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Picked up the HGUC Hyaku Shiki Revive. The gold finish isn't metallic or chrome plated, but it still looks great. It also clearly destroys the old HGUC kit with its solid build, outstanding poseability, and superior detail and proportions (especially since the old kit is a floppy mess). As for its compatibility with the Mega Bazooka Launcher, it works perfectly despite having a smaller footprint than its predecessor.

Compared to other Revive kits, it doesn't bring anything new to the table, but it's about time the Hyaku Shiki got a 1/144 update.

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It did have something I really wanted that the other revives didn't and that was closed fist hands. Seriously is it too much to ask for. The mk2 only had the basic grip hands.

I guess the gouf had them too and the web shop version I have actually has both left and right closed fist hands.

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I like the open palm hands as well and think all options should be included. For a while the gm ova kits had trigger fingers, grip hands, open palm, and closed fist hands all included. Even the feet had seperate soles to the bottom of the feet. Those days are gone though.

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Finally got around to decaling and topcoating my HGUC ZII.

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Here's the ZII with parents RG Zeta Gundam and HGUC Methuss.

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Here are the other members of the Z Family.

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Size comparison with the RG RX-78-2 Gundam and the HGUC Byarlant Custom.

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And finally, inspired by Kakarot197, a size comparison with the GM Custom and the always bulky Zaku III. "And that's all for this review, and see you guys next time."

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Picked up the HGBF ZZII yesterday and just finished decaling and topcoating it. Compared to the ZII, the joints are tighter, but you'll need to glue the white forearm pieces, as there's hardly anything supporting them. Despite the awkward design, the feet have no problem supporting the whole body. The transformation is basically the same as the ZII, with just a few extra parts gimmicks.

As this is a remold, there are excess parts as expected. Among these is the Zeta Beam Rifle; unfortunately, you don't get the handle for it. In addition, you can assemble the heels of the original kit, but you can't use them here, as the ZZII's foot guards have no articulation and will always be pointing downward.

As for the livery, I chose Londo Bell instead of A.E.U.G to depict it as having been used between Char's Counterattack and Gundam Unicorn. For this, I ended up using five different Gundam Decal sheets for the various markings.

Overall, the ZZII is a great kit for those who love Zeta-based designs.

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Both ZII and ZZII in Wave Rider mode.

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Here's the size comparison with the ZIIin MS mode.

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Size comparison with the RG Zeta Gundam and HGBF Lightning Zeta Gundam.

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Size comparison with the HGUC RX-78-2 Gundam [Revive] and Byarlant Custom.

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Here's the updated Z Family.

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And finally, inspired by Kakarot197, a size comparison with the GM Custom and the always bulky Zaku III. "And that's all for this review, and see you guys next time."

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<--is disappointed because he doesn't have a Perfect Grade Sazabi.

At this point we will probably never get one. I'd guess the next PG could be a Barbatos since IBO seems to be popular at the moment, they could even get an armor swap gimmick going like with the GP-01.

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At this point we will probably never get one. I'd guess the next PG could be a Barbatos since IBO seems to be popular at the moment, they could even get an armor swap gimmick going like with the GP-01.

Never say never: it's Char's ultimate MS, it's a classic inspired Samurai armor and it has that nifty devil face in the shield. What's not to love?

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Never say never: it's Char's ultimate MS, it's a classic inspired Samurai armor and it has that nifty devil face in the shield. What's not to love?

Oh I wasn't saying that the Sazabi isn't worthy of getting the PG treatment (the Sazabi is one of my favorite MS designs), just that it would likely never happen. It's an old design and Bandai likes to keep things current with the PG line.

They made a lotta bank with the PG Unicorn and Banshee and I suspect they are a taste of what is to come with the PG line. The Sazabi doesn't have that many gimmicks and extra doodads so they can't cash in with extra armor parts, weapon packs and LED add on packs.

I could see a PG Nu Gundam getting made eventually, so many options for add on parts and the possibility of retooling it into the Hi-Nu with the same inner frame. I really hope they do go nuts and make a PG Sazabi (and PG Z'Gok).

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The Zeta 2.0 is perfect, but it's not a Katoki makeover.

We definitely need a proper ver.Ka S-Gundam...

S-Gundam and Ex-S Gundam are really asking for a makeover, especially since those were the designs that got Katoki into the Gundam business to begin with. Just watching rrobbert184's review of the MG Ex-S made me steer clear of that kit, as he pointed out that lots of parts will break during transformation.

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I still have an untouched MG S-Gundam in my stash (including the hip guns from an Ex-S) that keeps tickling me. I plan to go for the modifications that Naoki did for GHL magazine, but I'm still hoping for a decent conversion kit to come out in the mean time.

Here's Naoki's version:

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Frankly, I'm tired of the Ver. Ka aesthetic and the exalted status it holds amongst Gundam fans. Heck, there's an entire model line dedicated to preserving that particular style of mecha design. And yet here I am with RG GP01 in hand and I think it's the most uninteresting thing in the world.

The S/Ex-S are the epitome of Ver. Ka. How are they supposed to make THE Katoki design(s) even more Katoki?

A 2.0 I can understand, but a "Ver. Ka" just seems kind of redundant.

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I find the recent iterations of old designs across the different lines and design teams (Metal Build, Robot Damashi etc.) far more interesting than another attempt to make a line art accurate kit.

And the MG kit of the S-Gundams may be made from Katoki's designs (even under his supervision), but they're pretty half-assed in their execution and would look totally different if they were made today.

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I find the recent iterations of old designs across the different lines and design teams (Metal Build, Robot Damashi etc.) far more interesting than another attempt to make a line art accurate kit.

That would imply that there's a "line art accurate" kit in the first place, and the argument can be made for some designs that such a thing doesn't exist.

But more to my point, there's no problem with tweaking a design. It's that the tweaking has become so predictable. Slimmer bodies, more homogenous proportions, more surface details. Reducing curves in favor of sharp lines/corners.

And the MG kit of the S-Gundams may be made from Katoki's designs (even under his supervision), but they're pretty half-assed in their execution and would look totally different if they were made today.

Then - maybe I'm mincing words here - what you're after isn't a Ver Ka, but a 2.0. A second go at the same design. I don't disagree with this sentiment. I'd like new toolings of all the older MG kits to bring them up to (the good parts of) modern standards. My fear is that a 2.0 Ground Gundam would result in a shrunken chest block and leaner limbs. It would look less like a rugged ground-pounder and more like an athlete.

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I find the recent iterations of old designs across the different lines and design teams (Metal Build, Robot Damashi etc.) far more interesting than another attempt to make a line art accurate kit.

And the MG kit of the S-Gundams may be made from Katoki's designs (even under his supervision), but they're pretty half-assed in their execution and would look totally different if they were made today.

This.

After all, who ever clamors for a "line-art accurate RX-78"? Many of the best designs were drawn in a time when technical realism wasn't a strong suit. Just look at the original art for Izubuchi's Nu-Gundam and Sazabi. Just in the 21 years since the very first Master Grade kit, there have been massive leaps forward in complexity, fit, poseability, and more importantly, sturdiness.

The EX-S Gundam was a bit of a floppy mess because of its weight and high CG, definitely room for improvement.

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CnP from GE:

Barnes and Noble is having a huge clearance on Gunpla right now in their stores (not online unfortunately).

RX-78-2 Revive: $2

RG 00 Raiser: $8

MG Double X: $12

MG Dark Matter Exia: $14

MG Sengoku Astray: $16

1/100 Graze: $17

Among others.

Do you know if this is a national thing, or only in certain regions? I'll definitely have to check out my local shop, either way.

From what I understand it's national and meant to clear out the old inventory for Fall. Check the website for kits, they have a location finder that lists whether a kit is in-stock or not or if it's on sale at that location. Of course, not every store updates its inventory to match the site. The sale has gone on for almost a week though so most clearanced things may be out of stock by now though.

EDIT:

So I checked out my local store. Only kits on clearance sale were Petitguys for about a buck and change each. Still picked up two for the kids. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Edited by kajnrig
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CnP from GE:

EDIT:

So I checked out my local store. Only kits on clearance sale were Petitguys for about a buck and change each. Still picked up two for the kids. Maybe you'll have better luck.

MG Dark Matter Exia was listed at my local one in stock, but it was gone when I got there. If I'd known a few days earlier I probably could have snagged it--I know they had it, I've held it in my hands a few times.

Proto Zero I'd love to have, but it's listed as on-line only and you only get the clearacnce price in-store.

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