Author: Robodaz
1/12 KOS-MOS Ver.4 Extra Coating Edition by Kotobukiya – Part Two – Build
Available from HobbyLink Japan The Ghost is the Machine… Kotobukiya is a strange beast in the Japanese model world. As you will know if you have read several of my reviews, I’ve been interested in the history of the development of the plastic hobby model as an ‘accident’ of sorts for years. Originally, a series of US and European companies were churning out scaled models of...
1/12 KOS-MOS Ver.4 Extra Coating Edition by Kotobukiya – Part One – Unboxing
Available from HobbyLink Japan The Breadth of the Cosmos KOS-MOS is one of the characters within the Monolith Soft line of Xenosaga games, which have been running on and off since the first Playstation 2 trilogy – which in itself is a sequel of sorts to the old Xenogears Playstation game. The games present a future in which a seemingly idyllic, technology-driven society is actually teetering...
1/35 MG AV-98 Ingram 1st by Bandai – Part 2 – Build
Available from HobbyLink Japan “It is a hard thing to spend time teaching a young man to kill, as it inflames all his emotions. Then, what do we do in peace time, when such energy cannot by entirely contained by drill and garrison service? Put fear into the heart of them with iron discipline and strict rules. We are an army, not a rabble. General Han Xin (c. 231-196 BCE). It goes without say...
1/35 MG AV-98 Ingram 1st by Bandai – Part One – Unboxing
Available from HobbyLink Japan It’s a Fair Cop, Guvnor… The principle of Mobile Police Patlabor is simple, and deceptively so. In the ‘near future’ of 1998 (well, the series was begun as an OAV in the late ’80s), technology has advanced to the point that we all take as the ‘norm’ for mech series: giant humanoid machines are being used across the globe to h...
Laputa Castle in the Sky Tiger Moth by Fine Molds – Part Two – Build
Available from HobbyLink Japan Lighter than Dream… I’ve long been fascinated by airships, and not just because I both like and fear flight in general, but because of the slender window of time in which these (sometimes giant) ships of the skies made their mark on the imaginations of the world. From early experiments, to the bombings of WWI, to the heyday of the luxury travel and the tr...
Laputa Castle in the Sky Tiger Moth by Fine Molds – Part One – Unboxing
Available from HobbyLink Japan Steampunk? A Frail Term with which to Describe Laputa… Imagine a New Years Eve, at the end of the 1980s in Sheffield… Anime had, after a few shaky starts, begun to gain some momentum among the chosen Oldtypes of legend, thanks to small but dedicated fan groups and shops, such as the far-sighted Sheffield Space Centre. However, just as Hayao Miyazaki‘...
1/87 Type 66 Anti-Monster Maser Cannon by Wave – Part Two – Build
Available from HobbyLink Japan Amazing Maser… What’s a Maser? We all know about lasers – and I don’t just mean in the pop culture sense. They have become so commonplace, and so mundane that my spirit level has one, my classroom pointer is one, and – of course – they live in the heart of my Blu Ray and CD players… However, that surface mundanity hides a who...
1/87 Type 66 Anti-Monster Maser Cannon by Wave – Part One – Unboxing
Available from HobbyLink Japan Flash, Bang, Fizzle… We are all well aware that the JSDF in the Showa Godzilla films were about as useful as a chocolate teapot, yet I doubt the films would have had the fun that they do, if (along with all-in wrestling monsters and Godzilla Facepalms) the frollicks were not supplemented by the Toho effects team throwing all manner of explosive effects at actor...
Figure-Rise Bust: Makina Nakajima by Bandai – Part 2 – Build
Figure-Rise Bust: Makina Nakajima by Bandai Available from HobbyLink Japan All Rise! As I suggested in part one, Bandai’s development arm has been working on blending its toy and model lines for some time – over decades, even – slowly trying to find that perfect blend of elements. This is especially important when one remembers that there is no absolute line between toys for kids...
Figure-Rise Bust: Makina Nakajima by Bandai – Part 1 – Unboxing
Available from HobbyLink Japan Sonic Attack Music has always been a part of the Macross saga, with its initial love triangle featured the character of Lynn Minmei, whose music became central to both the psychological warfare against the Zentraedi sent to recover the Supervision Army cruiser which had crashed on Earth, and part of their enculturation once the war itself had cooled (though portrayed...
Giant Robo UDF Figures – Daisaku, Ginrei, Taisoh and Alberto – Part Two, Review
Available from HobbyLink Japan: Daisaku Kusama Ginrei Shikoutaihou Taisoh Alberto the Impacter Crush Them Now, Giant Robo! This release (which seems to be projected well into 2017, and will seemingly include Robo itself) really caught the market on the hop, much like Bandai’s release of the Chogokin Giant Robo earlier in 2016. I’ve adored this series since it was released, largely beca...
