I loved 2012’s Girls Und Panzer. Initially perceived to be some maudlin, meaningless, moe animu with a gimmicky contrivance, it turned out to be the exact opposite. It was a brisk, well-executed, tale with likable characters, great camaraderie, great production values, and most importantly a genuine desire to make the latter part of the title (tanks), authentic as all get out. It did not get bogged down by hyper-existential dilemmas, pointless filler, cynicism, or even apocalyptic endgame scenarios. It was a well-crafted tale of a bunch of girls and their tanks as they grow together as a team and as individuals on the road to glory.
Ash vs Evil Dead – Official Trailer
Foppery and Whim: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Legend of the Galactic Heroes
“There are few wars between good and evil: most are between one good and another good.” – Yang Wen-li
There are a few less impossibilities in the world of North American licensing of anime these days. The Right Stuf is giving the Gundam franchise its second shot here. There are simulcasts for almost everything Funimaton licenses, including English-dubbed versions. Yen Press is licensing the Baccano! novels. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime is getting a bilingual release here. And maybe Macross is still in Harmony Gold limbo and we still haven’t gotten that Rebuild of Evangelion 3.33 release from Funimation (not that I’m looking forward to that dreck, except to tear it a new one), but at Anime Expo this year, an earthshaking announcement was made.
Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Changelog
I used to have a log of all the Guide’s updates and changes. Then I put a “New” tag on updated and new tutorials on the main menu. However, some folks don’t swing by the site that often so having a full out change log going forward can’t hurt. I just gotta remember to keep things updated…
2023
- December – All kinds of fun changes…
- Updated the header a bit, plus I changed the menu orientation to make it more mobile-device friendly
- Updates to the construction guide
- Updated the decade old Glue Guide
2021
- 10/7 – Added recommendations on what kit you should get first
- 9/26 – Updated the equipment guide
2020
- 11/27 – Restored some updates that were lost when I switched the site over to the new version
- 9/19 – Updated Recommended Sites and the list of stores in the Buying Guide
2019
- 12/23 – Updated the basic equipment tutorial
2018
- 1/1 – Updated the Line Art Collection with links to a much better collection than mine
2017
- Shit, I think I made changes. But apparently I didn’t update the change log? Or maybe I really didn’t make any updates. Shit.
2016
12/2 – Added the Pre-Shading Tutorial 5/6 – Language upddates to thePriming Tutorial
Falldog’s Gunpla & Model Collection
[flickr-photo:id=11678003396,size=n] circa Decmber 2013
Like most American Gundam fans I got into the series during the franchise’s Toonami heyday in the early 2000’s. I built Gunpla back then without any real awareness of what I was doing or what things would become. Years later I would rediscover Gunpla at a local model shop. One thing lead to another and eventually resulted in one of the largest private collections in the United States.
When I got back into building Gunpla wasn’t as big as it is now, especially since the release of Gundam Build Fighters and other direct Gunpla promotions. There wasn’t nearly as many tutorials and guides out there, related to models in general or even Gunpla specifically. I started this Guide back in 2008 to share what I’ve learned. Part of the hobby which I enjoy the most is trying new things and experimenting with non-traditional methods. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. The Layman’s Gunpla Guide gives me an opportunity to share that experience.
Stripping the Hyaku Shiki
[flickr-photo:id=18670429894,size=n]
Recently the great Gamera Baenre posted to /r/Gunpla about how he was stripping the gold coating from the new Hyaku Shiki 2.0. He didn’t post a full tutorial on the process, and since I just used the same process on a my upcoming Hyaku Shiki 2.0 build, I figured I do a quick tutorial myself for folks with questions.
The process is really easy. All you need is…
- 1 gallon jug of Purple Power (roughly $18 on Amazon)
- Plastic tub in which to soak the parts (I used a 12qt dishpan, $6 on Amazon)
- Dish washing gloves, or any other waterproof glove ($4-$10 on Amazon)
Oh, and you need the Hyaku Shiki too. Per Baenre the original plated Shiki was clear plastic below as well. Why is it clear plastic? Well guessing that milky white is just the base manufacturer color. Makes sense, why spend more on a coloured frame folks won’t see?
Otaku Evolution Episode 42 – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Otaku Evolution Episode 42 – The Melancholy of… by ellbell01
Don’t panic! It’s a mostly harmless 42nd episode of Otaku Evolution, where I cover The Hitchhiker’s Guide to High School. I mean, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
So wait… is Haruhi Zaphod? Itsuki is Ford, Mikuru is Trillian, and Yuki is Marvin. Maybe I’m trying too hard to make this fit.
– Penguin Truth
(2015)
PG Unicorn Gundam – The One Week Build
Last weekend I started out on an ambitious build. Well, the build itself wasn’t so nuts, the time frame was. The goal was to build a PG Unicorn in one week. Here’s how things turned out…
o why only a week? It didn’t start off that way. Up until now it’s been awhile since I’ve painted a kit. Lots of straight builds, but nothing since I finished my White Glint back in January. I’ve been trying to decide which kit I should do a simple job with, just to scrape off some of the rust, when I wound up with a second PG Unicorn. As I was thinking about how to paint it, figuring I’d get it knocked out relatively quickly, another project landed in my lap. With two kits I wanted to get done in short time, and a schedule conducive to tackling the Unicorn, I figured I’d try a super quick build. That eventually morphed into a weekend-to-weekend build, then into a Sunday-to-Saturday express build from hell.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie Trailer
I’m looking forward to this. Arise gets a bad rep, but that’s just because it isn’t SAC. Or maybe because it’s too much like SAC, and yet isn’t. I sort of understand, but they’re both good, and I think people just dismissed it out of hand because neither Oshii nor Kamiyama were handling this. But it honestly looks like it’ll be even better than the previous Arise entries at the very least.