rico soul: Interesting to see a reprint of this kit, and right in time with the release of the Bandai MGEX strike freedom lol.

So in case people don't know, this is a bootleg design based off of the Metal Build Strike Freedom. Dragon Momoko / MJH also made one of these with a prebuild inner frame with diecast parts. Personally, I think that one's a more complete package. However, the Daban version does have better part and color separation than the DM/MJH version and Daban also makes a diecast add-on kit for the frame. So this is still a pretty good choice if you like this design. For example, the Daban version actually has gold parts foe the underside of the skirts and inside the shoulder armor where as the dragon momoko and even the original bandai metal build does not.

For people that think it's priced a bit high, I don't really disagree, especially when compared to the Zero Gravity Judge and the HunShang Strike Shadow. However, this price really reflects on just how popular the metal build strike freedom design is and there is a lot of gold plating. The wing effects on this are also based on the metal build and is a fantastic set of effect parts and can probably go for $30+ USD on its own.

Overall, I have the Dragon Momoko version of this kit and I love it. It's a beautiful display piece when all put together. The metal build design is still timeless and even compared to the latest MGEX Strike Freedom, the more menacing and powerful looks of the metal build holds up well.

rico soul: It's kind of interesting reading some of the more critical comments here. I think the appearance criticisms from within China mostly revolve around how this doesn't seem to have any reference to WuChengHou. So it's very interesting to compare with the comments here internationally where we don't really care about the source material as much.

Well, I guess the lore does matter a bit to the design though. From my understanding, this mech is supposed to come from a very technologically advanced nation, which is why it has a more futuristic appearance when compared to the two previous Progenitor mechs. Also, this is also called the full armor version, sort of like the full armor gundam unicorn or thunderbolt. So it's really a base mech with a ton of equipment loaded onto it. That's why the shoulder boomerang launchers look like they're a separate piece attached on there because they are add-on equipment. It's also why the cannons or swords can be attached at those hard points instead.

As for the color choice, it's still a fully painted figure with high quality like all MoShow products so it shouldn't look plasticy as one user put it. But I think they choose to go with a bit more vibrant reds and whites in part for better color separation and because it fits the overall aesthetics of the Progenitor line a bit better. Standing next to the Takenda Shinden and Date Masamune, this is certainly still the darkest color scheme.

Anyways, this figure is quite amazing from an engineering perspective. There is a ton of articulation as always but in addition to that, the LED work on this is simply fantastic with animated flashing and color changing sequences.

This design may not be my cup of tea either but I knew that from the concept drawings. The price is still fantastic for what you get though and there is so much value here.

I'll be heavily looking forward to what they can pull out with the Lancelot mech next

rico soul: It looks like Gundamit hasn't fully updated the listings here. This is NOT a metal build style figure.
This is supposed to be a model kit with an alloy frame, similar to the Zero_G Judge or MN AoBing.

Out of the 3x model kits MoShow announced, this Butcher-SC is probably my favorite. It just looks like a big beefy boy and probably acts more as artillery support. Heavily armored and heavily armed, my favorite combination for mechs.

The updated BG render has much better proportions than the original concept art and the Bazooka and Missile rack gives it more a more coherent identity than just the pistol from the concept.

Can wait to see them show of the grey models in the coming weeks

Man this alloy frame model kit market seems to be really taking off in China. I wonder if any of this will lead to Bandai upping their game. Competition in the market is always good for us consumers.

rico soul: Wow I think I like this design even better than the Lancelot. This feels more mecha and less armored knight without those the lion pauldrons of the Lancelot but the proportions still look very beefy and powerful

Both this God's Whip and Lancelot are from the European region in Progenitor Effect lore so it looks like they are sharing a similar theme and color scheme, kind of like the Takeda Shinden and Date Masamune.

Will be very exciting to see how this figure looks when they release the grey models photos

rico soul: Starfield Toys is as of now still an unknown company, but this design is very interesting at least.

Unlike all the more over the top designs from many of the Chinese companies, this design looks a lot more Gundam Sentinel or Advance of Zeta. I'm not sure how I feel about the little spikes everywhere but the overall silhouette looks pretty nice.

This is supposed to have a nice focus on inner frame details like the older MG 2.0 suits too so that will be nice to see. The manufacturer has said that there will be not color correction needed, and everything will be from part separation and/or pre-painted on the runners. Metal parts will be included to reinforce parts of the frame, probably similar to the Genesis collector's edition, more than a full metal frame.

Pretty interested in seeing how this one turns out.

rico soul: This is a KO of the Bandai Metal Robot Spirits Kshatriya.

Honestly I prefer the proportions of the HG Kshatriya over the MR Kshatriya but the MR is a nicer figure to play with, since it's an alloy frame figure rather than a model kit.

Gundamit will probably link the video overview soon but until then, you can watch it here: youtu.be/Ous_XrbcIp8

Screenshots from the video to show this (on the left) vs the HG Kshatriya (on the right)

rico soul: After the long wait, this collectors version is....not really worth it over the regular edition.
The base Genesis is an amazing kit, but the metal parts are not really worth the wait, and arguably aren't even worth using.

The plastic molding is great, but the metal parts in the collectors edition are not up to the same standard and have some rough edges and unlike plastic, which is easy to sand and clean up, this you have to file down the metal to really clean it up.

The other problem is that there are no POM parts included in this, just the regular plastic of the base kit. For those that don't know, usually the more durable POM plastic is used to connect to the metal parts in metal frame kits in order to minimize wear and tear on the plastic. With the regular PS plastic on metal connections, the joints wear down extremely quick.

All this results in kind of a loose mess when using the metal frame parts. It's a good thing that the Ruling went with the metal inner frame instead of these half assed metal frame parts.

The full base kit is included in this so you can just use the plastic frame parts so it's not all bad. It just somewhat disappointing after all the extra wait time for the collectors edition.

In any case, the Genesis kit itself is definitely worth experiencing so if you can't buy the normal version, then definitely it's still worth getting this version. The metal frame parts are just a bit of a wasted cost.

rico soul: Is this Gundamit's way of telling me I've been buying too much stuff?
...
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Nah, it's never time to stop here. It's time to party :D

rico soul: Ok, I see Gundamit has updated the photos but haven't really explained things so I'll add some details that were released about the Apocalypse.

In the latest render, the mobile suit is show to have all the wings deployed. To confirm our observations from before, each funnel further separates to form a front blade part and a rear beam funnel part. The backpack should turn into this glowing halo after all the funnels are deployed and active so a clear effect part will be provided for the backpack to display this. To me it kind of gives it a bit of a Stargazer Gundam vibe.

For the render of the alloy frame, the grey parts are the metal parts, the dark blue are POM plastic, and the light blue are ABS plastic. Typically the approach nowadays is to have metal on POM for durability of the joints rather than have the metal wear directly against the softer plastics used in the model kit. We can see the Apocalypse takes this a step further and use some ABS to POM for the plastic to plastic joints to hopefully offer even more durability and wear resistance.

The color separation details of the model is going to be achieved by the layering of different parts. This is a pretty typical approach nowadays and vientiane fusion provided several pictures showing the frame, the different layers of plastic parts (inner frame parts, clear green parts, gold painted parts, outter armor), and how it all looks layered up. I've combined the images here so you can see how that looks.

Finally, some additional details were provided about the action base, like how there are storage compartments and how the design is kind of reminiscent of the popular IN ERA+ and action base 3 designs with the picture panel. Multiple bases can be connected together. I wonder if this is hinting at future projects.

Vientiane fusion also posted a short clip to show some of the leg hatch openings and thruster linkages. The calf panel opens up and there's some connected articulation on the calf thrusters. No one's reposted it on youtube yet so here's the weibo link directly: weibo.com/tv/show/1034:4907415997448233. I've also seen clips of a physical printed leg prototype floating around that demonstrates this actually works as designed.

All in all, this seems like a pretty ambitious design but progress is looking good. Still no confirmed price yet but the manufacturer had previously said under 238RMB so if that holds true and the quality of the kit turns out to be good, this is looking to be one of the standout deals of the year. It'll really put some pressure on other manufactures, especially YJL/Einta with their Sky Defender which we've still seen no updates yet but would have originally been planed to be priced much much higher.

The current Chinese mecha model kit market is just crazy this year.

rico soul: So this one flew under my radar a bit but it's actually something I'm quite interested in. The YuJiao Impulse is probably one of my favorite resin kit designs so seeing it get converted fairly well into a metal frame model kit is pretty exciting. For the most part, this is a faithful product and does a solid job of realizing the YJL Impulse design in plastic.

- The arm mounting hole for the YJL talon shields goes all the way through, which looks a bit odd. It really needs some pla-plate to cover it up.
- The metal frame is mostly in the legs and consists of metal, POM plastic, and some screws to adjust tightness. It's well designed and the most can stand on it's own even with the massive backpack
- The kit comes with a huge action base, which may actually be a bit too large. Use it on one of your PG models if you have one instead lol
- Most of the YJL resin design is converted to plastic molds but the sharpness of the details aren't quite as good as resin. The fit and finish on the model kit is considered above average by reviewers but not best in class. So better than Daban but worse than Bandai.
- Plastic is all ABS and relatively hard
- Color separation isn't perfect but the details are molded so you can mask and paint
- All the typical MG gimmicks are here with the articulation and cockpit hatch opening. The core fighter is removable and even has a mini Shinn Asuka pilot inside the fighter cockpit.

Overall, it seems to be a solid 1/100 impulse and worth a buy