Poll Results, and some musings for 2011

The "What should I build?" poll ended more than a week ago, but holiday laziness got the better of me and didn't really bother for any updates.  It's another year for more builds, more kits and more innovations.  The MAC Forums is a half-year old, with 500 members and still growing.  I thought I've seen everything, but I couldn't be more wrong.  There are plenty of talented modelers out there who turn pieces of plastic to unique works of art, with blood, sweat and tears in the mix.

1:60 Masurao/Susanowo	50 (29%)
1:100 Turn X	7 (4%)
1:100 Gerbera Tetra	18 (10%)
1:60/1:100 Arche Gundam	33 (19%)
1:100 00Q Prototype	45 (26%)
An entirely new design	17 (10%)

Total number of Votes: 170

As it was, the Gerbera Tetra took an early lead, But I'm amazed as to the number of people interested in seeing the prototype version of the 00Q, which didn't appear in the movie at all.  It stayed consistently in the lead halfway through the poll period, and was then overtaken by the Masurao/Susanowo by a small margin.

The thing is, I've been contemplating in building all these from the very beginning, mentioning it a few time to DC23 (who has been pushing and egging me to build more).  This year, I hope to build at least 3, with the Masurao/Susanowo leading the pack.  The 00Q would be the easiest to build, I suppose, because I can simply modify the MG 00Q and probably use parts from the MG Exia and GN-X.  I've checked out the MG 00Q and a bit disappointed with it in terms of detail, so, I might build that much later.

Fast Forward

The Infinity Project.  Like I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm rebooting Project: Infinity (which was also "Trinity"), this time with an MG Exia and two Astraeas.  The original Infinity was supposed to be the 00, but in this redux, I'll be using an MG Exia with a few design elements of the 00 thrown in the mix.  The Infinity is already powerful with a single GN drive, and taking my cue from the movie, will also have the Quantum System as well as Trans-Am.  The difference is, the Infinity will have a backpack mount that makes it capable of using two more GN drives; a Triple Drive, that enables it to use the Quantum System to its maximum potential.  The Infinity can travel a few seconds back through time.

The backpack is an autonomous air support vehicle that is controlled remotely by its pilot.  The drone was built from the remains of the Arios after the ELS war mainly as a support vehicle for the Ptolemy III when the Gundams are deployed.

The 00 Movie

Watching the raw Japanese version of the 00 Movie, I again am at awe with myself as to how similar Halleluja/Allelujah is there to the Story in Infinity.  The two personalities switches back and forth instantaneously as if really conversing, during a battle.  I had that scene in mind in Infinity when Setsuna fights to the death with Allelujah/Halleluja switching back and forth, and ultimate kill each other because Setsuna had no choice.

One gripe I have about it is, the 00Q came in MUCH TOO LATE in the movie, and almost did nothing.  I was looking forward to see it in its melee glory, instead of simply just loitering at the battlefield.  Much worse was the 00, which was equally useless at both times it came out.  But that's the story, I suppose.

The Manticore

By now, most of you are familiar with my penchant for using beings of myth for naming some of my builds.  I'll be "creating" an specific Gundam hybrid, either as a direct antagonist to the Infinity, or something that will just annoy the hell out of Infinity's pilot; fighting her at one time, helping her at another, or simply making its presence known from time to time.  This mystery MS, called the Manticore, visually takes after its golden mythical counterpart.  It's a winged lion with a long GN tail/whip as it's main melee weapon.  For ranged weapons, it only has powerful GN sub machine guns mounted on its arms, and vulcans on its shoulders and head.  This was the "new design" mentioned in the poll.  I already have a rough idea in my head of how it should look like, but I won't be setting it on paper until I've managed the ground work for the Masurao and the Infinity project.

Update:  The Manticore will be piloted by Patrick Colasour.

The Masurao/Susanowo

As the leading poll choice, I'll be starting the year with the Masurao/Susanowo.  I mentioned earlier that I'll be making a hybrid, but it'll be more Susanowo than Masurao (heck the two are the same anyways, with a few cosmetic differences), but I'll be using the Masurao's scheme (I like Red and Black better after all and white is NOT my "lucky" color).  I've managed to procure an HG Trans-Am Susanowo at GT Makati at a very nice discounted price, and I'll be using it as reference for the 1/60 build.  AS usual, I will be adding design elements of mine own, as well as make a few changes to the overall design.

The PG 00

As I have shown in an earlier post, I've modified the PG 00's waist to give it more height and volume and to improve its overall proportion, but, I'm not done.  I've started modifying the Drive mounts to enable it to swing 90 degrees, as this is the most common complaint amongst PG 00 owners. I'll also be making weigh reduction modifications on the 0 Raiser to remove stress from the mounts, and I have a rather difficult road to trek after assessing the parts.

That's it for now.  I apologize if the post is visually-lacking, but, I still consider myself on break. Until next...