My Time at the TFNation Reading Mini-Con

So things started out with a decision not to repeat my previous mistakes with trains, I'd get an off-peak ticket and aim for an early train. Then it snowed the Monday before. Fearing further snow I watched the weather reports like a hawk, and even left early for the station, jumping on an earlier train. Then my 13:03 connecting train was delayed and then cancelled, prompting a stampede for the next train, which I couldn't board. I eventually escaped Birmingham New Street, but delayed by two hours and in an absolutely foul mood, trying desperately not to have an autistic meltdown. Fortunately, things improved once I arrived at the Premier Inn, where I recognised fellow fans. Thanks to those whom chatted with me, it salvaged my evening.

The actual day was a lot of hard work, preceded with a buffet breakfast. I'd volunteered to help out the Toy-Fu team on their stall again, its for charity and I know people there, which ended up being my main experience of the event. It was a productive day of fundraising too; it was very busy and we shifted a lot of Masterpieces and such. TFN itself? Well, its fine, but its an inherently small scale event, and they say so in the name. It all took place in the same hall, so it always felt a bit noisy. I think I would have liked to either explore Reading more, and might have been better off staying for two nights, just to be sociable, but it didn't work out that way. I'll have to rethink my next trip. Travelling back wasn't exactly fun either, there was a fricking storm. And it was a Saturday night. Delays, packed trains, mad dashes to connecting trains, drunks, and I lost a cagoule on the way. I should probably have stayed for two nights... Not the same mistakes as last time, just new ones. Fuck trains.

 

Anyways, my haul this time was somewhat light. Part of that was the absence of the usual big online Transformers retailers from the event, but honestly its not that long since August and little new had grabbed me since. I picked up some stickers from Claude, and some very obscure Gundam fridge magnets from Toy-fu. Neither is really blog material, but the one actual Transformer, Alternators Ravage, probably is. I can probably ramble about this.


All in all? A far from terrible event, but with the shit weather and trains, the shine was taken off it.

Gunpla: The RGC-83 GM Cannon II (HG)

As I have alluded to in the past, one of the things about the Gundam franchise is that it likes to return to the well. Bandai is very inclined to revisit the original Universal Century and especially the One Year War timeline, bolting on new narratives for a new line of kits. On some level, there's space for this, as your typical Gundam anime features a world war and its aftershocks, but it becomes a failure of realism after a while. People desperately seem to want the Federation and Zeon to go another round, but that can't really happen without skipping forwards a few generations. So what the U.C storyline looks like instead is a series of increasingly spiteful terrorist actions committed by Nazi remnants whom lack the resources for a proper war, with the Federation being required to hold the idiot ball to enable that, until that entire generation finally dies off, and lets their grandkids make new mistakes. It is equal parts bleak and pathetic, and I can't help but see the business practices that created this, rather than any narrative justification. Don't worry, I am edging towards my point. Today's subject, the GM Cannon II is from the OVA Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, set in the gap between the first two Gundam TV shows. 0083 is likely the purest example of the trends I described above, it featuring a Zeon fleet for whom the war hadn't ended, whom steal a nuclear-armed Gundam in an attempt to get bullets firing in anger again. It's been a good while since I last tried to watch it, but 0083 is probably my least favourite of its ilk. It tries very hard to forge new links between the various Gundam instalments, but it's not great as a stand-alone story, with much behind the scenes aggro. 

 

The GM Cannon IIs place in all this is to be a kind of multi-layered nostalgia hit. Its there to take the place of the old Guncannon, whose concept never really made it into the franchise template, as artillery is less cinematic than the series norm. It did inspire the GM Cannon however, which was part of the "gunpla first" Mobile Suit Variations thing, which sought to do things like mine layers and trainers, stuff for the serious scale modeller Gundam had attracted. The GM Cannon II was both a nod to that, and another OVA spin off, War in the Pocket. Specifically, it inherited the armour concept from the Gundam NT1 "Alex", although a little changed, a shield based on the one used by the GM Command sub-family, and some details reminiscent of the Guncannon Mass Production Type I've built previously. It also shares parts with the GM Custom, as does the kit, a walking misnomer that 0083 also features, but that's another story. That also explains the mismatched colours of our subject. As an in-universe concept though, it's probably fair to say that mobile suits like this were ageing into obsolescence. The preponderance and proliferation of energy weapons with the apparent death of Combined Arms Warfare meant  there was simply less call for something like this. Mobile suits are basically jet fighters not tanks. The GM Cannon II is however a design I'm inclined to like, fiction be damned. I'm fond of big, chonky bastards that look like they can trade injuries with the best of them. 

As far as older kits go, this high grade is pretty good. Its based on polycaps, but the joint design is fairly comprehensive, and almost luxurious in the ankles. There’s actually six(!) hands, with a little stand on one of the runner dto store the spares. You also get two blades for the beam sabre that stores on the left arm, which TBH is exactly the sorta corner you’d expect to be cut. Its main weakness is in the are of colour accuracy, this being one of those designs that has red thrusters and a sticker sheet, which I misplaced at some point. I’d started this kit, forgot about it, and only came back to it when I needed to dogsit for someone. Dunno what I was thinking at the time, its a nice build. When I was snowed-in later that week, I went in to paint some details, use a gundam marker, and apply some weathering techniques.

 

Its not my most complex work, but job’s a good ‘un.

Gunpla: The MSJ-121 Demi Trainer (HG, Gundam: The Witch From Mercury)

When I come to build a gunpla, I usually have some pre-existing experience with the design. Not with the Demi Trainer here, as I'd somehow managed to not watch any of Gundam: The Witch From Mercury in the 7 months since it came out. An unusual oversight for me. At the time of writing, I'm catching up with G-Witch, as it is short-handed, although I don't have any especially deep opinions on it. I like what it's doing so far, but I'm nowhere near that tonal shift that people like to meme about. Anyway, the Demi Trainer. What is the Demi Trainer? Well, it's more or less what would happen if the chinless wonders at Eaton or Oxford decided they needed giant robot classes. Most of the initial episodes of G-Witch take place at a school for the children of arms companies and the Demi Trainer, is, well, the official trainer mobile suit. People have their own, of course, when/if their often-terrible parental figure provides one, but this is the uniform standard. Such things have existed in the Gundam mythos before of course, but the Demi Trainer is a lot more prominent, as background set dressing goes. It attracted me due to its non-threatening grunt vibe. It's the head more than anything, it's just an uncomplicated and functional design.

As both a product and project, the Demi Trainer is very similar to 30MM kits, especially the Extended Armaments chap I've done recently. It's joints feature no polycaps, the sticker sheet is extremely inoffensive, colour separation is on point, and, of course, there's a weapon set sold separately. As such, it's quite a fun lit that goes together with minimal fuss in an afternoon. Once complete it's nice to look at, and quite posable. This is however let down by the ankle/ foot area, which is rather hollow to look at, and doesn't have much forwards/backwards movement. Instead, the toes and heel can rotate separately from each other in a pretty comprehensive ankle tilt. This, and the occasional limb popping off, make it feel a bit rough around the edges versus some 30MM kits, although possibly I'm being a bit hard on it. It does a few things that are very characterful to compensate. Both the gun and shield mount to hardpoints on the forearms, with a nice solid connection, but these ports are not fixed. Instead the entire forearm rotates. The waist joint is unexpectedly advanced too, with the butt-plate serving as a locking mechanism. Finally, there's the whole "saber stick" and "duelling antenna" business. The G-Witch school, inevitably, has giant robot duels, but it's not to the death, it's until you stoke off your opponents antenna. These two accessories let you practice without using actual weapons. 

 

I had the bright idea to attempt three kinds of weathering and detailing, and maybe they don’t work that well together. I attempted to panel-line and pick out a few bits with black ink, which was alright, but I probably could have just used a marker for the same effect. I used dry-brushing and an ink wash to make it dirty, focusing on the extremities and the obvious points of wear. I know that this is a public schoolboy, so making it dirty possibly goes against the theme, but then the box art has one falling over, let’s pretend its that one. 

 

Yeah, I’m probably gonna get Chuchu’s custom example now...

 

 

Revisiting Gundam: The 08th MS Team

As I have mentioned before, there is an official Gundam Youtube Channel. It has free Gundam anime on it. What it actually has up at the moment can be a bit of a dice roll, wth stuff being rotated in and out. What is up at time of writing is the late 90’s OVA, Gundam: The 08th MS Team. Well, most of it. They haven’t added episode 12, for some reason, but no matter. 08th MS Team set during the timeline of the original Gundam show, The One Year War, focusing mainly on land combat in South East Asia, and the exploits of a fairly mundane unit fighting for the Federation. Its a personal fave of mine, but I hadn’t seen it in donkey’s years, and here we are.

So here is the thing about 08th MS Team, its doing two rather different things at once, and people tend to only talk about one of those things. The anime is known for being a generally grounded attempt at military realism. There's no child soldiers, just a lot of actual soldiers trying to get on with it. On first impressions, it ends up feeling lighter in tone than some Gundam media as its characters are neither miserable or overtly unsuited for combat, but it is still a war story, so things don't stay that way. Playing into that is the series' main mecha, a limited production, ground combat only variant on the old RX78-2. Its a very "tacticool" design, rationalising the core fighter out of the machine, and adding broadly sensible stuff like its distinctive shield and stowage backpack. It is treated as a good but mundane weapon of war. And one with limited spares, so the three identical machines of the 08th become unique as stuff breaks. This, along with generally good execution, means that the series is highly regarded by military types, and has a solid claim on "best action sequence in Gundam". That's in episode 10 BTW. The other thing it's doing though is the "Star-crossed Lovers" style of romantic tragedy, which isn’t immediately obvious from the gunpla or promotional images. This is evident from approximately 8 minutes into episode 1, when protagonist Shiro Amada meets his love interest Aina Sahalin, and they are on opposite sides of the One Year War. It's something of a tonal mismatch, and brings a number of anime tropes that don't play nice with military realism, like a secondary love interest, Kiki Rosita, whom is girl trope central. On the whole, 08th becomes more of a standard Gundam melodrama as it goes on, and that is not necessarily what the armchair generals are here for. It's tempting to point a finger at the production history as a cause for this, as if you replace both Director and Writer at the same time, it looks like some creative difficulties happened. Then again, this went down 20 years ago, and I don't speak Japanese, so I won't speculate further. Anyway, to stress my point, this anime is doing two things might be considered mutually exclusive, and most people are gonna like one aspect more than the other. However, this anime is doing what would count as military realism in the retro-future, Tominio making up a genre as he went, space nazi robot fight, hey, why is that dude in a mask? that is the Universal Century setting. Its not a mismatch so much as working with what you have. To put it another way, it is a war story with good character and robot bits. But it is also an anime where two people make a light saber hot-spring atop a mountain. It does go places that your average war diary doesn’t usually go. 

 

To illustrate this, I want to talk about Shiro for a bit, then Aina. First and foremost about Shiro, he's a nice guy, knows the job, and cares about those under his command. He's not a gifted pilot, but he has balls so big a mobile suit was probably necessary just to help him get around. You could not ask for a more earnest and capable squad leader, but one whose attitude is fundamentally unsuited for a gritty war drama. He's a paragon of virtue in a war zone, and the sort of guy you’d expect to have a very bad time once he meets actual reality. Then it turns out that he already has. While the specifics are unclear, it seems that Shiro witnessed the poison gas attack on Side 2, when Zeon forces invented a new means of genocide. This guy is putting a brave face over a war crime, desperately trying not to let anything like that happen on his watch again. When you realise that, everything he does in episode 1 is cast in a new light. Its also what makes things with Aina so fraught, and then intense. She's exactly the sort of person he should hate, but he can't reconcile how she is as person with Zeon as a group, and indeed his fundamental good nature. This causes him to flip a switch as it were, becoming a pacifist in all but name, which everyone else in the series challenges to hilt. When it becomes known that he and Aina are a thing, it puts him and the entire team under suspicion. Not unreasonably, to be fair. And Aina? Well, she has less screen time, so her arc is more subtle, but she has agency, and is going through much the same growth. She is very much his female counterpart, in that she's also a paragon and more innocent than a lot of other characters, although more in a “her ladyship” sense. She is in a position of relative privilege, but it is also a position that binds. Not only is she an aristocrat in reduced circumstances, she spends her time supporting her brother Ginias whom has ambitions. And issues, which I will talk about shortly. She has as many prejudices to overcome as Shiro, while finding what she's a part of as distasteful, but she's much less free. To an extent, Shiro represents an escape for her, but by the finale, neither have anywhere to go. In the later half of the series, events take a bittersweet angle as attempts to play nice simply don’t work due to the sociopaths on both sides. While Aina and Shiro struggle with their idealism, the entire anime is basically about the pair taking a more nuanced view of the war, and giving both the Federation and Zeon the finger. That's actually very appropriate for a spin-off set during the One Year War.

 

Weaknesses? Well, putting aside the absent episode 12, which is an unnecessary epilogue, the animes main weakness lies with its antagonist. Ginias Sahalin is one of the more, say, stereotypical Zeon characters and a lesser aspect of the show, if I am honest. Its like this, you go back and watch the original Gundam TV show, not the movies, the show. What do you get? An awful lot of Monster of the Week type stuff, where the latest Mobile Armour Wunderwaffe prototype goes up against the Gundam and looses. You know the type, some hugely expensive, and equally specialised weapon platform, probably made by a nutjob. Gina's is one such nutjob, an example of why Zeon thought it could win a war with the Federation, and how it lost. The wider plot of 08th, the bones of events, is one such project being played out in more detail. Its almost a deconstruction of such things. Where the anime goes wrong is not selling Ginias decent into madness. As near as I can figure, Ginias was a bastard in the first place, then goes off his meds as a result of Aina not being around to remind him, plus the war going badly, and he goes into full mad scientist territory. This is another trope that is somewhat at odds with the military realism stuff, but is kinda typical for Zeon bigwigs and certain real life militaries. I just wish they spent more time on his characterisation and maybe spelled out what exactly he was taking medicine for. One fan theory suggests he suffers from the obscure Wilson’s Disease, but I’m more inclined to blame the writing. Thematically, if Aina and Shiro are paragons of good, he’s the paragon of evil, and you need a proper bastard in a narrative like this one. Its just the execution that falters, and so he looks a bit cartoonish next to almost everyone else, whom have more nuanced depictions. Fortunately, we have a rather good supporting character whom deals with combat stuff for the Sahalin family, one Norris Packard. Sitting somewhere between a trusted family retainer and Aina's bodyguard, Norris doesn't say much at first, but is effectively characterised, and very much the star of that combat scene I mentioned earlier. People love this guy.

 

All this having been said, does 08th MS team hold up? I'd say it does and it probably benefits from its OVA format allowing for more creative freedom. Consider it a solid introduction to the franchise, with some problems, but generally a good time.

Gunpla: The MS-09R Rick Dom (HGUC)

I can get a bit "armchair general" about Zeons assorted Mobile Suit programs, which was a messy contest between multiple factions and reality. Part of it was obviously the need for merch and concerns about viewing figures, but imagine the following. You've invaded Earth, but found your super weapon, the Zaku II series, isn't working as well there. As WMDs are now off the table, you need to make a better version for land combat. At the back of your mind, two things are troubling you. The first is that you are in a stalemate with a power that has 30 times your industrial capability, while the second is that the Federation must be working on their own version of the Zaku. The latter fear is soon proved fully justified by the first episode of the Gundam anime. So what do you do? The answer was deploy the Dom series, a popular design that probably came too late. 

 

 

Now, if we're just talking raw numbers, the Dom was a dramatic improvement over the Zaku series. Its was tougher, better armed, and faster due to its hovercraft system. However, there were issues. Physical armour was about to be devalued by beam weaponry, and the war was about to be move back into space, prompting the Rick Dom variant as a stop-gap. Also, as a result of a certain video game, I've never been keen on the Dom's bazooka as a general purpose weapon, if only for ergonomic and rate of fire reasons. You don't need that to destroy a GM or your average Feddie tank, so it prompts questions as to what Zeon thought they were facing. Well, presumably the ol' RX-78-2, but bazookas aren't ideal for agile targets. The Dom also features some "transitional" attempts at beam weaponry, with what amounts to a nipple-mounted flashbang grenade, and the Rick Dom's externally powered beam bazooka, which incidentally is an "expanded universe " addition.

So, that's 300ish words on the lore, how is it as a model? Well, it's a prestige kit from 2006, so they put a lot of effort in, but you can tell its an older product. Colour accuracy is high, featuring transparent parts, a moving monoeye, but the scattering beam gun requires a sticker. There's multiple hands, of a 3 part style, but they don't look great due to gaps and seams. You have the option to build a vanilla or Rick styled Dom, but it's not something convenient to switch after assembly. Posability is about what you'd expect of something whose feet are as big as its torso, possibly better than it looks, but nowt earth-shattering. Following a lens mishap, I opted for the beam bazooka, which I will admit is a touch daft and a little heavy for the arm joints. I then did a bit of light panel-lining.

Overall, this kit feels just a little outdated. There's definitely nice touches like the shoulder armour, and the overall effect is great, but the weaknesses are definitely things that are in the nuisance category. There are probably nicer Doms, but that's not its fault, to be fair.

The Mecha Hack: 4 Ideas for Realer Real Robots

So, here's the thing, say you want "realism" in your Mecha Hack. That's realism as a design motif, not an actual function of the rules mechanics. It's a simple game, and giant robots are not realistic in any serious sense. But you mean realistic as in "not a Super Robot, a Real Robot". The next question is how realistic? Oh you mean militaristic? Gotcha. Well, the first thing you do is look at the Gundam franchise and throw most of it out. While the original series was a trope maker, one thing it did not do was apply the idea of a “squadron” well. In a real world military, vehicles of different types are not deployed together as a unit. Its a matter of logistics and practicality, the vehicles have to be able to keep pace with each-other, do the same tactical role, and as simple as possible to supply. You can see hints of this with antagonists, but the famous White Base has a mixed unit of a melee specialist with a bazooka, mid-range artillery, long-range artillery, and whatever you count the core block vehicles as. To be fair to Amuro & company, they were just refugees playing the hand they were dealt, and we're dealing with matters of drama, but this arrangement was fairly influential. This sort of thing however isn't Gundam's invention or fault. We are talking some seriously foundational storytelling dynamics. Think Journey to the West. Think Fellowship of the Ring. Think Five-Man Band. As a result, most mecha animes are often only Mildly Military in tone and execution, I.E. something outside the usual framework and without the attitude of a professional soldier, and obviously merchandise driven, like most anime is. If you want something that at least looks broadly sensible you have to go a bit more obscure, like Votoms, Gasaraki, Front Mission, and the outlier that is is Gundam: The 08th MS Team. This article presents some ideas on how to do that in The Mecha Hack, presented in a clickbait format.

 

Idea 1: Use Maps and the Optional Rules

While not specific to the Real Robot genre, there is a serious-mindedness that is common amongst its proponents. Just using a map will add a more considered and and technical feel, but would require more preparation from you as GM. The Mission Manual meanwhile presents a megaton of optional rules which could be layered onto a campaign, specifically Environment Templates and Hard Mode. Ammunition is an obvious one, as are Fire Team tests. On-foot skills may also be a good fit for smaller scale mecha settings. Try to aim for thematic, rather than tiresome, however.

Idea 2: Modifying Chassis

A basic tenant of the Real Robot style is for everything to be a mass produced item, often with a comparatively small number of main designs. The quickest way to introduce that feeling of uniformity is to simply have one chassis, letting pilot types and modules do the heavy lifting. You just need to ensure your chosen chassis does not present an obvious balance issue in bulk. Having a squad of strikers for example would hamstring the reactor mechanic without a modification. So, that's what I did for a game, I took that ability out and replaced it with stuff from other classes. modules and weapon qualities to create the feel of unified team, but each having a speciality.

Idea 3: Modify Level-ups

Following on from the above, you could change how a mecha levels up. It's far from unheard of for a generalist mecha to be customised for a specific person, so even if the basics are common, people can specialise in more subtle ways than new Chassis Abilities. There's a whole trope about it, the Ace Custom. So, while things like Hit Die could remain fixed, the other stats may level up differently. So, you might use the brawler as a base, but allow players to be "Scout Specialists" and level like a scout.

Idea 4: Command and Supply Vehicles

A concept that pops up occasionally is the idea of a non-humanoid support vehicle. Say a truck loaded with sensors to guide the Mecha, or supplies to assist. This might be an NPC, but then again you do get people whom enjoy playing support/healer/Auxillary, so here's some rules for that. This inspiration here is mainly the example in 08TH MS Team, although the modules lean on Front Mission.

 

Support Truck Chassis

Hit Die D6 Damage Die D4 Reactor Die D6

Levelling

Roll your hit die to gain new hit points. Roll to see if attributes increase, rolling twice for System and Presence. At levels 3, 6, & 9, gain a new module.

Starting HP

1d6 + 3

Proficiencies

Light Ranged Weapons, Light Amour.

Starting Equipment

Comlink, Defensive Turret (Light Ranged Weapon), Light Armour.

Sensor Boom

You gain Advantage on System tests to detect Distant and beyond-distant foes. You also gain Advantage on Initiative tests, provided at no foes are Close or Near.

Target Designator

See the Auxillary's Reinforce ability.

Support Truck Modules

Weapon Rack: You have stowage for weapons and shields, equivalent to 6 hands. You or a friendly Close Mecha may retrieve and henceforth operate a single piece of equipment with a Use action.

Emergency Repair Beam: As a Use action, immediately repair 1HP to all Close friendly mecha. Mecha with no AP remaining also gain a 1AP as well. Roll your reactor die.

If you do end up using these rules, please let me know how it turns out.

Gunpla: The OZ-06MS Leo (HGAC) Yes, AGAIN

 

As you may recall, this is not the first Leo I've done. I can only assume I might like the design at the point. The unfamiliar might ask what a Leo is? Well, it's a memetically expendable and faceless Grunt mobile Suit, made infamous by the series Gundam Wing. My previous comments on the design may be found here, and  here. I'm not repeating myself, when I can instead attempt to drive up traffic by crosslinking articles. We're gonna mainly talk about paints today.

This was an impulse purchase following a trying week which became an opportunity to try something out. The basic assembly and finishing of the Leo was largely the same as the last one, with panels lined with a Unipin Fine Line. The transparent sensor panel was placed atop an area of metallic gundam marker, rather than a reclaimed bit of spare sticker. This makes it a little bit duller, but that wasn't an issue as I was not aiming for shiny. This time, the tip of the gun was painted with one of those newish GW "Contrast Colours", specifically Black Templar. This was a leftover from an abandoned attempt to speed-paint some Ork Boyz. At the risk of going off topic, I found the Contrasts rather disappointing there, which is why the end products haven't been posted on here, but it was acceptable in this project. I suppose black is a hard colour to get wrong. Once the basics had been achieved, I moved on to the matter of "weathering". This was done via generous applications of GW Typhus Corrosion, one of the older but generally reliable Technical range. As paints go, it amounts to something midway between a brown wash and a textured paint which you are encouraged to smear. And smear it I did, placing emphasis on the legs and hard lines. I wanted this to look something that been in the mud like an actual soldier. 

 

The Leo is possibly not an ideal candidate for this technique due to its simplicity and scale, it is still a good one given its obvious grunt stylings. I liked the overall result so much that I decided against trying a chipping effect for the shield. Sometimes, you just look at something, and say to yourself, "Nah, that's great as is.". Plus, I've never seen a Leo survive long enough to chip the paint on a shield. 

 

Gunpla: The MSM-03 Gogg (HGUC)

OK, let's talk about a little something I did a while ago, but ended up being pushed back by more immediate topics.....

When the fascistic Zeon forces invaded Earth during the original Gundam series, one problem they had was the absence of a navy. Yes, they had a space navy, but not a navy-navy. One solution to this was, of course, to create giant robots to fight under-water, and this idea is something the franchise tends to revisit. Not to any great extent, but it's not unusual for a few episodes to introduce a few swimming mecha with unusual designs. Today's subject was the first of these, and in some ways a demonstration of how the original Gundam show can tend towards the “super robot” style of things.

 

 

The Gogg is decidedly light on detail and goes for an internal weapon motif. Something that First Gundam popularised was the idea of handheld mecha weapons above all else, but amphibious MS didn't play by that rule, and were also among the least humanoid of the Zeon roster. In many respects, you could call them a throwback to the kind of mecha Gundam was breaking away from, only exceeded by the Mobile Armours in terms of 70's sci-fi styling. However, as simplistic and toyetic as the Gogg looks, and it would not look out of place fighting Mazinger Z, there is a truism or two at play here. The first is that there's nothing wrong with simple if it's done well, and that it's always a joy to have articulated fingers on a robot for cheap laughs.

As a build project, this was a kit of two halves. The legs and body are fairly unremarkable in construction, if fairly good for the time in terms of colours and stickers. There's a lot of (necessarily?) smooth surfaces, and 70's style colouring, so only minor details in obscure places need finishing. Stuff like the inside of the non-standard ankle joint, which I washed but didn't paint, and marker work. I was quite pleased with how the gut area came out; I think I'm getting the hang of paint markers. On the other hand, there are the, well, hands and arms. This is a somewhat more involved, with a load of plastic-on-plastic joints to represent the segmented arms and claws. As this kit is circa 2000, this causes some concern with regards to the joints wearing out, especially as you are expected to detach/reattach segments for "swim mode". As it stands, my example has no immediate cause for concern, but I wouldn't push your luck. The age of the kit means that there's no hole for a stand, which would have been really desirable for something like this, but there is a trio of thrusters in the gooch zone, so I'd imagine it would be an easy mod. 

So, nitpicks aside, what the Gogg ends up being is rolypoly fun. I mean, yes, it will shred you with its iron nails, but it's not intimidating in the conventional sense. All of Zeons original amphibious suits are a bit like that, especially the Acguy, it's probably why they are so memetic. It waddles like an obese man, the leg/body/head/arm design not allowing for dynamic poses, but it will give you the finger. And sometimes, that's enough.

 

 

Retro Review: Gundam: Federation versus Zeon (PS2)

I have to keep reminding myself that the millennium was two decades ago. I think that's just part of getting older, or maybe just the a desire to escape 2020, but I find my nostalgia bracket creeping forward to that time. That time when anime was big, and expanding, but before certain distasteful trends became mainstream, and before I burnt out. FvZ dates from around that period, part of Bandai's big push to make Gundam a thing in the West. Huge back home, it however ended up as an obscure bargain-bin title in the UK, which I took advantage of. More recently, I reacquired the game, because of been in a Gundam phase lately, and TBH, it was quite influential on me. When it comes to the original Gundam story, it was actually a bit of nuisance to watch back then, as you have a choice between sub-only film versions that are quite long, or dub-only TV episodes you had to import. As a result the game was MUCH more approachable. Things are of course easier now that Bandai does that free YouTube channel, but you took what you could get back then. Incidentally, this isn't the first iteration of the game, either. This is actually the deluxe version with 0G space combat.

The thing about this game is that it's faithful to a fault, but it's based on something no bugger had heard of. So you start off with a serious sounding prologue mirroring the anime, and then run head-first into its cheesey 70's soundscape. The title screen announces itself with a loud "chu!", with this overly loud and baffling noise forming part of the menu interface. You navigate past this, into the game proper, and maybe start to enjoy the music, and then the English language track hits. There's a lot of repeated battle chatter, and your mileage may vary on how irritating it is. No, you can't switch to Japanese, for some level of separation. This is a downer.

 

So, once you've pushed past auditory issues, what's underneath? Well, a 3rd person shooter with a strong arcade feel. Which makes sense, as it was an arcade game originally. Rather than the strategic or simulation style that mecha games tend to be, FvZ has a deliberately simple interface and gameplay. You get one button to jump, one for shooting, one for melee, and one to lock the camera on target, with the shoulder buttons handling lesser used functions. This makes the game extremely easy to get into, and some effort has been made in ensuring mobile suits feel different. The animation and sound effects help, with something like the Dom gliding over the battlefield with a big gun, while a Guntank handles exactly like you'd expect. Something easily overlooked is the absence of hitscan weapons, with projectiles being visibly modelled and even destructible in some cases. This means you aren't sure of a hit even when locked on, it's a skill you have to learn. Game balance comes from a battle gauge bar for each faction, which acts as something like a points limit. You don't necessarily mind when something like a GM detonates, as it will be replaced from the bar without issue, but the loss of a Gelgoog is like loosing the game. Battles can get quite intense, although you do have rely on AI for your squad mates, and I can't decide if its functional, or if I'm just too busy to micro-manage it. I'm also less than keen on the zero gravity Missions. That said two player split screen is also availible, and given the general accessibility of FvZ, this certainly isn't a bad game to introduce a mate to.

It's not an especially deep game, mechanically, but there is progression and unlocks if you want to put in the time. More esoteric weapons like the G-Bull and Elmeth can eventually be used in multiplayer, but the campaign mode had greater appeal to me. Here you get a map screen and some initially repetitive scenarios as you encounter the famous battles of the One Year War. Here the strategy comes from selecting the Missions and trying to keep your mecha in good nick. A Gundam will happily slaughter all it sees, but it's not quickly repaired. There's no shortage of raw content there, and it does get engaging, although you might be disappointed to learn you can't change history as such.

Nerd complaints? Well, there's an unavoidable imbalance of variety between the forces. Zeon put out new designs every 10 minutes, and so has endless choice, but the Federation is much more limited. There has been an attempt to address this by adding in units from my personal fave, 08th MS Team, which is welcome, but there are issues later in the campaign as those can't be used in space. It would have been nice to see a few more GM variants, or at least a machine gun for the regular GM, so you had options. You'll also find the occasional oddity where a MS and its weapons don't sit well with control scheme.

Overall? FvZ is a functional if shallow game that does exactly what it set out to do. It doesn't have any real depth of mechanics or breadth of appeal, but it is fun and quite accessible. Enjoy in breif doses, ideally with another human.

Gunpla: The MobileHaro (Haropla)

The Gundam franchise is for the most part a series of war dramas, but from day 1 it had elements of cute. Built by original protagonist Amuro Ray, Haro was essentially comic relief and kid appeal. It was an adorable pet, rather than a R2D2. Verbal, but not treated as having agency. Haro is of course ignored whenever people have "serious" discussions about Gundam, but Bandai rarely leaves a marketable concept alone for long, so Haro returned and multiplied. And became the Sunrise studio mascot. The most recent of these is the Haropla, a line of nonscale kits designed to be simple, attractive, and hugely collectable. Today's subject, for reasons which should be self-evident, is my first dalliance with the line.

As a build project, its a kit of two halves. The first is the globular Haro itself, which features a stand. This is simple to the point where actual tools may not be required, but the plastic and colours are almost perfect. Notably, the stand features storage for the optional limb parts, a nice touch. There's also a number of concealed ports for other bits, playing into a theme of customisation which I'll shortly becoming back to. If you ever wanted a Haro in plastic form, this is pretty good, bar some hollow bits. So, scaling for cost, I'm pleasantly surprised by the actual Haro.

Now for the actual reason I got this: the Mobile Suit bit. This is a large body for the Haro to sit in, which is similarly adorable, but in a super robot kinda way. It's got maybe a bit of the Boss Borat about it, with a big cylindrical body, stubby limbs, but an impressive rocket pack. Its great. And I'm pleased to report no real omissions with respects to articulation either, as it moves as well as something shaped like this could, with the arms being a highlight. Shame about the hollow bits again, notably in the feet. I had some difficulty getting the chest modules to go together. Still, not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

 

The MobileHaro lacks accessories, it's hands being closed, but the instructions make reference to compatibility with other kits. This can be achieved via hand swaps, one example being with the GM/GM, which I had purchased at the same time by pure coincidence. Also the many small ports are compatible with Bandai option parts, such as from the 30 Minute Missions. You could properly tool this little dude up, although he poses well enough by himself. 

 

 

In sort: this was fun. Enough to make me consider doing more.

Gunpla: The V08Re-0526 Helmwige Reincar (IBO HG)

When I do a write-up for one of these, I like to check the lore for some context, and to help with the introductory paragraph. Here's what I found out: the Helmwige Reincar is a centuries old, but recently refitted, Mobile Suit based off the Grimgerde. Its named for German opera and Nordic mythology. Its service record is somewhat obscure, the design lineage being overshadowed by the assorted Gundams, and seemingly produced in very limited numbers. Its on screen performance from what I've read isn't that impressive either, and can be summarised as: "holds a sword, pilot killed in a notably violent manner while defending another". None of that really matters however, as it has an obscenely large sword. A sword in fact, so stupidly large, that its longer than the robot is tall, and makes photography a nuisance.

 

Yes, I know it's childish to fixate on that, especially as really big swords are a common anime thing. But the thing stores on a pop-out codpiece mount, I think I am only responding in kind. And, the thing is, it's rather impractical. I don't mean the obvious way, I mean in the "how can I balance this, the joints can't take it" way. The Astaroth I did a while back had a similar problem, in that the internal frame gimmick and disproportionate weapons don't mix due to polycaps, but at least they tried to compensate here. The oversized hands and handles have a tabbing system, and there's optional/mandatory wider feet to help. Then again, none of this is especially unexpected. Iron Blooded Orphans kits tend to have their waist joints based around an unrestricted balljoint, and you've got a problem once the friction is lost. That will probably ruin this guy, as the right elbow is already suffering, and the Astaroth isn't ageing well on the shelf.

 

OK, so about 270 words in, and I've only talked about the sword, the phallic imagery it presents, and how it demonstrates that there is such a thing as too much sword. What else can I say? There is a mace? Part of the sword detaches for what I presume is a back up weapon. For wildly impractical dual welding.

Sorry. Seriously now. The embodies what I consider to be both the virtues and sins of the Iron Blooded Orphans line. You build each body part bones first, before applying armour atop. Toro here has a lot of armour, but it's designed so as not to interfere with mobility. That's both a positive and a negative, due to the aforementioned joint issues. This being the third time I've built one like this, the process offered few surprises but no annoyance. There is a sticker sheet, which is extremely minimal by IBO standards, covering, although I've handled better stickers. Purists may also not that this kit deviates from the show I'd that it was a monoeye, rather than a visor, but no biggie. Visually its pretty good, and I like the Minotaur motif it has going on. This does look like a machine that would charge right at you, especially with the face mask up, and the horns down. It's orky, and I like that.

When you get right down it, the Helmwige Reincar is very typical of the IBO design philosophy, and my taste for the absurd. And the colour blue. But it's inevitable balance issues prevent me from giving it a glowing endorsement, even though I found it a nicely relaxing project.

Gunpla: The PFF-X7/J5 Jupitive Gundam (HG BD:RR)

 

 

As previously stated, I was rather impressed with Build Divers Re:Rise. So much so that, yes, I got a version of the protagonist's customised gunpla. Making this model of it both 1/144 and 1/1 scale. And also the most modern gunpla I've attempted, and possibly my favourite. In terms of build quality, engineering, and the process of assembly, the kit was almost flawless. Bandai went all out with this one.

The "Jupitive Gundam" is the Space combat loadout for the otherwise tiny Core Gundam, a suit which prompted some confusion when revealed. Unlike the vast majority of Build, there was no clear inspiration for it, and wasn't obviously a retool in waiting. No, the Core Gundam is "based" on a 1/200 scale version of the old RX78-2, with a selection of planet themed equipment designed by a boy that wanted to be prepared for anything. I suppose I'd personally describe it as not a mere custom so much as a highly ambitious scratchbuild, and/or a toyetic concept Bandai had been itching to try again. This means I should probably break things down a bit. 

 

 

So, the "Core Gundam" is a small and compact mecha, perhaps a third smaller than most gunpla. You build it first, and while construction offers few surprises, it's a pleasant process. Stickers are used for eyes and sensors, but colour separation is otherwise ideal. Joints are a mix of plastic and polycaps, but everything feels fine. I used a grey gundam marker here, and I'm quite pleased with the results. There's limitations around the waist, but otherwise it moves well. The Core Gundam has slightly awkward proportions, like a teen mid-growth-spurt, but it's an entirely satisfactory project by itself. Minor complaint: you only get two hands which like to come apart, but you do get a stand, and small beam blades just for this form. There's an awful lot of beam effects, actually. Bandai must have wanted this to be a show-piece release. 

 

The Jupiter Armour is, as mentioned, rather toyetic. Its a storage rack crossed with a drone, and on those terms, it's OK. It has its own little stand, and the Core Gundam can happily ride it. It however pales in comparison to the Jupitive Gundam, which I did not attempt until after I'd finished photography for the other modes. The armour segments can be *carefully* removed and attached to the little guy, increasing its size/bulk, but with no real loss of mobility. The resulting creation is a space combat behemoth, evoking the RX-78GP01Fb, or perhaps something the Crossbone Vanguard made. There is just an appearance of lithe speed, while still carrying a notably large gun. It's also got its own spin on "bits" remote control drones, which are pretty cool given the beam effects, but you'll need additional stands for best results. 

 

 

This was almost too good.

Gunpla: The O Gundam Type A.C.D (Gundam 00)

For the most part, I can take or leave Gundam anime. Sometimes it because the anime is pants, but others it's just me. Gundam 00 hit when I was preoccupied with other stuff, and was neither interesting nor terrible enough to hold my attention. In so far as I have gathered, 00 sounds a fair bit like the core concept of Gundam Wing, except they swapped out the romanticism for real politik, and brought back some of the Genetic Engineering stuff from Seed. That said, I could be wrong, and I'm mainly here for the robots. And the 0 Gundam is that robot, something I got for purely superficial reasons, only to find there was an in-joke at play. Also: photography was a pain in the arse.

The 0 Gundam is noted for being the first of its kind in its universe, and serves as a callback to the original RX78-2 Gundam. This wasn't immediately obvious with its original colour scheme, a rather boring all grey job, but a refit and change of pilot saw it sport parade colours and it became inescapable. This makes it an interesting mix of styles, the overall form evoking the simplicity of the 1979 version, but you also have 00 elements like the chest, and the optional GN drive. There's also a chunk of GM in there too, given its weapon loadout. To hammer the effect home, the 0 Gundam is most famously piloted by a character actually voiced by Tōru Furuya, aka the original Gundam pilot. As that character is the the main antagonist of the show, and uses it in the finale, its hard not to see it all as a meta joke or subversion. This is the sort of trivia that fascinates me. 

 

As kits go, the O Gundam is quite satisfactory but perhaps flimsy. I finished primary construction in an afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised by the joint design, which I felt was better than it needed to be. I do like how some armour segments are cast as one piece, sliding around joint assemblies. The separation of colours is generally good too, with only a modest sticker sheet. There's several places where you'll need to go in with grey or black to offset the sea of white, which I attempted to mixed success, but nothing was really a nuisance. I was actually trying out a new type of marker with this one a “0.05 Unipin Fineline”, which makes a reasonable stand-in for Gundam Marker, but I think I should try it on a less white gunpla. Meanwhile, those long limbs have a good range of motion, and the plastic colours pop. However, the skinny portions and relative simplicity of things mean that the model feels light, with the gun being loose enough in the hand to prompt some irritation. Also, and I mention this as a curiosity, not a criticism, there's two different ports for a flight stand. One actual criticism easily made is that the kit has relatively few accessories for what amounts to a final boss. This is true to the source, but some dynamic hands wouldn't have hurt.

 

In many ways, I didn't appreciate what the O Gundam was. I mean, I got visuals, but I didn't get the history, and I didn't get Bandai was going for with the kit. Its essentially a no-nonsense kit for beginners, where they went simple, but not cheap. The colour separation and engineering is too good to have been phoned in. As such, I can honestly recommend it on those terms. I kinda want to build another as a custom project...