31 January 2009

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan

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KyoAni is dishing out a new Haruhi anime very soon. Not the next season that many have been anticipating for, but something a bit different.

The new anime is called 涼宮ハルヒちゃんの憂鬱 (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan), and it will be released as ONA (Original Net Animation). As far as I know, it's an adaptation of a spin-off with the same name.

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The spin-off manga (right) itself, from meronpan

The anime adaptation was announced as early as late August last year, but it somehow managed to go beneath my radar unnoticed.

As far as I know, the anime go on air on 19th February from Kadokawa Anime YouTube channel. There will be a new opening song called 「いままでのあらすじ」, meaning "The current plot/outline".

Since I have never touched upon this spin-off, I have no idea what it is going to be about. Perhaps some of you out there will have a greater knowledge of this to enlighten me. Well, it's less than 2 weeks 'til its airing date. Let's see how KyoAni pulls this off :o

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29 January 2009

HGUC Kämpfer

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At last, the 1/144 HGUC Kämpfer gunpla I've mentioned two weeks ago is here! As promised I did finish it by the weekend, but was too busy to actually get the photoshoot done orz. Anyway, let's go to it~

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The white colour scheme is inspired by the Wii game MS Sensen 0079. The Kämpfer was the unlockable MS on the last mission of story mode on the Zeon side. Since there are different colour schemes to choose (or you can customise your own), I chose white to go with the Arctic battlefield. The sivery lustre of the MS shines gorgeously with the blazing sun and the pure white snow, that I said to myself "I need to get a Kämpfer one day and paint it white", and I did ^^;

On a side note, the Kämpfer has the highest cost on the Zeon side in-game (yes more than Gelgoogs), and is even more expensive than the Gundam and the G-3! Only NT-1 Alex and Full Armour Gundam has exceeded it in terms of unit cost. o_o

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Kämpfer in full arms. The two bazookas at the back do look intimidating.

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This picture shows how much seam lines and nub marks I have left behind as a casual modeler -_- , but the main point here is the extra shotgun stored at the back and the thrusters.

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Huge arsenal of weapons. I'm still surprised that it can carry all these things in one go (well not sure about the chain mine).

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The one-shot Sturm Fausts (*cough* Panzerfaust *cough*) are stored on each side of the legs.

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"Bring it on!"

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"You want some of this?"

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"Say your last words."

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"I'll chop ya!"

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"Do NOT mess with me."
This is one of my favourite poses while doing the shoots.

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The bazookas have to be unmounted from the back before use, or else it could only shoot things directly above the Kämpfer (the hands could reach but the bazookas cannot be lowered when mounted).

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And of course what's a Kämpfer without its famous chain mine?

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Overall I'm very pleased with my white Kämpfer, or as some of you call it the "Fat Patlabor" lol. Although I am really casual towards model building, I may do some touch-ups on it next time I go back home.



And finally, a scenery to finish it off:
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Depsite a very shoddy take-on with Photoshop I am quite pleased with how it turned out ^^;
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26 January 2009

Happy Chinese New Year

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Image of Yuki stolen shamelessly from Optic

新年快樂, or in English "Happy New Year"! (Again?)

Year 2009 is the year of the Ox, and according to Wikipedia, the Ox represents propsperity via fortitude and hard work.

I hope this will be a good year for fellow bloggers to budget enough money for their favourite gunpla and/or figures ^^

I haven't got a proper break for this new year (as I am in the UK, not in Hong Kong T_T), and things are still getting a little hectic for me -_- Hopefully things will get better soon once the pacing smooths out again, and I will catch up with the blogs asap.

Nevertheless, hope you all have a nice Chinese New Year!
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20 January 2009

Hong Kong: Then and Now

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/2977755906/
A friend of mine has found an interesting collection of photos showing Hong Kong has looked like in the past and today. Most of the older pictures are in the 60s or 70s, but some could have been older (pre-war?).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3191022533/
Was the tallest building back then, but now the shortest.
This is at the intersection of Johnston Road (莊士敦道) and Hennessy Road (軒尼詩道).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3196836212/t
Same building but photo taken at a different time.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3155604190/
Intersection of Queens Road Central (皇后大道中) and Wyndham Street (雲咸街) in Central District. Where's the hill?!

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3125404276/
The mural in San Po Kong (新蒲崗) area is still there, but more than half of it is blocked by another building.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3115317465/
The Da Da department store in Prince Edward (太子) has now become a mall.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3107361496/
I didn't know there was water and a pier in Sham Shui Po (深水埗) back then! o_o
Well that actually makes sense as Sham Shui Po means "Deep Water Pier". Today it is one of the poorest districts in Hong Kong.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3098174924/
The historic Kowloon Walled City (九龍城寨) is no longer present, but its legacy and stories remain.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3019046385/
St. Teresa's Church on Prince Edward Road (太子道).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3010099791/
Tai Po Market Station, now the Hong Kong Railway Museum. Admission to the museum is free.

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Intersection of Nathan Road (彌敦道) and Shantung Street (山東街).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3049304731/
Carnarvon Road (加拿芬道) in Tsim Sa Tsui. Most buildings have changed, and the view of the hills is gone, but one little building in the middle of the picture stands strong against the age of time (oddly enough).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3031781841/
The Cenotaph for commemorating the fallen ones of the two World Wars. Notice how close the water used to be back then.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3014066017/
Des Voeux Road Central in Central District. The tram lines remain, but everything else changed.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3014656110/
Kennedy Town. The two tall objects on the right are two chimnies of the local incineration plant. The photos here show the construction and demolition of the chimnies.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3007723845/
Another good example of land reclamation. The then Hoi Sham Island (海心島) is connected to the To Kwa Wan area (土瓜灣), and has become part of the Hoi Sham Park (海心公園).

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/2977927208/
Another one where the hill is no longer viewable. This one is Fenwick Street (分域街) in Wan Chai.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3004714981/
Prince Edward Road again. Notice how the distant St. Teresa's Church is no longer visible today.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/3005396672/
Trees... And now buildings.
The bustling Nathan Road (彌敦道) used to be like this many, many moons ago o_o

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/old-hk/2995013615/
Intersection of Johnston Road (莊士敦道) and Wan Chai Road (灣仔道). The tallest building in the past is now is now the shortest of all.

It's breathtaking to see how much Hong Kong has changed in the last century. If I were to get warped in time, I would have been freaked out! Buildings grow like plants, and a lot of land has been reclamed for urban development. It is sometimes a pity to see some of the old things fading away, yet interesting to see how some of the structures remain to this day. I wonder how time will further transform these places in the future? :o

All photos are from HK Man on Flickr. You can check his full collection here
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15 January 2009

January WIP

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I am a little occupied recently, but to get things motivated I've decided to start on a gunpla.

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It is the 1/144 HGUC Kämpfer gunpla, which I've bought sometime at the end of last year.

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For those who are unfamiliar with this, Kämpfer is a mobile suit from Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, built secretly in a neutral colony and was used in the attempt to destroy the new Gundam in development.

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I didn't realise it looks so wide from the side o_o

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Nice variety of weapons. Still gotta build the chain mine though.

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Instead of the original navy blue, I've decided to spray paint it white followed by pearl white (the lazy way). The shiny surface looks promising to how I want it to be~

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The beast waiting for the awakeneing...

I hope I can get it finished by next weekend orz.
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9 January 2009

figma Shana DX

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Here is the figma Shana of Yui_style, the Hongkonger who modded Miku into figma Lacus Clyne. Anyone noticed any difference with this Shana from the normal one?

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The answer is the hair that sticks out on top (aka "ahoge" アホ毛, thanks to gordon who knows the term), of which Yui nicknames it the "antenna", and the necklace for the pendant (Alastor). The necklace is just a thin metal wire he glues to the pendant; a simple add-on that anyone can do to their figma Shana~

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The ahoge Yui stole was from Figumate of Flame Haze Shana by Konami. He complained that a Shana without the it doesn't look like Shana, so he has to add one no matter what.

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figma blog has featured this flaming shot of figma Shana from yui_style, whose figma Lacus he modded got a shout there a while ago.

Does she look more like the Shana we know now? ^^

All images from ToysDaily forum

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