I actually intended to do this earlier, but due to extreme internet slowdowns and constant disconnections(stares at Streamyx), I was not able to. Good to say that the Internet connection is quite fine now.
Now, February is nearing its end and the SPM results are coming in closer. How one should feel for this? I don't really feel anything for it though(until it is right in front of my face). ^^;
Anyways, on with the Gunpla!
Since I'm quite free today, I've decided to do type out my impressions and experience with Gunpla(Gundam Plastic Models) that I have bought and built.
I started buying Gunpla last year early December. Well, I did buy two when I was younger(though those broke and lost due to my youth and inexperience at keeping it away from my younger sibling). Anyways, last week on a fine Saturday afternoon, I bought yet two more Gunpla, the 1/100 NG 00 Gundam and the 1/100 MG Launcher/Sword Strike! It was a little expensive and can be considered overpriced if one should know better places but at the time, I had the money and the desire to buy them(wasn't a great idea when I think about it due to my low amount of money in hand now >.>;).
Alright, now, time to type out my experience of the Gunpla I bought earlier.Okay, during my vacation to KL for the once in a long while shopping trip, there was a sale on Gundams in most shopping malls with a constant discount of 20% on most. Because this is my first time buying a Gundam(scratch when I bought when I was younger, I could barely remember it), I thought the prices in front of me was very reasonable. What's more with the RM10 vouchers from Parkson...
First thing I bought was the 1/144 FG Gundams from Gundam 00(Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, Virtue)(well, its the only series with FG grade...) and a 1/100 NG Gundam Exia. These were priced well and can be a good starting point for me for building future Gunplas. I was excited and built the FG Exia in the hotel room in which I was currently staying in as soon as I came back to the hotel room.
Exia in one of its basic poses. Note that it isn't very colorful or detailed as you might th\hink it should be if you look at the boxart(see one of my previous post, though you should check out with Google for better pics). 
Just an alternate view. Note: I forgot to put the shoulder saber hilts at this point of time.Soon after, I built FG Kyrios. I did not build FG Dynames nor FG Virtue though as I saved it for later when I'm back home(same for the NG Exia).
The first pic of FG Kyrios I took. You should be able to tell what the pose means.Anyways, another trip shopping and I bought the 1/144 HG al-Saachez AEU Enact Custom and the 1/144 HG Gundam Throne Zwei. HG(High Grade) Gunpla is made of stronger plastic and I could not break most of the pieces of the frame with my bare hands anymore like the FG Gunplas. I had to use a sewing scissors to cut of the parts. Of course, this is not a good thing to do as it can be a bit troublesome and makes the outcome not so desirable. I only built the HG AEU Enact there though for experience sake and an enemy for FG Exia and FG Kyrios to "fight". >>; And, I must add, it took quite a while to build, like 2-3 hours like.
The outcome isn't so bad now, is it? Especially when I only used a pair of sewing scissors to build it...
The back side of the HG AEU Enact. I have to say though, I kinda spoiled the lower back thrusters due to improper placement during building. It's a bit lose now, but it's not such a big problem.
Fight! Note: I finally put FG Exia's shoulder saber hilts!
FG Exia POV? Yes, you can see a bit of the hotel room. Sorry, no HG AEU Enact POV, because you might see my bed...All in all, those three were the only ones I built in a hotel room with very dim lighting I might add. >_>
After that, I bought the 1/144 HG Gundam Throne Drei(sadly, I could not find Eins...) and 1/144 HG Gundam Nadleeh(sister's request). Although I wanted to buy the 1/100 NG Gundam Astrea... but it might make me unable to keep it inside our luggage due to its bigger box size. <_>
After I'm back home, I immediately built my next Gunpla, the 1/144 HG Gundam Throne Zwei. This time, I have better equipment to build it. Well, not really good ones though, just a pair of big scissors, stationary knife and a pair of tweezers. >_> At any rate, building this one took a while as it had more parts than the HG AEU Enact and that I had to smoothen the parts with the knife. All in all, it took me around 3 hours and the final product was much better than the HG AEU Enact. Another point is that, this is my favorite Throne Gundam. ^^; I have to say that the legs are a bit lose, especially the feet, though that was probably caused by me who played with it for quite a bit... >.>;
Yes, it can hold onto that huge-ass buster sword(called the GN Buster Sword BTW). If only I had markers or paint, I might be able to make it look nicer. >>
HG Throne Zwei VS FG Exia, fight!
FG Exia is strugling!~ Note: Same pose, just different POV...
FG Exia notice the arm buster of the HG Throne Zwei closing onto him... Note: Still same pose...Sorry for the lack of poses because I did not intend to post it up into this outdated blog in the first place. If you want to see more poses, you can always search with Google for better more in depth reviews.
Next up, I build the 1/100 NG Gundam Exia... a few days later. Its big, its quite detailed, it took a while... I did not track my time building it, but it really took a while. I even almost lost a part. >>; This one had some problems, which I found out to be quite common. The legs are weak. The swords that are attached to the hips also can drop down easily and can be frustrating when you try to make certain poses with them attached. The weak legs as I stated before prevents the Exia from making better poses and standing well with the legs wide open(battle poses). Though, this problem wasn't so apparent right after I assembled it. Otherwise, its quite alright for the price... yeah right, I expected better build quality...
*pew**pew**pew* I wonder who got that reference...
In your face! >_>;
"Aim higher!"
Slashy time.
I shall pierce the hea--*shot*
Actually, this is how to hold the sword... according to the manual.Soon after, I built the 1/144 Gunplas, HG Gundam Nadleeh, FG Gundam Dynames, FG Gundam Virtue and then HG Gundam Throne Drei(in that very order). I don't really have pics pf these though since I didn't really took much of them, if any, especially HG Drei which was not so great looking in the end and was seemingly lacking in Gunpla fun factor. The FG Dynames and FG Virtue were so basic in their poses, that, well, there wasn't any point to take pics... However, I do have some random lame comedy shots. >_>
HG Nadleeh decide to thow a karaoke contest. FG Exia, FG Dynames and FG Kyrios reluctantly joins. FG Exia sings the opening of the first Gundam series...
Upper view. HG Nadleeh is very enthusiastic while FG Exia is giving up(as well as the other two).
Due to frustrations caused by the lame contest where HG Nadleeh was sure to win, they went offensive?
HG Nadleeh: But guys, I won fair and sq--Ah, ahem. About the HG Nadleeh, it is quite flexible and fun to play with. I recommend you to buy this as it comes with two sabers(the ones currently in FG Exia hands above) as well asits rifle and sheild. That is, if you do not want HG Virtue... or just want them seperately.
Well, that's it for now. My next post is about the 1/100 NG 00 Gundam and 1/100 MG Launcher/Sword Srike Gundam as well as some random pics that I took.
For those who care and had a chance to notice, I haven't updated for more than a week. It goes against my primary idea of semi-reviving this blog for the course of my long break, but real life calls(as well as obsessions).
I'm currently partaking myself to finally take driving lessons, and as of now, soon to take my theory exam(wish me luck!). Other than that, I kinda obsessed with a rather popular game that I have been neglecting for a while until I suddenly just wanted to play it. For some odd reason, I wanted to play The Sims 2(I played for over a week, well, last week until now, just less currently.). More over, The Sims 3 is said to come out on 20th February this year! Oh wow! Ah, yeah, this sudden obsession was just totally random, I mean, seriously. But I mostly play it for the building aspect, as I like building things. XP
About The Sims 3, you all can get some info about from this site here. Then again, The Sims 3 isn't that all new of a news and comes as common knowledge to those who pays attention to current games. =P
So, while in boredom, I decided to check out some Lowyat(PC outlet in KL) pricelists and saw some interesting stuff. Prices of most Intel Quad Cores has dropped significantly!
(Actually I forgot today was the price drop day. =P)
Those who needs a decent Intel Quad Core computer can invest in one now(as long as you live near KL as I'm not sure if Kuching follows suit with the official price drop)!
Q9400 for teh masses(roughly costs RM789-805 currently as I post this)! Or maybe a Q8200 will be more affordable... >.>
For better information, see this link here.
See it at this link here.
If you are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you should go to the link given for a little bit of insight about the OS you are currently running(or think of trying out). =D
BTW, added a few links in the "Frequently Visited" section. Check them out!
By now, who wouldn't have heard or read about the upcoming Windows 7 from Microsoft? That is unless you have been living under a rock or far away from IT related news, so I don't blame you(or busy with real life).
Again, no updates for a long while. This is due to various circumstances, especially due to restrictions of time and good things to post. With that to say, I only post up things that feels worthwhile to post. =P
Okay, so during the first week of December, there was a small PC Fair at Wisma Saberkas. I decided it was a good time to search for... a new graphics card. And then, I saw it, the only ATI Radeon HD4670 unit available at one shop, the Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD4670 512MB GDDR3. According to various benchmarks I've seen, it is much faster than the nVdia GeForce 9500GT and very close to the nVdia GeForce 9600GSO. Overall, it's performance rivals the previous mainstream HD3850 by the least.
This is the result from 3D Mark Vantage Perfromance preset. Overall, seems to be somwhat at least 2 times faster than my previous card(nVdia GeForce 8600GS).
I'm not going to say much about it, since there are many reviews on this card elsewhere(just search for it using Google).Okay, now on to the next subject...
Recently, I got addicted to Gundam. Through out December(when I'm at home and not going elsewhere), I watched Gundam 00(pronounced as Double O) up to the latest episode and the whole of Gundam Seed Destiny(although disappointing this one was). If you haven't watch Gundam 00, go watch it now! =P
Due to me liking Gundam 00 a bit too much, I even bought some Gundam 00 Gunpla(short form of Gundam Palstic Models) models when I went to Kuala Lumpur(KL) in the middle of December. I bought a total of 9 Gundams! All from the Gundam 00 series.
Man, that's a lot of Gundams and it was troublesome to bring home as I wanted the boxes to stay in good condition.I'm not going to go into much detail yet, but I'll list out what I bought.
FG Gundam Exia x1
FG Gundam Dynames x1
FG Gundam Kyrios x1
FG Gundam Virtue x1
HG AEU Enact Custom Ali al-Sarchez x1
HG Gundam Nadleeh x1
HG Gundam Throne Zwei x1
HG Gundam Throne Drei x1
NG Gundam Exia(1/100 scale) x1
FG means First Grade, it's the most basic and easiest to build. Though, the details are lower that other grades and you'll need to paint it to make it look like the picture on the box. All are 1/144 scale.
HG means High Grade. Seemingly, this is the more popular grade to buy and most of them comes in 1/144 scale with great details(barely need to paint).
NG means no grade. It mostly comes in 1/100 scale(I ever saw a 1/60 scale NG Gundam Exia =P). However, it feels a bit more fragile than HG for me though but much better than FG.
Why did I buy so much? Especially when it was only a 1 week trip? Why? Because there was a 20% discount to all Gundam Gunpla models nearly everywhere I went. At that point, it felt worthwhile to buy at least some... but ended up with 9 Gundams, all from Gundam 00(since I like their designs more).
Sadly, I was unable to find me a HG Gundam Exia(finished stock I guess D=) and 00 Gundam(not yet available at that time I guess). I couldn't even find it in Kuching so far(except Exia, but feels a bit expensive here >>). I wonder where is a good place to get these stuff. I also want to buy the markers for lining and maybe some paint for it too. =P
Anyways, that's all for now. Stay tuned, if there even anyone that even looks at this blog, for a small review on the Gundams I bought. =D
Well, with life going on and lack of mood to type long articles filled with information and sane stuff, I, today, decided to post up a short review article on an Acer desktop I bought during the April PC Fair.
Acer M5640-284X
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400(3.0GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1333MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
1GB DDR2 RAM
320GB Hard Drive
DVD Super MultiPlus Writer
NVDIA GeForce 8600GS 512MB Graphics Card
10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet
40-in1 Card Reader
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
Edifier E1350 Speakers
Free gifts;
D-Link Wireless Draft N Router
D-Link Draft N Adapter
Price: RM2188(!)
Looking at the specs, then the price, you have to say "WOW!". I mean, seriously, it's the best-bang-for-buck I've seen in a while.
Sadly it was cut short because of the 1GB of RAM, so I decided to manually upgrade by adding another 1GB of RAM(Kingston) for dual channel. The good part about this is that it speeds up this desktop by quite a lot. For those curious about the full specs you can visit the specs page on Acer here(this is for the newer model, difference is only the extra gig of RAM and they are using Sonic Gear speakers).
Okay, on with the short review, but not any normal review, a hardware review, just a short and simple one.
Well, if you don't know what the title means, go to this site first.
Vista Transformation 7 or VTP7 has just been released today and can be downloaded from the site i provided earlier.
Now, I shall say that I already have Vista Home Premium at home but still wanted to try out this ever popular extension for the Windows XP SP2. Sadly, I could not rate 10 out of 10 as it is not perfect, but nothing is, but it still has the look and impression that will make some people say, "Hey, you have Windows Vista?". Haha, it did happen with one of my friends who had the earlier VTP6.
Then, it is time for some pictures!
First of all, the only graphical problem I've encountered so far. It's not a big deal since it's caused by Toshiba's zooming tool... which I never found a way to turn off(actually it was something else, something very simple was the cause =P). If you look at the bar on top, I chose Vista Home Basic skin just because my laptop doesn't seem to support transparency, seems only, maybe I missed an option.
I just love the sidebar! It's so well done and works like the real Vista's sidebar! The start menu also looks great. It's not half bad as I picked the Vista Home Basic skin. Somehow, I could not see any of my recent programs when I picked the Aero skin. I dunno why, maybe my laptop's fault or a minor glitch.After roughly 2-3 years, I returned once again to Maple Story or Maple SEA(MS for short) since I'm playing the southeast Asia one. I have to say, nothing much changed. I wished I got to keep my first account all those years back, it got country locked and I couldn't log in into it at all. I came back a year or two later, making a new account which I'm using right now. It somehow did not get deleted even though I did not use it for months, well I did sometimes, when my sis wanted to give MS a get-go.
Today, I decided to play it again as I currently have some expandable free time. So far I'm level 13 at this moment. Yes, it sucks but at least it(the game character) has a nice strength stat. =P
Besides MS, I'm gonna show you a nice(to me) pic of my current desktop. Hehe. =D
Lookie there, it's a sketch I drew during recess today which I just lazily contrasted to a blue hue and sized to a small size to be enlarged into my current desktop wallpaper. Winamp is currently playing the Kingdom Hearts II game start screen "Dearly Beloved". Lol, I tell you, it makes me feel like making a game for this... I wish I could, lol. If ya cannot tell, the pic is based on Kingdom Hearts.
Oh yeah... if you claim this sketch/desktop to be yours, I'll hunt you down and take you down! >_O
That's all the randomness for today... my "g" button on the keypad doesn' t work so well. Bleh.
Note: This counter is made on the 9th of March 2009. It only counts unique hits FYI. ^^
