USS Boxer (LHD-4) in Hong Kong

US Navy's ampihibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4) has paid a port visit in Hong Kong last week. I'd love to take some pictures myself, but I've come a day too late for it... OTL

The pictures in this post are from CYBERGUNDAM BLOG. The weather wasn't so brill in the past few days, but at least the photos look pretty good. It's not very often we get to see such visitors in Hong Kong!


The ship was moored next to the Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. There was no access to the ship under normal circumstances, but it was moored so close that one can easily take pictures of the ship along with aircrafts parked on the flight deck.


2 CH-53D Sea Stallion can be seen on the right, with a row of CH-46 Sea Knight on the left of the flight deck.


Rows of CH-46 Sea Knight on display.


A row of AH-1W SuperCobra on display.


A bluish RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile System can be seen towards the right. A large "4" can be seen on the side towards the left.


From left to right: UH-1N Twin Huey, AV-8B Harrier II, AH-1W SuperCobra, and CH-46 Sea Knight.


Ship crews can be seen on the lower deck.


Mk 38 25mm weapons system, which is the naval version of the M242 Bushmaster. Thanks Anonymous for the correction!


Hong Kong gets such ship visits now and then. The last one before Boxer was the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) aircraft carrier. Some had gained access to it via some connections, and seeing pictures of people posing in front of aircrafts such as the Super Hornet makes me really jealous >_<

I still can't believe that I have missed the oppurtunity to see it; hope I'll get to see one another day!

All pictures are from CYBERGUNDAM BLOG
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Gundam Vs Gundam EXTREME VS for PS3 confirmed

Famitsu has revealed that the latest instalment of the Gundam Vs series Gundam Vs Gundam EXTREME VS is getting ported to PS3 console, and it is to be released on 1st December 2011!



Gundam Vs Gundam EXTREME VS is first available as arcade game in Autumn last year. As far as I know, it retains the NEXT DASH system from the previous game (Gundam Vs Gundam NEXT), which allows quick dashes while cancelling previously made moves (and enables one to perform the next move quickly like chaining). Back is also an awakening gauge of some sort from the older series such as that from the Zeta era or SEED series, and each unit will have its own special ultimate move as well while in "awakened" mode.


00QAN[T] with Trans-Am


Astray Red Frame with its 150m long katana o_o


Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth is going to be a new unit in the game


Seravee Gundam is likely going to be a PS3 exclusive suit, as it has not yet appeared in the arcade


Kshatriya vs Unicorn Gundam


Turn A vs Turn X


A lush looking Sinanju soaring the sky


Dismemberment other than across the torso is seen here on a grunt Zaku


The Hildolfr will be something that I will look forward to use in person~


The game will be released on 1st December at an official retail price of 8380 Yen (tax included). Price is a bit steep, but maybe I'll get to be more active on the PS3 in this second half of the year along with Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, which will be released in October!


Arcade game official site:
http://gundam-vs.jp/extreme/ac/index.html

PS3 game official site:
http://www.b.bngi-channel.jp/gdexvs/


Pictures are from Famitsu
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figma WRS review

Way back in February, I have mentioned the figma WRS which has just been announced back then. Having bitten pretty badly by the character design of it, I admittedly was craving for it until the day I finally got the figma on my hands.


Like figma Chouyusha Haruhi, Saber Lily, and a few others, figma WRS is one of those action figures that are bundled with a game. There appears to be a trend where the games that the figmas come along with are usually pretty mediocre, so this is why many collectors consider the figma being the main thing, while the rest are just supplementary. As for figma WRS it comes as a "bonus" along with the White Premium Box limited edition of Black Rock Shooter The Game, which has just come out on 25th August, with English version being just announced not long after that.

As for who this WRS really is? I won't put spoilers here for now, but you can say that she is like a white counterpart for BRS, but her name is never properly addressed (some calls her White Rock Shooter, but she's usually only known as White or just "WRS"). She serves as the antagonist and the final boss of the game.


WRS with accessories. 2 extra faces, 1 extra front hair piece with pink flame, White Scythe, as well as the White Wing parts (back joint, 2 wings, and part-swapping collar piece). 4 pairs of extra hands (same with most other figma hands) are also available.





4 different angles of WRS with normal face. Due to her really tall and exquisite looking high heels, WRS can't really stand by herself UPDATE: WRS can still stand by herself despite the small feet and high heels, but this requires a lot of patience. The overall colour theme is white with lines of black and a hint of pink, which is a stark contrast to BRS's black, white, and blue.

There is pearl coating on some parts of the clothings, such as the jacket, shorts, and part of the leggings around the knee.


Equipped with White Scythe.


This pose is mimicked from one of the preview pictures in one of the magazine shots. It's one of my favourite poses of her too.


Closeup shot of the second face. With the tongue sticking out this expression is very reminiscent of Dead Master's. However this expression does not appear in-game (WRS turns out to be much more elegant and graceful than I have expected, despite the very short game appearance and the not-so-impressive motivation behind the whole plot).


Game Showdown pose



Attempting to mimick the final showdown scene with BRS from in-game (abeit the BRS here is the original version rather than the game version)


The White Wing has 4 parts: 2 wing pieces, a backjoint, and the part-swapping collar/hood piece. The grey swing joints in the wings don't seem to hold too well when the wings are attached, and one side falls off rather easily for me. In fact it fell off quite a few times while I was doing the photoshoot, so I ended up not putting as much effort in posing with the wings equipped.



WRS with White Wing equipped. This is how she looks like when you fight her for the first time (i.e. the first form). The second form differs by having no scythe and a different pair of wings inste


As the back joint connects the wings to the main body, the figma stand goes into the back joint of the wings when the wings are equipped.


With Scythe



Wing parts have a lot of ball joints in there, so there is a fairly good range of articulations available there.


A quick shot of WRS with the third face, which something of an aggressive look as if shouting. Just like the second face you don't get to see this expression in the game itself (or should I say it's "out of her characer"?).


Face expression parts from figma BRS is compatible with WRS. Here is the closed eye one, and WRS now *feels* very different to her other expressions.


WRS and BRS side by side. WRS is a tad taller than her black counterpart (possibly due to her taller heels) along possibly thinner thighs (again possibly due to her attire).


And finally for a bit of a bonus, a scythe comparison here. From left to right figma WRS, figma Fate T Harlaown, and Revoltech Airi. I don't have Dead Master so I don't have her Dead Scythe to compare here.


Any final thoughts? Well I get figma WRS mainly for the character design, minus the wing stuff which people tend to associate with Busou Shinki; I personally think that such mechanical stuff attached here and there looks a bit odd, which is a reason why I am hesistant and probably won't get the game equivalent of BRS (aka BRS2035). So apart from the wings which I mostly won't use, the figma itself satisfies parts of my personal tastes (or my lust rather). I'd leave it at that before I make this sound too funny.

So is WRS worth getting? Unless you are really digging for the design, paying over ten thousand yen for it along with the PSP game, artwork book & soundtrack is still way too much, and I won't be grudging over this so much should it be not so dear to acquire. Oh and by the way the game is really short for a JRPG, and first playthrough took me 12 hours to complete. Is it a good game or does the game have good story? I can't nod with this for sure, but this is expected for fan oriented games or media. Oh well.
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Custom figma mod Kuroneko

Yui (aka yui_style) has done it again! I have blogged about his figma mods now and then, such as his K-On! entry which won him 2nd place for GSC Photocon last year. This time it's Kuroneko from Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない, i.e. my little sister cannot be this cute). Gosh it's a long title for both languages.


And here it is: the original figma Kuroneko on the left, the modded Comiket version in the middle, and the modded school uniform version on the right



First off it's Kuroneko as she has appeared in episode which the girls have attended the Comiket event.

Yui has said that this version is literally "cut and polished" from the original figma, with a bit of putty added to make up the shape of the blouse. The arms are from figma Haruhi Middle School ver.


Kuroneko as seen in the anime.


Picture with the Tokyo Big Sight at the background, which is the venue that holds the Comiket event



The other mod is Kuroneko (or Gokou Ruri as her real name) in school uniform as appeared in the specials of the anime (aka the True Route).

The body is from figma Nakano Azusa, whereas the arms are from Hirasawa Yui. The parts are actually leftovers from his previous mod.


Kuroneko in school uniform as she has appeared in the anime


Kuroneko with sakura trees in Spring time.

Full commentary are available in English and Japanese on his blog. The pictures are also available on fg (account required). Do check them out!
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