Where to buy models.

Updated on 9/22/10, 22/9/10, 10/9/22.

Figured I'd get this out of the way but here are the places I have bought from.

State side:

Gundamstoreandmore
Nice selection of kits, can be a bit on the pricier side but they have decent shipping prices and tend to keep older kits in stock. I've ordered from them three times and all three times the items arrived within 10 days of ordering and where packed well and had no damaged boxes or missing pieces. I've begun to noticed that GSAM stocks around three times a year so unless they have something you want, I would tell you to avoid them.

Hobbywave
Again a nice selection of kits but their new items tend to sell out quickly and take a while to restock. Prices are on par with gundamstoreandmore, however they ship through FedEx if that is a bother to you (it is to me), and the shipping is a flat $10 no matter the size of the order. I've only ordered once but it did arrive fairly quickly. They have a point system but I'm not entirely sure how it works. Recently increased their prices slightly and seem to still have the flat shipping fee. If you know when a model is coming out, expect Hobbywave to have in about two weeks after its Japanese release.

Japan based:

HLJ
Also known as Hobby Link Japan, they have the best selection of kits from the three Japanese retailers I've used. They regularly restock items (but not old ones as those are generally out of production) and respond to questions within a day or so. I've ordered from them twice and both orders went smoothly, although I used SAL shipping once and EMS the other time. Generally speaking, HLJ is the most expensive retailer, charging Bandai's MSRP. Even when they run sales, they still tend to be more expensive than AmiAmi or 1999.

Hobbysearch
Known as 1999 in Japan, they have a point system and have a nice enough selection leaning more towards newer kits and re-releases. I have one item coming from them that should be here tomorrow or the next day (May 12th or May 13th) and two items preordered 1/144 HG 1.5 Gundam (00) and HGUC 1/144 ZZ Gundam. They where a bit slow to respond to an email I sent and took four days to process an order I made Sunday night. So far so good with them however. Slow to ship, but not as slow as I am with updating.

AmiAmi
My favorite Japanese retailer as they tend to have the lowest prices, but the selection is basically just things released within the last year and a half so unless you're getting a newish item or preordering steer clear. I have had the best experience with AmiAmi with four orders, all of which where processed in about two days and arrived within the week of the ship date.

eBay
So you can't find that kit anywhere and you've found on eBay. Great find bro, buy it. Seriously, don't be afraid of eBay, or PayPal for that matter (I LOVE PayPal, makes my shopping experiences really easy). I know lots of people who avoid eBay for a multitude of reasons, be they knock offs bad experiences, or warinesses of PayPal. To be honest, the knock offs exist, and two of my friends have experienced it (both buying DVDs however). Seriously though, if you get a knock off from a seller, go to eBay and tell them that you got a knock off, unless it was actually in the sellers post, which case you're screwed. I actually bought my 1/144 HGUC Unicorn Destroy Mode from a guy: Animezing. Visit his store, he keeps it pretty well stocked and I'll probably be buying from him in the future.

A few terms:
EMS - Express Mail Service - Fastest international shipping, but also the most expensive at about 18 USD for an item weighing 400 grams (about the weight of the average 1/144 sized kit).

SAL - Surface Air Lifted - Slowest shipping possible but also the cheapest at about 4 USD for 1/144 sized kits. When I say slow I mean I preordered two kits through HLJ with SAL and forgot that I had ordered them by the time they had arrived. Update: Due to a lack of funds recently, I've been using SAL more often and for whatever reason, the orders are taking about 10 or 15 days to arrive at my house (on the east coast of the US).

Registered SAL - Not as fast as EMS nor as ridiculously slow as SAL but is only about 10 USD for a 1/144 sized kit. It seems AmiAmi now has this available and I tend to pick this over anything now.

HGUC 1/144 Full Armor Gundam 7th

At first glance this looks like a large model. Surprisingly, its not that big once you remove the giant cannon on the shoulder. I really like this model which somewhat surprises me sometimes considering it has a grand total of three accessories, the giant gun, the beam rifle, and the shield. If I had to pic one flaw with this kit that isn't related to weight, it would be the lack of beam sabers, all kits should include beam saber.

My biggest issue with this kit? Weight distribution. The above picture should make it obvious that this kit does not stand well, and it took me a good five minutes to get the thing in a decent standing pose. The giant cannon on the shoulder is the prime offender as the opposite shoulder doesn't have anything to counter balance the weight. The binders on the rear skirt armor look heavy, and they are, but when you remove the shoulder cannon, they actually don't mess with the balance much. I do however think they look stupid. This picture shows about how much articulation your going to get out of the kit, it just isn't there which is entirely understandable. Side note, I do not have a 1/144 scale stand so I can't really test to see how much better it is with one. I would however generally recommend a stand for this guy.


This is about the extent of the pictures I could pull off without a stand, so if I get one I may take a few more.

So overall this is a nice kit with a pretty annoying weight issue that can be remedied with a stand or removing the cannon. The detail is nice but then again all the armored GMs and Gundam kits seem this way. If you are making an order and want another kit I would recommend this guy, however if you are just getting one kit, look elsewhere.

Overall: 3 out of 5
Status:
Filler

All the pictures:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/Groincrusher/Full%20Armor%20Gundam%207th/

00 Gundam Seven Swords G Pictures

1/144 00 Gundam Seven Swords G

Let me get this out of the way, I'm not a photographer and I don't claim to be, so please don't focus too much on my bad picture taking abilities. Advice is of course welcome.

On to business then, the High Grade 00 Gundam Seven Swords G. First off, check this out, its crazy (ignore if you already own any version of the 1/144 00).While this pose might look stupid to some people, its a great indicator of how much articulation this model has. Removing the the GN Blaster II and GN Buster Sword makes the model have much better poseability considering that these two items mess with the balance much more than you'd think (even though the GN Buster Sword is massive, it actually doesn't weigh that much when its being used as a shield or hanging off the GN Drives).

If you want pictures without Seven Swords G equipment go to dalong.net, click 00 at the top, click English Catalog, then scroll down until you find 00 Gundam.
So about that extra equipment, the GN Katars, GN Buster Sword, and GN Blaster II. Aside from these three there are two new GN Sword II versions, a long and short one. I'm not two big on because they are a bit unwieldly, especially the long one. Maybe its mine though, but I can't keep my short one together, whenever I try to pose with it, it falls apart and when I try using the wire line, it just falls over. The katars also have some issues, mostly relating to being a bit small and not fitting in the hand properly (I really need to pick up some modeling putty, any one know a good brand?) and tend to slide around. The GN Buster Sword sucks in my opinion, its too heavy to be used in the hands and just any pose you try ends up looking stupid, so I just keep it on the GN Drive or as a shield.
Anyway, I love the GN Blaster II, it works well as a gun, and it can be held as a sword without any real trouble. No pictures as a sword for the GN Blaster II for now.

So overall, while it has some issues holding the GN Katars and the GN Buster Sword, and every now and again the long and short swords (although that could be my fault more than anything). This is an extremely good model and if you can find it, buy it immediately its well worth the $30 (shipping included) from most State side stores.

Rating: 5/5
Status:
Must own, everyone should own one.

More pictures:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/Groincrusher/Gundam%2000%20Seven%20Swords%20G/