So after the rest of the house was completed, I got the architect to start designing the hobby room. The pictures below are 1st drafts:

The first floor is the guest area. Since I don't expect to have many guests, only a sofa bed is required. All around the sofa bed are display cases and storage space.

The concept art for the 2nd floor are below:

The display/storage space downstairs doubles as the stairs, which is limited to 6 steps due to the limited size of the room. Once when the 2nd floor is reached, there will be a wall mount for my airsoft guns. Immediately after that is the workdesk. The exhaust fan built-in to the wall is about a meter or so away from the desk so there needs to be customized casing to redirect the exhaust fans suction feature.

The section right above the balcony will be all filled with storage racks. These are indicated by the boxes with 'X'es. Opposite the storage racks are display racks made of glass. According to the architect, glass will reduce the 'heaviness' of the loft. I don't really see much point in it as I'd rather have more storage space in the loft itself. However, seems like the space is pretty cramped and the bigger display cases are only 20cm deep. Can't really be of any use as storage space.

I'm still thinking over the concept, although construction material costs have been shooting up. But I really want to get this right.

First up is Bandai's VF-25 from Macross Frontier. Looks like it's fully transformable, which usually means the proportions in all modes would be compromised. However, they seemed to have done a pretty good job although the details aren't up to Hasegawa's standards. Now I just hope they release all the versions of the VF-25. So far, 4 versions have been seen in the anime. What was a pleasant surprise is a prototype of the Vajra. I really hope they will release this one.

One of the biggest news is (finally) the Guntank is being given the MG treatment. This would finally complete everyone's Operation V set. Seems like they will also release a remote controlled version which can even simulate cannon firing. Just have to wait and see how it turns out. Some other notable releases would be B-Club's 1/144 GM Canal from the manga series Ecole Du' Ciel, which is a must get for me. The Zaku Cannon from Gundam MSV is also getting an MG release. Not sure yet if this is the original MSV version or the one from 08th MS Team. Then there's the Desert Zaku which B-Club will release as a conversion kit, which frankly baffles me. Knowing gunpla fans, the Desert Zaku would be a popular release and for Bandai to choose the resin route (i.e. expensive) doesn't make sense to me.

Lastly, Tokyo-Marui has announced their upcoming airsoft releases and damn, they are must gets for me. First up is the AKS-74U with blowback action. I've always wanted one of these in my collection. Also upcoming is the Colt 45 MEU pistol! Oh wow... what can I say? A modern Colt 45! Skirmishable, powerful, accurate and reliable straight out of the box. Being a Marui pistol, it's going to be reasonably priced too! Western Arms might make the best Colt 45 replicas, but they cost a lot more and are not as skirmishable. Die die must buy!

Final production shots of the HGUC Sazabi are now out and I like it. I think Bandai finally nailed the 'toughness' and bulky look that the Sazabi had in the anime. The MG version was kinda too lithe for my liking. I can probably resist getting this one but again, I think it's really nice looking.

Akohobby has been quietly releasing very nice aftermarket modification kits for Gunpla. Their latest release is a conversion of the RX-78-2 OYW into the RGM-79SC Sniper Custom. Unlike their previous releases, the parts are made of injection plastic instead of resin. Pre-orders are being taken and I doubt I can resist this one. Cripes.

Lastly, Kotobukiya has announced the next release in their HMM Zoids line. And it's a really interesting one. The worm-like Molga. I remember owning the original Tomy release and it's action feature was actually quite nice. Of course, this version is going for aesthetics and to be honest, I'm not sure it's poseable in any meaningful way. Still, they will include the huge cannon to mount on the back of the Molga which is a nice touch.