Review: Strike Noir (Dragon Momoko)

Here's another kit coming from Dragon Momoko. Yet another version of the strike. Don't get me wrong it looks great and all but what's new with this one.



The Strike Noir is one of the main suits used in Gundam Seed Stargazer. It’s basically a specialized Strike E. with a more melee/close ranged IWSP pack.


For those who don’t know, Dragon Momoko a manufacturer of third party kits. The designs they use are redesigns of Bandai so the details of the details of their kits are different from Bandai’s (more on that later). Did they bring their “A” game with this kit? So with that in mind, here's the review of Dragon Momoko's Strike Noir. 




THE BOX







Again with the same white cover. The same white manual. Even the same brown box that we know and love. It comes with 33 runners, carefully placed in 9 plastic packaging. The manual has another momoko trademark, the unusual, unexplainable names of the runner (like pj2 or xb?? Like what the heck?) Other than that it's more or less the same as the other strike. It also comes with the usual sticker and waterslide decals. 

THE KIT

Sharpen your hobby knives cause yo gonna do a lot of shavin'. The Noir keeps its signature Dragon Momoko tight fitting pegs. Almost all polycaps needed it. Some armor panels (like the back armor, elbow, details on the wing) also like to pop out. Nothing out of the ordinary for a third party kit.

BUT THE DETAILS… Incredible work from DM for the details. Really really nice. It's all I can say about it. Really good job. Aside from that, it comes with 2 bendy wire for the rocket anchor. But I'm not really a fan of that. 

PLASTIC

Good plastic quality. It's not coated so awesome for straight build. Not really daban standard, but really far from hongli. 

POSABILITY

Very posable. Arms doesn't go falling off. Make sure you hear a snap when fitting the legs, so it won't go falling(just like the dm tallgeese). Overall good posable kit. 

MY THOUGHTS

Shoulder armor is hard to snap. Results into stress marks.

Be very careful with the articulated hands. It is prone to tearing when you're not careful. (I lost a finger and the connecting joint to the gunpla gods)

Non articulated hand have problems holding the handguns.

 Super tight fit when changing the hands. 

VERDICT

It's a cool looking gundam. DM really did a great redesign with this kit. The tight fit issue is not really a big problem. Overall, awesome kit. Get this kit! It's worth the moolah.

85/100 

peace

Review: Empire Stormtrooper (Nuclear Model)

Hey there guys. I'm doing something different this day and I'll be reviewing the Empire Stormtrooper model kit from Nuclear Model. It's a new model kit manufacturer that I haven't heard off before.So without further ado here is my review.

Packaging.

So... Apparently this is a copy of Bandai's stormtrooper kit. So just like BL gunpla the box of the stormtrooper looks a lot like Bandai's (minus the bad translations)

Manual.

Okay. Color me impressed. This is one good looking manual especially from a third party company. The colors are bright. The details are sharp. The quality of paper is good as well.

Good job.Nuclear model

The kit proper.

The Stormtrooper is a 1:12 scale model.  It has no true internal frame. So comparing it to gunpla it is a RE 100. Great details but no inner frame. The pegs fittings are firm. Although some require shaving specially in the torso.

Plastics.

The plastic used to make this kit is really remarkable (no bs) it feels almost Bandai like though a tiny bit softer.

Posability

Okay. At first I thought that this kit would be highly flexible but sadly this is not the case. The problem is the kit's simple joints system, armor design and the lack of an inner frame.

To be more specific. The shoulder armor keeps popping out and it hinders arm movement.The stormtrooper's elbow joint also tend to easily pop out.

As for the torso. No problem there.

The waist armor/tactical belt of the stormtrooper also tend to detach when posing the legs of the kit, since they tend to restrict their movement.

Trooper: You are the droid I am looking for!

Gundam: Me? K.

Thoughts:

Plastics: The plastic here is great. Better than the plastics used by Daban. Almost near Bandai.

Fitment: parts are snap fit. Although some pegs need shaving to go in without using too.much pressure.

Posability: lacks posability because of joint and armor design.

Details: details are good. Very good.

Pewpewpew

Proton cannon!!!!

Verdict

I might get me two or more of this kit. I need to make a squad. I wasn't too into star wars kits. Now I'm hooked.

You won't be disappointed.

Get one.

Score: 90/100

Review: PG Unicorn "Fighter" Gundam (Daban)

Bandai is so pissed right now

Okay. It's been out for some time but I wanted for the hype to die down before I made my review of this kit. First of all. Guys.... if you have the money get the original Bandai kit that's just the fair thing to do it's better than this Bootleg kit and you're actually getting your money's worth.

Okay One more thing. I didn't get the optional Daban LED system for the kit since I'm planning to paint the psychoframe. Without further ado....

Here is my review of the Perfect Grade Unicorn "Fighter" Gundam made by Daban.

First of all Let's talk size.

If it was real and in 1:1 scale. The Unicorn Gundam would measure approximately 21.7 meters tall in Destroy mode. so 1:60 that'll be about 36.17 cm or 1 foot 2 inches(thereabouts).

Let's see if it's true

Yup. Seems just right.

Well... It's taller than a standard ruler. so it is HUGE. What do we expect. It is one of the taller Gundam models from the Universal Century timeline.

So a big Gundam needs big guns too. so here they are compared to an MG RX-78-2 ver 3.0

RX-78-2: A shield? Looks like a surfboard to me.

RX-78-2: twin beam Gatling guns??? Where did they get this a battleship?

RX-78-2: If I used this I could've blown up A Baoa Qu by myself.

Huge.

Basically the kit comes with 4 beam saber but only 2 beam saber effects, a bazooka, a beam magnum, a set of dual beam Gatling guns and a shield. The full armor unicorn looks impressive now, right?

A lot of other blogs have done the part by part analysis and to be frank it's not my style. I'd like to just relay my thoughts and experiences when I was building this kit.

Thoughts and Issues:

1. The plastic is reminiscent of Daban's Sinanju Stein. It's sturdy and snappy to cut but there is something really off about it's weight. It feels structurally unsound. It isn't, but it feels that way.
2. A lot of the external armor is undergated. which is a good thing. you wouldn't a predominantly white suit to have visible nub marks.
3. it's surprisingly easy to assemble. No screws, springs or any fancy locking mechanisms to hold the frame together.
1. Take that into mind because the shoulder joints may not fully support the Dual gatling gun/shield combo with an outstretched arm. friction can't keep the arm from sagging down,
4. You will face some tight fitting pegs. I would suggest not to over shave the peg holes or polycaps too much since friction is the only thing holding this thing together and standing up. 
5. I like the clear parts in this kit. I din't have to modify anything to make them fit. i just shaved the nubs off using my hobby knife and followed the instructions carefully.
6. Read the manual carefully and use your common sense. a lot of the clear parts need to go on a specific way otherwise the transformations wouldn't work.
7. If you're planning to get one but want the led later. save yourself the work. get the led's at the same time to avoid disassembling the kit to the inner frame.
8. Details are surprisingly good.
9. transformation sequence at the most part is good and smooth. Although there are some parts you have to force a little. namely the shoulders, arms and lower leg armor.
10. I love the head transformation most of all.
11. Really good posability. (Good job Bandai)

Final Thoughts.

I enjoyed making this kit. I took my sweet time in savoring the build. The details are great and it does look sweet. The gimmicks are plentiful and transformation work pretty smooth for the most part. So if' you're looking for a brilliant piece of inexpensive (relatively) Perfect grade eye candy you can't go wrong with this Unicorn.

*Rating: 90/100

Final Final Thoughts.

BUT if you take into account that Daban's newer plastic formula (I felt it began after the Nu gundam ver ka) FEELS less sturdy and less substantial compared to older models. I mean my old bootleg 00 Raiser feels heavier compared with the Unicorn.   I know it's nitpicky but there is something fundamentally "cheap" feeling about the unicorn. Please note this is my opinion.

*My Rating: 80-85

Verdict. 

Yup, It's a great kit. aside from the plastic quality feel issues I said. this is a really good copy of Bandai's original (sorry bandai).  With Daban's  Banshee already in the works, the full armor kit nearby and Dragon Momoko's more expensive , more detailed Unicorn  I would say this is a pretty good year for PG's.

Review: MG Akatsuki Gundam (Dragon Momoko)

The Akatsuki Gundam created by the nation of Orb in the Gundam Seed Destiny series. 

This particular model kit is based on the Dragon momoko strike inner frame which is basically a sligtly modded strike RM  inner frame.

This kit comes with both the Oowashi and Shiranui backpacks 2 beam sabers, a number of beam effects, beam rifle, a number of different fixed hands, a pair of version 3 hands and a shield.

As I have said. The DM( Dragon Momoko) Akatsuki uses a modified Strike inner frame and this results in a very flexible and posable kit. Unfortunately this kit comes with the disadvantages of that innerfrane design. Issues with the frame are tight joints and very loose ankles.

Most of the inner frame parts are not undergated (nub marks are hidden under the part so they wont be seen) except those from the O and M  runners.

Did I say that the ankles are loose? Yes? Well... I'll tell you again. The ankles sre very loose. Annoyingly loose.

Let's discuss the main suit.

Obviously, this kit is colored gold. And its a good thing that the gold in this kit is not plated but rather injected because not all armor parts are undergated and you might want to touch it out repaint it .

Some parts in the wrists, shoulders, thighs and ankles are prone to nub marks.

A confession: I dont like this pack. It's too bulky, it really doesn't look cool (my opinion).

To be more objective the back connector is loose and the pack keeps falling off.

The Oowashi pack. In my opinion the better looking of the 2 Akatsuki backpacks. This is a transformable booster with missiles and 2 cannons.

Equipping it on the Akatsuki doesnt make it too unbalanced plus the addition of black, white and red accents help break up the monotony of gold.

Conclusion:

Posability: even though the frame is very posable. By adding all the armor, its overall range of movement is reduced. Also... loose ankles and be careful.of the flexible hands. They have been know to lose fingers

Plastics: same as the DM strike. Armor parts are mostly undergated. Frame parts are not. Plastic quality is good softer than Bandai but still crisp. The gold color isnt plated so you can paint over it.

Extras: 2 backpacks, water slide decals, a number of beam effects, stickers. It doesnt have a stand/action base included

Final thoughts: its not as gold as i expected it to be. And those ankles irritate the heck out of me. But aside from those issues I would say this is a very detailed and unique kit

Should you buy it? Yes.but wait for the hype and price to go down a little. Its not as good as the sword and launcher strike detail wise.

Rating: 85

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