The Best Places to get Gunpla in the US

I’m writing this post as a sort of PSA since I learned something new when I ordered my HG 00 Gundam.

Basically, I haven’t bought a non-brand new model in years. I believe the last three models I’ve bought are the MG SInanju, 1/100 Overflag, and MG Unicorn, all of which were pre-ordered and bought as soon as they were released. I’ve always stood by that RainbowTen is the cheapest place to go for models, and to some degree that is still true, so let me do a quick rundown for ya using a fun scoring system.

Tool Review/Rant: Despruing Tweezers – My New Favorite Tool

I saw this on MicroMark one day and was interested as I had heard of something like this before… Some quick Googling told me some pretty good things, so I nabbed one.

(Above image from MicroMark)

The HG 1/144 00 Gundam was the first model I used this on and I am so sad that I didn’t discover this sooner…

1/144 HG 00 Gundam: Work in Progress – Redesigned GN Drives

Hey, remember how I said I wasn’t going to do THAT much modifying?

Oops.

So… Yeah. Originally I wanted to do a little mod on GN Drives just because the 1/144’s drives are horrifically basic looking… My original idea was to just find some way of adding little thrusters to the holes.

But then I decided that would be too easy…

So I decided to bring up a new CAD program (ANOTHER new one, if you’re familiar with my struggles with the GN Flag, haha) and give it a go. So long story short… I’m just going to be modeling and 3D printing a new set of GN Drives for him based on a combination of the 1/100 00 Gundam and the shots from the anime in which they show the drives in detail.

Obviously it has quite a ways to go… Well, sort of. It doesn’t have THAT far to go, but what has been done is really basic (mainly due to having to learn the program, haha), so we shall see how it progresses.

1/144 HG 00 Gundam: Work in Progress – Buildup and To Do

So I got my 1/144 HG 00 Gundam today and slapped the guy together. He’s a hella nice model. I haven’t built a 1/144 HG in years but this was an absolute joy to put together.

Everything is just amazing… Detailed, very articulated, this kit is quite amazing. I’m not going to do a full review since it’s not a new kit and you can find these reviews left and right, but still.

HOT DAMN!!!

Only tools thus far:
- Hobby knife
- Sprung cutting tweezers (My new favorite modeling tool… Gonna have a rant/review on this soon)
- .005 Micron Sakura marker for panel lining
- Metallic green Gundam Marker for painting
- Sandpaper

Gundam 00 S2 Episode 16: Prelude to Tragedy

Spoilers ahead, obv…

This is a VERY dialogue heavy episode, so since my Japanese is rubbish I can only be so useful here… Enjoy the screens at least, haha.

The episode begins with Hercules making an announcement to everyone in the orbital elevator that they are evacuating everyone not part of the coup d’etat.

The Backlog

Every once in awhile I like to write down what I should be working on, what I have sitting around not working on, etc etc, all in an attempt to figure out why I’m not really making progress on anything…

Sinanju Bazooka: Group Order – Last Call

Order placed for bazookas.  Thanks to everyone for helping everyone save a bit of money and I’ll let everyone know when I mail out your orders in April.

Last call for bazooka orders.  I’ll be placing the order later today.  As I said, I’ll see what I can do for orders made after today but can’t make any promises.

Gundam 00 Episode 15: Victory Song of the Resistance

Just in case your visiting here expecting a summary, I’m afraid I will NOT be doing one this week. I’m currently out of town and unfortunately can’t be as liberal with my sleep schedule as I usually am.

Sinanju Bazooka: Group Order Game On! + International Shipping

Picture courtesy of Ngee Khiong

Alright, we have enough people to make this happen. I will be emailing everyone who posted with interest today, but if this is the first time you’re seeing this, follow the details below to order.

How to Order:
- Paypal $25 per bazooka to knolly@gmail.com. Be sure to include a shipping address!
- If you are NOT in the US, include $10 for shipping for the first bazooka and an extra $5 per each additional bazooka.

Details (mostly repeated from previous post):
- You will ONLY get the bazooka. No novels are included otherwise the cost would be a lot higher due to increased shipping (each novel weighs about three times a bazooka).
- The box the bazooka comes in will be wrapped in paper, sealed nicely and securely, and shipped. This is in an effort to keep costs of packaging down. From having the Unicorn gatlings myself, the boxes of these things are VERY strong. If I feel there is a danger of the bazooka being broken, I’ll ensure it gets packed in a safer material.
- For international orders: While I do not foresee this, I reserve the right to cancel your order and refund your money if shipping ends up being far greater than planned.

To GUARANTEE your bazooka kit(s) you must have your order in by JANUARY 19th.

The novel isn’t released until April 15th (announced date), but the retailer I’m getting these through is placing their order on the 20th, so due to the large quantity of novels being ordered we must have them ordered by then to guarantee yourself one. I will send out all of the bazookas as soon as I receive them.

If it is AFTER the 19th I will do my absolute best to accommodate you. Send the money via Paypal as described above and if I cannot secure you a book, I will refund your money. I will edit this post if I have confirmed there are no more novels left.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not trying to make a profit off of this, but I know I certainly want one of these guys and figured out I could help some other people in the process and hopefully get a pretty good price for everyone this way.

Please post any questions or concerns you might have in the comments on this post.

Gundam 00 Season 2 OP2: Namida no Mukou by Stereopony

 

Protip: Just go to the YouTube page, click “Watch in HD” below the video, and proceed to JIZZ.  IN.  YOUR PANTS.