A few good news AND a whole lot of bad news...
The bad news first: due to dwindling funds, any future Gunpla purchases will have to be put on hold. I plan to have everything running again by December. Just need to save a lot for the war chest...
And just when I'm seeing new kits expected for release in the final quarter of 2012 (RG ZETA, NOOOOOO!!!!)
The good news though: this actually gives me time to clear up the blog backlog. And we begin with what probably the final review for this year. An omake is scheduled later on...
So, shall we?
A little qualm before we begin with the main review: I ABSOLUTELY have no idea about Gundam AGE, the most recent release from the boffins at Sunrise. Still, what intrigued me would be the designs of the enemy MS'es. They are quite tasteful without being too organic, and this particular MS - piloted by none other than the series' Char Clone, Zeheart Galette - takes the cake.
P.S. just realized that this suit gives off a bit of a Kamen Rider vibe to it (not that I've watched the franchise or anything...). Maybe it's because of those curves...
Anyway, on to the review.
Completed Unit
Dimensional Views
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| Front |
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| Side |
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| Rear |
More Views
Not much to say anymore about the design, though. BTW, can anyone guess where I got the other extra parts, apart from the obvious ones?
Accessories
Not that much in the weapons department, but it has quite a lot of extra hands, thanks to the other donor unit. I'll explain the runner rod later.
Base Setup (gun only)
The somewhat dinky gun reminds me roughly of the same gun the Covenant used in Halo, particularly the handle design. Bear in mind though that this will be the ONLY appearance of this weapon as I'm gonna convert it into an entirely different weapon for the next project.
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| A failed attempt at replicating the boxart pose without the tail sword |
Probably a mass-produced throwback to the Destiny Gundam's Palma Fiocina (which is in turn a ripoff of the first Facepalm of Doom - the Shining Finger), it is quite a staple for normal Vagan suits. And the Zerydra is of no exception to this; being able to rain suppressing beam fire with them or use them as beam sabers.
Unfortunately, this kit does not have beam effects for the vulcans, so some rummaging into the parts bin was in order...
"Beam Buster" chest-mounted cannon
Ii the series, it was supposed to be Vagan's answer to the AGE-1's DODS rifle. Methinks it's a shoutout to a mech from another Sunrise creation: The Type 0/0 Shinkiro from Code Geass R2.
For this particular variant, it is shown to be mimicking the Tri-Punisher system from the GNX-Y901TW Susanowo, with the beam vulcans acting as side emitters...
Tail Sword (Normal, Palm-mounted Mode)
This weapon, mounted on the palm when in use (connected via the beam vulcan barrel) is one of the amusing items at a Vagan suit's arsenal. First, because it's a physical weapon (moreso much like a derivative of Gundam Exia's GN Sword minus the arm mount) compared to the beam sabers prevalent throughout the series; and second, because it holds it the same way as a person would hold a mouse... XD
Unfortunately this annoyed me a bit during the final stages of the AlterAxia's construction phase, so a necessary add-on is in order...
Tail Sword (Lancer Mode)
Basically it's the same tail sword with an extra small blade and a handle from a runner rod. When engaging this mode, the suit auto-swaps the vagan palms for normal human hands. Aids better in holding the weapon.
Summary:
Good Bits:
- Decent arm articulation
- Semi-organic design
- Colored clear pieces
Bad Bits:
- Ball joints for the waist
- no beam effects for the beam vulcans
- awkward hands (despite being interchangeable)
Conclusion
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| The "Triumphant Conqueror" Pose... sort of... |
Not much to be expected if you plan on getting this biggie, since it's one of the suits from the AGE line which is: one, not that much alien-looking; two, does not look like an animal; and three, not a suit from the Earth Federation. Without those extra parts I added though, I'd just pass this off as a slightly mundane Ace Custom unit just to rival the series' Gundam unit.
Still, it's a proper addition for the Skunkworks, in order to contrast to the "suppressing fire" tactic that can be done with the other two customs I've made...
AND here's proof:
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| Glory for the first Vagan to die! CHAAAAAARGE!!! |
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Lovely Custom. I was also intrigued by the antagonists' MS in AGE(the only aspect i like) because their design resembles Tekkeman, which is my all time favorite Mech Series.....too bad there're only 4 kits ever made and two were of the same guy.... (-_-)
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