You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December, 2007.
Just a quick note to wish all the readers a happy new 2008. And thanks to all of you who helped make this blog what it is in this short space of time!
Regular blogging will commence soon, I think…
Yeah, I know I said there would be no updates for christmas but then it’s not quite christmas yet, and I’ll probably forget by the time I find a moment to write this up again.
In any case, Some kind folk have already subbed the first episode of macross Frontier!!
I won’t go into the whole “how the subs are” issue, I’ll leave that to others but how was the show? pretty DAMN COOL!!
But this is only the first ep and Kawamori is at the helm so caution is advised (yes, I just dissed Kawamori, I could write a separate post about the more recent shows he’s been involved in and how they just became nonsensical at the end after some promising starts (*cough* Macross zero, Aquarion *cough*) If anyone want to moan, please direct it to the nearest brick wall!)
And after that item which was perilously close to a rant, the good…
- The fight, although being TV budget CG, was really well done! It still stood out quite a bit so you can really tell it’s CG, but I really didn’t care!
- Music is awesome! I personally think that ppl give Yoko Kanno too much credit (basing a show around her alone is just asking for trouble. I’m looking at you , wolf’s rain), but she does some excellent work, no doubt about that!!
- Character relations are already set up and feel more fleshed out than those seen in M7 or even zero!!!
- Back to the fights, they really felt like a cross between macross zero and macross plus, but given that the dogfights in zero were the best parts, I’m not complaining!
As I said before, it’s too early to tell if the show is going to be any good, and I am cautious of any “humans ruining the planet” themes which are turning into a Kawamori main staple or any weapons based on “music energy” but I’m really digging what I’ve seen so far.
Also, as an added bonus, the end theme was was a remix of Ai, Oboitemasuka? (Do you remember love?) Nice touch!!
For those interested, english subbed ep can be found here
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Man, this project was a mission…
Actually, it was finished on Wed evening, but I was too tired to take pics. But it’s all over now. I present Strike Freedom!!
For any budding modelers out there, a word of advice, make sure you have PLENTY of paint so you don’t get frustrated twiddling your thumbs while waiting for more to arrive!!
For those interested, previous posts for this project can be found
Comparison pics and other poses after the jump.
God I need to go here…
Details can be found at Gunota while more pics can be found
and here
I feel I could spend a day just watching the modelers build their kits while I *ahem* study their techniques! Shame it doesn’t look like the shop caters for resin figure builders, but you can’t be too greedy!
A quick flash of really minor news. Zero No Tsukaima has been confirmed to have a 3rd season in the works!
I’m sort of looking forward to this so why did I label it as minor news? Because it was really obvious from the ending that something was in the works. Either that or the writers should never get another job again! Now all that’s needed is a confirmation of a second season of Kaze no stigma. That had a massively open ended final ep as well.
On another note, Higurashi is also getting another season. Word it that it will cover side stories and perhaps contain the ending from the PS2 version of the game.
Also, new info suggests that the second season of Haruhi will follow the events from the 4th book, “the disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi”
(source: Anime news network)
Stuff happens…
Sods law struck just before this update when I ran out of spray paint for 1 last remaining wing. So unfortunately, the completion of strike freedom, which was supposed to be todays post, has been delayed while I get more paint.
To make matters more annoying, my usual model shops no longer stock any Tamiya spray paints (most likely because they are extremely toxic and probably prone to abuse by little kids). Luckily, I braved the internet to find 1 shop which stocks the required paint so I should be able to finish this project soon. In the meantime, we have comparison pics!
The upper gold parts were coloured using gold gundam marker. I wanted to use my usual technique of painting the part silver and then using yellow ink to get a very vibrant gold colour, but I learned from past experiences that it is not applicable in these sorts of cases as they scratch very easily and the wings do not allow for repair work. The gundam marker paint is more resistant to scratching off but isn’t as shiny as the chrome part. I think it’s a good compromise and it certainly looks better than what it was originally.
Heisei Democracy has an interesting post which shows new figures of Kannagi Ayano from Kaze on Stigma and Kirara from Samurai 7 aver at amiami.
To be honest, I don’t think much of them. Ayano, especially, looks off from both the anime and manga designs but I decided to post about these 2 for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the Company who will make them, Piccolo, have stated that these are actually resin kits, but not only that, they will be prepainted!!
Secondly, They aren’t that expensive!!! Granted, the price tag on the 2 is a little higher than the usual PVC fare, but factor in the advantages of resin (no lean, colours don’t fade, more dynamic poses, etc) and looking toward the future, it will be interesting to see how this pans out. It is possible (though unlikely) that prepainted resin kits will take out a chunk of the figure buying market or even make PVCs obsolete at the price they are selling these 2 at (hah! well, we can dream…)
Of course, prepainted figures such as these are nothing new, but the fact that these are planned to be only a few thousand yen more expensive than a comparable PVC figure, as opposed to much more, like previous prepainted resin figures (which were closer to 15k yen i.e. more than double), will surely turn some heads. Lets just hope that the sculpt and overall figure is up to scratch!!
Afterall, spending 9,000 yen on a figure is no laughing matter, tho I spent that much on each of my Yoko kits and those still require painting…
Nearly at the home stretch now. With this, the vast bulk of the work is done. All that’s left it the DRAGOON system backpack and beam rifles. All the armour parts are done!
Not too bad really. I really do prefer the Chrome-ish grey look over the shiny gold which was supposed to be on the frame!
