gundam

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The Great Gundam & Gunpla Census of 2020

Welcome to the results page for the Great Gunpla Census of 2020! This is a follow up to a census, of a similair title, from back in 2018. The 2018 census was a big success with a lot of interest and positive feedback. There was also a good amount of constructive feedback that I brought into this year’s survey. This time around there were more questions pertaining to the Gundam franchise in general for all the folks who’re into Gundam but not necessarily Gunpla. 

This year we got over 1400 respondents answering multiple questions, some open ended. Everyone who answered a simple question with a sentence, I hate what you made me do to my master spreadsheet, but some of your comments are provided great insight. It doesn’t help that everyone has 2-3 different ways of spelling the same kit name (looking at you, Mk-II, or was it MK-2, or MK-ii?). If you’re interested in the raw results from the survey you can find them here. For the 2022 census I’m thinking of slimming down some of the questions and creating some more comment oriented ones. Instead of just telling me what kit you hate, tell me why you hated it. read more

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MS IGLOO Inspired Takom PL-01 Tank Build
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MS IGLOO Inspired Takom PL-01 Tank Build

Here’s a quick build report on my MS IGLOO/Zeon inspired PL-01 tank from Takom. The PL-01 is a prototype Polish light tank with a very distinctive stealth (as much as a tank can be stealthy) design. This is my first tank in a long while, and first kit from Takom.

For the most part Takom’s PL-01 kit is pretty straight forward and easy to put together. There are a few issues though starting with a ton of visible seam lines. I did my best to hide all of them by welding and sanding which was, for the most part, successful. The most obvious seam is on the front, which isn’t glue on my build, because I wanted to paint the top and bottom parts independently. To go back and glue would have screwed up the paint quite a bit and I was just lazy enough to not care. read more

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Falldog’s Guide to Gundam Canon and Timelines (2020 Edition)

 

About a six years ago I had the idea to put together a piece discussing the Gundam franchise’s many timelines and many, many complexities. Little did I know that I was opening a can of worms. Welcome to that can of worms.

The Gundam franchise is a confusing assortment of TV series, manga, games, novelizations, and even audio dramas. These are broken across many different universes, and within those universes, similar and sometimes contradictory stories. What I’ve tried to do below is take as much of the franchise’s numerous installments I could muster and lay them out graphically. Before we get to that there are a couple of core concepts we need to cover. read more

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How to watch Gundam – Universal Century

 

So, you’re interested in watching through Gundam’s Universal Century (UC) timeline? From the quintessential Mobile Suit Gundam which started the ball rolling over 40 years ago, to the upcoming Hathaway’s Flash? Well here’s how.

Watch it in order in which the series was produced and released.

/end article

…alright, let me elaborate.

For the uninitiated, the Universal Century timeline has been the core component of the Gundam franchise starting with Mobile Suit Gundam first released in 1979. Since then there have been various works that have built upon that initial story. Some of them have been longer series, others short OVAs, and even movies, games, manga and novels. Those hopping into Universal Century for the first time should stick to the main shows, movies. After which drive into some of the great manga. To make things confusing Sunrise has a habit of cutting up a show, inserting new animation, and releasing it as a movie – often adding, leaving out, or changing critical events. More on some of that later. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 160 – Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Part 2)

I decided to, for whatever reason, do a “previously on” segment for this two-parter, partially in the style of Gundam Wing itself. I suppose it just pads the runtime, but then, so does my little Gundam Wing Theater bit (though I loved doing that).

What’s up with all the grandiose speeches in Gundam Wing? I mean, you certainly get your fill of verbal onslaughts regardless of whether it’s in the After Colony or Universal Century timelines, but Gundam Wing seems addicted to these odd philosophical bludgeonings. It gets annoying, mostly because it’s usually a lot to say a little. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 159 – Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Part 1)

Welcome back to Otaku Evolution!

This session is the first part in a two-part Gundam Wing review. Why two parts? Because of a few reasons. One, it gives me more time to gather all my thoughts and feelings about this 49-episode TV show. Second, so I can concentrate on the good things about it in this first part and the bad things in the next. I even have some additional pixel elements for my presentation next time, so I need time to work on that, too. So it’s not just laziness on my part.

I thought I’d start the video with a bit of a refresher of the “universe” I review in, too, and in the style of Gundam Wing itself. read more

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Completed Build – Blue Destiny Unit 1 Exam vs. Efreet Custom
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Completed Build – Blue Destiny Unit 1 Exam vs. Efreet Custom

Look at me, I finished something from my backlog!

Back in November 2017 I ordered the Efreet, officially kicking this little diorama project off (no idea when or where the Unit 1 came from right now). I built the two kits, picked out poses, and put them back in the box and on the shelf until a few weeks ago… when I pulled them out, confirmed I liked the poses, built the base, then tucked them away yet again. It’s only this past Monday that I decided I should use my free time this week to get them painted and the project finally checked off. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 147 – Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

 

Ah yes, Char’s Counterattack, a movie full of oddities that nevertheless always impresses me. Perhaps it’s the production values, but I’ve always felt a sense of gravity to the proceedings, like I was watching a colossal, momentous event. Is it legitimately that, though, or is it that only in the sense that it’s forced into it by circumstance? It occurs to me that the feature might be great in spite of itself and it’s little Tomino quirks. Then again, I like some of those quirks, too. read more

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Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (MOVIE) Review

 

(Basic) Synopsis (Spoiler Free): It’s Universal Century year 0097. A year after the “Laplace Incident”, there are once again calls for autonomy for Spacenoids, but little being done about it. As if to break the stagnation, the third Gundam Unicorn model, the Phenex, thought to have been lost years previous, reappears. Both the Earth Federation and the Neo-Zeon remnants are determined to capture it for its Newtype capabilities, but they seem to be chasing a literal ghost in the form of its pilot, Rita Bernal. What did she, a Miracle Child, see so many years before that brought these events in alignment? And can either side prevent the bizarre Zoltan Akkenan from igniting a tragedy worse than anything seen before? The Pheonix Hunt will test the limits of all parties! read more

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Steel Legend Metal Build 1/100 Kshatriya Review
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Steel Legend Metal Build 1/100 Kshatriya Review

The Steel Legend Metal Build Kshatriya is a third party/bootleg figure. At 1/100 scale it’ll look fantastic with all your MG kits (MG or RE Kshatriya when?!). Who would’ve known that a Metal Build kit out of China would be, not only the best third party piece of Gundam merchandise, but better than any Unicorn official merchandise from Bandai/Banpresto?

As you should already know by now, I’m a sucker for all things Gundam Unicorn (even though the Jesta Schezarr Type Team B & C is stupid is fuck – why the fuck are you using your mechanical eyes to look at a flip down mechanical eye which is pointed at an even larger mechanical eye?). When I see a 1/100 Kshatriya, I jump. Even if it’s a bucket of mess like the Elyn Hobby version. When I saw that someone was making a MG sized figure I had to have it, even if getting a pre built metal frame toy from third party folks in China is a questionable concept. Shout out to my crack dealer Samuel Decal where I picked this up for roughly $200 plus shipping. read more

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