Tuesday, January 22, 2013

So I Wasn't Actually Awake - SUE ME


So last time I said something about being awake, which I had assumed would be an indication that I would get back in business as soon as I moved my slothful chunk of a body into the motions that mocked the idea of pushing boxes around. 

My assumption was incorrect.  I didn't do anything.

But I did now!  Look!  There's a table in the corner!  AND I have more room vertically, so I can finally take some shots at a...looking-up angle.  From the bottom?  You know what I mean.

Anyway, I took a bunch of shots of the random junk I've bought in between now and when I didn't have a picture table set up.  Sooo...consider these test-shots in terms of lighting.  It ain't bad, but I think I want a lamp for extra light.  You be the judge.


First up is Tekkaman Blade!  I won't go into crazy detail 'cause I think I wana do a post on him at one point, BUUUUT...I got this guy 'cause they brought over his anime back in the 90's; calling it Teknoman.  I loved it, but at the time I was unfamiliar with the idea of anime, thinking it was just another cartoon.  I was bummed that there were no toys (and confused), but honestly there was never much even in Japan (though I'll have to do a better search to see if that is still correct).  When I saw this one I knew I had to get it to finally get a figure of one of my old-time favorite toons.


This one turned out fuzzy, much to my annoyance.  Not sure why; I think because it was focusing on Kraven's knife.  Anyway, Marvel Universe figures are hard to find, so I snapped these up right quick (in November, I think?)  I do not regret Spider-Man one bit, even though I have a few different ones so far.  I've been trying to find the perfect one, and I have finally found it!  Don't bother with any other standard Spider-Man figure - end your search here.  Perfection.  Kraven is pretty dang cool too!


I also somehow found an older Marvel Universe figure!  Dunno how.  I know he was supposed to be out awhile back, but I never saw him.  In fact, since I got him I haven't seen him again!  Hate how these things disappear like that.  Anyway, this is my first Juggernaut, and he's pretty damn cool!  He also likes Cheetos?  I dunno.  First thing in my head when I was resizing the picture.


Got these two recently 'cause my Toys R Us rewards were gona expire (they have a terrible rewards system).  I wana get all the dwarves sometime, but I'm goin' at it slowly.  The figures don't seem to be moving that fast, so I have time.  Anyway, I chose these two 'cause they had the coolest accessories, and these two also happen to be favorites.  Only problem (an expected problem at that) is that Dwalin's (bald guy) axes can't fit on his back setup without bending the handles.  It's fine though, 'cause the hammer can fit back there without bending.


This month's MotUC figure is Netossa, and here she is!  I'll of course do a post just for her later, so I won't elaborate any more.


And to end this, we have Transformers!  I've been trying to stay away from them, but the Fall of Cybertron line is killing me.  Ultra Magnus up there comes with a sword, and that is a weakness of mine.  Plus, the sword comes apart and forms around the gun for a big 'ol super sword!  In fact, all the weapons on the Fall of Cybertron line connect in various ways, which is just one big weakness for me.  Soooo...more Transformers.  I'm still getting rid of some though, for instance: War for Cybertron Optimus.  Because this:


Because Fall of Cybertron Optimus is SO MUCH BETTER.  This one is easier to Transform and pose, and just looks better all around (and is much more fun).  So War for Cybetron Optimus is in the 'ol sell bin, at the moment. 

Oh yeah, there's Jazz, too.  I dunno what was goin' on with that pic; I was just testing lighting 'n such.  Seemed like a good idea.  Optimus is a dick.



Aaaand, we'll top this off with Soundwave!  If you know anything about Soundwave, then I don't need to explain myself: he's just awesome.  Beyond that though; this one gives chest-birth to data discs, which are all different forms of his classic cassette tapes.  Pretty cool! He can fit three in his chest at once, and by pressing the plunger on his back (which sticks out when he's full) you can pop them out like PLHPHLPHPLBBB all at once.  I'm sure some finesse could be applied to slowly pop out one at a time, but...well it takes finesse, and I haven't tried yet.  I still think it's cool!  Best part is that the discs pop open (more or less) and auto-transform when they come out.  Ravage could use some work, and Frenzy and Rumble don't really open all the way, but....why do I still think this is cool again?

Ah, whatever.  What do you think of the lighting so far?  It's better than I thought it would be, but I think I still want a lamp just in case.  I don't have any of the natural lighting that I had with my non-basement room at the old apartment.

There is, of course, more work to be done on the room (like ALL the work) but now I at least have a table set up for takin' pics, so I can do some things here and there.  We'll see where it goes!  Hopefully I'll be moving along real soon! 

14 comments:

  1. First update of the year!!!!


    I think the lighting is nice and bright though you might have to diffuse some of it cause it makes the whites overpower everything (this coming form a guy who just wings it).

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    1. Yeah, I was thinking the white looked a little bright. Which sucks, 'cause I wanted to see what another light from a different angle would do. Maybe I should just get a different light and not sure the ceiling lights? Bah! Things to test, things to try.

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  2. If anything, I think the light needs to be a bit more diffuse. But it's good enough right now, assuming you don't run into the weirdness like the Spider-Man pic.

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    1. Yeah, I'm gona have to deal with what I have for now until I get another light and check my options. Seems to be worse depending on the screen I'm using; it's not too bad on my laptop, but it's worse on some other screens I've checked.

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  3. Forget all the lighting jibba-jabba. Balin and Dwalin are in some kind of complex. Man that make my imagination go places!

    But it's nice to see you posting again. :)

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    1. Dwalin and Balin are breakin' into the steampunk genre!

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  4. HoleeshityougotTekkamanBladetoo!!

    I LOVE Teknoman. Hell, I still have the original edited together intro move aired the week before Teknoman began that I taped without knowing what it was and rewatched that for nearly 10 years before I broke down and bought a Chinese bootleg horribly translated of Tekkaman Blade (and I still have that). Then I got the official collection when that was released about five years ago, and also the Australian edit of the complete series (in America it ended halfway)....

    Anyway, I got the SPEC Pegas and Blade a few years ago and loved it, although it is small. This one... I think I wasn't as excited about it because I pre-ordered it and got it when it was released, instead of when I wanted to get it. Evil, though, is fantastic (albeit very scary with very tiny slots for his weapons). I also ended up getting Black Lotus from Accel World to be a female Tekkaman.

    There is a legitimate complaint about the Tekkaman Figmas being a bit small... but they actually stand about the right height next to 1/18th figures.... That means Tekkaman crossovers in GI Joe, Marvel Universe, and Star Wars!

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    1. I actually haven't even watched the series since back in the day, though I would like to. I checked out some clips on youtube of the dub I was familiar with to see if it held up, and other than the classic 90's corny battle dialogue (Why don't you - STICK AROUND *stabs enemy*) it actually held up better than I thought! The action was of course my favorite, though. I love a good old fashioned powered armor fight.

      Anyway, I originally had my eye on the Pegas and Blade set you're talking about, but the price held me back for awhile until I saw the Figma. Pegas wasn't as important to me, so I broke for the Figma. As for size: I hadn't thought about how large he was compared to humans....that's awesome! You're right, he's about the right size for Joes, or at least a tiny bit bigger. Sweet! Thanks for pointing that out!

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    2. The dub really does hold up pretty well, but really can't compare to the original script from Blade. I picked up the Australian dub at Best Buy for $15 a few years ago- the dub is mostly the same as the American dub, except Ringo has a different voice actor and only some of the Teknomen had their names changed in the Australian version (Blade was Slade in the American dub, Dagger was Gunner in the American dub... Evil stayed Saber either way, same as Omega was Darkon). The voice actor for Star, Blade's girlfriend, is the same voice as Doris from Vampire Hunter D. I am not ashamed to say she was the first anime girl crush I had.

      The Pegas and Blade set is pretty pricey, but it was the first real toy for TB. Before that there was some early 90s Bandai models (which would've taken more work to make cool) and some god-awful simple Korean toys. It was My birthday and I've been waiting for a toy of Blade for over 15 years, so I went for it. After that came the Armor Plus series, which were much bigger with attatchable die-cast armor (they'd probably scale well with MOTUC), but MAN are THOSE expensive! I couldn't justify them.

      The only thing that sucks is there isn't really any good toys for Blade to fight. I'm slowly rebuilding a Kenner Aliens collection and they might be the closest to decent enemies.

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    3. AH, that's why I keep thinking that guy's name is Gunner! That was a favorite badguy name of mine when I was growing up. Dagger is just as cool, though. I know the guy was the throwaway dude at the begining, but I loved him. I searched a bit, but it doesn't seem like anyone cares to make a figure of him. Maybe I'll like the other enemies better once I watch the show. I'll have to see if the one you bought is still around.

      Anyway: I think I'm good with my Figma Blade, now. I do like how Pegas comes with other versions...but I don't need to be getting various versions of this guy when I'm happy with this one. As for toys for him to fight....i'll have to dig around. Can't be too hard to find some good alien crab monsters.

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  5. One of the toughest things about toy photos is trying to avoid the plastic-glare. Still haven't quite figured it out myself.

    I've got Soundwave too, and he's fun, but I was slightly disappointed at the disc-guys. Especially Rumble, who has a cool design from the game but ends up being kind of a scarecrow in toy form. Doesn't help that the abominably beautiful Masterpiece Soundwave is out at the same time...

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    1. Masterpiece Soundwave isn't coming to stores, is he? He's a danger to me then, but if I gotta get 'em online then I'm safe. Somehow finding it in stores makes it more buyable to me, regardless of just about anything being readily available online with little more than some numbers and a click.

      Anyway, I think Frenzy and Rumble really lose out in this design. I mean, it works for what they are, but since thier hands are open I think they should have added some little items to at least round out thier usual abilities (and maybe have some place on Soundwave to mount them when the guys are in his chest cavity).

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    2. So far, Hasbro hasn't said they'd be releasing him stateside. However they have (eventually) released each mainline MP figure since Grimlock, indicating that you are probably not safe.

      And yeah, F/R even have the little grippy hands that can probably hold a Legion-scale accessory. Would have been nice to have some piledrivers to mash in there or something. Ah, well.

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  6. pssst, Alexx you might like this:

    http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e153/dinoviper/007.jpg

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