The official Virtual-On model kit thread

[Viper2]

On the other hand, that new Kotobukiya Belgdor...no news since the first announcement back in February, and no updates to the Koto blog since May. R.I.P.?

[guarayakha]

So is Hagesawa's Myzr

However, I'm expecting a third Guarayakha that comes with the hammer.

[Viper2]

The Myzr is back in development, since it was shown at the latest hobby show in Japan. Coming out this winter, if everything goes alright.

[chunkypuff31]

So is Hagesawa's Myzr

Actually, they're still working on it. The last update on Hasegawa's website was on the second of August, where they posted this sexy pic

On the other hand, that new Kotobukiya Belgdor...no news since the first announcement back in February, and no updates to the Koto blog since May. R.I.P.?

While common sense would lead you to think that's the case, I remain hopeful. Remember, the Guarayakha was Hasegawa's first Virtual-On kit in over a year since the Temjin Firefly, and that was released over a year after Fei-Yen w/ Cinderella Heart. Maybe Kotobukiya's taking a break?

[chunkypuff31]

Optimism wins once again!

Look at this picture of the Kotobukiya booth at Chara Hobby 2010 (which happened a few days ago).

Notice anything on the lower right corner?

Here's a close-up:

Kotobukiya's Virtual-On model series is far from dead! Not only is development confirmed, but you can see a prototype for the open missle-silo(since it appears fully painted, I'm thinking that pictures of the full model should come shortly). According to Ngee Khiong, the kit is expected for Spring 2010 release.

It's a good thing that the line isn't discontinued. They still need to release a Temjin 707G and a Cypher!

[shamanic_beat]

[Hasegawa] 1/100 YZR-8000Δ Maiza Delta - From Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. December release, price TBA.

[Viper2]

Wonderfest garage kit manufacturers:

http://backyennew.web.fc2.com/index.html (still active)
http://oyassanh.hp.infoseek.co.jp/index.htm (still active)
http://www.j-modellers.net/contents.html (not active)
http://clubf2.net/ (still active, no VO models in current line-up I think)

Some pages showing V-On models:
http://www5.pf-x.net/~kumander/ (has many resin kits)
http://ameblo.jp/astrai-gmfb-p01/theme1 ... .html#main (older pages show some resin kits)
http://www.geocities.jp/dcpsoheidi/miniature/vr/ (resin kits & modified plastic kits)
http://now-closing.hp.infoseek.co.jp/fi ... ry/vr.html
http://www.warpfor.com/html/val_index.html
http://homepage1.nifty.com/Mirage/index.html (Angelan construction page http://homepage1.nifty.com/Mirage/workshop/vo/)

[MentholMoose]

Thanks for the links. I saw a Grys-Vok model for the first time!!

[Viper2]

I've updated my post on the previous page with some pictures, and here's my thoughts on Wave's 1/144 Raiden resin kit (with pictures):

Wave 1/144 Raiden Resin kit (Operation Moon Gate):
Normally, resin kits are supposed to be superior to styrene kits, especially if they include photo-etched or white metal parts. Wave's resin kits for Operation Moon Gate prove that this isn't always the case. Sure, the Raiden kit looked okay when I opened the box. It included a butt-load of parts on somewhat weird-looking sprues, some white metal bits, some photo-etched parts, a piece of wire for some minor details, all the required polycaps, decals, and an instruction sheet.

White metal parts and decals:

waveresinraidenmetalparts.jpg

Polycaps:

waveresinraidenpolycaps.jpg

However, when removing all the parts from the sprues:

waveresinraidenconstruction.jpg

I started noticing things that were not okay: 1) the resin stinked a lot, 2) the resin seemed inconsistent in its hardness, with some parts much softer than others (sometimes on the same part), 3) parts had horrible flash at times and/or featured a lot of air bubbles in (in)convenient places, and 4) parts were missing corners (broken off). The white-metal parts were not too good quality either. I first washed the parts in some water with some washing-up liquid added:

Parts drying:

waveresinraidenconstruction2.jpg

When test-fitting, I discovered that fit was pretty horrible at times, with some parts larger than others (knees), and some parts appeared to be warped on one side only (...WTF?). Drilling the various holes was easy, thanks to the softness of the resin.

Mismatched parts in leg and arm:

waveresinraidenmismatch.jpg

Then I superglued together as many subassemblies as possible, en passant discovering that the instructions wrongly instructed the assembly of the shoulder lasers, while the pictures of the finished kits in the same instructions showed things correctly.

This is the correct laser assembly:

waveresinraidencannon.jpg

Front view, assembly test:

waveresinraidenfront.jpg

Back view, assembly test, leg is skewed because the hip joint unglued itself:

waveresinraidenback.jpg

Review continued in next post.

[Viper2]

I applied putty to fix the various problems. After it had dried, I started to sand...and discovered the resin was softer than the putty (great...not), and that, despite taking care to wash the parts, the putty did not adhere to the parts properly (same putty works fine on other resin kits). Painting the kit was an equally great pain in the ass: the primer and paint adhered properly on some places and had tremendous trouble staying put on other places. Sigh. Color scheme is the pseudo-Shadow alternate color scheme from OMG.

waveresinraidencomplfront.jpg

waveresinraidencomplback.jpg

waveresinraidencomplside.jpg

waveresinraidencomplparts.jpg

The kit turned out fine, but I'm happy I only paid 1/10th of the original price, because it sure ain't worth 6,800 yen...

[Viper2]

Last couple of months' resin kit haul:

kithaulsep2010.jpg

Jaguarandi's box sure is huge. He appears to be the player-version, not the secret boss, as according to the box the kit is only 18 cm tall, which is too small for the boss version...

kotoresinjaguarandi1.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi2.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi5.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi4.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi3.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi6.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi7.jpg

[MentholMoose]

Thanks for the review and info. The quality issues are disappointing.

[guarayakha]

Oh wow, how much does that Jag cost you? Looks awesome.

Also, if you don't mind, could you put up a closer shot of the "Front View" image of Jag on the box? I've never seen OMG Jag's face clearly in most images of him.

[Viper2]

I've added a couple more pictures. Jaguarandi cost me 15,500 yen on Y! Auctions Japan, and came up to around US$250 including middleman costs and shipping - that's the first and last time I pay that much for a mass-production non-event-limited kit. Bleh.

Some pics confirming the hugeness of the kit using Kotobukiya's OneCoin Apharmd for scale:

kotoresinjaguarandi8.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi9.jpg

kotoresinjaguarandi10.jpg

[chunkypuff31]

Nice score! Sucks to hear about the QC issues with the Raiden. Do all of Waves's resin kits have the same problems?

[Viper2]

I don't know. The Raiden is the only one I have. The Oratorio Tangram kits likely are better as they were produced years later.

[chunkypuff31]

Jaguarandi cost me 15,500 yen on Y! Auctions Japan, and came up to around US$250 including middleman costs and shipping - that's the first and last time I pay that much for a mass-production non-event-limited kit. Bleh.

For some collecters, that's chump change. Have you seen the prices that Rockman models go for these days?

[Viper2]

From the All-Japan Mokei Hobby Show 2010:

- Kotobukiya 1/100 Belgdor:

kbyp1-belgdor.jpg

- Hasegawa 1/100 Myzr Delta:

hsgvr8_1.jpg

hsgvr8_2.jpg

hsgvr8_3.jpg

hsgvr8_4.jpg

Pics courtesy of Hobbylink Japan.

[chunkypuff31]

From the All-Japan Mokei Hobby Show 2010:

- Hasegawa 1/100 Myzr Delta:

hsgvr8_1.jpg

hsgvr8_2.jpg

hsgvr8_3.jpg

hsgvr8_4.jpg

Good lord, that is sexy. I'm getting this for sure.

[guarayakha]

A closer look at Hagesawa's Myzr



Painting/Panel-lining is gonna be a bitch, as always...