Tamiya 1/24 Toyota 86

So last 30 day blog challenge I built or attempted to build a model over the 30 day period. I made ssome good progress but didn't finish. This year I'm going to try harder with this new kit.

It's a model of my current car, the Toyota 86. The plan is to build it as an exact replica of my personal vehicle. The upside for this is if I need any reference I just go out to the garage!

Green Lantern Batman by DC Direct

A lot of figures I have are part of "sets" that I collect. A figure line that I constantly update and chase down series after series, but many of my favourite figures are the one off's that I grab because the character just seemed pretty cool. 

The King of my "one-off" figures definitely has to be Green Lantern Batman. He was originally created in a "what-if" story line and nobody thought much of him. The Green Lantern series of figures came and gone and people just either smirked or thought it was a cool figure and picked him up along with the rest of the series. Then this "motivational" picture went viral:

This single picture made everyone realize how rigged a Green Lantern Batman actually is and the prices of the figure quickly sky-rocketed due to the insane cult following that single picture garnered. In my opinion, Green Lantern Batman is one of the most bad ass characters I have ever seen molded in plastic, and after coming across the picture above,  I constantly had my eyes open in the event that one did pop up. 

After a few toy shows and comic fairs, I decided to give up the chase and realize that unless I wanted to drop over $100 bucks on eBay, I wasn't going to get Green Lantern Batman. Also, he wasn't part of a set I had to complete or anything, so why did I need him so bad? BadAssery. That's a word I just made up today and it's the only way to describe this guy. 

At the last Edmonton Pop Culture Fair a vendor who was not a regular had brought his entire DC Direct collection to sell at $15 a pop which were lined up all across the table. I immediately saw the Green Lantern backing card pop up in a row and sifted through them quickly. Saw a flash of green and black and then a few cards more. Wait?! Went back and I couldn't believe my luck! Pulled him out of the pile like a champ. It was only 15 minutes since the door open for the show. If I had been any later, I'm sure he would have been in someone else's hands. I tried my best to hide my excitement of finding him and haggled the seller to $10. He agreed and Green Lantern Batman now hangs on my wall:

Maximum Carnage NYCC Exclusive Mighty Muggs

Following the discontinuation of Hasbro`s Mighty Muggs line I felt both disappointment and relief. Disappointment in that so many characters were missed and will never be in Muggs form, but relief in knowing that my collection actually has an end point that I have come very close to achieving: obtaining every Marvel Mighty Mugg.

Since that day, I have chased down every Mugg missing in my collection, but this one was one of the hardest. It was released only during the New York Comic Con last year and very few sets were in circulation. I have scouted eBay for the past year and finally found a seller in the states. I immediately placed it on my watch list and eventually my patience has paid off. I present the very exclusive Maximum Carnage Mini Muggs set.

The individual figures are all done very well and not duplicated in any other sets. Another favorite for me is the packaging in the tower with Spidey upside down in the top. Because of the extravagant packaging and the sheer size of the complete package, it quickly has become a favorite in my collection.

Samsung Galaxy S III + OtterBox

Recently got my new phone in the mail, dubbed the 'Iphone Killer', the Samsung Galaxy S III. I've been waiting a long time to get a new phone, exactly 3 years, and was pretty excited to finally get into the smart phone segment. I'm not a huge phone guy and never took the plunge or got the urge to upgrade my phone to something "fancy" with touch screen and apps. I wasn't a huge data user either, so that was also new to me. I've had a pretty shit experience in the past by getting gouged by wireless carriers, so every time I have to resign a new plan or go get a new phone it makes me cringe. I've only had to go twice in my life, so you can imagine how bad those last 2 times were if they have ruined wireless carriers for me forever. Lucky for me, the lady friend is an expert at haggling with those jack asses and got me hooked up with a pretty steep discount in my month to month bill while also securing me the S III. 

First thing that's quite obvious is that it's a GIANT leap from my 3 year old Sony Ericsson C905. The phone is ridiculously large in my hand...or in my pocket. Or in my car. Or just about anywhere. It's much too big for me, but I never really played with it before I bought it. It's definitely growing on me and the large screen is a major plus for viewing pictures of watching videos. The other downfall of the phone is the atrocious battery life. I'm sure it's not reserved for just the S3, but also to any smart phone with a screen larger than 4 inches. My old Ericsson would last a week with moderate calling. This phone lasts a whooping day. 

But all things aside, the phone is a nice phone and I like it a lot more than the phone it is replacing. Now with data, it'll be easy to blog straight from it and make instant posts, so I feel like it's a worthy investment for continued success in the 30 day summer blog challenge. 

One of the first things I grabbed along with the phone was the OtterBox Commuter. If you haven't heard of OtterBox, it's one of the most durable cases without going construction mode for a mobile device. It consists of an entire silicon shock absorbent skin that wraps around the entire body of the phone and then a hard plastic case which keeps the rubbery skin snug against it. The case then, is pretty much scratch resistant since no particles or sand get in between the case of the phone and pretty drop resistant as well since the silicon will absorb the shock from any mishaps. I haven't had a bad history of dropping phones, but of course the purpose is to be ready during the unexpected. With the off shelf prices of some of these devices, buying a replacement would be a hard bullet to bite and $40 seems to be a worthy investment for 'virtual indestructability'

Packaging:

 Phone, Skin, Case:

The addition of the OtterBox case causes a pretty big jump in size in an already enormous phone. Also people complain that it's not as aesthetically pleasing as the phone without the case and that there are many other cases out there which also protect (not as well) but look way better. I don't agree. I think the least aesthetically pleasing look for a phone is a shattered screen or a 4 inch scratch. So if you care about durability, definitely go OtterBox. If you care about looks, keep buying new phones.

Summer Blog Challenge Commence!

Once again, I am taking part in this years Summer Blog Challenge.

Rule recap: 1 blog post a day. 30 Days.

I took part for the first time last year and had a blast, so going to give it another shot. Hopefully I can keep it up every day like I did last year. Challenge ACCEPTED.

The big difference this year is I won't be able to acquire quite as many toys throughout the 30 day challenge as I did last year, due to the recent purchase of an EXTREMELY large toy. But fear not! Because throughout the past year I've gotten some eye candy I'll have to pull out and either smile at the memories or cringe at the price tags.

For today's first blog challenge, I am reposting another blog entry from a very good friend of mine.
If you have kept up with my posts since the purchase of my new vehicle, you may have heard of detailer extraordinaire, Mr. Chow.

I have read and seen almost every detail write up he has ever done and after receiving my vehicle I have held off from wiping or even touching the car. I had special requests at the dealership to not scrub or clean the exterior of the vehicle at all, but unfortunately a few things were already touched up resulting in some paint flaws, but majority of the prep had been skipped as requested.

Mr. Chow has worked on some insane cars with all kinds of paint. He's worked on some everyday cars such as Acura Integra's, BMW 5 Series to M3's up to some high end cars consisting of 911 Turbo's, Aston Martin Vanquish, Lamborghini Murcielago and the McLaren MP4-12C. Yes. You heard it right.

Mr.  Chow and I schedule a time this weekend to do a full detailing job in preparation for a product called "Opticoat." To read more about it, check it out here:

http://www.eshine.ca/optimum_opti_coat_20_permanent_paint_coating-1637.php
http://www.optimumcarcare.com.au/product/13/about_opti-coat_paint_protection.html

In short, Opticoat's main purpose is to be another clear coat over the paint to add hardness and strength to the car to prevent scratches and contamination. Also it retains a strong shine, so waxing becomes unncessary and helps in reducing the maintenance required. The cost of Opticoat isn't a bank breaker, but the real kicker is the preparation needed before Opticoat is applied. The car has to be washed, all containments removed, clay bar and polished. The steps needed to prep the car require not only a whooping amount of time, but a very careful eye and extreme patience. Qualities that Mr. Chow possesses strongly, and ones that I strongly lack.

Yesterday, we met up at 9 am sharp to start the detailing work. It was a 9 hour job and the vehicle left sparkling without a single imperfection. For a full description of the processes and products used, Mr Chow was kind enough to do a full write up which I am directly linking to. I encourage you to read it and learn a bit about the care it takes to clean and prep a car. Although this car was brand new and less than a month old, many imperfections and issues already had to be addressed and often times a professional is required to recommend and apply a product which will strongly prolong the life, paint and shine of a vehicle!

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34885&p=354962#post354962

HID Upgrade.

One of the biggest flaws that bothered me about my HUGE recent purchase are that it lacked HID's. In the year 2013, there was still a sports car created without HID's. How could this happen to me. The BRZ was $2700 more and the Japanese equivalent of the FR-S, the Toyota GT86 also had HID's. 

NOT ANYMORE. Took the plunge and got some HID's installed. Here's a look. More pictures to follow suits sometime if I can connect with any of the photoshoots some people want to do. 

Left is factory, Right is HIDS (obviously) :

HID's installed in both sides:

500KM. Time for a True Impression.

This is the brand new Scion FR-S. Internationally known as the Toyota GT86 and twin to the Subaru BRZ.


Since I was young, I've always loved cars. I grew up admiring and reading about all types of vehicles, but the one that hits closest to home are lightweight Japanese sports cars. It seems that as I was getting deeper into understanding these cars, they had slowly transformed into a dying breed. The dream of buying an affordable, light weight, small engine, rear wheel drive 

sports car was disappearing.

Reaching the age of purchasing one of these vehicles, my options have dwindled to either purchasing one of these famed vehicles in conditions similar to a clunker, or buying one of the new "sports cars" on the market. But I decided not to buy into that. In my opinion, what is on the market now isn't what these legends wanted as successors. These new cars are built on platforms of family cars. They start off with an economic family car, dump a bigger or turbocharged engine into the bay, add some sporty seats, red stitching, nice wheels and convince us, the true fans of the dream, that these are the new "sports cars." But they're not. Don't get me wrong, those cars are great. But they weren't for me. I'm a purist.

The sitting position. The perception of the road. The suspension. The feeling of everything around you developed for one sole purpose: for you. The driver. The feelings you receive from today's "affordable sports cars" will never mimic a vehicle who's purpose from the ground up was designed for your driving pleasure, and your driving pleasure alone. To eliminate all factors that would cut into this sensation to achieve a final frontier: a pure sports car that is affordable.

This car is phenomenal, a game changer. Although this vehicle is an end product, it isn't the end. It's just the beginning. The beginning of a generation of cars that proves the dream isn't dead. This car embodies the idea that the dream is still real and when that dream becomes reality, people will pursue it. It demonstrates to car manufacturers that if they produce a fun, light weight, real wheel drive vehicle, they won't pile up on the dealership lot. It's because the dream is never dead, and the new FR-S is proof of that.

As I'm writing this, currently there are only a handful of FR-S and BRZ's in the city. But I can promise you. I can absolutely promise you, that there will be much more on the road in the following months. Because there are several people out there, who have craved for that same dream. To be behind the wheel of a car that one day may be rare. That already, in my opinion, has a legendary status. I can only hope that there will be much more on the road and that drivers everywhere will experience the dream for themselves.

"I can only hope enough that this car sells well, and that we will see tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of them on the streets. And that they will live long and happy lives shredding rubber and putting smiles on faces of everyone for generations to come."

But this single one is special. This one is White. This one is a 6 Speed. This is one of the first.
And this one is mine.