As expected, PLUM have finally announced their ASS-117A Valken kit from the classic Super Famicom mecha shooter Assault Suits Valken. Prototypes were previewed a while back and after the success of the various AS-5E3 Leynos kits, this was only a matter of time. Actually set before the events in Leynos, the first Valken game features much grittier mecha designs. These were similarly penned by Kazutaka Miyatake under the auspices of Studio Nue. This particular kit is also of the unit used by the main character, Jake. On sale this July at a very reasonable 6,900 yen, you can pre-order it here.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan we’ve been sent the Super Robot Chogokin Zeorymer from the anime Hades Project Zeorymer. Whilst this is somewhat of a niche super robot OVA from the late 80’s, it has garnered a rather infamous reputation due to its suitably uber presence in several Super Robot Wars games. We’ve also made sure to include some nice footage from the anime as well as its various game appearances at the bottom of the review.

You’ve seen the pictures, and you know the price. So it’s either now or never: threeA’s Metal Gear Rex replica goes on sale in just a few. At 9 am Hong Kong time, to be exact.

Which is 1 am GMT for the rest of the world (for you lazy Americans reading this, that’s 8 pm east coast/5 pm west coast, fyi). And that’s a little less than two hours from the time of this writing.

Unfortunately, at this exact moment as well, threeA’s exclusive online retailer is running somewhat sluggishly. One hopes that everyone interested in nabbing will be able to do so with minimal of technical issues.

As many have been already speculated, the production run for this is assumed to be quite low, so this might be one’s only chance to pick Rex up. Though Tomopop also notes that Sideshow Collectibles will be selling it later down the road.

But who knows if they’re offer free shipping (which makes Bambalandstore asking price of $490 a tad easier to swallow).

Bandai have announced that one of the next Robot Damashii toys will be that of the original XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. Whilst we’re not fans of the anime that much really, we do like the designs a fair bit (barring the mecha chicken variant of the Wing Zero in Endless Waltz obviously). This release has been hinted at for a fair while now as well but we’re glad it’s finally going to happen. Released this June for a very reasonable 4,410 yen, the toy even transforms.

After a fair while, Kotobukiya have finally revealed their release plans for the forthcoming Vic Viper LEV kit from Anubis. Coming in at 5,670 yen and released this June, the kit will also come with its own stand. The latter makes a lot of sense as the design itself doesn’t have feet in the traditional sense and it also transforms into the classic Gradius inspired fighter the mecha takes its name from. As with all Kotobukiya kits the detailing and the sculpt look suitably impressive and considering the engineering at work here we’re surprised the price tag wasn’t higher. In any case, if you’re a fan of the design then you can pre-order the kit here.

To commemorate the release of Armored Core V today and courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the Nineball (Armored Core Ver.) kit from the original Armored Core. Our review is also of the kit in its unpainted form. In addition, to help give the kit some context, we’ve also included some video footage of it from the original PSone and PS2 games at the end of the review.

Following on from our Revoltech Jehuty (Anubis Version) review, our good friends at HobbyLink Japan have sent us the Revoltech Anubis (from the game of the same name). Now, whilst we aren’t huge fans of the Zone of the Enders series, we’ve always loved the designs that Yoji Shinkawa penned for the games. We’ve also included some game footage at the end of the review.

Those who follows the creator of Metal Gear’s Twitter feed (his main Japanese one, not the English language version) is well aware of his affinity for taking and sharing iPhone pics. And earlier morning, instead of his latest meal like usual, Hideo Kojima chose to highlight what appears to be a completed (or nearly so) version of threeA’s mammoth rendition of Rex.

In addition to being able to admire the product’s finish, one can fully comprehend its ginormous size, mostly via the pictures featuring Yoji Shinkawa, like a proud father holding up his newborn child. But the most noteworthy image is the close up of its left leg.

As Kojima notes in the accompanying tweet, it (along with the detachable rail gun) is designed to give Rex the same beat-up appearance he sports in Metal Gear Solid 4. I almost fainted when I saw the image, no joke. As for when it’ll be available, later this month is apparently the answer. But no word yet on the final price.

Following on from our previous Revoltech Jehuty review, our good friends at HobbyLink Japan have sent us the latest version of Jehuty (specifically that of the version shown in Anubis). Now, whilst we aren’t huge fans of the Zone of the Enders series, we’ve always admired the designs that Yoji Shinkawa penned for the games. We’ve also included some game footage at the end of the review.

Following on from our preview a while back, Griffon have finally displayed their upcoming Nineball figure from Armored Core Ninebreaker. This is not to be confused with the already released Kotobukiya kit nor the upcoming kit of the original Nineball from the PSone games. We’re not sure how good this figure will be, as there’s no mention of diecast and Griffon aren’t exactly renowned for their quality either. The use of the stand in some shots is also pretty worrying too, as it shows a potentially weak form of articulation. In any case, this new figure will retail at 7,800 yen in April of next year. You can pre-order the figure here.