Hobi Max, Hobby Magazine Malaysia Version

EDITED : Added something at the end of the post for moar lulz XD

this is something that i never thought of before...and can't believe we can have a Malaysia version of hobby magazine...and i know about this from ManGyver5223..yesterday to be exact..

nice cover~ anyway lets go on.

please note that this is the very first issue of Hobi Max so there are some stuffs that make me wanna rant on it...so be prepare to read my thoughts on it

(click on the photos to see them in full size..and you may read the text in full size..but not for all photo it seems)




ok first the price. a copy of this cost RM 8..and this is something i dont really like on in term of first impression..

when i entered the bookstore, i quickly noticed a copy of it on the rack so when i picked it up, i was surprised. first it is THIN..didnt suit the price..so why did i say so?


see the comparison of the size with some hobby magazines in my collection..the most left is Model Kit World, the center is Dengeki Hobby and the right is Hobi Max..ok..MKW is priced RM 6/7 and Dengeki Hobby is RM 11.... and now see the thickness next

the top is HM, center is MKW and the bottom is DH..MKW got 63 pages, DH got 213 pages and HM got 65..see what i mean? this ruined my first impression a bit..


however lets go with the contents....i didnt snapped the photos of all pages though...

the contents, preface from editor and a survey form which they say you can win some gunplas with it...some sort of like lucky draw..lets see if im gonna give a try on it or not..

the preface from editor....just in case there are people who want to read it

ok the first topic on the book is on the history of Gundam..well, its Gundam's 30th anniversary..can't say much

after another page on history, you'll get the development in Gundam toys and Plastic kits..they got some nice coverage there...kinda good and still considerable IMO

following it up is on the main scoop for this issue, MG Astray Blue Frame 2nd Revise modeled by VAN, a Japanese Modeler (anyone know this guy?)
the text told you some brief information on the kit and the color data used by VAN when painting this ABF.

then more pictorial information about the modded kit, mostly on what kind of mod done at the parts and also some info on ABF's armaments..and on the next 2 pages (didnt snap the photos of that pages) they show modeling explanation (wall of text!) with some more pictures.

and this is something that got me interested. 'How-To-Build' section like in Dengeki (oh yes, anyone mind telling me if the one in this magazine is the same as in Dengeki? i think Dengeki should have the same How-To-Build ABF also since the one in Hobi Max gave me the Dengeki-feel. )

following ABF is MG Astray Red Frame modeled from NG 1/100 ARF and MG ABF. and it is done by Tatsuya Yonezu (i dont know this guy also hahaha) again this pages got the feel of Dengeki..

more pictures with modeling explanation by the modeler..looks okay IMO


then you got 2 pages showing Bandai 'newest' line, the Master Grade Figurerise with the 2 kits, Goku and Saiyan Goku..well, just some info on the kits and the gimmick incorporated in it..nothing fancy..

and then some pages on new Gunpla releases..looks closely and you'll see an epic failure..i'll show it after this.

HGAW GX, HG Astraea Type F and some Keropla and EvaPla.

after that we have 2 pages on the Mega Size RX-78-2..well, just like the promo poster we see in NgeeKhiong IMO (or do any issue of Dengeki got the same stuff??)

and now, here we got the section that i always wanna see the most

Malaysian Modelers~!!!

and here is RGM-79C GM Type C (south burning Unit 54) i remembered seeing this Custom GM in Plamo Outhere is im not mistaken..only remembered the awesome shield XD

when it came to this section, all i can say is 'Awesome~!'. when i heard about this Hobi Max, the only thing i got in my mind is modelers in Malaysia. I got some Malaysian modeler in my blogroll and i just want to know more ^^

and here is the heavily modded Banpresto Nu Gundam Head modded by Eric Yap of ebasenet.com. and of course i had seen this one last year though but still this is a good content

the GM modeled by Sam Mustafa/Sammy514 of Pureiirobotto!
and that Zaku is modeled by WhiteBase of ebasenet.com also


more photo and explanation on the kits featured ^^ look at that~ Pembina Model Malaysia~ (Malaysian Modelers)

and here they got pages on ebasenet.com. this is something that i find to be very good.by this, we can get to know more modelers along with their site and also to mention that maybe we can get our site mentioned in Hobi Max also..just a random guess from me hahahaha but it still can happen

and also a page on Malaysia's online hobby shops. okay i give a thumb up on this. also there is BAKUC entry form


slacking off from Gunpla a bit, we have..

and here we have a scratch-built Optimus Prime Bust..again similar with previous pages it also has the wall of text of explanation by the modeler ^^

and now is Armored Core's Mirage C03-Helios Vicktoria Ver.only show the completed kit with some info on the game.also got info on certain parts of the kit itself.

and this is the latest product from Soul Of Chogokin lineups, the Daitarn 3.Also with info on it.

and on these pages is Chogokin Getter 1. SH Figuarts Ultra Act and some Kamen Rider Figuarts. Just some basic info on them.

Now you got some Hot Toys stuff.Featured here are War Machine and Michael Jackson (Bad Ver) but I'm not into them so didn't give good reading on it hahaha

more Hot Toys..Iron Man Bust, Sarah Connor, Lt. Aldo Raine and T-800..

also they got some pages for PVC figures..featured here is Alphard, Yuzuko Hayakawa, Buzz Lightyear from Medicom and hey~! look at that~! its Reimu~!!!


Revoltech stuff.featured Revos are Alien, Daimajin, Gyaos, Gamera (they mis-named it as Daimajin) and Jack Skellington..

and at the back cover is Hobi Max issue 2 which will be out in July.

okay, so far i found this magazine is good. As matter of fact, they got modelers' works featured is something anticipated from this book. But they should allocated more pages for local modelers as in this issue they got 3 local modelers and 3 Japanese modelers.i understand that its hard to track down modelers in Malaysia but hopefully they can do such in future. This is the first issue so it still got flaws =) soon they'll improve themselves =D

speaking of flaws, i had noticed some flaws and some of them are fatal flaws.I do understand that this is the first issue and flaws are unavoidable but some of these flaws got into my inconsideration...

first I'm making classification on the flaws i want to point out here.

1- Spelling Flaws= it might be normal but when it is repeated it is not normal anymore.Also Spelling flaws that lead to factual error.This one is not good.

2-Translation of modeling terms= this one is a must for me to pint it out. From my observations, it seems this magazine use direct translation for the texts from English text and Japanese text into Malay.Maybe they use Google Translate? lol hahahhaa dunno but due to this direct translation, some sentences got weird structure, meaning and even got the translated text to be misleading <--Fatal error also when some terms got translated, they turn out to be...lame and weird..

3-Direct Translations= Due to direct translation, they even got some terms that should be okay untranslated to look bad..I'll show you what i mean..and this one make me to have face palms... also there are 'rojaks' aka mixed language which make the texts look bad okay lets see the flaws

you want DBP to shout at you? collectors =/= kolektors!!!

Luckily they don't spell it as 'spender'........but still...

how they got 'Jet Stream Attack' translated... better if they got it as 'Hembusan Arus'..

ahem ahem...where's the 'R'??? if this is done once it is okay..

but...

below that text they, again, failed spelling 'FIGURATION'..notice that they got the 'E' in 'composite' missing

some more spelling error

some terms didn't have its term in other language..in this case the term 'Seam lines'..2 words in English and we have 5 words in Malay..better if got translated as 'garisan Percantuman antara Komponen'

well, in Malay cotton swab is called 'putik kapas'..the same goes to abrasive paper..could they just type it as 'kertas pasir' or 'kertas las'??? instead of keep saying 'abrasive paper~ abrasive paper~'


let me translate the sentence with green underline..'This Sword is copying tools in Red Frame'....and i go 'WTF' this is what i mean by misleading things due to direct translation...

go on! go on! I'm gonna show the epic fail ever~!!

first they got 'wujud' spell wrong as 'wujub' . But the title caught me.. MG WING GUNDAM ZERO <--LOLWHUT!?? they even got 'Neo-Bird Mode' in the text as well!!! THIS IS A FATAL ERROR..FACTUAL ERROR WONT BE TOLERATED

some more spelling error and yeah..good job, direct translation..they give you can't-be-understand sentences in Malay...

a Fatal Spelling error...its not Miniput...ITS MILIPUT!!!! factual error= bad

same spelling error for the second time...


umm yeah..not very nice looking direct translation for 'Work-in-Progress'..better translated it as 'Proses Pembinaan'...


oh my..what can i say? spell a word wrongly for THREE TIMES is NOT normal!!!


oh yes, I think it is not really advantageous to have me reviewing this book *cough*error*cough*..I'm now had been a big fan of Touhou and always wished to see stuff related to Touhou to be presented in the best way..but I'm sorry Hobi Max..you did well enough to get me turned off....


Okay first is 'Boneka PVC' or PVC doll in English..Boneka DO NOT sounded nice..it should be 'Figura PVC'..also a VERY EPIC FAIL on Touhou..

"Berorientasikan Timur"
"berkaitkan Timur"
"Timur"

when translate those phrases above we'll get
"Eastern Oriental"
"Eastern Related"
"East/Eastern"

note : direct translation for 'Touhou' mean Eastern....AND YOU RUINED IT!!!!!!!! COULD YOU JUST KEEP IT AS TOUHOU????
(Hobi Max loses lots of points here)

ah well, another spelling error.............

Okay let me wrap this up

Overall this Hobi Max is good and a very nice as a complement to anyone who is into scale modeling/ Gunpla modeling

and yes I had listed the flaws than the good stuff..let me get it clear

this is the very first hobby magazine in Malay Language and i took this as a very important thing to change people perceptions on our hobby..when it came to first roll-out, the main thing they should aim for is impression. For me, getting a good first impression is a good start. But due to such minor flaws, it a bit ruined my impression on it.

i understand their efforts on making this and really appreciate it. But for a first issue, those flaws are not supposed to be in this magazine...and those epic failure due to translations and factual errors are just something that i can't take it easy.I Repeat, CAN'T TAKE IT EASY *shoots a yukkuri*

but then, it is just me and my selfish opinions..so feel free to disagree on me.
i want to apologize if any of you that read this post feels offended...

despite having me to be a bit disappointed in this first issue, i will still buy the second issue to see if they got it improved

if you're disagreeing with me so why not telling me your thoughts then?

also, Check this POST for moar lulz XD

(now that you had read a review on Hobi Max, Have a nice day =D)

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