Got my order from Anime-Export today. I am glad they allow me to store my pile of loot for such a long time. Some of these kits had been sitting in their warehouse for almost a year before shipping out. Even the newest kit had stayed there for 2 months already. Now I feel guilty seeing how well they packed my order unlike Amazon Japan. I moved to a new place earlier this year and sold off many of my backlogs. Felt good about it. Maybe too good now I have bigger than ever Koto backlogs. Bandai backlog is almost back to original counts too. Let me start with the easy one. Para-Pawn Judge Head. This is the remold of Armor Type: Knight with simpler weapon and lower price tag (500 yen less) but with extra armour piece and a new head. You can still build the Knight without sans the original weapon. Also, Knight Bianco Knight Nero As usual, these kits look good but are not really meant to be played. My Judge Head was fine at first but left arm joint became loose just after one or two days of playing. Now it will fall off the body easily so buyer beware I guess.
Nice! Yeah I just got my dark advent DX...I ordered it when it was announced. I waited over a year for that one. Just finished Arya, that one is pretty good. Also built that kind of fighters kit, now that was a pretty high quality kit. I'm torn on my next build...not sure what I wanna build next. I've never built a hexagear kit. Seems like everyone loves em. What is a good hexagear Mech kit that has a pilot? It it the "bulkarm"? Think I wanna try one of those. That Thor from above looks great too.
I spent the last week building a Hexa Gear Block Base DX Head Quarters set, I underestimated how much time it would take cutting the bits out. It's for 1/24 figures, but I use it for 1/64 figures as it saves space. Summary wise - it looks good, it's modular but not that versatile i.e, I couldn't put the stair cases where I wanted and the connectors between the floor / wall panels could be simplified. Would go great with Gundam.
Been a really long time since I stopped here. Not a whole lot changed except for personal circumstances and dropped getting Asra Aoi Ninja because I just wasn't feeling it. Kind of not feeling it for Aoi Archer, too. Almost certainly skipping Chaos and Pretty Alice now. I don't know, maybe my thoughts on Megami Device kind of soured recently (which maybe just as well since I started looking at other lines since I started that I wouldn't have considered before, although I'm trying to pace myself now). I finally recently got the two 'deluxe' 30MS sets Alka Carti and Far Farina. Frankly Alka Carti is really not that great as her 'centaur' mode is pretty junky. The boosters are still okay, but I basically parts her out for customs (which was my fallback plan since I dismantled a couple 30MM bots for parts, too). Far Farina is a lot better and is pretty reminiscent of a MSG set with a girl (which is basically what a lot of the more recent Megami Device sets are). Keeping an eye on a number of lines in the event something interesting shows up. I'm sure Arcanadea can come up with something beside the angel and succubus.
Most of the Hexa Gear kits don't include pilots. If you really want kit with pilot, I would recommend Lord Impluse Jungle Type. Woodpeaker or Blazeboar if you want to start small but I have no experience with these two. Bulkarm series is a good choice. The cockpit is hollow so it's not as sturdy as it looks. Still a good HG kit to start. Older HG kits can be had for cheap but I don't recommend Voltrex. The hip joint is floppy mess. because it is built like a lego kit and there are too many moving parts. Unless you know how to tighten joints, avoid this kit and get the newer but not transformable Voltrex Wrath. Rayblade is decent but Koto is remaking a new one. Koto's developer blog is pairing these mechanics with new No More Hero kits. Looks pretty fun lol. ゾンビノイド レッチドガール/フォールンクイーンご予約開始！！ | 壽!!プラモLABO Took some time to panel line this Frame Arm kit White Tiger. Some details are not as sharp as I would like but it's still a beautiful kit. It uses very little FA inner frame parts so it's very sturdy and well built. If this mech looks familiar, the designer is Yoji Shinkawa, mostly knows for his work in Metal Gear series and Zone of Ender. Koto also have English version of painting tutorial here. Weathering your White Tiger Frame Arms Model Kit | KOTOBUKIYA BLOG I wasn't interested in this kit or design until I saw that tutorial and realized how amazing it looks with some paints and weathering. The sculpt for this kit is just so well done.
Built a few things lately...but have a pretty cool model success story Few years ago I found a deal on one of my "Holy grail" kits..at the time these were peaking complete for like $150...I got mine..it was half built BADLY. Over the years I found a sprue here or there, a new clear capsule part with no scratches....it took awhile, I'm not going to say I sunk a stupid amount of money into it, but I did end up with a complete, scratch free kit for a great deal. It's been base coated, I still have to do a few decals, and put the handles on the capsule, and a few bits here and there. Ill seal it and paint the base black. I added LEDs to it, it has an internal battery pack, 1 white in the cockpit, 4 red in the clear body section, and 2 red,2 orange in the nozzle. I made sure to build it so it can be pulled off the base with the lights on. Meh..maybe I should have paint the clear part with the white LED edges black..but I kinda like the effect now So this journey is almost at an end. Gunna have to shelve it for a couple weeks until the Christmas storm is over...
That is SUCH a unique looking mech. Very nice paint work too. *goes to websites looking for said kit....
Heavy armor type governor Rook. Got this before Christmas. The biggest and most expensive governor so far. Come with thruster effect on the leg. It was puzzling Koto added these lackluster effects to the kit until I saw this picture Yup, there is DLC MSG kit lol. A1 family shot. There are a few 3 mm and hexa holes throughout the body so I am expecting Koto to release some variants down the line.
Really impressed this thread is still going strong. Been awhile since I posted in here. I sadly have no updates to report. Money has been massively tight for me for a long while now. and after Covid, the cost of living has Skyrocketted across the US. I really wish I could keep buying more M.S.G.and Frame Arms Girl kits, but it's just not possible for me anymore.
Picked myself something cool. Still not super fond on Koto's sprue layouts but damn this guy looks smooth.
Finished the Garudagear today and while I absolutely love it...such a clean robot and jet mode...I always have something wrong with Koto kits. While doing one transformation cycle I hear the cracking of parts breaking. One joint in the torso, making it unstable, and one joint in the right arm, which makes it not as tight. I absolutely detest how Koto and other plamo makers insist on doing ABS on ABS, and it's the contributor to the two breaks on this guy. I think I'll just leave it in alt mode for the forseeable future. I love the robot but I feel if I keep doing transformation cycles on it, it's just gonna disintegrate on me. I love the hidden gun, as well as the two smaller caliber cannons on the chest. I also prefer this as a forward swept wing configuration. Makes it a more interesting sci fi jet.
So I got back to building a kit this weekend, one of my Eastern Model kits, I started working on the second torso and I have to say I much prefer Kotobukiya models. I don't know what it is, but every Eastern Model kit I've ever built has had terrible tolerances, I have to apply so much pressure just to get tabs to fit into slots that my left hand turns into a shattered aching mess after only a few hours. Kotobukyia similar models with the same basic looks and parts for the Frame Arms girls and all that go together so smoothly and efficiently that I don't have any problems or pains. I applaud Eastern Model for making some really dope kits, but I hate building them. And all the tiny little parts that refuse to be handled properly. I think my fingers are just not good for really tiny parts... are there any decent tools that can actually hold really tiny parts without causing them to go flying off into the room and becoming hopelessly lost preventing you from finishing the models properly? I mean the tweezers I've been using just refuse to grip anything and I have to keep fighting with the parts just to get them to line up properly. This is why I've got like 8 kits still to build, my bones and muscles protest when trying to build my kits.
I agree100000%. The I8 eastern model kits are awesome to look at, but VERY highlabor. Every single part is undergated in a very bad way, literally every gate needs attention for a clean build..thats prolly over 500+ gates a kit? If eastern model fixed the way they gate kits, they would be a top tier kit builder. Right now? SHit, I have alot of them, and they are ready to build...but I look at them and think "holy shit thats alot of work.." and then I end up building a gundam or Koto kit. Koto is absolute quality. Same with bandai, I think for me, Kotobukia is top tier, with Bandai just coming in behind that. Ive build some Vlokker or whatever..Gene stella Tears..That was good. Not as good as kot and bandai tho.
That reminds me - I've still got a couple of those Evoroids kits to nab for an idea i had; wanted to try coming up with a pair of mini-combiners..
I'm back. It's time for a picture dump of epic proportions. Megami Device Magical Baselard The First of three Megami Device kits I got in my latest batch, and she is by far my favorite. The Alanair Rod looks nice, but it's too heavy, so it's been set aside until I can figure out something to do with it. Her body construction is basically a hybrid of Frame Arms Girl and some of the newer Megami Device kits; her inner joints are significantly improved over the older MD girls. And yes, that's not her actual face-- it's Magical Girl Darkness. Yes, you can fit it in there. Her legs are SOL Road Runner's even though you can't see them. She also came with a bunch of extra parts, which leads to... ...a second body. It was originally a flesh-tone bunny suit, so I painted it over with something a little less weird. The inner joint was completed by a donation from Exorcist Widow. She didn't come with a second head core so I made one. And that's ALSO not Baselard's face. Got her on sale for under $50 which I felt like was a steal for two bodies. Megami Device Asra Archer Aoi Well, if you noticed the faceplate on the second Baselard, you knew this was coming. Got her for ~$50 which I felt was very fair. For all the hulloopa that people talk about the Asra girls the Archer is just okay to me. She does exactly what I wanted out of her, which is an armored archer, and that's about all she does. For the amount I paid for her she's a slight step up from a 30MS Sister and comparable to what I paid for SOL Road Runner (which, while she feels more fragile, I enjoyed her a LOT more), so if I actually paid more for her I might have been more disappointed. I knew ahead of time Aoi didn't come with an extra torso, which is still disappointing, but not insurmountable. Things you do when you insist on using those spare parts (Archer herself is using Tops and Bottoms, this is using her original pieces). The torso is made up of a 'spine' made out of runner (a giant T shape so it connects the legs to the chest) and wrapped with a paper towel and some glue. It stays together reasonably well, but the top does fall off if you move it funny. And that's what happened to her other head. Had to reconstruct this body to accommodate her giant boobs, which involved creating a new 'spine' (same as previous, except shorter to match dimensions with the clothes). This body originally had SOL Road Runner's legs, but now it has Aoi Archer's bare legs. Since Archer doesn't come with another front hair piece I took an extra one from Sousai Shojo Madoka (it's wedged in with a bit of hot glue to help it stay in; it doesn't fit flush, but not doing that lets the headband stay in). I know the ASRA girls are popular with Megami Device fans, and I do think she's pretty good, but not THAT good. I don't think I'm getting Ninja no matter what version, but maybe the new version original Archer that was recently revealed (which supposedly has a AUV Susano style body) may be in the cards depending on how much it ends up being. Megami Device Exorcist Widow Well, let's get one thing straight. This was the figure I was originally gunning after, and the other two were crimes of opportunity. She looks great, there's no doubt about it, but she was the one I enjoyed the least. First, let's get the good stuff out of the way. The Exceed Binder skirt and the Grave Arms were put together well and are what I came to expect from Kotobukiya kits. And now the bad stuff. The Grave Arms is way too heavy/big that without secondary stands she's got no hope of lifting it. Her leg armor is TERRIBLE. I don't know what the designers were thinking when designing this, but they add this flimsy ring attachment and ask you to glue it. Not only is the ring too small, the armor pops off even if you do glue it (the ring isn't big enough to adequately hold it). I glued the right leg in and it pops off all the time. The left leg is NOT glued at all and it hasn't popped off once. I can't even begin to explain that. Her arm armors pop off at the drop of a hat. I think I need to glue those down, too. Her head armor pops off at the base where it is attached to the head. Her high heels took me HOURS to put together because the instructions aren't clear about what exactly is supposed to happen, and I resorted to just snapping the two halves together and wedging in the heel, THEN I had the glue the whole thing together because it fell apart entirely when attached to her leg. I think the sum of the problems come down to poor weight distribution plus dodgy connections where more simple ones would have worked better. I mean, even Archer's arm armor pops off, but it doesn't do it so readily. Exorcist Widow just looks nice. That's about all I can say about her. She's several hours of my life I wish I had back. DON'T buy her. 30 MS Far Farina This is probably my favorite thing I built in the last three months. She went together without any real problems and she looks great on top of that. I switched out her chest plate with Tiasha (see below). 30 MS Alka Carti Didn't like her. I already disassembled her backpack so she doesn't have that anymore, and I stole her body and gave it to someone else (she's now taken Tiasha's body). She literally is an upgraded Rishetta after you take away her backpack. ============== I tend to hang around people who praise Megami Device up and down the hills, but somehow I think I'm looking at them with a different lens than they are so I don't completely understand the mentality. Exorcist Widow I felt was such a burn and was probably the worst kit I ever put together (and that's considering I started with ATK Girl Serqet and putting her together was an ordeal).
I realized after I posted such scathing remarks about Exorcist Widow that I was probably too harsh on her, but she really was a horrible experience and I felt that people don't warn each other enough about potential issues in the kits (like I found out yesterday Arcanadea Velretta has some pretty weak joints on her wing/skirt parts. not that I'm surprised by that). I've since tried an even stronger glue for her leg armor and it seems to actually be sticking so far (the left leg still isn't glued, and still never fell off. I don't know). Switched out her gauntlets for the alternative one without the star pattern and they don't get knocked off nearly as much-- I guess it really helps that the peg hole for them are on the end instead of the middle (which is still a terrible design decision). The last fix involved removing her hood train (there's no point keeping it on if it keeps getting knocked off) and the pile driver attachment from the Grave Arms so it's in cannon formation, which helps a lot (but she still can't hold it). Still, I think I really soured my thoughts on the Bullet Knights and will skip Executioner Bride which I was previously considering. As a test I stuck the Samurai Armor leg armor onto Exorcist and it worked fine (if you don't know it's just a 3mm peg on a ring and a socket. If you've seen 30 Minutes Sisters arm attachment pieces it's like that). Only issue there is the Samurai leg armor gets in the way of her foot. Can't win them all. Still, it demonstrates that the Bullet Knights leg armor probably should've been done that way. One other thing. An oddity about Exorcist's head core is it works fine on the stock neck piece (which is identical to Asra's stock long neck piece), but doesn't work very well with the Tops neck piece (using the long neck adapter). Shrug... it's probably a material issue. At least the Tops set works well with her even if you don't mix/match a skin tone one with a black set.
