Was going through some older photos and was so charmed once again by these pictures I took when I was responding only with EVA photos to every comment I got on a meme post. The first pondering image I'm really proud of. I wonder what it's thinking about.
First post - all I really have to offer creatively is photography and fan-modes. What do all these different flairs mean? What would best suit this one?
Last image is top view - ugly but necessary.
Gurren Lagaan has one my favorite overall lineups of a mecha series because it has a really unique design quirk that runs through nearly every “Gunmen” (suit) in the series - they have no heads, and instead have faces on their torsos.
WARNING: PRETTY BIG SPOILERS PAST IMAGE 1
Gozu(1) - the first Mecha shown off in the series, I believe it makes best usage of the weird headless design. It has a massive face in proportion to its body, having a bull like structure with horns but a sharp-toothed more reptilian mouth. The way it’s chin protrudes so far forward is really powerful and interesting, and as the first suit shown off in the series it does a great job introducing how most of the gunmen aren’t just going to be large metal humanoids.
Dai-Gunzan(2-3) - this gunmen is actually a mobile base used for transporting other gunmen. At first glance you may not notice where the “face” of this suit is(since all gunmen have a face somewhere), but go to the second image and you can see how it instead uses the bridge windows to create a sneakier face that is only present when it’s cast in shadow. When fully shown those windows are stationary, but when in shadow they actually move to talk and emote like how most Gunmen’s faces do. It’s very cleverly done.
Enki(4) - the main sort of “rival” mech for the first two arcs of the series, this is piloted by the antagonist Viral. It’s one of the lankiest gunmen in the series, though this we’ll reflect the physicality of it’s pilot as well. I particularly enjoy it’s color scheme, and it’s crest resembling a tradition head, which is revealed to be a symbol of honor given to powerful warriors, giving a slightly more humanoid shape to the suit. It goes through several redesigns and upgrades during the series, adding unique additions that compliment it’s torso face very well.
Gurren(5) - another one of my personal favorite designs, Gurren is a modified gunmen used by the protagonist Kamina. Hence the very flourished touches of a large flag emblem on the shoulders and massive sunglasses. Those sunglasses can also be removed and used a blade and boomerang by Gurren and it’s stronger form, Gurren Lagaan. I particularly enjoyed the way that this suit looks in motion when animated in the series.
Gurren Lagaan(6) - the titular mech of the series, it’s probably the most “normally” shaped, but it’s design is so incredible it doesn’t matter. It formed during an absolutely awesome combination sequence between Gurren and the smaller suit Lagaan, which becomes its head. The headcrest is actually the broken crest from Enki. I love the way that it both keeps and enhances so many parts from Gurren. The colors and proportions are fantastic, giving the gunmen a heroic, powerful presence.
Sayrune(7) - the most… interesting application of the face gimmick, this mech has it’s facial features of the eyes and mouth exaggerated on the torso to give the mech a more “feminine” appearance. Listen I know it sounds crazy and maybe even horny but it works so well. It moves elegantly, pulls off some great poses by crossing its arms and leaning back to angle the mouth downward when speaking to people beneath it, it’s wild but works great. It can also transform into a giant horseshoe crab like scorpion mode.
Lazengann(8) - the gunmen of the early main villain of the series, Lordgenome, this suit is designed similarly to Gurren Lagaan and is very well done to be a contrasting suit. It inverts Gurren Lagaan’s color scheme, having a black body with red highlights, and white teeth. It also has a singular horn and elongated tail, unique to only this gunmen in the series. It can extend tentacle like pieces from its body for combat, similar to Gurren Lagaan’s drills.
Tengen Toppan Gurren Lagaan(9) - the final form of Gurren Lagaan, just… look at it! It’s a combined energy form of several other mechs, hence why it has several faces all over its body. It’s larger than galaxies, has a super awesome contrast given to its body for pure black shadows all over its body and neon green flames. I can’t perfectly summarize or compliment the design, it’s just so powerful and incredible. It’s not my favorite design of the series, but well respectable and perfect for the final of the story.
Might be my personal favorite now too. The articulation’s fantastic, way better than my first two kits. The one issue is some things like to pop off really easily, especially those swords. I might try to learn some peg thickening methods for them. The included stand was a neat treat though, I wasn’t expecting it! The stickers were also loads nicer to put on than my other HG, and these one’s feel like they serve such a nicer purpose than those horrible little pipe details on my GQ Zaku.
This turned out shockingly nice.
I’ve been a lifelong Transformers fan, more dedicated collector since early COVID. I had been hearing for a while in TF groups how good the new Blokees Transformers figures were, but I wasn’t interested in getting non-transforming figures(yet). My model kit journey began with really wanting an Evangelion figure after finishing the series start of 2025, but not being sure what company to buy from. And then, lo and behold, Blokees drops one. And I know for a fact I can trust them from TF fan opinions. So I get the Unit 01 kit, and love it! And then a select few TF figures as well(those Galaxy guys are adorable and great for the price). And then a few months past, and then on a trip very start of this month I stumble on into a fully Gunpla store that was super visually appearing. I discover them the Entry Grade class, realizing I don’t need hyper-specific tools to enjoy Gunpla!! So I buy the EG Nu, love it, and have now gotten a Zaku from a local collector store. I’ve never actually watched any Gundam media, but I’ve been interested in getting into a select few series to hear more of Kow Otani’s composition work.
Anyway, these things are really fun! I’m so glad I tried it out! I don’t want to go too crazy into them, again the media I don’t care about as much, but I’ll definitely be checking out some more in the future!
Was messing around with a Bandai Godzilla figure, who comes with a swappable breath weapon jaw… and saw an oddly familiar face when seen from afar.
Just got my first gold star in Gunner - very proud, felt like sharing.
I understand people out there all the time have such crazy levels, but after playing not fully casually but also not constantly, I felt really proud of this achievement. I’ve also been playing Driller and Engineer most of this time, and they’re broth 2-3 Bronze. To celebrate this achievement, I would also like to share my primary Gunner skin, which is my personal favorite I’ve ever put together - Soviet Santa.
Rock & Stone, Miners!!!