Astonishing 3, part dEuX!

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a Sideshow Exclusive version of the X-Men vs. Sentinel 3 Diorama coming & here it is! The Exclusive version comes with 2 display options for Wolverine. 1 is in his Astonishing X-Men costume, & the other is him just wearing the bottom part of his costume with a white tank top. The sculpting for both is top notch! Although I welcome the Logan display option, it's still wierd seeing him in such a clean white tank top in the midst of battle.













In my previous post, I also mentioned that I was still deciding which version to keep. Well, I've decided to keep the Exclusive for the extra display option & the sweet edition number I've gotten (777). :)




Group shots! (added on 22 Apr 2008)

Astonishing 3!

The third & final entry of Sideshow's X-Men vs Sentinel Diorama series finally arrived! Rounding up the cast are Wolverine, Shadowcat & her pet dragon, Lockheed.



















I also have the Exclusive version (with 2 display options for Wolverine/Logan) coming. Still undecided on which I will keep but currently leaning more towards the Exclusive. heh

I'll also have to find some time to do some group shots with the first 2 Dios.

By the Luck of Hyrule

I was out & about with my family today at United Square & as I was passing by the Toys "R" Us there, something caught my eye. It was a gashapon machine for figures from the first Nintendo DS Legend of Zelda game, Phantom Hourglass. At $2 a turn/figure, I thought, "What the heck! A PH fig will be nice for this fan of the game & the LoZ series." $10 & 5 turns later, I managed to get the complete set without repeats. WHAT GREAT LUCK! I've never experience that before. The last time I tried my luck to get a complete set of LoZ: Minish Cap gashapon figures, I ended up spending more than $30 & not completing 1 set with the secret figure!

Anyway, here's the Phantom Hourglass set:





Link (with Phantom Hourglass)



Captain Linebeck (with Green Rupee)



Tetra (with Heart Container)



Biggoron with Gongoron



Phantom (with Force Gem)

Weapon X

Bowen Designs' tidal wave release of Wolverines statues have started! First to arrive are the Classic Tiger-Stripe costume & the Brown costume Museum Pose Wolvies. That will be followed by 4 more, Unmasked Tiger-Stripe Museum Pose, Unmasked Brown Action Pose, Tiger-Stripe Action Pose & Original/First Appearance costume Action Pose. Last but not least, a BD Collectors Club Exclusive Tiger-Stripe Museum Pose X-Belt variant. Bringing the grand total of new Wolverine statue releases to 7! Talk about an over-dose of Adamantium.

I've decided not to be crazy & collect them all but instead, choose one that I like most & just buy that one. I know I don't want any of the Action Pose Wolverines cause I don't like the bases, & they'll look outta place besides my Iceman & the other BD X-Men FS. So that'll leave me with the Museum Pose ones & after comparing between the 2 that just arrived, here's some differences that I could spot:
1. The paint use on the face of the Brown (B) version looks too reddish giving it a sun burnt look, but the Tiger-Stripe (TS) version looks too pale in comparison. However TS looks fine besides the other Bowen FS.
2. The chest muscles of B are "less developed" than TS's, thus TS looks more muscular.
3. The eyes of B are painted smaller than TS's, which gives TS a fiercer look.
4. the "ears/horns" & hunch of the pose are different on both versions, I prefer the overall look of TS.
After considering all the above, the Tiger-Stripe version is clearly the one for me. Those still on the fence on which to buy, I recommend putting both side by side to do a comparison, then make your decision. Wolverine feels small when placed besides the other Bowen FS but he is usually depicted as smaller & shorter than most male Super-Heroes in the comics, so the size of the statue works fine for me.
















Wolverine too comes with a "booster" base but unlike Cap's, it is not interchangeable with the "X" base. It is only used to boost the height by stacking under the X base.

The Immortal Captain

2007 was the year we lost one of Earth's Mightiest Super-Hero, Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) was assassinated in the comics. What better way to honour the memory of Ol' "Winghead" than a new Cap statue sculpted by Randy Bowen. Actually, Bowen Designs released 2 versions of the statue: Classic & World War II. I'm glad that I'm able to get my hands on the Classic as quite a few shops got their orders cut, likely due to the added demand brought on by Cap's death. Personally, I prefer the pose of the earlier Cap statue that Bowen did, as it looks more noble and more befitting of the Cap. The details & paint on the new one is better done though.














This Cap statue comes with 2 bases which can be stacked to increase the overall height (as seen in the first photo) or used separately. I'm not really fond of the "booster" base as I feel Bowen overkilled it with the stars. It looks more at home at a circus than under Captain America. The other base however, is more appropriate for a American Hero, sculpted with what looks like a United States Presidential Seal. But, sloppy paint kinda ruins it, & it's not just on mine as I seen quite a few with similar plight.






Here's Cap with fellow Avenger, Thor:








AVENGERS IN SINGAPORE! (added on 24 Feb 2008)

photoshopped wallpaper:

Credits: Mr. Daniel Cheong for the background photo

"Dude, Get Your Own!"

My newest "Toy", a glossy new Sony Deep Red PSP (Playstation Portable) Slim & Lite.









If I didn't count wrongly, the PSP will be the 17th console I've ever owned. & of all the colours available, I gotta pick the hardest to photograph one. Heh


Yes, that's a Nintendo DS Lite strap (lol). My PSP is the basic package so it didn't come with any accessories other than the charger. Being the cheapskate that I am, I just used whatever strap I could find. I'm also using my Oakley sunglasses pouch for carrying my PSP around. :P

Actually I never had any intention of getting a PSP after I got my DS Lite. But, 1 game announcement changed my mind!


OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Being a big fan of the 2 God of War PS2 games, I just gotta play this one as well. I've read that Chains of Olympus will be a prequel of sorts in the GoW storyline, I can't wait! Release date: 4th March 2008, Kratos fans, mark it down!