A Collector's Admiration, and a Wishlist

Cruising along the web at work, and I stumble upon some collection vids that people have uploaded on Youtube. Some of them are nothing short of spectacular, and certainly makes me feel a bit inferior. However, givin credit where credit is due, I think everyone should take a look at some of these. For instance, this particular Saint Myth Cloth collection is absolutely amazing.

If you know the Myth Cloth series well enough, and look closely at the display, you can see just how much is into it. You can surmise that MUCH money was out into this. EVERY figure has a stand (stands are sold seperately for over 95% of them), there are several Appendix sets, and some Tamashi Web exclusives as well. 

One thing I would like to note on this particular collection is Poseidon. Slick enough to use the Royal Ornament Edition figure (That comes with blonde hair) with the normal Anime edition (blue) hair. The blue hair was an idea from Kurumada when making the anime to represent the seas. I thought this was a nice gesture from this particular collector to have Poseidon on his throne with a dark toned Kamui (my prefered look, actually) and blue hair. Now, what I didn't see are some other exclusives. No Original Color Editions, no black saints, and no Land, Sea, and Marine Saints. They are slo part of the Saint Myth Coth line, but hey...I'm impressed with the collection as is. I don't have room to start criticizing.

Here's another:

Now, I know my girlfriend now doesn't like my collection, so believe me when I tell you that I'm certainly jealous of this man for having a woman that at least seems supportive on camera. Could I get my girl to do that, I wonder? Not without a pair of shoes and a new handbag first, I'm sure! This guy went all out on his as well, and I'm glad I found this vid.

For Tansformers, we have a nice one. A bit long, so you might have to skip through a bit to get the meat and potatoes.

Now, Transformers is THE THING that made me start collecting. I'm an 80's baby, and Transformers has been part of my childhood since first I could remember, so seeing things like this should make anyone drop little insecurities about collecting. Hell, he even has his obviously attractive wife a part of the vid. So...kudos to them!

Me personally, I would never want that many Transformers. I don't collect G1, Bayformers, and ones obviously made for kids. That eliminates over a thousand right there, as well as the  Transformers I have now that I want to sell/get rid of. But looking at this is purely awesome. No matter how childish someone might find this sort of thing, there is no doubt of the dedication, and real heart it takes to keep this. Besides...the resale value on a collection like this is sufficient enough for a new car...so I don't wanna hear it! Maybe I CAN get my girl to do something like this after all.

Gundam is another series that has a certain place in my heart. Now, let me get this out the way. I am American, and by the time Gundam was actually popular in America, it was all due to Gundam Wing. Before that, Transformers and Power Rangers were the leader in robotics for American boys for what I remember. That being said, I am NOT on the Gundam Wing bandwagon. Did I watch it? Yes. Did I talk about it a lot? Yes. but only because there was no other Gundam media readily available at that time in America.

In fact, The first Gundam I ever saw was a 1/144 HG Zeta Gundam in an Electronics Boutique in the early 90's. It was next to a 1/144 HG Nataku. They reminded me of the cool, Japanese style knock-off toys I bought in cheap stores...only legit this time. In fact, they seem like the things that the knock-off's were modeled after (which they were). 

Now, as an adult, I only collect Master Grades. Gundam is entirely too large a universe to get everything I could want, so I stick to getting what I enjoy the most, which is building them. I have had enough Master Grades to know that I cant go back a step, although, I didn't like my Perfect Grade experience too much. I do like Gundam, but I'm not nearly a big of a fan as say...Southeast Asia in general.

I have seen more than these few vids, but I was just listing the ones that I remember off the top of my head. I also came across a vid that asked "What Master Grades would you like to see?" I can't tell you how much this jumped at me. 

Bandai's MG line is certainly my favorite. The thing is, in recent years, it has not been exclusive to just Gundam. Kamen Rider, Luffy, and even Goku have had incarnations of themselves in super poseable, snap together model kits. I thought the idea was pretty clever. Not that I have ever considered purchasing one, but it's nice nonetheless. However, now that this example has been given, it makes me yearn for things I know deserve some MG justice. The Gundams Reborns, Devil, Knight, V2 Assault Buster, and most importantly Double X should be Master Grades. Double X is my favorite Gundam period, and I believe should have been a Master Grade mold long ago. Idea of constricting thos huse satellite cannons and the hidden satellite panels is enough for a preorder there. It doesnt even have a Robot Damashi figure, so I hope Bandai pays special attention to him. Devil Gundam would be a big kit, but a deserving kit. I can only imagine trying to play out the final scene of G Gundam with the Gundam "coalition" against it. Shin Musha, and Musha Mk II are already MG's, so witht he release of Gundam Musou 3 (Dynasty Warriors Gundam), there should already be at least a protoype on the web somewhere. V Gundam was a series highly overlooked, and a somewhat underdog in the Gundam world, though popular enough at least for a Damashi figure. With all the attachments that can go with the V2, I think they can just make a huge kit like the F.A. Unicorn, and get it over with. 

Finally, if Bandai grants me but one favor in this life, it would be to make an MG of anime version Escaflowne.    In the 90's, Sunrise was a leader in anime (along with Manga, Funimation/Toei, and Pioneer), especially in America. They dealt alo with giant robots. A few Gundam series' and Escaflowne. For those of you that may not know much about Escaflowne, it was a bit more adult for the time of its release. In America, it didnt take very well, being vastly outshined in anime by the likes of Gundam Wing and DBZ. Nonethelss, Escaflowne had giant robots called Guymelefs, and they were based on a more steampunk design, rather than modern/futuristic. At the time of its release, it was just another world of robots for me, but as I got older, and re-watched it, they became more like royal machines to me. Something akin to what a queen or king would own. If you actually watch the anime, you would see that its not too far from the truth, as a king is the protagonist, and the suit is his "armor". Anyway, Bandai has made model kits if Escaflowne in the past, but model kit technonolgy has grown since 15 years or so since they came out. Therefore, I would like a revisitation of that series. Reasons being: 1 - It's a beautiful looking machine, and not like your standard Gundam with fusion reactors, electric currents, and hydraulic fluid. MG's specialize in making the skeletal frame first, and Escaflowne's would all be steampunk, and feature components that generate smoke, and the skeletal frame would resemble more of a standing locomotive. 2 - Bandai is making a habit of making toys out of old things. The newest MG's coming out are from Gundam Seed, which is almost 10 years old. The Armor Plus line is Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) and Tekkaman Blade. Tekkaman Blade is considered a classic now, and Ronin Warriors is even older than that. Chogokin Gao Gai Gar is still a fairly new release, and that is based off a robot from the same time frame...ANOTHER Sunrise production! Zeorymer, Reideen, and Macross are all classic anime Chogokin has released in recent years. I even saw a pic on the Tamashi Nations Facebook page of Servo, from Super Human Samurai Syber Squad. 3 - It's Variable. It transforms into a freakin' DRAGON. I know the transforming process can damage the integrity of the mold. MG Unicorn is a straight nightmare in some areas, and so is MG Zeta and Double Zeta. However, I do believe the engineers at Bandai can handle it. Borrow some elements/techniques from Takara, if need be, and make sure to have sturdy joints when changing. If push comes to shove, they can follow suit of the VF-25F Messiah Alto Custom, and add interchangeable parts like the cockpits of MG's Double Zeta and the Impulses. Also, it would be interesting to see what kind of material is used for the cape/wings. i would hope that they not use the same material they used for MG Exia's repair mode, as I think the cape/wings would be more or less a special piece. Transparent parts for the eyes, shoulders and energist, and BAM, you got yourself a sexy, Dragon-armor guymelef.

Would make me a VERY happy man to see any of this come true.

As I was closing this up, I came across this, but nothing has been in the works that I found anywhere since 2010. If it's true about it being die-cast, I shudder at the thought of weight, and paint issues. No matter what, I want this MG...and I want it bad.
http://www.sgcollect.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t63312.html

After this inspection is finished, will start with that White Rock Shooter I promised.

Happy Hobbying, everyone.

Saint Seiya Omega Premier Pilot

So, I had the pleasure of watching the first episode of Saint Seiya Omega. Now, I had to watch it raw, and half ass'ed translated everything in my head as I watched, so I didn't totally get what was going on. However, there are some things I did notice that they added that is a bit from the norm of what we know as Saint Seiya. Keep in mind that I'm not the biggest Saint Seiya follower, and my knowledge of its universe is pretty general, but hey, I'm trying.
I seem to grasp the story like this: Kouga is a baby in the beginning. He is the new chosen Pegasus saint (probably born under the Pegasus constellation or semething) and is held by Kido Saori (Athena). Athena is then attacked by a new anatgonist (in ehich I cant even begin to guess who it may be) who is seemingly a mass of walking cosmo clad in armor, a cape, and a helmet a bit reminiscent of the Pope of the Sanctuary with a flame coming from the top spike.
This antagonist's attack is halted by the legendary saint, Seiya, who is clad in a newly designed Sagittarius Gold Cloth. Baby Kouga witnesses Seiya's counter attack to the new antagonist, and eventually defeats/seals him...fulfilling his duty to preotect Athena.
Years later, Kouga is in his teens training to be a saint. he is trained by none other than Ophiuchus Shaina. He doesnt exactly take to the training, and borderline denies the message Shaina is trying to send to him about feeling and using his cosmo. He even had a busrt of cosmo launched at her, slightly damaging her cloth, but ran away from her.
Saori is shown to have some kind of disease-like sypmtom. her body is fading away, to the likes of the main antagonist. Reminds me a bit of Advent Children's "Geostigma". Later on in the day, Kouga is talking to Saori, and she gives him a necklace with a crystal. As soon as its in his posession, our antagonist returns to take Saori. It was then revealed to Kouga that Saori is indeed Athena, the goddess. The old man butler, and Shaina come to her aid, but are easily fended off. Shaina, with seemingly dying words, tells Kouga to protect Athena. Kouga finally snaps out of his "punk" side, and does what is right, however, he cant seem to get through the wall of flames warding him off from Athena. Try and try again to gt through the flames, but he only burns himself, and collapses from the pain. It was then, that the crystal necklace was reacting to him, shaking on the ground until it manifested itself in Kouga, and revealed the Bronze Cloth of Pegasus. While donning the cloth, Kouga is visited by the spirit of Seiya, who privides him with words of wisdom (mostly about the use and manifestation of his cosmo). Kouga finally "gets right", and being influenced by Seiya's spirit/words, and the legacy of the Pegasus Cloth, he fires his first ever "Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken" at the flame barrier, destroying it. He is last seen rushing to Athena to free her from evil's grasp.

First thing I point out: No more "Cloth Cubes". No more backpacks that house the object of the cloth to be donned. It all seems to be in the crystal on the necklace, which is about the size of a smartphone. Next, the design of the cloths. I watched this to see where they take the story, as well as the new look for the Saints. The jewel that houses the cloth seems to be an integral part of the overall design. Seiya even had a large lue crystal in the center of his Sagittarius Cloth. Also, the cloths hardly seem to be suits of armor anymore, like I liked them. They almost look like clothing, I guess to seem more like a "cloth". Kouga's legs kind of remind me of women's stockings and arms look like sleeves, rather than layered protective armor like his predecessors. Not that I mind, since I really want to see how they make this work. Third thing, the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius has this simple, yet AWESOME scarf design going on. It's just beautiful. it makes me happy as a figure collector to see what they could release for this if and when a toyline is announced. However, that being said...I borderline hate the wing design. I'm a stickler for wings (which is how I started collecting Saint Seiya figures in the first place) and I think that they got lazy with them. I cannot accept that, especially when that particular cloth is so special to the series. Moreso, if you watch the first blow of Seiya's that is caught by the antagonist, they animated him WITHOUT the wings entirely. I don't know whether the did it on purpose or not, but for a primier episode, I'm not down with that.
Last thing I'm gonna hit up, is the voice acting. I can't help but notice that the antagonist is an old man I have certainly heard before in anime. In fact, he sounds a lot like Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen to me. Shaina's voice isn't doing it for me...for now. Like all things, with enough time, it will grow on me, but I'm not a fan of it for now. Seiya's voice doesn't sound like the orignial guy, but I honestly can't tell. Really, it would be nice homage to bring him in, but it's not necessary, I guess.

I love that scarf. Such a subtle, but nice touch.

It leaves us off with a preview to the next episode introducing another character. I will have to watch the pilot again to get everything out of it, since I watched it raw the first time. I had a good impression of it. The animation is new for Saint Seiya, and a bit less serious than say, the likes of "Lost Canvas", in which I'm sad they dropped that project. Here's to hoping that this series keeps the action good, as well as character development, but most of all, I want to see the designs for all the Gold Saints, and even if they changed Athena's Kamui...that would be nice.
Happy Hobbying, everyone!

Unexpected Surprise

Good Ol' Facebook. Look what Tamashi Nations Japan put on their site 2nite.

There is but ONE Gold Saint that looks like that. the newest addition to the EX series. looking for pre-orders now. I WONT miss this one, cause its going fast!
Happy Hobbying, everyone.
P.S. The sites on my blog should help in finding where one of the pre-orders should be.