Toys are interesting things, and I like to buy toys which seem to have uses sort of funky technology application or systems design. Because it's always neat that sometimes you see some interesting application of tech and design on something that's designated as a toy. But I guess the things I've been working on for the past few weekends don't exactly count as toys. First of all there's this.
This is a Kamen Rider Double Cyclone Joker 1/8 SCALE MODEL. If you still don't get it.. it's a MODEL, as in cut from plastic frames and build up with your own bare hands type of scale model. But.. from a far it looks just like any other toy statue figure, on close inspection though.
You can see where I cut the parts from the frame, the flaws of the middle black line, the decals, etc. etc. So why did I get this? Quite simply I wanted to see why the heck is Bandai getting into this market, because I had one question in my head. Which was there're many many MANY MANY companies that make figures and other collectibles, and they pride themselves in making detailed figures. So why is Bandai making a line that's basically requires the customer to try and make a figure look as good as the others? Because unpainted and unfinished, a model will never be able to compete with a retail figure.
After completing this model though I guess I can see some of the appeal, first of all the figure is HUGE!!!! It is at 1/8th scale, which makes it stand at about 24CM high. It's actually quite posable given the fact that it's just a model. Secondly, If I had the proper equipment and skills to finish the model properly it's basically cheaper than a model that stands this high.
While there is value here if you are the type that builds models, if you're more of the I'd like to have to cool figure to put on display you should probably avoid this even if you really like the character.
And at the same time I got the Kamen Rider I also got this.
It's a GUNDAM! I never thought I'd get another Gundam in my life considering my previous experiences with them. Also I know I totally lack the skill to make a Gundam look decent. But... this is no ordinary Gundam model. This is a 1/144 REAL GRADE Gundam RX-78-2, it's a SMALL model, but the complexity, detail and posability of the model is very high!
You'll only feel astonished by the degree of posability if you're familiar with Gundam models in general. Detail wise, before painting the model already posses some nice detailing due to the use of different colored plastics.
And here's a Zoom.It version for people to see how detailed it is, and how crummy my decal job was.
It even comes with a CORE FIGHTER! (Again... only Gundam fans would appreciate this).
And it's a WORKING CORE FIGHTER! (Wheels have to removed though)
But.... the instructions to make the Core Fighter comes AFTER finishing the main model, and I couldn't for the heck of me remove the placeholder piece to insert the Core Fighter in, so I guess I'll just leave it outside.
Why did I get this? Was it for the detailing? No... I'm not a Gunpla enthusiast so I don't care about that. I was more interested in the fact that the joints, eg. knees, elbows, waist. are in COMPLETED form on the parts frame. You don't have to put the together, you just snap it off, trim off some places where they secured the movable bits and.. it's done! It's amazing to me since I'm still wondering how they manage to mold movable pieces of plastic together in the tree without increasing costs too much.
Even though it's small... or maybe because it's small, this was one HECK of a complicated model to make! Due to the misread of the instructions I accidentally broke an armour plating on the leg, and cut off something I should have pulled out! I haven't even stuck the stickers on yet! I'm no Gunpla enthusiast, but I guess if you want to get the gist of how complicated these things can get without having to shell out loads of money on a 1/60 PERFECT GRADE this would give you an idea of how much trouble the real enthusiast go through making their masterpieces. In total I think I spent half a day trying to put this thing together!
And.. quick size comparison picture
The Beam Saber is TALLER than the Gundam itself... does it have something to prove?
ps. I know... the lighting in these pics are HORRIBLE, I'm not used to either taking things that are this big and errr.. tall. And also things which are small and tiny. Come on.. look at my shooting setup? I guess I'd consider a lightbox if I actually make money off this site. 
