Gunpla: Introduction

Gunpla: Introduction

Gunpla means Gundam plastic model kits but is also loosely used in non-plastic model kits or model kits that are not even related to Gundams.  These kits have boomed in the 1990s and has remained popular to the anime's fans and model lovers to this day.

Gunpla have different scales and grades that basically differentiates the quality, size, details and difficulty in building the kit.  I   will give you a run down on the different types of Gunpla grades available and help you decide in case you want to take on this very satisfying hobby.

These are the 5 most popular scales that Bandai makes (if I'm not mistaken:

1/200 -- These are the tiniest of the all the scales and is the most basic.

1/144 -- These are your "normal" sized Gunpla and ranges from basic to very detailed.

1/100 -- These are usually the modeler's scale of choice; ranges from basic to very detailed.

1/60 -- These are about a 1 foot tall; ranges from basic to extremely detailed.

1/35 -- Biggest of the bunch but not necessarily the best.

These are then divided into different grades which are:

SG -- Speed Grade (1/200). This kit are the tiniest model kits of the bunch and also the easiest to build. It's usually pre-painted and I would say almost pre-build. All you got to do is snap it together. Though very basic it does look good but 8 will not reccomend this if you want to start gunpla as your hobby. Why? It presents no challenge and you will easily be bored.

FG -- First Grade (1/144).  This is the most basic grade of all.  There are minimal parts to build and instructions are just printed on the box itself.   This also sometimes requires glue to piece together the model. This also the cheapest of the bunch.  I have never built one of this but based on descriptions you will get online this outdated kits are just a waste of money.  They may have change the name of the grade to EG or Entry Grade.

NG -- No Grade (1/144, 1/100, 1/60). This is more detailed than the FG, comes with more runners/parts but still is very basic.  This often needs stickers/paint to get the colors right. Some old ones needs glue for assembly as well. NG kits usually have balance issues and has very limited articulation.  NG 1/100 still sells though due to the fact that some mecha only appears in 1/100 form in the NG grade.

HG/HGUC -- High Grade/High Grade Universal Century (1/144, 1/100).  This is one of the more popular grades of Gunpla.  More details than the NG, almost the same runner count as the NG (around 5-7?). This is usually the starting point for Gunpla hobbyist. The older HG kits are still nice but the newer ones takes the cake. The newer HG kits have good articulation and has better color separation (thus less stickers/paint needed). But this is still half pieces joined together.

RG -- Real Grade (1/144). This is the one of the newer grades.  RG kits are extremely detailed specially for a smaller kit.  It has his own mini-inner frame, in which the armors are connected to, for great articulation.  This grade has only 3 kits right now but has the Gunpla world glued to it. I have not personally made one of this kits but I only hear great things about it bar some armors easily breaking (due to size). This is the best kit you can buy for a lesser price.  I'll give you a more detailed review once I get my hands on one.

MG-- Master Grade (1/100). This kits are very detailed, comes in with a lot of runners, decals, stickers and sometimes, a stand.  MG kits have inner frame (like a skeleton) in where all the armor are attached to.  The kit also has the best articulation and pose-ability among all grades.  Color separation are also very good and due to its size, details are really captured.  This is my Gunpla of choice.

PG -- Perfect Grade (1/ 60). As the name suggests this gundam is the best of the lot and not too mention the most expensive.  This is the most realistic among all grades if Gundams are real.  The kits are very detailed and most are incorporated with a LED or two so the eyes, chest and sometimes the weapon lights up.  The kits also have some metal parts and screws. This kits takes a long time to build and also a lot of patience. This is definitely not for begginers.

SD or Super Deformed (no scale). SD kits are the cutest of gunplas. They have tiny hands, limbs, body, feet and heads that are very out of proportion.  I know that there are Grades within the SD kits themselves however I am honestly not familiar with those. Old SD kits almost cannot move but newer ones have better articulation. This kit needs a lot of stickers and paint to look good. Some modelers choice of grade.. just not my cup of tea.

Lastly there are also new grades to be released a few months from now that coincides with the release of the newest series, Gundam Age. More on those grades when I got of information about them.

*Pics of each grade to follow.. I just typed all this in my phone.. so forgive the errors. 

Food: Crave Burger

Crave Burger
Branch: BF Southville



Alright! Here we go with the first "real" post in my blog!

My wife, Idan, gave birth to our baby Gab last Monday (April 18,2011) and we had to stay in the hospital for around 3 days.  As well all know, hospital food blows a lot and Las Pinas Doctor's Hospital is not an exception, they are actually the worst I have tasted but I have to eat.  I have already ate at McDonald's for my breakfast and lunch and needed something else for my dinner plus the fact that my parents came to visit. I wanted to eat a little more than McDonald's for dinner but my 5 year old Joaquin is screaming burger! Those two in mind, I remember a little burger joint nearby that I have always wanted to try, Crave Burger.

My Dad, Joaquin and I went to the nearest branch which is BF Southville.  As you would expect in a small village restaurant, you have to park on the street.  Went inside, the place was cozy and laid back, kinda like a friend's condominium instead of a usually busy and modern burger place. Good. Since I guess they will have to cook the food after you ordered they had a lot of magazines for customers to read, good? NOT. The lastest mobile phone featured in the magazine is the Nokia 7610 (What is a N 7610? Exactly.). All the magazines are friggin five to four years old, I would have minded it if I didn't to wait for my food.  Word to tha management, if you do not have the cash to shell out for the latest issues of magazines, try Filbar's, they sell within year back issues for 2 for 100.  Please do your customers a favor.  Naman kasi puro techie magazine pa na five years old. Anyways I guess that's it for the place.

The food.  I ordered three (3) CC1 with cheese, that's basically cheese burger, "slim" fries and a 25ml drink (200Php) and two (2) CC2 which is the basic burger but with two patties stacked on top of each other, "slim" fries and a 25ml drink and 5 pieces of crave classic chicken wings. Look at the pictures for a better idea:

Crave Cheese Burger
Photos above from:  Food Notebook (sorry I was not able to take pictures since I'm on the go that time)


Crave double burger
Photo from: flavoursofiloilo

If you look at the photo, I'm sure your thinking, fat, calories, weight gain or just maybe "sa-rap".  For you guys who first thought of fat, calories and weight gain, the 2nd question is, "is it worth the extra hours of run?". To answer your question now, NO. Why? Read on. One of the reason why I am craving for Crave Burger is that I thought they flame grill their burgers and I found out that I could never be more wrong.  The burgers is fried, fried with FAT. Seriously.  I have not eaten a fattier burger than what is served in Crave Burger.  The patties were cooked in lard not just from the burger that you ordered but from the whole days worth of frying if not more.  At that point, I just prayed hard that the burger will actually taste better.  Orders served.  I rsthad the double burger with blue lemonade and slim fries.  The slim fries, they are not actually slim, not by a million mile.  As you can see at the image above the fries are about 2cm thick.  The fries are actually good, crunchy on the outside but still quite soft inside and it also tastes like potato. hahaha I know it is made of potato but when is the last time you ate fries that tasted like a potato? WHEN? lol. Fries = Good nearly great.  The Blue Lemonade, well, it's powdered lemonade (the kind you get from the grocery) with artificial blue coloring, why the blue? I don't know. Moving on. Oh wait there's the other drink, the red iced tea. hahaha the same regular iced tea with red food coloring! It is not the real red ice tea. Why the fake coloring? Moving on. The Crave Double burger, two half pound patties stacked on top of each other sandwiched in a bun with a few veggies.  The veggies is a disappointment, for the price they could have given you more greens and slices of tomato.  What is inside? 1 lettuce leaf (not even a whole) and 1 slice of tomato, wow.  So they effed up the veggies but whatever it's the patty that counts, right?  So let me tell you about burger patty, it is everything I wished it not to be.  The first bite broke my heart in a million pieces, the burger tasted like OLD OIL. You know, the kind where after you deed fry we store the oil, leave it for a long time and try to deep fry with it again? The brown dirty cooking oil you have at home? That's how it tasted like.  I do not care if the burger was 100% pure beef or that each burger patty is cool 1 inch thick it tasted like crap. It is very oily as well! I have never eaten a burger oilier than it fries. And for the price their charging? not worth it. See I'm a person that easily appreciates things so this burger pissing me off is beyond tasting crappy.  My Dad did not finish his, my Mum took one bite, Joaquin ate half, the other CC1 (cheese burger) was left unopened and I ate most of mine just to see if I can appreciate it. After the horrendous experience with the burgers, we each ate a chicken wing.  It was a surprise that the chicken wing was boneless (because it really looks like that it has bones and all).  The wings does not have any flavor, at all. It tasted like eating a breading of flour without any seasoning and deep frying it. Seriously, like paper battered with flour. This one my of most disappointing eating experience and to think that I was actually excited eating here.

The service. The cashier that takes orders messed up my order 3 times. Great. And what's funnier is that after 15 mins I checked my orders and the ones the cook is cooking and it is still not correct. I corrected her for the fourth time, then she even had nerves to get mad at me when me, the supposed to be angry customer is talking to her very calmly.  She realized how wrong she were and apologized to me, then she told the cook this: "XX, nagbago ng isip si sir, gusto niya daw double hind na yan" I was like, WTF? You messed up the order and now your putting the blame on me?? so I talked with the cook and mentioned what happened. The cook apologized and scolded the cashier. So anywho bad customer experience.

So all in all:

Place: 7 -- It cozy and nice, the parking is forgivable but for a store that knows the customer will wait, the old magazines are a NO-NO.

Food: 4 -- Those craving to try crave burger, don't. Other than the price, the taste is just not worth it.  For the same price you can get a good burger at Brother's and Army Navy.  For less the price you can eat a Burger King and it will still be much better.  McDonald's burgers are also better.  If you want to taste Crave Burger for less the price, go to your local buy 1 take 1 burger get two, put in lettuce and tomato and that's it.

Service: 6 -- The cashier may be annoying as hell but the cook (I think she is the supervisor) took charge of everything and all was smooth sailing.

And if you are wondering, NO they did not to mess up the food that I ordered since customers can see what's going on inside.

So I guess that solves my question as to why Crave Burger (despite looking mouth-watering) never had a full parking/customer queue, they are not worth lining up for.

Craving for Crave?

Disclaimer: This is my own personal opinion based on the experience and the food that I tasted.

1st Top Ten!

As said on the 1st post, there will be a lot of rankings here in my blog, so why not start with a Top Ten list!

I will be enumerating the the most probable Top Ten topics that will be discussed in my blog.  These are basically things that interests me and the things that I love or want to talk about. Without further delay here's the first Top Ten list on my blog! ^^,

10.  Snakes!

I am very naive about these creatures before and I still am but I am now very interested in them. Don't get me wrong, I liked them ever since I first started watching Discovery Channel, but that was it.  I was not really keen on getting my hands on them nor even think about snakes as pets. I guess the bad media got to me, same as I guess most of the people on earth. They can kill a person. The snake tempted Adam & Eve. Snakes are dangerous. Snakes are just BAD animals, right? Wrong. Snakes, just like any other animal needs understanding and respect.  They do no go out every night to hunt and kill humans, they just don't. Adam & Eve never really existed nor did that talking snake. Anywho, I will be sharing my fascination and love for snakes, their variations and different stuff about snakes!

9.  Mobile Phones

Like every other Filipino out there, I love my Mobile phone or as we call it "Cell Phones". This mobile love is about 12 years old and counting.  Can you imagine that mobile phones are considered luxury items way back and that people does not need them. IMAGINE! A world without your beloved mobile phone/s! I'll do reviews, give out my rants and raves and bring news about the said topic.

8.  Running/Fitness

I love running! I run to stay fit. I run when I'm angry, when I'm sad, when I'm frustrated, when I'm happy but never when I'm hungry. I'm full. (I run when I'm hungry). I'm not a very athletic person so running is my only physical activity, with that said, I stay fit with food. How? My blog will show you the way!

7. Games

I think everyone, even once in their lives have somehow played on a console less you were living in a cave. I have been playing console games since I can remember.  I enjoyed classic SNES games with my cousins and playing on arcades.  But the one the defined it all for me is the original Playstation or PS1.  This console actually made socializing with friends fun (for me at least).  My cousins and I enjoyed the PS1 and have spent sleepless nights over it. I have since then owned the PS2 and shifted loyalty with my Xbox 360.  Games may changed leaps and bounds with features and graphics but the fun they bring is the same.

6. Toys
I have never outgrown toys. I never will. Toys will always forever be part of my life. I will be bringing you toys from the classic era to the modern toys that we have today. 
Cartoons/Anime
I have never outgrown cartoons/animes I think I will  never ever outgrow them. Right now, I watch my own animes and bond with my son with a few of them.
Alrigh then.. anything nerdy. LOL


Scrap Everything.  I will also talk about my 2nd love: FOOD! I almost forgot about the only reason I believe there is a god. I will do foodie reviews about where I eat, foods that I love, Recipes that I love and share/reblog the foodies blog by mt very good friend Reggie Asama!

And I will blog about a burger joint that I am interested in eating at TONIGHT!

5. Technology

The first techie thing that I can remember is playing bowling with my dad's office PC way back in 1992. That was the sh*t back then, because at school, we still had a basic DOS based PC. I got my very 1st laptop (a black&white, windows 3.1 IBM) in 1995 as my Dad changed into a colored windows 3.1 (cool?). Saying that technology boomed in the mid-late 90's is an understatement.  We have improved our digital technology, I dare say 500x in 10-12 years. My lifetime can be divided with different eras of technology and it's cool to look back at things and look at what can happen in 1 year's time.

4. Cars

Cars are my thing.  My son is also crazy about cars. Why? because cars are so darn beautiful.  I love everything, from the classic eras of the 40s, the rat rods of the 50s, the big cars of the 60s and 70s, the compacts of the 80s, the revolution of the 90s and the modern cars today. I love them, I salivate over them... The curves, the smell of grease, the godly mechanisms and I will talk about them in my blog.

3. Gundam/Gunpla

1998.  That's the year where I watched a show, at 5:30 PM in GMA, that changed my life forever. The name of the show? Gundam Wing. I remember going home from school and going straight to the tube to watch Heero Yuy and company battle it out with Zechs and the rest of the OZ guys. Then one faithful day in school, my classmate brought a gundam figure, I borrowed it, take a look at it and loved it.  The kit? I honestly did not know what gundam that was at that time but as I remember now... it's a Zeta Gundam. Anywho I will be reviewing and showing and sharing my gunpla/gundam love to you guys!

2. Shoes

I am self-confessed sneakerhead. I have lost sleep and a lot of money over sneakers. Now who started the LOVE? My Mom? how? did she get me a really cool pair of sneakers when I was younger? NO. She did exactly the opposite thing, she bought me the most horrific pair of kicks I have ever seen. It was so uncomfortable and ugly but the thing was, my mom asked me to accompany her to shop for my shoes but I didn't come.  So It was partly my fault. Then I was on grade 3, boots was the thing, and this honestly is the first pair of shoes I go all excited about, it was a pair of bulldog boots. From there on forward...I loved my shoes and now have a healthy amount of it.

1. Random Things

And the point of this blog is the random things I want to rate/rank and talk about. Things I want to rant and rave about. A lot of things really. A lot of random things that basically defines me as a person and the life that I have.

Amphiesma khasiense

What is Amphiesma khasiense? It is the scientific name of the Khasi Hills Keelback, a snake species found in India, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and parts of China.

Wikipedia describes it as a reddish brown snake with a white transverse bar running across the supra labial scales. The dorsal scales are in 19 rows, rather strongly keeled, except for smooth outer row. The ventrals number 150-154, the subcaudals. The anal plate is divided. Adults are about 60 cm (23½ in.) total length, of which about 19 cm (7½ in.) is tail.

Why is it the name of my blog? I went to Wikipedia, hit random and that is the first random article that popped out.  Is there any relation with the blog's tittle and me and my life and the purpose of the blog? Absolutely nothing other than it being very random.  This blog is not about snakes (bar a few articles) nor scientific names. 

This blog will be about the things I like and other random things that pops in my head.  You will probably see a lot of rankings here as I love to rank stuff. 

About me. I am not a professional blogger/writer and will not be updating this blog regularly.

This blog will be so random you will not like it.