Hobby Talk: Lego Kit Review: Lego Star Wars - Poe's X Wing Fighter

My second Lego kit.  Just in time for Star Wars Episode 7 when I built it.


Why this kit
I always wanted an X Wing but the original Luke's X Wing cost a bomb.  That's $199.00 which is equivalent to around RM 800 or a lifetime supply of KFC.  When Poe's X Wing kit is launched at $79.00 and I was a bit Lego crazy, I immediately clicked add to cart and checked out.

Kit Details
The Lego Wall-E kit was released in September 2015 as one of many in the Force Awaken series.  The box consists of 717 Lego blocks and 1 sticker sheet.  This kit is priced at $79.00 which is around RM 333.

Build / Difficulty
The overall build is fairly easy.  The moving parts on the wings requires extra attention but nothing too difficult.  The manual is also very detailed so there's no reason you can go wrong.

Looks / Details
This kit is big!  It's about 14" in length and the wing span adds to its size.  It has a cleaner look compared to Luke's X Wing.  The colors might not appeal to hardcore 1970/80's star wars fans, but who cares.  It's an X Wing and it can be pink and it'll still look good.

Accessories
You'll get 4 mini figures including Poe and BB-8, a ground supply vehicle and bunch of weapon effect parts with spring loaded cannon for play ability.

Articulation / Pose ability
The wings can be folded or opened into attack mode using Lego technics mechanism.  Cockpit which can accommodate 1 mini figure can be opened and closed.  You can pose this kit in garage mode or in attack mode.

Shelf presence
It's an X Wing.  Star wars fans will definitely recognize this.  But because of the different color scheme, it's not as iconic.

Summary
Sorry, no rating again.  If you're a star wars fans on a budget, this is the kit for you rather than spending almost 3x the price for Luke's X Wing.  You can also top up your purchase with the rest of the force awaken series.

Hobby Talk: Lego Kit Review, Lego Idea's - Wall-E

No, it's not the regular Gundam kit review.  It's something a bit different.  Lego.

Why this kit
I was a bit Lego crazy when I decided to pick up this kit.  Thanks to last year's Shell Lego campaign, everyone else is also crazy about these building blocks.  And the hardest kit to get at that time, Wall-E.  And, saya nak LEGO.. that's why.

Kit Details
The Lego Wall-E kit was released in September 2015.  The box consists of 677 Lego blocks and 1 sticker sheet.  This kit is priced at $59.99 which is around RM 267.

Build / Difficulty
It's always fun building a Lego kit.  Because it's easy.  This kit is rated for 12+ years old.  Imaging a guy almost 3x the box rating building this.  It's super easy to build the kit.  Lego comes in bricks, not runners so no snipping, sanding, nub management.  Nothing is needed.  Just straightforward build.

Lego blocks are in the right size to be considered kids friendly so no really small parts to be worried about.  The manual is very detailed so there's no reason you can go wrong.

Looks / Details
Wall-E in Lego is designed at the same time it was animated back in 2005.  This said, the design of this Lego kit is really similar to what you seen on screen.  The proportion is a bit off from the movie but that's the best you can do from a 677 piece Lego kit.

Accessories
You'll get a plant in a pot.  Sorry, no shoe.

Articulation / Pose ability
The kit has a lot of movement.  But being a Lego kit, it can never reach the dynamics you seen in the movie e.g. retracting every single part into Wall-E's body.

So, no hiding from Eva, Lego Wall-E.

Shelf presence
Who can't recognize Wall-E?  Wall-E on your shelf, Plus!

Summary
Sorry, no rating.  There are a lot of Lego kit out there but it's highly recommended for you to snatch this one from the Lego store if it's available.  Your Millennium Falcon or Death Star can wait.  Price... Lego is expensive AF, so price might be the sole reason for you to pull the handbrake from buying Lego.

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG RX-93 Nu Gundam ver Ka

Link to revised review here.

The best gunpla kit ever..! Now you've seen everything!  Thank you Katoki Hajime!

Why this kit
No matter which review website you go, no matter who you asked for opinion, they'll recommend one kit.  And here I recommend the same kit.  The Nu Gundam ver Ka.

Kit Details
The Nu Gundam ver Ka kit was released in December 2012, a D1 box kit with 25 runners and 592 parts. You also get 1 big sheet of water slide decals, 1 sheet of shiny stickers and 1 sheet of stickers for color variants.  This kit is priced at RM 255.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: +2)
Building this kit is a joy.  There are so many parts involve in building this kit up.  The build is a combination of small parts which gives you the most amount of details.  Look at the amount of parts that goes into building the legs alone.  Subarashi!

The internal frame is impressive.  You'll get a small amount of green psycho frame.  And the amount of details and variations that made into this kit is just astounding.

Again, being a Katoki Hajime redesigned kit, there's a lot of work needed for detailing and the decals.  I would really prefer separate color parts for color separation instead of using stickers.

I took 5 weeks to complete this build. Every single part of this kit is complicated and requires a lot of attention.  Plus, there's a massive amount of water slide decals.  Phew!

Looks / Details
(Score: +2)
Best looking kit ever!  And this is a huge kit, easily towers over kits most of master grade kit.  Here's the Nu Gundam standing alongside the destroy mode Unicorn.  Putting the fins funnels on, this kit is going to look big and awesome on your shelf.

Few fans complained the psycho frame spoiled the originality of this kit.  But you can always choose not to reveal the psycho frame and this kit still looks great.

Not to forget, you can also include the LED kit in this kit.  The LED is optional and does not come with the box.  However, it doesn't really add much to the look and the putting in the LED kit is a bit tough since the head unit is not easily accessible.

Accessories
(Score: +1)
You'll get a beam rifle, a hyper bazooke, a shield, 2 beam sabers and 6 fin funnels.

Every single accessories are well detailed, comes in great color variation and the right amount of decals.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: Neutral)
The kit is capable of wide range of movement and is good with pose ability.  However, because so many parts went into making this kit extremely detailed, the stability of the kit is a bit compromised.

Things fall off a lot.  And all those transforming part of the kit feels a bit flimsy.  Getting everything right requires some patience.  And then we go to the fin funnels.  The fins funnels are flimsy as hell and will fall off once you move the kit around.  The mechanism for holding the fins funnels together works but not great.  The trick is to remove the fin funnels, get the pose you want and put the fin funnels back on.

Shelf presence
(Score: +2)
This kit definitely stands out on your shelf.  There's so many color variation, so much details and as I mentioned earlier, this is a big kit.

This kit comes with a custom action base that enables you to mount the fin funnels on.  If you have lots of shelf space to sacrifice, why not consider getting the double or even triple fin funnel add on pack.

So much awesomeness in a box.

Bonus
(Score: +3)
This kit looks superb right out of the box.  But there's so much more option to make this kit looks even more awesome.
1) Get the triple fin funnel add on pack + effect parts.
2) The the LED add on + black light for it to glow in the dark.
3) Do the LED kit conversion just like the Unicorn.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +10)
This kit is as awesome as it can get.  All gunpla builders should never not build this kit.  It's kind of pricey but all the money you spend on this kit is well worth it.  Because this kit is so amazing, you might get post version ka syndrome for your next build.

Gundam: Nu Gundam
Code: RX-93
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counterattack
Pilot: Amuro Ray
Faction: Londo Bell
Weapons: Beam Saber, Large Beam Saber, Beam Rifle, Hyper Bazooka, Fin Funnels
Release: December 2012
Box: D1
Runner: 25
Parts: 592
Price: 7000 yen

Pundit: Must have!

Variants
Few variants of this kit that you can also consider.
1) Gundam Mark II ver 2.0 (2005) - Roughly the same frame, and have lots of play-ability.
2) Nu Gundam (2000) - Original version.  Not recommended since the ver ka is so much more awesome.
3) Hi Nu Gundam ver Ka (2014) - Amuro's other MS.  Less awesome compared to this one.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 120

Up Next: Aile Strike Gundam ver RM

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG RB-79 Mobile Pod Ball ver Ka

Link to revised review here.

I never understand the craze about Katoki Hajime's redesign kits until I picked up this one (and the next one).

Why this kit
There's this friend of mine always mentioned about how cool this kit is.  And the internet always mentioned how must have this kit is.  And one day, when I visited G-wing, this box just stood there on the shelf asking me to pick it up.  So I did.

Kit Details

The ball was released in December 2004.  It's a A0 box with only 6 runners and 148 parts. You also get 1 sheet of dry transfer decals and 1 sheet of stickers.  Being a Katoki Hajime's kit, there's a lot of stickers for this small and simple kit.  This kit is priced at RM 70.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: +1)
The build is super easy.  The parts are quite big, easy to snap it on.  Teeny tiny parts, less than 10.  So there's no need for magnifier here.  Although the build is simple, you'll need huge effort on lining and decals.   Lining and decals is a must, else you'll be throwing your money into the drain.

Here's how the kit looks, milo-O kosong style.

And here's how it look, after pen and stickers.  See the difference strokes and patches made?

I took 3 days to complete the build including lining and decals. This kit did a good job hiding the nubs.

Looks / Details
(Score: +2)
The kit looks great.  It's very simplistic consisting of a main body, 2 arms and a cannon. But there is so much details going on this little ball kit.  Further enhanced by stickers and decals.

And it's not a small kit too.  Easily towers over a HG kit.  Pictured here is the ball kit against the MG Wing Zero Custom and the MG RX78-2.

Accessories
(Score: Neutral)
Not surprising that this kit lacks accessories.  A head mounted cannon, that's all.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: Neutral)
This kit comes with an action base.  What this kit do is sit on the action base and look good.  You can probably guess how much movement this kit gets.  The arm moves and the head mounted cannon moves.  That's about it.  Want to put this kit in an unimaginable pose?  Good luck trying, unless you put it sideways.

Shelf presence
(Score: +1)
This kit is unique and by the size of it, will definitely catch attention.  The level of details is amazing and having this alongside other gunpla models, makes your collection look and feels complete.

Bonus
(Score: Neutral)
Did I miss anything?

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +4)
A very high score for a very simple kit.  This level of details for a kit priced at RM 70, it's a killer bargain.  But you'll be spending more time detailing than building.

Gundam: Mobile Pod Ball
Code: RB-79
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam
Faction: Earth Federation
Weapons: 180mm Recoilless Cannon
Release: December 2004
Box: A0
Runner: 6
Parts: 148
Price: 2000 yen

Pundit: A must have!

Variants
Few variants of this kit that you can also consider.
1) Ball 08 (2005) - Color variant and different head mounted weapon.
2) Ball Shark Mouth (2006) - You guessed it, with shark mouth stickers.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 100

Up Next: MG Nu Gundam ver Ka

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG GN-0000-GNR-010 OO Raiser

Link to revised review here.

Back to MG kits!

Why this kit
OO Raiser is my all time favorite Gundam.  Period.

Kit Details
The OO Raiser kit was released in May 2011.  It's a D1 box kit with 23 runners and 516 parts. You also get 1 sheet of dry transfer decals and 2 sheet of stickers.  1 unit of LED kit is also included.  The kit consist of separate runners for the OO and the O Raiser.  This kit is priced at RM 235.

Few add ons you can consider with this kit.  An action base and a green LED kit that goes for RM 40.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: Neutral)
The build is relatively easy.  The catch is to get the stickers right.  The manual defaults you to the shiny sticker sheet but make sure you use the see through stickers if you're planning to put the LED into this kit.  If you got it wrong, you'll have a hard time replacing the stickers, especially on the head.

But as the build progresses, you'll find the build a bit repetitive.  Cause this is the most symmetrical kit I ever build.  You'll build 2 each of the Gundam's arms and legs, then 2 shoulder units.  You'll get 2 GN sword II, 2 GN shield and even the O Raiser is perfectly symmetrical.

I took 8 full days (thanks to long holiday week) to complete the build including lining and decals. There's quite a number of visible bad nubs especially on the blue part of the kit but I must admit, I did quite a good job covering the nubs off.


Looks / Details
(Score: +2)
The kit looks great.  The OO Gundam looks a bit simplistic but when Haro shouts "O Raiser, docking mode!"  and the legendary Saji Crossroad docks with the OO, this kit just looks plain awesome.  And if you get the LED kit for the GN drives, this kit looks fantastic.  Especially in the dark.

This kit lacked of decals kind of annoys me.  It makes this kit looks simple and clean. Not an overly busy kit.

Accessories
(Score: +1)
This kit gets a pair of GN sword II (transformable to a beam rifle), a pair of shield, a pair of beam saber and a huge GN sword III.  You get lots of color variation with the GN swords + clear parts.  You'll also get beam effect parts for the GN swords (sweet~!).

You also get 2 GN drive and GN condensers which can house the LED kit.


Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: Neutral)
The Gundam is very solid, no weight issue and has a lot of movements.  The shoulder GN drives can swivel to get out of the way so it doesn't prevent you to get to almost any pose.  My only complaint, the limbs kind of bend in the wrong place.  Look at the picture below.  The thigh is actually bending.  And on the arm, the white armor looked like it split from the inner frame.

The O Raiser is a busy unit with a lot of moving parts and detachable parts held together by small frame.

You can pose the OO and the O Raiser separately.  But the highlight is definitely combining everything together.  Once you docked the O Raiser onto the OO, the kit gets really back heavy.  Look at all those junk slapped onto the kit.  Good thing having all those on the shoulders and the back, it doesn't obstruct the pose ability at all.

But that doesn't mean you can't get the kit to stand on its own.  Just need some patience adjusting the legs and you're good.  As an added bonus, the joints are really tight and strong.  Might be a bit over resisting when you wanted to put it in a pose but once you get there, you're good.  Strong as a brick.

Shelf presence
(Score: +1)
This kit will stand out on your shelf.  Switch on those LED and you're in for a treat.

Bonus
(Score: +1)
This kit supports up to 5 LED kits.  Although 3 is really enough cause the 2 LED on O Raiser shoulder add-on doesn't shine that brightly.

But if you can get all 4; Exia, OO Qan[T], OO Seven Sword and the OO Raiser together with all those LED, KABOOM! Awesome x100.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +5)
Best kit I ever assembled up until that time.  Build is not that difficult but you need to bear with the repetition of all the parts that comes in pair.  Price is a bit steep but worth it considering you're getting a Gundam unit and the O Raiser.  And topping it with LED kits, a hefty price for a kit that shines bright on your shelf.

Gundam: 00 Raiser
Code: GN-0000, GNR-010
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Pilot: Setsuna F Seiei, Saji Crossroad
Faction: Celestial Being
Weapons: GN Beam Saber, GN Sword II, GN Sword III
Release: May 2011
Box: D1
Runner: 23
Parts: 516
Price: 6500 yen

Pundit: A must have!  You can choose this or one of the other 3 variants.  LED is not to be missed.

Variants
Few variants of this kit that you can also consider.
1) Gundam Exia (2009) - The original suit from the first season.
2) Gundam Exia Ignition Mode (2009) - The broken Exia.
3) GN-X (2010) - The bad guy's suit with fake GN drive.
4) OO Qan[T] (2010) - The suit from the OO movie.  Lots of clear parts.
5) OO Seven Swords (2011) - The OO with seven swords instead of the O Raiser.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 105

Up Next: MG Ball ver Ka

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review: HG XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type GBFT

Link to revised review here.

This kit taught me the importance of detailing gunpla kits.  At least at the most basic level.  Without this, my 3 earlier builds will still be without lining and decals.

Why this kit
I didn't break much sweat when building the build strike.  And I'm still into custom gundam models thanks to the build fighters series. The pirate themed custom gundam caught my eye.

Kit Details
The HG crossbone X1 GBFT kit was released in April 2015 with 14 runners and 1 big sheet of stickers.  Pretty generous considering older MG kits has less in the box compared to this one.  This kit is priced at RM 85.  A big price to pay for a HG kit which brings it close to RG and entry level MG kits.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: Neutral)
Generally the build is simple but interesting.  You'll get lots and lots of stuff to build on this kit and you'll wonder how all these toys going to fit on a small scale HG model. This is a very very sticker heavy kit and the small stickers will drive you nuts.

The yellow vents and gun barrel stickers, and the red stripes for the armor clothes are really tiny and requires a lot of patience to put on.

The entire build took roughly 8 hours.  And I went into overtime to do the panel linings which is a must to bring the full details out of this kit.

Looks / Details
(Score: +1)
This kit looks great right out of the box.  You'll get pearl white parts instead of regular gunpla white which boost it's vanity rating even more.  This kit's forte is to stand on your shelf and look great, nothing more.  Once you add all the accessories on, this kit looks fantastic.

Panel lining is a must for this kit.  This is how it looked without lining.

And with lining, it looks fierce and awesome.

The downside are the stickers.  It looks OK from far but upclose, it's very noticeable.

Accessories
(Score: +2)
Talking about generosity. Look at the picture below and you can tell how much accessories this kit is getting (which explains the 14 runners).

You'll get 2 beam brand (boxing glove that leaves the X mark), a beam shield, 2 small knives, 2 boot knives, a blunderbuss/buster gun, a beam cutlass/beam zamber (which can be combined with the blunderbuss to create the beam rifle), a peacock smasher and the muramasa blaster + beam effect parts.  Lots of accessories but despite this, the accessories are not really well detailed.  Lining can fix some of this, but mostly still quite dull looking.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: -1)
The Gundam itself is solid and has a wide range of pose ability.  But one you start slapping all the accessories on, it became a polar opposite.  The big armor cloth gets in the way of almost everything.  And all the big-@$$ weapons makes it a little bit worse.

The best you can do with this kit is for it to hold onto the weapon it has, stand there and look great.  Trying to put it into some other pose, not happening.  And having putting all the accessories on, it's a bit top heavy as well.  The joint on the legs are a bit weak causeing the legs to collapse when you start meddling with the kit.

To top that misery, all these oversized accessories falls of with the slightest of touch.  Once you try to move the arms holding the big weapons, BAM! the weapon fell off.  Adjusting the armor cloth to give way to some pose, BAM! the armor fell off.  Trying to move the kit around on your shelf, BAM! something will fall off.

Shelf presence

(Score: +1)
Despite all the complications, this kit does what it do best.  Look good.  Those big weapons, the different shade of white, the big armor cloth.  All these adds up to make this kit looks great.

Bonus
(Score: Neutral)
Everything you need is in this box.  I can't think of anything else you can do to make this kit even more complicated than it already is.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +3)
If you're looking for a complicated kit to build but not willing to spend the extra bucks for MG kits, this is the kit for you.  Not only it looks great, but it has tons of accessories to play with,

Gundam: Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type GBFT
Code: XM-X1
Series: Gundam Build Fighters Try
Pilot: Lucas KanKaasryja
Weapons: Beam Saber, Beam Shield/Marker, Beam Zanber, Buster Gun, Heat Dagger, Muramasa Blaster, Peacock Smasher
Release: April 2015
Price: 2200 yen

Pundit: For those who wanted a more complicated HG kit but not willing to try the RG or MG kits.

Variants
You can pick up almost any HG kit and start building.

Dalong's Review

Up Next: MG 00 Raiser

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, HG GAT-X105B/FP Build Strike Gundam Full Package

Link to revised review here.

After 2 MG kits, I'm taking the bet to assemble a HG kit.  Since most of HG reviews are very good, I decided to give it a shot.

Why this kit
Strike Gundam has always been one of the most popular gunpla kit with lots and lots of variation.  The latest being the build strike from the build fighters.  At the time I'm building this kit, the MG build strike was not released yet.

Kit Details
The HG build strike kit was released in October 2013 with 9 runners. You also get 1 sheet of stickers.  This kit is priced at RM 50.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: Neutral)
The build is easy but with several really small parts especially on the head and the joints.  But as the build goes on, I start to realize that HG kits are really sticker heavy kit.  Stickers are used to achieve color variation on the arms, legs, skirts and shoulders.

The entire build took roughly 6 hours.  Panel linings are simple and there's no decals to put on.


Looks / Details
(Score: Neutral)
This kit looks good.  Build strike is one of the better looking variation of the strike.  However, once you look closer and noticed the stickers used, the looks aren't as impressive.  And the booster backpack is the lowlight of this kit.  It's a huge chunk of blue plastic and is very sticker heavy.  Plus the booster backpack has lots of visible bad nubs.



Accessories
(Score: +1)
This kit is very generous on the accessories department.  The build strike gets 3 different gun (beam gun, beam rifle and enhanced beam rifle), a chobham shield and 2 beam sabers.  The booster backpack has a lot of play-ability as well.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: +1)
Highlight of HG kits is that they're very solid build and can hold their ground very nicely.  This gundam has huge range of motion but limited when you slap the booster backpack on.  The booster backpack again, is a bit flimsy and makes the kit a bit back heavy.

Shelf presence

(Score: -1)
To me, this kit feels a bit plain and does not have anything to shout about.  Because I posed this beside my master grade kits, this kit got lost in the world of the big guys.

Bonus
(Score: Neutral)
Not much wow things you can do with this kit.  You can try painting the sticker-ed part of the kit to improve the looks.  Unlike its MG counterpart which gets the star booster pack as add on, you'll simply go out and buy the HG star build strike.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +1)
This kit + every variation of HG strike is a very good kit of beginners.  The booster pack is a big letdown but taking that blue chunk of plastic out of the equation, this is a good kit.

Gundam: Build Strike Gundam Full Package
Code: GAT-X105B/FP
Series: Gundam Build Fighers
Pilot: Sei Iori, Reiji
Weapons: Beam Saber, Beam Gun, Beam Rifle, Enhanced Beam Rifle, Chobham Shield
Release: October 2013
Price: 1400 yen

Pundit: Get the MG kit + the star/universe booster pack

Variants
You can pick up almost any HG kit and start building.

Dalong's Review

Up Next: HG Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth