Hobby
Link Japan Sci-Fi News
Sunday,
April 06, 2003
Hello
all!
"Just
how big do they think our warehouse is?"
That's the question that has been on my mind the last few weeks as we've
received a deluge of new Bandai Gundam models that are all friggin' huge. I'll get to the details of those in a
moment. First, however, let me talk
about the rather unfortunate news that's currently on the top of our website,
and hopefully put some needless fears to rest.
STRING
OF BANKRUPTCIES HITS JAPAN'S HOBBY INDUSTRY
Reds,
the figure maker that usually worked closely with Kaiyodo on a number of action
figures, and Mitsuboshi Shoten, Tokyo's largest hobby distributor and one of the
biggest in Japan, both went bankrupt April 1. Details are on our website at: <http://www.hlj.com/bankrupt.html>
Two
days later came word that Tsukuda, a major toy distributor (which previously
also manufactured some toys under the "Tsukuda Original" name) had also filed
for bankruptcy.
While
Mitsuboshi was our third largest supplier, we depended on them primarily for toy
items only. And we had no business
dealings with Tsukuda at all. So
model fans don't have anything to worry about in terms of supply as a result of
this development. As for toys,
we've moved the orders we had in place with Mitsuboshi to other firms, and have
our fingers crossed that the system will sort itself out. We won't know for sure how things will
pan out until items are actually released, however. Now, moving on to more pleasant
topics...
BANDAI
TO REISSUE MACROSS KITS FOR FIRST TIME IN SIX
YEARS!
After
a huge wave of toys from Yamato and new kits from Hasegawa, Bandai has finally
decided that maybe they could sell of few of those old Macross models if they
reissued them! While some of these
items have be redone (better) by Hasegawa, these are the only transformable kits
and the only kits of Macross bad-guys and minor mecha
available.
A
word of caution: These are being
shipped to us from Bandai in assortments only -- we cannot specify exact counts
for individual items to them. So we
have to be a little conservative on our order to avoid being left with huge
piles of the less-popular kits. So
place your order as soon as you can if you're interested in getting some of
these (before the 9th if at all possible) -- we'll fill orders in the order they
were received. Check the complete
list, plus a few of our other Bandai Macross items at the URL below: <http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljlist.cgi?SeriTxt=macross&Maker1=BAN&Dis=2>
BANDAI
CLOGS HLJ WAREHOUSE WITH STRING OF BIG ITEM
RELEASES
Okay,
let's move onto the BIG news, as in physically huge
items.
Bandai
1/60 MS-09R Rick-Dom 18000 yen (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljpage.cgi?BAN914139)
This
kit is not officially part of the Perfect Grade series, but in many ways, that's
what you're getting. Standing 31cm (over one foot!) tall and with 450 parts,
this deluxe kit of this popular Gundam standard mecha lights up in over 20
different locations (three switches, hidden under the head, control the action).
Of course, all joints work, including all knuckles of the fingers on both hands.
For what you get, the 18,000 yen price tag is very reasonable, too. This is the standard-color release. A limited-release Char version (red) is
also available for a short time (URL below). Order that immediately if you want it --
we only have a dozen or so left, and we won't be getting any
more.
Bandai
1/60 MS-09RS Char's Rick-Dom 18000 yen (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljpage.cgi?BAN914152)
This
version of the Rick-Dom never appears in any Gundam TV, only in the original
novel as written by Gundam creator Tomino.
Sometimes
HLJ customers send me mail to ask "Scott, what are you currently building?" The answer is:
Bandai
1/100 MG MSA-0011(Ext) Ex-S Gundam 8000 yen (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljpage.cgi?BAN916415)
Okay,
for a monster machine like this, with parts sticking out all over, and which is
so top heavy it cannot stand on its own, the naming of "Ex-S" seems appropriate,
considering the homonym "excess."
But gosh, it's sooo sharp looking... At first, when I saw that this kit
came with a display stand to hold it up, I was greatly disappointed, as I really
was looking forward to building and posing it. But then I started thinking about all
the other Gundam kits of mine that have fallen over and broken or lost parts
when I had them posed someplace.
It's probably happened to you, too, right? So I began to think that maybe a display
stand isn't such a bad idea after all...
Of course the kit can transform into the long-range "G-Cruiser" mode,
similar to the Zeta Gundam, and the display stand itself also converts into a
mode specifically designed for displaying the kit when it's in ship mode. A whopping 31 runners of parts in
all! Get ready for hours of cuttin'
'n' snappin' with this baby! Moving on to the very hot "Gundam Seed"
series...
Bandai
1/60 Strike Gundam Striker Weapon System 7000 yen (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljpage.cgi?BAN917987)
This
kit includes all the parts for the 1/60 Strike Gundam, previously released, but
also comes with the spectacular backpack unit, which turns it into the Aile
Strike, as well as two other optional weapons (for Sword and Launcher) to let
you play with it in a total of four different modes! Great engineering lets this figure
duplicate some spectacular action poses, and with this many different weapons to
swap in and out, you'll never run out of new things to do with
it.
This
is far from the only new release from Gundam Seed, however. Bandai has just been crankin' out the
goods, and have now released almost all of the important items from the show,
including in the more-detailed 1/100 scale. Check the URL below for the latest
stuff, and whatever you do, don't overlook the pink
Halo!
<http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljlist.cgi?SeriTxt=gundam+seed&Dae=New&Dis=-2>
Getting
away from machines with legs, and taking a look at something with landing gear
instead...
Bandai
1/100 EX-13 Supersylph Yukikaze Ver. 1.5 3200 yen (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-local/hljpage.cgi?BAN918004)
Okay,
I doubt it would really fly, but like Gundam and other robots, it's just so cool
looking! Bandai has powered up
their already fine kit of the stunningly-designed Yukikaze (lit. "Snow-wind")
with sharper toolings for the intake nozzle, landing gear and tires. Note that this is a Bandai kit, but like
others in the EX series, it requires cement and paint to complete.
Thanks
for reading through this! The next
mailing you get from us will come in a couple of weeks, and will be announcing
some major changes to the customer account maintenance system on our website
that we've been working on for a few months now. Stay tuned!
---
Scott
T. Hards
President
HobbyLink
Japan (www.hlj.com)
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