10

Old School Flava : ToyBiz Batmobile

Armand Monday, October 13, 2008

Toys were always a big part of my life. Ever since I was a wee lad I was buying toys. I would pester my parents to get me this and that. Trips to the mall and TRU were pure bliss. I was so into my toys that I would just wander on my own and eventually get separated from my parents. God bless the guy who invented the information counter. You have no idea how many times I went crying to the information counter asking them to page for my parents.

I am pretty thankful that I knew how to appreciate toys at an early age and kept them safe. Some of them survived, but some of them my mom gave away. I'd like to share the ones that survived, so I'm dedicating a segment for them which I'd like to call "Old School Flava".

ToyBiz Batman Batmobile

ToyBiz had acquired the license to produce toys for the 1989 Batman movie. Batman, Joker and Bob (Joker's sidekick) were the 3 action figures with Batmobile, Batwing, Batcycle, Batcave, Joker Van and Joker cycle. I managed to snag the Batman figure as well as the Batmobile but couldn't get my hands on the Batwing.

The Batmobile is one slick car. I just loved Burton's rendition of the Batmobile. IMHO, Burton's Batmobile is the best Batmobile ever. Everything about the car is cool. The whole look of the car just screams cool. Sleek and curvy. And the cocoon shield thingy? Daaayyyymmm!

Anyway the toy Batmobile is pretty screen accurate to its movie counterpart, except for the roof/cockpit. This one does not have a roof oddly enough. Probably due to the fact that it would make it much more easier to get the figures in and out of the car. Oh and instead of machine guns, this one shoots yellow rockets. Go figure.



Read on...
7

Guitar Hero Junkie

Armand Thursday, October 9, 2008

And the guitar gods bestowed upon me."Bringeth thy tasty licks onto thee, and thou shall bringeth thine brewskies and bong!" So I shall for it is the will of the guitar gods.

I am just so hooked on this game. Back when Guitar Hero first came out in 2005, I wasn't the least bit keen on buying the game even tho everyone was raving about it. To me it was just another rhythmic game like Dance Dance Revolution or that Taiko Drum game. Oh how wrong I was. My uncle had the game for his XBOX 360 so I figured what the heck I might as well try it since its there anyway. Next thing you know I was hooked! I bought the game straight and started jamming away at home. I am officially addicted to the game. I've been playing with it basically everyday. It's such a joy to play, getting your licks down, and your solo spot on. So addicted was I that I decided to get me the guitar controller. Impulsive indeed. Heh!




Read on...
4

Just For Fun

Armand
Was messing around with Adobe Illustrator and thought I'd share some of my artwork.





Read on...
2

The Toy Museum

Armand Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Mr. Shaun has just started a new blog to link and bring together fellow Singaporeans collections online on one page. You can check out the site here. I think it's a great idea that Shaun is starting this community/movement, a hub for Singapore collectors. Hopefully someone will start a movement back here in Malaysia. So until then, mind if I join yours instead Shaun? Hahahahahahaha!
Read on...
4

Marvel Legends Ironman

Armand Tuesday, October 7, 2008

In anticipation to Hot Toys' Movie Masterpiece Ironman, I thought I'd post some pictures of ToyBiz Marvel Legends 12 inch Ironman. This was the last series of Marvel Legends produced by ToyBiz for the Marvel Universe before evil capitalist Hasbro took over the franchise.

ToyBiz were doing a good job producing figures for Marvel Legends. Good paint job and great articulation. Heck, every figure even came with a comic book. I also love the clamshell packaging (I know, I know some people prefer Hasbro's stylish new packaging for Marvel Legends). So It was only fitting that they came out with a 12 inch line. Some figures didn't really translate well when blown up tho.


Read on...
12

Singapore Spree

Armand Friday, October 3, 2008

Went down to Singapore last week with my dad. Gave a heads up to Mr. Shaun about my visit to Singapore so he arranged a meet up at China Square Central. This was my second trip of the year, the first being the Toy and Comic Convention. Last time around I discovered China Square Central by chance and didn't really get to go to the other toy spots around Singapore. So this time around I came prepared. With the help of Shaun (posting a detailed map of toy haunts in Singapore), I listed down all the places I wanted to go, detailing the location down to the very MRT station and street names the stores were located.

I left the hotel around 11am, which initially I wanted to leave earlier but considering it was a Sunday, I assumed most stores weren't open yet. First stop of the day; Plaza Singapura. I read on the Simply Toys website that they opened a new outlet here so I wanted to check out the new store. To my disappointment the place was more for collectors and sellers to display and sell their collectibles. There were only a handful of items here. But to my surprise there was also a new toy store one shop away from Simply Toys. But alas the store was close. From the outside it looked like it was well stocked.

I then made my way to Waterloo, to visit the famous Falcon's Hangar. It was quite a walk down but thankfully Singapore is a pedestrian friendly city so I didn't really mind all the walking. Coincidently I bumped into Shaun at the Hangar. He was picking up his Toynami Voltron Lion Force Collector's Set. Shortly after we made out way to China Square Central for the famous "Sunday Toy Market", where we met up with Ted first. Met up with Desmond, Tim and Michelle shortly after.

I didn't waste time getting my hands on them goodies. First purchase was a pair of Revoltechs. I've always wanted to get one, but never came around to buying them (tight budget, there was always some other more important figures to get). But heck man! With prices like that I didn't even think twice!

Desmond help me score my second purchase of the day at a discount. A pair of Ironman figures which are not available/very very hard to find back home. Thanks dude!

Shaun, Ted, Desmond, Tim and Michelle left around 3 ish, but I decided to stay on. Needed to spend quality time with my toys, hahahahaha! Scored me a couple more items. 3rd purchase for the day was a pair of Henkei Takara Tomy Transformers Sunstreaker and Prowl.

Picked up a loose 1:6 figure for $25. I figured rather than buying the clothes and vest and pouches seperately plus the figure itself would probably cost more. I also bought a Hot Toys Modern Firearms M40 sniper rifle with silencer and a Desert Eagle 44.

My last purchase for the day was Benpresto's S.C.M Gundam 00 (seeing the one Ted bought made me want one too, heh!)












It was good to finally meet you all. Thanks Shaun for arranging the meet-up. Thank you all for your hospitality, you guys (and gal) really know how to make a guy feel welcome. If any of you are planning to come down to KL, I'd be more than happy to return the favor.

The damage








Read on...