Fix Figuration - Psycho Gundam Metal Composite

This will take the crown of the biggest Fix Figuration ever made. The Fix Figuration Psycho Gundam Metal Composite will be of 1/144 scale and that equals to about the size of a PG model. I was surprised that the price is not as bad as you would think. Being the size of a PG and already built, it only costs 10,000 JPY or about $84 USD, much less than the 1/100 RX-78 FF Metal Composite. Although you can pretty much build the HGUC version yourself and it will cost about half this will come with all the Fix Figuration detail and decals that we are used to. Look forward to this figure at the end of August.

Bandai Bleach Characters Volume 4 - Bankai Kurosaki Ichigo (B)

I have never been a big fan of trading figures since I do not actually know anyone that I can trade with. So having duplicates of the same figure is pretty much useless for me. I only buy specific trading fiures, usually from Ebay, such as Kira, Cagalli, and Shinn from Gundam Seed Destiny. On Saturday at Otakon 2007 I found, what I consider, the best Kurosaki Ichigo figure to date. It is not a big figure or anything but a small trading figure that outdoes any other Ichigo figure that I have seen. Its Ichigo from the Bandai Bleach Characters Volume 4 line of trading figures.

This Ichigo figure sports his Bankai form as it was shown towards the end of the Rukia storyline arc. The main thing that attracted me to this figure was mainly his Hollow mask. As you can see from the title this version "B" of this figure. Version "A" is pretty much the same but without the Hollow mask and its hideous. The figure is surprisingly well made and it actually has some wieght to it. The colors are spot on and there no visible paint runs or overspray. Pricewise you can probably get it for $5 if you buy it sealed and have the luck of actually getting it, but I had to pay $15 since the dealer at Otakon wouldn't settle for less. He did try to sell me the version without the mask for $10, but I refused to buy that ugly thing. Other characters in this series of figures include Bankai Hitsugaya, Bankai Ichigo Version A, Kira, and Hisagi.

MG 101 - Destiny Gundam

I guess that poster that came with the MG Strike Freedom Full Burst Mode was indeed a clue. Bandai has just announced the next MG and its going to be none other than the Destiny. Although I am not a Shinn fan, I am a fan of his mobile suits. The Impulse was great and the Destiny was just badass. The Destiny will be coming this October, meaning the September will see no MG release unless they rehash some other MG and it doesn't count.

The MG Destiny will also be released in two versions just like the MG Strike Freedom. The premium package will include the Wings of Light and who knows what else and it will be priced at 7,350 JPY. The standard packaging will cost 5,040 JPY and it comes with nothing. This will surely be the biggest model kit release of this year probably overshadowing the Turn A. Pre-order yours now, I just did, this is going to be one hot model kit that is sure to sell out.

Otakon 2007 - Day 3 & Closing Comments

Otakon 2007 has come to an end, after a couple of sleepless days and eating crappy food, I must say that I am completely disappointed. Otakon 2007 was nothing compared to Otakon 2006. Organization and staffing issues completely plagued the convention leaving a bad taste in almost everyones mouth. Today was the last day of the con and we pretty much knew it was going to be pretty slow. With alot of attendees heading home early and the con ending early, we knew that it wasn't going to be that much of an exciting day. To make matters worse the main reason why I was attending on Sunday, the Gundam panel, was cancelled and that is the beginning of the problem.

Sudden changes like panel cancellations and relocations must be posted on the website so that people know ahead of time and plan accordingly. Also panelists were disorganized by not arriving on time and they were cancelling panels left and right. Staff problems included not knowing how to operate video equipment, for example, while in the KARAS showing the guy first played the dub track with the subtitles on, he then turn the Japanese audio on but with the subtitles off. WTF?? The audience had to guide him through the process of setting the DVD correctly. The staff also had absolutely no knowledge of what was going on with the panels. I asked one guy what the substitute for the Gundam panel going to be about and he said, "I have no idea". What kind of help was that?

While the dealer room was a big focus of the con, the was alot of non otaku related dealers present. Gothic dresses, fashion accessories, non-anime related plush shops were taking away space from dealers that could have been filled with anime goodies. It also seemed like 90% of the dealers were supplied by the same distribution company, AAA Anime. That meant that the choices were pretty much the same across the board. Hobby Link Japan and another dealer were the only ones with unique stuff like the HCM-Pro Destroy and the White Action Base 01. Everybody else had exactly the same Evangelion, Fate/Stay Night, and Bome figures. Hopefully nest year bigger dealers come aboard with new assortments of products to buy.

The only thing that I can complement were the industry panels (ADV & Funimation) for making the panels fun and interesting. I mainly want to thank all of the cosplayer who let me take their pictures and disturbing them when they were minding their own business. Also the door staff was friendly and they were not being A-holes thinking they are kings of the world. Hopefully next year will make things better. Let's hope that the Gundam panel makes a return and please get more dealers in. Here are the final pics of OTAKON 2007 here at My Gundam Models and Anime.

No shopping today, only freebies. Thanks to ADV and Manga Ent for the great freebies they provided.

Otakon 2007 - Day 2

My body is almost drained of all its energy, i'm waking up at 6:00am to head over to the convention to make sure that I get adequate parking. We got there an hour early and pretty much had to wait in line. There was pretty much nothing to in the morning so we headed directly to dealers room, that didn't open until 10:00am so that was another hour of waiting.

We finally get into the dealers room and.... well... you know how the story goes... You'll see a pic later on. The rest of the day we spent it at panels and taking pics of cosplayers whenever I could. I also saw episodes of Witchblade and the premiere of Devil May Cry here in the states. Devil May Cry was pretty cool and I'll start downloading the episodes ASAP, I think they are up to episode 4 or 5 now. Can't wait until tommorrow, the Gundam panel takes place at 11:30am and then is off to more shopping.

This were the goodies that I got today. My wallet is pretty much drained so tommorrow I shouldn't get much or anything at all.

More pics tommorrow

Otakon 2007 - Officially Begins

Otakon 2007 officially kicked off today, the weather was great and cosplayers were in full effect. For some reason people decided to stand in line to get into the con. I thought it was stupid to stand in line and wait for the con to open at 9:00am. You really didn't have anything to rush to so I don't know what the big deal was.

There were many cosplayers this time around and I tried to take pics whenever I could, but I have 2 more days for the pics. The dealer room was packed with nice goodies for me to blow my cash on but I had to show some restrain otherwise you can easily spend every penny you have on you in that place. I attended some of the US DVD companies panels and overall I wasn't paying much attention. The only thing that I managed to grasp is that Funimation is releasing Witchblade on 9/25. Here are pics from Otakon 2007 Day 2.

Why the lines?? There was nothing really to rush into.

Lines were huge all over again. Last year, I avoided the lines by being late ^_^

...And this is how my cosplay pictorial begins... He actually had the most complete Sailor Moon outfit. What is the name of this Sailor Moon character again??

Kon stopped by to say hello

Later Chad stopped by for a pic with Kon

First thing in the morning they were showing SEED Destiny 1-4. Hey I'm a Gundam fan, I had to sit through those episodes. It reminded me that those first episodes were actually good.

DBZ cosplay

What is he doing here?

Many unknown characters to me with cool costumes were present

Here is another one that I don't recognize

...and another pair of ladies that I do not recognize

The ONLY, and I mean ONLY, mobile suit cosplay was this Deathscythe. It was not that well made...

...but it attracted the ladies...

HLJ was present and they brought this tiny truck to store all their stuff

This was one of the nicest cosplay costumes that I saw

The GREATEST hero of them all!!! Leader of the AEUG... I present you Quattro Vagi... ERRR... Bageena... ahh heck!!! CHAR!!!

This is my haul for today. I could have bought alot more stuff but I really had to control myself otherwise I would have gone crazy spending money.

MORE PICS TOMMORROW