For Those of You Just Joining Us

Welcome, one and all. It's hard to believe that this is the 400th post on my blog. I've been writing off and one for almost ten years now. There's a plethora of musings, reviews, and even a dash of photography thrown in.

The one thing I'm most proud of is my fiction.  A mix of old fashion pulp fiction and cutting edge science fiction, there's a little bit for everyone. These are the stories I have written so far.

Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5: Part Doc Savage and part Buckaroo Banzai, this story was a straight homage to the pulps and serial chapter plays of the 1930s.  Rick Daring and his associates face off against the masked Spectre who plans his revenge against a group of scientists who wronged him.

The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah: A loose sequel to the first story, the mysterious woman known as Sara must rescue her friend Zoey from the clutches of Doctor Zeitgeist and discover the strange treasure lurking in the Temple of Khyber Gorah.

Only Human: Picking off after the previous story, Zoey Walker returns home to see family, but finds out about a rash of disappearance.  She follows the trail until it leads to her final confrontation with Doctor Zeitgeist.

I'm currently working on a new story so check back soon.

Review: Moonrise Kingdom

For many, director Wes Anderson is an acquired taste.  He is a very polarizing force in the movie industry. Let's face it, either you like his movies or you don't. And the first fifteen minutes of "Moonrise Kingdom" is thick with every nuance that you love or hate.

But after that, when our two young protagonists meet in the meadow, Anderson dials it down and lets the story breathe a little.  There's nothing too new of Wes Anderson and the subject matter of dysfunctional families, but young Sam and Suzy are lot easier to relate to than some of the eccentrics populating Anderson's earlier films.

The cast include Anderson regular Bill Murray along with Bruce Willis and Edward Norton with cameos from Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman.  But all of the praise should rightly be placed on newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward for being perfect in their roles.

While the movie may be one of the director's more understated movies, style wise, it is still filled with his famous detail-oriented, retro-pastiche that makes his movies so distinct. From the maps of the fictitious island to the excerpts from library books that don't exist, it is easy to say that Anderson has not lost his touch.

"Moonrise Kingdom" is one of Wes Anderson's easily accessible movies, and with its time-tested story of runaway lovers, there's no question why it's garnered such good reviews.

Big Chief 1/6 Scale 11th Doctor With Long Coat

In less than a month (Easter, in fact), the new episodes of Doctor Who will start, and the 11th Doctor will be sporting a new outfit featuring a dark purple long coat and grey waistcoat.  I like the new look and was able to get some custom clothing made to fit my Big Chief figure.

Check out these pictures below:

2013 Star Wars 12" AOTC Clone Trooper Review

Feeling Lucky, Punk?

When I first heard the news that Hasbro was getting back on the 1/6 scale wagon, I was cautiously optimistic, being a fan of the Kenner/Hasbro 12" figures from the '90s.  I had envisioned the line similar to the 12" Rise of Cobra figures from a few years ago: basic 12" figures featuring more sculpted than cloth outfits with a weapon at a decent price.

Hasbro, though, went with new sculpts but no cloth items and little articulation.  They seem confident that the trend will bring in big bucks for them as similar 12" figures were present for the new Spider-Man and Iron Man toy lines.

I found this figure at my local Target store. They had both the AOTC Clone Trooper and ROTS Anakin Skywalker. I wouldn't normally pass on a ROTS Anakin, but the sculpt was very weak, and the figures I saw were literally cross-eyed. So that left me with the Clone Trooper...


I was overall impressed with the sculpt of the figure.  There are actually a fair amount of details in the armor of the figure. Compared with the Anakin figure, the Clone Trooper has much better proportions. My main complaint is that the main chest piece is a little bulky, making the arms and legs connections a little awkward looking. When compared to the original 12" Stormtrooper, the Clone Trooper is a little shorter, but is closer in stature to the 12" Stormtrooper from 2004.

Being economical, Hasbro only used black paint to bring out some detailing on the helmet and the trooper's body suit.  For whatever the reason, they stopped at the hips and left the back of trooper's knees white. It seems that the figure is lucky to get that much as it looks like Hasbro is applying little if any paint apps to the backs of the figures of their economical 12" line.

Bare Knees.

Another surprise was that the Clone Trooper had a little more than the "Big 5" in the articulation department.  Yes, the head, shoulders, and hips move, but also the wrists as well. I should also mention that his blaster is molded into his right hand. I have mixed feelings about this, but otherwise, it does not distract from the figure.

A little help, guys?

There are two reasons that this figure would appeal to collectors:

1. Those interested in a vintage-styled figure of prequel characters as this is very reminiscence of the bygone era of when a toy was just a toy.

2. Customizers who enjoy applying their own paint jobs.  Since this is a very bare Clone Trooper, collectors can feel free to paint their own color design, add dirt or scoring to the armor, or just finish the job Hasbro started.

For $9.99, I have no really issue with the figure, considering that people pay $15-$20 for a figure half its size. It's a shame that nothing really makes it stand out as well.