The latest in the epic Perfect Grade range of model kits has hit Japanese stores. Considering the last PG kit was a few years ago, Bandai have gone a bit nuts with their latest entry, that of the 00 Raiser. Despite the crowd pleasing lights display, the engineering for the endoskeleton is always far more impressive. The 0 Raiser and and 00 Gundam can also separate, as they do in the series. Naturally, the timing of this kit’s release is suitably fortuitous as the design is exclusively featured in the almost released Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus. For those that want this, the kit costs 25,000 yen and you can buy it here. Here’s also some footage from the series of the first time the 0 Raiser and 00 Gundam dock to form the mighty 00 Raiser…

Over at GA Graphic there is a nice preview of the upcoming Unicorn Gundam Metal Composite toy. This is part of the Gundam FIX Figuration range but uses, as the name suggests, a lot of metal in its production. Unlike the FIX toys, which are at 1/144 scale and mostly plastic, the metal composites are much larger at around 1/100 scale. The Unicorn is also using its metal innards as the literal psycho-frame (the pink bits basically), which is a nice touch. This toy is also being personally supervised by Hajime Katoki, who penned this design originally, and as such it fully transforms between Unicorn and Destroy mode. The price is pretty epic though; at 18,900 yen. It’s released in March of next year and, in case people are wondering, the Unicorn is a playable unit in the upcoming Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus.

A lesser known Hong Kong toy manufacturer by the name of threeA are releasing a Metal Gear Rex toy as penned by the suitably under appreciated Yoji Shinkawa. Rex was the climactic Metal Gear in Metal Gear Solid, though it also made a functional cameo in the recent Metal Gear Solid 4. threeA don’t normally handle licensed mecha designs, instead creating their own, so this choice on the part of Konami and Hideo Kojima is an interesting one. Early photos have leaked online and the detailing does look mightily impressive but this looks more like a collector’s statuette than toy. In any case, no word on price or release date has been announced as yet.

Over at GA Graphic there’s a nice preview of the upcoming 1/72 scale Unsung kit from Armored Core For Answer. Whilst based on the same frame as the Aaliyah the design is different in several respects, notably that of the legs and weapon load out. The observant will note that the Aaliyah kit is actually representative of the Supplice design from Armored Core 4 and was used extensively to promote the game in Japan (so much so that it’s emblazoned on the box art). The Unsung kit will be available in December for 5,200 yen, you can get it here.

Hobbystock has some lovely coverage of the recent Bandai Collector’s Division Meeting, where lots of toys and kits were showcased. Such as the above 1/100 scale VF Hi-Metal Fire Valkyrie from Macross 7, which was recently featured in Macross Ultimate Frontier. The Hi-Metal range was very popular during the 80’s for the original Macross series and movie. Since the franchise’s recent resurgence, Bandai have decided to reboot the toyline (though at a smaller scale). Naturally, there are lots of other lovely toys on display as well. So feel free to have a good gander.

The Super HCM Pro line of toys has had a new addition, in the form of the Hajime Katoki designed RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. The Super prefix denotes that the toy is of a larger scale than the normal line, as they’re normally 1/200 scale rather than 1/144 in the case of the Supers. The detailing and articulation is also considerably more advanced than the smaller HCM Pro toys but that comes at a considerable price increase. In the case of the Unicorn, both Unicorn and Destroy modes are catered for (with some parts removal) but the technical nature of the transformation has meant the price is even higher due to the increased engineering costs. Considering that the Gundam Unicorn anime is around the corner and Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus is released at the beginning of December, you may want to wait for the larger GFFN toy. As the new Gundam Fix toys use more diecast in the joints for stability. In any case, you can buy Super HCM Pro Unicorn Gundam here.

GA Graphic has a really nice bit of coverage on the upcoming Cougar kit from Border Break. Like with all other Kotobukiya kits, the sculpt is really impressive and the articulation looks suitably comprehensive too. The kit is scheduled for a Japanese release in January next year for 3,675 yen. You can pre-order it here if you’re curious.

There’s a nice review of the newly released Robot Damashii Turn A Gundam over at R-Side (as well as the Turn X too). The designs, by renowned American concept artist Syd Mead, caused all manner of controversy back in the day but the series, and its designs, have garnered a considerable following in the years since. So much so that these mecha were featured in Another Century’s Episode 3 and Super Robot Wars Z (here’s our review of the latter). For those that remember, there was a very nice die-cast Turn A Gundam toy released about ten years ago now. Though, the sculpt and detailing of this new Robot Damashii rendition still looks pretty decent for the money. You can buy this new toy here if you’re interested.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a kit from Armored Core 4 and For Answer to review. Specifically, Kotobukiya’s 1/72 scale Noblesse Oblige. This is an important design, as it was originally used to promote the original Armored Core 4 before its release (specifically in two trailers here and here). It also heralded the shift in mecha design towards the very talented Yuzo Kojima.

Our review only covers the kit in its out of the box and unpainted form (however, we have also included painted photos towards the end). In addition, to give the kit some context, we’ve also captured some HD gameplay footage of the design in action from Armored Core For Answer.

Over at NCSX you can just about still buy the full set of the newly released Video Game Robotics gashapon. This is a follow on from Yujin’s successful Shooting Game Historica line but features mecha from a variety of games. There are a total of five disparate units in the set, ranging from Assault Suits Leynos and Valken to the more recent Border Break. It’s worth clarifying that these are small scale plastic figures, rather than full featured toys. That said, for their size and pricing the sculpt and the detailing is remarkably impressive. Personally, I’m just glad the likes of Wolf Fang got included.