Project EAE

Revival or nostalgia?

2015-10-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

Still alive and kicking! It's been a very um, colorful 3 years since I've done this. Much has happened since then - I've moved,dealt with roommates that were less than exemplary,had an accident, and a whole bunch of general shenanigans in between.

I don't know if I'm reviving the site or if I'm just feeling nostalgic since I'm finally about to take a vacation in 3 years and go back to New York(which also was like 3 years,ha...); either way, I kinda feel like things are stabilizing again so I want to give a try. Let's just be easy and breezy. No promises to break, no hard deadlines(have plenty of those as it is!) , just something fun and refreshing hopefully. With that said, let's air out some personal exposition. It's a blog after all, right?

I feel like where I am now is where I really wanted to be 3 years ago, but I had some speedbumps to get there. I like the home I'm building for myself as of now. I'm learning new things every day. The people I'm around now are good to be around and motivate me in their own ways. It's nice to be around people who help drive you, whether it be with admiration,competition, or anything else. Everything isn't where I want it to be yet and there are many days that feel longer than others, but I feel like it's really in my ball court now. All I wanted for the longest time was a chance to be in charge of my own successes or failures. People can't do everything themselves, but they also shouldn't be helpless either. 3 years have past and it was a period of many trials. Sometimes, I'm amazed I didn't just crash and burn while destroying everything around me. My destiny was dependent on the trust of others. In some ways, I paid for the naivete then many times. I suppose I always knew it, but it didn't really take to heart yet: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and expect something in-between" I won't deny the help of others, but I wish to be as capable as possible on my own. Now that I've been granted that chance, I want to be as greedy as possible. I want to be as ambitious and accomplished as time will allow. I've been walking or crawling for so long, I want to jog or run as fast as I can right now until I run out of air. Whether my desire to go back to school, professional growth, social stability, or as something simple as personal growth. I doubted myself so much for so long. I cursed my failures and inability to resolve anything. Frustration. Anger. Hate. I had so much of it at myself. I won't admit to having a great self confidence or self esteem now, but I think I want more than anything right now is to not let myself be left like this. I have control on how awesome and amazing my life can be or how utterly abysmal my existence can be; all I worked toward the last 3 years was a chance. This time, if something great happens or something bad happens- it's all on me and I can live with that. As long as it's all on me and because of pretty much me, game on.

Some hobby progress...

2012-01-26T03:19:00.007-06:00

Lately, the weather doesn't help with the painting, but here's some of the progress the last few weeks. Since the weather has been crappy for airbrushing and spray cans (that and I'm out of Tamiya Flat White and hobby shops are out. And I am don't like to mix paints ever since the "incident"). Since the tekkaman blade resin kit had to be put on the back burner, I decided to work on a simple kit.

Thats where the Digimon Reboot- Omegamon kit came in. I snipped and cleaned parts long ago so that made the prep and assembly a breeze. Still, this kit screams to have some metallic paint work done to it and me being me, I couldn't resist ^^;

I eventually gave in and started using part of my bathroom as a spray booth since it has a fairly powerful fan to suck up all the nasty fumes and such.( clean up still sucked though!!!) I eventually went back to work on the resin kit as well, but still couldn't work on the whites so I ended up working on some of the other metallic colors since I was in a "metallic mood."

Hopefully, the weather will clear up soon( and my local shops will restock paints) so I can get back to finishing up these kits. Jeez, I've had the Tekkaman Blade kit for since last year and I've been working on it on and off for a year! Talk about snail speeds, BUT. I. FINISH. THIS.

Technical difficulties fixed. Now, back to posts...

2012-01-25T20:49:00.006-06:00

For some reason, my account decided to be locked out for a bit. After finally getting it all straightened out and getting all my content back- BACK TO POSTS,MWAHAHAHAHA.

First up, Foodie post!

I recently tried a sushi joint close to home that recently changed management, but seems to retain much of the same dishes and aesthetics.What was once Cafe Hana is now Sushi Cafe. Not only that, but it also seems to have gained a few changes- such as a nifty small website, more meal specials, and even some limited delivery options. Prices seem to also ballpark the old prices so thats nice. Not bad, but how's the food? Let's see.

PRO dayo. ohohoho- Joudan, joudan dayo.

Ie. PRO Honto DESU.*_*

Tuna Tataki

Avocado Bomb

Sashimi Sampler(Chef's choice)

Ahi Tower

Many rolls from Dragon rolls to samurai rolls...

Some Gyoza

Ebi Fries

Yellowtail sashimi

Miso soup and basic seaweed salad.

and More rolls!

Overall, for the price-not too shabby. Compared to some establishments that boast higher prices,small portions(of less or same quality), and overzealous in their approach, I've always appreciated that this place was a very chill and mellow environment. Its not necessarily "sushi is cool so lets westernize the crap out of it with crappy "innovative" food, loud club music, and bad service nor is it over the top edo period themed or something to catch tourists or anything. Its a nice balance so you could hang out with friends at the bar for happy hour with the different sakes or for a small intimate night with someone. I also do appreciate the online site with menu and nice pictures. Glad to know I don't have to always have to be in a big city like New York or Dallas to reap such modern benefits ;)

Now with that being said, I'm not so sure about the delivery aspect. My first order I placed(which must all be done via online) was forgotten between them switching to dinner service. They were pretty good about it though. They ended up comping the order for me and did it for me with no charges of any sort as an apology. Classy. Food was decent then, but I was pretty swapped at work so its not like I could enjoy it properly with 54 Magic the Gathering- Friday Night Magic players in store for our tournament. the MADNESS. My next delivery order went over smoothly, but again- busy at work. The second time was much tastier with me ordering different kinds of food like tempura,yakisoba,and bulgogi.

So overall, I can't really vouch for delivery since my personal experience was sporadic, but my dine in experience was very fun and enjoyable. If you're in the DFW area and dig sushi, Sushi Cafe isn't too bad(but whats with the most generic name ever,lol). Its decent prices for slightly higher quality prepared food. That and the experience was really pleasant.

Huh. How did me posting some pictures turn into a review??? Funny how that happens,heh.

P.S.-man, does it feel good to actually get a post out.very cathartic.

Til next time ^_^

Updates - The Return

2011-12-21T07:20:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone. Its been some time since I've been on here,right? Things have been crazy hectic nonstop what with the holidays and all. I work in a comic shop/gift shop/general retail so thats to be expected. Still, its been pretty crazy around here. After my trip from New York, I just sorta disappeared from here. For that, I apologize for my absence.I'm trying to make up for lost time now so expect mass posting in coming weeks starting today! With that out of the way, Lets update, shall we?

Between prepping for another big move, changes with management at work, working more for gift shopping, training new folks, trying to keep up with what little social life I do have, I've been stumbling around to keep my balance. All the New York videos and post stuff still hasn't been edited or worked on(so behind[>.<]). I've managed to do some more hobby work here and there, but nothing major noteworthy yet. Also, during this whole time- Preorders have been arriving nonstop. I'm gonna need a new storage unit soon at this rate ^^;

I even made a stack area for all the new arrivals so I could do a proper haul post. If I don't do one soon, its going to become a multi-parter! Madness. I'll be posting some more WIP posts next along with my "want" list of the year(bit late, arent I??!), more food posts and backposts, quite the number of review posts, and more! There'll also be some changes to the blog as well- New Banner soon, maybe a new theme, some new additions,etc. Its good to be back!

Updates - New York 2011 Trip

2011-10-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

Its been a while since I updated. Work's been really busy with DC's New 52 still going strong. While there's tons of first impressions out there, I'll be waiting for all the 2nd and 3rd issues to be releasesd before I do a post. It'll be interesting. Is the New 52 worth it? Are your childhood heroes the same,worse,or better? Is the "slow burn" many first impressions have mentioned bad or is it meant to later set up more robust and new stories for classic characters?? I'll be covering all that and more as soon as those issues release.

besides that, hobby work is progressing well, the "clean,clip,and bag" setup is working well. Its the painting that requires more work and focus. The TB resin kit should be shortly and then I can get started on the next project.

As for right now, I'm in New York til the 26th for a sort of working vacation. I'll be enjoying myself, but I'll also be trying to cover lots of fun places and activities for all those who couldn't make the trip and for those interested in fun things to do or go in New York. Since I don't have any of my video editing stuff with me, I won't be able to do any videos til I get back home. However, I will be doing lots and lots of photos to post along the way. Its vacation time, but there's still tons and tons to get done! I'm kinda already tired just thinking about it, but I'm definitely still pumped! This is my current Itinerary:

For some dining:

> Famous chicken and rice cart at 53rd and 6th Ave.
> Alta for Mediterranean tapas
> Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Flea Food Market
> Otakfuku for Okonomiyaki and takoyaki!
> Wafel & Dinges for Waffles!
> Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles in Chinatown for...hand pulled noodles of course :)
> Ramen Setagaya for yummy ramen!
> Excellent Pork Chop House for good cheap ass food! (mostly noodles and rice plates)
> Maialino for Interesting Happy Hour bar food and drinks (cheap too!)
> Chikalicious for desserts...because I'm man enough to walk into a joint with that name
> Meatball Shop...all sorts of meatballs cuz you like balls in your mouth
> The Dessert Truck - it's dessert on a truck
> Bao Haus - Taiwanese street food
> Tuck Shop for Meat Pie - paying home to them Australians
> Clinton Street Baking Company - Southern food...you be the judge on its goodness

> Just to list a few...also some sushi here, some pizza there...you get the gist.

After all the dining, here's some wining:

> Burp's Castle (Beer)
> Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg(Wine)
> Biergarten in Williamsburg (Beer!)
> Boss Tweed Saloon
> PDT - speakeasy
> Milk and Honey - speakeasy
> Cha-An - Sake or Beer and we get free appetizers
> Skinny Bar - $3.50 for Red Stripe Who-hoo!!!
> Johnny Utah's - friend's b-day so we're stopping by for a couple of hours....lots of women, hot servers, mechanical bull, that whole deal.
> Northeast Kingdom - One of the only decent place in my hood, opened til 2 AM. We can drink and walk home...but lets not get too drunk....I don't want to get mugged.

> We'll bar hop in the Village and LES. Alcohol is alcohol...you can get it anywhere.

Some knarly and fun activities:

> Brooklyn Boulders for rock climbing
> Nightmare for house haunting
> The Laugh Lounge for comedy
> The Upright Citizen's Brigade - improv skits and comedy for $5!
> Body Exhibit...you wanna go?
> Bar 55 - Jazz and drinks
> Brooklyn Winery on Sunday - The Walking Dead ep. 2 is screening
> The Drunken Smartass Olympics at Dempsey's - We'll stay if it's good
> MOMA - Friday night 4:8:30 PM, it's FREE!
> Coney Island - if it's not too cold
>
>
Filler places:
>Gray's Papaya- worth it for the papaya drinks alone.( I don't even like papayas!...I think)
> Asia Dog - hot dogs...Asianified. korean bbq on a hot dog? yes, please.
> Lam Zhou - $3 for a dozen dumplings
> Mark - $2 bucks for a slider, $2.75 for slider with bacon. best deal and one of the best burger joints in NYC
> Cafe Zaiya - Small, but well known Japanese cafe. they have....KARE PAN!
> Food Gallery 32 - Korean food court
> Jamaican Duchy Cart....for Jamaican mon
> Check out Occupy Wall Street for the action
> Museum of Sex
> The High Line - urban park...it used to be an abandoned rail road track, now it's a park
> Staten Island Ferry - It's free, and you get a great view of the statue of Liberty without having to go there
> Chase down one of these trucks - http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2010/67139/index1.html

Places to check out, splurge, support, store tours,interviews,etc:

Anime Castle
Image Anime
Forbidden Planet
Midtown Comics
Chinatown, mostly some really cool shops on mott st.
Gotham City Lounge- Comic themed bar

Possibly more to add later so we'll see what happens!

More Tekkaman awesomeness!!! and WIP updates.

2011-10-09T04:26:00.002-05:00

So its about 2am and I'm still alittle wired so can't sleep just yet,so.... I'll update like I've been meaning to do lately. Unfortunately, I don't have access to my WIP pics. Not home, so we'll have to make do with a quick written lay down. til next time. Finally got around to working on the tekkaman resin kit again. Its starting to really come together. I got around to painting a few areas black, not that its needed. Its namely for all those places that aren't really too noticeable like the inside of shoulder armor, the inside of the collar,etc. I've also got around to adding the ghost gray to help break up the white and also hopefully, accentuate the details so it won't be just panel lining.

With that being said, since I can't post pics this time-I'll post pics of something related. All this time while working on the resin kit( and with no reference or readable instructions), I've also been looking online every once in a while for more pics of the kit I've been working on. Maybe one that someone else has finished working on, anything. Eventually, I found a few blogs here and there. But, I also stumbled on the next kits I'd like to get and work on after this one. First up is a Tekkaman Blastor kit. Its also a full action kit and looking at some of the design styles, it may be from the same sculptor or design team as the kit I"m working on. If so, then- AWESOME. Aside from my own mistakes, I'm really enjoying the build and the model itself of Tekkaman blade. Of course, I plan to put in revoltech joints of course,heh. You can find the model kit sold HERE.

I like the original base design of blade and blastor, but I totally love the style given to the design with these kits!

And it totally looks great next to blade and it also looks in scale as well.AWESOME.

I bet the color separation on this kit will be amazing as well.

Look at that awesomeness. The only thing that could make this more epic is if Toshiyuki Morikawa's voice played when you put it in this pose. VOL-TEKKA!!!!!

This.will.be.MINE.

The next kit is also a tekkaman blade resin kit, but with a twist. Its not like these full action kits where the design is just more stylized. Its practically re-visualized. Pretty cool stuff. The aesthetics is less on the anime-esque super robot proportions and more on the hyper detailed and "real armor" style. That said, lets take a look at it...

Whoa. Definitely gonna need lots of paint work. Not a lot of color separation. This is gonna need lots and lots of layers and taping.

That said, I can't complain about the intended final product and effect. Its pretty impressive. It reminds me of the Casshern Sins live action and makes me wonder what would a live action Tekkaman blade film look life? Very cool indeed.

I really dig the look of this kit, but I'll still be getting tekkaman blastor before this. But, right after- getting this. You can find this kit HERE.

That's it for now. I'll post WIP pics along with more progress in a couple of days.Til things, see you guys then.

P.S.- If you have google +, you should add me to your circle HERE. If you don't have one yet, check it out. Its pretty cool and isn't as bogged down by ads or spam as facebook is these days. And you can organize your contacts in circles( friends, acquaintances, family,etc.)Pretty useful and cool stuff.

New Tekkaman Blade FIgma PICS

2011-09-22T04:37:00.003-05:00

Gotta say, The new color images of blade look really great. I'm starting to get excited over these eventually coming out. Now if I can just finish my resin kit before the figma comes out,heh.Sometime this year would be awesome ^^;

Tekkaman blade figma images sourced from Toysdaily Forums

SIC Kiwami Tamashii Garo & Gouten Review

2011-09-01T15:55:00.004-05:00

Fan of small scale figures, tokusatsu, and armored knights? Then, maybe you should check out Bandai's SIC Kiwami Tamashii line for Garo. Created by Keita Amemiya, also known for his work on Kamen Rider ZO & Zeiram. Garo is a different kind of Tokusatsu show, with graphic violence, nudity, and mature themes. It has a strong gothic style aesthetic shown with some of the art to some of the set designs. Its kamen rider meets devil may cry(maybe not as cool as dante though,heh) As far as tokusatsu shows go, its probably not the greatest, but its certainly not bad. If you're a tokusatsu fan at all, I reccomend giving it a shot. I enjoyed it enough to watch the series and all attached specials/films except the most recent requiem. And with that, we'll get into the review for the main titular character and his steed, Garo & Gouten.

Both figures are sold separately with Gouten just released back in June. Both are packed in the standard collector friendly packaging as all of the other SIC kiwami tamashii figures. Hasbro and some of the other companies that do 3-4.5in figures could learn a thing or two from Bandai's SIC line. A good portion of western toy packaging features carboard to plastic blister style packaging which usually leads to many simply ripping the contents out and trashing the outer remains. (how grusome,right??)

Seeing nice packaging like this is always welcoming and refreshing. Also, when units like this are on the pegs at a retailer, it looks very slick and clean. Perfect for endcaps and featured displays. I'm personally not a fan of weird shaped packaging on my figures(even to save on costs.) Though, I suppose if a company can't keep their Quality control for paint apps for numerous lines, I can't expect more,right? Besides, I'm not in the toy industry; Just another old kid nitpicking,heh^^

Garo's packaging has a nice design without being too "busy." His packaging trim is character themed as all of the other knights of the line feature an image of their helms on one side and their logo crest on the other.

The back features a few static poses along all the usual needed info,logos,barcodes,etc.

Gouten's packaging is in a much larger package and features similar packaging trim as the rest. Wonder if Zero's steed will ever get a figure release as well,hmm....

Back packaging shows a dynamic pose of gouten and featues its usage with Garo and the included accessory, zanbaken. More on that later though, ON WITH THE FIGURES!

Standing roughly around 4 inches or so, Garo fits well with other kiwami tamashii figures, but he may be a bit tall next to some of your 3.75 inch figures and perfectly fine with others. The kiwami tamashii height has always somewhat struck me as odd, but with the detail work and articulation on these figures, one can't complain too much.

Depending on which source you're comparing, Garo seems well proportioned to some and a bit too lean for others, similar to how most folks like the proportions of the gurren lagann revoltech, but the proportions weren't exactly 100% show accurate. Personally, I don't mind this as it allows room for more dynamic posing later.

Throughout the figure, tons of well sculpted details and paint work all over. It doesn't looks like many details were missed. Such a small figure to be so detailed.

His initial articulation could seem a bit underwhelming, but keep in mind, this is an armored knight. Not exactly expecting crazy ninja posing articulation here. And its not to say that this figure doesn't have decent articulation.

While the range of articulation is inhibited by the sculpt, Garo's still capable of pulling off any pose within that range realistically.

And some points of articualation were more surprising than others. The legs actually feature double jointed knees, which is always great.

The arms originally were the weakest points for me due to the articuation limitation vs applicable range. The arms feature an elbow hinge and swivel forearm, but no shoulder or upper arm swivel. Due to the shoulder armor limitation, this made the arms extremely subpar. Some quick mods to the arms fixed that no problem as the upper pegs of the elbow joints are just glued. Check out this thread to improve your garo's arm articulation.

I can't get over how detailed this figure is!

Not too many accessories for Garo, but all fitting for the figure.

We get a few hands. A pair of closed fists(left), one sword holding hand(center), and a pair of slightly gripping open hands(right). We also get his sword as well as some ornamental hanging armor pieces for the back of Garo's armor.

We also get this beautifully sculpted knight's cape.

The hanging armor pieces are part-swapped for the cape which features the pieces sculpted on it as well. The hanging shoulder pieces can also swivel for poses. The gold trim on this cape looks really great and nicely done.

The cape itself is actually semi transparent plastic which allows light to pass through the bottom of the cape's trim giving off this really cool golden radiance glow effect.

Here's a closer look at Garo's signature weapon, the fanged wolf sword. Very detailed work.

Nice painted lines and intricate sculpt.

Garo's blade fits easily into his holding hand with no issues.

The cape really adds to the cool factor of this figure ^^

The cape really gives off this regal and royal knight kinda vibe, which makes sense as Garo is the highest title for the Makai knights.

And whats a makai knight without his trusty armored steed? Well, still a makai knight...anyways, onto the madou horse, Gouten!

Gouten is just as impressive as its rider, very detailed sculpt and paint work.

All the details on this steed are quite amazing.

The different shades of gold really add to it as well.

Gouten features additional articulation on its shoulder armor for only one purpose with another accessory...

The holes under the hinges are connectors for wings to transform Gouten into a winged steed! How do you get these wings since they're not included???

Sad news- the wings are part of a Tamashii Web exclusive, the SIC Kiwami Tamashii Winged golden knight, Garo. If you dig these, better hurry as prices will only go up for exclusives as time goes on.(my poor wallet!!!)

Back to Gouten, this is my favorite sculpted part of Gouten. The design of the armor plating is just so well done. The mane is also really cool. It really gives off this fiery mane feel to the figure.

Neck is ball jointed with a decent range.

Neck to head features and double hinge ball joint to really help Gouten emote for poses.

The mouth is of course jointed to open via hinge at the jawline.

The armor below the jawline also features a hinge as well!

All the legs of Gouten have the joints you'd expect from a horse.

So there's quite the number of joints on this accessory of a figure.

The rear legs are no different, also well jointed.

Behind the rear hooves, is additional armor which can hinge around sorta like heel spurs.

Tail is ball jointed but range is only that of a hinge joint.

Even the bottom of the Gouten and its hooves are detailed and painted. Lots of nice joints, but that kinda hurts its stability. Gouten has trouble standing.

"don't look at me, DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

If the joints were more stiff or had a hexagonal style peg in the circular holes to simulate ratchet joints, the figure could really take advantage of all its great articulation. Not to say it can't do a few cool poses...

This pose will require possibly two things: you cheat by using the tail to stabilize the pose, or you use an action stand of some sort. Oh, and lots and lots of patience.

Promo pics show Gouten with a chained reins. You get this threaded line. Not as cool, but its fine I guess. Gouten totally seems hit and miss, right? What could possibly make me really like this figure? how about...

THE GARO ZANBAKEN!

Zanbaken, Garo's sword transformed into this crazy long buster style sword is an amazing addition to Garo's accessory count. Before this release, the Zanbaken was only available via a magazine exclusive or a tamashii web exclusive of taiga garo with the sword long ago. For me, this was reason enough to get Gouten. It was more like getting this hard to get accessory and getting Garo's steed as a bonus,heh ^^

Thanks to the scale and size of the figure and the accessories, the sword is light enough to pose absolutely no issues with posing.

As much as I like the regular fanged wolf sword, I think this sword suits Garo much better. SO COOL.

Even cooler with the cape!

Now onto the most frustrating part. Mounting Garo onto Gouten. The loose legs on Gouten really become a problem once you try and mount garo onto it. There's also no actual mounting point, only grooves on the horse where the saddle would be that mold to Garo's crotch.I ended up putting holes in Garo's feet and pegs in Gouten's feet guards for Garo. It added enough stability to make mounting easier, but posing is still very time consuming.

It is possible to mount garo with his cape, but its an incredibly tight fit so its not really recommended unless you're as patient as a saint.

So final thoughts:

In their individual releases, the figures looks amazing and have plenty of joints. But they're not perfect. Garo lack some movement in the arms and the neck which you can fix easily, but you probably would prefer not to have to do it. Both figures could have tighter joints so some friction increasing joint sessions are a must(rub clear paint, super glue, clear nail polish,etc into joint to make joints more stiff).

Out of the Two, Garo is a much stronger figure and more solid. Gouten's weak joints are a very big turn off. If not for the zanbaken add-on, Gouten would be an instant " do not get" for me. I can only recommend both to big fans of Garo. That and for folks who don't mind putting some work into their figures. If you do, Garo is pretty great and Gouten's major problems can be handled. Now, if you personally prefer bigger scale figures, save your money and get the S.H.Figuarts version instead That thing is like a work of art. Personally as a garo fan and as someone who like small scale figures more, I didn't mind putting the work into these figures and am personally glad I did as my issues with these figues are no longer an issue.

Thanks for viewing ^^

August food post- Oodles of Noodles!!!

2011-08-17T01:26:00.001-05:00

Haven't done a food post in a while(namely cuz food night is on hiatus since friends are busy or still in the middle of moving right now). Money's also kinda tight right now with many big pre-orders barreling down on me(my wallet is sobbing in the corner as I write this post). Regardless, figured I'd try and put something together.

Many good things you can teach your kids that'll be of great use to them when they're older. One of those things is making good use of your leftovers; in an asian household, that means stir-frying and stews are your best friend. With only $10 of free money laying about not set aside for orders or bills, I had to make that last. Totally doable.

I bought some veggies, cubed ham, and some teabags. After I mined the frozen terrain of my freezer, found 1 frozen steak, frozen soba, frozen udon, and some corn. Combined with my pantry finds of rice, chicken stock, dry ramen, mirin, and kombu dashi. Totally enough for more than about 2 weeks worth of meals as long as supplies last. We'll do something quick so stir fry sounds good. Its a day off so something extra tasty should happen-steak it is. Verdict- Yakisoba it is!

Luckily, yakisoba doesn't require much at all. A quick chop of some veggies, thawing out the corn, and marinating the steak a bit.

Honestly, I don't even remember exactly everything I used. There was some dried onion pieces, bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mushroom extract, soy sauce, mirin, and some sesame oil. I may have missed a few things.

Since I don't know how to cook like a pro or anything, prep work used to take ages for me. However, food night with actual chef friends who cook for a living can really teach you a lot of things to help improve the way you prep, your speed, and your cooking techniques. I used to hate messing with onions since it took forever. Now, no longer an issue since I learned better ways to cut onions.SCORE!

It may not be the freshiest handmade soba noodles, but these'll work fine. Not everyone can swing by an izakaya(hell, I can't even find any good yakitori places in the city-soooo lame).

Thanks to doing all that prep work, a quick chop of some bell peppers,carrots, and celery(friggin market didn't have any cabbage. What the heck's up with that??)

Followed by a few minutes of stir fry in the wok.( if you have to fry, woks will totally make your life easier ^^)

And voila, yakisoba. Took me about 30 minutes from prep, cook, to finish. This should last me for lunch for most of the week.

"Hey! you stretch that arm toward the soba, you're losing that arm, zero!"

And that ends my monthly obligatory food post.(which I've been totally forgetting about.whoops^^;) I have a few reviews I need to crank out in the next weeks so hopefully, I can knock those out on my next day off. Til then, Later til later!

New Zone of the Enders Anubis Revoltech pics!!!

2011-08-14T00:57:00.004-05:00

Its lookin better and better everytime I see it. Although, I could have sworn the zero shift binders(the wings) hovered around Anubis' back and didn't have any mechanical arms or anything attaching it. Oh well, Its either Kaiyodo does that or they'd have to do the binders on a separate stand with tons and tons of clear parts for display. Either way, my pre-ordering clicking finger's gettin real itchy. I can't wait for the pre-orders to open up. I may end up ordering 2!

Pics from Muso Blog

SDCC exclusive TF Prime- Optimus Prime Deluxe review

2011-08-04T22:50:00.003-05:00

Haven't done a transformers figure review before and wasn't originally planning to, but these arrived at work earlier this week(benefits of working in a comic shop??) and I figured I should jump at an opportunity to get my hands on some SDCC exclusives. We'll be looking at the SDCC exclusive- Transformers Prime: first edition optimus prime deluxe figure. A few things to cover about packaging, and very cool packaging it is.

The packaging is large and would take up 2 units of space on a store peg. Quite the large box for only a deluxe figure. What else could possibly be in there...

Binding our main means of access to the inner package is a very nice and large magnet with the autobot emblem centered, along with the show name and Optimus prime printed on it as well. The silver embossed letters are a nice touch. Very eye-catching. Background is what seems to be a blue energy covered spread with lightning on the sides. Its not necessary, but its a nice little extra.

With the magnet now out of the way, we see the box front is actually optimus prime's chest windows. Just what is in there??

Of course, you gotta have you exclusive SDCC sticker somewhere to officialize it.

The back of the box packaging is prime posed with a stylized matrix not yet seen before. Prime's shown with the matrix held above himself similar to how Hot Rod did in the 1987 animated film. The quote above prime is also from the 1987 film as well. NOW, onto the inside!

Inside of Prime's "window" package is none other than the matrix! HOLY...if that's not some attention to design and detail for just the packaging, I don't know what is(we haven't even got to the figure and something this cool already??)

Now that the dramatic reveal is done, lets take a look at inside some more. Here, we see more of that blue energy with lightning background on the inside as well. My guess is that its energon or something along those lines that this design is supposed to represent. Very cool and very fitting if it is.

On the left inner tab, we see a spread with our main autobot cast with the decepticons in the back, looking ominous and sinister as always. Here on this tab, we get the setup for the story thus far and essentially the setup for the series itself. With the inclusion of dark energon from war from Cybertron, it seems TF: prime has influences from G1, Michael Bay's Transformers, and War from Cybertron. Certainly plenty of material to use for a robust story to enjoy, isn't it?

On the right inner tab, we see the same used pic of prime from the back of the box packaging once again, this time with a quick bio print about Optimus Prime and how he came to possess the matrix.

Onto the "second" phase of packaging, we have the deluxe prime figure in a plastic clam shell designed as the matrix. It also has Velcro straps so you can wear the matrix around your neck.

Or you can of course, remove the straps so you can display your prime figure on your shelf still in its display-friendly matrix, completely able to stand upright on its own. Nice touch.

The back of the "matrix" shows the same reused prime image once again and what seems to be a gunmetal rear insert.

Prime is on a separate tray held by the new Hasbro eco friendly cardboard twisty ties. the clam shell only has a few plastic tabs and sections taped so removing the tray is quick and painless. It also means that you can also reseal the clam shell easily for a sorta wannabe matrix replica. Without the prime figure, you can see the energy core inside the matrix which gives off a nice effect. The front inserts include multiple inserts for gold trims as well as more gunmetal pieces.

Even if this is just hollow packaging and cardboard inserts, this is a pretty nice and cool looking matrix. you can hold the handles, you wear in on your person if you reattach the straps. The only thing that could have been done left is to include even more specific plastic tray construction for a 2 piece splitting outer matrix to access the prime figure inside. If that happened, I would probably have a TF fanatical meltdown or something, followed by instant plans to fabricate an LED matrix core to turn it all into a real functioning replica. Anyways, enough of my delusions of packaging grandeur, onto the figure!

Optimus normally comes already in his robot mode, but for the review- we'll start with his vehicle mode first. No longer the old mac 10 box cab design of G1, Optimus takes on his usual truck form, but more closer to the design of Bayformers Optimus instead. Though, technically- Bay wasn't the first to put prime in this particular truck design. Optimus had this form for his G2 design, aka Laser Optimus Prime and in later redeco/incarnations in other media, Scourage, aka Nemesis Prime. Despite the design choice, this is definitely and instantly recognized as a G1 inspired paint scheme.

The molding has lots of little details without being overbearing, such as rivets, diamond cross paneling,etc. due to the mold and since this was a first edition prime, I kinda hoped for a more extravagant paint scheme. There's silver paint on this figure, but there's also lots of bare grey plastic. Tsk tsk, Hasbro. Silver on hubcaps, fender panels, headlights, and above the windshield. That's it. Grill and smokestacks are bare grey along with other little spots. Asides from that, not much to say about this vehicle mode, its straight to point, rolls well, could have more paint apps, and looks overall like a good representation of the CG model.

For size comparisons, we'll use the War for Cybertron Optimus deluxe figure.

Both have a nice metallic red on both figures, while the blues on WFC prime appears to be darker. TF Prime- Optimus is taller in vehicle mode, despite Hasbro cutting back on plastic costs and making their figures smaller these days.

However, it seems that WFC optimus has a bit more length on the TF prime Optimus. Not sure how in scale these figures are so these figures could be accurate to their proper sizes or be off as they are from 2 separate continuities. With that done, onto Robot mode.

In robot mode, Optimus has a tall and lean composure, showing G1 colors, with hints of Bayformers Optimus design throughout the figure from the head sculpt to how similar his backpack appears to look similar to Bayformers Optimus(at least to the toy model, not so much for the actual TF Prime CG model).With much more exposed grey, this is where I would've preferred more paint work on the figure. Like the Vehicle mode, detailed, but still streamlined as not to clutter the "flow" of the overall design.

Nothing too notable about Optimus' articulation. Pretty standard stuff.

Optimus doesn't have many joints, but most of them work well for him. Note that I said most, not all. His shoulder joints has great range and motion and even has a secondary swivel joint in the actual shoulder armor for transformation/range, BUT the base of the shoulder to torso joint is not centered. Whats that mean? It means Optimus looks great standing in a calm static pose with his arms to his side. Rotating the arm up for any pose(shooting,etc) leaves Optimus looking like he has a broken shoulder or very bad drooping shoulders. Hardly fitting for the leader of the Autobots, right?

That said, Optimus is still very capable of accomplishing some poses and his legs have a great balance to them, especially the foot/ankle joints. they're able to allow wide leg poses and give enough support for even one legged poses. If only the arms were this awesome...

Optimus doesn't come with many accessories, just one. His buster cannon. It doesn't shoot, or have any gimmicks.

This isn't a bad thing though. Accessories don't have to have gimmicks; they just have to enhance the figure and the buster cannon does just that.

Even with Optimus' shoulder "problems", he's able to still look cool and impressive with the addition of his trusty buster cannon. I would've loved 2 cannons, and include a blade(or 2), or even a photon rifle, but this IS a deluxe so one accessory can be acceptable. I suppose...

That said, since the cannon is essentially just a piece of molded plastic, I would've like to have seen more paint apps on here as well. The cannon is bare gray plastic with some energon blue and gunmetal.

For size comparisons, we see Optimus is tauting Bucky Capt. with a high five and Bucky doesn't seem to be havin it. Prime in his Robot mode seems to fall closer to the 7 and a half inch height, so he's a bit taller than some 6 inch scale transformers.

So Overall, how does this Optimus stack up? Is he "prime?" In my honest opinion-I've seen better prime figures. Not to say that this figure is crap or anything, but the cons against it are kinda important.

CONS:

-For figures, using less plastic and made smaller, you would think some sort compensation would counter balance the quality. Like paint apps. Overall, this figure feels like its been cheated out of some much warranted paint work, even for a deluxe.

- The shoulder joint issue really kills the pose options and look.

- since a non-gimmick accessory was included, another inclusion would have been nice considering the usage of weapons shown in source material.

PROS:

- for a deluxe, it does well to represent the CG model in a small scale

- Has all the usual staple of joints most figures these day, should have.

-transformation is fun,simple, with a bit of precision needed to not mess things up.

-Packaging is simply amazing. Any TF fan could appreciate the work put into such a nice little presentation.

FINAL WORD:

A decent figure. Not horrid, but definitely not a must pick up. It feels as if this figure's been cheated out of something. more paint. more weapons. better joint placement. SOMETHING. ANYTHING. The biggest and quickest fix would be the shoulders. That's definitely a buy killer. SDCC packaging is great, but unless you really dig that packaging and will be satisfied with paying essentially for just that, I say pass or wait on this figure. That, or wait on the voyager mold which looks to potentially be simply amazing. That's been my thoughts on it at least. Thanks for viewing.

Quick pics from WonFes 2011 Summer so far

2011-07-24T02:32:00.008-05:00

Just a quick pic post since Wonder Festival 2011 Summer is underway.

The upcoming devilman-Amon figure by Sentinel coming out in September is looking great so far.

Took me a moment to figure it out, but this is from Shonen Jump's Shaman King property.

From the highly acclaimed series, FLCL(Fooly Cooly) comes a new figure for the very cool robot, "lord" Canti.

CANTI!!!! Unless this is some crazy super expensive limited item, this is as good as bought!

Not sure what this is, but for a moment- I thought it was from tekkaman blade. It certainly has some similar design aesthetics. I remember seeing this at the last wonfes as well.

As a ZOE fan, how could anyone say no to getting anubis??!!

I can't wait to see Anubis colored!!

A look at Riobot's upcoming Gurren Lagann figure. Details are looking pretty good so far.

There was another pic I found earlier,but it ended corrupt in the upload so that sucks, but it shows the jetwing pack with slightly sculpt on the shoulder armor. Either way, I'm looking forward to see how Riobot does with their Gurren Lagann and ZOE line...

Not sure what series or property this is from, but I really like the look of it.

It wouldn't be WonFes without at least one saber somewhere. Here's the version of Saber in the red outfit from the last psp Fate game. Not a bad Sculpt...

Even this isn't a figma or anything, I think this was a very cool piece that should be shown.Plus, Alter Saber being more of a badass on a bike? how could anyone refuse?

More Revoltech goodies for the upcoming MLA(MuvLuv Alternative) line from Kaiyodo. The EF-2000 is looking pretty slick with its sniper rifle. I wonder if it'll come with its massive arm blade attachments....

Not sure if this is another robot damashii set coming out, but look at all those weapons!!! I've been looking for an excuse to get an m9 to add to my FMP collection. I might have a great reason now...

Here's what looks like some sort of BRS variation, possibly from the upcoming BRS game. Totally gettin kingdom Heart vibes alittle.Wait! is that a pistol?? Just when you thought BRS wasn't a badass before...

Ooh, a chance to have BRS' bike from the game?? my poor wallet...

Coming out later on, A BRS game version figma looking very detailed and cool.

I'm really diggin the look of the cannon and her booster parts.

The upcoming new Drossel figma, based on her design on the recently finished series, Fireball Charming. Looks like she'll be sporting plenty of cool accessories like her other figma did. There will also potentially be a release for drossel's awesome unicycle bike as well. I'm such a sucker for accessories.

And to finish on wicked note, massive figure of Shinonono Houki for the last season's Infinite Stratos series. Look at the design and the massiveness of that! I would really love to see more IS merchandise made, I really like the designs.( or maybe I just dig mecha musume design in general,heh)

Pics were found from amiblo,twitpic tags,flickr, toysdaily, and other forums.

Revoltech Jehuty Review

2011-07-17T02:54:00.002-05:00

A wayy overdo review, but here it is finally- the review for kaiyodo's Yamaguchi Revoltech series, No. 103 Jehuty from the Zone of the Enders game series. I wanted to wait til my custom effect part for Jehuty's Burst attack was finished, but progress is moving at snail speed right now. I'll just have to do a separate update video and post about it when its completed. With that out of the way, lets get to it!

Jehuty is no. 103 in the yamaguchi line for Kaiyodo's Revoltech line, ratchet-jointed figures known for being able to be posed in very dynamic poses and hold said poses for almost an indefinite amount of time. Every aspect from the sculpt, the joint placement, to utilized toy technology shows that jehuty is definitely a later generation revoltech and how after more than 100 figures, Kaiyodo is improving more and more with each and every figure. Though, this figure is by no means a perfect figure, it still has some very noteworthy positive marks going for it.

Early revoltech figures were known to have some great details for their size, but some inconsistency in the quality of certain sculpted areas were questionable. There was also some revoltech owners who spoke of some figures having symmetry problems. While there will always be some QC issues with some things, one thing can be said about Jehuty and this figure- Its a very detailed mech design and this figure does a pretty awesome job recreating that design and feel with all the details placed on it. From the proportions to the hard sculpted metatron "veins", one can't really complain about the look of this figure.

Like previous revoltech releases and even figma releases, you can expect extra hands for numerous posing options. The sets of hands include: a pair of directional pointing hands(right side), a pair of closed fists(middle), a pair of calm relaxed opened hands(left), and one special hand used to simulate a grab function from the game used on everything from environmental objects to enemies. All to be thrown, swung like a weapon, or used like a shield(top right).

Also included with the accessories are a pair of swap-able landing stabilizers for the legs when jehuty is planted a surface and not in flight mode(bottom right), one active melee mode for the blade weapon(middle right), one active long range mode for the blade weapon(middle left), a pair of energy wings used to simulate flight thrust(left).

It doesn't end there with the accessories, there's more! There's also a pair of double jointed elbow joints for more range in the arms as well as extending the arms for those really cool "hack n' slash" style poses( bottom right), a revol-container to store accessories or the ones that can fit at least(middle), a slash effect part/barrier effect part(left of revol-container), one enemy radar ring(top), a standard base with a revoltech joint(top right), and adapter pieces to give height when using the base as well as using the radar ring(top left).

Though not as weapon heavy on the accessories as the getter robo revoltechs or other releases, jehuty certainly comes with a plethora of accessories to recreate many poses.

Instead of showcasing every boring angle and each and every range of all of Jehuty's articulation, I've decided to show a pose that uses all of its joints as well as other poses to show how articulate this figure can be or how great it can look.

Here's another angle of this awkward weird looking pose. Almost all of Jehuty's joints consist of revoltech joints except a few areas which have swivel peg joints. This is a pretty notable shift from how some of the earliest revoltech releases saw only some revoltech joints with lots of doll cut style swivels.

Here's Jehuty in flight mode wieiding its extended blade in melee mode and using its grabbing hand. Normally, the wrists have very small revoltech joints in them(possibly the smallest revoltech joints ever. I've yet to see this joints sold seperately like some of the bigger sized joints), but the grabbing hand has a static peg for stability instead. Well thought, Kaiyodo.

Here's another angle. Fun fact- the revol-container is painted the same color as the many metal crates/plates featured in the game that is used by the grab function.

And here we see Jehuty displayed with the radar ring. Its attached via a special adapter piece used between the stand and the Jehuty figure itself. It has a very nice aesthetic to it to recreate moments in the game. However, that's where my praise for its functionality ends. Due to space restrictions, posing with the radar ring can be a chore or at least requires some serious patience. The more extravagant the pose with it, the more you'll have to adjust everything to get it all to look just right.By itself, the radar ring only looks cool, but gets in the way for playability and easy posing. That's not to say that it doesn't have other uses...

When combined with the effect part and certain poses, Jehuty can now be shown with a cool energy slash effect part.

Or when posed in other ways and other angles, Jehuty can now be shown utilizing its barrier shield.

Or can be launching points for the projectile looking "options" normally placed on jehuty's hips. These "options" are used for all forms of offensive manner in the game so this is another nice aesthetic touch for the ring. Personally, I would've preferred a larger ring since the game does feature the radar ring in different sizes. This would allow easier posing options as well as keep all the other uses for the ring as well.

This is more of a positive mark for revoltechs in general, but Jehuty benefits from this as well. More revoltechs, more accessories. Many, which can be interchanged or added on.

Overall, this revoltech release for Jehuty isn't a bad one, just not perfect. Its very attractive,has great sculpt, nice paint apps, incredibly articulated, and has lots of accessories. However, the accessories make this figure feel less like something to play with and more like just a display piece(a nice one though,heh). Which is a shame, because it just screams to be played with. With that all said, its another good revoltech release from Kaiyodo to some & an answered prayer to Zoe fans who've been wanting more Zoe merchandise(myself included ^^;)

As an additional closing note, this is what I have so far for the custom burst attack effect part I've been working on so far. I'm still working on the internal sculpt and the paint work.

Kotobukiya Fate Stay Night Saber kit Unboxing

2011-07-08T02:17:00.000-05:00

So I received a package from amiami yesterday. I haven't had anything in the mail for me in a while. That's always a nice thing after a long day at work- goodies in the mail ^^

Its my highly anticipated Fate/Stay Night - Saber model kit by Kotobukiya, and with good reason. I didn't originally plan on doing a post,video, or anything for this unboxing, but after cracking open the box and skimming through it a bit- totally had to do it. Its not often I see a kit this thought out and modeler friendly.(Well, I say that now based on current impressions, but I still haven't actuallly built it yet ^^; Don't let me down!)

Like many Kotobukiya model kits of late, a simple but nice picture of featured product-in this case, Saber about to lay waste to some unfortunate servant with her trusty excalibur.

Cracking the box open, nothing super eye catching yet...

Then we see the water slide decals. Yup, water slides. How very "pro" of you, Koto. Wait, nevermind that, those are full piece decals for the Avalon Sheath! HOLY... That's actually pretty cool. If I had to have some decal cover a piece that had all these curves and such, I'd rather have a dry transfer or water slide over a lame folding sticker any day. Good show, Koto ^.^!!

Manual is simple, but effective. Pretty standard-featured shots(above), decal guide, color guide, and the step by step instructions.

I was fairly pleased with the decals. Now- MY MIND IS BLOWN...Kotobukiya has been known to set some pieces up pre-painted, but this. THIS, is all kinds of amazing. The paint apps on this sheath is immaculate. Great details. AND, its not connected to a runner so it just needs to be assembled. The decals seem unnecessary now unless you plan on painting or maybe a mistake is made. I still appreciate both efforts regardless. Moving on...

Here, we see some armor pieces, and more pre-painted pieces. The armor pieces look decent, but I'm seeing some nasty mold flash on these pieces. It looks like I may be doing a quick paint treatment on the armor pieces. Maybe silver leaf or some buffing metallizer steel. The pieces look big enough to make easy work of the buffing.Somthing to think on...

The blue bits for the collar already have the gold trim on them already. Not as amazing as the sheath and upon close expection, the pieces could use another layer of gold here and there. A quick out of the box build though, seems like it would look great so far. Too bad I'm such a stickler for lame tiny details,heh. The breastplate here has a nicely painted saber servant rune on it. Too bad the piece its painted on has some bad mold flash.LAME SAUCE. But, this is why having those water slides is awesome. I can paint all the pieces and use the decals instead of having to paint everything back on-yay!

More shots of the armor pieces up close. There's some nice details here. A good metallic paint scheme will definitely make the details "pop" more.

AHH, MOLD Flash,ahhH!!! I'll deal with YOU later...

Tons more pre-painted pieces. The dress parts all have the necessary trims on them and are all separate. Like the hoi hoi san kits(also by Kotobukiya), there's pre-painted face parts for different facial expressions. And if you'd rather make your own, you can paint over the pieces and use the provided face expressions decals in whatever fashion you'd like.

Personally, I think I'm fine with the provided parts as they are. I may gloss coat the eye parts to give a wet shiny look. I haven't decided if I wanna paint over the actual face plates with maybe a two tone scheme to highlight skin tones or not. More to think on...(man, those face plates without eyes are kinda freaky,bwah, shudders a little*)

And here we have some plain parts that make up the very few poly caps this kit contains and some of the appendages.

Yay, more pre-painted parts! Excalibur's looking very nice. Both of them,heh.
Here's a closer look to catch some more of the details.
This is the runner containing more parts for limbs, and the under dressing on Saber. It looks like an offset white so I most likely will spray some matte white over all the pieces.

And of course, Saber wouldn't be Saber without her battle ready bun style hair. Nothing to write home about, but I see the ahoge and side bangs are ball-jointed so it has articulated hair similar to the hoi hoi san kits. I'm thinking two tone highlight for the hair. blond and maybe some auburn brown to really give the face character(considering the head is a big focus point on this kit, seems like the thing to do.)

It's pretty interesting how the base style model construction of the hoi hoi san kits really lended to the design style of this kit. I was really expecting to do some extensive trim work for this kit, so I was extremely and pleasantly surprised at how much work kotobukiya put into this kit. I'd be very interested in seeing what other characters could be made using this model base. A black rock shooter full action kit would be awesome! Anyways, moving on...

So all those runners to make a full action "D-Style"( I say d-style since the proportions aren't traditional chibi style and kotobukiya also makes a model line dubbed "D-style" with these kind of proportions. )Saber model kit. Not bad. And it seems fairly modeler friendly so if you're not too picky, you could do a straight build and still get a pretty nice looking saber. This'll be a nice addition to add next to my saber nendo. Too bad I can't start working on it right now since there's other kits needing to be completed first. CURSE YOU, Backlog Mountain!!

Progression is progressive.

2011-07-07T13:58:00.000-05:00

So despite the incredibly hot and humid weather, I really really really wanted to work on the resin kit and the next step was to start painting-SO IMPATIENT. While the parts did gets painted, the environment was killer on the spray cans; that and I was crazy intent on being as careful as i could be since I really didn't want any hiccups to go fix , which meant spray strokes.Lots of short spray strokes that probably didn't really paint as much as it made a mist onto the parts. It worked, but the killer part would be the environment meant I wasted more paint and more cans than I would've liked-BOO. That's what I get for being impatient.

I ended up using metallic black on the parts needing black instead of matte black, but I'm fairly pleased with the results so far. Of the two colors, the matte white gave so much more hell than the metallic black. White paint is already(or can be) really hard to paint with due to the properties and consistences most white paint have.(thats why when there are awful paintful apps on a toy that should have lots of white detail, bad white paint is sometimes one of the culprits,coughs*hasbro,coughs*marvel 3.75in figures,coughs*) I ended up using both cans completely,but the metallic black at least finished its job completely. Based on the work done with the matte white, I'm gonna need 1 or 2 more cans of matte white.LAME SAUCE.

So far, so good. Everything is looking smooth and painting is on tracks. No hiccups.yet.

These parts are going to need more matte white,ugh. White paint is such a pain!!!

ah, but at least metallic black never seems to give me problems. It usually always works great. One of my favorite paints to use ^^;

In other hobby work, I've been working on a custom effect part for my revoltech Jehuty figure. Namely, the burst attack.(I'd love a vector cannon, but that might require more work than I'd like right now) I've been recording most of the work on my youtube vids. If you'd like to catch any progress more upclose, check out the progress here. It shows the beginning, the ideas, and the change ups.so far.

Originally, I thought about using foil as a means to give more of a shiny gem-like effect to the burst ball. Didn't turn out like I'd like it to though...

Here's a test shot of the goal in mind. Yup, foil isn't workin for me like I'd hope. Time to try something else.

Here's another test shot of the goal in mind, though this is just a hollowed burst. Little plain, isn't it?

AND THEN, CHANGE UP. I scraped the foil and messed around with clear materials to make use of light sources instead. Sorta like light piping, I guess.

I like this a whole lot more than the foil...

Unfortunately, the material I used for that effect was nothing but clear hair gel (experimenting brings about weird trials). I'm currently working with clear resin and diorama water materials. Progress is slower than snail mail. That's it for updates now. More progress later.

So every Humpday, we have food night...

2011-07-06T23:22:00.000-05:00

Not sure when it started, but it kinda unofficially just happened. Every Wednesday, me and a handful of friends meet at one of our homes and food night takes place. We all bring something(entertainment,food,drinks,anything) and then cooking,drinking, and catching up happens. Its quite exhausting after a long day at work, but its still kinda nice, so I still go every week. jeez, I must be some sort of a masochist or something,heh. This is some of the stuff that happened in the last few nights we've done food night.

Simple egg custard pudding...its just flan -_-...

I didn't know it though at first. I did it all from scratch though. making the caramel,the mix,the hot water and everything...for flan.d'oh.

Brisket tacos,yum. Sito bought a whole brisket & let it cook for 24hrs. so tender,om nom nom.

He also whiped up a tasty salsa verde. He did everything in minutes. It was delicious. Chefs really know their stuff. They can also be more messy than a tornado though,heh.

Do you ever just meet up with friends or family to cook or eat like some sort of big event? Fav meals?

Black Rock Shooter: the game-opening.

2011-06-26T06:00:00.009-05:00

This has been out for a little bit, but its totally still worth posting and watching. Seeing it or hearing it totally psyches me up for the game. Check out the awesome opening movie^^

The game is just around the corner. Its set to release on the 25th of August and there is plans to have a U.S. port of the game which is amazing news!!! It won't stop me from pre-ordering the game though as I really want the White rock shooter figma to add to the rest of the collection of BRS figmas I have. Plus, it looks pretty wicked.

Aside from that, I do still intend to get the U.S. version for a few reasons:

1.Buying it helps the industry,obviously.
2.It also supports psp game properties specifically.
3.It helps the import market greatly.(ripping games is a big factor to why the U.S. doesn't see many psp game porting.)It doesn't mean things will change, but if opportunity comes for you support the cause, why not?

And in recent news, there's also gonna be a BRS Game ver. Figma! This.is.effin.bought...my wallet just doesn't know it yet.

Other hobby progress

2011-06-26T05:28:00.010-05:00

Aside from my tekkaman resin kit work, I've been trying to juggle more kits at once. I figured this would allow me to accomplish more in a short time since I'm trying to knock some kits outta that mountain I call my backlog. Plus, I could really use the space as I still have plenty of new things coming in all the time, at least til september it seems. While I'm working on the tekkaman blade resin kit project, I've also been working on my unicorn and sinanju head bases. I still have some painting to go, but I got some quick builds and sprays done at least.

The other project I started working on is my custom Burst attack effect part for my awesome ZOE jehuty Revoltech figure^^

I got the basic design done and a first green coat done. I still need to start the inner resin texturing on the inside to give the "particle charging" look, then a few more different coats to give a cool gradient effect.

And on another note, I just read the Reycal Oricalcum manga. Twas pretty cool. I ended up trying to hunt merchandise down for it. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be much at all for it. I did at least buy the revoltech of reycal. Its a pretty cool little figure and it really goes for the whole mecha musume vibe, which is cool because I recently watch anime series, Infinite Stratos and really enjoyed the designs alot.

Aside from that, I also picked up another Jehuty revoltech figure so I can do something I've been wanting to do since I saw this figure-Dual blades!

Really liking the metallic paint scheme on this figure.

Thats it for now; More progress later on in a few days.

I'm diggin the look here.

Tekkaman Blade Resin WIP - 2

2011-06-26T04:32:00.004-05:00

I haven't really gave this kit the much needed attention it deserves, so I recently remedied that. I finally got around to sanding all the parts I've primed so far and did some putty fill-in as well. Later on, I also check out some of the part-swap areas and worked on the custom joints for those pieces as well. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of room to do a full body test fit for everything(plus I have tons of tiny frickin pieces to work with as well), but I'm currently working on the big parts and the main body. all the other parts are really just accent pieces to do later.

Also, if I haven't mentioned it enough, this kit's parts separation is amazing. Maybe, too amazing...nah. I just had a small hiccup for a second. This kit's been separated for easy paint app work, for every separate piece. I thought for a moment that I found something I'd have to tape down or possibly hand paint. Nope, not the case. Turns out the shoulder armor pieces were done correctly. My own model kit totally punked me,heh.

After sanding and joint work, I did test fit #2. Everything seems to be doing well. So far, so good. After this-another priming run, then its off to start the first actual paint treatments. When I'm done with that,tighten joints and general re-enforcement. Hopefully, the next update for this won't be another 4 months,heh ^^;

Updates-a busy IRL, spoiler to some of my fun...

2011-06-26T03:42:00.006-05:00

So its been a few months(probably a lot longer actually) since I last updated. Sorry for the lack of activity going on here. All my work has been crazy hectic. IRL is seriously not to be trifled with,heh. I'm juggling work at the comic shop, running the vending machine business,planning the big group trip to New York for NYCC/NYAF in Oct, prepping for a big move into a house after the NY trip, trying to squeeze some semblance of a social life and not disconnect myself from friends and family, and then of course time to myself for downtime(anime,movies,reading,music,hobby work,etc.) Lots of stuff going on. Not to mention all these frickin pre-orders I have at AmiAmi. Hopefully, that won't come back to bite me in the butt.

Anyways, definitely don't have alot of time in the day for the last item on that list. Heh, my documents on the PC is full of checklists,planning guidelines,and the sort. Its the only way I know to keep everything(on my mind or not) organized to make sure everything gets handled. So much stress, its ridiculous. Luckily, I have food,booze, and a few few low maintenance lady friends to help de-stress(for the most part,ha)

As for the blog and other things, I devised a schedule as well to help things progress (another set of guidelines/schedule? for serial,yup. Besides, I'm all about the progression of things,yo.) I'm gonna try and squeeze at least 3 posts here a week and at least one youtube vid a month. Its still hard to set up, but I'm gonna give it a shot. I have more than enough material to post about so I shouldn't have any trouble finding stuff to post. Its just the time aspect, but thats just another opponent to beat down and curb stomp with time management^^;

Since I can't work on model kits, I'll COOK!

2011-03-07T22:50:00.005-06:00

Well, good news is HLJ received my package and is sending it back to me (postal tag!), but I gotta pay for shipping which is reasonable. Right now, I just want my friggin joints so I can get back to work on the tekkaman blade resin kit.

Between waiting for parts and also waiting for my PS3 to get repaired, I have watching anime, practice guitar(right now, I'm just trying to increase my dexterity and skill. God, I hate practicing scales.), work on other kits(though I still need paints or parts for most of them so that doesn't leave much room for any kits to straight build-lame), or study more kana.( I can now read "The very hungry catapillar!" Its a kids book...it took me a month.)OR....I can make food and stuff my face! And so I did.

Tonight's dinner- MISO RAMEN. Its no Momofuko's, but it was pretty tasty. Maybe next time, I'll try adding some tonkatsu.

The nights here are starting to get chilly so Hot ramen and tea is hella good ^^.

Saber just randomly appeared...

Saber: "GIVE ME SOME OF THAT RAMEN OR I'LL EXCALIBUR YOUR %$#%$ carcass!"

-_-"...

What kind of food do you like making or eating in chilly weather?

I guess I should go study,practice, or find a kit to work on. Hopefully, I can get back to work on the resin kit before all my posts become strictly food posts.

Random Foodie Post!!!...and update.

2011-02-27T00:48:00.008-06:00

Y is for Yay and for Yakisoba; ergo YAY for Yakisoba!!!

Got lazy and hungry and had a craving. And its been a while since I've cooked. I usually overdo it when that happens ^^;

Not exactly traditional yakisoba, but tasty enough on the nom nom meter ^^

Then again, like I said- I sometimes overdo it,heh. So it better be tasty since there's plenty more.

If only I had a case of Sapporo or and nice pot of tea, my night would be perfect.

And in other news, much much sadder news, My PS3 has finally passed on. Do not shed tears though( My manly tears will suffice) for it has gone to a better place- Sony heaven.

Where everyone wins, where big businesses make over excessive crap tons of money and continue to make nice things,but over charge,BUT! it matters not, for it's sony heaven so the consumers have more than enough money.(plus its an effin heaven scenario- everyone's supposed to be all win-win,right??)...That, and I just shelled out $129 to get it fixed. Considering my PS3 was a first gen 60gb, its specs are way better than any new unit(plus backwards compatibility rocks!) I even bumped up the hdd up to 500GB. I didn't have a warranty(not that matters since its not covered anymore anyways.) so paying $129 to continue having awesomeness is a small price to pay. Hell, they know it too. Its $99 to get a new $120 slim PS3 instead of fixing my unit or replacing it. 6-8 weeks is a long time to wait, but it'll be worth it. BUT, I'll never forget you, my first PS3! {Insert lame music ala titanic style or something}

Oh, and I still can't continue my resin kit since the freakin Postal service sent my joints back to HLJ! Due to some wonky circumstances involving their held time and conflicts with the recent holidays, they sent it back. So lame. So now, I gotta send HLJ an email and hope I can just pay for shipping again(which really really sucks) so I can get my damn joints I already paid for. Til then, no progress. Hopefully, all the shenanigans won't take forever and my next post will be full of AWESOME. Til next post,later.

P.S.-Go enjoy some yakisoba.and get me a bottle of sapporo while you're at it ;)

Tekkaman Blade Resin WIP - 1

2011-02-08T22:33:00.009-06:00

So I totally couldn't wait and started work on this on Monday. My poor keroberos revoltech had to sacrifice his joints so that blade could get jointed. Its alright though, this is just til the order of revoltech joints arrive via mail. Man, Hand drilling all those holes were a real pain. Since the original design called for basic ball joints and ball pegs, some pre-planning on how to make everything fit just right had to be done. Nice thing to be noted, is all the parts aren't just separated for detailing, but also for painting. All the red pieces are separate so when it was casted, it could've be done in color! There's a few places here and there needing putty so I'll have to pick up some green stuff at work tomorrow.

Aside from that, This has been a very rewarding build so far. I like the previous incarnations of Tekkaman Blade's figures and model kits, but most of them have all been following the more streamlined "suit" look from the first series. This design probably fits some of the designs from the end of the first series and the whole second series(OVA). It does what TF Classics did for the original G1 TF designs- it maintains the aesthetic charms and themes and adds to it. With wicked mecha style: long imposing proportions,harsh & sharp lines/angles, and intense details building on the basic look. The Armor plus figure is nice, but if this was a figure with that kinda price tag, I would've bought it without a second thought.

I'm slightly intimidated to paint this actually. I'm worried the paint job won't do this design justice. Still gonna try, but I am worried slightly. Unfortunately, I'm outta spare black revoltech joints so this will have to do til the package arrives. I even paid for EMS this time to get it here faster.Crazy, right?? Thats the AWESOME that is Tekkaman Blade. More WIP updates later!

Nothing Glued yet, but things are starting to come together already.

Head sculpt looks great. Lots of small pieces,too.

The iconic torso design. Putting this together made me think on how the joint placement and what to inprove on an actual revoltech tekkaman. If they're making revoltech Muv Luv and Z.O.E. , there's hope, right???

Look at the details! Frickin Awesome. The normal design is just basic panel lines.Bunk that, Raised cool sculpt FTW!

Mecha proportions indeed. Fit a human leg in that?Psssh...

Since I haven't started actually gluing parts since nothing's painted yet, some parts were just taped temporarily or placed carefully into position. Having some trouble with that breastplate, blade?

Had enough joints to pre-joint another arm. Looks like it'll have to rest on that stand til more parts come...

Its really starting to come together. I can't wait for it to get done. I'm so geekgasming over this. So cool.

OMFG- Tekkaman blade GETTTOOOO!!

2011-02-07T00:15:00.005-06:00

So work was quite slow(ish) today, what with the superbowl and all. The best part of my day came in the form of an unexpected late christmas present, the Space Knight Tekkaman Blade - Full Action Resin Kit!! Sound Familar? It was on my Want List post I did a while back. This thing is hella sweet! Its my first real resin kit and I'm so excited, I wanna start working on it now. Too bad I'm in the middle of working on a backlog right now. Currently working on a simple build of the 1/144 new hguc gouf custom and I'm still working on the rg inner frame. I'll get there eventually. One kit at a time. Besides, I still need some paints and airbrush stuff. I wanna do this right. Its gonna totally be my masterpiece ^^;

Not alot of info out on the web for this guy so I guess I'll just help things along with this post and some pics. Check out the details below.

This thing just screams horribly awesome.

Tupperware. The Ultimate in Resin Protection.

Awful xerox copy looking instructions. Luckily, most resin kits don't really need em.

Plenty of pieces...

Details are ridiculously amazing.

This thing demands the best work I can give it!

heh-In yo face, B-club manipulators!

Zebraman 2 viewed. now where's my tokusatsu merchandise???

2011-02-05T01:07:00.009-06:00

So I finally cracked and watched the zebraman 2 film. For those not familiar with Zebraman, its an awesome Tokusatsu film by fav director, Takashi_Miike. First film got good ratings on both the tomato meter and on IMDB. No word if a U.S. dvd release for the 2nd film will occur anytime soon so I'll have to settle for the original RAW dvd. Too bad no one's fansubbed it yet. Guess it'll be at least another few months(hopefully??) before I can really appreciate the takashi miike jokes and dialog. Regardless, I totally cracked and watched it; not sure if a subbed dialog will change my views, but until I have it(or improve my translation skill^^;...so behind studies), I won't give a review or anything til then.

If I had to give an impression right now, I'd say that Zebraman 2 is alot like Iron Man 2: Entertaining, but not as charming as the first one. Not that its bad or anything, I still enjoyed viewing what I did see. With that said, I'd like to say that despite being a toksatsu ZEBRA hero, I'm totally diggin the designs. I liked the designs from the first film and Zebraman 2 totally stepped up for the costume design. Remember, when you were a kid watching bad batman films,but thought the batsuits were so badass? Nevermind batnipples and the lame script or any of the other semantics-the thought was, "cool superhero costume." A grown man dressed as a zebra themed hero can't be worse than a man dressed as a bat. Cool is cool. And I think Zebraman is effin BOSS.

With Japan's very big Toksatsu genre from kamen rider,godzilla, to numerous others, there's been tons of great merchandise. from statues,busts,RAHs, Bandai released figures and more, I have one question: WHERE'S THE ZEBRAMAN MERCHANDISE?? For anyone who's a kamen rider fan and collects figures, you know what the designs are and how that translates to figures. Look at the design of a recent kamen rider, Ryuki(or Dragon Knight for the U.S.)

This is the overall basic design of Ryuki.Not bad. Now look at another design of Ryuki from The SIC line...

Similar,but more detailed. I personally prefer this look.

Thats what Zebraman 2 did to the look of the first Zebraman designs. Below is the only merchandise of Zebraman I could locate. Very impressive indeed. Very detailed. Think of the possibilities with a figure!! Hell, even Batman and Spiderman got the SIC treatment.(yeah, they're bigger than zebraman,but dammit, they already got tons of merchandise.)

Anyways, if anyone knows of any additional merchandise for zebraman, let a guy know! We'll finish up with some trailers from the films and some pics.Enjoy and if you're interested and haven't seen it, check it out ^^. Til next post.

P.S. - Happy Lunar New Year! year of the Rabbit yo.

Kamen Rider Ryuki pictures from HobbySearch
Zebraman bust pictures from GunJap blog
Zebraman film pictures from Gonin Movie Blog