AJV's Blog

Tomorrow ...

2012-01-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

is coming out for the Xbox360 and PS3
and I am very excited!
I even drew some fanart for it recently:

Click to see the full picture (which may be Not Safe For Work... cus of panties..)

Hope you all like it and see ya later! Maybe even on Soul Calibur 5! : )

Only 3 more days...

2012-01-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

...Till Soul Calibur 5 is released for the Xbox360 and the PS3!
I haven't been this excited for a weekday in like forever. :D
Seriously.

Also I am planing on doing my first video review for it too..so this year there will be a lot of new and exciting (well hopefully) things going on around here and the net.

Stay tuned! :)

Tale of Soul and Swords...Eternally retold! My First Tournament!

2012-01-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

With today's tale being of my first time entering and competing in a
Soul Calibur 4 Online tournament.
You can watch my journey unfold in the videos below. Also is you want to see the whole tournament be sure to check out Punisher15 64's channel as he uploads the rest of the matches. Be sure to let 'em know AJV sent cha. ;)

I was pretty nervous that I'd lose my first match and look terrible...but fate had other plans!
Otherwise I'd have to say that for my first tournament, I did alright thankfully. Could've been much worse..
I don't take it personally but I was surprised that I was expected to be the absolute worst out of the other players. Though it seems I surprised them and I'm glad I lasted as long as I did. Had some great matches with IXI Kujo IXI ,Extremedarkvoid (a friend of mine actually),Xlan59 (the best match I had with IMHO), and Aion Strife.Some of my other friends where in it too, like TheWoncho and DeonIV. ^^

Overall it was a cool experience and I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime for Soul Calibur 5.

My Lego Nightmare WIP

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!
Want to show you all my latest WIP of Nightmare from Soul Calibur 5 and his weapon Soul Edge.
See how it looked before I started working on him til what he looks like now below:

Before I started Sculpting

After Sculpting the base of the blade

Paint!

More Sculpting to make Soul Edge!

Painting the armor:

Anyways I hope you all like it and look forward to it when it's finished. : )
More to come!

BrickArms Review: Part 1

2012-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hi there and welcome to my review of BrickArms items that I recently purchased for the first time.

BrickArms specializes in making custom accessories for LEGO® Minifigures.
Like World War 1 & 2,Sci-fi, Video Games: Guns,Helmets, and other accessories.
They have a few Medieval things too like swords.

My Order. ( :

Though if you're looking for those kinda of things there are other sites that specialize in Medieval weaponry more so then modern weaponry.
This year (Jan 2nd 2012) I made my first order from one of their resellers G.I. Brick and I had no problem ordering from them and my package came in the mail sooner then expected (Jan 5th 2012)!

Read my thoughts and see these weapons in action in the pictures after the jump!

~~It's gonna be a slightly short (In My Opinion) review since~~ The overall quality is Lego-like.
They can be held by Lego Figures quite well and have a nice and tight fit, as do the Helmets.
The detail is great and are quite accurate since most are based on real weaponry (...well and some Sci-fi), yet not overly detailed and fits in with Lego figures and sets nearly flawlessly.
As you will see in the rest of the review in the pictures below:

My WW2 Minifigs are well armed. ; )

Starting from the left, we have the AK Assault Rifle. It's a weapon I've always thought was cool since the days when I collected (well I still do...just not as much) G.I.-Joe Action Figures and when it came with the Cobra Trooper.I'm happy to finally have this gun to arm my little Lego men with.

In the middle, is my quickly made Stormtrooper (no not the STAR WARS kind, silly) that is equipped with an AK Assault Rifle and is wearing a Stahlhelm. Now most have you probably don't know this (well you will in a sec), but I really like the uniforms that the German Stormtroopers wore during WW2. (That's all! Just looks! Ok!? >.< ) Their helmets being one of my favorite parts of it.
Now that I have a Lego version of it, I think it looks quite accurate and looks very good on a minifig.

On the right is the RPG (no not Role Playing Game) is not the most detailed but it looks cool and simple.
I like it.

It's Attack of the Clones! And they're armed to the teeth! XD

In this picture are the guns that I think are kinda on the Sci-Fi side of things.
On the left is the M41A Pulse Rifle. Ever since I saw it, I always wanted it since I thought it would look really cool with Modern,Sci-Fi, or even Star Wars minifigs.
I believe it's from the movie Aliens that came out in 1986 which I've never watched (yet...).
Anyway I think I was right since it's one of my favorite weapons out of the bunch cus it's so cool looking and stuff!

Over in the middle is the AC8 (Assault Carbine Model 8).
It's a modern weapon but I think it works pretty well as a Sci-Fi weapon too. Though maybe not Star Wars, but something like Halo probably. Though regardless I think it's very detailed (as most of them are) and cool looking.

On the right is the HCSR (High Caliber Sniper Rifle).
This gun is very cool looking and could easily fit in with your Sci-Fi (even Star Wars I think), Modern, and Video Game (like Halo) setups. Another thing I like about most of their guns,rifles, and etc.. is that the minifigs can look into the scope. Also the Bipod was sold separately and I'm glad I got it because it makes this sniper rifle look even cooler!

Even in the Dark Ages they were well armed.

Here is my Claymore in Gunmetal color. It's color matches pretty well with Lego's new dark metal color. As for the sword itself, I like it very much. Though at first I wasn't sure about the hand guards (um..above the hilt) because they looked so thin and I thought it might be easily breakable. But the blade is too but it looks (and is) quite sharp and it does seem sturdy. There is a lot of detail in this little (or not so little) sword.

On the right is the GunBlade in gunmetal color. Now I like how it looks and stuff, but the only thing that I'm not too fond of the position of the gun on the handle since (as you can compare in the picture) in order for the minifig to point the gun, it's arm has to be considerably lower than how they would normal hold a gun. Other than that I like it and I think it's unique and cool weapon.

Now the one on the right is the Auto-9 . I'm not sure if I'm right but it looks a lot like the gun that RoboCop carried around and shot people with. I remember it well because I used to have the action figures from it back in the day. Anyway, really like it and who knows...maybe one day I'll make a RoboCop to use it. Cus this gun looks like it could pack a punch.

I didn't plan it but it would seem that this ended up being Part 1 of my two part BrickArms review.
So be sure to come back soon to see the rest of the goodies I received and to hear my thoughts on them.

Thanks for reading.

Lego Soul Calibur 5 Teaser

2012-01-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Just want to wish all my readers and visitors a Merry Christmas!

G.I.-Joe: Retaliation Trailer

2011-12-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday Entertainment Tonight (and thankfully the internet somehow) showed off the premiere trailer for G.I.-Joe: Retaliation
which was the only reason I was looking forward to Monday. XD

G.I.-Joe is Hasbro's popular military action figures (4inch and 12 icnh) and is the code name of America's highly trained mission force, it prupose is to defend human freedom against COBRA, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world! Now you know....and knowing is half the battle. The other half is watching the trailer and reading my thought's on it. ;)

Well....It looks awesome to say the least.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rocks as the character: RoadBlock.
Ray Park looks even cooler as the stealthy ninja Snake Eye this time around since there aren't weird looking lips on his mask. The new additions to the cast also seem to be fitting into the scheme of thing well.
Also....Cobra Commander! With silver faceplate! YES! Looks Frickkin Awesome!
Coooobra! <3

And the action looks like it's been kicked up a notch (or two) with fairly realistic military and ninja themes.

Though there is one thing I'd like to bring up

While this isn't exactly bad, I do feel a little deja-vu since the story seems quite similar to the recently canceled G.I.-Joe: Renegades cartoon. Though it seems like this will be a bit more of a mature and gritty (?) take on the story. Also...seeing the flag and banners of COBRA being put on the White House was really cool!
Looks like they took some things from the previous G.I.-Joe movie (Rise of Cobra), though I won't mention what since there may be those of you who want to see it (and unlike others, I didn't find it to be the worst thing ever but it wasn't great either. enjoyable then yes. Story...not so great.).
But what I will say is that they took from it was the good things and seems to have left the bad behind.

For now, all I can say is that I can not wait till June 29th 2012 for this movie to come out!
And the Action Figures too!

Yo Joe!!!!!

News: New Soul Calibur 5 Videos

2011-12-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well as some of you might know, I am very excited for the latest installment of the popular weapon based fighting game series: Soul Calibur 5
And with only a month or two away til it's official release in the US (January 31st 2012), there has been plenty of new videos and info on what's to come like these two new videos below:

It might surprise you that Soul Calibur 4 was meant to be the last game in the series because the team behind it split up and went to work on other games. But thanks to fans of the series that clamored for a new and improved installment to the series be made. Namco listened and here we are. Now they plan to make up to at least Soul Calibur 9. XD
Anyway about the video, It seems to be trying to show what happened in SC4 and how it will lead into SC5 which I think is a nice touch since the game takes place 17 years after SC4.
I am hopeful that the story mode will be much better and actually have a story unlike SC4.
The graphics look quite nice for the cutscenes and that it looks really good so far.
Also Siegfriedis so awesome in this trailer...as is Nightmare.
Thought I should mention that the music is epic. So glad I'm getting the soundtrack with my Collector's Edition. : )

Most info in this video won't be anything too new to fans that are keeping a close eye on things but it has it's gems and it's pretty good for someone who might not know much about Soul Calibur and possibly getting them interested.
Seeing a clip from story mode, shows how cool Patroclus (the son of Sophitia not "Sofeshea") is.
Also gameplay of Yoshi, Cervantes, Xiba (who seems to have a few of Seong Mi-na's moves), and Aeon Calcos (Formally Lizardman) was also shown.
Also it seems that there will possibly be two original movesets exclusive to custom characters that can be made. Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed makes an appearance as a guest character and fits in with the rest of the cast nearly flawlessly.

I can't help but think that the announcer of the video knows very little about the Soul Calibur series I believe since things like Nightmae's "Living Sword" (Soul Edge) seemed to surprise him and that the "graphics are as good as a FPS" (First Person Shooter).
Yeah...otherwise both are cool videos and I suggest you watch them if your interested in Soul Calibur 5.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Minimates Review: Iron Man and Arthur

2011-12-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hi there!
This here is my review of the newest Minimates that recently came out that are from the crossover fighting game: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

That includes Marvel's Iron Man and Capcom's Arthur

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:
Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Halo, and more to choose from.

Anyway find out my thoughts on these minimates after the jump!

First we have the Marvel's heroic armored avenger who has become quite popular in recent years thanks to having two movies (first in 2008 and the second in 2010) and another two on the way (The Avengers and Iron Man 3). What kind of man is he? He's an Iron Man. No! The Iron Man!

It's a very nice looking minimate with it's metallic coloring and it's clever reuse of parts from previous Iron Man variants (like the Iron Man Movie version hands and the boots from Extremis Iron Man).
I think the Helmet and Chest pieces are new. But I could be wrong since I haven't been regularly collecting minimates for a little while till these were released.
Now he doesn't have nearly as much sculpted detail like his movie counterpart, but in this case I believe that to be a good thing because it makes him look slender and less bulky and he seems to have a better range of motion. I think anyway. ^^
Only beef (darn it, now I'm hungry..) I have with the actual minimate is the helmet. Now I really like it..but it seems the printing on it isn't lined up with the rest of the helmet properly.
Other than that, everything looks pretty good to me.

"Where's my helmet?"

Also he has facial detail with out the helmet on which looks nice. Unlike most of the others that have skin tone head with an extra hair piece, this one does not. Surprisingly I don't mind it, but welcome it because I like the look that even without the helmet on he's still armored up.
He has a hole in his head to fit the helmet's peg into his head firmly without being too loose or too tight like some of the older minimates.

One of my favorite things to do with Iron Man when I would be playing Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (I haven't played the Marvel Vs. Capcom 3...yet anyway.) was to use his Proton Cannon. Now it's here in minimate form. Now it's not super oversized like it is in the game...but it's really detailed and I just love it!
Though I'm not sure how he's supposed to hold it thanks to his hands being opened at a side-ways position, so that's a minus.
It also come with a clear stand (which is kinda bent...) that can be used for the Proton Cannon or....

as a flight stand!
Now that what I call multipurpose. I like how it looks and fits both the Cannon and the minimate fairly well because it's a little loose on a minimate's foot. But it still works.
He comes with an extra set of hands that are for when he's flying.
As seen in the picture here--->
I think they also add even more to his playability.
Overall it's a very solid minimate that has a good amount of sculpted and non-sculpted parts with accessories that compliment it nicely. PROTON CANNON!!!

Next up is the heroic knight from Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins: Arthur
Whom as a character...I know nearly nothing about..^^;

As a minimate though, I must say that he looks quite nice with his silver armor and weapons.
All his parts appear to be new, though yet again I could be wrong as I mentioned earlier.
His arms,boots,waist piece, and helmet are all sculpted. I really like the detail on these parts, like: the shoulder guards on his arms, and the boots etc...
The helmet I really like and it makes me think how cool it'd be if the they made Castle themed minimates..or maybe even...Soul Calibur minimates! 8D
What!? A guy can dream...can't he?
I also like the cartoony look of his face (though some of the printing was rubbed off by the helmet).
His waist piece restricts his leg a little but not much surprisingly and doesn't really take away from his playability.
He comes with a Shield, an Axe, a Lance, and a Clear Stand (which I'm not sure why).
The Axe is my favorite of the bunch because it looks cool and fits in his hand nicely. His Lance is alright but its tip is pretty bent which kinda get's me bent outta shape. X3
His Shield has a good amount of detailing and slips on and off his arm fairly well. The only thing that bugs me about is the position. Because I would think the shield would be up right when his arm is bent instead of when his arm is straight down. It's kinda hard to describe in words.
Otherwise I think he's a cool and fun looking minimate with a good amount of playability with a nice assortment of weapons and accessories.

So as a two pack of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 minimates I'd say it's a good one and if you like any of the character's or the game or minmates in general and would recommend you pick up this back at your local comic shop or Toys R Us.

I am sorry I don't have packaging pictures but my camera refused to take any that didn't look like crap. -.-
Hopefully the next (or the one after that) I am able to provide pictures of them.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading the review and hope you'll come back for more reviews and otther things I may post this season.

Happy Thanksgiving! 2011

2011-11-24T04:58:00.000-08:00

WIP Wednesdays: More Minimates and Lego Edition

2011-11-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hello There!
Been a little while since I've updated the site..anyway I wanted to show you all my latest Minimate and Lego WIPs (Work In Progress), which you can see below.

Custom Sculpted and Painted

I'm not going to tell you exactly what they're going to be yet...but I'll give you two clues:

Nail Polish and Sharpie Marker

For the Minimates: They are going to be from two different licensed series that they had a long while back that most likely will never be made because they lost both licenses to each of the series.

Stickers!

For the Lego: They are going to be characters from a fighting game I've talked about quite a bit in previous post.

My Loot from Brickforge most of which are being used by my customs.

So..I'd love to hear your guesses.

And check back soon for more updates,reviews, customs, news, and more real soon!
Thanks for reading!

About the Newly Added Donate Button

2011-11-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Drew the little guy myself.

I think some of you may have noticed a little kitty Grell (like the one above)on the side of the page here ->
Well a friend of mine suggested I make one in case people might want to donate to help me be able to more often put up reviews of various things like, action figures, Lego sets, Minimates, Video games, Anime figurines, and other stuff too. Also proceeds go to feed kitty Grell too. Meow! :3

So your donation of any amount is appreciated an will go to making this site and to making it more enjoyable to you, the readers. : )

Thanks for reading. More updates to come. : )

Bad News about one of my Latest Videos

2011-10-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember that I posted a Lego Bleach animation on Youtube some time back.
Well I woke this morning to an email stating that I may have content that is owned or licensed by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc..and that no action was required on my part.
However, learning how this affected my video, I was not pleased. They took the sound off (Music from Bleach's 2nd Opening) which is what makes the video. I'm quite frustrated because people can put up AMVs (Anime Music Videos), Full fricken movies, and anything else you can imagine (even corn)! >.<
Yet I put up something like this which is a Lego animation with music from the series in which the custom minifigures are from that I worked very hard on and this is the crap I get!?

If anyone has any ideas on what I could do to save it, please let me know.
It would be totally appreciated.

Thanks for read what is (I guess) my first real rant post.

Some new Lego Creations:The Akatsuki (Part 1)

2011-10-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hi there, These are the first part of my series of Customs based off of the characters from the villainous group known as the Akatsuki from the Anime Naruto. I hope you all like them. :)
See more pictures can be found here .

Itachi and Kisame

Deidara and Sasori

Hidan and Kakuzu

Thanks for looking and look forward to more Lego Custom Creations.

A Comparison Between Soul Calibur 2 and Soul Calibur 4

2011-10-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
Today I'd like to discuss and compare two Soul Calibur games from different eras and different gaming consoles.
Recently I bought SC2 (Soul Calibur 2) from my local Gamestop for about 8 bucks since
I've heard a lot about how great SC2 was and how much better it was compared to SC4 (Soul Calibur 4) and I wanted to see for myself first hand.

SC2 was originally released in 2003 for the GameCube,Xbox, and the PlayStation 2 with each of the consoles having exclusive characters as follows: Link (Legend of Zelda), Spawn (Todd McFarlane),Heihachi Mishima (Tekken).
While SC4 was released in 2008 for the Xbox360 and the PlayStation 3 with exclusive Star Wars characters for each console: Yoda (360), Darth Vader (PS3) The Apprentice (Both).

Read on to see if SC2 is actually better than SC4 or just highly regarded by those for it's nostalgia!
More after the Jump!

For this discussion I will be talking about the GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2 and the Xbox 360 version of Soul Calibur 4.
I got the GC (GameCube) Version of SC2 mainly because of Link and I'm also not into playing on the other consoles or with their characters.

It might surprise you, but Soul Calibur 4 was actually the first Soul Calibur game I've ever played. Even more surprising is the reason. Star Wars Characters. Yep that's it. Never would have even cared if it hadn't been for them but that's another story.
I only rented it when it first came out and was more of a button masher without any training.
But last year a friend of mine bought me SC4 for my B-Day and not too long after that I was on Live playing against people of all levels and learning from experience and training.

Anyway enough about that! It's time to get started!
Gameplay

Speed and Pace
In SC2,it seemed much faster when moving your character,attacking, sidestepping,and guarding.
After playing SC2 for a while and going back to playing SC4, it felt slower.Like attacks, movement and especially sidestepping. I was actually surprised on how different they were in speed.

Nightmare has never looked better than this.

Moves
Well I have to admit, SC2 didn't have a lot of moves per character and some characters even shared moves.
Like: Sophitia, Cassandra, and Lizardman. Now the three I mentioned were not clones of each other but they shared quite a bit of moves. They are other characters in SC2 that have a similar deals. But plenty of them have their own unique movesets like: Ivy, Tailm,Cervantes,Maxi, and etc..
Also on a personal note since I play Siegfried on Sc4, Nightmare on SC2 feels like Siegfried with a little bit of Nightmare's moves sprinkled in.
So I got to hand it to SC4 because in it, each character has a nice library of original and unique moves (with Yoshimitsu's being as long as the Old Testament). Though some character went through some drastic changes which could be seen as a good or bad depending on the changes.

SC2 Screenshot from Gamespot

Graphics
Maybe it's not a direct part of the gameplay but it is quite important to the overall gaming experience because good or bad graphics can make or break the game depending on the game.
Now of course SC4's graphics are better then SC2's since they were made 6 years apart which is 4 years short of a decade. But even so, when I first put that SC2 Disc and watched the opening intro, I was amazed by how beautiful the graphics were for a game that was released so long ago. It looked almost as good (possibly better) then something you'd see on an Xbox360. Now the graphics in the game aren't exactly as good as the intro but they certainly aren't too shabby either.
Also SC2's Intro is probably my favorite Soul Calibur intro because of how well it was paced,showed all the characters,cool fights, and most of all..the epic musical score.

SC4 Screenshot from GameFAQs

Controls
Compared to the Xbox360 controller, the GameCube controller (in my opinion) isn't really suited for Soul Calibur. It's just the button layout is a little strange but it's not impossible to get used to it. Though playing both back to back might feel a little weird. Honestly it's not much of an issue just something I thought I'd mention.

Modes

The only Guest Character so far that actually fits into the Soul Calibur Universe.

Arcade
SC2's Arcade Mode is pretty much SC4's Story Mode since each character has story specific lines and all face the final boss. Though SC2's is longer.
Also Inferno is the final boss, who has one of the coolest (or hottest if you prefer) musical themes in SC2.
Anyway after defeating him you see a small slideshow (with some nice art)of what happens to the character the player has chosen to play as. If you've played SC4's Story Mode you'll know what I'm taking about(except for the art ,it's a cut scene and a wall of text).
Only thing is with Arcade Mode is SC2, you don't have special abilities or weapon effects like in SC4.
Honestly SC4's story mode was two steps backwards because (from what I've seen and heard) Soul Calibur 3's Story was longer, had cut scenes, and had more of impact on the player watching and playing as the story unfolded.

Another Screenshot from Gamespot

Weapon Master
In this mode you play as your own character (in name only) and journey though lands to find the powerful sword known as Soul Edge while facing many enemies on the way in which you must defeat under certain conditions in order to proceed on with your journey. Also during this journey you may unlock weapons (to buy in the weapon's shop),characters,stages, and other things.
Weapon Master seems pretty similar to SC4's Tower of Lost Souls.
But unlike ToLS (Tower of Lost Souls), Weapon Master has more emphasis on the what kind of weapon you have your character wield which gave different amounts of power, defense, and special abilities.
Instead of what kind of armor (or lack of, get to that in a sec) or rings you equip your character with that give certain skills. Like: Draining an opponents health,giving Impacts damage,Auto Impact, and etc..
Now all that is fine and dandy, but I think there were somethings with equipment stats that were not right.
For example: How is it that a Tee shirt that doesn't even cover the belly gives your character more defense then a armor chest plate? Does that even remotely make any sense!? Seriously?
That and I think they should put more emphasis on the weapons you give your character since they kinda lost their impact in the overall process of making one's character in SC4.
I also found WM more challenging because having to defeat you enemies under certain conditions seemed like you couldn't just spam your way to victory (like inToLS, which I did before I knew how to actually play). Sometimes you were required to do wall combos or air combos and that was the only way they would take any damage while still able to attack you the usual way. Or having to make sure your character never hits the ground because it'll be an instant K.O. Or you'd have to hit the enemy 20 times under 20 seconds which easier said then done. Lot of challenges like that, and the original story for Weapon Master was quite cool as well even if it was mostly in text.

Well that's pretty much all I can compare the two in when it comes to mode since SC4 doesn't have modes like:

Team Battle Mode (kinda like Arcade with ability to play with multiple characters,similar to some level's in SC4's ToLS except for the "drop-in/drop-out" feature)
Time Attack (here you have to defeat your opponents before the time runs out)
Survival Battle (here you pretty much have to survive for as long as you can or till you defeat the final boss. It's kinda like ToLS Descending mode)
Training Mode (Ok so both games have this mode but they don't seem to be that much different though I think SC4 improved it a little)

All of which SC2 has.
Also each of the modes listed above has "Extra" versions of them where you can use weapons with special abilities acquired in Weapon Master. For those who play SC4, think of these as Special Vs. versions of these modes. Not only that but that, but each of the above (excluding Training I believe) has an Alternative Mode which is pretty much Very Hard versions of these modes. They are quite hard too, believe me.
And not in the "Spam with lows and Grabs" kinda way like EdgeMaster Difficulty in SC4.

For a mode that as little to nothing to do with gameplay there is the
Museum where you'll find artwork and various videos which both games have.
SC2 however as more than just that, like:
Weapon Exhibition (here's one for example)
Profile Viewer (Basically it gave Bios for each character and all their taunts,grunts,attacks,and other voice work.)
Battle Theater (Here you could watch computers duke it out if you like. I remember doing this with Super Smash Bros. Melee and how interesting they could be. Haven't tried it yet with SC2, but it'll probably be better then some of the spamers and noobs I see online)

So overall I think I understand why Soul Calibur 2 is spoken so highly of in the gaming community because of it's speed and for having more offline content but I think Soul Calibur has improved since then in plenty of ways to like having online play,deeper story (SC3 not SC4, definitely not SC4), more characters and moves, better graphics, and better voice acting ("Don't...cry."-Mistsu). Though there are ways that it hasn't and has actually gone backwards (even futher than SC2) in certain areas.

With Soul Calibur 5 coming out in the first quarter of 2012, I am hopeful that this new installment will have the speed of SC2, the deeper story and bountiful offline content of SC3, and better graphics and better (and hopefully more) online then SC4.
So I'm looking forward to picking up and playing the latest chapter of this tale of souls and swords eternally retold.

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts on the matter and I would love to hear your thoughts too in the comments.

Thanks for reading! : )

Come Again!

Fanart Fridays: Swimsuit Edition!

2011-09-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hi there and welcome to this today's Fanart Fridays!

Today it's all about the Swimsuits!
This is my entry for 8WayRun.com's Fanart Friday: Swimsuit Edition! contest.
Cassandra Alexandra from Soul Calibur 4

Click on it to see it in bigger and better quality

I hope you all like it.

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art By: AJV(Me)
Character Created By: Namco Bandai

Fanart Fridays: Mood Swinger's Edition

2011-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
Long time no fanart. ^^;
Well that changes today because I just recently finished my latest fanart.
It's Tira from the upcoming Soul Calibur 5

Click on the Above Pic for Better Quality Version

And a bonus Grell Fanart:

Just click on the above image to see it in better quality.

Anyway I hope you all like 'em!

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Pictures by: AJV (Me)
Black Butler Created By: Yana Toboso
Soul Cailbur Created By: Namco Bandai

Some Tidbits from this year's ComicCon

2011-07-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well last week was my birthday and the day after it was the San Diego Comic Con.
Sadly I was unable to attend (maybe someday) but there was some news from there that piqued my interest.

One of the biggest things that happened in the toys section was LEGO acquiring both Marvel and DC licenses, giving Lego the ability to make figures and sets from comics and movies with iconic characters like Batman,Superman,Wonder Woman,Iron Man, Capt. America, The Hulk, and many more!

LEGO Superman,Batman, and Green Lantern Minifigs

I remember when LEGO first made Spiderman and Batman sets and how the figures were so cool (the sets were too most of the time) and now with so many more characters at there disposal how many more neat figures will be made. I haven't really bought any LEGO sets in a long time (except for this one) but depending on how they look (and their pricing), it's possible that I might actually try to get my hands on some LEGO set again. Can't wait till they hit in stores next year.

(Via Kotaku)

On the gaming front, there was some news on a certain game that got me pretty excited to say the least.
For those of you who don't know, Soul Calibur 4 (from 2008) is probably my favorite fighting game (even with it's flaws) to play and Namco is making a new installment to the series called: Soul Calibur 5.


Soul Calibur 4 (left) and Soul Calibur 5 (right)

As you can see above, Ivy has changed quite a bit since her appearance in Soul Calibur 4 (2008).
Her outfit this time around is less revealing yet still has what one might call "sex appeal" while now looking a bit more classier then her previous dominatrix look in my opinion. It looks a little similar to her previous outfit yet different at the same time. Surprisingly, her new outfit actually got me pretty excited about Soul Calibur 5. Though seeing her in action in the the new trailer that was released at ComicCon has got me pretty excited too.

I'm liking the other new characters as well like: Patrokols & Pyrrah (Children of Sophitia) and Natsu (Taki's spunky replacement). I'm also happy to see Seigfried return, though I'm not liking his new hair style. I liked his bangs..now they pulled his hair back. -_- But overall I'm looking forward to this new installment to the Soul Calibur series.
(Via 8Wayrun.com)

Also in other toy news, it looks like there's gonna be a crap load of Minimate goodness this year from what was shown that I'm looking forward to like:

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (I still haven't played the actual game yet ^^;)
Marvel TRU series 11 & 12
M.A.X. sets and box set
Vehicles
Halo Series 3 & 4 (just recently got some and their pretty cool)
Halo Reach Warthog sets
MODOK (now if only I had more AIM troops)

Also the Sentinel from MvC3 is something that I wish I could army build.

Wow I got some catching up to do since I still wanna get the Thor,Halo series 1 & 2, and the Capt. America minimates... 8D
(Via Major Spoilers) (and other Toy news sites too)

Anyway that's my little news story for today.
Thanks for reading.
So what were your thoughts about this year's San Diego Comic Con? Anything from there tickle your fancy?
Let me know in the comments below.

Later everyone.

My First Time at Florida SuperCon 2011

2011-07-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
You might remember a few months back that I had won Best Adult Celebrity Costume with my John Lennon (Beatles) outfit at the 1960's themed ComicStock with the prize of two tickets to Florida SuperCon.
Well last Saturday (July 2) was finally it.

Read more about my experience at SuperCon and find out if it really was "super". ;)
Also there will be more pictures after the jump and you can also check them out here at my Album on Facebook too if you like.

I was slightly disappointed with how my costume came out because there was a few things I didn't get to add to it (like the chainsaw prop) but to my surprise it was very well received.
Right after I finished with the registration I entered the dealer's room and as I walk in I have people asking for my picture. Every couple steps I made, I was stopped for a picture.
So I guess girls (and some guys too) really liked the costume and how I looked in it from all the pics they took of me and all the ones that came up and hugged me. Also, I'm thinking my Grell voice added a nice touch since many thought I sounded like him and squealed when they heard me.
I was quite popular with the ladies. : )

Grell's a chick magnet.

Managed to bump into some fellow Black Butler Cosplayers throughout the day and ended up hanging out with some of them too. Never got near a Sebby (Sebastian) though, because the were either taken by another Grell or (like the first one) ran away. : (
But I did get myself a little plushie Sebastian from a vendor not too long after I arrived because when I saw it I was so Grell-like that I just had to have it. He too was pretty popular with the ladies. ;)

Grell and Ciel with a little Sebby

It was really something when they would realize that I was actually a guy since he's mostly cosplayed by girls because of his girly looks and stuff. Glad I liked his voice enough try to imitate it because I think that really got 'em too.

I also found plenty of Ciels (all of which had no idea where the Sebastians were) and a few Trancys too.
All of them being totally adorable!

Also met up with my (Grell's) female counterpart. I think we made a pretty good pair. It was Grelltastic.
Her outfit was quite nice and accurate to the material. Also she had a chainsaw. If only there were enough Sebbys to go around for all us Grells.

Two Grells are better than one.

Also me and some Black Butler cosplayers were looking for the cosplay contest sign up booth and we were pretty much walking around aimlessly while no one (including the staff) knew where it was. But when we found it, it was like finding the promised land after going around the mountain (or in this case hallways).

Finally found our destination

A few things about the con did annoy me somewhat, like how some rooms had no AC while others did.
For example: I was in the gaming room sweating my butt off with a Nero cosplayer (who looked pimpin' with purple leather and stuff) while waiting for a Super Smash Bros tournament to start, meanwhile my friend is in the room across from us and she had full blast AC and chairs! So yeah lot of the parts of the con where hot...and not in the sexy way either...though there were plenty of hot cosplayers but I'll talk about them later. ;)
It also seemed a little disorganized and behind schedule since it appeared that they were having some technical difficulties.
Though even with all the waiting and stuff, it wasn't so bad because I ended up meeting some really cool and talented people during that time. I wish I had pictures of all of them but sadly my friend who had the camera wasn't with me the whole time, cus everyone I met had wonderful cosplays.

Red is all the rage now days.
Grell (Black Butler) and Vash (Trigun)

Can't believe I didn't remember seeing him before entering the contest but I took a pic of the white Spartan and his brother earlier that day (see below). Then again, I saw a lot of costumes so I guess it happens.
Anyways, me and him hung out together for a while since we both put our entries in pretty late (we were like the last ones beside Lego man to enter) and we managed to help each other out while were waiting.
I helped him with his armor when it would get out of place and he let me use his face as a mirror so I could do my hair. Hey, Cosplayers gotta stick together ya know.

Kick A$$ Spartans from HALO

While we (the two Grells, regular and maid Tracys, and Ciel in the dress) waited in the back behind the stage we met this an Asuka cosplayer (Neon Genesis Evangelion) that had been cosplaying for a while and had experience with making costumes and stuff who gave us first timers some pointers on what we should do on stage and how we could improve our costumes in the future.Since she was in Asuka's school uniform she said a lot of people couldn't figure out what anime series she was from which was disappointing. I knew who she was when I first saw her but we were all in the back room and I didn't have the camera with me otherwise I'd would have probably taken a pic of (or with) her since even though it wasn't necessarily "flashy" and looked like a simple costume , it was very faithful to the source material.

I entered the contest because my friends wanted me to but I didn't really want to since like I had said earlier, I wasn't confident that my costume would stand a chance against the others considering mine wasn't all the way finished yet.
But I'm still glad I did enter anyway because it was still fun and all even though I didn't win (neither did the other Grell sadly) it was really cool to go up on stage (in front of God knows how many people) and strut my stuff and pose. ^^

Me on stage

I was kinda nervous so I kinda did my poses a little too fast so it was hard for my friend to get a good picture of me on stage after waiting an hour or so before the contest began. So..um..sorry bout that. ^^;

Overall I had a good time and I'm hoping to be able to attend next year even with some of the minor (and hot) set backs it had. I'm looking forward to it.

Anyone else attend SuperCon? Did you think it was "super"?
Post your thoughts in the comment section below to let your voice be heard.

So now I leave with some pics I took below and if you wanna see more then check 'em out at Facebook

Panty & Stocking

Black Cat and Spider-Man are back in Black

Simon "Ghost" Riley
From Modern Warfare 2

Cast of Avatar the Last Airbender.
If only I had found an Aang, then I would have had all the elements: Water,Earth,Fire, and Air.

The Wario Brothers with Mario and Shy Guy and someone I don't know...^^;

Ulquiorra from Bleach

See more at Facebook

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Click on to see it bigger and better. : )

Fanart Fridays: Ceil x Alois

2011-06-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Click to see better quality Image

I just felt like drawing some Ciel x Trancy fanart from Black Butler.

It's not really a my favorite pairing, I think they look kinda cute together, especially when they're wearing dresses.
I not really used to drawing frilly (if that's what you'd call it) outfits, but I think I did ok I suppose.

Anyway I hope you all like it

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Picture by: AJV (Me)
Black Butler Created By: Yana Toboso

BTW...for those of you who don't know

...they're both boys.

WIP Wednesdays: Cosplay Edition!

2011-06-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Been quite some time, hasn't it?
Well you're about to know why soon enough.

Me & Grell

With most of my free time, I've been working on making a costume for handsome and beautiful yet kinda crazy and totally sexy Grim Reaper:

Grell Sutcliff (from Black Butler)

Ever since I saw Grell, I've been totally into him.
He's just so cool and funny.
I just love his bubbly and sexy personality.
Also he uses a chainsaw which is pretty neat.
His outfit too is quite stylish. ^^

So this my Grell costume that I'm working on that will have it's debut at this summer's SuperCon.
See more pics after the jump.

View sideshow below of check them out on my
Facebook Page

First time wearing a wig and all I can say is that I love it! ♥
When I go to style it and get these pesky knots out I bet it'll look even better. :)
Never knew how fun it was to wear wigs til now.

I was originally going to sew the jacket form scratch with a pattern I had bought but I decided to scrap that idea and went to Goodwill and found this jacket which will need some minor re-hemming and some other stuff but I think it'll work.

Bought some high-heels from Khols for a good price.
It's gonna take some getting used to walking around in these, but I think I'll be able to do it.
Just gotta brake these bad boys in. ;)

Also Got some gloves from the dollar store that are more user-friendly than my leather gloves seen in some of my previous pics. Got a nice pair of glasses that are a bit more red than the previous ones that I had (see the pic without the wig to see what I mean) with a nice glasses chain too.

The shirt, vest, and pants I found in my closet and worked my way up from there.
It's not exactly like the reference pics but I'm trying to get it as close to the source material as possible.

Just a comparison picture of what I have so far

What I have so far:
White Shirt
Pants
Vest
Glasses (bought from the dollar store)
Glasses Chain (same as above)
~~Jacket Pattern~~
Jacket (Needs to be hemmed and slightly modified)
Wig (thinking of cutting it and of course styling it)
Gloves
Shoes (High-heels that I got from Khols for a good price that I'm possibly going to modify)

What I need:
Teeth (not sure if I'll be able to find these in time...)
Chainsaw (making a prototype at the moment)
Armbands
Red and White Necktie Ribbon Thingy (Don't know what it's called ^^; )
Makeup

So I thought I'd give you all an update as to what I've been up to and stuff.
Check back soon for more updates and "Like" me on Facebook to get the latest scoop. :D

LEGO BLEACH

2011-06-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
Been awhile since I put up a Lego animation, hasn't it?
Well here's my latest animated Lego feature which combines two favorite things of mine: The anime series called BLEACH and Lego.

Since the rescue Orihime story arc is kinda similar to the Rescue Rukia story arc, I thought I would use the opening song ( D-Technolife by UVERworld ) from the second season (Rescue Rukia story arc) showing scenes from the Rescue Orihime arc.

All the characters I custom made with stickers and clay.
You can see pictures of them here:
http://mocpages.com/folder.php/127533
Also there are some cameos of some other characters of another upcoming animation of mine. Think you can spot them without pausing the video? ;D

Anyway hope you all enjoy it. :3

Fanart Fridays: Grell x Undertaker

2011-05-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Charitymates 5: Fighting for Japan

2011-05-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
Today I'd like to talk about something I've been working on (see my WIP post) for a little while now.

Well, I have joined fellow Minimate customizers (veteran and novice alike) to create and donate a Minimate custom based on a theme chosen by the community in an annual charity event called Charitymates which is held at the Minimate Multiverse. These one-of-a-kind creations are then auctioned off on eBay with 75% of the proceeds going to a specific charity (also chosen by the community) and the remaining 25% helping with the operation costs of the Minimate Multiverse.
This year's is called Charitymates 5: Fighting for Japan

A tournament of legendary fighters from all over the world is about to begin! Customizers will create unique tournament fighters limited only by their imagination. The final customs will be paired up and photographed in various fighting stances. The single minimate who gets the highest bid during the charity auctions will be the winner of the tournament!

Proceeds will be donated to Japan for it's recovering from the earthquake and tsunami.

Here's what I made for Charitymates 5.

A mysterious and powerful fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat, nun-chucks, and swordsmanship
code named: Blackest Knight is
Part of a group known a Xcalibur, an organization who's ideals and motives are still unknown to the world, has joined this world wide fighting tournmaent while wielding a powerful Excalibur passed down to those worthy to unleash it's mighty power, may soon reveal the true goal of Xcalibur.

So hope you all like it and I'll be sure to keep you all up to date as more info comes in about Charitymates 5
Also here's a slideshow of how this fighter transformed since I first started working on him.

Fanart Fridays: Grell in Cosplay

2011-04-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for description and to see it bigger.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Passion of the Christ...Anime!?

2011-04-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

And just in time for Good Friday, which is the day Jesus Christ died for the sins of all people even though he was sinless so we could be forgiven and have the opportunity to go to the paradise righteous known as Heaven instead of Hell where all sinners go for the rest on eternity.

Check out the video and description below to find out what this "Jesus Anime" is all about.
It's was quite touching (I nearly cried T_T) and it's definitely not your usual Sunday School Cartoon.
The animation is top notch too. Be sure to watch and share with friends. Spread the Word! :D

Or directly on Youtube

Quote from their Youtube Page:

About 7 years ago, in Budapest, a few of us brainstormed an idea for creating a version of Jesus' story in Japanese "Anime" form. We convinced former Disney animator, Barry Cooke and worked for years to massage various scripts, music and concepts. HERE IT IS!

At one point it was the story of Jesus meeting the "Demoniac." Eventually, we decided the first story would be about Jesus' death and resurrection.

This story unfolds through the eyes of a criminal who receives the same brutal crucifixion sentence as Christ. "My Last Day" is a short film of regret, repentance and redemption. Animé created by The JESUS Film Project, with Barry Cook and Studio 4C (株式会社スタジオよんどしい Kabushiki-Gaisha Sutajio Yondo Shii). They created Animatrix, Tekkon Kinkreet and Gotham Knight.

Hopefully this will be the first of many short stories of Jesus' life. Thank you all for the years of prayer.

ENJOY AND PLEASE REPOST! WE WANT THIS TO GO GLOBALLY VIRAL. The video may easily be downloaded here: http://www.globalshortfilmnetwork.com/my-last-day-p-344-c-8.html

http://www.jesusvideo.com

WIP Wednesdays: Minimates Edition

2011-04-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hi There Everyone!

Here's some pictures on a Minimate Custom I've been working on for a special cause which I will talk about once I've finished it. : )

Oh yeah and some pictures of my Twoface WIP

Fanart Fridays: Cosplay Edition!

2011-04-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Addition of Fanart Fridays!

Click on the picture to find out who's cosplaying as who and (of course) to see it bigger.

It's been 30 days since...

2011-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

I started my fast from gaming for Lent

(I explained it as best as I could here ).

So far I haven't really played any games
(except for I think once or twice but it wasn't at home).
Guess I've done pretty well so far.
Well, Ain't that swell! ; )
Surprisingly enough, I haven't really missed it too much,
though of course at times when I think about it I do kinda miss it.
Maybe it's like that saying "Out of sight out of mind".
There's been a few times where I really just wanted to play some video games because I didn't know what to do with myself because I was too tired to do the other things that I like to do.

I think in a way it was good for me to stop for awhile and do other things with my spare time like customizing,drawing,watching TV, and stuff. Maybe I'll come to appreciate it more now that I've been off of it for so long and be a more moderate gamer (Yeah... I had gotten kinda addicted).

Oh yeah,
Be sure to come back tomorrow (Friday) because I'll be posting something that's related to a certain
video game and an anime.

So see ya then! ;D

WIP Weekends! Art Edition!

2011-04-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to WIP Weekends!

Well technically this is just some doodles, but out of these doodles I ended up drawing up a new fanart yesterday. As you can see this is raw and unedited (except for the stamp).
I hope to finish up my latest fan art by the end of next week deepening on what life throws at me.

So I guess you could call this a preview on an upcoming fanart.
Hope you all like it so far.

Art By: AJV (me)
Characters that are not mine are owned by their respective owners.

Fanart Fridays! Show n Tell Edition!

2011-04-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hi there and Welcome to Fanart Fridays where I post some of my latest artworks! :D
Click on the pictures to see them bigger and for descriptions.

Mizore

Panty & Stocking

Might be NSFW (Not Safe For Work) ^^;
Don't be afraid to click on it though.

Show n Tell

Just click on it to see the rest. You know you want to. ; )

Well I hope you all like them.
Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art By: AJV (Me)

Characters are owned by their respective owners (two of which are mine: the Holiday Girls. ;p)

R-Style Gurren Lagann Nia Figure Review

2011-03-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome to my Review of the R-Style Gurren Lagann Nia Figure

While on my latest trip to the comic shop (last time I went there I got the Toyami Kakahsi figure) I looked around the store but nothing really jumped out at me...until I looked over at the Trading Figures (not exactly sure that's what they're called) Section, and low and behold there I saw one lonely Gurren Lagann R-Style box.

More Pictures After the Jump!

Seeing that the characters that could be inside like Yoko ,Nia ,and Space Yoko looked so cute, I decided to grab it. Even though each character has a number (Yoko's 1, Nia's 2, and Space Yoko's 3) I was actually surprised when I got Nia. ^^;

Even though Nia's not necessarily a favorite character of mine I can't deny how totally cute she is!

She comes in four parts: Head,Body, Boota (the small pig-mole), the and Stand.
Some assembly required. ;)
But putting her together was very easy.
Sorry I don't have pics of here before she was put together but I put her together right after I left the comic shop. Gosh, even when I was a kid I used to wait til I got home before opening my stuff but I guess I just had to see what was inside. -^^-

The Sculpt is nicely done and so is the paint job. The colors are very vibrant and yet soft.
She looks pretty accurate to how she appeared in the Anime.
She has a ball joint that can turn and go up and down a little
The Quality is very good and it doesn't feel (or look) junky at all.

The Price was pretty fair in my opinion since she was about $10.00 plus tax

All and All, She's an affordable figure that looks absolutely adorable with a good sculpt and paint job, that now has a special place in my small (yet slowly growing) anime figure collection.

So if you like:
Gurren Lagann
Nia
Cute Stuff
Affordable Anime Figures
and Good Looking Ones

Then I'd recommend you pick her up.

Thanks for reading! Hope my little review enjoyable. : )

WIP Weekends! Lego & Minimates Edition

2011-03-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to WIP (Work In Progress) Weekends!
This time featuring my Lego & Minimates WIPs.


Lego and Minimates Together

I've been experimenting with how to make the stickers the right size for the Minimates and I think after a little playing around with my Lego sticker templates, I've gotten the size and pixels down. Though I've only printed them on regular paper because I don't want to waste sticker paper and I'm kinda low on ink. Started to mess around with Sharpies and they are really good for painting on details. Been sculpting a little too.

Check out the Slideshow Below

Kiss me, I'm Irish! ;D

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the Picture to see it bigger and to view description. : )

I'm so Fast that I'm Fasting

2011-03-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Hi There,

Some of ya might know that I'm a Christian (of the Catholic denomination) and because of that starting today is the season of Lent.
Basically back when Jesus was here, He went into the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food or water. While there the devil (being a jerk that he is) tried to tempt Jesus during that time.
Now as for what us Catholics do is sacrifice something that we really like during the next 40 days.
Like for example: Sweets,TV, and other stuff.

Well for what I'm fasting (sacrificing) this Lent is using my XBox.
I gotta admit, the idea of doing it at first was kinda depressing because it's something I like to do to unwind and most of my friends are on there so I'm gonna miss playing with them.
But that is the whole point of Lent though.
Because I gotta show God that I love Him more then playing on my XBox.
Also I guess it'll be a test of will power.
I'm gonna try my best with God's help.

So is there anyone else out there that might be fasting from something too?
Well even of you are or not, I'd to hear your thoughts too. ^_^

Minimate Custom Monday!

2011-03-07T04:23:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

Here are my first official custom painted Minimate creations!
First up is one that took me about 5 or 6 years to finally get to finish.
Dr. Doom 2099! (Good thing it didn't take me "that" long)

I thought I'd make a villain for my lone Spiderman 2099 to fight.
In the future I'll probably revisit this one to do some touch up work and stuff since it was my first minimate I'd ever painted.
He's pretty much a straight up repaint of the regular Dr. Doom Minimate with Silver Surfer's chest block.

Next up is my latest custom paint that I recently started and finished.
It's Batman's cold hearted (literally) villain: Mr. Freeze
Who freezes anyone who get's in his way!

His look is reminiscent of his movie appearance from back when I was a kid in the 90's.
When he was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
Not why since I haven't seen the movie since it came out long ago when and my friend were kids.
Maybe it's nostalgia?
But regardless, I wanted Mr. Freeze to use the whole clear minimate body yet I wanted him to look like he was icy or something like that with an armored suit. So that's when I decided to go with a "movie inspired" look.
Kinda reminds me of a Mr. Freeze action figure I had.

Anyway, Hope you all like my Minimate custom creations
and be sure to
"Read More" to see how they looked before they were customized and a blogspot exclusive preview to two other custom WIPs (Work In Progress) that are coming soon.

On the left is how Mr. Freeze looked before I repainted him. The others are WIPs.

And for the Blogspot Exclusive:

Sadly it's kinda hard to see the black detailing I painted of the dark green body.

Looks like the flash was a little too bright there. ^^;

Well, the color of his left arm is pretty much how the left side of his body is colored

So anyone wanna guess who these will be when they're done?

Anyway, Thanks for reading and be sure to check back soon for more updates and custom creations, and more!

Toynami Kakashi Action Figure Review

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hello There and Welcome to my review of Toynami's Naruto Shippuden
Kakashi 4 inch (though it's really 5 inches) Action Figure.

It had been a month or so since I'd gone to my local comic shop and I was looking around the store noticing that some of the things I wanted were already gone, but then I saw a rack of these 4inch Naruto Shippuden Figures hanging up and they caught my eye. Especially Kakashi.
Seeing them was very surprising because I never heard about these coming out (I keep up with this kinda stuff) and I never saw the pictures of them either. So when I saw Naruto, Itachi, and Kakashi action figures in front of me I was like: Whoa....
But I was also leery about buying any of these because I was afraid that the quality might be poor and for the price (I'll get to that in a bit) I really didn't want to buy something that was going to fall apart or something.

Click the "Read More" Button to find out if wasted my money on junk or spent it on something cool after the jump!

Well let's start off with the packaging,

I think it looks good sporting the Naruto Shippuden logo with Kakashi on the right side and on the bottom of the package bubble it has his name and his Sharingan.
It's pretty eye catching (it sure caught mine). It's too bad these aren't sold in stores like Toys R Us were they could get more exposure, though at least they can be found at comic shops
(though not all from what I've seen)
and they're not nearly as imposable to find as say...Figmas and Revoltechs
(gosh, I gotta get my hands on some sometime! >.<)

As for the back of the packaging,
It has the a smaller version of the Naruto Shippuden logo on the left with Kakashi's bio and features below that. There's some pictures of the actual figure in various poses on the right side next to the bio and features.
Also it shows the figures other characters available in this Series (1) and illustrations of upcoming characters for Series 2.

Now on what you get out of the box (or package in this case).

As you can see, we have the figure which comes with 3 pairs of different interchangeable hands (Open, Closed with Kunai, and Jutsu Sign hands) and a bonus reading book hand, two different heads, and a clear stand.

Let's start with how he looks,
The sculpt has a nice amount of detail and paint applications are quite good, especially for an articulated figure at a fairly small scale compared to most anime figures.
He pretty much looks as if he jumped right out on the anime.
Also the reason I bought him before any of the others was because his joints are very well hidden compared to his fellow ninja pals (and enemies). Like his ball hinged shoulders and hip joints.
With all this talk about joints, why don't we talk about his articulation (aka Playability).

For the Articulation department, it's pretty much like a the new GI-JOE action figures they sell in stores.
The packaging says that there's "Over 25 points of articulation" and I not exactly sure it's true but I think it's a little more articulate then "most" GI-Joe figures out there. Most of the joints use ball-socket joints like GI-Joe and other action figures.
Here's a list of the parts that appear to be movable:

Neck

Shoulders

Torso (is very much like a GI-Joe's)

Hips (Very much like Hasbro's Marvel movie lines like: Iron Man 2,Wolverine, Thor, and etc..)

Ankles

All of which can be moved left and right and up and down.

The only parts that don't have ball socket joints and are swivel are:

Elbows

Knees (which is similar to the older GI-Joe figures)

Also the Wrist have joints too which go back and forth.


"Size matters not."-Yoda

I like the figure because it looks great,has a good amount of articulation, and don't see a lot figures like these from mainstream anime series.

But I do have a few complaints.
Joints can pop out if you're not careful (though I am naturally),so I won't recommend giving this to a young Narutard. Though so far they don't pop out too often which is good.
Price Point, Because $16.00 is a bit steep for an action figure. Though I have heard that some shops sell them for around $13 a piece.
My Kakashi's left knee is a little wobbly, but it's not any big deal and it's affect the figure that much.

Facepalm

My biggest complaint is the Quality Control.
Why?
Remember I was telling you all that he came with two heads,right?
Well, one of the head's hole where you put the peg into it was way too small.
It took me over an hour with a razor blade to finally make the hole big enough so the peg could fit in so I could use the other head. Now I can finally switch out the heads now.
But for the Price (which wasn't cheap) I shouldn't have had to do that!
I hope that their Quality Control gets better as the line goes on.

Overall I think it's a Good Looking (with nice Paint Apps and Sculpting) Articulated Action Figure with a few setbacks (the Price and Head Ordeal in particular).
I recommend it if you like:

Naruto
Articulated Anime Figures
Kakashi-Sensei
Good Looking Anime Figures

Anyway, I hope my review will be helpful to you all and thanks for reading!

See ya next time!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T05:22:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see it bigger if you like. ^^

2D Hottie Spotlight: Soi Fon

2011-02-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

Hello there and welcome to another addition of my
2D Hottie Spotlight
So, who's gonna be under the spotlight today?
Well...it's gonna be
Soi Fon from the anime series: Bleach

She's a Soul Reaper (which is like a Grim Reaper), Captain of in the 2nd Division ,and Commander of the Special Forces that protect the Soul Society (think of Heaven or maybe Limbo).
She specializes in shunpo and hand-to-hand combat unlike most Soul Reaper who use katanas and such.

Find out why I think she's a Hottie (even though she's pretty much flat chested) after the jump!

I'm gonna start by saying that the Rescue Rukia story arc was one of the best story arcs in the Bleach series. What's that got to do with anything you might ask.
Well, that's because when Ichigo and the gang broke into the Soul Society to rescue Rukia,
that's when Soi Fon made her first appearance.
With Ichigo and his friends was a talking (male) black cat named Yoruichi that transformed into this:

Meoooow!

We then find out that Yoruichi was once the Captain of the 2nd Division and Commander of the Special Forces before leaving the Soul Society as a rouge. Also that Soi Fon was her apprentice and close friend.
Now after taking her master's place and finding out that she had returned after many years later,
Soi Fon went to confront her.

This is the kind of Girl-on-girl action I like

After what was a pretty awesome battle (from what I remember) Soi Fon breaks down and asks Yoruichi why she left her behind and didn't bring her with her. They reconciled and put aside their differences to fight a common enemy.

Well, hopefully that give you a little idea on who she or whatever is so we can get to the reasons why I like her.

I like the way she looks with her unique hair style and outfit (compared to the rest of the Soul Reapers) and the fact that's she's quite attractive for being one of the few female characters that doesn't have watermelons for boobs. I guess Tite Kubo (the creator of Bleach) must like his oversized. ; )
As for her personality,
Soi Fon is strong-willed, somewhat stubborn, and isn't one to give up easily.
Also she pretty much adores Yoruichi and has a massive crush on her which I find to be just adorable.

Soi Fon and Yoruichi is the only Yuri couple I'd support because they are so cute together and totally meant for each other. And I don't even like yuri!
But seeing how they interact with each other the the chemistry they have, I think they'd make a great couple.
I think the animators think so too, if you watch the filler episodes.

I also thought I'd mention her Zanpaktou which is quite different then the other Soul Reapers' Zanpaktous Because Soi Fon's claw like stinger called "Shikai" when an a attack is landed twice on an opponent in the same general area of the body, the opponent is automatically killed.
Her Banki (the Zanpaktou's final form) is very explosive and not very good for covert operations which is why we don't see her use it much but when she does, you know you're in for a blast! Literally!

Well, I hope that gives you all a little bit of insight on why I like her.
Yoruichi is also a fav of mine too, but I think I'll leave that for another time.

Hey there, here's a funfact: Today (Feb 11) is Soi Fon's Birthday.

Anyway,
Thanks for reading and be sure to check back for more updates.
Comments Welcome.
More 2D Hottie Spotlight Articles

Amagami SS Thoughts (spoiler free as possible!)

2011-01-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

I remember about a year ago (?) hearing about this anime coming out and seeing the art and thinking about checking it out, but I couldn't find anywhere to watch it.
Well a year later (2010 ;P) while looking for a place to watch Bakuman I found Amagami SS in their playlist thingy.
I started to watch it a week before Christmas and the story kinda revolves around Christmas (which I thought was cool considering) because ~~on Christmas Eve our main character Junichi.~~
Just read the description below to find out why.

About the series:
It's a romantic anime series that follows the story of a second-year student named Junichi Tachibana who's afraid to love and doesn't like Christmas because 2 years prior to the series start,
a girl stood him up on a date on Christmas Eve and broke his heart.
But this time around, he'll meet six girls
from his school named:
Haruka Morishima, Kaoru Tanamachi, Sae Nakata, Ai Nanasaki, Rihoko Sakurai, and Tsukasa Ayatsuji
and get a shot at love with each of them and will finally have a "Merry" Christmas again.

Read my thoughts about this series after the jump!

What I thought:

For a romance series it's pretty good and unique.
I like it's way of story telling: giving each girl getting an equal a chance at romance with Junichi Tachibana with each getting a 4 episode long story arc, instead of having them all over him at the same time like in harmen.
Also I like how all the stories are connected (or interwoven) in one way or another. It's pretty cool.
Though it's kinda hard for me to put in words, you'll have to see for yourself. ^^;
It's cast of characters (and side characters) are all pretty and cute (well the girls at least) and have their own distinct personalities.

The main character Junichi Tachibana is pretty much your average guy you see in most of these kind of series.
He does seem likable and he does have a bit of character even though he has his share of weird fetishes (you'll see!). ;D
I'd say I like him more ,then say Tsukune from Rosario + Vampire.
I don't think the guy characters are too shabby either.
Masayoshi Umehara (the only other male character in the series and best friend of Junichi) had his moments. :3

Even when there's a chance for something like a "panty shot" to come up they manage to censor stuff like that without it looking forced or out of place and in creative ways. Honestly I don't mind since it would possibly make it a little hard to take the story as seriously ( I'm looking at you Rosario+Vampire!) and I think it was in good taste on their part.
But that doesn't mean there isn't any fanservice because there is and it's usually for comedic purposes.

The animation was well done throughout most of the series with a few things looking a little "off" in a few instances.
Funfact: Amagami SS was animated by the same studio that animated Sora no Otoshimono.
I didn't know that, did you?

Now I'll talk about the rest of the characters and their respective story arcs

Haruka Morishima

She's very pretty and popular and is an second year student (while Junichi's a first year student).
She has a playful personality,acts a little immature at times, and like dogs.

I like how they had that bit of chemistry when they were with each other even though she was the popular girl and he was just the average joe (no he's not a joe or named joe).
There was definitely some funny moments between the two of them. Sometimes getting them odd looks from other students.

I liked the ending, I thought it was sweet.
Haruka's story arc was my favorite.
She's also my favorite character. ^_^

Kaoru Tanamachi

She's a friend and fellow student of Junichi's who likes to tease him a lot and
as you might have guessed, their relationship begins to change into something more.
She struggles with the idea at first but then slowly gives into her feelings.
Even though she's a generally happy person, she has her share of problems that she tries to deal with on her own.

Her story arc a had little more drama this time around which I liked because it added a little more realism...? Zest...?
Well I' don't know, but I liked it anyway.


Sae Nakata

She's the cute and shy type with some assets (if ya know what I mean ;P).
Yeah...her body's matured in...um...certain places...like her chest area in particular. X )
Sae is a friend and fellow classmate of Miya Tachibana (Junichi's younger sister who's also pretty cute and mischievous)
She really grows as a character as does her relationship to Junichi.
There was a little bit of that forbidden love thing going on because he's older than her and all.
But it wasn't like he was being a pedo or something, thankfully.

Also there is one thing that was kinda annoying: It's got nothing to do with the characters or the story itself but how it's told.
It has to do with the narrator in particular...
Not sure if they were trying to be funny but it didn't work, it just sounded dumb and out of place.
Don't worry though because it doesn't happen again.
I guess they learned their lesson. (what lesson?) (I don't know...)

Even so, I thought her story arc was adorable and is one of my favorites.

Ai Nanasaki

I thought she was going to be the more silent plain-hard-to-get type (she was kinda hard to get), but I was wrong because she actually is a sporty-athletic type who's also friends with Miya Tachibana and Sae Nakata.

She's a little shy,likes to tease Junichi a little, and looks pretty swell in a school swim suit (which she wears because she's part of the swim team that's couched by Hibiki Tsukahara who's Haruka's best friend).
It's kinda funny how even though she's younger than him she's actually more mature than he is.
But that doesn't mean she didn't act her age sometimes.

I'd say she's one of my fav characters and that her story arc was enjoyable.
Also the ending was HOT. You'll know what I mean when you see it. ;)


Rihoko Sakurai

She's cute n' clumsy,a little chubby (really?),and childhood friend of Junichi.
Rihoko's a bit self-conscious about her weight yet she has a hard time dieting because she loves to eat and she likes to bake sweets.
Maybe she needs a bit of an incentive?
Like our main protagonist Junichi.

She's a kind hearted person and good friend to Junichi. Though it would seem Junichi likes to tease her a little.

Her story arc was alright ,but I was kinda disappointed with her ending because it wasn't as romantic as I would have liked.

Tsukasa Ayatsuji

Her personality surprised me the most because outwardly she appears to be the responsible,confident, leader type character, but there's more then meets the eye to say the least ( and without spoiling it).

I think it was interesting to see how their relationship grew as she opened up to him by showing him that otherside of herself bit by bit and as he grew to like her for who she really was.

I liked the ending of her arc and it's one of my favorites.
Maybe even my favorite. -^^-

Last episode (25)

Truthfully I thought this was going to be an episode where Miya (the little sister)
would be the love interest of Junichi (incest! D8), but it was not.
Sorry if I got your hopes up in case any of you like that kind of thing...^^;
Anyway, I'm not gonna tell you exacly what happens (don't want to spoil it of course ),
but I'll tell you this much:
If you still wondered about something after seeing all the previous episodes (1-24)
you most likely won't after this.
It was kind of interesting and I thought the ending was kinda cute. -^_^-
It may have felt a little rushed but considering the time restraints (only 1 episode) I think they did a good job.
Also she was kinda cute...kinda reminded me of Mizore (from R+V)...

Overall

I liked the series and I think it's one of my fav romance series (anime wise).
It had it's ups and downs but it was a really cute romance with some pretty good storyline and a unique way of telling those stories.

Though I've gotta admit, I wish this series could have lastest longer or had more seasons in a way but it's ending wasn't abrupt and I don't feel like there's too much left to tell.
There was closure, and that can be quite important.
I've seem plenty of anime that either had no closure, rushed endings, and others without any real ending at all.
I wonder if other studios might consider making other anime series like this since I wouldn't mind watching something like this again.

Anyway,
It was as fun and romantic ride and I'll glad I finally jumped on.
So with that all said, I'm gonna give it a 8 out of 10
and I'd recommend it to someone who likes

Romance
Cute Characters
Interesting Story
Short series
An Anime that isn't really long (like Bleach,Naruto, etc...)

So I hoped you liked reading my (nearly spoiler free) review of Amagami SS and hope you all give it a try sometime.

Thanks for reading. : )

FanFilm Friday: GI-JOE: The Calm Before The Storm

2011-01-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

My latest stop motion animation is finally complete!

"GI-Joe saved the world and all is calm, but there's always a calm before the storm."

This is my first official GI-Joe animation I've ever made and it's one of the longest animations I've ever made.
It took about 3-4 months for me to make.

Be sure to watch it all the way to the end of the video. ; )

Hope you all enjoy it.

Happy Belated New Year!!! 8D

2011-01-04T05:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T05:48:00.000-08:00

I just want to wish you all a Happy,Healthy,Holy, and (of course) Merry Christmas!

Fanart Fridays: Heaven's Lost Property

2010-12-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

Click on the Picture to see it bigger and to read the description.
edit: I had this ready to post last friday but forgot...oops.
here it is now anyway.
Hope you all like it

What I'm Watchig: Anime

2010-12-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hi there!
Since I talked about what American Cartoons I've been watching in my last post,
I thought this time around I'd talk about what anime series I'm watching at the moment.

Find out what I'm watchin' after the jump!

Bleach

It's about a teenager named Ichigo Kurosaki who can see ghost, who then meets a Soul Reaper (grim reaper) named Rukia Kuchiki (my favorite character from the series) after a Hollow (a dangerous lost soul) tries to attack his family. A weakened Rukia gives Ichigo her Soul Reaper powers so he could defeat the Hollow and defend his family, thus becoming the Substitute Soul Reaper.

You know, Bleach was one of the mainstream series that I took the longest getting into.
Not exactly sure why but once I watched the first episode I never looked back.
Though it's got it fare share of filler episodes (though not as many as Naruto), it's been a entertaining and exciting experience so far.
Lately it's been pretty good though a little slow at times.
After getting into this series, I can see why it's popular.
It's got a good cast of characters, villains (though there's one that seems a little over powered), and storyline.
So if you ever wanna watch (legally and for free) the latest episodes of BLEACH head on over to Crunchyroll.com.

Iron Man

Ever since the first Iron Man movie, I've become a real fan of the Iron Man.
So when the first trailer for the anime came out I was excited
Then the second trailer came out...let's just say that the art and style went down a few notches in my opinion.

Now I've been watching the anime which I think is pretty good but isn't what I was waiting for.
First, the Iron Man armor is CGI instead of being drawn (like in the first trailer) and it doesn't really blend all that well with the rest of the style of the anime.
While I'm talking about style, I'm not too crazy about how the characters a drawn but I've warmed up the style in which their drawn in.
Kinda reminds me of Death Note in that regard,though it's maybe a bit more detailed.
I'm not really sure how to describe it.
The story's ok, though it seems like most anime have to take place in Japan (nothing wrong with that) including this one.
The reason I even bring that up is because I thought Iron Man would be going around the world (like Paris) fighting villains and stuff.
But Iron Man being in Japan makes sense (story wise) and isn't such a bad thing.
Also he's still fighting villains which is always a plus.

With all that said, I think it's a pretty good anime and it kinda feels like an expansion to the Iron Man movies.

The World Only God Knows

Let me start off by letting you all know what I thought the series was going to be when it was first announced to be getting an Anime.

Well...What I Thought:

"It's set in a dark and grim world with little color about a man with god-like knowledge who knows all.
Having a realistic style almost Death Note looking that it's story has to do with solving crimes and mysterious murders."

What It Actually Is:
It's about a rather smart yet kinda anti-social high school student named Keima who's known as the "god of conquest" for he's conquered countless girls hearts...2D girls from Dating Simulation Games that is! 8D
He then receives an email offering him a contract to "capture" girls. Thinking is was a challenge to a game he accepts though to his surprise, a demon from Hell named Elsie (who's a little cutie pie! -^^-) appears before him and ask for his cooperation in capturing Loose Soul that hide themselves in the hearts of girls by conquering their hearts and making them fall in love with him. Even though he only likes anime girls, he got no choice because if he breaks the contract he and Elsie will be beheaded if they fail.

It's got a unique story, interesting and cute characters, and humor.
Though at first it seemed like it was gonna be like each week he'd get a girl and move on to the next one which could've become a bit repetitive. But there's a bit more to it than that and when "conquering" the girls their stories are a bit more drawn out and their characteristics more fleshed out, letting you get to know each of them a little more. Also how the two main characters (Keima and Elsie) interact with each other is cute,interesting, and humorous.

I'd say I like it with it's humor and cuteness with a little bit of seriousness sprinkled in for good measure.

If you wanna check it out (legally and for free) head on over to Crunchyroll.com

Bakuman

From the creator of the Death Note Manga/Anime series comes a new series that's quite different than it's murder mystery,thought provoking,twist and turn predecessor.
That happens to be a good thing however. Not that I didn't like Death Note because I did very much so but seeing that the creator can make a story and characters that are nearly good as the previous story in their own special way impresses me.

As for what it's about: It's about two 9th grade boys Moritaka Mashiro (an artist) and Akito Takagi (a writer)
who join forces in order to fulfill each others dreams to become mangaka.
Now it might not sound too exciting but surprisingly enough it can be at times as you get a bit of an inside look on what it takes to get into the Manga industry. It's got a interesting cast of characters and side characters, and bit of depth in the story department.
So far it seems to be a good series and seems to be getting better as it progresses.
It's not Death Note, but it's still pretty darn good.

Sora no Otoshimono Forte

I'll admit it, I've watched the first season of the this totally perverse comedy series and I have continued to watch it even till the second season. -^^-
I'm not usually into this kind of series but I did like the art and towards the end of first season it started to get
pretty good with it's story and plot becoming a bit more serious and interesting.

Now it's about a lazy (and a bit perverted) high school student named Tomoki Sakurai who happens to
encounter a fallen Angeloid named Ikaros, who soon becomes his servant granting him anything he wants.
Hilarity and chaos ensues because like Uncle Ben (from Spider Man) said:
"With great power comes great responsibility" but Tomoki isn't exactly the responsible type.

Now the second season begins where the first left off and introduces another Angeloid named Astraea.
I think the second season has moved along the story and the plot is beginning to unfold (though mostly after the credits and few episodes). Of course it still has it's perverse humor and fanservice but it is starting to get a bit more serious and interesting. It's cast of characters are drawn well and interesting with their own distinct personalities.
So far I'm liking the second season a little more than the first. I think this series is getting better after each passing episode.
If you ever want to check it out, you might want to start from the first season and work your way up to the second in order to avoid confusion.

Panty and Stocking with Garterblet

Is the Powerpuff Girls on crack and hallucinogenics.
That's a short explanation anyway.
Animated and produced by Gainax who has brought to life series like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and plenty of others. Now as for Panty and Stocking, it's very different looking and less anime-like then any of their other works. It's art is inspired by and a parody of American cartoons and even the episode format is very much like your average American cartoon.

It's story is about two fallen "angels" named Panty (who always has sex on the brain) and Stocking (who's a goth that loves sweets) on a mission to destroy ghost and gather Heaven coins in order to get back into Heaven, under the instruction of the afro sporting priest: Garterblet.
It has it's share of crude (and non crude) humor,action, and a story.
Most episodes are kinda like stand alone episodes having no connection to each other but as the series progresses things start to seem more anime-like (at least in story telling).
Also certain scenes here and there are drawn in anime style and usually look sharp.
I like the series because it's fun and unique and I think it's getting better as it progresses.

Well that's all for today folks,
hope you enjoyed reading my little (maybe not so little) article.

So what Anime are you watching?

What I'm Watchig: American Cartoons

2010-12-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

Now some of you might have noticed that I really like Anime and have watched my fair share of anime series (and still do!) but never hear I me talk too much
about American cartoons.

Truthfully, when I was a kid I'd watch cartoons like spongebob,rugrats,doug,powerpuff girls,etc.. all the time.

As I've gotten older however (and lost cable) I haven't really watched cartoons and pretty much lost interest in that kind of media.

Though lately there are a few that have peaked my interest that I've managed to catch.

Find out what they are after the jump!

Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes

I wasn't too excited about it before they aired it on tv but then they decided to put up mini episodes online and I watched them and really like 'em.

Why? Well even with the bright colors and cartoonyness of the show, the story and characters really shined and were well done and not dumbed down.

Then you have characters like Iron Man, The Hulk, and others that feel like they're from their movies and put in to the same show which almost makes this series like a continuation of the movies.

Also there's appearances of various characters from the vast cast of the Marvel universe.
Enjoying it so far.

GI-Joe Renegades

I like GI-Joe. I've collected the action figures since I was a little kid and still do (though not as much anymore).

I've also like GI-JOE because he's
"A Real American Hero"!

Also I enjoyed the Movie (Rise of Cobra) even though it wasn't the greatest movie ever ( Cobra Commander didn't wear his KKK mask or his Chrome helmet :( )
but it was a fun nevertheless.

Now as for "Renegades",
when I first saw the artwork for this series I thought it looked terrible but after watching the first two episodes I've warmed up to it a little.

The animation is pretty good, nothing too bad.

For the Story, I think it's not too shabby considering they're going in a whole new direction that hasn't been seen before in the mainstream GI-Joe universe.

Here's how it goes: Instead of being America's elite terrorist fighting force, GI-Joe is now a group on soldiers who are on the run from the government for a crime they didn't commit as they try to clear their names (A-Team anyone?) while fighting Cobra which is no longer a "terrorist organization determined to rule the world" but a global conglomerate that not only has great public relations but they have bakeries too (yum..Apple pie :P).

I think it's off to a pretty good start and hope it gets better as the series progresses.

Young Justice

I wasn't really interested in this series til I saw a preview clip (see above) and saw the art and heard the voice acting.

This series has the best art of the bunch,slick animation, and some superb voice work.

Besides that I kinda reminds me of the Teen Titans (which was awesome) with it's team of teen crime fighters and the Justice League cartoons because so many characters from the DC universe have already appeared in just the first two episodes.

It's story seems interesting so far.

I think this series could be a good series.

So I guess there are still some American cartoons worth my time and maybe yours too.

Anyway, Thanks for reading.

Hope you enjoyed it. ^^

So what do you think?

You watch cartoons?

Maintenance...(Report Problems Here) Post

2010-12-01T04:29:00.000-08:00

Well Hello Everyone!

As you can see, it's the Christmas Season!
So I redecorated my blog accordingly.
But while doing so I realized that the button for the Articles on the Navigation bar
wasn't working properly for some odd reason and it would bring me to the page saying nothing found
(or something) .
In order to fix it I had to re-tag (or add tags to) all my "articles" with "thoughts'.
Not sure why but at least now if you all ever want to read any of my past articles and don't want to go through pages of other stuff to get there, you can.

Also if you find anything that doesn't seems right or outta wack (?) just let me know in the comments section of this post...and if you can get a screen shot of the problem, it would help me better understand the problem.

Anyway that's it for now,
Hope to see you all real soon!
HohoHo!

*edit* Just updated the Archives page in case you're interested...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T03:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!

This here is my Foxy Harvest Maid, who is part of my Holiday Girls Series that I started in 2007.
Check out my Holiday Girls page
to see how she's changed over the years and to see the rest of the Holiday Girls.

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art and Character By: AJV (Me)

BTW What are you thankful for?

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Review

2010-11-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone and
Welcome to my Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Review.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2?
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 is the sequel to the first Force Unleashed game that put you in the shoes of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice: Starkiller.
But there's a twist this time around.
If you saw the ending to the last one, then you know you shouldn't even be playin' as Starkiller.
Though it would seem that Darth Vader thought ahead of time and decided to clone Starkiller and make an army of super powerful Sith. You're a clone that rebels against Darth Vader and goes on a quest to reunite with the love of his life (or previous life): Juno Eclipse.
I'm serious...that's what really drives the story,but I'll get to that in a sec.

Now that I played it after renting it (like I did the first one) I think I can still properly review it since I've already beat it.
(Rented it Thursday night and played it a little,played it Friday night, and then, beat it Saturday morning after an hour of playing)

Click the Read More Button to Read the rest of Review and see how much Force you can Unleash this time around.

   * Graphics
     Of course like the previous installment, the graphics are really good and life like.

   * Sound
      The voice acting is good though one thing I found odd is that when you use "Mind Trick" Starkiller's voice is very different...more evilish than normal. The music and sound effects were done well.

    * Gameplay
      It's very easy to pick up and play. Now unlike the first one, you have all your Force powers unlocked and at your disposal.
Also now when you kill enemies you get skill points that you can use to upgrade your Force powers like for example:
Level 1 Force Grab lets you grad one object (or person) at a time, while Level 2 let you grad two at a time and Level 3 let's you grab three of more at a time.
Like the first, it's a lot of fun Unleashing The Force by pushing,throwing,and electrocuting your enemies.
Though my favorite thing to do is grab enemies and throw them around and stuff since I like to play with my ~~food~~ Storm Troopers.

Modes

    * Story
      I think the story this time around is still good but I don't think it beats the first one in that department sadly. It just doesn't seem as epic as the first one. I don't want to spoil anything for those who might not have played it yet but I think that they (Lucas Arts) made it too much about a story of romance (and I love romance) and it just seemed kind of forced (~~no pun intended~~ actually it was).
The Darkside ending is my fav this time around and it seems like it could have actually happened without it being a alternate universe thing unlike first Darkside ending.
The Lightside is still good too though.
Also I was disappointed on how they portrayed Darth Vader (my all time Favorite Character)because he wasn't as awesome as he should've been, not even close. Yoda's appearance was more of a cameo than anything else and Dagobah was a dumb level. :'(

The story seemed much shorter, maybe even more sped up...I'm not exactly sure how to describe it.
But sadly like I expected, the game itself is very short. Maybe even shorter than the first.

Glad I only paid $9.54 to rent it than to have paid $60.00 for a game I probably wouldn't play again.

    * Training
      It's a good place to practice and learn new moves and other stuff.

    *Challenges
Challenges are small levels (I think there's about 10 of them) that test your combat and force using skills. You can get either a Bronze,Silver, Gold, or Platinum. It has a score board that hooks up to Xbox Live so you can compete and compare with your friends. They're pretty fun and add a little more to the game.

    * Other Stuff
      Things like Videos,Pictures, Concept Art, and other stuff like that can be found here, though it doesn't add much to the gameplay experience.

Other Features

    * The Force
      As it's namesake, that's the main draw to the game. Being able to use the Force in awesome "Movie-like" and "DBZ-like" ways.
      Also I love Force Grabbin' Storm Trooper and throwing them off ledges. So fun!

    * Cheats
      Us passwords to unlock things like invincibility, different costumes, and other neat unlockables.
      Though I can proudly say that I never used and cheats! ^^

     *Costumes
       Like the first, It has plenty of costumes to choose from as you unlock them as you play through the story and complete the challenges and unlock secrets.

Appropriateness

* Violence
      You use a Lightsaber to slice and impound enemies and you use the Force to electrocute, pull,grad, and throw around...
       So yeah, there's some violence. Also since it's Star Wars, there's no blood but this time around to make it more realistic there's bodily dismemberment.
    * Sexual Content
      Even though the story is about Starkiller reuniting with his long lost love, I don't believe there's really any sexual content except that they kiss once or twice.

Recommendations

    * Rent It
      If you really wanna Unleash the Force, I'd say try it out first and see what you think before buying since it's a short game.
       And 60 buck is a lot to cough up if you know what I mean.
    * Age to Play
      It's rated T-For-Teen by the ESRB which means 13 and up, I'd recommend you just go by the rating.

Overall

All and all it was a fun ride with it's ups and downs.
It's combat and force powers have improved but enemies have become somewhat repetitive and don't have as many
different kinds to fight (like the first) though now each one has a specific way you have to kill them (unlike the first).
The graphics and cut scenes were great, but the story could have been better.
Challenge mode is a neat addition to the game as is the way you can level up your Force powers.
I still think it's a fun game overall and I did enjoy it but it could've (and should've) been better.

I'm gonna give it an 8 out of 10.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my review. ^^

So do you
Agree? Disagree?
Let's hear what you all think in the comments section.

Fanart and FanFilm Friday! Yahoo!

2010-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hello There and Welcome to this Special Edition of Fanart (and FanFilm) Fridays!
It's two new things for the price of one! 8D
First off we my Second Official Rosario + Vampire Fanart!

Click on the Picture for Description and to (of course) see it bigger. : )
As for the Film part of this post
Here's a Trailer for my latest animated film that's coming out soon:

"GI-Joe saved the world and all is calm, but there's always a calm before the storm."

Here's the official trailer for my latest animation project:
GI-JOE: The Clam Before The Storm
It's my first animating with Hasbro's GI-JOE Action Figures and it's been am interesting experience.

Maybe it's more of a teaser trailer than an actual trailer since I tried my hardest not to spoil the whole story in the trailer. ^^;

Anyway, Hope you all enjoy
and be sure to check my Youtube Channel to see the full length movie.

See Ya All Later! ;D

What I've Been Up To

2010-10-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

I've been a real busy bee lately but I've been working on a few projects in my spare time.
And since it's been a while since I've updated the Film part of this site I thought I'd give you all a little sneak peek and a behind the scenes look at two of my film projects.

Come back for more updates.
Also I still workin' on some Art too. -^^-

Fanart Fridays! How can I serve you?

2010-10-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

You might remember that I recently talked about a series called Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama in one of my earlier post. Well, here's my first fanart I've drawn from the series:

Click the Image to see it bigger and to read my description after the jump (to hyperspace).
On another note: This is my 100th blog post. Yay!

The Anti-Virus Fiasco

2010-10-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I went on to my computer and my anti-virus wanted to know if I wanted to go from 2009 to 2011. Of course I said yes.

So I download it and installed it.

When you install a new version of a program the old version is removed.

Well it removed my old version alright, but the new version never installed.

Because of this, I was left utterly defenseless. With no anti-virus I was left venerable to attack.

I tried to install it about 4 or 5 times to no avail.

That's when I called my Uncle (the computer wiz) and told him about my situation.

I did a system restore, thinking that would solve the problem but it did not.

So he gave me a drive with the original anti-virus program to install into the computer.

Thankfully that worked.

Hooray!

I can now continue on with my life. ;P

Just glad that fiasco is over...just hope I don't get another anytime soon. ^^;

*EDIT: It would appear I'm not the only one who's had AVG11 problems
Which my Uncle just brought to my attention.

More Good Things Come to an End : (

2010-10-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

With the fall season upon us, it means that previous anime from the last season must fall...
sorry I like to make puns (confession). ^^;

Three favorites of mine have recently ended.
Find out what they are and see my thought after the jump.
Spoiler Free!
So don't be afraid to read the rest!

Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama

Info:
It's about a girl named Misaki Ayuzawa who becomes president of a Seika High School which is mainly dominated by boys because it was once an all-boys school before becoming a co-ed school.
With the girls in the minority, the boys would tease them, take advantage, and pick on them.
But Misaki takes it into her own hands to reform the school and make it a “girl friendly” place, which in turn makes her the feared (or despised) enemy of (most of) the boys.
Things get interesting when the popular and attractive Usui Takumi discovers a secret of her's that could damage her image and jeopardize everything she has worked for.

How I Started Watching It:
It reminded my of a series I watched awhile back (Skip Beat) and the art was nice.
Also my line-up was lacking some Shojo goodness.
I really enjoyed the series because of the chemistry between the two main characters (so cute! :3) and the rest of the cast (secondary characters). The story was funny and a little serious at times.
Misaki was definitely a favorite of mine. I really liked her tough-as-nails and yet shy attitude.

My Thoughts On How It Ended:
Without spoiling anything, I think it ended nicely. Even if the story does continue on in the manga, I think the ending did a good job of tying most loose ends to the story and a pretty definite ending. Kinda like Ouran High School Host Club which still continued on after the Anime's ending in the Manga.
Though I really wouldn't mind if they continued making the anime series.
Come on Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama season 2!

HeroMan

Info:
It's a series with the story written by the god father of American comic books: Stan Lee and produced by the anime studio that made all sorts of good anime: BONES.
Basically, it's about a kid named Joey Jones who lives in Center City, West Coast, USA.
He loves superheros like any other kid and wishes to be one. One thing leads to another and he just might become a hero and save the world!

How I Started Watching It:
Hearing that Stan the Man was on the project, it peaked my interest. Also the art and animation is slick (good). For those who have watched Heroman and gave up on it around episode 8 because it seemed like a Saturday Morning Cartoon, let me tell ya something: You're really missin' out!
Why? Because from episode 9 and onwards the story become more refined and more “anime-like” in it's story telling. So how 'bout givin' HEROMAN another shot? ; )
Legally check it out here for FREE at CrunchyRoll.com if you wanna see for yourself.

My Thoughts On How It Ended:
It's kinda like those happily ever after endings were all is good in the world (come on, what else would you expect?), but I think the ending was a fitting one for this series. Nice way to end the series.
But Wait! Because after the credits, there's a nice surprise.
I wanna say more but I don't want to spoil anything! >_<
Let me just say this: I think Heroman might have a good chance of having a second season. Not exactly sure if it will but I sure hope there is now.

K-On!!

Info:
It's about a group of school girls who decide to make there own band.
There's more to it than that, but I'm not sure how to word it at the moment. ^^;

How I Started Watching It:
I noticed that it was really (really) popular series among anime fans with all the fanart,discussions,items,cosplays,etc...
I couldn't help but wonder why, so I took it upon myself to check out the series that was sweeping the nation of Japan and even all the over here in the States.
To my surprise, after viewing the first episode I was hooked.
It's a strange phenomenon that a series like this could become so popular since it doesn't have a earth shattering story-line or anything like that. It's just a Slice-of-Life series.
But I think it has a lot to do with the characters and how they interact with each other throughout the series. It's kind reminds my of Lucky Star in that aspect...Maybe that's why I enjoyed it?

My Thoughts On How It Ended:
The ending was so sad! I thought was going to cry (real men don't cry :P).
It was so touching and sweet.
I gonna miss K-ON...
Though I wonder if it's possible for K-ON to have another season or to have a new series?
Especially since K-ON is a real big money maker when it comes to merchandise over in Japan.
I heard that from a news report awhile back and the numbers were Insane!
But I can't find the news report now... ^^;
So get ready, because if K-ON does continue... I believe it'll be called: K-ON The College Years.
You heard it here first, folks. :D

Final Thoughts:

Even with these shows ending, I look ahead and look forward to the future to see what other new shows I may find.
Surprisingly enough, this fall season looks promising (in certain aspects) with shows like Bakuman (with story and art by the creator of Death Note),the Iron Man anime ,The World Only God Knows , Panty and Stocking with Garter-belt, and some others.
I guess it's like they say: “Out with the Old and in with the New”.

Fanart Friday(s)! Oct 1st Addition

2010-10-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome to my 3rd installment of Fanart Friday (s)!

Today's Fanart is of Ivy from the medieval weapon based fighting game: Soul Calibur 4
(which I reviewed a long time ago....in a galaxy far far away).

Click to see more and the story behind it. ;)

What's Hiding in the Jungle?

2010-09-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

While out in the jungle (urban jungle), I went to my local Target to get some groceries. I stopped by the toy aisle since it's on the way to the food aisles (now that they moved it all to the back of the store instead of the front where it originally was). Now if my blog's header (banner) isn't a dead giveaway, GI-JOE has recently been something of interest to me. I haven't been really into it since the movie (Rise of Cobra) came out last summer, but now that Hasbro has begun releasing the followup toy line called: The Pursuit of Cobra, with there highly articulate, detailed, realistic and futuristic, action figures and vehicles.
As for the rest of my story, it goes something like this:
Arriving at the toy aisle, I see the rack is full of the "Tornado Kick" Snake Eye. : (
But behind them are the new Dusty,Destro, Recondo, Zartan, and the....Jungle Viper! : )
Now the Jungle Viper is quite rare (ish) because is highly sought after because it's an Army Builder and it's a short packed figure (unlike"Tornado Kick" Snake Eye).
Excited to see him out in the jungle, I immediately snatched him up.

Now you know the story behind how I got him...and knowing is only half the battle!
Tune in next time when we go in depth to find out why this action figure is so cool and highly sought after.

COBRA!

Fanart Friday(s)! 2nd Edition

2010-09-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hello There and Welcome to another addition of Fanart Friday(s)!

Today I'll be featuring two Fanarts that are Brand New and recently finished:

Be sure to Click on each picture to see them bigger (and better) and to read their descriptions.

Enjoy! :D

Also be sure to Check out my Youtube page for something new too! ^^

Girls and Gaming

2010-09-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

When you think of a video gamer, what gender comes to mind first?

If you said "Male", then you're in the majority, since Females don't have as much of a presence in the video game market as guys.

Especially with all the Violence, Sex appeal, and all the other stuff that mainly interest guys.

Recently, I have been beginning to notice first hand that there are gamers that are girls. Also they could probably kick your butt (like they did mine ^^;) I'll admit, it's pretty cool to see another medium where both genders can enjoy and interact with each other without having to compromise.

The reason I say "recently" is because I just hooked up my XBOX 360 to XBOX LIVE after about 5 years (or so).

Playing online (with Mic and HeadSet) definitely proved to be an interesting and quite enjoyable experience.

If you're a first timer to online video gaming (specifically the XBOX LIVE), here's some mistakes you don't want to make (like I did) when playing with the opposite sex.
Find out what they are after the Jump

Don't judge a Gamer's Gender by their Gamer Tag (User Name)

OK, this can be a tough one since user names don't necessarily have to be gender driven. They be pretty much anything, whatever you can be type. There are a few ways around this:

Look in their profile (though not everyone list their gender, lie about it, other are using a (male) friend's (or family member's, etc) account)

Look at their Avatar
( but as they say "You can't judge a book by it's cover.")

Refrain from using gender specific terms when talking like:
"Dude", "Man", etc...

If your ballsy, Just ask 'em right out. I think most would understand...Never tried it myself however, usually found out the hard or embarrassing way.

Don't Judge a Gamer's Gender by their Voice

This can be real tricky, because like a mentioned before
"You can't judge a book by it's cover."
This is one way I have personally mixed up other gamer's gender because sometimes your voice sounds different when taking into a Mic.

Example, I'm told I sound like I'm twice my age when I answer the phone after they ask my Mom "who was that man?" and find out it was me.

So I've confused girls with the opposite gender at times because I thought maybe they were younger boys or something.

But once you know, you know. Trust me on this.

Well those are the big two in my book but I bet they're plenty of others too.

All and all it's fun to play online with both male and female gamers. More barriers are being broken between the genders,just like with Sports,Media, and plenty of other stuff.

What do you think?

Have any online experiences you'd like to share?
Good or Bad?

Agree, Disagree?

Sound it off in the comments below.

What's up People!?

2010-08-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

It's been awhile since I updated...been really busy dealing with life and stuff.

But I did manage to update my WebComic (see the side buttons) which was on a long Hiatus.
So check it out: http://anythingbutordinary.smackjeeves.com/

See Ya!

Fanart Friday(s)!

2010-08-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hey There and Welcome to Fanart Friday(s)!
Not sure if I'll be doing this every Friday or even on Fridays,or every week but I know I'm doing today.! :D
Anyway, Today I have two fanarts I recently (and not so recently) finished.
Click "Read More" to see more!
And Bigger Pictures!

First Up is
Ryomou Shimei

This is my fanart of Ryomou Shimei from Ikki Tousen (Battle Vixens) which is a series about some Chinese Emperors (?) being reincarnated into busty school girls that fight each other till their clothes fall off. It's story is supposedly loosely based on the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Truthfully I really didn't like the series, it's art was dated,it's main character Sonsaku Hakufu is a total retard, and the story for some reason or another really came off as really boring. I was only able to make it to episode 8 before I gave up.
The fanservice wasn't really a draw for me either.

Then why would I draw fanart from a series I didn't like?
Well, that's because one of the thing I did like was Ryomou Shimei who really struck me as cool when she first appeared in her unique maid outfit while using wrestling moves with a pair of handcuffs to beat a muscular guy into submission. Also her character seemed more fleshed out and less generic unlike most of the cast. She's totally cool!
Also the eye patch adds to her coolness.

As for the picture, I actually drew this a few months ago and just got to finishing it.
I experimented a little with the colors, like her outfit which I first colored in with colored pencils but then colored over it with the regular paint tool instead of what I usually use (like I colored the hair for example). Her outfit is a combination of a few of her outfits she's worn.
I also decided to add a background. Background aren't my strongest suit but I think it came out pretty good. :)

Next Up is
STAR WARS/BLEACH

Hi there,

I drew and finished this over 5 months ago and I'm now finally getting to posting this.
Wow.
Anyway, about the picture.
I'm a Star Wars fan and I'm a Bleach (not Clorox brand) fan.
So I thought "What would it be like to combine the two?"
Also I stumbled upon a cool site (http://www.keiichianimeforever.com/forfans/bleach/fontcreator.html) where you can make Bleach logo with your own text. So that's how I made the logo.
As for the rest of the picture, I wanted it to look like a manga (comic book) cover.
Here's a list of the characters if you can't guess:
Luke
Leia
Han
Obi-wan
Yoda
Darth Vader
Boba Fett
Emperor Palpatine

For the story:
A young man discovers he can see ghost and older man that most call crazy tells him the truth.
Luke is the descendant of a Soul Reaper who was killed by a Hollow named Darth Vader that wiped out most of the Soul Society.
Then begins his training in the ways of the Soul Reaper. Oh yeah, and a fellow class mate get's kidnapped by Hollows and taken to their world.

That's just a summery, I have longer and deeper story in mind. Maybe I should make a webcomic out of it?

Hope you all like them.

Comments And Constructive Criticism Welcome.

Art and Ideas By: AJV (me)
Bleach:Tite Kubo
Star Wars: George Lucas
Character Created By: Yūji Shiozaki

Fanart of my Holiday Girls.

2010-08-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello,

You most likely heard about my Holiday Girls Series which are girl version of holidays.
I'm glad to see people enjoy them.
One of the coolest things is that a few people have actually drawn fanart of my characters.
Someone drawing fanart of your characters is a really cool. ^_^


Super Bowl Sunday

This was given to me in an art trade by Moonflute on Flickr. Adding the helmet and the the action pose really made this cool.


4th of July (2010 Outfit)

This was drawn by
Agito Anonymous who did this to help me get a better perspective on my proportions since lately since I have been a little off. But practice makes perfect.: ) I really like the pose and flowing hair, also the cane (?) looks good with her.

So...if you have any fanart my Holiday Girls, be sure to post 'em here in the comments.
I'd love to see them.

Back from the Doctor's Office

2010-07-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Eye Doctor to have my eyes examined.
Back when I was ten, I used to wear glasses but 5 years ago I stopped because they got too small and I was sick of almost every little kid and their parents thinking I was harry potter since I never really liked harry potter and having to explain to them that I was not got pretty old after a while.
Anyway, more about what happened today.
I had a really good doctor who told me that my eyes are healthy (yay!) and that Nintendo wasn't (entirely) the reason I had to start wearing glasses when I was ten, but it was family genetics. Funny since my Mom can a mile away while I can barely see far away. My Mom believed I had to start wearing glasses back then because my friends and I all played the N64 and we all had to get glasses after that. The doctor said that probably accelerated the Nearsightedness in my eyes at younger age though.
So I got my eyes checked out and I'll be getting my glasses in a week.
The best part, my insurance covered it all. Now that's what I call an early birthday present...since my birthday's tomorrow. So happy right now. :D

All Good Things Must Come to an End

2010-07-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe not all good things, but one in particular that ended on Thursday.
The popular series that's lasted a decade with it's manga and two anime series: Fullmetal Alchemist

For those who have never seen or heard of it, here's a quote from Wikipedia:

The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

I never read the manga myself, but I did watch both anime series.
When I first started the first series when I was getting into anime, I was amazed by the story,characters, and the many emotional moments that would pull on your heart strings. It was different than the more mainstream series like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. It was what I would call mature. No not like adult or anything like that.

The reason there are two anime series is because the first one changes the story midway through while a the second one (called: Brotherhood) stays with the original story all the way till the very end.
Also the voice acting superb in both English and Japanese versions (of course I watched those subtitled).

It was a great series (one of my top favorites) and it's a shame to see it end but it's also nice to finally get some closure.

Personally I would recommend that you view the first anime series because the second series (Brotherhood) sped through earlier storylines and the emotional impact they had in the first are nearly lost in Brotherhood. Also it should be noted that I wouldn't recommend it be viewed by those under the age of 15/16 years old because there is blood and violence,swearing, and mature themes, but almost no sexual content whatsoever.

So if you would like to see the series yourself, check it out at:

http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

Just me wishing you and your family a Happy 4th of July!

This my 4th of July Girl, who is part of my Holiday Girls Series that I started in 2007

with Miss 4th of July being the very first Holiday Girl I created.

You can see how she and the other Holidays have changed over the years by checking out the "Holiday Girls" Section.

If you wanna know more about this picture go to

http://www.sheezyart.com/art/view/2268515/

See Ya Later!

Update: Twitter

2010-06-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Wanna know what I'm up to (when I'm not updating the blog)?
Well now I'm on Twitter.

Never thought I'd make a Twitter account
(because I didn't wanna be a twit ;P ) but I did anyway. ^^
You can check 'em out here http://twitter.com/AJV7
or on the side of the blog if you scroll down a little.

From the Work Bench

2010-06-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hi There!
It's been a little while since I last posted anything, so...
I thought I'd show you all a preview of little Lego customs I'm working on:

Here's how they're coming out so far. Just little more work,s
ome stickers, and sculpy and they'll be done.
Care to guess what or who they might be?
If you do, why not leave a comment below?
See ya Soon!

Iron Man 2: Action Figures

2010-05-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hi There!
With May (Iron Man Month) ending I decided to at least make one more (Iron Man related)
post before it's over. But don't worry I'll talk about my favorite superhero from time to time.
Today I'd like to talk about two Iron Man figures from the movie and concept series that I got for FREE!
No, I didn't steal them...
I went to Khols and used two coupons. -^^-
So here they are:
Mark V Iron Man and Deep Dive Armor
My Thoughts and more Pictures after the Jump
Oh yeah, and See Iron Man go toe to toe with GI-JOE and Cobra.
Cross Over Madness!

First Up is the Mark V Iron Man (Suitcase Armor)

One of the things I like about the new Iron Man Figures is how they are around the same size as the GI-JOE Rise of Cobra and 25th Anniversary Figures, so they're pretty compatible with each other. One of the things that has bothered me about them is a lot of the ones I've seen are terribly painted. The thankfully the ones I got aren't painted to badly. Their articulation is almost on par with GI-JOE. The reason I say "almost" is because the ball jointed waist don't always move or move right. For example my Mark V's right leg won't go up or down. But unlike GI-JOE figures, they have articulated thighs which allows for different poses.

Overall, I really like the Mark V Iron Man. Even with it's few faults it's a fun figure. Also another thing I like is he comes with interchangeable hands for his left hand. One fist and one gripping which is used to carry his Missile Launcher Suitcase. Like they say "Two suitcases are better than one" Especially if your Iron Man.

Next Up is the Deep Dive Iron Man

This was one of the first figures I wanted when I first saw the prototype pictures some time back.

It doesn't really look like Iron Man to me though. My Mom thought he was some bad guy when she first saw him.

Well, that's what I have been planing on using him for in the first place.

In my world, he's not a single character but a super advanced modified and bulkier copy of Iron Man that is made by M.A.R.S. and used by the Terrorist Organization known as Cobra.

It's either an armor worn by a selected few from the viper ranks or a Remotely Controlled Drone Trooper.

As for the figure itself, like most Iron Man figures it is highly detailed and highly articulated. One of the things I like more about this one compared to the previous one (Mark V) is that both of his legs are able to go up and down, but with the side panels that's all they can do, so no thigh articulation. The other is that his head can look up unlike almost every other Iron Man figure I've come across. Even though nearly all the them have ball jointed necks most of them only can look left and right. Two thing that do set this figure back is: No articulated wrist, and his knees are a little funky.

But other than that he's a great figure.

Very Imposing and Powerful...Just like Cobra.

Cobraaaaaaa!!!!!

Now I leave you with some other pictures I took for fun.

Iron Man 2: My Thoughts

2010-05-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

That's right! I finally saw Iron Man 2 in the theater this weekend.
Why I waited so long was because a friend of my Mom and I gave us two matinee tickets (passes that had to be used two weeks after the premiere) to a movie theater that was more awesome then words could describe.
It was a ways up there, but it was so worth it. It was much better then our local one we went to see G.I.-Joe last year. It wasn't crowed so we didn't have to sit with a bunch a little kids and noisy people. It was a great experience.
As for the movie itself, it was also awesome.
If you want to know why, click on the "Read More" button to find out.

"I hope you're ready."

Ok, I'm going to start by talking about the story which is a very important factor in a movie since you can add all the special effects you want but without a good story or characters it'll be lame. Plain and Simple.

It starts off by showing how the world is reacting to Tony Stark stating that he himself is Iron Man and how it affects him and his friends in good and bad ways. It was a really bold move to have Tony reveal his secret identity to the world unlike the super hero stereotype where they usually keep their identities a secret from the world.

Then we're introduced to a Russian named Ivan and his dieing father who dies in first five minutes.
You can tell early on that Ivan hates Tony Stark because he believes he should be the famous inventor instead of Tony who's a billion dollar playboy. So he goes on to construct his very own Iron Man like armor (with less armor) which is reminiscent of the scene in the first movie where Tony makes the first Iron Man armor.

After that you see how Tony's livin' it up. He jumps out of the plane and flys downward to the StarkExpo....

You know what, I'm going to discuss the what I liked (and possibly disliked) instead of telling you the whole story of the movie. Otherwise you wouldn't have to see the if I told you the whole thing. :p

The Senate Scene was one of my favorite non-action scenes in the movie which I believed it would be when I posted my First Minimates Review a while back. It was very funny. Tony's exchange with Senator Sam was totally hilarious because you have a wise cracking guy and a stereotypical politician, then throw in Justin Hammer who's a Tony Stark wannabe and then a whole lotta funnies to go around.
One of the unexpected highlights from the most hilarious scenes was when Hammer tries to desperately disconnect the tv screen that was showing a failed attempt by him and Hammer Industries to copy the Iron Man Armor.

Then we have the Race Track Battle where we first see Iron Man (in the Mark V Suitcase Armor) square off against Whiplash (Ivan). I liked the battle but I have to admit that it wasn't as exciting as it should have been (to me) since with the trailers and the two minute clip that was posted online, you pretty much saw the whole thing right there except for outcome. Whiplash loses, I had a feeling he would...

Throughout the film, Tony realizes that he could die at any moment due to the Arc Reactor he uses to live is slowly killing him, so he pretty much tries to accomplish as many things as he can and lives on the fast lane (literally!).We also get to explore his inner demons and how he deals with them like in the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline like in the comics but they don't focus as much on his alcohol problem like in the comic's storyline I believe since I never read the comics.

Before the Race Track scene, we are introduced to Natasha (played by Scarlett Johansson) who becomes Tony's secretary (a role that Pepper Potts once held before becoming CEO) who's really a super spy for S.H.I.E.L.D.code named:
Black Widow. I would have liked to have seen more of her them her alter-ego
because the only real action she has is towards the end where she shows her moves by taking the out guards at Hammer's facility down with little trouble. She didn't really do much until then though. I'm probably not the only one who enjoyed seeing Scarlet Joehanson in her form fitting Black Widow getup.
She still looked smokin' in all the scenes she was in.

Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as Larry King which was good but the fact the had Bill O'Reilly and the O'Reilly Factor was in the movie talking about Iron Man and Pepper Pots was so cool! My Mom and I were like "So Cool!!!" (though of course we didn't yell) because when we had cable we would watch him all the time.
It even beat the scene at the end of the credits even (IMO).

The fight between Rhodey and Tony in the Mark II and Mark IV Iron Man armors was unexpected ( to me anyway) even with the trailers showing parts of it. I thought it was going to be something like Tony wanted to entertain his guest of this birthday party by having them both suit up and duke it out. Instead it was because Tony decided to wear the armor while drunk and Rhodey decides to hijack the Mark II armor in order to stop him from blowing up the place for the guests' entertainment. It was really cool. Though they pretty much demolished the place by the time they were done.
Then Rhodey flies the armor to the US Military, hands it over to them and has Justin Hammer pimp it up.
Whoa...I totally never expected that.

When all the Hammer Drones and the War Machine are presented at the Stark Expo everything seems fine and everyone thinks they're totally cool, but then Iron Man shows up to end the party.

No no, not to end it -to start it! Yay! :D
Because that's when Whiplash while controlling the Drones (without any supervision) decides to use them and War Machine to attack Iron Man and cause a whole lotta chaos.
There was a lot I liked about this scene since it's the most action packed part of the movie. Loved seeing the Drones in action, I wish there would've been more of 'em. Also Iron Man used lasers to cut'em up real good!

We then have the final battle which I would've liked to last a little longer (same problem as the first movie) because Whiplash seemed to be a real threat when he was on the race track kicking Iron Man's butt and causing total chaos, but here he had a real armor with kicked-up whips and the battle ends in like a few minutes I believe (not exactly sure).
Why did he have to die? He was such a cool villain and he finally got his own armor then he loses and blows himself up.
Justin Hammer getting arrested also disappointed me a little because I was hoping he'd be in Iron Man 3 as a more prominent and more cunning villain. But maybe he'll get out of jail, have someone steal the Iron Man blueprints or something? Ya never know.

I liked the music in the movie but the song that played in the credits "Highway to Hell" by ACDC was not one I liked too much (neither did my Mom) since to me it didn't really fit anywhere in the movie. I knew it'd be somewhere though because it was on the Iron Man 2 ACDC album.
After the credits were over we're given a glimpse into the next Marvel movie, but sadly I already knew because I didn't think I'd stay for the credits so it didn't excite me as much as it would've normally. But it was quite cool. My mom thought it was a Hammer Drone head. LOL!

All and All it was very worthy sequel to a really good movie and it was nice mixture of action,comedy,and some romance that was very enjoyable and entertaining with a great characters and side characters played by an awesome cast of actors and actresses.
I totally recommend it if you

Like Action Movies
Some Comedy with you Action Movies
And a side of Romance
Comic Movies
Iron Man
Samuel L Jackson being a Badass as always
Seeing Scarlett Johansson Looking Hot
Or Any of the Other Great Actors and Actresses in this Movie
A Good Time

So I'm gonna give it a 4.5 out of 5.
It was almost perfect but there were a few things that kept it back a little.
There's more things I liked about the film but I can't think of them all at the moment, but that's most likely because I have I.M.A.O.S. (Iron Man Awesomeness Overload Syndrome) at the moment.
Now go see Iron Man 2 (if you haven't yet)!

What are your thoughts?
Let's discuss them in the comments section.

Iron Man 2 Fanart From Around The Web

2010-05-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

While preparing to see Iron Man 2 this weekend I came a across a fun fan-comic by "Makacoon" over at one of the Anime news sites I frequent
It seems to be inspired by the scene where Tony uses the Suitcase Armor and goes on to explore the possibilities of more Transformable Armors.
See it all after the jump.

Read From Right To Left (Japanese Style).

Iron Man: Insert Title Here

2010-05-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

You might wonder why I haven't said anything about the Iron Man 2 movie.
Well,that's because I was pretty disappointed
...since I still haven't seen it yet. But I plan to this weekend.
I am Totally Excited!:D
It also seems to be doing good a the box office.

Iron Man 2 has hits theaters today!

2010-05-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Haven't seen it myself yet but

I plan to see it this weekend.

Can't wait!

I'm so excited! :D

So far reviews from what I've heard seem to be mixed.

Some say it's good and some say it's bad.

I'm gonna wait to I actually see the movie myself before I decide what I think.

Anyway, Have you all seen it yet?

Did you go the midnight screening?

Tell me what'cha think in the comments and check back for more Iron Man goodness.

My Iron Man Hall of Armors

2010-05-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) as made many different armors over the years, but where does he put them all?
In his Hall of Armors of course!
Ever since the I got my Iron Man Minimates from the first movie, I began transforming what was once a C3 (kinda like Lego) Bat Cave into Iron Man's Hall of Armors.
So yeah, it was two years in the making and I pretty much finished now.
But like the Iron Man armors, I'll probably keep upgrading it from time to time.
Especially when I get more Iron Man Minimates.

That's how it looked recently before I finished it.

Now see It finished after the jump.

Here the Overall shot of the Hall of Amrors

The Hall of Armors

Hope you all like it.

Be sure to come back for more Iron Man goodness.

My Trip to Borders

2010-05-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to my local Borders book store for the first time.

When I first walked in it wasn't loud and noisy like my local Barnes and Noble, which is a plus in my book.
Then I went over to their Manga (Japanese Comics) section and I was blown away and it totally blew Barnes and Noble's Manga section away too!
They had so much to choose from and it was nicely displayed. They even had stuff I hadn't seen before like holographic note books with popular anime characters on 'em, and Pencil bags and sharpeners, and whole lotta other cool stuff. I was almost in ecstasy trying to absorb all the awesomeness.
What's this got to do with Iron Man?
The whole reason I went there in the first place. That and a 40% off coupon.

.
So today I will be reviewing the Exclusive Borders two pack that comes with Mark IV Iron Man and Battle Damage Whiplash.
Click the "Read More" Button to see read my review and for more pictures.

Mark IV Iron Man

Look familiar?
That's because he's the same one that came with the non-Battle Damage Whiplash I reviewed recently. One thing I noticed is that his leg doesn't bow out like the that one or the Mark II.
That's a plus.
Is there anything different about this minimate compared to the previous one Mark IV?
Better check under the hood.

I mean helmet.

He's wearing a cool pair of shades under the helmet.

Take off the helmet and...

He looks like how he did when he's sitting inside of a giant donut having some donuts.

He's one cool dude. That is all.

Battle Damage Whiplash

Here we have a Battle Damage version of the Villainous Whiplash.
From what I can tell, it looks like Iron Man will make a comeback and kick the crap outta Whiplash sometime during or after the Race Track Scene.This time around he looks pretty angry, you can even see his gold teeth. His torso is a little more detailed this time around because it shows what remains of his outer armor (?) and his leg have holes in his pants where you can see his skin and bionic parts.
He has some black burnt spots on his arms too.
Now check out his back.
That's what I can attention to detail.
One thing that does disappoint me is that he doesn't come with a whip. That takes a little from the playability department.
But they did use a bit of metallic paint and most will have gotten the regular version from either from their local comic shop or Toys R Us, so I guess I'll let it slide.

Something I have forgotten to mention in my previous reviews:
Iron Man and War Machine's armors are removable and have detail on the torso underneath.
He comes with skin tone hands, so that's why I decided to take pictures of him without his armor on.

As you can see it's pretty detailed. One thing I miss compared to the Mark III from the first Iron Man movie wave (2008) is the lack of extra arms and legs.
I thought it was cool how you could have a almost different minimate just by taking off the armor,arms, and legs to have an un-armored look. But I rarely ever took off the armor anyway so it's not a feature I terribly miss. It did add a bit of playability though.

Overall it's a cool pack that comes a nice set of Minimates which I would recommend to that's those who

Want a Variant of Whiplash

Want to add more armors to their growing Iron Man Minimate collections

Want Minimates from the new Iron Man movie

Want a regular or a variant of Iron Man

Want to complete there cast of Iron Man 2 Characters.
Want a Villain from Iron Man 2
Want a Cool looking Iron Man or Tiny with his neat shades on.

When I saw pictures of this pack, I knew this was another pack I didn't want to miss since since the scene where Tony's wearing his sun glasses is cool and the added detail to Whiplash makes this pack worthy of picking up at your local Borders book store, and it comes with variants of the main hero and villain.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I did writing it.

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to come back soon for more Iron Man goodness.

Iron Man Anime

2010-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

That's right, Iron Man's getting his own Anime Series that's going to come out this fall.

I can't wait till it comes out. I hope it streams online at CrunchyRoll or something along those lines.
It looks like it could be interesting. So far I'm really liking the artistic style and coloring it has.
...And everything else of course.
Also the Villain looks cool but I can't figure out who he is.
Is he from the comics or a whole new character?
Guess we'll just have to wait and find out.

Iron Man 2 Minimates Review: Mark IV Iron Man and Whiplash

2010-05-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Star Trek, and more to choose from.

This pack is from the Toys R Us assortment that contains four different packs including two exclusives that are not available anywhere else.

Today I will be reviewing the second non-exclusive Toys R Us pack that comes with Mark IV Iron Man and Whiplash.
Click the "Read More" Button to see what I think and for more pictures.

Mark IV Iron Man

Here's the man himself...Iron Man!!! In the Mark IV Armor that he wears at the start of the film. If you read my previous review of the Mark II Armor, then you most likely know how I feel about this Iron Man. But unlike that one, this one here is in his traditional Gold and Red colors. It's painted very well and not sloppy. He comes with an additional hair piece and helmet with flipped up face plate. His movement is slightly limited because of the sculpted armor around the shoulder area. But he's still a a very cool Minimate.

Helmet with Flipped Up Face Plate.
Did I say how cool this was in my last review?
Well... I'm gonna say it again.
It's Super Cool!

Unmasked with Hair Piece.
His face is nicely detailed and he looks determined to beat Whiplash or any other villain who might come his way.

Whiplash

Here we have the Villainous Whiplash who attacks Tony Stark at the Race Track.
He's one bad dude you don't wanna mess with.
I wasn't to crazy about his design in the movie at first but after seeing his whips in action in the trailers, he's really grown on me.
As for the minimate, like nearly all the other Iron Man 2 Minimates it's extremely detailed and looks like it came right out of the movie.
Except for one thing...
His lower half and pants since from what's been shown in the trailers should be orange. Not sure why they did that but maybe it's like what happened to War Machine's blue eyes and arc reactor where they got early images of it and then the movie producers changed them to red after the Minimates where already being produced.
But for me, I don't mind. I actually like the uniformity of the Minimate. His gear on his chest is removable.

Once removed, your treated to some really detailed Tattoo designs on both his front and back.
Now I bet you believe he's even more of a dude you wouldn't try to mess with now.

Overall it's a cool pack that comes a nice set of Minimates which I would recommend to that's those who

Want Whiplash

Want to add more armors to their growing Iron Man Minimate collections

Want Minimates from the new Iron Man movie

Want a regular Iron Man

Want to complete there cast of Iron Man 2 Characters.
Want a Villain from Iron Man 2

When I saw pictures of this pack, I knew this was another pack I totally couldn't miss since I want to have all the main character's and Iron Man armors from the movie and it's got the two main characters in one pack.
A hero and a villain, which adds a whole lotta playability right outta the box.
It's definitely a pack you should pick up.
Available at your local Toys R Us and Comic Shop.

Here ends my series of reviews of the Toys R Us assortment of Iron Man 2 Minimates.
But don't worry, there may be more to come.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I did writing it.

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to come back soon for more Iron Man goodness.

Iron Man 2 Minimates Review: Mark V Iron Man and War Machine

2010-04-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Star Trek, and more to choose from.

This pack is from the Toys R Us assortment that contains four different packs including two exclusives that are not available anywhere else.

Today I will be reviewing the first non-exclusive Toys R Us pack that comes with Mark V Iron Man and War Machine.
Click the "Read More" Button to see what I think and for more pictures.

Mark V Iron Man

Here we have the Mark V Iron Man Armor where after being attacked by the villainous Whiplash on the racetrack, Tony uses the portable Suitcase Armor (also known as the Mark V) to defend himself.
The Minimate version is pretty accurate to how the Mark V appears in the movie.
This is the most articulate Iron Man from this wave, because his legs and arms are not as restricted because it's less bulky and very sleek compared to the last Iron Man Minimate I reviewed (and will be reviewing). The colors are reminiscent of the Centurion Armor that was seen in the comics, it also makes it stand out from his other armors which are usually Red and Gold color. He has newly sculpted upper arms,upper legs, gloves, boots, upper chest piece, belt, and of course a new helmet (which is the same for all Iron Man's Armors for this assortment). He comes with an extra hair piece so you can remove the helmet and see the banged up and angry Tony Stark underneath.
It's a very detailed and highly playable Minimate.

War Machine

This is Tony Stark's close friend Lt. Colonel James Rhodes in the War Machine Armor which is a heavily modified Mark II Armor.It's very detailed and has many newly sculpted parts, including a removable Shoulder Turret and Missile Launcher. But there really no reason to remove them since there's nothing you can do with them once removed. This guy looks like he's ready to kick some serious Drone butt.
The arm turrets (gloves) make the arms look a little long to me and the blue eyes and arc reactor are supposed to be red (Hasbro did the same thing so it's understandable) , but it doesn't distract too much from the rest of the sheer Awesomeness of this Minimate!
He comes with
another helmet that has the face plated flipped up so as to the person's face inside the helmet.This adds a little more playability to the Minimate, especially if you've seen some of the cool Iron Man 2 trailers.
Since I didn't show you what he looks like with the helmet off, he's a picture

His head and face are the same as the Mark II Version so that's why I decided to wait and let you see it now.
One thing that's really annoyed people is that he's got a hole in his head. It doesn't bother me too much since it help keep the helmet on.

Overall it's a nice pack that comes a nice set of Minimates which I would recommend to that's those who

Want War Machine

Want to add more armors to their growing Iron Man Minimate collections

Want Minimates from the new Iron Man movie

Want The Mark V Iron Man

Want to complete there cast of Iron Man 2 Characters..

When I saw pictures of this pack, I knew this was another pack I couldn't miss out on since I want to have all the main character's and Iron Man armors from the movie
It's definitely a pack you don't want to miss.
Available at your local Toys R Us and Comic Shop.

I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I did writing it.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Be sure to come back soon for more Iron Man goodness.

New Film By Me Out Now!

2010-04-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hello There,
Today I've released my latest animated film (trailer) for
I started filming after the second Iron Man trailer came out and I finished it yesterday.
It's like my own version of Iron Man 2 but It's my first Iron Man movie with it's own unique story line that's similar to the upcoming movie release.

Hope you enjoy the show!

Iron Man 2 Against All Odds

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

2010-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

In other Iron Man related news:
Marvel put this up on their youtube page two days ago.
The long awaited sequel to the Crossover Fighting Game Series that pits characters from the Marvel comics against characters from Capcom video games is finally coming!
The cast so far includes Ryu, Morrigan , Chris (from Resident Evil), Wolverine, Iron Man, and Hulk.
The style of the game will be in Street Fighter IV style.
Check It Out Below

When I first saw it on another site, I thought it was fake.
But now I know that isn't the case.
I loved MvC 2 and I've been waiting for a sequel for a long time.
Can't wait till this comes out!

Iron Man 2 Minimates Review: James Rhodes in Mark II Armor and Black Widow

2010-04-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Star Trek, and more to choose from.

This pack is from the Toys R Us assortment that contains four different packs including two exclusives that are not available anywhere else.
Today I will be reviewing the second Toys R Us exclusive pack that comes with
James Rhodes in Mark II Armor and Black Widow

Click the "Read More" Button to see what I think and for more pictures.

James Rhodes in Mark II Armor

This is Tony Stark's close friend Lt. Colonel James Rhodes in the Mark II Iron Man Armor.
It's very detailed and has many newly sculpted parts.
The only parts that aren't sculpted are the head, lower arms, and torso. I really like how they did that. It's like a miniature version of say... a Hasbro action figure.
One thing that bothers me is that he's a bit bow-legged, but doesn't seem to be too noticeable in the pictures.
I love how the Armor looks in Silver.

Surprisingly it's not really the Mark II Armor. It's more of a repaint of the Mark IV Armor (which I'll be reviewing soon).
The Mark II is Tony's second Iron Man Armor he made in the first Iron Man movie after he escaped the terrorist that held him captured and wanted him to make them weapons.
The Mark II was released in the first Iron Man movie wave and was the variant on that wave 2 years ago when the movie came out
There are some differences between the two.

Mark II (2008 Release) on the rigth is more of a bright silver and has dot details while this year's release of the Mark II (2010) on the left is color is more of a muted silver color.
There Armors are quite different if you look at the picture above.
Also the new version isn't Tony. It's a whole new character.
This year's Armor itself is slightly in-accurate to how it appeared in the first film then it's previous release.
Even with that, I still like it a lot.
There's a new feature they added and it's really cool.

They gave another helmet that has the face plated flipped up so as to the person's face inside the helmet.
This adds a little more playability to the Minimate, especially if you've seen some of the cool Iron Man 2 trailers. The face is also nicely detailed too.

Black Widow

Here we have the S.H.I.E.L.D. super spy who comes in to spy on Tony Stark, but later becomes and ally of him and James.
Natasha Romanov (the Black Widow) is played by
Scarlett Johansson, who's totally hot (In My Opinion), and I don't say that about many actresses. I think she's a good pick to play the part of the Black Widow, though comic book fans were disappointed that she doesn't have a Russian accent like the character in the comics. I could care less about that.
On to the Minimate itself,
I believe her likeness has translated well in Minimate form.
She's nicely detailed and has some nice accessories like gauntlets,a belt with holster (which restricts the left leg's movement somewhat) , and a small pistol (be careful not to lose it).
She has newly sculpted hair the accessories are also new.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. logo can be seen on both of her shoulders, which is a nice touch.
One thing that's a bit odd is her torso and leg details can be hard to see depending on where the light's coming from. But it's not a big deal.

Overall it's a nice pack that comes a nice set of Minimates which I would recomend to those who

Missed out on the first Mark II

Want to add another armor to their growing Iron Man Minimate collections

Want Minimates from the new Iron Man movie

Want Black Widow (as seen in the movie)

Want to complete there cast of Iron Man 2 Characters..

When I saw pictures of this pack, I believed this was one pack I couldn't miss out on since I want to have all the main character's from the movie and I don't mind having another Armor to add to my Hall of Armors.
It's definitely a pack I'm glad I didn't miss it.

I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I did writing it.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Be sure to come back soon for more Iron Man goodness.

Iron Man 2 Audi, Dr. Pepper Commercials and the Latest TV Spot

2010-04-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

First up,
It's the Dr. Pepper commercial featuring Stan Lee (the Godfather of Comics) and the voice of
Paul Betteny (?) as JARVIS.
The latest Audi car commercial which features clips from Iron Man 2 has hit YouTube for the Audi R8 V10 Spyder. This car appears in the new Iron Man 2 movie from Paramount Pictures.
The latest TV spot features new footage and shows a little someone giving him a hand.

Iron Man 2 Minimates Review: Senate Hearing Tony Stark and Mark I Iron Man

2010-04-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what Minimates are:
Minimates are 2 inch Lego-like action figures that have 14 points of articulation, have interchangeable parts, and have various lines like Marvel, Ghost Busters, Star Trek, and more to choose from.

This pack is from the Toys R Us assortment that contains four different packs including two exclusives that are not available anywhere else.
Today I will be reviewing the first Toys R Us exclusive pack that comes with
Senate Hearing Tony Stark and Mark I Iron Man

Click the "Read More" Button to see what I think and for more pictures.

Senate Hearing Tony Stark

This is how billionaire play boy Tony Stark (who's also Iron Man) appears in the Senate Hearing Scene where the US Gov. tries to take possession of the Iron Man Armor.

It's been shown in the trailers and from what I've seen I believe I'll hilariously interesting.I just love how Tony acts in this scene, he's just full of himself.

As for the Minimate, I think it captures how he looks in the movie quite well.

Especially his face.

I like that they gave him a sculpted tie instead of printing it on the torso, because it really stands out.
They also gave him a belt which adds a little more detail.
The Minimate is not overly detailed but it has just enough.

Mark I Iron Man

The Mark I is Tony's first Iron Man Armor he made in the first Iron Man movie in order to escape the terrorist that held him captured and wanted him to make them weapons.

The armor is highly detailed and even though it's bulky looking, it's very palyable.
The Mark I was released in the first Iron Man movie wave 2 years ago (2008) when the movie came out but there are some differences between the two minimates.

First there colors: Mark I (2008 Release) on the left is all silver and has a tan arc reactor while this years release of the Mark I (2010) on the right is color is more of a gun metal dark wash silvery color (I can't think of the name ^^;).
Also the new version does not have skin tone arms.
Armor this time around seems more accurate to how it appeared in the first film then it's previous release.
But what's under the Armor might surprise you.

It's Tony Stark in a suit as seen when he arrives at the Stark Expo after the Iron Man armor is removed.
I think it's really cool that they did that. It really adds playability to the minimate, being able to transform it and all.
One thing I had a problem with was getting the left boot off the leg. It took my like 30 minutes or something to get it off without breaking his leg.
Thanks to having an extra black minimate on hand, I was able to keep Tony Stark in the suit and in the armor at the same time.
Now it's like I got three new minimates.

Overall it's a nice pack that comes a nice set of Minimates which I would recommend to those who:

Missed out on the first Mark I
Want to add another armor to their growing Iron Man Minimate collections
Want Minimates from the new Iron Man movie.

When I saw pictures of this pack, I believed this was one pack I might skip since I have a Mark I already and I didn't think I needed another. Once I saw pictures of what was underneath all that armor, I decided it was different enough from the first release to purchase.
I'm glad I did.

Come back soon for more Iron Man goodness and
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Iron Man 2 Interactive Trailer

2010-04-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

I found this over at MarvelousNews.com and it's a trailer that's already been shown but this time around while you watch the trailer, hotspots will appear during the trailer and you can access them once they are activated to see special content like: Character Bios,Story Details and a Whole Lot More.
So check it out blow.