The New Battlestar Pegasus Reference Guide

In view of new Battlestar Pegasus resin kits (from JT-Graphics and yes, from another source which I can't say for now) coming out for the coming Wonderfest in the US, I have decided to put in the reference guide for this mighty ship. I don't have much in terms of images from ZOIC and what I do have, I'll share them here.

The Battlestar Pegasus was introduced some years after the First Cylon War. A Mercury class vessel, her structural design differs significantly from the original Galactica type battlestar. The "neck" section is smaller, and the Mercury class features eight sublight engine pods instead of the older class's six. Its edges are more angular, and the hull is more completely armored (no exposed ribs).

Aoshima's 1/2000 scale USS Enterprise D

UPDATE:

HLJ has updated their site and indicated that this is not a plastic model kit that requires glue, assembly and paint. As a matter of fact, this is a ready build unit that comes with lights. I think there's going to be a few scale modelers that's going to be dissappointed with this news.
My original blog entry:
I accidentally stumbled onto this when I was browsing Hobby Link Japan's Site. I know that Bandai had produced some pretty neat Star Trek kits in the past, pre-painted parts and even included lighting. There were some inaccuracies with the Bandai kit but nothing big to shout about, hence the overall presentation was still quite acceptable for most Star Trek Fans.

So here comes Aoshima's foray into the Star Trek Realm. I have their Airwolf and Blue Thunder Helicopter kit, and looking at the quality and details on those kits, Aoshima's Enterprise D is definitely something worth looking into. Perhaps this new kit will have its own Photoetch set? According to the brief description given from HLJ and Hobby Search, this kit will indeed be a plastic model kit that requires assembly and paint, so its right up the alley for most scale modellers.

Retailing at 15,800 Yen (RM500 plus), this kit is not cheap for a 1/2000 scale representation of this famous Starship. Even Round 2's 1/1400 scale Clear Enterprise D only retailed at 9,800 Yen, bearing in mind that cost are inclusive of shipping charges from the US.

There isn't much news or reviews given on this new kit as yet, but at that price range, I do hope this kit comes with a magnificent level of details as compared against Round 2's kit, and I anticipate highly accurate parts and detailed decals ... well, one can hope. Judging from the images below, I am guessing this kit will come with its own lighting set. A few things I already like about Aoshima's Enterprise D, that cute "EL-BAZ" Shuttle Craft, and the neat display stand.

JT-Graphics 1/48 scale Cylon Razor Raider and 1/4105 scale Battlestar Pegasus from JTGraphics

Ok, its been a while since I was blogging diligently. I'm still on my Magnum PI Marathon until I got news of a few spectacular kits coming our way. Yup, this is going to be Heaven sent for all the New Battlestar Galactica Fans out there.

Its the Cylon Razor Raider in 1/48 scale and the Super Duper Secret kit Jeffrey Waclawski was working on. And anything from JT-Graphics, well, you can expect top notch quality, super detailed and highly accurate resin kits.

Referred to as the Razor Raider by BSG fans, this version of the classic Cylon Raider shows a more advanced model used against the Colonies during the Cylon Wars. The bulky and somewhat slow fighter craft most often became easy prey for the Colonial Viper fighter squadrons, and she was piloted by 3 Cylon Centurions. This Raider appeared first in the episode called "Flashback" and later on in the BSG Razor movie.

The kit has a wing span of 12.5" and is 10.5" long from nose to tail.

As for the Super Duper Secret kit Jeff was working on for the coming Wonderfest in the US, he told us this is going to be an awesome grail kit from JTGraphics. We were kept in the dark for over 2 months, anticipating and guessing away like crazy. His announcement was made via his Facebook and man, was I impressed.

It was the Battlestar Pegasus. He did already informed all of us much earlier about coming up with a Battlestar Pegasus kit coming out in scale with the Moebius and Timeslip's Galactica kit, in 1/4105 scale. The new Pegasus kit will measure  about the same length as the Monogram's Classic Galactica.

You can see the level of details on this kit, and its definitely a worhtwhile catch if you can get her among the first batch issued - when she's available. I'm definitely in for both these kits.

The Cylon Razor Raider is currently available at a special price for the moment and I was told the price will increase after Wonderfest. Don't wait too long to get yours. The Pegasus on the other hand will also be made available but at a later date. Wait for it guys ...

New Battlestar Galactica Colonial One Resin Kit Reissued by Fantastic Plastic

Due to popular demand, the Colonial One resin kit from Fantastic Plastic have been reissued. Please note that this is not the same kit as Starcraft Model's 1/200 scale resin kit that's long out of production, but rather a smaller version of the Presidential craft based on the new TV series. Fantastic Plastic's Colonial One is scaled at 1/350, giving her a length of 10 inches long.

Unlike its earlier release, this version will now have a rotocast body (hollow) to allow lighting.

The Fantastic Plastic's Colonial One kit's specification are as follows:

• Scale : 1/350
• Material : Resin (Solid Cast)
• Number of Pieces : 19 resin parts
• Display Stand : Optional
• Decals included
• Master by Alfred Wong
• Casting by Mana Studios

Fantastic Plastic do deliver very good quality kits, and by offering the Colonial One again, the appetite of many fans of this design should be satiated, based on the number of interest this ship generated from my blog. Priced reasonable for a 1/350 scaled model, my only fear is that by the time I get her, she may be out of stock. Yeah, my priority right now are for the Avatar movie vehicles of which 'm still waiting on the C21 Dragon to be made available.

Here's keeping my fingers crossed.

The C21 Assault Ship aka The Dragon from Avatar

Coming soon from Fantastic Plastic is the much awaited Dragon, the massive hovering copter command ship that Quaritch used to attempt to quell the Navii uprising in Avatar. The C21 Dragon can serves as both a Military Transport as well as a Gunship, armed to the teeth with the ability to function in a vafriety of terrain, making her a formidable nemesis to contempt with. Equiped with four VTOL engines, it can also carry a variety of arsenals comprising of missiles, gatling canons, rockets, incendiary weapons and grenade launchers, and able to deploy a full load of armoured personels.

The craft is relatively slow to maneuver due to its size, sometimes making her look like a sitting duck. But with her arsenal of weapons and when she is escorted with a fleet of Scorpions and Samsoms, its near impossible to get a shot at her.

There are currently no plastic model kits made for the C21 Dragon and I have not seen any toys or die cast metal kit made of her to date. It is with this fact that when Fantastic Plastic releases her, it would officially mean the very first C21 Dragon released into the market.

The Resin kit is casted in 1/144 scale giving her an overall lenght of about 12 inches (30 cm). With 107 resin parts, this kit promises to deliver a level of assembly challenges equal to that of a similiar plastic model kit even for the average scale modeler. Having test fitted some of Fantastic Plastic's resin kits, I can attest to the easy fits and assembly, but to get her to look like the CGI model used in the movie, now that requires some effort, research and passion. Here are some images of a preliminary build up of the Dragon

The C21 Dragon is scheduled for an April 2011 Release. Do keep checking Fantastic Plastic's site HERE if you don't want to get left out. I'll do an indepth review the moment I receive mine.

 

The Planet Mercury

I have always been fascinated with Planets since when I first saw Star Trek. I've always wondered what kind of wonderful life lived out there, their shapes and appearance and how they lived. That is until I saw Alien .. then I got to wondering if some of them were going to be parasites. Of course I was quite young then. Today I still believe life is out there, abet they may be in the form of bacterias or microbes, but they're still life.

So when new images of the Planet Mercury were released by NASA, I sort of gazed at the images, looking at the molten rock planet wondering what kind of minerals it has that we can use. Well, I am grown up now, and studying a planet falls into 2 categories for me - whether it can sustain life, or if we can mine it. It always has been a fantasy of mine to use other planet's resources to build a fleet of starships to explore the galaxy.

Mercury happens to be the planet nearest to the sun, so you can bet anything that lands there becomes toasted and then liquefied. Its that hot. This makes the images even more valuable since we don't get to see a planet's surface that's too close to the sun everyday.

After a six year journey, NASA's Mercury probe successfully orbited the planet and took these images, some of which never seen before seen. The images were taken at various heights..