Monday, May 31, 2010
oh japan
got this off 4chan /co/. can't understand shit but pictures speak of a clear story... and it's pretty funny:
that last part had me rolling XD
Thursday, May 20, 2010
if there's some thing BIG (and green and angry) in your neighborhood, Who you gonna call?
HULKBUSTER!
okay that was a little lame. anyway repaint time! hulkbuster armor (tad on the small size but whatchagonnadoo? packaging constraints do that :-/ )
more words later. maybe.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Obsessive Compulsive
somehow i knew it was gonna end this way. i just did.
i mean i hated the chipping under his torso, cutting a jagged gap into the cleanly applied Gold Paint.
i knew it wouldn't be too noticeable, but i knew it was there. so i had to do something about it.
it was just a minor paint chip. what the hell is wrong with me?
i mean i hated the chipping under his torso, cutting a jagged gap into the cleanly applied Gold Paint.
i knew it wouldn't be too noticeable, but i knew it was there. so i had to do something about it.
it was just a minor paint chip. what the hell is wrong with me?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Iron Man 2 Green Guardsman: Man in Armor or Gigolo?
my brother bought me this 3 3/4 inch green Guardsman today, he knows i've been eyeing this guy for some while now, and thought he would be a good army building figure (more often than not in-fiction, several units of this armor are used to guard super villains on the Raft--the marvel comics jail for baddies). but when i actually got to playing with the guy i came across some stuff that now makes me glad i got this as a gift.
first off i want to talk about the sculpt of this thing. the muscles on this guy are totally pronounced, and from the upper torso looking down all it's all good.
what throws you off is the ball swivels on the hips, a common detail that is seamless in most of the figures on this line except this one, based solely on the fact that the other armors in the line are--by design-- mechanical looking, one could say that this guy would have benefited more--sculpt-wise with more Marvel Universe styled hip articulation.
let's segway that into my next point: does this look like a man in armor?
well...
i...
er...
...okay NO. he looks like some fruity male exotic dancer in a green thong. i cannot get that image out of my head. (just think of him like a wrestler, just think of him like a wrestler, just think of him like a wrestler...)
i mean compare him with Classic Iron Man.
at least Classic IM makes an attempt to make himself appear like a guy in a body suit.
in defense of the character, he's comic accurate at least. though personally i wouldn't mind seeing a modern rendition of the armor. one that isn't so... well toned. with rock-hard abs...
ARGH.
okay speaking of how well sculpted he is one needs to ask what the designer had in mind while designing this guy. the articulation placement on this figure is not as smooth or integrated like other figures and in fact i consider it a sort of throwback in design.
70% of the normal articulation points are there, from the torso swivel that swings from the midsection, the swing-hinge elbows, double jointed knees. so far so good right?
but get to the extremities, like the forearm and calves, there's your problem aesthetically. see the thing is that they took a well sculpted arm/leg sliced off the forearm/calf, popped a joint in the middle and replaced them to their original positions. "why is this a problem?" you might ask. just look at the images below:
see how it breaks up the sculpt in a rather ugly manner? i mean his limb muscles are cut off completely. though it helps that from the point of articulation up to the hands/feet are painted a different green, to emphasize them as gloves/boots, they could have at least made them look like gloves or boots in form as parts of an armor and not skin-tight like say surgeon's gloves or rain booties.
^on a side note, his feet lack the regular hinge-swivel assembly and instead go back to the full hinge type of joint.
so what am i trying to tell you here?
the guardsman figure passes the sculpting phase but the placement or rather choice of articulation leave room for improvement. paintwise he seems okay. most of the comic figures are, and he's only 2 shades of green anyway so it's very glossy and smooth and while some completists out there may need this fig to round out their collection, unless you know who this is as a character i suggest you skip this guy. he's visually appealing yes, but unconvincing in my eyes as an armored adversary/ mass-produced and de-powered iron man unit. he just looks like a bodybuilder in a thong and helmet who painted himself green, in an attempt to look like a sexy, sexy Hulk.
6 out of 10.
Eisen/ Miko Tizon 2010
first off i want to talk about the sculpt of this thing. the muscles on this guy are totally pronounced, and from the upper torso looking down all it's all good.
what throws you off is the ball swivels on the hips, a common detail that is seamless in most of the figures on this line except this one, based solely on the fact that the other armors in the line are--by design-- mechanical looking, one could say that this guy would have benefited more--sculpt-wise with more Marvel Universe styled hip articulation.
let's segway that into my next point: does this look like a man in armor?
well...
i...
er...
...okay NO. he looks like some fruity male exotic dancer in a green thong. i cannot get that image out of my head. (just think of him like a wrestler, just think of him like a wrestler, just think of him like a wrestler...)
i mean compare him with Classic Iron Man.
at least Classic IM makes an attempt to make himself appear like a guy in a body suit.
in defense of the character, he's comic accurate at least. though personally i wouldn't mind seeing a modern rendition of the armor. one that isn't so... well toned. with rock-hard abs...
ARGH.
okay speaking of how well sculpted he is one needs to ask what the designer had in mind while designing this guy. the articulation placement on this figure is not as smooth or integrated like other figures and in fact i consider it a sort of throwback in design.
70% of the normal articulation points are there, from the torso swivel that swings from the midsection, the swing-hinge elbows, double jointed knees. so far so good right?
but get to the extremities, like the forearm and calves, there's your problem aesthetically. see the thing is that they took a well sculpted arm/leg sliced off the forearm/calf, popped a joint in the middle and replaced them to their original positions. "why is this a problem?" you might ask. just look at the images below:
see how it breaks up the sculpt in a rather ugly manner? i mean his limb muscles are cut off completely. though it helps that from the point of articulation up to the hands/feet are painted a different green, to emphasize them as gloves/boots, they could have at least made them look like gloves or boots in form as parts of an armor and not skin-tight like say surgeon's gloves or rain booties.
^on a side note, his feet lack the regular hinge-swivel assembly and instead go back to the full hinge type of joint.
so what am i trying to tell you here?
the guardsman figure passes the sculpting phase but the placement or rather choice of articulation leave room for improvement. paintwise he seems okay. most of the comic figures are, and he's only 2 shades of green anyway so it's very glossy and smooth and while some completists out there may need this fig to round out their collection, unless you know who this is as a character i suggest you skip this guy. he's visually appealing yes, but unconvincing in my eyes as an armored adversary/ mass-produced and de-powered iron man unit. he just looks like a bodybuilder in a thong and helmet who painted himself green, in an attempt to look like a sexy, sexy Hulk.
6 out of 10.
Eisen/ Miko Tizon 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Beware the Bee-keepers! (Hammerfiles AIM agent)
hey it's those guys!
Hasbro graces us with another army builder, this time it's from A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) from wave three of their Marvel Universe Hammerfiles series figures. The AIM agent is one of the more obscure expendable characters, but perhaps the most visually...striking(?) ones ever designed! Often ridiculed with the nickname "Bee Keepers" (let's face it they DO look like they work in a bee farm) but don't be fooled, each one of these guys have at least one Ph.D and are trained to fight competently however well "competently" goes in the marvel universe is up to you to judge.Basically,each of them went to the chess club in high school and got bullied for it, and used that pent-up rage to work for an organization that covertly schemes to rule the world in one way or the other. Gotta say I'm really warming up to the design.
First off, this guy has a new body design (at least to my eyes) though one can get some mileage with this type. A fellow collector suggested he would make a good Ghost Rider (and he did). Though part of me still wishes ol' Vengance head was a new mold.
He's molded in yellow plastic with a sepia(?) paint wash and black details like the boots and collar, both of which are painted. the other stuff that breaks the monotony are the eye visors/screens and the somewhat gold belt. His weapons and bandolier are molded in black, and the weapons have neon green wash and detailing.
I applaud the special attention with the details, the drybrushing and highlighting in particular. Paint quality is top notch since he's pretty much molded into his color scheme to begin with, but watch out for splotches or scuffs, primarily in the head area and the boots.
As mentioned before his accessories include his bandolier, his SCIENCE GUN! And his SCIENCE CANNON! As well as his stand labeled with his name and wave number.
Articulation wise he has a pretty wide range of movement, sporting 26 points of articulation, though some of them are hindered by the sculpt and accessories. his belt for example blocks his waist twisting and his biceps keep his free arm from supporting the other arm holding his SCIENCE! cannon.
Though he can sport other poses that are very suave for secret agent-types:
What's more is the joints on mine are tight and can hold poses like so:
Though his legs tend to pop off at the hips (this has become one of the defining traits of the line), it's not as bad as some figures.
All in all I give this figure a 7 out of 10.
He's not very known or wanted (unless you army build) so you have a good chance of nabbing him. Though not as detailed as some figures, his simple design is part of his charm. Plus he comes with cool looking weapons and not the so-and-so (read: unconvincing) blast effects or doo-dads. Though I'd put him below the figures who come with pets. He's the first use of his sculpt so he's pretty fresh.
And he keeps Deadpool very happy. I'm game to buy more of these guys.
cheers!
Eisen/ Miko Tizon
2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Iron Man and War Machine
AH.
EHM.
AH. EHM. AY-URN MAAHN
/90's intro.
so hey, 2 for 1 post!
Iron Man :is a mix of the Mark 6 and 3, painted to resemble the deco of the old Modular Armor of the 90's my primary concern with him was to have a set out with the "armor upgrade" line of toys but seeing as the prices are a bit prohibitive for me as of now i'll wait, or i'll wait for more in that line:
War Machine: since the original (in all his variants save the HoA one) is so hard to come by here, thanks to scalpers, i resorted to painting a chinese test-shot i bought in a recent convention, thank God it was only missing the guns. those were replaced with pieces from my mechwarrior figurines, and since this was molded in black it made painting easier:
thanks for lookin!
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