2024/08/23 | SEE YOU NEXT FIGHT!
I would like to, if I may, provide you with an update on the archive.
At this time, the final volume for Mobile Fighter G Gundam is now uploaded and available, completing yet another series! This was also the first series done with my new scanner, and the first to add the disc labels, making this the first truly complete series here! However, I do plan on going back and doing the discs for all prior uploads over time, and likely what I will be doing here and there on my 2-month hiatus.
Yes, I upped it from 1 month to 2. My apologies.
I had forgotten that following the huge birthday month that is September, October is my wife and I's anniversary month, and I need to get more hours in so we can hopefully take some time off for that week, as well as wrap up my lingering art commissions.
That said, however, I will still be doing plenty of scanning in the down time, and the Gundam The Movie Mastergrade Box will be the next major set I'll be working on for the comeback in November.
Also, if you check above (or here, even) I have added a new catalogue page exclusively for the Gundam series on Laser Disc. It's sorted by each series in production order, with bonus items to be sprinkled in with whatever series they align with. Here, you can get a vague glimpse at every series on the format to anticipate their eventual addition to the site!
So, with all that said, I'll see you on the other side of 2 months!
Ready! GO!!
2024/08/10 | Completion
Hey all, OZKai here! (please don't sue, Scott)
Sorry for the lack of news posts here the last few weeks. Just trying to get some other stuff done, both IRL and other hobbies, aside from work kicking my ass. Beyond that, however, I've actually gone and finishing scanning all the remaining assets for the G Gundam releases to ease my workload for the next few weeks. (Vol.2~4 have thus far been added as of this writing!)
I'm still going to peck away at this weekly until the end of the G Gundam sets, which afterwards, I will be taking a month hiatus on updates.
The beginning of September is always a very busy time for me, so I don't want to over-burden myself during that time. I will still be scanning away to get a further backlog going, but I also still need to find time to go back to all my prior posts and scan the disc labels for them all. Which, as you know, is A LOT. After the hiatus, I may resort to either every other week or once a month postings, but with 2 or more items added per post, depending on the content. On the art side of things, I have a few commissions I need to get to, so I need to not overwork myself, and this is the easiest to just peck at in free moments with minimal stress.
In other, lighter and even jovial news, the final volumes of SD Gundam on LaserDisc have finally come in! Meaning that, by catalog number, I now have all of Mobile Suit Gundam on the dead format!
The only things technically missing are later pressing variants of the Z Gundam and Gundam ZZ Memorial Boxes, which have differing boxart and other small changes, but still share their first prints' catalog numbers and disc contents. I do plan to find these in time (and may even be watching a pair of the Z boxes as we speak), but they are not high priority. With this all done, I plan on taking a break on new obtainments for probably the rest of the year so my wallet can heal.
So with that all said, I'll have the end of G Gundam coming over the next couple weeks, with the final volumes being a small box set release. After that, outside of a few potential surprises here and there, I will see you all on the other side!
2024/07/20 | Chase After Wind
This week's postings finally start my scans for Mobile Fighter G Gundam with Vol.1. But, as a bonus, I've also posted the rare and odd-duck final-episode release of Mobile Suit Gundam from 1982. These two posts also introduce my ability to scan disc labels for full-sized LDs for the first time, thanks again to the new scanner acquired.
I'd also like to take this update to also announce, proudly, that I have finished obtaining all of Turn-A Gundam!
This means that all I am now missing is a few discs for SD Gundam, some of which are on the way currently, separating me from a complete collection of what of Mobile Suit Gundam was produced on the dead format. And I do have my eye on those missing discs, but I am scarce on the funds to execute right now.
As always, any help would be welcomed and appreciated to reach the finish line here.
2024/07/14 | A Special Present for Archive Freak
Sorry for the later-than-usual update, but I have good news!
Firstly, I have started a new page for LD Singles (the smaller 8" Laser Discs) under the Home Video category, as well as the first item for it: "ALL THAT GUNDAM," the promotional disc from 1989 for Gundam 0080. These items have been one of the few times I was able to scan disc labels, due to them being small enough to fit on my scan bed.
At least, that used to be the case.
Thanks to a VERY generous donor, the priority item from my hardware wish list has been obtained—The Epson WorkForce WF-7820 printer/copier/scanner/fax/space consumer! A machine so big it required me to completely re-do my desk setup!
But with this, and its scanner bed size of 13"x19" (Though only a capture area of 11.7"x17"), I can much more efficiently scan not only my LD jackets, inserts and even disc labels (!!), but I no longer have to take the storage boxes to my work to scan any longer!
Though the software included is tripping me up a bit, thus far, I've noticed zero quality change from my old scanner to this, so once I'm used to the new interface, this should be an all-around no-compromise positive.
But wait, I have one more piece of good news. Due to some luck and some sales on my artist side of things, I have finally obtained a few volumes of the elusive Turn-A Gundam LDs! (Also SD Gundam Mk-II.)
Not only these, but 2 more waves are on the way, getting me 3 discs shy of the whole series. As always, I will ask of all of you with the right eyes and connections to please keep a lookout for these for me and give me a heads up if anything turns up! The Wish List has been update with the missing volumes.
Getting them piecemeal like this, I fully expect duplicates at some point, so lots are perfectly helpful, and desired, if I'm being honest.
Next week should see the start of my next series project, so until then, SEE YOU NEXT FIGHT!
2024/07/06 | Music to your Eyes
Changing things up a little this week as I try to catch up on finishing larger projects, and thought it would be a good time to post both of the concert LDs I have for our most popular franchises on here (Check the bar above for new additions).
There may be some page construction coming soon as I try to figure out how to implement categories that won't see as many additions without making solo pages that just isolate 1 or 2 entries. As always, I'll update here once I've sorted it out.
I've also gone and updated the Wish List page again, this time adding hardware I've been eyeing to help streamline this process, including a new desk and, most importantly, a new larger scanner! (The model recommended by Gundam fandom legend Mark Simmons himself!)
If anyone is willing and able to help me out, you can donate to my Ko-fi on the side bar or check the list if you're feeling feisty enough to buy them directly!
2024/06/29 | Mid-year is mid
Sorry for the slow-down for the last couple weeks. Some new life stuff is coming up and as usual my projects are always the ones to suffer.
I ran a poll on Twitter a few weeks ago to help determine my next set of projects, and I wasn't too surprised by the winners, to be frank.
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That said, both of these are taking longer than I thought to get going.
A few other things of note, thanks to a not-so-anonymous contributor, I now have all of The Vision of ESCAFLOWNE, which means yet more entries for 1996! (I really do need to find a better way to organize my page, but alphabetically is just going to make it "M" heavy...)
I've also gotten a slew of other smaller OVA series and movies to help round off slower times, and I think these will be of high interest.
2024/06/09 | Scans in the Pocket
Not a big update today, but a couple things I wanted to note.
First, I've temporarily taken down the Promotional page while I work on its purpose and place on the site at large. The items themselves are still accessible from the update roll above. But second, I also wanted to note that today, the final volume of Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 "War in the Pocket" is up, completing another series on here!
And with that done, I'll be moving on to a few smaller titles while I prepare the next few much larger series to cover. I also need to begin work on more non-LDV posts to start filling out those categories a bit more.
2024/06/02 | Strikes Back!
A few weeks ago, I had a massive amount of help in trying to acquire my last missing Gundam series on the LD format—∀ Gundam (Called "Turn-A" Gundam). Sadly, that ended in vain, and no other listings have popped up anywhere since. But with some of that intake, I was able to get another rarity that had sat on my wish list since I started collecting LaserDiscs.
And unlike the Turn-A's, this one did not deal with a bid war, making it an easy obtainment!
The 1998 film POCKET MONSTERS the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back! has been acquired, and has already been implemented into the queue! There's a lot of tiny spotty damage across both sides of the jacket, but nothing too crazy not to clean up in due time. I'd like to thank all my supporters for their kind contributions, as without you all there was little chance of me getting this! Here's hoping the next time another lot of Turn-A discs crop up, I can be more successful...
2024/05/18 | Gone Astray
So, quite a change we got here, eh?
Turns out the prior name I had been going with was actually already being used by an established group. And rather than going back to the more convoluted title I had before, I thought I'd just go further away and come up with an entirely new title.
With that being said, welcome to ASTRAY SCANS!
No new items or changes are being applied just yet, just fixing all the URLs to links across the site (again) and getting all assets swapped over. If I missed anything, sound off on one of my mane SMs and I'll fix it post haste! Also, all updates will be in one rolling post, so hit that break below to see all past updates.
Once this is done in the next day or two, I'll finally be back to posting new items again, so please stay tuned!
2024/05/12 | Entering "Go Mode"
Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, but I'm happy to bring the news to you all that I've finally finished reformatting all prior posts on here, and everything should be presented in the new layout going forward! I do have the intention of doing other updates on a few pre-existing articles over time, but I also have a backlog of new items I need to start adding soon. With any luck, the next update will have some new content for you all!
I also have updated the Wish List and Scanning Queue to accommodate two new obtainments, one thanks to a very generous donor, and the other at a great bargain!
I also have a small bit of alternate versions of items on the way, but those are still a bit off. I'll update those once I receive them. In the meantime, gander around with confidence!
2024/04/28 | A Neon Genesis
No new posts yet, but I'm still waist-deep in reformatting all the
pre-existing listings, and am inching closer to the finish line! All of
the Gundam films and Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Laserdiscs
have seen their layouts updated, and I'm re-implementing the Box
postings into their respective included releases for posterity (Still
not sure how to do the individual boxes for Gundam X and Endless Waltz just yet).
I've also cleaned up the Wish List and Scan Queue to keep everything a bit more consistent.
Hopefully, the next update will see the completion of the renovations so I can begin on new content.
Until then!
2024/04/25 | Site Grand Re-Opening!
Long time, no see, welcome back!
And no, that's not a typo in the URL or logo, I've decided to simplify the naming to OZ archive!
I've been hard at work re-branding this page damn-near from scratch, and I think it's looking about as good as I can get from a Blogger page!
That said, there's still a lot of cleanup left to go behind the scenes, but I decided to go ahead and make the new version public anyway. Just know
that there are several posts that will not be to the new layout standard.
So as construction continues, mind the mess and I hope you enjoy what's here!