Categories
Review Toy

Review: Revoltech SFX T-Rex

As some of you might have known, my money situation has been tight the last few months – tight enough for me to cut down my already diminutive pre-order list. The Nendoroid Cirino had to be sacrificed, and the figma Michael Jackson would have faced the same fate had he not been delayed time and time again. But no matter the circumstances, there are some things I just have to hold onto, and the Revoltech SFX Tyrannosaurs Rex from the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park is one of them.

"T-Rex" – Chag, 8 years old

When I told Ashlotte that I received this toy, his reaction was something along the lines of “erm…why?” To which I responded with “why the hell not?” Is not the T-Rex the essence of every boy’s dream? Yes, it has been an awful long time since I was awed by the film when I saw it back in China. And no, I did not understand a word of English back then, so I am clueless as to what the actual plot of the movie is. But that’s beside the point. To any red-blooded 8-year-old, the sight of a giant rampaging lizard is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Not only is the T-Rex one the largest land predator to ever walk the face of the earth, but it also simultaneously tickles the boundary between fantasy and reality. If you don’t think that’s cool, then maybe something’s wrong with your head.

…Okay, maybe not everyone is as dinosaur-crazy as I was in my childhood, but you see where I’m coming from, right? And of course, when a good-looking T-Rex action figure surfaces, how can I possibly resist? Thankfully, my blind enthusiasm for the plastic dinosaur was not punished by the sting of disappointment, as the Revoltech T-Rex turned out to be a fine figure.  Hit the jump to find out more!

Categories
Figure Review

Review: 1/8 Saber (Summer ver.)

When it comes to quality and consistency, I doubt many figure collectors would disagree with the claim that Alter is the best maker in the bishoujo figure industry. Yet despite my tremendous respect for Alter, I don’t actually buy all that many figures from them. The only two Alter figures I owned were eventually sold off. That makes me feel a bit conflicted, because while I’d rather support Alter over any other figure maker out there, they don’t seem to tackle characters I feel strongly about all that often.  I would always admire the Alter figures I see in reviews, but it was never enough to make me budge.

However, a change came about a few months ago when I saw Alter’s Summer Saber up for preorder. Its white outfit and black hair bow instantly reminded me of my GSC Saber Lily, and therefore I felt that the acquisition of this new Saber was redundant. But after some contemplation over the following couple of weeks, I started to warm up to the new Saber on the block. She’s charming, she’s cheap, and she’s got that promise of Alter quality behind her. Of course, there was still that issue of redundancy, so I decided to sell off Saber Lily to a friend. I’m sure some of you would think that I was crazy for doing that, but in truth I never fully warmed up to that figure, and besides, I could’ve used the hefty wad of cash to cover my broke ass!

Now that the summer Saber has finally arrived, I can safely say that I don’t regret my choice. What she lacks in flashiness in spectacle she makes up for with her elegant and simple charm. Hit the jump to find out what I mean!

Categories
Review Toy

Review: Revoltech Danbo (“Very Well Done” Edition)

Here at Hobby Hovel, we’re no strangers to over-reviewed figures.  Between the Good Smile Company Miku, Saber Lily and Dead Master, a lot has been said on figures that virtually everyone has seen and read about already. But I doubt any of those figures have received anywhere close to the amount of internet love as the Revoltech Danbo. In fact, this is undoubtedly the most unnecessary review on this site – I bet I can review a loaf of white bread and that would still be more informative than this. But oh well, since I haven’t had any other new toys arrive lately, I’m flat out of choices, so Danbo it is!

Also known as Danboard and Cardbo, Danbo originates from the manga Yotsuba&!, the brainchild of Kiyohiko Azuma of Azumanga Daioh fame. Faster than a jumbo jet and capable of launching deadly warheads, Danbo is a powerful battle robot that runs on money – that’s the story Miura and Ena told Yotsuba, at least (it’s actually just their school project).

But in all honesty, Danbo’s backstory really doesn’t matter much, because bitches love the little cardboard robot regardless of whether they know of its hilarious antics or not. One look at the photo pool of virtually any toy-related group on Flickr would reveal the extent of this infatuation. With its simple design, Danbo seems to have also found a fanbase amongst hipsters. So what is it that makes this toy the sweetheart of manga geeks, toy collectors and hipsters alike? Hit the jump to find out!

Categories
Plamo Review

Review: HGUC Nu Gundam

To complete strangers, the Gundam franchise must be a very confounding beast. There have been so many entries to the lineup over the last 32 years that it’s pretty hard to know what’s what. I’ve had people tell me that they aren’t watching Gundam 00 because they haven’t watched the old school series, not knowing that there’s no story continuity between 00 and, say, the original Mobile Suit Gundam. To be honest, I can’t blame them, because as far as the designs for the main Gundams go, they’re pretty similar. More often than not, they all have little yellow and/or white pointy things on their heads, a red chin, blue torso, white legs, red feet and waist, and to someone who isn’t familiar with Gundam, those similarities are often enough to obscure whatever distinction that remain.

Needless to say, with a franchise as long-running as Gundam, it’s hard to stand out. However, this isn’t to say that it’s impossible. Asides from the original RX-78-2 (which has become a culture icon of sorts), there are a few others that has earned special mentions. The RX-93 Nu Gundam constitutes as one of those.

The Nu Gundam represents the culmination of early Universal Century MS technology before miniaturization trend started later on in the timeline. As the result, the Nu Gundam is one of the largest Gundam (not counting Psycho Gundam series, of course) in the Gundam franchise. However, the Nu Gundam’s mighty size is not its main distinguishing point; rather, much of its fame derives from its pilot Amuro Ray, the protagonist of the original series, as well as the film Char’s Counterattack in which the Nu Gundam appears. The film marked the end of the long-standing rivalry between Amuro and the fan-favourite antagonist Char Aznable. It also had remarkable production value, and thus it boasts animation quality that is still revered by fans to this day, 23 years after the film’s release.

Numerous models and toys of the Nu Gundam exist, and the HGUC version was released in 2008. Back then I had been eyeing the MG Nu Gundam for quite some time, and news of a newer and cheaper model of the iconic suit very much pleased me. The HGUC Nu Gundam certainly had a lot to live up to, and given the constraints of the HGUC kits in general, it’s a pretty good offering.