Model Kit Review: PSO RAcaseal "Whitill Ver."

Phantasy Star Online was my first online love. From the day my best friend and I picked it up at Best Buy to the day the servers were shut down, PSO was an every day occurrence. When I heard that Kotobukiya had started releasing 5.5" RAcaseal model kits I was absolutely hyped to get my hands on one. Thanks to my father for this one. As I've practically grown up building Bandai kits I was a little nervous building a kit from a company I had never bought from before. This nervous feeling also had a nice amount of excitement as I popped open the box to explore the wonders inside!

Out of the Box

Being the first Kotobukiya kit I had ever opened it was still surprisingly simple by design. Instructions were easy enough to understand, much like Bandai's kits. The plastic itself is different then a Gundam though. I'm not quite sure how to explain it in detail. It's a "softer" plastic that feels a little more brittle then a Bandai kit. There were also alot of pieces for a 5.5" figure. I counted a little more then 200 pieces. These include the entire RAcaseal, 3 weapons, and 2 different MAGs. She also came with extra pieces that would of been included in other kits in the same line. I've mentioned before that Bandai does this as well. The cost of giving you a few useless pieces (or custom-pieces if you think the glass if half-full) does not seem to out weigh the cost of creating specific molds for each kit. This did become a little confusing during the build though, as many of the extra pieces share the same tree number. There was a moment where I was giving her human-like thighs but a black chest. 4/5

Coloring/Detail

I'll give Kotobukiya one major prop right here - this is the least amount of detail I had ever wanted to do on a model kit. All the colors of the kit matched the character and few detail lines were needed to make her look great. I can't say to much else about it though. A great kit for someone who doesn't like to detail.. unless you like detail on your weapons. Her MAGs and weapons come in one simple color and require a little painting. At the time of this review I had only painted one MAG. I didn't paint either large weapon yet as I did not have the colors I wanted.  4/5

Stability/Movement

30 points of articulation makes her as flexible as a RG Bandai kit. From awesome battle-ready positions to sexy poses this kit it ready for whatever pose you want. Keep in mind that family members may look at you strange, but if you're like me, you are used to the glares and shakes of disappointment. One of my favorite things about this kit is the fact that she comes with two large weapons (A Death Scythe & a large Spread-like gun) that she can actually hold without being a complete bitch. I'm looking at you MG Zeta Gundam. I did end up breaking two pieces during the build unfortunately. One was a black upper-chest piece (That I replaced with a white piece that I happily painted over) and the other was the extremely thin neck-join. Yep, I broke her neck. Yes, it happened exactly like it did in "The Mice In Men." >.> 3/5 Damn weak joint/Damn Monkey-strength.

Overall: Being different is not a bad thing. This kit was something of an adventure. Despite her weak neck joint the rest of her was sturdy and ready to go on the attack. Going thru memory lane as I played the PSO soundtrack during the build helped keep the mood that this kit put me in. Hopefully soon I will obtain one of the other 3 RAcaseal kits so I can give it another go - this time without shattering the poor girl's neck. 3.7/5 - Average.

1/12 Phantasy Star Online Kotobukiya Model Kits

As far as model kits go Bandai has had 100% of my purchases and even though I'm not a very big Gundam fan, I still really enjoy the model kits. Oh, but Kotobukiya has finally found a way to tap into some of Bandai's business. I posted previously about one of these figures but it's time I cover the whole series. I only currently own one who is unbuilt at the moment, but I would love to have the complete set of these PSO model kits. All models are molded by Masaki Aspy who does a fantastic job recreating the characters in model kit form.

First up is Eleanor, the RAcaseal NPC who you met during one of the early PSO Episode I quests. This RAcaseal also has a very strong bond with Mags and teaches you how to use them in the early hours of the game. This kit comes with her slandered mags, a photon saber, and a spread gun. Currently not part of my collection.

If you want to make her part of your collection, check out Amazon's listing here.

Next up is the RAcaseal NPC Shino. This katana wielding NPC appears later in the game's offline quests and is the only figure to have the human face-eye combo. This actual character model was extremely popular during the Dreamcast run of PSO. Also not currently part of my collection, but I am hoping she will be the next one!

If you want to make her part of your collection, check out Amazon's listing here.

The third entry of the series is the first kit not based on a character, but based on a pc model you can use. Named the "Whitil" version based on the section ID that the figure came with. For those of you that don't know, section IDs where created upon naming your character. These IDs usually where used as a hint of what types of items drop off monsters. The "Whitil" RAcaseal is very beutiful looking but also very threatening looking with her "Death Scythe" and spreadgun. She is the first of the series to come into my possession. It'll be my first Kotobukiya Model Kit so I am a little nervous but also very excited. Definitely keep you posted on her.

If you want to make her part of your collection, check out Amazon's listing here.

Finally and surprisingly a fourth kit has just been released - The "Yellowboze" RAcaseal named after her section ID comes with more then one head, a Sato Mag, and a double-saber. I wouldn't normally want her before the other kits but the fact that she comes with a Sato Mag really makes me want her before Eleanor..

If you want to make her part of your collection, check out Amazon's listing here.

I am looking forward to having these three ladies on my shelf as my first offical non-bandai model kits. Keep following if you want to check out my future reviews!

Model Kit Review: Gundam 00 - Virtue

Gundam Virtue comes from the Gundam 00 series of model kits and is one of the original Gundams introduced in the first season of Gundam 00. It's also my 10th 00 related model kit. It is also actually my least favorite of the original 4 but I still built it with alot of passion and patience. Think this thigh-heavy Gundam is for you? Read on and find out!

Out of the Box:
Like most of the series before it, Virtue was a pretty easy build. The head and body was almost exactly like building Exia's. The arms were a little shorter and stubbier compared to the rest of the suits and the legs.. well, the legs were very large but simple pieces. These larger parts actually made it slightly easier then any Gundam 00 suit I've done previously. There were even a few jokes at Virtue's cost in my household as I asked my daughter "Does this Gundam make my thighs look big?" Her wide smile turned into a grin as she replied, "It's not the Gundam that makes your thighs look big." Weapons on other hand were a little more complicated then Exia's or 00. The over-shoulder cannons were simple enough, but the GN Cannon gave me a little grief as the yellow inside doesn't always move correctly.
4/5

Colouring & Detail:
Besides the the inner working of the side packs and a some line detailing needed around the larger areas of the kit, there was minimal to detail on this kit. The entire 00 series of 1/144s don't leave to much room for detail, unless you're a hard-core model kit builder who doesn't mind breaking down a kit and re:molding some joints. For a HG I wasn't expecting that much and I was delivered just that.
3/5

Stability & Movement:
Virtue can't move as well as the agile Exia but it sacrifices movement for a steady grounding. It's large legs help balance the kit into almost any position, but the limited movement doesn't give you a whole lot of choices for poses. The basic "Fire Cannon" pose works well for it but alas.. it will never be able to do a proper Fusion Dance.
3/5

Overall: Short and simple with nothing difficult. Virtue is a great hit for anyone moving up to HG from FG or something around that. I strongly advise it for either newbie builders or a really good pro who wants to make it look like a MG like some of you pros do. 3.3/5

Model Kit Review: Gundam Astray Red Frame HG 1/144



I have actually had this kit completed for over a year now. This was my 10th-ish (Unsure exactly) HG 1/144 Model Kit and the first Seed Astray kit. I had to actually google a picture (below) of it with zero details so I could eventually show what it looked like before I went all crazy with my gundam markers.

Straight Build (No details/Paint) Picture Belongs to ww.hexdidnt.clara.net. Used to show the model kit pior to detailing.

Out of the Box:

Red Frame Astray was not a very difficult piece to build. Easier then some of the 00 series High Grades. It came with simple pieces with no surprises. The Katana itself came in all silver with the rest of the kit coming in white, red, and dark grey skews. Nothing overly difficult so it was perfect for me when I was still new at building. It is still a great kit for newbies who are doing HGs.  5/5

Coloring & Detail:

There was some light detailing around to body, coloring dark areas either dark grey or black. This is one of the few kits that I used a black detail pin on the white for panel lining. I originally tried gray but the black set this kit off with a little more style. There was some heavy detailing on the katana and it's scabbard. As you can tell from the earlier straight build picture, the katana is all silver and the scabbard is all white. Some fine red detail pens would of been useful, but in the end I painted the entire hilt of the sword red and painted over the lines of the scabbard. I then used a Elmer's Eraser to take off the red that I didn't need. It took a bit to get this done correctly. After I tossed on some gold and dark grey and the kit was good to go. Kit came with a few stickers but I only used the logo for his left shoulder and his eyes. 3/5. It's going to take some love if you want your weapon looking good.

Stability & Movement:

There isn't a whole lot of possible joints when compared to say Gundam Exia, but the kit is good for what it is worth. It stands on it's own very well and I have been able to get it into various poses such as Kenshin's battojetsu pose as well as some other cool poses. For a HG I was very impressed. 4.5/5

Overall:

If memory serves me correct the PG Astray Red Frame was a new item at Anime Expo 09, so being able to build a smaller (and more cost effective) version made me feel like I was still one of the cool kids. As soon as I completed this kit back in 2011 I added the Blue and Gold Frames to my Amazon wish list. Unfortunately a year later, they remain there.

4.2/5

Model Kit Review: Gundam Exia 1/144 HG from Gundam 00

Having survived a move between houses, my Gundam Exia kit is finally completed. Let's get right to it!

Out of the Box:

This being my 9th model kit from the 00 series there was nothing very unexpected. I'd like to say if you've built either High Grades of 00 or one of the various Exia repaints/changed release, then you've built Exia. Most of the 00 series comes with the same types of joints and some similar body parts. Most of the kit was easily assembled with very few problems. My biggest gripe about this kit is some of the plastic ends not wanting to come out nicely. This lead to a small screw up removing the extra plastic from the very top of the head. As I mentioned before, this was my 9th 00 HG model kit and there where no surprises. Easy kit for anyone who's built a few kits already with minor flaws right out of the box.  3/5

Coloring & Detailing:

Let me tell you a little story before I go into this next section: I did my first few model kits back in the late 90's when Gundam Wing was the talk of the mecha town. I made 2-3 kits before my local Electronic's Boutique no longer sold them. I took a break that lasted until about two-three years ago. After seeing the Blood: The Last Vampire live action movie, one of my best friends who I'll call "Tenchi" for now took Yopo and myself to the local anime store in Las Vegas. (Tokyo Discount: A place for overpriced but awesome stuff.) I was looking through the items when I found a First Grade Exia Gundam for around $15. I considered buying it just to build a kit and to relive the experience I had previously. This kit would reopen the door to my model building future. Thanks to a little influence from Cable, his brother, and Tenchi, I got myself back into model kits full time.

This kit would not only be my reintroduction to model kits, but would also be my test subject for numerous model building techniques. This Exia was subbed "Bitch Exia", or "Test Exia" for my PG audience. Now, onto the review.

With most of the HQs, there was little detail needed. The more time you want take to detail the kit, the better it could potentially come out to be. There was a little painting a did on the "ears" and in a few minor places. A grey and black ultra thin marker were perfect for detailing. My goal with this kit was to honor "Bitch Exia" by giving this kit the most attention possible. I still think I have a long way to improve my model kit powers, but I wanted this kit to be almost a tribute to how much I've approved over the last year. This kit would of taken about an hour or two to detail for a normal person.
4/5

Stability & Movement:
Simple poses with or without a stand are available for all your posing needs. It's not as poseable as my 00 Raiser kit but has better movement than some of the Unicorn HGs that I've completed recently. The slim-figure of Exia makes it easy to balance but the lack in weight of the kit sometimes leads to the kit falling over if you put to much weight on one side. (Such as weapons.) Then again, at least he's able to hold all of his weapons. Seven Swords 00 can't stand with all of his weapons equipped unless you balance him using the weapons. 4/5

Overall:
A simple kit that shouldn't take anyone as long as it took me. (Again, was moving during the last few months.) If you've built any of the Gundam HGs from the 00 series, then you've basically built Exia as well. Alot of similar pieces and stickers makes it seem repetitive when you've built a few, but overall it was a fun kit to build. If you can find this kit around $17, it'll be worth every penny.
3.66/5

Upcoming Model Kit Projects! 3/19/12

Recently on a trip to HobbyTown USA in Vegas, I obtained some new kits to add to my upcoming model projects. I'd like to share them are a preview of kits I will be doing reviews for in the next few months.

First up!

Gundam Exia HG from Gundam 00 is first on my list. I received this back in December and I actually have this kit about 75% completed. Just need to finish the hips and the arms and he'll be ready for action. This isn't the first Exia 1/144 Exia I've purchased. A couple years ago when I wanted to get back into model kits I purchased a First Grade Exia from a local Anime/Japanese stuff store. From there I used it as a practice model kit to try new techniques on for improving my modeling abilities. This Exia, later named Bitch-Exia, now is part of my daughter's collection of Gundams.

In honor of Bitch-Exia, the gundam used to practice and improve my skills, this next Exia will be made using the best of my skills. My goal is to make this HQ look better then most.

Time for my next Evangelion project! Unit 00 Prototype. Luckily when I did my 0 Gundam Evangelion I purchased the decals meant for these kits. I still have most of the decals for this unit to help with the detailing. Also came with two mini-figures of Rei & Ritsuko for my painting pleasure.



Another couple of Evangelions.Both come with two mini figures that need painting. Look forward to this attempt!

HG Virtue from Gundam 00. Originally I had two plans for this kit, I just haven't decided what direction to take with it. We'll see in the future.

~Finally~

FREEDOM!!! From Seed, this will be my 3rd Gundam Master grade. This is one sexy piece of model kit! Originally, I wanted to get the RG version of this kit but someone decided that I should have this version instead. I love my Tabitha. <3

Can't wait!

If you're interested in any of these kits, I buy most of my kits online from www.gundamstoreandmore.com. Look forward to future reviews of these kits.