Gunpla #28 - HGUC Zeta Plus C1 Review

Finally, my very first P-Bandai kit. I always love the Zeta Plus C1 (ZPC1) design since long time ago, but never get interested enough to get the MG version since it was quite old, too big and poorly articulated (based on several reviews). Hence, when Bandai finally announced that ZPC1 will be released in HGUC as a P-Bandai in November, I hastily started to hunt it on many online stores. After a week of searching, I finally got one from a well-known shop in Fukuoka.

The box contains 14 runners in total. 11 of them are obviously the runners of HGUC Zeta Plus A1 (Unicorn version), which some of them are partially modified (eg. no rifle runners), and the remaining 3 runners (G1, G2 and H) are special for this kit.  The foil sticker is almost similar, with the blue eyes, lenses and cameras replacing the reds of the normal release. The transparent decal sticker sheet includes two options for unit 02 and 03 of ZPC1. I found it's quite funny that the special manual for ZPC1 includes English translation, while the kit itself is an online exclusive released only in Japan.

OK. Now, let's talk about the building process. I should admit that this is one of the funnest builds I've ever experienced, which probably because it's my first P-Bandai kit. It's actually no different with other normal HG kits, but we should follow two manuals instead of one, and since it's a limited kit, I tried to build much more carefully than usual, especially for the special parts.

ZPC1 is actually a variant of ZPA1, hence you can expect some similarities between those machines. ZPC1 though, has different crotch part. The color of vents at the back of its legs is grey instead of white. The eyes, lens and cameras of ZPC1 are blue instead of red. Furthermore, ZPC1 has four additional thrusters at the back pack and four extra propellant tanks attached on the wings. Finally, ZPC1 utilizes a beam smart gun instead of ordinary beam rifle, and equipped with a coaxial disc radome for long-range attack. Storyline wise, ZPC1 is specifically designed for long-range space combat compared to ZPA1 which is primarily designed to operate in the Earth atmosphere.

In spite of the bulky builds and equipped with a massive beam smart gun, the articulation of this kit is surprisingly good. The arms and legs could be moved quite freely for many poses. The kit could even be able to kneel! However, the hip beam cannons sometimes clashed with the back skirts for more dynamic poses. It's also difficult to have the neck and waist turn to left or right.

Similar to ZPA1, this kit also equipped with two beam sabers (with two hilts) and there's trigger right hand from ZPA1 as well. Furthermore, there are some spare parts available of the crotch, beam cannons, leg vents and shield unit of ZPA1. Not bad :-)

The stickers and foils are really good and blend well with the kit, especially for the disc radome.

If we talk about Zeta Plus, of course, we should not forget about the wave rider mode. And how should I describe the wave rider mode of ZPC1? Only one word:

BADASS!!!

The transformation (read: partsformation) of ZPC1 is almost similar with ZPA1. I like it better than delta plus since we only need to swap 3 parts for making the wave rider mode.

Now the conclusion.

Is the kit good? Absolutely.  Nice details, cool color scheme, good articulation, and badass wave rider mode. This is by far one of the best HG kits I've ever had.

Then, should you buy this kit?? Yes .... and No!

OK. I should be honest, this kit is ridiculously expensive! For a partsformer HG, it costs around 3000 yen (in Japan) and should be more expensive abroad since it's a freaking limited kit. With the same price, you could buy two HG kits, or even a transformable MG ZPC1!!

But, hey, it's an exclusive kit, it's cool and in 1/144 scale, that means, it will look really nice on your desk or for showing-off to your friends. And for a Zeta Plus fan, it's definitely a must buy. Otherwise .. don't waste your money for this kit.

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MSZ-006C1 Zeta Plus C1

Pros:

• Amazing design, nice detail, cool color schemes
• Good articulation 
• Great sticker and foils
• Contains spare parts for Zeta Plus A1 (normal release) 
• BADASS WAVE RIDER MODE!!

Cons:

• (Too) Expensive for a partsformer HG

Research Note #6 - Beberapa Script Fortran Serba Guna

Berikut ini adalah beberapa fungsi/statement Fortran yang biasa digunakan untuk berbagai keperluan (termasuk riset). Daftar script ini bisa diperbaharui kapan saja, sesuai kebutuhan. Yang perlu diperhatikan, untuk script Fortran pada tulisan ini, saya menggunakan gfortran compiler (GCC) versi 4.8.1 di Windows (MinGW).

Catatan:
(Last updated: Dec 14, 2016)
Judul tulisan ini sedikit diubah agar tidak bias. Versi GCC juga ditambahkan.

Selamat menikmati.

1. Deklarasi variabel

implicit none

character :: line,the_str,inputfile,outputfile

character(len=100) :: thn,yearstr

integer :: year,month,day,maxyear,maxmonth,maxday,obstime

integer*2 :: tmi_tot_px,tmi_rain_px,pr_tot_px,pr_rain_px

integer*4 :: comb_tot_px, comb_rain_px

real :: tmi_mean_rain,pr_mean_rain,comb_mean_rain

parameter (XDIM=1440,YDIM=720,undef=-999)

Catatan:

• Karakter '::' d antara jenis variabel dan nama variabel bisa diabaikan.
• 'Implicit none' diletakkan sebelum deklarasi variabel. Tanpa 'implicit none', variabel dengan nama i, j, k, l, m dan n akan dianggap integer, dan lainnya dianggap real. Statement ini harus digunakan untuk menghindari kebingungan yg akan muncul nantinya.
• Data character tanpa opsi 'len' hanya memuat 1 karakter.
• Integer *2 untuk integer 2 byte, integer*4 untuk integer 4 byte.
• Parameter digunakan untuk menentukan konstanta.

2. Deklarasi array

real, dimension (1:XDIM,1:YDIM) :: grid_val 

atau

real grid_val(XDIM, YDIM)

Catatan:

• Dimension berguna untuk menentukan awal indeks array (misalnya 0, 1 atau 2 dll). Tanpa dimension, indeks array akan dimulai dari 1.

3. Membuka file binary

open(unit_no,file=[filename],form='unformatted', access='direct',recl=[byte]*[xdim]*[ydim],status=[fstatus])
...
close(unit_no)

Catatan:

• Unit_no adalah integer antara 1 sampai 99. Hindari 5 dan 6 karena merupakan reserved number (5=standard input, 6=standard output).
• Filename harus berjenis karakter. 
• Recl harus ada. Byte bisa 2 (2 byte) atau 4 (4 byte). 
• Fstatus bisa 'old' bila hanya membuka, 'replace' bila ingin memodifikasi file.  

4. Membuka file teks/ASCII

open(unit_no,file=[filename],form='formatted',status=[status])

...
close(unit_no)

Catatan:

• Opsi form bisa diabaikan.
• Status sama aturannya dengan file binary.
• Aturan lain sama dengan file binary.

5. Looping

Ada beberapa cara. Misalnya:

do n=[start],[end] 

 ...

end do 

atau,

n=[start]

do while(n<=[end])

   ...

  n=n+1

end do

Catatan:

• Looping dengan 'while' harus menyertakan persamaan untuk counter (misal n=n+1) untuk menghindari looping tanpa akhir, kecuali pada kasus-kasus tertentu.

6. Komentar
Komentar bisa menggunakan 1 baris penuh (dengan 'c') atau pada baris yang sama di belakang script (dengan '!').

c --------------- The start of MAJOR comments #1 ----------------------------------
c This part will determine the starting and ending time of processed data files
c and observation time/type

write(*,'(a)',advance='no') ' Enter the starting year: '


day=1    ! Change this only if you want to start day other than 1. 

7. Kondisional

Ada dua jenis statement kondisional yang biasa digunakan. Yang pertama dan paling umum digunakan adalah (if .. then .. else .. end if) untuk dua atau tiga pilihan. Bila pilihannya banyak, bisa menggunakan (select .. case .. end select).

if ([cond1] [operator1] [cond2] [operator2] ... [condn]) then
 ...
else
 ...
end if

Catatan:

• Operator bisa berupa boolean (misal: '.and.', 'or' dll) atau matematika (misal: '==', '=/', '<=' dll)

select case ([var_name])
case ([cond1,cond2:cond3])
 ...
case ([condA,condB,...,condn])
 ...
case default
 ...
end select

Catatan:

• Koma digunakan untuk memisahkan kondisi tunggal, colon (:) digunakan untuk kondisi dengan selang tertentu.
• 'Case default' kurang lebih sama dengan 'else'.

8. Membaca file teks/ASCII baris demi baris sampai akhir file

do while (1.eq.1)                       

read(unit_no,END=500) line 

 ... 

end do

 ...

500 [CONTINUE or some script]
end

Catatan:

• Unit_no (unit number) harus sama dengan unit_no file yang hendak dibaca .
• Line number tidak harus 500. 

9. Memasukkan data file binary ke dalam array
Untuk array 2 dimensi (misalnya matriks array 10x10):

implicit none
parameter (XDIM=10,YDIM=10)
 ... 
do y=1,10
 do x=1,10
  read([unit_no],rec=1) ((rain(x,y),x=1,XDIM),y=1,YDIM)
 end do
end do  

Catatan:

• Rec=1 untuk akses direct.
• Untuk array 3 dimensi dst, tinggal tambahkan kurung di belakang statement read. Jangan lupa deklarasikan komponen arraynya. Contoh:

  read([unit_no],rec=1) (((rain(x,y,z),x=1,XDIM),y=1,YDIM),z=1,ZDIM)
     
 (Bersambung ...)

Gunpla #27 - HGUC Delta Plus Review

It's been almost a year since I built my last kit (Jegan ECOAS), and finally today, I completed the Delta Plus. It's become my first kit I built after living in Japan (started from last April). Tell the truth, I always want to build Delta Plus from long time ago, but somehow, I've always ended up buying another kit. Seriously, I took a great risk from building the Delta Plus since I used very inappropriate tools (too much bigger nipper and cutter), at a very inappropriate place (my laboratory), during inappropriate time (daytime, on week days). Fortunately, nobody found out what I did, and the result is (almost) perfect, and now, the kit's standing on top of my desk. I hope it could help lightening up my 'boring' and 'monotonous' daily academic life.

Delta Plus, as you may already know, was developed from the-never-constructed Delta Gundam during the Zeta Project. If only Anaheim Electronics' engineers could solve the problem with its frame strength, Char Aznable probably would get a transformable mobile suit instead of Hyaku Shiki. The Delta Plus is a perfect reminiscence of both Delta Gundam and Hyaku Shiki, during the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn era.

Those "eyes" ... XD

This mobile suit is transformable between mobile suit mode and wave rider mode. And since it's a HG kit, we could just expect a "partsformer", instead of "transformer" mobile suit (no surprise here). Nevertheless, I love the Delta Plus design, not merely because its similarity with Hyaku Shiki, but also its color scheme (looks so militaristic) and of course, its ability to transform. The kit itself is quite solid and sturdy, no loose connections so far (for my case). The best part of this kit without a doubt are its sexy legs. The exposed "inner frame" gives a detail and complex feeling of the mobile suit. Furthermore, the design of the head is also top notch. I never get tired to see those menacing red eyes behind the transparent visor of Delta Plus.

Many reviews stated that this kit lacks articulation which I agree with. It's pretty difficult to pose the Delta Plus due the limited movement by shoulders, upper arm "skirt", waist, legs and head. I also think the beam rifle is a little bit to long, and when combined with the lack of open hands just makes shooting pose looks awkward.

Another drawback of this kit is the lack of accessories. You only get 1 beam rifle, 1 shield, 2 clear beam saber parts, 2 fix (closed) hands, 1 beam saber hand (right) and 1 beam rifle hand. That's all. I wonder why Bandai only gave us one beam saber hilt even though there are 2 beam saber parts. It's also disappointing to have only right beam saber hand since we could not handle it on the left hand (as MG Delta Plus).

Nevertheless, everybody know the main bonus offered by this kit: WAVE RIDER MODE! Just by looking at it, I'm sure nobody would deny that wave rider mode of Delta Plus is really amazing. It looks very similar with the fighters from Macross series.

The transformation was done by replacing some body parts with special transformation parts. Despite straightforward, the transformation is quite complicated, especially with the legs. Since there's a peg on the shield part, you'll have another option to put the beam rifle under the main body instead of under the wings as I shown here. Once it's finished and put on an action base, you could expect one of the best display on your desk. It's really beautiful to watch it again and again, thus I guess I'll leave it on this mode for awhile. 

  

My conclusion of this kit? Well, despite the lacks of articulation and accessories, HGUC Delta Plus is a solid kit with cool design, details and color scheme. The wave rider mode is the best part of this kit, and I suggest any UC fans should have it. 

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MSN-001A1 Delta Plus

Pros:

• Cool design and badass color scheme
• Sturdy parts and nice details
• WAVE RIDER MODE!!

 Cons:

• Lack articulations
• Lack of accessories
• Foil sticker only, no marking