Have been ambivalent towards Gundam lately, but this did perk up my interest. It’s the upcoming MG Musha Gundam Mk II. Coming in May at 6,300 yen.
Photos of the still-in-prototype phase Soul of Chogokin Houraioh from Ninja Senshi Tobikage has been released. This is the second of three units the smaller Ninja Tobikage mecha can dock with. It transforms into a phoenix.
Kotobukiya’s next entry in the Zoids HMM series. From the left field this time, it’s the Lightning Saix. Coming in July for 4,600 yen.
It looks like they have further improved the poseability compared to previous releases. Hopefully they improved the sturdiness too.
The kit comes with small detail parts to depict a proper ECR. This includes parts to blank off the gun vents. Based on pictures online, they do not lie flush with the fuselage. So first I chiseled as much of the excess off as possible. Then I stuck masking tape around the gun port to protect the panel lines. Then it’s a straight sanding down of the remaining bump.
The weapons pylons can be swiveled. Nice in theory. Lousy in execution since 1) they are very lose so they will rotate all over the place and 2) they are held in place by really small c-clips, which I promptly lost one. Since I planned to model the Tornado wings open, I decided to simply cement the pylons in place.
The stabilizers are also meant to be able to be swiveled. Again nice in theory, lousy in execution. I broke the really small part that joins the stabilizer to the fuselage. So I ended up cementing the stabilizers in place.
Then I added the major sensor bumps and the missile rails. The centerline rail will be empty but it looks like it’s there even when not in use.
Next up, all the little parts like missiles (HARM and Sidewinders), ECM pods, external fuel tanks and landing gear need to be assembled. I also notice that there’s now a step between the fuselage and the refueling probe. Something that needs to be fixed.
