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Five Star Stories


Shun

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Oh yes, the english version of the manga was released quite some time ago, now vol 13-14 should be out already. The story is very complex, but yet very interesting. The mecha designs are superb, I would say the most elegant mecha designs to date! There is a release of the animated movie in DVD recently.

I believe you are referring to Knight of Gold ver 3. There are actually only 2 KOGs, the 2nd one will be built later in the story. It is common to have upgrades to the mechas (known as Mortar Headds or MHs), thus the version number.

[Edit] Just changed the pic to show the whole KOG v3

post-26-1062852604_thumb.jpg

Edited by Shun
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I've always liked the upper portion of the mecha...but when I get down to the legs they disappoint.

I don't know how many times I've been tempted to by an LED Mirage, only to remember what a lost cause it's legs and feet are.

I do, however, want to start reading the manga. But with so many issues and around $10 each I don't know if I can afford it yet.

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Oh yes, the english version of the manga was released quite some time ago, now vol 13-14 should be out already. The story is very complex, but yet very interesting. The mecha designs are superb, I would say the most elegant mecha designs to date! There is a release of the animated movie in DVD recently.

I believe you are referring to Knight of Gold ver 3. There are actually only 2 KOGs, the 2nd one will be built later in the story. It is common to have upgrades to the mechas (known as Mortar Headds or MHs), thus the version number.

Volume 13-14 is out already (covering Japanese book 6, and featuring the Jagd Mirage for the first time.)

As for the Knight of Gold, you're incorrect. There's 4 Knight of Gold's, the first being the Auge (Amaterasu's first prototype), the 2nd being Schpeltor, then the 3rd and 4th being the previously shown KOG and KOG AT (Paratisque Mirage).

The V3 is simply the V3, as in the 3rd rendition of the KOG. Nagano frequently redesigns his Mortar Hedds, the LED and KOG V3's being the newest of the bunch.

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TwinkiePlatter: That's the KOG 2 or Patraqushe Mirage (yeh, no one can spell that right! :p). Not to be confused with KOG II, which is actually ver 11 of the first KOG. IMO, the Patraqushe Mirage has a more menacing look! B)

Jinnai: If you're talking about all those in the "KOG Series", yeh, there are some more in the series - Will (Upper & Lower), MMT Vinus, but I wouldn't really consider them the Knight of Gold. ;)

Phyrox: Hmm, kinda agree that the older designs' legs are very similar. But the latest design - have you seen them? Here's the latest LIMITED kit of the LED V3 Inferno Napalm with translucent armour! :blink:

See more at Volks website: http://www.volks.co.jp/c_goods/fss/index.html

post-26-1062853933_thumb.jpg

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I'm the biggest FSS fan here. My friend Masaki from Japan tells me that including his friends in Japan I am the biggest fan he knows besides himself. <_< We'll have to work on that.

Here is the Mortar Headd section of my website;

http://home.comcast.net/~cobywan/Templates/MH.htm

I have quite the FSS collection going on. I have around 75 resin kits and all of the Characters books. I even got my hands on a Mirage Knght piggy bank! I have most of the poster inserts from Newtype but some of them just don't come up on Ebay. I have the four CD albums Nagano recorded for FSS. (There is some really wierd stuff in there.) I currently have all of the Japanese bound volumes and the Chinise versions. I have all the issues of Tales of Joker minus four. And I have all the English volumes too. I still need to track down a couple of the really nice Nagano calendars.

I will have to take a phop of my FSS collection and post them.

And I couldn't disagree with anything more than saying that the legs of a MH are awful. Some people just don;t have any taste. ;)

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I'm a big FSS fan myself. I would say that I have a huge collection, but I have about 12 1/100 kits and 14 1/144. I only have Manga's 1-8, but looking for the rest that were released. And maybe other fans can help me look for an Alukana Siren and the Siren D. I am looking for original kits and I know that they are next to impossible to find around the US.

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Hope this doesn't irk you hard corce fans too much, but I really don't dig the character designs at all. They just look too wispy and frail in general. LOVE the mecha designs on their own, but not when depicted in the manga. The L-Gaim toys are some of my favorites.

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Wow! Glad to see some FSS fans here!! :)

cobywan, you've really got a big collection there! :blink: How did u manage to get your hands on the piggy bank?! It's the white elephant with Mirage sign on its forehead right? you're really good! :lol: What about telephone cards? As for auction sites, have you tried yahoo auctions, especially Japan? Taiwan also worth a check. Unfortunately, most japan auctions sellers do not ship overseas, but it's always good to keep a lookout.

Commander McBride: yes, I heard some rumours about the bigger volumes, but it will be the continuation of the current run, so that one jap vol will match one english vol.

VF-17: have u tried asking at Waxtrax? http://waxtrax.heika.net/

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Finally, some fellow FSS fans!!

Well, at least you guys still have stuff to look forward to buying.. I've been waiting for Vol. 11 (Japanese) for.. oh... two years now? So much so that I've stopped paying attention to if he's ever gonna finish the damn story, grr.... then again, the man has the whole story laid out for us already...

I think his latest mech designs have been gearing towards streamlining, more or less like how Junchoon's design like... then again, it could be that all the Mirage designs were always meant to give ppl that "skeleton in armor" feeling :-p

Anybody who reads Newtype on a regular basis know if he's made any progress on the story? The last I left off the Mage's War (direct, inaccurate translation... you all know what I mean :-p) was about to begin...

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Speaking of kits... with all the latest trend in going big, I wonder if a 1:100 Jagd Mirage will ever see the light of day :D I remember seeing a completed Jagd once at a model shop, don't know what scale it was, but the damn thing, including the dual buster cannons, was taller than me!

Of the people that have put together KOG and LEDs, are they really as bad as I heard they were? I remember reading a few reviews that involved lots of patching and mending seams, and that the Wave/Flamer LED kit was a bit on the complex side.

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The Jagd you described id 1/100th scale. I have the Volks Twin Tower kit at home. It took me 6 weeks to clean the resin parts. I haven't touched it since.

The Wave 1/100th scale kits are of the older style of kits. The Wave 1/144th scale LED and KOG are really great though. They are almost Bandai quality. Maybe they are a little better than Bandai actually.

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Druna Skass: There's no ONE artbook with ALL MHs. You will have to get most of the Character Books. The latest is Smoke Walls (Character XI). Knight Flags (Character X) is a very thick book with lots of mech, IMO very very worth the price! These character books are in Japanese, mostly about the characters and story guide.

Akilae: U must be talking about the older Wave plastic kits, they aren't really so good - but for that price... ;) The newer 1/144 LEDs are very good though. And as for the story, we're already in the middle of The Majestic Stand.

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I've seen the movie, and here is how I would rate it:

Story: Excellent, I want more of it

Mecha: Very good although not my favorite style

Chara: I really can't get into this crazy style

Is the manga worth importing for me (ie is the manga focused on story/chara development or cheap action and fan service) ?

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I've seen the movie, and here is how I would rate it:

Story: Excellent, I want more of it

Mecha: Very good although not my favorite style

Chara: I really can't get into this crazy style

Is the manga worth importing for me (ie is the manga focused on story/chara development or cheap action and fan service) ?

Definitely focused on the plot side of things, even more so than character development. I highly recommend it.

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I've seen the movie, and here is how I would rate it:

Story: Excellent, I want more of it

Mecha: Very good although not my favorite style

Chara: I really can't get into this crazy style

Is the manga worth importing for me (ie is the manga focused on story/chara development or cheap action and fan service) ?

If I remember correctly, Nagano states somewhere in the margins that FSS was never meant to be a giant-mecha action manga, rather a "fairy tale"... in fact, flipping through the manga, action and mechs really take up a small fraction of FSS, with most being devoted to character development. (I really don't know how to comment on the plot development... since we all know what's going to happen in 7777...)

The movie covers about the first Japanese manga volume I think... being that we're all the way up to 11 now, it's a good indication of how much more depth there is =)

btw, IMHO, there's never fan service for fan service's sake... in fact, I think Nagano really made the character designs... unusual :-p but hey, they're not meant to be human anyway.

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Druna Skass: There's no ONE artbook with ALL MHs. You will have to get most of the Character Books. The latest is Smoke Walls (Character XI). Knight Flags (Character X) is a very thick book with lots of mech, IMO very very worth the price! These character books are in Japanese, mostly about the characters and story guide.

Well in that case any websites with MH images that I can use as wallpapers?

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