Thursday, June 23, 2011

New Gundam annoucement possibly Anime Adaptation of Gundam Origin manga


The August issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Gundam Ace magazine is announcing on Saturday that an anime project of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga is launching. The manga is itself a re-imagining of Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise's first Mobile Suit Gundam anime project by the anime's character designer. Yasuhiko is ending the manga in the same August issue of Gundam Ace.

Yasuhiko launched the manga in Gundam Ace's inaugural issue in 2001. (The magazine is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month with the launch of a Mobile Suit Z Gundam manga by the anime's animation director Hiroyuki Kitazume.) Viz Media published part of the manga in North America.
Bandai Channel had revealed that another new Gundam project would be announced on Saturday.

- Anime News Network

 Well, if this is true! We just got a brand new U.C. series, we won't know the cold hard facts until this weekend when the real announcement is supposed to take place. Gundam Origin was a manga adaptation of the original Gundam 0079 series. So it's kind of funny here...we are getting an adaptation of an adaptation!

Cred goes to Gundam Guy for the cool story.

Friday, June 17, 2011

THE CATAPULT: GAF Member Gunpla Feature - MG Zaku II Desert Ops by Hemish

Here is a fantastic example of desert colour scheme by Hemish. Earthy, complimentary tones. Effective pre shading. Subtle weathering to make it look used but not damaged. Hemish is becoming well known for his original decal selections, a trademark of sorts, and this kit fails to disappoint. The Scorpion, skull, and Zeonic System would be what my attention is drawn to. Subtle detail work with the weapons and a very nice finish have made this build worth the trouble hemish mentioned having during the build process.
Another thing Hemish will soon be well known for will be his Platoon of Zekes. What started out as a Band of Brothers has now grown into a Patrol, and soon enough will be twenty deep and not to be messed with!



For more details on the challenge Hemish has been issued, and for more awesome pics see Hemish's Desert Ops Zaku II at Gundam Australia Forum.

Nice one mate. Another fine addition to the Squadron.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

This is way too cool - Full LED HGUC NT-D Destroy Unicorn Gundam 1/144



This is insanely awesome. Wow. This is a project I've always had in mine for my MG Unicorn but never got off my ass and did something about it. This LED job is fantastic, but not just that, so is the model itself, look at that weathering job! This is definitely something to be proud of, i'm not sure who made this, but kudos to you!

Monday, June 13, 2011

THE CATAPULT: GAF Member Gunpla Feature - HG Acguy Mars Camo Ver. by Hoardz01

Acguy ('Ack'-guy): Mass produced amphibious mobile suit of the Zeon forces. Model Designation MSM04.

That is the definition of Acguy. Here is how one might visually define a nice Acguy:



Well ain't this just a nice little Acguy by Hoardz01 posted at GAF just now?

He (sic: Rancalus) has come up with the title Mars Camo Pattern, which I think is suitably apt. The contrast of the pink and red camos on the black is very stark and makes for a very unique Acguy.

The camo is very nicely masked using the blu-tack method. The paint work is crisp, the black is very smooth and the Alclad white aluminium comes up a treat. Very nice decal placement, again the contrast of the white on the black is very appealing. I particularly like the individual decals on the segmented arm.

Very inspiring work. Having personally met Hoardz and previewed some of his WIP works from the forum in person, this completed Acguy now bolsters my confidence that we could be dealing with some talent here.

I am always a fan of individuality and when someone brings their own creative touch to a colour scheme and does it well it excites me.

Great Acguy.

Please feel welcome to drop a comment, or respond to the original topic at GAF where you will find many more pictures of this awesome Acguy: HG 1/144 Acguy - Mars Camo Pattern

Thursday, June 9, 2011

New Gundam Series Revealed! Gundam AGE - Descriptions, Photos and Links below!





 Gundam Guy just broke this story, apparently the new Gundam anime series will be called Gundam Age and it appears to be aimed at a younger audience. If this is a necessary step to introduce a younger generation to Gundam, I'm all for it. Images below, also thanks to Gundam Guy.

UPDATE: Gundam Age Gunpla pictures, HG, MG, and Mega Size all confirmed. New AG size revealed. Similar to First Grade. Clearly designed for the younger generation. This pictures we've seen before in the reveal photo, and they may have been judged as HGs before. They are not.
 Gundam AGE 1
 AG Gundam Age-1T Titus
 AG Gundam Age-1S Sparrow
 AG Genoace
AG Garfan 
 HG Gundam Age
 Mega Size Gundam AGE
 Mega Size Gundam AGE
HG Gundam AGE


UPDATE: Official Pictures from the official announcement of Gundam Age. Trailer added above!







UPDATE: Translation of Coro-Coro Scans by Zeonic Scanlations:

"PLOT

Piloting a Gundam to fight to defend the Earth! Suffering an attack from the sudden appearance of the enemy “UE”, Frite completes the “Gundam” together with technological developers of the Federation Forces. With the power to become strong while fighting, the unknown enemy “UE” is beaten back one by one. In order to protect mankind, the Gundam sallies forth!

CHARACTERS

Frite (or Gullit) Asuno – Main character who developed the Mobile Suit Gundam AGE-1 equipped with the AGE SYSTEM.
Asem Asuno
- The second main character and son of Frite. Inherits the Gundam and fights.
Kio Asuno
- The third main character and grandchild of Frite. Inherits the Gundam passed down from generation to generation.
Emily
- Friend of Frite since the age of seven.
Groudeck
– Earth Federation Forces Commander. Captain of the battleship Diva.
Millais
– Earth Federation Forces Lieutenant Junior Grade. Comm chief of the battleship Diva.
Gafuran
– A mysterious enemy like an alien who strikes at mankind.

MECHANICS

The Gundam AGE-1 is the main characters unit. Although it’s a machine, surprisingly, the Gundam grows with the “AGE SYSTEM”. It’s form seems to change with growth from experience in battle!
GUNDAM AGE-1 NORMAL
GUNDAM AGE-1 SPARROW (Speed Type)
– A cool blue unit is the highlight. The enemy is torn to shreds with the cutting edge of the sharp Sigl Blade.
GUNDAM AVE-1 TITUS (Power Type)
- Though it doesn’t appear to carry weapons, with it’s unbelievable destructive power it crushes the enemy.

** Please not that the romanized names for the characters presented here are my take on them and may differ from other variations. They will suffice until official English names are available."



New Info from Anime News Network:
"The July issue of Shogakukan's Corocoro Comic magazine is announcing next Wednesday that the game developer Level 5 (Inazuma Eleven, Danbōru Senki) is working on all aspects of the new Gundam AGE anime for release this fall. In particular Level 5's Akihiro Hino is in charge of the story. There will also be a Gundam AGE manga running in the magazine. 

The new series will have three generations of "father, child, and descendant" as the lead characters. The main characters pilot the Gundam unit to fight against an unknown attacking enemy (UE) and save Earth in a "One Hundred Year War" — an apparent reference to the One Year War of the first Gundam series.
The first main character is Furitto Asuno, who developed the Gundam AGE-1 mobile suit (humanoid mobile weapon) equipped with the AGE System (a self-adapting computer). The second main character is Asemu Asuno, Furitto's child. The third main character is Kio Asuno, Furitto's descendant who inherits the Gundam. The Gundam AGE-1 can be augmented as the Gundam AGE-1 Taitasu for more power, or as the Gundam AGE-1 Sparrow for more speed. 

Other characters include Emily, Furitto's friend since he was 7. Guruudekku is a Commander in the Earth Federation Forces and the captain of the battleship Diva. Mireesu is a Lieutenant (junior grade) in the Federation Forces aboard the Diva

Tied into the anime will be "four ultimate projects" in the works: manga, hobby (model kits), games, and cards."


UPDATE:

So it looks like an interesting concept, I kind of like the Zoids-like add-on parts for the AGE Gundam, with this new information my analysis below changes very little, I'm definitely still willing to give this a chance.

Zeta Newtype's Analysis: I've given this potential series some thought and I've come to this conclusion. To expect a new U.C. Gundam series is a little out of the ballpark because the current one, Gundam Unicorn isn't even finished yet, also this an alternate series, and the last couple tried to beat you over the head with how serious they are. If this can build off the concept of Gunpla Builders, it could work. I think I am willing to watch a slap-happy Gundam series as long as there's some meat on the bones. I believe some of you will disagree with me, but let's not be too quick to judge eh? It may be worth a good laugh in the long run. I will end by saying it again, I believe this new series has potential if it gives us a new spin on Gundam and avoids becoming another random super robot show, but there is potential for that so we here at Gundam Australia Blog will keep following this story as it develops.

Sonar's Analysis: Well I guess I should have seen it coming given the investment in Gunpla Beginner's Building G in terms of Gunpla releases. Hindsight is 20/20 though, right?

While this may not be thrilling news for the mature Gundam fan, we already got our fix with Unicorn, right? Which so far, in my opinion, has been incredible in terms of story, mechanical design, production, animation, is set in everyone and his dog's favourite canon, and is a dual language BD release. We could not have asked for more really..?

So with this in mind it is not unfair nor unreasonable in my opinion for Bandai to invest something in bringing new fans to the franchise. In fact I think it is a damn fine idea. What we do at Gundam Australia primarily is focussed on sharing and promoting our hobby, and I have come to learn that a very important aspect of doing so is introducing it to younger generations. SEED capitalized on the tween infatuation with Bishounen of the time, and GPBBG I think (cleverly) focussed on more of a Pokemon/Yu-Gi Oh! way of conveying the appeal of Gundam to a market which was younger still.

In terms of the future development of Gunpla this could potentially be looked at as a positive. Not only for interesting new designs for the new series (which will almost certainly be HG focussed given the target demographic), but also because there will eventually come a time where UC just isn't as popular anymore and it will be through the development of new series and gunpla releases that Bandai will still be able to cater for the jaded, bitter old UC die hards. *cough WHEEZE... like me! xD

I am both interested and excited by this news and I look forward to watching it... With my kids of course... ;)

So, the silhouette we saw must have been the Gundam Age-1 Taitasu judging by the below pictures then?

Well played Bandai, you certainly are adept at creating viral hype. I think your cunning ability to do so is very much underestimated or unnoticed by the greater western gunpla populace. ~Sonar



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

THE CATAPULT: Guest Gunpla Feature -Tember Gundam's PG GREEN Frame

Green seems to be popular lately, so let's keep the ball rolling shall we? I'm ashamed I just saw this today. I need to check my personal blog roll more often, but Tember has this amazing PG Red Frame he did up as a Green Frame and it sure looks great! More here, and check out some of his latest builds like that interesting MG Impulse!

THE CATAPULT: GAF Member Gunpla Feature -TheGhostOfZeon's RX-0 Unicorn Gundam - The 'Blu-nicorn'

It's Blue! It's shiny! It's TheGhostOfZeon's 'Blu-nicorn"!

It looks really good, when I think metallic finishes, I think stuff like this! I actually watched the tutorial in which the shield for this build was painted, and it was very informative look on how to achieve this kind of finish. Watch the video below and take some peeks at the build!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

THE CATAPULT: GAF Member Gunpla Feature - Shifty's MG Destiny Gundam Ver. SLY

Have you ever seen a neon green Destiny Gundam? No. Want to? It's awesome! Shifty's latest is this brightly inspired version of the Destiny Gundam and it came out great! Interesting color choices were made here and they came out rather well. Makes you wonder if Hal Jordan ever had a Gundam...would it be this? :P

For more, visit the Catapult thread of this awesome build!

THE CATAPULT: GAF Member Gunpla Feature - Garret Masterson's MG Exia Repair

Here's an example of great weathering and a kit I can learn a thing or two from since I've been doing a lot of weathering myself lately, and I gotta say...this is what weathering in space should look like!

Introducing Garret Masterson's MG Exia Repair. MG Exia Repair is build-able by purchasing the MG Exia Ignition Mode and perhaps the biggest selling point of it! Sometimes we just need someone else to show us how great kits can be to influence our decisions on them, and Garret certainly does it here, I wanna convert my Ignition Mode Exia to Exia Repair right now!

For a further look at this great work, click here for the Catapult thread of this model!

GAF Gunpla Feature: Busterbeam's MG Shenlong/Nataku

Holy S$%T! If you wanted to know what an MG Nataku would look like? Check this out amazing build by Busterbeam!


I cannot describe this anymore than flawless, the execution was just that! Flawless. The green and gold just pop like you'd expect it to on Nataku. Way to upgrade, Buster! This week saw me purchasing the MG 00 Raiser and the S.H. Figuarts Domon Kasshu...but if I would have saw this first I would have dropped all of it and ordered the MG Shenlong 1/100, well maybe in place of Domon :D 

Either way, Buster shows the potential in this kit, so if you haven't gotten yourself one of these yet, what are you waiting for!

The Grunt MS Group Build: Ex! Coming in September w/ Prizes!



Announcing the Grunt MS Group Build: Ex! Once August arrives the Grunt MS Group Build will end, but only as an open GB! When August arrives and the open GB ends, the Grunt MS GB will be transformed into a conditional GB! Each month (or more depending upon the demand) the Grunt MS build will issue you a challenge!

A challenge may be set up as such and may be as simple as such:
Grunt MS: Ex challenge for September: Construct a Grunt MS from Zeon only

A challenge may be set up to be as difficult and complex as:
Grunt MS: Ex Challenge for September: Construction a Grunt MS from the E.F.F. only and it must painted and pla-plated

The last week of August I will put up a poll that asks you which challenge out of four you'd like to tackle next and the next month will follow the same format. This idea is currently in beta (thought!), so if you have any ideas to help and improve this idea, let me know, August is a bit off anyway! The Grunt MS Group Build: Ex is intended to be fun, and help you finish a kit if you need inspiration, if a month goes by and no one participates, that will probably be normal, I would still provide you with content the next month regardless.  Let us challenge each other and grow as a community! Who knows...there could be prizes involved.

But in the mean time keep an eye on the current phase of the open Grunt MS Build here, we got some great stuff already out the gate! 

UPDATE: Sonar has announced, courtesy of Hemish, the first round prizes of the Grunt MS: EX Challenge in September will be your choice of an HG Zaku I 1/144 or a HG Nataku 1/144!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Gauntlet of the Apocalypse #1 - The End is Nigh / Hope Horizon


 STRIKE FREEDOM GUNDAMS TO BE BUILT FOR EARTH DEFENSE

Finally we're back live folks, it is unclear what has just transpired but I can tell you what we know. The sky has literally opened up and a torrent of lightning will not stop arching from the heavens above. Are we to believe the end of the world is upon us....all is so uncertain at this moment, but while we can maintain communications during this time of uncertainty...We will share what we've uncovered.

Several reports have indicated that we are indeed under attack by an unknown force, and there are already elements of Resistance! A challenge has been issued by Busterbeam, a former member of the Sinanju Offensive to his former teammates and all else willing to take the challenge. So far many of taken his call and rallied with him to start an arms race against this threat. Warriors from all over have answered - Stay tuned as we update you on the progress of this conflict whenever we can here at GAF!






 [ We have here folks is a interesting twist on a Group Build, the GAF Live Report series! A little creativity to go with the great creativity this community already displays! Each report will inform you on the progress of the Group Build through fun images or descriptions! Stay Tuned for More and be sure to follow the progress of the GB at the banner below! ]