Toy shop Fantasy

Ever wanted your own toyshop? I do! Well if i had a hundred grand i would go after THIS auction on Ebay!

A little hard to believe, but seems the guy is really interested in selling the goods; i believe the stuff in the shop is actually worth more than a hundred grand.

And remember, pickup only! ;)

Muckin' about on a mucky day..

Picked up a foldable light tent from ArtFoto, just curious to see how it'd work. It's really very compact but keeping it is a killer; luckily there are instructions to this jigsaw puzzle!

Currently only have one light source, need at least 3 in total to get better overall coverage! But interesting effects when the light is in different areas.

Well, weather's gone crazy so to speak, been raining, then sunny, then rainy again. Hurricane Irene's sweeping through, so that probably's explains the sudden downpour. Met Wifey for lunch today, then popped over to pick up a reservation from tfh.... guess what? Saw most of the toy shop owners in SG picking up stock from him. WTF. :p

MR Stormtrooper Helmet

Got this as a present from wifey ( thanks dear! :)), but didn't have time to get the pics up for it! This is the Master Replicas limited edition "Hero" ANH Stormtrooper Helmet, 1:1 scale. It's cast of the "Hero" i.e more detailed helmet used in the ANH movie which had more details for closeups. MR cast this helmet off a "Stunt" version, as Lucasart wouldn't allow them to tear down the original Hero version helmet of course. But both versions had the same moulding way back then.











The helmet comes with two pairs of lenses (grey and green) and can be swapped out. Interior of the helmet is fully padded too. There were supposed to be 2,500 copies of the helmet made, but only 1,048 finally made it to the market. Interesting to note is that the helmet is asymetrical, much like those used on the screen. (the left side of the helmet seems to be smaller than the right). But this is as the helmets were cast back then. The ABS releases later from MR and eFX were the idealised versions, i.e symmetrical versions. I'm not a purist, so it doesn't bother me! :p








The first 500 pieces also came with a limited lithograph which is pretty cool.... :)









Later eFX also released a same LE version which was identical to the MR version, only major difference was the stand supplied with the helmet.

Books! Catherine/TF Vault

Couldn't resist picking up this book; must be the cover! :p This is the artbook for Catherine, a puzzle/romance hybrid type of game from Atlus, the makers of the "Persona" series of RPG's. I guess Atlus's taste for weird games is one thing fans like about it? ( And from the cover you'd think it was ANOTHER type of game! :p ).

Above is one of the tamer pics i could post... ;) Next up is "Transformers : Vault", which is a pretty nice book telling how it all begans as a toy range in Japan totally unrelated to the Transformers we know, before a company called Hasbro rebranded it, gave it a storyline.... and you know how it goes from there!

There are pretty cool items in the book; repro catalogs and instruction sheets, even the tech specs and the decoder too! :)

Quite a few pics of rare prototypes and unseen designs also.

Hasbro Darth Vader Force FX Saber

Picked up a Hasbro Darth Vader Lightsaber from the recent STGCC at Suntec (well, technically wasn't me who bought it, actually asked my bro-in-law who was there still to pick it up for me!).

Bought it from a shop-that-shall-not-be-named cos i don't really like them, BUT it was cheaper than the retail, so who cares? :p Anyway, the is the 'collectors' edition of the saber by Hasro Signature; after Master Replicas lost the license to Star Wars, Hasbro picked up the sabers where MR left off.

Apparently both versions are identical except for the electronics, the saber itself is pretty hefty; definate almost a KG. It is LED lit, and features the power up/down sound, the idle hum and saber clash sounds like the previous releases. Also, this one has a removable blade, so you can choose to walk around with just the hilt strapped to your belt (they give the belt clip too.)

Kinda cool if you've always wanted to be a pretend jedi haha, i still remember vividly asking my parents to buy one back for me way back when i was staying at jalan pacheli in gardens..... and they bought stickers for me instead... disappointed i was. :p

Well, isn't that what growing old is about? :) You go out and buy back the things you couldn't afford then! And some stuff has definately improved. I even have my own young jedi now. ;)

STGCC 2011

The STGCC (Singapore Toy Game & Comic Convention) was held this weekend on the 20th and 21st Aug. So guess that was the highlight for the week! (Still think they should lower the $10 entry fee!) Was not expecting too much, cos am not too much into comics nowadays, but went there with my bud colin, so at least the company was good! ;) Hot Toys was there, and they were the main draw for the show. (Along with the Exclusives from them of course, which are now being sold off on Evilbay at a tidy profit!)

HT was there of course, to make wallets cry again, with previews of MANY upcoming releases. Their handiwork and detail is amazing, so kudos to them to taking 1/6 scale to a new level. Usual suspects were there, i guess not THAT many toy shops compared to the L2P event, but then again, that was a free event, so cannot complain. :p

Here's hoping next year show will have some anti-scalper measures implemented! :p

Hot Toys Iron Man MK VI

Picked up a Hot Toys Iron Man Mk VI figure from CSC last week, couldn't resist cos i was kinda looking for a reasonably priced one for a while already! Even stranger was that it was not a shop i'd usually frequent too. :p

Anyways, the detail/paintjob on this is so much better than the first MKIII release, Hot Toys has really upped the ante for 1/6 figs!

This week the STGCC is also in town; was there yesterday and the Hot Toys booth was the central focus of the whole show. Pics for that later! :)

Birthday Hoot! - Part Uno

Got this Cool Eva Revoltech figure from my best bud for my man-birthday (saying in a low voice now) Thanks Dude! ;)

My bro bought me the DK Lego Harry Potter book..... poison!!!! :p Love it. Thanks Bro. :)

Captain America

Caught the new Captain America movie ( Not THIS one! ) last Saturday with my bud at Cathay Cinema, i was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the show was ( probably on par with the first Iron Man movie ). I gues when expectations are not too high, the film somehow is always better! I definately enjoyed it more than the most recent transformers movie!

The movie kind of follows the original storyline, with a few tweaks here and there, but the actors/actresses and pacing of the story is top notch. Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull is kinda wasted here; a bit too much Agent Smith/Elrond vibes from him, although he's a great actor. Plus the PG rated effects for the Red Skull are a bit tame. :p

Well, the Avengers trailer at the end of the movie was the icing on the already very tasty cake! It was a nerdgasm of the coolest movie heroes to appear on screen so far! Can't wait till May 2012 for this! Definately looking forward to the Blu-ray release, AND my wallet is not looking forward to the eventual Hot Toys releases! :D

Big ol' 35!

Hooah! Never thought the day would come when i hit the big ol' three-five! :p Well, i don't FEEL any different really; maybe just a coupla more grey hairs, less energy and so-on, but yup, still generally the same! ;)

Well, i'd like to thank the big guy up there for letting me live up to this day, i think a lot of things in life aren't possible without his intervention. And i'd also like to thank my parents for taking care of me... i realise it isn't an easy job, but they rose up to the occasion, and i guess i didn't turn out TOO bad! ;)

Duke Nukem Forever!.... NOT!

Oh Gawd, how do i even start? This game WOULD have been great.... IF IT WAS RELEASED 12 YEARS AGO! That's how long it took to develop, in between all the stops and starts, it's really AMAZING it actually got to see the light of the day!

Problem is, the game is sadly outdated by today's standards; blocky animation, substandard graphics, horrendous loading times and unimaginative gameplay. PLUS they nerfed the amount of weapons he can carry at any one time.... TWO?!?! WTF? ( Although they're going to increase it to 4 for the next update, too late anyway, it's off my system )

This game was OBVIOUSLY released to get a quick buck from gamers who still yearned for Duke after all these years. I LOVED Duke3D, but this is too little too late, let's hope whatever iteration Duke appears in next will do some justice to his character!

Meanwhile i'll stick to FEAR3 thank you; faster, smoother graphics and a somewhat intelligible storyline.

Shadow Upriser

Been trying to find some time to pull this out for a pic, but there's always never 'enough' time. :p Or at least that's the excuse i give myself! :P

Well here she is, the last item for the starcom range in my possession! This is the Shadow Upriser vehicle that was released in the fourth and last wave back in 1989.... ah, that seems a lifetime ago!

Anyway, That kinda brings to end my collecting for Starcom; to think i started out only wanting to collect the loose figures, but along the way there seemed to be quite a few boxed/sealed samples released so SOMEHOW i started picking up those too, but yeah, i do have loose vehicles from the series still here and there. :)

I started last year around May/June? Somewhere around there, man, one thing i won't miss is the late night sniping on Evilbay. Well, i guess you'll meet a sorts on eBay, nice people, jerks and weird ones, but i guess that's all part of the hobby.

Didn't know it came in styrofoam packaging, and didn't take it out of the box cause i did it once before and it was such a P.I.T.A to put it back! But here's a place holder image anyway!

The Mission to get Osama

Pretty good read here, although it's pretty tough to say what's legit and what's not, since everything's "Top Secret" and hush hush! At most it makes a good script for the next Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer movie, or maybe a side mission in Battlefield 3! ;)
An excerpt :

"Three SEALs in front broke off to clear the guesthouse as the remaining nine blasted through another gate and entered an inner courtyard, which faced the main house. When the smaller unit rounded the corner to face the doors of the guesthouse, they spotted Kuwaiti running inside to warn his wife and children. The Americans’ night-vision goggles cast the scene in pixellated shades of emerald green. Kuwaiti, wearing a white shalwar kameez, had grabbed a weapon and was coming back outside when the SEALs opened fire and killed him.

The nine other SEALs, including Mark, formed three-man units for clearing the inner courtyard. The Americans suspected that several more men were in the house: Kuwaiti’s thirty-three-year-old brother, Abrar; bin Laden’s sons Hamza and Khalid; and bin Laden himself. One SEAL unit had no sooner trod on the paved patio at the house’s front entrance when Abrar—a stocky, mustachioed man in a cream-colored shalwar kameez—appeared with an AK-47. He was shot in the chest and killed, as was his wife, Bushra, who was standing, unarmed, beside him. "