Gundam Wing G:Unit HGAC 1/144 Gundam Burnlapius

 Among Alternate Universe Gundam Sidestory, I do have quite a soft spot on G-Unit which was a Gundam Wing sidestory available in 3 Tankoubon Manga which feature some really cool Gundam and Leo variants Mobile Suit design. I never thought the original G-Unit series will have a continuation when it comes to merchandise after quite sometime but it is a pleasant surprise that Aesculapius Gundam upgrade unit Burnlapius do get a HG Model Kit!  Scheduled as P-Bandai release on July 2024 with 3800 Yen Price tag.

Canned Squad Unit - Blockade Division

 Some more interesting product released by Chinese Manufacturer which resembled Bandai's Gundam Ensemble/Robot Concerto Lineup which is created by a manufacturer called 百川模型 under the lineup dubbed Canned Squad Unit. Wonder if this one will get into hot waters with Bandai since the product use the Gundam Ensemble Joints but certainly this one will have a upper hand if they ever have a smooth sailing as this products open up plenty of avenue by denying Monopoly by Bandai. Having 3 Mecha variants as the part of early roster dubbed Blockade Division, Canned Squad Unit will be sold for 49 RMB each with June release schedule. 

Fruity Robo Yilichuangwan Pineapple Slasher Model Kit

 One of the Chinese Robot Model kit that I overlooked but soon regain my attention because  I am a sucker for any mecha that got Cockpit gimmick. After being under radar from International Market for so long, There is this particular Chinese Robot cartoon series called 果宝特攻 / Fruity Robo make a resurgence with some very cool looking Mecha Model Kit by a manufacturer called 壹理创玩 /Yilichuangwan starting with the mecha called Pineapple Slasher. Slated for Q2 Release these Bite-sized Mecha Model kit will be sold for 99 RMB and you will expect these won't be the last of it!

 Apparently this Fruity Robo series has been around since 2009 and the model kit served as 15th Anniversary for the series. On the first glance, Fruity Robo is reminiscent of B-Daman series with its SD Sized Mech design. Not only this Fruity Robos come with Cockpit Gimmick but they also came with Combiner Mecha gimmick which is why I decided to pay attention to Pineapple slasher once again despite I dismissed this fellow as cheap Gundam Exia Copy at first. This Pineapple Slasher is actually part of Combiner Robot called 果宝战神 or Fruity Wargod and you can expect Yilichuangwan will commit all the way to bring all of the Combiners into the series. To wrap up this article I will leave a glimpse for the Fruity Wargod which doesn't look too bad for Chinese Combiner Robot.

Hexagear 1/24 Bui Tohru Gaifu Kaisei

 

 Despite fierce competition by the Chinese counterpart Joytoy for 1/24 Scale Mecha Toy Market, Kotobukiya is releasing another good Hexagear product which make good use of the V-Thors frame this time instead of some palette swap. Making use of the popular V-Thors mold, Hexagear is getting a really badass samurai mecha dubbed 凱風快晴/Gaifu Kaisei which literally means Victorious Wind and Clear Sky under the possible sub lineup named Bui Tohru. Scheduled for August 2024 release, 1/24 Gaifu Kaisei will be sold for 8800 Yen which slightly more expensive than V-Thors given the extra parts.

Gaifu Kaisei comes with a pair of Heat Blades as its armaments which make it automatically resemble with Mr Bushido's Ahead from Gundam 00. However the Jumonji Spear weapon as shown by Kotobukiya's sample Photo is definitely the weapon to go for Gaifu Kaisei for the best Samurai Mecha Vibe. The Spear weapon is defintely the dealbreaker for me to get interested with this particular Hexagear though I can't pinpoint the exact Modelling Support Goods for this one which might be MSG 31 Oni Juji, I probably will settle with MSG Gun Blade Lance or even the Spear weapons from Musha Gundam if I cant find the exact copy because this guy need a spear for the best samurai Vibe. I will look forward to Kotobukiya if they could expand their Hexagear with more Samurai themed unit given the potential showcased by this Gaifu Kaisei.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Pandora Vlamir - Gatling Saint

39th Final Gear Mechatalk and 3 more mechatalk articles to go before the Global Server officially closes down! This time it is another special Mechatalk article featuring 14th UR unit that I managed to obtain which is bestowed for Pandora Vlamir! Pandora is yet another rather special character in Final Gear as she is actually one of the first characters created for Final Gear in its early days who sports literally a Purple Metal Slug Tank as her mech of choice which doesn't look too bad either!

Breath of Fire 1

 Recently my interest toward Old School JRPG series has seen some resurgence and I make use of the opportunity to visit an old friend once again. The old friend in question is no other than Breath of Fire series! When I was in Middle school I played this series quite alot on Gameboy Advance but only actually finished the 2nd Game at that time. Back in 90s era, Capcom was a well established Game Dev renowned for their quality 2D Sprites game until for they decided to crash and burn most of them by early 2000s. At very least during the Heyday they did make use of their 2D artistic talents to create a JRPG series called Breath of Fire which had a relatively good run while it lasted and this article will cover the first entry of this once popular JRPG series.

Composite ver Ka. MSK-008R Dijeh Amuro Custom

 Dang another good Mobile Suit design that end up as P-Bandai item! A month after Hyaku Shiki Kai announced as Metal Robot Spirits. In the spirit of competition with his eternal rival, Amuro seems doesn't want to lose against Quattro and got a really good Robot Spirits release. While it is not a Diecast release, this one will not disappoint. If a regular Dijeh and Zeta Plus A1 was not enough for Amuro, we got ourselves Amuro's Custom Dijeh in Composite ver Ka which is pretty much feature the amalgamation of the best element of both. Scheduled for September 2024, Composite Ver Ka Amuro Dijeh will be sold for 15950 Yen.

While not as pricey as MRS Hyaku Shiki Kai, Dijeh Amuro Custom pretty much cost twice as Regular counterpart which is kinda justified as this one comes with 2 Mobile Suits worth of Armaments. In this version of Amuro's Dijeh, you get yourself a Dijeh that comes with Rick Dias and Zeta Gundam's armaments on top of the default Dijeh setup. As the icing on the cake, this version of Dijeh reveals a Gundam Faceplate which makes this unit yet another Gundam in Disguise. As much as I want a Dijeh SE-R, this version is good enough and would serve as perfect substitute. I might likely get this one despite It will cost a premium for me due to the P-Bandai status as this unit complements well with Hyaku Shiki Kai, a reminiscent of best possible outcome for Char as Quattro who become buddy cop with Amuro instead of falling in despair. In Retrospective, MRS Full Armor Mk II would have been another great candidate to join Dijeh and FA Hyaku Shiki squad which is another stuff that I will keep a tab if a rerun is ever around.

Hemoxian Over Zero - 1/10 Tastier

 Another one of those Interesting Chinese Model kit product, this time the manufacturer make something different compared to their usual 1/100 Master Grade Kits equivalent. Having released an Imposing 1/100 Mecha Legion of Thor before a cool looking mech that comes with Giant Hammer, a Chinese Manufacturer called 和模线/Hemoxian is releasing another kickass 1/10 Scale Model kit with codename Tastier. Scheduled for Q2 release, 1/10 Tastier will be sold for 188 RMB.

Lufia: the Legend Returns

 From times to times. I have expressed my profound interest toward High Fantasy RPG genre in Realm of Darkness and this is because there were handful of Video Games which were responsible in shaping my passion for this genre during my Childhood. If I have to list the Top 3 Video Games that contributes a major part for my love for JRPG or High Fantasy in general, apart from DnD Shadow over Mystara, Lufia the Legend Returns would belong to this list. Back then I have clocked in over hundred hours on this game and cleared many runs. I probably should have written this article when I finished my playthrough on 3DS Virtual Console Copy, but at very least I am trying to make some amend before I delve further into Lufia series once again.

Lufia was not exactly one of the most popular JRPG series out there but it did leave its marks in 16-bits game era and do get some loyal following from RPG fans especially through Lufia II: Rise of Sinistrals. The main premise of this series is about a group of heroes throughout generations banding up and with the help of Legendary weapon Dual Blade fought against the threat from Group of 4 Demigods called Sinistrals who intend on bring destruction upon the world through their Fortress floating on the sky called Doom Island. Most of the Lufia fans will probably got into the series through the Super Nintendo game but as for me it happens to be the GBC title; Lufia the Legend Returns that got me hooked into RPGs and left a lasting impression.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Favia - Dark Star

Time to put some Combo breaker for Chinese Hobby products and it is time for Final Gear 38th Mechatalk! Final Gear Global got about one month left before its closure and until then this series will keep going because I have already planned out the candidates for the remainder of this game's lifespan. Before Final Gear global server ends as scheduled, I can still churn out around 4 Final Gear Mechatalk articles and 2 of them will be in the full glory of their UR Form at least. But in the meantime we will have Favia, Hexel's Darkstar Witch Matriarch fill in the spotlight!