@@0riBut is it an updated version with relatively modern(post 2014) gunplay tech? Slight reminder that many gunpla are massively outdated in some or all aspects, be it build quality or even just the build itself.
Yeah, it doesn’t matter how well they do, obviously. They made 1000 IBO/IBO spin off HG kits and then dropped one of the best MG kits to date with Barbatos and then did nothing with the IP. IBO MSs are basically all the same besides some armor and they didn’t capitalize on it. Can’t imagine they’d change it up again and make us happy.
Your in for a disappointment lol. Bandai of old would have the Mg or RG for all the forms out within 2 to 3 years of release. IBO came out in 2015 and we had 1 mg for IBO that came out in 2019 and there's been nothing since. They only had to slap new armor over the frame they already have and sell but so far nothing. You can expect WFM to come out in 2028 at this rate.
I bought the hemoxian Thor, it's cheap but the build is almost semi PG and the frame is really solid where it can hold the giant hammer without any issues.
From your description, it sounds like it’s going to be super fun because that’s next on my to build list. It’s the only 3rd party kit I got not based on a Gundam.
I've been buying Moderoid, Koto, GSC, Volks FSS and especially Hasegawa Macross kits instead of Gunplas in 2023. The bulk of the regular release kits are skippable for me, only got a few WfM kits like zowort, zow heavy, and aerial, skipped metaverse kits, and made a couple of P-bandai kits(expensive, so only can buy very few). The p-bandai releases are more appealing to me since i like UC and apparently they moved over to p-bandai lol. As for hype kits like MGSD Barbatos, I also skipped him for now. They're hard to get and is marked up a bit because of it, i'll just wait till hype is gone and price is back to normal. Other bandai non-gunpla kits I got are the votoms and macross kits which i value much much more than mediocre-bad gundam kits like metaverse. This coming new MGs (narrative and stein) are also skippable, as they're kinda boring? also expensive! a considerable price difference the last ver kas(wing and zeta). I bet the good releases in 2024 will also be P-bandai..... sad.... the regular releases nowadays are very meh.
could i ask what your experience with the Volks FSS kits were like? I adore their designs but they look like they take a lot of work to put together, and there isnt really a review on yt. I'd describe myself as pretty casual with this hobby, couple small paints but i haven't done a whole project yet.
@@LunaLohrn_ I do have a build video of it in my YT channel, though it might get a little boring compare to my other vids(i was trying out a different way of recording the build) but you can check it out to see what kind of problems I met during the build. I have to say, it's more for a intermediate to expert level build. Where all straight build gunplas(no matter what grade) is considered easy/beginner level. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1Q7HOwyDOB4.htmlsi=TKEAYxX9MgDysw0t
This was the year of great bootlegs for me. I enjoyed so many MG knockoffs and 1/100 third party kits in the absense of MGs from Bandai. The few that Bandai do make are incredible, but not enough for me.
I really want to try the direct bootlegs of MG but I just don't know which one is good. Even the "good" ones need some work done based on reviews I've seen on some kits and I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. I have however bought a few third party kits from companies like In Era, SNAA etc and have yet to build them but based on reviews the build are comparable to Bandai's. What are some of your recommended bootlegs that you've bought in 2023?
@@YU_ZU98 tbh u must be prepared to sand or tighten joints on every kit, even bandai kits dont come tight oob sometimes. for 3rd parties the direct or partial copies are usually of lower quality than 'original' 3rd party kits. its because they had to recast from existing kits instead of making original molds
imho... thunderbolt is surprisingly steal the show in 3rd party department. The price is good, snapfit very nice, detailed, very articulated, and nice gimmick... and also stable. the only problem i have is that the kit doesnt really gave u a "proper" shield and beam saber (though... they dont have too... bcoz the kit is supposed to be aerial type big gun assaulter). nb: they actually gave u gunblade - kind of hybrid melee weapon and pistol in one. oh yeah... they also dont give the kit a proper cockpit and pilot inside. but IF they did gave the cockpit and pilot ... bawahahha... i dare to say the 3rd party already in the "same level" with MG bandai... LOL.
This was my first full year as a Gunpla fan and I was shocked at how many witch kits were released and I wasn't particularly interested in them so I didn't have much to look forward to. I mostly bought older kits and restock waves along with getting into 30MM/30MS. I don't know what the average release years look like for this series, but I hope to get more restocks in the future and some more series variety. I'm not a fan of Gundam Seed so something tells me I might be disappointed with most of next year's releases (unless that crazy Gyan from it gets printed). 30MM future looks bright at least.
I actually bought more 3rd party kits this year because: A. They offer 1/100 -ish scale which I mainly collect B. Metal components/ Full metal inner frame C. Overall content and experience. Some kits have tons of extra options as well as left over parts. It's also a new building experience. I also tried my hand at a few bootlegs, still a hit and miss but if you want a challenge then try building one. It's not the smoothest of builds but in the end, you'll still get a model kit out of it.
@@zeroanimation3956 in era+, supernova/snaa are pretty much bandai quality and experience. Motor nuclear is another beast, pre painted parts, premium metal inner frame, over the top accessories and gimmicks. If bandai does not start ramping up the release for MG, I'd have to switch to 3rd party gundam looking models
just got myy hands on zero gravity judge moonlight, and it is awesome blew my bandai kits away. you should start reviewing/cover third party kits as well
Im actually looking forward to getting the MGSD Freedom. But unfortunately, a lot of stores in Singapore had sold out the kits. Had built a bootleg MG S Gundam in the past, and had a terrible experience, especially with the fit and thr overall proportion. Might consider it in the future.
i think you should cover 3rd party kits and also the 3rd party kits are honestly getting just as good if not better than bandai the hemoxian legion of thor model kit was one of my favorite kits i built this year and the articulation was literally beyond anything ive ever seen bandai do it was fun great gimmicks
Loved Daban's KO MB PG Nu Gundam and MG FAZZ(Hoping Daban will release Moon Gundam's Theta Plus). There's also the MG Amazing Exia Blanche(StarDestroyer), MG Stargazer(Glory), MG Zaku(Heine&Diego Custom), Infinite Dimensions Genesis Tactical Unit(Lambda Plus). What got my attention is that my local Gunpla store carried most of the 3rd party(not KO) kits and HobbyLinksJapan having THOR(Hemoxian NZS-05-3 Thor Non-Zero Series Mecha Model Kit) 3rd party plamo kit on their site for pre-order and then some other 3rd party kits too. Disappointed with the MG Zeta ver Ka release since it lacked the MG Zeta v2.0 Hyper Beam Cannon and display stand plus over 2x increase in price from the v2.0. When the v2.0 was released over a decade ago, I bought a couple of the regular v2.0 to display it in MA and MS modes as well as some more of the White Zeta v2.0 Custom version for the resin Strike Zeta conversions. Also the MG Zeta v3.0 ver Ka kit didn't solve hip/wasit issue while Infinite Dimensions(Lambda Plus) kit actually had a different solution that's more durable compared to the MG Zeta ver Ka kit. Calling the Infinite Dimensions' Genesis Tactical Unit the Lambda Plus since there's been online design concepts for this over a decade&several yrs ago based on the MA mode for the MSA-0012 λ Lambda Gundam from the AUC(Alternate UC) era.
I totally agree with the michaelis- it was my first wfm build and i loved the knightly, chivalrous aesthetic (im a sucker for these grassley designs) and i plan to give it a hg try slash blade cape to match, with an inquisitor-themed beguir pente and crusader-themed heindree to fight my freedom-colored aerial, macross-upgraded zowort trainer, and possibly a macross destroid-themed demi trainer) the wired claw and lance make it even more awesome, if only the lance upgrade wasnt pbandai! Darn it bandai!
Absolutely cover bootlegs, some of them are amazing, I've built the dragon monmoko testament, and it's better than the Bandai by a long shot, and I've got the 1/100 glory preordered. The detail is gorgeous.
Yes DM testament and outframe d has super smooth articulations without lubrications and adjustments. Also I just bought star glory and it really is glorious🤩
There definitely was some great Gunpla kits this year. I hope we get more kits though in 2024. The first half of 2024 kits have been announced but maybe we get more announced. I guess it's good that there aren't as many kits (so far)...good for our wallets. My favorite kits released in 2023 that I bought include: - MG AGE-1G Gundam AGE-1 Full Glansa - RG OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon - MGSD ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam - MGSD ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos
ive bought several 'MG" one as there were not much release from bandai and unfortunately others are scares. and ive bought the new MG strike freedom gundam actually on build but its quite good. i will give it a solid 7.5-8/10
I have been getting into other Bandai lines like 30MS, it's really fun how you can mix and match and also use parts from HG Gunpla to make cute girls with huge weapons!
2023 was pretty much third party for me. Built the Judge, Ruling, Trailblazer, Hunt and Kill, Genesis, Bai Qui, Ao Bing annd Caoren and they were all insanely better than Bandai! Got the Star Destroyer, Redeemer, Thunderbolt, Galaxy and Thor waiting in backlog, but I expect them to be great as well. Definitely cover third party kits as they will only keep getting better and better. Did build the Zeta Ver ka and was satisfied with it. Got the RG Epyon, RG Destiny Impulse and MG Out Frame D in Backlog as well. Need to preorder Glory.
The Moonlight Judge is the best alongside Blue Flame as they are full HIRM-esque kits. The Motor Nuclear kits are great as well, especially the Bai Qi since it is, to me, a non-Bandai MGEX Strike Freedom, but with effect parts. Equal, maybe even superior, to the latter. All my other kits are either completely plastic or have metal parts, but not a complete metal inner frame. I’ll still have to build the others waiting in backlog, but for now, I would recommend the Bai Qi or Infinite Dimension Genesis.
We definitely have not heard all of the announcements for the whole of next year yet. There will be more announcements in March/April. So hopefully we will get at least one regular MG towards the end of next year.
I liked the MGSD kits the most this year. I recently decided to buy some YJL and Fortune Meow conversion MG kits because they outshine the original kits. They're super expensive but I think they're worth it!
What happened? Witch from Mercury. If you liked the designs from that series, I'm sure you were loving life. Those designs did nothing for me. Out of the list, the Aerial's probably my "favorite" and I haven't gone anywhere near a checkout counter with that thing. Can't stand literally a single other design from the show. I also don't give a damn about SEED because it sucks donkeys. So that left me with the MG Ver Ka Zeta, which is sitting on my shelf. So, basically one brand new kit the entire year. There has been some great stuff popping up on P-Bandai with regards to MSV - since I'm a fan of Kunio Okawara's designs, that's about the only thing to hold my interest. I've just been collecting older kits from years past, especially 2.0 kits and HGUC kits in the meantime.
Heck id do anything for a new regular release hguc or something Come on i like the macross kits but the lack of regular release affordable gunpla is sad
I wouldn't mind less gunpla IF they would be somewhat consistent and show something exciting/new. MG Narrative is cool, but what's the point wasting release slot on ANOTHER MG Sinanju? Or ANOTHER Zeta? Or ANOTHER Freedom? Where's MG Geara Zulu? Where are HGUC kits?
Personally I still avoid "bootlegs" after some bad experiences from taking the internet's word at face value (sorry). But I have bought an original design from a non bandai company, an E model atk girls that i have heard conflicting opinions in terms of fit quality, and i have yet to hear words on yolopark transformers so far. I would say the lower rate of new kits isnt entirely a bad thing either if it means some older kits that is out of print but are still in demand are getting reprinted (the 2000s NG Seed kits are defo a welcome). Also the day that other companies perfected their fit quality to bandai level, maybe the competition could make bandai reconsider some of their releases strategy *COUGH* pbandai *COUGH* cuz I really want to put this out there. These past few year feels like I am in a toxic relationship with bandai. it felt like most kits releases these days are practically monopolised by bandai, and there almost no other choice if you care about fitment, plastic quality and parts separation, and bandai knew that so they can almost do whatever they want. Then names like E-models and yolopark are making a splash lately with their own lines of licensed kits like marvels and transformers with their own insane detail and parts separation that bandai could never. So yeah, lower rates of new releases could be a good thing for the industry and the community as a whole.
@@AwesomeToysTV one thing that hinder me buying pharact is that i heard it's leg c clip is horrendeous. As a beginner, i will try to avoid it at least for now.
wfm hype died so fast in relation to its rushed anime production. compare with ibo, that series got hg and fm as part of main lineup. maybe its just me but wfm lacks of gundam series kit, which usually serves as the main draw. other ms felt more like a grunt unit rather than gundam or gundam rival. darilbalde just dont have that tallgeese or grimgerde vibe to it. zowort design is cool af nonetheless. obviously y24 focus is on gundam seed. aside from that, better not to have high expectation and start to look elsewhere. be it bootleg, figure rise, koto, morderoid, 30mm, pokepla, etc...sad to see that day to come eventually, but it is what it is also....kyoukai senki is really that forgettable ehh 😂😂
As someone who only build 1/144 the year was alright, still a lot of Pbandai kits were too good and easily could be regular releases. But somehow bandai just make them PBandai like the GP00 Blossom, Gundam Rose, Gundam Maxter and Vayeate & Mercurius Suivant. I hope that the next year marks a return to the HGUC line and give us some more releases like in the older years.
My entry point was Witch from Mercury but man I wish it wasn't, after watching 3 other AUs and some UC, I realized just how awful Witch from Mercury was. The flagship suits have next to no screen time and their representing characters with the exception of Bob aren't great. I am just using my remaing TWFMHG kits as practice/test samples instead of winging it on my UC, Seed and 00 1/100s. A shame because a lot of the MS designs are great. That being said I am invested into gunpla now and a part from a few exceptions I am done with 1/144 kits so Bandai really needs to get moving on new FMs & MGs because I am not the only one following this progression. There's so many kits that need RMs or 2.0s in addition to all the MS designs not represented at all but here's the one millionth Sinanju Stein.Thank Jesus Yamato I like Seed because my chances of getting a Dagger or Dinn MG are probably higher than the long demanded Vidar who's MG frame is like 90% completed as of 4 years ago. Also announcements are too slow and unfulfilling and transparency on reissues is really poor to nonexistent as well.
seems like bandai overestimated some of the gwitch designs sales. people are obviously only going to buy the hero suit. the zeta ver ka has divided opinions. im a zeta fan too but katoki fucked it up this time. we already have a katoki lineart for the zeta but he decided to instead make a new one to better resemble the anime, like whats the point?
Bandi is now dodging the 1/100 line due to the mass 3rd party companies making crazy mechanic details kits, meanwhile these are all under different companies (aka loopholes) which bandi were not able to sanctions like what they did to the DM. Meanwhile focusing the 1/144 is ultimately saving cost and you started to see even 3rd Party are starting to making smaller scale kits. So it makes sense why we seeing lot less of gunpla model kits and many ultraman, digimon, srw, kamen rider, pokemon and 30mm. But the core issues still remain the 3rd parties will still continued to copy whatever announce and it release in short time, which i think this is the biggest issue they being struggling the drain train.
Bandai can no longer go into china and shut down those companies like before. look at what is happening in China and how the government has changed in the last few years as well as current relations with Japan and other countries.
well bandai needs to try harder then. stop fucking locking everything behind pbandai and actually making kits that people want. nobody asked for those shit ton of kyokai senki kits. make your kits available to everyone in the world. ship all ur gunplas with waterslides/dry transfers
@@razrafz that the main issue bandi make exclusive stuff on purpose, is the logic of make Less earn More marketing like many other luxury brands. My big dissatisfaction is the amount of 30mm which wasn't even sell as good at gunpla but who knows..
