Ugh....

Goodbye Revolution, hello Wii. Yes, Wii, pronouced "we", though a better pronunciation would be "WHYYYYYYYY?????". Oh screw it, I'm still gonna call it the Revolution....

Another toy robot

I consider this to be a toy robot as opposed to the QRIO being a 'not toy' partly because it's meant to be a build it yourself robot by Volks, which is a toy company. Anyhow, I ran across this on the internet somehow, and after I watched the six videos at the bottom, I figured I had to share it. This robot isn't nearly as cool as QRIO, for one thing, the only way it can stand up is by attaching itself to the metal base with electromagnets, but it's got such a cool attitude! Also of note is the fact that you can buy optional 'shells' for it. One of them is a set of armor to turn the Robofie into a Scopedog! That's cool!

The story of the Hazel

In the year 0079, during the One Year War, the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF) deployed a mobile suit based on the form and function of the RX-78-2 Gundam, though modified to make it more economically feasable. This was the Gundam Mass-produced, the GM. The GM used technology that was inferior to the Gundam's, it's armor was regular titanium, instead of the lunar-titanium alloy used in the RX-78, and it's beam spray gun, though not as powerful as the Gundam's beam rifle, was still effective. It mounted only one beam saber instead of two, had a Core Block instead of a Core Fighter, and so on... However, where it lacked quality, it made up for in quantity. Despite it's flaws, the GM was still superior to the Zeon's Zaku-II, and the Federation won the war.



After the One Year War ended at the beginning of UC0080, the EFSF began rebuilding its military forces, and one part of that was the upgrade of it's mass-produced GM mobile suits on a widespread scale. The improved model was the RGM-79C GM Kai, and although it was similar to the original GM, it did feature an improved generator and manuverability. (not to mention a cool exterior designed by Hajime Katoki!!)



During the military reconstruction, the EFSF also decided to produce a high performance version of the GM. The new RGM-79N GM Custom, partly based off the GM Kai and the RX-78NT-1 "Alex" featured a high number of verniers that allowed for very good manuverability.



After Zeon's Operation Stardust in UC0083, the EFSF announced the formation of the Titans, an elite counter-insurgency force whose sole purpose was to hunt down renegade citizens who either supported the Zeon or spoke out against the EFSF. The Titans Test Team was a R&D subdivision, focused on the development of new MS technologies. The first MS they produced was the RGM-97Q, the GM Quell. Almost identical to the GM Custom, the biggest differences were the Titans distinctive blue and black colors and the fact that it was built for colony use, since most mobile suits were made for Earth or space use.




The RX-121 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel] is a functional test machine assigned to the Murphy Team. Although it's a testbed, the Hazel is intended for actual combat. The Hazel is equipped with a Gundam-type head to test it's psychological effectiveness against Zeon Forces. It is also equipped with prototype versions of munitions expected to be used in future MS designs. The Hazel's most distinctive equipment used is the shield booster, which contains propellent tanks and a single thruster with an output of 22,000 kg. Unlike the sturm boosters on previous mobile suits, the shield booster is retained after the fuel is expended and used for defensive purposes. The Hazel also has grips that hold the arms in proper position for it's high mobility mode, where it mounts three shield boosters, one on each arm, and one on it's movable booster pod. The Hazel is basically a GM Quell with test equipment bolted onto it. In fact, there is a Hazel Reserve Unit which is identical to the GM Quell aside from it's Gundam-type head like the Hazel's. This is also a functional machine, and moves out of the shadow of the Hazel when the Hazel becomes badly damaged in a battle with the Zeon and is no longer fully compatible with the Quell.



While being repaired, many upgrade and test parts on the Hazel are fully integrated into it's systems, making it a more unified and powerful MS. Upon completion of it's repair and refit, the MS is rechristened the RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom]. It's operating system and equipment are also upgraded, so the machine's operation is also enhanced. It's shield boosters were lost in it's fateful battle, and so it is equipped with a standard shield like that used on a GM. The loss of the shield boosters regrettably reduce it's mobility, but it's overall performance increase helps make up for this. The Hazel Custom is off-white because there wasn't enough time to repaint it, so the armor is still in the color it was forged in. Additions to the Hazel Custom are a multi-weapon lock on the waist, and another multipurpose latch above the cockpit. A main hardware used in the multi-weapon lock is a subarm unit, a set of optional arms used to hold and wield additional weaponry. These latches are also used in the deployment and attachment of the FF-X29A G-Parts [HRDUDU] support unit. The HRDUDU is a separate unit, independant of other units. However, before the launch of the Hazel, the HRDUDU can be attached to the Hazel to increase it's mobility and attack power. Two of these units can be combined together either on the Hazel or to each other to make a more powerful unit. This is due to the extreme modularity of it's construction. When two HRDUDU units are connected, they show attributes similar to that of a Mobile Armor.
One other configuration of the Hazel is it's combination with the Icarus unit. The Hazel is unable to transform into a flight mode like the Assimar or the Gaplant. So, in solution to this, the Titans Test Team members made the Hazel fly through brute force rather than aerodynamics. The Icarus unit is equipped with multiple generators and high output thrusters to achive lift.



Remember the Hazel Reserve Unit? After the Hazel was rebuilt into the Hazel Custom, it was no longer necessary to keep the Reserve Unit around for parts. As a result, it was lightly upgraded with a backpack unit similar to the Hazel and rechristened the RX-121-2 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel II]. While it keeps the head, shoulders and backpack modules of the Hazel, where the the Hazel has a movable booster pod, the Hazel II has a Tri-Booster unit consisting of one sturm booster and two universal boosters. The two universal boosters are mounted on articulated frames, allowing them to be pointed in many directions, further enhancing it's mobility. Also, due to the mobility and mass of the three boosters, they can be used for AMBAC (Active Mass Balance AutoControl) Manuvering. Remanants of this technology is seen in the tail stabilizers of future units.



Later the Hazel II is refitted with leg enhancements and a multi-weapon latch to meet the specifications of the Hazel Custom. The new unit is named the RX-121-2 TR-1 [Advanced Hazel]. Main differences from the Hazel Custom include a high performance optical sensor like that used on the RGM-79SR GM Sniper III, and additional booster units attached to the soles of the feet. The other main difference is that instead of a movable booster pod, it has a multi-shield pod that can equip two booster shields. Also included is an upgraded booster shield that has ten diffuse beam guns mounted on it's surface, which increases the Advanced Hazel's defensive capabilities, but cuts into the size of the propellent tank on the new booster shield.

The Advanced Hazel incorporates all the test results of the previous units, and is considered the current 'completed form' of the Hazel.

HGUC Advanced Hazel

I recently posted some pictures of the HGUC Advanced Hazel on Figure.fm. You can find my user profile here. The Hazel is a pretty nice kit, I wouldn't mind building the Hazel Custom, and perhaps picking up a couple HRUDUDU units, except that they are kinda pricey.

Rube Goldberg...

According to Wikipedia, Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist, perhaps most famous for his "Rube Goldberg machines" — devices that are exceedingly complex and perform very simple tasks in a very indirect and convoluted way. This video depicts one of the best Rube Goldbergs I have seen.

Hmmmm...

Well, as for my last post, after complaints, I wanted to point out that I was thanking Hasbro for not releasing Swoop in green and blue, or Grimlock in yellow and green. Anyhow, today is gonna be something easy, for the technologically challenged who are afraid of lists, just click here. No tricks, no lists, no tough questions.

Anyhow, recently I got Homeworld 2 for the PC. Actually, I also got it for the Mac, but that's a story in and of itself. Anyhow, after a couple hours of work, I got it to work off the HDD instead of a CD, and I've been playing it for the past couple days. First off, this game is hard. Ship combat in a full 3D space, with the mutable enemy fleet arranged to give you a disadvantage at all times. I only beat two levels. But then I cheated, gave myself way more resources than I needed, and two of a very special ship called Sajuuk. Now my fleet is massive! Not invincible, mind you. Yesterday I blundered into a massive ambush and lost one of my Sajuuks, but when I re-did that mission from more of a defensive position, I did okay. Anyhow, this G-Vid shows some of what HW2 is about. Also, this other group did some stuff on HW2, here is parts one, two, and three of their video about various ships in the armada. That game looks REALLY cool when played at x2 speed!

Thank you Hasbro!

I don't often say it, but somtimes Hasbro has their head on straight. Look at this thread on the Transformers message board TFW2005, the first and fourth posts show this boxarts for unreleased repaints of Dinobots. Good golly.... Those colors are soo freaking horrible, words have no power....

Here's a quickie...

Thanks to Tim, here's a video I found on Google Video. Mario 64, gamestart through the end credits in 25 minutes.

Today was a Google Video day.

Yeah, I got on Google Video today to find some cool stuff, and I think I did a pretty good job. First I went on to try and find some good Stargate stuff, and I found a couple things. First up, I found this video of Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson in a fun little blooper reel. Next up is a couple of producers singing along to the SG-1 intro, the hidden lyrics!!! After coming up with a bunch of nothing after that, I started to search Gundam, then figured that I had done that to death, and I wanted to check out on Evangelion. So I searched that and found some great goodies. First up, anyine who is vaguely intrested in Evangelion needs to see this video. In my opinion, one of the best music videos EVAR!!!! The next video was kinda funny, the Cruel Windows' Thesis. This next one is a music video, "In The End." Cool song, cool video. This next AMV is really wicked cool as it is, but the subtitles are what makes it worth it. Anyhow, last but not least, a soundclip from MGS: Substance, with Evangelion clips. Coolness.

Revoltech figures

Recently, Danny Choo had a post about Revoltech figures. It showed some cool stuff and these tiny joints that made mini-figure posability feasable. In that post, he showed pictures of Evangelion, Devil May Cry, and a couple robots like Shin Getter Robo. Anyhow, there was an anime exhibition recently, and there they showed some cool Revoltech goodies.



This first picture shows the Eva-01 and Eva-00 in their boxes, just waiting to be released from their paper and plastic prisons. Poor guys.....



Here are some more figures in this line, looks like they are gonna have a full lineup. I see the Unit-04, the Unit-03, the Unit-00' Kai. I also see that they have a pretty good attention to detail, the Unit-04 doesn't look like it has a power plug, which is keeping with the details. The Unit-04 used an experimental S2 engine, which is what cause the unit and the entire Nevada NERV outpost vanish.



Here we have the yellow Unit-oo with the space shuttle shield and the experiemental positronic rifle. The posability on these figures is pretty good, seeing as how they are probably only about four inches tall or so. In the background we see the Eva-04 and the Eva-00' again.



Here we have the Unit-02 and the Unit-01. Doesn't look like the Unit-02 comes with the production positron rifle, but I suppose that can be forgiven. However, the Unit-01 DOES come with the swords as seen in the manga



And in the last image, we see the Unit-01 with all sorts of cool accessories. Multiple heads and hands. Mmmmm, goodies.... Anyhow, I've always wanted a full set of Evangelions to do some full loadout operations against my Gundams. Oh, and before I go, check out this cool Evangelion bicycle!

Secretly in love...

Yes, I think I'm secretly in love. Or maybe not so secretly. It's not with any of the hot hot Asian chicks I saw in Canadia, and it's not with Major Kusinagi, (I think she might be lesbian). No, my true fiery passion lies with the FALKEN, a hidden plane unlockable in Ace Combat 5. Well, apparently it's gonna be in Ace Combat Zero as well, since Bandai made a EX Kit of it. Anyhow, the FALKEN is hot, I mean, insanely hot. And in that red color scheme, it's lustfully hot. I mean, it's about the hottest thing since the Mave Yukikaze. I should pick up this kit. This is the plane I put hours into the game for. This is the plane that made me break my no-cheat policy on the game so I could afford it. This is the plane that comes with the most insane secondary weapon ever. The laser cannon can fry any target in mere moments. This plane can kill anything that flies, rolls, runs, sits, walks or twitches. My work in Ace Combat 5 to get the x-02 has practically ceased, since I have been falling over the FALKEN. I'm not easily moved by a plane, but this one has got me. I'll park it in my garage next to my M1 Abrams and my S2000. Yep.

Second day in Canada, first day in the con.

This morning I woke up and got geared up. The first order of business was to go downstairs to catch a bus, but while I was waiting I popped some SAC in my gizmo and saw a couple episodes. At 11 I went downstairs and boarded the bus with my sister and mom, ready to go visit Bridge Studios. Bridge Studios is the largest sound stage complex in Canada, and possibly in all of North America. It's called Bridge Studios because the Golden Gate bridge and many other bridges were built indoors at this facility, then shipped to the final location. Nowadays it's used to film Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and some show called Dead Like Me. There, we toured the sets for Stargate. I took many pictures, none of which I can show, since I signed a waiver. The first part we saw was the SGC corridors. Most notably for me, I saw the place where the dude ran over Daniel Jackson about 50 times in Window of Opportunity. After that, we went on to see the Gateroom, (BTW, the cool big guns the point at anyone coming into the SGC, yup, they're made of wood.) After that, we went up to the control room, and a few people stuck their hands on the iris controls. Above that, there is the meeting room, and the general's office. BTW, situatated throughout the base in several locations are shiny red buttons. I pushed a few, they don't do much. I'm sure tomorrow I'll read in the paper about disasters in China or something. After that, we went through the cave and villiage sets, and trooped through the spaceship set. There is no ceiling on that spaceship, neither is there glass on the front viewport. The command chair is comfy though. From there, we went to some SGA sets. First was the puddlejumper set. It's real cool. Pretty lights inside and whatnot. The jumper is only whole on one side. The other side is all framing. After that, we went on to the Atlantis control room. We all took turns being shot on film in front of the Atlantis gate, then browsed through the control area. After that we all shipped out and got on the buses. That was a fun trip.

First Day in Canada

Here I am at the lovely Vancouver Hilton on McKay street I wish I could upload pics, but my card reader flat out refuses to operate correctally. The Hilton is part of the Crystal Mall, which is an Asian mall. Some cool stuff here, and I even got to see a couple good looking Asian babes, one in particular was quite hot, but scampered off before I could ask for her phone number or email address. There are a few stores here that seel the kind of goodies I like, one that sells lots of capsule toys, Transformers, and Gundams, one that sells lots of anime and OSTs and some Gundams and capsule toys, and one that sells mostly Gundam models and plushies. I bought from all three today. ^~^

From the first store, I bought some cute posable capsule toy chicks. Actually, they look to be mostly variations of the same chick, but one in particular was quite cute. I think I saw this at Remy's site once. Anyhow, at the second store I bought the entire series of Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex. I would have bought SAC: 2nd Gig as well, but it wasn't dubbed bi-lingual. As for the third store, I picked myself up a HGUC Advanced Hazel and a set of Gundam Markers. So, new capsule toys, new Gundam, new anime. I'm set! I saw from pretty things that I didn't buy though. Each of those stores had a HG 1/60 scale Strike Freedom, ranging from the $190 range to the $170 range. The store with models and plushies had every Gundam model I could ask for, including some nice MG Zetapluses, MG Freedom Gundam, MG Mk-II ver. 2.0, MG Zeta Ver. 2.0, and just about every recent SEED kit known, like the HG Destiny Gundam. (Don't fret too much Tim, it was $45) I also saw a lot of PGs I need: the Mk-II Titans, the GP-01, the Zeta, the Skygrasper, the Strike, and the WZC. Though on that last item, I think the MG WZC is better in many ways. I saw that too. I was in heaven. There were some cool FIX figures at the anime shop, and I almost walked out with a GFF F90 one, but I resisted, as it was $75. I have said in the past that I could spend any amount of money at this mall, and refreshing my memory of this place has only cemented that idea.

Anyhow, very sorry that I have no pics, and I'll check in again tomorrow when I have more news.

PS. Danny Choo's site has info on a new SAC show, called Solid State Society. He also has a bunch of pics and a video. One of the pics shows the Major in her undies, ooohh!

HGUC Methuss

Sweet! The HGUC Methuss that I have been wishing for has just been released!! After 6 years my prayers have been answered!! The kit is really sweet, just about the only complaint I could have is that it requires the removal of the hands for transformation, and at the very least, they could have included a set of parts that resemble recessed hands to put in the empty polycaps. At any rate, this model looks really cool, I'll have to pick one up as soon as I can!

Black Holes on Google video

I was making my usual rounds today on the Internet and at Danny Choo's site he had a link to a video on black holes that was on Google Video. I watched it, and it was interesting stuff, though nothing I didn't know already. I dunno, if you have a half hour of time to kill, it's worth it. BTW, if you click that little download button on the right side, it asks you to download a Google Video player, which allows you to view the videos less compressed, so they look and sound better.

Strike Freedom relit!!

Yay!! I have finished rebuilding my Strike Freedom! Is is very dim, since the LEDs are not nearly as bright as the filamant bulbs, but it's still bright enough to look cool. Just think, a few hours ago my Strike Freedom was almost completely unrecognizable as a Gundam. From there I put new LEDs into the chest and arms, then worked on the wiring for the head. Instead of using a yellow light for the head, I used a mini green one, and it looks good. Anyhow, all in all, I recommend using the very cool USB technique, just be very very certain that you wire a resistor into the circuit to keep them from burning out!!



And in closing........ Primus doing disco.

Wahoo!! Google Video rocks even more now!!

Google Video was rockin' awesome before, but now it's even cooler, because I'm on it!! Yes, they posted my Primus video, where I show everyone how he is transformed, and do it without the benefit of my Chip Square which Takara said was 'required' for transformation.

Strike Freedom rebuilding.

Okay, so I burnt out more than half of my Strike Freedom the very first day I lit it up. (btw, for anyone who wants to know, the Strike Freedom runs off filament bulbs, not LEDs!) Oops. Now I'm working on making it light again. First a buddy of mine located for me an LED Wizard that tells me what I need to do to make it work. After that I went to the local Radio Shack and bought about 20 LEDs and 5 resistors, all for about $3.50. Now I have a test circuit set up that I am going to leave for a good long while. Once this test is complete, I will then start wiring the LEDs into the Gundam. This is gonna be good!

Also, check out this Multi Touch Screen Prototype by Apple. It's really cool.

Primus!

It must be the evilness of my RAZR, but I haven't posted a word since I got it. Well, that is to say, after I said I got it. Anyhow, back on the topic. Primus.

Some years ago, as part of the Transformers Armada series, Hasbro released Unicron, the Chaos Bringer. (not me, the more nouny chaos) This was inevitable, since Unicron factored so hugely into the Transformers universe. He premiered in Transformers: The Movie, and has been featured in post-TFTM G1, Beast Wars (I think), Beast Machines, Armada, Energon, and somewhat Cybertron. After all this, a toy was inevitable. Primus featured mostly in the UK and US comics, but quickly became a critical part of the Transformers mythos. According to the mythology, Primus and Unicron were the ultimate incarnations of good and evil, respectively. Primus and Unicron battled for eons, eventually Primus banished Unicron to the farthest reaches of space, where he consumed and grew in size and power. Primus, on the other hand, surrounded himself with metal and went to sleep to make it harder for Unicron to find him. Over time, he became the planet Cybertron, the homeworld of the Transformers.

So, as you would expect, you start with a roundish shape. Unlike Unicron, who is only round on one side, Primus is completly round, which is good. Also, scattered across the surface of the globe is landmarks familiar to a transfans. I don't know them all, but I know some people do! :)







Transformation to robot mode is remarkably simple too. I timed myself at transformation to planet mode in under a minute. Included with the figure is the Chip Square. Or, if you prefer to watch the US version, the Omega Lock. So, the first step is to put the Chip Square into the lock on the top and slide it back. This makes the 'wings' the the planet pop out and also the main guns. If you raise the rear armor panel, it is now in 'planetary attack mode' or something like that.



Also of note is that the Chip Square has it's own battery and lights up when inserted into one of the lock areas. It's pretty cool.



After that, you unfold the entire lower hemisphere to make the legs. When you have the legs down, insert the Chip Square into the leg locks and rotate them to lock them into position. As the leg parts rotate, the guns on the legs rise into position. Check this out.



Next you insert the Chip Square into the chest and push it up. This lifts the shoulders, seperates the chest plates, widens the shoulders and raises the head. If I had two AA batteries, his eyes would light up and some noise would be made.



Rotate the waist around and you are done. One of the first things that struck me about Primus is the incredible amount of detail on him. The surface detail rivals that of Noisemaze, with little structures and lines over every square centimeter.


(sorry for the blurry shot, it didn't look blurry on the tiny LCD screen on the camera)



When prototypes of Primus first surfaced, people complained about his long heels, and how dumb they looked. Whether in response to the complaints, or if it were already designed in, the heel flaps fold up. I honestly don't think it does a whole lot to make it cooler looking, but it does make him less stable.



Posability on Primus is really good, and he can do a lot of cool action poses. I was a bit concerned that his wrists don't rotate, then I figured out that they rotate up by the elbow. His forearms are massive, but his upper arms are teeny tiny, the elbow joint is immediatly below the shoulder joint. Somehow, though, it works out perfect.





When you insert his Force Chip, the guns on the forearm pop up and extend.



All in all, Primus is a really really cool figure, the pinnacle of the entire Transformers line, and exactally what us transfans have been waiting for all these years. I give him a perfect score, since I can't think of a single way to make him better.

New phone!

I'm tired right now, and I have all the lights off, so I'm not going to go into depth right now, but when I woke up this morning and came downstairs, waiting for me was this cute little box. I had no idea who it was from, I wasn't expecting a package, and there was no return address, so I gave it a thorough once over to look for any telltale signs of it being a package bomb. Once I was mostly satisfied, I proceeded to open it carefully. Imagine my suprise when it turned out to be the new phone I ordered just a few days ago! The term on my cell phone came up, and Sarah decided that we should renew, and get new phones while we were at it. Sarah got the ROKR, while I got the RAZR I had been salivating over for many months. Good golly, it's so beautiful! My phone is sexy. All I need now is a sexy Honda S2000 to go with it.