Day 1

This past weekend was Anime USA, a convention near Washington, DC. I had a phenomenal time playing video games, shopping around the dealers' rooms (spent a little too much!), and generally enjoying myself as much as I could. I think I've picked up a few new hobbies along the way - AMV-ing, and building models.
Many years ago, I got for Christmas a Talgeese III model. The Talgeese is a Gundam Wing mecha - a giant robot normally piloted by immature boys (Wing being no exception!) with some latent talent none else posses. In Wing, the Talgeese is the 'villian' suit for most of the series, and is piloted by two antagonists, Zechs and Treis. The Talgeese, in the series, is characterized by immense speed and lack of pilot concerns - piloting the Talgeese is like riding a motorcycle with the throttle always on full. If you can handle the mecha, it becomes a powerful weapon.
The Talgeese undergoes a few upgrades throughout the series - versions I, II, and finally III. I is the original mdel piloted by Zechs Merques for roughly half the series. Zechs moves on to the Epyon model, but the Talgeese is taken over by Treis Kushreinada toward the end. During the Zechs-to-Treis transition, the Talgeese is upgraded to its II-form. The II-form is essentially a more Talgeese Talgeese suit, being faster and stronger. Treis is defeated in Wing's epic final battle (which is still one of my favorite endings ever, of any anime), and the Talgeese II is destroyed.
A few years after the Gundam Wing series was aired, the sequel was released - Endless Waltz. Waltz was essentially Gundam with more mecha-porn in it. All the suits were upgraded, guns were bigger and stronger, and fights more flashy. The Talgeese underwent its final upgrade in Waltz, coming to screen as the III-form. The III-form is an even MORE Talgeese Talgeese - but with an added few weapons. The original Talgeese had a weapon called a Dober gun - the new Talgeese III has a massive Beam cannon, which is powerful enough to destroy an entire colony in one hit. It is among the most powerful weapons shot-for-shot in the entire series - and that's saying something for Gundam Wing. Additionally, the Talgeese III had new weapons over older models - 2 head-mounted vulcan cannons and a 'heat rod', a whip-like weapon copied from the Epyon of the original series.

Having received this model for Christmas, I decided to put my own touches on it. I wanted to paint it different colors, but through the course of my life have lost many of the pieces. I looked in my attic (where the old box remains!) but I was unable to find the legs or the most of the torso of the model. I decided to get a new one at Anime USA.

So today I started the Talgeese III take 2.