam saber alternates in this set. I was hoping for a Gouf with heat rod... oh well. The secret figures, as you may recall, are Wing Gundam with battle damage and Cima's Commander-type Gelgoog Marine.
    Comments:

23 January 2006

 

DX4 Lineup Revealed? [Updated x2!]

Posted by A at 11:18 PM | View All 7 Comments | Post a Comment

I stand by my "What, DX4 already?!" from before, but nevertheless the TinWoodMan has posted the lineup for DX4. Here is the translated list, with special thanks to Babelfish and Mark Simmons for their help:
  1. Strike Freedom Gundam from SEED Destiny, with "launching" DRAGOON pods
  2. Destiny Gundam from SEED Destiny with "Wings of Light" extended
  3. Zaku II with Samson trailer
  4. Xeku Eins from Gundam Sentinel
  5. Gundam Mark V from Gundam Sentinel with "element standing" (?)
  6. Psycho Gundam Mk. II
  7. Gundam Mk. II with "flying armor"
  8. Marasai with ballute
  9. Byalant from Zeta Gundam with "element standing" (?)
  10. G-Fortress from ZZ Gundam
  11. Victory Gundam with "bottom fighter"
  12. Victory Gundam Hexa with "top fighter"
  13. Nu Gundam from Char's Counterattack with "launching" funnels
  14. Sazabi from Char's Counterattack with "launching" funnels
[Second Update] I have attached a picture of the lineup from Dengeki Hobby magazine that was posted to the ToysDaily forum. Dengeki Hobby also confirms the March release date. We can from the picture that the funnels are "launching" as Mark suggested, though I still don't know what the TinWoodMan meant by "element standing"... Thanks to faithful reader akum6n for the link.
    Comments:

  1. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/24/2006 3:56 PM:  

    A couple of notes on these...

    1. TinWoodMan's list describes the Strike Freedom as "DRAGOONs launch(ing)" rather than "DRAGOONs detachable." I expect it uses clear parts to show the thruster flares of the DRAGOONs, as with some of the toys and kits.

    6. That should be the Psyco Gundam Mark II. Hopefully it's not a midget version like the original Psyco Gundam, but I won't get my hopes up.

    13. and 14. Like the Strike Freedom, these are described as "funnel launch(ing)," which probably means more clear-parts effects. I can't imagine detaching individual Sazabi funnels at this scale, anyway. :-)


  2. Posted by Blogger A at 1/24/2006 9:44 PM:  

    Thanks for the help, Mark. I imagine you are correct about the DRAGOONs and funnels, they'll probably be like the "bits" with the Qubeley from DX2.

    As for leaving the "Psycho" off Psycho Gundam Mk. II... how's that for a typo?? ;-)


  3. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/25/2006 2:49 PM:  

    ToysDaily has someone's photo of Dengeki Hobby with the new DX4 lineup:

    ToysDaily thread on Gundam Collection DX4


  4. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/26/2006 2:10 PM:  

    Judging from the pictures, it looks like the "element" character in "element standing" is being used in the sense of "naked, bare, or simple." Pronounced su, this is used in compounds like sude (barehanded) and suashi (barefoot), and evidently this combination means "simply standing there." I guess this interpretation hadn't occurred to me because I couldn't believe the Byarlant, of all things, wouldn't get a flying display stand. :-)


  5. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 2/06/2006 1:52 AM:  

    "su(素）" means plain, simple, basic; is a word borrowed from Chinese.

    "元素”means element ("元"also borrowed from chinese）；元气(genki) means "healthy"

    therefore "element stantding" should be "plain standing pose". it is very funny as last time most of the Gundam Collection figures are in plain standing mode( or we should say stand still with the pose of a MS at the hangar ) but recently more and more GC figures comes with a rod stand to allow them pose a flight pose. So nowadays they have to specify that certain figures are stand still particularly, as majority of the other figures come with a rod stand :)!

    p/s:where to find the original japanese character that leads to "element standing"? i can't see it on the pictures....


  6. Posted by Blogger A at 2/06/2006 12:39 PM:  

    Thanks for the translation help, guys. I only know Katakana, so I have to rely on the rather unreliable Babelfish for Kanji translations. The original phrase is from TinWoodMan's site: 素立ち (http://www10.plala.or.jp/furumi-hiroshi/lineup/lists-dx4.htm)

    I guess he really was just trying to say the figure is "just standing there..." ;-)


  7. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 2/24/2006 3:46 AM:  

    There are two kanji in :素立ち. Kanji means chinese word. those first two charactor "素立" means stand still, or simply stand there. :) hahaha never thought we are going to have language relevant discussion in this kind of blog. :P



17 January 2006

 

Where to Buy the Musai

Posted by A at 10:51 AM | View All 1 Comments | Post a Comment

The Musai is starting to show up as a pre-order on more and more online stores, including ones that will ship overseas. Here is what I've found so far:
  1. HobbyLink Japan: Approximately US$113.16 (13,000 Yen) with unknown shipping cost, likely $80-100. HLJ accepts payment with credit card via Paypal, and no payment is expected until the item is ready to ship.
  2. YesAsia: US$179 with "free worldwide shipping," see site for shipping details. The YesAsia site lists the Musai as a "no cancel/return" item, meaning your preorder cannot be cancelled once it is placed. YesAsia accepts payments via credit card, and you have to enter your card number up front but you will not be charged until your order ships.
  3. PlaJapan: US$179 with free shipping (likely UPS Ground) to the United States and Canada. PlaJapan accepts credit card and Paypal payments, and no payment is expected until the item is ready to ship.
  4. Big Bad Toy Store: US$129 with shipping estimated to be $12.96 for UPS Ground. This shipping cost strikes me as much too low, even for domestic. BBTS requires credit card payment for preorders, though your card will not be billed until the item is ready to ship. Thanks to reader Kevin Comer for the link.
If you find any other sites selling the Musai who will ship overseas, please post to the comments below.
    Comments:

  1. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/18/2006 1:37 AM:  

    http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/
    product.aspx?product=
    BAN10750&mode=retail



15 January 2006

 

More Musai Pictures [Update]

Posted by A at 1:14 PM | View All 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Repeat contributor Richard points us to more pictures of the Musai at Japanese online store Gundamer.com. Their page includes a small Java applet that shows the Musai from all sides. The detailed pictures provide a nice look at how the Zakus are stored and really shows what a high-quality model this is... right down to the translucent red bridge windows.

At the right is a picture of the box the partially-clear "prize" Musai comes in. Seems this one was won by a professional collector in Hong Kong, who plans to sell the unopened box for, I can only assume, a big ol' bucket of cash.

[Update] Here are a couple of pictures of what's inside the box, courtesy of a Japanese Gundam Collection fan site. Apparently the Zakus are also translucent in the "prize" Musai set. It seems this model, like White Base, is simply colored plastic and lacks paint inside panel lines and other minor hull details, meaning it will require a little work to make the model look as good as it does in the Bandai photos. After seeing the amazing quality of the Big Zam model, I was hoping that all future Gundam Collection models would have such high-quailty paint jobs... I guess that is too much to ask of something as large as the Musai.

  
    Comments:

07 January 2006

 

Musai Release Date Confirmed! [Updated]

Posted by A at 4:24 PM | View All 2 Comments | Post a Comment

Other Japanese web sites have confirmed the February release date for the glorious 1/400 scale Musai. The online store JBook.co.jp lists the price as 13000 yen and includes better pictures of the model, while Noda-Ya.com has it for 13,650 yen. Both of these sites are also advertising pre-order discounts of 20-30%, but do not ship outside Japan.

[Update] As faithful reader Richard noticed, HobbyLink Japan finally has the Musai up for pre-order. They list the price as 13,000 yen, though if you pre-order by January 13, they'll take 5% off the price. I should probably mention two things... First, HLJ's EMS shipping cost for the comparably-large White Base model is over US$100, which nearly doubles the price. I am sure the Musai's shipping will be similarly outrageous. Second, while the Gundam Collection figures are seldom available on eBay, the models have all appeared on eBay at decent prices. The 1/400 scale White Base showed up from close to a dozen different sellers, some of which were US-based so shipping was only $20-$30. So what I am saying is pre-order with care. ;-)
    Comments:

  1. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/07/2006 3:50 PM:  

    Thus Musai is indeed awesome!

    I see that HLJ has just listed it under the 'Gundam 0079' section in the 'Future Releases'

    I've pasted a link here...
    http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN941033

    Maybe someday the Gau we've all seen in pictures will also be released...

    Here's to also hoping for a Fat Uncle! transport plane :-) Though I suspect if that ever did come out it'd be a $$$ B-Club kit.

    This is a great site/blog! Keep up the good work...

    Richard


  2. Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 1/10/2006 11:37 PM:  

    Totally true about shipping something big like this from HLJ... Sometimes, if you wait awhile, things like this actually show up in stores, if you know where to look and can wait a year or more. I've seen a couple of the 1/400 White Base models up here in Canada for about $120 Cdn ($US 100 approx)

    Anyways, found some larger pics of the Musai on Gundamer.com... This is going to be a must-have :-) The detail is awesome!
    http://www.gundamer.com/07/4543112410337.html

    There's also a kinda-small 360 view of the kit

    Richard



05 January 2006

 

A Couple Big News Items [Updated]

Posted by A at 2:18 PM | View All 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Here are two brief news items, as I don't know much about them yet. If you know more about either of these products, please post to the comments below.

First, HLJ.com says there will be a B-Club 1/400 scale Gallop released in February. Apparently this will be a molded resin model and will require glue and paint, and since it is a B-club release it is a rather pricey... HLJ lists it as 9,000 Yen (about US$76) while LaLaBit Market says 9450 Yen (about US$80).

Second, the Japanese online store LaLaBit Market lists the 1/400 scale Musai as a February release for 13,650 Yen (about US$116). I have not been able to confirm this, but I've been assuming the Musai would eventually be available for regular purchase. Though I wonder, why would the Musai be 650 Yen more expensive than the larger White Base model? [Update] LaLaBit posted a picture, which I've included above. We can see the model has movable/removable pieces and comes with four Zakus, and the bottom-right picture seems to indicate the model comes with both versions of the bridge. To sum up, the Musai looks awesome.

Oh, and Happy New Year everybody.
    Comments: