Anubis

It would also make good business sense in that if they release the Beta, it may encourage more hold-outs to actually buy an Alpha, so they can get the Beta to go with it.

Yeah, the GQ (Gundam Quality) MMM toy looks nice. Should be out around the middle of this month from what I've heard (either 16th or 18th in HK). Very little actual die-cast metal content though. Pics of the unpainted prototype in the Japanese hobby mags show that basically only the feet are die-cast. I'm definitely getting one Force and one Sword version and also the Blast if they make it. Graham All 3 versions of the Impulse are coming out in the GQ line. All that was really metal on the Strike was the inner frame, maybe on the impulse it's metal joints, maybe some inner reinforcement. The only thing about a MMM is that is basically a metal HG kit, not as many bells and whistles as a Master Grade (like only the MG Strike's Wings folding in pre-launch position). I still really like my MMM Aile Strike though. It's gonna be tough to decide which Zaku's to get. The HG 1/144's, the MSiA's (which look surprisingly good), or the HCM Pro's. If I go with HCM Pros I might even hold out for a Sword Impulse in that line. Space is at an extreme premium now. For UC it seems I'm going to stick with HGUC kits. Does anyone have any of the UC HCM Pros? How durable are they? Do they suffer from Gashapon syndrome like many of the MSiA's do, or are they nice and sturdy to go along with all that nice detail.

There are also Metal Material Impulse models coming out (some kind of GQ model from Bandai), kind of like the Metal Material Aile Strike. One of each Impulse variant. I'm thinking about pre-ordering a Sword Impulse. HCM Pro's sound pretty tempting though, and I could get all the Zaku variants with a smaller amount of space. Here's a shot of the Metal Material Force Impulse.

Twin Moons also has them in stock for 19 bucks.

Which will then delay to the end of Jan, then to the end of Feb.

OMG, that's the first time I've seen the CFT's on an actual jet. Those things are HIDEOUS.

Cool, I nominated the SOP Kaneda's Bike. That was one of the more stand out items that I bought this year. Next after that probably would have been the Q-rau as a new release for this year.

Guess no one is really reading the rules, since the Robotech Alpha has been nominated, as has the Aoshima Shin Getter, which was released a few years ago... So was the Yamato 1/48 VF-1 again. No specific one, just VF-1 Valkyrie. UPDATE: The Alpha, Eva-03, and 1/48 VF-1 got disqualified already.

Now that's just crazy.

That might explain Freedom fighting Shinn in the intro (aside from Shinn simply wanting to kill Kira and assuming a rebuilt Freedom is being stored at Orb already). If the two ships are sent against each other, it will probably be be a small skirmish before they realize the deal and join up together. I wonder when the Strike Rouge will be picked up.

Plus, it transforms into a box for convenient storage! Always hated the look of the Pyscho Gundam. I mean, it's a big ugly trobot that transforms into .....err, a big ugly robot sitting in a chair! Graham I think Psycho Gundam MK2 actually look better, but PG would be way too big.. like 2 ft tall? and 600 bucks plus? I was actually joking. I'm not a big fan of the Psycho Gundam, but due to its huge size it's fun to call for a Perfect Grade of it.

Like the Eva movie, I am reseving judgement until I see something concrete and in-production about it, not just concept or pre-production stuff.

A partial list of the damage from the colony fragments that was either said or shown. In a nutshell: all over the world (as if watching the light show wasn't enough to know that.) As Shinn pointed out: the coordinators are basically screwed. Enough important places to piss everyone off. Combine this with the footage of the rouge Ginn's and the flare motors. Rome Shanghai Gobi Desert Quebec Philadelphia Part of the Great Wall of China Northern Atlantic (New York was shown flooded) Greece (right on the Parthenon) and kind of harsh: The orphanage Kira, Lacus, and co. were living at.

Word from the grapevine indicates that ORB will actually be siding with EA instead of staying neutral this time. After a kinda successful Colony Drop by Zala faction extremists, that might be plausible for Orb to take Earth's side this time as a result, with popular opinion overriding anything Cagalli would be able to do to stop it. The BC will kick the propoganda machine into overdrive, stir up all kinds of anti-coordinator hatred, and Plant will be in a pretty pickle. I would imagine after this drop a lot of the coordinators remaining in Orb might bolt and take off for Plant fearing for their safety. That wouldn't leave a good impact on Orb either.

here

Perfect Grade Psycho Gundam. Walking home security system.

Is there any way to see this w/o logging in? Hmm, try it from the slashdot article here. I didn't have to log in using the link there. When I cliciked on the link I posted it does ask me. Wierd. The World Peace Herald link at least doesn't ask to register. I hate news sites that make you register.

The EA wasn;t sitting idle on its own OS, just like ORB was developing their Astray OS. The Original 5 gundams were barely pilotable by the naturals. Mwu said the test pilots were barely able to move them, just like the trouble shown with the Astray girls barely able to move the Astrays before Kira gave them a hand with the OS (Lowe's crew in the Astray manga also gave a hand). The EA was finalyl able to finish their OS which allowed them to mass produce the Daggers, and the crazy trio's Gundams. Since the new natural-OS was still new, the Daggers were the best they could probably manage at the time. Now they've had two years to improve more, they will crank out mass-production models like the Windam. Nobody's been idle in their development. As for ORB, they played both sides during thee first war, staying neutral. They helped the EA develop the original 5 gundams (why Cagalli's father agreed to that I don't know, maybe to help level the playing field since Zaft was starting to win, but it ended up a decision that bit them in the ass when the EA invaded ORB). They also maintained ties with Plant. When the EA invaded, ORB could have requested Zaft support to bail them out, but they didn't since that would only draw them in deeper. ORB's best chance at survival has been to be buddy-buddy with everybody. The EA is cannabalistic though (took over South America for cooperating with Plant), and are in a position to exert some pressure on ORB. The reason Cagalli went to ORB in the first episode of Destiny was because the EA was complaining to them about the people emmigrating from Orb to Plant, an end result being their expertise kind of ported ORB tech over to Zaft. The EA as usual bitched about it. ORB has had to maintain a hard balance to stick it out on it's own like they have.

Wow. Stem Cells from Umbilical cord blood help paralyzed woman walk again.

That happens a lot with HLJ. When something is slated for the end of a month, it always goes to "Just In" status. When it doesn't arrive they update it to whatever the new date is, and goes back to "pre-order" mode.

I'm WAY behind on my Anime viewings, but I can say at least Gundam SEED Destiny's 1st OP and ED are pretty sweet.

Nope, the Savior also has a ZGMF- prefix so it's Zaft made as well. Who knows why? Easiest explanation is because someone has to make the show's Gundams. Have to go with suspension of disbelief as far as Zaft crafting their own Gundams. Maybe they had a "everything you can do we can do better" thought pattern for it. A Gundam is required by law to have the recognizable characteristics. Except in G-Gundam, where everything was a Gundam.

No one pounced on him and killed him for trying to take ALL the posters? We all know by now how effective the "No Photo" signs are. Never.

The Trans-Phase Shift was developed by the Alliance and was used on the Raider, Forbidden, and Calamity Gundams. Zaft didn't have it, that's why their own Gundams (Freedom through Impulse) have the original Phase Shift. As part of the peace treaty (made after the show ends) the Mirage Colloid and N-Jammer Canceller became illegal items. Seed Destiny has no mention of N-Jammers themselves yet though. Maybe they'll mention soon wether the ones on earth were disabled. I would imagine those would have been taken offline somehow after the war, but would still be used around PLANT so someone doesn't try to set a nuke off. I only got to skim the Ep. 7 this morning. I liked how they showed the individual fragments that didn't burn up do their own damage. Not one HUGE impact, but a bunch of smaller ones, creating pretty widespread destruction that way. The Zaku also did the "hide behind the shield" bit, as you see it leaning in shoulder first, with Athrun worried about the leg damage affecting his descent. Bless the designers for having Zaku's at the forefront in this show. It would be really cool if Lowe and co. were at Orb too when the Minerva gets there, and some of the Astray people get some screen time. Some Zaku sparring would be nice as well. The Archangel should be in one of Orb's docks as well. BTW Graham, don't forget the Astray manga. It fills a few plot holes in addition to just being pretty good. The 3 Astray Girls (Cagalli's friends) get a good deal of time in the manga as well. Gold Frame rocks.

I'm gonna get Battle Ravage so I can have a black Corvette convertible. Tracks can then go in bot mode. The head almost made me pass though. I am still skipping Swindle and Windcharger though. As for Wheeljack, I like the head design. Would be nice if they gave him the right colors though.