VF-19S

Change of gear! While i wait for other stuff to arrive. :)

Picked this up coupla weeks ago at CSC, was kinda surprised cos it's actually kinda hard to get. Plus less than a hundred, so mai tu liao!

It's part of a series of 4 valks released back in the 90's, of which i missed out this piece. Condition was surprisingly good, with all the parts intact, along with the instruction guide and sticker sheet (which had already been applied)

This guy was selling tons of retro tf's/mecha/macross stuff; he had a Transformers Victory Star Saber for $260!

Update for the week! Mini Tank

I don't ever remember this released in Singapore, apparently this mini vehicle and anothe(Shadow Attack Trike) were Europe only releases. Actually they seemed to get the cooler vehicles later. :P

The Shadow mini-tank is kinda simplistic, shows how the designs kinda tapered off during the later part of the toy releases.

Cool thing though, this tank is actually meant to fit under another vehicle, the Shadow Upriser.

Another week comes and goes!

Ahhh, time flies man. :p it's gonna be the Lunar New Year in slightly over 2 weeks! Still haven't gotten over Christmas yet man, sheesh! :p

Picked up a shadow raider from Ebay, boxed and unapplied stickers! :D The one in the foreground is the Mattel version, that was from another purchase and the power deploy features don't work well, looks good as it is already though! :p The one in the back is the coleco version. Very subtle differences. :)

Sunday Approaches! Toys Part 2

Well, let's finish off with my top 10 favorite toys shall we? :)

6 . Gundam

There was VERY little Gundam stuff in the 80's compared to the quality and volume of the stuff they put out today! I remember my dad buying a chogokin gundam for me when i was a kid, it was from a departmental store that used to be at the basement of Peninsula Plaza. :) It was only later in the early 90's that the model kits started being imported into Singapore. Nowadays there's just too much around, too expensive, and a lot of low quality stuff. :(

Favourite Item - Gundam! In his many incarnations...

Wanted but never got - Hmmm, some of the older die-cast stuff i guess? :)


7. Macross

Even HARDER to get! You'd come across the orginal takatoku stuff at OG in chinatown... man, that was TOY HEAVEN back then! Even NTUC at gardens had the smaller versions that were kinda flimsy. :) I remember watching the series in Mandarin on SBC last time... i think i still have the sticker book too! :)

Favourite Item - A vintage 1/55 VF-1S Strike Valkyrie which i bought from the old model shop in centerpoint. (Now it's at Concorde hotel)

Wanted but never got - The vintage armored valks, think they were so cool, buy Yamato has reissued very nice 1/60 scale ones with tons of detail!


8. Starcom

I think starcom was way ahead of it's time when it was released; it had motorised features which didn't require batteries, and had figures with magnets on the boots which activated features for some sets, OR you could stick on your fridge! :p

This i remember buying from Oriental Emporium's toy section in Hougang (Now near Kovan MRT). We had the starmax bomber, starwolf and the 2 bases... they're STILL somewhere around, but recently have been re-collecting some old ones again. :)

Sadly, the TV series was weak, especially compared against something like MASK. It didn't catch on in US, but did quite well in Europe.

Favourite Item - Shadowbat! I've always thought that the bad guys looked cooler. :) Esp fierce with 2 shadow parasites attached and the invader in the cargo bay.

Wanted but never got - It's possible to buy most from Ebay given some time/patience. :)


9. Vintage Chogokin Japanese Mecha

These were again sourced from various locations, OG again being a GREAT place to get these cos they brought in tons of them. :) Bandai has made better versions of these nowadays, so the vintages will remain a memory of how things used to be, and how technology has improved. :)

Favourite Item - I think it would be the classic zambot 3 figure my auntie bought for me; it was a combiner, a small robot will fit into this tank which changed into the torso of the bigger robot. The legs were some flying spaceship. :)

Wanted but never got - I wanted these little metal lighters that transformed into robots. :) Call Gold Lightarn, luckily Bandai reissued them and also a new version to boot! :D


10. Game and Watch handhelds

Ahhh, who'd though we'd be playing with the granddaddy of handhelds back in the day? We have sure come; with PSP, NDS and iPhones ruling the handheld industry.

I remember having Fireman and that one where you catch the chicken eggs. :P Western bar was the king of games during Primary school. :) If you had that you also had a lot of friends. :p


So there it is! The toys of my childhood! Scary thing is that what i'm still collecting now are re-issues or improvements of the same toy lines! :p

Weekend!

Finally! Only the first week of the month, but darned shacked still. :p Well, need to readjust back to working life again!

Anyways, check out this guys photography, taken from the BACK OF HIS GARDEN no less! :P No need for billion dollar hubble telescopes!

http://www.steves-astro.com/

The first day!

Whew! Survived the first day of work! I guess that most people are not back yet as office was relatively quiet... tomorrow will be a MADHOUSE! (0_0)

What are your top 10 favorite toys? As we all grew up, most of what we collected 20 years ago has suddenly rekindled a small piece of nostalgia in all of us, it's like finding a missing part of your childhood, or fulfilling a dream from the past. It's surely a sign of growing old though! Amazing how seeing these toys can bring back specific memories.... ahhh. :)

Here are my favourite toys in no particular order :


1. Transformers

I guess this would still be my favourite series, i can still remember Toy's R Us at Marine Parade with ROWS of carded arielbots or constructicons.. no mad scalper dash like nowadays.... The newer movie items don't really catch my fancy, there's no... symmetry... :p

Favourite Item - Metroplex!
Wanted but never got - Not much really since the older stuff has been reissued mostly.. maybe shockwave?


2. Star Wars

I think most boys born in the 70's would have had a SW figure or two.... so little poseability but so much fun... and they cost like, $5 then? Now it's almost $20 each!

Favourite Item - Millenium Falcon, classic, it's all yellowed though and missing parts!
Wanted but never got - B-Wing, saw this at Toy's R Us again, it was this, or the Falcon... took the falcon. Lotsa reissues, but didn't get! :p


3. GI JOE

Love the little figures, used to go to the basement toy shop at USSC to buy from the fat spectacled uncle. :p also $5 bucks a pop. I only collected the bad guys though, cos prob they look like robots?

Favourite Item - The humble Viper Trooper. Simple elegant design.
Wanted but never got - Terror Drome! Saw this at Wisma Toys R Us loooonngggg ago, they would suspend the box from the topmost shelf out for reach.. it cost $300 bucks, way out of my budget then. :p And it was HUGE!


4. M.A.S.K

"Masked crusaders working overtime, fighting crime, fighting crime!" Matt Trakker's such an ass, making his people work OT! But seriously, who hasn't heard of MASK? It was also later that i found it stood for "Mobile Armored Strike Kommand" Kommand? Haha!

The cartoon series was excellent, and the accompanying toys also had outstanding playability that matched the cartoons; that was probably why it was so popular!

Favourite Item - Condor! It was my first mask toy. :) Toys R us again. i Still have the old price ad for it!
Wanted but never got - Goliath. Still available on Ebay, but too lazy to start over again.. :P maybe one day!


5 . LEGO

I have and still collect LEGO today! It has really come a loonnggg way since the old classic space days... i 've been picking up the older series online, and the new Star Wars sets and Modular Buildings are really nice!

Favourite Item - Home One Mon Calamari hanger (7754) - It's what started me off again on this (expensive) hobby!
Wanted but never got - Hmmmm, probably an old classic space set, it's quite easy to find old sets... just how much you're willing to pay! And these can cost crazy amounts!


Ok, that's 5 for today, next five are for the next post! :D

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Ok, i know i should cut down on the toys i buy.. i HAVE! It's one of my resolutions for this year. :) Hardly buy any Gundam/Macross/Anime stuff now (which is darned expensive cos of the inflated yen), of course, 1 or 2 girly figs here and there (how can i resist?).

I've got quite a fair bit of LEGO (too much already if you ask me!), but thankfully i only collect certain series from LEGO only... :p

But THIS... the moment i saw it revealed on the website, i knew i had to have it! This is wifey's present to me, so yes, i am a bit guilty about the price. :p

This beaut is the 1/144 scale Space Shuttle Endeavour :

Package comes in a marked cardboard box; the actual package comes wrapped in tracing paper to prevent scratches. Removing the slipcover, you'll see the inner packaging; there's no tape so you need no worry about tearing anything. Once you open the inner box, you'll be greeted by the instruction manual and some note on the cargo bay. In the bag containing the manual, there's an acrylic plate with a picture of the surface of the earth, so you can replicate a spacewalk diorama. :)

Next up are the actual items, all are packed very nicely in foam cutouts, you see the ext fuel tank, boosters, shuttle and astronauts. Detail on the shuttle is good!

Even the heat tiles are moulded into the underside! :) The fuel tank literally weighs a ton.. think it's 1kg all on it's own, god knows what they put into the thing! Looks and feels like a DU round haha! :p

So there it is, a preview of the Shuttle from Bandai.... worth it? Definately. :) Once i get a proper display case for it, i'll probably set it up!

HAPPY 2011!

Ahhh, it's that time of year again, like the big guy just presses this reset button he has, and wipes a clean slate for the year... you know, i think time just consists of the same 365 days recycled, all we humans do is just to add up the numbers! :)

So, new year, new blog? Maybe a design change, looks a bit cooler. I can promise to update this blog as much as i can, but with new commitments, time is now even more precious! ;)

Well, what should this blog be about? As the title is and still is, it'll be a place for me to RANT about anything and everything under the sun! :D Hopefully i can have more interesting items to put up! :)

Once again, here's wishing all a bigger, brighter, happier, healthier and huat'er new year for 2011! :D