So after all I drove to Lisbon last Saturday because everyone here in my place wanted to go to the big capital so there we went, driving almost 300km isn’t easy for me I always get tired and on the way back I always need to change the driving with someone because I get sleepy 
. The photos I took in the shop are really crappy as you’ll see during the post, I was shacking a lot and don’t know why, probably because of the coffee I drank and the excitement of both the PG and Kan’U and I’m loosing my ability to use compact cameras because I’m used to “heavy” D-SLR’s.
Here’s Unicorn and a couple girls welcoming both ^_^.
Spent almost three hours at the shop, it’s always great to be there but this time was more fun because amazingly a group of 5 girls came in and they were nice, what was my surprise, they went there to buy yaoi -_- but after, another one came and she was a real bijin, asian looks, probably southern asia, really nice girl. As always the shop was filled with good stuff, loads and loads of gunpla, figures, trading figs, etc…
Ok here comes the batch of really not focused pictures
Do you know her?! Well there are a couple there, she’s known for having a really heavy cleavage hahahaha
Oh what’s that?! I see some figmas, Master Grade gunplas and… WTF?! Sargent Keroro plamo?! And a bag of Death Note with the rules of the death note, this one made me rofl.
Some trading figs
When I entered the shop and saw this, I almost had a knockout, never saw so many Gunpla in the same place, Master Grades, High Grades, High Grade Universal Century (oh crap I was drooling), some AC’s, and a Cybaster from Super Robot Wars. Musha box is much cooler looking at it “live” than seeing pictures on the web, it’s really really amazing, that’s one box I’d never through to the trash. There were more Gunpla in the back store room, I counted 12 Unicorn boxes and some Musha ones, will probably get it for Christmas, and no I’m not counting the Code Geass plamos because the mechs are really ugly, do you know they have wheels?! Why the heck do they need wheels for, to do some drifts and earn style points?! C’mon Gundams can kick their arses 
. The empty space is where my PG used to be, wonder what he (store owner) has there now.
Nice pics ! But where are the pics of the girls you mentioned ? Don’t tell me you took none !! Good luck with the Strike !
I never mentioned girls pictures, that would awful taking pictures of them and what it would make me look like, a pervert?!
Nice pics, oh c’mon it looks like I was drunk when I took the pictures which you can’t increase because they are awfully bad, sure the first one is nice because it was taken with the dslr on a tripod
Well, if you want me to be picky I think the green haired girl is a bit overexposed
. My meaning by nice pics is that I like the subjects, I love seeing stacks of mecha and figures 
. And why would you look like a pervert, it’s perfectly normal for a guy to like girls and to take pictures of them XD (with permission of course).
I swear, you store have all the latest anime goodies…
Stires here doesn’t…maybe Figma only…
Still, I see you got some nice loot though!!!!!!
I love hanging around anime stores since the goods are just too cool!!!!! I just love it!!!!
Well, I hope you pictures of Strike soon!!!!!
woah 3 hours in 1 shop, is the shop big?
and nice loot too
@rin: well not always the latest anime goodies, normally he gets stuff that people ask him and when something comes out on Japan he normally gets it one month or one month and a half later, and the prices rock compared to the ones I pay when I import stuff.
That’s why I stopped buying most of the stuff outside his shop, I buy everything there now.
@ron~: as you can see by the pictures the shop is small, I spent almost three hours there because we were talking with each other because we stay a long time without seeing each other only talking via msn, he showed the backroom also, filled with loads of goodies as well
Woah! You drove 300km to check out the store?Well it seems like it was worth it.Is it a general Asian Merchandise Shop? I see everything from Manga,PVC to Gunpla there.
Come on next time when the girls are totally into their yaoimangas you can fetch a pic ;-P
Its much harder to resist the temptation to buy a figure when its standing right infront of you huh?
And btw:Thanks for the Link to Archonia in your Shop Link! Saved me 40 Euro^^
Well I didn’t exactly went there to check out the shop, I promised him that I would go there to pick my PG Strike and bring along Kan’U Unchou from Alter. I probably go there once or twice a year when I can but when I get new stuff I always ask someone who’s there to bring my stuff.
Yes it’s a general anime merchandise shop with one or two things about Star Wars but that’s it.
Glad to know that the Archonia link helped you save 40€
I preordered 2 Figures via a German Shop a 70€.
With customs it would have been nearly the same Price(minus 3-4 €) when id import them.
I checked Archonia just for fun after i found your link and found these figures for 50€ a Figure.Now THATS a Bargain!
I dont know of any Anime Shops in my Area.I live right to Düsseldorf and it has a HUGHE Japanese community but the only Figures you get in that Shop are Haruhi Figures and NGE Gashapons.I once saw some Bome Figures at a local Comicshop but its Bome meh…
Yeah I heard that Düsseldorf has a huge Japanese community, I find it weird that there aren’t that many variety of figures in those shops besides Haruhi and gashas, perhaps because the owners think that Haruhi is the only that we (westerns) like in anime.
There’s only anime shop near where I live but has more american stuff like marvel, macfarlane, etc… and the anime goodies are way expensive than my friend up in Lisbon
@Belela-san: don’t want to repeat myself too much how great it is everytime you pay me a visit. I hope to see you PG built with a lot of love and care after you return from your summer trip to the US. But then again, I bet you just can’t help your itchy fingers right now, haha!
@readers: Well, I wish I could help other european anime merchandise collectors to save cash with imports buying through my shop.
Jikai is after all still in its infancy, it’s a very small local shop in a country that has limited number of collectors but striving to offer as much choices in merchandise types as it can pack in, and hopefully fulfill its customers. Of course, it helps a bit being an anime (and Gundam) fan myself. ^o^
Jikai is very dependent on customer feedback. Right now it depends way too much on Portuguese (limited) anime tastes, and serving other countries could help expend variety as well.
I’d be happy to expand my business outside Lisbon and most importantly, outside Portugal, but sometimes it’s hard to compete with other great shops around Europe, due to shipping costs, payment methods, and so on. But thanks to B-san, the word is spreading….
It’s also very hard to setup a fully functional, fool proof and error proof, language barrier free website when I’m the only person working there. But I’m trying. There is a beta-site in the works, I wonder if anyone is interested in taking a peek.
I wonder… how soon/important should I consider serving other european customers? But this probably isn’t the best place to do so, right, B-san? >_>
@Belela
Its actually a real Japanese Convenience Store i was talking about.They have Japanese Manga,Gasbottles,Snacks and whatever there.I dont think they actually target Westerns as customers.I think they just like to play it save with Classics like Haruhi and NGE.
Most of the German Anime/Manga Fanbase is Female an approx. 14 years old.Thats why we mostly get Crap licensed over here.
The Press associates Anime with lots of Gore and/or Sex.It still has to go a long way before itll get accepted.
The Japanese Community in Düsseldorf is awesome.I recently found a Japanese Bakery and i love their Melonpan^^ It reminds me a bit of Yakitate Japan!!!
@ Jikai
Id like to take a peek at your shop!Its always nice to support the small Shops especially in their adolescence!I prefer to order from my small German Shops than the big established ones but i couldnt ignore the 40€ Difference on my last order.
You know, I’m actually interested in the painting you have in the background of your first photo.
The painting?! Well it was painted by my cousin in 2000, I could take a picture and send it to you if you want.
Can’t wait to see the MG ready for pics :p
I usually don’t like Ikkitousen much but i looove this one , i hope you’ll do pics of her soon
Nice shop too , figures shops are the best ^^
It’s not a MG it’s a “Perfect Grade”, way above the master grade level XD
Yes sorry , wrong word :p
But still , want to see it nooooow :p
So, you’re the one who picked up that Perfect Grade Strike!
The guy at the store told me it was going to be picked up on Saturday. For the record, that Strike was obscuring my Hi-Nu Gundam. I nearly lost my cool when I thought it had been bought! The guy had put your PG strike up on display since it was its last day there.
Good luck and Godspeed! That is, as long as nobody gets that Mark II in the next times…
@amon: Yeah he had to put it on display, it was the very first perfect grade sold at jikai
, I had it ordered to him since February but since the kit was out of stock everywhere and bandai hadn’t announce a release date for the restock we had to wait a lot till last month, currently I’ve already done the head, chest, feet and waist. I won’t put any decals on it because in a near future I want to paint it.
Amon, so it’s you…
You could have told me, I can save the Mk-II for you (and surely you don’t mean the Keroro Mk-II XD)!
Btw, I don’t think I have your contact… send me an email please X_x
B-san: hope your PG goes smoooothly. As Rahvin said, my WIP MG Strike ran into soooo many problems it could have an encyclopedia could have been writtenabout messed-up kits…
Need to finish this, even if it’ll look BAD, and move on to clease my soul. =_=
Belela-san: Don’t get too ahead of yourself. A monster like that needs time to grow. And I can understand why it’d be special to have it in a shop. Though, if you’re that ahead it can’t be that big. It can stand on its own, right? I think we’ve all seen how monstrous something like the MG Sentinel is…
Jikai: Indeed, it is I. I could have said something but with a beast like a Hi Nu to build (Already built, though sadly waiting for some paint) and a limited wallet (and space) to fund my oh so guilty pleasures, much less having taken a 70 euros shot that left it bleeding, I though it would be best for my own sanity to wait a while. Like another week or so. Maybe two. So many choices, so little funds… And it’s certainly not that freakish beast. The Mark II does not deserve such an inane insult! How dare thee!
I know it takes time, I’ve been building Gunpla for two years but amazingly it’s turning out more easily that I imagined.
Oh yes it’s really really big, the sword itself is bigger than a MG like Unicorn in destroy mode which is bigger than Hi-Nu and so is the shield. If a PG couldn’t stand on its own it wouldn’t even be called a PG that would be utterly shameless.
My data here says that the horn is what makes the Unicorn bigger, not the suit itself. The Hi-Nu is really bulky though, especially with the funnels in flight position. The legs alone are gigantic and this is the redesigned version, not the original one with the gigantic thrusters and even bulkier.
The Strike as a whole is pretty tiny compared to some other suits.
As for standing on its own, I mean, the Sentinel can’t and neither can a few other MG kits and they’re not exactly crappy.
But what I’d really pay to see would be a a Xi Gundam PG. 30 metres ftw. Man sized!
I don’t know if we’ll ever see another PG
, it’s been four years since they launched Strike and I’m seeing Bandai concentrating to much on MG (which is good actually), the tallest PG in the line is still Zeta.
About Hi-Nu, I know it’s really bulky and I want to build it someday ^_^, actually I think the kit you bought was initially being kept for me but I told Nakano if there was anyone interested in buying it he could sell it because I’m having other priorities now besides Hi-Nu. Gundam heights sometimes are not accurate, I know Hi-Nu is pretty big around 20m tall and Unicorn according to what I read is around 21.7 “with horn” as you said but I think they actually didn’t measure the Unicorn on Destroy mode in which he turns out a beast:
http://dalong.net/review/mg/mg102/p/mg102_193.jpg
http://dalong.net/review/mg/mg102/p/mg102_n60.jpg
There are some MG that can’t stand on their own, the one I know the best is the EX-S Gundam, that thing is so big and heavy it can scare the shit out of any other suit XD http://www.figure.fm/userimages//big/2007051809.jpg
Yes Strike as a whole is a bit smaller compared to other suits, I usually call the Seed Universe Gundams the top models because the are so skinny XD but there’s one smaller suit and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s Wing 0, it’s a child compared to Zeta which are standing side by side on my Detolf
First two links are broken.
Well, it was the only Hi-Nu there (I’m assuming) so it may have well been the one you’re talking about. You’d be hard pressed to find someone interested in a mostly unknown suit that’s never made an appearence besides in either a book or video games, even if it is an Amuro custom.
I was joking about the Xi, since it’s gigantic (It and the Penelope are the biggest legitimate Gundam suits in the UC universe, at about 30 metres tall each) but Bandai seems to want to phase out the PG grade in favour of upgrading the quality of the MG line. Look at the new MG Gundam Ver. 2.0, it’s stunning compared to the older kits and extremely flexible.
The strike is what, 17, 18 metres tall, without a pack? The Wing Zero is not even 17 metres tall, being the smallest Gundam mobile suit I believe. Well, it has gigantic Rifles anyway, they make up for it. Rule of cool.
And I’d so totally dig building a Sentinel. It’s one of those kits where you don’t care if it can’t stand, it’s just bloody awesome.
Hum weird I just checked the links on three different computers and they work >.<, there must be something wrong with your connection or browser, it’s a korean site by the way, anyway if you still want to check the pictures head to http://dalong.net/ and check the MG section then select Unicorn. There are lots of kits in that page, probably almost all of the Gunpla released till today
Gives me a forbidden warning.
Ok then there’s something definitely wrong with your browser or internet supplier (sapo, netcabo, whatever), by the way do you have any language pack installed?! Like Korean, Japanese, etc…?! Perhaps that’s what you’re missing
The site itself works fine, the direct links don’t. I’ve used the site before, loads of nice shiny pics to oogle over shiny gunpla I’ll never get my grubby paws on…
LOLOLOL ^_^, well then perhaps the problem is with wordpress
You can’t link images directly from dalong. It’s not a isp issue the site is made like that, you need to manually navigate it.
About the Ex-S You can actually make it stand but it’s very very hard
(the kit has some parts that must be moved to help it keep the position)
Anyway if you want a really big kit there is a resin sazabi kit in 1/72 scale which is huge, and of course bloody expensive (600$ or so) but the size and level of detail are awesome !
And bandai is going to release a plated version of PG rx-78-3 plus a whole new one later this year.
Or direct linking. Some sites don’t allow it because of leechers.
Really?! A whole new PG?! Got any link so that I can check that out?!
Resin kits are way too expensive. And even at 1/72, the Sazabi would be gigantic. Not Nightingale gigantic but huge anyway. PG at this point seems superfluous, the new 1/144 00 is nearly MG level already and it’s tiny as hell.
@Belela: Unfortunately there is no link. All we have is an interview that a person from bandai gave during the Shizuoka show where he mentioned that they where working on a new PG for this year.
@Amon: 1/144’s have come a long way and the HGUC line is excellent, but I will have to disagree that they are nearly MG level. If you compare with older MG’s maybe, but they are in different league from younger MG’s. I also don’t see why a new PG would be superfluous, truth is many people are asking for one, and even with the many advances there is still no MG kit with detail and articulations at PG level.
Amen to that Ravhin ^_^. Truly love the HGUC, especially the new ones of Nu and Sazabi, will need to build them someday.
Although the new MG inner frames are amazing they don’t even reach the PG level and I can say that by mine, only managed to build the feet in terms of articulations, they’re pretty damn amazing.
I take it you guys haven’t seen the articulations on a 1/100 Red Frame Astray. It’s nearly MG level. Modern MG level.
And while I can believe and see that they’re extremely well done, they’re far too big and too pricey. Modern modelers want cheaper and still with quality and while the PG grade is amazing in its own right, it’s not exactly a star product. Personally, I’ve made the 1/100 scale my preference. More practical. *Shrugs* More power to you guys for having enough brass to go through with it though.
And I just love how these last 16 posts or so are writen in English for viewership ease.
I hope you don’t mean the 1/100 HG Astray Red Frame, the one with the samurai sword?! That thing in terms of joints is pretty weak in terms of resistance and durability, seen lots of people complaining how the joints on the arms brake easily.
I agree with you that modern modelers want cheaper kits with good quality, that’s why in the world of gunpla PG is considered almost the ultimate fandom, only “lovers” and affectionates will buy it, in all my time as a gunpla lover if I saw at least 3 or 5 moded PGs was to much.
I believe that 1/144 current kits are not for everyone, that thing is small and requires loads and loads of patience because sometimes it seems that the pieces don’t want to fit XD and you have to handle the building process like a woman (rofl) and for painting it sure is one hell of a pain according to many.
Imagine if this blog was in Portuguese, I wouldn’t have the amount of international viewers and readers I have now.
Weak joints or not, it is pretty flexible. Not like the Infinite Justice, who’s flabby all over and falls over easier than tripping a legless Strike. But Bandai is replacing the joints on new kits, like the new HG 00 Gundam.
I personally don’t like 1/144 Gunpla because they’re miniscule. I like 1/100 scale since it still gives off that aura of Gundam and coolness while maintaining a suitable size that if on display does very well. Of the four Gunpla I have, none is painted. Why? Because brushes alone are painful. However, having worked with Warhammer 40000 kits and painted a few tiny figures I can paint decently enough with small scaled figures. But they still look good enough for display. They also provide a decent conversion work basis but few people make the cut for that niche when it comes to Gunpla.
As for the PT versus EN language debate all I have to say is : screw Sam the Kid. Even if he weren’t thirty one and living in momma’s house, the guy is still a dumbass. EN all the way.
I don’t paint my kits either and I have 6 MG one HGUC and one HG, the only reason I don’t paint is because I’m still afraid of messing them up but I’m willing to try it with sprays on a small Super Robot Wars kit I built couple months ago so that I later can paint my PG
Yeah, that’s the real problem. Bad primer really screws up a lot. If it becomes grainy, it’ll screw up the texture entirely. Luckily, I have a Sukhoi-33 Fighter yet to paint and even if it’s not the same thing, different plastic and all, it should allow me to develop some technique using masking tape to create new effects and thus not ruin a perfectly good (or crappy) Gunpla too. Well, only the Infinite Justice is actually crappy so far, my Providence is great. Still, let it be a lesson : MG is so much better.
The red frame is the exception and not the rule. It does have superb articulation, but you won’t find another kit below mg level that is on par (some 00 kits do come close). And there are other issues that for me are the most important since I pose my kits after finishing building and won’t change it again, some times I even glue them to be fixed.
Seamlines and detail is what matters the most for me. I paint my kits and I can assure you that building an MG is easier. Why ? Less detail work less seams and flaws to fix.
The other big issue is proportions. Go compare the mgs with their ungraded and high graded siblings. The MG’s are always the better looking (some exceptions exist specially if you compare recent HG’s with their older MG siblings)
About the justice joints, I can tell you that they are pretty stiff (at least mine are), and even if they where loose, fixing loose joints is extremely easy.
For painting, get away from brushes, go airbrush ! I tried brushes (also did some warhammer minis back in the day) , but quickly gave up on that idea.
Still in the end it depends on what you want to get from the kits. My scale of choice is the 1/100 and even though I have ungraded and HGUC kits I use these mainly to try new building and painting techniques. I mainly go for the MG’s because they are, more often than not, the best looking versions available. The only PG that I may consider one day is the Zeta whose design is one of my favorites, but there is much practice to be done before I plunge into that adventure
I want to go to lisbon soooo badly T_T
Bro, go get some glasses with pinhole cameras, then you can shoot girls photos at will.. muahaha..
Funny, the first picture of the shop looks like there from the inside of an anime collectors house. There’s so much stuff I don’t blame you for staying 3hrs. But I do have to look at everything so I don’t miss something. That’s just how I shop.
Where your 2nd and 3rd pics of the shop from the backroom?
Lmfao, That is quite a shop, but its nothing. The biggest I’ve ever seen is like a 500 sqr feet with stacks and stacks of gunpla. A huge storage is in the Employee’s only room too. But yours sells a variety of stuff, quite a decent shop for gunpla. Then again, stores here aren’t allowed to sell anything 18+ unless its a 18+ store. I can’t say all guys aren’t perverts, as I am one too; but yeah I’d drool at the hentai any day…But still, girls buy gay guy porn is just…um…unexpected? So Belela, going to get the 1/60 Striker Pack, thats really hard to find. I looked for it for 2 months and couldn’t get my hands on it, even when its like 60 bucks.
@yukionna: No, all pictures are from the store I didn’t take any of the backroom. I didn’t stay there three hours looking at stuff, if you had read what I wrote in the comments you’d know why I stayed there for so long.
@ken: The store is very small, the size you mentioned would be like comparing a mall with a small store, this one is perhaps around 50 square feet total size without counting the backroom which can only fit one or three people in there maximum. Yes I want to get the Aile Strike someday but not now, perhaps by the end of the year.
i have never seen so many gundam models kits before, its so beautiful
u need a PG Skygrasper next. ^^;
i have Skygrasper but not PG Strike. (‘~’)
lol at your comment about Code Geass plamos and their wheels. I still don’t understand the need of wheels on Code Geass mechas ^^;;.
Looking forward to see the PG pics ^^
hey, how do you use the line engraver? Do you just push it in the panel line an drag it along the line to widen it?
Normally the engraver is used to make the lines deeper so that when you “clean” the excess of ink you won’t clean the important parts .
Yes that’s the way to do it, or if you want you can create some extra panel lines areas with it, of course a p-cutter is much better than the engraver
Argh, me wants!~ _>;;