WIP: 1/72 Battroid Valkyrie

Unpainted, shown to scale next to a can of flour pumice.

After finishing the 1/100 V2 recently., I decided to work on another hand-me-down from a friend of mine: A 1/72 scale Battroid Valkyrie made by Hasegawa. This is the second 'large' mecha kit I'm working on, as 1/144 is usually my working scale.

Now this is a 'fixed' figuration kit; It's non-transformable apparently because Bandai has the license for the transformation gimmicks for their Macross kits. So the Hasegawa kits have to make do with their Macross kits molded in one configuration. But then again, Hasegawa is known for their top notch aircraft kits and this shows in their Valkyrie.  There are a lot of little details in the form of groves, pinions and notches akin to a Hasegawa aircraft kit. So far, I'm loving this build.

Base coated after some weeks of procrastination

 This one is in Battroid form kinda like how Starscream looks like in his robot form. The fuselage forms the torso, the thrusters form the legs and the arms are formed out of the body of the Valkyrie. The kit is mostly snap built, but there were a lot of parts I've cemented and sanded so that everything would fit and look seamless.  

I've base coated the parts with gunmetal, so you can be pretty sure how this will be turning out. As you can see, details. A lot of it. I'm yet to see a Bandai VF kit have all this crazy detail.

That's all for now! Oh, you might want to check out some Revoltech Valkyries from 45fresh. If you're the kind that's more into mecha action figures then this line is for you.

*A few notes: I constantly refer to the VF-1 as a 'Valkyrie'. I am using Macross naming conventions which are very different from Robotech conventions. For example, the VF-1 is designated as a "Veritech' in Roobotech and so is the word 'Battloid' (humanoid form). Mre into this, but I'll leave it off for another day.

One more pic,for the road. Look at all those parts!

Random Toy Review: Legends Class Devastator

Hey everyone. I've been getting the hang of doing random toy reviews and this time I'm bringing you Legends Class Devastator. I bought this at a markdown sale for half the price at a local mall's toy store. It's a steal for me, but I'd have some other opinions about it:

I've heard that a redeco/repaint of this was released just recently. Still the same toy but repainted in G1 (Generation 1 colors, green/purple). You can also get it here at 45fresh thru this link.

So there, I hope you like my take on the Legends-class Devastator.

The Garage welcomes its new partner

 The Garage welcomes 45fresh.com as a new partner!

45fresh aims "to create an identity that bridges the gap between the toy enthusiasts and an iconic, cultural movement that pertains to our generational divide". Right now they're stocking on goodies from well-known brands such as Bandai, Good Smile, Hot Toys, Kaiyodo, Medicom, Megahouse, Takara Tomy, Max Factory and Griffon.

Take a look around folks and see what 45fresh has to offer!

High Grade 1/100 scale V2 Gundam finished.

It's been a while since I posted something related to gunpla so here something:

I've finished the HG (High Grade) 1/100 scale V2 I've been working on for about 4 weekends. This is by far the longest I've taken to finish a gunpla kit but it was worth it:

Haven't put up my WIP (Work in progress) pics for this oneas I posted them all in my deviantart page. This was a very challenging build. The fact that the kit is old (1993), it also had a lot of nuisances on its transformation sequence which involves a lot of part swapping.

For the overall look, I gave it a 'bruised and battered' look rather than an all-out weathered look. I did this to reflect the state of the kit at around the middle of the 2nd season of the anime, before it was upgraded.

I hated this kit once. But seeing it all painted like this turned my loathing for it around. Now I'm more inclined to build old kits such as these.

Komiks Review: Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium

I can describe the Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium (QBCCC from this point on, the full name is quite a mouthful) as the 'big,bad wolf' of local anthology indies. 'Big' because what was supposed to be a 50 page volume turned into a 100+ pager, split volume due to the number of contributions. 'Bad' is mostly self-explanatory. The QBCCC is intended for mature audiences as it contains a lot of adult situations, nudity and sex, profanity (a whole story revolved around it!) and other themes not suitable for minors. And like a 'wolf' because it grabs the reader by the jaw and never lets go up until he/she finished the whole thing.

Volume 1's covers were done by the amazing Mervin Malonzo (of Tabi Po fame) both of which are (Alex) Niñoesque portraits that only he can deliver. As mentioned earlier, the volume is split into 2 because of physical limits and comes with a special pink bookmark with the QBCCC logo printed on it. Although the anthology is photocopied, the quality is top notch with each page coming crisp and mostly error-free.

As for the contributors, the line-up is stellar: Josel Nicolas, D.J. Legaspi, the aforementioned Mervin Malonzo, Adam David, Apols Sta. Maria, Hub Pacheco, Teddy Pavon, Jobert Cruz, Jim Faustino, Noel Pascual, Bugsy Garcia, Tilde Acuña, AJ Bernando, Pleasebury Doughboy, Ammathorn Norby Ela and the enigmatic 'Rex' are all in there.

QBCCC Vol.1 has that flavor akin to Heavy Metal (the adult magazine), MAD and Fangoria placed in a blender. A good mix of satire, toilet humor, gore, sex, weirdness and other unconventional genres go together. An unholy matrimony of the immaculate and foul, like shit in a sparkling clean toilet bowl as the authors would like to commonly represent the anthology. And that might be the what they are aiming for: a great read that's hard to put down and can be taken anywhere especially in the john. 

This one's a solid read no doubt. QBCCC's mature content may put off a lot of readers but then again, it is not for everyone in the first place. And the price might be a bit daunting for most buyers but it is reasonable: no other anthology has this much excellent content and suffice to say the covers and the bookmark are worth the purchase already.   

The QBCCC is coming up with a 2nd volume and promises to bring more than what they had from the first volume. You can follow the activities and hijinks of the gang through their official Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/qbccc.