Categories
Plamo Review

Review: MG Master Gundam

Master Grade Master Gundam-018

Master Asia is by no means a humble man. Not only does he call himself “Undefeated of the East”, he names his martial art style after that moniker as well. Claiming to be “Master” of an entire continent is a bold claim, but if you ever see him in action, you’d know that he’s not joking around about his title.

I have heard of Master Asia’s exploits long before I ever watched Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Asides from having invented quite possibly the most awesome secret handshake conceived by man, the grizzled martial arts master from Neo Hong Kong is also known for his deadly proficiency with a piece of cloth – yes, a piece of cloth, I kid you not. The man can take down a giant robot and fly with a piece of cloth, and if you ever make the mistake of handing him your pink bath towel, you would soon learn of your fatal mistake as the gentle pink tint of your towel gives away to the sanguine red of your blood. If that isn’t badass, I don’t know what is.

But enough about Master Asia, because we’re here not for the man, but rather his machine – or more precisely, the Master Grade rendition of his machine. The MG Master Gundam was originally released in 2002, making it a pretty old kit. Thankfully, it was one of the first gunpla kits to feature a full inner frame. Is this enough to help it survive the ravages of time? Let’s find out.

Categories
Miscellaneous Plamo

Tips & Tricks: Spraying Flat Top Coat on Unpainted Models

In the ideal world, I would have the Real Grade RX-78-2 Gundam in my hands, built and ready to be reviewed. In the ideal world, I would also know how to operate my very own fission-powered jetpack. But alas, I do not live in the ideal world, therefore not only do I have to continue to pay eye-gouging high prices for the underdeveloped public transit system of Toronto, I must also patiently wait for the arrival of my RG Gundam kit, which is going to arrive near the end of the month at the earliest. Sure, I can have a crack at reviewing the MG Master Gundam in the meantime like I’m supposed to, but hell, I just don’t feel like it. So instead, I’m going to talk about something that I was very concerned about when I first started to get into the plamo hobby: top coat.

Categories
Figure Review

Review: 1/10 Makinami Mari Illustrious

P1000931 copyAlright then boys and girls, this was SUPPOSED to be a review of Ami’s Menace figure, but sadly the weather apparently has no love for me or half naked desert princess’s, so I’m going with something that could be shot on a cloudy overcast day that we’ve been having around here lately…

So with that said lets take a look a Mari from Wave.

Categories
Figure Review

Review: 1/8 Senjougahara Hitagi

Kotobukiya Senjougahara Hitagi-020

This week, I have a special treat courtesy of my friend Molly: a review on the new Senjougahara Hitagi figure! Nope, not that Hitagi figure, but the Kotobukiya version that seems to have been booted far from the spotlight by its Good Smile Company counterpart. Disappointed? Well, you shouldn’t be, as the figure is no slouch against its intimidating competition.

In case you’ve been living underneath a lock this past year, Senjougahara Hitagi is one of the protagonists of Bakemonogatari, an anime adaption of Nisio Isin’s light novel of the same name. Thought she may not look exceedingly special on the outside, Hitagi has a razor-sharp tongue which she uses to frequently verbally abuse and tease the hapless vampire protagonist, Araragi Koyomi. After helping Hitagi in ridding the crab oddity that causes her strange weightless condition, Araragi becomes closer to Hitagi, eventually entering a romantic relationship with her. Not that the abuse ever stops, of course.

Despite being a labelled as tsundere by Oshino, Hitagi is a rather unique character. Her brand of verbal abuse is different from the usual angry shrieks that we’ve heard from tsundere characters all over the place. If the tongue of a regular tsundere is a machine gun, then Hitagi’s tongue would be a sniper rifle – calculated and precise in its ability to reduce a man to a worm. But while her abusive tendencies may seem similar to sadist characters like Maria from Arakawa under the Bridge, Hitagi also displays moments of genuine affection that few could resist. By combining traits from various character archetypes, along with SHAFT-tier fanservice and a good backstory, the sudden boom of Hitagi figures should come to the surprise of no one.

In this review, I’ll do my best to judge the figure for what it is, rather than compare it against GSC and ALTER‘s unreleased counterparts, since comparing a real product against display prototypes is kind of unfair. I will scribble a couple of things down on that subject in the end, so without further ado, let’s a-go!