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Three Episodes In – Aldnoah.Zero

Aldnoah.Zero is a new mecha anime series from studio A-1 Pictures. Gen Urobuchi is credited with creating the concept while Ei Aoki is directing and Hiroyuki Sawano composing music.

Synopsis

Aldnoah.Zero is set in an alternate universe where Apollo 17 astronauts, while exploring the moon (in AZ 1972), found some mysterious alien technology. The tech turned out to be hypergate to Mars, and before you know it, folks started to colonize the planet. The colonists eventually stumbled on more alien technology and decided to separate themselves from Earth, calling themselves the Vers Empire. They would later declare war on the Earth. During this war a large battle was waged on the Earth’s moon (in AZ 1999) resulting in the destruction of the hypergate in an explosion that blew apart a large chunk of the moon. The Vers Empire folks, stranded around Earth, would go on to build space castles amongst the floating moon debris. A tentative cease fire existing between the Empire and Earth. read more

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OR on Anthony Cumia and the State of Free Speech


Radio show host Anthony Cumia relaxes in his backyard.

Otaku Revolution is a mix of odd personalities. Of the four main contributors two are Opie & Anthony fans, one is a Howard Stern fan, and one non-affiliated. What we all share, perhaps to our detriment, is a propensity for speaking our mind.

This past week co-host to the Opie & Anthony radio show, Anthony Cumia, was allegedly attacked while taking photos around Times Square in New York City. Following the attack he went on a racially tinged Twitter tirade verbally attacking the person who physically assault him and the society which, in his and the mind of many, promote such physical confrontations. SiriusXM would later fire Anthony for his tweets. For more information here is an AP story about to the incident and a list of stories ran by various websites. read more

Weekend Project – Caged Unicorn
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Weekend Project – Caged Unicorn

Everyone once and awhile it’s nice to take a break from the complex projects and build something straight forward. While rewatching Gundam Unicorn ahead of episode 7’s release I got inspired by doing a very simple looking deactivated Unicorn Gundam. Nothing too fancy, but something cool to add to the collection. I did that this past weekend, started painting Friday night and finished sometime Monday.

For the most part the Gundam itself is pretty basic. Flat grey for the frame, flat white for the armor. For the grey I used up some Light Gunmetal I had laying around and coated it a few times with Future to give it a bit of a contrasting shine. Never content to go too simple I decided to throw some green in there too with an asymmetric splash of green and orange to break things up. At this point I figured, hey, why not go an extra mile with two-toned thrusters, custom thrusters on the shoulders, and a bit of decals here and there. read more

Heaven & Hell, a MG Unicorn Project – Pyschoframe Swap
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Heaven & Hell, a MG Unicorn Project – Pyschoframe Swap

Phase one is complete of yet another project I may never actually finish. Initially titled Fire & Ice, but renamed to Heaven & Hell after I saw the two kits standing together, is a basic psychoframe swap and touch up between a MG Unicorn and a MG Phenex. Honestly, I just wanted a Unicorn with a blue psychoframe. Doesn’t hurt that the Phenex looks pretty good witha red frame as well.

Of course well after I had started this project Sunrise/Bandai released images of a silver Phenex with a blue frame from some game. I doubt they’ll release a MG kit but Bandai has been doing funky things with their Japan limited releases. If the day ever comes I’ll swap that frame out for a green one. I’m addicted to Unicorns. read more

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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – What is Gunpla?

Whenever folks ask me about my hobbies I have to bring up Gunpla. They then, very predictably, ask me what Gunpla is. Most don’t have the background for a long answer and I usually I just tell them, “Gunpla are model robots based on an animated Japanese franchise.” Sometimes I make a comparison to military or car models. Short, simple and to the point.

The long answer is that Gunpla is the term used to describe plastic models from the Gundam franchise, gun + pla. Back in 1979 there was an animated series in Japan (anime) called Mobile Suit Gundam. Since then it has developed into an expansive franchise with additional series, movies, games, and toys. Not long after they released the first series Bandai started to make plastic model kits of  the show’s mobile suits. Over the years the model line has developed with the franchise. As production technologies improved Gunpla models became more and more sophisticated featuring a wide range of gimmicks and detail. The cost of a Gunpla kit can range from $10 to over $300 depending on the size and complexity. read more

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Building a MG Unicorn without Instructions

I’ve got quite a few Master Grade Unicorn Gundams in my collection. By last count I’m at 12 including the Banshee variants. When I picked up the last three for a bit of a project I was challenged on Reddit to build one without the manual. It wasn’t the first time someone threw that task out there so I thought I’d give it a go.

Preparation was easy, take all the of the runners with applicable parts and cut & trim all the pieces. I didn’t do any of the weapons because I haven’t decided whether I’m going to use them or trade them out quite yet. I’ve already got more Beam Magnum rounds than I know what to do with. I made things a bit more difficult for myself by including both the Ver. Ka and OVA parts in the mix. read more

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Gundam Reconguista in G – First PV

Interesting, if not exactly exciting. It’s Eureka Seven meets King Gainer which probably suggests the most Tomino influence in Gundam for some time. I have my doubts, especially since King Gainer was a complete miss for me. Well, other than the opening.

MG Sazabi ver. Ka – Completed Build
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MG Sazabi ver. Ka – Completed Build

I’m please to present my latest build, the MG Sazabi ver. Ka. It hasn’t been without issue, I’ve definitely run into some complications here and there which I’ll get into later. For the most part things came together pretty well. There are a few things I wish I could go back and redo (would likely require buying another kit) to get 100% right. Oh well, what good is a build there aren’t lessons learned? The build took around two months from start to finish and boy did time fly. Lots of painting, lots of top coating, lots and lots of pieces. For the most part it was smooth sailing thanks to a methodical paint process. read more