Review: Perfect Strike - Almost there...

 

I've been working a bit on the Perfect Strike. Observations:

1) I'll take back the idea that the mounting arm of the Launcher Cannon is less maneuverable than the FG version. It practically has the same range of motion, just a new way of distributing the joints and swivels.

2) The stickers are a pain. They are the best argument for just painting all the details.

3) The gaps between moving parts at the shoulder and the weapon mounts of that backpack are pretty close - proper posing is required.

4) The Sword system's claw shield is now attached using the shield clamp/posts. In the original, the shield was just clipped on to the arm - definitely a nightmare for painters at the time. However, this also means that you can;t use the standard Aile shield and the Sword Shield at the same time (If you really wanted to, though it would make the look more cluttered than it already is....).

5) It may be just my imagination, but I think the old HGGS Strike pieces are showing their age, in terms of sharpness of detail, as compared to the new Perfect parts. It's acceptable - the Strike kit has been around for a long time.

I'll be finishing this snap-build soon, before returning it to the owner (and having it exhibited...).

Update: Click on the following links for the other parts of this multi-part review:

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4


Click here for more reviews of other kits.

Review: Perfect Strike - A Closer Look

I've gotten to the meat of the kit, so to speak, and that's how they integrated the Aile, Launcher and Sword packs into one unit.

In the first two photos, I compare the size of the backpack to the old HG Aile pack.

As can be expected, the new enlarged wings and the two pack systems just made it look bigger and meaner. I also get a lot of the Destiny Gundam vibe from this backpack.



However, one of the amazing things is that the main bulk of the backpack is essentially the same Aile pack parts. So what did they change? That's what the next pics are for.

It's here, at the final pic, that you can see what it really was all about. This one part ( the black horizontal piece that connects the weapons systems to the main pack, and also is the main connector to the Strike back area) makes the modification possible.

Update: Click on the following links for the other parts of this multi-part review:

Part 1 - Part 3 - Part 4







Click here for more reviews of other kits.

Review: A Perfect Strike...

Wings are based on a mix of the MG and PG. Perhaps it refers to the incoming MG Ver.2? Also, the Launcher's stabilizer arm has less articulation than the original version (came with an FG). Not sure if you can swap out parts (I need someone's help on that one, will contact ASAP).

The sword can't be used with the old FG - it doesn't have the peg hole for the mount. Still, it looks like they used the old FG parts as the basis for the weapons systems.

I was actually writing a bit, when a friend dropped this off at my place. Yes, It looks like a Perfect Strike, indeed.

Observations: 
1) Main kit really is the old HGGS Aile Strike. It has all the old parts for it, with slight recolors - the grey has become Metallic grey, for example.

2) The new parts are minimal, in the sense that there are no extra parts to change the Launcher and Sword pieces into searpate weapons systems (I guess they were happy enough with the RG versions).

I'll be assembling this by sections over the next few days.

Update: Click on the following links for the other parts of this multi-part review:

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
 
Click here for more reviews of other kits.

Photos: 1/144 Gundam AGE-2 Parts-Swapping

Angel and Archer

For some reason, I've always been a fan of the AGE-2's design, even if the clunky chest section left me a bit cold. Such was my liking of it that I have multiple versions of it - and I even bought the Artemis add-on system.

One thing that I didn't like, though, was that the Artemis lower legs look totally out of place with the massive shoulder-mounted cannons. So, using an AGE-2 Double Bullet variant as the base kit, I just used the "normal" legs, then added the cannon and two shields from the AGE-2 Normal type. I've taken to calling this kitbash the "Archer", as a wordplay on Artemis, though if I really wanted to be mythical about it, I'd probably use a term like Nimrod.

That left me with enough pieces to make another kitbash, which, due to how the Artemis legs mixed with the AGE-2 Normal wings, I've nicknamed "Angel".

I'll probably be working on these within the year. I have my entry for the Nationals to take care of first.

AGE-2 Archer - AGE-2 Double Bullet base kit, with shoulder cannons from the Artemis add-on, and shields and Rifle from the AGE-2 Normal (You need 2 Normal kits to get the paired shields).

AGE-2 Angel - AGE-2 Normal base kit, with Artemis lower-leg and Sword/gun weapon add-ons. 

Frame Arms Mecha Model Kits

 

I first fell in love with Frame Arms mecha model kits when I realized that if I had the basic endoskeleton - lovingly called the Architect Frame - I could keep on adding armor and weaponry until I could have my own kit.

This particular mecha (the one shown above) is the latest version of what I've attached to the endoskeleton.

Click here if you want to check out the Frame Arms US site.

Click here if you want to check out the Frame Arms Japanese site.

Gundam - The Newtype Asylum Photos

A long time ago, I was part of one of the first English-language Gundam sites, the Newtype Asylum. Though I wasn't there from the beginning, I was most certainly there for the end.

We were working on a fanfic, with the idea of filling in the times in-between official stories.

These two photos were done especially for the story. It used two of my earliest Master Grade Zaku Kits. I'd have to say, they hold up well over time.

The two Zakus are the same kit. We just played around with the armaments and poses

The two weird fins on the legs are from a 1/100 F90 kit.