Where Did Everyone Else End Up To?

This post is dedicated to my Swinburne classmates.

So, where did you all end up to? You don't know yet? Well, you should check your student webmail frequently as advised by the Swinburne staff though I just decided to peep at mine today once again. Lo and behold I found an email dated 10 days back about the re-enrollment stuff.

I censored all the names on the picture above BTW for privacy's sake. This is the WWW after all, cannot just let the world know who you are so easily. =P

At any rate, looks like university life will kick back to full throttle right after next week on the 10th of August thus will lead me to less time to laze around doing nothing meaningful with my life. Ah well, time to enjoy my last week of holiday. =)

Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

This will be a short post to complete my KL trip post set, since I put the first day up. I'll make this short and simple.

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

Note: TL, DR

Post highlights: Times Berjaya Square, Midvalley Mega Mall
Note: Almost no pictures available...

Part 1: First Stop, Times Berjaya Square
On the night before, 2 friends of mine decided to not stay at MMU and go shopping as we did not have concert tickets to watch Minorin's concert. Me, being an opportunist, took this opportunity and joined them shopping.

By 1pm, we left the grounds of MMU, took the T429 bus(GREAT TIMING), then took the KLIA Express to KL Sentral and finally took a taxi to Times Berjaya Square(BTS).

At first, when I entered, I thought the place was rather small as it seemingly looked like it was only 3 floors high. Afraid I WAS TERRIBLY WRONG, the place was HUGE and it has like 6 floors. To make matters "painful" I circled the entire place like twice by days end but I didn't go to every nook and cranny though.

The place was mostly disappointing to me as I mostly saw clothing shops, remore controlled toys shops and misc shops. That is until a friend's friend who live nearby came along to guide us. Interesting guy, his English pronounciation seems to be much better than what I've been experiencing. After we met up, we split into 2 groups and went around. I went with a guy who wanted to buy some clothes. At first we went around for a bit just to be disppointed in the lack of proper choice of clothes until we went to Metrojaya. Luckily, there was something there he liked.

At the same time, I went to the toys section and picked up some stuff which was going for a really "good" price at that time.

The action base was the last one and was still selling at the old price and the 00 Gundam was 20% off, so I was like; "Why not?". Haven't built both of them yet BTW.

Later, thanks to the KL aquaintance, I managed to find the elusive Graffiti Toys shop! OMG, this shop was small and situated on the 5th floor of BTS(which I missed earlier). Even if it was small, it has stacks of Gundam boxes touching the ceiling! Woah, never seen such display before.

Which I was at that shop, I almost bought a PG Strike Gundam. It was like RM519 which was like a really good price nowadays but my budget did not allow me to do so. In the end, I just bought...

Err... yeah. Two unwanted Gundams and the lackluster HG Hi-Nu.

The HG Hi-Nu was normal priced while the other two was at let go prices(as they are less wanted items due to MG Exia's coming). I thought long before decided to buy them as there were a lot of choices such as the MG Destiny FBM which costs RM259. Quite a reasonable price but I didn't buy it in the end. Ah well, I'm pretty pleased with my choice anyways as I wanted the Astraea for a while but the Trans-AM Exia will just be a buy it for collection's sake(not going to build it for now). Since I'm not getting the MG Hi-Nu(didn't really feel enough to spend 7000 Yen for a single MG yet), I just bought the HG Hi-Nu which I think is enough as I just like its design.

By around 4.30pm, we moved on to another shopping complex, Midvalley Mega Mall.

Part 2: Midvalley Mega Mall, Once Again
We part ways with the KL aquaintance and took a really unpleasant ride on the KTM to get to the place we wanted to go to. Really extremely crowded and we had to wait for a long arse while before we could get on the KTM. Extremely crowded and stuffed, we had to sandwich ourselves just to get in and out of the train. It was even worse with the extra stuff I had on me(backpack and shopping purchases).

After the pain that is KTM, we decided to never use it ever again if possible in the near future.

At least we managed to get to Midvalley by evening though sweaty and feet feeling extremely sore. We went to eat at Carls Jr. once again as hunger stroke really bad by that time as we all did not have lunch. This time around, I ordered a small meal set as I know I will be really stuffed by the time I'm done eating especially when I ordered the special offered Teriyaki burger...

Not too long after we finished our really filling dinner, we went around the mall mostly window shopping as we didn't have anything in mind to buy.

By 10pm we got back to our hotel rooms and gathered some feedback from the "concert go-ers" who simply commented that the concert was something mere words cannot explain. Sounds like it was great though maybe I didn't care enough for it in the end... then again, I never once in my life went to such concerts except that one time when I had to accompany someone to the Christian concert.

Part 3: Saying "Sayonara" to Kuala Lumpur
The 4th day was really a bummer. It was really a short stay at such a big place which begs you to stay longer to explore completely. But alas, we were not able to as most of us weren't earning our own cold hard cash yet.

We ate some lackluster breakfast at the hotel and left the place by around 8am by train. After we reached KL Sentral, we took the bus for a 1 hour ride to LCCT which by then was around 10am by the time we reached our destination. We had barely any time to wander around and we soon had to catch our flight which was scheduled at 11.45am...

By 1.15am, we were back at Kuching once again and resumed the remainder of our holiday.

And, that's all. If you read that, at least you might know me a bit better and that you just filled your mind with a quick half-assed typed "report". Well, there wasn't much to say on the remaining part of the trip anyways. =P

Rants & NDS Emulated Gaming

Now, a change of topic beside Gundam. I know some of you may get bored if I keep going on and on only about a singular topic for a long period of time, especially my friends. XP

Note: TL, DR

Part 1: DUDE, WHERE'S MY INTERNET?!
First of all, I like to shout at Streamyx for their FABULOUS service. Sure, the line stays on slightly longer before it disconnects lately, but in turn, the overall Internet surfing speed is extremely slow. How am I suppose to open 5-10 tabs at once like I usually do? I can barely load 2 tabs without closing the 2nd tab to let the 1st tab to load completely nowadays. I haven't even begun on how hellish it is to download stuff. Torrents that normally take me a few hours before can take days on end due to slow speeds and constant disconnections makes it all the worse. Guh, I haven't been keeping up with the current anime and manga trends because of last month and this month FABULOUS Internet quality. I was also thinking of playing online game this month which was sadly impossible. Extremely frustrating. I hope after the TM Net conference tomorrow, things change for the better soon, REAL SOON.

Part 2: I Love Handhelds
This whole month of July is my only semester break for this year ever since I started to go to Swinburne, wasting half of it on Gunpla and the middle portion visiting another area of the country. Well, not really wasting as I gathered experience in life and met some new friends. When I was at KL, I became interested to game once again(I got bored of gaming earlier this year) and to be specific, Nintendo DS(NDS) handheld gaming after I got to play with SwatWolf's NDSL...

Lite(The little handheld gaming system which can be seen in hands on little kids all over town that which I have yet to obtain. However, I was very close in investing in the Nintendo DSNDSL) while shopping in KL. Oh so very close if only money was really that easy to spend carelessly. At any rate, I'm planning to but a NDSL by year's end, 2 if possible, one for me and another for my sister. Thus, I guess, begins my decline in Gunpla purchases... after I get MG Exia and HG Reborns Gundam/Cannon. XP

At the same time, especially because of Dissidia, I also might want to save up some cash to invest in the PSP too unless the PSP emulator becomes amazing by the time I almost buy a PSP(which is never if I were to buy 2 NDS). X/ Then again, I don't like the PSP as much as the NDS, way less games I like on that system but the really good games, even though not so many, can sway a person to think of purchasing it just for 1 or 2 games... WHY MUST DISSIDIA AND KINGDOM HEARTS: BIRTH BY SLEEP ARE ON THE PSP ONLY?! D=

Part 3: At Least There Are Emulators Available
For quite some time I've been playing NDS games on emulators such as the IDeaS and No$GBA but due to the lack of interactive capable gaming on these really great pieces of software, I only can play the games partly or half-assed. It makes games with multiplayer capabilities go to waste. Then again...

For the PSP? The emulator seems to cater much promise and the developement is currently quite fast. So it might be possible for us to enjoy some PSP gaming on your computer screens very soon as well. However, handheld games are meant to be played on handhelds... as in within easy grip in our hands. =P

Note: You can also read my earlier entry on "NDS Emulated Gaming" 2 years back.

Click the "Read more..." if you want to see screenshots on my NDS Emulated Gaming fun! Which is fortunately the best thing to do when the Internet becomes a place far away for 21st "centurians".

DC Gundam Giveaway

Me, being late to know things lately due to Internet disconnectivity thanks to Streamyx lack of quality service tends to make me almost miss out on important and interesting key events in life. Well, at any rate, for those curious, I made an entry for the DC Gundam Giveaway contest after I saw Z's entry today. Looks like I just made it in time for the last day of entry, though I don't think I'll get anything. Ah well, trying is enough, I guess, and knowing what people might think of my first NG can also be an interesting experience.

So, what do you think of my first NG 1/100 kit I built last year? Small bits of panel lining and painting was this year though. =P

MG 1/100 Crossbone Gundam X1 "Ver. Ka" Review - Part 2

This is the second part of the review for the Crossbone Gundam X1. You can read the first part here.

It took me roughly 3 days to build this guy. 1st day for the torso, head and arms. 2nd day to rest my tired left holding hand. 3rd day to finish off the rest of the body and weapons. Photoshoot was done roughly a week later. =P

Read on for the rest of the review! =D

Cosvention 09

Due to the lack of proper Internet connectivity, I should've known about this a while back, though I guess I already knew but became unaware of the current date. XP Darn you Streamyx for not being stable! I was totally disconnected since yesterday morning until this evening! What the ****?!

At any rate, to those who live in Kuching, come for the Cosvention 09 at Boulevard Shopping Mall! This is a rare event for us Sarawakians which you should not miss out~ ^_^

I went there just now to check it out. Quite interesting and fun. There was a cosplay competition but I came a wee bit too late to see the whole thing. There are also some related items being sold there but I was quite disappointed as it seems there isn't any decent promotion going on...

MG 1/100 Crossbone Gundam X1 "Ver. Ka" Review - Part 1

Price: 3500 Yen

Who would have thought of it? Pirate Gundams. Cool.

Well, at any rate, I built this earlier this month and just read the manga yesterday. So, I understand the "workings" of this Gundam much better than when I just bought it. The X1 happens to be one of the three main Gundam units of the Crossbone Gundam manga(which you can find online). Unfortunately, I haven't read the F91 manga which seems to tie in with the Crossbone story, though it doesn't seem to be really needed.

Short Mobile Suit Summary:
The Crossbone is actually the F97, somewhat a successor to the F91, but not entirely. It excels in melee combat and seems quite lacking in the long range department even though it has a beam rifle. For most parts of the Crossbone manga it is piloted by Kinkedo Nau, a space pirate, and in the sequel by Tobia Arronax. It uses a core fighter(some kind of jet) as the core to operate the Gundam. With that, pilots can eject themselves out of the Gundam when the need arises.

Pilot(s): Kinkedo Nau, Tobia Arronax
Model Number: XM-X1
Height 15.9m(!)
Weight: 9.5t(empty), 24.8t(fully equipped)
Generator Output: 5280kw
Armaments:
Vulcan Gun x2
Heat Dagger x2
Beam Saber x2
Scissor Anchor x2
Brand Marker x2
Zambuster x1(Buster Gun x1 + Zamber x1)
Anti Beam Coating Mantle x1

Woah, that's a lot of weapons!

This part of the review will cover just the box, runners and building process. If you don't like to read that, then you can just skip this post and read the 2nd part when I post it up soon after this one. ^^

TT Hongli HG 1/144 Throne Eins Review

This bootleg model kit happens to be my second one. I am rather impressed by this bootleg but at some point felt that it has some major flaws.

Pilot: Johann Trinity
Height: 18.6m
Weight: 67.1t
Armaments: GN Laucher, GN Beam Rifle, GN Beam Saber(2), GN Shield

MS Story Info:
The Throne Eins is piloted by one of the three Trinity Siblings, Johann Trinity. He is the eldest among the three as well as the leader figure. The Throne Eins specializes in long range weaponry and requires the assistance from the other two Thrones to use the full power of its Mega Launcher...

~Not Related~

I actually wanted to put this review since last week, but Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was too interesting to stop playing mid-way. Its a really good game with a decent storyline though darker than what you have seen in the previous Kingdom Hearts games. The game is still in Japanese, but I managed to finish it thanks to Beginner Mode and a detailed walkthrough. I understood most parts of the story thanks to some Katakana and Hiragana reading capabilities and spoilers. The good part is that the English version will come out real soon in September this year, which I'll also play. ^^

~End Off Topic Text~

Okay, back to the review. I bought this guy for RM26 like most larger sized bootleg Gundams. Price is rather decent since the original costs 1600 Yen which is about RM65 lately. Then again, I always failed to get the original Throne Eins for some odd reason as its always sold out unlike the Throne Drei and Throne Zwei. So, since I saw it on the shelf, I decided to buy it and it became my first bootleg 00 TT Hongli model kit.

Read on for the full review. Not much action poses as I'll go into detail on the build this time, which is what I think most of you would want to know about bootleg model kits. =)

Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final

Delayed post here due to Streamyx. Luckily, it looks like my connection finally stabilized and stayed on for a longer period of time... hopefully I'm not talking too soon...

This post won't be long as I did not spend the entire day at Daicon on this day due to the lack of a concert ticket and that I wanted to visit a certain mall I always never get to go to whenever I get to go to Kuala Lumpur...

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

Read on for the 2nd and final day of Daicon 2009... well, as far as I can talk about. =P
Post Highlights: Karaoke Competition Finals & 2nd Day Cosplayer Pictures

HG 1/144 Gundam Exia R2(Repair II) Review

Price: 1200 Yen

Now, to post something other than Daicon 2009. XP Final post of Daicon 2009 coming up next as long as my Internet connection holds up by then. X.x

I bought this earlier this month right after my exams were done. I just really could not pass up the this model kit. I simply love the Exia. Damn you Bandai and your ridiculously good marketing scheme! D=

At any rate, the Gundam Exia Repair II or simply Exia R2 appears at the very last episode of Gundam 00 Season 2 for a final showdown with the final boss... more on that when I get the other model which pairs up with the Exia R2.

Unlike the original Exia, the R2 only comes with three swords, namely the GN Sword Kai and 2 GN Beam Sabers. With that, the R2 is slightly lighter than the original. Why is it called "Repair II". Well, the reason is that there was a Repair version of the Exia in the very first episode of Gundam 00 Season 2 which had only one arm and one weapon, a broken GN Sword. The Repair I was badly damaged by the end of episode 1. Somehow, Celestial Being engineers managed to overhaul the Exia.

Pilot: Setsuna F. Seiei
Height: 18.3m
Weight: 56.9t
Armaments: GN Sword Kai, GN Beam Saber(2), GN Shield

Read on for the full review and n00b painting attempt. =P

Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3

Rant

I'll try to conclude the first day in this part. Posting many, many pictures takes time and Streamyx is holding me back at the same time. Even as I type this, I just got disconnected once again. Sigh. I was disconnected for a whole entire 24 hours yesterday before I try to connect to the Internet once again earlier this morning. I feel as if I have lost hope in Streamyx and always feeling unsatisfied with what I'm getting for broadband...

End Rant

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

At any rate, read on for the rest of the first day.

EDIT(18/7/09): Add on one more part for the "report". =)
Post Highlights: Karaoke Competition Preliminaries & Funny Cosplay Competition Finals

Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries

Okay, this whole post will be only about the cosplay competition that was held. Also, in this post, the first day swarm of cosplayers will be shown. =D

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

More picture spam!

Note: The following pictures are courtesy of SwatWolf. He had a better camera and was more enthusiastic in taking pictures as compared to me. I won't be able to comment on most of the pictures below since I didn't take em' and that I'm not sure what to say actually. Also, some videos are added.

EDIT(20/7/09): Short add on at the end of post. =)
Post Highlights: Cosplay Competition Preliminaries & 1st Day Cosplay Pictures

Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1

I woke up really early on the 2nd day... someone's alarm decided to ring at 5.30am. D=

Well, at any rate, we all got ready by 7am and had our complimentary hotel breakfast which was not bad, though slightly lacking.

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

Picture spam time!
Post Highlights: Figurine & Nendroid Pictures

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur

Last week on Friday(10th July 2009), 5 of my friends and I went to Kuala Lumpur together. This trip was planned by Rain to go see the Minorin live convert a few months back. I took my chances and tagged along for the trip. =P

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 1
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 2 - Cosplay Competition Preliminaries
Day 2 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 1 - Part 3
Day 3 - Daicon(大コン) 2009 Day 2 - Final
Day 3-4 - No Concert Tickets = Go Shopping

Read on for a short post on the 1st Day. The good stuff will come in the 2nd and 3rd day post, but for now, introductory post. XP

Note: A mixture of phone camera pictures(2.0MP no focus) and camera(7.0MP) pictures are used for this post. =)

TT Hongli HG 1/144 Kyrios Review

This cost me RM26, rather costly for me for a bootleg, but then again, it costs 1500 Yen for the original one which is about RM60 for us here currently.

Since I never really did a review on a Kyrios, here's a brief on it;
Kyrios is Celestial Being's 3rd Gundam mobile suit and is piloted by Allelujah Haptism, a super soldier. It is the only transformable MS they have on board the Ptolemy(sp?). While in flight mode, it normally shoots out bombs(or something close to that).

GN-003 - Gundam Kyrios
Pilot: Allelujah Haptism
Height: 18.9m
Weight: 54.8t
Armaments:
GN Beam Sub-Machinegun
GN Beam Saber(2)
GN Shield
Tail Part(bomb storage?)

Rant
PHEW! I finally get "get back on the Internet"! Wait, no, not really. I'm on but I still get disconnected every few minutes. Guh, Streamyx, why must you be so unstable? DX
End Rant

Problems Arise Again - Streamyx DC

GAH! WTF?! I just wanted to post up my HG Exia R2 review last night! But NO~! Streamyx started having frequent disconnections, AGAIN! GRAAAHH! Frustrating. Right now, I can't really do much of anything, so sorry for those who want some more stuff posted up. ^^;

For Kevin who ask for more TT Hongli reviews - I have recently built a HG Kyrios which I am going to review soon. ^^ I'm pretty happy with this one as it is quite sturdy. More on that once Streamyx revert back to "normal". =/

At any rate, if Streamyx don't revert back to normal by this Friday, sorry to say, there won't be any updates until Monday night next week at best since I'm going to KL for Daicon located at MMU Cyberjaya. If you're going there also, you might meet me especially near the Litt Tak area of the Daicon getting me a free FG Gunpla... yeah, FG, that's what I heard they are giving out. But, ah well, free Gunpla! C'mon, at least give some HGs! D=

Also, a little look at the current insane amount of Exias I have with me thus far which will grow even bigger soon... hehe.

I haven't finished the SD though, just the torso and head. XP

In all hopefullness, I hope the Internet connection will be fine by tonight. But for now... I think I'll go and take some pictures of the TT HG Kyrios. ^^

RD 1/60 Gundam Exia Review

Price: 4500 Yen

I actually bought this a while back, so the runners and building process was not snapped fully, just partially to highlight the sheer size of this model kit. I tell you, when you are building this, you will feel that its incredibly huge for the price(that price is pretty much MG standard price). XP

Also, I only snap-fitted this kit and it roughly took 2-3 hours. I did take my time to hide the nubs though. =P I might do simple panel lining in the future though, or maybe sometime this month since I have some free time. =D

If you want further details about the Gundam itself, just click here to go to an earlier review I did on the HG Exia. =)

Now, onto the short review.
Note: References; "HG" is to the "HG Exia" while "NG" is to the "NG Exia". =)
EDIT(22/7/09): Fix some typos and added some better comments. More pictures hopefully by end of month after I finally finish panel lining the arms... =P

Note: RD = Real Detail. RD is also known as the No Grade(NG) 1/60. Not to be mistaken with the other RD - Robot Damashii.

MG 1/100 Strike Gundam + I.W.SP. - I.W.S.P.(Integrated Weapons Striker Pack) Review

Price: 4200 Yen
Bought for: RM130 (roughly 4200 * 0.03)

Details on Strike Gundam + I.W.S.P. here.

Unlike the three very well known Strike Striker Packs Aile, Launcher and Sword, Strike also has many other packs created in the many SEED side-stories that have sprouted over the years. Luckily or unluckily, the I.W.S.P. or Integrated Weapons Striker Pack made it to Master Grade. Unlucky for us poor Strike lovers wallets that is. D= Why must Strike appeal to me so much?

I'm not very familiar with this variation since I only watched SEED and SEED Destiny and have no chance of reading the side-stories currently, so I won't be able to say much on it in detail. =P

Early Note: Did not build the Grand Slam yet since I'm still pondering whether to paint the blade silver or not. =/

~Rant~
Final exams are over! Woohoo! Now, time for a one month semester break! =D
Also, be prepared for lotsa posts in this month! Keep on reading!
~Rant~

At any rate, read on for the full review!