An Alien Life of Starboykb

I am Back As Jobless (For Now)

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:54:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Wow, it’s incredible how quickly time flies! It’s been a while since I last posted anything, especially since I shared so little last year. After quitting my job last December, I’ve redirected my energy toward home improvement projects—repairing and painting our house, while I wait for job opportunities to come my way.

It is a tough time looking for other job opportunities. When I decided to quit, I went all the way handling my resignation letter and moved on without thinking about the consequences. I understand very well the current economic situation in Brunei. It's just that I couldn't care less any longer after attending the most nonsense meeting of my life and seeing how incompetent the management I have worked with for nearly 15 years being so irresponsible. Better leave early and avoid all the troubles coming my way.

Anyway, that’s all for now and there will be more posts coming.

Toy Price Increase But Shipping Fee Is Way Worst

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:04:00 +0000

Wars going to continue and the increase in inflation hurt everyone globally. This year is no good and the economy in Brunei is not improving with nothing going on. I am feeling the heat these days, and the price of the toys is getting expensive. Sure, we are all still able to source cheaper prices if looking harder. The problem I see right now is the expensive shipping fee.

My recent experience online shopping in the US has been awful. My Last of the Seekers: Robot Toy & Comic I crowdfunded two years ago was stuck last year thanks to MyUS (forwarder) garbage customer's support and falling into a scam reputation because more and more sellers don’t want shipped over there. The delivery didn’t make it into their warehouse for an unknown reason and had to pay to rearrange the delivery again. Switching to another well-known forwarder (Stackry) doesn’t help either. Their shipping fee is insanely expensive (triple!) and had to wake up at 1 AM to go through three help desks to get sorted out to push the price down by 40% which cost me around SGD 160.00+ for a decent box size.

The whole situation is insane for me and had been looking for an alternative forwarder since because there is no Airmail available for Brunei until today. Getting Transformers from Hong Kong is currently out of the question because China fuck the economy over there. Their fee is no different than the US. Can you imagine, ordering one deluxe figure can get me a Voyager figure? Yeah, that’s right. That was damn expensive. If the HK Airmail is available, it will help to drive down the cost.

Japan EMS shipping right now is the best and the most affordable. I have been enjoying buying from HLJ since last year. The only problem is I can’t find much interesting stuff at Mandarake. I might try Amazon soon and see whether they can ship to Brunei.

End of 2023 – Citizenship Test 2013 Now Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:32:00 +0000

The end of the year is coming! My friend has informed me that our batch of 2013 has been now processed and everyone is eagerly awaiting a goddamn 10 years result. Do remember that if there is no call and receive a letter from a mailbox, then sorry to say, we failed our exam. I’m not too bothered because I am so tired and no longer care since I am way more worried about money to survive the increase in inflation and the unfair treatment from the company.

After clearing my last loan in July, my finances haven’t improved at all and only started to perform slightly better last two months ago. Hopefully, this December there won’t be much good promo going on to continue to brainwash me to spend more money which I already burned half of. I already got a new phone, so now, desire to get an Android tab for my home and work usage including starting planning to travel to Thailand and visit the Gundam Base store there.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor Sergeant Aetus Gardane

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:27:00 +0000

One of the three Heavy Intercessor members, Sergeant Aetus Gardane, comes with a helmet-less head. The body design is the same (Nikos and Helvin), with limited mobility in the shoulders and legs. The paintwork is fine, but I did experience some loose joints in the torso and a microphone that kept popping off. I had to glue it multiple times for this particular figure. It's interesting because I didn't notice a missing component while taking pictures and only discovered it when it fell to the floor while posing on the display shelf.

The loose joint in the torso is not a major issue. I used glue to strengthen and secure the peg, so everything is now resolved. Regrettably, the handset design remains unchanged and is unable to hold the large grip of the Executor Bolt Rifle.

The Sergeant's head design (without a helmet) is quite good. I'm excited to try on the UM Terminator's upcoming release around next month or October this year. It's worth noting that the same recycled design can be found in the Imperial Fists Heavy Intercessor. We likely going to see it again in future chapters of the Heavy Intercessor release with the new handset 3.0.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor - Sergeant Aetus Gardane
Accessories:

1x Executor Bolt Rifle
1x Helmet
1x Combat Knife
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 85.94 (A bundle Set of three with discount points)
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 34.99
My Rating: 7/10

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor - Nikos Phaetz

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 13:08:00 +0000

One of the three Heavy Intercessor members, Nikos Phaetz, utilizes the Excecutor Heavy Bolter. The figure's body design features limited mobility in the shoulders and legs. Some areas of the figure have a dirty paint job, with the most noticeable being on the top of the backpack.

Fortunately, the movement joints are functioning well and I don't have any issues with my backpack, specifically the cable that connects to the Executor Heavy Bolter, which I am most worried about. In case you wonder, he has no difficulty holding the weapon using both hands. I suspect the grip design may be slightly smaller than that of the Executor Bolt Rifle.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToySize: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor - Nikos Phaetz
Accessories:

1x Executor Heavy Bolter
1x Bolt Pistol
1x Combat Knife
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 85.94 (A bundle Set of three with discount points)
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 34.99
My Rating: 8/10

Goodbye 12-year-old AMD HD4770!

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 14:33:00 +0000

Well, it’s time to say goodbye to my long-surviving AMD Radeon HD4770! I have been holding out on the upgrade for over three years after the COVID lockdown, and the GPU price was insanely expensive back then. Now the GPU prices have gone down after China took down the Bitcoin mining operation there. It’s time to look for a new card and complete the upgrade by the end of this year before another stupid AI trend hits the GPU price again.

This time, after 12 years, I decided to go back to NVIDIA for an MSI GeForce RTX™ 4070 VENTUS 2X 12 G OC due to limited brand availability in Brunei. Yeah, it's a controversial card, and the MSRP price is not that attractive or even competitive this year, but I no longer care about it, and I want to start gaming the latest titles. The price fits into my budget during a sudden' August Eight' promo for SGD 799.00, and I am happy to save SGD 80.00 from the deal. This card does provide good gaming performance and low power consumption, although I do have doubts about my 750WATT PSU being enough. We shall see after I invest in a new PC case with Lian Li fans and upgrade to AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D. I plan to adopt a lower-cost option of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700XT upgrade to maintain its TDP 65WATT so that I don’t need to spend extra on the ATX 3.0 PSU. For some reason, I have a feeling it is not a good upgrade path.

Update Guide for the Brunei Citizenship Registration and Sample Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:14:00 +0000

This is a revisit to 2023 and revising (proofreading) my guide on registering Brunei Citizenship examination. It is unimaginable that every one of us struggling to register at the immigration in Kuala Belait (KB) even today. The procedure is still complicated as usual and hasn’t changed after all these years. You had to write a formal letter to request immigration to do an update. These things are not necessary for immigration in BSB, they will just use their system to update on the spot and way faster. However, I choose not to because this may cause some trouble to those working in the KB branch getting blasted. Out of respect, I just follow the procedure of getting the letter done and submitting it.

I encourage those who change their mobile phone numbers and move into new homes or rent houses to get it updated. If you need the letter sample, I uploaded and shared it from my Google Drive. You can download or print it out for reference. I also updated my guide for the Brunei Citizenship registration with proofreading and correction in case anyone needed the information.

How to Register Brunei Citizenship for ICI/Stateless
Pertukaran Nombor Telefon (Letter) *A copy of your photocopy IC is require.
Tukar Alamat (Letter) *A copy of your photocopy IC is require.

Guide on Registering Brunei Citizenship Examination (Update#2)

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:12:00 +0000

I never thought registering Brunei Citizenship examination are fucking inconvenient. Worst, I don't see local bloggers write about it either in the web search telling us how and what to bring. So to make this easy, I decided to write the guide for my future reference and hopefully able to help you fellow PR.

Update #2 (2023) - Proofreading, correction and added information for letter change of phone no. and home address.
Update 1# (2013) - Added ICI travel document copies requirement.

For those already graduated or are good at Bahasa Melayu, I strongly encourage you who are 18 years old onward to take the examination early if you intend to continue to stay in Brunei. Do not worry about wasting your time, you are young and can enjoy life. There are only two meetings and one exam, that’s it. Take the opportunity since you have the higher chance of getting citizenship.

Avoid Waste of Time

First of all, people may be told to register in the capital usually way faster. It's true but my question is, do you need to be in that hurry? Bahasa Brunei is not an easy subject to learn, even most local Malay don’t even good at it and remembering every detail of this country takes lots of effort in studying. Unless you already have good confidence in speaking and writing, you may go ahead. Still, if you live in Belait or Tutong or even Temburong district. My suggestion go for the nearest and shortest route to the immigration building for registration.

The reason I recommend that way is nobody knows when the law and rules will change every year in Brunei (as well announced by His Majesty during his Birthday). To be extra cautious and avoid waste of time going back and forth. You better first off prepare the necessary require original and photocopy documents before heading over. My best advice is, JUST BRING EVERYTHING!

Be Mental Prepare

Yes, be mental prepare to get fucked by Government employees. A lot of my friends told me some of these people are rude, trouble and disrespectful during registration. Don't ask why. The only thing you just need to keep your cool down and ignore them 100% all time.

Of course, friends' words can be deceiving and should see the truth with your own eyes. From my personal experience, the lady who served me are really helpful and teaching me how to fill up the forms correctly. Everything went smoothly except had to go back the second time because some documents I don't have photocopied and my original ICI travel document was left at home.

This is what I meant above, such a problem can occur sometimes so it is pointless how fast the registration can be done in the BSB. But once you forget or don't have any of these documents they wanted. In the end, you need to head back home looking for it again. Remember, it's nearly two hours drive up and down. The nearest always saved you time.

What You Need to Know

Note: I was thinking about scanning and uploading the national registration form to the internet saving everyone time. In the end, I held back, not because I was afraid of the law or something. I realized the rules have changed in 2011 so to be safe and make sure the registration form is not replaced. The immigration official website has lacking information and is unreliable. I encouraged you to go in person to your nearest immigration office to get the latest updated forms and requirement documents.

Criminal Record: This is a touchy subject. But sorry to say, you are not eligible to register for the Citizenship exam if you commit crimes and go to jail. If your parents do have criminal records, this may affect you. Please check with the immigration for more information.

Here is what I was told, the Gov employees (for KB immigration) advise everyone to bring along all their original documents, prepare photocopies of the document, and fill the forms directly in immigration. The form and letter they gave out will be recorded with the register code so it's not wise to photocopy yourself and fill straight away. No worries, you will be guided carefully and make sure the information's correctly filled in. There will be a few questions to be asked while they looking at your documents at the same time.

Since you will be there filling up the forms yourself, use a blue pen and try your best to write in Bahasa Malay. Most importantly, dress with respect and your hair too. Sadly, I see so many continue to wear slippers and shorts when registering. Don’t you know it's very disrespectful?

What to Bring

The information below is merely based on the paper that requires it to be shown in the immigration. Again, for your own fucking sake, bring EVERYTHING no matter if you are single or married with children! They just want to see it!

Original documents require preparation to show during registration:-

Company letter.
Your Birth Certificate.
A letter or yellow card of Resident Permit (original or certified true copy).
Islam Certificate. (only for those already or convert to Muslim)
Marriage Certificate
High school, colleague and university leave certificate/testimonial.
P.C.E, PMB, G.C.E 'O' / 'A' level and others you have completed through your studies in the past or present.
Certificate of Identity (ICI) travel document.
Identity card.
Both your father's and mother's identity cards.
If your parents already passed away, you need to bring along a register of a death certificate.
Important highlight: Please take note, if either your parent change their name before, you are required to show and give one photocopy document.

Require photocopy documents and others for registration:-

2x Passport Photo
1x Company letter
1x Birth Certificate
1x Letter or yellow form Resident Permit (original or certified true copy)
1x Islam Certificate
1x Marriage Certificate
2x Identity card
1x Every copy for High school, colleague and university leave certificate/testimonial.
1x Every copy for P.C.E, PMB, G.C.E 'O' / 'A' level and others you have completed through your studies in the past or present.
1x Every copy of both your father's and mother's identity cards or register of the death certificate.
1x ICI travel document copy for each below:

Page one (Horizontal Top)
Pages 2 & 3 (vertical mid)
Pages 42 & 43 (vertical mid)
Page 48 (vertical mid)
Lastly your latest date for reentry permit stamp (horizontal top)

Additional information:

There is a page containing useful information regarding citizenship and downloadable forms to which you can refer. Link
Pertukaran Nombor Telefon (Letter) *A copy of your photocopy IC is require.
Tukar Alamat (Letter) *A copy of your photocopy IC is require.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor Helvin Gure

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 03:00:00 +0000

It was a last-minute decision to order the set from Show.Z before CNY because I have a bad feeling it going to sell out very fast and was right about it. I seriously need another Helvin Gure version but the markup price currently put me off. Hopefully, there will be some price drop to normal in the future.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Ultramarine Heavy Intercessor - Helvin Gure
Accessories:

1x Executor Bolt Rifle
1x Bolt Pistol
1x Combat Knife
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 85.94 (A bundle Set of three with discount points)
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 34.99 (Checkout at Amazon!)
My Rating: 7/10

Helvin Gure is one of the three Heavy Intercessor members. The paintwork quality is good, and the joints are stiff and have no issues. If you owed an Ultramarine Captain With a Master-Crafted Heavy Bolt Rifle figure, the body design is the same and has limited articulation on both shoulders and legs. You also will face the same issue with the existing hand being unable to hold the oversize Executor Bolt Rifle grip. Despite all these flaws, can you believe the Heavy Intercessor trio received so many negative reviews and is still the faster sold-out figure in the market? LOL

Is Bonus A Sensitive Topic?

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:39:00 +0000

Never for me. No matter how sensitive the topic is, every one of us who work hard and takes up multiple tasking deserved to know if are we being awarded for our performance. A few of my colleagues disagree with me and shouldn’t be brought up to HR. You need to remember that we have a signed contract that clearly stated there will be a bonus review every twelve months which means the company has to uphold their contract to have a proper discussion with the employees. Even a company need to publicly issue a memo announcement if they are facing poor market performance. Keeping quiet is a big mistake. Not that we don’t understand the current economic situation in Brunei. The oil & gas market is not doing well due to the ongoing war between Russian and Ukraine. It’s up to the employees to decide whether to stay or move on with their careers for better opportunities.

This is what happens to me. Thanks to this piece of shit department HR. I already lost my bonus payout last year after getting transferred without any chance to fight back because of the fear of losing my job and being unable to pay the bank loan. Now, it is over and this time I am fighting back. I prioritize the importance of my welfare as a decent low-salary guy. So there are going to be two ways going to end here. Either they pay my deserved bonus or resign based on the final answer from the management. If I resign, I may suffer monthly income and no toys. Since I no longer have any loan commitments, nothing can stop me from getting a longer rest to heal my mental health and stress-free.

Good News Regarding Brunei Citizenship

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 13:16:00 +0000

I believe the majority of you have already gotten a call from immigration to go for the briefing and are ready for receiving a certificate for Brunei Citizenship. Congratulation again to those going this week.

The information I am aware of is currently still in progress processing and speeding up to clear out the batches who passed in the year 2012. If you still haven’t received any call yet, my suggestion here is DO NOT IGNORE the local landline call. There have been numerous complaints against immigration that they did not make any phone calls. I understand that not every one of us knows the exact office phone number and afraid that it might be a scam call. My suggestion here is if you see the local phone number on your cell phone. Just pick it up because you might score your golden ticket.

I am expecting our results for the year 2013 batches should be very soon. It is interesting to see how we handle our emotional damage when receiving a phone call notifying you failed the exam and good luck reapplying again for the next examination.😑

I am Out of the Loan!

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:40:00 +0000

All the loan stress carry with me for so many years finally ended! No more loan repayment next month! I also decided to say goodbye to two of the useless debit card that I don’t even need in the first place. It was stupid of me for giving out free money to the bank for many years. From today onward, there will be only UnionPay and one Credit Card. I only need to keep the useful cards that work both locally and overseas, especially online purchases, nothing else.

My plan, for now, will prioritise a recovery path. I lost my bonus last year and had a feeling the company making another excuse not going to pay this year as well. Looking for a new job is very hard right now especially considering the age problem and lack of paper qualifications. The challenging part is reminding myself to be super patient and not overthink about quitting my current job. I had to be very confident there are enough funds in the bank to cover the expenses especially monthly insurance for at least a year when searching for other jobs if I decided to rage quit.

Starting a business is not something I am confident of especially in Brunei. With a lack of access to basic online receiving transfer funds. I have to put this idea way back on the list and figure out other ways to earn extra money from part-time. I do have some stupid thoughts about streaming but feel silly to do it. I have an old camera lying around and just need to invest in a budget streaming microphone messing around.

Looking for a Way to Sell Toys Oversea

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 14:50:00 +0000

Recently just got rejected by a well-known toy company from the US. I was told my anime series toys like Figma BRS and Robot Spirit Full Metal Panic! doesn’t worth much in the market even with MISB/MIB condition. Geezz…what the hell is going on? Selling Anime toys are getting harder than ever.

I am completely at a loss in finding a local toy marketplace to sell anymore and had to start looking elsewhere since there are no buyers. It is noticeable increasing number of collectors quit toy collections over the years and the toy buy/sell marketplace is shrinking as well due to fuck up price discrimination for the sake of getting rid of it. Another problem I am seeing here is the Brunei expensive shipping rate posted worldwide. I need to inquire regarding the box size and find out if I am doing it wrong on the website. Can you imagine posting to the US with a shoe box size in DHL cost BND 300.00 for BND 50.00 value item? I have no idea how this is happening but I going to check out with the DHL office if there are any fixed-rate postings around the world since I sometimes do get inquiries outside of Brunei asking about my toys.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad - Jaric Thule

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 11:02:00 +0000

Jaric Thule is one of the Brotherhood Terminators squad series that uses Nemesis Force Halberd which is the most popular to get among the team. I was so happy able to order another one after JT announced a PO rerun from LT this month. Otherwise, I will just skip it entirely. No point in paying a price with nearly 20-30% markup.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad - Jaric Thule
Accessories:

1x Nemesis Force Halberd
1x Book Tome
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Re-Run: March 2023
Purchase Price: USD 67.99
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 75.00
My Rating: 9/10

Anyway, same as the rest of his brothers, he comes with high-quality paintwork, a beautiful design and using a 2.0 body. Articulation is limited as usual (especially the shoulder) and sadly, my version of torso joints is very loose and currently waiting for my Hobby Model glue marker to arrive to see if it works better than a nail polisher.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad - Retius Akantar

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:53:00 +0000

The Squad Flagman is one of the Brotherhood Terminators squad series who hold Grey Knights brotherhood banner. Same as the rest of his brothers, he comes with high-quality paintwork, a beautiful design and using a 2.0 body. Articulation is limited as usual (especially the shoulder) but since he is going to hold the banner (heavy) so it is alright. The weapon is the same as Paladin using Nemesis Force Sword.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad - Retius Akantar
Accessories:

1x Nemesis Force Sword
1x Book Tome
1x Grey Knights Brotherhood Banner
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 67.99
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 75.00
My Rating: 9/10

Transformers Masterpiece: MPM-12 Optimus Prime (Bumblee Bee Movie Version)

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 08:48:00 +0000

To be honest, I never like collecting the Transformers Masterpiece (MP) series and had a very bad experience with the Takara Tomy plastic quality. The reason I have gotten MPM-12 OP in the first place is that when I am at the local TRU toy store during their promotion sales last year, I couldn’t find any interesting toys to buy and some are sold out so I ended up grabbing this one. My $30 coupon is almost expired so better off slashing the price further.

Product Information:

Brand: Takara Tomy / Hasbro
Size: Masterpiece (MP) Scale Action Figure
Series: Bumblebee Movie
Accessories:

1x gun

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: SGD 70.00+
Retail Price: USD 186.00 / JPY 20,000
My Rating: 7/10

To my surprise (he had a diecast part!), he is not that bad. The toy itself may have been plagued with limited articulation, and a few movement problems and the transformation into the vehicle mode is somewhat disappointing. Overall, he is a nice-looking toy.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad Incanus Neodan

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 12:59:00 +0000

The Squad Paladin is one of the four released Brotherhood Terminators squad series. Same as the rest of the Grey Knights, he comes with high-quality paintwork and a beautiful design. The interesting bit about this set is it comes with additional accessories than other terminator brothers. He also has a swappable helmetless head and comes with a dead daemon head for decoration or a diorama.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad ~~Paladin~~ Incanus Neodan
Accessories:

1x Nemesis Force Sword
1x Book Tome
1x Familiar figure (attaching in shoulder armour)
1x Incanus Neodan head
1x Daemon head
1 set of pairs of hands

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 67.99
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 75.00
My Rating: 9/10

I am surprised the Nemesis Force Sword is long and even larger than the Castellan Crowe sword. Quite an incredible design, although, I much prefer the halberd version. But hopefully, in the future, we will be seeing the falchions version.

Same as other Grey Knights Terminator designs using a 2.0 body. Articulation is limited especially for the shoulder. No issue with the joints around the figures. The only problem is the Familiar attached to the shoulder armour. Looks like JT uses much softer rubber or plastic material in the cable design causing the familiar always bend down or twisted because the ‘Servo-skull’ is heavy. I am still figuring out what to use to support it.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 08:09:00 +0000

Having Chapter Master Marneus Calgar in the collection is a must for Ultramarine. He wears a big-size armour that arms with both a power fist and a built-in bolter. The figure has a bulky design with a beautiful emblem and decoration around the figure's armour plate. However, there are problems with the figure.

Product Information:-

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar
Accessories:

1x Marneus Calgar head

Release Date: January 2023
Purchase Price: HKD 530
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 69.99
My Rating: 7/10

The common one is very limited articulations. In the Calgar case, the hip joint movement was blocked by the armour causing some problems in posing. Secondly, the paintwork is not as good compared to the Librarian, even to the Grey Knights. My biggest complaint would be the Marneus Calgar head is so poorly done. Looks like it was hastily worked on from the factory and the painting is far too different from the official promo. My eagle decor was affected (on the backpack) with a visible dirty gold colour in the photo.

Thirdly, the ‘Halo’ and the bullets at the bolter cannot be removed. Both of them are directly fixed. I see some community reported the ‘Halo’ is somewhat fragile and can be easily broken.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad Caddon Vibova

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 10:51:00 +0000

The squad team member is one of the four released Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminators squad series. I am happy to say the quality of the paintwork is the same as Castellan Crowe and comes with a beautiful design. Not only that, you can feel the weight when holding the figure, it’s like the figure comes with a die-cast part.

Product Information:-

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Grey Knights Brotherhood Terminator Squad ~~Team Member~~ Caddon Vibova
Accessories:

1x Nemesis Daemonhammer
1x Book Tome
1 set of pairs of hands.

Release Date: December 2022
Purchase Price: USD 67.99
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 75.00
My Rating: 9/10

Same as others using 2.0 body. Articulation is limited especially for the shoulder. No issue with the joints around the figures. The only problem so far is swapping the left hand which makes me nervous when I am applying force on the bolter.

Double Thigh Bad Luck for DNA Design DK-27

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 01:37:00 +0000

Never in my mind to receive double thigh parts in the DNA Design DK-27. The factory worker is good at packing the whole thing preventing me from noticing the problem. This set is hella expensive, it's not something I want to spend and ignore to get another one. I am now trying to source and get help from ShowZ in contacting a DNA Design rep to reproduce again because the Nemesis version is coming in March this year so there is a good chance they are re-releasing the upgrade version for it. Hopefully, there will be good news next week.

I will be uploading the original review later.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Ultramarines - Captain With Master-Crafted Heavy Bolt Rifle

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:33:00 +0000

This is an Ultramarines Primaris Captain wielding a master-crafted heavy bolt rifle and a power sword that comes with a sheath. The set only comes with a clock, and pairs of swappable hands. It’s a shame it doesn’t have the option to swap helmetless character heads because look a bit plain despite him being a captain. I may have to do mixing with other figures to upgrade his looks. Surprisingly, he is taller than the Librarian and comparable in size to Grey Knights Terminator.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Ultramarines - Captain With Master-Crafted Heavy Bolt Rifle
Accessories:

1x Heavy Bolt Rifle
1x Power Sword
1x Sword sheath
4x swappable hand.

Release Date: Dec 2022
Purchase Price: HKD 600.00
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 62.99 (MSRP)
My Rating: 7/10

I am very happy that my version received has no missing or comes with faulty parts except there is one unexpected problem and the biggest complaint in the community. His current hand is too small to hold a heavy bolt rifle (incl. Executor Heavy Bolter) grip properly. This issue applies to all Heavy Intercessors and Eradicators released. I remember reading in the community chats that this happen because JT resized the weapons in the production, after finding that it doesn’t match the tabletop version.

The rest so far is just the problem of putting up the cloak in the backpack (need to be very careful the ‘Halo’ part is non-removable), limited head movement and having to forcefully insert the sword sheath ball joints into the hole.

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K: Grey Knights - Castellan Crowe

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 23:30:00 +0000

This is the first champion character I wanted to collect from the Grey Knights wave 1 when I first saw it in the W40K: Chaos Gate – Daemon Hunters DLC. He has an awesome design quality and is beautifully painted. The awesome part about this set is you get the Black Blade of Antwyr which comes with a beautifully crafted effect part that you can optionally put together for display. His swappable head mod is also incredibly good and preferred over the helmet version.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Grey Knights Castellan Crowe
Accessories:

1x Black Blade of Antwyr
1x Sword Effect Part
1x Helmet
1x Crowe head
1x Banner
1x clock
4x swappable hand.

Release Date: Dec 2022
Re-Run: March 2023
Purchase Price: USD 69.99
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 79.99
My Rating: 9/10

Of course, this figure does come with flaws and QC issues. There is no problem with the joints but the articulation is limited especially in the shoulder part JT updated the ball joint design to a rubber strip band holder method to solve the annoying loose shoulder armour issue. This however does affect certain posing angles for the shoulder joints.

Another annoying problem is the book at his waist very easily pops off which looks like a bad ball joint, and the loose neck area at the bottom of the helmet and the banner near the halo bracket are loose. I originally planned to glue it and call it a day. This figure is simply too good and best not to do anything in case I messed up because it’s a very expensive figure.

Mechanical Alliance Dark Commander Review

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 02:29:00 +0000

Since there is no Nemesis version for Optimus Prime (Bumblebee Movie Ver.) available from the Transformers Studio Series, why not just get cheaper with high-quality paintwork and some die-cast parts from a knockoff toy for less than SGD 15.00? While the KO version is not near perfectly produced and has transformation issues in vehicle mode. Its robot mode is 95% accurate copies. You hardly find a difference between the original when displayed together.

Product Information:

Brand: AOYI / BMB
Size:Voyager
Series:Transformers Studio Series
Accessories: 1x Rifle
Release Date: Unknown
Purchase Price: SGD 14.00
My Rating: 6/10
Additional Info: Knock Off version of official Transformers Studio Series 38 - Voyager Optimus Prime (Bumblebee Movie Version).

JoyToy X Warhammer 40K - Ultramarines Primaris Librarian Review

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:39:00 +0000

The Ultramarines Primaris Librarian is the second wave released in 2022 which I asked the Game Workshop local dealer to help me purchase when it was put up on the official website. Good articulation (limited), is nicely painted and the quality is better than the Mcfarlane toys. Sadly, this figure comes with a few problems like loose shoulder joints and side armour plating easily popping off.

Product Information:

Brand: JoyToy
Size: 1/18 Scale Action Figure
Series: Warhammer 40K
Space Marine Chapters: Ultramarines Primaris Librarian
Accessories:

1x Force Sword
1x Marine helmet
4x swappable hands (two psychic painted power effect)

Release Date: January 2022
Purchase Price: SGD 90.00
JoyToy Retail Price: USD 69.00
My Rating: 5/10

The head sculpts looks a bit weird to me, it's like his face putting up makeup. I feel that JT should have offered two different head versions. One normal and the other with a psychic mode. Also, this figure has lack the psychic powers effect parts. They only painted the colour effect in the hand palm which is poorly done for such a high-quality figure.

Jujiang JJ01 Supreme Leader Review

noreply@blogger.com (Starboykb) — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000

I have been eyeing this 3rd party MP size Classic Optimus Prime for a while and never knew about such a release until I search Aliexpress for some KO Transformers. There are positive reviews of this improved version and many are quite satisfied with the figure quality build.

As a fan of the Classic series, I going to check out it myself since you still can get one for less than SGD 100.00 depending on where you source. I was able to get it from one of the local sellers who sold it to me for SGD 95.00, which is a reasonable price range for me after a few weeks of sourcing through the online stores. However, what I didn’t expect is how heavy the toy was packed inside despite the box looking small in my photo studio.

Product Information:

Brand: Jujiang JJ01 Supreme Leader
Size: Masterpiece / Oversized
Design Based: Classic Optimus Prime (2006)
Additional Info: Comes with diecast parts
Accessories:

1x replaceable movable mechanical than
1x large ion gun (wind vane)
1x smokestack laser gun

Release Date: 2017
Purchase Price: SGD 95.00
Market Price: USD 69.99
My Rating: 8/10

The JJ01 Supreme Leader is a direct copy design and improvement mod based on Classic Optimus Prime. What amazed me was the build and the ABS plastic used are high quality and strong. It doesn’t even look the slightest knock-off or cheaply made at hand. Jujiang also uses high-quality die-cast parts which can be found on the lower body. This makes the figure heavy without worrying about falling over especially when they upscale the size from Voyager to Masterpiece class. It is taller and larger than Masterpiece Optimus Prime.

I am very happy that there aren’t any loose joints except for one issue with the plastic plate popping out at the leg did not assemble properly. The rotating joints are very tight and sturdy even the car bumper scares me when I try to push in during the transformation. I would be lying if there are no worries because I do notice some tiny plastic fragments from the arm joints whenever I am rotating the arms during a photoshoot.

The improvement done in the mod is a lot. New anime like ball-joint design head, movable hand & fingers (swappable with extra optional movable hand), rotatable hip and movable leg. Another interesting change is the side window shield on the arms is now removable and can be optionally installed at the back. Mine, however, has a QC issue that is unable to slot in properly into the peg hole. It seems like the plastic peg is a bit thick and requires sand down.

Another implementation is a clip design on both arms to hold the large ion gun (wind vane). Sadly, it is also required to sand down the plastic bit otherwise it will pop out anytime and can create a stress mark in turn.

Despite the mod changes and improvements, there is a feature I notice has been removed or not implemented. In the original Classic Optimus, you can use the wind vane as a shield, If one of his fists is folded down. With the changes in the movable arms, they can no longer hold. Also, you can no longer combine a smokestack laser gun with a wind vane to form a double-barrelled over-shoulder weapon.

Overall:
This Supreme Leader is a very good figure that packs with mod improvement, using high-quality ABS plastic and die-cast parts selling at exceptionally good prices. While there are some QC issues and think the scale-up size is too much. I don’t have a lot of dislike for the design changes, especially the anime-like head design. It does capture the reborn version of Classic Optimus Prime and wishes Jujiang was still around to release a trailer to pair up with.