Plamoprocrastinator's Blog

Bandai SD BB RX-178 Gundam MK.II Review

plamoprocrastinator — Mon, 03 May 2010 11:33:25 +0000

Here we have the SD MK.II Titans snap assembled and foil stickers applied. This is number 217 in the SD line and one of the better kits in this line out there. As far as i know this is the only way to get the MK.II without the G-Defenser as part of the Super Gundam.

The whole package laid out with all its included accessories followed by left, right, rear and bottom views;

Rearview with the backpack detached;

The backpack itself affords a limited amount of articulation for the binder parts via the use of small ball joints.

Here is something interesting, there is actually a polycap joint on the backpack holding a piece to cover that hole. Turns out that this hole actually connects the G-Defenser to the back of the Gundam MK.II which only comes with the AEUG colored Super Gundam SD BB kit since the Titans never had a Super Gundam.

Next up is the vulcan pod headset, a simple three piece construction that doesn’t attach on the head very well. I got mine to stay only through friction with the shoulder armor and backpack.

The beam rifle and hyper bazooka, simple pieces which are hollow on one side and come molded with a right hand. For this reason they are right handed only and cannot be easily swapped with another SD kit unless one swaps the arms too.

The shield comes as a single piece and pegs itself into holes on either forearm.

The beam saber (you get just one!) is a solid piece that needs to be painted (pink).

Pics displaying the various accessories that come with the SD BB Gundam MK.II;

The gimmick ? An opening lower hatch except that there is no detail in there!

Hmmm..i noticed this is one the SD kits out there with an elbow joint!

As for the foil stickers(refer to the preview) you do have several; one for the eyes and forehead camera, the Titans emblem for the shield and right shoulder armor and a choice of left shoulder numbers representing Units 1-3. I picked Unit 3, the one stolen by Kamille Bidan.

All other camera/sensors on the weapons need to be painted on or fashioned using left-overs from the foil sticker sheet. Of course with a full paint job and some water slide decals it can only look better!

For 500 yen a pop, this is an awesome SD kit and turned out to be an enjoyable buildup. Definitely get it if you’re into SD kits or if you’re a fan of the Gundam MK.II design.

Bandai SD BB RX-178 Gundam MK.II Preview

plamoprocrastinator — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:48:24 +0000

Ah! The SD BB Gundam MK.II kit. This one is the third MK.II in my collection as i already own the MG and HGUC versions in Titan colors. Maybe I’ll get the PG version someday.

Actually got this from Hobby Link Japan for 500 yen. Everywhere else i looked had run out of stock.

Box Art for SD BB RX-178 Gundam Mk.II

More pictures of the Box Design

Top/Bottom Box Art Design

Left/Right of Box Design

Unboxing SD BB Gundam MK.II kit

Unboxing SD BB Gundam MK.II

SD BB Gundam MK.II Instruction Manual (Click to Enlarge)

Foil Sticker Sheet

The Whole Package

Some parts are molded hollow on one side such as the Beam Rifle and Hyper Bazooka. Do note the weapons come with their own hands which means one can’t use them on another kit unless the hands are swapped.

Stay tuned for the review. I plan to snap this one up and apply the foil stickers just so i can play around with it.

TT Hongli 1/100 RX-78-2 Fighter (MG Gundam Ver.2.0 Knock-Off) Preview

plamoprocrastinator — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:19:57 +0000

I guess I’ll be starting my new blog with a preview of the TT Hongli 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Fighter plastic model kit. As anyone would have probably guessed by now the kit is a knock-off/direct copy of the 1/100 MG (Master Grade) RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.2.0 from the Mobile Suit Gundam UC0079 series. Everything from the boxart right down to the instruction booklet is virtually identical.

Box Art for 1/100 RX-78-2 Fighter

More pictures of the Box Design

Top/Bottom Box Art Design

Left/Right of Box Design

Unboxing TT Hongli 1/100 RX-78-2 Fighter

TT Hongli 1/100 RX-78-2 Fighter Instruction Manual

Instruction manual has Chinese and Chinese-English replacing the Japanese text!

Instruction Manual Inside

Foil and Clear Sticker Sheets

Runner containing parts for the Gundam Hammer

Runner for Polycap parts

Runner containing parts for the Super Napalm Launcher, backpack and other components

Runner containing clear parts for canopy and stand for the Core Fighter, Beam Javelin.etc

Runner containing two clear magenta beams for the twin Beam Sabers

Runner containing parts for the chest area and Core Fighter

Main runner containing parts for the shield, collar area and other minor details

Main runner containing parts for the internal components

Runner containing parts for the Beam Rifle and Hyper Bazooka

Runner containing parts for the leg and arm external armour

Pre-assembled parts for the chain of the Gundam Hammer

Runner containing parts for the shield, Hyper Bazooka, Beam Saber, head, 2 figures.etc

Main Runner containing parts for the skirt armour, covers for the internal components and joints

Main Runner containing parts for the internal components for the arms backpack

Main runner containing parts for the internal components of the torso

As the kit itself is clone of its Bandai counterpart i will not repeat what has been already been said about it. Judging from parts comparison between the TT Hongli and the Bandai version, i think there is a 80-90% match by appearance. Of course overall quality is inferior but the TT Hongli goes for about 1/2 the retail cost of its Bandai counterpart. For comparison purposes take at the original Bandai version at Dalong’s website.

I have plans to this kit eventually. Stay tuned for a review once i am done assembling it!